What do you think?
Rate this book
The Third Doctor Adventures #13
Doctor Who: Revolution in Space
The Doctor and Sarah find themselves in an asteroid, on the outer reaches of Earth’s solar system. It’s the future, and humans have colonised this inhospitable place, to mine vital minerals to supply their home planet. However, links with Earth are becoming ever more strained, and forces within the colony are seeking independence. Revolution is in the air. Meanwhile, in the deepest chambers of the asteroid, a powerful force is emerging. Its influence is growing rapidly. But how will it affect Sarah Jane Smith and her place in future history?
- GenresDoctor Who
Audio CD
Published February 1, 2024
16 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Morris
214 books70 followersJonathan Morris is one of the most prolific and popular writers of Doctor Who books, including the highly-regarded novels 'Festival of Death' and 'Touched by an Angel' and the recent guide to monsters, 'The Monster Vault'. He has also written numerous comic strips, most of which were collected in 'The Child of Time', and audios for BBC Audio and Big Finish, including the highly-regarded comedies 'Max Warp' and 'The Auntie Matter', as well as the adaptation of Russell T Davies’ 'Damaged Goods'.
Recently he has started his own audio production company, Average Romp. Releases include a full-cast adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Chimes', an original play, 'When Michael Met Benny', and three episodes of a SF sitcom, 'Dick Dixon in the 21st Century'.
For details visit www.averageromp.com
He also originated his own series, Vienna and script-edited the Nigel Planer series 'Jeremiah Bourne in Time'. He’s also written documentaries and for TV sketch shows.
Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Recently he has started his own audio production company, Average Romp. Releases include a full-cast adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Chimes', an original play, 'When Michael Met Benny', and three episodes of a SF sitcom, 'Dick Dixon in the 21st Century'.
For details visit www.averageromp.com
He also originated his own series, Vienna and script-edited the Nigel Planer series 'Jeremiah Bourne in Time'. He’s also written documentaries and for TV sketch shows.
Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 27, 2025
This six-part (three-hour) story sees the Doctor and Sarah Jane arrive on the asteroid Hygiea, . As the title indicates, and as is clear almost from the beginning, there is a revolution in the planning, as the belters strive for independence from Earth. This obviously invites parallels with The Expanse, and the addition of a mysterious alien artefact only adds to that, as does the fact that Hygiea is entirely real - the largest object in the outer part of the belt, and arguably a "dwarf planet". However, we're late-era Third Doctor here, so, despite a few nods and the presence of a scene in zero-G, this is very much not the hard SF that the other series encapsulates. Arguably, it's more like Colony in Space than anything else, echoing some of the same themes.
Instead, we get something that matches the TV era, albeit telling a story that '70s special effects would have struggled with. It takes full advantage of the long length and, while it does use the trope of people being repeatedly locked up and then escaping, it's not quite as padded as the show would have made it (extended scenes of running down corridors being less effective on audio). The cast is unusually large, too, allowing for disparate plots that converge around the halfway mark. Sometimes that can lead to confusion between characters when you don't have the visuals, and I've found that on some Big Finish audios before, but not here, due in part to a mix of accents and vocal mannerisms keeping people distinctive.
Sarah is, perhaps, more reminiscent of her persona in the Fourth Doctor seasons than the firebrand of, say, The Time Warrior, but she's more than a damsel in distress, playing a key part in the resolution. The whole thing is otherwise very much in the mould of the TV era it's evoking, '70s style incidental music and all, and with several of the key tropes on display. That's a plus from the nostalgia point of view (which is likely what they're aiming for), but may be a disappointment if you're after something a little more groundbreaking. The ending also feels a little pat, and it's perhaps that more than anything else that prevents me from giving it 5 stars.
But if a solid, era-appropriate, Third Doctor story with intertwined plots is what you're looking for, this is a good example.
Instead, we get something that matches the TV era, albeit telling a story that '70s special effects would have struggled with. It takes full advantage of the long length and, while it does use the trope of people being repeatedly locked up and then escaping, it's not quite as padded as the show would have made it (extended scenes of running down corridors being less effective on audio). The cast is unusually large, too, allowing for disparate plots that converge around the halfway mark. Sometimes that can lead to confusion between characters when you don't have the visuals, and I've found that on some Big Finish audios before, but not here, due in part to a mix of accents and vocal mannerisms keeping people distinctive.
Sarah is, perhaps, more reminiscent of her persona in the Fourth Doctor seasons than the firebrand of, say, The Time Warrior, but she's more than a damsel in distress, playing a key part in the resolution. The whole thing is otherwise very much in the mould of the TV era it's evoking, '70s style incidental music and all, and with several of the key tropes on display. That's a plus from the nostalgia point of view (which is likely what they're aiming for), but may be a disappointment if you're after something a little more groundbreaking. The ending also feels a little pat, and it's perhaps that more than anything else that prevents me from giving it 5 stars.
But if a solid, era-appropriate, Third Doctor story with intertwined plots is what you're looking for, this is a good example.
June 4, 2024
This was a really solid audio drama from start to finish, with a good plot and. Recording style that perfectly captures the feel of the Third Doctor’s episodes.
Having recently listened to The Dark Flame, a 2003 audio drama featuring the 7th Doctor, I immediately noticed a lot of similarities between the two stories, particularly in terms of setting, plot, and character roles.
What makes Revolution in Space much better than The dark Flame however comes down to a few things, primarily the length of the audio dramas. Having to fit into a roughly one hour time limit and being told in multiple parts, The Dark Flame had noticeable issues when it came to pacing and plot development, often feeling very rushed. While Revolution in Space hits many of the same plot points, the longer format gives the story a lot more room to develop at a natural pace, and the characters are much better for it.
The whole mind control element found here is also very similar to The Dark Flame, but the pacing allows for slower and better executed character transformations which makes it feel like a much richer story.
While some might find the near-constant score and musical cues annoying, I think it helps set the mood of a Third Doctor adventure perfectly and really adds to the ambience of the story, especially when combined with the excellent audio production work from the team at Big Finish.
That being said, the ending is what keeps this story from being a full 5-stars. I won’t spoil anything about it here, and it’s not a bad ending by any means, but it does feel a little rushed compared to the rest of the story’s pacing, and it ends up feeling a little cheaper than it should because of it.
Overall though, this is an excellent audio drama for fans of the show. There’s a good story, great voice work from the whole cast, and a very good setting with great production value all around. If you’re a fan of Doctor Who, definitely check out A Revolution in Space.
Having recently listened to The Dark Flame, a 2003 audio drama featuring the 7th Doctor, I immediately noticed a lot of similarities between the two stories, particularly in terms of setting, plot, and character roles.
What makes Revolution in Space much better than The dark Flame however comes down to a few things, primarily the length of the audio dramas. Having to fit into a roughly one hour time limit and being told in multiple parts, The Dark Flame had noticeable issues when it came to pacing and plot development, often feeling very rushed. While Revolution in Space hits many of the same plot points, the longer format gives the story a lot more room to develop at a natural pace, and the characters are much better for it.
The whole mind control element found here is also very similar to The Dark Flame, but the pacing allows for slower and better executed character transformations which makes it feel like a much richer story.
While some might find the near-constant score and musical cues annoying, I think it helps set the mood of a Third Doctor adventure perfectly and really adds to the ambience of the story, especially when combined with the excellent audio production work from the team at Big Finish.
That being said, the ending is what keeps this story from being a full 5-stars. I won’t spoil anything about it here, and it’s not a bad ending by any means, but it does feel a little rushed compared to the rest of the story’s pacing, and it ends up feeling a little cheaper than it should because of it.
Overall though, this is an excellent audio drama for fans of the show. There’s a good story, great voice work from the whole cast, and a very good setting with great production value all around. If you’re a fan of Doctor Who, definitely check out A Revolution in Space.
January 24, 2025
As a big fan of Jonathan Morris's Doctor Who work, I was excited by the announcement that he had written a Third Doctor adventure. I like 'Colony in Space' and 'Frontier in Space', so I was pleased to hear he'd deliberately written a story in the same style, creating a trilogy.
The Time lords have sent the Doctor on another mission, this time to an asteroid belt in between Mars and Jupiter. A civilization has built a habitat within an asteroid; a group of people descended from prisoners that were forced to work there and mine. The people want to overtake the governor and make the asteroid officially their home. But recently, someone discovered something dark and beautiful within the asteroid and now the revolutionists are terrified that Earth scientists might come and prevent their uprising. If a revolution was bad enough, that's nothing compared to the prisoner being held up with a holding cell. One of the most dangerous criminals in history has developed psychic powers and they'll do anything to make the colony there's.
Jonathan Morris has come up with a cool concept of a story that initially works out pretty well for its few episodes. However, by the time Part 5 and 6 come around, it completely collapses and becomes noise. The villain of this story to me was initially very unsettling and had a Hannibal Lecter kind of vibe about them, but after they escape their prison, they become incredibly dull and unthreatening.
It's such a shame because the first 4 episodes were fun to listen to, but the climax was a mess. I hated how out of character The Doctor felt in Part 6 when he said that Sarah would have to sacrifice her life in order to save the colony, it's a move that to me The Doctor wouldn't take likely and would usually be adamant it wasn't happening despite maybe knowing it's the only way. The ending felt lazy as well, very rushed.
Overall: It's a story that's starts very well, but it shouldn't have been a six parts and it most certainly should have had fewer elements at play. The last episode was literally a bunch of noise to me as the psychic battles play out. 5/10
The Time lords have sent the Doctor on another mission, this time to an asteroid belt in between Mars and Jupiter. A civilization has built a habitat within an asteroid; a group of people descended from prisoners that were forced to work there and mine. The people want to overtake the governor and make the asteroid officially their home. But recently, someone discovered something dark and beautiful within the asteroid and now the revolutionists are terrified that Earth scientists might come and prevent their uprising. If a revolution was bad enough, that's nothing compared to the prisoner being held up with a holding cell. One of the most dangerous criminals in history has developed psychic powers and they'll do anything to make the colony there's.
Jonathan Morris has come up with a cool concept of a story that initially works out pretty well for its few episodes. However, by the time Part 5 and 6 come around, it completely collapses and becomes noise. The villain of this story to me was initially very unsettling and had a Hannibal Lecter kind of vibe about them, but after they escape their prison, they become incredibly dull and unthreatening.
It's such a shame because the first 4 episodes were fun to listen to, but the climax was a mess. I hated how out of character The Doctor felt in Part 6 when he said that Sarah would have to sacrifice her life in order to save the colony, it's a move that to me The Doctor wouldn't take likely and would usually be adamant it wasn't happening despite maybe knowing it's the only way. The ending felt lazy as well, very rushed.
Overall: It's a story that's starts very well, but it shouldn't have been a six parts and it most certainly should have had fewer elements at play. The last episode was literally a bunch of noise to me as the psychic battles play out. 5/10
July 7, 2024
I loved this story. The 3rd Doctor and Sarah Tardis Team often gets forgotten with the iconic duo of 4 and Sarah getting more of the fame (and rightly so they are amazing together) Yet Big Finish have proven the 3 and Sarah as a Tardis Team are amazing too and this story helps show that. Again, this story feels authentic to the era and nicely feels like it carries on from some of the other Sci-fi Space 3rd Doctor stories on TV such as Colony in Space, The Mutants and Frontier in Space. Saying that it is also standalone so can be listened too without any prior knowledge. The plot is a simple one, a Space Colony wants independence from the Earth Empire and that's basically the plot yet all the drama that develops from that is explored brilliantly in the script. Well worth listening too
November 8, 2024
Revolution in Space takes Doctor 3 and Sarah to the future, where a colony in the asteroid belt is seeking independence from Earth authority, while behind the political plot an alien artifact extends its terrible influence. As a six-parter, this production probably needs the two plots to sustain the duration, especially given that, as usual for a Big Finish production, the cast is rather small. This story has very much a nostalgic sensibility, a familiarity of reaching into the past to reproduce the past. The plot is very similar The Mutants and Colony in Space, and the story proceeds quite along similar lines. So, the fan listener gets rewarded with a fond feeling of revisiting old friends, but this reduces potential quality of the story, which could use some upgrades in plotting.
February 12, 2025
Sadly, this was not for me.
The performances are great and the main cast work perfectly with each other.
However, the story is very much 3 rd Doctor paint by numbers.
It took me a while to finish this. I started out having had listened to the first hour, and then stopped, since I was sure I knew exactly how this was going to go. On a plane journey I finished this. And, no surprise at all, it indeed went exactly how I thought it would.
The performances are great and the main cast work perfectly with each other.
However, the story is very much 3 rd Doctor paint by numbers.
It took me a while to finish this. I started out having had listened to the first hour, and then stopped, since I was sure I knew exactly how this was going to go. On a plane journey I finished this. And, no surprise at all, it indeed went exactly how I thought it would.
April 12, 2024
a six parter is a tall order - and i love johnny morris. but, this wasn’t my favourite third doctor story.
but, i found lots of the themes interesting enough. i liked the special ability add-in. the performances from main and supporting cast were fantastic, of course.
3/5
but, i found lots of the themes interesting enough. i liked the special ability add-in. the performances from main and supporting cast were fantastic, of course.
3/5
March 4, 2024
Great story but none of the six parts are 30 minutes. Highest is 27. For the price, each two parter should be an hour or more.
January 4, 2025
Interesting approach to how The Doctor and Sarah help these people. Also telling that The Doctor dreams that he's still traveling with Jo.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews