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|next            = The Five People You Kill in Middlesbrough (audio story)
|next            = The Five People You Kill in Middlesbrough (audio story)
}}{{you may|Absent Friends (audio story)|n1=the Doom Coalition audio story}}
}}{{you may|Absent Friends (audio story)|n1=the Doom Coalition audio story}}
'''''Absent Friends''''' was the planned fiftieth story in the ''[[Torchwood - Monthly Range]]'' from [[Big Finish Productions]]. It was written by [[James Goss]] and had already been fully recorded, but was pulled before release following misconduct allegation on the set of ''Doctor Who''.<ref>[https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/torchwood-absent-friends-john-barrowman-newsupdate/ "Big Finish removes Torchwood release from schedule amid John Barrowman accusations"]</ref><ref>[https://www.amazon.com.br/Torchwood-Absent-Friends-James-Goss/dp/1838685235 Amazon page for ''Absent Friends'']</ref> Along with the unbroadcast radio plays ''[[Journey into Time (audio story)|Journey into Time]]'' and ''[[City of the Saved (audio story)|City of the Saved]]'', and the unreleased webcast {{Cs|41.1978.A (unreleased webcast)}}, this is one of only four performed DWU-related stories known to have been fully recorded, but cancelled before being officially broadcast or released in any form.
'''''Absent Friends''''' was the planned fiftieth story in the ''[[Torchwood - Monthly Range]]'' from [[Big Finish Productions]]. It was written by [[James Goss]] and had already been fully recorded, but was pulled before release following misconduct allegation on the set of ''Doctor Who''.<ref>[https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/torchwood-absent-friends-john-barrowman-newsupdate/ "Big Finish removes Torchwood release from schedule amid John Barrowman accusations"]</ref><ref>[https://www.amazon.com.br/Torchwood-Absent-Friends-James-Goss/dp/1838685235 Amazon page for ''Absent Friends'']</ref> Along with the unbroadcast radio plays ''[[Journey into Time (unreleased audio story)|Journey into Time]]'' and ''[[City of the Saved (unreleased audio story)|City of the Saved]]'', and the unreleased webcast {{Cs|41.1978.A (unreleased webcast)}}, this is one of only four performed DWU-related stories known to have been fully recorded, but cancelled before being officially broadcast or released in any form.


This release would have brought the [[Tenth Doctor]] into the ''[[Torchwood (series)|Torchwood]]'' series directly, playing off the [[Torchwood Institute]]'s original aim, to capture and contain the Doctor, as established in series 2 of ''Doctor Who''. It would have seen the Doctor messing up, with Jack sort of taking the lead over him, rather than vice versa.<ref name="Gizmodo">https://gizmodo.com/the-doctor-and-captain-jack-are-together-again-in-new-b-1845978720</ref>
This release would have brought the [[Tenth Doctor]] into the ''[[Torchwood (series)|Torchwood]]'' series directly, playing off the [[Torchwood Institute]]'s original aim, to capture and contain [[the Doctor]], as established in series 2 of ''Doctor Who''. It would have seen the Doctor messing up, with Jack sort of taking the lead over him, rather than vice versa.<ref name="Gizmodo">https://gizmodo.com/the-doctor-and-captain-jack-are-together-again-in-new-b-1845978720</ref>


The cancelled story was originally slated for release in May 2021.<ref>[https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/captain-jack-returns-to-torchwood "Captain Jack returns... to Torchwood!"]</ref> In January 2022, it was announced that another audio would be numbered 50X in the range, with Big Finish reiterating they have no plans to release ''Absent Friends'' at this time.<ref>[https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/new-torchwood-titles-revealed-for-2022 "New Torchwood titles revealed for 2022"]</ref>
The cancelled story was originally slated for release in May 2021.<ref name=":0">[https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/captain-jack-returns-to-torchwood "Captain Jack returns... to Torchwood!"]</ref> On 14 May 2021, it was announced that Big Finish had removed ''Absent Friends'' from the release schedule of the ''Torchwood'' monthly range and had "no plans to publish this title at this time", and that "all bundle pre-orders for the Torchwood Monthly Range stories ''49-54'' or ''49-60'' will feature an alternative title in its place".<ref>[https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/news-updates-week-commencing-10-may-2021 News updates - week commencing 10 May 2021]</ref><ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/Torchwood/comments/ncazqs/torchwood_absent_friends_is_no_longer_being/ Torchwood Absent Friends is no longer being released by Big Finish], posted on 14 May 2021, in [https://www.reddit.com/r/Torchwood/ the r/Torchwood thread], showing an image from the Big Finish Newsletter, on [https://www.reddit.com reddit.com].</ref>
 
On 21 January 2022, it was announced that {{cs|The Black Knight (audio story)}}, featuring [[Samuel Barnett]] as [[Norton Folgate]], would be replacing ''Absent Friends'' as number 50X in the range.<ref>[https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/new-torchwood-titles-revealed-for-2022 "New Torchwood titles revealed for 2022"]</ref>


== Publisher's summary ==
== Publisher's summary ==
On a dark and stormy night in [[Cardiff]], the city is in danger, and the Doctor’s put himself in charge of Torchwood in order to save it. In a sealed recording studio, the voices of the dead have been playing for 17 years. Was it the project of a madman, or is this the site of something terrible? Torchwood has been hunting for the Doctor since [[1879]]. And now they’ve found him. They may regret it.
On a dark and stormy night in [[Cardiff]], the city is in danger, and the Doctor's put himself in charge of Torchwood in order to save it. In a sealed recording studio, the voices of the dead have been playing for 17 years. Was it the project of a madman, or is this the site of something terrible? Torchwood has been hunting for the Doctor since [[1879]]. And now they've found him. They may regret it.


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
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== Notes ==
== Notes ==
* Had this story been released, it would have marked the first in-person appearance of the Doctor in an instalment of ''Torchwood''.
[[File:Torchwood Absent Friends textless.jpg|thumb|Textless cover]]
* On [[10 February (releases)|10 February]] [[2024 (releases)|2024]], a script of the story went for auction on [[eBay]] with a starting price of £500.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20240210002139/https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204646300256 Torchwood Absent Friends Full Script Doctor Who on ebay.co.uk]</ref>
* Had this story been released, it would have marked the first in-person appearance of [[the Doctor]] in an instalment of ''[[Torchwood (series)|Torchwood]]''.
* The publisher's summary for this story is only available in the news article announcing it, as its page on the [[Big Finish]] website has been removed.
* This story was announced on 1 January 2021,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">https://x.com/bigfinish/status/1345097209939775489</ref> the same day ''[[Revolution of the Daleks (TV story)|Revolution of the Daleks]]'' aired, which saw the onscreen return of [[Jack Harkness]]. A video trailer was also promoted on their social media<ref name=":1" /> and uploaded to their [[YouTube]] channel that same day,<ref name=":2">[https://web.archive.org/web/20210123025812/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Go6ytqc_E John Barrowman, Gareth David-Lloyd and David Tennant star in Torchwood: Absent Friends] from [https://www.youtube.com/@bigfinishprod the bigfinishprod channel] on [https://www.youtube.com YouTube.com], uploaded 1 January 2021. (Archived 23 January 2021 on the Wayback Machine)</ref> and was included in the news article of the announcement.<ref name=":0" /> The video has been set to 'private' on Big Finish's YouTube channel and cannot be found in their uploads, but can still be viewed on the Internet Archive.<ref name=":2" />
*The cover for this story was revealed on 25 January 2021,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20210204041447/https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/news-updates-week-commencing-25-january-2021 News updates - week commencing 25 January 2021] (Archived 4 February 2021 on the Wayback Machine)</ref><ref>https://x.com/bigfinish/status/1353742119266115585</ref> made by [[Lee Binding]],<ref>https://x.com/bigfinish/status/1353824975308775424</ref><ref name=":3">https://x.com/LeeBinding/status/1353746061651804162</ref> who also posted the clean artwork to his Twitter.<ref name=":3" /> The cover would have been gold-embossed to celebrate being the fiftieth release in the ''[[Torchwood (series)|Torchwood]]'' [[Torchwood - Monthly Range|monthly range]].<ref>https://x.com/bigfinish/status/1353753089317232651</ref>
* On [[10 February (releases)|10 February]] [[2024 (releases)|2024]], an [[eBay]] listing claiming to be a script of the story went for auction with a starting price of £500. The item was marked as unavailable less than twelve hours after it first appeared, with no indication if it was sold privately or if the seller had withdrawn the auction. The item listing included photos of 26 pages from the script, as well as the cover page, revealing roughly one-third of the story.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20240210002139/https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204646300256 Torchwood Absent Friends Full Script Doctor Who on ebay.co.uk]</ref>


== Footnotes ==
== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
{{Unreleased stories}}
{{Unreleased stories}}
[[Category:Unreleased sources]]
[[Category:Unreleased sources]]

Latest revision as of 05:41, 6 November 2024

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Unreleased tag.jpg

You may be looking for the Doom Coalition audio story.

Absent Friends was the planned fiftieth story in the Torchwood - Monthly Range from Big Finish Productions. It was written by James Goss and had already been fully recorded, but was pulled before release following misconduct allegation on the set of Doctor Who.[1][2] Along with the unbroadcast radio plays Journey into Time and City of the Saved, and the unreleased webcast 41.1978.A [+]Loading...["41.1978.A (unreleased webcast)"], this is one of only four performed DWU-related stories known to have been fully recorded, but cancelled before being officially broadcast or released in any form.

This release would have brought the Tenth Doctor into the Torchwood series directly, playing off the Torchwood Institute's original aim, to capture and contain the Doctor, as established in series 2 of Doctor Who. It would have seen the Doctor messing up, with Jack sort of taking the lead over him, rather than vice versa.[3]

The cancelled story was originally slated for release in May 2021.[4] On 14 May 2021, it was announced that Big Finish had removed Absent Friends from the release schedule of the Torchwood monthly range and had "no plans to publish this title at this time", and that "all bundle pre-orders for the Torchwood Monthly Range stories 49-54 or 49-60 will feature an alternative title in its place".[5][6]

On 21 January 2022, it was announced that The Black Knight [+]Loading...["The Black Knight (audio story)"], featuring Samuel Barnett as Norton Folgate, would be replacing Absent Friends as number 50X in the range.[7]

Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

On a dark and stormy night in Cardiff, the city is in danger, and the Doctor's put himself in charge of Torchwood in order to save it. In a sealed recording studio, the voices of the dead have been playing for 17 years. Was it the project of a madman, or is this the site of something terrible? Torchwood has been hunting for the Doctor since 1879. And now they've found him. They may regret it.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Textless cover
  • Had this story been released, it would have marked the first in-person appearance of the Doctor in an instalment of Torchwood.
  • The publisher's summary for this story is only available in the news article announcing it, as its page on the Big Finish website has been removed.
  • This story was announced on 1 January 2021,[4][8] the same day Revolution of the Daleks aired, which saw the onscreen return of Jack Harkness. A video trailer was also promoted on their social media[8] and uploaded to their YouTube channel that same day,[9] and was included in the news article of the announcement.[4] The video has been set to 'private' on Big Finish's YouTube channel and cannot be found in their uploads, but can still be viewed on the Internet Archive.[9]
  • The cover for this story was revealed on 25 January 2021,[10][11] made by Lee Binding,[12][13] who also posted the clean artwork to his Twitter.[13] The cover would have been gold-embossed to celebrate being the fiftieth release in the Torchwood monthly range.[14]
  • On 10 February 2024, an eBay listing claiming to be a script of the story went for auction with a starting price of £500. The item was marked as unavailable less than twelve hours after it first appeared, with no indication if it was sold privately or if the seller had withdrawn the auction. The item listing included photos of 26 pages from the script, as well as the cover page, revealing roughly one-third of the story.[15]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]