The Eighth of March

The Eighth of March #1

by Lisa McMullin, Lizzie Hopley, Gemma Langford

Scattered through all of space and time, there are many women whose paths have crossed that of the Doctor.

Some were once fellow TARDIS travellers, some staunch allies defending the Earth, and one was the Doctor’s wife…

From Victorian London, to an intergalactic convention, from the offices of UNIT, to an impossible university library – on the 8th of March, four very different adventures will unfold.

1.1 Emancipation by Lisa McMullin

When River Song crashes a Galactic Heritage convention, posing as the wrong Time Lord, Leela is sent by Gallifrey to investigate.

But before the canapés are cold and the champagne becomes warm, they find themselves embroiled in a royal kidnapping.

1.2 The Big Blue Book by Lizzie Hopley

With the Doctor AWOL, Benny and Ace are left to their own devices, going native in a Liverpool university.

Benny accepts an invitation she really shouldn’t, and Ace meets a very strange collector.

An alien library is about to gain a big, blue book… but where’s the TARDIS?

1.3 Inside Every Warrior by Gemma Langford

The Great Detective, Madame Vastra, aided by her resourceful spouse, Jenny Flint, and loyal valet, Strax, is looking into a series of mysterious break-ins.

An eccentric scientist and his put-upon assistant are the latest victims. Evidence mounts, with animal footprints and a trail of destruction.

1.4 Narcissus by Sarah Grochala

When one of their own goes missing, Kate Stewart and the two Osgoods decide to investigate.

Narcissus is interested only in the most beautiful people, but as the UNIT operatives are about to discover, its true purpose is something far from desirable.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction

Audiobook

First published March 8, 2019

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first of the women's day stories was River and Leela which was really nice. Plus the writer had River kissing a woman in the first two minutes. It makes me happy when they remember she's bi! (Which is probably the first time they have at Big finish!) Of the previous 20 stories done by BF for River 3 had been written by women. And it made such a difference for this one!

The second story was Ace and Benny (largely just Ace) and an evil library and Librarian! So of course I liked that.

The third story was Vastra and Jenny (and Strax!) It was lovely to hear just how affectionate those two were on audio, being able to talk more about their relationship. There is SUCH A shortage of out queer women in Big finish stories. (and if they do turn up they die before the end) SO having this story with these two was extra lovely.

The fourth story was probably my second favourite after River and Leela. Here we had the two Osgoods back! Something BF have kinda ignored. Plus we didn't get the unbalanced gender of unit audio stories. In fact for once Josh Carter was the Only dude! And he got imprisoned. It was a nice turn around. And it was kinda a love letter to Osgood which was BRILLIANT.

I just wish all stories could be like this! Why can't we have women focused audios EVERY day instead of one special a year? One thing I always notice about Doctor who is how Nearly ALL the aliens are male, or represented by males, or voiced by male voice actors. And guess what, when the stories were written by women, this didn't happen! New aliens in new stories and they were women! Minor characters as well as major characters were women! There were queer women AND THEY DIDN'T DIE!

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This set was a great idea, and perfect as a celebration of International Women's Month. Doctor Who has a long history of fantastic female characters.

Leela and River Song are thrown together when River crashes a conference pretending to be Romana. The banter between the leads overshadows the plot here, and that's fine. The witty lines are priceless. Best Leela quote; I will kneel before nobody. She is not my Queen!
— Leela of the Sevateem in Emancipation (which is confusing as there's another Gallifrey episode called Emancipation).

We get Benny and Ace in the next tale, The Big Blue Book, a bonkers story where people are turned to books, and the TARDIS (a great female character in her own right) in put in mortal danger. A little more Benny here would have been nice, but it was a fun romp. You’ll never catch up with her. She’s Bernice Summerfield. She’s like a superhero, without a cape!"
—
Ace about Bernice in the Big Blue book

The Patornoster Gang make their audio debut in Inside Every Warrior, and it was a great taste of what we can hope for in the forthcoming boxed set. Here Strax is kidnapped, and Vastra and Jenny come to rescue him. It's a great tale invoking werewolf tales and Jekyll and Hyde, but it's really about family. Loved it.

Admittedly, i'm behind on the UNIT audios and have only listened to the old ones. Narcissus, a UNIT story. We've finally moved up to the 2 Osgood period! Carter is missing after a date through an online dating service, and Kate and the Osgoods go to his rescue. This one moves quickly, and has a lot of great moments, especially with the Osgoods.

[Liawèn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Boxset by BigFinish. I enjoyed each of the four stories. It was great to have familiar characters and to get to know new characters. if someone has the Classic Who and doesn't need it anymore, send it my way. I really want to watch it now after encountering Benny and Ace. They sound like so much fun.
The story with River had its fair share of twists and turns. You expect nothing less when my favourite assassin/archaeologist is involved.
The case of the Paternoster Gang was awesome. Vastra and Jenny being their awesome selfs and Strax helping them out. It was nice to hear that they both appreciate him and not only see him as a servant.
And the UNIT story was everthing I hoped for: two Osgoods, Kate Stewart and Jackie McGee being badass. I just love them. I can't wait for the new UNIT and more from the Paternoster Gang. Victorian London, Silurians and crime-solving. What else can a girl wish for?

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting premise, all four stories in this anthology take place on the Eighth of March but during different years (even centuries), but as that’s the only linking element it’s not much of a connection. Still ...

Emancipation ~ Opens the anthology with River Song and Leela both looking into an attempted kidnapping, but for very different reasons and very different causes. This could get pretty ugly pretty fast, but there is enough commonality between the woman that they don’t come to blows (as always seemed to happen in old issues of Marvel Team-Up) and instead they share information to help them both achieve their goals. Cooperation is always more effective than warfare. But who would have thought these two would figure that out?

The Big Blue Book ~ While seeming on an extended stay on Earth, the seventh Doctor has left Ace and Bernice Summerfield to make their own way and they find themselves embroiled in a rather odd missing persons investigation. To make things worse it looks like Ace may have lost the TARDIS, permanently. And if she can’t figure this out on her own, she just may have lost the Doctor and Summerfield as well.

Inside Every Warrior ~ After the humor in the first two stories, I’d hope for more of the same in the latter ones. While there is some, it’s not quite the same, but then each stories is from a different author, so I shouldn’t have expected they to all come from similar cloth. The story switches to Victorian London as the wonderful Paternoster Gang investigates rumors of a werewolf. Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint and Strax all return for some old world Penny Dreadful style encounters that are absolutely delightful, but certainly flowing from a different vein than the previous stories.

Narcissus ~ Who does one call when beautiful people are going missing and the only thing connecting them is the hottest, most selective dating app imaginable? UNIT, of course. Kate Stewart and the Osgoods go to work to solve the case. It doesn’t take them long to find aliens feeding on their victims, but what exactly are they feeding on and how do they stop all of greater London from being cannibalized?

While the date does link these stories, they are for all practical purposes unrelated contributions to this anthology. And, as with all anthologies, some selections are better than others. Still the high quality of production and attention to detail allows these wonderful stories to come alive and live beyond just the audio recordings from which they spring. This collection also acts as a sampler for these various corners of the ever growing Whoniverse, and it is a wonderful sampler at that. I’m looking forward to exploring some of these other ranges now that I’ve had my appetite whetted.

[Taksya · Rating 4 out of 5]

1.1 Emancipation by Lisa McMullin
Il primo capitolo di questo cofanetto vede River e Leela unire i loro sforzi per salvare una principessa reale da un rapimento... o forse no?
Come sempre non tutto è come sembra.
1.2 The Big Blue Book by Lizzie Hopley
Ace e Benny affrontano un avversario particolare e una tecnologia difficile da gestire.
Con l'assenza del Dottore anche il Tardis resta coinvolto, fortunatamente senza danni.
1.3 Inside Every Warrior by Gemma Langford
Il terzo capitolo ci mostra un primo assaggio della serie dedicata alla Paternoster Gang.
Vastra, Jenny e Strax restano coinvolti in quella che, inizialmente, sembra una caccia al mostro.
Ma, ovviamente, le cose si complicano subito.
1.4 Narcissus by Sarah Grochala
Tocca alla UNIT concludere il cofanetto, con Kate e, per la prima volta, tutte e due le Osgood.
Capiamo perché solitamente ne abbiamo una sola alla volta e, sorpresa per Osgoid stessa, perché la sua presenza è sempre un asso nella manica.

Quattro storie al femminile per la giornata dedicata alle donne... anche se, essendo l'universo di Doctor Who, non serve una giornata speciale per dimostrare che le donne valgono.

[Geonn Cannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed because I thought, from the cover, that this would be a team-up of some kind (even though I should've realized Kate and Osgood meeting Vastra and Jenny is a bit of a hiccup... but oh, what I wouldn't give to see it happen). But that disappointment is really the only one I have with this collection. Four great stories, with eight great ladies. I finished the one with Kate Stewart and the Osgoods wishing there were more, then I checked BigFinish and oh man there are so many more... oh no... ;)

[Viola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, I've been listening to it for a year!
Not because I didn't enjoy it, just wanted to get some background on the less familiar characters.
The first story with the River and Leela team up was my favourite, I listened to it right away. It was so much fun to hear these two interact, and the story itself was good too.
The Paternoster Gang story was great as well, Jenny really got to shine in it, which was awesome.
The Unit one has an interesting premise, but it would've been more enjoyable if the Osgoods and Kate weren't the only characters I was familiar with.
The Ace & Benny one had a cool alien monster (evil library) and the two of them are always on point in terms of character. Ace had several moments that had me laughing, the best one was her inpression of the Doctor. Benny was a bit sidelined though and this is definitely one of those BF stories with a lot of yelling in unpleasant voices (thankfully not as bad as something like Sirens of Time).

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I skipped the first two audios because I wasn't familiar with those characters and I felt like I wouldn't understand everything going on, but I enjoyed the second two, especially the Paternoster Gang one. It was nice seeing the two Osgoods on display too, since that seems to be rare in audio.

[Ellen Schoener · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun ride in the usual great Big Finish quality.
Well written and well acted with some of my favorite Characters.
My personal favorite story has to be the one with the Paternoster Gang, funny, witty and exiting.

[Jamie Revell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It probably says something about Big Finish’s stories these days that, when I first saw the cover for this, I thought “oh, that’s a good mix of characters”, without noticing what they all had in common, or recalling the significance of the date. In fact, not only are all the main characters of these stories female but they’re all written and directed by women as well. Each of the stories in this anthology features a different pairing and they are otherwise linked only by the fact that they all take place on the eponymous date.

• Emancipation – The first story pairs River Song with Leela as they reluctantly team up to try and foil a kidnapping. There are some twists along the way, but it all feels rather run of the mill, with a stereotyped villain and some rather clumsy plot devices. River, for example, has acquired an overly convenient piece of technology with an entirely arbitrary limitation that will surely never be mentioned again. There is some sparring between the two leads, largely caused by River refusing to explain anything about herself or why she’s on the scene in the first place. Unfortunately, the ending is overly twee, as well as forgetting something that had just happened a couple of minutes earlier. Certainly, there’s some fun, and it’s notable that the cast is almost entirely female, but it’s hardly standout. 3 stars.

• The Big Blue Book – The second story is stronger, featuring Ace and Benny in ‘90s Liverpool while the Doctor is off somewhere else for no particularly clear reason. People are disappearing, and Ace sets off to investigate, wandering into a particularly surreal plot as she does so. A downside is that Benny is one of the people who has disappeared (before the title music) which means that most of the story doesn’t feature her, instead pairing Ace with a male university student. Which is a pity, as Benny is arguably the more interesting character of the two, and we get little of her distinctive personality here. It’s also a very strange story, where what’s happening is described as science (it has something to do with a starship drive) but might as well be magic. A curious mix that’s entertaining but isn’t quite as good as it could have been. 4 stars.

• Inside Every Warrior – This marks the Big Finish debut of Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint and, as such, could be seen as a pilot to the Paternoster Gang series that followed just two months later. As befits the team, it’s a mystery story that features a suitably Gothic threat. Strax also features, primarily in his comedy role, but is side-lined early on in order to focus instead on the core duo. Victorian attitudes play a significant role in the story, especially with regard to social class, but so does Vastra and Jenny’s love for one another. It’s a good investigative piece that makes effective use of the time period, although the action scenes are sometimes hard to follow. 4 stars.

• Narcissus – It seems (at least to me) that they saved the best until last. This final story features UNIT, primarily Kate and Osgood. (The only genuinely male character in it is Josh, who’s basically a damsel-in-distress). However, it’s notable for a couple of reasons. One is that, for the first time, the story addresses the existence of Zygon Osgood, with both human and alien versions of the character appearing and interacting with each other – it’s not always obvious which is which, but I’d argue that that’s a strength. Secondly, however, we have a major role for Jackie McGee, UNIT’s journalist contact. She gets some significant character development here that adds to a story that’s already a good allegory about perceptions of beauty. 5 stars.

[Danny Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Eighth of March is a marvellous and beautiful idea devised by Big Finish to help represent all the amazing women that work with them, whether their actors, writers or directors. I love it when Big Finish acknowledges not only their employees but also people who have unfortunately faced prejudice for hundreds of years. Representation is so important.

Emancipation:
River Song, pretending to be President Romana of Gallifrey, attends an intergalactic heritage convention. Leela informed goes to investigate. Soon the two of them finding themselves rescuing a princess from a potential kidnapper, but unfortunately, things are about to get a lot more complicated.

Lisa McMullin has written a fast-paced story that puts River Song and Leela together on a mission to save a princess from her inevitable demise. It's a really fun story with plenty of humor, emotional scenes. I adored River and Leela's chemistry, so it's safe to say I would love to see the two of them reunited at some point. 9/10

The Big Blue Book:
Bernice Summerfield and Ace are undercover at a university where its students and tutors are vanishing out of thin air. Who's behind the disappearances? What's going on inside the library? Where is The Doctor? The answers lie in the books.

Lizzie Hopley has written a really fun story with some interesting but crazy ideas. I like how Hopley opted to write a more light-hearted and entertaining story set during the VNA era, considering the books themselves were really dark 90% of the time, so it's nice for a writer to give a different perspective on what the range could have been. Ace and Bernice were a lot of fun together, but I loved how Lizzie also found something important for The Tardis to do in this, considering this is a set celebrating international women's day. 8/10

Inside Every Warrior:
When a werewolf ransacks Doctor Pinch's laboratory, he enlists the help of Madam Vastra, the Great Detective. Vastra is a huge fan of the scientist, but that's all about to change when she witnesses the abuse of his housemaid. Something strange is happening in London; a werewolf is robbing labs, and, worst of all, someone has kidnapped Strax. Vastra and Jenny must solve the case to see their friend again.

Inside Every Warrior is a brilliant pilot for The Paternoster Gang spin-off. It's a really fun yet critical story that has a lot to say about how the higher classes of society treat the poor. Gemma Langford has written a terrific episode full of humor, action and some unsettling imagery. It's a phenomenal story that now has me excited about the actual spin-off range itself. I'll definitely be looking into it. 10/10

Narcissus:
Narcissus is the exciting new dating site that has taken the city by storm, but only the attractive few may access it. When Josh Carter goes missing, it's up to Kate, the two Osgoods and Jacqui McGee to find out what's happened to him and take Narcissus down for once and for all.

Sarah Grochala has written an intriguing story to close off the set about aliens who are using a dating app to get close to attractive people. It's a fun story that explores the chemistry between multiple Osgoods. 8/10

Overall: 35/40

[Nicolas Lontel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le boîtier présente 4 épisodes qui peuvent être autant d'introductions aux différentes séries de Big Finish Productions (dans l'ordre: les River Song Diairies, les parutions mensuelles, la Paternoster Gang et UNIT). On comprend très bien la pertinence de ce boîtier dans l'histoire de Big Finish et de Doctor Who, je sens toutefois un mini peu l'opportunité derrière qu'on poursuive avec les séries (et ça marche, j'ai envie de continuer avec la Paternoster Gang)

Emancipation par Lisa McMullin
Je n'ai pas trop compris les parallèles entre le 8 mars que la scénariste essayait de tracer avec la narration de sauver les princesses. Un scénario beaucoup trop prévisible, sans véritable rebondissement, pas certain· que le duo Leela/River fonctionnait bien. Juste très déçu.

The Big Blue Box par Lizzie Hopley
Amusant, rebondissement, imprévisible, un peu chaotique toutefois (le média audio peut être un peu déplaisant lorsqu'il se passe plusieurs choses en même temps), mais bon et agréable à suivre dans l'ensemble.

Inside Every Warrior par Gemma Langford
Un excellent épisode! Drôle, un bon équilibre d'action, de dialogue, de réflexion, une bonne intrigue et une bonne prise sur le loup-garou et ses origines de classe "inférieure" avec la subtilité nécessaire pour les "méchants". Les personnages vont super bien ensemble et ça me donne vraiment envie d'écouter la série sur la Paternoster Gang. La musique était aussi vraiment bonne pour cet épisode! C'est rare que je commente là-dessus, mais ici, ça accompagnait terriblement bien (et j'aime bien la chanson thème aussi). L'épisode propose aussi une bonne explication/réflexion sur les enjeux de pouvoir au sein du couple Flint-Vastra issue de deux classes distinctes. Mon préféré du boîtier!

Narcissus par Sarah Grochala
Un épisode avec les deux Osgood (enfin!) et moins d'intrigues politiques que dans la série UNIT de Big Finish (idéal pour un one-off), avec un peu plus d'actions et de prises de risque. Le scénario tourne autour de la disparation d'humains après leur utilisation d'une application de rencontre, j'avais très peur que ça tourne en sex-monster, mais ça n'a pas été le cas et la/le "méchant" de l'épisode était bien construit et intéressant! Un propos très intéressant sur la beauté aussi à la fin, content· d'entendre un peu de récits intérieurs de Kate et Osgood en plus de ce qu'elles projettent d'habitude. Je pense que c'est un peu message pour les fans comme Osgood.

[Felecia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four delightful stories celebrating the women of Doctor Who.

Emancipation brings together Leela and River Song to stop the sacrifice of a young princess to an old God. The interaction between these two is wonderful, Leela's questioning and practicality mesh well with River's spontaneity and creativity. The morality questions and great.

In The Big Blue Book, Ace and Benny find themselves stranded in 1990s England when The Doctor disappears. When strangeness ensues, the two have to puzzle it themselves. The villain of the piece is a delight, and Ace's competence shines.

The Paternoster Gang shines in Inside Every Warrior. The gang is called upon to investigate a robbery committed by a werewolf. Jenny is the heart of the group, and the found family they have is affirmed. Strax is his amazing self. I loved this one.

Narcissus finds UNIT investigating strange disappearances. This was my first UNIT tale from Big Finish, and it did not disappoint. I adore Osgood on every level, and we see a bit of Kate's vulnerability.

I really enjoyed this set and look forward to more from these characters.

[Alex Southwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one I knocked out all in one go. I adore Alex Kingston and she makes anything so much easier to listen to. I loved the twist of Emancipation, didn't expect that but then again with River Song you never know what to expect.

A Benny and Ace story - this is an area I'm a little fuzzy on. I haven't made my way through the big finish Bernice Summerfield stuff yet so I didn't and don't know what to expect with her. Love Ace, it was a good story and gave me a little taste of what BS series might be like.

Love love love Jenny, Strax and Vastra. You *know* it is going to be good, always.

I have the next one loaded up and look forward to getting through it! I see Jenny on the cover so I'm sure it will be super exciting!

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last year, I spent International Women's Day finally watching The Thirteenth Doctor. This year, I listened to this Big Finish audio The Eighth of March, featuring stories about River Song, Benny and Ace, The Paternoster Gang, and UNIT. Overall, a very well-acted collection that was a nice way to mark the occasion. It may also work as a sampler if you're trying to decide whether or not you wanna invest in any of these series. I've already invested in The Diary of River Song, but UNIT and Benny and Ace seem to not be top priorities for me. Though I might get into more Paternoster Gang at some point.

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this National Women's Day release featuring some of the most prominent female characters in Doctor Who history. Although I like all of the characters present -- River Song, Leela, Ace, Bernice Summerfield, Madame Vastra, Jenny, the two Osgoods, and Kate Stewart, I would have liked other characters to appear such as Missy, Jo Grant, Peri, and Clara or Donna.

[Sara Habein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little less into the Paternoster Gang story compared to the other three stories (though it had many good moments!), but overall, I'm really glad to have listened to this. There are a lot of great women in the Doctor Who/Big Finish universe, and it's great to have a whole release where some of them get to do their own thing and have it all be written by women.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fine little series with some great team ups, including River and Leela.

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stories that have 2 doctor companion pairs adventures

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

The concept, the characters, the writing, the actors, the stories - all just wow

[Abhijith R · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of all great women of new who. Wonderfully done.

[Jurgen · Rating 4 out of 5]

1.1 Emancipation by Lisa McMullin: 4*
1.2 The Big Blue Book by Lizzie Hopley: 4*
1.3 Inside Every Warrior by Gemma Langford: 3*
1.4 Narcissus by Sarah Grochala: 4*

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emancipation 4
The Big Blue Book 3.5
Inside Every Warrior 3
Narcissus 4

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