The Doctor deals with the Krillitane and the Monks, and the Lupari have their day in Classic Doctors New Monsters 5: Faithful Friends audio box set.
Doctor Who history is rife with occasions where we meet a new monster, yet the Doctor knows then of old.
The Classic Doctors New Monsters range from Big Finish Productions runs with that idea, imagining those previous encounters as full-cast audio dramas.
For the fifth box set, titled Faithful Friends, the monsters involved are the Krillitane, from the Tenth Doctor tale ‘School Reunion’, and the sinister Monks of the Twelfth Doctor’s three-parter.
Plus, we get to visit the home of the dog-like Lupari from the Thirteenth Doctor’s Flux season.
Additionally, there’s an appearance from an almost companion. The series is littered with these too, but few came as close as Delta and the Bannermen‘s Ray (Sara Griffiths) in Season 2 who was written as a potential companion at the same time as Ace was created for ‘Dragonfire’.
Ray (Sara Griffiths) & The 7th Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) (c) BBC
We’d never want to lose Ace, but Ray’s can-do attitude and wide-eyed wonder suggested she’d have made a great TARDIS traveller too.
The four stories in Classic Doctors New Monsters 5: Faithful Friends are…
‘The Krillitane Feint’ by John Dorney
The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe to a planet where a secure research base is conducting disturbing experiments.
A group of captive Krillitane are test subjects for a military power, keen to understand the species’ unique abilities. But who are the real monsters here…?
This story stars Michael Troughton, Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury as the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe, alongside guest cast David Carlyle, Jason Forbes, Amber Grappy, and Kiziana Jean-Louis.
Michael Troughton said: “It’s a very unusual story, quite a challenge to play. The Krillitane are a nasty piece of work – you’re never quite sure what they are or what they’ve become.”
‘The Dying Breed’ by Tim Foley
When the Doctor, Leela and K9 land on the Lupari homeworld tracking a temporal anomaly, they find a kingdom in disarray.
The Great Lord Garzan’s son has been attacked, and strange beasts roam the frozen landscape. Whilst Leela spars with the new heir, the Doctor and K9 must work out how all these strange events are connected.
Little do they know that their discoveries will shake the Lupari to their core…
‘The Dying Breed’ features the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker), Leela (Louise Jameson) and K9 (John Leeson) encountering the Lupari, from 2021’s Flux. Acting legend Miriam Margolyes returns to Big Finish for the first time since 2009 to play the Lupari Soothsayer.
On working with Tom Baker, Margolyes said: “I love Tom. He is an exceptional person and a wonderful actor. We’ve worked together before, but never in Doctor Who. He wanted me to be in Doctor Who on TV – he asked for me to be one of his sidekicks!”
The episode’s guest cast also includes Peter Guinness, Selina Jones, and George Naylor.
‘The Krillitane Relic’ by John Dorney
The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Ray to a space station cryogenic facility, where interplanetary VIPs are stored pending medical cures.
There is a familiar face here too – someone the Doctor remembers, but who does not remember him…
The box set’s second Krillitane story stars Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor and Sara Griffiths as Ray, alongside guest stars Sheila Hancock (‘The Happiness Patrol‘), Colin McFarlane, and George Naylor. And Wendy Padbury makes a return as Zoe – but what brings her into the Seventh Doctor’s life?
Sylvester McCoy said: “Wendy and I have become great friends in conventions over the years. But this is the very first time we’ve worked together. And it was just great – a lovely feeling, great chemistry.”
‘Five Hundred Ways to Leave Your Lover’ by Tim Foley
Chris is on a date. But it isn’t working out. Perhaps he’ll end it over dinner. Or on a cruise. Or in a lunar spa. But who are these figures in red? And why are they so invested in his relationship?
All of reality might be at stake, and the Monks will pursue Chris wherever he goes – but as long as he manages to break up with his boyfriend, the Doctor, everything might be saved…
This surprising story stars Paul McGann as the Doctor and Charlie Condou as Chris, alongside Andrew Hayden-Smith as Mark and Timothy Bentinck as the Monks (reprising their villainous role from 2017).
Paul McGann said: “I shy away from thinking of the Doctor as a romantic figure! But there is a romantic element in this story, which also has a touch of The Truman Show.”
Classic Doctors New Monsters 5: Faithful Friends is out now. It’s available on collector’s edition 4-disc CD box set (+ download), or digital download only, exclusively from Big Finish.
You can find our reviews of the previous Classic Doctors New Monsters here.