Doctor Who history: Who are Abby and Zara? – An introduction to Wicked Sisters

The new Doctor Who box set Wicked Sisters features a reunion between the Fifth Doctor and two old friends, Abby and Zara. But who are they? And why are they so important? Here’s our recap on the story so far.

Back in 2009, across the first quarter of the year, Big Finish released The Key 2 Time trilogy as part of their monthly range of Doctor Who audios. The trilogy acted as a direct sequel to Season 16’s season-long arc The Key to Time. Once again, the Doctor was involved in a quest to find the six pieces of the titular Key – an extraordinarily powerful artifact that “maintains the equilibrium of time itself”.

There were several key differences between the two arcs, of course. In the original TV storyline, the Fourth Doctor, the Time Lady Romana, and their robot companion K9 looked for each piece across six different stories. The audio sequel was primarily told across three stories for the Fifth Doctor, with his Seventh incarnation getting a little prequel story. (Yes, you read that right.)

Also, while both Four and Five had used Tracers to find pieces of the Key, Four’s Tracer took the form of a gadget, whereas with Five, it took on a humanoid form. Two humanoid forms, in fact.

The Key 2 Time

You see, the second time the Doctor was sent looking for the Key, two sisters were created: Abby (or Amy, as she was initially called) and Zara. They had been created by a powerful force called the Grace, and were both given special powers to help them find the missing pieces of the Key. They were also brand new to the universe and had a lot to learn about it. As you can imagine, this leads to some major problems.

Abby was the luckier of the two sisters because she joined forces with the Doctor. As such, she had a strong, positive influence from him on her character. Zara’s influences were equally strong, but certainly not as positive. She was willing to do whatever it took to find the missing pieces of the Key – not just betraying her own sister but even sacrificing innocent people to achieve her goals.

By the end of the trilogy, the Key was completed and destroyed, partly thanks to some help from Zara. She was able to find redemption, Abby was invited to stay on Gallifrey, and the two sisters went their separate ways. Of course, that wasn’t quite the end of their story…

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Graceless

A year after The Key 2 Time trilogy, Abby and Zara were given their own spin-off called Graceless. Written entirely by Simon Guerrier, the series took on a darker, more adult tone than its parent series. If Abby and Zara were basically children in The Key 2 Time, then Graceless was all about them growing up – and all the difficult choices and mistakes that go with that.

Of course, it’s also about much more than that. Because both Abby and Zara are so powerful, their choices have consequences. And some of those consequences are extremely horrific. In just the first episode alone, due to an incredibly strong negative influence, Abby makes a choice that results in the deaths of countless lives.

The themes of consequences and moral complexity continue throughout the rest of Graceless. While they often do their best to save everyone they can, there are always consequences to the decisions that these two sisters make. Sometimes, it’s the deaths of innocent people, sometimes, it’s even more personal than that.

Rebirth

The end of the third series seemed to resolve their story, as they decided to finally let go of their powers and grow old together. But of course, that all changed in Series 4 – after living quiet lives for hundreds of years, not only did they get their powers back, but they were restored to their former youth. Once again, they tried to use their powers to help. Once again, it didn’t go well.

When this series ended, it was hinted that they would be reunited with the Doctor once more. It was also strongly hinted that he would be far from happy with what they’ve become. And this is what the brand new box set Wicked Sisters explores, as the Fifth Doctor is reunited with Abby and Zara for the first time in over a decade. What will he make of them? And how far will he go to stop them?

You can listen for yourself by ordering Doctor Who: Wicked Sisters directly from Big Finish’s website on CD or download. If you wanted to learn more about Abby and Zara’s history, you can check out Graceless for yourself while it’s on sale from Big Finish.

Do you have further questions about Abby, Zara, or their own spin-off series Graceless? Have you heard of these two unique characters before? Do you enjoy series that focus on moral complexity? Let us know in the comments below.