Doctor Who: New Fifth Doctor double bill Interstitial / Feast of Fear is out now!
By James Aggas
Two new adventures for the Fifth Doctor and his team have just been released, in the Doctor Who double bill Interstitial / Feast of Fear from Big Finish!
The latest Fifth Doctor audio from Big Finish is out today! Following on from the excellent Cicero crossover Tartarus, the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa have been joined with a new fellow companion: Marc, a former Roman slave. The character had a lot of promise at the end of the last Doctor Who story. Although it was also implied that things might not end well…
This month, we don’t have just one Doctor Who story for the Fifth Doctor but two! Just like Black Thursday / Power Game from earlier this year, we’re getting two one-hour stories instead of a single two-hour one with Interstitial / Feast of Fear. And it’s something that’ll continue next month with the release of Warzone / Conversion, which I’m really looking forward to, as the Fifth Doctor is reunited with the Cybermen after the events of Earthshock!
But before then, we’re having Marc’s first two stories as an actual companion of the Doctor. It’s definitely going to be interesting, especially as he’s the only male companion of this particular team. Still, as Peter Davison explains, it’s not like he needs to reach a particularly high standard to be the most loyal male companion that the Fifth Doctor’s had.
"One was a child genius who wanted to back into E-Space and the other one was trying to kill me, so I’m hoping that Marc is going to improve on that record."
(L to R) Melissa Dean (Brianna), Peter Heenan (Armstrong), Deirdre Mullins (The Spae Wife), Michael Yare (Lorcan), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), George Watkins (Marc) and Peter Davison (The Doctor) feature in this month’s audio, Interstitial / Feast of Fear.
(Image Courtesy: Big Finish Productions.)
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The stories
Here’s what we can expect from the two stories featured in this double bill.
"Interstitial by Carl RowensWhen the TARDIS is drawn off-course by temporal disruption, the Doctor and his companions discover a research facility conducting dangerous experiments. But how do you fight the future when time itself is being used as a weapon?Feast of Fear by Martyn WaitesAt the height of the Irish famine, a carnival travels the country bringing cheer to all they encounter. But it also brings something else along with them …and it already has the Doctor."
So we have one story that seems focused on telling a bit of a hard sci-fi story (with some possible timey-wimeyness?), and the other that sounds more like a horror. But perhaps even more interesting is the fact that each of these writers are new to Big Finish. While the company’s many long-running writers are often strong ones, it is nice to see some new blood introduced to the company, too.
And how are each of their new stories? For Interstitial, here’s what Carl Rowens wanted to explore.
"I think what I wanted to do was give something special for Tegan and Nyssa to do, to show off their unique skills without the Doctor overshadowing them."
A story focusing on the companions is a promising start. As for Martyn Waites and his story Feast of Fear?
"[I was asked] if I could come up with some kind of eerie horror story. Since my crime novels all veer towards that anyway it seemed like a good fit."
I’m a big fan of horror in Doctor Who, so I’m already excited to listen to this one. And you can listen to both stories right now by ordering them on CD or download directly from Big Finish’s website.
Next. Pseudo-New Series – The distinctive style of The Eighth Doctor Adventures. dark
Which story sounds more appealing to you? Are you excited to hear a new member of the TARDIS team? Let us know in the comments below.