Doctor Who news: The Paternoster Gang return today in Heritage 3!
By James Aggas
Today, Madame Vastra, Strax and Jenny Flint each face their past in the third volume of their own Doctor Who spin-off, The Paternoster Gang: Heritage!
It’s strange to think that it’s already been close to a year since the Paternoster Gang’s own audio spin-off series began! The much-loved trio of Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint and Strax has proven to be a distinctive and popular team, and their own series has been a successful one so far. A series that continues today with the release of Heritage 3.
While both of the previous volumes of The Paternoster Gang have featured the subtitle, it’s only with the latest release that we get to find out what Heritage refers to. Across all three episodes, each of the regulars has to face something from their past. Jenny is reunited with her family, while Vastra and Strax each have to face others of their race.
Dan Starkey, who plays Strax, reveals how personal this particular volume is for the characters.
"Lots of chickens are coming home to roost for the Paternoster Gang. All of them are dealing with something from their past. There’s some quite fun stuff about danger from the beginnings of time that’s starting to wake up beneath the surface of the world. We allude to a lot of these themes, in some of the stories, in lots of different, elliptical ways."
(L to R) Catrin Stewart, Dan Starkey and Neve McIntosh return as Jenny, Strax and Madame Vastra in The Paternoster Gang: Heritage 3.
Image Courtesy Big Finish Productions
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A more personal element
Honestly, this sounds like an extremely promising box set for the series. Exploring the histories of the regulars – characters that we’ve known for close to a decade now – is a fantastic idea. Particularly with Strax – while he’s a brilliantly comedic character who likes to act aggressive, it’s easy to forget just how different he is from the rest of his race. Knowing that Christopher Ryan is in this – who also played Sontarans on television – adds to that appeal.
I’ll be honest: personally speaking, I haven’t listened to previous volumes of The Paternoster Gang. Not that the series didn’t appeal to me, just that there has been a lot of other Doctor Who stories and spin-offs to cover. But knowing that this latest box set is where things get personal for the regulars is a huge incentive to check the series out from the start.
Speaking of which, you can listen to the first episode of The Paternoster Gang – The Cars That Ate London! – right now on the official Doctor Who YouTube channel. The episode is currently available for a limited time, so make sure to check it out while you still can!
As for the latest episodes, you can purchase The Paternoster Gang: Heritage 3, as well as earlier volumes of the series, on CD or download directly from Big Finish’s website. Expect reviews for current and previous episodes from us shortly.
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Are you a fan of The Paternoster Gang? Have you been following the series so far, or have you listened to the free episode recently shared on YouTube? Let us know in the comments below.