Ahead of #BigFinish20at20, it's impossible to sum up everything Big Finish have done not just to keep Doctor Who alive but to let it thrive and expand, but in no particular order, here's a my own personal highlights (what are yours?):
Bona Fide classics - the rightly acclaimed and arguably influential Spare Parts, Jubilee, and The Chimes of Midnight.
Strong streaks of stories for the pithier, 5th Doctor we caught glimpses of in Season 21, with The Church and the Crown, The Kingmaker, Son of the Dragon, and The Bride of Peladon
The 5th Doctor has since gone from strength to strength with more recent highlights being The Peterloo Massacre (possibly the story with the best claim to joining the ranks of Spare Parts & The Chimes of Midnight) and The Serpent in the Silver Mask
The so-called "Rehabilitation" of the 6th Doctor: Colin Baker finally allowed to shine in stories that often eclipse his TV adventures. The same goes for Bonnie Langford's Mel, who joined him in The One Doctor, The Juggernauts, and Catch 1782.
He was later joined by original companion the wonderful Evelyn Smythe played by the much missed Maggie Stables in the likes of The Marian Conspiracy, The Spectre of Lanyon Moor (with bonus Brig!), and Doctor Who and the Pirates!
We've had a unique look into his "Missing Stories - the stories slated for the original Season 23 - Leviathan being a particular highlight, a story even this hardened Who fan knew very little about.
The 6th Doctor even has a proper send-off in the form of The Last Adventure
Sylvester McCoy's 7th Doctor has been similarly well-served, with a strong story arc for Ace & original character Hex through stories like The Harvest, Live 34, Night Thoughts, The Magic Mousetrap, Enemy of the Daleks, The Angel of Scutari.
We've seen a renaissance for the 1st Doctor's Companions with Companion Chronicles that are some of the most accomplished and affecting stories with the likes of William Russell, Jean Marsh and Peter Purves turning in stellar performances in The Transit of Venus, Home Truths, and Across the Darkened City.
We've had absolutely superb adaptations of 90s Missing and New Adventures - The Romance of Crime, The Well Mannered War, Cold Fusion, and especially Russell T. Davies' Damaged Goods being amongst Big Finish's best productions.
The 8th Doctor has lived and breathed far more at Big Finish than he was allowed to on TV - from his early years with Mary Shelley (The Silver Turk), then Charley & later C'rizz in Invaders from Mars, Seasons of Fear, Terror Firma, Other Lives, Memory Lane
The 8th Doctor's adventures really exploded into life with the arrival of Sheridan Smith's Lucy Miller in Blood of the Daleks, which heralded a new series-influenced take, giving him a rollicking set of adventures like Horror of Glam Rock, Human Resources, and Max Warp.
This TV-style era continued over 4 series including the recurring character of Lucy's Aunty Pat in stories like The Zygon Who Fell to Earth, The Beast of Orlok and The Scapegoat, but culminating in a gutwrenching and epic finale over Lucie Miller & To the Death.
Since then the 8th Doctor has lived on in award winning box sets, with Dark Eyes's 1st series and later entries like A Life in the Day paving the way for high water marks in Doom Coalition like The Eleven, The Red Lady & Absent Friends.
Ravenous 2 provided the best Doctor Who Christmas special in many a year in the form of the two part Better Watch Out / Fairytale of Salzburg.
Now even Tom Baker has been persuaded to return and is enjoying a new lease of the 4th Doctor's life - with Leela in Night of the Storm Crow, with Mary Tamm's 1st Romana in The Auntie Matter, Lalla Ward's 2nd Romana in The Trouble With Drax.
The Companion Chronicles have given us Frazer Hines' 2nd Doctor (Helicon Prime, The Black Hole), more Liz Shaw - and an encounter with the Cybermen for the 3rd Doctor - in The Blue Tooth, plus Jago & Litefoot in The Mahogany Murderers, which launched a successful Spin-Off range.
The Unbound series gave us alt. universe Doctors - Derek Jacobi in Deadline, Arabella Weir (the 1st female Doctor!) in Exile, and David Warner's alternative 3rd Doctor teaming up with the Brigadier in Sympathy for the Devil & Masters of War.
We've had vignette-style releases that made clever use of their format - Circular Time with its affecting romance for Nyssa in "Autumn" and an astonishing mid-regeneration tale in "Winter".
Other vignettes in the form of 45 and 100 have used this format to celebrate landmark releases for Big Finish.
We've had top drawer character studies of villains in Master, Omega and Davros that also dug deep into their opposing Doctors.
Big Finish have given us Super-Villains in 45's The Word Lord (who reappears in the superb A Death in the Family), and evil Time Lord The Eleven in Doom Coalition and beyond. UNIT: Dominion gave us a dazzling twist with the *real* identity of Alex MacQueen's "Other Doctor".
Now, they're even lifting the veil on the Time War, with Night of the Doctor era tales of the 8th Doctor, precious time spent in the company of the late Sir John Hurt's War Doctor, and now the ongoing adventures of Derek Jacobi's suave and Machiavellian War Master.
There's more, much more, to Big Finish, (including a whole new set of adventures for the 10th Doctor!), but how's that for a start? Here's to the next 20 years!
TTFN! K.
Coming Soon... Colony in Space
We've had a unique look into his "Missing Stories - the stories slated for the original Season 23 - Leviathan being a particular highlight, a story even this hardened Who fan knew very little about.
We've also had time-bending adventures with an 8th Doctor companion that gave a strong streak of stories including The Condemned (also introducing DI Menzies as a recurring character), The Doomwood Curse, Brotherhood of the Daleks, and The Raincloud Man.
The 6th Doctor even has a proper send-off in the form of The Last Adventure
We've seen a renaissance for the 1st Doctor's Companions with Companion Chronicles that are some of the most accomplished and affecting stories with the likes of William Russell, Jean Marsh and Peter Purves turning in stellar performances in The Transit of Venus, Home Truths, and Across the Darkened City.
We've had absolutely superb adaptations of 90s Missing and New Adventures - The Romance of Crime, The Well Mannered War, Cold Fusion, and especially Russell T. Davies' Damaged Goods being amongst Big Finish's best productions.
The 8th Doctor has lived and breathed far more at Big Finish than he was allowed to on TV - from his early years with Mary Shelley (The Silver Turk), then Charley & later C'rizz in Invaders from Mars, Seasons of Fear, Terror Firma, Other Lives, Memory Lane
The 8th Doctor's adventures really exploded into life with the arrival of Sheridan Smith's Lucy Miller in Blood of the Daleks, which heralded a new series-influenced take, giving him a rollicking set of adventures like Horror of Glam Rock, Human Resources, and Max Warp.
This TV-style era continued over 4 series including the recurring character of Lucy's Aunty Pat in stories like The Zygon Who Fell to Earth, The Beast of Orlok and The Scapegoat, but culminating in a gutwrenching and epic finale over Lucie Miller & To the Death.
Ravenous 2 provided the best Doctor Who Christmas special in many a year in the form of the two part Better Watch Out / Fairytale of Salzburg.
The Companion Chronicles have given us Frazer Hines' 2nd Doctor (Helicon Prime, The Black Hole), more Liz Shaw - and an encounter with the Cybermen for the 3rd Doctor - in The Blue Tooth, plus Jago & Litefoot in The Mahogany Murderers, which launched a successful Spin-Off range.
The Unbound series gave us alt. universe Doctors - Derek Jacobi in Deadline, Arabella Weir (the 1st female Doctor!) in Exile, and David Warner's alternative 3rd Doctor teaming up with the Brigadier in Sympathy for the Devil & Masters of War.
We've had vignette-style releases that made clever use of their format - Circular Time with its affecting romance for Nyssa in "Autumn" and an astonishing mid-regeneration tale in "Winter".
Other vignettes in the form of 45 and 100 have used this format to celebrate landmark releases for Big Finish.
We've had top drawer character studies of villains in Master, Omega and Davros that also dug deep into their opposing Doctors.
Big Finish have given us Super-Villains in 45's The Word Lord (who reappears in the superb A Death in the Family), and evil Time Lord The Eleven in Doom Coalition and beyond. UNIT: Dominion gave us a dazzling twist with the *real* identity of Alex MacQueen's "Other Doctor".
Now, they're even lifting the veil on the Time War, with Night of the Doctor era tales of the 8th Doctor, precious time spent in the company of the late Sir John Hurt's War Doctor, and now the ongoing adventures of Derek Jacobi's suave and Machiavellian War Master.
There's more, much more, to Big Finish, (including a whole new set of adventures for the 10th Doctor!), but how's that for a start? Here's to the next 20 years!
TTFN! K.
Coming Soon... Colony in Space
