With Doctor Who‘s future unclear, it’s once again fallen to tie-in mediums to carry the torch. The Doctor Who fandom was understandably shaken when the BBC put the world’s longest-running sci-fi TV show out for tender, which likely means it will be years before the series reinvents itself again. Fans are comparing this to the “Wilderness Years” after Doctor Who‘s cancellation in 1989, which isn’t entirely fair. Still, as in the Wilderness Years, it’s now fallen to tie-in mediums to keep the franchise going strong while the show’s future is secured.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Big Finish has just announced a brand new Doctor Who audio-drama, with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper returning in The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Dark Tides, releasing in August 2026. The story promises to be a brutal, Gothis adventure in which the Doctor and Rose head into deep space, past the edge of the known, on the trail of the Versterbold; a mapping ship that explored too far and vanished. Drawing on folk tales, medieval adventures, and pirate stories, the drama is written by award-nominated writer Tim Foley. Here’s the full synopsis:
“A long-lost ship, the Vesterbold, has returned to normal space. And the Knights of Atlas seek her treasure. But two strangers have joined their expedition – the Doctor and Rose, who warn of danger.
For the Vesterbold has drifted free of the Dark Tides at the edge of the universe. And she may have brought something back with her. Not even the bravest knights are ready for the evil which lies inside…”
For Doctor Who, the Future Lies in the Past
The Russell T. Davies era has ended with Doctor Who in a worse position than 1989. Season 15 ended with a cliffhanger regeneration, with the Doctor apparently regenerating into the form of former companion Billie Piper. The showrunner intended this as a hook that he hoped would lead to a renewal, but things didn’t work out that way, and it’s become a problem. In 1989, Doctor Who writers could continue the current Doctor’s adventures; but nobody knows what to make of Piper’s return, meaning Davies essentially drew a line that tie-ins cannot go beyond. Given that’s the case, these other mediums can only look to the past.
Fortunately, Big Finish has excelled at this kind of approach since 1999. The company routinely brings back classic Doctors, including Tom Baker, Peter Davison, David Tennant, Jodie Whittaker, and Jo Martin – the Fugitive Doctor who seems to be becoming emblematic of this new era. Ironically, several recent transmedia adventures have been distances from the show due to constraints imposed by the BBC charter; the “Time Lord Victorious” epic was a phenomenal success, “Doom’s Day” less so, but the current “Circuit Breaker” event shows a lot of promise.
Dark Tides sounds particularly exciting. “I’m delighted to be sending the Doctor and Rose into deep space,” writer Tim Foley observed in an official press release. “it’s the deepest kind of space at that, where impossible things lurk in the dark. But perhaps the light can be scarier than the dark… I’ve always wanted to write a brutal, gothic space adventure, so I can’t wait for you to meet the Knights of Atlas, and their curious damsel in distress, played by the brilliant Doon Mackichan.”
Eccleston and Piper didn’t really have enough space adventures; the first season of Doctor Who was relatively hesitant, with Russell T. Davies reluctant of pushing too far, too fast. He wanted to ensure the characters were relatable, so remained Earthbound (much to the frustration of long-term fans). That makes it particularly exciting to see Big Finish put this right, with a Doctor Who story of much greater scale.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
More TV Shows
-
Image Courtesy of Warner Bros -
Image courtesy of Marvel Animation
