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

The next set of adventures for Tom Baker’s 4th Doctor and Sadie Miller’s Sarah from Big Finish sees them back off Earth and forward in time for more adventures set during Season 13.

Lethal Progress, a box set of three full-cast audio adventures, is due for release June 2026.

The Doctor takes the TARDIS into the future where many great scientific leaps are taking place. But every new advance has its risks – and some of these risks are deadlier than others.

A British space expedition encounters a mysterious village, a pioneering hyperspace journey leads to a race to avert disaster, and Sarah finds herself in one of her most terrifying experiences yet – having to perform onstage!

The Doctor’s three new trips in time are:

Green and Pleasant Planet by Tim Foley

The Doctor and Sarah find themselves exploring an alien world alongside a British space expedition. It’s never been visited before… so what’s a model village doing on the surface of the planet?

 Finding the answer may prove deadly.

The Continuum by John Dorney

The Doctor and Sarah land on the space-station Daedalus on the day it makes history.

The first journey through hyperspace has just been completed. But it hasn’t gone as smoothly as posterity suggests.

 Something terrible is happening – and the clock is ticking down.

The Audience by Lizzie Hopley

A cultural festival on Gakoria should be light relief for the TARDIS crew.

 But when one of the cast of a play dies, Sarah has to join the troupe. And the Audience on this world are very demanding.

 Because on this planet… the play’s the thing.

The guest cast of Lethal Progress includes Jake Wardle (Twin Peaks), Alexander Cobb (Marvel’s Moon Knight), and Esther Coles (Enola Holmes), plus further names to be announced.

Producer David Richardson said: “The Doctor and Sarah Jane head out among the stars… and they’re indomitable! After the cosily Earth-bound Ministry of Death, the travellers visit other worlds and other times in Lethal Progress, which, as the title might suggest, finds that scientific advancement doesn’t always benefit the human race. Expect three imaginative and thrilling adventures from the minds of the brilliant Tim Foley, John Dorney and Lizzie Hopley!”

Writer John Dorney explained his episode: “I came into this story wanting to write something with a bit of horror but in a science fiction way. I was looking at different fictions for inspiration, like The Great God Pan and Event Horizon. Then I began to think about doing the whole thing as one long continuous scene; we’ve had a few ‘single take’ films like that in recent years, and I was curious to see what that would bring to a Doctor Who story.”

And, the third episode’s writer Lizzie Hopley said: “Everyone says write what you know, so with this story, as I started off as an actress, I wanted to write something about that process in an alien environment. I’ve had some nightmare audiences, so this is basically a nightmare. I had to tone down the horror!”

Doctor Who – The Fourth Doctor Adventures: Lethal Progress is now available to pre-order for just £19.99 (download to own) or £24.99 (download to own + collector’s edition 3-disc CD box set) exclusively at http://www.bigfinish.com.