Doctor Who audio productions
Encyclopedia
A number of officially licensed audio productions based upon the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
have been produced over the years.
The canonicity of the various audio adventures has not been confirmed. While it is a question that has vexed fans, it appears that, broadly, the BBC care little about the matter. No official announcement has been made on the subject. The first season of the new television series made no explicit references to the audio adventures, partly to keep the programme accessible to a wide audience, and partly in obedience to BBC guidelines about the relationship between public broadcasting and commercially licensed material.
in 1976, was a children's adventure entitled Doctor Who and the Pescatons
by Victor Pemberton
. Around this time an audio version of the televised serial Genesis of the Daleks
was released on record, with specially recorded narration by Tom Baker
. Both of these early releases have since been reissued on CD. The same year, Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen
reprised their roles in an episode of the BBC Schools radio play Exploration Earth: The Time Machine
.
In 1985, during a period when the series was on a sabbatical at the BBC, BBC Radio
hired Colin Baker
and his TV companion Nicola Bryant
to reprise their TV roles for a new production called Slipback
, broadcast as part of the Radio 4
children's magazine Pirate Radio Four
, which received quite a bit of press fanfare, though it did not receive good reviews. It too was later released on audio tape and CD.
Doctor Who audio adventures diversified somewhat in the 1990s, when the BBC began issuing the soundtracks of 1960s-era serials on cassette and compact disc, some with added narration. These releases were usually derived from serials that were incomplete in the BBC vaults, thereby making this the only format in which fans could enjoy the entire story.
BBC Radio, meanwhile, attempted to get a new series of Doctor Who stories made for radio. Although more were planned, only two were ever completed: The Paradise of Death
(1993) and The Ghosts of N-Space
(1996), both written by Barry Letts
and featuring Jon Pertwee
, (in two of his final performances as the Third Doctor
), Elisabeth Sladen and Nicholas Courtney
. The Paradise of Death was broadcast on Radio 5
, and after that station's re-launch as a news and sport network in 1994 it seemed that there would be no home for any sequels. However, a repeat broadcast of The Paradise of Death that year on Radio 2
proved popular — despite episode four accidentally being broadcast twice in place of episode five, necessitating episode five being delayed by a week — and the station was happy to commission the sequel, The Ghosts of N-Space, for itself.
In 1994, BBC Radio 4
in part of the series "Whatever Happened to ..?
" broadcast a comedy drama entitled Whatever Happened to Susan Foreman? featuring Jane Asher
as Susan Foreman
and Andrew Sachs
as Temmosus the Thal
.
Several of the Target
novelisations have been made into audio book
s narrated by actors who have appeared in the television series. For example, Peter Davison
read the novelisation of Kinda
.
In 1998, the Doctor Who Appreciation Society
produced a collection of audio adventures entitled Cosmic Fugue 2 in aid of charity. The stories were read by Doctor Who actors Colin Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Caroline John
, Wendy Padbury
and Louise Jameson
and the writers included Barry Letts and Gary Russell
, the latter of whom went on to produce Doctor Who audio dramas for Big Finish Productions
. The BBC released a collection of audio versions of short stories featured in the book Short Trips, along with an original story, all read by Sophie Aldred
and Nicholas Courtney. Following this, another two collections of audio versions of stories featured in Short Trips and More Short Trips, along with an original story on each, were released - Earth and Beyond
read by Paul McGann
and Out of the Darkness read by Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant
.
Beginning in 1999, Big Finish Productions, under licence from the BBC, began a range of audio plays on compact disc, with one released every month starring one of the surviving actors to play the Doctor, namely the Fifth
, Sixth
, Seventh
and Eighth
Doctors. The Doctors are frequently joined in the audio plays by companions from the television series and new companions created for the audio range. Stories in the ongoing Eighth Doctor series were originally released in "seasons" of between four to six consecutive releases, but this pattern ceased after Doctor Who returned to television in 2005. None of the audio plays have featured Tom Baker (as the Fourth Doctor
), as he has declined invitations to reprise his role. However, in 2009 he agreed to appear in five new audio stories for the BBC called Hornets' Nest
. A second five-CD series, Demon Quest
, followed in 2010.
Big Finish have also produced a limited series, titled Doctor Who Unbound, which explores possibilities contrary to the established mythos (for instance, "What if the Doctor had never left Gallifrey?"). The format of the Unbound series allows well-known actors such as Derek Jacobi
and David Warner
to play alternative versions of the Doctor. Bernice Summerfield
, the Doctor's companion from the Virgin New Adventures
novels, also features in her own series of audio plays; the character is voiced by Lisa Bowerman
.
The BBC has extended Big Finish's licence to produce the audios until 2012, but the licence only covers the original television series and not the new series — thus Big Finish cannot do audio plays featuring the Ninth Doctor
or other characters from the 2005 revival.
In 2005, six of the Eighth Doctor
audio dramas were broadcast on the digital radio
station BBC Radio 7 — these were Storm Warning, Sword of Orion
, The Stones of Venice
, Invaders from Mars
, Shada
(originally recorded for an animated webcast
on the BBC's online service), and The Chimes of Midnight
. A new series of original Eighth Doctor dramas aired on BBC7 starting on New Year's Eve 2006, and lasted eight weeks. They were subsequently released on CD by Big Finish. These are Blood of the Daleks
, Horror of Glam Rock
, Immortal Beloved
, Phobos
, No More Lies
and Human Resources
. A second series of eight Eighth Doctor audios, from Dead London
to Vengeance of Morbius
, were released by Big Finish in 2008 and subsequently aired on BBC Radio 7; two more series in this line were released on CD, but have not aired on BBC7.
These include, from Big Finish:
Non-Big Finish audio productions include:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
have been produced over the years.
The canonicity of the various audio adventures has not been confirmed. While it is a question that has vexed fans, it appears that, broadly, the BBC care little about the matter. No official announcement has been made on the subject. The first season of the new television series made no explicit references to the audio adventures, partly to keep the programme accessible to a wide audience, and partly in obedience to BBC guidelines about the relationship between public broadcasting and commercially licensed material.
Audios featuring the Doctor
The first Doctor Who audio production, released on LP recordGramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
in 1976, was a children's adventure entitled Doctor Who and the Pescatons
The Pescatons
Doctor Who and the Pescatons is an audio play in two episodes based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
by Victor Pemberton
Victor Pemberton
Victor Pemberton is a British writer and television producer.Victor Pemberton's scriptwriting work included BBC radio plays, and television scripts for the BBC and ITV, including Doctor Who, The Slide and The Adventures of Black Beauty.His television production work included the British version of...
. Around this time an audio version of the televised serial Genesis of the Daleks
Genesis of the Daleks
Genesis of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was originally broadcast in six weekly parts from 8 March to 12 April 1975. It marks the first appearance of Davros, the creator of the Daleks.-Plot:...
was released on record, with specially recorded narration by Tom Baker
Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...
. Both of these early releases have since been reissued on CD. The same year, Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen
Elisabeth Sladen
Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen was an English actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series Doctor Who. She was a regular cast member from 1973 to 1976, alongside both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and reprised the role many times in subsequent decades, both on...
reprised their roles in an episode of the BBC Schools radio play Exploration Earth: The Time Machine
Exploration Earth: The Time Machine
"Exploration Earth: The Time Machine" is an episode of the BBC Schools radio drama series Exploration Earth, a series exploring geography. It was the third episode in this series. As it was an educational programme, it used the Doctor Who format and elements to explore the processes of the creation...
.
In 1985, during a period when the series was on a sabbatical at the BBC, BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
hired Colin Baker
Colin Baker
Colin Baker is a British actor who is known for playing Paul Merroney in The Brothers from 1974 to 1976 and as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, from 1984 to 1986.- Background:Colin Baker was born in London, but moved north to...
and his TV companion Nicola Bryant
Nicola Bryant
-External links:** at shillpages.com/dw *...
to reprise their TV roles for a new production called Slipback
Slipback
Slipback is a radio audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced by the BBC and first broadcast in six episodes on BBC Radio 4 from 25 July to 8 August 1985, as part of a children's magazine show called Pirate Radio Four...
, broadcast as part of the Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
children's magazine Pirate Radio Four
Pirate Radio Four
Pirate Radio Four was a magazine show broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1985-6. Part of the station's drive to attract younger listeners, it was broadcast during the mornings in the school summer holidays and was aimed at children of about 8–14 years old...
, which received quite a bit of press fanfare, though it did not receive good reviews. It too was later released on audio tape and CD.
Doctor Who audio adventures diversified somewhat in the 1990s, when the BBC began issuing the soundtracks of 1960s-era serials on cassette and compact disc, some with added narration. These releases were usually derived from serials that were incomplete in the BBC vaults, thereby making this the only format in which fans could enjoy the entire story.
BBC Radio, meanwhile, attempted to get a new series of Doctor Who stories made for radio. Although more were planned, only two were ever completed: The Paradise of Death
The Paradise of Death
The Paradise of Death is a radio audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced by the BBC and first broadcast in five episodes on BBC Radio 5 from 27 August to 24 September 1993. The original radio play was released on CD as part of the BBC...
(1993) and The Ghosts of N-Space
The Ghosts of N-Space
The Ghosts of N-Space is a radio audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was recorded in 1994 and finally broadcast in six parts on BBC Radio 2 from January 20 to February 24, 1996. This was the second Third Doctor radio play, following The...
(1996), both written by Barry Letts
Barry Letts
Barry Leopold Letts was a British actor, television director, writer and producer best known for his work on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and for producing the BBC's Sunday Classic drama serials in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
and featuring Jon Pertwee
Jon Pertwee
John Devon Roland Pertwee , was an English actor. Pertwee is best known for his role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, in which he played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974, and as the title character in the series Worzel Gummidge...
, (in two of his final performances as the Third Doctor
Third Doctor
The Third Doctor is the third incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee....
), Elisabeth Sladen and Nicholas Courtney
Nicholas Courtney
William Nicholas Stone Courtney was an English television actor, most famous for playing Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
. The Paradise of Death was broadcast on Radio 5
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
, and after that station's re-launch as a news and sport network in 1994 it seemed that there would be no home for any sequels. However, a repeat broadcast of The Paradise of Death that year on Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
proved popular — despite episode four accidentally being broadcast twice in place of episode five, necessitating episode five being delayed by a week — and the station was happy to commission the sequel, The Ghosts of N-Space, for itself.
In 1994, BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
in part of the series "Whatever Happened to ..?
Whatever Happened to ..?
Whatever Happened to ..? is a series of eleven plays broadcast in two series on BBC Radio 4 in 1994 and 1995. They covered the fate of various fictional characters, such as Popeye and Susan Foreman, the granddaughter of the Doctor in Doctor Who...
" broadcast a comedy drama entitled Whatever Happened to Susan Foreman? featuring Jane Asher
Jane Asher
Jane Asher is an English actress. She has also developed a second career as a cake decorator and cake shop proprietor.-Early life:...
as Susan Foreman
Susan Foreman
Susan Foreman is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The granddaughter and original companion of the First Doctor, she was played by actress Carole Ann Ford from 1963 to 1964, in the show's first season and the first two stories of the second season...
and Andrew Sachs
Andrew Sachs
Andrew Sachs is a German-born British actor. He made his name on British television and is best known for his portrayals of Manuel in Fawlty Towers, a role for which he was BAFTA-nominated, and Ramsay Clegg in Coronation Street.-Early life:Sachs was born in Berlin, Germany, the son of Katharina , a...
as Temmosus the Thal
Thal (Doctor Who)
The Thals are a fictional race of humanoid aliens from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, originating on the planet Skaro.-History within the show:...
.
Several of the Target
Target Books
Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...
novelisations have been made into audio book
Audio book
An audiobook or audio book is a recording of a text being read. It is not necessarily an exact audio version of a book or magazine.Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the...
s narrated by actors who have appeared in the television series. For example, Peter Davison
Peter Davison
Peter Davison is a British actor, best known for his roles as Tristan Farnon in the television version of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, which he played from 1982 to 1984.-Early life:Davison was born Peter Moffett in Streatham,...
read the novelisation of Kinda
Kinda (Doctor Who)
Kinda is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 1 February to 9 February 1982.-Synopsis:...
.
In 1998, the Doctor Who Appreciation Society
Doctor Who Appreciation Society
The Doctor Who Appreciation Society is a society for fans of the television series Doctor Who. It was founded in May 1976, emerging from the Westfield College Doctor Who Appreciation Society and the editors and readers of the fanzine Tardis...
produced a collection of audio adventures entitled Cosmic Fugue 2 in aid of charity. The stories were read by Doctor Who actors Colin Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Caroline John
Caroline John
Caroline John is an English actress best known for her role as Liz Shaw in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, as well as several other television roles....
, Wendy Padbury
Wendy Padbury
Wendy Padbury is a British actress from Warwickshire, England. She is most famous for her involvement in various Doctor Who projects....
and Louise Jameson
Louise Jameson
Louise Jameson is an English actress, best known for playing Leela, the leather-clad barbarian warrior companion of the fourth Doctor in Doctor Who. Jameson has also appeared on Emmerdale , The Omega Factor Louise Jameson (born 20 April 1951 in Wanstead, London) is an English actress, best known...
and the writers included Barry Letts and Gary Russell
Gary Russell
Gary James Russell is a freelance writer and former child actor. As a writer, he is best known for his work in connection with the television series Doctor Who and its spin-offs in other media...
, the latter of whom went on to produce Doctor Who audio dramas for Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
. The BBC released a collection of audio versions of short stories featured in the book Short Trips, along with an original story, all read by Sophie Aldred
Sophie Aldred
Sophie Aldred is an English actress and television presenter, best known for her portrayal of The Doctor's companion Ace in the television series Doctor Who during the late 1980s.-Early life:...
and Nicholas Courtney. Following this, another two collections of audio versions of stories featured in Short Trips and More Short Trips, along with an original story on each, were released - Earth and Beyond
Earth and Beyond (Doctor Who)
Earth and Beyond is a Doctor Who audio production produced by the BBC featuring the Eighth Doctor and Sam Jones. The release contains three adventures that are read by Paul McGann. It was released onto cassette in 1999, as a sequel to the BBC Short Trips cassette of 1998...
read by Paul McGann
Paul McGann
Paul McGann is an English actor who made his name on the BBC serial The Monocled Mutineer, in which he played the lead role...
and Out of the Darkness read by Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant
Nicola Bryant
-External links:** at shillpages.com/dw *...
.
Beginning in 1999, Big Finish Productions, under licence from the BBC, began a range of audio plays on compact disc, with one released every month starring one of the surviving actors to play the Doctor, namely the Fifth
Fifth Doctor
The Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....
, Sixth
Sixth Doctor
The Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...
, Seventh
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
and Eighth
Eighth Doctor
The Eighth Doctor is the eighth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Paul McGann...
Doctors. The Doctors are frequently joined in the audio plays by companions from the television series and new companions created for the audio range. Stories in the ongoing Eighth Doctor series were originally released in "seasons" of between four to six consecutive releases, but this pattern ceased after Doctor Who returned to television in 2005. None of the audio plays have featured Tom Baker (as the Fourth Doctor
Fourth Doctor
The Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
), as he has declined invitations to reprise his role. However, in 2009 he agreed to appear in five new audio stories for the BBC called Hornets' Nest
Hornets' Nest (Doctor Who)
Hornets' Nest is an audio play in five episodes based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is written by Paul Magrs, and stars Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates...
. A second five-CD series, Demon Quest
Demon Quest
Demon Quest is an audio play in five episodes based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is written by Paul Magrs, and stars Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates...
, followed in 2010.
Big Finish have also produced a limited series, titled Doctor Who Unbound, which explores possibilities contrary to the established mythos (for instance, "What if the Doctor had never left Gallifrey?"). The format of the Unbound series allows well-known actors such as Derek Jacobi
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
and David Warner
David Warner (actor)
David Warner is an English actor who is known for playing both romantic leads and sinister or villainous characters, both in film and animation...
to play alternative versions of the Doctor. Bernice Summerfield
Bernice Summerfield
Bernice Surprise Summerfield is a fictional character created by author Paul Cornell as a new companion of the Seventh Doctor in Virgin Publishing's range of original full-length Doctor Who novels, the New Adventures...
, the Doctor's companion from the Virgin New Adventures
Virgin New Adventures
The Virgin New Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
novels, also features in her own series of audio plays; the character is voiced by Lisa Bowerman
Lisa Bowerman
Lisa Bowerman is a British actress.Bowerman trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and was a regular in the first two series of BBC medical drama Casualty playing Sandra Mute, the show's first female paramedic. Her other television work includes: Dodgem, The Count of Solar, Grange Hill, The...
.
The BBC has extended Big Finish's licence to produce the audios until 2012, but the licence only covers the original television series and not the new series — thus Big Finish cannot do audio plays featuring the Ninth Doctor
Ninth Doctor
The Ninth Doctor is the ninth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by Christopher Eccleston....
or other characters from the 2005 revival.
In 2005, six of the Eighth Doctor
Eighth Doctor
The Eighth Doctor is the eighth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Paul McGann...
audio dramas were broadcast on the digital radio
Digital radio
Digital radio has several meanings:1. Today the most common meaning is digital radio broadcasting technologies, such as the digital audio broadcasting system, also known as Eureka 147. In these systems, the analog audio signal is digitized into zeros and ones, compressed using formats such as...
station BBC Radio 7 — these were Storm Warning, Sword of Orion
Sword of Orion
Sword of Orion is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was broadcast on BBC 7 in four weekly parts starting from 3 September 2005, and was repeated in 2006...
, The Stones of Venice
The Stones of Venice (Doctor Who audio)
The Stones of Venice is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
, Invaders from Mars
Invaders from Mars (Doctor Who audio)
Invaders from Mars is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
, Shada
Shada
Shada is an unaired serial of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was intended to be the final serial of the 1979-80 season , but was never completed due to a strike at the BBC during filming...
(originally recorded for an animated webcast
Webcast
A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand...
on the BBC's online service), and The Chimes of Midnight
The Chimes of Midnight
The Chimes of Midnight is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
. A new series of original Eighth Doctor dramas aired on BBC7 starting on New Year's Eve 2006, and lasted eight weeks. They were subsequently released on CD by Big Finish. These are Blood of the Daleks
Blood of the Daleks
Blood of the Daleks is an audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions; the first of two 50-minute parts was broadcast on BBC 7 on 31 December 2006, and the second was aired on 7 January 2007...
, Horror of Glam Rock
Horror of Glam Rock
Horror of Glam Rock is an audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions and was broadcast on BBC 7 on 14 January 2007.-Plot:...
, Immortal Beloved
Immortal Beloved (Doctor Who audio)
Immortal Beloved is an audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions and was broadcast on BBC 7 on 21 January 2007.-Plot:...
, Phobos
Phobos (Doctor Who audio)
Phobos is an audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions and was broadcast on BBC 7 on 28 January 2007.-Plot:...
, No More Lies
No More Lies (Doctor Who audio)
No More Lies is an audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions and was broadcast on BBC 7 on 4 February 2007.-Plot:...
and Human Resources
Human Resources (Doctor Who audio)
Human Resources is an audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions and was broadcast in two parts on BBC 7 on 11 February and 18 February 2007 and was the last to use David Arnold's arrangement of...
. A second series of eight Eighth Doctor audios, from Dead London
Dead London
Dead London is an audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions.-Cast:*The Doctor — Paul McGann*Lucie Miller — Sheridan Smith...
to Vengeance of Morbius
Vengeance of Morbius
Vengeance of Morbius is an audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions....
, were released by Big Finish in 2008 and subsequently aired on BBC Radio 7; two more series in this line were released on CD, but have not aired on BBC7.
Non-Doctor audios
There have been licensed audio productions featuring characters and situations created for Doctor Who, but using characters other than the Doctor.These include, from Big Finish:
- Dalek EmpireDalekThe Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
, Dalek Empire II: Dalek War, Dalek Empire III, Dalek Empire IV: The Fearless and CybermanCybermanThe Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of humanoids originating on Earth's twin planet Mondas that began to implant more...
, epic space operas about the Doctor's foes written and directed by Nicholas BriggsNicholas BriggsNicholas Briggs is a British actor and writer, predominantly associated with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and its various spin-offs, particularly as the voice of the Daleks. Briggs sometimes uses the pseudonym Arthur Wallis...
; - Sarah Jane SmithSarah Jane SmithSarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running British BBC Television science-fiction series Doctor Who and its spin-offs K-9 and Company and The Sarah Jane Adventures....
, modern-day suspense stories starring Elisabeth SladenElisabeth SladenElisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen was an English actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series Doctor Who. She was a regular cast member from 1973 to 1976, alongside both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and reprised the role many times in subsequent decades, both on...
as the intrepid journalist and former companion of the Doctor; - GallifreyGallifreyGallifrey is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and is the homeworld of the Doctor and the Time Lords...
, with Lalla WardLalla WardSarah Ward known as Lalla Ward, is an English actor, author and illustrator. As an actor, she is known for playing the part of Romana in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. She is married to evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.-Early career:Ward's stage name, "Lalla", comes...
, Mary TammMary TammMary Tamm is an English actress. She is best known for being the first actress to play the character of Romana in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, opposite Tom Baker as the Doctor, from the 1978–1979 season known collectively as The Key to Time.-Early life:Mary Tamm was born in...
, Louise JamesonLouise JamesonLouise Jameson is an English actress, best known for playing Leela, the leather-clad barbarian warrior companion of the fourth Doctor in Doctor Who. Jameson has also appeared on Emmerdale , The Omega Factor Louise Jameson (born 20 April 1951 in Wanstead, London) is an English actress, best known...
and John LeesonJohn LeesonJohn Leeson is a British actor who is best known for voicing K-9 on the television series Doctor Who from 1977 to 1979, and again in the 1980–1981 season. He was called back to do the voice of K-9 again for the 2006 episode "School Reunion" and again for the 2008 Doctor Who episode "Journey's End"...
reprising their roles as RomanaRomanaRomana, short for Romanadvoratrelundar, is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
s I and II, LeelaLeela (Doctor Who)Leela is a fictional character played by Louise Jameson in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Leela was a companion of the Fourth Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1977 to 1978...
and K-9K-9 (Doctor Who)K-9, or K9, is the name of several fictional robotic canines in the long-running British science fiction television series, Doctor Who, first appearing in 1977...
, respectively; - UNITUnited Nations Intelligence TaskforceUNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures...
, with a new UNIT crew, and guest-starring Nicholas CourtneyNicholas CourtneyWilliam Nicholas Stone Courtney was an English television actor, most famous for playing Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
as the now-retired General Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-StewartBrigadier Lethbridge-StewartBrigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Nicholas Courtney...
in some audios.
Non-Big Finish audio productions include:
- the Kaldor CityKaldor CityKaldor City is a human city of the future on an unspecified alien world, created by Chris Boucher for the Doctor Who serial The Robots of Death broadcast in 1977, and reused in his Past Doctor Adventure Corpse Marker in 1999...
series, produced by Magic Bullet Productions, which expands on the setting and characters created for the serial The Robots of DeathThe Robots of DeathThe Robots of Death is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 29 January to 19 February 1977.-Synopsis:...
and also ties in with the BBC television series Blake's 7Blake's 7Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for its BBC1 channel. The series was created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer and creator of the Daleks for the television series Doctor Who. Four series of Blake's 7 were produced and broadcast between 1978...
; and - the Faction ParadoxFaction ParadoxFaction Paradox is a fictional time travelling cult/rebel group/organized crime syndicate, originally created by the author Lawrence Miles. The Faction's belief-system as portrayed has some similarities to voodoo, and is sometimes described as such...
series, about the rebel crime syndicate/voodoo cultCultThe word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
introduced to the Doctor Who novel line by author Lawrence MilesLawrence MilesLawrence Miles is a science fiction author known for his work on original Doctor Who novels and the subsequent spin-off Faction Paradox...
. The first six Faction audios were published by BBVBBVBBV is a video and audio production company specialising in science fiction drama, known for its links with the British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
under the title The Faction Paradox Protocols. Subsequently, Magic Bullet took over the series, using the title The True History of Faction Paradox.
See also
- List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish
- Doctor Who audio releasesDoctor Who audio releasesThere have been many official and unofficial Doctor Who and related spin-offs released on audio, as LPs, audio cassettes, audio CDs and MP3 CDs. Recordings here are listed by their original release date.-Television soundtracks:...
- Doctor Who story chronology
External links
- Big Finish
- Tertiary Console Room a guide to the audio dramas
- Doctor Who page on BBC 7 drama site