Big Finish to produce lost Fourth Doctor adventure

A new ‘lost’ Doctor Who adventure is on the way from Big Finish, this time from legendary TV producer John Lloyd. Featuring the Fourth Doctor voiced by Tom Baker, the story is sure to be an audience pleaser.

Via RadioTimes

Doctor Who fans will finally get to experience a story developed but never made for television in the 1970s – a Fourth Doctor adventure written by famed TV producer John Lloyd.

Lloyd is now known as creator of Not the Nine O’Clock News and co-creator Spitting Image, as well as for producing Blackadder and QI.

But in the late 1970s, Lloyd was the flat-mate of Doctor Who script editor Douglas Adams (of Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy fame) and pitched a story for the BBC sci-fi series, The Doomsday Contract.

Though the story was never produced, it will finally see the light of day as an audio play produced by Big Finish, with Tom Baker, Lalla Ward and John Leeson reprising their roles as the Doctor, Romana and K-9 and writer Nev Fountain adapting Lloyd’s pitch.

A synopsis for The Doomsday Contract reads:

Earth – a small, insignificant planet. Entirely devoid of intelligent life.

At least that’s according to the legal documents. The Doctor, Romana and K9 find themselves at the centre of a most unusual trial.

A intergalactic corporation want to bulldoze the planet for a development project. Only a previous court’s preservation document is standing in their way. The Doctor has been summoned as an expert witness. If he can prove Earth contains intelligent life, the whole world will be saved.

But with a fortune at stake… it was never going to be that simple.

Director Nicholas Briggs said: “The Doomsday Contract is a tremendous example of the best kind of story from that era of Doctor Who where the brief was to veer from overt violence and threat to wit and fun.

“When I was a teenager, I was far too serious for this sort of thing. But what we have in this story is a tremendously witty script by Nev Fountain that made me laugh out loud when I read it. But it’s not simply a comedy. It’s loaded with threat and adventure and brilliant characters all mixed up in a really special story. I loved it.”

Doctor Who: The Doomsday Contract is due for release in 2021 and is now available for pre-order exclusively at bigfinish.com.

Doctor Who – Tom Baker Time Capsule box set

Remember all the excitement earlier about the cryptic Doctor Who – Tom Baker video? Finally the answers are at hand and it’s… well… I’m excited but I like toys and DVD re-releases. The only DVD included is Terror of the Zygons, a beloved adventure that also closes the Fourth Doctor era on DVD.

(The set is available for pre-order from BBC shop… but be ready for some sticker shock.)

Doctor Who – The Tom Baker Time Capsule

With a limited run of 5,000 units, the Time Capsule also includes an exclusive post-regenerative Fourth Doctor action figure – wearing Jon Pertwee’s trademark frill-fronted shirt, a Fourth Doctor sonic screwdriver, an audio version of classic Tom Baker story ‘Genesis of the Daleks’, the novel ‘Tomb of Valdemar’ by Simon Messingham, art cards of all the Fourth Doctor’s companions and a letter from Tom Baker himself.

The ‘Fourth Doctor Time Capsule’ will be released on July 29.

(Via DigitalSpy)

Doctor Who – Philip Hinchcliffe and Tom Baker re-united

Arguably the most successful and influential of the Doctor Who eras lasted from 1974-1977 when Robert Holmes, Tom Baker and Philip Hinchcliffe took the program to new dimensions of dramatic adventure and suspense, Drawing heavily from Hammer Horror and other sources, this period has retained its strong appeal with fans to this day.

Recently a pair of ‘missing’ stories were adapted for audio by Big Finish that would have been produced during this era (For From the Future and The Valley of Death). Shortly, more stories will be released that revisit this time of dark Gothic horror and spine-tingling action.

Philip Hinchcliffe, who produced Doctor Who from 1975 to 1977 and oversaw many all-time classic stories including Pyramids of Mars and The Talons of Weng-Chiang, is returning to the Fourth Doctor and Leela in an audio drama collaboration with Big Finish.

Doctor Who: Philip Hinchcliffe Presents is a box set of two brand new audio adventures that will evoke the tone of the series from his era.

“When we were recording series three of The Fourth Doctor Adventures, Philip asked if he could come along to the studio and observe,” says producer David Richardson. “I know that Tom Baker and Louise Jameson were thrilled to have him there, and they both enthused to him about what a great time they were having working for Big Finish. After the recording ended, Philip took me and executive producer Nicholas Briggs aside, and pitched the idea of doing a set of stories of the kind he would have hoped to have done, had he stayed on to produce the series for longer. We just said ‘yes’ instantly!”

The first story in the set will be an epic six-parter set in Victorian London, adapted by Marc Platt (Ghost Light), which will be paired with a four-parter.

“My aim with the box set is to create stories that feel they could belong to my second or third season,” says Phllip. “They are not designed to follow on from my era, more to re-evoke it for fans who enjoyed the originals: and so the Doctor and Leela in these new stories are the same as they were then, in the glorious seventies! That’s the beauty of radio – they look and sound the same!

Doctor Who: Philip Hinchcliffe Presents will be released in August 2014, and is available for pre-order.

Also available for pre-order now is the fourth series of The Fourth Doctor Adventures, which features eight brand new stories, starring Tom Baker as the Doctor and Louise Jameson as Leela. You can subscribe to all eight, or order a bundle which also includes the Philip Hinchcliffe Presents box set, all at a low pre-order price!

More info here

Also soon to be released:

177. DALEKS AMONG US

OUT IN SEPTEMBER

Synopsis

AZIMUTH DEPARTMENT OF RE-EDUCATION

REMINDER: TO ALL CITIZENS

There are no Daleks on Azimuth. There have never been Daleks on Azimuth.

Twenty years ago, the Daleks did not invade Azimuth. There was no war. There were no death camps. A man named ‘the Doctor’ did not help liberate Azimuth.

There are no such things as Daleks. They do not exist. There are no Daleks among us.

UPDATE: TO ALL CITIZENS

A strange blue box has not appeared in Monument Plaza. Off-worlders named ‘the Doctor’, ‘Elizabeth Klein’ and ‘Will Arrowsmith’ are not at large in the city. For your own safety, should you not see any of the above, report at once to the Department of Re-education, Azimuth Central.

NEVER REMEMBER

Written By: Alan Barnes
Directed By: Ken Bentley

Cast

Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Tracey Childs (Dr Elizabeth Klein), Christian Edwards (Will Arrowsmith), Terry Molloy (Davros), Nicholas Briggs (The Daleks)

Doctor Who and the Night of the Stormcrow

‘ Night of the Stormcrow’

Story XI
Written by Marc Platt, directed by Nicholas Briggs
Released: December 2012

“Out there in the night, there is an emptiness… a darkness.”
“Could be just a lack of breakfast.”

The Doctor and Leela land just outside the Mount McKerry observatory during an auspicious evening. A visitor from the stars has come to Earth, which delights Professor Gesima Cazalet who has named it her ‘stormcrow,’ but when the darkness seems to move and kill, that wonder turns to terror.

Stormcrow was released as a special one-off and features the pairing of the Fourth Doctor and Leela, and fits perfectly into the early Graham Williams era, blending Gothic elements with witty dialog and richly drawn humanistic supporting characters. Night of the Stormcrow feels not too dissimilar to Image of Fendahl or Horror of Fang Rock, both stories that center on supernatural threats revealed to be extraterrestrial in origin.

The Doctor is at his eccentric best, charming the rattled scientific crew stranded on the isolated island site and the huntress Leela is in fine form, playing the savage from out of time in touch with her instincts. The crew of the observatory are out of their depths, unaware of what their research has attracted or the power it holds.

One of Classic Doctor Who’s strongest suits is atmosphere. The greatest of its stories may admittedly be lacking in production value or impressive special effects, but a unique alignment of top notch acting talent, sharp scripting and superb direction have resulted in memorably evocative adventures such as Talons of Weng Chiang, Kinda, and the Curse of Fenric (just to name a few). In the audio format these strengths come to the fore and are immensely successful.

Writer Marc Platt (the man behind 1989’s Ghostlight) was inspired by sleepless nights when he was seized by almost palpable anxieties. This translates well in a claustrophobic thriller where the monster is at once invisible and inescapable. There are few truly spooky Doctor Who stories that hearken back to the good old days when the program launched viewers behind the sofa, but this one is up there.

Doctor Who -Night of the Stormcrow was only available for a limited time, but may be ordered from The Book Depository with free shipping worldwide by clicking on the link below:

This week at your comic shop – 3/20/13

For the complete list of this week’s comics, click here.

Not sure where your local comic shop is? Try comicshoplocator.com!

(note: all information including ad copy is from the publisher)
If you can’t make it to the shop, just click on any of the images below to be taken to an online retailer. I don’t get any referrals for these sales, I’m just doing my bit to spread the word on some neat products.

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Action Comics #18

Action Comics #18
The lead story, written by Grant Morrison with art by Rags Morales, Brad Walker, Cam Smith and Andrew Hennessy, is destined to be a milestone in The New 52 – and that’s all we can say about it for now!

Plus, in the backup story, written by Sholly Fisch with art by Chris Sprouse and Karl Story, learn how Superman’s battle against the Little Man has some very far-reaching consequences.

The new creative team of writer Andy Diggle and artist Tony S. Daniel now will make its debut in Action Comics #19.
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Doctor Who Ark In Space DVD

Doctor Who Ark In Space DVD
From BBC Video! The fourth Doctor’s first trip in the TARDIS brings him, Sarah Jane, and Harry Sullivan many thousand years into the future to Nerva, a space station in Earth’s orbit. Having evacuated Earth when solar activity threatened all life on the planet, a few hundred survivors have been drifting in suspended animation for thousands of years. Even more perplexing is the discovery that someone has sabotaged Nerva’s vital systems. The Doctor reactivates the systems, and one by one, the human race begins to awake from its enforced deep sleep. The future of humankind appears secure until the Doctor learns that the larvae of the Wirrn, a hostile insect race, are also aboard.
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Son Of Satan Previews Exclusive Blk T-Shirt

Son Of Satan Previews Exclusive Blk T-Shirt
The Son of Satan rides on this black t-shirt that features vintage Marvel Comics artwork!
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All New X-Men #9

All New X-Men #9
By: Brian Michael Bendis, David Marquez, Stuart Immonen
The Original Five X-Men get new costumes!

Series main-artist Stuart Immonen returns!

Mystique makes her big move.
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Saga #11

Saga #11
By: Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples
It’s an intergalactic family reunion, as Hazel’s parents and grandparents join forces to escape a dying world.
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Avengers #8

Avengers #8
By: Jonathan Hickman, Dustin Weaver
‘SYSTEM FAILURE’

The Avengers face off against the World Breaker.

Discover the imminent threat to the Avengers World.

Watch as we get our first hints as the hidden connections between the events of Avengers and New Avengers.
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Doctor Who Prisoners Of Time #3 (of 12)

Doctor Who Prisoners Of Time #3 (of 12)
By: David Tipton, Mike Collins, Francesco Francavilla
Our yearlong celebration of Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary continues! ‘Now listen to me!’ It’s time to fire up Bessie, as the Third Doctor takes the spotlight in this issue of a 12-part epic adventure featuring all 11 incarnations of the Doctor!

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Cable And X-Force #6

Cable And X-Force #6
By: Dennis Hopeless, Salvador Larroca
A new arc begins! Great jumping on point!

Cable’s team loses a member as Colossus goes to jail.
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It Girl & The Atomics #8

It Girl & The Atomics #8
By: Jamie S. Rich, Mike Norton, Laura Allred
‘THE WORLD IS FLAT,’ Conclusion

It Girl is trapped in the alps trying to rescue a kidnapped scientist from a slippery supervillain, a scary gangster lady, and her two giant robot sons. Is the scientist’s coveted device the secret to getting out alive?

It Girl’s just going to have to turn it on and find out!

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Captain America #5

Captain America #5
By: Rick Remender, John Romita, Jr.
Zola’s terrible experiments on the indigenous creatures give birth to a terrible new foe! No flesh escapes The Patchwork!

Captain America vs Jet Black, with the fate of Ian in the balance.

A young Steve Rogers must help his family to survive their worst year of the Great Depression, but how far will he go?
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Elephantmen #47

Elephantmen #47
By: Richard Starkings, Axel Medellin, Camille D’Errico
‘SLEEPING PARTNERS,’ Part Six Sahara must give up her baby, before it is even born.

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Daredevil #24

Daredevil #24
By: Mark Waid, Chris Samnee
Fateful news about someone close to Daredevil!

Will Matt be forced to abandon his Daredevil identity?
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Nightwing #18

Nightwing #18
By: Kyle Higgins, Roger Bonet Martinez, Juan Jose Ryp
Dick Grayson lost so much during ‘DEATH OF THE FAMILY’ that some new events are going to push him right over the edge!

Nightwing has almost no hope left until the chance for vengeance presents itself.

What decisions will he make?
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Indestructible Hulk #5

Indestructible Hulk #5
By: Mark Waid, Leinil Francis Yu
Hulk versus Attuma!

What is the secret of Lost Lemuria?

Attuma’s schemes guarantee death for all air-breathers!
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Legion Of Super Heroes #18

Legion Of Super Heroes #18
By: Paul Levitz, Scott Kolins, Keith Giffen
Separated and in great danger, the Legionnaires must face their greatest foes yet: the new FATAL FIVE!

Can the Legion’s newly appointed leader handle their greatest enemies?
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New Avengers #4

New Avengers #4
By: Jonathan Hickman, Steve Epting, Jock
‘WORLD EATER’

The Illuminati have learned that Earth is the center point for the death of the Universe.

If this is true, doesn’t that mean destroying it might save everything else?

Enter the world eater, Galactus.
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Justice League #18

Justice League #18
By: Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis
Cyborg takes center stage as events fall into place for next month’s massive new story arc: ‘OFF THE GRID’!

Also, Batman continues to be question the Superman/Wonder Woman alliance and Aquaman’s future with the League.

Plus: The Shazam backup story reveals the origin of Black Adam-and what it means for Billy Batson’s survival!
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Doctor Who Destiny Of The Daleks Audio CD Set

Doctor Who Destiny Of The Daleks Audio CD Set
Tom Baker stars as the Doctor in this four-part TV serial from 1979, in which the Daleks return to their home planet of Skaro, in search of their entombed creator Davros. The Doctor and Romana soon find themselves caught in the middle of a war between two different races. This full-cast drama includes special linking narration by a member of the original TV cast.
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Steed And Mrs Peel Ongoing #6

Steed And Mrs Peel Ongoing #6
By: Caleb Monroe, Lorena Carvalho
Adding a touch of class to outer spaceÖ The conclusion of our super-spies’ foray into space!

John Steed and Emma Peel have gotten entangled with an eccentric figure that is determined to see Britain lead in space, no matter the cost.

Rising star Caleb Monroe brings us a story of defending Queen & Country in Zero-G!
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Nova #2

Nova #2
By: Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness
A boy, a helmet, and an intergalactic legacy!

Sam Alexander isn’t just any 15-year old, he’s just been recruited to the Nova Corps: the Universe’s police force.

What do you get when you pair a raccoon, a green alien lady and a scared teenager? An amazingly awesome origin tale!
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Batwoman #18

Batwoman #18
By: J. H. Williams, Trevor McCarthy
A new story arc begins here as Batwoman adjusts to her new partner and her new role in the war on crime.

Guest-starring Batman!
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Savage Wolverine #3

Savage Wolverine #3
By: Frank Cho
Shanna and Wolverine are separated, and Shanna teams up with. . . Amadeus Cho?

Secrets about the island are revealed, but only bring up more questions.

And, in this issue, a hero will fall!
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All Crime #1

All Crime #1
By: Erik Warfield, Edward Laroche, Bruce Timm
A look into the lives of two men drawn into a friendship through a life of crime, and driven to murder over the love of a woman. Thirty-six full-color pages of crime, cars, and killings. With a cover by Bruce Timm!

“Art of Fiction are combining all of my favorite elements into one: crime, noir, pulp, and gorgeous artwork. How can you go wrong? Check out All Crime–you won’t regret it!”
-Steve Niles (30 Days of Night)

“A fantastic addition to any crime comics shelf, and I can’t wait to read the next issue!”
-Ed Brubaker (Criminal, Fatale)
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Outer Limits Creature Collection Alien Thetan Pvc Figure

Outer Limits Creature Collection Alien Thetan Pvc Figure
Imported from Japan! There is nothing wrong with your PREVIEWS. It’s The Outer Limits Creature Collection Series! A true masterpiece of American science-fiction television drama, The Outer Limites began broadcasting in September, 1963, and each episode featured marvelous creatures and aliens that would challenge the mind! The Outer Limits Creature Collection accurately reproduces the creatures and aiens as a 1/8 scale collectible figure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to the Outer Limits, and it starts with the Alien Thetan! Window box packaging.
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X-termination #1

X-termination #1
By: David Lapham, David Lopez, Ed McGuinness
THE X-TERMINATION EVENT STARTS HERE!

Joining together the teams from ASTONISHING X-MEN, AGE OF APOCALYPSE and X-TREME X-MEN, and spinning out of the pages of UNCANNY X-FORCE.

AOA Nightcrawler just wants to get home and he doesn’t care if he takes out our world to get there.

Wolverine versus Nightcrawler!
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Doctor Who Aztecs DVD

Doctor Who Aztecs DVD
From BBC Video! The TARDIS arrives in 15th-century Mexico inside the tomb of one-time Aztec High Priest Yetaxa. The travellers become cut off from the ship when they explore the temple outside and the tomb door closes behind them. Barbara is proclaimed by the High Priest of Knowledge, Autloc, as Yetaxa’s divine reincarnation. However, she incurs the enmity of the High Priest of Sacrifice, Tlotoxl, when – against the Doctor’s advice – she attempts to use her new-found authority to put an end to the Aztec practice of human sacrifice.

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Doctor Doom Bust Bank

Doctor Doom Bust Bank
A genius inventor and a sorcerer, Doctor Doom combined technology and sorcery together to fight against the Fantastic Four. Ranked as the #3 top villain in IGN’s Top 100 Villains, Doctor Doom has been well-regarded in the Marvel Comics fan community. This highly-detailed sculpt of Otto Octavius features an impeccable attention to detail and is made of roto plastic. It can be used either as a bank or a display piece.
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Doctor Who Reign Of Terror DVD

Doctor Who Reign Of Terror DVD
From BBC Video! The TARDIS materializes not far from Paris in 1794. The travelers become involved with an escape chain rescuing prisoners from the guillotine and get caught up in the machinations of an English undercover spy, James Stirling – alias Lemaitre, governor of the Conciergerie Prison. The Doctor, posing as a Regional Officer of the Provinces, is twice brought before the great tyrant, Robespierre himself, and has to talk himself out of trouble. Ian and Barbara, meanwhile, have a close encounter with a future ruler of France, Napoleon Bonaparte.
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Big Finish new releases

EIGHTH DOCTOR SPECIAL OFFER FOR TWO WEEKS!

It’s a massive special offer for the next fortnight, as the whole four-series run of Eighth Doctor Adventures (34 stories in total) is available for £5 each on CD or download. Or you can buy a complete series for £35 (£40 for the fourth series).

Starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor and Sheridan Smith as Lucie Miller, it finds the pair thrust together by the Time Lords and, as they get to know and rely on each other, taking part in a series of wild and wonderful adventures fighting Cybermen, Ice Warriors, Zygons, Krynoids, Wirrn, the Giant Spiders, fallen Time Lord Morbius and, of course, the dreaded Daleks – at their most evil and terrifying ever!

Add to that killer robots, horrific beasts and a range of psychopathic villains, and you’ve got a recipe for epic, fast-paced adventures. For a taster of those adventures, we’re also offering the chance to download the first half of series two tale Max Warp – guest starring Graeme Garden, James Fleet and Duncan ‘from Blue’ James – absolutely free as a podcast. Just pop over to the podcast page and download or stream it now!

The offer will end on the morning of Saturday 2 March.

171. THE SEEDS OF WAR (OUT IN MARCH)
Humanity is emerging from a long, exhausting war. Against an enemy so powerful, so implacable, it seemed unstoppable – right up until the moment it stopped.

Now, despite its ‘victory’, the human race is on its knees. The Doctor and Mel join its struggle for survival to try to ensure it has a future.

A race against time takes them from the Great Tower of Kalsos to the Reliquaries of Earth. In an epic journey across the ten systems, their fates are intertwined with one family. The Tevelers are to feel the effects of war more than most…

The Doctor has a plan. Mel is sure he can save the day. But something is lurking. Watching. Waiting. A presence the Doctor knows of old. But just how far does its influence pervade?

The Eminence awaits…

Written By: Matt Fitton and Nicholas Briggs
Directed By: Barnaby Edwards

172. ELDRAD MUST DIE! (OUT IN APRIL)
“A Doctor, curse his name, threw me down among the dead… but I endure. I am Eldrad… and I must live!

A nuclear icebreaker, foundering in Arctic waters. Seabirds washed up in the fishing resort of Ambermouth, their wings encrusted with crystals. A shining artefact of uncertain provenance, up for sale on an auction site.

All of these things are linked, as the Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and Turlough are about to discover. Linked to the rebirth of a genocidal tyrant, presumed dead many years ago…

For the sake of the planets Earth and Kastria alike… Eldrad must die!

Written By: Marc Platt
Directed By: Ken Bentley

173. THE LADY OF MERCIA (OUT IN MAY)
The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa to the University of Frodsham, close to where the warrior queen Æthelfrid fought a desperate and bloody rearguard action against the savage Danes. Over a thousand years later, in 1983, battle is still being raged, with student activists taking on savage funding cuts… and disrupting a conference about Æthelfrid convened by history professor John Bleak.

Meanwhile, over in the Physics Department, Dr Philippa Stone is working night and day on a top-secret project – but can her theoretical time machine really be the solution to the university’s problems?

Present and past are about to collide – and the results, as the TARDIS crew is about to discover, will be far from academic!

Written By: Paul Magrs
Directed By: Ken Bentley

174. PRISONERS OF FATE OUT IN JUNE
Twenty-five years ago, with Richter’s Syndrome running rampant throughout the galaxy, the brilliant biochemist Nyssa, formerly of Traken, bade a painful farewell to her young family… and set off into the space, in search of a cure for this deadly disease.

She never returned.

Now, her grown-up son continues her work on the penal colony of Valderon, still desperate to make the breakthrough that eluded his presumed-dead mother.

So when the TARDIS lands on Valderon, bringing the Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa to its fortress prison, the scene is set for a painful reunion… but not only for Nyssa. The Doctor’s past is about to catch up with him too…

Written By: Jonathan Morris
Directed By: Ken Bentley

2.05. PHANTOMS OF THE DEEP OUT IN MAY
On their mission to explore the Mariana Trench at the very bottom of the ocean, the deepest and most inhospitable place on Earth, the crew of the deep sea vehicle Erebus make an unusual and startling discovery.

A battered blue police box.

As the Doctor, Romana and K9 join them on their journey, the submariners soon discover that the TARDIS is not the only unusual find lurking on the sea floor.

Super-intelligent squid, long-lost submarines and their miraculous occupants are only the start of their troubles. The Goblins are coming. And they won’t let anyone out alive.

Written By: Jonathan Morris
Directed By: Ken Bentley

7.12. COUNCIL OF WAR (OUT IN JUNE)
At the Doctor’s request, Sergeant Benton is investigating ghosts and missing people in Kettering, while undercover as a local councillor

And that’s how he comes to meet Margery Phipps.

An alien incursion in the town hall leads them on a journey to a terrible future – where Margery discovers how she changed a world, and the life of a whole civilisation hangs in the balance…

Written By: Simon Barnard and Paul Morris
Directed By: Lisa Bowerman

BLAKE’S 7: THE LIBERATOR CHRONICLES VOL 3 RELEASED

We’re full of love for our listeners today on Valentine’s Day, and our gift to you is a brand new Blake’s 7 box set: The Liberator Chronicles – Volume 3, aka The Armageddon Storm…

When mercenary Del Grant alerts the Liberator crew to the existence of a new Federation super-weapon, Avon leads an epic battle to avert catastrophe…

The Armageddon Storm is a huge story told across three discs, and reveals what happened during the unseen-on-TV Galactic War. It stars Paul Darrow (Avon), Michael Keating (Vila) and Jan Chappell (Cally), returning to the roles they made famous on TV, and they’re joined this time by the also-returning Tom Chadbon as Del Grant, a character who first appeared in the 1979 Blake’s 7 episode Countdown. Listeners may also remember him as Duggan in much-loved TV Doctor Who tale City of Death, alongside Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor.

Written by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright and directed by Ken Bentley, Blake’s 7 – The Liberator Chronicles: Volume 3 is available to download now, and CD box sets will be mailed out today.

Also available now is our highly-praised full cast Blake’s 7 audio drama Warship, reuniting the entire original cast, and its accompanying ebook.

Blake’s 7 was created by Terry Nation (who also created the Daleks for Doctor Who) and ran for four years on BBC TV. It focused on a team of resistance fighters aboard their advanced ship the Liberator, who battle the corrupt forces of the Federation. The Liberator Chronicles: Volume 3 is part of a series of audiobooks that is being released in a licence deal with B7 Media.

Tom Baker returns to Doctor Who for 50th

In what is hopefully the first of many news stories regarding the actors returning to Doctor Who, it appears that Mad Tom will indeed be on our screens again as the erstwhile Timelord.

The most beloved of the classic Doctors, Tom Baker reigned as the ambassador of the program for seven years until he finally was replaced by Peter Davison. He has since bemoaned the fact that Who ruined his career (Davison and Sylvester McCoy are rare exceptions in that they have enjoyed success after their portrayal of the Doctor), but he has traditionally had a love/hate relationship with the scarf that made him a household name to millions yet kept him from finding similar success outside of the cult TV program.

Former Time Lord Tom Baker will return to ‘Doctor Who’ to mark the show’s 50th anniversary.

The 78-year-old actor, who played The Doctor from 1974 to 1981 on BBC One’s iconic sci-fi drama, is being lined up to reprise his role in 2013.

A ‘Doctor Who’ insider told The Daily Express: ”It will be fitting to have Tom back to mark the 50 years. He was a big part of the show’s success and is much-loved by the fans.”

Possible storylines are being kept under wraps, but he is likely to join forces with current Time Lord, Matt Smith. Rumours indicate the half century landmark for the long-running show could also be 29-year-old Matt’s last.

Fourth doctor Tom – best known in recent years for voicing Matt Lucas and David Walliams’ comedy series ‘Little Britain’ – has previously shunned his association with the programme. He refused to take part in the 20th anniversary special episode in 1983, prompting producers to replace him with a waxwork dummy at the photo call.

This news comes just after Tom complained ‘Doctor Who’ had ruined his career.

He told The Sun newspaper: ”It essentially killed my career stone dead because I suddenly realised I liked being ‘Doctor Who’ more than anything that had ever happened to me before.

”So when I went to play Macbeth the audience wanted me to play Macbeth in the style of ‘Doctor Who’ and naturally I did. I realised then that the people coming to see me didn’t want to see me playing Jack the Ripper or whatever it was.”

Copyright © bangshowbiz.com 2012.
Via STV

So Tom is back.

Who else?

The Fifth Doctor – Peter Davison

Peter Davison already returned to the part in 2006 for Time Crash when he met the Tenth incarnation. He may be interested in coming back, but he is very busy these days with other TV work.

The Sixth Doctor – Colin Baker

Colin Baker may have ruined his chances by jokingly stating that he is not interested.

The Seventh Doctor – Sylvester McCoy

No word on Sylvester McCoy, but given his prominence in The Hobbit as Radaghast the Red, I should think he’d be in high demand.

The Eighth Doctor – Paul McGann

It is suspected that Paul McGann, who has only appeared as the Doctor on screen once, in the 1995 TV Movie, could be coming back

The Ninth Doctor – Christopher Eccleston

It is all but definite that the 9th Doctor, Christopher Eccleston will not ever return to Who.

The Tenth Doctor – David Tennant

David Tennant is a dead cert.

Doctor Who and The Ark in Space

‘The Ark in Space’

Written by Robert Holmes (based on ideas by John Lucarotti), directed by Rodney Bennett
Story 076
Transmitted 25 January – 15 February 1975
“Homo Sapiens. What an inventive, invincible species. It’s only a few million years since they crawled up out of the mud and learned to walk. Puny, defenseless bipeds. They’ve survived floods, famine and plague. They’ve survived cosmic wars and holocausts, and now here they are, out among the stars, waiting to begin a new life. Ready to outsit eternity. They’re indomitable.”

The newly regenerated Doctor takes his traveling companion Sarah Jane Smith and Naval Officer Harry Sullivan for a jaunt in his TARDIS. Landing in the distant future, the travelers find that they have are on an interstellar version of Noah’s ark orbiting a scarred and barren Earth where the surviving human population waits for revival. But they are not the only trespassers on the Ark, there is an infestation of something very old and alien that is hatching its eggs in the bodies of the sleeping humans.

The satellite is armed to protect its precious cargo, which is bad news for the Doctor and Harry who come under fire from a ceiling-mounted laser. Sarah, meanwhile, manages to get in a series of predicaments that almost defies belief. Nearly asphyxiated, she is then teleported by computer control and put into suspension. By the time the Doctor and Harry manage to extricate themselves from their own situation, they are left to marvel at what the space station really is, a wonderful testament to the human will to survive, a massive ark.

A slimy green trail along the floor of the incubation chambers hints at a great danger. Looking for clues, the husk of a massive insect is discovered in a cupboard. The futuristic space station has a big problem, and somewhere in its innards a creature lurks waiting to strike. If this sounds familiar, you may be surprised to learn that Ridley Scott’s Alien was a few years off still.

Yes, Doctor Who ‘did it first’ again.

The Doctor performs a dissection (to Sarah’s disgust)

The Doctor meets one of the revived crew members, the beautiful and charming Vera, who provides some much-needed exposition of Space Station Nerva’s mission to preserve the human race in the aftermath of a deadly solar flare that blasted the planet surface, making it uninhabitable for generations. But they have overslept… a lot. Unsettled and confused, Vera puts her faith in her captain, Noah.

The lovely Wendy Williams as Vera

In fine tradition, Noah suspects that the Doctor and Harry are saboteurs and questions their every motive. When the Doctor theorizes that the creature must have made a nest in the station’s generator room, Noah is convinced that these strangers are up to no good. Unfortunately, when he investigates he becomes infected by the alien invader, the Wirrn, an outer space locust seeking to breed and survive.

The Wirrn!

Overwhelmed by the alien influence, Noah becomes a warped and tormented character, slowly but surely degrading into a slug then a full adult Wirrn, protecting the hive at the center of the space station. Yes, he’s also covered in green bubble wrap. Remember that this was 1975 and such products were not being used to secure packages sent by ebay sellers.

As a monster, the Wirrn are hindered by their lack to do much of anything. They can’t walk, grab things or move their mouths. The poor actor trapped inside the costume can be seen hobbling about like a child wrapped in a blanket. But as a concept, the Wirrn are pure horror gold, something that was later tapped by the BBV team and also Big Finish in a series of audio stories. Transformed into a purely auditory fiend, the visual appearance of a fragile foam prop is removed and the Wirrn become a much more effective threat.

One can only imagine what a proper CGi Wirrn would look like and given that current Doctor Who producer Steven Moffat is a self-described king of Doctor Who nerds, we may even see one some day.

Noah is overcome by the Wirrn

As an American fan of Doctor Who, I was exposed to Doctor Who via nightly public TV transmissions. For years all I saw were three-four years of the same Tom Baker stories, until Peter Davison arrived. When I became invested as a fan instead of just a viewer, I would groan every time I saw the opening credits of Robot because it meant that I’d be stuck in the 1970’s for ages. I took this era for granted, especially the 1974/5 season that introduced Tom Baker and radically changed the program’s course. Recently I had some extensive dental surgery, luckily I could watch any DVD I wanted which meant that I and my dentist saw this story several times over in one sitting.

I discovered that it is stunning TV and a grand Doctor Who story that appears positively bonkers to anyone unfamiliar with the concept of the program. The special effects that fans often moan about are more bizarre than cheap and the acting, informed by RADA-training is so other-worldly that the whole thing feels like it came from another world. I think that it was this weird factor that attracted me to Doctor Who in the first place. When I finally saw the previous three Doctors on PBS after the series’ 20th anniversary, I saw that it was far weirder than I could ever imagine.

Clip

Doctor Who in the Pertwee era was an action serial with a relatively slim level of horror. This was very different to the previous period that saw terrifying monsters creeping out of every dark space imaginable to kill anything in their path. The Pertwee stories, arranged by Dicks and Letts were moralizing intelligent tales that spoke to a more soulful and socially conscious audience.

In sharp contrast, the first three years of the Tom Baker era featured more brutal murders, acts of terror and roaring oozing critters that sought to scare even the most secure viewer into the closet. Philip Hinchcliffe had seen that the audience was growing older and more sophisticated and decided to gear his run on Doctor Who to appeal to a viewer that wanted to be scared by creepy monsters and moved by eerie stories that would be at home in any Amicus movie.

Throughout it all, the new Doctor would shine a beacon of hope, his mad stare and toothy grin assuring the children watching that everything would work out… even though the death toll was usually high for supporting cast members.

It’s interesting to note that, while he is a TV icon today, Tom Baker in 1974 was the youngest actor to play Doctor Who (as he was commonly called in the media) and took over the role from Jon Pertwee, who played the part for five years. Pertwee ushered in an era of unparalleled success during his time as the Doctor and many viewers were reluctant to accept Baker as his replacement. The tone of the program had changed drastically as well, embracing a more Gothic feel thanks to producer Philip Hinchcliffe and script editor/writer Robert Holmes.

The stories of the 1974/75 series had been arranged by Terrance Dicks and Barry Letts as a kind security net for the incoming production team. Starting with a rather traditional U.N.I.T. adventure, the series also included the return of several fan favorite monsters; the Daleks, Sontarans and the Cybermen (who had not been seen in several years with the exception of a brief nod in Carnival of Monsters). Ark in Space, however, was something different.

Working off of a script by ‘Marco Polo’ author John Lucarotti, Holmes took a safe and familiar futuristic studio-bound story and transformed it into a claustrophobic grim horror show. Navigating a vast network of corridors and shafts, the TARDIS crew must match wits with a wily and aggressive creature that is just as hard-wired for survival as mankind… if not more so.

“Well there are only two of us here and your name IS Harry…”

For the first time since the 1960’s, the Doctor has two companions with him in the TARDIS, and one of them is male. Jamie McCrimmon was the last male companion of a two-part crew back in 1969. Originally intended to take the action hero role enjoyed by Third Doctor Who Jon Pertwee, Harry Sullivan is a Naval officer and all-around English gentleman, to a fault. When it became clear that the new Doctor would be played by a younger actor, Harry looked a might superfluous. But actor (and author) Ian Marter saw an opportunity here and created a charming statement on the stock English hero. Harry is well-meaning, but an archaic cultural fossil, something that liberated journalist Sarah Jane Smith reminds him of every chance she gets.

In her second year as a companion, Lis Sladen softened her part, a far cry for the self-motivated feminist that had been introduced the previous year. One of the most endearing and lovable heroines, she shudders with fright at the sight of a monster and would surely be scared rigid if not for the reassuring presence of the Doctor.

The role of the companion has traditionally been to make the Doctor appear brilliant, brave and heroic and in that regard, Sarah is an absolute triumph. If not the best companion, she is certainly in the top three.

A true eccentric, Tom Baker hit the ground running as the Doctor. More or less playing an exaggerated version of himself, he is at once a genius, fool, hero and outsider. This Doctor accepted the alien and was attracted to danger and the unknown, making him somewhat unsettling to some and appealing to others. Baker was far more comical than Pertwee and more of a well-worn traveler than the posh dandy scientific adventurer. Working off of Marter’s buffoonery and Sladen’s damsel in distress act, Baker found a welcome home in this short-lived and often forgotten TARDIS team.

Baker’s outlandishness was still understated and restrained at this point and his acting more intense than he later became. I suspect that as he encountered children in person who watched the series he became sensitive to them and decided to lighten the scary factor of the stories. Both approaches work, but I lean more toward this brooding aspect of the Fourth Doctor.

I had long associated The Ark in Space with a boring and predictable era of Doctor Who, but viewed in the right context it is not only ground breaking but invigorating as well. The first part of an overarching story that would include the Sonataran Experiment, detour into Genesis of the Daleks and conclude with Revenge of the Cybermen, this was a sci-fi epic! A post-apocalyptic setting that saw humanity reduced to food for killer insects, this story introduced viewers to the new status quot where the level of danger was heightened and so was the inventiveness of the production team.

While not on par with the sterling efforts of the Troughton years where stop motion animation, film scratches and other tricks made Cybermen tear from spherical embryos and women’s faces were melted by Quark weaponry, Ark in Space made good use of lighting and design to evoke a particular feeling of terror and helplessness.

One more unto the breach…

My teeth are fine, by the way.

Doctor Who and The Renaissance Man

‘The Renaissance Man’

Written by Justin Richards, Directed by Ken Bentley
Story 4.2
Released February 2012
“How does it feel to not be the most intelligent person in the room?”
“I don’t know, Doctor. You tell me.”

In his continued effort to educate his ‘noble savage’ companion, the Doctor takes Leela to the Morovanian Museum, housing the pinnacle of human knowledge. Instead, they find an immaculate lawn and a rather empty building. Presiding over the entire installation is Reginald Harcourt, a man who seems to know everything that there is to know.

As the Doctor battles wits with Harcourt, he realizes that the genius’ so-called brilliance is not his own and can be influenced. It also becomes clear that the reality of the entire museum is directed by Harcourt’s imagination. Fueled by every book, every bit of data within the seemingly endless structure, Harcourt aims to be the ideal Renaissance Man, a master of all things.

The return of the Fourth Doctor to the classic program has been a very bizarre experience. Starting with the box set containing The Foe From the Future and The Valley of Death, the main series is composed of incredibly varied material that is at once fanciful, witty and mind-blowing. On the surface Destination: Nerva may seem to be the standard base under siege, but the inclusion of a power-mad colonial British soldier forging a galactic empire adds a certain other quality to it all. Likewise, The Renaissance Man is a story of intelligence matched by absurdity.

The script by Justin Richards (who also penned the excellent Whispers of Terror and The Time of the Daleks) is effervescent with whimsy, featuring a moment when the phone rings and a barking dog on the other line attempts to warn the Doctor of imminent danger. The threat posed by Harcourt is a very real one, a man who seeks to drain all knowledge from others, leaving them dead husks… it’s also deeply flawed. The Doctor cleverly remarks that it is the search for knowledge that makes it valuable. Stealing it outright is a near-carnal endeavor, reducing wisdom to mere collectibles. It is fascinating to see the Doctor introduce random pieces of nonsense into Harcourt’s database which off-sets the whole house of cards and sends reality teetering on the edge of destruction.

Louise Jameson, Tom Baker and Ian McNeice

A fascinating and fun-loving adventure, I enjoyed The Renaissance Man a great deal. Again, it felt like slipping into a pair of warn comfy slippers made out of the Graham Williams era of the program when it was weird and different. Guest-star Ian McNeice is amazing as Harcourt and far more entertaining in this than he was as Churchill on screen, but in my opinion the material he has to work with is so much better.

The Renaissance Man can be ordered from The Book Depository with free shipping worldwide by clicking on the link below:

Doctor Who Tom Baker returns for third series with Big Finish in 2013

For seven years Tom Baker reigned as the scarf-laden Doctor on TV. When he departed and Peter Davison took over it seemed that he would never again return to the part. Aside from the odd appearance, he had hung up his hat and scarf for good. And I do mean odd… just look at this advert for a New Zealand banking firm from 1997:

While he enjoyed new-found fame on the telly in Little Britain and Randall and Hopkirk: Deceased, Tom Baker had divorced himself from Doctor Who until he revived the character in a series of Audio Go adventures entitled Hornet’s Nest by Paul Magrs in 2009. What appeared to be a one-off spawned two sequels (Demon Quest, and Serpent Crest with a third rumored for a later release). A delightful and fanciful romp through time and space, these adventures were a kind of evolution of the Tom Baker era taken to an extreme.

“It’s Saturday evening teatime in 1977… all over again.”

However, most fans wanted to hear Tom join the other ‘classic’ Doctors at Big Finish. He finally did just that and his first series (along with a set of two ‘Lost Stories’) has been loads of fun. His first series alongside Louise Jamison as Leela has run the gamut of thrilling adventure, light fantasy and hard-edged historical outings.

Destination: Nerva and The Renaissance Man are outstanding with Wraith of the Iceni an interesting twist (Leela meets Boudica) and Energy of the Daleks a bit of a let-down. I’m waiting on Trail of the White Worm (guest-starring Geoffrey Beevers as the Master) and the series finale the Oseidon Adventure with baited breath.

The Doctor (Tom Baker) and Romana (Mary Tamm)

Tom Baker’s second series will see the return of the glamorous Mary Tamm as Romana (to my knowledge she has only reprised the part twice in audio) for seven more stories. Imagine my surprise to learn that Tom has signed on for a third series featuring Louise Jamison, John Leeson as the voice of K-9 and Gareth Thomas of Dalek Empire and Blake’s 7 fame!

Big Finish has revealed that Tom Baker and Louise Jameson will return in a third season of The Fourth Doctor Adventures, which will be released commencing in January 2014. The series of full-cast audio plays will consist of eight stories, and will again be set after the TV adventure The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

“We’ve been delighted by the response to the first season of our Fourth Doctor stories,” says executive producer Nicholas Briggs. “We had such an exciting and rewarding time making series one and two, and we’re just thrilled to be back in the studio again with Tom and Louise recording more. Of course, the second series – which features Mary Tamm as Romana, with John Leeson as the voice of K9 – won’t be released until January 2013. But, recording schedules being what they are, we are always working well ahead.”

“We began recording on series three on May 9,” says producer David Richardson, “and production will continue through until July. At the moment it’s too early to reveal many story details, but we can say that Geoffrey Beevers will again return as the Master, the travellers will discover what lurks in the dead of night and the Doctor will encounter an even deadlier version of an old foe.”

Gareth Thomas, best known as freedom fighter Roj Blake from Blake’s 7, will be portraying the last surviving member of the Colophon race in one episode. Jessica Martin (Mags in The Greatest Show in the Galaxy) also guest stars in the story.

Season Three is available to pre-order now at bigfinish.com.

Meanwhile, June 2012 sees the release of the final story in the first series of Tom’s first season with Big Finish – in which he takes on the Master and the Kraals in The Oseidon Adventure.

Via DoctorWhoOnline.com and TardisNewsroom.

You can order the current to-date Fourth Doctor adventures directly from Big Finish and even pre-order the forthcoming stories by clicking on the image below.

Click to order The Fourth Doctor Who adventures from Big Finish