While we know that Ncuti Gatwa’s first episodes are almost upon us, the wait between seasons of Doctor Who can be long. Sometimes, you just want to hop back in the TARDIS with the Doctor and his companions and go on more adventures.
Big Finish Productions has been making Doctor Who audio dramas since the 90s. Over the decades, they’ve created hundreds of adventures that include both televised characters as well as original companions.
There are so many to choose from but here is a list of a few of my favorites from over the years.
The Marian Conspiracy
Featuring: Sixth Doctor and Dr. Evenlyn Smithe (original Big Finish companion)
Written By: Jacqueline Raynor
There are two reasons I love this story. One is that it is written by Jacqueline Raynor who is one of my favorite Doctor Who writers. The second is that this audio introduces one of my favorite companions, Evelyn.
Dr. Evelyn Smithe is a professor at Sheffield Hallam University, who specializes in Turdor era history. She meets the Doctor when he identifies her as a temporal nexus point. Her family was disappearing from history. They traced it back to 1555 when Queen Mary was still on the throne.
One thing I love about this adventure is the Doctor and Evelyn trying to figure out what’s wrong with history. While finding the problems, they have to do their best to make sure they don’t make things worse along the way.
Gallifrey
Featuring: Romana, Leela, K-9, Narvin, Braxitel
Producer: Gary Russel and Jason Haigh Ellery
Instead of a single audio, I’m going to recommend one of the spin-off series. From Gallifrey: Weapon of Choice to Gallifrey: Enemy Lines, this series is a political drama set on the Doctor’s home world of Gallifrey.
The Doctor does not appear in the show. Instead, we do follow the adventures of two Fourth Doctor era companions, Romana and Leela. President Romana is seen as a bit of a radical amongst the Time Lords and struggles to both keep traditions as well as move Gallifrey forward into the future.
Meanwhile, with her husband missing, Leela struggles with her role on Gallifrey. Where does she belong? What happened to her husband?
From political conferences to infighting inside the Citadel of Gallifrey, there’s never a dull moment in this audio series.
The Chimes of Midnight
Featuring: Eighth Doctor and Charlie Pollard
Written By: Robert Shearman
Once upon a time, ghost stories were told around the fire at Christmastime. While this tradition has largely fallen out of favor in the last century or so, this audio recreates the experience.
The Doctor and Charlie find themselves in an Edwardian mansion on Christmas Eve. But someone is killing servants in the mansion. Can the pair make it past the stroke of Midnight?
I love mysteries. And I love Christmas. This story combines both in a delightful way. With very few on-screen appearances, Big Finish has given us the chance to see some of the adventures of Paul McGann’s Doctor. This is one of my favorites featuring him.
Bang-Bang-a-Boom
Featuring: Seventh Doctor and Melanie Bush
Written By: Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman
Eurovision in space.
On Dark Space 8, the International Singing Competition is taking place. Representatives from various races across the galaxy participate while countless beings watch.
But that’s not the only thing happening on the space station. And someone wants to put a stop to this. The Doctor and Mel have to make sure that the event goes as planned – whatever it takes.
A space station is a great way to set up a locked room mystery. No one can easily come and go from deep space. On top of this, this audio is delightful paced and has a bit of political intrigued mixed in.
Doctor Who and the Pirates
Featuring: Sixth Doctor and Evelyn
Written By: Jacqueline Raynor
This is one of my favorite Doctor Who stories across any medium. It is also the closest that Doctor Who gets to a musical episode. With songs inspired by Gilbert and Sullivan, this story features pirates, treasure, and adventure.
Evelyn asks the Doctor to take her home. While there, she visits a student of hers and tells her a tale about a recent adventure.
The Doctor and Evelyn find themselves in the hold of a pirate ship heading for the Ruby Islands. As they help the crew make their way there, they encounter the cruel Captain Red Jasper.
This episode has its ups and downs but all around, it ends on a moment that is filled with hope. It’s my favorite for thesilly moments, for the musical ones, and for the more serious moments. Jacqueline Raynor does a wonderful job of weaving them into a story that I come back to time and time again.
Live 34
Featuring: Seventh Doctor and Ace
Written By: James Parsons and Andrew Stirling-Brown
Told by a series of news broadcasts over the course of 16 days, Live 34 tells the story of a rebellion happening by the residents of colony 34.
I put this one on the list because it’s not a traditional story. Instead of focusing on the Doctor and his companions, this one focuses on the civilians involved in the story. The TARDIS team only appears in the background of the story.
The Light at the End
Featuring: The First Eight Doctors
Written By: Nicholas Briggs
This was Big Finish’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. It is still the largest collection of companions and Doctors to exist across Doctor Who and its extended universe.
Based on alien planets, pocket dimensions, and of course Earth, the first eight incarnations of The Doctor have to work together to make sure that they are not wiped out of existence. Between The Master and a race of alien arms dealers, this is not an easy feat.
I decided to close out my list with this one because in a lot of ways, I saw this as a more fitting anniversary celebration than the televised one. It paid tribute to the first eight Doctors as well as all of the companions whose actors were still living. While weaving a new tale, there were callbacks to classic episodes and it kept me on my toes the whole way through.
And this was just seven of the hundreds of audios that Big Finish Productions has released over the last few decades. There are so many good stories to choose from and these are just some of my favorites.
If you’re looking for a way to dive into Classic Who, the Big Finish audios were how I made the jump from modern who to classic. There’s so much to explore and I love seeing what they come up with next.
Photo: BBC
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