Main Range/2000

A twelve-story batch in the Main Range audio series was released by Big Finish Productions in 2000.

Overview
This was the first full year of Doctor Who audio releases for Big Finish and saw several firsts.

A number of companions from the television series had their debut in this batch. Nyssa in The Land of the Dead, Ace in The Fearmonger, and Mel in The Fires of Vulcan. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Romana II debuted alongside the Sixth Doctor in The Spectre of Lanyon Moor and The Apocalypse Element respectively with the latter holding the title of President of Gallifrey. In a Big Finish first, Evelyn Smythe debuted in The Marian Conspiracy, becoming the first companion created by the company. Also, in Red Dawn, the TARDIS team of the Fifth Doctor and Peri featured for the first time at Big Finish.

Bev Tarrant first appeared in The Genocide Machine and would go on to be a recurring character in Bernice Summerfield.

Several aliens from the classic series also debuted in this batch: the Daleks in The Genocide Machine, the Ice Warriors in Red Dawn and the Thals in The Mutant Phase.

This batch was also the beginning of the Dalek Empire series with The Genocide Machine, The Apocalypse Element and The Mutant Phase. The Time of the Daleks would conclude the Main Range arc in 2002 and a Dalek Empire spin-off series began in 2001.

This year also featured the first "Side Step" stories into the Virgin New Adventures with The Shadow of the Scourge and The Holy Terror from Doctor Who Magazine's comic stories. The former featured Bernice Summerfield in a Doctor Who audio story (after appearing in her own series) while the latter was the audio debut of Frobisher.

Cast

 * Peter Davison
 * Sylvester McCoy
 * Colin Baker

With

 * Sarah Sutton as Nyssa
 * Sophie Aldred as Ace
 * Maggie Stables as Evelyn
 * Nicola Bryant as Peri
 * Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier
 * Lalla Ward as Romana
 * Bonnie Langford as Mel
 * Lisa Bowerman as Benny
 * Robert Jezek as Frobisher