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

Miriam Margolyes returns to Doctor Who in the new Big Finish set Classic Doctors, New Monsters volume 5, out next year.

In two of these stories, the Second and Seventh Doctors will meet the brutal Krillitane. The two other stories will feature an encounter between the Fourth Doctor and the Lupari (from 2021’s Flux), and a very unusual meeting between the Eighth Doctor and the Monks (who debuted on television in the 2017 story, Extremis).

The Dying Breed stars Tom Baker, Louise Jameson and John Leeson as the Doctor, Leela and K9, and guest stars the BAFTA-winning actress Miriam Margolyes (recently heard as the voice of the Meep in Doctor Who TV special, The Star Beast) as a Lupari soothsayer.

And, alongside Paul McGann as the Doctor, Five Hundred Ways to Leave Your Lover stars Charlie Condou (Coronation Street, Holby City) as Chris and Andrew Hayden-Smith (Hollyoaks, Doctor Who: Rise of the Cybermen) as Mark. Timothy Bentinck reprises the role of the Monks, having voiced them in their original TV episodes.

The Krillitane Feint stars Michael Troughton, Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury as the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe. The Krillitane Relic stars Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and Sara Griffiths as Ray, alongside Sheila Hancock and Colin MacFarlane.

The Krillitane Feint by John Dorney

The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe to a planet where a secure research base is conducting disturbing experiments. A group of captive Krillitane are test subjects for a military power, keen to understand the species’ unique abilities. But who are the real monsters here…?

The Dying Breed by Tim Foley

When the Doctor, Leela and K9 land on the Lupari homeworld tracking a temporal anomaly, they find a kingdom in disarray. The Great Lord Garzan’s son has been attacked, and strange beasts roam the frozen landscape. Whilst Leela spars with the new heir, the Doctor and K9 must work out how all these strange events are connected. Little do they know that their discoveries will shake the Lupari to their core…

The Krillitane Relic by John Dorney

The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Ray to a space station cryogenic facility, where interplanetary VIPs are stored pending medical cures. There is a familiar face here too – someone the Doctor remembers, but who does not remember him…

Five Hundred Ways to Leave Your Lover by Tim Foley

Chris is on a date. But it isn’t working out. Perhaps he’ll end it over dinner. Or on a cruise. Or in a lunar spa. But who are these figures in red? And why are they so invested in his relationship? All of reality might be at stake, and the Monks will pursue Chris wherever he goes – but as long as he manages to break up with his boyfriend, the Doctor, everything might be saved…

Writer Tim Foley said: “My two stories in this box set couldn’t be more different. It was so fun writing for the Lupari. We get to visit their homeland and meet them at a much earlier point of their development. It’s a medieval epic, with a fun role for K9 and new lore that got the approval of Chris Chibnall.

“The Monks are such a mysterious race, so of course the best way to explore them further is in a screwball comedy. This is a gay romcom with the Eighth Doctor, and I can’t wait to hear what people make of it. You’re all invited to the wedding.”