Crashed On Dido

    Following on from Conflicts of Interest , Big Finish's In The Night returns to the more well-trodden ground of two and four part stories while sticking with the format of one story set out in the wider universe, with the other set in Earth's history. However, this box set flips the script, with the adventure out into space framing itself as a historical adventure of the far future, and the Earth-bound historical being contemporaneous to this era of Doctor Who . The era-appropriate variant of the cover art, designed by Ryan Aplin Pursuit of the Nightjar      The first story of this release - Pursuit of the Nightjar - is written by Tim Foley, a name I could not have been more eager to see if I tried as he was previously responsible for The Auton Infinity , a story I have made no attempt to hide as my favourite Big Finish adventure, as well as Break the Ice which is one of the best from the Ninth Doctor Adventures range. Such a thing is a double edged sword, it comes with

      Back in 2022, Big Finish started a series known as Interludes , bonus hour-long audiobooks included with one set of the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors' adventures a year. To me, these seem a nice way to sweeten the pot with pricepoints being a common point of contention to listeners. However, as much as I've enjoyed the longer-form Audio Novels range, I prefer the usual full cast adventures and perhaps to my shame I've dismissed Interludes as nothing more than an afterthought. After today, I've had a change of heart. The cover art for Gobbledegook . A small shame to not see Velar with his reading glasses on.      Gobbledegook is a story by Frazer Lee, a newcomer to Big Finish, included as an downloadable extra for Conflicts of Interest . Rather than being a totally isolated adventure, it expands on lore introduced in the set, allowing us to meet the character Velar - an armadillo-like alien friend of the Doctor's - who was previously only talked about in th

    The Peter Davison era of Doctor Who is one I have a strong affection for and in my time as a Big Finish listener, I've particularly enjoyed what they've been doing with this era. The Marc arc and Forty saga are storylines I hold in high regard but now, rather than beginning a new story arc in 2023, the Fifth Doctor Adventures range seems to be taking a break from that with a pair of standalone box sets. After much self imposed delay I've decided to finally treat myself with them, the first of which is Conflicts of Interest . The era-appropriate variant of the cover art, designed by Ryan Aplin Friendly Fire      The first story of the set is Friendly Fire by John Dorney, in which the Doctor and his friends find themselves visiting an unremarkable mining world to kill time while the TARDIS is out of action. The Doctor plans to meet up with an old friend on arrival but the group quickly finds the people of the planet suspiciously obstructive.      Ultimately, the story

Koquillion (left) facing a frightened Vicki (right)        In my eyes, Vicki's introduction is when the series truly shifts from being "early Doctor Who " finding its footing into the show we all know and love today, because despite the large gap in time, The Rescue is one of the classic stories that most resembles what the show would become in the 21 st century. Whilst being one of the only two-part stories in the standard format of 25 minutes episodes makes for an easy comparison in runtime, the connection is more than skin deep.      Something that can often feel lacking or underplayed in the classic series are the emotional journeys companions can go through, this is not a problem The Rescue has as the story focuses on the distress Vicki faces: having crash landed on the planet Dido, dealing with the loss of her father and being held captive by the sinister Koquillion, as one of the two survivors of the UK-201 spaceship. The people of Dido threaten Vicki and her fe

     Beginning this flight through eternity, some preamble is perhaps required. Vicki Pallister is - in my opinion - one of Doctor Who 's greatest companions. Many fans will tell you all about how Patrick Troughton had the hardest job of any actor to take the leading role, having to bring a whole new audience aboard the TARDIS, while convincing old fans that the passing of the key was something to embrace rather than to reject. Yet strangely you never seem to hear the same said about Maureen O'Brien and the character of Vicki, despite doing the same thing for the assistant role nearly two years earlier.      At the time of her introduction, viewers had just said farewell to Susan Foreman - the Doctor's granddaughter and a character present from the very beginning - with no precedent for what would come next, and introducing a new main character into an established series is often a controversial move, nevermind when it's been a weekly fixture for thirteen months. Big sh