Disclaimer: I downloaded the free excerpt from the Big Finish website, but the app hasn’t been updated yet and Apple Music won’t let me screen record from my library, so I opted for OneDrive’s media player which is why there’s no picture with the video.

Introduction

Hello all and welcome back to the Big Finish Podcast Notes! Hope you've all had a lovely week. Happy Fourth of July to my fellow Americans! What a wonderful and unproblematic era for the 250th anniversary of our country to land in...

I figured out the URL and code for the Twelfth Doctor Adventures excerpt (see below), so I gave it a listen this morning. I think Culshaw’s got the shape of it, but every line delivered is more of a shout than the softer tones I think Capaldi would go for, which brings out some of the gruffness in Culshaw’s voice. Perhaps this was the story they recorded first and there’s still some nerves to be worked out, but I have just a few more reservations following a listen than I would have liked.

Podcast

No podcast until 31 July.

Randomoid Selectotron: 25% off a random Big Finish release every week! Just click on this link and enter the code BUCKUP. 26 June's selection stands until the podcast comes back: The Companion Chronicles: 7.6 The Child

Vortex #209

• The Twelfth Doctor Adventures: Run Fast Be Kind
  • Alfie Shaw confirms that these six episodes are half of a full twelve-episode run, and the final story The Second Death of the Daleks will tee up what's to come in the second half, with the villain of the series being revealed -- but it's not a Dalek, Cybermen, or any manner of Time Lord. It's a new creation with strong ties to "an existing Doctor Who thing."
  • Wings of Steel by Alfie Shaw
    • Wings of Steel is the middle chapter in a trilogy of stories that pick up where the last left off. The trilogy will start with The Beautiful and the Damned and carry through Duty of Care.
    • The story is about the mundanity of evil, how "horrific crimes [are] perpetrated by people who view their actions as mundane -- the equivalent of filling in a spreadsheet."
  • Duty of Care by Christian Markham
    • Alfie Shaw explains that Ash's relationship with the Doctor doesn't necessarily strengthen over time. We see in Series 10 that the Doctor seems to have endless mercy and forgiveness "if they're in the right mood" (such as with Missy), but Ash might have a limit to what he's willing to forgive, and this story will examine how that affects their dynamic.
    • An interesting quote from Alfie: "I’m fascinated by the limitations and contradictions of the new series Doctors. Their actions in the Time War muddies the character. They’ve gained a sort of biblical edge, like a fallen angel who is doing everything they can to retain their former glory and we as the audience let them, because the narrative says they are the hero and in the classic series they were – mostly – that hero. We want this character to be the hero that they’re striving to be. In Duty of Care we start to examine that through Ash’s point of view.”
  • The Second Death of the Daleks by Alfie Shaw
    • My favorite thing I've read about this set: this story is inspired by an episode of the American TV show Psych -- one of my other all-time favorite TV shows! Alfie Shaw explains that there's an episode in the last season where they decided to do a tongue-in-cheek remake of an episode from Season 1 where they change the killer and let you decide which version of the episode is "canon". Similarly, this episode is a remake of the first in this set, except now a Dalek is involved.
• The Sixth Doctor Adventures: Reunion
  • The key to this set is that "Turlough isn't sure he can trust himself and is afraid of the challenges that lie ahead of him".
  • Save the Date by Matthew Sweet
    • This story is a campy story that deals with a mysterious dating agency in 60's London, and has a computer that isn't a computer. Someone feeds a card through a reader on what they believe is a machine, but it's actually taken by someone behind a wall who will go through index cards by hand to find a suitable match for the person coming in.
    • Peri will be doing all the work while the Doctor and Turlough go to see shows, but they have to hide this from Peri.
  • Poison Reach by Paul Sutton
    • Poison Reach is a darker sci-fi tale, set on a space station that uses radiation from an asteroid called Poison to power itself.
    • This story is written by Paul Sutton, who has only written nine stories for Big Finish, the last of which being in 2010. He was quite surprised when Jacqueline Rayner emailed asking him to write this story, but was pleased to do so.
  • Broken Home by AK Benedict and Guy Adams
    • Side note -- I'm only just now learning that AK Benedict is a woman (Alexandra), and she's married to Guy Adams!
    • AK was specifically requested by Colin Baker to write a story in the set. When she fell ill halfway through writing this story, Guy Adams took over.
    • This story is very much an ending to the story started in the previous box set.
    • The story centers around Turlough grappling with "his identity, strengths, cowardice, and heroism -- and the Doctor's belief in our capacity for change."
    • AK says there's a line she wrote that "sums up my view of Sixie and the Doctor in general. See if you can hear it!"
• The Eleventh Doctor Adventures: Hidden in Plain Sight
  • Tyranny of the Judoon and Gambit of the Judoon by Ben Tedds
    • Tyranny of the Judoon is inspired to Line of Duty, as the Doctor and Eleanor "join forces with a journalist trying to expose police corrupton on Hefestis, a low-tech world the Judoon have taken a mysterious interest in." Gambit of the Judoon sees the stakes escalate as action makes its way to the Shadow Proclamation.
    • Ben Tedds approached Eleanor's character by "playing to her corporate strengths and instincts but also showing the limitations to her worldview."
    • Hefestis is described as "a world where antiquity met Wizard of Oz steampunk".
  • Wanted Dead and Alive by Beth Axford
    • Beth Axford felt that writing The Tourist Trap has given her an insight to how to write for audio as opposed to prose, and feels that has helped her craft a strong story here.
    • Beth "wanted to explore the experience of a companion having their voice changed and their agency taken away. How does that affect a person? Especially a woman. And what would that type of hell look like for Eleanor?"
    • This story revisits Lake Silencio as an old friend is desperately trying to save the Doctor. As the Doctor is dealing with this and trying to unravel that mystery, he realizes that Eleanor may be hiding something from him.
• The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Dark Tides by Tim Foley
  • As we knew already the Powell Estate arc has ended, but it sounds like we won't be returning anytime soon, as the Doctor is taking Rose back out into the stars to explore all of space and time.
  • Tim Foley wanted to meld a certain period with a sci-fi setting, in this case writing "medieval knights on a quest exploring the edge of the universe."
  • After the domestics of the Powell Estate, Foley was set on taking the Doctor and Rose as far away from that as possible, putting them in "something quite gothic and grizzly [that] feels a little different for them."
  • Foley found great joy in writing some "'orrible deaths" for audio, and says of the villain: "There's an unusual concept behind the main menace here that I've been sitting on for a while..."
• The Second Doctor Adventures: The Haunted Windmill by Alan Barnes
  • The Doctor will find himself exiled to an Earth he doesn't recognize -- one where he'd never landed in 1963.
  • While all three stories in this set were written by Alan Barnes, it was important to him that each adventure was very different from the others. He describes The Haunted Windmill" as something inspired by A Hitch In Time with Patrick Troughton; The Crystal Ship as being akin to the Quatermass Experiment; and The Hungry Glass as "much more fantastical, riffing on bits from a couple of installments of the amicus horror anthologies."
  • This box set will see a major recast -- Becky Wright will be playing Victoria Waterfield, with this box set serving as a "soft launch" of her take on the character.
  • There will also be two new major characters for the range going forward introduced here - Bertie and Lucius. Details aren't given as to who these characters are.
• Vortex Mail
  • A listener writes in asking about a few releases that we were promised vinyl editions of, including Judoon in Chains. He asks if they've heard about a company called Elastic Stage, who are basically Redbubble for vinyl (does that reference translate to the UK?). Nick says it's something they'll look into.
  • A somewhat pointed and personal email I'm a bit surprised they published regarding some feelings about lack in variety of Time Lord used in Dark Gallifrey (too much Master, basically).
  • No plans to do a Jackson Lake box set.
  • "Never say never" response to a listener asking whether future UNIT: Eras box sets might revisit the 2004 series, or time periods set just before it.

Big Finish News

New Releases

• The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Thirteen O'Clock is released on 29 June (DTO: £9.99 | DTO + CD: £11.99)
  • Synopsis: The Doctor and Rose return once more to the Powell Estate, but now the Doctor has a dreadful suspicion about the malevolent power that keeps pulling them back. The estate is shrouded in a strange fog, most of the residents have vanished, and the sinister Mrs Crook guards the ominous Flat 13. What's more, Saffron Windrose has arrived in search of the Doctor, because once he helped her face a nightmarish entity at a railway station called Underbridge... and it's happening again.

Trailers

• The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Dark Tides

Cover Reveals

• The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Dark Tides

News, Announcements, Videos, and Blog Posts

• Official News
  • Tides are high for the Ninth Doctor. Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper head into deep space in The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Dark Tides (DTO: £9.99 | DTO + CD: £11.99), a brand-new full-cast audio drama, due for release August 2026.
    • Synopsis: A long-lost ship, the Vesterbold, has returned to normal space. And the Knights of Atlas seek her treasure. But two strangers have joined their expedition – the Doctor and Rose, who warn of danger. For the Vesterbold has drifted free of the Dark Tides at the edge of the universe. And she may have brought something back with her. Not even the bravest knights are ready for the evil which lies inside...
  • Less than 100 tickets remain for Big Finish Day 2027. Buy now!
  • Justin Richards, prolific Doctor Who writer, has passed away at the age of 64. He wrote many novels in the VNA, EDA, and PDA ranges in the 90s and 2000s, as well as several New Series Adventures. At Big Finish, he was a writer and script editor known for his work on ranges such as the Monthly Adventures, Gallifrey, the Third and Fourth Doctor Adventures, and Jago and Litefoot. He is survived by his wife and two sons, one of whom (Julian Richards) is also a writer for Big Finish and is known for his work on the Short Trips range, as well as recent entries such as The Story Demon on The Sixth Doctor Adventures: The Cosmos and Mrs Clarke, and Legacy of Blood from It's a Wonderful War and Other Stories.
  • The Big Finish website has regenerated! Those of us who were there at the time remember the pains of the last launch of a new website, but this honestly seems like a 2026 version of the existing website rather than a complete overhaul, which I'm all for. Some key new features, in my opinion:
    • The search function has been greatly improved, and now searches across story descriptions too.
    • The news section is now searchable, which is nice for me because sometimes I like to check old articles for info but have to scroll and scroll to find them.
    • Light and dark mode available at the press of a button, or on mobile will match your system settings.
    • New payment options, including Apple Pay and Google Pay
    • Ability to view prices in the currency of your choice. This will be mega helpful for me since I'm in the US, as when I keep track of prices in my spreadsheet or report them to you guys here I've always either had to convert from USD on any given day, or use Incognito Mode and a VPN to make it think I was in the UK. This will be far more convenient.
• Unofficial News
  • Per the customer support team, Big Finish moved warehouses last week (news courtesy of u/forwardishdirection), which is likely why no post has been dispatched in the last week (in addition to the launch of the new website). The warehouse is open and systems are up as of Wednesday, so they will begin catching up on orders.

Out of Print This Week

• None

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

• The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Up to 50% off the Ninth Doctor Adventures, including pre-order rollback discounts on the current series! (Ends 5 July 2026)
  • The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Respond to All Calls
  • The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Old Friends
  • The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Back to Earth
  • The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Star-Crossed (Ninth Doctor and River Song)
  • The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Snare (First Ninth Doctor and Rose)
• Originals, Classics, and Drama Showcase: Up to 60% off selected Big Finish releases from their non-franchise ranges (Ends 5 July 2026)

Big Finish Book Club: Discounts on a specially selected Big Finish audio drama every month. July's selection: Dark Shadows: Blood and Fire (50th Anniversary Special) for just £3.99 on DTO.

Free Excerpt: Every month a 15 minute excerpt is chosen from an upcoming release to download for free. July's selection is The Twelfth Doctor Adventures: Run Fast Be Kind: The Second Death (excerpt). Just click on the link and use this month's code BARD.

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. Doesn't look like Big Finish are doing one this week, but I will update this if they do.

Big Finish Release Schedule (No newsletter yet in July, so dates are unknown)

• 7 July - The Seventh Doctor Adventures: Fixers
• 9 July - Dark Gallifrey: The Decayed Master Part 1
• 15 July - The Twelfth Doctor Adventures: Run Fast Be Kind: The Second Death
• 16 July - Rutans vs Sontarans: Peace at Last
• 22 July - The Twelfth Doctor Adventures: Run Fast Be Kind: The Broken Man
• 23 July - The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: The Hallamshire Incident
• 28 July - Space Security Service: Bret Vyon Lives!
• 29 July - The Twelfth Doctor Adventures: Run Fast Be Kind: The Beautiful and the Damned

Community Reviews via TARDIS Guide:

Release No.	Title	Score	Votes
5.3	Dark Gallifrey: The Meddling Monks Part 3
	Monky Puzzle	4.37/5	97 votes
	Monky About	4.42/5	96 votes
1.3	Rutans vs Sontarans: Grave Moon	3.14/5	66 votes
15	Gallifrey: War Room 3: Loyalties
	Propaganda	3.63/5	52 votes
	Resistance	4.46/5	52 votes
	Hope	4.51/5	46 votes
	Eye for an Eye	3.97/5	43 votes
4.6	The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Thirteen O'Clock	3.62/5	73 votes

What Big Finish I Was Listening To This Week: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Thirteen O'Clock, The Meddling Monks Part 3, and Planet Krynoid: The Harvest.

General Doctor Who / Non-Big Finish News

News

• Scripts for The War Between The Land And The Sea have been uploaded to the BBC's Writers' Script Library.

The Rumor Mill

• None

Media/Merchandise

• The Cybermen from Dark Water is released by Character Options on 29 June.
• Doctor Who Battles in Time: Obliterator Set of Five Limited Edition Packs is available for pre-order and is due to ship in August.

It’s a packed month with the start of both Turpin and the Twelfth Doctor Adventures, as well as the Decayed Master’s entry of Dark Gallifrey. Rutans vs Sontarans comes to an end. And Bret Vyon is alive? All this and more coming this month!

02 July - Turpin: Essex Pistols

07 July - Seventh Doctor: Fixers

09 July - Dark Gallifrey: The Decayed Master, Part 1

15 July - Twelfth Doctor: The Second Death

16 July - Rutans vs Sontarans: Peace at Last

22 July - Twelfth Doctor: The Broken Man

23 July - Thirteenth Doctor: The Hallamshire Incident

28 July - Space Security Service: Bret Vyon Lives!

29 July - Twelfth Doctor: The Beautiful and the Damned

30 July - Dark Shadows: Return to Collinwood & Vengeance at Collinwood