McGann and Roberts to reunite in multi-Master story for Big Finish

[Saul]

Some fantastic stuff from Big Finish. If only the onscreen show would give us some fan service like this. Had been following a lot of the Eight Doctor's adventures but there seems to be so much more stuff coming out now that i'm finding it hard to keep up with it. It's great but why not space out these releases more.

 

[kirk55555]

Gomez and Jacobi both have entire box-set series as their Masters, plus crossovers with the River box-sets. I assume Jacobi must not actually encounter the Doctor in any of his stories, or else the Doctor would have recognised him in "Utopia". Simm is the only living Master they haven't got... and for all I know that may need a 'yet' on it.

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Hm, its weird to have solo master stories, and I'm surprised they got Gomez, Jacobi I just assumed they didn't get because it doesn't seem like there is a lot of time for his character to be The Master, but I guess they've fit character stories into tighter timeline's before.

They did adapt one of Six's unmade Season 23 stories, The Hollows of Time, which originally was supposed to feature Ainley's Master. They rewrote it to keep him in disguise throughout as 'Professor Stream,' with even Six and Peri dancing around his true identity with the help of a little post-adventure amnesia. David Garfield, who played Stream, tried to mimic Ainley's voice somewhat. If I understand right, Big Finish is not allowed to use the Ainley Master as such; either by the BBC or by Ainley's estate, I couldn't say. Might be the same case with Delgado, as I'm surprised they haven't tried to pit Treloar's Three against him yet.

EDIT #2: It was the BBC who blocked it, as Simm’s Master was about to appear onscreen in The End of Time.

Yeah, that's what I figured they would do, mostly dance around the issue. I can see his estate not wanting a sound a like, although the BBC banning it because of End of Time is just silly enough to be true.

 

[Mr Soak]

The BBC preventing stuff is par for the course; when BBC Worldwide was preparing the Fourth/Fifth Doctor/Master DVD box set, they wanted to call it Return of the Master, but as the series was approaching the end of series three, the title was nixed.

With regard to Ainley, he kept refusing to join the BF party, so maybe BF consciously, or unconsciously, decided not to directly recast. Just a theory, mind.

Jacobi was a huge Doctor Who fan when he was approached to guest star on the series. Continuing to be involved via BF is probably an easy decision.

 

[Turtletrekker]

They’ve recast a few; specifically, Tim Treloar as the Third Doctor, Graeme Garden and Rufus Hound as the Monk (May be new incarnations), Jon Culshaw as Kamelion (default robot form, I’d assume) and Juliet Landau as a new Romana. David Bradley does an alternate Fist Doctor, but otherwise the First and Second Doctors are recreated by other original cast members. There’s a new Rani as well.

In the Sixth Doctor’s final adventure, you’re thinking of the Valeyard, who Michael Jayson return to portray.

Overall, only two definite recasts that I can think of, and the rest are Time Lords, so they could be regenerations.

Edit- BF also created their own incarnation of the Master between Roberts and Jacobi, but that doesn’t specifically fall into your question.

The Brigadier and Liz Shaw have been recast for Third Doctor Adventures vol 5, which came out less than a month ago. you can hear a sample of the new Brigadier, Jon Culshaw who, as you noted has worked with BF before (he apparently does a great Fourth Doctor impression as well), at the link.

I would have thought that the Brig would have been a hard voice to match, but Jon Culshaw does a very good job with it. Apparently, Culshaw mentioned that he would love to portray the Brig for BF (after previously playing him a Five Doctors audio book) to Nicholas Briggs. Briggs listened to his performance for Five Doctors and gave him the job just like that.

 

[Mr Soak]

The Brigadier and Liz Shaw have been recast for Third Doctor Adventures vol 5, which came out less than a month ago. you can hear a sample of the new Brigadier, Jon Culshaw who, as you noted has worked with BF before (he apparently does a great Fourth Doctor impression as well), at the link.

Reading that, it’s obvious to me now that they’d recast Liza and the Brig. I haven’t been keeping up with things.

Jon Culshaw’s first BF appearance was as the Fourth Doctor in The Kingmaker. As it’s a recording the Fifth Doctor is listening to, and the comment he makes about not sounding like that, it isn’t intended to be 100% accurate.

I think The Kingmaker is the first (indirect) reference to the new series, with the Ninth Doctor taking part at one point, “off mic”. And the King gives a wonderfully Ninth Doctor “fantastic!”

 

[jaime]

The BBC preventing stuff is par for the course; when BBC Worldwide was preparing the Fourth/Fifth Doctor/Master DVD box set, they wanted to call it Return of the Master, but as the series was approaching the end of series three, the title was nixed.

With regard to Ainley, he kept refusing to join the BF party, so maybe BF consciously, or unconsciously, decided not to directly recast. Just a theory, mind.

Jacobi was a huge Doctor Who fan when he was approached to guest star on the series. Continuing to be involved via BF is probably an easy decision.

Wasn’t he already the Master in the Shalka Webcast too?

 

[jaime]

The Brigadier and Liz Shaw have been recast for Third Doctor Adventures vol 5, which came out less than a month ago. you can hear a sample of the new Brigadier, Jon Culshaw who, as you noted has worked with BF before (he apparently does a great Fourth Doctor impression as well), at the link.

I would have thought that the Brig would have been a hard voice to match, but Jon Culshaw does a very good job with it. Apparently, Culshaw mentioned that he would love to portray the Brig for BF (after previously playing him a Five Doctors audio book) to Nicholas Briggs. Briggs listened to his performance for Five Doctors and gave him the job just like that.

Culshaw is really good, but there’s always a slight lisp and maybe a pattern to his delivery that makes it easy to tell it’s him. Especially a few lines in. The Pertwee isn’t bad either, buts heavy on certain distinctive things in Pertwees voice that leads close to caricature at some points. No one is ever spot on though...that caricature aspect creeps in a lot..because a real persons voice always has those moments where it’s free how they ‘usually’ sound. Often during quieter moments.
Mind you some who actors lose their tone sometimes when returning to the role (billie piper) or their voice changes when it’s not their own (Tennant when in estuary non Scots mode increasingly sounds like Richard Hammond. Though I am basing this partly on good omens where he drives a burning car. I always felt his ‘english’ accent was a bit based on Hammond anyway. But then in Disco, I think Ash Tyler is doing an Everybody Loves Raymond impression to get his American accent working. I do it myself when I am doing different accents for whatever reason.)

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Wasn’t he already the Master in the Shalka Webcast too?

Yes. Jacobi also worked with Big Finish years ago for one of the Unbound stories, so he already had experience with them.

 

[Mr Soak]

Michael Jayston returns in the Eight Doctor Time War 3, as the War Valeyard.

So, War Doctor, War Master and War Valeyard. Any other War incarnations people want to see? War Borusa?

 

[jaime]

Michael Jayston returns in the Eight Doctor Time War 3, as the War Valeyard.

So, War Doctor, War Master and War Valeyard. Any other War incarnations people want to see? War Borusa?

War Romana. But introduced by the Roman chap in life of Brian. War Rani in same sentence.

 

[Nightowl1701]

War Romana. But introduced by the Roman chap in life of Brian. War Rani in same sentence.

Well, we had a War Romana, until Lalla Ward stomped her foot and went “I don’t want to go.”

 

[jaime]

Well, we had a War Romana, until Lalla Ward stomped her foot and went “I don’t want to go.”

Fair enough.
How about a War War Chief?

 

[Relayer1]

Well, we had a War Romana, until Lalla Ward stomped her foot and went “I don’t want to go.”

Explanation ?

 

[Nightowl1701]

This was supposed to be the Romana of the Time War - until Big Finish did a hard 180 and rewrote history to undo Romana's second regeneration. Fan reaction to Landau's Romana seemed positive, and the Big Finish staff seemed happy with her, so there must have been a falling-out behind the scenes. I don't have the details (and I wish I could remember where I heard it from), but I'm told it was Ward who was behind Landau getting jettisoned; She supposedly threatened to never record another thing for BF, with or without Tom, if they didn't. I fully admit I could be wrong, but it does seem to fit present events.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Oh, wow, I haven't read that behind-the-scenes gossip before. Although I've stopped seeing pretty much all of that kind of gossip since I stopped visiting the Big Finish forum at Gallifrey Base (good community, I just fell out of habit). Lalla Ward has always struck me as a good-natured person and a team player so I don't know if I believe that rumor.

 

[Nightowl1701]

For what it's worth, I hope it's BS too. Either way, Landau is gone and doesn't look like she's coming back anytime soon.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Which is a shame because I really enjoyed Juliet Landau's Trey/Romana III

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I already hold a crazy theory that explains the Curator and the Time War, and now I'm thinking about how I can work in the Valeyard.

It's unfortunate John Hurt is no longer with us, as the Valeyard would be an incredible foil for the War Doctor.

 

[ATimson]

I don't have the details (and I wish I could remember where I heard it from), but I'm told it was Ward who was behind Landau getting jettisoned; She supposedly threatened to never record another thing for BF, with or without Tom, if they didn't. I fully admit I could be wrong, but it does seem to fit present events.

What I heard (although like you I can't find the source now) was that it was the BBC who nixed future appearances by Trey.