November 7th, 2024 2 comments

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The First Doctor Companion Chronicles Families

New Companion Chronicles for the First Doctor era

Families, a brand-new box set of dramatised readings focuses on the plucky adventurers who travelled with the First Doctor, is due for release in April 2025 from Big Finish Productions.

Generations. Found. Lost. Families take many forms. Across time and space and sometimes closer than they would think, the Doctor’s friends have encountered many different forms of family who have touched their hearts over the years.

Since 2007, Big Finish Productions’ Companion Chronicles range has told stories set in the world of Doctor Who from the perspective of the Doctor’s friends. A new era for the range begins next year with Families, an anthology of four audio adventures, each spotlighting one of the First Doctor’s companions and starring the original cast of the TV series.

The forthcoming box set is packed with beloved characters from the era, beginning with a story narrated by Vicki (Maureen O’Brien). Then Susan (Carole Anne Ford), the Doctor’s granddaughter, is the focus of a tale that begins after her travels with the Doctor and her role in the Eighth Doctor Adventures series.

The third story features Peter Purves as Steven Taylor, and the fourth stars Lauren Cornelius, making her Companion Chronicles debut as Dodo Chaplet (as originally played on TV by Jackie Lane). Another Companion Chronicles debut in this box set is Stephen Noonan, who voices the First Doctor.

Doctor Who – The Companion Chronicles: Families is now available to pre-order for just £30.99 (collector’s edition CD box set + download) or £24.99 (download only), exclusively from www.bigfinish.com. Please note: the collector’s edition CD box set is strictly limited to 1,000 copies and will not be repressed.

The four brand-new adventures are:

The Temple of Light by Jonathan Morris

• Time has stopped. The TARDIS has frozen. And yet, Vicki finds herself with an entirely unfamiliar civilisation while the Doctor, Ian and Barbara are nowhere to be seen…

Stardust and Ashes by Ian Potter

• Reflecting on all she has lost, Susan recalls a time long ago, when she and her travelling family were trapped, their lives at the mercy of a machine intelligence. But everyone can learn from circumstance and from those around them – even in the ashes of hope, we can sometimes see stardust.

The White Ship by Paul Morris

• The Doctor and Steven land in Normandy, where Henry I is preparing to set sail for England. Steven gets mistaken for Stephen of Blois – the cousin of Henry’s heir and the future king… on the day the White Ship sank.

The Y Factor by Christopher Cooper

• Aided by septuagenarian jujitsu expert Edith Garrud, the First Doctor and Dodo Chaplet encounter an alien fungus that warps evil thoughts into evil deeds.

Producer Dominic G. Martin said: “It is an absolute honour to be producing the new Companion Chronicles. This legendary range has allowed the Doctor’s beloved friends to flourish through their own personal tales – lived by them, and told by them.

“We’re starting this new era by introducing our resident First Doctor, Stephen Noonan, into the stories. The writers have cooked up beautiful tales for Susan, Vicki and Stephen, played by the wonderfully talented original actors, and we’re re-introducing Dodo to the range through the talents of Lauren Cornelius. I sincerely hope everyone enjoys what we have to offer – here’s to more years of Companion Chronicles!”

Doctor Who – The Companion Chronicles: Families is now available to pre-order for just £30.99 (collector’s edition CD box set + download) or £24.99 (download only), exclusively from www.bigfinish.com.

All the above prices include the special pre-order discount and are subject to change after general release.

Categorised under: Big Finish, CD, Companion Chronicles