Doctor Who spin-off: New series of Bernice Summerfield announced!

A brand new Doctor Who spin-off box set has been announced for the Doctor’s old friend Bernice Summerfield, featuring a team of brand new writers!

I’ve written a great deal about how much I love Bernice Summerfield. Originally introduced as a companion to the Seventh Doctor in the series of novels Doctor Who: The New Adventures, the archaeologist quickly became a popular character in her own right. For over twenty years, she’s had many adventures on audio thanks to both Big Finish Productions and to the actress who plays her, Lisa Bowerman.

Almost every year has seen the release of new adventures for Benny, and as announced by the official Doctor Who website on Friday, this year is no exception. In September, a brand new volume of her own series, The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield, will be released.

For those of you who don’t know about the previous volumes, this particular series began back in 2014. After many, many seasons of Benny and her friends having adventures without the Doctor, Volume One of Doctor Who: The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield was presented as a fresh jumping-on point.

Naturally, she was reunited with the Seventh Doctor and Ace for the first two volumes, including The Triumph of Sutekh, as a way of drawing Doctor Who fans new to Benny into the series. But even with these two familiar voices, the series was undeniably Benny’s.

In the third volume of the series, things were shaken up when she was brought into The Unbound Universe. Here, she met an alternative version of the Third Doctor, as played by David Warner. Not only was the Unbound Doctor a more cautious incarnation than the one she was used to. He was also Ruler of the Universe, an aspect that was further explored in the fourth volume of the series.

The same volume also featured Benny getting back to our universe, bringing the Unbound Doctor with her. Which is where the fifth volume of the series, Buried Memories, comes in.

Buried Memories, the fifth volume of The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield, features a team of writer brand new to Big Finish.

(Image credit: Bernice Summerfield/Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

New writers

Here are the four stories we can look forward to in the new box set:

"Pride of the Lampian by Alyson LeedsBernice Summerfield finds the last relic of a lost civilisation. One that the Doctor is worried may never have existed.Clear History By Doris V SutherlandThe people of Civitas-G have retreated into an idyllic recreation of their homeworld. And they’re refusing to believe that it is now breaking down.Dead and Breakfast by April McCaffreyBernice and the Doctor are trapped on a planet where people who are unusual have a habit of dying. They’re in trouble.Burrowed Time by Lani WoodwardCenturies ago the Byrinthians were wiped out. Apart from one underground train which is still travelling the tunnels of this long-dead world. With a passenger on board."

More from Winter is Coming

What’s particularly fascinating about this release is that all four writers are brand new to Big Finish. Producer James Goss reveals how these writers were selected.

"Last year we ran a Bernice Summerfield short story competition. And we were so impressed by the finalists that we asked all of them if they wanted to write an episode of the next box set. And luckily they said yes, coming up with a set of very different, very fresh ideas."

This is a bold and refreshing move for Big Finish to make, and I’m really excited to see what each of these new writers will bring.

The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield: Buried Memories will be released on CD and download in September, and can be pre-ordered now from Big Finish’s website.

Next. The Omega Factor: Celebrating the fortieth anniversary of an essential cult classic. dark

Are you a fan of Bernice Summerfield? Have you listened to any of the Unbound Doctor’s previous adventures? Let us know in the comments

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