Doctor Who: The Paternoster Gang’s own audio spin-off series begins today!
By James Aggas
The first volume in the brand new Doctor Who spin-off series The Paternoster Gang, featuring the return of Vastra, Strax and Jenny, is out now.
Since the characters were first introduced in Eleventh Doctor story A Good Man Goes to War, the Paternoster Gang have proven to be a very popular trio in Doctor Who. Particularly when all three characters returned in The Snowmen and were seen to be investigating mysterious crimes in Victorian London.
It’s not hard to see why the three have been so popular. Vastra the Silurian is clearly a highly intelligent character, but also someone who loves her wife Jenny very much. Strax the Sontaran gets plenty of humorous moments as he tries (and fails) to hide his more aggressive nature while acting as servant.
Many fans have often wanted a spin-off series for the trio, but that sadly didn’t happen in the Steven Moffat era. With Chris Chibnall now in charge as showrunner of Doctor Who and wanting to create an era of his own, it seems unlikely that we’ll ever seem them again on television at all.
However, as with all great ideas in Doctor Who, Big Finish have come to the rescue. Today sees the release of the first box set in their new series, The Paternoster Gang. You can see a trailer (or rather a visual version of the intro) in the clip below:
A natural fit
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The Paternoster Gang is a very natural fit for Big Finish. They have a great deal of experience not just with Doctor Who spin-offs in general, but with the Victorian setting, too. In fact, one of their longest and most popular spin-offs, Jago & Litefoot, was firmly set during this period.
Of course, I fully expect for The Paternoster Gang to be entirely its own thing. Especially after the episode we got as part of The Eighth of March box set. That gave a strong indication for the potential in this series, particularly regarding the character of Jenny. While Vastra and Strax were great in the TV series, Jenny was arguably underserved by comparison, so it’s promising that her first audio story gave her plenty of exploration. I’m excited to see where the series goes from here.
The Paternoster Gang: Heritage 1 is available to purchase on CD or download directly from Big Finish’s website.
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Are you excited to check out the gang’s own spin-off series? Do you think a TV spin-off would have worked? Let us know in the comments below.