September sees the 60th anniversary of Star Trek. We are also not far off the 60th anniversary of Patrick Troughton’s debut as The Second Doctor. To celebrate both, I decided to pick some Second Doctor audio stories that have plots that are similar to those on Star Trek.
I am going all across his era, so we have two with Polly, Ben and Jamie, two with Victoria and Jamie and two with Zoe and Jamie; all from The Early Adventures.
For these, the writers are given the brief that the stories should be able to fit into the original era. A couple of them have noted that they deliberately avoided colour, basically writing in black and white. They really do capture the charm of that era, and add some notes to continuity that should make the more seasoned fan smile.
If you are more of an Earth based story fan, I have already covered some war stories.
I’ve put them in release order but if you want to listen in chronological order (this is me looking at online sources):
Polly / Ben / Jamie Era:
The Yes Men (2015), between The Macra Terror (1967) and The Faceless Ones (1967)
The Outliers (2017), between The Macra Terror (1967) and The Faceless Ones (1967)
Victoria / Jamie Era:
The Black Hole (2015), set just after The Ice Warriors (1967)
Zoe / Jamie era:
The ISOS Network (2016), set just after The Invasion (1968)
The Wreck of the World (2017), set after The Mind Robber (1968), but online sources suggest this is last, so maybe the TARDIS repairs featured had to wait until after The Invasion (1968) and The ISOS Network (2016).
Anyway, here are details…
The Yes Men (2015)
Written by Simon Gurrier
• Available here from Big Finish
Full cast, including Frazer Hines as The Doctor and Jamie, Anneke Wills as Polly and Elliot Chapman as Ben
Plot: The Doctor, Jamie, Polly and Ben arrive on New Houston, an Earth colony in the Fourth Sector, which the Doctor previously saved from an alien invasion. He wishes to pay his respects to his late friend Meg Carvossa, but something is not quite right with New Houston’s subservient robots…
Not unlike a typical Star Trek landing on a strange planet plot plus there’s the futuristic robot part. This story takes elements from the film The Third Man (1949) in that The Doctor has returned, albeit accidentally, to find a friend. Added depth is given with the prior visit being as The First Doctor, with Dodo. It was also influenced by the First Doctor story The War Machines (1966), the story that featured the debut of Ben and Polly.
I’ve said this before but The Early Adventures really capture the feel of the TV series of the 1960s, and Big Finish have really made me start to appreciate this TARDIS team. Funnily enough, Ben (Elliot Chapman) does not appear in episode 3, similar to what happened when cast members used to take a holiday back in the day. Chapman captures Ben perfectly.
The Black Hole (2015)
Written by Simon Gurrier
• Available here from Big Finish
Full cast including Frazer Hines as The Doctor and Jamie, Deborah Watling as Victoria and Rufus Hound as Constable Pavo
Plot: On a research station near a black hole, time keeps standing still. Investigating the phenomenon, the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria discover a power far greater than any of the monsters that have challenged them on their travels… The Doctor’s own people.
With the safety of thousands balancing out the need to flee, and a policeman from his home planet working at his side, the Doctor reluctantly finds himself involved in a race against time.
But nothing is ever as simple as it appears. And if you can use the Doctor’s compassion against him, you have the makings of a perfect trap…
A strange spatial anomaly and techno-babble having to be simplified for the audience (in this case by Jamie)? Very Star Trek. There’s lots of references to previous adventures and the companions tease The Doctor about his piloting of the TARDIS again. It is still a mess after the bad landing in The Ice Warriors (1967). Poor Victoria gets traumatised as usual, and doesn’t appear in one episode as a result; maybe she needed a holiday. There’s also a connection to The Two Doctors (1985). Coincidentally, Rufus Hound appeared in a documentary The Science of Doctor Who (2013), where he participated in a demonstration on black holes. David Warner, who voiced The Unbound Doctor, provides the narration.
The ISOS Network (2016)
Written by Nicholas Briggs
• Available here from Big Finish
Full cast including Frazer Hines as The Doctor and Jamie,Wendy Padbury as Zoe and Nicholas Briggs as The Cybermen
Plot: The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe are leaving Earth after having successfully defeated a Cyberman invasion… The Cyber-fleet is still exploding… But something is escaping through the mass of vaporising debris.
In hot pursuit, the Doctor and his friends find themselves drawn to a mysterious planet where strange beasts slither through the streets of a deserted city… And an old enemy lurks beneath the streets.
As a force of heavily-armed aliens arrives, a battle to save the entire galaxy from invasion begins…
You can’t really do a Second Doctor science fiction list without a Cybermen story. They were the ones that led to his existence in the final First Doctor story, The Tenth Planet (1966). They appeared four times in his era. In the Polly / Ben / Jamie era in The Moonbase (1967); Victoria’s first companion story in the much loved Tomb of the Cybermen (1967); and Zoe’s debut in sadly mostly lost story, The Wheel in Space (1968). Lastly, we have the story that this story is a sequel to, The Invasion (1968).
Once again, Big Finish show where they can fit into the TV show and add to it. They really captured the essence of the Jamie / Zoe era (my favourite era) in this one. Scary, full of action but with moments of humour. The Cybermen are Frazer Hines favourite villains too, so how can you argue with their inclusion? I enjoyed the narration by Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury, too.
The Outliers (2017)
Written by Simon Gurrier
• Available here from Big Finish
Full cast including Frazer Hines as The Doctor and Jamie, Anneke Wills as Polly and Elliot Chapman as Ben
Plot: The TARDIS takes the Doctor, Ben, Polly and Jamie to a flooded underground town on an alien world. The streets are empty. The houses are bare. Not a trace of life.
The miners working here are vanishing. And it isn’t long before the time-travellers are suspected of being responsible for the disappearances. But even the authorities haven’t fully realised the scale of the problem.
There’s something else on this world. Something dragging people away. And it won’t stop until it’s taken them all…
I was worried that this one might be a bit too much like The Yes Men before I had a listen to it again. (It’s another landing on a strange planet plot). It’s a different thought, as there’s no robots and it is more a human story with a business aspect. This one drew inspiration from Jaws (1975). Simon Guerrier noted that, because he knew Eliot Chapman would be voicing Ben ahead of time on this story, he was able to give Ben more to do. As Eliot Chapman has noted, these stories capture the vibe of the classic era, but have the level of character development of the new series. We get some of that here with the companions. Anneke Wills noted that their characters were kind of put in boxes during the TV run and they get to do more now. I love that it fits in the comedy stuff with, for example, The Doctor being unable to understand the management speak.
The Wreck of the World (2017)
Written by Timothy X. Atack
• Available here from Big Finish
Full cast including Frazer Hines as The Doctor and Jamie andWendy Padbury as Zoe
Plot: Undergoing repairs in deep space, the TARDIS is caught in a collision with the huge, decaying wreck of a starship. Zoe, spacewalking, is separated from her companions in the crash, and the Doctor and Jamie wake to find the TARDIS fused to the side of the ship.
Venturing inside to rescue their friend, they discover that they are on board The World, the very first colony ship to leave Earth, lost mid-voyage under unknown circumstances.
And they are not alone. A terrible suspension chamber is filled with dead, withered human bodies, and a team of gun-toting astronauts are stalking the corridors. But a far greater threat lurks deep inside. The terrifying force responsible for the scuttling of the ship is active once more – and if it can’t be stopped, it won’t just be the end of this World. It’ll be the end of all of them…
As noted, this one is set directly after The Mind Robber (1968), with the TARDIS team attempting to repair the TARDIS after escaping The Land of Fiction. They then, literally, run into a mysterious vessel. Zoe gets to show off her brains, Jamie gets into some fights and The Doctor gets to run around trying not to get shot a la the iconic scene in The Invasion (1968).
Frazer Hines has noted that he looks for Doctor / Jamie moments in the scripts, and this is another one where we get those. He also pointed out that he changes his voice for the different eras and thinks about where the character is in his development. This being later in timeline, his voice is lower and he knows more. My favourite era and this one slots right in.
David Ferguson
• More “5 Things” by David Ferguson
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
David is a writer of stuff on comics and pop culture for GCN.ie. He is also a contributor and editor (Hugo nominated) for Journey Planet
Categories: Audio, Digital Media, Doctor Who, Other Worlds, Science Fiction, Star Trek
Leave a Reply