Tenth Doctor / Classic Companions (Sep 2022)

When I really sit down and think about it, I think Big Finish has kind of done this sort of thing from the very start - focusing on having classic characters who never met on television meet, that is. The marketing has changed as Big Finish has gained more visibility and as technology has changed, but fundamentally I don’t think what we’re getting these days is all that different from when Big Finish made a trilogy of stories where the Doctor faces Omega, Davros, and the Master, or when they had the Sixth Doctor finally meet the Brigadier and Romana, or when any number of classic monsters from the show made an appearance. Gallifrey is an entire range of stories that frankly must look like the ultimate fanfic with all the characters it brings together from across all of Doctor Who. Yet all of these things worked and we still always got new original stories with new original monsters and characters to enjoy.

I’d argue not too much has really changed overall, it’s just that now we’re getting more of everything and now that the audience has increased and the technology has changed, things are categorized or marketed differently. And to be fair to these really “gimmicky” ideas, so, so many of them have worked extremely well. Series 2, 3, and 5 of River Song were all absolutely phenomenal and they all had the “gimmick” of River meeting a classic character. And speaking of River, I also feel as though they handled her inclusion really well in the ongoing Eighth Doctor boxsets in a unique and interesting way. The Classic Doctors, New Monsters boxsets I remember being generally praised too - and I certainly enjoyed them.

Almost every time I can think that they’ve put out something with a big marketing hook like this set, it ends up generally being agreed that Big Finish did a pretty good job with it. Not everyone thinks that way and that’s fine, but there’s still plenty of original stories and ideas that are getting the green light that haven’t depended on marketing a returning character. Most of the recent Sixth Doctor monthly stories have been that way. So have a lot of the recent Fifth Doctor stories.

So, overall, I think I’m going to trust Big Finish on this one. Certainly there are things I wish they’d do with Ten instead such as focusing on giving us more box set series like the Eighth Doctor - but I also kind feel like that’s what I’ll be getting from Dalek Universe. And the stories here are all being handled by great writers known for giving us good character pieces. I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable putting bets on this being a highlight of 2022, truthfully!

It's a difficult balance to strike. But, in my opinion, if the best you can do with David Tennant, who is still a novelty for Big Finish, is pair him with Nyssa, Leela, Ace, etc, than a shake up in the ideas department is desperately needed.

With the amount of audios he's contributed just lately they could have given him a whole season (or even two) with a new companion, and thought a little out of the box for his Doctor. This didn't mean not including the Daleks for an episode or two or an appearance of River Song, but going down the usual Who Incest route feels like a lost opportunity.

Disappointed, but not surprised.

Exactly. & when even a little info gets revealed about an upcoming release it makes sense that people will speculate and/or bring their own thoughts about what they think the story is going to be like. & the phrase 'reserve judgment' is of course only used when people dare to say something negative about an upcoming release. If we all truly did 'reserve judgement' this forum would be a lot less active! It's fun to speculate be that positively or negatively given our own taste.

I don’t think it wouldn’t be less active.

Speculation and judgement aren’t the same thing, and it’s somewhat disingenuous to suggest they are. And in terms of it only being used when people ‘dare to say something negative’, I wouldn’t say that’s true either. It’s just that pre-judgements do tend to veer on the negative side. There’s a reason people tend not to use the word ‘prejudice’ as a positive trait. 

Have to agree with you but don’t want that to become a habit lol😉

I actually tend to look at release read the blurb and think aye or nae or can that wait till later lol
is that an immediate buy for me or not...I have a few folks who encourage me and that’s what this forum does it encourages me as I rarely find it a negative place to be .
I even enjoy when the odd writer pipes in.
I wouldn’t say I was a total intellectual that I would dissect something or even fit it into chronology as I can enjoy a release just as an individual story some attract me some don’t some really make me feel total joy and others hate,everyone’s different I accept that.Some stories take a road I don’t personally like but I say that’s  not the way I would have taken the character etc...but because it’s WHO I don’t have a problem it’s time travel..it can be rewritten even if only in MY mind and these adventures are in my mind.

Do I think writers on Big Finish really go out to give us new angles yes I do and even if they just take original teams and put them into new worlds times for 90% of the time am engaged and in for the ride .For those times I haven’t enjoyed the ride eventually I will go back no think geez why did I not enjoy that originally.Humans let’s be honest we never ever really know what we want for most part we only think we do (or maybe that’s just me)

I mean, I am certainly an odd writer. 

Although - to be clear, no-one has to like the prospect of anything coming out, and if the marketing of the story doesn’t make it appeal to you, fair enough. But I do think deciding what it is in advance is a little unfair. 

I honest to God think it’s an amazing run. You will not regret it. 

Took your word the first time I believe you...and I like to make sure all at BF have bread and butter and toilet paper in their homes

I can understand not liking or being tired of some characters, but at least if they're in something you know not to buy, with a new character it's a Russian roulette.

We don't know that all 12 Dalek Universe stories feature returning elements.

I'd be less excited about "era-appropriate" returning elements cause there are fewer new directions you can take those in, you know how those work in this situation. Not that I'm against it, but that sounds to me more like looking backwards and doing the same again and again. It's true, it's down to personal preferences, but I truly can't comprehend how one is better than the other.

I might be biased because I don't listen to every release, especially in the MR, but what makes you (and others, of course) tired of companions or monsters and not the Doctor? Surely the Doctor is much better explored than the companions by now, all 14 incarnations. For some people that's true, and don't buy BF, even if the stories are good. The again, if pairing a Doctor with a different companion can bring out different aspects in them (and we're counting the Doctors as different characters, because if not, then Doctor fatigue should definitely be a thing), then surely pairing a companion with a different Doctor should help explore both in new lights, right?


What I'm trying to say is that there's nothing wrong in not liking a certain character or feeling you've had enough of them, but equating those feelings to saying the stories themselves are uninspired, gimmicky and repetitive (I might be exaggerating a bit to make a point), is a bit much. Some people don't buy brilliant stories because they feature a Doctor they can't stand, or perhaps they have the misfortune of loving a Doctor and hating a companion in a certain team, or maybe the don't buy expanded media as a rule. All of those are perfectly acceptable and down to personal taste, but making everything to everyone's liking is nigh impossible, and, as lidar says, most of the times logistics are behind some of the "gimmicks" that inspire a story, making the most of what you have. In my case, the format of the CCs, which was indeed born out of a necessity, wasn't really my cup of tea, so the only ones I have are the ones I felt the story made up for that.