New Eighth Doctor audio box set Ravenous 1 out now

It’s the start of a brand new audio series for the Eighth Doctor, as Doctor Who: Ravenous 1 is released today!

When the popular Eighth Doctor series Doom Coalition ended with its fourth box set last year, almost everything in the story had been wrapped up. The universe had been saved. The villain had been defeated. And all the major questions had been answered. However, at the same time, it also ended on a significant cliffhanger, too. And it’s from this cliffhanger that the story of Ravenous begins.

Released today, Doctor Who: Ravenous 1 kicks off a brand new arc for the Eighth Doctor and his companions, Liv and Helen. When Helen went missing at the end of the previous series, it was up to the Doctor and Liv to find her. But with dangerous Time Lord criminal the Eleven also out there, can they find her in time? And even if they do, will she be the same Helen they knew?

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So what can we expect from this new release? Producer David Richardson gives more details in Big Finish’s official announcement.

"My check list for Ravenous 1 was to resolve the mystery concerning Helen and the Eleven (the great mind of Matt Fitton addressed that); to do a World War II story with Winston Churchill (the great mind of John Dorney was assigned); and to bring back the Kandyman (Matt, again)."

That sounds like quite a checklist. The return of the Kandyman from The Happiness Patrol seems like a rather unusual choice. However, it also sounds like it’s going to be a radically different depiction to the original. It’ll be interesting to discover just how different Nicholas Rowe’s Kandyman will be compared to the original depiction on television: a monster literally made of candy.

A different series

Hearing Ian McNiece’s Churchill meet one of the Classic Doctors should be a joy to hear. Like River Song’s appearance in Doom Coalition, it will be a nice link between the Classic and New eras. But how similar will Ravenous be to Doom Coalition, overall?

"Our primary thought going into Ravenous was that it had to be different to Doom Coalition. We couldn’t just do the same thing again. So this time the interconnecting story is looser, and there are plenty of standalone episodes."

This makes a lot of sense. Doom Coalition was different compared to the previous Eighth Doctor series Dark Eyes. It would make sense that Ravenous would be different too.

Next: Review: Eighth Doctor Adventures: Worldwide Web (audio)

But how different? How will this new series compare to others for the Eighth Doctor? Will this match the highs of other strong series like Dark Eyes, Doom Coalition and The Time War? Check back soon for a review on this new release.

Doctor Who: Ravenous 1 is available on CD and download directly from Big Finish.