Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctor

Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctor is a series of audiobooks produced by Big Finish Productions for AudioGo. They were released monthly through the first eleven months of 2013 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of British television series Doctor Who.[1] The series – composed of eleven separate releases, one for each incarnation of the Doctor – is performed in the third-person by an actor associated with each era of the show, with additional dialogue provided by a guest actor,[2][3] in a similar vein to Big Finish's own The Companion Chronicles series. The series is notable for being the first time Big Finish was allowed to directly feature current era (2005 onwards) characters, due to the collaboration with AudioGo.

The logo of the series, taken from the cover art of the first release, Hunters of Earth.

Release edit

All instalments up to and including Death's Deal were initially released to download on the first day of each month, with a physical CD release on the following Thursday. However, due to series co-producer AudioGo entering administration at the end of October 2013, the release of the final instalment The Time Machine was disrupted. Some retailers (such as iTunes and Amazon.co.uk) released it on the scheduled date with minimal disruption, and others (such as Big Finish's official shop) released it later in the month. The appearance of a planned box set of all 11 releases (plus a bonus disc featuring interviews with cast and crew) was also cast into doubt, but released by Big Finish in December.

Episodes edit

No.TitleDirected byWritten byFeaturingReleased
1"Hunters of Earth"[4]John AinsworthNigel RobinsonFirst Doctor, SusanJanuary 2013 (2013-01)
Shoreditch, London, 1963. The Beatles have beaten John Smith and the Common Men to No. 1 and satellites are being launched in outer space. Back down on Earth, strange goings-on are occurring: the normally placid teenagers of Coal Hill are running riot and a master thief is stealing highly specialised equipment. Featuring Carole Ann Ford & Tam Williams.
2"Shadow of Death"[5]John AinsworthSimon GuerrierSecond Doctor, Jamie and ZoeFebruary 2013 (2013-02)
Following an emergency landing, the TARDIS arrives on a remote world orbiting a peculiar star – a pulsar which exerts an enormous gravitational force, strong enough to warp time. Featuring Frazer Hines & Evie Dawnay.
3"Vengeance of the Stones"[6]John AinsworthAndrew SmithThird Doctor, the Brigadier and Mike YatesMarch 2013 (2013-03)
Two RAF fighter jets are on a training flight over North East Scotland when one of them is plucked from the air and promptly disappears. UNIT are called in, and the Doctor and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart are soon on the scene. They enlist the help of a local military officer – a young lieutenant by the name of Mike Yates. Featuring Richard Franklin & Trevor Littledale.
4"Babblesphere"[8]John AinsworthJonathan MorrisFourth Doctor, Romana IIApril 2013 (2013-04)
The violent, volcanic world of Hephastos is home to a colony of composers, painters, authors and poets, all striving to create the greatest works of art the universe has ever seen. But in pursuit of their goal, artistic collaboration has been taken a stage too far... Featuring Lalla Ward[7] & Roger Parrott.
5"Smoke and Mirrors"[10]John AinsworthSteve LyonsFifth Doctor, Tegan, Adric and NyssaMay 2013 (2013-05)
The Doctor answers a psionic distress call being sent from England in the 1920s. There, in the environs of a fairground, he is reunited with an old friend: Harry Houdini. To Adric and Nyssa the name means very little, but to the Doctor’s companion Tegan he is a legend. Escape artist extraordinaire, Houdini’s reputation will last for decades. Featuring Janet Fielding[9] & Tim Beckmann.
6"Trouble in Paradise"[13]John AinsworthNev FountainSixth Doctor, PeriJune 2013 (2013-06)
Responding to a desperate summons from the Doctor's future self, he and Peri find themselves on a sailing ship in 1492, where the crewmen are gripped by superstitious fear.[11] Featuring Nicola Bryant[12] & Cameron Stewart.
7"Shockwave"[15]John AinsworthJames SwallowSeventh Doctor, AceJuly 2013 (2013-07)
In the far future, the inhabitants of Tarsus Six face a desperate struggle to evacuate their world before their sun, Tarsus Ultra, collapses into a cataclysmic spatial anomaly. Featuring Sophie Aldred[12] & Ian Brooker.[14]
8"Enemy Aliens"[17]John AinsworthAlan BarnesEighth Doctor, CharleyAugust 2013 (2013-08)
1935: a message from a Time Lord in trouble sends the Eighth Doctor and Charlotte ‘Charley’ Pollard to the streets of London’s West End, in search of a mysterious alien adversary – unaware that something monstrous is already on their trail. Featuring India Fisher & Michael Maloney.[16]
9"Night of the Whisper"[19]John AinsworthCavan Scott and Mark WrightNinth Doctor, Rose and Captain JackSeptember 2013 (2013-09)
New Vegas, 23rd Century – a sprawling city huddling beneath an artificial atmospheric bubble on a distant moon. Pleasure seekers flock there from every corner of the galaxy, to take in the shows and play the tables in the huge casinos. But beneath the glitz and the glitter, organised crime rules the streets. Featuring Nicholas Briggs[18] & John Schwab.
10"Death's Deal"[20]John AinsworthDarren JonesTenth Doctor, DonnaOctober 2013 (2013-10)
Responding to multiple maydays, the TARDIS lands on the planet of Death’s Deal, but the distress calls are old, the final echoes of terrified lost souls. This is an exotic world of lethal creatures, nicknamed ‘The Deadliest Planet in the Galaxy’, and only the brave, foolhardy or greedy would ever dare to visit. Featuring Catherine Tate & Duncan Wisbey.
11"The Time Machine"[22]John AinsworthMatt FittonEleventh Doctor, ClaraNovember 2013 (2013-11)
23 November 2013. In an Oxford laboratory, graduate Alice Watson helps Professor Chivers assemble the final pieces of an impossible machine. A time machine. (Release of this title was disrupted. See above for details.) Featuring Jenna Coleman, Nicholas Briggs[21] & Michael Cochrane.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Doctor Who – Destiny of the Doctor – Ranges – Big Finish". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  2. ^ "BBC AudioGo: Destiny of the Doctor". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  3. ^ "Destiny of the Doctor AudioGo". AudioGo. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  4. ^ "1. Doctor Who - Destiny of the Doctor: Hunters of Earth". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  5. ^ "2. Doctor Who - Destiny of the Doctor: Shadow of Death". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  6. ^ "3. Doctor Who - Destiny of the Doctor: Vengeance of the Stones". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  7. ^ Amazon listing. ASIN 1471311708.
  8. ^ "4. Doctor Who - Destiny of the Doctor: Babblesphere". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  9. ^ Doctor Who: Smoke and Mirrors Destiny of the Doctor 5 Dr Who: Amazon.co.uk: Steve Lyons, Janet Fielding: Books. ASIN 1471311716.
  10. ^ "5. Doctor Who - Destiny of the Doctor: Smoke and Mirrors". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  11. ^ Doctor Who: Trouble in Paradise Destiny of the Doctor 6 Dr Who: Amazon.co.uk: Nev Fountain: Books. ASIN 1471311724.
  12. ^ a b Ainsworth, John (April 2013). "Birthday Bonanza!" (PDF). Vortex (50). Big Finish: 12. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  13. ^ "6. Doctor Who - Destiny of the Doctor: Trouble in Paradise". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  14. ^ Doctor Who: Shockwave Destiny of the Doctor 7 Dr Who: Amazon.co.uk: James Swallow: Books. ASIN 1471311732.
  15. ^ "7. Doctor Who - Destiny of the Doctor: Shockwave". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  16. ^ Doctor Who: Enemy Aliens Destiny of the Doctor 8 Dr Who: Amazon.co.uk: Alan Barnes: books. ASIN 1471311740.
  17. ^ "8. Doctor Who - Destiny of the Doctor: Enemy Aliens". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  18. ^ "Doctor Who, Blake's 7, May Releases, Competition and More! – Podcast – Big Finish". Big Finish Productions. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  19. ^ "9. Doctor Who - Destiny of the Doctor: Night of the Whisper". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  20. ^ "10. Doctor Who - Destiny of the Doctor: Death's Deal". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  21. ^ "Doctor Who, Mervyn Stone, Listener Questions and Competitions – Podcast – Big Finish". Big Finish Productions. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  22. ^ "11. Doctor Who - Destiny of the Doctor: The Time Machine". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.