‘THE LIGHT AT THE END’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
The Doctors, the Companions and the Master – Celebrating 50 Years of ‘Doctor Who’
23rd November 2013.
The 50th anniversary of ‘Doctor Who’ in 2013! What a year to remember!
I was looking forward to seeing a TV episode of ‘Doctor Who’ that celebrated the 50th anniversary featuring all the Doctors and the companions. I wanted a party atmosphere in the same vein as the ‘The Five Doctors’. Obviously that wasn’t going to happen with the current TV series of ‘Doctor Who’.
So therefore, Big Finish came up with ‘The Light At The End’, a superb multi-Doctor adventure to celebrate 50 years of the show’s history, featuring the surviving classic doctors; the companions and the Master. I couldn’t wait to hear this adventure. Shame Doctors 9, 10 and 11 couldn’t appear in it.
This is a 5-disc set limited edition, with the story on the first two discs, Disc 3 containing a ‘making-of’ documentary; Disc 4 containing a Big Finish documentary and Disc 5 containing ‘The Revenants’.
I listened to this audio adventure in the car with my parents when we went on a family weekend to Chichester. It was a day before the 23rd of November 2013, in the lead-up for the 50th anniversary.
‘The Light At The End’ is a story about the first eight Doctors who experience a crisis that is affecting the universe. The life of Bob Dovie, an ordinary man, gets ripped apart on the 23rd November 1963.
The Doctors and their companions must stop this crisis before their existence is at risk. I’m so pleased Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann appeared in this.
I’m also pleased Louise Jameson, Sarah Sutton, Nicola Bryant, Sophie Aldred and India Fisher appeared as the main companions in this story. It wouldn’t do to have an anniversary without them.
I was very thrilled by the 50th anniversary theme music as it makes the story so epic. This is a better 50th anniversary story to celebrate the history of ‘Doctor Who’ compared to ‘The Day of the Doctor’.
This is a two-part adventure running 100 minutes approx. It was written and directed by Nicholas Briggs. I’m very pleased Nick Briggs said ‘yes’ in doing this amazing multi-Doctor anniversary special.
This story was released in three versions – a standard edition; a limited edition and a vinyl edition. I purchased the limited edition since it had more features and I sadly don’t have a vinyl record player.
I’ve had the limited edition of ‘The Light At The End’ signed by Nicholas Briggs; Peter Davison; Colin Baker; Sylvester McCoy; Paul McGann; Louise Jameson; Sarah Sutton; Nicola Bryant; Sophie Aldred; John Dorney and Tim Treloar.
The limited edition is presented as a lavish booklet containing a CIA Time Lords’ report of the story. There are also amazing behind-the-scenes group photos of the Doctors and companions inside in it.
Peter; Colin; Sylvester; Paul; Louise; Sarah; Nicola and Sophie have signed the group photos inside the booklet for me. I’m happy about this, as the classic era of ‘Doctor Who’ means so much to me from conventions.
The story starts with Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor and India Fisher as Charley. Hearing Paul and India as the Doctor and Charley again was superb. It feels right that they should be together in this.
The Eighth Doctor and Charley discover the mystery first in connection with Earth, 1963. They end up on a war-like landscape with strange flower-like creatures and funny robots, which is interesting.
They soon bump into the Fourth Doctor and Leela. I was pleased Tom Baker wanted to do a multi-Doctor adventure as the Fourth Doctor, and it’s great he’s joined by Louise Jameson as Leela in this.
The Fourth Doctor and Leela make their appearance when Charley appears in their TARDIS. I like Charley’s first meeting with them and I liked the Fourth and Eighth Doctors working together in this.
Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor and Sarah Sutton as Nyssa are my favourite part of the story. It’s so great that Sarah gets to be a part of the 50th anniversary through Big Finish instead of the TV series.
The adventure with the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa is pivotal. They solve a mystery with Bob Dovie at his house in 1963. I like it when Nyssa is a ‘police sergeant’ by the Doctor and they discover the Master.
It was a joy to hear Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Nicola Bryant as Peri. Colin has done plenty of audios as the Doctor, so it’s great to hear him partake in the 50th anniversary special by Big Finish.
I liked it when Colin’s Doctor gets to save the day as he discovers the Time Lords’ involvement and brings the Doctors together. I like it when Six and Peri meet up with the Seven Doctor and Ace here.
Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and Sophie Aldred as Ace are great together in this adventure. They have had more adventures as the Doctor and Ace through these Big Finish audios.
I liked it when they’re searching around a walled area and Ace gets to use her Nitro-9. Things get tense when Ace (and the other ‘Doctor Who’ companions in this adventure) is erased by the Master.
Surprisingly, the first three Doctors get to make an appearance in this 50th anniversary special story. The First Doctor gets voiced by William Russell whilst the Second Doctor gets voiced by Frazer Hines.
Both William and Frazer have voiced for their Doctors in ‘The Lost Stories’. The Third Doctor is voiced by Tim Treloar. The Seventh Doctor gets in contact with the first three Doctors when in the TARDIS.
Geoffrey Beavers delivers a superb performance as the Master, the villain of this 50th anniversary adventure. This is the decayed Master set between ‘The Deadly Assassin’ and ‘The Keeper of Traken’.
A chill went down my spine when Nyssa discovered it is the Master from who he was before he came to Traken in this story. It was interesting to discover what the Master was up to from this tale.
John Dorney guest stars as Bob Dovie in this adventure. I’m sure he’s very pleased to be part of the 50th anniversary of ‘Doctor Who’ through Big Finish. Bob’s the catalyst of this crisis with the Doctors.
It transpires that Bob says something significant about something which to him ‘is just impossible’. It happens when he joins the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa in the TARDIS. I’ll let you find that out for yourself.
There are lots of companion cameos in this story. These include Carole Ann Ford, William Russell; Maureen O’Brien; Peter Purves; Jean Marsh; Anneke Wills; Frazer Hines; Wendy Padbury; Katy Manning; Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson.
I really enjoyed it when all the Doctors meet up and they work together. Hearing Tom; Peter; Colin; Sylvester and Paul in the same scenes during the second half of the adventure was so extraordinary.
Also when Tom and Paul’s Doctors distract the Master whilst Peter, Colin and Sylvester’s Doctors sort things out Bob Dovie was exciting to listen to. It highlights how the Doctors work well together.
I wished though that the companions had a bigger part to play in this story as they were erased by the Master. I would have liked to hear Leela, Nyssa, Peri, Ace and Charley interact with each other.
I enjoyed how the story ends with the eight Doctors, having solved the crisis, go to visit Bob Dovie at his house to check that he’s alright. Bob Dovie is really rattled when Eight and Charley are visiting him.
‘The Light At the End’ is a fantastic audio adventure to celebrate 50 years of ‘Doctor Who’. I’m pleased to have listened to it in the car with my parents to Chichester as it settled me in the mood.
This 50th anniversary story by Big Finish features everything I love about the classic series of ‘Doctor Who’. The story features my favourite Doctors and companions whom I have met from conventions.
‘THE MAKING OF THE LIGHT AT THE END’
Nicholas Briggs, Peter Davison, Geoffrey Beevers, Sophie Aldred, Sylvester McCoy and Sarah Sutton in ‘The Light At The End’.
I enjoyed the making-of documentary on Disc 3 on this limited edition of ‘The Light At the End’. It features plenty of behind-the-scenes interviews with classic ‘Doctor Who’ stars and Big Finish crew.
This documentary looks into how writer/director Nicholas Briggs and producer David Richardson came up with this multi-Doctor story for the 50th anniversary and assembling a galactic cast of stars.
As well as Nick Briggs and David Richardson, there are interviews with the Doctors and the companions. It’s a shame not everyone worked together in the same room in this audio adventure.
The Doctors interviewed in this include Tom Baker; Peter Davison; Colin Baker; Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann. I enjoyed hearing the comments made by the actors, especially when they talk about anniversary postage stamps and Sylvester mentioning playing Radagast the Brown in ‘The Hobbit’ film trilogy.
I was delighted to hear the companions interviewed in this, including Louise Jameson, Sarah Sutton, Nicola Bryant, Sophie Aldred and India Fisher. I liked how they talked and reflected on their time in the TV series. They seem so grateful to Big Finish to be continuing on in ‘Doctor Who’ and rightly so.
I met Sarah, Louise, Sophie and Colin at ‘Timeless Collectors’ in Fareham before Christmas 2014 when they signed the limited edition CD booklet for me. Sylvester signed it in Slough, January 2015 and Peter signed it in Eastleigh, Hampshire, July 2015. Nicola signed it in Newcastle, October 2015 and Paul signed it in Folkestone, May 2018. I chatted with them about the 50th anniversary in general and ‘The Day of the Doctor’.
The documentary has interviews with William Russell; Frazer Hines; Carole Ann Ford; Anneke Wills and Tim Treloar who played the earlier Doctors and companions. There’s also Geoffrey Beevers; John Dorney; Oliver Hume (who played Straxus) and composer/sound designer Jamie Robertson.
THIS IS BIG FINISH
Peter Davison, Sylvester McCoy and Geoffrey Beevers in ‘The Light At The End’.
This is another good documentary focusing on Big Finish on Disc 4. It celebrates the 50th anniversary of ‘Doctor Who’ by looking into the achievements made by Big Finish during 2013 and also beyond.
Nick Briggs and David Richardson get interviewed in this documentary. There are also interviews with the classic Doctors; companions and many more who have shared in the success of Big Finish.
The Doctors include Tom Baker; Peter Davison; Colin Baker; Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann interviewed for this documentary. I liked how they reflect on their time in the TV series and how Big Finish has made an impact on their lives by continuing on for them in ‘Doctor Who’ in recent years.
Many companions get interviewed including William Russell; Carole Ann Ford; Anneke Wills; Frazer Hines; Louise Jameson, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding; Nicola Bryant, Sophie Aldred and India Fisher. Equally they reflect on their involvement in ‘Doctor Who’ and their delight in working for Big Finish.
Sophie Aldred, Geoffrey Beevers and Sarah Sutton in ‘The Light At The End’.
I enjoyed listening Sarah’s comments about Nyssa having an extended history in Big Finish compared to the TV series. I also enjoyed Sophie mentioning using ‘a baseball bat’ to beat up a Dalek; and the complications of Sylvester working on both ‘The Hobbit’ film trilogy and ‘Doctor Who’ at the same time.
The documentary also looks into the successes of many Big Finish audios including the Klein stories; the spin-offs such as ‘Jago & Litefoot’, ‘Counter-Measures’ and ‘Vienna’. There are also mentions of the upcoming Big Finish box sets including ‘Philip Hinchcliffe Presents’ and ‘The Fifth Doctor Box Set’.
There are also interviews with Tracey Childs (Elizabeth Klien); Geoffrey Beevers (the Master); Terry Molloy (Davros); producer Phillip Hinchcliffe of the Tom Baker era and script editor Alan Barnes.
This is a superb collector’s edition from Big Finish that is worthy to celebrate 50 years of ‘Doctor Who’. This and ‘The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot’ are, for me, the best anniversary specials for the 50th year of ‘Doctor Who’. I highly recommend ‘The Light At the End’ to anyone that loves this show as I do.
‘The Light At The End’ rating – 9/10
‘THE LIGHT AT THE END’ WITH THE STARS
In October 2013, ‘The Light At The End’, the 50th anniversary audio special by Big Finish was released. It was originally meant to be released in November 2013. I recall this well, as on the day of the announcement, I was about to go to a convention held in Newcastle called ‘Dimensions 2013’.
Thankfully when I came back from my weekend in Newcastle, I received my copy of ‘The Light At The End’ in the post. Over the weekend however, many stars of ‘Doctor Who’ who appeared in the 50th anniversary special by Big Finish got their copy in advance and had photos taken at the convention.
This of course was to promote ‘The Light At The End’ to ‘Doctor Who’ fans for the 50th anniversary. I managed to find these photos of the stars on Facebook. Check these photos out as they’re very good.
I like the photos with Sarah Sutton, Wendy Padbury, Tom Baker, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, William Russell, Peter Purves and Anneke Wills with their copies of ‘The Light At The End’.
| The previous story
For the First Doctor was For Ian was
For Barbara was For Susan was
For Vicki was
For Steven was
For Sara was
For the Second Doctor was For Polly was For Ben was For Jamie was For Zoe was For the Third Doctor was
For Jo was
For Sarah Jane was
For the Fourth Doctor was For Leela was For the Fifth Doctor was For Nyssa was For Tegan was For Turlough was For the Sixth Doctor was For Peri was For the Seventh Doctor was For Ace was For the Eighth Doctor was
For Charley was
|
The next story
For the First Doctor is
For Ian is
For Barbara is
For Susan is
For Vicki is For Vicki is For Sara is
For the Second Doctor is
For Polly is
For Ben is
For Jamie is For Zoe is For the Third Doctor is
For Jo is
For Sarah Jane is For the Fourth Doctor is
For Leela is
For the Fifth Doctor is For Nyssa is For Tegan is For Turlough is For the Sixth Doctor is
For Peri is
For the Seventh Doctor is For Ace is
For the Eighth Doctor is
For Charley is
|
| Return to The First Doctor’s Timeline | |
| Return to Ian’s Timeline | |
| Return to Barbara’s Timeline | |
| Return to Susan’s Timeline | |
| Return to Vicki’s Timeline | |
| Return to Steven’s Timeline | |
| Return to Sara’s Timeline | |
| Return to The Second Doctor’s Timeline | |
| Return to Polly’s Timeline | |
| Return to Ben’s Timeline | |
| Return to Jamie’s Timeline | |
| Return to Zoe’s Timeline | |
| Return to The Third Doctor’s Timeline | |
| Return to Jo’s Timeline | |
| Return to Sarah Jane’s Timeline | |
| Return to The Fourth Doctor’s Timeline | |
| Return to Leela’s Timeline | |
| Return to The Fifth Doctor’s Timeline | |
| Return to Nyssa’s Timeline | |
| Return to Tegan’s Timeline | |
| Return to Turlough’s Timeline | |
| Return to The Sixth Doctor’s Timeline | |
| Return to Peri’s Timeline | |
| Return to The Seventh Doctor’s Timeline | |
| Return to Ace’s Timeline | |
| Return to The Eighth Doctor’s Timeline | |
| Return to Charley’s Timeline | |
| Return to The Doctors’ Timelines Index | |
| Return to The Companions’ Timelines Index | |
| Return to Doctor Who Timelines | |
| Return to Doctor Who | |
| Return to Sci-Fi |
Bradley's Basement 
Epic review of the highest calibre, i own this 5 disc set & it’s awesome.
You really given a detailed explanation of the contents & about the story & characters, I’m thrilled Tom did this audio because it’s a apology to fans in a way for his non participating in The Five Doctors which at 8 yr old me was devastated at the time so this kinda makes up for that.
Each Doctor & companion gets something to do & the story is exciting, action packed & entertaining.
Thoroughly enjoyed reading your review Tim & the photos really set it off.
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Thanks Simon.
Glad you enjoyed my review on ‘The Light At The End’. I cherish the 5 disc set a lot, especially for the 50th anniversary.
I’m pleased you like the detail in my review about the content of this story and of the character. Yes it is good that Tom Baker got to star in this audio adventure with the other classic Doctors as it fulfills the 50th anniversary for me. I’m just sad that BF weren’t able to add on Christopher Eccelston, David Tennant and Matt Smith to the cast list.
I enjoyed each of the stories of the Doctors and the companions in this story, as it fulfills what I feel an 50th anniversary story should be.
Glad you like the photo items I’ve added to my review. It certainly helps to make the Big Finish reviews more colourful, especially with the 5 disc CD set I’ve got of ‘Light At The End’.
Many thanks for your comments, Simon. Glad this review kept you entertained.
Tim. 🙂
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