Romana goes on her own adventures, Sarah Jane and Doctor part ways, the First Doctor meets Savages and a bumper collection of Doctor Who monster adventures! Here’s a look at what’s available to buy on CD and download from BBC Audio in January and February.
AVAILABLE IN JANUARY:
Pamela Salem reads this exciting novelisation of a classic Fourth Doctor TV adventure, featuring the departure of Sarah Jane Smith.
The TARDIS lands in England, and Sarah, the Doctor’s companion, looks forward to going home. A freak accident in a quarry leaves the unconscious Sarah clutching an enormous stone hand, the only surviving remnant of Eldrad — an alien super-being expelled from his planet, Kastria — which has the power to control the human mind. Using Sarah as its instrument, the hand goes in search of the atomic energy it needs to regenerate Eldrad’s body…
Pamela Salem, who made several appearances in the BBC TV series, reads Terrance Dicks’s novelisation of the TV serial by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, first published by Target Books in 1979.
The audio novelisation of Doctor Who and the Hand of Fear is available now from Amazon on CD and Audible on download
Five exciting novelisations of classic TV stories in which the Doctor and his companions encounter a colourful assortment of aliens.
In Carnival of Monsters the TARDIS appears to land in the Indian Ocean, but something is very wrong. Here lie Drashigs… The Sontaran Experiment sends the Doctor and friends to a future Earth, where a familiar opponent is subjugating humans. In Full Circle the occupants of a distant planet are fleeing from Mistfall, and the coming of the Marshmen. Frontios finds the TARDIS in the far future, with a planet undermined by the monstrous Tractators. And in The Curse of Fenric an ancient evil stirs in 1940s England.
Katy Manning, Jon Culshaw, Matthew Waterhouse, Christopher H Bidmead and Terry Molloy read these classic tales, originally published as Target Books paperbacks.
The collection Doctor Who: The Second Monsters Collection is available from Amazon or from Audible on download
COMING IN FEBRUARY 2021:
Steven Pacey reads a brand-new original adventure for the Doctor’s former companion, Romana.
Residing on the threshold of E-Space with the Tharil Laszlo, Romana is on the trail of a terrible enemy. Allies of the enslaved, the duo ride the Time Winds in search of the desperate Sluagh.
Meanwhile, on a bloody American Civil War battlefield, young soldier Joshua is haunted by spectres: pale, vicious-looking aliens who prey upon the dead to raise an army of living corpses. With the fabled Kairos Ring they can carve portals into other dimensions – and, by accident, Joshua is blown through one of them.
United with Romana and Laszlo against the dreadful Sluagh, Joshua finds himself catapulted into a strange new world of learning. But one secret is waiting to catch up with him…
Stephen Gallagher, who wrote Romana’s final Doctor Who TV story, Warriors’ Gate, now reveals her exciting adventures Beyond the Doctor!
The audio original adventure Doctor Who: The Kairos Ring is available from Amazon on CD and Audible on download
Peter Purves reads this gripping classic novelisation of a TV adventure featuring the First Doctor and his companions Steven and Dodo.
Landing on a distant planet, the Doctor confidently announces to his companions that the TARDIS has brought them to an age of great advancement, peace and prosperity. The Doctor’s calculations seem to be confirmed when the travellers are greeted by Jano and the Elders, who take them on a tour of their city – a haven of beauty, harmony and friendship, set in a wilderness inhabited by tribes of savages.
But the security of the city is founded on one deadly and appalling secret. Soon the Doctor and his friends discover that it is not only outside the city walls that savages dwell… Peter Purves, who played Steven in the BBC TV series, reads Ian Stuart Black’s novelisation, first published by Target Books in 1986.
The audio novelisation of Doctor Who: The Savages is available from Amazon on CD and Audible on download
Revolution of the Daleks – Official Viewing Figures
Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks had a final official rating of 6.25 million viewers.
The final rating takes into account all those who recorded the programme and watched it within one week.
The rating confirms Doctor Who as the top-rated BBC One programme for New Year’s Day, beating EastEnders which had 4.36 million watching and Mrs Brown’s Boys with 4.87 million.
Overall Doctor Who was second for the day, with Coronation Street just claiming the top spot with 6.39 million viewers.
Doctor Who is likely to finish the week as the 8th most-watched programme, the same position held by the New Year 2020 programme SpyFall.
The most-watched programme for the week ending 3rd January was Happy New Year Live! with 9.92 million watching London mark the start of 2021.
Doctor Who watchalongs are back to get fans through lockdown – revisiting season 4 this weekend.
As stricter lockdown measures are brought into effect across the UK, Doctor Who fans are planning to escape the doom and gloom with another special watchalong.
These virtual events have become a regular part of post-pandemic life for Whovians, seeing thousands of people take to social media each time to celebrate a specific episode of the sci-fi drama.
Organiser Emily Cook has been running the events every Saturday since Halloween, only taking one week off for Boxing Day celebrations – and the fun is set to continue right through until the end of February.
This weekend’s episode is season four opener Partners in Crime, which brought Catherine Tate’s runaway bride Donna Noble back into the fold with her second full appearance.
She teams up with David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor for a story about the cute (but also kind of gross) alien creatures known as the Adipose, which also begins to lay the groundwork for an epic season finale.
The watchalong will start on Saturday 9th January at 7pm GMT, with viewers encouraged to share their thoughts on the episode throughout using #IJustWantAMate.
It is yet to be confirmed which episodes will comprise the remaining Doctor Who lockdown watchalongs, but expect more information to arrive over the next week.
The virtual fan events have previously seen participation from stars and writers who have helped define modern Who, including David Tennant and Catherine Tate themselves for a screening of The Stolen Earth last April.
The Master meets themselves, River Song goes cybernetic, the Fourth Doctor and Leela go travelling and more!
January sees the release of a range of brand-new audio adventures from Big Finish. Here’s a roundup of what’s available to buy on CD and download this month.
The Master’s dream party guests are himself.
The Master’s finally done it. He’s won. He summons his other selves to a celebration of his ultimate victory. And they come – from across time and dimensions. But he’s forgotten to invite someone. And Missy’s not happy.
You can get Masterful, the 50th anniversary Master special here
Two new capers for the Fourth Doctor and Leela.
Two new four-part adventures for the Fourth Doctor and Leela: The Doctor and Leela first find themselves getting involved with a mysterious company that’s become remarkably successful in a remarkably short amount of time… then the TARDIS brings them to the ruins of a once-great city, where they find a giant rocket on the side of a mountain. But is everything quite as it seems?
You can get The Fourth Doctor Adventures – Series 10 Volume 1here
River Song goes cybernetic!
Professor River Song is an expert in many things, but her tech skills are tested in these four robotic encounters. She battles Mechonoids on an ice world, meets K9 in a ‘forever home’, and helps an android friend discover her destiny in the stars…
Answering a distress call from the out-world of Triketha, the Doctor and Constance Clarke discover human colonists battling against an onslaught of giant, malevolent insects. But is this the Doctor’s first visit to Triketha, or has he been here before?
Bernice Summerfield has earned some downtime so why won’t anyone leave her alone? Sent off after a space artefact only to crash-land on an apparently dead planet, Benny soon realises that to survive she must join the most dangerous game she’s ever played.
You can get Bernice Summerfield – The Big Hunthere
All stories are initially available exclusively from the Big Finish website in January.
New Year Special Watched 2,425,000 Times on BBC IPlayer
BBC iPLAYER BREAKS RECORDS FOR FESTIVE FORTNIGHT STREAMS
BBC iPlayer broke records for viewing this Christmas, with iPlayer seeing 245 million streams (excluding Sky catch-up services) over the holidays (21 December 2020 – 3 January 2021) – up by 16 per cent on the ‘festive fortnight’ last year.
There were also 7.93 million unique browsers on New Year’s Day – breaking the record for unique browsers visiting iPlayer in a single day. This beats the 7.8 million set on 31 October 2020 – when further lockdown restrictions in England were announced.
The top 20 individual episodes over the festive fortnight:
EastEnders (25/12) – 1,524,000
Call The Midwife (25/12) – 1,487,000
Spider-Man: Homecoming (22/12) – 1,459,000
Black Narcissus – 1,322,000
The Serpent – 1,019,000
Mrs Brown’s Boys – 962,000
Doctor Who: Revolution Of The Daleks – 941,000
Strictly Come Dancing (25/12) – 883,000
Gavin & Stacey (24/12) – 832,000
Alicia Keys Rocks New Year’s Eve (Part 1) – 799,000
The Queen (25/12) – 797,000
Happy New Year! Live – 780,000
Zog And The Flying Doctors – 775,000
Match Of The Day – 741,000
His Dark Materials (S2E7) – 643,000
Ghosts – 634,000
Celebrity Sewing Bee – 619,000
Dunkirk – 619,000
Have I Got News For You – 609,000
Motherland Christmas Special – 589,000
Overall, EastEnders was the most watched programme over the festive fortnight on BBC iPlayer with a total of 13,852,000 streams. Doctor Who came in at eleventh on that list with a total 2,425,000 streams.
The soundtrack for the Doctor Who New Year’s Day special, Revolution of the Daleks, is now available on all digital services.
Composer, Segun Akinola, who has composed the score for Series 11 and Series 12 of Doctor Who, said:
“Revolution of the Daleks is an emotional rollercoaster full of action, tension, old friends, old enemies and some heartfelt goodbyes, all of which are accompanied by music that utilises many of the musical themes from Series 11 and Series 12, and very often moves from a solo cello to orchestra, and much more in-between. It’s a ‘special’ in every sense of the word which I hope those who’ve enjoyed listening to the Series 11 and 12 albums will love. So, if that’s you, thank you – this album is dedicated to you!”
The track listing for Revolution of the Daleks is:
367 Minutes
A Cuppa
Something Revolutionary
Breakout Ball
The Clone
The Production Line
Stability and Security
Thank You for Being My Friend
Activate
The Death Squad
Bad Boys
Bye Fam
You can stream or download the soundtrack to Revolution of the Dalekshere
Jodie Whittaker To Leave Doctor Who After Series 13?
The actress, 38, is said to have told bosses that she won’t return after the forthcoming new series
A source told The Daily Mirror: ‘It’s all very hush-hush but it is known on set that Jodie is leaving and they are gearing up for a regeneration’
A BBC spokesman told Digital Spy : ‘We won’t be commenting on any speculation around Jodie’s future on the show’
The series typically sees the titular Doctor ‘regenerate’ every three-four years
Jodie made history when she was announced as the first-ever female Doctor in 2017, taking over the role from outgoing Peter Capaldi
In January 2020, she said: ‘I absolutely adore [the role]. At some point, these shoes are going to be handed on, but it’s not yet. I’m clinging on tight!’
John Bishop, 54, has joined the cast for upcoming series 13, taking on the role of Dan as he boards the TARDIS
Jodie Whittaker is quitting as Doctor Who at the end of the next series, it was reported last night.
The actress, 38, is said to have told bosses of the BBC sci-fi drama series that she won’t return after the forthcoming new season, and that they’ll need to start thinking about recasting the role of the Time Lord.
A source told The Daily Mirror: ‘It’s all very hush-hush but it is known on set that Jodie is leaving and they are gearing up for a regeneration.
‘Her departure is top secret but at some point over the coming months the arrival of the 14th Doctor will need to be filmed. It’s very exciting.
A BBC spokesman told Digital Spy: ‘We won’t be commenting on any speculation around Jodie’s future on the show.’
The series – which has been on the air on and off since 1963 – typically sees the titular Doctor ‘regenerate’ every three-four years.
It’s said that Jodie – who has also starred in the likes of Broadchurch, Black Mirror and The Smoke during her career – always planned to stick to this rhythm. It is also said she wants to pursue other roles.
In January 2020, Jodie told Entertainment Weekly: ‘I absolutely adore [the role]. At some point, these shoes are going to be handed on, but it’s not yet. I’m clinging on tight!’
Jodie made history when she was announced as the Thirteenth (and first ever female) Doctor in July 2017.
She took the role from the prior star of the show, Peter Capaldi, who played the iconic character from 2014-2017.
The BBC’s Lizo Mzimba is reporting that the Doctor Who New Year special Revolution of the Daleks was the BBC’s most watched show last night with an overnight audience of 4.69 million. The two most watched programmes overall were ITV’s Coronation Street with 5.02m and the ITV Evening News won the night with 5.54m
Doctor Who's overnight figure is up by almost a million from the previous episode, March's series 12 finale The Timeless Children
