Vicki is back in the TARDIS in Fugitive of the Daleks …
… but there’s a twist …
An old friend of the Doctor’s returns to face his oldest enemies in a brand-new full-cast audio drama, released today from Big Finish Productions.
Fugitive of the Daleks, a six-part adventure written by Jonathan Morris, pairs Maureen O’Brien as an older Vicki alongside the First Doctor (Stephen Noonan), with Nicholas Briggs directing, script editing and voicing the Daleks.
Years after ending her travels with the Doctor, Vicki finds herself back in the TARDIS. The Doctor desperately needs her help, and she’s only too happy to oblige. But in the process, the two of them fall into a series of perilous encounters, with the dreaded Daleks never far behind them.
What is the mysterious presence inside the TARDIS? And precisely what damage do the Daleks and their agents intend to cause to the flow of Earth’s history?
The Doctor and Vicki must call upon all their guile and bravery to discover the truth and save the day.
Doctor Who – The First Doctor Adventures: Fugitive of the Daleks is now available to own for just £22.99 (collector’s edition CD box set + download) £18.99 (download only), exclusively from www.bigfinish.com.
Producer Mark Wright said: “Bringing Maureen O’Brien back as a Vicki who has lived a life but perhaps still yearns for one more adventure, has been a true joy of producing The First Doctor Adventures.
“Maureen is really in a class of her own, bringing her wealth of experience, a playful wit and a fierce commitment to the work we’re doing. Combining that with Stephen’s take on the Doctor in a brilliant script is a very special thing.”
Writer Jonathan Morris added: “I’ve written for Maureen O’Brien as Vicki before a couple of times and what makes her a great companion is pretty much all down to Maureen’s performance. Her cheekiness and gutsiness and sense of wonder.
“And it was just lovely to write for the character, and knew that Maureen would take what I’d written and elevate it. It meant I could write some pretty emotional, heartfelt stuff in there, knowing that she would play the scenes with absolute truth and make it so much richer.”
More about Fugitive of the Daleks …
As many Doctor Who fans will know, Vicki (played by Maureen O’Brien) departed the TV series back in the 1965 story, The Myth Makers. Maureen has since featured many times in various Big Finish productions over the years, brilliantly recreating the vibrant, youthful energy of Vicki, a companion the Doctor and friends rescued from a crashed spaceship in The Rescue (1965).
But in Fugitive of the Daleks, things are a little different.
“Up to now, I’ve always played Vicki at the age of 15, which was the age she was when she first met the Doctor, so to be playing Vicki as the age I am now is very refreshing,” said Maureen.
Director and script editor Nicholas Briggs, who also voices the Daleks in this box set, explained: “Listeners may remember that at the end of our last First Doctor story, The Incherton Incident, the Doctor suddenly disappeared. And this has some bearing on how he now finds himself travelling with an older version of Vicki.”
This is, of course, Maureen’s first encounter with Big Finish’s recast First Doctor, Stephen Noonan. “Oh, he’s fantastic,” she enthused. “We’re fellow Liverpudlians, so we have a lot in common. He is doing an extraordinary job as William Hartnell’s Doctor. It’s an incredible challenge but he’s incredibly meticulous and he is getting it right. He’s got the rhythm of William Hartnell, which I think is always the most important thing about how someone speaks. It’s really a fantastic portrayal.”
Fugitive of the Daleks takes the TARDIS team on a whirlwind tour of space and time, plunging them into many life-threatening situations, with the Doctor’s arch enemies never far away.
“There’s a lot for the older Vicki to cope with,” Briggs added. “But she embraces every challenge with gusto. This is an exciting and emotional journey for her as she plunges back into the fray with renewed vigor!”
Big Finish Productions’ Doctor Who audio drama releases
Range | Title | Starring | Release Date |
---|---|---|---|
Sontarans vs Rutans | “The Battle of Giant’s Causeway” | Paul McGann, India Fisher, Conrad Westmaas | Jan. 10, 2024 |
First Doctor Adventures | “Fugitive of the Daleks” | Stephen Noonan, Maureen O’Brien | Jan. 23, 2024 |
Doctor Who audio novels | “The Chaos Cascade” | Dan Starkey, Beth Chalmers, Rebecca Root | January 2024 |
Eleventh Doctor Adventures | “Victory of the Doctor” | Jacob Dudman, Safiyya Ingar | Feb. 6, 2024 |
Ninth Doctor Adventures | “Buried Threats” | Christopher Eccleston, Lisa Bowerman | February 2024 |
Third Doctor Adventures | “Revolution in Space” | Tim Treloar, Sadie Miller | Feb. 13, 2024 |
Sontarans vs Rutans | “The Children of the Future” | Tim Treloar, Sadie Miller, Jon Culshaw | Feb. 8, 2024 |
Torchwood | “Another Postcard from Mr Colchester” | Paul Clayton | February 2024 |
Torchwood | “Sabotage” | Sophie Aldred, Paul Clayton | February 2024 |
Master! | “Planet Doom” | Eric Roberts, Chase Masterson | February 2024 |
Twelfth Doctor Chronicles | “You Only Die Twice” | Jacob Dudnan, Bhavnisha Parmar | March 2024 |
Sontarans vs Rutans | “Born to Die” | Colin Baker, India Fisher | March 2024 |
Sixth Doctor Adventures | “The Quin Dilemma” | Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Bonnie Langford, Miranda Raison, Lisa Greenwood) | March 2024 |
Fourth Doctor Adventures | “Storm of the Sea Devils” | Tom Baker, Christopher Naylor, Eleanor Crooks | March 2024 |
Fifth Doctor Adventures | “The Dream Team” | Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, Matthew Waterhouse | April 2024 |
Torchwood | “I Hate Mondays” | Tracy-Ann Oberman, Gareth David-Lloyd, Tim Bentinck | May 2024 |
Missy | “Bad Influence” | Michelle Gomez, Paterson Joseph, Natalie Gumede, David Shaw Parker | May 2024 |
Eighth Doctor Adventures | “Echoes” | Paul McGann, Nicola Walker, Hattie Morahan | May 2024 |
Fourth Doctor Adventures | “Metamorphosis” | Tom Baker, Christopher Naylor, Eleanor Crooks | June 2024 |
The Novel Adaptations | “Goth Opera” | Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, | July 2024 |
Fourth Doctor Adventures | TBA | Tom Baker, Christopher Naylor, Eleanor Crooks | September 2024 |