The Good Companions
(
11/05/2008)
FURTHER DOCTOR WHO ADVENTURES
AS TOLD BY THE DOCTOR’S FRIENDS AND FELLOW TRAVELLERSJuly sees the release of the first of a third season of
Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles adventures. Each release is a new
Doctor Who story as told by one of the Doctor’s companions played by the actor who portrayed the role in the
Classic Doctor Who TV series. Although essentially a talking book, each production includes dramatised sequences featuring a second actor and boasts sound-effects and an original music score.
The first two seasons of
The Companion Chronicles have proved so popular that with this third season the series will become an ongoing range with a new adventure released every month. The series will continue to be released in ‘seasons’ with each season comprising of twelve releases.
Details of the first four releases for Season Three are now available. July’s season premiere is appropriately a First Doctor adventure narrated by
Carole Ann Ford as the Doctor’s granddaughter, Susan. The story, entitled
Here There be Monsters, has been written by
Andy Lane. In the adventure, the Doctor, Barbara, Susan and Ian face creatures from another dimension.
In
The Great Space Elevator, written by
Jonathan Morris and released in August,
Victoria Waterfield recounts an adventure with the Second Doctor where a one-way trip leads to a confrontation with an alien force that threatens the Earth.
Deborah Watling recreates her role as the Doctor’s Victorian travelling companion.
September’s release is
The Doll of Death by
Marc Platt, an adventure for the Third Doctor told by
Katy Manning as
Jo Grant. This is the first time that Katy has reprised her role since she starred in the TV series in the 1970s. In the story, the Doctor and Jo investigate a temporal anomaly in central London where a scientist is being haunted by the ghosts of dolls.
The fourth adventure features the Fourth Doctor’s companion,
Leela played by
Louise Jameson.
Empathy Games is by
Nigel Fairs who also wrote Leela’s previous Companion Chronicles adventure, The Catalyst.
With release number five, we return to the First Doctor with a story told by his short-lived travelling companion,
Sara Kingdom who originally joined the TARDIS crew for the epic length TV story,
The Daleks’ Master Plan. As in the original TV series,
Sara Kingdom will once again be played by
Jean Marsh of Upstairs, Downstairs fame. The story, entitled
Dream Home and has been written by
Simon Guerrier.
Details of subsequent releases in the series are yet to be announced. However, it can be revealed that now that this has become an ongoing series, it will adopt a broader remit than the previous two seasons. Future adventures will feature Doctors Five through Eight and their companions, and there may even be stories told by popular characters that aren’t strictly companions... Stay tuned!
Each
Companion Chronicles is available direct from Big Finish for just £8.99. Discounts are available by choosing a
six or twelve release subscription costing
£45 and
£85 respectively. The Companion Chronicles can also be
downloaded online for just
£7.99 each.