2001 was an exciting year for fans of Big Finish and their ongoing series of Doctor Who audio adventures, thanks to the surprising but welcome return of Paul McGann to the role of the Eighth Doctor, last seen in 1996’s TV Movie.

McGann’s return to the role on audio was monumental in keeping the series alive. No longer were the audio stories merely side-steps into the past featuring retired Doctors and Companions in untold adventures – now the series could continue to forge ahead, with higher stakes and new, exciting stories that would take the Doctor into exciting, untapped territory.

Even now, despite the return of the show to television with five new Doctors on, the Eighth Doctor’s voyages continue, with McGann still finding exciting new facets of the character to explore.

15 years on from McGann’s inaugural audio adventure – and 20 years since his debut as the Doctor – we count down our favourite Eighth Doctor adventures, all of which we highly recommend downloading from Big Finish…

 

10. ‘Human Resources’ (2007)

An epic two part finale to the first season of The New Eighth Doctor Adventures, Eddie Robson’s ‘Human Resources’ is a fun and quirky tale that sees the Doctor and his new companion Lucie Miller (played by the excellent Sheridan Smith) embroiled in a deadly war against the Cybermen, fought by brainwashed office workers in disguised alien war machines.

Robson’s script is incredibly fun, giving BBC’s The Office a neat Doctor Who spin, whilst also tying up a few of the ongoing arc plots spread throughout previous episodes in a satisfying manner. Chock full of inventive ideas and some fantastic dry humour, ‘Human Resources’is good fun from start to finish, largely in part to the superb chemistry between McGann and Smith.

 

9. ‘The Next Life’ (2004)

Gary Russell and Alan Barnes’ six-part conclusion to four years of Eighth Doctor audios is best enjoyed having listened to all the preceding adventures in the series thus far. But put on ‘The Next Life’ after blitzing through them, and you will most certainly be rewarded with an adventure that is intelligent, character driven and big in scale.

Wrapping up the long-running Divergent Universe arc that had been running since 2003’s ‘Zagreus’, ‘The Next Life’ is full of twists and turns, as the Doctor and his companions are separated on an alien island paradise, where the Doctor confronts those behind his exile to a universe where time doesn’t exist, whilst also dealing with religious fanatics, bloodthirsty hunters and an old Time-Lord enemy.

An impressive guest cast, including McGann’s TV Movie co-star Daphne Ashbrook and Blake’s 7 legend Paul Darrow, help bring this monumental adventure to life, whilst the revelations come thick and fast, offering some interesting challenges for our heroes that are a thrill to listen to.

 

8. ‘Storm Warning’ (2001)

The first audio adventure to feature Paul McGann as the Doctor, ‘Storm Warning’ wastes no time in plunging our hero into a fantastic adventure, set against the backdrop of a real-life tragedy, and introducing an interesting and enthusiastic new companion in the form of Charlotte ‘Charley’ Pollard, played by the ever excellent India Fisher.

Paul McGann becomes the character once again with absolute ease, almost as if he’d stepped off the set of the TV Movie and straight into the recording booth. The tight script by Alan Barnes allows plenty of opportunity for McGann to show off his range, and gives us plenty of glimpses of just where this incarnation can and will go. Ignore the warning – this one’s a must!

 

7. ‘Terror Firma’ (2005)

Joseph Lidster’s ‘Terror Firma’ is hardly the most action packed of Dalek stories, but what it does deliver, aside from huge revelations that stretch back to the very first Eighth Doctor audio adventure, is a fantastic character study of both the Doctor and Davros.

Lidster delves deep into the psychosis of the Dalek creator, finding new and interesting depths to the twisted genius, and reimagining him as a more cackling, megalomaniacal psychopath then he’s ever been before.

It’s a great, subtle reinvention of the character, and results in some great interplay between the Doctor and Davros, expertly performed by Terry Molloy and Paul McGann. If you want to hear two excellent actors performing some powerful and unsettling drama, then Terror Firma is certainly the one to pick.

Oh, and it also has Marsha from Spaced in it!

 

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