Fantastic! The first volume of Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures, starring Christopher Eccleston in his long-awaited return as the Ninth Doctor, was released today from Big Finish Productions.
This box set of brand-new full-cast audio adventures heralds the start of the Ninth Doctor’s era on audio, and features a voyage of discovery alongside new faces Nova (Camilla Beeput) and Audrey (Jayne McKenna), running into adventure at every twist and turn. This epic tale spans three episodes, all written by Big Finish’s creative director, Nicholas Briggs.
“I’ve really enjoyed playing the Doctor again. As I’ve always said, he was always a joy to play. Somebody with that amount of optimism, enthusiasm and brains and heart – two hearts! It’s not something you get to do often.”
Christopher Eccleston
“I’ve really enjoyed playing the Doctor again,” Eccleston said in a statement released by Big Finish. “As I’ve always said, he was always a joy to play. Somebody with that amount of optimism, enthusiasm and brains and heart – two hearts! It’s not something you get to do often.”
Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Ravagers is now available exclusively at the Big Finish website (www.bigfinish.com).
On the Sphere of Freedom, the Doctor is about to shut down an evil Immersive Games business empire. He’s assisted by a valiant galley chef called Nova. But his plan spectacularly fails…
Now, the Doctor must fight back to discover what could have caused everything to go so badly wrong. His journey takes him via Piccadilly Circus in 1959, Belgium 1815 and far flung future worlds where machine intelligences regard sentient life as mere biofuel.
Where does the mysterious old-timer Audrey fit in? Is the alien beverage Charganzi safe to drink? And is there really anything the Doctor can do to stop the entire universe from being devoured?
The cast is completed by Jamie Parker (1917, Valkyrie), Dan Starkey (The Paternoster Gang, Jago & Litefoot & Strax), Anjella Mackintosh (The Eleven, Timeslip), Ben Lee (Holmes & Watson), and Clare Corbett (Jenny – The Doctor’s Daughter).
“To think, sixteen years ago the Ninth Doctor reached out, grabbed Rose Tyler by the hand and told her to run off into new adventures,” producer David Richardson said. “And now he’s back, grabbing us all by the hand and leading us off to whole new worlds, new friends and new foes. It’s Saturday teatime 2005 all over again… and it’s wonderful to have him back.”
Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Ravagers is now available for pre-order; the stories included in this first volume are: “Sphere of Freedom,” “Cataclysm” and “Food Fight.”
Eccleston said in a new statement: “It was lovely coming back to play the role again, due to Nicholas’s writing. I was surprised at how very quickly I seemed to recall the choices I made fifteen years ago. It was an odd experience; the Ninth Doctor’s still hanging around.”
“It’s been an honor working with Chris again – it’s truly thrilling to hear him in studio, inhabiting the Ninth Doctor like he’d never been away!” Briggs said. “Writing and directing Doctor Who stories never gets old for me, and I’m so excited for people to hear what we’ve been up to.
“It’s been a delight to kick off The Ninth Doctor Adventures series with Chris, and I know that my fellow writers and directors are cooking up some great stuff for the next box set.”
In addition to digital downloads, the stories will also be available as a collector’s edition CD or limited-edition gatefold triple LP vinyl exclusively from the Big Finish website. Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures triple LP vinyls are strictly limited to a pressing of 1,000 per volume, and can be pre-ordered individually or in a bundle comprising all four albums. Big Finish says these vinyl editions do not include any behind-the-scenes extras.
In future adventures, Eccleston’s Doctor will have his first encounters with old friends like Brigadier Sir Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart and classic foes like the Cybermen.
The company has been producing Doctor Who audios since 1999, starring Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, David Tennant and John Hurt, as well as a vast universe of spinoffs.
