Doctor Who: Why audio works so brilliantly for the franchise

In 1999, Big Finish Productions released their first Doctor Who audio, The Sirens of Time. Naturally, it was far from their last…

(Image credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Over the years, hundreds of Doctor Who stories have been released in the audio medium. But what is it about the medium that makes the series so perfect for it?

In 1999, Big Finish Productions began telling stories of Doctor Who in the audio medium with the multi-Doctor story, The Sirens of Time. Initially released on both CD and cassette, it was the first of a range that would eventually release stories on a monthly basis.

Two decades later, and Big Finish’s Doctor Who universe is huge. Not only do we have nearly 250 releases in the monthly range alone. We also have other ranges focusing on the Fourth and Eighth Doctors; special box-sets; numerous spin-offs and so much more. Doctor Who is absolutely huge on audio.

But why? What makes the series work so well in the format? Why are Doctor Who fans hungry for audio adventures, but not fans of other major sci-fi properties? Audio productions have been made for other franchises, including Star Trek and Star Wars, but not nearly to the same extent. Even Stargate audios, which Big Finish made for a time, didn’t seem to generate the same kind of audience that Doctor Who brought.

But what makes Doctor Who so special? What makes it such a perfect fit for this medium, in the same way that other major sci-fi properties haven’t been quite as successful?

The Classic Series has given us many great stories over the years, such as The Caves of Androzani. But even the best ones have occasionally been let down by a rather weak effect…

(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

No visual effects

For one thing, there are no visual effects. For other properties, especially Star Wars, this can be a huge detraction. After all, when the story works and the effect is just right, it can feel like total escapism.

However, Doctor Who hasn’t exactly had the best track record when it comes to visual effects. While the series does look fantastic now, and has done for several years, that certainly wasn’t always the case.

While the Classic Series is brilliant, let’s be honest, no one watched it for how great the effects were. Sometimes, an effect would be incredibly convincing, but that was always the exception rather than the rule.

Even the New Series has had its problems. You look at the effects from Series One, and honestly, a lot of those moments haven’t aged well. That would almost sound unfair, especially as Eccleston’s era is over fourteen years old already. Except that, when you watch the early seasons of Battlestar Galactica, which was made at approximately the same time, those effects still hold up really well.

A lot of the time, this wasn’t so huge that it would ruin the experience. After all, if the story itself was a strong one, and the performances were great, then we could still enjoy it, right?

But sometimes, it can be really disappointing. Whether it’s the rat in The Talons of Weng-Chiang, or the cave monster in The Caves of Androzani, excellent stories can be let down by a weak effect. Perhaps not completely, but certainly enough to stand out like a sore thumb.

And sometimes, a good story was dependent on a budget much higher than it had received to really pay off. As a result, we’d get a story that could’ve been great, but is effectively ruined by a weak execution.

While barely explored on television, something as huge as the Time War can be, and has been, deeply explored in the medium of audio.

(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

Effects of the imagination

Naturally, audios don’t have that problem. Stories can continue to focus more on character and dialogue, but you can also have plenty of moments that require the imagination and that’s it. Scenes and stories that would’ve been difficult to realize on screen are often perfect for the audio medium.

The Time War is a perfect example of this. Audio is undoubtedly the greatest medium for this. The concept of it was of course introduced in the television series, and we’ve even had glimpses of it. The fiftieth anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor, gave us our biggest glimpse of the war with the last day of it.

The Fall of Arkadia was epic and well handled. But it was easy to see two things that stood out about it. First, that we only got to see it during the 75-minute special for ten minutes, at most.

Secondly, for something as big and complicated as a “Time War”, it was fought in ways that we were pretty much used to with sci-fi battles – with spaceships and lasers. What made the Time War so interesting was that what we heard about it sounded bigger and more horrifying than that – Ten’s speech on “the Could’ve Been King and his army of Meanwhiles and Neverweres” in The End of Time is a classic hint of that.

Fortunately, Big Finish has been able to handle the Time War in ways that the TV series couldn’t. Yes, we get impressive and epic battles in both The Eighth Doctor: The Time War and The War Doctor series. Battles that we’d never really get to see on-screen thanks to BBC’s shows limited budgets.

While some stories work on audio because they can’t be done without a huge budget in the visual medium, other audios work because they can only be told in the audio format, such as Scherzo.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Beyond the visual medium

But the audio medium also allows for more interesting concepts than that. The opening episode of the Eighth Doctor’s Time War series, The Starship of Theseus, is an episode centered around changes in history, even with the Doctor. At first, little things start to change, such as the companion’s name. But, as the episode goes on, the changes gradually become bigger and bigger, until the Time War completely crashes into the episode’s story.

It’s a simple idea, but one that works best on audio, as it allows the listener to work out how much is changing and to how much of an extent. And it can take a few details for the listener to realize the change too, making scenes rather unsettling. The Doctor giving a panicky speech before realizing that he’s literally talking to no one is a small but rather effective example.

Going beyond the Time War, Big Finish is fantastic at providing us with stories that are absolutely brilliant but could only work in the audio medium. The Eighth Doctor’s third season on audio gave us two perfect examples of this.

The first was Scherzo, a two-hander with the Eighth Doctor and Charley. The story featured the pair trapped in an environment where they’re completely blinded by incredibly strong light. The story is dependent on both them and the listener having no clue what their environment is like, as well as focusing on the significant exchanges of dialogue between them.

It’s a strong story, and one of my favorites of any medium. But it also couldn’t remotely work visually. It was a story clearly written for audio, and it works brilliantly for it.

The second example is The Natural History of Fear. While initially, this story of a dystopian world where people are constantly losing their identities sounds perfect for television, the story is rather dependent on a huge twist that would be instantly obvious if audiences could actually see it.

With a series like Doctor Who – where virtually any story could be told, regardless of time, place or even genre – experimental storytelling is to be expected. And the audio medium allows the series to be far more experimental than it could be on television, usually with successful results.

Decades after he left the series on television, we’re getting further stories of Tom Baker’s Doctor through the magic of audio. And we get to hear him meet other familiar voices, too…

(Image credit: The Diary of River Song/Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Familiar voices

However, beyond the need for creating something new, let’s be honest: fans also crave something old. Or rather, old eras. The Doctors and companions of their childhood. Whether it’s Tom Baker’s iconic Fourth Doctor having adventures with Romana, or even David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor sharing banter with Donna Noble, fans are often hugely nostalgic.

The audio medium has been great at providing the fans with this. So many of the vast number of actors who’ve played either the Doctors or the companions have returned to their original roles on audio. And for many of them, it’s like they haven’t aged a day. While some of their voices may have noticeably aged, others sound exactly the same as they once did in the Sixties.

Naturally, when the voices still sound so good and so strong, this creates a wonderful effect that television simply can’t achieve, at least not to the same extent: a perfect recreation of a former era. Something we were nostalgic for that’s instantly brought back.

And this is a key reason why Doctor Who on audio has been so successful, particularly with Big Finish. The show has been so many things over the years. Like the Time Lord, it’s had many lives throughout the decades. Everyone has a different favorite era, something that they think of in particular when they hear the words “Doctor Who“. And Big Finish have found brilliant ways of bringing that magic back over the years.

Big Finish gives stories that fans would love to hear, such as a meeting of four Masters, because they themselves are fans of Doctor Who.

(Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Made by fans, for the fans

Lastly, I think what’s particularly important is that Big Finish really care about the brand they have. They never get complacent with it, not for a second. They get all the original actors they can, and then they give them stories that are authentic to their eras, but still provide something new.

I’m not saying that everything Big Finish makes is perfect. But no matter what, it’s always clear that they actually care about the brand, and want to look after it well. Everything from the stories they write, to the level of the production, or even to how well they fit continuity is treated with great care.

It probably helps that Big Finish has its roots in the Audio Visuals, a completely unofficial series of fan-made audio productions based on Doctor Who made in the Eighties. These didn’t – and indeed, due to their unlicensed nature, couldn’t – reach the same audience that Big Finish has done, and were mainly made for the sheer love of the show. Many of the people who worked on these productions, including Nicholas Briggs and Gary Russell, would later go on to work for Big Finish.

More from Winter is Coming

While Big Finish of course hope to make money from their many products, they also respect the fans enough to know that the Doctor Who brand on its own isn’t enough to sell a product. The stories they sell are stories that we actually want to hear. Stories that feature Doctors who never had the eras that they deserved on television. Stories that reveal earlier encounters between the Doctor and his enemies. Stories – or even whole series – that reveal more about the Doctor’s wife.

It’s difficult enough to think of any other franchise that features full-cast audio drama based on it (although the Star Wars radio adaptations are definitely worth checking out). But it’s even rarer to find one which features so many original “must listen” stories, too. And that’s because Big Finish Productions know what the fans want, because the people working on it are fans themselves.

That’s why we’re getting stories that the TV series either won’t or can’t give us, such as a story featuring four incarnations of the Master, or an absolutely huge crossover featuring six Doctors. And that’s why we can look forward to so many more exciting Doctor Who audios for a long time to come.

Next. The one companion the Doctor said they loved. dark

Do you think Doctor Who works well in the audio medium? Are you a fan of the work of Big Finish Productions? Can you think of another franchise which places such a strong emphasis on its audio releases? Let us know in the comments below.

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