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Big Finish Doctor Who Audio at 25

So, Big Finish announce tickets for a LIVE AUDIENCE STAGE RECORDING of a new drama starring Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor and India Fisher's Charley accompanied by Alex Macqueen's Master... and I'm too ill to go.

F. M. L.

What a way to celebrate the 25 year milestone, though. Thinking back to those early Eight stories... wow. Just wow.

Hi, I'm Nym

She/her. Old-skool fangirl. Fanfiction writer on AO3.

Sideblogs: Cats | Birbs

About Nym

Lifelong fannish for sci/fantasy media, mainly TV. Fanfiction is my main passion, so I'm into character analysis and meta. My fanfiction tends to be introspective, angsty, and smutty/'shippy in a character-rich sort of way.

Tumblr

Back on Tumblr after a long break, because I finally got my act together and watched Supernatural, so I can't get spoilered for it any more!

Fandoms

I'm currently giddy/blogging about Doctor Who, the Good Omens TV adaptation, Supernatural, which I just watched for the first time, the Marvel MCU, and Once Upon a Time. I never stop loving my older fandoms, though.

Earlier fandoms: Robin of Sherwood, Beauty and the Beast (TV series), Blake's 7, Quantum Leap, Back to the Future, Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Highlander: The Series, VR.5, Petshop of Horrors, The Tomorrow People, Star Wars, Star Trek(s), Stargate(s), more Doctor Who.

Links

My fandom website: https://nym.onl

My fanfic on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nym/profile Fanfic set as visible to logged-in users only. If you need an AO3 code to be able to read there (mine or anyone else's work), don't hesitate to ask. Contact details are on my profile page there.

My Dreamwidth blog: https://nym-wibbly.dreamwidth.org/

I like to think that one of the things about the Eighth Doctor fandoms, is that we may be small, but we’ve all shared the deep and residing trauma that is Scherzo.

AND HIS EPISODE TITLE IS: "PUCCINI AND THE DOCTOR"

You're being exiled to a deserted island. You may take one Big Finish title. What CD do you pick?

Fate worse than death time, eh? Ah well...

The first disk of Doom Coalition? Eight, Liv, Helen, the Eleven. Might just keep my sanity intact as I struggle to subsist.

[This is very cruel and unusual punishment. I object!]

New Better Watch Out/Fairytale of Salzburg picture just dropped! 😍😍

Is this a good time to talk about the Liv/Helen height difference again? 🫠🫠

So you want to listen to Main Range?

Great! I know how intimidating it can be to try and start listening, so I’ve tried to compile a guide to the main story arcs. More under the cut (minor spoiler warning)!

Also known as the Monthly Adventures, it’s a great way to get into the DWEU and definitely one I would recommend. It is also accessible, with the first 50 stories available on Spotify, or available to buy from Big Finish or second-hand fairly easily (or, you know, via less-legitimate means).

Main Range involves stories from the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors, and various TV and original companions. If you are a fan of eighties and nineties Who, then Main Range might be for you! My general recommendations for people are to pick a specific doctor AND companion(s) to listen to and go from there. Although, if you’re looking for a first story to try, why not start at the very beginning (a very good place to start) with the Sirens of Time.

While many Main Range stories are stand-alone, there are also some overarching plots, which are actually very companion-focussed. Trying to understand these arcs and listen to them in order can be intimidating for people looking to get into listening, however its probably simpler than you’d think.

To help you out with all of this, I have done my best to write down the stories that are probably best listened to in order, with a bit of an explanation about how it fits into TV continuity if relevant. The order is pretty easy to follow as it is pretty much just in release order. No, Big Finish did not intentionally try to confuse their audience by releasing stories out of order (okay maybe they did just a little). However I have provided the story number in brackets [like so] for clarity.

Also, to be clear, all of the arcs are self-contained, so seperate arcs don't have to be listened to in the order I've written them down in, unless I've specified otherwise (like with the Evelyn and Hex storyline).

Again, it is not super important to listen to things in order. If you are getting bored with a story or with listening in order then feel free to skip things. Maybe you could just skim the Tardis Wiki page for the plot if you like. To help, I’ve also marked any of the super plot-heavy stories with an asterix. Most other stories, especially ones that I don’t mention here are standalone and can be listened to however you like.

Also feel free to let me know if I miss anything! Happy listening :)

Fifth Doctor:

The Erimem Arc

This takes place after Planet of Fire and before Caves of Androzani, and features the Fifth Doctor, Peri and an original character called Erimem - an ancient Egyptian princess. This is a pretty good arc and one I would definitely recommend. Please feel free to skip Nekromanteia though it’s genuinely terrible.

[24] The Eye of the Scorpion*

[38] The Church and the Crown

[41] Nekromanteia

[56] The Axis of Insanity

[59] The Roof of The World

[69] Three’s a Crowd

[71] The Council of Nicaea

[81] The Kingmaker

[99] Son of the Dragon

[102a] The Mind’s Eye

[104] The Bride of Peladon*

The Key 2 Time

A trilogy featuring the Fifth Doctor and an original companion called Amy which acts as a sequel to the Key to Time. It is set between Planet of Fire and Caves of Androzani. The Fifth Doctor meets Amy again in the boxset Wicked Sisters.

[117] The Judgement of Isskar

[118] The Destroyer of Delights

[119] The Chaos Pool

The Stockbridge trilogy

Featuring The Doctor and Nyssa and set in the fictional town of Stockbridge which was first introduced in the Fifth Doctor’s DWM comics. Knowledge of that is not at all essential however. Set between Time Flight and Arc of Infinity.

[127] Castle of Fear

[128] The Eternal Summer

[129] Plague of the Daleks

The Older Nyssa Arc

This is set between Enlightenment and the King’s Demons and features Tegan, Turlough and an older Nyssa - some years after the events of Terminus.

[136] Cobwebs*

[137] The Whispering Forest

[138] The Cradle of the Snake

[146] Heroes of Sontar

[147] Kiss of Death

[148] Rat Trap

[159] The Emerald Tiger

[160] The Jupiter Conjunction

[161] The Butcher of Brisbane

[172] Eldrad Must Die!

[173] The Lady of Mercia

[174] Prisoners of Fate

[195] Mistfall

[196] Equilibrium

[197] The Entropy Plague*

The Hannah Arc

A very short trilogy featuring the Doctor, Nyssa and another original companion - Hannah - an Edwardian woman. Set sometime between Time Flight and Arc of Infinity.

[185] Moonflesh

[186] Tomb Ship

[187] Masquerade

The Season 19 Gang Arc

Set during the events of Season 19, these stories feature the original gang of the Doctor, Adric, Tegan and Nyssa.

[221] The Star Men

[222] The Contingency Club

[223] Zaltys

[234] Kingdom of Lies

[235] Ghost Walk

[236] Serpent in the Silver Mask

The Kamelion Arc

There’s not much to say about this apart from that these three are probably best listened to in this order? Set between the King's Demons and the Five Doctors (i think) and featuring Tegan, Turlough and Kamelion.

[247] Devil in the Mist

[248] Black Thursday/Power Game

[249] The Kamelion Empire

The Marc Arc

These stories follow the Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa, and an original companion Marc - a man from ancient Greece. It is set sometime between the end of Arc of Infinity and Mawdryn Undead.

[256] Tartarus*

[257] Interstitial/Feast of Fear

[258] Warzone/Conversion*

[266]Ghost Station/The Bridge Master/What Lurks Down Under/The Dancing Plague

[267]Thin Time/Madquake*

Sixth Doctor:

The Evelyn Arc

One of my favourite arcs with some great stories, and maybe where things get a little confusing. This arc features the Sixth Doctor and an original companion, Evelyn - an historian from modern-day England. Set sometime before the Sixth Doctor meets Mel I think.

This arc set up some story aspects which are explored further with the Seventh Doctor’s stories - specifically, the Forge trilogy. There are a few ways you could listen to these but to keep it simple I would also recommend listening to the Seventh Doctor story the Harvest before you listen to Thicker Than Water, and then A Death in the Family once you’ve listened to all the Evelyn stories AND the Forty-Five anthology. This could also be listened to concurrently in release order with the Hex storyline which I’ll outline a bit later.

[6] The Marian Conspiracy*

[9] The Spectre of Lanyan Moor

[11] The Apocalypse Element

[22] Bloodtide

[23] Project: Twilight*

[37] The Sandman

[40] Jubilee

[43] Doctor Who and the Pirates

[45] Project: Lazarus*

[57] Arrangements for War*

[58] The Harvest (7th Doctor)*

[60] Medicinal Purposes

[73] Thicker Than Water*

[100] 100 BC/My Own Private Wolfgang/Bedtime Story/The 100 Days of the Doctor*

[143] The Crimes of Thomas Brewster

[144] The Feast of Axos

[145] Industrial Evolution

[115] Forty-Five anthology (7th Doctor)*

[140] A Death in the Family (7th Doctor)*

You can theoretically listen to the following before or after Thicker Than Water if you want - they are sort of standalone stories with the Doctor and Evelyn:

[78] Pier Pressure

[84] The Nowhere Place

[108] Assassin in the Limelight

The Charley Arc 2.0

This is best listened to once you’ve listened to the Charley Arc with the Eighth Doctor. Featuring the Sixth Doctor and Charley.

[105] The Condemned*

[111] The Doomwood Curse

[114] Brotherhood of the Daleks

[116] The Raincloud Man

[124] Patient Zero

[125] Paper Cuts

[126] Blue Forgotten Planet*

The Flip and Constance Arc

Featuring the Sixth Doctor and two original companions, Flip - a girl from modern-day England - and Constance - a woman from World War II. Set sometime before the Doctor meets Mel.

[143] The Crimes of Thomas Brewster*

[156] The Curse of Davros

[157] The Fourth Wall

[158] Wirrn Isle

[182] Antidote to Oblivion

[183] The Brood of Erys

[225] Vortex Ice/Cortex Fire

[184] Scavenger*

[204] Criss-Cross*

[205] Planet of the Rani

[206] Shield of the Jotunn

[218] Order of the Daleks

[219] Absolute Power

[273] Colony of Fear

[220] Quicksilver*

[231] The Behemoth

[232] The Middle

[233] Static

[263] Cry of the Vultriss

[264] Scorched Earth

[265] The Lovecraft Invasion

The Older Peri trilogy

Featuring the Doctor and Peri from after she marries King Yrcanos.

[192] The Widow’s Assassin*

[193] Masters of Earth

[194] The Rani Elite

Seventh Doctor:

The Hex Arc

A great arc that sort of starts with Evelyn’s arc. I would not recommend starting this until after you’ve listened to Project: Lazarus, but maybe at least listen to The Harvest before Thicker Than Water (no stress if you don’t want to juggle listening to arcs concurrently). Features the Seventh Doctor, Ace, and an original companion from 2020s London - Hex. Set after the end of Classic Who.

[58] The Harvest*

[67] Dreamtime

[74] LIVE 34

[79] Night Thoughts

[82] The Settling

[89] No Man’s Land

[92] Nocturne

[106] The Dark Husband

[115] False Gods/Order of Simplicity/Casualties of War/The Word Lord*

[120] The Magic Mousetrap

[121] Enemy of the Daleks

[122] The Angel of Scutari*

[139] Project: Destiny*

[140] A Death in the Family*

[141] Lurkers at Sunlight’s Edge

[149] Robophobia (side note: this is our introduction to Liv Chenka who is one of the Eighth Doctor’s main companions from Dark Eyes onwards).

[151] The Doomsday Quatrain

[152] House of Blue Fire*

[162] Protect and Survive*

[163] Black and White*

[164] Gods and Monsters*

[181] Afterlife*

[189] Revenge of the Swarm

[190] Mask of Tragedy

[191] Signs and Wonders

Also at some point before or after the Angel of Scutari you can listen to the following as they are standalone stories:

[226] Shadow Planet/World Apart

[245] Muse of Fire

[268] The Flying Dutchman/Displaced

The Klein Arc

An Arc featuring The Seventh Doctor and an original character, Klein - a woman from 1940s Germany. Set after the end of Classic Who.

[25] Colditz*

[130] A Thousand Tiny Wings

[131] Klein’s Story/Survival of the Fittest

[132] The Architects of History

[175] Persuasion

[176] Starlight Robbery

[177] Daleks Among Us

Klein is also involved in the final story of the Daniel trilogy which spans the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors.

Eighth Doctor:

The Charley Arc 1.0

The best Main Range arc in my opinion. If you listen to anything, listen to this. Featuring the Eighth Doctor and original companion Charley, with another original companion C’rizz in Part 2 of the arc.

Part 1:

[16] Storm Warning*

[17] Sword of Orion

[18] The Stones of Venice

[19] Minuet in Hell

[28] Invaders from Mars

[29] The Chimes of Midnight

[30] Seasons of Fear

[31] Embrace the Darkness

[32] The Time of the Daleks

[33] Neverland*

[50] Zagreus*

Part 2:

[52] Scherzo*

[53] The Creed of the Kromon* (TW for sexual assault in the Creed of the Kromon. Feel free to stop listening after episode one or just read the Tardis Wiki page for relevant plot info)

[54] The Natural History of Fear

[55] The Twilight Kingdom

[61] Faith Stealer

[62] The Last

[63] Caerdroia

[64] The Next Life*

[72] Terror Firma

[75] Scaredy Cat

[77] Other Lives

[80] Time Works

[83] Something Inside

[88] Memory Lane

[101] Absolution*

[103] The Girl Who Never Was*

The Mary Shelley arc

A short arc featuring the Eighth Doctor and Mary Shelley! Yes, that Mary Shelley.

[123d] Mary’s Story*

[153] The Silver Turk

[154] The Witch from the Well

[155] Army of Death

Multi-doctor arcs:

These are mostly trilogies featuring stories which Big Finish probably mostly intended to be listened to together.

The Forge trilogy

Relevant to the Evelyn and Hex arcs - best listened to in conjunction with the rest of their stories.

[23] Project: Twilight (Sixth Doctor)

[45] Project: Lazarus (Sixth Doctor/Seventh Doctor)

[139] Project: Destiny (Seventh Doctor)

The Villains Trilogy

[47] Omega (Fifth Doctor)

[48] Davros (Sixth Doctor)

[49] Master (Seventh Doctor)

The Harvest/TheReaping/The Gathering trilogy

^^^ I’m naming it that because the other name I’d give it would be a big spoiler lol (if you saw me forget the Harvest out of this no you didn’t)

[58] The Harvest (Seventh Doctor)

[86] The Reaping (Sixth Doctor)

[87] The Gathering (Fifth Doctor)

The Brewster Arc

Thomas Brewster is also vaguely relevant to the events of Stranded with the Eighth Doctor but it’s not really important.

[107] The Haunting of Thomas Brewster (Fifth Doctor)

[113] Time Reef/A Perfect World (Fifth Doctor)

[143] The Crimes of Thomas Brewster (Sixth Doctor)

[144] The Feast of Axos (Sixth Doctor)

[145] Industrial Evolution (Sixth Doctor)

The Sorsha trilogy

[165] The Burning Prince (Fifth Doctor)

[166] The Acheron Pulse (Sixth Doctor)

[167] The Shadow Heart (Seventh Doctor)

The 1963 trilogy

These don’t really have an overarching plot as far as I can remember, they were just released as part of the 50th anniversary.

[178] 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men (Fifth Doctor)

[179] 1963: The Space Race (Sixth Doctor)

[180] 1963: The Assassination Games (Seventh Doctor)

The Companions Trilogy

[198] The Defectors (Seventh Doctor)

[199] Last of the Cybermen (Sixth Doctor)

[200] The Secret History (Fifth Doctor)

The Master trilogy

[211] And You Will Obey Me (Fifth Doctor)

[212] Vampire of the Mind (Sixth Doctor)

[213] The Two Masters (Seventh Doctor)

The Daniel trilogy

[237] The Helliax Rift (Fifth Doctor)

[240] Hour of the Cybermen (Sixth Doctor)

[244] Warlock’s Cross (Seventh Doctor) (Klein is in this one if you want to listen to her arc beforehand)

Unedited Dark Eyes, volume II.

Volume I

You posted that you'd choose Doom Coalition for your desert island disc. Is it your favourite BF story of all time? Can you share your favourite which doesn't feature the doctor?

I do love Doom Coalition! I chose that first disc for my lonely exile because of the variety it packs in - a bit of Gallifrey, introducing the Eleven, introducing Helen, established Eight-with-Liv, and four very different stories. Doom Coalition definitely is among my favourites, and it's a set I've listened to more than most, but I'd hate to have to pick just one favourite from the whole range. My shortlist of 'ones to revisit every few months' is pretty long now!

As for a fave non-Doctor title... hmm. I adore The Bekdel Test, from the Diary of River Song #5 set - the one where River meets four different incarnations of the Master. They're all great stories on that set, but that Missy one makes me ridiculously happy!

The third story on the first Missy set grew on me slowly to become a huge favourite, too - The Broken Clock.

One of the new series UNIT stories really stood out for me - Invocation from the UNIT: Encounters set.

I get a big kick out of Masterful, the multi-Master special released for the Master's 50th anniversary.

And I'm a huge fan of the original run of Gallifrey - series 1 to 3. I've continued to follow the saga over the years, of course, but I've listened to the original run of stories over and over. I particularly like the second story from the first series, Square One.

C'mon BBC, Universal, etc. Dr. "Amazing Grace" Holloway didn't go to see Madame Butterfly live, got paged because she was on call, and run down the hallway in slow motion to "Un Bel Di" whilst wearing her electric blue ballgown on December 30, 1999 for her to be excluded from the Puccini episode in the upcoming Eight boxset.

oh god oh fuck nothing about scherzo was remotely exeggerated, it is so much more devastating than i thought and im only halfway through

So... any DW fans out there that I can talk into starting the Eighth Doctor audios? This corner of the fandom needs more members!

You will like it if:

You like the Eighth Doctor (duh!)

You like good storytelling (some of Big Finish's best work!)

You like a good mix of Classic and NuWho (Classic and NuWho Monsters, Gallifrey, River, Missy...)

You have a thing about hot middle-aged actresses (Nicola Walker, Hattie Morahan, Alex Kingston and Michelle Gomez in the same series? SEND HELP!)

You're in need of a new wlw ship to obsess over (I mean, Liv and Helen are RIGHT THERE!)

If any or all of those apply to you, please give the Eighth Doctor audio range a go and hit me up to talk about it! 🤪

Photos from The Stuff of Legend Live final dress rehearsal from Steven Ricks on Instagram.

**hug** I'm sorry you couldn't do the live BF. Do you remember which title you heard first of all from them?

Thank you. I'll stop sulking before long. Not the first time I've been too ill to see something cool, just... you know. Feeling sorry for myself! I'm about to curl up with the studio recording of The Stuff of Legend.

My first ever Big Finish... I think the first The Tomorrow People release from 2001 was the first one I owned, because I remember having to trek to the sci-fi shop in the nearest big city to buy it.

The first I heard with friends was before that though... must've been Doctor Who, The Sirens of Time with Colin Baker, Peter Davison, and Sylvester McCoy. 1999? It was a big deal. The old Dalek Empire series was immensely popular with the local fanboys, so I got a lend of those pretty soon after release.

It was the Eighth Doctor and Charley main range storyline that sent me completely feral, though. I came in after the anniversary titles, so caught up with everything up to Scherzo in one binge. That and a couple of the Unbound titles - Full Fathom Five and He Jests At Scars. Then Gallifrey. 2003, 2004? Feral for Big Finish ever since.

For posterity and everyone who doesn’t have an Instagram because I haven’t seen this on here yet :]

Bliss?

Can anyone who's into Big Finish tell me what happened to Bliss? Did I miss a Thing somewhere, or did she just vanish after the Davros one?

Big Finish are pimping and special-offering Gary Russell's pick of the top 25 titles today. Some great discounts on the main/monthly range, Bernice Summerfield, Gallifrey, and other ranges.

A few of my faves and a few of the ones I've never re-listened-to ever because they didn't float my boat. Plus one I managed to miss completely. Interesting mix!

There’s video, folks…

"I see the familiar view. The remains of a great civilization, now defeated, broken. Fires gutter in the rain. The survivors of the planet Nixyce VII will go hungry and cold again tonight." - Dark Eyes 2.1: "The Traitor"

A couple of gorgeous photos of Paul from last weekend from the official DW Twitter.