Big Finish has released details of two forthcoming Fifth Doctor main range releases and they’re linked! The two form the story Shadow of the Daleks and will arrive late 2020. It’s also (thanks to lockdown) a set of eight short stories, not two longer ones. Interesting!

The full press release follows.

The Fifth Doctor meets the Time War?

Something is very wrong. The Fifth Doctor is lost in the Time War, heading for an encounter with his oldest and deadliest enemies in a mini-season of full-cast audio adventures.  

Due in late 2020 as part of Big Finish’s Monthly Adventures range, these eight Doctor Who stories, split across two releases, star Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, chasing the Daleks through time and space on a journey of ultimate terror…  

Each of the stories was recorded remotely during lockdown with a small “rep company” of brilliant actors including Nicholas Briggs, Dervla Kirwan, Anjli Mohindra and Olivier Award winner Jamie Parker.  

Doctor Who: Shadow of the Daleks Parts 1 and 2 are now available to pre-order as collector’s edition box sets (on CD at £14.99 each) and as digital downloads (at £12.99 each) exclusively from www.bigfinish.com. 

Part 1, due for release in October 2020, contains four one-episode adventures:  

Aimed at the Body by James Kettle 

An encounter with a notorious cricketing legend should be right up the Doctor’s street. But the unexpected appearance of an old enemy is about to send the Doctor on a quest. 

Lightspeed by Jonathan Morris 

The trail has led the Doctor to a spaceship in the far future – where he finds himself trapped in the middle of a terrifying revenge plot. 

The Bookshop at the End of the World by Simon Guerrier 

It’s very easy to forget yourself and get lost in a bookshop. But in some bookshops more than most… 

Interlude by Dan Starkey 

The play’s the thing! Or is it? The Doctor is roped into a theatrical spectacular — but who is he really performing to? 

Part 2, due for release in November 2020, contains four more exciting episodes:  

The Echo Chamber by Jonathan Barnes 

It’s the radio talk show where everyone’s free to call in with their opinions. Time to welcome its host — the Doctor! 

Towards Zero by Roland Moore 

The Doctor finds himself in an old country house where he has to solve a very unusual murder — his own! 

Castle Hydra by Lizzie Hopley 

Nearing the end of his journey, the Doctor enters a jail filled with familiar faces. But who are the prisoners and who are the wardens? 

Effect and Cause by John Dorney 

A crash in the vortex leads the Doctor to the source of his all his troubles, and to the Daleks. The answers are here. If he can live long enough to find them. 

Producer David Richardson said:

“Necessity really is the mother of invention. In the very early days of lockdown, we knew we would have to adapt some of our plans for the Monthly Adventures range. What we needed were two releases that could be achieved with one Doctor and four guest cast members, recording remotely in a block. When you have a brief like that, it’s not at all restricting – it forces you to do something different, something bold, something fun.  

“So what we have in Shadow of the Daleks Parts 1 and 2 are eight half-hour stories, in which the Doctor lands in different times, different places… and keeps meeting the same faces, but as different people. The mystery is heightened by the oblique appearances of Daleks. And not only that – these are Time War-era Daleks! 

“And so we had a lot of fun with these stories – weaving them together, pushing in different directions, and getting to play with the audacious concept. And Peter Davison really enjoyed it – we had a fantastic and esteemed guest cast, and by the end of recording it was almost like we were at the studio together, sipping coffee in the green room and chatting like old friends.”