Looking Back... Many Happy Returns

[SiHart]

That Simon Hart was back with another- a special mini-episode, for a birthday treat and eventually as part of our Children in Need celebrations in 2008.

What do you think of this little adventure?

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

I'll post when I've re-listened to it on my birthday as per usual.

Si.

[Paul Monk]

I thought this was fun but I do think it works better as Si's present than it does as an adventure in its own right.

[Paul Monk]

I do remember the secrecy surrounding the recording of this. Didn't someone have to stall Si somewhere?

[Si Hunt]

It's a bit of a rarity, with appearances by Vera, Craig (lost!) and...er... Simon and Garfunkel that get forgotton when you try and work out how many stories people have appeared in.

I think when the big history of Planet Skaro Audios is written, the one conclusion that will be drawn is that.... Si Hart loves his TARDIS scenes.

Si.

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

I think when the big history of Planet Skaro Audios is written, the one conclusion that will be drawn is that.... Si Hart loves his TARDIS scenes.

Si.

Quite right too. You can't beat a good TARDIS scene.

[Si Hunt]

I do remember the secrecy surrounding the recording of this. Didn't someone have to stall Si somewhere?

Yes I kept thinking I was suddenly really popular as people kept stopping and being incredibly interested in what I was saying. I found out later they were just trying to stop me going upstairs.

Si.

[SiHart]

I do love my TARDIS scenes, it's true. I have a feeling I suggested the first ever one we did in Protii, and then it's grown from there.

I'm really fond of this one. It's small but rather lovely and a little present to Si, as he'd never ahd a surprise audio up to that point, having done work on most of the stories.

I wrote it incredibly fast and it's one of those ones, where it just kind of wrote itself. I knew the characters, the setting and once I'd settled on the premise of how I'd get everyone together, well it just happened! I suppose once you've written for a set of characters so often you just know how they'll react in any situation. It was also nice to have a chance to have some fun with their catchphrases and silly things like that to make Si smile.

A little slice of audio that I'm incredibly fond of. It won't win any awards and tends to get a bit overlooked, but I think it's good fun.

My only regret is that I should have put Ed in it too!

[Rob McCow]

One thing it does reinforce is that we have had a number of strong characters in the PS Audio range. Most of them are larger-than-life, recognisable and distinct from each other. No bland, mewling colonists here! I don't think we've had any hardened Space Marine characters either.

It also emphasises the 'Home life in the TARDIS' aspect that has been a key feature of our audio range. To my mind, having fun like this on board the Doctor's time and space craft is exactly what most of us would get up to if we had the chance!

[Si Hunt]

For fans, we're remarkably uninterested in bringing back old characters as well. We've only used the Daleks, The Master and the Cybermen once each and that was after YEARS. Most of our returning characters tend to be interesting underlooked ones like K'anpo, and we prefer to create our own returning characters.

Si.

[SiHart]

In many ways I think it's far more fun to create your own continuity and do what you like rather than have to fit in with established stuff. You've got more freedom and creativity that way. Doctor Who gives you so many possibilities to do new things and tell new stories, so why not take that oppotunity and do your own thing with it?

[Martin Penny]

"THE BARON OF BORALIS DOES NOT APPROVE OF SUCH THINGS!"

I enjoyed this one, a nice little interlude in a very serious season of stories, and the Vera/Baron interaction was a great moment.

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

Quite ironic that I should have ended up listening to this one today (amonst most of the second season) as it was my manager who never speaks to me's 30th birthday. A very enjoyable cutaway but as someone's already commented it did feel as if Ed Bradley was noticeable by his absence.

[brandynigma]

I love the fact that what we thought was a musical sting to accompany the Time Scoop in The Five Doctors is actually just the sound that the Time Scoop makes!

[SiHart]

We'd have got Ed in it if we could have done. As the notes say on the webpage, it was written in a huge hurry and depended on who we could get in the week we had to write and produce it. I'm incredibly fond of it, because of the fast turnover and because it was present for Si.

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

We'd have got Ed in it if we could have done. As the notes say on the webpage, it was written in a huge hurry and depended on who we could get in the week we had to write and produce it. I'm incredibly fond of it, because of the fast turnover and because it was present for Si.

Having now heard everything to date if there were ever to be a story in which Ed was reunited with the Doctor and got to meet Rob ( or Rob somehow met the earlier version of the Doctor when he was still travelling with Ed) I'd want it to be a really big event story with Daleks or Time Lords or similar in.

[Si Hunt]

*struggling to supress himself from speaking*

An Event story you say?

Si.

[SiHart]

*whistles innocently*

Nothing to see here.

[Si Hunt]

Incidentally, the Doctors adventures with Ed all happen in a gap in his travels with Nick and Rob (when they are off backpacking round Peladon, Florana and Vega Nexus), hence the jealousy problems leading up to "The Curse of Ratanpura", so perhaps it's possible?

Si.

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

Incidentally, the Doctors adventures with Ed all happen in a gap in his travels with Nick and Rob (when they are off backpacking round Peladon, Florana and Vega Nexus), hence the jealousy problems leading up to "The Curse of Ratanpura", so perhaps it's possible?

Si.

Thinking about this it's rather too similar the confusion caused by the Sixth Doctor meeting Mel at his Trial before he's properly met her. Of course nothing to say that Ed and Nick and Rob's paths could have somehow crossed without them realising who Ed was and who he was with.
If future Rob met the Doctor and Ed in the gap the "where's Nick" conversation would be something of a continuity headache and I think Big Finish and the TV series have done plenty of the Doctor having to pretend he doesn't know what's going to happen already.
Of course I've absolutely no idea what happens next to the Doctor and Rob so you're both more than welcome to prove me wrong

[Si Hunt]

I think it would take an adventure of immense importance and a foe of epic power to make it happen.

But never mind Rob and Ed. I want to see the meeting of Ed with Tor Garane!

Si.

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

I think it would take an adventure of immense importance and a foe of epic power to make it happen.

But never mind Rob and Ed. I want to see the meeting of Ed with Tor Garane!

Si.

Now I'm getting worried (and yet excited to hear what happens at the same time). I'll just say that I've grown very fond of Paul's Doctor.

Regarding Ed meeting Tor that would be an interesting one continuity wise because Blood Money takes place after Rob and Nick have rejoined the Doctor. I think stories which retcon continuity can be a mixed blessing- Big Finish have managed it fairly well with Davros but not so well with other characters. The worst example I've come across in the wider genre was a Quantum Leap novel which invented an extra meeting between Sam and evil leaper Alia set between their first and second TV meetings (yuk!)

On a practical level (Poor Martin!) I'd be happy to volunteer to be the person reading the other character's lines so that Martin doesn't have to act them both out at the same time (Just call me Conrad Westmaas).

[Dirk Gently]

One person doing more than one voice & having to act against himself!!?? Surely PS audios wouldn't make someone do that, that's just cruel.