Has this been a good year for Big Finish? This year seems to have seen a high output that ever before. It was major milestone for the company as it celebrated its 10th Birthday in July. This year saw Doctor Who split into 3 part series. This was partly because the Thomas Brewster story was spread over several months which meant the story lost some of its flow. So in 2009 there was going to be three sets of three series and a single release. Also in 2009 there was the continuation of the Companion Chronicles series which saw the third series end in June and the Fourth begin straight away in July. Also after over a year of waiting the Lost Stories began with The Nightmare Fair but I getting ahead of myself. The Eight Doctor and Lucie adventures returned for a third series but it was different from the previous two.
THE MAIN RANGE
JANUARY – MARCH: THE KEY 2 TIME
THE JUDGEMENT OF ISSKAR, THE DESTROYER OF DELIGHTS & THE CHAOS POOL
The first series saw the return of the Key 2 Time. Back in the 1970’s Tom Baker spent 26 episodes looking for the segments only for him to destroy them. This time the Fifth Doctor had the task of looking for them. He didn’t have Peri (who seemed to be frozen in time) but was given a new companion in the form of Amy (played by ex-Hollyoaks star Ciara Janson). The first story was The Judgement of Isskar which was a bit of a mixed bag. The Ice Warriors returned for this one and at the end of it we were finally treated to one of the best cliffhangers that Big Finish have produced for quite a long time. The return of the Black Guardian. David Troughton won a Best Guest Star Award for his portrayal of the Black Guardian. In The Destroyer of Delights we were again treated to a weird story which seemed slightly more structured than the previous story. The final story of the series saw the return of Lalla Ward. Instead of playing Romana like we (ok I) thought she ended up playing Princess Astra like she did back in the Armageddon Factor. The thing about The Chaos Pool was that it was a slightly complicated story that did seem to drag at times. Overall the series wasn’t bad but neither was it anything to write home about.
SERIES AVERAGE RATING: 71%
APRIL – JUNE:
THE MAGIC MOUSETRAP, ENEMY OF THE DALEKS & THE ANGEL OF SCUTARI
The second series saw the Seventh Doctor reunited with Ace and Hex. The first adventure was voted Story of the Year by Toms Tardis Fans. This story saw the return of the Celestial Toymaker, his first appearance in over 40 years. This was a very good story with a great setting and the use of the Toymaker was original and enjoyable. The second story was what I would consider to be story of the year and that was Enemy of the Daleks. This story saw the Doctor and company arrive at a point of time where the Doctor knew that something bad happened there and he had to make sure that it happened. The Daleks were returning because the research being done on this base would have destroyed them. This meant that the Daleks were doing their invade and conquer bit but were just trying to survive. The final story of this series was never going to be as good as the previous two stories but was more of a character piece. Hex has never really had much of a push since he joined the TARDIS back in 2004 and this one allowed him to use abilities and to help. This story was set during the Crimean War and saw the appearance of Florence Nightengale. The side of Hex we saw was one that sneaking about behind the Doctor’s back. Whilst this was a good story it was the weakest in terms of adventure. Overall this series was the best so far and showed that this way of distributing the releases has some merit to it.
SERIES AVERAGE RATING: 81%
JULY: THE COMPANY OF FRIENDS
The only single release story of the main range in 2009 saw the Eighth Doctor return from the Lucie adventures. This story was effectively the 10th Anniversary story and saw four companions that the Eighth Doctor had in different forms. There was Fitz (Matt di Angelo), Izzy (Jemmima Rooper), Bernice (Lisa Bowerman) and Mary Shelley (Julie Cox). Apart from Bernice we never heard any of the other characters before in Big Finish and this story was a superb effort. Each episode was well structured and thoroughly enjoyable.
RATING: 84%
AUGUST – SEPTEMBER: THE CHARLEY TRILOGY
PATIENT ZERO, PAPER CUTS & BLUE FORGOTTEN PLANET
This was the most anticipated series of adventures of the year. We were finally going to see what was going to happen to Charlotte Pollard. The first story saw the second appearance of the Daleks this year. It also saw the return of the Viyrans who first appeared in Mission of the Viyrans back in 2007. This story saw Charley been trapped thanks to a character called Mila who was someone who has been infected with a disease and called Patient Zero. This story was very good from start to finish and the moment that Mila became Charley and there was the possibility that Charley might leave like this was horrific. Then there was Paper Cuts which saw the Draconians make their first appearance in Big Finish. The story wasn’t as good as Patient Zero but was better than I thought and considering it was by Marc Platt actually made a lot of sense. The final story of this trilogy was the story that I rated the highest. Blue Forgotten Planet was well and truly the final story featuring Charley and the explanation as to how the Eighth Doctor doesn’t remember anything that has happened between his sixth incarnation and Charley was explained in a very clever way. Overall this series was as good as it could have been considering it had so much expectation piled on to it. After eight years it was really sad to see the end of Charley.
SERIES AVERAGE RATING: 83%
OCTOBER – DECEMBER: THE STOCKBRIDGE TRILOGY
CASTLE OF FEAR, THE ETERNAL SUMMER & PLAGUE OF THE DALEKS
The final series of 2009 saw the Fifth Doctor get a second series and sees the Doctor return to Stockbridge which was a setting that was used many times in the comic strips in Doctor Who Magazine. The first story was set in the past, the second was in the present and the third was set in the future.
The first story was Castle of Fear which spent the first half of its life in comedy and then became deadly serious in the second half. The story saw the Rutan’s return to the series and set up and interesting link to the 1974 adventure The Time Warrior. Overall it was due to the comedic first half that put me off from enjoying this story. The second story was one that for most of the voting period was the favourite to win the Best Story gong. To be honest I found it very impressive. There was a lot of shifting about times and also things happening again and again. The final story of the year was the third story of 2009 to feature the Daleks and also the fourth in 15 months. This story was set in the future and was a slightly disappointing adventure and let down the Stockbridge Trilogy a little bit. Overall these stories were enjoyable and better than the Key 2 Time at the beginning of the year.
SERIES AVERAGE RATING: 76%
Overall the main range in 2009 has been a superb year. The three story series has been a fantastic success. In fact it’s the best year in terms of average ratings. It’s the best year since 2001 and was nearly 4.5% better than last year. The only stories that were weakest were the Key 2 Time series but on the whole its been a great year in the main range.
Now its time to look at the other ranges that have been released in 2009.
THE LOST STORIES
In November the Lost Stories were released with the Nightmare Fair and in December Mission to Magnus. These two stories were supposed to be the first two stories of the 23rd series back in 1986. Due to the high level of expectation the Nightmare Fair for me fell a bit below expectation and only got 81% whereas Mission to Magnus was a more enjoyable story and was paced at a better level which is why it got slightly better rating of 82%. The rest of the series is due to be released in the first half of 2010.
COMPANION CHRONICLES
SERIES 3
The last five stories of the third series saw Ian Chesterton, Polly, Mike Yates, Jago and Litefoot and also the First Romana tell stories of their adventures with their Doctors. It was the Jago and Litefoot one that was the best received and got 88% which was the second highest rating for this series only behind the brilliant Home Truths which got 90%. The final story was quite impressive, the first Romana tells a story where she is the only person in the story. Normally the actor playing the companion has someone else to act against whereas Mary Tamm was acting solo.
SERIES 4
The fourth series started the following month after Stealers from Saiph was released. The first story of this series saw the first sequel in the Companion Chronicles range. Home Truths was so well received that Sara Kingdom came back in The Drowned World. Also during the course of the first half of the series we had another adventure from Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), King Peladon (played by David Troughton) told a third Doctor story. Romana II (Lalla Ward) was returning after her only other appearance in the first series. This start to the series was the best that I recall. Hopefully the second half in 2010 carries on this strong start.
EIGHTH DOCTOR AND LUCIE
With their being no TV series to speak of. The clever chaps at Big Finish decided to get the eight episodes they normally do and split each of them into two so we get 16 x 25 minute episodes which were available to download every Saturday.
The stories were all very good with particular notice to be drawn to Hothouse which saw the Krynoids return after their only appearance in the Seeds of Doom (1976). Also Wirrn Dawn saw the Wirrn make their first appearance in audio. Another return was the dreaded (quite literally) Eight Legs. This two part story saw the Eight Truths take over earth only to be foiled by the Doctor.
This third series was certainly different however I think that it didn’t quite have the same impact that I felt the second series had. That said it was the Christmas Special that was the most eagerly awaited release. Death in Blackpool won the Best Spin-Off award. This story saw the departure of Lucie. Lucie was the audio version of Rose Tyler but was more manageable. Her departure was very emotional and was the best ending for the companion.
AN EARTHLY CHILD
The subscribers special saw the return of Susan Foreman to a proper adventure (previously she was in Here There Be Monsters in 2008). The Eighth Doctor was the one that met his granddaughter some 30 years after the events of The Dalek Invasion of Earth. It wasn’t about the plot but more about the emotional reunion between the Doctor and Susan. For anyone who doesn’t subscribe to the main range will have to wait until December 2010 before they can buy it and they will be in for a treat.
December saw the release of the second Cyberman series. I haven’t actually listened to this so this will probably be part of the 2010 review.
2009 has as mentioned been a fantastic year for all the different areas of Doctor Who. I have spent a small fortune buying the different series and I have to say that at no point during the course of the year have I regretted buying anything.
2010 has a lot to live up to!!!
THE MAIN RANGE
JANUARY – MARCH: THE KEY 2 TIME
THE JUDGEMENT OF ISSKAR, THE DESTROYER OF DELIGHTS & THE CHAOS POOL
The first series saw the return of the Key 2 Time. Back in the 1970’s Tom Baker spent 26 episodes looking for the segments only for him to destroy them. This time the Fifth Doctor had the task of looking for them. He didn’t have Peri (who seemed to be frozen in time) but was given a new companion in the form of Amy (played by ex-Hollyoaks star Ciara Janson). The first story was The Judgement of Isskar which was a bit of a mixed bag. The Ice Warriors returned for this one and at the end of it we were finally treated to one of the best cliffhangers that Big Finish have produced for quite a long time. The return of the Black Guardian. David Troughton won a Best Guest Star Award for his portrayal of the Black Guardian. In The Destroyer of Delights we were again treated to a weird story which seemed slightly more structured than the previous story. The final story of the series saw the return of Lalla Ward. Instead of playing Romana like we (ok I) thought she ended up playing Princess Astra like she did back in the Armageddon Factor. The thing about The Chaos Pool was that it was a slightly complicated story that did seem to drag at times. Overall the series wasn’t bad but neither was it anything to write home about.
SERIES AVERAGE RATING: 71%
APRIL – JUNE:
THE MAGIC MOUSETRAP, ENEMY OF THE DALEKS & THE ANGEL OF SCUTARI
The second series saw the Seventh Doctor reunited with Ace and Hex. The first adventure was voted Story of the Year by Toms Tardis Fans. This story saw the return of the Celestial Toymaker, his first appearance in over 40 years. This was a very good story with a great setting and the use of the Toymaker was original and enjoyable. The second story was what I would consider to be story of the year and that was Enemy of the Daleks. This story saw the Doctor and company arrive at a point of time where the Doctor knew that something bad happened there and he had to make sure that it happened. The Daleks were returning because the research being done on this base would have destroyed them. This meant that the Daleks were doing their invade and conquer bit but were just trying to survive. The final story of this series was never going to be as good as the previous two stories but was more of a character piece. Hex has never really had much of a push since he joined the TARDIS back in 2004 and this one allowed him to use abilities and to help. This story was set during the Crimean War and saw the appearance of Florence Nightengale. The side of Hex we saw was one that sneaking about behind the Doctor’s back. Whilst this was a good story it was the weakest in terms of adventure. Overall this series was the best so far and showed that this way of distributing the releases has some merit to it.
SERIES AVERAGE RATING: 81%
JULY: THE COMPANY OF FRIENDS
The only single release story of the main range in 2009 saw the Eighth Doctor return from the Lucie adventures. This story was effectively the 10th Anniversary story and saw four companions that the Eighth Doctor had in different forms. There was Fitz (Matt di Angelo), Izzy (Jemmima Rooper), Bernice (Lisa Bowerman) and Mary Shelley (Julie Cox). Apart from Bernice we never heard any of the other characters before in Big Finish and this story was a superb effort. Each episode was well structured and thoroughly enjoyable.
RATING: 84%
AUGUST – SEPTEMBER: THE CHARLEY TRILOGY
PATIENT ZERO, PAPER CUTS & BLUE FORGOTTEN PLANET
This was the most anticipated series of adventures of the year. We were finally going to see what was going to happen to Charlotte Pollard. The first story saw the second appearance of the Daleks this year. It also saw the return of the Viyrans who first appeared in Mission of the Viyrans back in 2007. This story saw Charley been trapped thanks to a character called Mila who was someone who has been infected with a disease and called Patient Zero. This story was very good from start to finish and the moment that Mila became Charley and there was the possibility that Charley might leave like this was horrific. Then there was Paper Cuts which saw the Draconians make their first appearance in Big Finish. The story wasn’t as good as Patient Zero but was better than I thought and considering it was by Marc Platt actually made a lot of sense. The final story of this trilogy was the story that I rated the highest. Blue Forgotten Planet was well and truly the final story featuring Charley and the explanation as to how the Eighth Doctor doesn’t remember anything that has happened between his sixth incarnation and Charley was explained in a very clever way. Overall this series was as good as it could have been considering it had so much expectation piled on to it. After eight years it was really sad to see the end of Charley.
SERIES AVERAGE RATING: 83%
OCTOBER – DECEMBER: THE STOCKBRIDGE TRILOGY
CASTLE OF FEAR, THE ETERNAL SUMMER & PLAGUE OF THE DALEKS
The final series of 2009 saw the Fifth Doctor get a second series and sees the Doctor return to Stockbridge which was a setting that was used many times in the comic strips in Doctor Who Magazine. The first story was set in the past, the second was in the present and the third was set in the future.
The first story was Castle of Fear which spent the first half of its life in comedy and then became deadly serious in the second half. The story saw the Rutan’s return to the series and set up and interesting link to the 1974 adventure The Time Warrior. Overall it was due to the comedic first half that put me off from enjoying this story. The second story was one that for most of the voting period was the favourite to win the Best Story gong. To be honest I found it very impressive. There was a lot of shifting about times and also things happening again and again. The final story of the year was the third story of 2009 to feature the Daleks and also the fourth in 15 months. This story was set in the future and was a slightly disappointing adventure and let down the Stockbridge Trilogy a little bit. Overall these stories were enjoyable and better than the Key 2 Time at the beginning of the year.
SERIES AVERAGE RATING: 76%
Overall the main range in 2009 has been a superb year. The three story series has been a fantastic success. In fact it’s the best year in terms of average ratings. It’s the best year since 2001 and was nearly 4.5% better than last year. The only stories that were weakest were the Key 2 Time series but on the whole its been a great year in the main range.
Now its time to look at the other ranges that have been released in 2009.
THE LOST STORIES
In November the Lost Stories were released with the Nightmare Fair and in December Mission to Magnus. These two stories were supposed to be the first two stories of the 23rd series back in 1986. Due to the high level of expectation the Nightmare Fair for me fell a bit below expectation and only got 81% whereas Mission to Magnus was a more enjoyable story and was paced at a better level which is why it got slightly better rating of 82%. The rest of the series is due to be released in the first half of 2010.
COMPANION CHRONICLES
SERIES 3
The last five stories of the third series saw Ian Chesterton, Polly, Mike Yates, Jago and Litefoot and also the First Romana tell stories of their adventures with their Doctors. It was the Jago and Litefoot one that was the best received and got 88% which was the second highest rating for this series only behind the brilliant Home Truths which got 90%. The final story was quite impressive, the first Romana tells a story where she is the only person in the story. Normally the actor playing the companion has someone else to act against whereas Mary Tamm was acting solo.
SERIES 4
The fourth series started the following month after Stealers from Saiph was released. The first story of this series saw the first sequel in the Companion Chronicles range. Home Truths was so well received that Sara Kingdom came back in The Drowned World. Also during the course of the first half of the series we had another adventure from Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), King Peladon (played by David Troughton) told a third Doctor story. Romana II (Lalla Ward) was returning after her only other appearance in the first series. This start to the series was the best that I recall. Hopefully the second half in 2010 carries on this strong start.
EIGHTH DOCTOR AND LUCIE
With their being no TV series to speak of. The clever chaps at Big Finish decided to get the eight episodes they normally do and split each of them into two so we get 16 x 25 minute episodes which were available to download every Saturday.
The stories were all very good with particular notice to be drawn to Hothouse which saw the Krynoids return after their only appearance in the Seeds of Doom (1976). Also Wirrn Dawn saw the Wirrn make their first appearance in audio. Another return was the dreaded (quite literally) Eight Legs. This two part story saw the Eight Truths take over earth only to be foiled by the Doctor.
This third series was certainly different however I think that it didn’t quite have the same impact that I felt the second series had. That said it was the Christmas Special that was the most eagerly awaited release. Death in Blackpool won the Best Spin-Off award. This story saw the departure of Lucie. Lucie was the audio version of Rose Tyler but was more manageable. Her departure was very emotional and was the best ending for the companion.
AN EARTHLY CHILD
The subscribers special saw the return of Susan Foreman to a proper adventure (previously she was in Here There Be Monsters in 2008). The Eighth Doctor was the one that met his granddaughter some 30 years after the events of The Dalek Invasion of Earth. It wasn’t about the plot but more about the emotional reunion between the Doctor and Susan. For anyone who doesn’t subscribe to the main range will have to wait until December 2010 before they can buy it and they will be in for a treat.
December saw the release of the second Cyberman series. I haven’t actually listened to this so this will probably be part of the 2010 review.
2009 has as mentioned been a fantastic year for all the different areas of Doctor Who. I have spent a small fortune buying the different series and I have to say that at no point during the course of the year have I regretted buying anything.
2010 has a lot to live up to!!!
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