Doctor Who‘s The Master may be the most famous recurring villainous Time Lord, but they aren’t the only one. There’s also Rassilon, someone Whovians are all too familiar with.
The Lord High President was brought in to be the final foe of David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor, where he was played by Timothy Dalton. Veteran character actor Donald Sumpter took over the role for Peter Capaldi’s second series finale. In short, he’s a pretty big deal.
Rassilon is now coming back in an upcoming audio drama from Big Finish, and they’ve called in Richard Armitage to play him. Having appeared in Hannibal, Castlevania, The Stranger, Robin Hood and played Thorin in The Hobbit trilogy, he’s got a LOT of cred.
Titled Time War 4, the drama will delve even deeper into the conflict between the Time Lords and the Daleks, as it grows to affect the entirety of space and time.
BIG FINISH / BBC
Speaking about how he stepped into the role, the actor said:
“Rassilon is one of those defining spines of this lore. I’ve watched enough sci-fi to know that there has to be an omnipotent being that has a self-aggrandising mental state which puts him above everybody else, like a malevolent, maniacal dictator.
“I grew up with Doctor Who. The Daleks and the Cybermen were definitely my ‘hiding behind the sofa’ baddies. But I loved being frightened.
“Tom Baker was my Doctor. He had that voice. In a way, what I have tried to do with Rassilon is a little bit Tom Baker-esque.”
Teasing a bit about how Rassilon will be in the drama, director Scott Handcock said he was the dangerous combination of “powerful, headstrong and overflowing with self-conviction”.
The multi-part series will drop in February 2021.
Time Lord Victorious: Full list of Doctor Who releases
The multi-platform story will cross over from books, audio dramas, comics and more – and here’s where you can check out every piece of the story.
Time Lord Victorious is coming – and it’s going to be absolutely massive.
Yes, the big new crossover Doctor Who project (which will star the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Doctors alongside companions, villains and new characters) is set to be quite the undertaking, with various Who spin-off companies uniting to tell one sprawling story.
These companies include (deep breath): Penguin Random House, BBC Books, Titan Comics, Doctor Who Magazine, Big Finish productions, BBC Audio, action figure company Eaglemoss Hero Collector, Immersive Everywhere, Maze Theory (who made the last Doctor Who VR game) and escape room maestros Escape Hunt.
“Time Lord Victorious will tell a new and untold story, set within the Dark Times at the start of the universe, when even the Eternals were young,” the BBC said in a release.
“Following several Doctors across space and time as they defend their home planet from a terrible race, this is a story like no other.”
But how can we keep up with all the releases, we hear you ask? How could we possibly keep abreast of what Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant’s Time Lords will get up to across so many different mediums?
Well, we’ve got you covered. We’ll be adding the Time Lord Victorious releases as and when they’re announced in this very article, updating regularly so Whovians everywhere can keep on top of the massive project.
Going by order of release, here’s what’s been announced already…
Time Lord Victorious #1 by Titan comics
Time Lord Victorious #1 variant covers (Titan Comics)
Available September 2nd 2020
When the Doctor faces his ancient foes once again, it soon becomes clear that things aren’t what they seem – time is all wrong and something is coming that terrifies even the Daleks.
This issue kicks off a special two-part story that will see David Tennant’s Doctor take on the Daleks (again), set some time ahead of the main Time Lord Victorious storyline but giving hints towards that larger project.
“Titan’s comic story is quite unique, as it features the Tenth Doctor as seen in the recent Thirteenth Doctor comic series, so he’s not reached his so-called victory over time yet,” said Doctor Who Comics editor Jake Devine.
The Tenth Doctor stars in Time Lord Victorious #! (Titan Comics)
“But what has been fun to explore is the Doctor getting a glimpse of what’s to come and foreshadowing his own dark turn.”
Written by Jody Houser and illustrated by Roberta Ingranata, the first issue will have five alternate covers, some of which you can see above.
Time Lord Victorious #1 is now available to pre-order globally from July’s Diamond Previews catalogue, ForbiddenPlanet.com and on digital device via Comixology.
The Knight, the Fool and the Dead from BBC Books
Available October 1st 2020
In the first Time Lord Victorious novel, David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor takes on death itself, as you can see in the summary below.
“We live forever, barring accidents. Just like everyone else in the universe.”
The Doctor travels back to the Dark Times, an era where life flourishes and death is barely known…
Then come the Kotturuh – creatures who spread through the cosmos dispensing mortality. They judge each and every species and decree its allotted time to live. For the first time, living things know the fear of ending. And they will go to any lengths to escape this grim new spectre, death.
The Doctor is an old hand at cheating death. Now, at last, he can stop it at source. He is coming for the Kotturuh, ready to change everything so that life wins from the start. Not just the last of the Time Lords. The Time Lord Victorious.
Largely kicking off the main Time Lord Victorious story, The Knight, The Fool and the Dead also seems to feature “Brian the Ood,” a character who later returns (or preturns, given that it’s set earlier in the Doctor’s life) in the Paul McGann Big Finish trilogy (below).
Doctor Who – Time Lord Victorious: Short Trips: Master Thief / Lesser Evils from Big Finish
Available October 2020
Audio story company Big Finish has been telling spin-off Doctor Who adventures for years, and they’re kicking off their entry into Time Lord Victorious with a duo of standalone “Short Trips” stories, starring Jon Culshaw as two different versions of the Master.
The first, called Master Thief is penned by Sophie Iles and stars Culshaw as Roger Delgado’s original Master. The plot summary reads:
The Master wants to plunder one of the most secure vaults in the universe, the Repository. He’s got a plan, and a deadly new weapon to assist him. However, as the Master quickly discovers, getting in might be easy, but getting away with it might cost him everything.
Meanwhile, the second (by Simon Guerrier) is called Lesser Evils, and has Culshaw imitating Anthony Ainley’s version of the villainous Time Lord.
The Kotturuh have arrived on the planet Alexis to distribute the gift of the death to its inhabitants. The only person standing in their way is a renegade Time Lord, who has sworn to protect the locals. A Time Lord called the Master…
Clearly, this second story will tie into the death-dealing Koturruh introduced in the first Tenth Doctor book above, giving a suggestion at just how interwoven the whole Time Lord Victorious storyline will be.
The Doctor Who – Short Trips are also available to pre-order now and will be released in October 2020 on download (£4.99), or as part of a Time Lord Victorious bundle with the Paul McGann trilogy, below (£26).
Doctor Who – Time Lord Victorious: He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not
Available October 2020
The first of Big Finish’s main audio entries into the Time Lord Victorious milieu will star Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor as he takes on a deadly new villain – Brian the Ood.
On the desert world of Atharna, the Doctor’s life is about to be changed forever.
Looking to visit one of the Seven Hundred Wonders of the Universe, he’s quickly embroiled in a web of deceit. Worse than that, this Wonder of the Universe is missing, and the Doctor is about to encounter one of his most dangerous and duplicitous adversaries.
The Doctor is about to meet Brian.
The story is written by Carrie Thompson, and is available for pre-order from the Big Finish website.
“Time Lord Victorious has been a glorious delight to work on,” said producer Alfie Shaw.
“We have three new authors writing the Eighth Doctor trilogy, pitting him against one of my new favourite characters in Doctor Who, Brian the Ood Assassin, as well old favourites, the Daleks.”
Speaking of which…
Doctor Who – Time Lord Victorious: The Enemy of My Enemy
Available October 2020
The Second of the Paul McGann Time Lord Victorious story (aka Time Lord Vic-Story-Us) will see him take on classic foes the Daleks as they begin to form a treaty with another race.
The people of Wrax are happy to begin peaceful negotiations with the Dalek Empire. The two species are preparing to engage in an alliance that will last throughout the ages.
The only one who seems to object to this happy union is the Doctor. He knows that you can never trust the Daleks.
But more than that, he knows that the Wraxians should never have existed…
With Nicholas Briggs returning as the voice of the Daleks, the story is written by Tracy Ann Baines and is available for pre-order now.
Doctor Who – Time Lord Victorious: Mutually Assured Destruction
Available December 2020
Apparently following on from the previous story, Mutually Assured Destruction (written by Lizzie Hopley) finds the Eighth Doctor trapped on a disintegrating spaceship with another load of Daleks, possibly tying in closely with the following David Tennant book release.
The fallout of the great battle.
Outnumbered and alone, on a Dalek time-ship careering through the vortex, the Doctor must use all his cunning to survive. As the saucer disintegrates around them, the Doctor is trapped with a crew of increasingly desperate Daleks.
Or are the Daleks trapped with him?
But how important is it that Who fans have followed the whole story before picking up this McGann trilogy? Producer Alfie Shaw says it can also stand alone.
“It all ties into the bigger Time Lord Victorious patchwork, but you can just listen to the McGann Trilogy and enjoy it on its own,” he said.
Each adventure in the Eighth Doctor trilogy is now available to pre-order as a single-disc collector’s edition (£10.99) or download (£8.99) from the Big Finish website. A bundle of all three stories can also be pre-ordered on CD (£25) or download (£22).
All Flesh is Grass from BBC Books
Available December 10th 2020
Following both the original Tenth Doctor novel and the Eighth Doctor trilogy, All Flesh is Grass appears to join both Time Lords – plus Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor – after their previous adventures, with McGann’s incarnation now working with the Daleks he was trapped with and Tennant’s Doctor swearing to destroy the death-dealing Kotturuh.
“Even a Time Lord can’t change the past.”
A wasteland. A dead world… No, there is a biodome rising from the ashes. Here, life teems and flourishes, with strange, lush plants and many-winged insects with bright carapaces – and one solitary sentient creature, who spends its days talking to the insects and tending this lonely garden. This is Inyit, the Last of the Kotturuh.
In All Flesh is Grass we are transported back to The Dark Times. The Tenth Doctor has sworn to stop the Kotturuh, ending death and bringing life to the universe. But his plan is unravelling – instead of bringing life, nothing has changed and all around him people are dying. Death is everywhere. Now he must confront his former selves – one in league with their greatest nemesis and the other manning a ship of the undead…
And that’s just the start! Over the coming weeks we’re expecting more book, audio and comic-book announcements as well as games, immersive experiences, figurines, escape rooms and more. Check back here for updates as and when we have them.
Jodie Whittaker to help teach Science Week on BBC Bitesize
Jodie Whittaker is set to join BBC Bitesize for some virtual learning next week.
Bitesize is the BBC’s free online study support resource for school-age pupils in the UK.
For Science Week on BBC Bitesize, the actress who plays a Time Lord on Doctor Who will present a lesson on outer space and the solar system.
Jodie Whittaker plays the thirteenth Doctor, who met renowned scientists Ada Lovelace, Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison as well as literary greats Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron and John Polidori in the most recent Doctor Who Series 12.
The thirteenth Doctor also met civil rights activist Rosa Parks and King James I of England in Doctor Who Series 11.
Escape Hunt UK has today released booking slots for customers to play remote versions of their escape room Doctor Who: Worlds Collide.
Now booking, these remote experiences invite friends, family and colleagues to come together via Zoom and play Escape Hunt’s physical escape rooms from their own homes. You and your team will direct a real-life expert games master, move them around the room, find hidden clues, solve puzzles, and see if you can escape before time runs out!
In Doctor Who: Worlds Collide, the Doctor needs you: a tear in space and time has been detected, and the Cybermen are about to break through! Step into the future. Enter the offices of ChronosCorp HQ, where eccentric billionaire Alastair Montague’s efforts to develop commercial time travel have caused a tear in the fabric of space and time. The Cybermen are ready to take advantage and attack Earth. You, the Doctor’s friends, must investigate the incident. The remains of Montague, his prototype time engine and the extensive collection of time-related artefacts acquired over the course of his experiments, are all that you have to work with. The fate of the universe is in your hands. Take too long and the human race will be “upgraded”.
Richard Harpham, CEO Escape Hunt PLC, says:
“We’re delighted to be expanding our range of at home experiences with remote play games. It’s fantastic that now, using technology, we can give people the opportunity to play our much-loved physical escape rooms in their own homes.”
The play at home experience allows players from the same or separate households to take part together and solve the puzzles.
Doctor Who: Worlds Collide is a 1 hour experiences replicating the in-room play experience suitable for 1 to 6 players aged 8+. Prices are charged per game play and are set for all group sizes.
For more information on how to book and to get your tickets for Doctor Who: Worlds Collide click here
The Ninth Doctor and Rose join ‘Time Lord Victorious’
Doctor Who Magazine will be contributing to the multi-platform Time Lord Victorious saga with a special three-part comic-strip story beginning with issue number #556, on sale in September.
Monstrous Beauty stars the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler, and is written by DWM’s regular comics writer Scott Gray. The artist is John Ross (who recently illustrated the Thirteenth Doctor story Mistress of Chaos), with colour art by James Offredi and lettering by Roger Langridge.
Monstrous Beauty will begin with a double-length chapter, heading a special supplement magazine supplied with Doctor Who Magazine 556. The supplement will also feature articles on the Time Lord Victorious adventures in other media, and serve as a road map for fans who wish to follow the entire storyline.
Scott Gray said,
“I’m really excited to get a chance to do a Ninth Doctor and Rose story. John Ross and I did the comic strip in the 2006 Doctor Who Annual (Mr Nobody) and we had a fantastic time with those characters – there’s a real energy to their relationship. I was sorry they left the mag so soon, and it’s been terrific revisiting them now.”
Scott was happy to drop a few hints about the story:
“The Ninth Doctor and Rose find themselves in a place where no TARDIS is ever supposed to go – the Dark Times, an ancient era forbidden to all Time Lords. They’re soon swept up in a war with one of the greatest enemies of the Doctor’s people: the Great Vampires.
“The Doctor discovers that not all the stories surrounding Time Lord history match up with reality – but some of the dangers are actually worse than the myths. Rose was the last human in The End of the World but in this story she’s the first human – and that turns out to be a very bad thing…”
Scott has been working with producer James Goss to ensure that the story links to the other Time Lord Victorious adventures.
“I’ve had a great time throwing ideas around with James. His brief was: ‘Ninth Doctor, Rose, Vampires!’ Monstrous Beauty can be read as a standalone adventure, but if you look further into the Time Lord Victorious storyline you’ll see how it connects with the other strands.”
You can read the full story in the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine (#552).
Sh! Spoilers! David Tennant and Alex Kingston are back as the Tenth Doctor and River Song, together again for the first time in 12 years in a brand-new Doctor Who audio series.
Last seen on screen together in 2008’s two-part Doctor Who story, Silence in the Library/The Forest of the Dead, Professor River Song and her husband, the Tenth Doctor, will reunite in November 2020 for three new thrilling adventures in time and space.
A stunning full-cast audio production with an original score and cinematic sound design, Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor and River Song also features special guest appearances by Peter Davison and Colin Baker as the Fifth and Sixth incarnations of the Doctor respectively.
The Doctor knows that River Song is a part of his future. A maddening, intriguing, but inevitable part. Their lives are becoming inextricably intertwined, but in these early days – for the Doctor at least – they must navigate their relationship without too many spoilers. Whatever her past, and the Doctor’s future, holds, River will make sure that he has fun untangling the mystery…
Details of the three very special stories that make up this box set are as follows:
Expiry Dating by James Goss
The first time the Doctor met River Song, he saw her die. And now she’s asking him on a date. Well, not a date, exactly… More of a mission.
But the Doctor isn’t at anyone’s beck and call. Or so he thinks.
With billions of lives hanging in the balance, can the Doctor afford not to do whatever River wants? Whichever one of him she asks?
Precious Annihilation by Lizzie Hopley
When jewels become lethal in the London of 1912, both River and the Doctor turn up to find out why.
A mystery takes them centuries into the past, and onto the high seas, where a superstitious crew edges towards mutiny.
The star-crossed couple are about to find out that, while gemstones inspire jealousy, love can be the deadliest treasure of all…
Ghosts by Jonathan Morris
River and the Doctor meet on the most haunted planet in the galaxy. The Doctor’s not sure it’s an ideal date – until they discover a mystery.
Something is wrong with the ghosts. Something might even be killing them…
And as the Doctor and River investigate, the truth of what’s happening on the planet of ghosts may prove deadly for them both.
Producer David Richardson said:
“The Tenth Doctor only met River Song once on TV, and that was at the end of her life. But what happened after/before that, after/before the Eleventh Doctor came on the scene? What a joy this run of stories was to make, bringing David Tennant and Alex Kingston together online to record during lockdown, exploring those previously untold meetings between Ten and River. Those two actors absolutely sparkled together – it was so clear they were having a blast!”
Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor and River Song is now available to pre-order from Big Finish.
JON PERTWEE AND ELISABETH SLADEN ARE YOUR HOSTS FOR A VISIT TO THE SET OF DOCTOR WHO!
Highlights of the new issue include:
Newly discovered interviews conducted at the heart of production on Death to the Daleks and Planet of the Spiders.
The Doctor Who directing masterclass, featuring exclusive interviews with directors Joe Ahearne, Richard Clark, Graeme Harper, Douglas Mackinnon, Saul Metzstein, Jamie Magnus Stone and Rachel Talalay.
An exclusive preview of the Power of the Daleks Special Edition, including a selection of rare colour photos from the original 1966 production.
The previously untold story of three young Doctor Who enthusiasts at the dawn of fandom in the early 1970s. One would go on to play the Doctor…
Carole Ann Ford and Sophie Aldred compare their Doctor Who
The results of DWM’s annual season survey.
The Fact of Fiction explores the 2013 episode Cold War.
The final instalment of DWM’s lockdown viewing, with a guide to stories available on DVD and streaming services.
A look at The Night Walkers, the landmark 1969 comic strip that depicted the Second Doctor’s regeneration.
Big Finish previews and reviews, news, prize-winning competitions, Time and Space Visualiser,The Blogs of Doom and much more!
Doctor Who Magazine Issue 553 is on sale from Thursday 25 June £5.99 (UK)
More Time Lord Victorious stories are revealed today – two comic books will be released by Titan Comics from September 2020!
The first issue, one of two over-sized comic issues, is a ground-breaking new comic adventure for the Tenth Doctor that sees the return of the Doctor’s most iconic enemy, the Daleks.
When the Doctor faces his ancient foes once again, it soon becomes clear that things aren’t what they seem – time is all wrong and something is coming that terrifies even the Daleks.
These Time Lord Victorious stories mark the first time that the Daleks, the Doctor’s deadliest enemy, make their Titan Comics debut.
Jake Devine, Editor of Titan’s Doctor Who Comics, says:
“Titan’s comic story is quite unique, as it features the Tenth Doctor as seen in the recent Thirteenth Doctor comic series, so he’s not reached his so-called victory over time yet. But what has been fun to explore is the Doctor getting a glimpse of what’s to come and foreshadowing his own dark turn.”
Time Lord Victorious #1 is written by Eisner-nominated Jody Houser (Stranger Things, Star Wars, Spider-Man) with art by Roberta Ingranata (Witchblade) and colours by Enrica Eren Angiolini.
Lee BindingHendry PrasetyaAndie TongPriscilla Petraites
Doctor Who can’t be made “to the current standard” under social distancing, says BBC Wales boss
Will Doctor Who series 13 be delayed by the lockdown? It’s been the question on many a Whovian’s lips ever since the coronavirus pandemic forced various TV productions to shut down – and while “socially-distanced” TV is now beginning to film again, a BBC executive has cast doubt on whether Doctor Who could return under those circumstances.
“It’ll be down to social distancing,” Rhodri Talfan Davies, Director of BBC Wales, said during an online Q&A when asked about the future of Doctor Who.
“A production like that, which at any point employs hundreds of people, freelance and staff, I don’t believe can be made to the current standard in a socially distanced environment.
“So it depends when you think social distancing is going to end.”
Davies also noted that these production issues could vary between Wales and England, thanks to the differing social distancing guidelines being enacted by the Welsh Assembly Government. Since 2005, Doctor Who has been made in Wales, and for the last few series filming and production has been centred at the Roath Lock Production Hub in Cardiff Bay.
“It may well be that the rules on social distancing in Wales are different to those in England,” Davies said.
"A production like that which employs hundreds of people… I don't believe can be made to the current standard in a socially distanced environment. It may be that the rules in Wales are different to England…"
“And obviously each production centre from those two countries is going to need to respond to the specific rules and regulations that each of the governments are introducing.”
Currently, Doctor Who already has one upcoming episode filmed – the late 2020/early 2021 festive special Revolution of the Daleks – with series 13 shooting previously rumoured to be kicking off around September 2020. If Davies is correct and socially distanced filming rules still apply by that time, it could be that Who fans have to wait even longer for the new episodes than previously thought.
However, the truth may be more complex than first appears. While the BBC declined to comment on Davies’ remarks, RadioTimes.com understands that the broadcaster still has no concrete plans to delay the start of Doctor Who production, a date for which was never officially decided anyway.
It’s also worth noting that social distancing measures have been changing regularly, and by autumn TV production might be able to operate with fewer restrictions.
Overall, though, it sounds like there’s still a bit of a question mark over the future of Doctor Who. If only we knew someone with a time machine who could go and take a look…
Doctor Who issues statement in support of Black Lives Matter movement.
The long-running sci-fi show has been the latest to throw its support behind BLM, amid a huge resurgence and fight for equality against systematic racism across the globe following the death of George Floyd in the US. A message on the show’s official Twitter account informed fans that the cast and crew of the BBC hit were standing in solidarity with protestors. ‘Doctor Who stands against racism,’ the statement reads. ‘We stand with our Black cast members, crew members, storytellers and collaborators.
‘We stand in solidarity with our Black fans and the entire Black community. ‘The Doctor has always stood for justice, kindness, empathy, understanding and inclusion.’ It continues: ‘We too will work these ideals through our stories and practises, now and always.’
‘We stand in solidarity with our Black fans and the entire Black community. ‘The Doctor has always stood for justice, kindness, empathy, understanding and inclusion.’ It continues: ‘We too will work these ideals through our stories and practises, now and always.’
Doctor Who aired its twelfth series earlier this year, in which Jo Martin was cast as the first Black Doctor. Martin’s Time Lord was revealed to be a previously undiscovered incarnation from the Doctor’s past.
2018 also saw the Doctor and her companions travel back in time to meet Rosa Parks, during the Montgomery bus boycott, where Parks refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus. The Doctor will return later this year for the annual festive special, which will include the return of archenemies the Daleks.
Doctor Who series 1-12 is available to stream now via BBC iPlayer.
