Doctor Who Unbound: Difference between revisions

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
No edit summary
m (Bot: Cosmetic changes)
 
(35 intermediate revisions by 14 users not shown)
Line 2: Line 2:
{{Real world}}
{{Real world}}
{{Infobox Audio Series
{{Infobox Audio Series
|image            = Auld Mortality cover.jpg
|image            = Unbound 1 - 8 Collected.jpg
|release count    = 8
|release count    = 10
|story count      = 8
|story count      = 14
|release year      = 2003
|release year      = 2003
|release year2    = 2008
|release year2    =  
|first story      = Auld Mortality (audio story)
|first story      = Auld Mortality (audio story)
|first release    = [[May (releases)|May]] [[2003 (releases)|2003]]
|first release    = [[May (releases)|May]] [[2003 (releases)|2003]]
|end release      = [[December (releases)|December]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]]
|end release      =  
|producer          =  
|producer          =  
|script ed        =  
|script ed        =  
Line 21: Line 21:
'''''Doctor Who Unbound''''' was a series produced by [[Big Finish Productions]]. It featured hypothetical stories set in variants of the [[Doctor Who universe|''Doctor Who'' universe]] with [[parallel universe|premises fundamentally altered]].
'''''Doctor Who Unbound''''' was a series produced by [[Big Finish Productions]]. It featured hypothetical stories set in variants of the [[Doctor Who universe|''Doctor Who'' universe]] with [[parallel universe|premises fundamentally altered]].


These premises were often built upon "what if" propositions such as; "what if the Doctor hadn't left Gallifrey" (''[[Auld Mortality (audio story)|Auld Mortality]]''), "what if the Doctor hadn't been UNIT's scientific advisor?" (''[[Sympathy for the Devil (audio story)|Sympathy for the Devil]]'') and "what if the Valeyard had won" (''[[He Jests at Scars... (audio story)|He Jests at Scars...]]''). Others like ''[[Full Fathom Five (audio story)|Full Fathom Five]]''{{'}}s story was more vague built upon the idea of "what if the Doctor believed the ends justified the means?", while ''[[Deadline (audio story)|Deadline]]'' takes on the more meta-textual premise of "what if ''Doctor Who'' had never existed?" The final story in the ongoing series, ''[[Exile (audio story)|Exile]]'', featured a female Doctor, an idea that has been raised several times throughout ''Doctor Who's'' production. Each one featured a Doctor created specifically for the series, aside from ''He Jests at Scars'', which featured [[the Valeyard]].
These premises were often built upon "what if" propositions such as; "what if [[the Doctor]] hadn't left [[Gallifrey]]" ({{cs|Auld Mortality (audio story)}}), "what if the Doctor hadn't been [[UNIT]]'s [[scientific advisor]]?" ({{cs|Sympathy for the Devil (audio story)}}) and "what if [[the Valeyard]] had won" ({{cs|He Jests at Scars... (audio story)}}). Stories like {{cs|Full Fathom Five (audio story)}} was vaguely built upon the idea of "what if the Doctor believed the ends justified the means?", while {{cs|Deadline (audio story)}} takes on the more meta-textual premise of "what if ''[[Doctor Who]]'' had never existed?" The final story in the original range, {{cs|Exile (audio story)}}, featured a [[The Doctor (Exile)|female Doctor]], an idea that has been raised several times throughout ''Doctor Who''{{'}}s production. Each one featured a Doctor created specifically for the series, aside from ''He Jests at Scars'', which featured the Valeyard.


First released in 2003, the first series of six ''Unbound'' stories were part of Big Finish's celebration of the 40th anniversary year of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. Two subsequent stories were released in later years: the 2005 story ''[[A Storm of Angels (audio story)|A Storm of Angels]]'' was a sequel to ''[[Auld Mortality (audio story)|Auld Mortality]]'', and the 2008 story ''[[Masters of War (audio story)|Masters of War]] '' was a sequel to ''[[Sympathy for the Devil (audio story)|Sympathy for the Devil]]''.
First released in [[2003 (releases)|2003]], the first series of six ''Unbound'' stories were part of Big Finish's [[List of anniversaries|celebration of the 40th anniversary year]] of ''Doctor Who''. Two subsequent stories were released in later years: the [[2005 (releases)|2005]] story {{cs|A Storm of Angels (audio story)}} was a sequel to ''Auld Mortality'', and the [[2008 (releases)|2008]] story {{cs|Masters of War (audio story)}} was a sequel to ''Sympathy for the Devil''.


In 2016, the ''Sympathy for the Devil'' version of the Doctor and the Master returned for ''[[The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield]]'' Series 3, ''[[The Unbound Universe (audio anthology)|The Unbound Universe]]'' in which [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]], a companion to the mainstream Doctors, crossed over into the parallel world of the Unbound Third Doctor, finding it devastated by a cosmic war, akin to the [[Last Great Time War]] but without the clear conclusion.
As later recalled by [[Nicholas Briggs]], the series was discontinued due to a feeling of having exhausted the "what-if" scenarios synonymous with the series, and after the [[BBC]] requested that Big Finish not cast any new actors as the Doctor, as they wanted to avoid mixed messages around the time of casting a new Doctor themselves.<ref>[[The Big Finish Podcast]]: [https://www.bigfinish.com/podcasts/v/brand-new-competition-listener-s-emails-july-2 Brand New Competition & Listeners' Emails. July #2] Timestamp: 7:46</ref>
By this point in the Doctor's life, all reality had been brought to the brink, but was barely saved by him at the last moments in a way he couldn't remember.
Still facing imminent collapse and bearing open battle wounds, this universe is a difficult place for Benny to adjust to when compared to [[N-Space]].


The series relaunched in 2022 with ''[[Doctor of War (audio series)|Doctor of War]]'', exploring possible events had the [[Fourth Doctor]] fulfilled his mission in ''[[Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)|Genesis of the Daleks]]'' and starred Colin Baker as an alternative version of the [[War Doctor]].
In [[2016 (releases)|2016]], ''Sympathy for the Devil'' version of [[The Doctor (Sympathy for the Devil)|the Doctor]] and [[The Master (Sympathy for the Devil)|the Master]] returned for ''[[The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield]]'' [[Series 3 (BFBS)|Series 3]], ''[[The Unbound Universe (audio anthology)|The Unbound Universe]]'', in which [[Bernice Summerfield]], a [[companion]] to the mainstream Doctors, crossed over into the parallel world of the [[Unbound Doctor|Unbound Third Doctor]], finding it devastated by a [[Great War (The Library in the Body)|cosmic war]]. This Doctor and Master would return in the subsequent volume, ''[[Ruler of the Universe (audio anthology)|Ruler of the Universe]]'', after which the Unbound Doctor travelled with Benny (Bernice) to the [[N-Space]], with their travels subsequently continuing in [[Series 5 (BFBS)|Series 5]], [[Series 6 (BFBS)|6]] and [[Series 7 (BFBS)|7]] of the ''New Adventures'', ''[[Buried Memories (audio anthology)|Buried Memories]]'', ''[[Lost in Translation (audio anthology)|Lost in Translation]]'', and ''[[Blood & Steel (audio anthology)|Blood & Steel]]''. This Doctor also appeared alongside Benny in one story of ''[[The Story So Far: Volume Two]]'' and alongside [[Christopher Eccleston]]'s [[Ninth Doctor|Degenerating Ninth Doctor]] in the audio story {{cs|Time Lord Immemorial (audio story)}} as part of Big Finish's 60th anniversary series ''[[Once and Future]]'', although set before his jump into the main universe from the Unbound Doctor's perspective. The Master of this universe also re-appeared in stories opposite mainstream incarnations of [[the Master]] in the fourth volume of ''[[The War Master (audio series)|The War Master]]'', ''[[Anti-Genesis (audio anthology)|Anti-Genesis]]'', and in {{cs|Masterful (audio story)}}, the special marking the 50th anniversary of the Master's television debut.
 
The series relaunched in [[2022 (releases)|2022]] with ''[[Doctor of War (audio series)|Doctor of War]]'', a saga exploring possible events had the [[Fourth Doctor]] fulfilled his mission in {{cs|Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)}}. It starred [[Colin Baker]] as an alternative version of the [[War Doctor]] known as [[the Warrior]].
 
Also in 2022, Big Finish released ''[[Unbound: 1 - 8 Collected]]'', a boxset containing the first eight releases of the series.


== Stories ==
== Stories ==
=== Original range ===
{| {{prettytable}}
{| {{prettytable}}
! # !! Title !! Author !! Doctor / Main character !! Featuring !! class="unsortable" | Released
! # !! Title !! Author !! Doctor / Main character !! Featuring !! class="unsortable" | Released
Line 67: Line 70:
|[[Robert Shearman]]
|[[Robert Shearman]]
|[[Martin Bannister]]/[[Doctor Who (Deadline)|Doctor Who]]
|[[Martin Bannister]]/[[Doctor Who (Deadline)|Doctor Who]]
|[[Barbara (Deadline)|Barbara]], [[Philip Bannister|Philip]], [[Amy Bannister|Amy]]/[[Susan (Deadline)|Susan]]
|[[Barbara (Deadline)|Barbara]], [[Philip Bannister|Philip]], [[Amy Bannister|Amy]]/[[Susan Who|Susan]]
|[[September (releases)|September]] 2003
|[[September (releases)|September]] 2003
|-
|-
Line 88: Line 91:
|[[Eddie Robson]]
|[[Eddie Robson]]
|The Doctor (Unbound 2)
|The Doctor (Unbound 2)
|Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (Unbound), [[Davros (Unbound Universe)|Davros (Unbound)]]
|Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (Unbound), [[Dalek (Masters of War)|Daleks (Unbound)]], [[Davros (Unbound Universe)|Davros (Unbound)]]
|[[December (releases)|December]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]]
|[[December (releases)|December]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]]
|}
=== ''Doctor of War'' ===
{{Main|Doctor of War (audio series)}}
==== ''Genesis'' ====
{{Main|Genesis (audio anthology)}}
{| {{prettytable}}
! # || Title || Author || Doctor / Main character || Featuring || Released
|-
|1.1
|''[[Dust Devil (audio story)|Dust Devil]]''
|[[John Dorney]]
|rowspan=3|[[The Warrior]]
|[[Fourth Doctor]], [[Harry Sullivan]], [[Sarah Jane Smith]], [[Sixth Doctor]], [[Peri Brown]], [[Miss Brown (The Warrior's universe)|Miss Brown]], [[Narvin (The Warrior's universe)|Narvin]]
|rowspan=3|[[13 April (releases)|13 April]] [[2022 (releases)|2022]]
|-
|1.2
|''[[Aftershocks (audio story)|Aftershocks]]''
|[[Lou Morgan]]
|[[The Master (The Warrior's universe)|The Master]], [[Dalek (The Warrior's universe)|Daleks]], Narvin
|-
|1.3
|''[[The Difference Office (audio story)|The Difference Office]]''
|[[James Kettle]]
|[[Romana (The Warrior's universe)|Romana]], [[Borusa (The Warrior's universe)|Borusa]], [[Styggron (The Warrior's universe)|Styggron]], Narvin
|}
==== ''Destiny'' ====
{{main|Destiny (audio anthology)}}
{| {{prettytable}}
! # || Title || Author || Doctor / Main character || Featuring || Released
|-
|2.1
|''[[Who Am I? (audio story)|Who Am I?]]''
|[[Nigel Fairs]]
|rowspan=3|[[The Warrior]]
|[[The Master (The Warrior's universe)|The Master]], [[Leela (The Warrior's universe)|Leela]], [[Xoanon (The Warrior's universe)|Xoanon]]
|rowspan=3|[[27 September (releases)|27 September]] [[2022 (releases)|2022]]
|-
|2.2
|''[[Time Killers (audio story)|Time Killers]]''
|[[Lizzie Hopley]]
|The Master
|-
|2.3
|''[[The Key To Key To Time (audio story)|The Key To Key To Time]]''
|[[Tim Foley]]
|[[White Guardian (The Warrior's universe)|White Guardian]] , [[Davros (The Warrior's universe)|Davros]]
|}
|}


== Other usage of the term ==
== Other usage of the term ==
Aside from stories officially released under the ''Doctor Who Unbound'' range, the "unbound" term has been adopted as a general descriptor of out-of-continuity stories. [[Paul Cornell]], writer of ''[[Scream of the Shalka (webcast)|Scream of the Shalka]]'' (which was retroactively subsumed in continuity by the [[BBC Wales]] ''Doctor Who'' series) has since referred to that story as his "unbound."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.paulcornell.com/2009/02/gallifrey-and-things|title=Gallifrey and Things|author=[[Paul Cornell]]|date of source=25 February 2009|website name=PaulCornell.com|accessdate=29 July 2012| quote= Dude, they're, like, cosplaying my unbound!}}</ref> [[Nicholas Briggs]] has also informally described certain stories in Big Finish's ''Sherlock Holmes'' range which don't fit into its general continuity as "Sherlock Holmes Unbound."<ref>https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/have-you-heard-sherlock-holmes</ref> Furthermore, prior to the Big Finish website update removing the ability to filter by Doctor, [[The Doctor (Seven Keys to Doomsday)|Trevor Martin's Doctor from]] [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Seven Keys to Doomsday (audio story)|Seven Keys to Doomsday]]'' was categorised as an "Unbound" incarnation.
Aside from stories officially released under the ''Doctor Who Unbound'' range, the "unbound" term has been adopted as a general descriptor of out-of-continuity stories or concepts. [[Paul Cornell]], writer of {{cs|Scream of the Shalka (webcast)}} (which was retroactively subsumed in continuity by the [[BBC Wales]] ''Doctor Who'' series, although questioned again by the [[Bad Wolf Productions|Bad Wolf]] ''Doctor Who'' series) once jokingly captioned an image taken of himself with [[cosplay]]ers of [[Ninth Doctor (Scream of the Shalka)|the Doctor]] and [[The Master (Scream of the Shalka)|Master]] from ''Scream of the Shalka'', "Dude, they’re, like, cosplaying my unbound!"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.paulcornell.com/2009/02/gallifrey-and-things|title=Gallifrey and Things|author=[[Paul Cornell]]|date of source=25 February 2009|website name=PaulCornell.com|accessdate=29 July 2012| quote= Dude, they're, like, cosplaying my unbound!}}</ref> [[Nicholas Briggs]] has also informally described certain stories in Big Finish's ''Sherlock Holmes'' range which don't fit into its general continuity as "Sherlock Holmes Unbound."<ref>https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/have-you-heard-sherlock-holmes</ref> Furthermore, prior to the [[Big Finish website]] update removing the ability to filter by Doctor, [[The Doctor (Seven Keys to Doomsday)|Trevor Martin's Doctor from]] [[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Seven Keys to Doomsday (audio story)}} was categorised as an "Unbound" incarnation.


== Cover gallery ==
== Cover gallery ==
Line 105: Line 157:
A Storm of Angels front cover.jpg|''[[A Storm of Angels (audio story)|A Storm of Angels]]''
A Storm of Angels front cover.jpg|''[[A Storm of Angels (audio story)|A Storm of Angels]]''
Masters of War.jpg|''[[Masters of War (audio story)|Masters of War]]''
Masters of War.jpg|''[[Masters of War (audio story)|Masters of War]]''
Genesis (audio anthology).jpg|''[[Genesis (audio anthology)|Genesis]]''
Destiny (audio anthology).jpg|''[[Destiny (audio anthology)|Destiny]]''
Unbound 1 - 8 Collected.jpg|''[[Unbound: 1 - 8 Collected]]''
</gallery>
</gallery>


Line 118: Line 173:
{{Big Finish}}
{{Big Finish}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[fr:Doctor Who Unbound]]


[[Category:Doctor Who Unbound| ]]
[[Category:Doctor Who Unbound| ]]
[[Category:Audio overviews]]
[[Category:Audio overviews]]
[[fr:Doctor Who Unbound]]

Latest revision as of 20:27, 3 November 2024

RealWorld.png

Doctor Who Unbound was a series produced by Big Finish Productions. It featured hypothetical stories set in variants of the Doctor Who universe with premises fundamentally altered.

These premises were often built upon "what if" propositions such as; "what if the Doctor hadn't left Gallifrey" (Auld Mortality [+]Loading...["Auld Mortality (audio story)"]), "what if the Doctor hadn't been UNIT's scientific advisor?" (Sympathy for the Devil [+]Loading...["Sympathy for the Devil (audio story)"]) and "what if the Valeyard had won" (He Jests at Scars... [+]Loading...["He Jests at Scars... (audio story)"]). Stories like Full Fathom Five [+]Loading...["Full Fathom Five (audio story)"] was vaguely built upon the idea of "what if the Doctor believed the ends justified the means?", while Deadline [+]Loading...["Deadline (audio story)"] takes on the more meta-textual premise of "what if Doctor Who had never existed?" The final story in the original range, Exile [+]Loading...["Exile (audio story)"], featured a female Doctor, an idea that has been raised several times throughout Doctor Who's production. Each one featured a Doctor created specifically for the series, aside from He Jests at Scars, which featured the Valeyard.

First released in 2003, the first series of six Unbound stories were part of Big Finish's celebration of the 40th anniversary year of Doctor Who. Two subsequent stories were released in later years: the 2005 story A Storm of Angels [+]Loading...["A Storm of Angels (audio story)"] was a sequel to Auld Mortality, and the 2008 story Masters of War [+]Loading...["Masters of War (audio story)"] was a sequel to Sympathy for the Devil.

As later recalled by Nicholas Briggs, the series was discontinued due to a feeling of having exhausted the "what-if" scenarios synonymous with the series, and after the BBC requested that Big Finish not cast any new actors as the Doctor, as they wanted to avoid mixed messages around the time of casting a new Doctor themselves.[1]

In 2016, Sympathy for the Devil version of the Doctor and the Master returned for The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield Series 3, The Unbound Universe, in which Bernice Summerfield, a companion to the mainstream Doctors, crossed over into the parallel world of the Unbound Third Doctor, finding it devastated by a cosmic war. This Doctor and Master would return in the subsequent volume, Ruler of the Universe, after which the Unbound Doctor travelled with Benny (Bernice) to the N-Space, with their travels subsequently continuing in Series 5, 6 and 7 of the New Adventures, Buried Memories, Lost in Translation, and Blood & Steel. This Doctor also appeared alongside Benny in one story of The Story So Far: Volume Two and alongside Christopher Eccleston's Degenerating Ninth Doctor in the audio story Time Lord Immemorial [+]Loading...["Time Lord Immemorial (audio story)"] as part of Big Finish's 60th anniversary series Once and Future, although set before his jump into the main universe from the Unbound Doctor's perspective. The Master of this universe also re-appeared in stories opposite mainstream incarnations of the Master in the fourth volume of The War Master, Anti-Genesis, and in Masterful [+]Loading...["Masterful (audio story)"], the special marking the 50th anniversary of the Master's television debut.

The series relaunched in 2022 with Doctor of War, a saga exploring possible events had the Fourth Doctor fulfilled his mission in Genesis of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)"]. It starred Colin Baker as an alternative version of the War Doctor known as the Warrior.

Also in 2022, Big Finish released Unbound: 1 - 8 Collected, a boxset containing the first eight releases of the series.

Stories[[edit] | [edit source]]

Original range[[edit] | [edit source]]

# Title Author Doctor / Main character Featuring Released
1 Auld Mortality Marc Platt The Doctor (Unbound 1) Susan (Unbound) May 2003
2 Sympathy for the Devil Jonathan Clements The Doctor (Unbound 2) Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Unbound), Unbound Master June 2003
3 Full Fathom Five David Bishop The Doctor (Unbound 3), The New Doctor (Unbound 3) Ruth July 2003
4 He Jests at Scars... Gary Russell The Valeyard, Melanie Bush Ellie Martin, Vansell August 2003
5 Deadline Robert Shearman Martin Bannister/Doctor Who Barbara, Philip, Amy/Susan September 2003
6 Exile Nicholas Briggs Previous Doctor (Unbound 6), The Doctor (Unbound 6) Cherrie, Cheese October 2003
7 A Storm of Angels Marc Platt The Doctor (Unbound 1) Susan (Unbound) January 2005
8 Masters of War Eddie Robson The Doctor (Unbound 2) Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (Unbound), Daleks (Unbound), Davros (Unbound) December 2008

Doctor of War[[edit] | [edit source]]

Main article: Doctor of War (audio series)

Genesis[[edit] | [edit source]]

Main article: Genesis (audio anthology)
# Title Author Doctor / Main character Featuring Released
1.1 Dust Devil John Dorney The Warrior Fourth Doctor, Harry Sullivan, Sarah Jane Smith, Sixth Doctor, Peri Brown, Miss Brown, Narvin 13 April 2022
1.2 Aftershocks Lou Morgan The Master, Daleks, Narvin
1.3 The Difference Office James Kettle Romana, Borusa, Styggron, Narvin

Destiny[[edit] | [edit source]]

Main article: Destiny (audio anthology)
# Title Author Doctor / Main character Featuring Released
2.1 Who Am I? Nigel Fairs The Warrior The Master, Leela, Xoanon 27 September 2022
2.2 Time Killers Lizzie Hopley The Master
2.3 The Key To Key To Time Tim Foley White Guardian , Davros

Other usage of the term[[edit] | [edit source]]

Aside from stories officially released under the Doctor Who Unbound range, the "unbound" term has been adopted as a general descriptor of out-of-continuity stories or concepts. Paul Cornell, writer of Scream of the Shalka [+]Loading...["Scream of the Shalka (webcast)"] (which was retroactively subsumed in continuity by the BBC Wales Doctor Who series, although questioned again by the Bad Wolf Doctor Who series) once jokingly captioned an image taken of himself with cosplayers of the Doctor and Master from Scream of the Shalka, "Dude, they’re, like, cosplaying my unbound!"[2] Nicholas Briggs has also informally described certain stories in Big Finish's Sherlock Holmes range which don't fit into its general continuity as "Sherlock Holmes Unbound."[3] Furthermore, prior to the Big Finish website update removing the ability to filter by Doctor, Trevor Martin's Doctor from AUDIO: Seven Keys to Doomsday [+]Loading...["Seven Keys to Doomsday (audio story)"] was categorised as an "Unbound" incarnation.

Cover gallery[[edit] | [edit source]]

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ The Big Finish Podcast: Brand New Competition & Listeners' Emails. July #2 Timestamp: 7:46
  2. ↑ Paul Cornell (25 February 2009). Gallifrey and Things. PaulCornell.com. Retrieved on 29 July 2012. “Dude, they're, like, cosplaying my unbound!”
  3. ↑ https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/have-you-heard-sherlock-holmes
v • e
Doctor Who Unbound
Unbound: 1 - 8 Collected
Doctor of War
Genesis
Destiny
v • e
Big Finish Doctor Who series and spin-offs
Classic Series
Original
Classic
Adventures
Bonuses
Continuing
Adventures
Special
Releases
New Series
Series that have never starred the Doctor are excluded from this list.
Time War
"New Series"
Adventures
The Worlds
of Doctor Who
Special
Releases
Ranges
Anthologies
These anthologies were released to celebrate anniversaries.
These stories feature Doctor Who characters, but do not primarily star the Doctor.
Torchwood
Special Releases
The Worlds
of Big Finish
Special Releases
Other
These DWU characters have never been owned by the BBC.
Retrieved from "https://tardis.wiki/w/index.php?title=Doctor_Who_Unbound&oldid=3890573"