So I'm a bit of a BF virgin, having only heard "Chimes at Midnight" and "Sherzo" thus far (mainly because I met Rob Shearman at a con, and he's the nicest man alive, and since I loved "Dalek" I wanted to see [hear] what the rest of his work was like). But I'm curious as to which BF audios are your faves, and why.

I'm pretty new to listening to the audios as well. Of the very few I've listened to so far, I'm partial to Rob Shearman's "Jubilee" which is the inspiration for "Dalek" though they are very different beasts. Colin Baker and Maggie Stables as well as the actors playing the President and his wife are absolutely brilliant.

I also enjoyed "The One Doctor" which is a beautiful spoof on Doctor Who itself. I needed a laugh.

I've just started listening to "Spare Parts" and I can already tell that it deserves its reputation for greatness and as a tragedy.

Ooh... "Chimes at Midnight"... "Spare Parts"... Both wonderful stories that had me gasping many times during the cliffhangers.

I've been lax in my listening recently and need to eventually get around to catching up. I'm really looking forward to hearing the Cybermen miniseries.

Phantasmagoria by new series writer Mark Gatiss is another good one. Like Chimes at Midnight, it's quite "trad" in that it builds up to the cliff hangers and gives you a good old fashioned Whoish thrill. Gatiss actually name checks his own BF audio in the new series - the Unquiet Dead.

There are some "rad" audios too. Some really clever stuff includes Live 34 - the episodes happen in real time, have no theme music and consist of a revolution occuring over talk back radio (perfect for audio!). Flip Flop is great too - two CDs, but you can play them in either order, and the story still makes sense (does your head in but great stuff!).

Some go too far - The Pirates has one episode all sung by Colin Baker in the style of Gilbert & Sullivan - which is great, if you like Gilbert & Sullivan - otherwise it's the audio equivalent of giving birth to a chair. Some of the Colin Baker/Maggie Stables stuff can get a bit mawkish - Arrangments of War/Thicker than Water (AVOID!).

What I like about the audio's is the chance for underused characters to get a bit of air - step up Melanie Bush and Nyssa - and all the Doctors featured should be grateful that this is audio - no costumes to distract from uniformerly good performances.

The Eighth Doctor stuff is a whole different kettle of fish. The early plays were good - but then, IMHO, it's internal continuity disappears up it's own behind - Zagreus/Divergent Universe stuff. And I know that "the fans" like Charley Pollard - but Edwardian Adventuress types (who are in love with the Doctor) are never going to be in the new series. With good reason.

Does the aging of the actors disturb the suspension of disbelief to a meaningful degree? For example, on commentary tracks, Peter Davison sounds like he's about to cough up a lungful of tar, and I imagine that sort of thing would snap me right out of the story...

They can do wonderful things with ProTools and other audio editing software these days. The producers probably make full use of them.

Davison's voice is certainly different, but when I'm listening to a story, I stop noticing it after a while. He still sounds enough like the 5th Doctor that I can still picture him in the cricket outfit.

My favorite is 'The One Doctor', perhaps the best sendup of Doctor Who ever done.

Edit: Are these audio adventures canon?

Some would say yes, others would say no. It's probably safe to say that they aren't "official" canon, but they aren't totally noncanonical either.

He is, isn't he? I met him in Toronto, and you couldn't hope to meet a nicer gentleman.

I've drifted away from the BFs lately, courtesy of getting hit by Canada Customs once too often. (Thirty bucks or so for a BF is a bit steep, but I'll pay it, but then being asked to drop another $20 for Customs breaks the BF habit pretty quick.)

With the sole excepton of 'The Rapture', I enjoyed all of the audios I did hear.

I've listened to most of the Fifth Doctor audios up to a point [all but the last few Peri ones] and first half-dozen Sixths. And all the Eighth Doctor ones up to Creed of The Kromon. I adore Paul McGann. He instantly lifts anything he's in, I think. But there's nothing to make you stop in your tracks like that marathon of banality. And after Scherzo, too, which was absolute bliss. I even liked Zagreus. But continuing is a bit of an endurance test.

I just finished listening to "Davros". That was amazing, especially as I've always been one of those who have believed that Davros should never have been seen again after "Genesis of the Daleks". But this really worked. It gave Davros a believable backstory without diminishing his monstrous nature. I especially liked the very complicated relationship with Shan, the scientist who was his intellectual equal. Did he love her, did he envy her? Davros was really demented in so many ways. Colin Baker was also very strong in this. He really is my favorite audio Doctor.

Edited to Add
Has any one listened to the second series of Sarah Jane Smith audios? I've gotten the first and enjoyed it with the exception of the Tao Connection, but I haven't heard anything about the second yet. Is the second series as good?

I have been getting into the BF audios. The 5th has some good ones. Kingmaker is odd, but the surreal nature of the story is requisite to not just roll your eys all the way into the back of your head..it does go plain wierd by the end (And I have to admit I prefer the Doctor picking on, rather than idolizing Shakespeare.). Plus it is in the nature of the odd story that you get to have "cameos" by other doctors. So as odd as it started it won me by surprise.

And Bloodtide reminded me that I have been meaning to give no. 6 a second chance.
As a McCoy fan I am thrilled to have more of his Doctor.

But I am really happy to have the 8th adventures. He is a fun Doctor, a bit off a goof, a show off, a little adled, and a romantic. And having a constant companion is interesting to watch, especially as the first 13 adventures all tie together, with events from one episode spelling out things to come down the line. I do like Charlies, and do find the rapport good. Listening to them, you almost wonder if their dynamic in any way inspired the Doctor and Rose dynamic. I hope they will possiblly produce more 8th Doctor adventures down the line.

I'm adding my voice to those recommending Jubilee. It was really good and I loved Evelyn, the companion.
The only other BF that I've listened to is the Gallifrey series, starring Lalla Ward as Romana II, Louise Jameson as Leela and K-9, Mark I and Mark II and Mary Tamm as Pandora/Romana I. These are really great, as they are like a cross between The West Wing and a spy thriller, with enough Whoish elements to keep anyone happy. I've just finished season one and am currently working on series two.

With regards to the BF audio dramas. I recently got into them after learning that I could listen to McGann's stories. They're cheaper than the novels and are much easier to get through at work than a book is.

I've really enjoyed how much they've fleshed out Colin Baker. Now I wish we could have seen his Doctor and Evelyn Smythe. They sound like an old married couple travelling about. She's a fantastic foil to his bombastic personality.

McCoy's doctor matures and I like how much Ace has grown. I can see how she's being groomed for more than just lugging about the Nitro Nine.

I'm totally enamoured with McGann and Charley. The Chimes of Midnight is just fantastic. I haven't made it to the audio Zagreus yet, though he has just turned into him.

More ways to spend my money! Joy!

I've been keeping up with the McGann audios since they came out, but recently started listening to some of the others more regularly. Love the Davison audios with Turlough, and Erimem's a wonderful new character (just finished Eye of the Scorpion, and loved it.)

But my favourites are still the vaurious AU audios that were made, Sympathy for the Devil and Deadline being particular favourites. Derek Jacobi is just amazing, yes.

And so much love for the Gallifrey audios; Romana's always been one of my favourite characters in the series.

Yes. I should have mentioned how different it is to see the 6th Doctor paired with an older and far more mature companion. It makes a world of difference. Having someone, who while still relatively younger, is mare seasoned by life and knows how to poke holes in his moments of pompousity, is a great break. It helps give the Doctor a reason to be a bit more down to Earth while still being true to what we saw before. It is a shame the idea of this sort of a companion was (and may still be) out of the question for the show. Need those young cute girls to follow the doc about. Not that I have a problem with that. But with what was done with no. 6, he needed that counterbalance.

I can only hope that they can continue with these adventures with the success of the new show.

I also hope they can get contracted to get Nine in some as well. They flesh out the universe so much and help fill the mythology of Doctors passed.

I just finished series one and two of Gallifrey and was wondering if there is a story prior to that in which Leela and Romana actually meet since they already know each other in part one. I also wanted to know if there were bridging stories taking place between Armageddon Element (in which Romana has been enprisoned by the Daleks for 10 years) and Gallifrey. Also did they ever explain how Romana became President since it was stated that she was taken by the Daleks soon after that. Thanks

Just in case people weren't aware, BBC7 are repeating their Doctor Who season, all featuring Eight. This week is the last week of Shada (sorry) but there'll be more to follow.

Storm Warning (the Doctor finds himself aboard the historically ill-fated R101 airship)
The Sword of Orion (Cybermen! Written by - and featuring the voice of - Nick Briggs, who does the Dalek and Cybermen voices in the new series)
The Stones of Venice (Venice! It is sinking! Some more!)
Invaders from Mars(from the writer of Unquiet Dead and Idiot's Lantern. And starring Mark Benton (Clive from Rose and the Devil in Second Coming) and Simon Pegg (The Editor in the Long Game and also Shaun of the Dead)


The best bit, though, is that BBC7 will put each episode up on their website for a week afterwards so you can listen for free from anywhere in the world:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc7/listenagain/sunday/


In other BF news, Gary Russell - who was essentially the 'showrunner' for their DW audios - has left for a new job... script editor on series three of the actual TV show! So, y'know, well done him!

Romana and Leela first meet in Zagreus, and immediately developed a chalk 'n' cheese thing that Gary Russell saw could be explored further. This was partly the thinking behind the creation of the Gallifrey series and partly just because...Gary Russell reaaaaally loves Gallifrey, you know? That was Leelas first appearance in BF, but Romana has also appeared in Neverland, which takes place immediately before Zagreus. As to how she became President, I don't think Big Finish ever specified, it's just something that appears to have become fanon, that as soon as Romana came back to Gallifrey, she'd take over. The Virgin and BBC books ranges both had it happen, and I'm fairly sure the comic strip in DWM had her as President as well. It must be that school prefect vibe Lalla Ward has.

And yay to Gary Russell for moving onto the TV show! If anyone can figure out a way to bring back the Time Lords, it's him.

Thanks for the info reg Gallifrey.



Gee I hope you are right because I hate the idea of Romana, the Master and all the other timelords going poof and never existing.

ETA I've been clicking around the BigFinish website and am considering getting more stories. I'll definately get Zagreus and Neverland but some of the #8/Charley stories and the McCoy/Ace stories seem intriguing. Anybody have any favorites of theirs that they could recommend. Is the Rapture any good? How about seasons of Fear? Any guidance would be appreciated since ther apparently almost 100 stories in the monthly section alone and there are of course specials and subgenre entries. Obviously I can't buy it all. Thanks again.

I quite liked Seasons of Fear, but my absolute favorites for Eight will always be Caerdroia and Chimes of Midnight. As for Seven, Ace, and Hex, I'd heartily recommend Night Thoughts. I listened to it in the dark and it scared the hell out of me.

One way you could do it would be to look out for the ones by writers of the TV series. Mark 'Unquiet Dead/Idiot's Lantern' Gatiss; Rob 'Dalek' Shearman; and Paul 'Father's Day' Cornell have all done some:

Circular Time [Five] Paul Cornell
Phantasmagoria [Five/Turlough] Mark Gatiss
The Holy Terror [Six/Frobisher] Rob Shearman
The Maltese Penguin [Six/Frobisher] Rob Shearman
Jubilee [Six/Evelyn] Rob Shearman
The Shadow of the Scourge [Seven/Ace/Bernice] Paul Cornell
Invaders from Mars [Eight/Charley] Mark Gatiss
The Chimes of Midnight [Eight/Charley] Rob Shearman
Seasons of Fear [Eight/Charley] Paul Cornell and Caroline Symcox
Scherzo [Eight/Charley] Rob Shearman


Unbound: Deadline [Alternative One] Rob Shearman

and then, you could also check out the ones that feature David Tennant in various roles - Medicinal Purposes [Six/Evelyn]; Colditz [Seven/Ace]; Unbound: Sympathy for the Devil [Alternative Three]; Unbound: Exile [Alternative Three and Four]

Don't forget Dalek Empire III.

Hurrah!

The new DWM have announced that Big Finish are producing a new season of 50min episodes of Doctor Who, starring Paul McGann as Eight. The exciting thing is that these will be first-run on BBC7 and available to listen across t'internet for free anywhere in the world. They'll be getting CD releases next year.

New Who on BBC7? Oh, yeah. I'm there. I love BBC7, and I thought I could love it no more for the Sunday Doctor Who it's currently doing. Woo Hoo! I really love the 8th Doctor audios.

Lots and lots of details from the new DWM:




They really seem to be pushing the new series format and I think that's a very positive step. 50min stand-alone stories, a new companion (who knowing Sheridan Smith, is likely to be very Rose-like), a slightly more ill-tempered Doctor who has trouble fitting it, and the Dalek and Cybermen voices by the same guy who does them for the new series!

He just can't get away from the Classical period of history, can he? He plays the newsreader in Rome.


Actually, more like the other way round. Briggs has been doing the voices for a few years, since before the new series.

Outpost Gallifrey have the air dates now:

Blood of the Daleks by Steve Lyons (31 December and 7 January)
Horror of Glam Rock by Paul Magrs (14 January)
Immortal Beloved by Jonathan Clements (21 January)
Phobos by Eddie Robson (28 January)
No More Lies by Paul Sutton (4 February)
Human Resources by Eddie Robson (11 and 18 February)

That'll fill a good chunk of the Christmas/S3 gap nicely.

I'm very excited at the news.

I bought a bunch of the Charlie/8 Big Finish stories. I took the recommendations from here and bought Chimes of Midnight, Seasons of Fear Time of the Daleks, Zagreus Neverland and Caerdroia, but I had not heard the first few Charlie eps so I've been catching the broadcasts and they are up to Sword of Orion. Thanks all because I've enjoyed them all although I found a couple of things disturbing. The maid in Chimes of Midnight having THAT much of a selfesteem problem with the (I'm sure) heightened class difference thing (the staff's entire existence being ruled by thier relative stations) etc. The wierd thing being I would expect American writers to go heavy handed on the class thing, not the British. Still I enjoyed all the stories.

I also bought Spare Parts and I think THAT one had among the saddest scenes I've ever heard. Wow what happened to Mondas is truely horrible on a personal level.

Lastly I just finished Panacea of the Gallifrey series and am REALLY confused. I could have sworn that on some extra in the previous series they said that series 3 would be the last. The last ep resolves nothing. Anybody know what is going on there?

No, that's the end. They did the same thing with the Sarah Jane series, which ends with Sarah Jane being abducted into space by a suddenly appearing old enemy of her's and the Doctor's despite their knowing they wouldn't be making any more.

I mean, sure, some great TV series deliberately went out on a cliffhanger (Sapphire and Steel, anyone?) but it's the rare example that it works well. Doing it all the time is a bit offputting, actually.

If I sound like an idiot, I beg forgiveness. I have no idea in the States where to pick these up. I'd love to give them a listen, I guess I could check Amazon, but my MCard is smokin' from buying the dvds from there. Any suggestions?

I can't believe it. I enjoyed the stories but really I'm deeply disappointed they did that to we fans. You deliberately lead them through twists and turns to find out that you don't even end on a relative calm, if you can't have an out and out happy ending? Why? I mean I thought the end of Blake's 7 (British)was the most upsetting end to a series ever only to be equaled but not surpassed by the end of Forever Knight (Canadian). I'm beginning to think that the Queen is having some kind of wierd effect on people. I think I'm going to have to get spoiled about how something British ends before buying it and making an emotional investment. Thanks for the heads up on Sarah Jane. I may have wandered onto that next and been more resentful. Since I won't be going there WHo was the enemy? The Master?

As for where to get them in the US I have been comparison shopping. I got some from ebay (new in most cases but gently used in some) and some from Doctor WHo NA an internet site. Depending on what you are ordering it sometimes works out to buy direct from Big Finnish if you buy a particular series in one shot because it sort of works out as buy 4 get one free but the other two ways are usually better.

BTW I always comparison shop my DW dvds between Amazon and Deepdiscountdvd.com
And check again at different times because prices fluctuate on both sites. I was able to buy the Key to Time box for $52 at deepdiscount then it went up to the seventy something price of Amazon. The nice thing about Deepdiscount is that shipping is included in the price even if you just buy one $7 dvd unlike Amazon where you have to have a purchase of $25.

MDKnight, in the SJA the eneny at the end is the Mandragora Helix from Masque of Mandragora)

I've listened to a couple of Audios so far; Jubilee, Shada, Spare Parts, Invaders From Mars and I'm about to start The Kingmaker.
I havent listened to any Seventh Doctor yet and I wondered if someone could point me toward a good one of his.

Well if you like comedy Bang-Bang-a-Boom is pretty funny. It stars the Seventh Doctor and Mel and spoofs shows like Star Trek and Babylon 5. It's not as good as The One Doctor, but it has its moments. I think Dust Breeding is supposed to be good (I haven't heard it).

Is it really double posting if your last post was in November of the previous year and TWoP lost a month? I hope not, since this seems to be the logical place to post about the new Big Finish audios appearing on BBC7.

So far I've been pretty underwhelmed by the stories. I'm going to try to keep this reasonably spoiler free since I'm not quite sure of the status of stuff broadcast on BBC7. It's British but readily available to anyone with an internet connection and RealPlayer.

Blood of the Daleks starts out pretty much how Doomsday ends/Runaway Bride begins: a strange and less than impressed female appears suddenly in the TARDIS without explanation. Lucie, at least, is not wearing a wedding gown and the explanation for her presence actually makes more sense than the Bride's. It does make me wonder when this was scripted and recorded, considering the similarities. On the story's plus side, we do have sneaky plotting Daleks, and I like that. We also have a conspiracy nutter with a tinfoil hat who is proven to be right after all, but still doesn't manage to be too effective. Also, McGann's doctor seems wearier and more cynical and at least feels like he's getting nearer to whatever prompts the Doctor's actions in the Time War (whatever precisely they are). But honestly I don't really care for the characters, especially the mad scientist whose actions prompt the Daleks appearance and threat.

Horror of Glam Rock was rather dismal as well. They very clearly based the title off Horror of Fang Rock, and that was a mistake as Fang Rock is a much better story with characters who while they were rather stereotypical actually behaved in a believable manner. In this story, we have one character, one note and obsessed, who after already seeing the monsters in action, drags another two characters out where one is killed, for a reason that's really imbecilic. The chief villains were incredibly stupid as well. They were all "we want to help you" till they arrived and then out with the explanation for their imbecilic plan. To be honest I pretty much lost interest by this point and missed whatever it was the Doctor did to defeat them. I did however think the 70s rock version of the Doctor Who theme was amusing.

Immortal Beloved is an improvement over the first two stories. But it is a pity that the BBC7 episode description is a bit misleading. Despite the fact the Immortals call themselves Zeus, Hera, etc., this does not take place in ancient Greece, but some other planet entirely. It's like a cross between Star Trek's "Plato's Stepchildren" and Who's "State of Decay", with a Romeo and Juliet theme and a bit of Freejack thrown into a blender. The most interesting bit is Paul McGann's son plays Ganymede and does a decent job of it.

I haven't yet listened to this week's story yet (thank heaven for listen again), but hope it is a improvement.

The rule is 24 hours, btw.

I've been listening to the Big Finish audios on BBC7 as well.

I missed the first part of Blood of the Daleks, so the second part just left me confused about what was going on, for the most part.

I wasn't too impressed with Horror of Glam Rock either. I did like Immortal Beloved though. The premise was fun and so was getting to hear Paul McGann's son. I had to listen to it twice to remember who everybody was but I didn't mind.

This week's episode, Phobos, wasn't bad. The extreme sports angle didn't interest me much but I thought the villain was kind of interesting. The final showdown did seem a bit cheesy, although I did like Lucy's line how maybe the Doctor is scarier than the monsters, since it was probably Eight who fought in the Time War and all.

Overall, I've enjoyed them so far. I haven't been terribly impressed but I have been entertained, and that counts for something, at least.

How many of the TV doctors (I mean Five, Six, Seven) have companions in the audio books who weren't on the show? Looking on Wikipedia, I see Five has Erimem, Seven has Hex. How do they rank for you compared to the companions these Doctors had on the show? I see Hex is played by Philip Olivier. He's such a handsome, handsome man, I can't imagine only listening to him, not watching him.

I listened to the audio book where Five runs into Tegan twenty years after she left the Tardis. With the years Janet spent badmouthing Doctor Who I was surprised she went back, but oh how good it was to "see" Tegan again. I'm not sure if this needs spoilers or not. If not, let me know and I'll remove them.

I thought this was a strong story, primarily because of Janet Fielding's wonderful performance. She knew how to play all the emotions, from bitchiness, to bitterness, to happiness at finding love with Michael, to resolve at facing her future no matter what sad times might lay ahead. My favorite moment was when she started laughing when Five asked her if she had been in love with him. As much as it broke my heart to learn she was dying, her stoicism and her insistence that she did not regret her time with the Doctor was very moving. As was her insistence that she did not have any desire to return to time travel with him. Her "goodbye, Doctor" after he left was almost enough to make me tear up. I hold out some deluded home her illness will go away or someone will come and help her. If not, I suppose Janet could return for an earlier Tegan adventure. Tegan and Five had such a strong relationship because of their contrasting personalities, and a necessary relationship. That was highlighted well here.

The concept of the Doctor's future self (Six) ruining Kathy's life and Five not wanting to know about what happened, yet having to clean up Six's mess, was very good, and Davison sold this with much effect. I usually hated the time interference stories from the New Adventures and from Seven, but they knew how to frame it here.

Is the woman who did the voice for Tegan's crazy friend Kathy really American? I thought she sounded like a British woman trying to sound like an American female, and instead she sounded like a gay American male.

Six has Evelyn Smythe, an older female companion who really suits him well, and Jubilee is really an excellent adventure with them.

I just got through listening to Human Resources, Part 1 on BBC7 last night. It was fantastic, and I was genuinely surprised at the cliffhanger. There is definitely a surreal effect at the beginning of the story with the unusual yet somehow stereotypical office environment. We got another use of a Time Ring and Lucie was useful and not annoying. The Doctor was both clever and mistaken about some events. I can't wait to hear how this one turns out, which was definitely not my reaction to the other two parter Blood of the Daleks. My one complaint about the story is that the description of the Beyond the Vortex episode which follows gave away the involvement of a certain enemy, so that I spent most of the episode waiting for them to show up. Admittedly the way in which they did was completely unexpected, but I did find it annoying.

Based on this thread I downloaded my first Big Finish production, "Colditz". It has Sylvester McCoy as the 7th Doctor, Sophie Aldred as Ace and David Tennant(!) as a particularly vicious Nazi soldier.

It's wonderful so far. I always liked McCoy because he could go from goofy to Time Lord in nought point 2 seconds and I had kind of a crush on Ace so hearing those voices again just gave me shivers.