Big Finish News: TenToo and Jackie Tyler featured in two short stories

The Meta-Crisis Doctor and Jackie Tyler will return in two Doctor Who: Short Trips, to be released by Big Finish next year!

Just this weekend, Big Finish made quite the interesting announcement regarding their Short Trips range. For those of you who don’t know, Short Trips are short stories set in the Doctor Who universe. Originally told in print, Big Finish are now telling brand new stories for the audio medium. An actor who has played a Doctor or companion in the past usually narrates the stories, which tend to be half an hour long.

Next year, in March and May, the Short Trips range will focus on two key characters to the New Series. Camille Coduri will be narrating The Siege of Big Ben and Flight into Hull! Naturally, the stories will both feature Jackie Tyler. But, while they will feature a Doctor, it’s not one we know much about. Since both stories are set after the events of Journey’s End, the stories will take place in the parallel universe first introduced in Rise of the Cybermen. They’ll also feature the Meta-Crisis Doctor, a half-human duplicate created from both the hand of the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble.

Ian Atkins, producer of the Short Trips range, explains further in Big Finish’s official announcement

"The Short Trips range always offers a nice chance to nip about and look at eras and people it’s harder to visit with other ranges. As soon as I’d heard Camille was happy to return to the role with Big Finish, I started talking to Joe Lidster about whether we could visit Pete’s World and see how things are going after Journey’s End. We got permission from Russell T Davies, and then Joe’s imagination took flight – as indeed do the Doctor and Jackie at one point – and came up with two exciting, funny and sad tales which Camille just knocked out of the park."

The right medium

These two stories sound incredibly exciting, for several reasons. First of all, the Meta-Crisis Doctor has always been an interesting character. Although if I’m honest, perhaps not quite interesting enough to get his own spin-off series. When it comes to Doctor Who, if David Tennant’s in it, then the Tenth Doctor himself will always be the best role for him. Plus, the Meta-Crisis Doctor ultimately got the happy ending with Rose. Once a happy ending’s been given, it can be hard to continue the story effectively.

However, two short stories exploring the Meta-Crisis Doctor more would be the perfect medium for such exploration. It would give us a better understanding of what this Doctor is really like. Hopefully, in such a way that doesn’t destroy the ending that had been given to his Doctor and to Rose.

Joseph and Jackie

Another reason I’m excited about these stories is that they’re both written by Joseph Lidster. When it comes to effective character drama, Lidster has been consistently brilliant at writing it. From his previous Big Finish stories with Classic Doctors, including Master and Terror Firma, to his Torchwood stories, particularly Broken, Lidster knows how to explore well-established characters in an effective manner. All of these stories, I’ve really enjoyed. So it’s exciting to know that we’ve got two New Series stories to look forward to.

And last but not least, I’m a big fan of Jackie Tyler. Over the past year, Big Finish have handled her really well. Both The Ninth Doctor Chronicles and The Lives of Captain Jack were very effective at exploring her character. And Camille Coduri has continued to be brilliant in the role. I’ll be eager to hear how much she’s developed since Journey’s End.

The Siege of Big Ben and Flight Into Hull! can be pre-ordered for download directly from Big Finish’s website.

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