Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

To mark Doctor Who’s 59th birthday, Big Finish invite you to join Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor as he encounters former companions and classic monsters.

The Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) meets the first woman awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and runs into his eighth incarnation’s old friends, Liv Chenka (Nicola Walker) and Tania Bell (Rebecca Root). But first, the Time Lord faces the Sea Devils… in space!

Joining the guest cast is Ted Lasso’s Jeremy Swift, Olivier Award-winner Jamie Parker, BAFTA-nominee Diana Quick, Coronation Street actor Sasha Behar, and Big Finish’s creative director Nicholas Briggs as the Sea Devils.

From a moon with poison seas, to a 19th century health spa, even somewhere as everyday as a furniture store on a Sunday afternoon – there are always hidden depths and unseen dangers to uncover!

The Seas of Titan by Lizbeth Myles 

Out on Saturn’s moon, Titan, an outpost all-but-forgotten by Earth struggles on against the odds. As the Doctor joins explorers deep in the methane seas, they discover a hidden civilisation. But will the Sea Devils prove to be the colony’s salvation or its final destruction?

Lay Down Your Arms by Lisa McMullin 

1864. Instead of relaxing at the Bad Homburg Spa, its visitors are fighting. And Bertha Kinzky, housekeeper to Alfred Nobel, is appalled. Perhaps the mysterious Herr Schmidt can help? Soon, Bertha is contending with aliens, as well as her mother’s matchmaking, as she and the Doctor try to keep the peace.

Flatpack by John Dorney 

Liv Chenka and Tania Bell are spending Sunday afternoon on that most traditional of couple activities. Furniture-shopping! But just how long has London’s newest Flatpack store been open? Who is its mysterious manager? And is it even Sunday? Liv is about to run into a very old friend…

Christopher Eccleston said: “The Seas of Titan was quite surreal to record, even by the standards of Doctor Who. It was a fun atmosphere and I find that laughter between takes drives the work. There’s an injection of adrenaline that you can take into it with a sense of play and fun.

“Lay Down Your Arms is a real ensemble piece, with very cleverly crafted comedic exchanges. It’s very high on the humour with quite a dark heart. I love what Lisa McMullin’s done.

“Flatpack is brilliantly written with the complexity of the science and the cleverness of the idea. It had the Doctor befuddled – which was useful because I was befuddled playing him. It was nice doing something different, though. I really enjoyed it.”

Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Hidden Depths is now available to own for just £24.99 (collector’s edition CD box set + download) or £19.99 (download only).