Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include Doctor Who, the characters Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog from 2000 AD, Blake's 7, Dark Shadows, Dracula, Terrahawks, Sapphire & Steel, Sherlock Holmes, Stargate, The Avengers, The Prisoner, Timeslip, and Torchwood.
Doctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of, but related to, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
BBC Books is an imprint majority-owned and managed by Penguin Random House through its Ebury Publishing division. The minority shareholder is BBC Studios, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The imprint has been active since the 1980s.
Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running BBC Television science fiction series Doctor Who and two of its spin-offs. Sarah Jane is a dogged investigative journalist who first encounters alien time traveller the Doctor while trying to break a story on a top secret research facility, and subsequently becomes his travelling companion on a series of adventures spanning the breadth of space and time. After travelling with The Doctor in four seasons of the show they suddenly part ways, and after this she continues to investigate strange goings-on back on Earth. Over time, Sarah Jane establishes herself as a committed defender of Earth from alien invasions and other threats, occasionally reuniting with The Doctor in the course of her own adventures, all the while continuing to work as a freelance investigative journalist.
Rose Tyler is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. She was created by series producer Russell T Davies and portrayed by Billie Piper. With the revival of Doctor Who in 2005, Rose was introduced as a new travelling companion of the series protagonist, the Doctor, in his ninth and tenth incarnations. The companion character, intended to act as an audience surrogate, was key in the first series to introduce new viewers to the mythos of Doctor Who, which had not aired regularly since 1989. Rose became the viewers' eyes into the new world of the series, from the companion's perspective. Piper received top billing alongside Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant for the duration of her time as a regular cast member. A regular for all of series one (2005) and series two (2006), Piper later returned for three episodes of the programme's fourth series (2008) and appeared in feature-length specials in both 2010 and 2013. In the latter, Piper played a sentient weapon known as 'The Moment', which utilises Rose's image.
David John Tennant is a Scottish actor. He was the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in the sci-fi series Doctor Who, returning to the show as the fourteenth incarnation of the character in 2022. His other notable roles include Giacomo Casanova in the comedy-drama serial Casanova (2005), Barty Crouch Jr. in the fantasy film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Peter Vincent in the horror remake Fright Night (2011), DI Alec Hardy in the crime drama series Broadchurch (2013–2017), Kilgrave in the superhero series Jessica Jones (2015–2019), Crowley in the fantasy series Good Omens (2019–present), Angus in The Loud House Movie (2021), and Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days (2021).
The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant in three series as well as nine specials. As with previous incarnations of the Doctor, the character has also appeared in other Doctor Who spin-offs. Tennant's time as the Tenth Doctor is highly regarded among fans of the show and is considered one of the most iconic incarnations of the character, often ranked alongside Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor.
The New Series Adventures are a series of novels relating to the long-running BBC science fiction television series, Doctor Who. The 'NSAs', as they are often referred to, are published by BBC Books, and are regularly published twice a year. Beginning with the Tenth Doctor, a series of 'Quick Reads' have also been available, published once a year. With exception to the Quick Reads, all of the NSAs have been published in hardcover to begin with, and have been reprinted in paperback for boxed collections that are exclusive to The Book People and Tesco. Some of the reprints amend pictures of the companion of the novel from the cover. Some of the hardback editions have also been reprinted to amend pictures of Rose.
"The Runaway Bride" is a special episode of the long-running British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. It was produced as the Doctor Who Christmas special for 2006, broadcast on 25 December, and aired between the second and third series of the relaunched show.
The Sarah Jane Adventures is a British science fiction television programme that was produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies, and starring Elisabeth Sladen. The programme is a spin-off of the long-running BBC science fiction programme Doctor Who and is aimed at a younger audience than Doctor Who. It focuses on the adventures of Sarah Jane Smith, an investigative journalist who, as a young woman, had numerous adventures across time and space with the Doctor. Following Sladen's sudden death from cancer, the BBC confirmed that the show would not return for a sixth series.
"Journey's End" is the thirteenth and final episode of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on BBC One on 5 July 2008. It is the second episode of a two-part crossover story featuring the characters of spin-off shows Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, preceded by "The Stolen Earth", which aired on 28 June. At 65 minutes in length, it was approximately 20 minutes longer than a standard fourth-series episode. It marked the final regular appearances of every companion introduced in the Russell T Davies era, including Catherine Tate as Donna Noble.
The fourth series of British science fiction television programme Doctor Who was preceded by the 2007 Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned". Following the special, a regular series of thirteen episodes aired, starting with "Partners in Crime" on 5 April 2008 and ending with "Journey's End" three months later on 5 July 2008.
Donna Noble is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Portrayed by British actress and comedian Catherine Tate, she is a former companion of the Tenth Doctor. Originally appearing in the closing scene of the show's 2006 series and as a special guest star in its following Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride", Tate was not expected to reprise her role as Donna; for series 3 (2007), the Doctor travelled alongside medical student Martha Jones. However, Tate expressed interest in returning to the role, and she returned as Donna for the duration of series 4 (2008), and in a subsequent 2009–2010 Christmas and New Year's special. On 15 May 2022, it was announced that Tate would reprise the role for the series' 60th anniversary specials in 2023.
The Forever Trap is an exclusive to audio Doctor Who story, produced as part of BBC Books' New Series Adventures line, and the second entry in the series to be produced. Read by Catherine Tate, it is the second non-televised Doctor Who adventure to feature the companion Donna Noble. It was released on CD on 9 October 2008.
The Nemonite Invasion is an exclusive to audio Doctor Who story, produced as part of BBC Books' New Series Adventures line, and the third entry in the series to be produced. Read by Catherine Tate, it is the third non-televised Doctor Who adventure to feature the companion Donna Noble. It was released on 12 February 2009.
"The End of Time" is a two-part story of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 25 December 2009 and 1 January 2010. It is the fifth Doctor Who Christmas special and the last entry in a series of specials aired from 2008 to 2010. It marks the final regular appearance of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and introduces Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor. At the time, it was the last Doctor Who story written and produced by Russell T Davies, who shepherded the series' return to British television in 2005 and served as the series's executive producer and chief writer. He returned to that role in 2022 in time for the 60th anniversary specials. Davies was succeeded as executive producer and showrunner by Steven Moffat.
The Tenth Doctor Adventures, announced in October 2015, is a Big Finish Productions audio play series based on the television series Doctor Who. It sees the return of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble. The first trilogy of stories was released in May 2016. In November 2017 a second volume was released, featuring the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler. A third volume was released in May 2019, with Tate again reprising her role as Donna.
The 2023 specials of the British science-fiction television programme Doctor Who are a series of special episodes that will air to celebrate the programme's 60th anniversary. The episodes were written by Russell T Davies, and will be broadcast on BBC One in November 2023 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and on Disney+ internationally. David Tennant and Catherine Tate are both returning to the series as part of the 60th anniversary. Tennant will appear as the Fourteenth Doctor for the first time, while Tate will reprise her role as Donna Noble.
