The final box set in the current run of The Ninth Doctor Adventures sees three encounters with River Song.
Updated 29/05/24: Star-Crossed is out!
Today see the release of Star-Crossed, the latest set of audio adventures for Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor.
The three stories see this most isolated of incarnations in the path of the irrepressible River Song (Alex Kingston), his future wife.
While it’s the end for the moment, the actor seemingly leaves the door ajar…
“The Big Finish experience has, to date, been enjoyable and has afforded me the chance to revisit a character I was able to bring to life almost twenty years ago. For now, it is time for me to return to the TARDIS and disappear for a while, but as we know, the world of the Doctor is unpredictable, so this is not a goodbye but an au revoir!”
Let’s hope he’s not gone for too long, as the series has been an absolute highlight!
You can purchase Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Star-Crossed from Big Finish now.
Original article (of 26/04/24) follows…
With the release of Star-Crossed, Christopher Eccleston has notched up three series of Doctor Who stories on audio. When you add his appearance in the 60th anniversary tale Once and Future, that’s a remarkable 37 hours of new Ninth Doctor adventures!
We already knew that the latest box set would star Alex Kingston as the irrepressible River Song in all three stories, as well as Trevor Cooper (Star Cops).
Now producers Big Finish have released some further cast information.
Joining Eccleston and Kingston in the second tale, ‘Face of the Apocalypse’, is Paul Reynolds. Best known for his role in Steven Moffat’s Press Gang, he also starred with Christopher Eccleston in the 1991 movie film Let Him Have It.
Also on the cast list for the box set are Nadia Albina (Doctor Who: Flux), Francesca Mills (The Witcher: Blood Origin, Worzel Gummidge) and Tom Neenan (The Hauntening).
Plus, John Banks, Beth Chalmers, David Holt and Charlie Tighe.
Here’s the trailer for Star-Crossed…
They’ve also released individual covers for the three stories…
‘Swipe Right’ by John Dorney
There are strange rumours about the planet Crell. People have been vanishing. The mysterious Matchmaker is keen to get the populace paired up via his special dating app… but rejecting too many suitors can have fatal consequences.
It’s precisely the sort of thing the Doctor would want to investigate. But unfortunately it’s also precisely the sort of thing River Song would want to investigate too. The Doctor and River are on a collision course – but this time it might not be a match made in heaven.
‘Face of the Apocalypse’ by Lizzie Hopley
After locking onto an unusual algorithm, the TARDIS lands in a hi-security Intergalactic Bank where the computerised system only recognises one face – River Song. The Doctor discovers River dismantling the main computer and immediately suspects her of something dodgy…
But a case of stolen identity becomes far more serious as River’s face starts to appear throughout history and the Bank vaults start filling up with Temporal Prisoners. Is River the victim of a sting or a bored computer nerd? One thing’s for certain, the ‘glitch’ is no longer a glitch and is on its way to destroying all of spacetime, starting with Prisoner Number One.
‘Archipelago’ by Tim Foley
River Song has one last request. If the Doctor undertakes a dangerous journey with her on the planet Fortuna, she’ll never bother him again. But this is no ordinary voyage.
As the storms batter their tiny vessel, the travellers are confronted with some brutal home truths. There is a captain in search of a husband. There is a ship in need of a light. And there are lovers lost in the maelstrom who will always be islands apart…
Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Star-Crossed is out in May 2024.
You can pre order now on Collector’s Edition CD (+ download), or digital download only, from Big Finish.
Catch up on the all the Ninth Doctor’s previous audio outings with our CultBox reviews.