when i first started listening to big finish i tried listening to the extras and they all sounded very culty. every guest star would go on and on about how amazing dr who is.how it was the most important tv show in the world and how happy they were to be part of big finish and doing doctor

who. so i stopped listening to them. i was ok not my cup of tea. they would come at the end of the

audioplays. i could just move on. they used to be at the end of the box sets. again i could listen to the story and skip the extras. but now they put at the end of each story so you can't just put on a release and listen to all three stories in the row but they all get interrupted by extras that don't add a thing.

BF please put them at the end of all stories

With all the drama concerning NuWho and RTD, I just want to thank Nicholas Briggs for simply producing great Doctor Who story after great Doctor Who story on Big Finish instead of trying to make DW personally "his." Keep them coming!

Introduction

Hello all and welcome back to the Big Finish Podcast Notes! Hope you've all had a lovely week.

Podcast

Podcast Notes

• As a reminder, Nick is on holiday for the remainder of the year. Jonathon Carley steps in for Benji starting this week, and Benji steps in for Nick.
• Big Finish got special permission to release the 10th and 20th anniversary Radio Times specials this year, but that's not to say they couldn't do more books or similar releases in the future.
• They'd like to say they planned the Decayed Master trilogy on Dark Gallifrey for the 50th anniversary of The Deadly Assassin, but it was a happy coincidence.

Random Tangents: Engie Benjy

Production Interviews: The Confessions of Dorian Gray: A Night at the Theatre by Scott Handcock

Fifteen Minute Drama Tease: Halloween: Doctor, Doctor, Doctor and Other Stories - The Song of the Reed Man by Katherine White

Randomoid Selectotron: 25% off a random Big Finish release every week! Just click on this link and enter the code BUCKUP. There are currently technical issues with the Randomoid Selectotron, so it will be stuck on the last release from the 26 June podcast for the foreseeable future. This release is The Companion Chronicles: 7.6 The Child.

Vortex #212

• Halloween: Doctor, Doctor, Doctor and Other Stories
  • Doctor, Doctor, Doctor by Lauren Mooney and Stewart Pringle
    • Stewart Pringle was originally going to write this story alone, an uncommon occurrence for the couple, but Lauren became available.
    • Stewart got to pick from a handful of Doctors to write a story for, and the brief was very open as long as it was "properly scary".
  • The Song of the Reed Man by Katherine White
    • John Dorney told Katherine to write something that would give him nightmares, and she immediately knew she wanted to write a story featuring witch hunting in Essex.
    • Katherine wanted the hunters to be hunted, and though the Krynoids were right for the story.
    • Says Katherine: “The Song of the Reed Man is set on the night of the Samhain when the spirits of the dead are close at hand and an ancient hunger wakes from the deep. It looks at the warped and twisted hearts of men and the cost of doing anything to survive in a world where even the shadows can’t be trusted...I tried to make my own skin crawl as I wrote it; I wanted to make sure the horror gets into the bones of the audience.”
  • Office Space by Georgia Cook and Fio Trethewey
    • Another couple pairing on this box set, this marks the first time Georgia and Fio have written together at Big Finish.
    • Not much detail is thrown out for this story outside of the synopsis.
  • Overworked by Hannah Kennedy
    • Hannah worked on the last Halloween set, and revisited some ideas she pitched last year. She's been dying to tell this story since she first pitched it.
    • Says Hannah: "This year, I tapped into one of my other greatest loves and fears, body horror, which was a treat to dig into with characters such as the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa."
• The Eighth Doctor Adventures: New Pathways
  • Overall Box Set
    • David Richardson specifically wanted to avoid a big all-out celebration of 30 years of the Eighth Doctor, bringing back every companion and facing off against the Daleks, and opted for something that recognizes the anniversary but moves forward.
    • Helen did travel with new companion Alfie for a time after Liv left (implying there may have been a Helen-only gap after Liv stopped traveling).
    • It's been stated before but this set is being described as a whole new era of the Eighth Doctor's life.
    • Sam Stafford and Natalie Gumede had their roles as Alfie and Chase written for them, as David Richardson wanted to give them regular roles. Chase used to work in television and film as a gaffer, but the industry left her behind and now she works in a call center. Alfie is described as 'A Really Nice Bloke'.
    • The music in this set is centered around Chase. They made her theme basic and easily arranged with any instruments and style so that future sets can create variations of her theme that suit the story.
  • Chase by Alan Ronald
    • Alan describes Chase as "hands-on, clever, and funny", and "appreciates the adventure she has been granted, whatever the danger."
    • Alfie is described by Alan as "the Laurel to the Eighth's Hardy."
    • The brief was to create a story with two new companions set around Earth with a family element.
  • Magic of the Sycorax by Katharine Armitage
    • Described as a base under siege story written with Warriors of the Deep in mind (from a perspective of its potential on page, she notes), she wanted the story to feel claustrophobic and to strip the Doctor and co. of all their resources and tools.
    • Katharine had fun adding to the lore and complexity of the Sycorax, as well as thinking up new "spells" for them to cast.
  • Blast from the Past by Robert Valentine
    • The Doctor "accidentally" brings Chase and Alfie to Earth in this story. Robert Valentine was tasked with including "one particular point that will take us into the new set of adventures."
    • Set in 2096, the UK has become an "authoritarian dictatorship drunk on nostalgia and the appropriation of British cultural iconography – think of Cool Britannia in jackboots."
• The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: Armageddon Dawn by Matt Fitton
  • They think of this story as being the climax of Act 3 in this series, and wanted it to be a big one.
  • Matt Fitton creates a new Dalek in this story: the Dalek Negotiator. The Doctor describes it as "a chicken-farming fox".
  • Fitton wanted to give Jodie a more traditional Dalek story, as he considers all their TV appearances in the Thirteenth Doctor's era to be "inventive and new".
• The Fugitive Doctor: Running Wild
  • Tholos by Alex Hewitt
    • The Doctor is taking her battle to the enemy, and is set on finding "the Man in the Grey Suit."
    • Cosmogon has undergone a forced regeneration at the hands of Division in hopes of making her more compliant and responsive to pressure to find the Doctor.
  • Scripture by Katharine Armitage
    • The Doctor visits an archive that backs up reality in hopes of finding the answers she needs.
    • Katharine Armitage invents a new word here ("futristory") and creates a world where tenses aren't set, which made writing difficult, but she believes it all came together.
  • Genesis of the Doctor by Rochana Patel
    • Rochana Patel says she always throws out ideas that push boundaries and she expects will be rejected. This is one of those stories.
    • Rochana notes that audiences got the idea quickly in this series that they would keep everything about the Fugitive Doctor vague and the series would never do anything of consequence. Her goal with this story is to correct that misconception and show how much they can do.
    • Rochana doesn't find battles with Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, etc. to be exciting for this Doctor, so she wrote against that. The Fugitive Doctor will be in "titanic battles at the dawn of time against unimaginable foes, with Division knee deep in the terror and chaos."
• The Seventh Doctor Adventures: Homecoming
  • The Auton Invasion of Ace by Jonathan S Powell
    • Jonathan got the idea for this story when he was kayaking in Thailand and found a crop of dead jellyfish, and realized that it was pollution from tourism and commercialism that had killed them.
  • The Leviathan by Rochana Patel
    • The brief was to revisit they heydays of the Doctor, Ace, and Hex before everything fell apart.
    • Rochana wanted to write a Doctor that was proactive, as she likes to do with later Classic Doctors, and find adventures this Doctor might want to go on outside of the classic tropes.
    • The Seventh Doctor is at the height of his powers, and has full control over his TARDIS. He chooses in this story to plunge into the unknown "on a voyage based purely on his scientific curiosity."
  • There's No Place Like Home by Jonathan Morris
    • It was Jonathan's idea to finally answer why Ace fell out with her mother so badly.
    • An older Ace tracks a strange signal to her mother's grave, and is thrown back through time to re-experience her past from both her and her mother's perspective. It's very much a character-centered piece, and is light on "plot" in the traditional Doctor Who sense.
• Vortex Mail
  • A listener writes in asking if the Thirteenth Doctor will get a new companion or meet Missy or River. Nick says "I think I have to revert to my usual, mysterious reply of, 'Just imagine...' on these questions."
  • Nick doubles down that they will be releasing The Twelfth Doctor Adventures: Run Fast, Be Kind on CD, though he doesn't give a release window.
  • No plans for Benny and Seventh Doctor stories currently.
  • No plans for Class to return.

Big Finish News

New Releases

• The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: The Greatest Train Robbery is released on 29 September (DTO: £9.99 | DTO + CD: £13.99)
  • Synopsis: The Doctor and Yaz are sent on a mission of mercy - but who or what are they supposed to be rescuing? On board a hijacked space train, the stakes get higher as the fate of the Maelin system hangs in the balance. As the Rebel factions and Sentinel guards join battle, time is running out. Will the Doctor discover the secret of the Maelin Anomaly?

Trailers

• Halloween: Doctor, Doctor, Doctor and Other Stories
• The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: The Greatest Train Robbery (Video Trailer)

Cover Reveals

• The Fugitive Doctor: Running Wild
• The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: Armageddon Dawn

News, Announcements, Videos, and Blog Posts

• A Dalek encounter for the Thirteenth Doctor! As the Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz face off against their new enemy the Aegis Protectorate, they discover they're in collusion with an older foe: the Daleks. The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: Armageddon Dawn (DTO: £9.99 | DTO + CD: £13.99) by Matt Fitton is due out in November.
  • Synopsis: The Doctor decides it's time to deal with Aegis. Taking Yaz to confront the company at the height of its powers, she finds Athena Nikos entertaining some unexpected clients. Tech genius Esskapell wants control of Aegis for his own reasons - but, more worrying, so does the 'Dalek Negotiator'...
• A killer Krynoid encounter for the Third Doctor. Story details are out for next week's Halloween: Doctor, Doctor, Doctor and Other Stories (DTO: £24.99 | DTO + CD: £35.99):
  • Doctor, Doctor, Doctor – a Seventh Doctor adventure by Stewart Pringle and Lauren Mooney In the 1980s, four physics students find themselves drawn to a strange mirror, seemingly haunted by a ghastly figure carrying a distinctive umbrella… As they experiment with the mirror, they begin to lose themselves in its mystery, as the entity within seeks to break into their world.
  • The Song of the Reed Man – a Third Doctor and Jo Jones adventure by Katherine White When the Doctor and Jo land in the marshes of Essex, in 1562, they find themselves at the dawn of England’s witch hunting mania. But lurking beneath the waterways, there lies an ancient evil, ready to hunt and feast. Can the Doctor help an isolated coven see reason, before it’s too late? 
  • Office Space – a UNIT adventure by Georgia Cook and Fio Tretheway It’s Max’s first night shift at the UNIT liaison call centre in Chester, screening emergency calls from the public for signs of extraterrestrial threat. But tonight the calls hold something far deadlier, and soon Max and his colleagues find themselves fighting for their lives to survive against the night itself. 
  • Overworked – a Fifth Doctor and Nyssa adventure by Hannah Kennedy When the TARDIS locks on to a signal calling out for a ‘doctor’, Nyssa and the Doctor are brought to a hospital on Earth in 1974. However, with the help of cleaners Harold and Sophie, they discover that something is very wrong with the patients here, something otherworldly.
• Helen Lederer joins The Fugitive Doctor. A new box set for the Fugitive Doctor is due out month. The Fugitive Doctor: Running Wild (DTO: £19.99 | DTO + CD: £29.99) will feature a regenerated Cosmogon played by Helen Lederer, as well as the Daleks.
  • Tholos by Alex Hewitt To uncover the secrets hidden within her mind, the Doctor voyages to the Temple of Lucidity – a great tholos floating through space – where a multicoloured tiger will teach her the secrets of the mystical dream-language of Oneira. But are the Arkiris Tiger’s motives pure? How has the Doctor’s dogged pursuer, Cosmogon, managed to follow her here? And why does Cosmo have a new face?
  • Scripture by Katharine Armitage In the Scripture System, temporally unbound scribes chronicle the history of the universe: everything that has been, everything that is, and everything that will be. They're the people with the answers and the Doctor has some very big questions for them. But so do the Daleks…and if the metal-plated conquerors from Skaro are ever going to dominate the universe, they’re going to have to do something about someone whose name begins with ‘D’.
  • Genesis of the Doctor by Rochana Patel All stories have a beginning, but some are shrouded in myth and legend, and lost to the mists of time…  What you need is a living witness. And a mind probe.  And the Doctor will soon have both…  This time, one way or another, she will have her answers – but is she ready for them?

 

Out of Print This Week

• The Monthly Adventures: 269. Shadow of the Daleks 1
• Bernice Summerfield: 2.1 The Secret of Cassandra

Sales and Recommendations (As a reminder, bulleted stories are recommended by me, and those in bold are my favorites)

• Destiny of the Doctor Flash Sale: Use code DOCTORS at checkout to get 25% off all stories in the range, including The Complete Adventure! (Ends 1 October)
• The Monthly Adventures 201 - 275: Up to 50% off The Monthly Adventures 201 - 275! (Ends 4 October)
  • We Are the Daleks
  • Criss-Cross
  • The Peterloo Massacre
  • The Two Masters Trilogy (And You Will Obey Me / Vampire of the Mind / The Two Masters)
  • Alien Heart / Dalek Soul
  • Time in Office
  • The Middle
• October Offer: Spend £66.66 or more to get 13% off of your order with checkout code DEAL [does not include bundles and preorders] (Ends 31 October).
• DWM632 Offer: 50% off a select number of releases. Use the discount code POTATO at checkout. (Ends 31 October)
  • The Diary of River Song Series 06
  • Classic Doctors, New Monsters 1
  • Paternoster Gang: Heritage 1
  • Wicked Sisters

Big Finish Book Club: Discounts on a specially selected Big Finish audio drama every month. October's selection: Callan Volume 01 for just £9.99 on DTO or CD + DTO.

Free Excerpt: Every month a 15 minute excerpt is chosen from an upcoming release to download for free. October's selection is The Audio Novels: The Missing Hour Part 1 (Excerpt). Just click on the link and use this month's code MALTA.

Free Day Friday: Every week, Big Finish highlights an excerpt from their Big Finish For Free! collection, and offer 25% off the full release using a unique sale code. This week's selection: Halloween: Sea Smoke and Other Stories - Party Favours (Excerpt). Use discount code KELP at checkout to save 16% off the full release of Halloween: Sea Smoke and Other Stories (Ends 4 October).

Big Finish Release Schedule

• 6 October - Halloween: Doctor, Doctor, Doctor and Other Stories
• 8 October - The Confessions of Dorian Gray: A Night at the Theatre
• 13 October - The Ninth Doctor Adventures: False Friends
• 15 October - Star Cops: Conflict: Tick Tock
• 20 October - The Third Doctor Adventures: The Planet Killers
• 22 October - The Audio Novels: The Missing Hour
• 27 October - The War Master: Deeds Without Name

Community Reviews via TARDIS Guide:

Release No.	Title	Score	Votes
10	The Fifth Doctor Adventures: Shock and Awe
	Lair of the Voltaxa	3.36/5	36 votes
	March of the Colossus	2.98/5	32 votes
	Circuit Breaker: Full Circuit	4.08/5	56 votes
	Circuit Breaker: Short Circuits
	Battleships	3.24/5	39 votes
	Get Rich or Die Trying	2.92/5	37 votes
1.8	The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: The Greatest Train Robbery	2.68/5	65 votes

What Big Finish I Was Listening To This Week: Finishing the Second Doctor Adventures and listening to all of War Widow. I also binged everything Circuit Breaker up to Kaleidoscope. Hoping I can find the time to read that and listen to Big Finish's contributions.

General Doctor Who / Non-Big Finish News

News

• None

The Rumor Mill

• ‘Doctor Who’: Multiple BBC Studios Labels Likely To Apply For Tender. BBC Studios runs their own in-house label that will be bidding on the show, but they also own several independent labels such as Clerkenwell Films (Baby Reindeer), Lookout Point (Happy Valley), and House Productions (Sherwood). They would join competitor and ITV Studios-owned outfit World Productions (Line of Duty) in bidding for the show.
• BBC Boss Says He Watched a ‘Pretty Good’ AI-Generated Episode of ‘Doctor Who’: ‘Everyone’s a Creator, Not All the Creativity Is Bad’. Matt Brittin said at the Royal Television Society conference in London: “Somebody sent me a 50-minute episode of ‘Doctor Who’ that was AI-generated the other day. It’s pretty good. I mean, it’s not going to replace humans, and we’ll come on to that. So everyone’s a creator. Not all the creativity is bad.” Brittin does not sit on the panel that will be evaluating studio pitches for the show's tender.

Media/Merchandise

• Battles in Time: Circuit Breaker Limited Edition Collector's Set is due for release in October, and is limited to only 750 sets worldwide.
• Doctor Who: Shard of Life, a Second Doctor, Zoe, and Jamie audio original read by David Troughton, is released 1 October.
• Doctor Who: The Satan Pit - Extended Movie Cut is available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD.

So, in the late 2000s life caught up with me and I had to take a break from Big Finish Doctor Who audios. I was able to return after more than a decade, and was quickly overwhelmed by how much I had missed.

So began a slow process of getting the audios I missed on CD, and since 6 is my Doctor, I’ve been focusing on getting his old releases as well as new releases of him and a few other Doctors. (And please, there’s always someone who likes to mock me for getting physical media. Don’t bother.)

I just ordered The Hour of the Cyberman, thus completing nearly all of 6’s monthly releases. Two of them, Plight of the Pimpernel and The Blood on Santa’s Claws are either unavailable or way too expensive. ($75 for Blood on Santa’s Claws last I checked!)

Outside of the monthly releases, I have most of the others. I’m currently lacking the River Song crossover and the Jago and Litefoot stories, (though I have the two Voyage audios, New World and Venus)as well as some of the BBC audios like Flight of the Sun God, River of Death and Fortunes of War.

I’m just excited to be so close to making up for lost time with my collection of classic Doctor Who. 🤠