March 28th, 2019
35 comments
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Big Finish Doctor Who Ravenous 4 A Medley of Masters
Available to order from www.bigfinish.com
Doctor Who Ravenous 4 – A Medley of Masters!
The finale of the latest series of Eighth Doctor adventures is fast approaching, and with it comes the ultimate battle! The Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) and his companions face off against several iterations of the Master this October.
Michelle Gomez, Derek Jacobi, Geoffrey Beevers and Eric Roberts all return to the role of the Master/Missy for the finale of the collected Eighth Doctor range, Ravenous, being released in October 2019. Ravenous 4 from Big Finish Productions sees an all-star lineup in a spectacular fight for the cosmos.
Paul McGann and Eric Roberts will be facing off against each other for the first time since the Doctor Who television movie was released in 1996 – 23 years ago. Listeners have long wondered if the two would ever co-star in a Doctor Who story again… and now they only have to wait until October!
And Nicola Walker and Derek Jacobi are also being reunited for Ravenous 4 having appeared together as daughter and father in the popular BBC One costume drama, Last Tango in Halifax.
The Eighth Doctor team – Paul McGann (the Doctor), Nicola Walker (Liv Chenka) and Hattie Morahan (Helen Sinclair) – is joined by Mark Bonnar playing the deranged murderous Time Lord, the Eleven, who retains the personalities of his previous regenerations. But against more than one Master, the Doctor will need all the help he can get!
The universe hangs in the balance when good faces off against evil, and the omnipresent Ravenous are ready to consume the survivors…
Three stories will see Ravenous come to an epic conclusion.
The past, the present, and the future conspire against the Doctor as he fights to defeat the only creature ever to strike fear into the hearts of a Time Lord.
- 4.1 Whisper by Matt Fitton
- 4.2 Planet of Dust by Matt Fitton
- 4.3 and 4.4 Day of the Master by John Dorney
Writer of the truly Master-ful finale, John Dorney, tells us more: “Day of the Master was possibly the most exciting and yet terrifying brief I’ve ever had. Finishing off the Ravenous arc was a big enough responsibility on its own… but throw in wanting to give great material to Sir Derek Jacobi… and Michelle Gomez… and that’s before we even get to the heart-stoppingly fantastic prospect of bringing Eric Roberts’ Master back face to face with the Doctor again for the first time in over twenty years.
“Well, you can see why it might be intimidating! But honestly it was one of the best times I’ve ever had writing a Doctor Who story. I really hope the audience enjoy it as much as I did!”
Producer, David Richardson tells us more about approaching the end of this epic four-part series: “We’ve tried to do something a bit different with Ravenous. Coming out of Doom Coalition, we wanted to go a bit darker, a bit scarier – to mark the saga with a shift in tone. With all four box sets now recorded, I feel a sense of relief – it’s been such a huge logistical challenge! Ravenous 4 alone required six studio days in cities as far apart as Los Angeles, New York and London! But we did it. We told that whole, big story and we’ve brought back three Masters and Missy in a breathtaking finale.
‘It was a real thrill to bring Geoffrey Beevers into our Eighth Doctor Adventures, doing what he does best in Planet of Dust – subjugating an alien world, and then setting about a chain of events that will drive our Ravenous story forward’
“I’m really proud of it – and yet I don’t really have much time to stop and think about it because we’re already onto the next chapter for the Eighth Doctor! And life is going to be very different for him and his companions…”
Plus director Ken Bentley, “This seems to have been a box set for reunions. It’s going to be fascinating to hear what listeners think of the Eighth Doctor reuniting with Roberts’ Master. I’m sure those shockwaves will ripple through time. But it was a genuine delight to have Nicola Walker reunite with Derek Jacobi. The green room was filled with laughter that day.”
Doctor Who Ravenous 4 is available for pre-order now ahead of its release in October 2019. And Ravenous 3, being released in April, is also available for pre-order. Both these titles are priced at £23 on CD or £20 on download each.
Previous releases, Doctor Who Ravenous 1 and 2 are both available at £35 on CD or £30 on download. Or why not save money and get all four volumes of Ravenous in a bundle (each available on their release), priced at £90 on CD or £80 on download.
Executive Producers: Jason Haigh-Ellery, Nicholas Briggs
Producer: David Richardson
Script Editor: Ken Bentley
Director: Ken Bentley
Writers: Matt Fitton, John Dorney
PRICING
Pre-order: £23 CD / £20 download each from www.bigfinish.com
Bundle: £90 CD / £80 download from www.bigfinish.com
Categorised under: Big Finish, CD, Featured, The 8th Doctor
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Kevin225
April 2nd, 2019 - 9:07pmAre Big Finish needing to ‘play to the gallery’ at the moment? Some of their series are finishing/finished (Omega Factor, New Counter Measures, Survivors(?)) and a number of their ‘pilot’ seasons (Jenny, Lady Christina, New Earth) haven’t had a second season announced yet. Or is this just a co-incidence?
Anonymous
April 4th, 2019 - 5:57pmThe new Who pilots were to make money while they got the stars for the stuff they wanted
Gordon
April 5th, 2019 - 2:01amI don’t think its fair to say they used the pilots cash to get the stars for the stuff they wanted. It makes it sound like they didn’t want the people involved with the pilots. Just because something hasn’t been renewed yet doesn’t mean it won’t be. In some cases they don’t announce the next set until it’s been recorded. Case in point Charlotte pollard. Nick Briggs has got plans for a season 3 but as he hasn’t written it yet it hasn’t been anounced. It’s been 2 years since the last one and it could be at least another year before we do. They are using Jenny in the legacy of time release so they aren’t against using her again. Not everything needs to have multiple sets either. I just think big finish are trying multiple different things with new who to see what sticks. For every river song or unit which does very well you will get a new earth or Christina that doesn’t do as well
The Flying Shark
April 5th, 2019 - 7:27amOr maybe they just don’t need to do a series for everything. Take The Lives of Captain Jack, it was a good set looking at different parts of his life but there’s Torchwood as well, so it didn’t need to be a separate range, and there’s not much to do with stuff like Tales of New Earth beyond one box set, same with Christina, without the novelty wearing off. I could see another Jenny, but not for a while as she’s in the 20th box set.
SJF
April 5th, 2019 - 9:39amActually Christian Brassington is writing Charlotte Pollard Series 3 and it’s been in the stage of being written for about a year now.
Anonymous
March 29th, 2019 - 9:57amPaul mcgann is “the g” of big finish, in comparison to all the other doctors his contribution is very small. Big finish has a variety of all the other doctors, don’t like one then there’s all the others.
Can we stop the pointless misspelled comments online designed to insight negativity on what for any true doctor who fan can appreciate as the event of 2019
Perhaps this negativity is why Eric Roberts stayed away for 23 years………
Doctor Stu
March 28th, 2019 - 8:30pmDo all these connect together to the missy series and war master series or does it stand alone? Theres too many links and nods and connections, and reliance on past episodes, especially with how expensive they all are
the_4th_doc
March 29th, 2019 - 8:47amI doubt they will tie in with this. The War Master series has been mainly concerned with setting up Utopia (showing how the Master got the chameleon arch and eventually escaped the war) and hasn’t really left any plot threads to be picked up on here. Missy’s set did seem to set up a potential future story (there was a light arc about her modifying her TARDIS), but I’d be surprised if that shows up, and if it did all you’d need to know is she built a ‘Master TARDIS’ at some point. As long as you’ve been following Ravenous you should be fine.
Anonymous
March 29th, 2019 - 9:45amjohn dorney, writer of this story has confirmed that the events of this story are not linked to the war master and missy sets.
It is a requirement however to have listened to all of ravenous and possible go back to doom coalition too as the companions and “the eleven” are on going storylines, whilst it is a great event for all the masters, the storyline is very much about the ravenous so its not recommended to skip to the last part of the 8th doctors ongoing story.
I wouldnt call it “reliance” but more payoff for investment, the 8th doctors era is very much for the fans so BF know their audience and the level of investment so whilst I don’t think it would alienate those that dont buy everything, basic understanding of 8’s history should al the very least be caught up on (tardis wiki is very good to go into this if cash is low)
Doctor Stu
March 29th, 2019 - 6:00pmI haven’t gotten round to the eighth Doctor yet, mainly because I know he’s with Sheridan Smith at one point, and then that woman from Eastenders at another point, then there’s a time war series and the ravenous series etc. etc. and I’ve got no clue how to even approach his era. But I was just asking as I haven’t got through missy or Jacobi yet and I just wanted to make sure I didn’t then need to have to buy episodes from the eighth doctor for anything to make sense. I’m in a similar pickle with riversong as I know she pops up in several separate series’s.
But thank you for clearing it up for me
Gordon
April 5th, 2019 - 11:07amAh sjf I hadn’t heard that he’d passed on it. It’s been ages since I heard anything about it. The lives of captain jack isn’t really torchwood though. None of it takes place when he works for them. So it wouldn’t fit being moved there.
Anonymous
March 28th, 2019 - 7:07pmI am honestly just disappoint the McQueen Master isn’t in this. Or why all the masters aren’t in it. In Fact. Because they used the four masters thing before. GIVE ME ALL THE MASTERS
Jack Oates
March 29th, 2019 - 12:15amOn the Podcast Briggs replied to an email saying somthing along the lines of ‘good idea we need more McQueen I’ll email (somebody) in a bit.’ So we can hope for 2020 I guess.
Stuart Mackaness
October 17th, 2019 - 7:32amThe final moments of the story set up the McQueen Master very nicely. Hello you….
Anonymous
December 20th, 2019 - 11:53amyeah but in the diary of river song the masters didn’t even meet
DannyTheNerd
March 28th, 2019 - 4:14pmHow is missy and derek’s master in this? Surely the Doctor would have recognised them in Utopia and Dark Water?
Andrew
March 28th, 2019 - 4:24pmThis is the Eighth Doctor we’re talking about. He loses his memory at the drop of a hat.
Also he’s already forgotten meeting River how many times already, so…
DannyTheNerd
March 28th, 2019 - 4:35pmI’ve not heard the audios with river, but I was wondering how he didn’t remember her either.
Whofan44
March 28th, 2019 - 10:48pmIts been confirmed by John Dorney that there will be no amnesia for 8 in this set. It will be explained though. I dont think 8 and Missy will actually meet in the set
Anonymous
March 29th, 2019 - 9:51amchances are it will be a “light at the end” with the event occurring in a pocket timeline that is erased once the doctor saves the day
I’m confident that 8 will be meeting missy, the war master and eric and that the event will be deleted similar to so so many stories that have come before (spoiler- this is how river met the fourth doctor, six and seven had stories both that involved memory erasure and lost memory due to imbalance in reality)
It is also entirely possible that ravenous will end of a cliff hanger with all the masters leading into the next era of 8 and resolution in the next box set.
Anonymous
April 1st, 2019 - 10:06pmPrecisely my thoughts on this. It’s Big Finish deliberately trying to pull in Nu Who fans who have probably heard of BF, but never delved in to their vast back catalogue.
If you think of Classic – and even Nu Who – only in The Five Doctors (1983) and The Doctor Falls (2017) did have we have a Master meet a (to them) past or future incarnation of the Doctor. It seems really ridiculous to cram in 4 Masters AND The Eleven into this boxset. It’s the 8th Doctor and pre-Time War, so surely all we need is The Eleven (a fantastic standalone villain) and maybe the return of the Eric Roberts Master?! To add in Jacobi’s War Master, plus Beevers’ decayed (4th Dr era!) Master and Missy is just stupid.
I miss the era of a 5-10 years ago, when Big Finish went in their own direction and weren’t on a leash to Nu Who That’s why in 2012 they created Alexander McQueen’s Master in UNIT Dominion and then featured him in the Dark Eyes series/arc. So to finalise, if Big Finish want more than one Master in this new box set, then surely it should be the Eric Roberts version and his (presumably?!) next incarnation, Alexander McQueen? No past or future Masters/Missy are required.
Colin Forever
August 16th, 2019 - 5:44pmYet again Big Finish said the Eighth Doctor wouldn’t lose his memory of the War Master in Rage of the Timelords which turned out to be untrue
Anonymous
March 12th, 2020 - 8:45pmAnd it turns out that 8 ends up missing the war master and Missy. He only meets the Eric Roberts Master in this set
Anonymous
March 28th, 2019 - 4:08pmOdd that the Roberts Master isn’t more prominent on the cover, surely the biggest selling point here is that McGann is reuniting with his original Master after so
Long?
Anonymous
March 28th, 2019 - 7:06pmI have catching up to do
Lots of!
Colin Forever
August 16th, 2019 - 5:46pmAnd poor Beevers is stuck in the back 🙁
Anonymous
March 28th, 2019 - 3:59pmWell seeing as there is high fan demand for him…. no now crawl back to the hole of misery you poked out of
The ergon
March 28th, 2019 - 3:21pmAnd reasonably priced given all the talent on offer. I do prefer the Time War sets and i am really looking forward to the reteaming with Lucie Miller.
Gordon
March 28th, 2019 - 2:20pmNo. More the better
Bert
March 28th, 2019 - 2:18pmHis box sets for me at the best ones …more mcgann please if folk don’t like it just don’t buy them haha
Anonymous
March 28th, 2019 - 1:04pmIs it just me or are big finish becoming increasingly reliant on past continuity? Endless rematches with old villains are what big finish said they wouldn’t do when they first started.
Anonymous
March 28th, 2019 - 1:56pmI think it looks brilliant
Gordon
March 28th, 2019 - 2:27pmThey have always been reliant on nostalgia.
Anonymous
March 29th, 2019 - 10:13amBig finish exists in the past continuity of the show?!?! they only use recurring characters for reasons that have narrative significance, unlike:
2005-2019:
Daleks every season- ITS NOT ALL ABOUT THEM!!!
Returning monsters from classic era every season to boost mid/end season ratings (and before you say Jodie I would remind you that the monster in episode 1 returned for 10!)
12s rematch with davros.
2 masters vs 12.
Day of the doctor – 13 doctors.
Name of the doctor – capitalises on the impossible girl story with narrative contrivance to have doctors 1-8 cameo in the story.
twice upon a time- literally an episode of nostalgia.
Gridlock – return of the macra.
Timecrash.
Journeys end – complete nostalgia and continuity reliance of the RTD era
multiple rematches with the weeping angels.
12 rematch with rassilon on gallifrey.
Mondasian cybermen vs 12.
Captain jack – 2 returns in 2 years
SARAH JANE SMITH
K9
SARAH JANE SMITH ADDRESSING DAVROS AND TALKING GENESIS OF THE DALEKS!
2 major references to the valeyard.
I will take big fnisihs anyway over the show, TV hasn’t ben great for the last few years sadly, great doctors with subpar stories.
Anonymous
March 29th, 2019 - 1:10pm14 of Peter Peter Davison’s stories featured returning characters. 14 out of 20. But that’s fine isn’t it because it’s old who… colin Baker did 8 stories if you count trial as a single story 8 out of which 6 feature returning characters. 2 minor mentions of valeyard not major. I don’t have a problem with characters coming back, I like it. All I’m saying about big finish is they are using a lot at the moment.