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

There’s a rescue mission in the Second World War ahead for the Third Doctor, Sarah and the Brigadier this October.

Tim Treloar writes and stars alongside Sadie Miller in The Third Doctor Adventures: Operation: Vengeance.

The six-part story teams the Doctor (Tim Treloar) with Sarah Jane Smith (Sadie Miller) and the Brigadier (Jon Culshaw) – with a bonus appearance from Jo Jones, née Grant (Katy Manning).

When the Doctor takes Sarah Jane to a planet he’d previously visited with Jo, he finds the consequences of his first trip there have put him and his friends in danger. A villain wants revenge, and plans to wipe Jo Grant out of existence – by targeting her father.

To stop this plan, the Doctor and Sarah – with the Brigadier in tow – must travel to Dunkirk, 1940, where Terry Grant (Max Bowden) is serving his country, unaware of the extraterrestrial threat circling him.

The Doctor makes an unexpected return trip to the planet Konzomia, this time with Sarah Jane Smith. The traumas of his previous visit, with Jo Grant, are apparently long forgotten.

Except that they are not…

Can a long-defeated danger be rearing up again? And will the plight of a young British soldier, retreating to Dunkirk in 1940, be the catalyst for the unravelling of history?

The Doctor, Sarah and the Brigadier must embark upon a mission of mercy, with Jo Grant at its very heart.

The script is co-written by Tim Treloar (who has been starring as the Third Doctor since 2013 and here makes his Big Finish writing debut) and Nicholas Briggs. Treloar said: “History is one of my passions, and particularly the history of the Second World War. Even though the Dunkirk evacuation is one of the most famous parts of the war, the rearguard – the soldiers left behind to shield the retreating British forces – is a not-often-told story.

“It was lovely working with Nick as a co-writer. I pitched the story to him, and he said, go on then, write something. I ended up writing all six episodes, and then giving it to him. And so Nick took my script away, shaved off a lot of my waffling, and turned it into a brilliant Doctor Who story. He’s added a heck of a lot to it, and it has been a rewarding experience for me.”

Producer Heather Challands added: “This story spans times, places and planets! The Doctor, Sarah Jane and the Brigadier go back to World War Two in order to save Jo Grant’s father from a villain hellbent on revenge! He wants to wipe out every chance of Jo Grant existing… but is there something else he wants as well?

“As soon as Nick and Tim told me the pitch, I was hooked. It feels like it’s exactly what Doctor Who should be doing: educating about real-life events and people as well as showing a human heart, with some added aliens on the side. It’s epic in scale and made for a raucous and busy time in the studio – just how I like it.”

Doctor Who – The Third Doctor Adventures: Operation: Vengeance is now available to pre-order from just £19.99 (download to own) or £24.99 (download to own + collector’s edition CD box set), exclusively from http://www.bigfinish.com.