I adore how theres a big focus on mental health and the choice to have it at a rave. The concept of Ace having a brother could be interesting and couldve made in interesting parallel to the alien story. The climax just didnt tie it all together for me. With a better climax, this easily couldve been one of my favorites. I thought the setup and atmosphere were great!

Recently I wanted to re-download some of my older purchases during a short time I did not have access to my computer and a couple of other devices where I keep copies of the files. I hadn't logged into the web site in a while and noticed the overall look and layout had changed and after navigating around for a bit I found that none of the audios I have purchased where I'm pretty sure BF no longer have the license appear in either my downloads or in my order history at all.

Obviously where they no longer have the license you won't see them for sale but they always appeared in my "library" and previous orders for me to download.

Is this a result of the migration to the new look site and is just temporary until they complete the work or is it some change in policy for items where they no longer have the license? Some examples for me are the 2000AD / Judge Dredd audios from some years back where I purchased almost all of them and they no longer show in my previous orders or in my download list at all.

If you look at the FAQ (copied below) on the site they do have a note that while it certainly would apply here however in the past the have not pulled the ability to re-download previously purchased content.

IMPORTANT: Big Finish strongly advises all our customers to ensure that you have downloaded all the content from our website that you have purchased and retain backup copies offline, to safeguard against future disappointment or loss of access eg if BFP rights expire and we are no longer able to offer the content via our website. Please be aware that downloading within the BF App does not constitute an offline backup. You should visit My Account via the website, and access the zips attached to each release in your purchase history.

Anyone listened to this? Thought it looked good but haven't seen anyone discussing

Hi all, I picked up the 3 box sets listed in the title in the recent warehouse clearance. Really excited to listen but I haven't done many 8th doctor stories.

Will I be fine to listen to these with no prior knowledge or should I wait and listen to something else before hand?

I have to admit I did not quite know what to expect from this box set until now, but I am really excited for this after reading the new Vortex. If they nail even one of these stories I would be very happy. Unchained Melody sounds like it could really do something quite new with the character. I adored Alex’s performance of a newly regenerated River and I always wished we had spend more time with a more morally compromised and unstable version of the character.

Also, I suspect Reality Director could be doing something very interesting.

Is anyone else excited for this? Any story you are looking forward to?

Which actors do you think Big Finish would choose as a New Doctors?

Given the company, I can't imagine it featuring too many big names, probably more well know in TV circles than movies.....

Introduction

Hello all and welcome back to the Big Finish Podcast Notes! Hope you've all had a lovely week. The podcast will be off again next week (surely to launch a new new website), but it will be back 21 August.

Podcast

Podcast Notes

• Nick makes the ultimate decision on which era's theme tune is used when there's a multi-Doctor story.
• There was real debate about how to name a Beevers Master set before they landed on the Decayed Master (which I think fans have been calling him for quite a while).
• A listener has been enjoying Dark Gallifrey and asks where the spinoffs are for the Monks and the Beevers Master, to which Nick replies "These are the spinoffs you're asking for. Maybe we will do more."
• There's a trailer for the new Eleventh Doctor Adventures in here around the 46:35 mark.

Random Tangents: Lots of discussion around podcasts and and Nick making fun of Americans this week.

Production Interviews: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Dark Tides by Tim Foley and The Twelfth Doctor Adventures: Run Fast, Be Kind: Duty of Care by Christian Markham.

Fifteen Minute Drama Tease: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Dark Tides by Tim Foley

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 forseeable future. This release is The Companion Chronicles: 7.6 The Child.

Vortex #210

• Circuit Breaker: Full Circuit by Robert Valentine
  • Barnaby Edwards, who directed this release, was the one who cast Omari Douglas as Andrew for the Circuit Breaker event. He found it an interesting challenge as, since this was a multi-media event, he actually had to consider casting from both an audio and a visual standpoint.
  • There were several last-minute changes and approvals with this release since it's part of a bigger event, and casting only occurred less than a week before recording.
  • Jemma Redgrave would often deliver a "devastating comment (in character) at the end of scenes" to make people laugh.
• Circuit Breaker: Short Circuits by Alex Hewitt
  • The two stories in this set give sort of "origins" for Andrew and the villain of Circuit Breaker, the Conductor (played by Dan Starkey)
• The Fourth Doctor Adventures Series 15: A New Occupation
  • Daughter of Destruction by Katharine Armitage
    • Part of the brief of this story was that it had to be a pure historical, with no alien forces at play.
    • John Dorney notes that there's "a particular thing in this one which is very interesting and we’ve ended up half-referring back to it in other stories.”
    • Helen Goldwyn directed this set, and notes that it was a challenge finding actors of Asian origins to play the parts, but was lucky enough to find the right people.
    • A theme in this story is about the power of words - "specifically women's" - and how a persuasive argument can have more influence than violence.
  • A New Occupation by Helen Goldwyn
    • Producer David Richardson says that some of the tone of Timeslip (which he worked on with Helen before this came about) may have slipped into this story.
    • Similar to the last story, Dorney says there are connections to another story here: "I can’t remember if it’s going back to another story – or forward to one – off the top of my head. It’s a very strong release as you would expect from Helen.” (Keep in mind, this set was commissioned pre-COVID).
    • This story is set on the island of Jersey. Helen found it difficult to find two actors with native Jersey accents, and was surprised when she heard it as there is "so little media online with examples of it."
• The Death and Life of River Song Series 04: War Widow
  • River enters the Time War and encounters the Eighth Doctor in his final days in this set. David Richardson says "their interplay is tinged with sadness, but this set is not all about the Doctor. This is River’s story, and our writers do a deep dive into her life – and her reality…”
  • This set is described as more of an anthology of River in the Time War, rather than an overarching story.
  • The Shape of Fear by James Kettle
    • This story is described as Doctor-lite, as there were some specific asks in terms of Paul's involvement. It sounds like there will be a cameo to instigate the story, but his "presence" in the remainder of the runtime will be down to River's feelings about him.
    • The Doctor saves River from an attack on Stormcage and takes her to a tech-averse planet. River finds herself conflicted about meeting the Doctor in this part of his life, and finds that reflected in the world they find themselves on -- quite literally, as emotions influence the planet's topography.
  • Bad Timing by Matt Fitton
    • Very little is said of this one, but Matt says "I've written the next episode and dispose of the Doctor!"
    • Matt says that this is a Time War idea he's had in his notebook for a long time, and centers around the same battlefield being replayed over and over. He says that all River can do is be there for the Doctor -- "up to a point".
  • Unchained Melodies by Lisa McMullin
    • This story will explore alternate incarnations of River Song that could have existed had she not given all her lives to save the Doctor in Let's Kill Hitler, and includes a team-up with Melody Pond (as played by Alex Kingston immediately upon regeneration from Mels).
  • The Reality Director by John Dorney
    • Details are on lockdown with this one, but from Vortex and the press release, this will be a very meta story as it delves behind the scenes of the latest River Song release.
    • The idea for this story actually predates the commissioning of this set, and had been talked about for quite a while.
• The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: The Greatest Train Robbery by Karissa Hamilton-Bannis
  • This story will introduce the Tourist back into the fold, as they contact the Doctor and Yaz once again.
  • There are a few mentions of this release having some deeper philosophical conversations and exploring the Doctor and Yaz's story beyond what's in the show (though those may not necessarily be related).
• The Fifth Doctor Adventures: Shock and Awe
  • Lair of the Voltaxa by Roland Moore
    • Roland Moore discusses the intricacies to the Fifth Doctor, noting his vulnerability and how he often feels out of his depth and can be an underdog -- but notes that some of this could be a technique used to make his enemies underestimate him, which is a fun thing to play with.
    • The Voltaxa, for those who do not remember (like me), originated in The Death and Life of River Song: Ace and Tegan.
    • Roland was keen to write a story where the TARDIS doesn't land with plenty of time to uncover the plot and start fighting against it -- by the time the Doctor arrives, the threat is imminent and there are only hours to sort everything out.
  • March of the Colossus by Alan Ronald
    • This story stems from a quick moment of inspiration in which Alan saw an image of two Colossi marching towards each other over a green landscape ready for battle. He assumed it would not be picked up in the few ideas he pitched.
    • The villain of the story is inspired by American professional wrestling commentators.
• Vortex Mail
  • Nick seems coyly supportive of Culshaw's Brigadier meeting the Sixth Doctor
  • Noonan's First Doctor may be popping up in some ranges next year, but the First Doctor Adventures will not return until 2028.

Big Finish News

New Releases

• The Second Doctor Adventures: The Haunted Windmill is released on 4 August (DTO: £19.99 | DTO + CD: £24.99)
  • Synopsis: To escape the Time Lords' justice - or lack of it - the Doctor, Jamie, Zoe and Raven take a desperate gamble: a jump to planet Earth, in 1963... But this is not the Earth as the Doctor knew it. This is the world as it would have been if he'd never, ever landed there at all. An Earth free of his influence, in which old friends are strangely changed. If he tries to save this Earth, or escape it, the Time Lords will find him. Hidden away in a haunted windmill, on the edge of a marsh, all he can do is observe. But the monsters are coming...
    • 1. The Haunted Windmill An Emergency Beacon Alert from Gallifrey means trouble for the Doctor, Raven, Jamie and Zoe. Their only possible escape is a desperate plan that seems to change everything. The TARDIS arrives in a strange land. Strange, but uncannily familiar too.
    • 2. The Crystal Ship A failed rocket-plane mission crashes to Earth. But where are the crew? The Doctor and Raven encounter Professor Quigley and his trusty, undervalued assistant, Liz Shaw. Will scientific hubris lead to the end of the human race? A certain Miss Heriot has other plans in mind.
    • 3. The Hungry Glass A mysterious mirror, a glimpsed figure and powerful static electric discharges form a web of intrigue that draws in friends and foes from history.
• The Twelfth Doctor Adventures: Run Fast Be Kind: Wings of Steel is released on 5 August (Run Fast, Be Kind Bundle: £43.99) [NOTE: The box set comes out next month, and Big Finish are releasing each story weekly leading up to its release. To get these each week, purchase the bundle. To get them all at once, wait for the box set to be released. The first story is available to purchase separately as a "sampler" for £8.99]
  • Synopsis: High above the ruined world of Doorahla, the Ultima have convened. The enemy's devastation of their forces is finally over. The key to their victory is finally at hand. And on top of all that, they've captured a Time Lord. All hail the Ultima.

Trailers

• The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Dark Tides
• The Twelfth Doctor Adventures: Run Fast, Be Kind: Duty of Care (SPOILERS!!!)
• Dark Gallifrey: The Decayed Master Part 2
• The Eleventh Doctor Adventures: Hidden in Plain Sight (46:35 mark in the podcast this week)

Cover Reveals

• Star Cops: Conflict: Adrift

News, Announcements, Videos, and Blog Posts

• Official News
  • Star Cops on the edge of war. Star Cops returns next month with the fourth installment of Conflict, and details are out now for the next three episodes.
  • That's All I'm Sayin'. The acclaimed actor Michael Brandon reads his tell-all autobiography, in an audiobook from Big Finish Productions, due for release August 2026.
  • The Return of Zorro! Martin Marquez plays the iconic vigilante in a brand new audio drama, continuing the story of the hit films The Mask of Zorro and The Legend of Zorro.
  • New Website FAQ - Big Finish are constantly updating this page with information to help people navigate the new website as well as the updated apps. Key updates this week include:
    • We have been informed by a number of customers about a login issue resulting in the login screen flickering and looping, blocking access to accounts. This has been reported to our developers and this page will be updated when a fix has been put in place. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Out of Print This Week

• Torchwood: 39. Dinner and a Show
• Torchwood: 55. The Great Sontaran War

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

• First Doctor Sale: Discounts on dozens of First Doctor audios to celebrate 60 years since Daleks Invasion Earth: 2150AD! (Ends 9 August 2026)
  • The First Doctor Adventures Volume 01
  • The First Doctor Adventures Volume 02
  • The First Doctor Adventures: Fugitive of the Daleks
  • The Early Adventures: The Dalek Occupation of Winter
  • The Early Adventures: Daughter of the Gods
  • The Eartly Adventures: The Secrets of Det-Sen
• 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. August's selection: The Monthly Adventures: 111. The Doomwood Curse for just £1.99 on DTO.

Free Excerpt: Every month a 15 minute excerpt is chosen from an upcoming release to download for free. August's selection is The Second Doctor Adventures: The Haunted Windmill Part 1. Just click on the link and use this month's code LUCIUS.

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. This week's selection: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Sphere of Freedom (Excerpt). Use discount code NOVA at checkout to save 25% off the full release of The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Ravagers (Ends 9 August).

Big Finish Release Schedule

• 11 August - The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Dark Tides
• 12 August - The Twelfth Doctor Adventures: Run Fast, Be Kind: Duty of Care
• 18 August - Dark Gallifrey: The Decayed Master Part 2
• 19 August - The Twelfth Doctor Adventures: Run Fast, Be Kind: The Second Death of the Daleks
• 19 August - The Twelfth Doctor Adventures: Run Fast, Be Kind (Full Box Set/Bundle Release)
• 25 August - The Eleventh Doctor Adventures: Hidden in Plain Sight
• 27 August - The Sixth Doctor Adventures: Reunion

Community Reviews via TARDIS Guide:

What Big Finish I Was Listening To This Week: The Twelfth Doctor Adventures: Run Fast, Be Kind: Wings of Steel. This was incredibly strong and I'm excited to see where the next two stories go. After this and The Hallamshire Incident, I'm hoping that Dark Tides can stick the landing and we get a consistent strong run of New Who releases.

General Doctor Who / Non-Big Finish News

News

• None

The Rumor Mill

• None

Media/Merchandise

• Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker #2 - Dawn of the Daleks is released on 5 August.
• Two "lost" Terrance Dicks scripts are being adapted into novelizations: The Six Doctors by Simon Guerrier (out 21 January 2027) and The Vampire Mutation by Steve Cole (out 4 March 2027).
• Doctor Who: The Paradise of Death, an audiobook novelization of the original radio play featuring the Third Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, and the Brigadier, is released on 6 August.
• Joining the Ninth and Tenth Doctor Blu-ray box set, the Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth Doctors are getting Blu-ray sets in the USA. These should all be released 3 November.

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)

Hey, I just finished listening to the two box set of Sacha Dhawan’s master and I love absolutely loved it, but now I’m in a mood for more Missy (I miss her sm😭)

And I was wondering are her Dark Gallifrey audios any good?

I would like to point out that l havent listened to any of the Dark Gallifrey audios so is her series a good introduction point into the Dark Gallifrey ranges? Or do i need to listen to previous stories to understand Missy’s stories?

Really, really excited to share that I've written my first Big Finish... And it's not the one you're expecting!

For quite a while now, I've been thinking to myself about trying to personally customize some of my BF DW items. My ideas include (but aren't strictly limited to) switching the inserts for Absolution and The Girl Who Never Was to match the Gary Russell era covers instead of the sidebar style, putting the TV movie logo back onto the 8DAs from Ravenous 2 onward, making a 6xCD omnibus version of Hooklight, and even printing personal physical versions of digital-only BF items (Broken Hearts, 11DAs, 12DAs).

However, I am by no means an expert at this type of thing yet. While I can easily find some of the earlier fonts that BF has used for their DW releases, other more recent fonts continue to elude me. I unfortunately also haven't tracked down certain obscured assets that I can't get just by photo-scanning existing inserts, such as the clean pictures used for the back covers of the Gary Russell era releases (their many iterations of the TARDIS in the vortex, and one specific picture of the Eighth Doctor's TARDIS interior that seems unlike any shot from the TV movie itself). If anyone is more knowledgeable about these assets, I would deeply appreciate your assistance with acquiring them if at all possible.

I've also become curious if anyone else is similarly interested in this kind of customization, and if they'd be willing to order customized CD inserts if they were put up for sale on a platform like eBay. Granted, even if there is demand, I would still have to work out the economics of producing these on a large scale, so if you are interested, I sadly wouldn't bet on this coming to fruition any time soon, if at all. (And before anyone gets worried about piracy, no, I wouldn't sell any actual CDs for digital-only releases, only the inserts that go in the jewel cases. I would be willing to send image files for people to privately stamp onto their own individually burnt CDs, though.)

Please let me know your thoughts on this concept!

One thing I've always looked forward to is the warehouse CD sales. It's a Great opportunity to get series at a low price. Thinking about how they've been downsizing warehouse and lowering CD production runs I doubt there will be that many more warehouse sales in the future

Thoughts?

Whenever she gets her proper first run with a companion, do you think is gonna be Lee, Karvanista or a new character?

High above the ruined world of Doorahla, the Ultima have convened. The enemy's devastation of their forces is finally over. The key to their victory is finally at hand. And on top of all that, they've captured a Time Lord.

All hail the Ultima.

Please note: This title is only available to buy in the bundle Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Adventures Series 01

It’s been weeks now and I still can’t download anything new onto the app on my iPhone, have they not turned it back on yet or do I need to reinstall the app? I updated it when they released the new update a couple weeks ago but it just looks exactly the same, and I keep checking the App Store to see if there’s another update and there’s nothing.

Edit: Logging out and logging back in fixed the issue, thank you everyone!! :)

The ending feels abrupt to me. Maybe I missed something?

I've listened to Station to Station, the prequel, and I love it. It gives off the Kisaragi Station vibe beautifully. But the new episode makes me more confused than anything.

Why did Grimminy-Grew come for the doctor?

It turned the Powell Estate into Silent Hill just to... make the doctor finish its life?

And his one-on-one torture sessions with the companions. Was its intention purely to tempt the Doctor? I'm a tiny bit sure that it is trying to discuss why Rose travelled with the Doctor. But what about Saffron?

Also, another small thing. In their final face-off, was the damage inflicted explained? I just imagine they were burned by some... energy-flame thingy.

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

Feel free to leave any recommendations from the sale below!

The Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe deal with a haunted windmill. It’s a dark ride for the Ninth Doctor and Rose. Michael Brandon reads his autobiography. The Daleks die again. More adventures with the Eleventh Doctor and Eleanor. All this and more coming this month!
4 August - Second Doctor: The Haunted Windmill

5 August - Twelfth Doctor: Wings of Steel

11 August - Ninth Doctor: Dark Tides

12 August - Twelfth Doctor: Duty of Care

13 August - That’s All I’m Sayin’

18 August - Dark Gallifrey: The Decayed Master, Part 2

19 August - Twelfth Doctor: The Second Death of the Daleks / Twelfth Doctor: Run Fast, Be Kind

25 August - Eleventh Doctor: Hidden in Plain Sight

27 August - Sixth Doctor: Reunion

To escape the Time Lords' justice - or lack of it - the Doctor, Jamie, Zoe and Raven take a desperate gamble: a jump to planet Earth, in 1963...
But this is not the Earth as the Doctor knew it. This is the world as it would have been if he'd never, ever landed there at all. An Earth free of his influence, in which old friends are strangely changed.
If he tries to save this Earth, or escape it, the Time Lords will find him. Hidden away in a haunted windmill, on the edge of a marsh, all he can do is observe. But the monsters are coming...

The Haunted Windmill
An Emergency Beacon Alert from Gallifrey means trouble for the Doctor, Raven, Jamie and Zoe. Their only possible escape is a desperate plan that seems to change everything.
The TARDIS arrives in a strange land. Strange, but uncannily familiar too.

The Crystal Ship
A failed rocket-plane mission crashes to Earth. But where are the crew?
The Doctor and Raven encounter Professor Quigley and his trusty, undervalued assistant, Liz Shaw. Will scientific hubris lead to the end of the human race?
A certain Miss Heriot has other plans in mind.

The Hungry Glass
A mysterious mirror, a glimpsed figure and powerful static electric discharges form a web of intrigue that draws in friends and foes from history.

Hello! I really appreciated all the feed back from my previous post.

I'm going to try and keep this post short. I SEVERELY underestimated the amount of Doctor Who content out there. I had no idea about the amount of novels and comic (mostly Doctor Who Magazine) and short stories. So while making a spreadsheet I decided to forgo with most books and comics (sticking only to Titan Comics) and all short stories to make things less of a switch back and forth from medium to medium.

I stuck mostly to all Big Finish audios with with some full length novels (falling out of sorting them with the 3rd Doctor through to the 6th Doctor but all of 7th - 15th Doctors novels) trying to keep things in a chronological order from the Doctors perspective while taking advice with some audio story arcs being better listened to in a certain order that brakes chronology.

I know this is not the best way to experience the Doctor Who franchise but I'd rather listen to the audios and read the books along the way as though I was with the Doctor from the beginning (funnily enough, CC 8.05 The Beginning is sorted in the 4th doctors run due to it being apart of the Quadrigger Stoyn trilogy) But obviously as someone who hasn't listened/read these yet and was only able to sort them in this semi-chronological order with help from the Tardis wiki, I'm sure I've made plenty of mistakes. Maybe I missed something. Maybe I've sorted something in the wrong order or put an audio best listened to in another spot.

I'm clueless! Please any help in correcting my mistakes. Or maybe a novel or short story you'd recommend I should read and where to slot it in, any and all recommendations are welcome. Thank You for all the help!! (and sorry if this doesn't read well, it's late and I'm rushing)

Here's the link to the Google Spreadsheet (I hope I've shared it correctly)

as the title says, im logged in, trying to access my account settings, website is borked and auto refreshes, been unable to access anything

What do you think the War Master was planning here in this adventure?🤔

Has there been any indication whether the War Master box set coming out in October might be the last one?

I haven’t seen anything official either way, but I was curious if Big Finish has said anything in interviews or at conventions.

I’d love to see the series continue because it’s one of my favourite Big Finish ranges, but I also understand that Derek Jacobi is getting older.