Doctor Who news: Covers for upcoming Fifth and Seventh Doctor audios revealed
By James Aggas
Big Finish has revealed several covers for some of their upcoming Doctor Who audios – including a Fifth Doctor story that will feature the Slitheen!
As previously announced, Big Finish will be ending its monthly range of Doctor Who audios next year. But while it’s sad to know that their first-ever range of Doctor Who audios will be coming to an end, there are still plenty of brand new stories to look forward to before then.
In July, a brand new season of audio adventures begins for Peter Davison’s Fifth Doctor. Last year’s stories proved to be extremely exciting – especially Warzone / Conversion, in which the Doctor not only faced his demons but also the Cybermen once more. Conversion ended with quite the cliffhanger, with the Doctor needing time on his own for a while, away from all of his companions.
That’s what July’s release Time Apart will focus on. Written by Steve Lyons, Jacqueline Rayner, Tommy Donbavand and Kate Thorman, the release will feature the Doctor on his own in four separate adventures across the history of Earth. Not only does the anthology nature of the release sound appealing, but it’ll be interesting to see how the Doctor recovers after the events of Conversion.
The Fifth Doctor’s comapnions have to face the Slitheen – before the Doctor himself has a chance to meet them!
Image Courtesy Big Finish Productions
Thin Time / Madquake
No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you – the Slitheen really will be in August’s double-bill release, Thin Time / Madquake by Dan Abnett and Guy Adams. But if you’re wondering how Five can be meeting them when Nine won’t recognize them later, don’t worry – their appearance is essentially a Doctor-lite story, with the Doctor’s companions having to deal with them. It’s a neat way of having these New Series monsters appear in a classic Doctor’s era without ruining continuity.
The other story in this release will feature the Doctor, still on his own, traveling to 19th century London. Very little is known about this story, but it certainly sounds intriguing – particularly as the Doctor will find out secrets that could affect time itself.
Originally, this Fifth Doctor season was meant to end with The Last Resort and Perils and Nightmares in September. Sadly, due to the coronavirus pandemic, production changes have meant that we’ll have to wait a little longer for those stories. But, on the plus side, we can look forward to hearing more from another TARDIS team in September…
The Seventh Doctor, Ace and Hex feature in September’s double-bill, The Flying Dutchman / Displaced.
Image Courtesy Big Finish Productions
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The Flying Dutchman / Displaced
I love the trio of the Seventh Doctor, Ace, and Hex. They’re each strong characters in their own right, and they work brilliantly as a team because they’re so different from one another. Hex’s story was a long one – told over the course of a decade, the companion went through a great deal and discovered some major secrets about his family – secrets that the Doctor tried to keep hidden. When his story came to an end in 2014, it was a shame to see him go. But of course, that didn’t mean that Big Finish couldn’t visit the character’s earlier days every now and again.
And that’s exactly what they’re doing with September’s double-bill. Across two stories written by Gemma Arrowsmith and Kat Armitage, the team will find themselves on board The Flying Dutchman before becoming trapped in a seemingly ordinary house – one where time doesn’t flow naturally.
So it sounds like we’ve got a lot to look forward to over the coming months. We can’t wait to find out what else Big Finish has planned for the monthly range.
You can pre-order each of these stories individually on Big Finish’s website on CD or download, or get them as part of a subscription.
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Which audio grabs your interest? Do you think the Slitheen can work in a Fifth Doctor story? Let us know in the comments below.