Doctor Who: The Early Adventures
In February 2013, Big Finish Productions announced that, following the conclusions of the Lost Stories and the monthly Companion Chronicles, they would be launching The Early Adventures, a series of brand new stories featuring the First and Second Doctors. The four-part plays star surviving lead actors from the original series, and follow a similar structure to the Lost Stories set in this era, mixing dialogue and narration.[1]
Episodes
Series 1 (2014)
The first series consist of stories featuring the First Doctor. William Russell reprises the role of Ian Chesterton in the first two stories, while Peter Purves reprises the role of Steven Taylor in the second two. Carole Ann Ford plays Susan Foreman in the first story, Maureen O'Brien plays Vicki in the second and third stories, and Jean Marsh plays Sara Kingdom in the fourth. Additionally, Russell and Purves perform the Doctor's dialogue in their respective stories, while Ford and O'Brien perform the dialogue of Barbara Wright in the first two stories.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Doctor | Featuring | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Domain of the Voord" | Ken Bentley | Andrew Smith | First | Susan, Ian, Barbara, Voord | September 2014 |
| 2 | "The Doctor's Tale" | Ken Bentley | Marc Platt | First | Ian, Barbara, Vicki | October 2014 |
| 3 | "The Bounty of Ceres" | Lisa Bowerman | Ian Potter | First | Vicki, Steven | November 2014 |
| 4 | "An Ordinary Life" | Ken Bentley | Matt Fitton | First | Steven, Sara | December 2014 |
Series 2 (2015–16)
The second series consists of stories featuring the Second Doctor, played in all four stories by Frazer Hines, who also reprises his original role from the series as the Doctor's companion Jamie McCrimmon. Anneke Wills reprises her role as Polly Wright in the first two stories, Deborah Watling reprises the role of Victoria Waterfield in the third story, and Wendy Padbury reprises the role of Zoe Heriot in the fourth. In addition, the first two stories feature Elliot Chapman as Ben Jackson, originally played by Michael Craze.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Doctor | Featuring | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Yes Men" | Lisa Bowerman | Simon Guerrier | Second | Polly, Ben, Jamie | September 2015 |
| 2 | "The Forsaken" | Lisa Bowerman | Justin Richards | Second | Polly, Ben, Jamie | October 2015 |
| 3 | "The Black Hole" | Lisa Bowerman | Simon Guerrier | Second | Jamie, Victoria, the Monk | November 2015 |
| 4 | "The Isos Network" | Nicholas Briggs | Nicholas Briggs | Second | Jamie, Zoe, Cybermen | January 2016 |
Series 3 (2016)
The third series of the Early Adventures saw Carole Ann Ford, William Russell, Maureen O'Brien, Peter Purves and Jean Marsh reprising their roles as the companions of the First Doctor, joined by Jemma Powell as Barbara Wright, who had previously portrayed the role of original Barbara actress Jacqueline Hill in the 2013 drama An Adventure in Space and Time, and Dan Starkey as the Sontarans. The second story also features actor James Joyce in the role of a new companion, Jospa. [2]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Doctor | Featuring | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Age of Endurance" | Ken Bentley | Nick Wallace | First | Susan, Ian, Barbara | September 2016 |
| 2 | "The Fifth Traveller" | Lisa Bowerman | Philip Lawrence | First | Ian, Barbara, Vicki, Jospa | October 2016 |
| 3 | "The Ravelli Conspiracy" | Lisa Bowerman | Robert Khan & Tom Salinsky | First | Vicki, Steven | November 2016 |
| 4 | "The Sontarans" | Lisa Bowerman | Simon Guerrier | First | Steven, Sara, Sontarans | December 2016 |
Series 4 (2017)
Frazer Hines, Anneke Wills, Elliot Chapman and Wendy Padbury reprise their roles as the Doctor's companions, with Frazer Hines also playing the Second Doctor. Other characters are also played by Anjella Mackintosh, Wanda Opalinska, Kristina Buikaite, Alistair Petrie, Debbie Chazen, Matilda Ziegler, David Sibley, Kerry Gooderson, Ewan Bailey, Alan Blyton, Judith Roddy, Adam Newington, Don McCorkindale, Richenda Carey.[3]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Doctor | Featuring | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Night Witches" | Helen Goldwyn | Roland Moore | Second | Polly, Ben, Jamie | September 2017 |
| 2 | "The Outliers" | Lisa Bowerman | Simon Guerrier | Second | Polly, Ben, Jamie | October 2017 |
| 3 | "The Morton Legacy" | Lisa Bowerman | Justin Richards | Second | Polly, Ben, Jamie | November 2017 |
| 4 | "The Wreck of the World" | Lisa Bowerman | Timothy X Atack | Second | Jamie, Zoe | December 2017 |
Series 5 (2018)
Series 5 was written and marketed as a "season" of episodes, where each story directly follows from the one before it. Peter Purves returned as Steven Taylor and provided the voice of the First Doctor. Maureen O'Brian returned as Vicki. This season featured the first appearance of the Daleks in the Early Adventures range.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Doctor | Featuring | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Dalek Occupation of Winter" | Lisa Bowerman | David K Barnes | First | Vicki, Steven, Daleks | September 2018 |
| 2 | "An Ideal World" | Lisa Bowerman | Ian Potter | First | Vicki, Steven | October 2018 |
| 3 | "Entanglement" | Lisa Bowerman | Robert Khan & Thomas Salinsky | First | Vicki, Steven | November 2018 |
| 4 | "The Crash of the UK-201" | Lisa Bowerman | Jonathan Morris | First | Vicki, Steven | December 2018 |
Series 6 (2019)
Series 6 was created as part of Big Finish's celebration of their 20th anniversary of publishing Doctor Who audio dramas. The series features a number of firsts for the range, including the first story to feature multiple Doctors and the first story to feature the Master. In a first for any performed Doctor Who media, this series also features the return of companion Katarina and the first performed story featuring the Second Doctor meeting the Master.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Doctor | Featuring | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Home Guard" | Lisa Bowerman | Simon Guerrier | Second | Polly, Jamie, Ben, The Master | November 2019 |
| 2 | "Daughter of the Gods" | Lisa Bowerman | David K Barnes | First and Second | Zoe, Jamie, Katarina, Steven | November 2019 |
References
- DWM 496
- "Doctor Who - The Early Adventures - Big Finish". bigfinish.com.