Big Finish has revealed details of an upcoming Fifth Doctor Adventures boxset, in which Peter Davison’s incarnation of the Time Lord heads behind the Iron Curtain and straight into the Cold War…
Regular companions Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka) and Sarah Sutton (Nyssa) lead a guest cast including Niky Wardley (returning to the worlds of Doctor Who as Iza, the singer in a Polish punk band), Daniel Easton (as Roman, the bassist), Chris Lew Kum Hoi (as Hao, the drummer), and Ben Porter (as Zastri, an alien in trouble on Earth).
This two-part pseudo-historical, Resistor, by Sarah Grochala, joins Tim Foley’s four-parter, Pursuit of the Nightjar, to complete the boxset release, The Fifth Doctor Adventures: In The Night. Here’s the synopsis:
1. Pursuit of the Nightjar by Tim Foley (4 parts)
The story of the Nightjar has been told for many years. A spaceship helmed by the legendary Captain Goben on a vital mission of mercy, delivering medical supplies to a distant colony in the middle of devastating war, an act of bravery that triggers the end of the conflict.
At her heels throughout the journey, her pursuer, the spaceship Nemesis, helmed by the dogged Captain Eslo, never quite able to catch her target. The Doctor has always wanted to witness these historic events. And now, alongside Nyssa and Tegan, he’s got his chance.
But history might just have other ideas.
2. Resistor by Sarah Grochala (2 parts)
The TARDIS lands in a basement beneath a club in Warsaw in 1982 – which is a bit of a surprise as the Doctor was hoping to take Nyssa and Tegan to Yugoslavia.
But a bigger surprise is yet to come – the band on stage are missing one of their musicians. And getting them through the gig is only the start of the TARDIS crew’s troubles.
Something strange is happening on the streets. Black cars glide through the city, picking off the unwary. Some are driven by the Secret Police… but others… by something very much not of this world.
Writer Sarah Grochala said:
“I really loved writing for the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and Adric for the Forty box set so it was a real pleasure to be asked to write for them again.
“My brief was a contemporary adventure in 1980s Europe, along the lines of Arc of Infinity in terms of setting. My family are Polish and I spent time in Warsaw as a child so I thought it would be interesting to take the TARDIS there, particularly thinking about Tegan’s Eastern European heritage. The story draws on some local urban legends that felt like they might have alien origins.”
Producer David Richardson added:
“This box set release is called In the Night, and in the story Resistor there’s definitely something nasty lurking in the night in Warsaw in 1982. Doctor Who can go anywhere and anywhen, and Sarah explores threats both alien and human in a country living within the Soviet Union – something that is within living memory for some of us!”
The Fifth Doctor Adventures: In The Night, to be released in September 2023, is now available to pre-order for £19.99 (as a CD boxset and download) or £16.99 (digital download only). You can save money by pre-ordering In The Night together with April 2023’s boxset, Conflicts of Interest, in a bundle purchase for £38 (CD and download) or £33 (download only). All the above prices include the special pre-order discount and are subject to change after general release.
