March 9th, 2023 4 comments

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Big Finish The Ninth Doctor Adventures 3.1 Pioneers

Christopher Eccleston Returns for Third Audio Series!

He’s back! The Ninth Doctor will continue his TARDIS travels in a brand-new series of FANTASTIC full-cast audio dramas at Big Finish Productions, with the first volume due for release in May 2023!

Christopher Eccleston famously starred in Doctor Who’s 2005 revival series – ushering in a new generation of fans. Ever since, many hoped he would one day return and then, in May 2021, the unimaginable happened with the launch of The Ninth Doctor Adventures.

And after two fun-filled audio series, the acclaimed actor isn’t ready to hang up his leather jacket just yet… and will return in 12 more stories told across four box sets, beginning with Pioneers!

Christopher Eccleston said: “This series is brilliantly varied in tone and content. It feels just as fresh as when we started on the first audio series. We’re a well-oiled machine now.”

Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Pioneers is now available to pre-order as a collector’s edition 4-disc CD box set (+ download for just £29.99) or as a digital download only (for just £22.99), exclusively from www.bigfinish.com.

Big Finish listeners can save money by pre-ordering all four volumes of the third series together in a bundle for just £108 (collector’s edition CD box set + download) or £88 (download only).

The three explosive adventures in Pioneers are as follows:

• The Green Gift by Roy Gill
• Northern Lights by Robert Valentine
• The Beautiful Game by Katharine Armitage

Producer David Richardson said: “Picture this: we’re on a short break in recording The Ninth Doctor Adventures. Chris pops over to the control desk and asks our engineer to put some Barry White songs on the speakers. Out blares the music, and Chris starts dancing around the room. Our director, Helen Goldwyn, then joins in, dancing away at the director’s station, while gradually everyone else gets with the rhythm and starts to sway. For a good five minutes, the Ninth Doctor studio is lost in music.

“I share this because it sums up for me what it’s like working on these productions – everyone is so relaxed, and there’s just an infectious sense of fun and energy. If we want to dance then we’re going to dance! I think it’s significant because all of that energy and joy ends up right there in the episodes. We’re just having the time of our lives.”

Praise for The Ninth Doctor Adventures:

“It’s been a delight to hear Christopher Eccleston return once more to a role we never thought we’d hear him inhabit again.” – Who-Review

“Christopher Eccleston’s known for appreciating good writing, and it’s not hard to see why he came back to Doctor Who if these were the scripts he was shown.” – We Are Cult

“The Ninth Doctor Adventures improves from set to set… What started out as a fan dream has slowly become a range I’m sure has blown away the expectations of fans.” – Indie Mac User

“You can tell Eccleston is genuinely engaged with the material, and his passion and enthusiasm simply shine through, taking the audience right along with him.” – Set The Tape

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

Big Finish listeners can still purchase the previous series of The Ninth Doctor Adventures as triple LP vinyl bundles – limited to a pressing of 1,000 per volume. The first series is currently priced at £131.99 (until 23:59 UK time on 12 March 2023) and, until going on general release in April 2023, the second series is available for just £132.

Both series can also be bought as a collector’s edition CD box set + download bundle (£110 for series 1 and currently, £88 for series 2) or as digital downloads only (£96 for series 1 and currently, £78 for series 2).

Please note: the vinyl editions do not include any behind-the-scenes extras. However, listeners purchasing vinyl LP editions will receive a download of the story automatically and be given access to the CD edits as a bonus download. Episodes will be edited specifically for the vinyl format, presented as 2 episodes, one on each side, each with opening and closing music. In addition, all pre-orders of the vinyls will also receive the behind the extras as a bonus download.

Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mail-out of collector’s edition CDs may be delayed due to factors beyond our control, but all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that can be immediately downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date. 

Categorised under: Big Finish, CD, The 9th Doctor