Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Nicholas Briggs

RRP: £24.99 (CD) | £19.99 (Download)

Release Date: May 2021

Reviewed by: Robert Emlyn Slater for Doctor Who Online

"Three brand new adventures featuring Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor, written by Nicholas Briggs.

1.1 Sphere of Freedom

On the Sphere of Freedom, the Doctor is about to shut down an evil Immersive Games business empire. He’s assisted by a valiant galley chef called Nova. But his plan spectacularly fails... And who exactly is Audrey?

1.2 Cataclysm

Nova is dislocated in time while the Time Eddies are out of control. Meanwhile, the Doctor is about to face the end of the universe. Or is that just the Battle of Waterloo?

1.3 Food Fight 

The TARDIS is starting to get a little crowded! Audrey finds herself haunted by a ghostly Doctor."

WARNING: The following review contains spoilers. You have been warned!

This isn’t a sentence I ever thought I’d get the opportunity to write, but after 16 years away, Christopher Eccleston is finally back as the Ninth Doctor in Ravagers, a boxset of three brand new episodes courtesy of Big Finish Productions! 

I’m cutting to the chase here, but it’s absolutely incredible to hear Christopher Eccleston back in the role. I never thought it would happen, but he’s back, and it doesn’t sound like he’s ever been away. Within seconds of the first episode starting, he is, without a doubt, the Doctor again. There’s no adjustment period, no shaky moments, or times where you’re not sure whether he’s fully in the role yet — he’s just the Ninth Doctor, from minute one all the way through to the end. I was instantly transported back to 2005 listening to these adventures, back to being 8 years old curled up on the sofa, watching this mad, mysterious, brilliant man save the universe. It was, in short, an amazing experience listening to this boxset. 

Ravagers, the first of four (and hopefully more) volumes starring the Ninth Doctor, is a series of three inter-connected episodes. Set Pre-Rose, these stories see the Doctor go up against an enormous gaming business empire that is using time itself to provide its rich clients with incredible, yet stupidly dangerous, immersive video game experiences. The Doctor, teaming up with Nova, his companion-of-sorts, must stop the game business empire’s plans, or risk the end of the universe itself.

The first episode, Sphere of Freedom, throws us straight into the action, mid-adventure, with the Doctor and Nova (Camilla Beeput) defeating the games corporation’s plans, until everything goes wrong and Nova is taken by a time-eddy. The Doctor then meets the mysterious Audrey and fills her in on everything that’s happened, giving us an opportunity to see what led to him attempting to stopping the gaming empire in the first place. 

This episode is a hell of a lot of fun, mostly in part to the fantastic chemistry between the Doctor and Audrey (Jayne McKenna), as they banter, snark, and flirt with each other as the Doctor tells her his story. But it’s also fun because we get to listen to him travel to London in 1959 and stop a battle between a Roman legion and British soldiers from breaking out, track time eddy’s, and team up with galley chef Nova in an attempt to bring down the gaming empire on the Sphere of Freedom. It’s a really strong start to the set, provides us with a compelling mystery, and leaves us with a gripping cliffhanger that ensures that you’ll be desperate to listen to more.

The second episode, Cataclysm, is a bit slower than the first episode, but just as entertaining. It’s a lot more timey-wimey than any of the Ninth Doctor’s adventures on television, but that’s definitely not a bad thing. It follows the Doctor as he tries to escape Audrey’s traps, find Nova, and stop the universe from imploding, which has already happened. Sort of. It’s definitely an episode that you’re going to have to pay full attention to, that’s for sure. 

The Doctor and Nova’s dynamic is great, and they bounce off of each other really well throughout the boxset. Nova is very different from Rose, and so is her relationship with the Doctor. Whilst both characters’ main reason for accompanying the Doctor on his travels is to experience a better life, Nova is tougher, snarkier, and far less trusting of the Doctor than Rose is, which is a lot of fun. It’s great that we’ve got a completely different companion for the Doctor in this boxset too, rather than just a simple carbon copy of Rose, which I admit I was worried would be the case when this boxset was first announced. I’m glad to see that I was proven wrong. 

The final episode, Food Fight, is also the episode that wraps up the whole Ravagers arc. The Doctor and Nova, along with all the characters we’ve met along the way unite to launch one final attack on the gaming empire in an attempt to save the universe. If you thought the last episode was a bit timey-wimey, wait until you listen to this one. 

Whilst Food Fight does get a bit complicated at times and does take a lot of concentration to fully keep up with, it wraps up the Ravagers storyline well, and leaves us counting down the days until the next volume of the Ninth Doctor’s adventures is released! 

The monsters of the plays, the titular Ravagers, don’t really make much of an appearance in these episodes. Though they are largely absent from proceedings, their presence is still felt very strongly throughout. 

Whilst the cast are all excellent and give great performances throughout, Eccleston, McKenna, and Beeput in particular, praise must also be given to the team who made all of this happen, in particular scriptwriter and executive producer, Nicholas Briggs. I was so impressed with the three scripts he’s written for this boxset, and he absolutely nails the Ninth Doctor here. This isn’t a Doctor who’s moping about the Time War or upset about being the last of the Time Lords, this is a version of the Ninth Doctor who’s having the time of his life, who’s full of energy, and who’s full of hope. Briggs captures all of that and more in the three brilliant scripts he’s penned for this boxset. A huge round of applause for all involved, both behind the scenes and in front of the microphones.

If I have any criticisms at all, it’s that the timey-wimey does become a bit too much and a bit too confusing to keep up with at times, but that could just be a personal thing. Other than that incredibly minor issue, this is a well-written, brilliantly performed boxset featuring a Christopher Eccleston who you can just tell is having a whale of a time back in the role, and that’s the best thing about it. It’s also so refreshing that the boxset is sort of disconnected from the 2005 series too. It’s set before the events of Rose, before Nine burst back onto our screen, and so the story possibilities are almost endless. 

I can’t quite believe that this boxset is a real thing. I never, ever thought Eccleston would come back to the worlds of Doctor Who, but I am so, so glad that he is. If Ravagers is anything to go by, I really can’t wait to see what Big Finish have up their sleeves next. I know that there are adventures with the Cybermen and the Brigadier yet to come for the Ninth Doctor, and if I wasn’t excited before, I definitely am now. August can’t come soon enough.

There’s only one word to describe this boxset really, isn’t there... and I think everyone knows what it is. You guessed it. Fantastic! 

+ The 9th Doc. Adventures: Ravagers is OUT NOW, priced £24.99 (CD) | £19.99 (D/L).

+ ORDER this title from Big Finish!

We Are Colony has released Emily, the provocative short film debut of renowned producer Caroline Harvey, starring Oscar-nominee Felicity Jones (The Theory Of Everything) and Emmy-winner, BAFTA-nominee Christopher Eccleston (Thor: The Dark World, Doctor Who).

Harvey was formerly Head of Development at Mirage Entertainment, the company run by the late Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack, where she produced the acclaimed short film Love Me More, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. The two remained close after Love You More, with Taylor-Johnson donating some of her Palme D'Or prize money to fund Harvey's directorial debut, Emily. 

Director, Caroline Harvey says:

"Emily comes from a place of frustration: about the form of short film, the fashion for them to be silent, to be genre driven, to be bleak, to have an obvious twist in the tail. It also comes from an irritation with the way in which women are portrayed on screen. Female characters are usually rigorously pinned to a narrative by a mass of explanation and consequence: ‘she’s that way because of this and now she’ll suffer…’ - a falsehood".

"The film is about gender roles, desire, control, frustration, the lust inherent in sorrow, the lies we tell ourselves and each other, the peculiarities of being English", she continues. "I wanted to write about a sexual encounter in which no-one is attacked, hurt, contracts a disease, gets pregnant, arrested or dies. Rather, the opposite: certain encounters allow us to learn about ourselves, our limitations, what we want and need. That these experiences are as capable of healing as they are of damaging us."

Felicity Jones plays a young woman who meets a man in a coffee bar (Christopher Eccleston). The two are soon chatting about snogging, smoked salmon blinis and sexual stirrings involving fingers in ears. "I wanted to do something unexpected," Jones has said.  She also produced the film, alongside Jack Sidey and Nicholas Hatton. The film premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and was nominated for Best British Short Film at Raindance Film Festival.

We Are Colony is a new global video-on-demand platform connecting passionate fans with great films, and their favorite filmmakers and talent.  We Are Colony releases exclusive special edition bundles of deleted scenes, cast interviews, making-of documentaries, production stills, scripts, storyboards, teasers and so much more. Get behind-the-scenes now at www.wearecolony.com. 

+ Check out the special features for 'Emily' on the We Are Colony website.

[Source: We Are Colony]

American Doctor Who fan, Mary Nicholls got the surprise of her life last year when Christopher Eccleston (The 9th Doctor) helped play a part in her engagement. Mary's boyfriend asked Christopher if he could help out, and the result is truly heartwarming.

So all you naysayers out there who think Christopher Eccleston hates Doctor Who - think again, and enjoy the video, below:

[youtube:TtV1TgcexKE] 
[Source: Kasterborous]

The ninth instalment in a sensational series of stories celebrating the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who is written by Charlie Higson, actor, comedian and author of the phenomenally successful Young Bond books and the cult thriller series, The Enemy.

Following on from short stories by Eoin Colfer, Michael Scott, Marcus Sedgwick, Philip Reeve, Patrick Ness, Richelle Mead, Malorie Blackman and Alex Scarrow, Charlie Higson has written the ninth adventure in the series, based on the Ninth Doctor played by Christopher Eccleston. Higson commented:

“I grew up with Doctor Who and have always been a massive fan so it's a great honour to be involved in this anniversary celebration. Russell T Davies did a great job of rebooting the series with Christopher Eccleston so to be able to write the Ninth Doctor story was a great opportunity to say thanks to the Doctor and thanks to Russell.”

Synopsis:

When a girl called Ali pockets a silver orb that falls from the sky, little does she realise it’s her ticket to seeing the universe!

Desperate to retrieve the mysterious object, the Ninth Doctor agrees to let her join him on a dangerous trip to ancient Babylon.

Together they must join forces to stop a giant Starman from destroying Earth before it’s too late! 

Eleven Doctors, eleven months, eleven stories: a year-long celebration of Doctor Who! The most exciting names in children's fiction each create their own unique adventure about the time-travelling Time Lord.

About the author:

Charlie Higson is a successful author, actor, comedian and writer for television and radio. He wrote the phenomenally successful Young Bond series which has sold over a million copies in the UK alone and been translated into over 24 languages. The first novel in his bestselling cult thriller series, The Enemy, was published to critical acclaim in 2009. It was followed by The Dead (2010), The Fear (2011) and The Sacrifice (2012). Charlie is a huge fan of horror films and books and even studied gothic literature at university.

Higson started writing when he was ten years old but it was a long time before he got paid for doing it. On leaving university he was the singer in a pop group (The Higsons) before giving it up to become a painter and decorator. It was around this time that he started writing for television on Saturday Night Live. In partnership with Paul Whitehouse, he went on to create hugely successful comedy series The Fast Show, in which he also appeared. Other TV works include The Harry Enfield Television Programme, The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer, Shooting Stars, Randall and Hopkirk Deceased, the film Suite 16 and Swiss Toni.   

His work for radio includes the award-winning spoof radio series Down the Line (BBC Radio 4), which became the television comedy series Bellamy’s People (BBC 2). Charlie’s other books include the thrillers King of the Ants (1992), Happy Now (1993), Full Whack (1995) and Getting Rid of Mr Kitchen (1996). He lives in North London. 

+  The Beast Of Babylon is released on 23rd September 2013, Priced £1.99.

+  Preorder this eShort from iTunes for £1.99.
+  Preorder this eShort on Amazon for £1.99. 

+  Check Out Charlie Higson's Website.

[Source: Puffin Books]

Each month of this year, the British Film Institute have been airing episodes from each Doctor's era to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who. At the most recent event, which looked at The 9th Doctor's era, a special message was read out from Christopher Eccleston:

“I love the BFI. I love the Doctor and hope you enjoy this presentation. Joe Ahearne directed five of the 13 episodes of the first series. He understood the tone the show needed completely – strong, bold, pacy visuals coupled with wit, warmth and a twinkle in the performances, missus.

If Joe agrees to direct the 100th anniversary special, I will bring my sonic and a stair-lift and – providing the Daleks don’t bring theirs – I, the ninth Doctor, vow to save the universe and all you apes in it.”

So there you have it! Eccleston DOES love Doctor Who, and seems to be up for a return at some point. Maybe for the 10th Anniversary of the new series in 2015?

[Source: RadioTimes.com]

Some conflicting reports have appeared online and in printed newspapers that Christopher Eccleston (The 9th Doctor) agreed to appear in the 50th Anniversary Special, and then pulled out.

The rumours, which were unsurprisingly started by The Daily Star newspaper, claimed Eccleston was all set to star in the special but as filming started, he apparently pulled out.

An official BBC source (speaking to Digital Spy) has reportedly claimed that: "Eccleston was never attached to the 50th and the decision has had no impact on production." The source was further quoted as saying the following:

"Chris met with Steven Moffat a couple of times to talk about Steven's plans for the Doctor Who 50th anniversary episode. After careful thought, Chris decided not to be in the episode. He wishes the team all the best."

Further rumours claim that Paul McGann has stepped in and the storyline originally intended for The 9th Doctor has simply been swapped for The 8th Doctor.

According to The Independent newspaper, The 9th Doctor may still have an appearance in the special:

"Fans might still get the chance to see Eccleston's portrayal of The Doctor as show bosses are rumoured to be planning to use old footage of previous doctors for the special show."

At this stage we would suggest taking all rumours with a pinch of salt until confirmed by the BBC.

[Sources: The Daily Star; Digital Spy; The Independent; DWO]