Doctor Who: Shada

Big Finish Bonus Releases #II

by Gary Russell (Prologue/Adaptation), Douglas Adams, Paul McGann (Narrator)

The Doctor has a spot of unfinished business. Reunited with his old friends Romana and K9, he answers a summons from Professor Chronotis, a retired Time Lord now living the academic life in a Cambridge college.

But the Doctor isn’t the only visitor to Cambridge. Somewhere in the city is the sinister alien Skagra, who is intent on stealing an ancient and mysterious book brought to Earth by the Professor many years before.

What is Skagra’s diabolical masterplan? And who or what is the mysterious Shada? To discover the truth, the Doctor and his friends must embark on a perilous journey that will take them from the cloisters of Cambridge to the farthest reaches of deep space, risking deadly encounters with a sentient spaceship, the monstrous Krargs, and an ancient Time Lord criminal called Salyavin. As the Doctor soon discovers, the fate of the universe hangs in the balance...

Production Notes
Written in 1979, the original TV production of Shada was halted by industrial action, and for many years the story remained unmade – until now. Featuring an all-star cast headed by Paul McGann, and boasting an unforgettable script by the great Douglas Adams, this legendary Doctor Who adventure is lost no more!

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Fantasy, Classics, Time Travel

3 pages, Audio CD

First published December 1, 2003

About the author

Gary Russell is a British freelance writer, producer and former child actor. As a writer, he is best known for his work in connection with the television series Doctor Who and its spin-offs in other media. As an actor, he is best known for playing Dick Kirrin in the British 1978 television series The Famous Five.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by Douglas Adams and abandoned due to a BBC workers strike, "Shada" has taken on almost mythic proportions among Doctor Who fans. About a third of the story was filmed back in 1979 before the serial had to be abandoned completely. A VHS release of the story with as much completed footage as was available and linking narration by Tom Baker helped a bit, but it didn't necessarily fill the empty void left by "Shada"s abandonment all those years ago.

So when it was time to celebrate a milestone anniversary in the history of Doctor Who during the dark time before the show came back, it only make sense that the Big Finish team and the BBC would turn to "Shada." But instead of remounting the story for TV, it would be told in audio form. And when Tom Baker declined to reprise his role as the Doctor (it'd be interesting to see if rumors will spring up of him revisiting the story now that he's signed on for a couple of Big Finish stories...though a huge part of me doubts it since he doesn't really get along well with Lalla Ward), Big Finish decided to ask Paul McGann to take on the role and updated the script to reflect the eighth Doctor.

The result is this audio release, originally streamed on the BBC web site many, many moons ago.

But the question that always strikes me when it comes to "Shada" is--if it weren't the one lost story that we don't have any hope of ever seeing in a complete format, what would the reputation of "Shada" be among Doctor Who fans today.

The answer, unfortunately, is it's just be another mediocre story from what is arguable the least consistent season in the fourth Doctor's tenure. "Shada" isn't all that bad, but it's not all that good either. It's an interesting story and compared to a lot of season seventeen, it's quite good. But that still doesn't mean it's the great lost classic many fans hope it would be.

It's got a lot of trademark Douglas Adams flourishes. It explores Time Lord society a bit. It asks some interesting questions and it has some nice moments. But it still doesn't all quite gel into a complete story in the final analysis. Perhaps it feels padded because it was to run as the season's six-part serial. Or perhaps it's because it was intended to be a visual story and not an audio one. Either way, I can't help but come away disappointed.

[Saturnberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious. Very well written and performed. Hearing Eight beg his friends to come with him is such fun. It's a great example of what makes Paul McGann a wonderful Doctor.

This review is probably so poorly written, I offer my apologies to anyone and everyone. Good night ;)

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prequel to Dirk Gently books.

[David Layton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shada is the legendary "lost" Douglas Adams story. There was a video made from the footage actually shot, with Tom Baker providing linking narrative. In its way, that is better than this version. The problem is that Paul McGann is a little too "serious" to play the Baker lines correctly. It might have been better to cast Sylvester McCoy for this. Additionally, Andrew Sachs' version of Skagra is too stock badguy, not nearly as good as Chrsitopher Neame's Skagra. The story itself is very Douglas Adams - reality being somewhat plastic.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit that I don't care much for audio drama but this was rather good.
Originally "Shada" is a lost Tom Baker story from 1979. Big Finish has rewritten it in 2003 as an audioplay for Paul McGanns doctor. That is a bit odd but it works surprisingly well. I really enjoyed it and it was fun to have Romana II and K9 back with the doctor.
I recommend it to anyone who is familiar with Classic Doctor Who - it is very enjoyable if you've already watched episodes with Romana and K9.

[Sara Habein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read the book, watched the Eighth Doctor animated version of this, and now finally listened to the CD audio adventure of Shada, so I guess this means it's one of my favorites. It's a very good Doctor Who story from Douglas Adams (yes, THAT Douglas Adams, for those of you who were unfamiliar with his having written for the show) featuring Romana II and K9, and if they are indeed going to make an animated Fourth Doctor version, I expect I'll be into that one too.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, actually. Contained the parts it needed to, an appropriate amount of nostalgia, and a sly reference to the classic Ford Prefect car (a cute little addition by the adaptor). The only problem I have with this version is that it's clearly the wrong Doctor running about. I love 8th but he doesn't belong in this story.

[Jonathan Roth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome entertaining adventure with the 4th Doctor and Rowana2 surprises endured for the Doctor and his companion from start to finish Highly recommended to all but fans of Tom Baker's Doctor will really love it .

[Alien_Dwarf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 4th version of the Douglas Adams lost classic I've consumed, still one of my absolute favourite Doctor Who stories; this time with the absolutely wonderful Eighth, I mean come on. <3

[Suze Geuke]

.

[Flora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this as part of my Shada binge of the VHS release, this release and the 2017 animated release. Enjoyed this one more than the VHS release.

[elise barber-wixtrom · Rating 3 out of 5]

as food is to the stomach, so are doctor who audio dramas to the soul.

i need them or else i will die a slow death of mental starvation

[Malek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This audio-book was exactly the type of witty, entertaining, comedic, and campy material that you expect from both Douglas Adams and Doctor Who. Doctor Who fans will love this story. Others may think parts are silly. Most should agree that the writing is still witty and clever. In the audio-book version, it takes a little bit to get used to the female narrator as the Doctor, but actually she does a very good job and makes all the voices extremely distinct. Coming back to the story, it did exactly what it was supposed to - took me on a great adventure, made me laugh, made me wonder how in the world the Doctor was going to get out of this one, and presented endearing and caring characters to empathize with. I recommend it.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The infamous 'lost' Fourth Doctor Who story, written by Douglas Adams is finally released as an audio adventure, with the Eighth Doctor stepping in to replace number four.
Decent story with enough clever Adams-ish bits that make a fun story. Fun to hear old voices interacting with old and they really did a nice job of tweaking the story to deal with not getting Tom Baker.
Might have been better with an old monster. The ones here are a bit blah.

Nice to see Big Finish tracking down these 'lost' stories and getting them out there.

[Pete Storm · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lost story from Douglas Adams?! Cool!

This was a very good 4th Doctor story. It felt much longer than a normal Doctor Who book, and reading the afterword it was supposed to be 6 episodes.

It feels like the best of the old style DW. The characterization of The Doctor is spot on. The other characters work very well. The villain is also an interesting bloke. He starts out very icy and spirals out of control into a classic monologueing megalomaniac. Very well done.

There's a nice twist at the end - not completely unexpected, but well done.

I quite enjoyed the story.

[DeAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Douglas Adams's Fourth Dr scripts that was never produced, revamped here for the 8th in audio. It works pretty well for Eight, despite having to bring Romana and K9 into the story. He does sound an awful lot like Ford Prefect at times, which is a plus in my book. Good plot and very enjoyable supporting characters! I'll probably listen to it again before too long.

[Steven Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short read that was pretty much a Doctor Who episode. Not a fan of Douglas Adams but when the story picked up after 120 pages, the story progressed well. You get some more insight into Time Lords which is interesting. Overall, I didnt hate it.

[Leela42 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio adventure with the eighth Doctor, Romana, K-9. Uses the script for the unfinished fourth Doctor episode, slightly updated to fit the eighth Doctor's timeline.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

The unfinished Douglas Adams story that was commissioned but never filmed... Has its moments but ultimately typical Doctor Who territory.

[Åke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! Funny and sweet. It's not a heavy or thought provoking novel but it's a fast paced romp that will sweep you along.

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Douglas Adams adventure. Reminded me of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and The Pirate Planet. Would have been fantastic on screen.

[Tuesday Kuykendall]

Loved it. I miss Douglas Adams!

[Jeroen Verkroost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent completion of a great story that only Douglas Adams could have come up with.
Reads like a Douglas Adams novel all the way through. Wildly creative and funny.

[Mary Smithz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is wonderful story, but not for the 8th Doctor. But it was also interesting to hear Paul McGann and Lalla Ward togever.

[Radka · Rating 4 out of 5]

4*5

[Saleh MoonWalker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Onvan : Doctor Who: Shada - Nevisande : Douglas Adams - ISBN : 1844350398 - ISBN13 : 9781844350391 - Saal e Chap : 2003

[Bonnie Dale Keck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have saw the serial and the movies and read the books individually and as omnibus and different sets, hardback, still in my library, says a lot. Date wrong, just saw it to review. also listened to radio ones of course

[Zee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm very disappointed that Tom Baker didn't reprise his role, I watched the pieced-together episodes with his narration and listening to this afterwards, I was just jarred by the sound of the wrong Doctor throughout (not that Paul shouldn't have more Who stuff under his belt, poor guy was only allowed 1 movie, lol).

The story of Shada, however remains good, I'm very glad Douglas Adams used the ideas in Dirk Gently, I listened to that audio book before this, and there were so many "Easter eggs", it was lovely.

For more info on the reasons this never became a proper episode of classic Who read: Here is a review by Michael: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...