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The Companion Chronicles #8.05
Doctor Who - The Companion Chronicles: The Beginning
When the First Doctor and his grand-daughter Susan escape through the cloisters of Gallifrey to an old Type 40 Time Travel capsule, little do they realize the adventures that lie ahead… And little do they know, as the TARDIS dematerializes and they leave their home world behind, there is someone else aboard the ship. He is Quadrigger Stoyn, and he is very unhappy…
MP3 CD
First published November 30, 2013
About the author
Marc Platt
109 books48 followersMarc Platt is a British writer. He is most known for his work with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.
After studying catering at a technical college, Platt worked first for Trust House Forte, and then in administration for the BBC. He wrote the Doctor Who serial Ghost Light based on two proposals, one of which later became the novel Lungbarrow. That novel was greatly anticipated by fans as it was the culmination of the so-called "Cartmel Masterplan", revealing details of the Doctor's background and family.
After the original series' cancellation Platt wrote the script for the audio Doctor Who drama Spare Parts. The script was the inspiration for the 2006 Doctor Who television story "Rise of the Cybermen"/"The Age of Steel", for which Platt received a screen credit and a fee.
He lives in London.
After studying catering at a technical college, Platt worked first for Trust House Forte, and then in administration for the BBC. He wrote the Doctor Who serial Ghost Light based on two proposals, one of which later became the novel Lungbarrow. That novel was greatly anticipated by fans as it was the culmination of the so-called "Cartmel Masterplan", revealing details of the Doctor's background and family.
After the original series' cancellation Platt wrote the script for the audio Doctor Who drama Spare Parts. The script was the inspiration for the 2006 Doctor Who television story "Rise of the Cybermen"/"The Age of Steel", for which Platt received a screen credit and a fee.
He lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 8, 2015
They story, as told by Susan, of what happened when she and her Grandfather, The Doctor "borrowed" the TARDIS.
Very entertaining story involving planet seeding and featuring a HORRIBLE villian - Quadrigger Stoyn (what a GREAT name LOL).
Very entertaining story involving planet seeding and featuring a HORRIBLE villian - Quadrigger Stoyn (what a GREAT name LOL).
December 27, 2024
Going way way back to the very beginning... or thereabouts... depending on where you count the beginning to be on a timeline that has changed so many times since then. Carole Ann Ford (Susan) and Terry Molloy (best known as a Davros, here playing a TARDIS technician named Quadrigger Stoyn) play a two-handed Companion Chronicle, with Marc Platt's script doing an effective job of emulating William Hartnell's erratic declamations. Features a few cute nods to future continuity (Stoyn's toolbox has a sonic screwdriver) and a slightly ineffectual bunch of terraforming aliens.
January 17, 2021
I received this as freebie from Big Finish. On the other hand I was thrilled to get something that might perhaps be the first adventure of the Doctor & his granddaughter Susan in their newly acquired TARDIS. On another hand, this is an example of some ret-con (retroactive continuity) that doesn’t quite work. On still another hand, this is really more like an audiobook than an audio-drama, and I prefer the latter not the former. Sigh. Where to begin. Susan. Let me start with Susan, or Carole Ann Ford. She does a wonderful job of revisiting her character from 50 years ago. I’ve got no complaint there. I also liked how the narrative is set up as a memoir, as if she’s verbally relating the events to someone (which in fact, she is). What doesn’t work so well is that we have her relating a story we don’t get the Doctor’s voice, but we do get the voice of another character. I understand the logistical and financial constraints in producing something like this, in particular when the actor playing the Doctor to Ford’s Susan has been deceased for the larger portion of the past 50 years. The problem becomes, why does a character we’ve heard from get a voice and the Doctor does not. I liked the idea of their being another person aboard the TARDIS at the beginning, but I just didn’t care for the particular execution in this particular production. With only a single narrator one would naturally feel this is more an audiobook, but with the addition of a second character the line between audiobook and audio-drama begins to blur. And given that the second character isn’t even the one of the stars of the series, it becomes a bit, at least for me, far fetched. I often have issues with the process of ret-conned stories. They often don’t quite work and even more often introduce anachronistic elements into what was probably a well balanced narrative. Sadly this is an example of one that has some good elements, but also has even more potentially bad ones. Not only do we have the introduction of a new character aboard the TARDIS at the Doctor’s taking possession of it, a character who has never been mentioned or even alluded to before now. That always sets up red flags for me, and add to that the idea that the Doctor might indirectly be responsible for life on earth. I just feel we’re now bordering on the territory of fan-fiction here. And while I appreciate getting this copy free from Big Finish, it doesn’t really offset the problems I have it. Still, it has perked my interest in seeing how this new, dare I say it, companion to the Doctor and Susan will be developed, so I might pick up the other Companion Chronicles in which he appears.
August 11, 2018
I listened to The Beginning at the beginning of this week, but it was a good and enjoyable story in the Big Finish Companion Chronicles line, even if the details are a bit fuzzy now. The Beginning starts with the Doctor and Susan on the run on Gallifrey, they find a TARDIS in a repair/junk shop and leave. The Doctor and Susan are refugees, fleeing their home, because "their home is no longer their home". Unfortunately, they aren't the only ones on board their TARDIS - Quadrigger Stoyn, who is meant to be dismantling the TARDIS engines is also on board when the ship takes off. They discover this when the TARDIS makes a rather ungraceful landing. Stoyn is not the nicest person, and he clearly buys the Gallifreyan party line - whatever it is. The audio doesn't make things crystal clear, but we can assume a few things: Gallifrey is now supporting isolationism, Stoyn and others have a negative, ethnocentric attitude towards "outsiders" and "aliens", and although it isn't stated outright - the Time Lords may even be racist in their attitudes towards others.
The TARDIS half materializes and half crashes on the Earth, but not the Earth we know - and aliens call Archayons are seeding Earth to make it a garden but with the precision of a formal English garden rather than the wildness of a forest. They are doing this from the moon apparently. At first, the Doctor hopes to obtain help from Stoyn (after all he should know how to fix their TARDIS), and a power source from the Archayons. But as it turns out, the Archayons are much darker than they appear, and Stoyn's price is higher than the Doctor is willing to pay.
The second part begins with Susan waking in a lunar ambulance that is heading to Giant Leap base. She watches the First Contact video shown to her by her nurse, and wonders where her Grandfather is. She can hear his warnings in her head, but she doesn't know where he is. The ambulance is attacked, the nurse and medical doctor are killed, but Susan finds her grandfather unharmed. They manage to warn Giant Leap base that the ambulance is infested with deadly parasites, but then they see Giant Leap base being attacked. The Blue Lightning clearly is an Archayon weapon. Somehow the Doctor and Susan get to the TARDIS and return to the Archayon base, which is now attacking Earth and the moonbase. Apparently, the Archayons are upset that their order has been upset by untamed life in the millions of years that they were frozen. Still, the Doctor and Susan manage to warn the Earth, which is well-prepared to attack back and even destroy the Archayons weapons and base. Stoyn, who has sided with the Archayons, is left behind and the Doctor and Susan leave in the TARDIS, which has a new power cell and is sort of working. They visit another planet.
This is a new and different take on how the Doctor and Susan left Gallifrey. I liked the idea of the two being refugees. The Archayons are unusual creatures - looking like glass peanuts, with the ability to flow together to form structures or do work, then flow apart as individual beings. However, in part two they become almost cardboard villains - so determine to not only seed life but orderly life they can't see the forest for the trees. Stoyn, whom I also encountered in Luna Romana is a weird character - played by Terry "Davros" Molloy - he flips between government functionary to nearly radical "anti-alien" activist in a sense. He's probably meant to suggest the type of people the Doctor and Susan are fleeing, but it feels off. When Classic Who visited Gallifrey, it was often shown to be a rather boring and stuffy place. But Gallifrey also seems to have an awful lot of corruption and political intrigue too. So in some aspects, the character of Quadrigger Stoyn doesn't quite fit in with that. But then, The Beginning clearly indicates that something's happened on Gallifrey - something serious enough that the Doctor and Susan are literally fleeing for their lives.
Recommened.
The TARDIS half materializes and half crashes on the Earth, but not the Earth we know - and aliens call Archayons are seeding Earth to make it a garden but with the precision of a formal English garden rather than the wildness of a forest. They are doing this from the moon apparently. At first, the Doctor hopes to obtain help from Stoyn (after all he should know how to fix their TARDIS), and a power source from the Archayons. But as it turns out, the Archayons are much darker than they appear, and Stoyn's price is higher than the Doctor is willing to pay.
The second part begins with Susan waking in a lunar ambulance that is heading to Giant Leap base. She watches the First Contact video shown to her by her nurse, and wonders where her Grandfather is. She can hear his warnings in her head, but she doesn't know where he is. The ambulance is attacked, the nurse and medical doctor are killed, but Susan finds her grandfather unharmed. They manage to warn Giant Leap base that the ambulance is infested with deadly parasites, but then they see Giant Leap base being attacked. The Blue Lightning clearly is an Archayon weapon. Somehow the Doctor and Susan get to the TARDIS and return to the Archayon base, which is now attacking Earth and the moonbase. Apparently, the Archayons are upset that their order has been upset by untamed life in the millions of years that they were frozen. Still, the Doctor and Susan manage to warn the Earth, which is well-prepared to attack back and even destroy the Archayons weapons and base. Stoyn, who has sided with the Archayons, is left behind and the Doctor and Susan leave in the TARDIS, which has a new power cell and is sort of working. They visit another planet.
This is a new and different take on how the Doctor and Susan left Gallifrey. I liked the idea of the two being refugees. The Archayons are unusual creatures - looking like glass peanuts, with the ability to flow together to form structures or do work, then flow apart as individual beings. However, in part two they become almost cardboard villains - so determine to not only seed life but orderly life they can't see the forest for the trees. Stoyn, whom I also encountered in Luna Romana is a weird character - played by Terry "Davros" Molloy - he flips between government functionary to nearly radical "anti-alien" activist in a sense. He's probably meant to suggest the type of people the Doctor and Susan are fleeing, but it feels off. When Classic Who visited Gallifrey, it was often shown to be a rather boring and stuffy place. But Gallifrey also seems to have an awful lot of corruption and political intrigue too. So in some aspects, the character of Quadrigger Stoyn doesn't quite fit in with that. But then, The Beginning clearly indicates that something's happened on Gallifrey - something serious enough that the Doctor and Susan are literally fleeing for their lives.
Recommened.
December 4, 2018
POSTING THIS OLDER REVIEW FROM MY NOTES, OVERALL RATING APPLIES.
A somewhat origin story and adventure, with the Tardis’ first flight from Gallifrey. The Doctor, Susan and… the Quadrigger Stoyn. Featuring the bizarre alien Archaeons. I have had, and still have highly mixed feelings on the Vicki story in Frostfire and especially with Susan story Quinnis [edit: although I have grown to appreciate these a bit more and do enjoy having them in my collection], where the material was very fantastical arguably to the point outside the realm of Doctor Who and firmly into fantasy.
Fortunately with The Beginning, while it does have Platt’s (signature at this point) stamp of fantasy, somewhat even like Quinnis, similarly enhanced by epic visuals and uber-epic sound fx, it is very much old-school science-fiction and identifies with Doctor Who from my perspective.
Platt’s style and the sound production in all the aforementioned and this one are all very sympatico and consistent, which makes me remain curious of them regardless of heavy criticisms, as well as like this one a bit more than I probably should.
As a disclaimer: I am open to weirder, darker and experimental stories, which would describe this tonal rendering or consistency. I have a penchant and desire to collect all possible, “acceptable” early companion stories.
You can say I struggle with Platt’s thus far, but slowly accepting (or trying to accept) them. Pleasantly, this one has been by far the easiest. I can recognize his formula in sync with audio production, and I would not call his style a bad thing at all. It’s unique and has its place.
Per usual Carole Ann Ford is a gem, whose story releases are much too few, or in more recent times, given very poor material. I liked the character of Quadrigger Stoyn, exactly as how he is introduced in the chronology and this release make made look foward to the next two releases in the trilogy. Amusing and surprising conclusion – not very nice! All ties up very nicely with a sense of oddity.
As an afterword, I am going to re-listen to the rest of the trilogy. As far as my recollection though, this story was the only real winner in it (and I say this as a die-hard Jamie/Zoe team fan). But as mentioned I am going to listen and reassess at least the Dying Light. For Susan fans especially though, this is one for the collection.
This was 4/5.
Director: Lisa Bowerman
Writer: Marc Platt
A somewhat origin story and adventure, with the Tardis’ first flight from Gallifrey. The Doctor, Susan and… the Quadrigger Stoyn. Featuring the bizarre alien Archaeons. I have had, and still have highly mixed feelings on the Vicki story in Frostfire and especially with Susan story Quinnis [edit: although I have grown to appreciate these a bit more and do enjoy having them in my collection], where the material was very fantastical arguably to the point outside the realm of Doctor Who and firmly into fantasy.
Fortunately with The Beginning, while it does have Platt’s (signature at this point) stamp of fantasy, somewhat even like Quinnis, similarly enhanced by epic visuals and uber-epic sound fx, it is very much old-school science-fiction and identifies with Doctor Who from my perspective.
Platt’s style and the sound production in all the aforementioned and this one are all very sympatico and consistent, which makes me remain curious of them regardless of heavy criticisms, as well as like this one a bit more than I probably should.
As a disclaimer: I am open to weirder, darker and experimental stories, which would describe this tonal rendering or consistency. I have a penchant and desire to collect all possible, “acceptable” early companion stories.
You can say I struggle with Platt’s thus far, but slowly accepting (or trying to accept) them. Pleasantly, this one has been by far the easiest. I can recognize his formula in sync with audio production, and I would not call his style a bad thing at all. It’s unique and has its place.
Per usual Carole Ann Ford is a gem, whose story releases are much too few, or in more recent times, given very poor material. I liked the character of Quadrigger Stoyn, exactly as how he is introduced in the chronology and this release make made look foward to the next two releases in the trilogy. Amusing and surprising conclusion – not very nice! All ties up very nicely with a sense of oddity.
As an afterword, I am going to re-listen to the rest of the trilogy. As far as my recollection though, this story was the only real winner in it (and I say this as a die-hard Jamie/Zoe team fan). But as mentioned I am going to listen and reassess at least the Dying Light. For Susan fans especially though, this is one for the collection.
This was 4/5.
Director: Lisa Bowerman
Writer: Marc Platt
June 7, 2020
The Beginning - one of the earliest stories set in the Doctor and Susan's chronology, and it tells the story of exactly how they left Gallifrey.
For a story I was mainly expecting to be centered around continuity, only the first ten minutes or so actually are, although a few subtle hints are scattered throughout.
The first ten minutes were guiltily enjoyable, as it was uber satisfying to hear these events fit so snugly into canon (If I can even use that word). There's a brief few seconds where the Doctor and Clara talk, albeit off-screen (audio), there's references to their lives on Gallifrey, and more. Just these first few minutes are already a highlight, and it's only the beginning (pun!) of the story, as after the Doctor and Susan escape the Time Lords, they come to the imminent realisation that somebody else was inside the Tardis, trying to dismantle it. To say the least, he is not impressed.
The Doctor, Susan, and Quadrigger arrive on the moon, in primitive earth's history, to discover that earth is being terraformed by an alien race. One techibabble later, the unlikely Tardis crew are in the near future, and the terraforming aliens aren't happy with how the earth has turned out, so they proceed to try and destroy it.
While the remainder of the story wasn't as satisfying as the beginning, it still was a fun adventure to listen to. I'm not sure exactly what I expected from this story, but it did meet and surpass a level of enjoyment.
One highlight I feel inclined to talk about I'd the sound design. Normally in a Companion Chronicle, the design is scarce, with only little bursts of music and sound effects simulate, to hint at the surroundings, as usually the narrative accounts for descriptions of the environment.
With this story, it did of course have the descriptive dialogue, but more unusually the sound design was taken up a few notches, such as the jungle environment having a good realism to it, for instance.
I wholeheartedly like this story. It pays homage to an Unearthly Child in many respects, the acting is the high level of quality as to be assumed from Big Finish Productions, and even though this story won't be anywhere near my favourites, it's a solid story I recommend entirely.
As a note, I think that this is the definitive version of how the Doctor and Susan left Gallifrey, as opposed to some previous, more obscure stories.
For a story I was mainly expecting to be centered around continuity, only the first ten minutes or so actually are, although a few subtle hints are scattered throughout.
The first ten minutes were guiltily enjoyable, as it was uber satisfying to hear these events fit so snugly into canon (If I can even use that word). There's a brief few seconds where the Doctor and Clara talk, albeit off-screen (audio), there's references to their lives on Gallifrey, and more. Just these first few minutes are already a highlight, and it's only the beginning (pun!) of the story, as after the Doctor and Susan escape the Time Lords, they come to the imminent realisation that somebody else was inside the Tardis, trying to dismantle it. To say the least, he is not impressed.
The Doctor, Susan, and Quadrigger arrive on the moon, in primitive earth's history, to discover that earth is being terraformed by an alien race. One techibabble later, the unlikely Tardis crew are in the near future, and the terraforming aliens aren't happy with how the earth has turned out, so they proceed to try and destroy it.
While the remainder of the story wasn't as satisfying as the beginning, it still was a fun adventure to listen to. I'm not sure exactly what I expected from this story, but it did meet and surpass a level of enjoyment.
One highlight I feel inclined to talk about I'd the sound design. Normally in a Companion Chronicle, the design is scarce, with only little bursts of music and sound effects simulate, to hint at the surroundings, as usually the narrative accounts for descriptions of the environment.
With this story, it did of course have the descriptive dialogue, but more unusually the sound design was taken up a few notches, such as the jungle environment having a good realism to it, for instance.
I wholeheartedly like this story. It pays homage to an Unearthly Child in many respects, the acting is the high level of quality as to be assumed from Big Finish Productions, and even though this story won't be anywhere near my favourites, it's a solid story I recommend entirely.
As a note, I think that this is the definitive version of how the Doctor and Susan left Gallifrey, as opposed to some previous, more obscure stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2023
In 2023 Big Finish decided to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the show in the best they could by releasing, 'The Light at The End, a trilogy of stories set in the 60's within the monthly range and a trilogy in the companion chronicles range that centered around a character called Quadrigger Stoyn who has a connection to The Doctor's very beginnings of traveling throughout time and space. I've been meaning to listen to the Stoyn trilogy for some time and considering it's now the month of the 60th anniversary, what better time to give this trilogy a go?
The Doctor and Susan have escaped their homeworld to wonder and explore the cosmos, but with them is a passenger by the name of Quadrigger Stoyn and he isn't very happy he's just been kidnapped unawares. They're about to embark on their first adventure but this journey will be the beginning of something terrible throughout 3 incarnations of The Doctor's life as a Timelord is out for revenge.
Marc Platt has written a fantastic script that starts off with an incredible opening segment of The Doctor and Susan escaping Gallifrey. Quadrigger Stoyn is an interesting character to bounce off of Susan and The Doctor, but I'm really interested in seeing what he's like in the next two stories in this trilogy as he's very vulnerable in this story. Excited to see what his pursuits in getting revenge on The Doctor will be like. The story itself is a terrific tale of forced evolution and planetoid manipulation.
Overall: A really solid way to begin this trilogy that was honestly a lot of fun with some really terrific imagery and ideas. 9/10
The Doctor and Susan have escaped their homeworld to wonder and explore the cosmos, but with them is a passenger by the name of Quadrigger Stoyn and he isn't very happy he's just been kidnapped unawares. They're about to embark on their first adventure but this journey will be the beginning of something terrible throughout 3 incarnations of The Doctor's life as a Timelord is out for revenge.
Marc Platt has written a fantastic script that starts off with an incredible opening segment of The Doctor and Susan escaping Gallifrey. Quadrigger Stoyn is an interesting character to bounce off of Susan and The Doctor, but I'm really interested in seeing what he's like in the next two stories in this trilogy as he's very vulnerable in this story. Excited to see what his pursuits in getting revenge on The Doctor will be like. The story itself is a terrific tale of forced evolution and planetoid manipulation.
Overall: A really solid way to begin this trilogy that was honestly a lot of fun with some really terrific imagery and ideas. 9/10
January 3, 2018
A gem of a story directed by Lisa (Bernice Summerfield) Bowerman and written by Marc ("Spare Parts", "Ghost Light") Platt.
Narrated by Carole Ann Ford, this story attempts to show the incidents around The Doctor's initial run from Gallifrey from Susan's perspective. While I note that a lot of people seem disappointed that more of his motivation is not revealed, Platt actually does do quite a bit of heavy lifting here as far as the series' origins. He smooths out the "naming of the TARDIS" question and starts to pull together why the Time Lords of the First and Second Doctor seem so different than those of the latter incarnations. (They are FAR more against Time Travel here.)
Most importantly, Platt begins to show the reasons for The Doctor's attachment to Earth.
But that all aside, there's a lovely sense of chaos and beauty about Susan and her Grandfather's first trip from Gallifrey (not to mention that it's the human race's origin story in many ways!) that Carole Ann Ford reads very nicely, ably assisted by Terry Molloy as their soon to be nemesis, Quadrigger Stoyn.
Narrated by Carole Ann Ford, this story attempts to show the incidents around The Doctor's initial run from Gallifrey from Susan's perspective. While I note that a lot of people seem disappointed that more of his motivation is not revealed, Platt actually does do quite a bit of heavy lifting here as far as the series' origins. He smooths out the "naming of the TARDIS" question and starts to pull together why the Time Lords of the First and Second Doctor seem so different than those of the latter incarnations. (They are FAR more against Time Travel here.)
Most importantly, Platt begins to show the reasons for The Doctor's attachment to Earth.
But that all aside, there's a lovely sense of chaos and beauty about Susan and her Grandfather's first trip from Gallifrey (not to mention that it's the human race's origin story in many ways!) that Carole Ann Ford reads very nicely, ably assisted by Terry Molloy as their soon to be nemesis, Quadrigger Stoyn.
January 4, 2021
A very nice short audio adventure! It tells a story of when the Doctor and Susan first ran away with the Tardis, they tried going to earth but ended up somewhere slightly different, and meet some beings that are very not human.
It's told from Susan's perspective, and its wonderful to hear Carole Ann Ford voice act her and the doctor, i love her impression of him.
i loved listening to this, and would definitely recommend it. It's about an hour long so you could even listen to it if you're short on time, it also has a split at around 30 minutes and it has a (very) short recap to catch you back up!
At the end there is a lovely short interview with the producers and Carole Ann Ford about what it was like to create this and what it was like to be a part of the very first episodes.
"We had to get away, away from our own home!"
-Susan
It's told from Susan's perspective, and its wonderful to hear Carole Ann Ford voice act her and the doctor, i love her impression of him.
i loved listening to this, and would definitely recommend it. It's about an hour long so you could even listen to it if you're short on time, it also has a split at around 30 minutes and it has a (very) short recap to catch you back up!
At the end there is a lovely short interview with the producers and Carole Ann Ford about what it was like to create this and what it was like to be a part of the very first episodes.
"We had to get away, away from our own home!"
-Susan
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2018
One of my new favorites! This audio drama starts out with the First Doctor and Susan running from pursuers on Gallifrey. They get into a metal cylinder and fly off. We hesr how Susan named it a TARDIS and how at first, the Doctor had no idea how to fly it. My favorite part was when it was revealed that had that TARDIS not been "borrowed" by the Doctor and Susan, it would have been vaporized. Carole Ann Ford does a fantastic job both reprising her role as Susan and of imitating William Hartnell's First Doctor. I highly recommend this audio drama to any Doctor Who fan.
November 1, 2020
Carolyn Anne Ford doesn't do the greatest impression of the 1st Doctor but it is still fun to hear her try to be her teenage self again. The story is interesting thought as usual it muddies up how old the Doctor truly is. In this story, both Susan and the Doctor are held in a temporal status bubble for 400 million years, just like the Twelfth Doctor is held in a status bubble in his Confession Dial for 4 Billion years. Since time moved around them would that count to the Doctor's Age?
November 18, 2023
An odd story in many ways but very clever and well- written. It doesn’t go where you expect it to which is to explain away the direct reason for The Doctor and Susan leaving Gallifrey. But then I guess we’ve had enough hints over the years. As The Doctor’s first encounter with the Tardis, this makes it more significant. This is where the heart of the story lies. Stoyn makes a great impression in this story and his growing desperation rings true. A great first part of a trilogy.
July 2, 2017
Still no major reveals as to WHY the Doctor and Susan left Gallifrey (I have some theories), but this is a solid story that exists before the show proper. Carol Anne Ford does a pretty good First Doctor with her narration. Quadrigger Stoyn is an interesting character too.
September 7, 2026
A really great story which audibly shows us how the Doctor and Susan left Gallifrey and their first adventure.
The first adventure is strong but nothing mind blowing however the continuity stuff is what holds the story up as a must listen
The first adventure is strong but nothing mind blowing however the continuity stuff is what holds the story up as a must listen
July 31, 2022
Great retconned first adventure for the Doctor. I love it, one of my favorite companion chronicles
December 31, 2023
Carole Ann Ford narrates an interesting story set before the main series. The inclusion of Terry Molloy as Stoyn is a nice one.
January 24, 2024
A nice short story about the Doctors adventures before the programme begins. I liked how it hinted at there being a lot more to these characters that we know but still leaving it up for interpretation. It also got a lot of cool references to future additions to the lore though it is weird hearing the First Doctor talk about the Time Lords.
7/10
7/10
April 2, 2025
Stoyn deserved to rot on that planet
December 3, 2025
I'd recommend this only for die hard 1st Doctor fans. Other than that the plot is just okay. I love the beginning quarter but after that I just lose interest.
February 10, 2017
Billed as the story of the Doctor and Susan's escape from Gallifrey and their first journey in the Tardis, this one, unfortunately disappoints.
From the description you hope, and rightfully expect, some details to be given about the circumstances that force them to flee Gallifrey, but instead the story begins in media res, and within a handful of minutes from the opening theme, the Doctor and Susan are already on their way.
Fans will enjoy the nods to television continuity -- I picked up a reference to the Hand of Omega from Remembrance of the Daleks, and though I have not yet seen The Name of the Doctor, I'm told that a few lines inserted at the beginning are a reference to that story. But once off Gallifrey, the story becomes a standard adventure for The Doctor and Susan.
And Quadrigger Stoyn, of course.
The Beginning is the first in a trilogy of Companion Chronicles featuring Quadrigger Stoyn, a mechanic who was down by the engines of the Tardis when the Doctor made his escape. Stoyn becomes an unwilling tagalong, whose insistence on returning to Gallifrey causes the Doctor to take an action that has consequences for that little blue-green planet he becomes so fond of.
And that's really what this story is about: the Doctor's first visit to the Earth (they make a big point about how the Earth is one of those rare planets with a "The" in front of its name).
As the Narrator of the tale, Carole Ann Ford does a great job being . . . well, Susan. (Since that's who she is.) I'm not as taken with her line readings for William Hartnell's Doctor. But that's kind of what you get with The Companion Chronicles, which unlike Big Finish's audio dramas, are more like traditional audio books, generally with a second voice actor, and sound effects.
The second voice actor here is Terry Molloy, who does an appropriately cranky Quadrigger Stoyn, and doesn't sound a bit like his more recognized role, as Davros.
But unfortunately, Susan and the Doctor's First Big Adventure feels like a rather small adventure, and the details surrounding their flight from Gallifrey remain unanswered.
Perhaps more questions will be answered in the next installment in this trilogy, The Dying Light .
From the description you hope, and rightfully expect, some details to be given about the circumstances that force them to flee Gallifrey, but instead the story begins in media res, and within a handful of minutes from the opening theme, the Doctor and Susan are already on their way.
Fans will enjoy the nods to television continuity -- I picked up a reference to the Hand of Omega from Remembrance of the Daleks, and though I have not yet seen The Name of the Doctor, I'm told that a few lines inserted at the beginning are a reference to that story. But once off Gallifrey, the story becomes a standard adventure for The Doctor and Susan.
And Quadrigger Stoyn, of course.
The Beginning is the first in a trilogy of Companion Chronicles featuring Quadrigger Stoyn, a mechanic who was down by the engines of the Tardis when the Doctor made his escape. Stoyn becomes an unwilling tagalong, whose insistence on returning to Gallifrey causes the Doctor to take an action that has consequences for that little blue-green planet he becomes so fond of.
And that's really what this story is about: the Doctor's first visit to the Earth (they make a big point about how the Earth is one of those rare planets with a "The" in front of its name).
As the Narrator of the tale, Carole Ann Ford does a great job being . . . well, Susan. (Since that's who she is.) I'm not as taken with her line readings for William Hartnell's Doctor. But that's kind of what you get with The Companion Chronicles, which unlike Big Finish's audio dramas, are more like traditional audio books, generally with a second voice actor, and sound effects.
The second voice actor here is Terry Molloy, who does an appropriately cranky Quadrigger Stoyn, and doesn't sound a bit like his more recognized role, as Davros.
But unfortunately, Susan and the Doctor's First Big Adventure feels like a rather small adventure, and the details surrounding their flight from Gallifrey remain unanswered.
Perhaps more questions will be answered in the next installment in this trilogy, The Dying Light .
September 14, 2014
Neben den 198 Hörspielen über Doctor Who, bei denen die Doktoren und Companions sich wirr springend zwischen den Episoden ablösen gibt es bei Big Finish/BBC noch weitere Hörspielereihen zu Doctor Who (als wenn die 198 Hörspiele an sich nicht schon verwirrend und unübersichtlich genug wären). Zu diesen weiteren Hörspielereihen gehören die Companion Chronicles. Die Companion Chronicles sind keine eigentlichen Hörspiele, sondern vertonte Lesungen bei denen ein richtig guter Sprecher die diversen Stimmen nachmacht und ein wenig Geräuschkulisse für die Atmosphäre eingespielt wird. Also eine Art Hybrid aus Lesung und Hörspiel.
Folge 8.05 (also Staffel 8 Folge 5) bzw. Folge 73 - The Beginning behandelt, anders als man erwarten würde, den absoluten Anfang der Serie, den ersten Doktor und wie er mit der Tardis und seiner Urenkelin von seinem Heimatplaneten flieht. Dummerweise war die Tardis eigentlich kurz davor außer Betrieb genommen zu werden und ein Techniker namens Quadrigger Stoyn war gerade dabei, sie zu demontieren, als der Doktor sie klaute. Quadrigger Stoyn is not amused vom Doktor auf einem fremden Planeten und einer fremden Zeit ausgesetzt zu werden.
Wer hat die Bewohner der Erde Erschaffen? Waren wir wirklich ein Unfall durch das unfreiwillige Eingreifen des Doktors und fühlt er sich deshalb für uns verantwortlich? Was ist mit Susans Eltern und der Familie des Doktors? Warum der Doktor fliehen musste? Keine Ahnung. Wozu diese Art Schiff normalerweise verwendet wurde? Keine Ahnung. Eigentlich wird hier nichts wirklich geklärt, man feiert einfach das 50jährige Jubiläum der Serie und füllt ein paar Lücken und poliert Erinnerungen an verlorene Episoden auf, die der BBC aus Bändermangel löschte (die Monty Pythons wären der Löschaktion auch zum Opfer gefallen, hätten sie nicht ihre Bänder gekauft und gerettet).
Folge 8.05 (also Staffel 8 Folge 5) bzw. Folge 73 - The Beginning behandelt, anders als man erwarten würde, den absoluten Anfang der Serie, den ersten Doktor und wie er mit der Tardis und seiner Urenkelin von seinem Heimatplaneten flieht. Dummerweise war die Tardis eigentlich kurz davor außer Betrieb genommen zu werden und ein Techniker namens Quadrigger Stoyn war gerade dabei, sie zu demontieren, als der Doktor sie klaute. Quadrigger Stoyn is not amused vom Doktor auf einem fremden Planeten und einer fremden Zeit ausgesetzt zu werden.
Wer hat die Bewohner der Erde Erschaffen? Waren wir wirklich ein Unfall durch das unfreiwillige Eingreifen des Doktors und fühlt er sich deshalb für uns verantwortlich? Was ist mit Susans Eltern und der Familie des Doktors? Warum der Doktor fliehen musste? Keine Ahnung. Wozu diese Art Schiff normalerweise verwendet wurde? Keine Ahnung. Eigentlich wird hier nichts wirklich geklärt, man feiert einfach das 50jährige Jubiläum der Serie und füllt ein paar Lücken und poliert Erinnerungen an verlorene Episoden auf, die der BBC aus Bändermangel löschte (die Monty Pythons wären der Löschaktion auch zum Opfer gefallen, hätten sie nicht ihre Bänder gekauft und gerettet).
April 14, 2020
This audio details the first trip after The Doctor, accompanied by his granddaughter Susan (portrayed by Carol Ann Ford once again), stole the TARDIS. We even get Susan "naming" the TARDIS.
As it turns out, they're not alone in the ship. Quadrigger Stoyn, portrayed by Davros actor Terry Molloy, is also aboard. And apparently, after this adventure on Earth's moon, he appears in two other Companion Chronicles called The Dying Light and Luna Romana, which feature the Second and Fourth Doctors, respectively. As such, this is part of a trilogy of sorts. It's kinda weird knowing the backstory that we've gathered from the show and taking into account that there was also someone else aboard the TARDIS.
I actually think Terry Molloy could've voiced the First Doctor in this. Carol Ann Ford does a fine job getting The Doctor's speech pattern down, but Molloy's voice sounds close to Hartnell's, to the point where I got confused and thought that a little bit into this audio, The Doctor's voice had been given to another voice actor.
For the first adventure of The First Doctor and Susan, this was pretty decent. After learning more about Earth, The Doctor is fascinated and believes that it should be their next destination. At the end, in a truly Doctor Who fashion, they end up landing on an alien planet with giant mushrooms instead, perhaps allowing some wiggle room in case anyone wants to write more adventures that only have The First Doctor and Susan. Quite brilliant, come to think of it.
As it turns out, they're not alone in the ship. Quadrigger Stoyn, portrayed by Davros actor Terry Molloy, is also aboard. And apparently, after this adventure on Earth's moon, he appears in two other Companion Chronicles called The Dying Light and Luna Romana, which feature the Second and Fourth Doctors, respectively. As such, this is part of a trilogy of sorts. It's kinda weird knowing the backstory that we've gathered from the show and taking into account that there was also someone else aboard the TARDIS.
I actually think Terry Molloy could've voiced the First Doctor in this. Carol Ann Ford does a fine job getting The Doctor's speech pattern down, but Molloy's voice sounds close to Hartnell's, to the point where I got confused and thought that a little bit into this audio, The Doctor's voice had been given to another voice actor.
For the first adventure of The First Doctor and Susan, this was pretty decent. After learning more about Earth, The Doctor is fascinated and believes that it should be their next destination. At the end, in a truly Doctor Who fashion, they end up landing on an alien planet with giant mushrooms instead, perhaps allowing some wiggle room in case anyone wants to write more adventures that only have The First Doctor and Susan. Quite brilliant, come to think of it.
January 14, 2025
I used to listen to a lot of Big Finish, but their audiobooks fell off my radar for a while and I wasn’t sure how best to start listening again. In the end, Big Finish solved the problem for me by offering fans a free pandemic “lockdownload” of an unfamiliar adventure staring one of my favourite characters, Susan Foreman.
Doctor Who: The Beginning was the perfect reintroduction to the world of Big Finish. The story was a fresh take on the Doctor’s flight from Gallifrey, a tense and exciting adventure that managed to balance providing answers about his exile with maintaining just the right amount of mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed the depiction of the relationship between Susan and her grandfather and the way that the story laid the foundations for the Doctor’s long-standing love affair with Earth was as touching as it was clever.
Doctor Who: The Beginning was the perfect reintroduction to the world of Big Finish. The story was a fresh take on the Doctor’s flight from Gallifrey, a tense and exciting adventure that managed to balance providing answers about his exile with maintaining just the right amount of mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed the depiction of the relationship between Susan and her grandfather and the way that the story laid the foundations for the Doctor’s long-standing love affair with Earth was as touching as it was clever.
January 9, 2015
Marc is one of my favourite big finish writers. He's written some excellent stories and this was also a really nice adventure. The first adventure of the Doctor and Susan leaving Gallifrey. It was good in that they didn't give too much away. But it was nice to have Susan's perspective and how they first discovered Earth. I'd listened to the end of Quameyer Stoin's (however that is spelled!) trilogy in Luna Romana, but not heard any of the others, now I think I may have to go and listen to them in order.
February 20, 2014
A good start to what is apparently a series of Companion Chronicles featuring the original character of Stoyn. I liked the references to other stories, and the nods to the Doctor's future such as Stoyn going through his toolbox and mentioning sonic...
Stoyn is an interesting character with potential and Terry Molloy does a good job with him - he's not easily recognised as the same VA as his other role - Davros.
Stoyn is an interesting character with potential and Terry Molloy does a good job with him - he's not easily recognised as the same VA as his other role - Davros.
September 6, 2016
This adventure tells us what happened when Susan and her grandfather the Doctor hijack the tardis and runaway from their home planet Gallifrey.
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