Seventh Doctor Update
(
09/03/2012)
Ian Hogg, who memorably played Josiah Smith in the TV story
Ghost Light, has been reunited with Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred in
Protect and Survive, a new
Doctor Who audio play from Big Finish. The story, by Jonathan Morris, also stars Elizabeth Bennett (
Calendar Girls) and Peter Egan (
Ever Decreasing Circles), and kicks off a pivotal mini-series for the Seventh Doctor and his companions.
“It’s a trilogy that is full of surprise appearances, disappearances and reappearances... and a few very nasty shocks, about which I can say no more!” teases script editor Alan Barnes. “In
Protect and Survive, Ace and Hex go on the hunt for the missing Doctor – and find themselves stuck in a 1980s nuclear nightmare."
Next up is
Black and White by Matt Fitton, which guest stars Stuart Milligan (
Jonathan Creek, Richard Nixon in
Doctor Who) as Garundel. “
Black and White is our version of the saga of Beowulf – so expect Saxons, Vikings, monsters, dragons, broadswords and large quantities of mead!” says Alan. “Matt Fitton, who made his BF debut in last year's
Recorded Time, has written a very clever script... which I promise will be especially rewarding for anyone who's been paying close attention to our Seventh Doctor range.”
The trilogy ends with
Gods and Monsters by Mike Maddox and Alan Barnes, which guest stars John Standing (
Game of Thrones,
The Line of Beauty), Blake Ritson (
Upstairs Downstairs,
Doctor Who: The Lost Stories -
The Foe from the Future) and Gus Brown (
That Mitchell and Webb Look,
Laurence and Gus).
“It's very difficult to say anything much about this one without spoiling all the surprises... but it's all set in one of the strangest, most deadly environments the TARDIS has ever landed in, with the Doctor's companions facing up to some very unpalatable truths about their past and future lives.”
October sees the release of
Doctor Who - UNIT:
Dominion, an epic four-hour full cast audio play from Big Finish in which the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and his companion Raine (Beth Chalmers) attempt to prevent universal collapse – with the help of some old friends…
'This is an idea that was suggested by my trusty line producer David Richardson,' explains executive producer Nicholas Briggs. 'We'd had such fun doing some stories with the character of Elizabeth Klein and the Seventh Doctor. The whole alternative future/history/Nazi aspect of her character is fascinating and Tracey Childs, who plays her, is just brilliant. In the final story of that mini-season, the Doctor and the Time Lords sort of re-jig Klein's history and she ends up being the scientific advisor for UNIT, in the Doctor's absence. So, we dared to imagine a new series of
UNIT. And this is the result. Almost two years in the making and nearly a year to go until it's actually released. That's production schedules for you.'
As for what listeners can expect, Nick explains, 'It really is an epic. It's around the length of the classic UNIT adventure
The Invasion; but it's not just one invasion going on here. There are aliens galore and all sorts of bizarre inter-dimensional shenanigans.'
Guest starring in
UNIT:
Dominion is Alex Macqueen, best known for his roles in
The Thick of It and
The Inbetweeners, who will be playing a pivotal role as… 'another Doctor!' explains Nick. 'Well, actually, that's all the explanation I'm giving at this stage. Alex is a superb actor and quite a devotee of
Doctor Who. I remembered hearing and loving his performance in our
Lost Stories release
Paradise 5. When you hear a performance as good as that, you kind of keep it in your back pocket for a very special role in the future. So when this came up, I knew Alex was the man for the job, and we were extremely fortunate to get him.'