Big Finish announced this morning of the upcoming release of Gallifrey: Time War, a four-part series featuring Romana II, Leela, Ace, Narvin, Braxiatel, and The War Doctor (although, oddly, no K-9 yet again). The box set is available in February 2018 and is written by David Llewellyn, Tim Foley, Scott Handcock, and Matt Fitton. I've been a long-time fan of all of the Gallifrey stories (including those everyone else seems to hate), so I'm very excited about this set! My three favorite companions up against Derek Jacobi. Narvin and Braxiatel are just added bonuses. I still need to get to The War Doctor and the first part of The Time War with The Eighth Doctor, but I'll definitely be jumping right into this one as soon as it's released.
Interesting cover. But I quite like it! Surprised that Romana, Leela and Ace still looks like their 70s/80s selves and why are Brax and the Master wearing ties? Also Romana is wearing a Day of the Doctor-style robe. We have a load of Classic era characters deaaling with a very 'new series' event. Bring it on!
I hadn't realized this hadn't been announced yet. Suffice it to say, I'm looking forward to it. Like StCoop, I wish Sir John Hurt were still alive to be a part of this. That said, I'd like to see McGann appear in the second volume (running in parallel with his own Time War series), and perhaps Big Finish could even use this series to cast a young, post-Karn War Doctor. The War Doctor apparently lived a very long life (though, to be fair, Big Finish's first War Doctor set seems to age the War Doctor from Crime and Punishment John Hurt to "Day of the Doctor" John Hurt) and, if cast well and sensitively, we could see a vast, unseen era of the War Doctor's life explored and an actor make the role his own without stepping on Hurt's toes.
I would love to see The Eighth Doctor appear in Gallifrey. I've been hoping for that since the series started. I think casting a young War Doctor might be viable, but I'm not sure if that's something Big Finish wants to do, at least not yet. They obviously don't have a problem with recasting (The Third Doctor, Barbara, Ben), but I wouldn't be surprised if they want to wait at least a few more years before considering it. I agree there's a lot of potential for them to mine and I would love to listen to those stories. When the time is right.
It had been announced (in that we knew a boxed set called Gallifrey: Time War was coming), but not the cast/plot details or that it was Volume 1.
I wonder if this series is going to directly contradict the Titan Comics issues that depict the war doctor in the time war with a child version of the Master...the temporal tumour addition to the Master's Type 45, and planet Shada.
If it does, then it'll be unintentional. Big Finish doesn't try to keep consistent with other Doctor Who mediums. Hell, half the time it's not consistent with itself.
It almost certainly does. The description of the Gallifrey box set makes clear that it's early in the war (for whatever that means for a Time War). That would mean it's still Eight running around, not War. The only way to keep consistency with the comics would be multiple Jacobi incarnations, or the Doctor/Master meeting out of order. (Which... Big Finish seems to be okay with given their plans for Richard Dreyfus; I'm not a big fan of the idea, though.) Spoiler: The War Master: Only the Good The Master's appearance in Gallifrey: Time War, Volume 1 takes place between the first two stories in this set. The set ends with the Master entering the Chameleon Arch, ready to become Yana (seemingly ruling out multiple Jacobi incarnations as being the answer). It's possible that someone pops the fob watch, turning him back into the Master for the events of the comics, then he re-arches. The extras say that the ending takes place in the Silver Devastation, but I don't think that was made explicit in the text.
well given the time war could be running in reverse for the master ala river song, the master may have been a child before the Jacobi version or is Yana as the child Master and out of time sync with his rewritten mind. Or, the rewrite happens later after his incapacitation by the temporal tumour incident. if the master is away in the audios, it could happen then. just spit-balling here..
Ah, see, due to work I knew all of those details about two weeks ago. The artwork I have at the office is also a completely different mock-up. I've been wondering this, too, and I assume that Eleventh Doctor Year Two and Big Finish won't be consistent at all, unless there are mutliple Masters running around during the Time War, one in the body of a young boy who is forced to travel with the Doctor, the other Derek Jacobi. I'm okay with them not being consistent. I can accept both on their own terms. Foolish consistencies, hobgoblins, that sort of thing. Do you mean James Dreyfuss of the David Bradley audios, or Richard Dreyfus of Jaws and What About Bob?
I think there's a way to reconcile each story, word on the street is that the Capaldi Doctor is going to do that in an upcoming Titan Comics release. If that rumour is true, I'll definitely pick it up.
I'm not understanding you here. The Capaldi comic books from Titan are going to do what, according to rumors?
Visit the time war. I don't think they will reference the audio plays directly, but they could marry the two in an inadvertent way. But the rumour is that Capaldi's Doctor will meet the War Doctor, and 8 at some point.
Is it wrong for me to basically wish that the Titan Books adhere to the Big Finish audios? Or is it asking for too much?
No, I agree there. It would be kinda cool, and imagine how many audios could get visual translations in the books. That would actually be great!
Capaldi's Doctor has met the eighth Doctor, in the just finished The Lost Dimension. And he briefly talked to the War Doctor in the same story. Considering that there's only two or three more issues of the twelfth Doctor comics to be published from Titan (since what little we know of their 2018 plans so far has mentioned only the Tenth and Eleventh), I'm not sure that there's time to address the Time War.
I think we will see a Capaldi return in 2018. There's been a sea change within the fandom about Capaldi's departure. Giving the 12th Doctor a new outlet to continue his adventures with Bill, or other companions in adventures not told and adding to his run is a very good thing to invest in now that his run is over. The hopeful part is that they will actually write Capaldi with good stories as he should have gotten all along. And in addition felsh out Bill instead of the one dimensional person as she was written as. Finally fans can get some great stories, and I hope the writers have gotten to really know Capaldi as an actor and can write him in comic format at his best. There will definitely be demand.