Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor gets a new companion in 2023!
By James Aggas
While Series 9 and 10 have yet to be released, details have been revealed for Series 11 and 12 of Doctor Who audio series The Fourth Doctor Adventures – where he’ll be making new friends and facing old enemies!
You read that headline right. Big Finish’s latest Doctor Who news concerns details of Series 11 and 12 of The Fourth Doctor Adventures – series that have been recorded way in advance! To put this into context, Series 8 was released only earlier this year, and we’ve still got to wait for Series 9 and 10 to come out!
Not that I’m complaining. On the contrary, I like knowing that we’ve got so much of Tom Baker’s Doctor to look forward to over the coming years. Still, it’s going to be a long wait for Series 12 – and not just for the new companion…
But first, details on Series 11. Here are the four stories we can look forward to, split across two volumes in January and February 2022:
"Blood of the Time Lords by Timothy X AtackThe Ravencliff Witch by David LlewellynDreams of Avarice by Guy AdamsShellshock by Simon Barnard and Paul Morris"
Margaret won’t be the first new companion the Fourth Doctor’s had on audio – earlier this year, we were introduced to Ann Kelso in The Syndicate Master Plan.
(Image credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
New friends
This series of The Fourth Doctor Adventures will try something different, as it’ll be set between The Deadly Assassin and The Face of Evil, when the Fourth Doctor is travelling on his own. Producer of the series David Richardson reveals what we can expect from this particular series.
"For Series 11 we’re into new territory with four stories set between TV episodes The Deadly Assassin and The Face of Evil, when the Doctor is travelling solo. I was tempted to say that he is without friends but the Doctor is always drawn to people and will find someone to fill the ‘friend’ role in any adventure."
This is rather interesting, as like Series 8, it’ll give us a fresh look at the Fourth Doctor. Tom Baker did want to try the Doctor travelling solo for a while during Season 14, so it’s great that Big Finish are actually exploring this idea.
But even more intriguing is how this series will set up the next – by introducing the new companion! The Ravencliff Witch will introduce Nerys Hughes as Margaret, and will return in Series 12 to join the Fourth Doctor and Leela as a full-time companion. David Richardson reveals what the new companion’s like.
"Margaret is a lovely character. She’s a sculptor and someone who perhaps has regrets about life and wants to make up for them, and in the Doctor she finds a new lease of life. She’s also a wonderful contrast to Leela – they are two characters who could not be more different, and yet they forge a close friendship."
The Nine was first introduced in Eighth Doctor story The Crucible of Souls – and in 2022, he’ll be facing the Fourth!
(Image credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
Old enemies
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Just as exciting are the old enemies returning in both series. Series 11 will see the Fourth Doctor facing the Nine – a Time Lord psychopath with the personalities of his previous eight incarnations stuck inside his head. The character has recently appeared in the episode Relative Time in Big Finish’s twentieth anniversary box set The Legacy of Time, facing the Fifth Doctor and Jenny. The Fifth Doctor seemed familiar with this incarnation already, so I’m not surprised to know that he’ll be facing the Fourth Doctor in a couple of years.
If that wasn’t exciting enough, the Fourth Doctor will be facing the Weeping Angels! We know that Classic Doctors have faced them before – specifically the Fifth in Fallen Angel and the Eighth in The Side of the Angels. But in Series 12, the Fourth Doctor will face them in Stone Cold by Roland Moore. The new team will also be facing the Ice Warriors in Ice Heist! by Guy Adams.
Series 11 and 12 are available to pre-order on CD and download now from Big Finish’s website. We’ve got a lot to look forward to over the next few years with the Fourth Doctor. It’s going to be a long wait for these stories, but we certainly have plenty of great Fourth Doctor stories to enjoy in the meantime, both old and new. Not just on audio, either: if you haven’t already, be sure to check out Tom Baker’s own Doctor Who novel Scratchman, a story that’s both as horrific and bonkers as you’d expect.
Next. Mythology: Is the decayed Master the same as Roger Delgado’s?. dark
Are you a fan of The Fourth Doctor Adventures? If so, what are you looking forward to most from the upcoming series? Have you listened to this year’s The Syndicate Master Plan? Let us know in the comments below.