The Companion Chronicles

The Companion Chronicles was a Big Finish Productions audio series that ran for eighty monthly releases across eight series between 2007 and 2014, before relaunching with yearly box set releases thereafter.
The general, but not invariable, ambition of the series was to tell stories using the companions of the first four Doctors. The typical release in the range used just two actors, a musical score, some foley work and sound design — meaning that the end result sat somewhere between an audio book and a full-cast drama.
== Overview ==
=== Concept ===
Originally, the concept was to produce talking books featuring the companions of the first four incarnations of the Doctor who were unavailable to take part in the main range. While the range has remained primarily focused on companions who appeared earlier than Season 19, most releases in the range have not been true "talking books". In fact, all but one release — The Stealers from Saiph — use the convention of at least two characters in conversation with each other. Most have a sound design worthy of any title in the main range. On rare occasions, the range has moved away from its titular concern and featured characters who are more commonly considered "prominent guest stars" or "allies", such as King Peladon and Henry Gordon Jago.
=== Format and structure ===
In general, Companion Chronicles have a fairly standard format. They are usually two, approximately 25 minute long episodes divided by a single cliffhanger, barring special double length releases released regularly each season from the fourth onwards. The part of the story that has to do with the Doctor is almost always told in flashback, as a recollection of a past adventure. Thus, the central character of the piece (i.e., the companion) is often depicted in two time periods. That is, there is typically an "older" version of the companion who recounts the adventure with the Doctor, and the "younger" version of the character, who is as he or she appeared on television.
The actor not portraying a companion is used in a variety of ways to allow stories in the range to have markedly different structures. Some common narrative uses for the second actor are:
* to voice a character trying to get the companion to recollect his or her past, as in Ringpullworld
* to voice a friend of the companion, as in The Transit of Venus
* to voice the principal adversary, as with Fear of the Daleks
Sometimes, the interrogator is revealed to be the principal adversary, as in Mother Russia or Frostfire; sometimes the listener knows the interrogator is the adversary right from the start, as with The Catalyst. In any case, the relationship between ex-companion and interrogator is usually a pretty obvious "framing device", which takes up a clear minority of the runtime of the release. However, in a few rare cases, as with the Home Truths trilogy, the interrogator is a co-star equal with the featured character and is given a a proper story with the "present day" companion woven into the companion's recollections of the Doctor's TARDIS.
The 2011 release Tales from the Vault was a departure from the "enhanced audiobook" format, being effectively a straight audio drama (albeit still one with a limited cast) that incorporated interviews with various companions.
=== Continuity ===
A few of the plays tie in to others in the Big Finish Doctor Who range. The Darkening Eye is a prequel to The Death Collectors; Night's Black Agents explicitly occurs between City of Spires and The Wreck of the Titan; the Leela trilogy which begins with The Catalyst relies to some degree on the listener's knowledge of the Gallifrey audio series; and The Prisoner's Dilemma occupies a complicated narrative space, tying together the Virgin New Adventures with Big Finish's Key 2 Time series.
All the plays add to the their main characters' televised continuities. Some detail an adventure that adds little to their lives; for instance, Mother Russia gives Steven an adventure in Napoleonic Russia between the main narrative of The Gunfighters and its conclusory scenes, which lead into The Savages. Even the interchange with his interrogator is set within the main story. Thus, Steven gains merely another adventure that fits neatly in his established, televised timeline.
By contrast, other plays expand greatly on the known fates of their principal character/s. For instance, the trilogy of stories featuring Sara Kingdom, the main narratives of which take place between episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan, reveals that she had other adventures with Steven and the Doctor besides the quest for taranium which was the central plot of her televised adventure. More significantly, the trilogy also gives Sara, or at least her consciousness, a thousand-year-lifespan, a way to have met a different incarnation of the Doctor and thus a second chance to travel in the TARDIS.
Most plays settle somewhere between these two extremes. Thanks in part to the typical interrogative "framing device", most of the plays reveal something about the lives of the Doctor's companions after leaving him. In the very first Companion Chronicle, for instance, Vicki is shown to have remained with Troilus and to have had a large family. Equally, the series shows that Susan Foreman stayed with David Campbell, Jo Jones continued her globe-trotting life with Dr. Clifford Jones and Victoria settled down to raise a family.
== Stories ==
=== Series 1 ===
# 	Title 	Author 	Performer 	Doctor	Featuring 	Released
1.1	Frostfire 	Marc Platt 	Maureen O'Brien	1st 	Vicki, Steven 	February 2007
1.2	Fear of the Daleks 	Patrick Chapman	Wendy Padbury 	2nd 	Zoe, Jamie, Daleks 	February 2007
1.3	The Blue Tooth 	Nigel Fairs 	Caroline John 	3rd 	Liz, the Brig, Yates, Benton, Cybermen	February 2007
1.4	The Beautiful People	Jonathan Morris	Lalla Ward 	4th 	Romana II, K9 	February 2007
=== Series 2 ===
# 	Title 	Author 	Performer 	Doctor	Featuring 	Released
2.1	Mother Russia	Marc Platt 	Peter Purves 	1st 	Steven, Dodo	October 2007
2.2	Helicon Prime	Jake Elliott 	Frazer Hines 	2nd 	Jamie 	November 2007
2.3	Old Soldiers 	James Swallow	Nicholas Courtney	3rd 	The Brig 	7 December 2007
2.4	The Catalyst 	Nigel Fairs 	Louise Jameson 	4th 	Leela 	January 2008
=== Series 3 ===
# 	Title 	Author 	Performer 	Doctor	Featuring 	Released
3.1 	Here There Be Monsters 	Andy Lane 	Carole Ann Ford 	1st 	Susan, Ian, Barbara 	July 2008
3.2 	The Great Space Elevator	Jonathan Morris 	Deborah Watling 	2nd 	Victoria, Jamie 	August 2008
3.3 	The Doll of Death 	Marc Platt 	Katy Manning 	3rd 	Jo, the Brig, Yates, Benton 	September 2008
3.4 	Empathy Games 	Nigel Fairs 	Louise Jameson 	4th 	Leela 	October 2008
3.5 	Home Truths 	Simon Guerrier 	Jean Marsh 	1st 	Sara, Steven, Robert 	November 2008
3.6 	The Darkening Eye 	Stewart Sheargold	Sarah Sutton 	5th 	Nyssa, Adric, Tegan, Dar Traders	December 2008
3.7 	The Transit of Venus 	Jacqueline Rayner	William Russell 	1st 	Ian, Barbara, Susan 	January 2009
3.8 	The Prisoner's Dilemma 	Simon Guerrier 	Sophie Aldred, Laura Doddington 	7th 	Ace, Zara 	February 2009
3.9 	Resistance 	Steve Lyons 	Anneke Wills 	2nd 	Polly, Ben, Jamie 	March 2009
3.10	The Magician's Oath 	Scott Handcock 	Richard Franklin 	3rd 	Yates, Jo, the Brig, Benton 	April 2009
3.11	The Mahogany Murderers 	Andy Lane 	Christopher Benjamin, Trevor Baxter	None 	Jago & Litefoot, Dr Tulp 	May 2009
3.12	The Stealers from Saiph 	Nigel Robinson 	Mary Tamm 	4th 	Romana I 	June 2009
=== Series 4 ===
# 	Title 	Author 	Performer 	Doctor	Featuring 	Released
4.1 	The Drowned World 	Simon Guerrier 	Jean Marsh 	1st 	Sara, Steven, Robert 	July 2009
4.2 	The Glorious Revolution 	Jonathan Morris 	Frazer Hines 	2nd 	Jamie, Zoe 	August 2009
4.3 	The Prisoner of Peladon 	Cavan Scott & Mark Wright	David Troughton 	3rd 	King Peladon, Alpha Centauri, Ice Warriors	September 2009
4.4 	The Pyralis Effect 	George Mann 	Lalla Ward 	4th 	Romana II 	October 2009
4.5 	Ringpullworld 	Paul Magrs 	Mark Strickson 	5th 	Turlough, Tegan, Huxley 	12 November 2009
4.6 	Bernice Summerfield and the Criminal Code	Eddie Robson 	Lisa Bowerman 	7th 	Bernice 	31 January 2010
4.7 	The Suffering 	Jacqueline Rayner 	Peter Purves & Maureen O'Brien	1st 	Vicki, Steven 	February 2010
4.8 	The Emperor of Eternity 	Nigel Robinson 	Deborah Watling & Frazer Hines	2nd 	Jamie, Victoria 	March 2010
4.9 	Shadow of the Past 	Simon Guerrier 	Caroline John 	3rd 	Liz, the Brig, Yates, the Mim 	30 April 2010
4.10	The Time Vampire 	Nigel Fairs 	Louise Jameson & John Leeson 	4th 	Leela, K9 	31 May 2010
4.11	Night's Black Agents 	Marty Ross 	Frazer Hines 	6th 	"Jamie" 	May 2010
4.12	Solitaire 	John Dorney 	India Fisher 	8th 	Charley, Celestial Toymaker 	June 2010
=== Series 5 ===
# 	Title 	Author 	Performer 	Doctor 	Featuring 	Released
5.1 	The Guardian of the Solar System	Simon Guerrier 	Jean Marsh 	1st 	Sara, Steven, Bret, Mavic Chen, Robert 	July 2010
5.2 	Echoes of Grey 	John Dorney 	Wendy Padbury 	2nd 	Zoe, Jamie, The Company 	August 2010
5.3 	Find and Replace 	Paul Magrs 	Katy Manning 	3rd 	Jo, Iris Wildthyme, Huxley, the Brig, Benton	30 September 2010
5.4 	The Invasion of E-Space 	Andrew Smith 	Lalla Ward 	4th 	Romana II, Adric 	31 October 2010
5.5 	A Town Called Fortune 	Paul Sutton 	Maggie Stables 	6th 	Evelyn 	November 2010
5.6 	Quinnis 	Marc Platt 	Carole Ann Ford 	1st 	Susan 	23 December 2010
5.7 	Peri and the Piscon Paradox 	Nev Fountain 	Nicola Bryant, Colin Baker	5th, 6th	Peri 	January 2011
5.8 	The Perpetual Bond 	Simon Guerrier 	Peter Purves, Tom Allen 	1st 	Steven, Oliver 	February 2011
5.9 	The Forbidden Time 	David Lock 	Anneke Wills, Frazer Hines	2nd 	Polly, Ben, Jamie 	March 2011
5.10	The Sentinels of the New Dawn 	Paul Finch 	Caroline John 	3rd 	Liz 	April 2011
5.11	Ferril's Folly 	Peter Anghelides	Mary Tamm 	4th 	Romana I 	May 2011
5.12	The Cold Equations 	Simon Guerrier 	Peter Purves, Tom Allen 	1st 	Steven, Oliver 	June 2011
=== Series 6 ===
# 	Title 	Author 	Performer 	Doctor 	Featuring 	Released
6.1 	Tales from the Vault 	Jonathan Morris 	Daphne Ashbrook, Yee Jee Tso, Peter Purves, Wendy Padbury, Katy Manning, Mary Tamm	1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th	Matheson, Sato, Steven, Dodo, Zoe, Jamie, Jo, Romana I	July 2011
6.2 	The Rocket Men 	John Dorney 	William Russell 	1st 	Ian, Barbara, Vicki, Rocket Men 	10 August 2011
6.3 	The Memory Cheats 	Simon Guerrier 	Wendy Padbury 	2nd 	Zoe, Jamie, The Company 	September 2011
6.4 	The Many Deaths of Jo Grant 	Cavan Scott & Mark Wright	Katy Manning 	3rd 	Jo 	October 2011
6.5 	The First Wave 	Simon Guerrier 	Peter Purves & Tom Allen 	1st 	Steven, Oliver, Vardans 	8 November 2011
6.6 	Beyond the Ultimate Adventure	Terrance Dicks 	Colin Baker, Claire Huckle, Noel Sullivan 	6th 	Crystal, Jason 	December 2011
6.7 	The Anachronauts 	Simon Guerrier 	Jean Marsh & Peter Purves 	1st 	Steven, Sara 	January 2012
6.8 	The Selachian Gambit 	Steve Lyons 	Frazer Hines & Anneke Wills 	2nd 	Jamie, Polly, Ben, Selachians 	February 2012
6.9 	Binary 	Eddie Robson 	Caroline John 	3rd 	Liz 	March 2012
6.10	The Wanderer 	Richard Dinnick 	William Russell 	1st 	Ian, Susan, Barbara 	18 April 2012
6.11	The Jigsaw War 	Eddie Robson 	Frazer Hines 	2nd 	Jamie, Zoe 	May 2012
6.12	The Rings of Ikiria 	Richard Dinnick 	Richard Franklin 	3rd 	Yates, the Brig, Benton 	June 2012
=== Series 7 ===
# 	Title 	Author 	Performer 	Doctor	Featuring 	Released
7.1 	The Time Museum 	James Goss 	William Russell 	1st 	Ian 	23 July 2012
7.2 	The Uncertainty Principle	Simon Guerrier 	Wendy Padbury 	2nd 	Zoe, Jamie, The Company 	August 2012
7.3 	Project: Nirvana 	Cavan Scott, Mark Wright 	Maggie O'Neill, Amy Pemberton, Sylvester McCoy	7th 	Lysandra, Sally, Elder God 	19 September 2012
7.4 	The Last Post 	James Goss 	Caroline John, Rowena Cooper 	3rd 	Liz, Emily, the Brig 	25 October 2012
7.5 	Return of the Rocket Men 	Matt Fitton 	Peter Purves 	1st 	Steven, Dodo, Rocket Men 	10 November 2012
7.6 	The Child 	Nigel Fairs 	Louise Jameson 	4th 	Leela 	20 December 2012
7.7 	The Flames of Cadiz 	Marc Platt 	William Russell, Carole Ann Ford 	1st 	Ian, Susan, Barbara 	9 January 2013
7.8 	House of Cards 	Steve Lyons 	Anneke Wills, Frazer Hines 	2nd 	Polly, Jamie, Ben, Sidewinder Syndicate	6 February 2013
7.9 	The Scorchies 	James Goss 	Katy Manning 	3rd 	Jo, the Brig, Scorchies 	7 March 2013
7.10	The Library of Alexandria	Simon Guerrier 	William Russell 	1st 	Ian, Barbara, Susan, The Mim 	10 April 2013
7.11	The Apocalypse Mirror 	Eddie Robson 	Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury 	2nd 	Jamie, Zoe 	8 May 2013
7.12	Council of War 	Simon Barnard, Paul Morris	John Levene 	3rd 	Benton, the Brig 	11 June 2013
=== Series 8 ===
# 	Title 	Author 	Performer 	Doctor	Featuring 	Released
8.1 	Mastermind 	Jonathan Morris 	Geoffrey Beevers, Daphne Ashbrook, Yee Jee Tso	 	The Master, Matheson, Sato 	10 July 2013
8.2 	The Alchemists 	Ian Potter 	Carole Ann Ford 	1st 	Susan 	August 2013
8.3 	Upstairs 	Mat Coward 	Maureen O'Brien, Peter Purves 	1st 	Vicki, Steven 	12 September 2013
8.4 	Ghost in the Machine 	Jonathan Morris 	Katy Manning 	3rd 	Jo 	11 October 2013
8.5 	The Beginning 	Marc Platt 	Carole Ann Ford 	1st 	Susan, Stoyn 	15 November 2013
8.6 	The Dying Light 	Nick Wallace 	Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury 	2nd 	Jamie, Zoe, Stoyn 	19 December 2013
8.7 	Luna Romana 	Matt Fitton 	Lalla Ward, Juliet Landau 	4th 	Romana I, Romana II, Romana III, Stoyn	17 January 2014
8.8 	The Sleeping City 	Ian Potter 	William Russell 	1st 	Ian, Barbara, Vicki 	13 February 2014
8.9 	Starborn 	Jacqueline Rayner	Maureen O'Brien 	1st 	Ian, Barbara, Vicki 	13 March 2014
8.10	The War To End All Wars	Simon Guerrier 	Peter Purves 	1st 	Steven, Dodo, Sida 	9 April 2014
8.11	The Elixir of Doom 	Paul Magrs 	Katy Manning 	8th 	Jo, Iris Wildthyme 	16 May 2014
8.12	Second Chances 	John Dorney 	Wendy Padbury 	2nd 	Zoe, Jamie, The Company 	17 June 2014
=== The First Doctor: Volume One ===
# 	Title 	Author 	Performer 	Doctor	Featuring 	Released
9.1	The Sleeping Blood 	Martin Day 	Carole Ann Ford	1st 	Susan 	3 June 2015
9.2	The Unwinding World 	Ian Potter 	Maureen O'Brien	1st 	Vicki, Ian, Barbara 	3 June 2015
9.3	The Founding Fathers	Simon Guerrier	Peter Purves 	1st 	Steven, Vicki, 1st Doctor's mind copy, Sida 	3 June 2015
9.4	The Locked Room 	Simon Guerrier	Peter Purves 	1st 	Steven, 1st Doctor's mind copy, Sida, Vardan	3 June 2015
=== The Second Doctor: Volume One ===
# 	Title 	Author 	Performer 	Doctor	Featuring 	Released
10.1	The Mouthless Dead 	John Pritchard	Frazer Hines, Anneke Wills, Elliot Chapman	2nd 	Jamie, Polly, Ben	23 June 2016
10.2	The Story of Extinction	Ian Atkins 	Frazer Hines, Deborah Watling 	2nd 	Jamie, Victoria 	23 June 2016
10.3	The Integral 	David Bartlett	Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury 	2nd 	Jamie, Zoe 	23 June 2016
10.4	The Edge 	Rob Nisbet 	Frazer Hines 	2nd 	Jamie, Zoe 	23 June 2016
=== The First Doctor: Volume Two ===
# 	Title 	Author 	Performer 	Doctor	Featuring 	Released
11.1	Fields of Terror 	John Pritchard	Maureen O'Brien 	1st 	Steven, Vicki 	15 June 2017
11.2	Across the Darkened City 	David Bartlett	Peter Purves 	1st 	Steven, Vicki, Daleks	15 June 2017
11.3	The Bonfires of the Vanities	Una McCormack 	Anneke Wills, Elliot Chapman	1st 	Polly, Ben 	15 June 2017
11.4	The Plague of Dreams 	Guy Adams 	Anneke Wills, Elliot Chapman	1st 	Polly, Ben 	15 June 2017
=== The Second Doctor: Volume Two ===
# 	Title 	Author 	Performer 	Doctor	Featuring 	Released
12.1	The Curator's Egg 	Julian Richards	Anneke Wills 	2nd 	Polly, Ben 	20 June 2018
12.2	Dumb Waiter 	Rob Nisbet 	Frazer Hines, Louise Jameson	2nd 	Jamie, Victoria, Leela	20 June 2018
12.3	The Iron Maid 	John Pritchard 	Wendy Padbury 	2nd 	Jamie, Zoe 	20 June 2018
12.4	The Tactics of Defeat	Tony Jones 	Wendy Padbury 	2nd 	Jamie, Zoe, Ruth 	20 June 2018
=== The First Doctor: Volume Three ===
# 	Title 	Author 	Performer 	Doctor	Featuring 	Released
13.1	E is for... 	Julian Richards 	Carole Ann Ford	1st 	Susan, Ian, Barbara	18 September 2019
13.2	Daybreak 	John Pritchard 	Maureen O'Brien	1st 	Ian, Barbara, Vicki	18 September 2019
13.3	The Vardan Invasion of Mirth	Paul Morris, Ian Atkins	Peter Purves 	1st 	Steven, Vardans 	18 September 2019
13.4	The Crumbling Magician 	Guy Adams 	Anneke Wills 	1st 	Ben, Polly 	18 September 2019
=== The Second Doctor: Volume Three ===
# 	Title 	Author 	Performer 	Doctor	Featuring 	Released
14.1	The Death of the Daleks	George Mann 	Frazer Hines 	2nd 	Jamie, Daleks 	26 April 2022
14.2	The Phantom Piper 	Martin Day 	Frazer Hines 	2nd 	Jamie 	26 April 2022
14.3	The Prints of Denmark 	Paul Morris 	Wendy Padbury, Rufus Hound	2nd 	Jamie, Zoe, The Monk	26 April 2022
14.4	The Deepest Tragedian 	Penelope Faith	Wendy Padbury 	2nd 	Jamie, Zoe 	26 April 2022
=== Special releases ===
Title 	Author 	Performer 	Doctor 	Featuring 	Released
The Three Companions	Marc Platt 	Anneke Wills, Nicholas Courtney, John Pickard	2nd, 3rd	Polly, the Brig, Brewster, Ben, Jamie	April 2009 - February 2010Serialised over 12 chapters beginning with AUDIO: The Magic Mousetrap in April 2009
The Mists of Time 	Jonathan Morris	Katy Manning 	3rd 	Jo 	19 August 2009
Freakshow 	Mark Morris 	Mark Strickson 	5th 	Turlough, Tegan 	4 March 2010
The Revenants 	Ian Potter 	William Russell 	1st 	Ian, Barbara 	31 May 2012
== Notes ==
* The Three Companions was a twelve-part serialised story issued as a bonus with the regular monthly Big Finish Doctor Who releases, beginning with The Magic Mousetrap in April 2009 and concluded with Survival of the Fittest in February 2010. An omnibus edit of the story is available in The Companion Chronicles: The Specials box set, released in August 2011.
* Three stories were available for a limited time as free downloadable content for readers of Doctor Who Magazine: The Mists of Time in August 2009 via DWM 411, Freakshow in March 2010 via DWM 419 and The Revenants in May 2012 via DWM 448. The Mists of Time and Freakshow are also available in The Specials box set, while The Revenants was included in the Limited Collector's Edition of The Light at the End.
== Cover gallery ==
ccspecials-boxset-3d cover large.jpg|The Companion Chronicles: The Specials
Dwcc09 cover 1417sq cover large.jpg|The First Doctor: Volume One
Dwcc10 cover.jpg|The Second Doctor: Volume One
The First Doctor Volume Two (audio anthology).jpg|The First Doctor: Volume Two
The Second Doctor Volume Two (audio anthology).jpg|The Second Doctor: Volume Two
The First Doctor Volume Three.jpg|The First Doctor: Volume Three
The Second Doctor Volume Three.jpg|The Second Doctor: Volume Three
== External links ==
== Footnotes ==
es:The Companion Chronicles
fr:The Companion Chronicles
Category:Companion Chronicles
Category:Audio overviews