The late Sir John Hurt reprised his Doctor Who 50th Anniversary role as The War Doctor for 12 audio stories… and Radio 4 Extra airs them from 17th December.
As festive treats go for Doctor Who fans, this is a big one. The BBC have lined up all twelve episodes of Big Finish‘s brilliant audio series Doctor Who – The War Doctor starring the much-missed acting legend Sir John Hurt.
After appearing as the hitherto lost incarnation of the Doctor, who took up arms in the Time War, John Hurt returned to the role on audio in 2015.
He played his version of the Time Lord across four 3-episode full-cast audio drama boxsets, dealing with Daleks, Sontarans and scheming Time Lords alike. While the War Doctor eschewed a regular travelling companion, the late Jacqueline Pearce remains a constant throughout as the Time Lord Cardinal Ollistra. Plus, he discovered the fate of a long-lost companion along the way.
At CultBox, we were lucky enough to review all four sets. We gave Only the Monstrous, Infernal Devices, Agents of Chaos and Casualties of War each 5-stars and highly recommend them.
BBC Radio 4 Extra & BBC Sounds
Episode 1, ‘The Innocent’, airs on BBC Radio 4 Extra at 0000 on December 17th. Then, there’s a more user-friendly repeat at 1600.
It seems to be keeping to a weekly schedule from them on – but it’s worth checking, as episode 4 ‘Legion of the Lost’ appears to have been split across Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th January in two parts. I guess that’s the Time War for you!
As ever, once broadcast, the episodes should be available internationally via BBC Sounds.
Of course, if you get a taste for more, the entire series is available from Big Finish. So too is a prequel series, The War Doctor Begins, which stars the remarkable Jonathon Carley as a younger version of the character.