Big Finish is celebrating 60 years of Peter Purves’ debut as First Doctor companion, Steven Taylor, by giving fans two free audio adventures starring the space pilot.
Though originally appearing in 1965’s The Chase, Peter Purves has regularly reprised his role for Big Finish since 2007, so to celebrate, Big Finish is giving listeners two new 40-minute stories to enjoy — completely free!
The two stories, both from writer Jacqueline Rayner, are:
A Forest of All Seasons
The Doctor, Steven, and Vicki arrive in a strange forest where time seems to stand still. When Vicki disappears, Steven must confront a baffling mystery involving an alternate version of himself and the inhabitants of a village trapped in an endless cycle.
The Doctor’s Gambit
On an alien world, the Doctor, Steven and Dodo are drawn into a mysterious contest. With lives at stake and a hidden enemy in control, every move could be their last in the deadly game.
Peter Purves said:
“It’s always a pleasure to be able to get into a recording studio and do some of these Big Finish recordings. It’s now 60 years, almost to the day, that I first appeared in Doctor Who, and 60 years is a very long time!
“I like both these Short Trips. It was an extremely generous idea of Jacqueline when she wrote it to explore Steven’s romantic side. It’s an aspect of Steven that hasn’t been shown before.”
Writer Jacqueline Rayner added:
“I love the character of Steven. Even when he was fitted into not-quite-Steven-shaped holes in the scripts in the 1960s, Peter Purves made him a distinctive and very human – and realistically flawed – character. I hoped to create a few places where he could show that humanity.
“It’s a great joy that Peter is still bringing Steven alive and still finding new depths in him all these years later – it’s a great testament to him as an actor.”
Short Trips: A Feast of Steven is out now, containing both stories.
