June 8th, 2024 10 comments

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Big Finish 25 years of Doctor Who The Sirens of Time Revisited

Available to order from www.bigfinish.com

Celebrating 25 years of Doctor Who audio dramas from Big Finish Productions, the very first release gets a new director’s cut.

For a quarter of a century, Big Finish Productions have been regularly releasing full-cast audio adventures set in the worlds of Doctor Who, featuring Doctors, companions and monsters from across the eras of the BBC TV series.

It all started in 1999 with The Sirens of Time, the debut instalment in Big Finish’s long-running Monthly Adventures range. Written and directed by Nicholas Briggs, The Sirens of Time featured the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors teaming up against a deadly threat to Gallifrey, with Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy reprising their roles on audio drama for the first time.

To celebrate this very special anniversary, Big Finish is excited to announce Doctor Who: The Sirens of Time – Redux. Remastered and re-edited from the original recording tapes, this is a new “director’s cut” of the story; where the first three episodes of the original each focused on just one Doctor, the new version intercuts between all of them for a more narratively satisfying experience.

The Sirens of Time – Redux also features new sound design and music. And there are brand-new behind the scenes extras, with Davison, Baker, and McCoy reminiscing about their first ever Big Finish recording and the 25 years of audio productions since.

The Sirens of Time – Redux is due for release in November 2024 and is now available to pre-order in four pricing tiers – bronze, silver, gold and platinum – each of which includes bonus extras, exclusively at www.bigfinish.com.

Pre-order pricing starts at £12.99 for a download copy of the audio drama. Premium options include a limited edition souvenir cassette tape (the format the story was originally released on in 1999) and prints of photos from the original recording sessions.

Nicholas Briggs said: “It’s now just over 25 years ago that I went into studio with The Sirens of Time. That moment signified a big change in my life and was a real step-up for the profile of Big Finish Productions.

“When the story was released, it was the beginning of an era when a Doctor Who audio drama was mostly just referred to as “a Big Finish”. “Have you heard the latest Big Finish?” people would ask — and they still do! So it was a hugely significant production for Jason Haigh-Ellery, Gary Russell and me. And I put into practice all the audio expertise I’d amassed at that time to create an exciting Doctor Who audio drama like no other before it — the reviews were great and we took off!

“Of course, all these years later, all of us at Big Finish have learnt so much, and even though I immodestly feel the original holds up surprisingly well, I felt that as part of celebrating our silver anniversary, The Sirens of Time could easily bear an upgrade. There’ll be some augmented sound design, a brand-new incidental music score by me, new behind-the-scenes content, and a significantly different unfolding of the narrative of the story.

“I’ve managed to rescue the original source material off ancient digital audio tapes, with the help of regular Big Finish sound designer and composer Toby Hrycek-Robinson, who skilfully extracted the material, and I’m working now on creating a version of the story like no other before it… again!”

Doctor Who: The Sirens of Time – Redux is now available for pre-order:

Bronze (unlimited):

• The Sirens of Time – Redux on download only, plus the original version of The Sirens of Time on download, for £12.99.

Silver (limited to 1000 copies):

• The Sirens of Time – Redux on collector’s edition CD, both versions of the story on download, plus extra audio interviews/bonus tracks, for £15.99.

Gold (limited to 150 copies):

• The Sirens of Time – Redux on souvenir collector’s edition cassette and CD, both versions of the story on download, plus extra audio interviews/bonus tracks, for £44.99.

Platinum (limited to 100 copies):

• Prints of photos from the recording sessions, The Sirens of Time – Redux on souvenir collector’s edition cassette and CD, both versions of the story on download, plus extra audio interviews/bonus tracks, for £65.99.

Please note: availability of the limited edition releases from Big Finish is restricted to one per customer. Duplicate orders will be cancelled and refunded.

Categorised under: Big Finish, CD, Special Releases