Doctor Who: An Introduction to ‘The Eighth Doctor Adventures’ (Season Two)
By James Aggas
After recently reviewing the Eighth Doctor’s struggles in the Time War, we flashback to his much earlier adventures with Lucie Miller, in season two of ‘The Eighth Doctor Adventures’.
Season one of The Eighth Doctor Adventures was a great success for Big Finish. With a new companion and a format that was closer to the New Series, (particularly the Russell T. Davies era,) it revived the Eighth Doctor in a big way. So naturally, it was unsurprising that a second season was made. However, there were a few small but significant changes compared to the first.
For one thing, the Eighth Doctor and Lucie were openly friends this time, and not just reluctant companions. This allowed for a little more freedom and flexibility with their stories.
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This was considerably different from the first season, which had several ongoing arcs. These included the Eighth Doctor and Lucie on the run from the Headhunter, and finding out why Lucie was in a “witness protection program”. In their second season however, no such arc was provided. (At least not initially.)
Thinking about it, this is rather surprising. Especially considering how much the series was meant to follow the format of the New Series. One of the key features of the Russell T. Davies era was that there was a different arc every season, after all.
However, that’s not to say that season two would be completely devoid of major developments or event episodes. Especially towards the finale. But we’ll discuss more on that, later.
From radio to CD and download
Perhaps more significant was the fact that, unlike the first season, the second season was released for purchase on CD or download long before radio broadcast. Each episode was released monthly, from January to August 2008. When the season was eventually broadcast on the radio from October to November the same year, only the first six episodes were originally broadcast.
Considering the range had originally been intended for radio broadcast, this could also be surprising. Then again, Big Finish are entirely dependent on money gained from fans actually purchasing or pre-ordering their products.
So it’s not hard to imagine a large number of fans being reluctant to pay for something that they’ve already listened to for free. At the very least, releasing the stories for purchase months before their broadcast is a better incentive for everyone to buy them.
Especially in the case of the final two episodes. When season two’s finale was eventually broadcast, it was in December 2009, over a year later than the initial episodes. The reason for this? I suspect it was due to the massive cliffhanger at the end. Without giving too much away, it’s certainly one of the best endings that I’ve heard in Doctor Who.
Did the second season of The Eighth Doctor Adventures build well on the success of the first? Was the reduced presence of a clear arc a benefit or a problem for the stories? Expect episode by episode reviews very, very soon.
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