Doctor Who Torchwood the Diary of River Song
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ISSUE: 113 • JULY 2018 WWW.BIGFINISH.COM DOCTOR WHO THE DIARY OF THE MAIN RANGE RIVER SONG SERIES FOUR TORCHWOOD BILIS MANGER RETURNS We make great full-cast audio dramas and audiobooks that are available to buy on CD and/or download WE LOVE STORIES! SUBSCRIBERS GET Our audio productions are based on much- MORE! loved TV series like Doctor Who, Torchwood, If you subscribe, depending on the Dark Shadows, Blake’s 7, The Avengers, The range you subscribe to, you get free , , , Prisoner The Omega Factor Terrahawks audiobooks, PDFs of scripts, extra Captain Scarlet and Survivors, as well as behind-the-scenes material, a classics such as HG Wells, Shakespeare, bonus release, downloadable audio Sherlock Holmes, The Phantom of the Opera readings of new short stories and and Dorian Gray. We also produce original discounts. creations such as Graceless, Charlotte Pollard and The Adventures of Bernice Summerfield, plus the Big Finish Originals Secure online ordering and details of range featuring seven great new series all our products can be found at: including ATA Girl and Cicero. www.bigfinish.com WWW.BIGFINISH.COM @ BIGFINISH THEBIGFINISH VORTEX MAGAZINE • PAGE 2 for executive producer Jason Haigh-Ellery, and he was delighted to finally achieve this ambition – Eric plays the Master for the first time since appearing in the 1996 Doctor Who television movie. Jason says: “Working with Eric was a complete joy. Firstly, he is such a nice man and so easy to communicate RIVER SONG with. Secondly, he likes to AND THE MANY work and he likes to work MASTERS! fast. The scenes whizzed by and we were all enjoying T’S A funny old world, this ourselves so much that I Big Finish malarkey. AVING HAD several forgot I was directing an I Through Vortex, I have the adventures with many Oscar nominee with over honour of being able to speak to the H of Big Finish’s classic 450 movies under his belt people who write, act, produce, Doctors, it was only a matter of (which should have been create the sound design and music, time before River Song ran into intimidating – but wasn’t!). direct and do the covers for the a certain other Time Lord… “Eric is very down to stories we all love each month. The Master – in four different earth – no ego or vanity This month, I discovered that new incarnations – encounters the involved. I hope we work Big Finish writer Donald McLeary not Doctor’s wife in Series Five of together again soon.” only lives in Scotland but is actually The Diary of River Song in Eric features in The Lifeboat just seven miles from my house, January next year, as Geoffrey and the Deathboat by Eddie so we met up and had lunch. And Beevers and Sir Derek Jacobi are Robson. Other stories in the within two minutes, we’d worked joined by Michelle Gomez and set are Animal Instinct by Roy out we had a friend in common. Eric Roberts. Gill, Concealed Weapon by Small world! And, fact fans, Donny Getting Eric Roberts to appear Scott Handcock and The Bekdel attended Stonelaw High School, the in a Big Finish production Test by Jonathan Morris. same school that produced another has been a long-term goal Big Finish writer, Andrew Smith. (Yes, I love trivia like that!). Another highlight for me this month has been the preview for Too ISSUE 113 • JULY 2018 Many Targets, the latest release for The Avengers. I’ve been a big The Managing Editor: Jason Haigh-Ellery Avengers fan since 1992 and bought Executive Producer: Nicholas Briggs the original book that year. I’ve Senior Producer: David Richardson been re-reading it in anticipation, to Editor: Kenny Smith get myself ready for John Dorney’s Design: Mark Plastow audio adaptation. This is The Five Doctors of The Avengers – you could Copy Editor: Stephanie Hornett alternatively call it Avengers Assemble, The Big Finish Team: Ian Atkins, Sue Cowley, Emily de Fraine, if you wish. Oh, hang on, has that Hannah Peel, Paul Spragg name been taken?! Marketing: Kris Griffin All I can say is, if you’re a fan of and Paddy Freeland The Avengers, you’re going to love BFP Administration: Cheryl Bly, what John has done – just make sure Brenda Smith, Alison Taylor you keep listening all the way to the Publisher: Big Finish Productions Ltd. end… VORTEX | PAGE 3 IT’S ANOTHER ADVENTURE FOR THE DOCTOR’S WIFE – AND SHE’S MEETING A DIFFERENT INCARNATION OF HER HUSBAND… FOURTH VER SINCE River Song Producer David Richardson says: in this box set: “For this series, we Riverbecame part of the Big “The idea of bringing the Fourth wanted to give River an adversary E Finish family she’s been Doctor into our River Song series to match her, a real threat, so travelling back along the Doctor’s was irresistible – I just had to David and I set about thinking. For timeline, running into different make sure that Alex was happy to a time, we talked about possibly incarnations of our favourite Time travel down to deepest Kent where using the Daleks, but in the end Lord along the way. we record with Tom (of course decided on something original, With Alex Kingston having worked she was – she was thrilled to be so we created the Discordia – with David Tennant, Matt Smith recording with Tom!). This is quite one of whom is the handsome and Peter Capaldi on television, a wild ride for a Fourth Doctor devil you can see on the cover. she’s now ticked off Paul McGann, story, and there’s a real frisson “With no Time Lords to police Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker and between the two characters.” things, the Discordia are essentially Peter Davison over the last couple But we’re getting ahead of time pirates who can go back and of years with Big Finish. And now ourselves a little. Script editor Matt re-engineer themselves and their she can add Tom Baker to that list! Fitton explains the ongoing theme evolution, to make themselves VORTEX | PAGE 4 THE DIARY OF RIVER SONG companions for River, which was, as Spod might say, amazeballs! “River is just the best fun, despite – or more accurately perhaps, because of – her infinitely complex and tragic past. There is absolutely nothing that can shock, faze or defeat her. Like the Doctor, she confronts danger and heartbreak with confidence, swagger and wit. And yet there’s a heartbreaking vulnerability to her, despite her strength.” However, Emma found introducing the Discordia a bit tricky. She concedes: “Plotting for the Discordia was… challenging. The brief described them as devilish beings that can control time and can retcon any situation so that they come out as the victors – how can anyone Above (l–r): Tom Baker and Alex Kingston fight that? Only the Doctor could ever hope to, but he’s RIVER IS JUST THE BEST FUN, DESPITE – OR MORE ACCURATELY PERHAPS, BECAUSE OF – HER INFINITELY COMPLEX AND TRAGIC PAST. Above (l–r): Fenella Woolgar and Alex Kingston Above (l–r): Alex Kingston and Josh Bolt EMMA REEVES as intimidating as possible – and and co-creator, and I was very not around, so it’s time for his make sure they always win. impressed by it. I knew she’d better half to step up. The lovely “They look like devils in the written a couple of Torchwoods detail (from Matt’s brief) that Hieronymus Bosch tradition, for Big Finish at that stage, so I the Discordia had engineered and they have rotating gun arms approached her and asked if she their appearance to resemble which spin around to whatever would be interested in writing that of devils with red skins, weapon the occasion demands.” for River.” horns and tails, was an added Emma takes up the story: bonus. Nothing and nobody IME IN a Bottle opens “Matt’s brief was to take River into can intimidate River – not even this series, written by a system where time has been the denizens of Hell itself!” T Emma Reeves and Matt removed, investigate the cause Matt adds: “It was great fun Fitton. Matt says: “I co-wrote the and discover that the (literally) working with Emma as she’s first one with Emma Reeves. My fiendish Discordia are to blame. As very easy to get on with, and we son loved watching Eve on CBBC, the writer of the first episode in the ended up completing the script for which Emma was lead writer box set, I got to create the travelling together from her storyline. VORTEX | PAGE 5 THE DIARY OF RIVER SONG Above (l–r): Joe Meiners, Ken Bentley, Nicholas Asbury, Nigel Anthony, Tom Baker, John Dorney, Nathalie Buscombe, Alex Kingston, Elliot the Dog and David Richardson “I’m really pleased with the someone she dislikes and can be result, especially as we’ve got I THOUGHT openly rude to. Perhaps because a great cast including Fenella of the strain of having to keep all Woolgar as River’s academic IT WOULD those spoilers to herself, River rival, Professor Still.” BE FUN IF tends to have no time for social Emma continues: “Professor filters. I love it when River tells it Still is an old frenemy (without HER THIRD straight, and Professor Still, played the fr!) from River’s time at Lunar by the wonderful Fenella Woolgar, University. She’s a woman with FELLOW makes a great sparring partner.” a grudge. Back in the day, not TRAVELLER only did River steal her man OR THE second story in but – the ultimate insult – she IS SOMEONE the set, a first did it by accident and didn’t even F (chronological) writing want him.