As I’m sure you know, I am a fan of a show called Doctor Who. It has been on TV more or less since the mid 60’s so there’s a lot for the dedicated fan to absorb. As much as I enjoy the show, I think I enjoy the audio plays more.
Yes yes, I know, they aren’t “canonical” in the sense that they don’t fit into the show’s continuity, but both Big Finish and Broken Sea are making things that are worth listening to. The Big Finish productions have an edge since they get a lot of the original actors to play their parts in the audio dramas. Of course, they also cost money, unlike the Broken Sea productions. Broken Sea looks like it’s a real labor of love. In addition to Doctor Who, they also do fan fiction based on some other series like Battlestar Galactica, Planet of the Apes, and Logan’s Run(!).
So they are done well, and they are a lot of fun. Some are done well enough that I have false memories of watching them! This may come across as a bit heretical to die hard Who fans, but if your only experience of the Doctor Who series is the “new” one that started in 2001, you might want to stick with these audio plays instead of delving into the archives of the TV show. Let’s face it, a lot, arguably most, of the older shows really weren’t all that good. Even supposed “classics” like “The Pirate Planet” really suffer in comparison to the quality of the newer shows. It isn’t just the effects either, although those are uniformly laughable. The quality of the acting is pretty bad, and the writing varies from decent to stunningly bad. It has it’s own charm, in an older, BBC kind of way, and die hard fans will want to experience all of the enemies that the Doc has faced throughout the years. If you enjoy the current series and want more enjoyable stories, the audio plays are the way to go. Check them out!