Doctor Who - Eighth Doctor Adventures

[Silver Wolf]

EDIT: Part One of Orbis is up!

BBC Radio and BBC iPlayer (for those outside the UK) are once again airing the Eighth Doctor Adventures. Currently it appears they're airing Season 3, but at their current rate there may be hope for more, additional news when things become more clear. (Though almost always expect the classic "Chimes of Midnight" [featuring the Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard] to appear around Christmas, it seems to have become a tradition).

Starting April 4th on BBC Radio 4 Extra (5th for iPlayer) and through the following weeks, at 18:30/6:30 PM GMT with repeats later aired at 00:30/12:30 AM right after. The episodes remain on iPlayer for about seven days after broadcasting so get them while you can.
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For those who have been wanting check out a "classic" Doctor or wanting something to fill in the gaps while waiting for the Series 6 to debut/the next episode of the current season, BBC Radio has been broadcasting the choice bits of the recent seasons of the Big Finish New Eighth Doctor Adventures, and generally has the episodes up for international viewing for about a week after they've aired.

For a quick recap to set the mood/provide the background, especially if you've never seen the TV Movie before:

Eighth Doctor

This incarnation came into being when the Seventh Doctor was returning the remains of the Master (who apparently had been tried and exterminated on Skaro) to Gallifrey as a part of a "last request". Long story short, things aren't what they seem and the Doctor crash-lands on December 31th, 1999 in San Francisco, and promptly gets shot after getting caught in a gang war. He doesn't die from the bullet though, but rather the Hospital can't make heads-or-tails of his physiology, give him far too much anthestia (which ends up giving the Eighth Doctor a brief amnesia spell), and he finally dies on the operating table (under the hands of Grace Holloway, who would later be his companion in this story).

After regnerating in the morgue, reclaiming his memories and defeating the Master once more, the Eighth Doctor has gone on a number of adventures (most of them having "convoluted historical significance," thus explaining why there are essentially three continuties [novels/audios/comics] and yet they are all somehow, or not, "tied together" and "canon") with companions such as Charlotte Pollard, C'rizz, and even Romana and K9 at one point.

This current set of adventures, with Lucie Miller, takes place around the most "recent" part of his timeline, before the Time War. (If you're looking for something to "start" on, the aformentioned adventure with Romana and K9 [written by Douglas Adams] would fit the bill.)

Lucie Miller

A strong-willed Northern lass from 2006, Lucie was initially an unwilling passenger in the Doctor's TARDIS, having been placed with the Doctor as part of a "Time Lord witness protection programme," under the Celestial Investigation Agency or "CIA" (they're the secretive Time Lords that try to be somewhat pro-active in terms of temporal events). Turns out they suspected she might become a future dictator of Europe, which turned out to be false, it was a possible co-worker who might become the dictator.

After that is settled, the two decide to continue having adventures, and have gotten into some very interesting scrapes along the way.

For further visual aids, this is our Doctor, this is Lucie Miller, and this is our TARDIS.

Last Time on...

After a number of adventures, and running into a mysterious time-travelling bounty hunter known as "the Headhunter," the Doctor and Lucie get into a bit of a conspiracy involving the renegade Time Lord, Morbius, who the Doctor thought he had defeated before in "The Brain of Morbius," and the cryptic and antagonistic "Sisters of the Flame" who have vowed to keep Morbius that way.

Eventually, in reference to the Reichenbach Falls of Sherlock Holmes lore, the Doctor and the newly revived Morbius fall off a cliff into a time rift, presumably to their deaths. Lucie Miller is promptly returned by the Time Lords to her proper place in time, though she refuses to have her memories erased of him. After a short while at home, the Headhunter arrives, and proceeds to shoot Lucie point-blank...

The story continues now...

Orbis
Written by Alan Barnes and Nicholas Briggs. Directed by Nicholas Briggs.
Starring Paul McGann, Sheridan Smith, Andrew Sachs, Laura Solon.
The Doctor has fallen to his death. His companion, Lucie Miller, has returned to her life on Earth, grief-stricken. Then, one night, an alien visitor arrives at her front door and shoots her. Could it be that Lucie’s days with the Doctor are not over? She will only find the answer on the planet Orbis. A planet where all forms of life are facing violent extinction.

Episode 1 on iPlayer

The Beast of Orlok
Written by Barnaby Edwards. Directed by Barnaby Edwards.
Starring Paul McGann, Sheridan Smith, Miriam Margolyes, Samuel Barnet
Germany, 1827. The town of Orlok is under a curse, haunted by the memory of a spate of grisly murders that shattered the community twenty years before. At the time, townsfolk blamed the legendary Beast of Orlok, a nightmarish creature from medieval folklore. And now, it seems, the Beast has returned. As the killings begin again, the people of Orlok are understandably suspicious of two strangers newly arrived in their midst. The Doctor and Lucie must face their darkest fears as they find themselves plunged into a decidedly grim fairytale.

The Scapegoat
Written by Pat Mills. Directed by Nicholas Briggs.
Starring Paul McGann, Sheridan Smith, Samantha Bond, Clifford Rose, Christopher Fairbank, Paul Rhys.
Oh, but if you think you’ve seen and heard all that Paris by night has to offer... the exotic sights of Le Moulin Rouge, perhaps, or the horror tricks of Le Grand Guignol... if you think nothing could cause your mouth to dry and your heart to pound... you're wrong. Ladies and gentlemen, mesdames et messieurs – not forgetting our honoured guests from the Gestapo – tonight, it is my privilege to present to you the star of the Theatre des Baroque! A man who has died on stage near ten thousand times! The Most Assassinated Man in the World… Max Paul! And joining him, in a playlet we call 'The Executioner's Son' – from Blackpool, England: the enchanting Lucie Miller! Ah, la belle Lucie. She's got no idea what she's let herself in for. Heh. Should you feel faint, or nauseous – never fear. Tonight, we have a Doctor in the house! Just pray he lasts ’til the interval...

The Cannibalists
Written by Jonathan Morris. Directed by Jason Haigh-Ellery.
Starring Paul McGann, Sheridan Smith, Phil Davies, Phill Jupitus, Nigel Lambert.
From their high spire, looking out over silent streets and empty plazas, the Assemblers are waiting for the day when the humans arrive. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting… When the TARDIS brings the Doctor and Lucie to the Haven, it seems like Assemblers’ long wait might be over. Living beings! Without batteries! Protocol be praised! Except – they’re headed for the lower levels. They don’t want to do that. That’s where the Cannibalists live. And if the Cannibalists catch them – well, they won’t be living beings much longer…

The show is currently at 6:30 pm on BBC Radio 4 Extra with repeats at 12:30 AM following after.

For the rest of us, outside the UK, the episodes "air" here.

Further ancillary videos, such as Trailers for the Seasons and fan-made "opening sequences" can be found here:
[HIDE]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJrULosQwZY"]Fan-Made Opening Titles[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab__lQ9FpTI"]Season 3 Trailer[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSdF0_MA4SU"]Season 4 Trailer (Spoilers!)[/ame]
[/HIDE]

EDIT:
The current schedule (as posted on the site, extending to April 13th) is as follows:
[HIDE]-"Orbis" Episode 1
April 4th 2011 at 18:30/6:30 PM (Repeats at 00:30/12:30 AM on April 5th)
1/2. Lucie is kidnapped and the Doctor is living on a watery world under threat.

-"Orbis" Episode 2
April 5th 2011 at 18:30/6:30 PM (Repeats at 00:30/12:30 AM on April 6th)
2/2. Can Lucie restore the Time Lord's memory in time to save the planet from destruction?

-"The Beast of Orlok" Episode 1
April 6th 2011 at 18:30/6:30 PM (Repeats at 00:30/12:30 AM on April 7th)
1/2. In 19th century Germany, the Time Lord finds legends of a vicious beast are all too true.

-"The Beast of Orlok" Episode 2
April 7th 2011 at 18:30/6:30 PM (Repeats at 00:30/12:30 AM on April 8th)
2/2. Can the Time Lord and Lucie stamp out the menace - or will they become its latest meal?

-"The Scapegoat" Episode 1
April 8th 2011 at 18:30/6:30 PM (Repeats at 00:30/12:30 AM on April 9th)
1/2. In Gestapo-run Paris, the Time Lord meets 'The Most Assassinated Man in the World'.

-"The Scapegoat" Episode 2
April 11th 2011 at 18:30/6:30 PM (Repeats at 00:30/12:30 AM on April 12th)
2/2. Can the Time Lord and Lucie avoid a fatal appointment in wartime Paris? .12 Apr 2011

-"The Cannibalists" Episode 1
April 12th 2011 at 18:30/6:30 PM (Repeats at 00:30/12:30 AM on April 13th)
1/2. As robots await new organic life forms, the Doctor and Lucie must evade capture and death.

-"The Cannibalists" Episode 2
April 13th 2011 at 18:30/6:30 PM (Repeats at 00:30/12:30 AM on April 14th)
2/2. As robot Cannibalists overrun Haven, the Doctor and Lucie battle to save the Assemblers.[/HIDE]

Enjoy!

 

[jwk94]

Hey quick question, between what doctors did the whole time war occur?? And by Skaro do you mean the place where the Daleks come from?

 

[scikaiju]

The time war happened in the eighth time period from what most fans had guessed. And yes Skaro is the Daleks homeworld

 

[Skyknight]

RTD originally wanted The Eighth Doctor to regenerate in the comic strip story "The Flood" (Which he stole material from to use in "Parting of the Ways" and "Army of Ghosts"), so they could introduce The Ninth Doctor ahead of time, but Julie Gardener was adamant that The Doctor not have continuity stemming from continuity many people wouldnt know about because of the Magazine comic strip not being a "valid" source, so "The Flood" ended with a homage to Survival and The Doctor's trademark coat being destroyed, implying McGann is the one that initially wears The Ninth Doctor's leather jacket prior to The Time War.

"Rose" implies The Doctor didnt have much of a chance to look in a mirror after his regeneration during the war either.

 

[VengeanceGOD]

It's also entirely possible that the Time War is what caused the regeneration from 8th to 9th.

 

[Skyknight]

Which is exactly what I said ("DURING The War")

Ah, to be a nit-picking S.O.B now that spring is here:buttrock:

 

[scikaiju]

well your one the rest of the year

 

[Silver Wolf]

Part 2 of Orbis is up for viewing.

Can Lucie restore the Time Lord's memory in time to save the planet from destruction?

The next episode will be "The Beast of Orlok:"

In 19th century Germany, the Time Lord finds legends of a vicious beast are all too true.

 

[VengeanceGOD]

Which is exactly what I said ("DURING The War")

Ah, to be a nit-picking S.O.B now that spring is here:buttrock:

Yeah, we posted at about the same time. I was responding to the post above yours.

 

[Silver Wolf]

Here's a "trailer" of sorts, if people want to hear a snippet of things from this season without getting their feet too wet:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab__lQ9FpTI"]Season 3 Trailer[/ame]