In celebration of International Women’s Day, Big Finish is set to release the second chapter of their Doctor Who series, “The Eighth of March”. Out on, well, the 8th of March 2022, “The Eighth of March: Protectors of Time” will feature the return of more fan-favorite female characters from Doctor Who– including a few characters making their Big Finish debut!
“Protectors of Time” will feature three stand-alone adventures that mark the first Big Finish stories for The Sarah Jane Adventure’s Rani Chandra (Anjli Mohindra) and UNIT science officer Jac (Jaye Griffiths) who we first met in series 9’s “The Magician’s Apprentice”. And back to tell more stories are Romana (Lalla Ward), Lady Christina de Souza (Michelle Ryan), Jenny (Georgia Tennant) and Jo Jones (Katy Manning).
Following in the footsteps of the original “The Eight of March” release, “Protectors of Time” also features the writing, directing, and producing talents of an all-female team. The stories are written by Lizbeth Miles, Abigail Burdess, and Nina Millns- the latter two writing their first scripts for Big Finish! The directors for these adventures are Louise Jameson and Helen Goldwyn. The box set’s producer, Emma Haigh had this to say about the upcoming release:
“I’m so pleased to be bringing back our exclusive Eighth of March series for 2022. The three stories see some brilliant new partnerships working together for the first time and our stellar female actors, writers and directors take us on unique adventures whilst tackling some of the big issues of today.”
Now let’s take a look at the story details!
Story Details for “Protectors of Time”
The first story in “The Eighth of March: Protectors of Time” will feature Romana. Written by Lizbeth Myles, “Stolen Futures” will explore some of her adventures with K-9 in E-Space following their departure from the TV show in “Warrior’s Gate.”
Romana and K-9 have stayed in E-Space to help an ancient and noble people, freed from their shackles.
But first they must heal divisions in the ranks, and those who see a very different future for the Tharil race…
Next, “Prism” by Abigail Burdess will feature two women from the Tenth Doctor’s era- Jenny and Lady Christina de Souza. It’s not immediately clear from Big Finish’s synopsis if the two will meet in person, but I hope they do!
Lady Christina de Souza is crashing an exclusive party in search of a priceless diamond. Out in deep space, time travellers Jenny and Noah collide with a strange diamond-shaped vessel.
What is Prism? And what does it want with the Earth?
And to conclude “The Eighth of March: Protectors of Time”, Rani Chandra and Jac will enter the world of Big Finish Doctor Who! Though the actors Anjli Mohindra and Jaye Griffiths have worked with the production company before, this will be their respective first times returning to their Doctor Who roles for Big Finish.
In the footsteps of Sarah Jane Smith, Rani Chandra is investigating strange weather phenomena, calling on an old friend for help –Jo Jones!
But UNIT is also on the case, led by science officer Jac. Soon all three women will be on a mission to the Moon…
And though “Turn of the Tides” by Nina Millns will be Rani Chandra’s first Big Finish adventure, it will not be the first post-The Sarah Jane Adventures story for the character. Rani also appeared in one of the Doctor Who: Lockdown! stories produced alongside the 2020 Tweet-alongs of various Doctor Who episodes. Some of Rani’s in-universe reporting can also be seen in the 2021 mobile game Doctor Who: The Lonely Assassins.
“The Eighth of March: Protectors of Time” is available for pre-order from Big Finish’s website both as a 3 disc collector’s edition box set for £19.99 or a digital download for £16.99. For those looking to catch up on the previous “The Eighth of March” stories, you can save by ordering a bundle on collector’s edition CD (£45) or digital download (£40).
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