Doctor Who: The Seventh Doctor will be reunited with Ace in January 2020!
By James Aggas
The Seventh Doctor will be reunited with his former companion Ace in next year’s Doctor Who story Dark Universe. But is she a friend or an enemy this time…?
Words cannot begin to describe how excited I am about Dark Universe, the first regular Doctor Who audio to be released next year. Starring Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and Sophie Aldred as Ace, on the surface, there’s nothing special about an audio story featuring this pairing. To be honest, there have even been several audio stories of them briefly reuniting for an adventure after they had parted ways. (The most recent example being An Alien Werewolf in London from earlier this year.)
But Dark Universe is different. Very different. Because it’s been a long time since they’ve last seen each other. And Ace isn’t happy with the Doctor…
What’s really exciting about this is that this is an older and wiser Ace who’s currently running her own charity on Earth. She’s made a new life for herself, and she’s a very different woman to the young girl the Doctor once knew, as Sophie Aldred explains.
"We know that Ace is now the CEO of A Charitable Earth. Russell T Davies wrote a line in The Sarah Jane Adventures to say that she’d set up this charity. I reckon she wears a lot of suits, although I like to think she still wears Doc Martens!But we also know at the beginning that she’s pretty narked with the Doctor. He’s let her down one time too many."
In January next year, the Seventh Doctor will be reunited with his old friend Ace. But this time, are they on the same side?
(Image Courtesy Big Finish Productions)
More from Winter is Coming
- For All Mankind finally gives us information in Episode 405, “Goldilocks”
- Watch a stunning VFX breakdown of The Wheel of Time season 2
- Of course Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon) thinks Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen) should rule Westeros
- Confirmed: The Last of Us season 2 will air in 2025
- Final season of Star Trek: Discovery will have “a lot of action, a lot of adventure, a lot of fun”
Seven and the Eleven
The reunion between the Seventh Doctor and Ace isn’t the only reason to be excited, however. Following his recent appearance in Eighth Doctor box set Ravenous 4, Mark Bonnar returns as the Eleven – a Time Lord psychopath with the personalities of all his previous incarnations trapped in his head.
Not only is this story set before his first appearance in Eighth Doctor series Doom Coalition. Dark Universe will act as a direct prequel to it, too. When that series opened, it began with a flashback of the Eleven getting locked up after his capture by the Seventh Doctor. But how did he get captured? That’s what Dark Universe will reveal.
Script Editor Matt Fitton reveals how important Ace will become in the Eleven’s plans.
"In Dark Universe, Ace has been back on Earth a long while. She’s set up the charity and is travelling the world making speeches and raising money, but she has also hinted at a figure who manipulated her when she was younger. This is what the Eleven seizes on to ‘recruit’ her in his scheme against the Doctor."
There’s also one other interesting detail. In the flashback scene of Doom Coalition, after the Seventh Doctor says goodbye to the Eleven, he’s to be given one more task: “a final request”, as it’s described. It’s strongly hinted that this request might be to pick up the Master’s remains after his execution on Skaro, as revealed in the TV movie. Is this the Seventh Doctor’s final great adventure before he meets his end in San Francisco?
Dark Universe looks set to be an exciting way to begin next year. You can pre-order it right now from Big Finish’s website on CD or download.
Next. Do we finally have a date for a Series 12 trailer?. dark
Are you excited for Ace to be reunited with the Seventh Doctor? Have you followed previous stories involving the Eleven? And how amazing is that cover? Let us know in the comments below.