Doctor Who: Two new Lost Stories have been released
By James Aggas
Earlier this week, two adaptations of previously unmade Doctor Who stories from the eighties were released from Big Finish. What can we expect from these new glimpses of earlier eras?
Blimey, Big Finish has released a lot of Doctor Who audios this past week, it’s been difficult to keep track of it all. Along with Fifth Doctor double bill Warzone / Conversion and two brand new Early Adventures, we’ve also seen the release of two brand new Lost Stories, too.
Based on scripts that were originally planned for television but were never made, The Lost Stories have given us major glimpses of what could have been. While Big Finish has given us many great original stories with Classic Doctors over the years, The Lost Stories are completely of the era they were originally made for. The latest ones to be released – the first in almost six years, in fact – are Nightmare Country and The Ultimate Evil.
Nightmare Country features the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough in a story written by Stephen Gallagher, who also wrote TV serials Warriors’ Gate and Terminus. Producer David Richardson was particularly excited about this one, as he reveals.
"Uncovering any lost story is like finding the Holy Grail, but there’s something really special about Nightmare Country because it’s written by Stephen Gallagher – someone whose work as an author and screenwriter we all admire. The chance to work with him on this was very special indeed, and what a lovely chap he is."
The Ultimate Evil is one of two new brand new releases in The Lost Stories range.
(Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
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The Ultimate Evil
In February 1985, Doctor Who was put on hiatus. It continued in September 1986, but the originally planned stories for Season 23 were completely scrapped and replaced by The Trial of a Time Lord (which was released last month in the UK on Blu-Ray and due to be released next month in North America).
From 2009 to 2010, Big Finish had adapted many of these stories as part of the first season of The Lost Stories. However, one that they weren’t able to adapt at the time was The Ultimate Evil. Until now.
"With the TARDIS working perfectly, the Doctor and Peri decide to take a holiday. But where? A long-forgotten piece of equipment in the TARDIS storage locker sends them to the peaceful and idyllic continent of Tranquela – home of the Doctor’s old friend Ravlos.But the land where they emerge is far from peaceful. A hate ray is regularly sweeping Tranquela, turning its inhabitants into savage beasts, and there is only one place it can originate – the planet’s other continent, home of Tranquela’s old enemies, the Amelierans.Or is that the only place? Because somewhere far above the planet events are watched by the slimy super-salesman, Mordant, who has his own unscrupulous plans.."
How does writer Wally K Daly feel about this brand new adaptation?
"Thrilled that it is finally being made, albeit in another version. As the script had already been rewritten as a book it was a matter of picking and choosing between the two versions to begin with.Of course some of the action sequences had to be described for the audio version. But as a radio playwright this presented no problem to me, and John Dorney – the script editor – was also extremely helpful."
You can get both of these stories now on CD and download directly from Big Finish’s website, and expect reviews for each of these stories this upcoming week.
Next. David Bradley and The First Doctor Adventures. dark
Which story grabs your interest more? Have you listened to previous releases in The Lost Stories series? Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.