Why You Need to be Listening to The First Doctor Companion Chronicles
Big Finish are currently offering a number of stories free from their back catalogue to enjoy. So, over the next few weeks, I'll give you a review of the individual episode in question, as well as some reasons why you should be listening to the range or series the story hails from in full. We continue with - The Companion Chronicles of the First Doctor...
In 2007, Big Finish finally decided to expand their output into the eras of Doctors who weren't working with Big Finish. At that point, this consisted of the first four Doctors: Tom Baker had turned down offers to return, while William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee had passed away before Big Finish's foundation. At this point, recasting was out of the question, so how could Big Finish tell adventures featuring these four Doctors, and utilise all the companion actors who wished to return to their roles, without recasting the Doctor actors they had worked with on TV? The answer presented itself in the form of the Companion Chronicles: a form of storytelling that allowed the companion actors to come to the fore in a way that, perhaps previously, they hadn't before. Starting out as a vehicle purely to tell stories with Doctors 1-4, the series' remit expanded considerably when the production team realised how popular these audios were. As such, they were soon coming out monthly, some featured companions from Doctors 5-8 and some even featured characters who weren't technically companions, but who were popular enough with fans anyway. For this post, I'm going to be focusing on the Companion Chronicles featuring the First Doctor: arguably the Chronicles line most popular with fans. Featuring most of the First Doctor's companions (sadly, Jacqueline Hill and Michael Craze passed away before Big Finish began, and Jackie Lane hasn't returned to the character of Dodo on audio), these stories have seen the early years of Doctor Who expanded in ways that, just over 15 years ago, couldn't have been dreamed of. They have taken the supporting cast of those early seasons, and expanded their characters far beyond what was seen on screen. They have taken the ethos and spirit of those black-and-white episodes of the show, and translated them into a modern format and pace. They are, therefore, some of the strongest, most well-developed stories in Doctor Who, and there is a world of treasures to be found inside them, should you dive in.
"The Beginning", released in time for the 50th Anniversary, back in 2013, tells the story of the Doctor's departure from Gallifrey. Yes, Big Finish actually decided to do THAT story. Now, of course, this story won't please everyone: you're finally presenting an official version of an event that, since the show began, fans have speculated about. However, I think "The Beginning" might be one of the strongest versions of the Doctor's departure from Gallifrey, and as close to a definitive version of the story as you are ever likely to get. What this story does right from the off is that it doesn't really bother explaining why the Doctor left Gallifrey, or going into the minute detail behind his and Susan's departure. Rather, it shows the event, but focuses more on Susan's reaction to it. Like the best Companion Chronicles, this story is driven through Susan, and her reactions to events around her. This young Susan is potentially the most interesting version of the character there is, as she struggles to understand everything that has happened to her. The story is full of such beautiful imagery, and the alien civilisation of the Archaeons is one of the strangest ever seen in the show. There's an interesting debate to be had about the events of the story, and who is in the right. Is it the Doctor, or maybe, in this instance, is it the Archaeons? It's that kind of grey morality that makes the early years of the show so fascinating, and it is well tapped into here. Ultimately, however, it is Susan who is the heart of the story, which keeps the emotional core of the story front and centre. The character of Quadrigger Stoyn is a fascinating addition to the mythology of the Doctor's departure from Gallifrey, and gives us a chance to contrast the Doctor's views with that of his own people. This story reinforces how different the Doctor is from his peers and contemporaries, and the contrast between the society he has left and the universe he has entered into. Carole Ann Ford carries the story with consummate narration that not only brings Susan back to life, but also helps paint the images contained within the script. She even does a very credible William Hartnell, and is aided by 80's Davros actor Terry Molloy in the duel role of Quadrigger Stoyn and the Archaeon Leader. While not the greatest First Doctor Companion Chronicle, what's exciting about "The Beginning" is seeing possibly the most pivotal unseen moment in the show's history brought to life in a surprising, but thrilling, way. Rather than getting bogged down in minuet detail, it remembers what makes the show so exciting: breathless enthusiasm and adventure. And, occasionally, it's important to remember that's really the best thing about Doctor Who. Not continuity indulgence and historical re-writing.
And if you enjoyed "The Beginning", then here are a list of 5 reasons why you need to be listening to the rest of the First Doctor Companion Chronicles:
1. Expanded Characters:
As I mentioned above, the Chronicles releases have given a chance for companions to be developed beyond what was seen on screen. On screen, they could only go so far, due to the view at the time that Doctor Who was mostly a show for kids. It was only as time went on that this changed, and so the Companion Chronicles offers the chance to develop these characters that the TV show of the time never had. Characters like Steven, Polly and Vicki, who were never really afforded much of a chance to grow on screen, are explored in fascinating and interesting ways. Even Ian and Susan, who were there from the very beginning, are given a chance to develop beyond what was seen on screen, and become more well-rounded as a result. Stories like "Starborn", "The Cold Equations" and "The Rocket Men" expand the companion characters considerably, and give them lives beyond the TARDIS. Steven expects to die in the TARDIS, Vicki is still dealing with the death of her mother, and Ian has emotional feelings for Barbara. It gives classic companions levels of depth from the new series, and gives the actors some really intimate material to work with. It builds upon the foundations of the TV series of the time, and takes the companions in new, and often surprising, directions, with great success.
2. Varied Storytelling:
The universe of Doctor Who is vast and varied, and, in the TV show, nowhere is that more obvious than in the First Doctor's era. And the First Doctor Companion Chronicles continue that trend. There a story set on a mining colony that's slipping into acid water. There's one set in a house that grants your wishes. There's one set inside the workings of a giant clock in space. And that's just Simon Guerrier's trilogy for Sara Kingdom. Honestly, the wide breadth of storytelling in these stories takes my breath away, because there is simply so much variety. The writers have been allowed to let their imagination run riot with these tales, and it all feeds into the character development this range excels in. "Here There be Monsters", for example, takes place inside a spaceship controlled by a gigantic tree. Or "The Time Museum", which is set inside a museum dedicated to Ian Chesterton. Or "Return of the Rocket Men", which is set on a colony planet being terrorised by flying space pirates. Not one story is even similar to another, and it just goes to show how experimental you can make the storytelling in a contained format like this one. Each story pushes the bounds of what you can do, where you can go and who you can meet in a Doctor Who story, and each one stands as a testament to the infinitely adaptable format of the show.
3. Surprising Continuity:
One thing the Companion Chronicles are famous for (bar their excellent character insights and their varied storytelling landscapes) is their often surprising use of continuity. Of course, there are stories throughout the Chronicles that feature returning monsters and villains from the show you'd expect, like the Daleks in "Across the Darkened City". However, there are also stories that feature foes and references to the Doctor future, as well as his past. For example, the Vardans (monsters from the Fourth Doctor story "The Invasion of Time") turn up in "The First Wave", and we get to see the Doctor's first meetings with the alien invaders. "Quinnis" depicts a planet that was mentioned in "The Edge of Destruction" by Susan as one her and the Doctor landed on before they visited 1963. "The Guardian of the Solar System" is a bone-fide prequel to the seminal story "The Daleks' Master Plan", dealing with Chen's deal with the Daleks and Sara's murder of her brother Brett. There's even smaller references to future events that are neat if you know the wider Who cannon, but doesn't affect your enjoyment of the story if you don't. It's just little things: like "The Flames of Cadiz" explaining how the Doctor could recognise the bells of Seville in "The Two Doctors" or "The Wanderer" making references to future invasions of the planet Earth. This is something that has continued into the box-sets, although I actually can't really go into them, as they contain major spoilers for the stories in question. Suffice to say, however, that one set sees the First Doctor crashing up against a massive event from the show's future, and one story in another set is placed at a major turning point in the First Doctor's life. All this continuity, however, is never a detriment to the stories, or feel forced in order to sell more CD's. Its always born out of a desire to tell great stories, something the Companion Chronicles excel at.
4. Framing Stories:
One thing the Companion Chronicles format allows for is stories within stories. After all, all these tales are being told retrospectively by the companions involved, and therefore there is often a framing story attached to them. At least initially, this was a key component of every Chronicle, though as time went on, this stopped being a direct requirement, and was done only if the story demanded it. We therefore get the chance to see companion's lives after they left the Doctor: Susan on 22nd Century Earth, Ian explaining where he and Barbara disappeared to and Vicki in Carthage living with Trollius. Two of the most notable ones, however, involved Steven and Sara, and their reminiscences actually ended up forming a trilogy of tales each, which, as the story's progressed, became ever more elaborate. Sara's story depicted Sara as the landlady of a very unusual house on a ruined future Earth, only for it later to be revealed that it wasn't Sara at all, but rather the house itself projecting Sara's voice after she landed there while travelling with the Doctor and Steven. Throughout the trilogy, Sara wrestles with the authorities, embodied in the form of scholar and academic Robert. Steven's trilogy, meanwhile, picks up after his departure from the Doctor and Dodo in "The Savages", and sees him having given up his reign as King, and living in a castle high up a hill. He's visited often by his granddaughter Sida, and we get to see what happened to the planet in the aftermath of the Doctor's interference. It helps to show how these characters have changed in the years since they left the Doctor, and, for a lot of them, it is a tale of regret. Sometime, like in "Starborn", the framing sequence takes place within the continuity of the TV show, which presents a fresh take on the format. "Starborn"'s framing narrative actually takes place before the narrated story, which adds a new twist to the concept. It's part of the reason why this range has been so successful, and shows how these releases can have something new to say about classic characters.
5. The Cast:
And finally, there's our old favourite - the cast. Sure, it might not need saying, but I'm going to anyway, as these releases really do feature some phenomenal performances. Of course, actors like Carole Ann Ford, William Russell, Maureen O'Brien, Jean Marsh and Anneke Wills are amazing: they demonstrated that in the TV series, and the extra opportunities this format demonstrates allows them to show just how good they are. However, out of the TV regulars, I would like to highlight Peter Purves for particular praise, as I think he has, through Big Finish, established himself as one of the finest actors the show has ever seen. His recreation of William Hartnell is scarily accurate, and captures the feel of his performance superbly. The complex scripts, as well, have allowed him to tap into something I feel has never been properly explored in any work Purves has done. He's such an accomplished actor, I wish people would realise that, because Big Finish have very much showed that Purves could have been an acting great, had his career not taken a different turn. And some of the guest talent on this range has been equally amazing. Tom Allen, best known for comedy and presenting work, played new companion Oliver Harper in three stories alongside Purves in 2011, while Stephen Handcock, famous for Coronation Street, appeared alongside Carole Ann Ford in "Here There be Monsters". Niall MacGregor appeared alongside Jean Marsh in "Home Truths", "The Drowned World" and "The Guardian of the Solar System", while Alice Haig featured in "The War to End All Wars", "The Founding Fathers" and "The Locked Room" with Peter Purves. Other guest actors have included Keith Drinkel, Tony Millan, Ian Hallard, Gus Brown, Sharon Small, Susan Franklyn and Jacqueline King (Donna's mum Sylvia Noble in the revived series). Once again, the talent Big Finish employ is staggering, and goes to show how strong the writing is if high class talent like this is being attracted to Big Finish.
The First Doctor Companion Chronicles show how versatile and complex the Doctor Who format is. The Companion Chronicles feature some of Doctor Who's most personal and intimate narratives, and there is no better example of it than in the stories featuring the First Doctor. From epic trilogies that reveal what happened in the aftermath of some of the Doctor's most notable adventures, to small stories exploring the nature of what it means to be one of the Doctor's friends, this range has it all. If you're looking for something that gives you the opportunity to explore the companions of the First Doctor era, learn something new about them, and enjoy a more personal audio experience than Big Finsh's full-cast audios normally allow, then the Companion Chronicles are utterly perfect.
Until the 19th of April 2020, you can get "The Beginning", from the Companion Chronicles range, from Big Finish completely free. You can find it here:
https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-the-companion-chronicles-the-beginning-756
You can also save up to 50% on "The Lost Stories - The First Doctor Box Set" until the 19th of April 2020 too. You can find a full list of the titles here:
https://www.bigfinish.com/collections/v/weekly-deals
Happy listening! And I'll see you next week for another look at a free Big Finish title!
All pictures copyright to the BBC/Big Finish Productions. Thank you very much for reading.
 |
| The cover for "The Beginning", featuring Susan Foreman, designed by Damien May and Mark Pilbeam. |
In 2007, Big Finish finally decided to expand their output into the eras of Doctors who weren't working with Big Finish. At that point, this consisted of the first four Doctors: Tom Baker had turned down offers to return, while William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee had passed away before Big Finish's foundation. At this point, recasting was out of the question, so how could Big Finish tell adventures featuring these four Doctors, and utilise all the companion actors who wished to return to their roles, without recasting the Doctor actors they had worked with on TV? The answer presented itself in the form of the Companion Chronicles: a form of storytelling that allowed the companion actors to come to the fore in a way that, perhaps previously, they hadn't before. Starting out as a vehicle purely to tell stories with Doctors 1-4, the series' remit expanded considerably when the production team realised how popular these audios were. As such, they were soon coming out monthly, some featured companions from Doctors 5-8 and some even featured characters who weren't technically companions, but who were popular enough with fans anyway. For this post, I'm going to be focusing on the Companion Chronicles featuring the First Doctor: arguably the Chronicles line most popular with fans. Featuring most of the First Doctor's companions (sadly, Jacqueline Hill and Michael Craze passed away before Big Finish began, and Jackie Lane hasn't returned to the character of Dodo on audio), these stories have seen the early years of Doctor Who expanded in ways that, just over 15 years ago, couldn't have been dreamed of. They have taken the supporting cast of those early seasons, and expanded their characters far beyond what was seen on screen. They have taken the ethos and spirit of those black-and-white episodes of the show, and translated them into a modern format and pace. They are, therefore, some of the strongest, most well-developed stories in Doctor Who, and there is a world of treasures to be found inside them, should you dive in.
 |
| The cover for "Here There be Monsters", the first Companion Chronicle featuring Susan Foreman, designed by Simon Holub. |
 |
| The cover for "The Wanderer", featuring Ian Chesterton, designed by Alex Mallinson. |
1. Expanded Characters:
As I mentioned above, the Chronicles releases have given a chance for companions to be developed beyond what was seen on screen. On screen, they could only go so far, due to the view at the time that Doctor Who was mostly a show for kids. It was only as time went on that this changed, and so the Companion Chronicles offers the chance to develop these characters that the TV show of the time never had. Characters like Steven, Polly and Vicki, who were never really afforded much of a chance to grow on screen, are explored in fascinating and interesting ways. Even Ian and Susan, who were there from the very beginning, are given a chance to develop beyond what was seen on screen, and become more well-rounded as a result. Stories like "Starborn", "The Cold Equations" and "The Rocket Men" expand the companion characters considerably, and give them lives beyond the TARDIS. Steven expects to die in the TARDIS, Vicki is still dealing with the death of her mother, and Ian has emotional feelings for Barbara. It gives classic companions levels of depth from the new series, and gives the actors some really intimate material to work with. It builds upon the foundations of the TV series of the time, and takes the companions in new, and often surprising, directions, with great success.
 |
| The cover for "The Perpetual Bond", featuring Steve Taylor and Oliver Harper, designed by Simon Holub. |
The universe of Doctor Who is vast and varied, and, in the TV show, nowhere is that more obvious than in the First Doctor's era. And the First Doctor Companion Chronicles continue that trend. There a story set on a mining colony that's slipping into acid water. There's one set in a house that grants your wishes. There's one set inside the workings of a giant clock in space. And that's just Simon Guerrier's trilogy for Sara Kingdom. Honestly, the wide breadth of storytelling in these stories takes my breath away, because there is simply so much variety. The writers have been allowed to let their imagination run riot with these tales, and it all feeds into the character development this range excels in. "Here There be Monsters", for example, takes place inside a spaceship controlled by a gigantic tree. Or "The Time Museum", which is set inside a museum dedicated to Ian Chesterton. Or "Return of the Rocket Men", which is set on a colony planet being terrorised by flying space pirates. Not one story is even similar to another, and it just goes to show how experimental you can make the storytelling in a contained format like this one. Each story pushes the bounds of what you can do, where you can go and who you can meet in a Doctor Who story, and each one stands as a testament to the infinitely adaptable format of the show.
 |
| The cover for "The Guardian of the Solar System", featuring Sara Kingdom, and designed by Simon Holub. |
One thing the Companion Chronicles are famous for (bar their excellent character insights and their varied storytelling landscapes) is their often surprising use of continuity. Of course, there are stories throughout the Chronicles that feature returning monsters and villains from the show you'd expect, like the Daleks in "Across the Darkened City". However, there are also stories that feature foes and references to the Doctor future, as well as his past. For example, the Vardans (monsters from the Fourth Doctor story "The Invasion of Time") turn up in "The First Wave", and we get to see the Doctor's first meetings with the alien invaders. "Quinnis" depicts a planet that was mentioned in "The Edge of Destruction" by Susan as one her and the Doctor landed on before they visited 1963. "The Guardian of the Solar System" is a bone-fide prequel to the seminal story "The Daleks' Master Plan", dealing with Chen's deal with the Daleks and Sara's murder of her brother Brett. There's even smaller references to future events that are neat if you know the wider Who cannon, but doesn't affect your enjoyment of the story if you don't. It's just little things: like "The Flames of Cadiz" explaining how the Doctor could recognise the bells of Seville in "The Two Doctors" or "The Wanderer" making references to future invasions of the planet Earth. This is something that has continued into the box-sets, although I actually can't really go into them, as they contain major spoilers for the stories in question. Suffice to say, however, that one set sees the First Doctor crashing up against a massive event from the show's future, and one story in another set is placed at a major turning point in the First Doctor's life. All this continuity, however, is never a detriment to the stories, or feel forced in order to sell more CD's. Its always born out of a desire to tell great stories, something the Companion Chronicles excel at.
4. Framing Stories:
 |
| The cover for "Starborn", featuring Vicki Pallister, designed by Tom Webster. |
One thing the Companion Chronicles format allows for is stories within stories. After all, all these tales are being told retrospectively by the companions involved, and therefore there is often a framing story attached to them. At least initially, this was a key component of every Chronicle, though as time went on, this stopped being a direct requirement, and was done only if the story demanded it. We therefore get the chance to see companion's lives after they left the Doctor: Susan on 22nd Century Earth, Ian explaining where he and Barbara disappeared to and Vicki in Carthage living with Trollius. Two of the most notable ones, however, involved Steven and Sara, and their reminiscences actually ended up forming a trilogy of tales each, which, as the story's progressed, became ever more elaborate. Sara's story depicted Sara as the landlady of a very unusual house on a ruined future Earth, only for it later to be revealed that it wasn't Sara at all, but rather the house itself projecting Sara's voice after she landed there while travelling with the Doctor and Steven. Throughout the trilogy, Sara wrestles with the authorities, embodied in the form of scholar and academic Robert. Steven's trilogy, meanwhile, picks up after his departure from the Doctor and Dodo in "The Savages", and sees him having given up his reign as King, and living in a castle high up a hill. He's visited often by his granddaughter Sida, and we get to see what happened to the planet in the aftermath of the Doctor's interference. It helps to show how these characters have changed in the years since they left the Doctor, and, for a lot of them, it is a tale of regret. Sometime, like in "Starborn", the framing sequence takes place within the continuity of the TV show, which presents a fresh take on the format. "Starborn"'s framing narrative actually takes place before the narrated story, which adds a new twist to the concept. It's part of the reason why this range has been so successful, and shows how these releases can have something new to say about classic characters.
5. The Cast:
 |
| The cover for "The Anachronauts", featuring Steven Taylor and Sara Kingdom, designed by Iain Robertson. |
 |
| The cover for "The Companion Chronicles - The First Doctor: Volume 2", designed by Lee Binding. |
The First Doctor Companion Chronicles show how versatile and complex the Doctor Who format is. The Companion Chronicles feature some of Doctor Who's most personal and intimate narratives, and there is no better example of it than in the stories featuring the First Doctor. From epic trilogies that reveal what happened in the aftermath of some of the Doctor's most notable adventures, to small stories exploring the nature of what it means to be one of the Doctor's friends, this range has it all. If you're looking for something that gives you the opportunity to explore the companions of the First Doctor era, learn something new about them, and enjoy a more personal audio experience than Big Finsh's full-cast audios normally allow, then the Companion Chronicles are utterly perfect.
Until the 19th of April 2020, you can get "The Beginning", from the Companion Chronicles range, from Big Finish completely free. You can find it here:
https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-the-companion-chronicles-the-beginning-756
You can also save up to 50% on "The Lost Stories - The First Doctor Box Set" until the 19th of April 2020 too. You can find a full list of the titles here:
https://www.bigfinish.com/collections/v/weekly-deals
Happy listening! And I'll see you next week for another look at a free Big Finish title!
All pictures copyright to the BBC/Big Finish Productions. Thank you very much for reading.
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