Seven + Eight

Between the ages of eight and eleven I lived in Australia and Australian television filled a lot of their schedules with old programmes they'd bought from the UK. As a consequence, I'm one of the few British people in their thirties who can honestly say that The Goodies formed an important part of their childhood TV. I've also watched a lot of classic Doctor Who (Tom Baker to Sylvester McCoy). I know that the memory plays tricks but my memory is pretty certain that Doctor Who was on almost all the time in a more or less random sequence of Doctors.

Like every proper geek, I've got a healthy addiction to the current incarnation of the series but I also remember the classic series with affection and an abiding fear of The Cleaners. I've loved the Big Finish productions that have been broadcast on Radio 4/4 Extra, partly because they have one foot in the old and one in the new series. And partly because I've got a proper soft spot for Paul McGann, an extremely under-rated Doctor. Big Finish have given the eighth Doctor a fantastic platform with some truly memorable adventures, plus a great companion in Lucie Miller.

This week was the first time I'd heard one of their dramas for the previous Doctors (maybe it's the first they've broadcast, I've not been paying close enough attention). Last week 4 Extra started two Sylvester McCoy adventures: A Thousand Tiny Wings took on some big themes in a three-episode sequence; followed by Survival of the Fittest which will conclude this week. 

The first episode of Survival of the Fittest was pretty close to a stand-alone. It outlined how a Nazi scientist from an alternate timeline became obsessed with time travel, leading to her becoming stranded in the substantive events of history. The best part was the fact that they did it with a fabulous cameo/crossover by Paul McGann.

I'll confess that I've not bought any of Big Finish's Doctor Who dramas but this is exactly the sort of geeky cool that is going to make me click that 'download' link. Their catalogue of sci-fi content (Highlander, Stargate, Blakes 7, Doctor Who etc) is intimidatingly vast. I'm fairly certain that my tendency towards obsessive, completeist collecting might kick in if I were to begin to buy from Big Finish and I know my bank balance wouldn't thank me for that. Though I will confess to having bookmarked the link for future moments of weakness.

Anyway. If you're a fan of Doctor Who and have never heard any of the audio adventures, give them a try this week. Keep it up, Big Finish. And more please, 4 Extra!