Big Finish’s run of post-War Games stories see the Doctor reunited with his best friend.
Updated 14/07/23: We now have a trailer and a release date for the box set.
One of our most-anticipated Doctor Who audio releases of the month must be James Robert McCrimmon. The new box set introduces an older Jamie (Frazer Hines) to the adventures of the post-trial Second Doctor, now played by Michael Troughton.
While we enjoyed a preview in last year’s ‘The Annihilators’, it’s now time to discover how they reunite…
Big Finish have also announced a date: Doctor Who – The Second Doctor Adventures: James Robert McCrimmon is available from Tuesday 25th July, 2023.
Original article (of 05/06/23) continues…
At the end of his final televised adventure, ‘The War Games’, the Second Doctor was captured by his own people. Tried for the crime of interference, he was sentenced to exile on Earth and forced to part from his friends; Jamie and Zoe returned to their own times with no memory of their travels, save from their first encounter.
However, fan ideas – which have eventually bled into officially published stories – speculate the existence of a “Season 6b”. It squares the continuity-bending appearances of a greying Troughton in later stories, with his Doctor working as a deniable Time Lord agent. In ‘The Two Doctors’ he was accompanied by Jamie (Frazer Hines) too.
Last year, Big Finish decided to run with the notion and cast Michael Troughton in his father’s role. Beyond War Games set this up, as well as providing a ripping yarn with the Ice Warriors. Now, they’re going further and reuniting the Doctor with his stalwart companion and best friend, the highlander Jamie McCrimmon.
Of course, it’s not the first time we’ve heard the pair together. Back in February 2022, the Third Doctor tale ‘The Annihilators’ provided an impossible preview. Now, we get to hear the adventures which bring them back together.
James Robert McCrimmon
James Robert McCrimmon faced countless horrors while travelling with the Doctor, but when the Time Lords returned the Highlander to his rightful place in history, almost all those
memories were lost to him. Now the Doctor is back and needs his old friend by his side for more adventures — but this time they’re missions set by the sinister Raven.
From the streets of 18th century Edinburgh, to the deserted corridors of a medical facility in the far future, and a human colony where darkness reigns, Jamie must first confront the greatest trauma of all – his own memories.
The three stories in the box set are;
‘Jamie’ by Mark Wright
Mysterious dreams of lives never lived haunt an ailing prisoner in Edinburgh Castle, in the year Meanwhile, the Doctor arrives on another reluctant mission for the Time Lords, with the enigmatic Raven observing his every move.
How is the Doctor’s erstwhile travelling companion, Jamie McCrimmon, connected with the terrifying deaths that plague the streets in the shadow of the castle? And will Jamie ever really know his true self again?
‘The Green Man’ by Paul F Verhoeven
Perched hundreds of miles above the forest canopy of Florestus Prime, The Grove rehabilitation centre promises to help the staggeringly rich of the galaxy cheat death. When a reunited Doctor and Jamie are despatched by Raven to investigate the disappearance of a Time Lord, they are greeted by Chief of Medicine, Overseer Fuller.
Watching from his room at The Grove, an incapacitated Doctor helplessly observes the facility from afar. Who is the lone patient waving from across the courtyard? Why is Overseer Fuller doing rounds late at night when the Grove appears to have no other patients? And what precisely does Raven know about the ‘Green Man’?
‘The Shroud’ by Robert Ayres
Arriving on the planet Ninevah, the Doctor and Jamie find a desperate human colony fighting the effects of a devastating super weapon – the Shroud. Nullifying all light, the Shroud has rendered the humans blind in the face of aggressive alien invaders dubbed ‘Squids’, and it’s only a matter of time before the colony falls.
The Doctor and Jamie are caught between helping the humans fight back against the ‘Squids’ and investigating their latest mission for the Time Lords – but as they haven’t been told what that mission is, the pair are in the dark in more ways than one.
Across the three stories, Emma Noakes reprises her role as Raven – the Doctor’s handler. Daisy Ashford also appears as Elen/Trader, with Alec Newman as Dr James Breck, and Glen McCready (as Robertson/Innkeep/Captain).
Michael Troughton said:
“Great Galloping Gobstoppers. I first met Frazer when I was 12 on the set of The Web of Fear and now here I am working with him over 50 years later. I’m so pleased the double act of the Second Doctor and Jamie is reunited again for many further adventures.”
Frazer Hines added:
“It’s been great to be back playing James Robert McCrimmon once more. The three stories in this box set are really exciting, they’ve been written with the double act between Jamie and the Second Doctor in mind. Michael and I have that same interplay between the two of us. All I needed was the kilt!”
Doctor Who – The Second Doctor Adventures: James Robert McCrimmon is out in July 2023. It’s available to pre-order on Collector’s Edition CD (+ download) or download only from Big Finish.