Doctor Who news: The Fifth Doctor will enter the Time War in Shadow of the Daleks!
By James Aggas
Later this year, the Fifth Doctor will face the Daleks and get a glimpse of the Time War in the upcoming Doctor Who audios Shadow of the Daleks: Parts 1 and 2!
With Big Finish’s monthly range of Doctor Who audios coming to an end next year, there aren’t many stories that we have left to look forward to. But on the plus side, Big Finish has revealed plenty of details of what we can expect, and all the stories sound extremely exciting.
Starting this month, we’ve got a couple of Fifth Doctor stories to enjoy – beginning with Time Apart, where he spends some time on his own, away from his companions for a while. In September, we’ll be getting two brand new stories of the Seventh Doctor, Ace, and Hex. And then in October, it’s back to the Fifth Doctor.
However, October’s and November’s releases are a little different compared to your usual Fifth Doctor stories. For one thing, they’re both anthologies rather than four-part stories. At the same time, both releases are heavily linked, forming a mini-season of eight short but connected adventures. And lastly, both parts of Shadow of the Daleks will see the Fifth Doctor reunited with some old enemies. But there’s a big problem: this time, the Daleks he’ll be meeting come from a war that he’s yet to fight…
Shadow of the Daleks will be told across October and November, with the Doctor facing some very different Daleks…
Image Courtesy Big Finish Productions
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Eight part epic
Yes, that’s right: in this upcoming eight-part adventure, the Fifth Doctor is heading into the Time War. But how? And why? Producer David Richardson reveals exactly how the ongoing lockdown had lead to this eight-part story being told.
"What we needed were two releases that could be achieved with one Doctor and four guest cast members, recording remotely in a block. When you have a brief like that, it’s not at all restricting – it forces you to do something different, something bold, something fun.So what we have in Shadow of the Daleks Parts 1 and 2 are eight half-hour stories, in which the Doctor lands in different times, different places… and keeps meeting the same faces, but as different people. The mystery is heightened by the oblique appearances of Daleks. And not only that – these are Time War-era Daleks!"
This sounds extremely different for Big Finish. Certainly for the Main Range – which has usually aimed to tell complete stories in one release – or indeed, anything else they’ve ever done. The fact that the Fifth Doctor is heading into the Time War is particularly exciting – after all, when you have a war fought across time and space, it’s only natural for your past to be affected by it too. It sounds like the intriguing combination of Classic and New eras that Big Finish has so often gotten away with.
Shadow of the Daleks will be released on CD and download in Oct and Nov 2020. You can pre-order both parts now directly from Big Finish’s website.
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Are you excited by the idea of the Fifth Doctor heading into the Time War? What are you hoping for from this two-part release? Let us know in the comments below.