Two fan-favourite Doctor Who audio dramas from Big Finish are making their way onto vinyl – both strictly limited to 500 pressings each and with brand new, stunning covers.
October sees the release of The Chimes of Midnight, the Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard story by Dalek (2005) writer, Rob Shearman. It’s a brilliant timey-wimey production, and with masterful sound design, originally released in February 2002. The 29th title in their Main Range, the final CD copies shipped a few years ago, so it’s otherwise only available as a £2.99 download. Here’s the synopsis, in case you’ve not heard it yet:
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house not a creature was stirring…
But something must be stirring. Something hidden in the shadows. Something which kills the servants of an old Edwardian mansion in the most brutal and macabre manner possible. Exactly on the chiming of the hour, every hour, as the grandfather clock ticks on towards midnight.
Trapped and afraid, the Doctor and Charley are forced to play detective to murders with no motive, where even the victims don’t stay dead. Time is running out.
And time itself might well be the killer…
If you’re invested in the LP line, you’ll have to wait until April 2017 for Spare Parts, the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa story that acted as “Genesis of the Cybermen.”
Yep, if you’re a fan of those early beautiful Cybermen from The Tenth Planet (1966), this is the story for you:
Dark, moving and terrifying…
On a dark frozen planet where no planet should be, in a doomed city with a sky of stone, the last denizens of Earth’s long-lost twin will pay any price to survive, even if the laser scalpels cost them their love and hate and humanity.
And in the mat-infested streets, around tea-time, the Doctor and Nyssa unearth a black market in second-hand body parts and run the gauntlet of augmented police and their augmented horses.
And just between the tramstop and the picturehouse, their worst suspicions are confirmed: the Cybermen have only just begun, and the Doctor will be, just as he always has been, their saviour…
Written by Marc Platt (Ghost Light), the audio is inspiration for 2006’s Rise of the Cybermen/ The Age of Steel. The original CD copies of this are also out of stock, so you can get it for £2.99, download only.
The previous LP from Big Finish was 2013’s 50th anniversary special, The Light at the End, and it’s great to hear the company’s returning to that arena imminently.
Naturally, you’d expect to pay more for vinyls, so deep breath, everyone… Each LP will cost £79. To be honest, I expected worse. That’s not too bad a price for rare vinyls these days – just look how much money Record Store Day rakes in!
As I said, these stories are very dear to a lot of people. Add in two of the best covers to come from Big Finish – perhaps ever – and you’ve got some very enticing releases…
