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

The proposed Sylvester McCoy story Alixion is coming to Big Finish as part of the Lost Stories range.

Alixion is based on a serial that was commissioned in 1989, prior to the show’s cancellation. Its original writer, Robin Mukherjee, went on to have a successful career as a film and TV screenwriter, and now returns to the world of Doctor Who to adapt his story into an audio drama.

Checking into a luxury health spa for a little rest and recreation, the Doctor and Ace find themselves at the mercy of a malign entity that craves the conquest of time and space.

Exploiting their memories and regrets, the queen of the hive, which hides behind the polished walls of the spa, forces them to confront their deepest fears as she steals the Doctor’s life force to spread her powers across the universe.

Shri Patel (This England) guest stars as Colin, a ‘Time Gribble’ who comes to the aid of the Doctor and Ace, and Beverly Longhurst (I May Destroy You) plays spa hostess Mathilda. The cast list also includes Jon Edgley Bond, Ali Bastian, David O’Mahony, and Mathew McQuinn.

Writer Robin Mukherjee said: “The story of Alixion came out of conversations with Andrew Cartmel, supported by John Nathan-Turner, the first producer to offer me a television commission. Up to that point I’d written for theatre and radio, and was just finding my feet in the industry.

“I can vividly remember those cramped rooms in a drab office block on Shepherds Bush Green which became an oasis of creativity, seething with ideas in the company of John, Andrew, Ben [Aaronovitch], Ian [Briggs], Graeme [Curry], Rona [Munro] and others. I felt in awe of these writers and their imagination. We danced through space and time spinning strange and wonderful tales for – in my view – one of the show’s greatest ever Doctor/partner pairings.

“The cancellation of the next series put an end to my commission. But the story has always hovered in the corners of my imagination. Between then and now, I’ve mostly written grounded, realistic dramas, from medical series to arthouse cinema. Being able to launch my creative molecules into the stratosphere has been an immeasurable joy. What surprised me most about writing this was how much story, from all of those conversations, was simply waiting to be told. It feels as if something begun in the tender days of my early work has at last been fulfilled.”

Doctor Who – The Lost Stories: Alixion is now available to pre-order for just £13.99 (download to own) or £16.99 (download to own + collector’s edition 2-disc CD), exclusively from the Big Finish website. Please note: the collector’s edition CD is strictly limited to 1,750 copies and will not be repressed.