Matthew Jacobs, the screenwriter of 1996’s The TV Movie is returning to the world of Doctor Who for an upcoming Eighth Doctor set, the first time he’s penned any Who media since then!
Puccini and the Doctor is written by Jacobs, who was the first person to write for Paul McGann’s Doctor.
It’s part of The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Deadly Strangers, due for release in December 2024, and starring companions, Charley Pollard (India Fisher) and Lady Audacity Montague (Jaye Griffiths). Here’s what to expect:
The Doctor, Audacity and Charley visit many times and places, always with the best of intentions. But others have a different agenda.
An alien princess takes an interest in Puccini, a visitor to Iceland causes chaos, and a lethal interloper slips into the dreams of a sleeping population. Some strangers have deadly intent…
In Jacobs’ story, the TARDIS arrives in Milan at the turn of the twentieth century, where the time travellers encounter legendary opera composer, Giacomo Puccini (voiced by Tim McInnerny, known for Blackadder and Doctor Who: Planet of the Ood). But the Doctor’s not the only alien around with an interest in the music of love.
The three new adventures are:
- Puccini and the Doctor by Matthew Jacobs
- Women’s Day Off by Lisa McMullin
- The Gloaming by Lauren Mooney & Stewart Pringle
Producer David Richardson said:
“How brilliant to have Matthew Jacobs return to the series to write Puccini and the Doctor – a man so dedicated that he woke up at 4am in Los Angeles to listen in to our studio recordings! He’s given us a lovely and imaginative tale, which feels very much in the spirit of the Eighth Doctor TV movie.”
Matthew Jacobs said:
“This is the first time I’ve written a Doctor Who adventure since 1996. The Doctor is such an integral part of my life, so it’s been fascinating over the years to see it grow and grow. Paul has kept the Doctor alive at Big Finish in a marvellous way and he has become so much more sophisticated as a character than when we were starting.
“I was over the moon when script editor Matt Fitton asked me to put together a story. We discussed that this version of Paul’s Doctor is a bit closer to the TV movie Doctor – inquisitive, not as embittered as he gets through the Time War.
“The idea that stuck out was one where I got to deal with some unfinished business from the TV Movie. In the movie, the Doctor says how sad it was that Puccini never got to finish Turandot, and it was the bane of his life towards the end. I wanted to tell a story to do with the nature of how we use music and how we search for love.”
The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Deadly Strangers is now available to pre-order as a 3-disc CD boxset (and download) for £22.99 or as a digital download only (for £18.99).
