#60 Dalek Empire: "Death to the Daleks!"

My Randomoid Selectortron squeaks away from another sinister trap, and into...

Dalek Empire: The Demons

As with past Dalek Empire selections, I'm overriding the random selection to listen to Dalek Empire in order.

Dalek Empire: "Death to the Daleks!"

Starring: Sarah Mowat as Susan Mendes, Mark McDonnell as Alby Brook, and Gareth Thomas as Kalendorf
Format: One full-cast CD (or download) with no episode breaks.
Silly? No.
Standalone? No. 
Recommended? Yes, although I say this without having heard the conclusion of the series.

My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it and preceding Dalek Empire episodes.

#59 Doctor Who Special Releases: No Place Like Home

My Randomoid Selectortron will have to return to France and the Great War someday to finish the job, but for now it visits...

Doctor Who Special Releases: No Place Like Home

Starring: Peter Davison as the Doctor Caroline Morris as Erimem, and Mark Donovan as Shayde
Format: One half-CD-length episode.
Silly? Yes.
Standalone? It's aimed at people who might not have heard any Big Finish Doctor Who before.
Recommended? Yes.


My thoughts on this story contain spoilers for it.

#58 Doctor Who: Dark Eyes: The Great War

The scanner of my Randomoid Selectortron is still unable to home in on Bernice Summerfield: Beyond the Sun, and so I instead set course for...

Doctor Who: Dark Eyes

Dark Eyes is a 4-disc boxset, so I am following my usual tactic of treating this as a selection of the first disc and leaving the set available for re-selection.

Doctor Who: Dark Eyes: The Great War

Starring: Paul McGann as the Doctor and Ruth Bradley as Molly O'Sullivan
Format: One full-cast CD (or download) of four, with no internal episode breaks.
Silly? No.
Standalone? No. 
Recommended? As an episode in itself, definitely no.

My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it and for the final arc of Eighth Doctor Adventures.

#57 UNIT: The Longest Night

The Randomoid Selectortron speeds away, preparing me for high-altitude insertion into...

Bernice Summerfield: Beyond the Sun

Beyond the Sun is a standalone release and there's no content-related reason for me to be overriding the selection, but it was never released as a download and I can't find it among the physical CDs in my immediate possession. I am pretty sure it's in my room somewhere, but I'm not going to ransack the entire room looking for it today. I will manually select it when I find it. For now, I'm going to mash randomize some more and get to...

UNIT: The Longest Night

Starring: Siri O'Neal as Emily Chaudhry, Nicholas Deal as Robert Dalton, and Michael Hobbs as Francis Currie
Format: One full-cast CD-length episode.
Silly? No.
Standalone? No. This is the beginning of the end of UNIT audio series 1.
Recommended? Yes.

My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it and the rest of its season.

#56 Doctor Who Companion Chronicles: Project: Nirvana

As the curtain closes on Terrance Dicks's stage spectacle, my Randomoid Selectortron exits the theatre, its next stop...

Doctor Who Companion Chronicles: Project: Nirvana

Starring: Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, Maggie O'Neill as Lysandra, and Amy Pemberton as Sally
Format: Narrated three-actor single CD (or download) in two half-CD parts
Silly? No.
Standalone? No. This is not a typical Companion Chronicle; it is a supplemental installment to an arc of the Doctor Who monthly range, released during that arc.
Recommended? Yes, but not without context.

My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it and potential spoilers for other Seventh Doctor audio releases related to it.

#55 Doctor Who: The Stageplays: Seven Keys to Doomsday

I've delved into Doctorless Dalek stories twice in a row now. The odds of another one are pretty low, but this Randomoid Selectortron has surprised me in the past. Let's see where it lands...

Doctor Who: The Stageplays: Seven Keys to Doomsday

Starring: Trevor Martin as the Doctor, Charlie Hayes as Jenny, and Joe Thompson as Jimmy
Format: Two full-cast CDs (or download) with one act per CD
Silly? Childish, but not particularly funny.
Standalone? Yes
Recommended? No, but I will say the cast do a good job of acting.

My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it.

#54 I, Davros: Purity

On the cusp of a Dalek attack, my Randomoid Selectortron flees the scene to bring me to...

I, Davros: Corruption

I've selected an out-of-order I, Davros episode again, so I'm backing up the Selectortron slightly to park where I'm up to in the series...

I, Davros: Purity

Starring: Terry Molloy as Davros
Format: One full-cast CD (or download) with no episode breaks
Silly? No.
Standalone? No. Prior awareness of the events of Innocence is required.
Recommended? Yes, after Innocence.

My reactions to this story contain spoilers for itself and I, Davros: Innocence, and possibly for related stories such as Dalek Empire and Davros.

#53 Dalek Empire: The Human Factor

My Randomoid Selectortron flees the planet Saravas in paranoia and confusion. Memory grows hazy and I recover consciousness in...

Dalek Empire: The Future

Dalek Empire episodes are sold separately, but I've already made the decision to listen in order, so a manual override brings me to:

Dalek Empire: The Human Factor

Starring: Sarah Mowat as Susan Mendes, Gareth Thomas as Kalendorf, Mark McDonnell as Alby, and John Wadmore as Gordon
Format: 1 full-cast CD (or download) with no internal episode breaks
Silly? No.
Standalone? No.
Recommended? Yes, after Invasion of the Daleks.

My reaction to this story contains spoilers for it.

#52 Bernice Summerfield: Missing Persons: Big Dig

The Randomoid Selectortron follows the CORDIS briefly, then takes a forty-five degree turn to chart a course for...

Bernice Summerfield: Missing Persons


This is from the same series of boxsets as Epoch, and like I did when I randomly selected Epoch, I'm doing just one story from it for this selection.

Bernice Summerfield: Missing Persons: Big Dig

Starring: Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield, Ayesha Antoine as Ruth, and David Ames as Jack
Format: 1 full-cast CD (or download) with no internal episode breaks, disc 1 of 4 not sold separately
Silly? There is some comical media satire, but it's not silly on the whole.
Standalone? No. The resolution to the mystery of the episode depends on Epoch, and there is a status quo change leading into the next episode.
Recommended? If you're up to this point in Bernice Summerfield's chronology, keep going; don't try to jump in here.

My reactions to this story contain spoilers for itself, subsequent parts of Missing Persons, and other Bernice Summerfield boxsets.

#51 Doctor Who: The Word Lord

My Randomoid Selectortron departs a Europe on the brink of war and transports me to...

Doctor Who: The Word Lord

Starring: Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, Sophie Aldred as Ace, and Philip Olivier as Hes
Format: One full-cast half-CD-length download (also available as part of a 2-CD anthology)
Silly? Yes, in a somewhat horror-story way
Standalone? The Word Lord has loose links to other stories preceding it in the anthology Forty-Five. The fact that The Word Lord was released as its own separate download is because of its importance to the later audio A Death in the Family.
Recommended? If you are listening to the groundwork for A Death in the Family, then The Word Lord is essential. Otherwise, it might make more sense not to purchase it separately from Forty-Five.

My reaction to this audio contains spoilers for it and mild spoilers for Bernice Summerfield and the Criminal Code and A Death in the Family.

#50 Doctor Who: Year of the Pig

The Randomoid Selectortron departs the house by the sea, trailing teeth and shadows, and lands in...

Doctor Who: Year of the Pig

Starring: Colin Baker as the Doctor and Nicola Bryant as Peri
Format: Two full-cast CDs (or download) as two 1-CD episodes
Silly? Yes, though somewhat to deeper thematic effect rather than purely for comedy.
Standalone? Yes.
Recommended? If you are comfortable with Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant being silly.

My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it and possible spoilers for Peri and the Piscon Paradox.