Bernice Summerfield (series): Difference between revisions
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Many characters created or established in the Virgin New Adventures, such as [[Jason Kane]] and [[Irving Braxiatel]], made major appearances in this series, and several others, such as [[Wolsey]], [[Isaac Summerfield]] and [[Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart]], were featured in occasional stories. Additionally, links were made with Big Finish's ''Doctor Who'' content, such as the character of [[Bev Tarrant]] crossing over from the [[Main Range]] to become a regular character. | Many characters created or established in the Virgin New Adventures, such as [[Jason Kane]] and [[Irving Braxiatel]], made major appearances in this series, and several others, such as [[Wolsey]], [[Isaac Summerfield]] and [[Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart]], were featured in occasional stories. Additionally, links were made with Big Finish's ''Doctor Who'' content, such as the character of [[Bev Tarrant]] crossing over from the [[Main Range]] to become a regular character. | ||
Several authors who wrote for Benny at Virgin also contributed to the line. Writers like Matt Jones, Paul Cornell, Justin Richards, Lance Parkin, Dave Stone, Ben Aaronovtich, Daniel O'Mahony, Lawrence Miles, Mark Clapham and Gary Russell had at least one story produced. | |||
Most of the stories cover Bernice's life following her departure from travelling with the Doctor. However, several prose releases have featured stories that portrayed Bernice's life long before she met the Doctor. | Most of the stories cover Bernice's life following her departure from travelling with the Doctor. However, several prose releases have featured stories that portrayed Bernice's life long before she met the Doctor. | ||
Revision as of 14:50, 3 June 2020
Bernice Summerfield was the first series produced by Big Finish Productions, combining both audio and prose releases in an ongoing narrative, with the titular character portrayed by Lisa Bowerman.
The series began in 1998 with audio adaptations of six Virgin New Adventures novels. After this first season's success, Big Finish began producing audio stories and prose stories simultaneously.
Initially, the ongoing narrative was spread evenly between the two media - for instance, Benny became pregnant in the novel The Squire's Crystal and gave birth in the novel The Glass Prison, with the audio stories making several minor references to her pregnancy. However, from the third series onward, the audio stories became the primary series, with novels and short story collections providing greater depth to the world and heavily expanding on the large cast of regular characters. Occasionally, however, prose stories would be integral to the overall narrative, such as the audio story Death and the Daleks continuing on directly from the anthology Life During Wartime, and the regular characters Hass and Doggles being introduced in the anthologies A Life Worth Living and Something Changed respectively. When Simon Guerrier took over as executive producer for Series 7, he made an effort to better combine the audio and prose stories, featuring hitherto prose-only characters in audio and incorporating prose-featured events, such as the death of semi-regular character Ms Jones in the anthology Parallel Lives, into the overall story arc.
Many characters created or established in the Virgin New Adventures, such as Jason Kane and Irving Braxiatel, made major appearances in this series, and several others, such as Wolsey, Isaac Summerfield and Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart, were featured in occasional stories. Additionally, links were made with Big Finish's Doctor Who content, such as the character of Bev Tarrant crossing over from the Main Range to become a regular character.
Several authors who wrote for Benny at Virgin also contributed to the line. Writers like Matt Jones, Paul Cornell, Justin Richards, Lance Parkin, Dave Stone, Ben Aaronovtich, Daniel O'Mahony, Lawrence Miles, Mark Clapham and Gary Russell had at least one story produced.
Most of the stories cover Bernice's life following her departure from travelling with the Doctor. However, several prose releases have featured stories that portrayed Bernice's life long before she met the Doctor.
The series concluded in 2013, but it was relaunched the next year as The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield, where she was briefly reunited with the Seventh Doctor and Ace, before teaming up with an incarnation of the Doctor from an alternate universe.
Stories
| Novel | Anthology |
Series 1
- Main article: Series 1 (BFBS)
Series 1 was a collection of audio adaptations of Virgin New Adventures novels.
| # | Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oh No It Isn't! | Paul Cornell and Jacqueline Rayner | Audio | Wolsey, Grel | September 1998 |
| 2 | Beyond the Sun | Matt Jones | Jason Kane | ||
| 3 | Walking to Babylon | Kate Orman and Jacqueline Rayner | Jason Kane
John Lafayette |
January 1999 | |
| 4 | Birthright | Nigel Robinson and Jacqueline Rayner | February 1999 | ||
| 5 | Just War | Lance Parkin and Jacqueline Rayner | Jason Kane | August 1999 | |
| Buried Treasures | Making Myths | Jacqueline Rayner | Keri | ||
| Closure | Paul Cornell | ||||
| 6 | Dragons' Wrath | Justin Richards and Jacqueline Rayner | September 2000 |
Series 2
- Main article: Series 2 (BFBS)
Beginning with series 2, Big Finish began to release original audio stories about Bernice Summerfield. They also began to publish short story anthologies that continued ongoing plotlines from the audios.
| # | Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Dead Men Diaries | Various | Short story anthology | Various | September 2000 | |
| The Doomsday Manuscript | Justin Richards | Novel | Brax, Joseph, Adrian, Fifth Axis | November 2000 | |
| 2.1 | The Secret of Cassandra | David Bailey | Audio | December 2000 | |
| The Gods of the Underworld | Stephen Cole | Novel | Brax, Joseph | February 2001 | |
| The Squire's Crystal | Jacqueline Rayner | Adrian, Joseph, Brax, Fenman | April 2001 | ||
| 2.2 | The Stone's Lament | Mike Tucker | Audio | Adrian | May 2001 |
| 2.3 | The Extinction Event | Lance Parkin | Brax | July 2001 | |
| The Infernal Nexus | Dave Stone | Novel | Jason | August 2001 | |
| 2.4 | The Skymines of Karthos | David Bailey | Audio | Brax | September 2001 |
| The Glass Prison | Jacqueline Rayner | Novel | Brax, Joseph, Jason, Adrian, Isaac, Peter, Fifth Axis, Fenman, Chris Cwej | January 2002 |
Series 3
- Main article: Series 3 (BFBS)
| # | Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | The Greatest Shop in the Galaxy | Paul Ebbs | Audio | Joseph | February 2002 |
| 3.2 | The Green-Eyed Monsters | Dave Stone | Jason, Adrian, Peter | June 2002 | |
| 3.3 | The Dance of the Dead[1] | Stephen Cole | Ice Warriors | October 2002 | |
| A Life of Surprises | Various | Short story anthology | Various | October 2002 | |
| 3.4 | The Mirror Effect | Stewart Sheargold | Audio | Brax, Jason, Adrian, Joseph | March 2003 |
Series 4
- Main article: Series 4 (BFBS)
| # | Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | The Bellotron Incident | Mike Tucker | Audio | Bev, Brax, Joseph, Rutans | April 2003 |
| 4.2 | The Draconian Rage | Trevor Baxendale | Brax, Draconians | August 2003 | |
| 4.3 | The Poison Seas | David Bailey | Brax, Sea Devils | September 2003 | |
| Life During Wartime | Various | Short story anthology | Various | 3 September 2003 | |
| 4.4 | Death and the Daleks | Paul Cornell | Audio | Brax, Jason, Adrian, Joseph, Bev, Isaac, Fifth Axis, Daleks | January 2004 |
Series 5
- Main article: Series 5 (BFBS)
| # | Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Big Hunt | Lance Parkin | Novel | May 2004 | ||
| 5.1 | The Grel Escape | Jac Rayner | Audio | Jason, Peter, Joseph, The Grel | July 2004 |
| A Life Worth Living | Various | Short story anthology | Various | July 2004 | |
| 5.2 | The Bone of Contention | Simon A. Forward | Audio | The Galyari | August 2004 |
| 5.3 | The Relics of Jegg-Sau | Stephen Cole | K1 | November 2004 | |
| Silver Lining | Colin Brake | Cybermen | 9 December 2004 | ||
| A Life in Pieces | Various | Short story anthology | Various | December 2004 | |
| 5.4 | The Masquerade of Death | Stewart Sheargold | Audio | Adrian | March 2005 |
Series 6
- Main article: Series 6 (BFBS)
Staring in series 6, the anthology releases began to alternate between collections of short stories and groupings of three novellas. This continued until series 9.
| # | Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | The Heart's Desire[2] | David Bailey and Neil Corry | Audio | Eternals | June 2005 |
| The Tree of Life | Mark Michalowski | Novel | Joseph | 3 June 2005 | |
| 6.2 | The Kingdom of the Blind | Jac Rayner | Audio | Jason, Monoids | July 2005 |
| 6.4 | The Goddess Quandary[3] | Andy Russell | Keri | February 2006 | |
| Parallel Lives | Various | Novella anthology | Various | 2 January 2006 | |
| Something Changed | Various | Short story anthology | Various | 3 January 2006 | |
| 6.3 | The Lost Museum[4] | Simon Guerrier | Audio | Jason | September 2005 |
| 6.5 | The Crystal of Cantus | Joseph Lidster | Brax, Jason, Joseph, Peter | June 2006 |
Series 7
- Main article: Series 7 (BFBS)
| # | Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genius Loci[5] | Ben Aaronovitch | Novel | 19 June 2006 | ||
| 7.1 | The Tartarus Gate | Stewart Sheargold | Audio | Jason, Joseph | July 2006 |
| 7.2 | Timeless Passages | Daniel O'Mahony | August 2006 | ||
| 7.3 | The Worst Thing in the World | Dave Stone | Audio | Jason | September 2006 |
| 7.4 | Summer of Love | Simon Guerrier | Jason, Bev, Adrian, Doggles, Joseph, Hass | October 2006 | |
| Collected Works[6] | Various | Short story anthology | Various | 1 September 2006 | |
| Old Friends | Various | Novella anthology | Various | 2 November 2006 | |
| 7.5 | The Oracle of Delphi | Scott Handcock | Audio | Jason | November 2006 |
| 7.6 | The Empire State | Eddie Robson | Jason, Maggie, Brax |
Series 8
- Main article: Series 8 (BFBS)
| # | Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.1 | The Tub Full of Cats | Daniel O'Mahony | Audio | Maggie, Brax, the Mim | February 2007 |
| 8.2 | The Judas Gift | Nick Wallace | Bev, Adrian, Brax, Doggles, Joseph, Hass, the Mim, Draconians | April 2007 | |
| 8.3 | Freedom of Information | Eddie Robson | Adrian, Brax, Doggles, Joseph, Hass, Jason, the Mim, Draconians | June 2007 | |
| Nobody's Children | Various | Novella anthology | Various | 3 August 2007 | |
| 8.4 | The End of the World | Dave Stone | Audio | Jason, Brax, Adrian | September 2007 |
| The Two Jasons[7] | Dave Stone | Novel | Jason | May 2007 | |
| 8.5 | The Final Amendment | Joseph Lidster | Audio | Kadiatu | October 2007 |
| Missing Adventures | Various | Short story anthology | Various | 27 November 2007 | |
| 8.6 | The Wake | Simon Guerrier | Audio | Peter, Brax, Adrian, Bev, Doggles, Joseph, Hass | January 2008 |
Series 9
- Main article: Series 9 (BFBS)
| # | Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.1 | Beyond the Sea | Eddie Robson | Audio | Peter | June 2008 |
| 9.2 | The Adolescence of Time | Lawrence Miles | July 2008 | ||
| 9.3 | The Adventure of the Diogenes Damsel | Jim Smith | Mycroft, Straxus, Cwejen | August 2008 | |
| The Vampire Curse[8] | Various | Novella anthology | Various | 2 December 2008 | |
| 9.4 | The Diet of Worms | Matthew Sweet | Audio | Peter | September 2008 |
Series 10
- Main article: Series 10 (BFBS)
| # | Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.1 | Glory Days | Nick Wallace | Audio | Peter, Bev, Adrian, Brax | June 2009 |
| 10.2 | Absence | Daniel O'Mahony | Peter | July 2009 | |
| 10.3 | Venus Mantrap | Mark Clapham, Lance Parkin | Adrian, Peter | August 2009 | |
| 10.4 | Secret Origins | Eddie Robson | Peter, Robyn, Brax | September 2009 | |
| Secret Histories | Various | Short story anthology | Various | 1 December 2009 |
Series 11
- Main article: Series 11 (BFBS)
| # | Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dead and Buried | Eddie Robson | Video | Brax | 1 September 2010 | |
| 11.1 | Resurrecting the Past | Audio | Peter, Brax, Bev, Adrian, Robyn, Doggles, Joseph, Hass | September 2010 | |
| Present Danger | Various | Short story anthology | Various | 20 September 2010 | |
| 11.2 | Escaping the Future | Eddie Robson | Audio | Peter, Brax, Bev, Adrian, Doggles, Joseph, Hass | October 2010 |
| 11.3 | Year Zero | Jonathan Clements | November 2010 | ||
| 11.4 | Dead Man's Switch | John Dorney, Richard Dinnick | December 2010 |
Epoch
- Main article: Epoch (audio anthology)
After series 11, Big Finish began to release new Bernice Summerfield audios in collected "boxsets" rather than spread out over months.
| # | Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Kraken's Lament | Mark Wright | Audio | Acanthus, Jack | September 2011 |
| 2 | The Temple of Questions | Jacqueline Rayner | Ruth, Leonidas, Jack, Heskith | ||
| 3 | Private Enemy No. 1 | Tony Lee | Ruth, Leonidas, Heskith, the Epoch | ||
| 4 | Judgement Day | Scott Handcock | Ruth, Jack, the Epoch, Brax |
Road Trip
- Main article: Road Trip (audio anthology)
Road Trip began the pattern that would last until the series' penultimate release, where the boxset would include three audio stories and be accompanied by a tie-in novel.
| # | Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brand Management | Christopher Cooper | Audio | Ruth | February 2012 |
| 2 | Bad Habits | Simon Barnard and Paul Morris | |||
| The Weather on Versimmon[9] | Matthew Griffiths | Novel | |||
| 3 | Paradise Frost | David Llewellyn | Audio | Ruth, Brax, Peter, Jack |
Legion
- Main article: Legion (audio anthology)
| # | Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vesuvius Falling | Tony Lee | Audio | Peter, Ruth, Jack, Brax | September 2012 |
| The Slender-Fingered Cats of Bubastis [9] | Xanna Eve Chown | Novel | Ruth, Jack | 28 September 2012 | |
| 2 | Shades of Gray | Scott Handcock | Audio | Ruth, Jack, Dorian | September 2012 |
| 3 | Everybody Loves Irving | Miles Richardson | Brax, Peter, Ruth, Jack |
Many Happy Returns
The audio story Many Happy Returns was released in November 2012 to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Bernice Summerfield's introduction in Love and War. Its contributors included Xanna Eve Chown, Stephen Cole, Paul Cornell, Stephen Fewell, Simon Guerrier, Scott Handcock, Rebecca Levene, Jacqueline Rayner, Justin Richards, Miles Richardson, Eddie Robson, and Dave Stone. A portion of the proceeds went to the myalgic encephalomyelitis charity "Invest in M.E."
| Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Many Happy Returns | Various | Audio | Joseph, Brax, Adrian, Bev, | November 2012 |
New Frontiers
- Main article: New Frontiers (audio anthology)
| # | Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Handful of Dust | Xanna Eve Chown | Audio | Peter, Ruth, Jack | 30 April 2013 |
| Filthy Lucre | James Parsons and Andrew Stirling-Brown | Novel | Ruth, Jack, Brax | 24 April 2013[10] | |
| 2 | HMS Surprise | Alexander Vlahos | Audio | Peter, Jack | 30 April 2013 |
| 3 | The Curse of Fenman | Gary Russell | Peter, Ruth, Jack, Brax, Fenman |
Missing Persons
- Main article: Missing Persons (audio anthology)
| # | Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adorable Illusion[11] | Gary Russell | Novel | Jack, Adrian, Bev, Fenman | 13 March 2014 | |
| 1 | Big Dig | Hamish Steele | Audio | Ruth, Jack, The Epoch | 24 December 2013 |
| 2 | The Revenant's Carnival | Martin Day | Peter | ||
| 3 | The Brimstone Kid | David Llewellyn | Brax | ||
| 4 | The Winning Side | James Goss | The Epoch | ||
| 5 | In Living Memory | Gary Russell and Scott Handcock | Peter, Ruth, Jack, Brax, The Epoch |
The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield
- Main article: The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield
In 2014, the Bernice Summerfield audio series continued as The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield, now with the Doctor Who license and featuring the Doctor. The release format continued to be annual boxsets, with occasional accompanying book releases under the Bernice Summerfield title.
The Story So Far
- Main article: The Story So Far
To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Bernice Summerfield series in 2018, Big Finish released several boxsets in the Bernice Summerfield range, including Treasury, a collection of narrated Bernice Summerfield short stories narrated by Lisa Bowerman and Andrew Cartmel; and The Story So Far: Volume One and Volume Two, a collection of six new audio stories set throughout Bernice's life.
| # | Title | Author | Medium | Featuring | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treasury | Various | Narrated anthology | Various | 7 August 2018 | |
| 1 | Ever After Happy | James Goss | Audio | 25 September 2018 | |
| 2 | The Grel Invasion of Earth | Jacqueline Rayner | Jason | ||
| 3 | Braxiatel in Love | Simon Guerrier | Brax | ||
| 4 | Every Dark Thought | Eddie Robson | The Valeyard | ||
| 5 | Empress of the Drahvins | David Llewellyn | Ruth | ||
| 6 | The Angel of History | Una McCormack | The Doctor | ||
| In Time | Various | Short story anthology | Various | 19 December 2018 |
Special releases
Crossovers
The Bernice Summerfield range occasionally crossed over with other ranges:
- The Plague Herds of Excelis: was branded as the Bernice Summerfield range story 3.0 but published under the Excelis Saga range.
- The Phantom Wreck: Story from the special anthology The Worlds of Big Finish, a 2015 boxset which also featured characters from Big Finish's Graceless, Iris Wildthyme, Vienna, Sherlock Holmes, and Dorian Gray ranges.
- Benny's Story: part of The Company of Friends anthology from the Main Range, but set during the events of this series.
External links
- Official Bernice Summerfield page at bigfinish.com
Footnotes
- ↑ The Dance of the Dead follows directly from The Plague Herds of Excelis.
- ↑ Despite being released in series 6, The Heart's Desire is technically set before The Masquerade of Death from series 5.
- ↑ Despite being published before it, the anthology Parallel Lives follows from The Goddess Quandry.
- ↑ The Lost Museum follows from Something Changed.
- ↑ Genius Loci is set not during series 6 or 7 but during Benny's earlier life.
- ↑ The short story Mother's Ruin is set a few weeks after Summer of Love.
- ↑ This story tales place contemporaneously with The End of the World and The Final Amendment.
- ↑ Though this anthology was published between The Diet of Worms and Glory Days, there is no gap between those two stories.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 This tie-in novel is set between stories in the accompanying boxset.
- ↑ This novel leads into HMS Surprise.
- ↑ This novel is set before Missing Persons despite being published later.
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