Doctor Who Unbound is a series of audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions. Free from the constraints of continuity, the Doctor Who Unbound audios present a series of "What if...?" scenarios, and cast new actors in the role of the Doctor.
| Doctor Who Unbound | |
|---|---|
| Big Finish Productions audio drama | |
| Series | Doctor Who |
| Featuring |
|
| Executive producer(s) | |
| Release date |
|
Background
editIn Exile, Arabella Weir plays a female incarnation of the Doctor.[1][2][3][4][5][6] American alternative weekly Houston Press's Jef Rouner described her portrayal as "one of the most melancholy of all the Doctors."[5] Other actors who played the Doctor included Geoffrey Bayldon, David Collings, Derek Jacobi, and David Warner.[3][5]
Sympathy for the Devil features UNIT during the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997.[7] David Warner played an alternate Third Doctor in the story, which also saw Nicholas Courtney play an alternate version of The Brigadier and Mark Gatiss play an alternate version of The Master. Warner and Courtney reprised their roles for the eighth story in the range, Masters of War. In 2016, Warner and Gatiss reprised their roles as the Doctor and the Master respectively for The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield audio drama series: The Unbound Universe and its sequel Ruler of the Universe in 2017. After being pulled from the Unbound universe into the regular continuity of the Doctor Who universe, both characters have made ongoing appearances in various Big Finish ranges.
In February 2022, after a 14-year hiatus, Big Finish Productions announced the return of Unbound. Two boxsets, compromising of 3 stories in each, feature Colin Baker as an alternate Warrior Doctor known as "The Doctor of War" in a universe where the Fourth Doctor made the ultimate decision on Skaro, destroying the Daleks and showing how events may have unfolded after that fateful decision was made. These boxsets were announced to be released in April and September 2022 respectively.[8]
On 28 September 2022, Big Finish re-released the original first 8 stories in a download boxset titled Doctor Who: Unbound: 1-8 Collected.[9]
From 2017 to 2021, David Bradley reprised the role of First Doctor in Big Finish's The First Doctor Adventures range, having played the character in the 2017 Christmas special "Twice Upon A Time" and 2022 Centenary special "The Power of the Doctor" as well as 2013 docudrama "An Adventure in Space and Time" in which he played original First Doctor actor William Hartnell. The latter which he co-starred with Jemma Powell, Jamie Glover and Claudia Grant who played actors Jaqueline Hill, William Russell and Carole Ann Ford in the docudrama as well as playing the actors's original parts of Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton and Susan Foreman.[10] On 11 February 2022, it was announced that Stephen Noonan would instead takeover the role of the First Doctor with a portrayal closer to the character's original depiction.[11][12] In April 2022, Executive Producer Nicholas Briggs expressed interest in producing further stories with Bradley.[12] In Issue 167 of Big Finish's magazine Vortex, Briggs teased further stories featuring Bradley's portrayal, saying "We've some very exciting plans afoot for further stories with David Bradley — something quite out of the ordinary and rather delightful."[13] On 17 April, it was announced Bradley would continue to play a new alternate version of the First Doctor alongside Powell, Glover and Grant as alternate versions of their respective characters, but now as part of the Unbound range instead, in a series titled The First Doctor Unbound. Producer David O’Mahony stated that the series would take "stylistic inspiration" from “The Peter Cushing feature films".[14]
Cast and characters
editThis section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in at least one season.
- A green cell indicates the actor is a main cast member.
- A red cell indicates the actor is a recurring cast member.
- A light blue cell indicates the actor is a guest or special guest cast member.
| Actor | Character | Appearances | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original series | Doctor of War | The First Doctor Unbound | ||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Gen. | Des. | 1 | ||
| Geoffrey Bayldon | Alternate Versions of the First Doctor | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||||
| David Bradley | ✓ | |||||||||||
| David Warner | Alternate Third Doctor | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||||
| David Collings | Alternate Doctor | ✓ | ||||||||||
| Ian Brooker | Alternate Doctor | ✓ | ||||||||||
| Michael Jayston | The Valeyard | ✓ | ||||||||||
| Derek Jacobi | Martin Bannister | ✓ | ||||||||||
| Arabella Weir | Alternate Third Doctor | ✓ | ||||||||||
| Colin Baker | The Doctor of War | ✓ | ||||||||||
| Tom Baker | The Fourth Doctor | ✓ | ||||||||||
| Nicholas Briggs | The Doctor | ✓ | ||||||||||
| The Daleks | ✓ | TBA | ||||||||||
| Carole Ann Ford | Susan Foreman | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||||
| Claudia Grant | ✓ | |||||||||||
| Nicholas Courtney | The Brigadier | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||||
| Mark Gatiss | The Master | ✓ | ||||||||||
| Geoffrey Beevers | ✓ | |||||||||||
| Nicola Bryant | Peri Brown | ✓ | ||||||||||
| Christopher Naylor | Harry Sullivan | ✓ | ||||||||||
| Sadie Miller | Sarah Jane Smith | ✓ | ||||||||||
| Terry Molloy | Davros | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||||
| Louise Jameson | Leela | ✓ | ||||||||||
| Jemma Powell | Barbara Wright | ✓ | ||||||||||
| Jamie Glover | Ian Chesterton | ✓ | ||||||||||
Episodes
editOriginal series (2003–2008)
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Auld Mortality"[15] | Nicholas Briggs | Marc Platt | Alternative First Doctor (Geoffrey Bayldon), Susan Foreman | May 2003 | |
| 2 | "Sympathy for the Devil"[16] | Gary Russell | Jonathan Clements | Alternative Third Doctor (David Warner), The Brigadier, The Master | June 2003 | |
|
"What if... the Doctor had not been UNIT's scientific advisor?" | ||||||
| 3 | "Full Fathom Five"[17] | Jason Haigh-Ellery | David Bishop | Alternative Doctor (David Collings), Ruth, Alternative New Doctor (Ian Brooker, uncredited) | July 2003 | |
|
"What if... the Doctor believed that the ends justified the means?"[citation needed] | ||||||
| 4 | "He Jests at Scars..."[18] | Gary Russell | Gary Russell | The Valeyard, Mel | August 2003 | |
|
"What if... the Valeyard had won" at the end of The Trial of a Time Lord?" | ||||||
| 5 | "Deadline"[19] | Nicholas Briggs | Robert Shearman | Martin Bannister (Derek Jacobi), Philip, Barbara, Amy/Susan | September 2003 | |
|
"What if... Doctor Who did not materialise as a television series?" [citation needed] | ||||||
| 6 | "Exile"[20] | Nicholas Briggs | Nicholas Briggs | The Previous Doctor (Nicholas Briggs), Alternative Third Doctor (Arabella Weir) | September 2003 | |
|
"What if... the Doctor had escaped the justice of the Time Lords" at the end of The War Games?" | ||||||
| 7 | "A Storm of Angels"[21] | John Ainsworth | Marc Platt | Alternative First Doctor (Geoffrey Bayldon), Susan Foreman | January 2005 | |
|
"What if... the Doctor really had changed history, even just the tiniest bit?" | ||||||
| 8 | "Masters of War"[22] | Jason Haigh-Ellery | Eddie Robson | Alternative Third Doctor (David Warner), The Brigadier, Davros, Daleks, Thals | December 2008 | |
|
"What if.... the Doctor and the Brigadier travelled in the TARDIS together?" | ||||||
Doctor of War (2022)
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis | ||||||||||||
| 1 | "Dust Devil"[8] | Barnaby Kay | John Dorney | The Doctor of War (Colin Baker), Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, Harry Sullivan, Peri Brown, Narvin | April 2022 | |||||||
| 2 | "Aftershocks"[8] | Lou Morgan | The Doctor of War, The Master, Narvin | |||||||||
| 3 | "The Difference Office"[8] | James Kettle | The Doctor of War, Romana, Daleks, Kraals | |||||||||
| Destiny | ||||||||||||
| 1 | "Who Am I?"[23] | Barnaby Kay | Nigel Fairs | The Doctor of War, The Master | September 2022 | |||||||
| 2 | "Time Killers"[23] | Lizzie Hopley | The Doctor of War, The Master | |||||||||
| 3 | "The Key to Key to Time"[23] | Tim Foley | The Doctor of War, The White Guardian | |||||||||
The First Doctor Unbound
editThe First Doctor Unbound 1 (Title TBA)
editThe first box set is set for release in September 2025 and is written by LR Hay.[24]
Reception
editDen of Geek's Andrew Blair selected Doctor Who Unbound as one of the ten Doctor Who stories that would make great musicals.[25] The Mary Sue's Alan Kistler said "fans enjoyed imagining these alternate Doctors" of David Warner and Arabella Weir.[3] American alternative weekly newspaper Houston Press's Jef Rouner said the series "fielded a fantastic set of stories."[5]
Fandom
editIn 2016, BBC America's Anglophenia featured a fan-made version of the Doctor Who theme music for Unbound's alternate Second Doctor.[26]
References
edit- ^ Crossan, Jamie (13 February 2013). "Doctor Who fans launch campaign for Sue Perkins to be next Time Lord". NME. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ Fulton, Rick (2 June 2014). "It's Time Lords and Ladies as we explore the women who could easily regenerate into Doctor Who". Daily Record (Scotland). Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ a b c Kistler, Alan (27 December 2013). "Agent of S.T.Y.L.E. – The Alternate Versions of Doctor Who". The Mary Sue. Abrams Media. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ Peck, Matthew Wace (3 August 2013). "Op-Ed: Is the new Doctor Who a woman?". Digital Journal. digitaljournal.com. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ a b c d Rouner, Jef (20 September 2013). "Doctor Who: The 10 Best Alternative Universe Doctors". Houston Press. Voice Media Group. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ Westthorp, Alex (5 June 2014). "Doctor Who: the film careers of Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ Singh, Harminder (1 July 2016). "Everything you need to know about Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty". South China Morning Post. Alibaba Group. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Doctor of War Rewrites History". Big Finish Productions. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "Doctor Who: Unbound: 1-8 Collected - Doctor Who - Unbound - Big Finish". www.bigfinish.com. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "Doctor Who - The First Doctor Adventures - Ranges - Big Finish". www.bigfinish.com. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "Stephen Noonan is the First Doctor! - News - Big Finish". www.bigfinish.com. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Revamped Doctor Who audio ranges from Big Finish - News - Big Finish". www.bigfinish.com. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "Issue 167 - Vortex - Big Finish". www.bigfinish.com. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "The First Doctor enters a new Unbound era - News - Big Finish". www.bigfinish.com. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "1. Doctor Who - Unbound: Auld Mortality". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "2. Doctor Who - Unbound: Sympathy for the Devil". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "3. Doctor Who - Unbound: Full Fathom Five". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "4. Doctor Who - Unbound: He Jests at Scars..." Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "5. Doctor Who - Unbound: Deadline". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "6. Doctor Who - Unbound: Exile". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "7. Doctor Who - Unbound: A Storm of Angels". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "8. Doctor Who - Unbound: Masters of War". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ a b c "The Doctor of War's Date with Destiny". Big Finish Productions. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ "11. Doctor Who: The First Doctor Unbound 1 (Title TBA) - Doctor Who - Unbound - Big Finish". www.bigfinish.com. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ Blair, Andrew (28 August 2013). "Doctor Who: 10 stories that would make great musicals". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ McAlpine, Fraser (September 2016). "Doctor Who's Day Roundup: Remaking the Music". Anglophenia. BBC America. Retrieved 13 April 2017.