For fifteen years now, Big Finish have been delighting Doctor Who fans with their documenting of unseen adventures for the Fifth to Eighth, and most recently, Fourth Doctors.
In 2015, though, they became more ambitious than ever, be it by developing their Novel Adaptations range or creating a long sought-after UNIT spin-off or – and this is the big one – finally getting the license to tell stories based on 21st century Doctor Who, like The Diary of River Song, The War Doctor and The Tenth Doctor Adventures series that are starting soon.
What should Big Finish do next?
“So… all of time and space, everything that ever happened or ever will – where do you want to start?”
The entire Whoniverse is now their oyster so there is a multitude of possibilities (UNIT vs Torchwood! The Paternoster Gang meet Nicholas Brigg’s Sherlock Holmes!), but I’ve whittled it down to just the five most exciting prospects…
Adapt the comic strips
Having begun to adapt novels, Big Finish’s next move could be to vindicate perhaps the most underrated of all Doctor Who mediums – the comics.
Big Finish have borrowed from the comics before – comics-original characters such as Maxwell Edison and Izzy Sinclair have guest starred in the odd audio – but now is the time to properly adapt the stories.
How great would it be to hear Tom Baker perform ‘The Iron Legion’, the classic 1970s comic strip? Or perhaps have Peter Davison star in an adaptation of the wacky, universe-spanning ‘The Tides of Time’?
The most enticing option would have to be Paul McGann sharing adventures with alien fish girl Destrii, after their travels in the comics were cut short when Doctor Who returned to our screens in 2005 and the Eighth Doctor series was discontinued.
Follow up The Sarah Jane Adventures
Big Finish have recently began continuing the stories of Captain Jack, Gwen Cooper and the rest of the team from Torchwood. So now they really need to do the same for that other much-missed Doctor Who spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures.
The TV series was rightly rested after the great Elisabeth Sladen’s untimely passing but we are still all desperate to see what happened to her loyal young friends and family – her adopted children Luke and Sky, neighbours Clyde and Rani and supercomputer Mr Smith.
A continuation could even follow on from what the TV show did and feature former companions – which would allow the actors and actresses to play their characters as they are now rather than playing them younger, as they do for the main audios.
The War Doctor vs The Master
It’s a curious thing that the Time Lords’ and the Sisterhood of Karn’s idea of a perfect soldier for the Time War is not, say, Arnold Schwarzenegger or Dwayne Johnson (you know, people who look like they might be useful in a fight) but instead classic British thespians – namely John Hurt and Derek Jacobi.
Both Hurt and Jacobi were obviously terrific as the War Doctor and Professor Yana but sadly didn’t get a lot of screen time, in particular Jacobi who was terrifying as his very sadistic version of the Master.
With the War Doctor now heading his own series, this is the perfect opportunity for the Time War incarnations of those two great enemies to lock heads. Can you imagine the amount of gravitas that would be pouring through your ears?
Have River meet all the Doctors
River’s wallet in ‘The Husbands of River Song’ contained a photo of every Doctor (I wonder if she also has snaps of Peter Cushing and a cartoon Richard E Grant too?) which shows that she is well aware of all of the Time Lord’s faces.
Well, now that Big Finish has acquired Alex Kingston it’s time for River to cross paths with all of her husbands.
The Fourth Doctor and River Song – what a match made in heaven! And how would River react to the Sixth Doctor’s fashion faux pas?
Even the earliest Doctors are up for grabs with Numbers One to Three being brought to life through fantastic impressions from William Russell, Frazer Hines and Tim Treloar. What would those elder statesman make of their future wife?
River wiped her husband Ramone’s memory in the Christmas special, so continuity issues could be easily explained. Come on, Big Finish, this would be gold.
Get Christopher Eccleston back as The Ninth Doctor
Well, we can dream, can’t we?
What would you like Big Finish to do next? Let us know below…
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