During a year when there were only a few specials of ‘Doctor Who’ on TV, fans were able to get their weekly fix another way with season three of the ‘Eighth Doctor Adventures’!
2009 was an interesting year for Whovians. Fans knew that David Tennant was leaving the series. In fact, the casting of Matt Smith was announced in January, close to a full year before his first appearance.
We also knew that Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner were leaving, which meant that a behind-the-scenes shakeup was coming. We also knew that Steven Moffat, the writer behind some of the New Series’s most popular episodes, was taking over. To say that was exciting was putting it mildly.
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However, because the series was essentially starting from scratch, this meant that the show needed to take a year off essentially. So for 2009, with the exception of a few specials, there was virtually no Doctor Who on TV.
I’m sure many of you know this. Many I’m sure even remember it. But I just need to paint the picture of exactly how significant 2009 was. Because it had a significant impact on Doctor Who in other media, too. Particularly on the Eighth Doctor Adventures.
Weekly downloads
You’re probably wondering how a year without TV Who would’ve impacted a series set a long while before it. Well, to fill the gap of weekly excitement and cliffhangers that fans craved for, Big Finish came up with a rather interesting idea. For the first (and honestly only) time, they’d release Doctor Who on a weekly basis.
The Eighth Doctor Adventures was perfect for this. First, the format was meant to clearly emulate the New Series very closely already. The success of seasons one and two only proved this. The fact that it was distinctly its own run, separate from the formats of other Classic Doctor audios, also helped.
It was also quite a popular range for Big Finish. The hype it generated from the massive cliffhanger at the end of season two also increased interest. In a year without weekly Who on TV, it was a perfect alternative.
A change in format
However, eight weekly episodes was still significantly fewer than thirteen. To compensate, the series had a slight change in format. Instead of eight episodes of fifty minutes each, each story would be split into two half-hour episodes. As a result, the third season would be spread out across sixteen weeks.
While this is the only time that Big Finish have used the weekly format, at least for Doctor Who, the two part structure remained. Not just in the Eighth Doctor Adventures, either. When Big Finish eventually started releasing the Fourth Doctor Adventures in 2012, it would continue the same format. One story told in an hour, split into two episodes.
How successful was the weekly format? In some ways, it was almost too successful. I distinctly remember having difficulty downloading the first part of Orbis because too many were trying to download it at once. As season openers go, it was certainly a hugely anticipated one.
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It’s easy to see why. The third season of the Eighth Doctor Adventures had a lot to focus on. Particularly after the ending of The Vengeance of Morbius. At the end of that story, the Doctor had apparently fallen to his death. Lucie had been tracked down by her old enemy, the Headhunter. So what was next for both characters? And could their relationship ever be the same again?
Let’s find out.