The Box of Terrors was a Special Release from The Audio Novels for the 60th Anniversary of Doctor Who.
Based on an idea by Jon Culshaw, (BFX: The Box of Terrors) it was written by Lizzie Hopley and starred the Third Doctor, Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith and Omega, together with numerous other groups and individuals from the TV series and Big Finish audio ranges throughout various decades.
Publisher's summary[]
After being framed for the destruction of an entire civilisation, the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane follow a strange comet to planet Earth.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Doctor and his Sarah Jane are called to an intergalactic emergency: the beacons protecting the 'Sand Box', are failing.
When the TARDIS crashes to earth before his eyes, the Fourth Doctor is reunited with his former self and another Sarah Jane. But are the four of them enough to keep the Sand Box closed and whatever is within from getting out?
Plot[]
to be added
Characters[]
- Third Doctor
- Fourth Doctor
- Sarah Jane Smith
- Omega
- The Master
- Decayed Master
- Borusa
- John Benton
- The Six
more to be added
Crew[]
- Cover Art - Claudia Gironi
- Executive Producer - Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
- Music and Sound Design - Steve Foxon
- Narrator - Jon Culshaw
- Producer - David Richardson
- Script Editor - Roland Moore
- Writer - Lizzie Hopley
- Senior Producer - John Ainsworth
- Omega created by Bob Baker and Dave Martin
Worldbuilding[]
- The Six was removed from the mind of the Eleven. The Time Lords had intended to remove the One.
Notes[]
- The story was recorded on 3-5 April 2023 at Ladbroke Audio.
- The initial idea for the story was put forward by Jon Culshaw, who emailed David Richardson suggesting a story featuring the Third and Fourth Doctors, who had so rarely been teamed up before, to coincide with the 60th Anniversary. Richardson agreed to the idea and approached Lizzie Hopley to write, giving her a "very loose" brief based on Culshaw's idea. (BFX: The Box of Terrors)
- Among other ideas suggested by Culshaw was the inclusion of big cataclysmic villains, of which Omega and Sutekh were the earliest suggestions. Although Omega made it in, Sutekh did not, which Culshaw recalled was due to a rights issue with the character. The Six was used instead. (BFX: The Box of Terrors)
- Culshaw also suggested the story feature two Sarah Janes. At first, there were concerns about the feasibility of translating this clearly to audio, and so alternative companion combinations were considered, such as Leela and Jo. However, Hopley gravitated back to Sarah Jane in the end, and came up with the solution of calling the younger one Sarah and the older one Sarah Jane. Doing this also allowed the Blinovitch Limitation Effect to come into play, in a way different companions would not have allowed for. (BFX: The Box of Terrors)
- Regarding the Master as played by Roger Delgado, Culshaw felt this story was "quite early on" in his "evil career", and that the events go a long way towards "consolidating" his later evil. (BFX: The Box of Terrors)
- Hopley was also requested by Culshaw, during a Zoom meeting, to include a chase scene. Hopley obliged with a car chase, which she opined was her favourite sequence. (BFX: The Box of Terrors)
- Roland Moore expressed his enthusiasm for Big Finish to release a Desert Ogron action figure based on their appearance in this story. (BFX: The Box of Terrors)
Continuity[]
- The Third Doctor previously met Omega and thought him trapped forever in the anti-matter universe. (TV: The Three Doctors [+]Bob Baker and Dave Martin, Doctor Who season 10 (BBC1, 1972-1973).).
- Sarah and the Third Doctor recall their first meeting. (TV: The Time Warrior [+]Robert Holmes, Doctor Who season 11 (BBC1, 1973-1974).)
- Sarah Jane remembers witnessing the Third Doctor's regeneration into the Fourth. (TV: Planet of the Spiders [+]Robert Sloman, Doctor Who season 11 (BBC1, 1974)., Robot [+]Terrance Dicks, Doctor Who season 12 (BBC1, 1974-1975).)
- Much later, the Third Doctor seemed aware his successive incarnation would be one of "teeth and curls". (TV: The Five Doctors [+]Terrance Dicks, Doctor Who 20th Anniversary Special (Public Broadcasting Service, 1983).) Jo Grant was earlier able to describe this to him when she briefly saw the Fourth Doctor as the Third underwent an aborted regeneration. (PROSE: The Touch of the Nurazh [+]Stephen Hatcher, Short Trips: Monsters (Short Trips short stories, 2004).)
- The Rocket Men return, as does the reoccurring phrase from their stories, "When do you know?" (AUDIO: The Rocket Men [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW., Return of the Rocket Men [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW., Requiem for the Rocket Men [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW., The Two Masters [+]John Dorney, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2016)., The Split Infinitive [+]John Dorney, The Legacy of Time (Big Finish Productions, 2019).)
- The Master and the Doctors are aware of the Eleven. (AUDIO: Day of the Master, The Dreams of Avarice, Two's Company)
External links[]
- Official The Box of Terrors page at bigfinish.com
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg){kind=link}