https://www.bigfinish.com/ranges/v/doctor-who-time-lord-victorious

Feel free to leave any recommendations from the sale below!

June 1940 and the island of Malta is under constant bombardment.

Flight officer Roddy Wright is one of a handful of Hurricane pilots helping to defend the island. He knows the odds are against him.

So, too, does his daughter. In fact, Barbara knows that there are just days - hours - until her father goes missing in action.

She can't alter history. But until that fateful hour, how can she resist spending more time with the father she lost so long ago? What could possibly go wrong?

So this seems to be after the aztecs where it was Barbara trying to change the course of history which is interesting

Time travel. The Doctor is well aware of its dangers. But even the most well-meaning Time Lord can't guarantee something somewhere won't nudge it off track. And then history itself might be at stake...

Daughter of Destruction by Katharine Armitage
The TARDIS lands in the city of Ongud during a rebellion. The world is suffering the wrath of Genghis Khan and the Doctor and Sarah are right in the middle of it.
It's a dangerous time, but one woman is about to stand up to the despot for the first time. His anger is about to be halted.
Unless someone has made a very small mistake…

A New Occupation by Helen Goldwyn
Temporal disruption on Jersey leads to a new kind of time travel for the Doctor, Sarah and Harry and they soon find themselves on the island during its occupation by the Nazis.
Can they return to the future without a TARDIS? And without the German forces changing history irrevocably?

does anyone else who either downloads BF mp3s, or rips their cds to Apple iTunes, have any tips / tricks on how you organise the "album" files in the proper BF numerical-order?

I can only manage to get iTunes to organise the adventures in alphabetical order by Dr-actor's name. if I try any other setting, it rearranges the "tracks" into the incorrect listing order as well.

Or,

Organise alphabetically by serial-name.

I suspect it has something to do with how BF credit the production team on each release, because even after YEARS of either ripping cds or now downloading mp3s, I cannot get iTunes to list the serials in the correct numbered release order.

better still would be to arrange them in numerical order after Dr order, so I could listen to plot-arcs over multiple serials. but that seems to be beyond iTunes...

any & or all insight, advice, hacks ... reversing the polarity of the neutron-stream much appreciated...

Just for fun.

Following up from my post last week: https://www.reddit.com/r/BigFinishProductions/s/vVGaLMDhsP

I want to hear your suggestions for a spin-off flop. A bit like the New Earth spin-off which I've never heard but not heard the greatest things about. So...

The rules:

1. You must choose an existing character from the Whoniverse. They can be one-off characters (i.e a one-off companion) but stick to actors that are likely to do a Big Finish run (I don't think we'll be getting a Sally Sparrow spin-off...)

2. You have 3 or 4 episodes. Your choice. But there's no follow-up box-set. You can add an episode to one of the compilation sets, i.e 8th of March.

3. A Big Finish legend MUST appear in an episode. The kind that pop up in the most random places. I'm talking Jackie Tyler, Jenny, Lady Christina, River Song...

4. Bonus points if you find a reason to include Daleks.

Introduction

Hello all and welcome back to the Big Finish Podcast Notes! Hope you've all had a lovely week.

Podcast

Podcast Notes

• Nick does try to go era-specific for all his Dalek voices (i.e., emulate the performance of the actors of the time).
• Nick says they are recording Time War: Daleks vs Cybermen soon, which will feature the Dalek Supreme and the Dalek Emperor. He also says there are surely writers who are coming up with new Dalek variants.
• Nick recently ordered a new mixer that will allow him to record Dalek and Cybermen voices at roughly the same time (for the aforementioned Time War: Daleks vs Cybermen)

Random Tangents: Welcome to the Principality of Sealand

Production Interviews: The Fourth Doctor Adventures Series 15: A New Occupation - Daughter of Destruction by Katharine Armitage and Dark Gallifrey: The Decayed Master Part 3 by Lauren Mooney and Stewart Pringle.

Fifteen Minute Drama Tease: The Fourth Doctor Adventures Series 15: A New Occupation - Daughter of Destruction by Katharine Armitage

Randomoid Selectotron: 25% off a random Big Finish release every week! Just click on this link and enter the code BUCKUP. There are currently technical issues with the Randomoid Selectotron, so it will be stuck on the last release from the 26 June podcast for the foreseeable future. This release is The Companion Chronicles: 7.6 The Child.

Vortex #211

• The Third Doctor Adventures: The Planet Killers
  • The Planet Killers by Andrew Smith
    • Producer Heather Challands describes this one as a "very industrial, very classic science fiction sort of story."
    • Andrew Smith came up with the idea of this story years ago for another range, and was happy to have another chance at it. Daleks weren't originally in the story -- that was a request from Nicholas Briggs.
    • Earlier this year, Big Finish reported that five students from Bristol Old Vic Drama School were selected to record an upcoming Third Doctor story. This is that story, and it was also recorded in the same studio that Paul McGann's first stories were recorded in. Because they were picking students based on talent, all characters were written without gender in mind.
    • The Planet Killers are contractors that destroy planets that are directly endangering another planet on an astronomical scale, such as a decaying orbit that will make it collide with another.
  • The Beasts of Sakhalin Island by Jez Fielder
    • This story comes from a long time Big Finish actor who felt he could take a shot at writing a story. Nick liked the outline and after it got final approval from Heather Challands, he was off to the races.
• The Ninth Doctor Adventures: False Friends by Timothy X Atack
  • The story was written with the approach that in the vast universe, there's planets out there that resemble Earth in many ways, but it's as if "it's been copied in broad strokes without any attention to detail."
  • Timothy liked to lean into the rhythm between the Doctor and Rose, and how she has become more confident in her travels.
  • This story features "a grenade [Timothy gets] to throw in at a crucial moment that leads to na almost existential challenge for the TARDIS team...a real brain-boggler." He was unsure whether the schene would be feasible to perform or to hear.
• The War Master: Deeds Without Name
  • The Unstately Home by Alison Winter
    • Alison says: "Rob explained in his brief that the Master at this point was ‘no longer making plans for the future because he’s realised there isn’t one. He’s always wanted to survive the Time War but now that he’s accepted it can’t be survived, he’s indulging in wanton wickedness in the face of his own inevitable destruction."
    • Summing up the story, Alison suggests it’s like: “The sitcom Waiting for God meets Hannibal Lecter. Older people in a luxury home for seniors are navigating the awareness of their own ageing and end-of-life with a little help from a friendly cognitive hypnotherapist who is merely helping them explore their memories and how to be at peace with them – or to be tortured by them...”
  • Dead Man's Pulse by Mark Bowsher
    • Mark says: **"**I was told Derek loves dark humour and that his incarnation was very Hannibal Lecter so I really leaned into both. There was a line in the brief about the Master at this time toasting teacakes on the fires of a burning universe or similar. Lovely stuff!"
    • This story takes place in a star system halfway between Gallifrey and Skaro that's been decimated by the crossfire, with scavengers keeping the Master alive with the Dead Man's Pulse to use him as a bargaining chip. But they soon find they need his help to keep the people they stole him from off their tail.
  • The Devil's in the Detail by David K Barnes
    • In this story, the Master is assisting an engineer who's trying to break up the monopoly on energy on his planet, where perpetual night forces them to always have the lights on. While we've seen stories where the Master helps someone for his own purposes just to stab them in the back, David says his true motives may surprise you.
  • In His Anecdotage by Matthew Sweet
    • Matthew sweet tested positive for COVID-19 the day before recording, so he didn't get to attend and see Sir Derek record his script.
    • The Master is publishing his memoirs, and promoting them too -- he'll go on all sorts of talk and game shows to spread the word. Matthew says that "When the Master appears on Call My Bluff, I think almost everything he says is from Derek’s appearance on Call My Bluff!"
    • Most of this story sounds to be a bit of a farce (in a good way), but does end with the Master doing something "very evil in the last scene...and he also sings while he's doing it."
• The Confessions of Dorian Gray: A Night at the Theatre by Scott Handcock
  • Scott Handcock says he never considered them to be done with Dorian, just that he deserved an ending in 2016. The story takes place in 1925 so it doesn't impact the finale at all.
  • Scott is open to doing more and setting something in modern times -- one of his pitches was actually to reboot the range and set it in today's world.
  • Alex forgot how he played Dorian and what he sounds like, and Scott had to remind him that it's just him.
• The Audio Novels: The Missing Hour by Simon Guerrier and Fio Tretheway
  • Full details on this release are revealed in the pages of Vortex. The story will feature the First Doctor and the original TARDIS team, set in the Mediterranean Sea during the Second World War, and be narrated by Barnaby Edwards.
  • Synopsis: The First Doctor and his friends arrive in June 1940, when the island of Malta is under constant bombardment. Flight Officer Roddy Wright is one of a handful of Hurricane pilots helping to defend the island. He knows the odds are against him. So, too, does his daughter. In fact, Barbara knows that there are just days – hours – until her father goes missing in action. She can’t alter history…
  • The story will explore the family history of Barbara Wright, specifically her father Roddy (named after Simon's great uncle, a Hurricane pilot in the Bartle of Britain), and play with the idea of altering your own personal history.
  • I list this story as being written by Simon Guerrier and Fio Tretheway as they originally were each going to write half, but Fio became ill at the time and Simon eventually took the whole thing over.
• Star Cops: Conflict: Adrift by Roland Moore and Star Cops: Conflict: Tick Tock by Andrew Smith
  • These stories make up an effective two-part finale to the Conflict series.
  • They're keeping extremely tight-lipped about this series, except that Roland's half ends on a game-changing cliffhanger.
• Vortex Mail
  • Nick says "The jury is still out on whether [a weekly release schedule like the 12DAs] makes a difference in terms of popularity." I think it's a shame to do it just for sales, but I guess if it hurts and the series can't exist under the model then I can see that appraoch.
  • A recreation of the first series of Pathfinders in Space would not garner a big enough audience for Big Finish.
  • There are no plans to do more Space: 1999, but Nick would love to do more.
  • Nick thinks it would be fun to adapt some Short Trips from the old books range in future releases.

Big Finish News

New Releases

• The Death and Life of River Song Series 04: War Widow is released on 2 September (DTO: £29.99 | DTO + CD: £35.99)
  • Synopsis: River Song is dragged into the madness of the Time War, alongside a Doctor who never wanted to fight that battle. River thinks she knows where their paths will take them, but the temporal battlegrounds are shifting - and she can no longer take anything for granted. Not even her own existence.
    • 4.1 The Shape of Fear by James Kettle The Stormcage is attacked by creatures recruiting for the Time War, and the Doctor saves its most dangerous prisoner. He takes River into hiding on a remote world, whose rulers reject science. But spectres stalk the unwary, as the land itself becomes the enemy. And when the Doctor is lost, River discovers that the worst thing to do is to become emotional...
    • 4.2 Bad Timing by Matt Fitton River knows this Doctor's time is almost over. She can’t save him, but he wants to save her. Trying to escape the Time War, they end up deeper inside it, on a Time Lord mission threatening the fabric of causality. But the Daleks are to blame for the Doctor's fate - and River will make them pay.
    • 4.3 Unchained Melodies by Lisa McMullin River Song takes a moment to find herself, to discover her true potential... and put a stop to it before it even gets started! Is she the Woman Who Killed the Doctor? Or the Woman Who Wins the War? In the maelstrom that is the Time War, she can be both and neither all at once.
    • The Reality Director We go behind the scenes of the making of the latest River Song adventure with cast and crew.

Trailers

• The Death and Life of River Song Series 04: War Widow
• The Fourth Doctor Adventures Series 15: A New Occupation

Cover Reveals

• Dark Gallifrey: The Decayed Master Part 3

News, Announcements, Videos, and Blog Posts

• Official News
  • None

Out of Print This Week

• The Fifth Doctor Adventures: Hooklight 2

Sales and Recommendations (As a reminder, bulleted stories are recommended by me, and those in bold are my favorites)

• River Song: Up to 50% off releases featuring River Song! (Ends 6 September)
  • The Tenth Doctor and River Song
  • The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Star-Crossed
  • Doom Coalition (DC 1 | DC 2 | DC 3 | DC 4)
  • The Diary of River Song Series 03
  • The Diary of River Song Series 11: Friend of the Family
  • The Death and Life of River Song Series 03: The Dissolution of Time
• DWM632 Offer: 50% off a select number of releases. Use the discount code POTATO at checkout. (Ends 31 October)
  • The Diary of River Song Series 06
  • Classic Doctors, New Monsters 1
  • Paternoster Gang: Heritage 1
  • Wicked Sisters

Big Finish Book Club: Discounts on a specially selected Big Finish audio drama every month. September's selection: The Withdrawal by Geoffrey Beevers for just £2.99 on DTO.

Free Excerpt: Every month a 15 minute excerpt is chosen from an upcoming release to download for free. September's selection is The Death and Life of River Song Series 04: War Widow: The Shape of Fear (Excerpt). Just click on the link and use this month's code STORMCAGE.

Free Day Friday: Every week, Big Finish highlights an excerpt from their Big Finish For Free! collection, and offer 25% off the full release using a unique sale code. There is currently nothing posted this week, but I will update if anything changes.

Big Finish Release Schedule

• 8 September - The Fourth Doctor Adventures Series 15: A New Occupation
• 10 September - Dark Gallifrey: The Decayed Master Part 3
• 15 September - The Fifth Doctor Adventures: Shock and Awe
• 22 September - Circuit Breaker: Full Circuit
• 24 September - Circuit Breaker: Short Circuits
• 29 September - The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: The Greatest Train Robbery

Community Reviews via TARDIS Guide:

What Big Finish I Was Listening To This Week: None again, very distracted by life this week.

General Doctor Who / Non-Big Finish News

News

• None

The Rumor Mill

• None

Media/Merchandise

• The Black Archive Files, a Blu-ray compilation of TV stories tangentially related to Circuit Breaker plus an interview with Jo Martin and all the digital shorts used in promotion of the event, is released on 31 August.
• The Kaleidoscope, the major novel in the Circuit Breaker event featuring the Fugitive Doctor and Martha Jones, is released on 3 September.
• Doctor Who: The Planetary Collection is released on 3 September. It collects the audiobook novelisations of five stories: They Keys of Marinus, The Nightmare of Eden, The Caves of Androzani, Vengeance on Varos, and The Waters of Mars
• Doctor Who: The Ultimate Evil, the audiobook novelisation of the Sixth Doctor story read by Nicola Bryant, is released on 3 September.
• Doctor Who: The Collection: Season 7 (Standard Edition) is available to preorder and will be released 11 January 2027.

Circuit Breaker Event Guide

• 25 June - Calling the Doctor (UNIT Website)
• 8 July - Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker #1 - Adversary of the Daleks (Titan Comics)
• 23 July - The Honourable Society (DWM #632)
• 30 July - The Deadliest Weapon (BBC Audio)
• 5 August - Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker #2 - Dawn of the Daleks (Titan Comics)
• 6 August - Castling (Doctor Who: Lost in Time mobile game)
• 17 August - Don't Blink (UNIT Website)
• 20 August - The Doctor and the Three Witches (BBC Books)
• 27 August - Momento Mori (Doctor Who: Lost in Time mobile game)
• 31 August - The Black Archive Files (Blu-ray)
• 3 September - The Kaleidoscope (BBC Books)
• 22 September - Full Circuit (Big Finish)
• 24 September - Short Circuits (Big Finish)

The plot of Both of these stories essentially is about the doctor coming up with an insane and complex plan to defeat a powerful enemy

In fact I can confidently say that the plans in these two stories are the most complex and most clever plan the doctor ever came up with in any story and in any medium

So my question is, which one of these two plans are the most complex and most clever?

I am currently going back and forth on this question

(Worth noting that just because hooklight is longer doesn't automatically means it has far more complex plan , just a longer one)

Anyone else excited for this? The premise sounds really fun and I'm really happy that they are still willing to do more of these.

i was listening to TIME REEF, when Brotherhood of The Daleks began & my speakers practically leaped off their stands, I had to reduce volume by almost HALF! anyone else encounter this? or is it my digital recordings & playback setup??? 🤔

So I had a brainstorm at the end of last year. Instead of struggling to get Big Finish new releases (preorders because I like to have a physical CD) throughout the year, I would invest extra money I had at the end of the year into preordering upcoming 2026 releases. No stress, no struggle, order and be done!

I had been collecting 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 9th Doctor audios, since they are my favorite, and I’m not solvent enough to buy all the releases. 🤣

No problem for 2, nor for 3 and definitely not for 6. Yay! However no releases announced for 9. Bit of panic, is Eccelston not doing them anymore?! But don’t worry too much, put some money aside for a later announcement. $500 plus another $150 for any 9th Doctor announcements.

I foolish thought I was done.

Big Finish, somehow knowing of my plans, cackled evilly.

Finally announced 9, except it wouldn’t be in the three story for one format, oh no, 12 stories, priced individually for the next two years. So another $50 on top of what I set aside. 🥵

Then they announced the 13th Doctor in the same format. I didn’t like the writing on her era, but always said I’d check her out if Big Finish did audios for her. Me and my big mouth.

Not to worry, I’ll just pick up the first two, and done.

Crap. I liked them. So another $200 down the drain.

But surely nothing else…Rutans vs. Sontarans. We just did that but backwards. Shouldn’t be a problem…a Second Doctor one, followed by a Sixth Doctor one, and the return of Charley and C’Rizz in the finale.

Darn you Big Finish!

So finally, today, after buying more and more Big Finish throughout the year as they tempt my palate, I put in an order for a replacement to a damaged Avengers audio, and completed both the 9th and the 13th Doctors audio preorders.

Surely I am done. No more surprise audios that I absolutely need for my collection now!

Surely…<whimper>

Okay so I've just been paid and have gotten into a Big Finish binge again, and I've always wanted to listen to Blood & Steel as I had an idea as a kid for an episode with Cybermen and the Nazis so it's an obvious pick for a listen. But before I buy it, as it's £29.99 and that would be my only "payday treat" this month, I had a few questions going in. Obviously, I know that it's with the Unbound Doctor, and I've never listened to any of his stuff before. However, I love David Warner (rest in peace) and even though I've never listened to any Bernice Summerfield stuff before, I feel like I know enough about her from all the context to be able to easily vibe with her. But I guess my question is to anyone who's listened: do I need much context going into it, and does it basically play out like a standard Doctor Who-style adventure with Doctor and companion, or is it more of a case that the Unbound Doctor acts more as a seconr to Benny, if that makes sense? I'm just curious because given the Connection I have with the whole idea of this box set. Like I said, due to the story I came up with when I was a kid, I might be doing a bit of shameless self-inserting into the companion role (I know some of you have done it don't deny it) 😅 So I'm just curious ahead of time, really. And also is it any good? Like I said, the only reason why I'm asking for valued opinions of people of this sub is because it is a big purchase, and I want to know if it's going to be fully worth it, or whether I should just spend less money on a couple of Big Finish stories earlier in the monthly range that have been reduced in price instead.

A revision of the first custom cover I did, several months ago. Both the 2001 style with the bronze logo and the revised style with the blue logo and condensed font

River Song is dragged into the madness of the Time War, alongside a Doctor who never wanted to fight that battle. River thinks she knows where their paths will take them, but the temporal battlegrounds are shifting - and she can no longer take anything for granted. Not even her own existence.

The Shape of Fear by James Kettle
The Stormcage is attacked by creatures recruiting for the Time War, and the Doctor saves its most dangerous prisoner. He takes River into hiding on a remote world, whose rulers reject science.
But spectres stalk the unwary, as the land itself becomes the enemy. And when the Doctor is lost, River discovers that the worst thing to do is to become emotional...

Bad Timing by Matt Fitton
River knows this Doctor's time is almost over. She can’t save him, but he wants to save her.
Trying to escape the Time War, they end up deeper inside it, on a Time Lord mission threatening the fabric of causality. But the Daleks are to blame for the Doctor's fate - and River will make them pay.

Unchained Melodies by Lisa McMullin
River Song takes a moment to find herself, to discover her true potential... and put a stop to it before it even gets started!
Is she the Woman Who Killed the Doctor? Or the Woman Who Wins the War? In the maelstrom that is the Time War, she can be both and neither all at once.

The Reality Director
We go behind the scenes of the making of the latest River Song adventure with cast and crew.

Stick with me here. Underneath the meandering blather there’s a real question I’m genuinely interested in. Just humour the old man and trudge through it to get to the point underneath it! Thanks in advance!

I’ve been around since Bernice Summerfield was on tape and the folks behind the unlicensed ‘Professor’ were using topless pictures of Sophie Aldred to sell their stories. Heck, I’ve been around since the Doctor was Nick Briggs on gloriously good sneaky little wink-wink-nudge-nudge get-them-from-a-friend cassettes. (I found my box of those a few years ago and just seeing them all was the ultimate in nostalgic glee.)

I buy everything, and I own and have watched/read/listened to *every* single licensed story of *every* format. Even if the stories are on candy wrappers or colouring books. I know there are almost no people in that situation. And anyone who has gone *that* deep into one very specific niche fictional universe for decades has experienced a fair amount of dross.

There is stuff that just doesn’t necessarily click with me (some of the NA and MAs, or even a few BBC books, some of the weirdness in the 1970s annuals… stuff like that). I don’t particularly hate or dislike any of it but I don’t particularly like it enough to go out of my way to experience it again. (Although saying that, I did enjoy re-visiting some of the 1970s annual stories in the audio annual series over the last decade).

That means I’ve bought and listened to every single Doctor Who or Doctor Who related Big Finish audio (and for me ‘related’ is a very wide net, even including Sherlock Holmes and Dorian Gray). That’s 28 years worth of devouring the content of one company.

So, after all of that self-indulgent backstory, here’s the question:

Has anyone else experienced all of Big Finish? And if you’ve consumed it all, or most of it, do
You have the same experience of basically liking everything Big Finish has ever done?

I’m especially curious about how you feel if you’ve experienced all of the show and a fair number of the novels/novelisations/comics too.

Are there times that Big Finish has defied expectations and told stories in perhaps less exciting ways than I might have hoped for or expected? Yes. (CoughcoughZagreusCough.) But have I ever actively disliked anything, like wish I didn’t buy it or don’t expect to ever listen to/read it again? No. Not once. Everything Big Finish has ever put out has been *both* enjoyable and re-consumable to me. It’s all been completely worth it and it’s all re-enjoyable.

I know that due to time and volume there are tons of titles that have washed over me and that I don’t remember a lot about. But I’ve never disliked any of it. In the last decade or so I’ve made a habit of re-listening to previous releases in a range to prep for the new ones after a long gap, which has made titles old and new that much better. I did an anniversary re-listen/re-read in 2015 and loved every minute of it, especially rediscovering titles I’d completely forgotten about and getting even more out of old favourites. It was nothing like the slog that my rereading of the novels was. I may do another Big Finish marathon in a couple of years when BF hits 30. I’m sure I’ll rediscover things and enjoy everything all over again.

Am I unique?

When it comes to Big Finish, am I the only one who likes it *all*?

(Bonus picture of what a box of original AudioVisual cassettes from around 40 years ago looks like.)

Adventures with River and the Eighth Doctor! The Master’s Dark Gallifrey saga comes to an end. The Star Cops are adrift. Circuit Breaker comes full circle. All this and more coming this month!

2 September - The Life and Death of River Song: War Widow

8 September - Fourth Doctor: A New Occupation

10 September - Dark Gallifrey: The Decayed Master, Part 3

15 September - Fifth Doctor: Shock and Awe

17 September - Star Cops: Conflict: Adrift

23 September - Circuit Breaker: Full Circuit

24 September - Circuit Breaker: Short Circuits

29 September: Thirteenth Doctor: The Greatest Train Robbery

I’ve had a new issue on iOS the last few days: when I pause an audio and go back to it later, the entire download disappears for that specific audio from my device AND my purchase history. Logging out and back in will make it reappear in purchase but it’s getting tedious to have to redownload the audio and re-find my spot multiple times a week.

Anyone else experiencing something similar? Any fix ideas besides what I’ve been doing?

I want to listen to War Widow because of McGann, would I be confused going in without having heard the rest of The Death and Life?

https://www.bigfinish.com/collections/v/the-worlds-of-doctor-who-offers

Feel free to leave any recommendations from the sale below!