11 for the 50th: Destiny of the Doctor

[SiHart]

According to a report in the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine, audio producers Big Finish and AudioGo are working together on a series of eleven special Doctor Who stories to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the show next year.
The series will feature one Doctor per month, and will be overseen by John Ainsworth, with AudioGo’s Michael Stevens and Big Finish’s Nicholas Briggs and Jason Haigh-Ellery executive producing. The first story, Hunters from Earthby Nigel Robinson is read by Carole Ann Ford and Tam Williams, and is set in that little-charted period after the first Doctor and Susan have arrived on Earth in 1963, but before they depart with Ian and Barbara at the end of An Unearthly Child. The second story, Simon Guerrier’s Shadow of Death, features the second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe, and is read by Frazer Hines and Eve Dawnay.
As well as marking the first time that Big Finish have tackled stories for Doctors from the current version of the show, it will also be the first time that an original story for the ninth Doctor will be released on audio.
Further details will be available from www.bigfinish.com

[SiHart]

Ooh! Just realised several firsts- first new 9th doctor advanture since he left, first time BF have worked with the new lot... could this be an opening up for BF?

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

Indeed it sounds very intriguing!

Of course the other question is will the Ninth Doctor story actually feature Eccleston or will they get Billie or Barrowman or even someone else to cover for him?

[SiHart]

Well yes- could even be a Jackie Tyler adventure!

[Jon Masters]

Indeed it sounds very intriguing!

Of course the other question is will the Ninth Doctor story actually feature Eccleston or will they get Billie or Barrowman or even someone else to cover for him?

If it's Billie, can someone ask her to take the gobstoppers out of her mouth before she starts reading ?

[Rob McCow]

Could it be cobbled together from Eccleston's TV appearances? All you'd need is 'Fantastic!' and 'I fancy chips' and you'd be there.

[Anthony Williams]

How very exciting!

It'll be interesting to see what format these take. From the original post, it would seem that the first two will definitely be Companion Chronicle-style, and one would presume the Third Doctor one will be, too.

But will 4-11 be full cast? Will all them be? Will only some of them be?

Of course, the biggest coup would be if they could talk Eccleston into it...

[Stuart Wallis]

"But we're not the BBC, dear boy. Yes, I think we can organise a mysterious and grisly fate for RTD, and you don't have to snog anyone you don't want to" etc.

[SiHart]

And so it begins with...

Doctor Who: Hunters of Earth (Destiny of the Doctor 1)
Shoreditch, London, 1963. The Beatles have beaten John Smith and the Common Men to No. 1 and satellites are being launched in outer space. Back down on Earth, strange goings-on are occurring: The normally placid teenagers of Coal Hill are running riot and a master thief is stealing highly specialised equipment. Schoolgirl Susan Foreman just wants an easy life for herself and her grandfather, the mysterious Doctor. She wants to be liked and accepted by Cedric and all the other pupils at Coal Hill School. But there’s trouble in in the streets and bombsites around Totter’s Lane. The teenagers are becoming dangerous…. Their mission: to hunt down anyone different, or alien…. Susan’s quiet life is about to spiral out of control. Having inadvertently started drawing attention to herself she finds herself drawn into a desperate situation. Suddenly, the chase is on and she and her grandfather are now the hunted—

[SiHart]

First cover:

[Nyder]

Getting excited now :-)

[Nyder]

Isn't this meant to be out now?

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Sounds good - I'm kind of not expecting much from the TV to mark they year. Maybe a throw away line in the series. Will this also mean Remembrance of the Daleks will be 25 years old?

[SiHart]

You can subscribe (for downloads) to these for £40 from Big Finish, which works out about £3.99 each! What a bargain.

[Nyder]

I downloaded it via AudioGo for £3.99. Will take a listen tmw!

[Nyder]

So then, Hunters of Earth. A good solid start to the series, with the atmosphere on Unearthly Child Pt 1 lovingly re-created. (This story is set weeks before). Carole's Hartnell is passable (though not a patch on Purves or Russell!) and the story keeps you hooked (although you get to the plot reveal years before Susan does - nothing new there I suppose!)

There is a story arc for these 11 tales - but I'm not sure what it is yet!

[SiHart]

I really enjoyed this one today too. Nice tale that uses its 1963 setting very well i thought. Lots of references to the music and who'd have thought Bob Dylan could be so important to the future of the youth of the UK? Lovely stuff, nicely read by Carole Ann, atmospheric and just the tiniest of hints that something bigger is going on...

[Stuart Wallis]

There is a story arc for these 11 tales - but I'm not sure what it is yet!

It's a linking theme that connects - oh

[Nyder]

Time for Doctor Two


We're under siege .... at a base! Well what other story could you possibly have?? Frazer Hines continues to give a startlingly accurate portrayal of Troughton, and there's a hint of a future Doctor too. As with the first story, this one re-creates the feel of the era very nicely. Didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first, but still highly recommended!

[Lissa]

I've heard the first two so far and have the other two to listen to. They're pretty good - different to the Companion Chronicles because the stories aren't told in character. I think I prefer it this way. The CCs are fine but the gimmick can be restrictive.

Looking at the BF website I see several DotD releases have sound design and music by Simon Hunt. Is this as exciting as it sounds?

[Si Hunt]

Afraid not. You never see us together though.

Si.

[Stuart Wallis]

Well you're obviously not on speaking terms...

[Nyder]

Destiny of the Doctor 8 - Enemy Aliens by Alan Barnes

Miss Pollard narrates this one. I preferred this one to 7 - it was lighter in tone with lots of twisty turny plots. I liked the use of Broadcasting House as a setting. I also liked how Charley referred to the TARDIS console as a "six-sided wooden altar".

Plus there was a reference to an early Series 18 story which made me smile :-) Didn't like the Doctor's reference to Wikipedia though - a bit too much "of our time" reference to me.

[Nyder]

Destiny of the Doctor 9 - The Night Whisper by Nick Briggs

So this one was a tall order - a story with The Doctor, Rose & Captain Jack, set in a future Las Vegas-style planet with a lot of Charles Bronson / Death Wish plot devices. Nick Briggs does a sterling job voicing the 3 main parts, although at times you get the impression he's trying a bit too hard with the Eccleston accent. All these DOTD stories try to capture the "feel" of the era. This one made a valiant attempt at this, though with only 1 season to work on, it was never going to be easy. They got Rose pretty accurate, but Captain Jack came across as a bit too cliched.

[SiHart]

Did 6,7 & 8 this weekend.

They were all pretty good overall, though I liked the 8th Doctor one best. It was the most fun and I just India's voice- perfect for narrating a story. I like how everyone has to try and od an impression of Matt Smith in each story- some of them are great- some less so!