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''Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures'', formerly subtitled as the ''Main Range'', is a series that consists of full-cast
audio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
s based on the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...
programme ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
''. They are produced by
Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...
and star one or more of the original actors to play
the Doctor The Doctor, sometimes known as Doctor Who, is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called th ...
on television in the classic era of the programme. ''Doctor Who'' revolves around the adventures of an alien called the Doctor, whose people are called the Time Lords. He travels in space and time using a spaceship called the
TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space") is a fictional hybrid of a time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. While a TARDI ...
, which can
travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical Location (geography), locations. Travel can be done by Pedestrian, foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without Baggage, luggage, a ...
in time as well as space. While travelling, the Doctor works to save lives and liberate oppressed peoples by combating foes. The Doctor often travels with companions. The programme has a concept of regeneration, in which, when a Time Lord is fatally injured, their cells regenerate and they are reincarnated into a different body with a different personality, but the same memories. The series originally ran from 1963 to 1989. In 1999, Big Finish obtained a non-exclusive licence to produce official ''Doctor Who'' audio plays. Big Finish Productions began producing audio dramas featuring the
Fifth Doctor The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Peter Davison. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord ...
,
Sixth Doctor The Sixth Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Colin Baker. Although his televisual t ...
, and
Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-o ...
s, under the "Main Range" banner, starting with the multi-Doctor story '' The Sirens of Time'' in July 1999. They gradually developed a pattern of thirteen releases per year, one every month with two in September or December. From 2001 to 2007, the main range also included releases featuring the
Eighth Doctor The Eighth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Paul McGann. The character was introduced in the 1996 TV film ''Doctor Who'', a back-door p ...
; future releases with the Eighth Doctor were more sporadic, coincident with the beginning of the ''
Eighth Doctor Adventures The ''Eighth Doctor Adventures'' (sometimes abbreviated as EDA or referred to as the EDAs) are a series of spin off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and published under the BBC Books impri ...
''. Various companions appeared throughout the adventures in main and guest roles, mostly originating from television, though some originated from various
spin-offs Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...
such as novels and comics, and some debuted in the ''Big Finish'' audios themselves. In May 2020, Big Finish announced that ''The Monthly Adventures'' (which had recently changed its subtitle) would conclude with its 275th release, to be replaced with regular releases of each Doctor in their own boxsets throughout the year from January 2022, as part of a revamp. The number of these boxsets for each Doctor was announced in May 2022, with the
first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
,
second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
and fifth getting one boxset, and the other five, including the
third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...
and fourth, receiving two. With 275 releases over 22 years, the series holds the
Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
for longest running science fiction audio play series.


History

Though the programme had been put on indefinite hiatus in 1989 (and despite the failed revival attempt with the 1996
TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrest ...
), the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
still published, as well as gave non-exclusive licenses to other companies, ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' stories through various mediums such as novels and comics.
Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...
, which mostly consisted of fans who started out recording fan audio plays, were given the license to record some of the New Adventures, a series of novels from
Virgin Books Virgin Books is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Group, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company. History Virgin established its book publishing ...
which had originally been licensed ''Doctor Who'' stories, into audio plays. This eventually transitioned into a license to produce original audio dramas featuring the past Doctors, with '' The Sirens of Time'' being the first story to be released in July 1999. A number of ''Doctor Who'' spin-off writers formed the group of original writers, including
Gary Russell Gary Russell (born 18 September 1963) is a British freelance writer, producer and former child actor. As a writer, he is best known for his work in connection with the television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs in other media. As an ac ...
,
Nicholas Briggs Nicholas Briggs (born 29 September 1961) is an English actor, writer, director, sound designer and composer. He is associated with the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, particularly as the voice of the Da ...
,
Justin Richards Justin Richards (born 14 September 1961) is a British writer. He has written science fiction and fantasy novels, including series set in Victorian or early-20th-century London, and also adventure stories set in the present day. He has written ...
and
Mark Gatiss Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. Best known for his acting work on stage and screen as well as for co-creating television shows with Steven Moffat, he has received ...
. Future ''Doctor Who'' showrunner
Steven Moffat Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as the second showrunner and head writer of the 2005 revival of the BBC sci-fi television ser ...
also joined, but left after it became clear that the license did not extend to the then-incumbent
Eighth Doctor The Eighth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Paul McGann. The character was introduced in the 1996 TV film ''Doctor Who'', a back-door p ...
. The still alive actors of the Fourth to Eighth Doctors were approached for the role, but
Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for having played the Fourth Doctor, fourth and longest-serving incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television ...
, the
Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from ...
, declined. The releases therefore alternated between the Fifth, Sixth and
Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-o ...
s, with the license extended to include the Eighth Doctor in 2001. ''Doctor Who'' was revived in 2005, returning to television, and the next few years saw the introduction of new spin-offs, including '' The Eighth Doctor Adventures'', and the Eighth Doctor mostly moved away from the ''Main Range''. Various companions from the television show returned across the next few years. March 2000 saw the first time a companion originated in Big Finish itself, with the introduction of Evelyn Smythe, played by Maggie Stables; October 2000 saw
Lisa Bowerman Lisa Bowerman (born 1 February 1962) is a British actress. She is best known for portraying Sandra Mute, the paramedic, in the first two series of the BBC One medical drama '' Casualty'', and ''Doctor Who'' companion Professor Bernice Summerfie ...
reprise her role of Bernice Summerfield from Big Finish's spin-off of the same name, a character who originated in the Virgin novels; and November 2000 saw the introduction of Frobisher, who originated in the comics, with Robert Jezek playing the role. Since then, every televised companion has reprised their role in Big Finish (with the exception of Jackie Lane's
Dodo Chaplet Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet is a fictional character played by Jackie Lane in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An Earth teenager from the year 1966, she was a companion of the First Doctor. Dodo was depicte ...
). Big Finish has been characterised as "augmenting the canon" by utilising "fan experiences and memories of fans" from TV, steeping itself in "fan nostalgia", even using the serial format of the original series and the corresponding theme tunes; it has also been derogatorily referred to as being full of 'fanwank' for emphasising "fan pleasure" through references to continuity, over plot. The releases have also been compared to fanfiction, in the way they try to "correct perceived transgressions", focus on and deepen the characterisation and emotions of characters, and revitalise the earlier dynamics of some villains while also recontexualising their motivations. On a more neutral level, they have been characterised as focusing more on the 'interpersonal' than the 'epic'; that instead of homages, they serve as supplements to the story, improving and emphasising other parts of the plot. Though the BBC has not echoed the sentiment, executive producer Nicholas Briggs considers the audios to be completely canonical.


Cast

The following table includes characters who have appeared in at least one year as a main character. Main cast refers to those who appeared multiple times across unrelated stories in a given year, while those marked guest only appeared across one set of stories in a given year.


1999–2010


2011–2021


Notable guests

The following list mentions the guest actors who have never appeared as a main character in any year, but have appeared as allies or enemies of the Doctor various times in the ''Main Range'', or were allied multiple times in other mediums. They are listed alphabetically by character's last name (or only names when the last name is unknown or does not exist):


Companions in the show

Source:


Others


Releases


1999


2000


2001


2002


2003


2004


2005


2006


2007


2008


2009


2010


2011


2012


2013


2014


2015


2016


2017


2018


2019


2020


2021


Continuation

In May 2020, ''Big Finish'' announced that the Main Range would conclude with its 275th release, to be replaced with regular releases of each Doctor in their own boxsets throughout the year from January 2022. With 275 releases over 22 years, the series achieved the
Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
for longest running science fiction audio play series in 2021. The revamp was stated by ''Big Finish '' to be an effort to be more accessible to newcomers, by allowing for "a natural 'stepping on point'" for them; they also stated that it would also allow for more "exciting new possibilities and creative freedom" in the cast combinations and story lengths and arcs. The number of new boxsets for each Doctor, and some of the details, were announced in May 2021.


Appearances


Notes


References


Books

* * * *


Big Finish Productions

* * * * * *


Doctor Who Magazine

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Who - Main Range Big Finish Productions Doctor Who spinoffs