The Seventh Doctor and Ace are back in a new Big Finish audio production, Doctor Who: Dark Universe. Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred and Mark Bonnar star in a brand new, full-cast audio story. Not only does the story pick up the threads of the relationship between the Doctor and an older Ace, in her now grown-up role as CEO of A Charitable Earth, it also features intriguing Timey-Wimey crossovers with a number of other Big Finish spin-off series.
Mark Bonnar returns as the Eleven. He is a Time Lord psychopath in his eleventh incarnation. Eleven retains the personalities of all his previous incarnations. This is his first chronological meeting with this particular Doctor.
The Eleven is a Time Lord whose previous personalities live on in his mind: arguing, plotting, and jostling for supremacy… he is also Gallifrey’s most dangerous criminal. As played by Mark Bonnar, the character has been a popular villain ever since his introduction in The Eighth Doctor Adventures audio series, Doom Coalition.
What happens in the Seventh Doctor story Dark Universe
The Eleven has a plan. A grand plan. An appalling plan. A plan that endangers all life in the cosmos. With Ace working against him, the Doctor must rely on scheming Time Lord Cardinal Ollistra for help. Cardinal Ollistra is a high ranking Time Lord in the Last Great Time War. She first appeared in the audio story The Innocent where she worked with the War Doctor. The stage is set for an epic confrontation for sure! The Doctor has a plan to stop the Eleven. A grand plan. An appalling plan. A plan that endangers all life in the cosmos. Whichever one of them wins, the Dark Universe won’t want to lose… Dark Universe is a direct prequel to Doom Coalition which finally reveals the circumstances as to how the Seventh Doctor caught the Eleven in the first place.
In this adventure, Ace has not seen the Doctor is twenty years. We can understand why she would be so against helping him. Apparently, according to the Doctor, saving the universe is like riding a bike: you’ll soon get the hang of it again. The Doctor appears at Ace’s door, on her day off of course. He is asking for her help to save the universe. Judging by the deep sigh she gives after he inquires, we can tell her help will be reluctant.
The cast and crew are excited for this new Seventh Doctor adventure
Producer, David Richardson, said,
“I’d long planned that if ever I was in a position to make it happen, we’d do a story with the Seventh Doctor and the Eleven, and tell the lead-in to the first scenes in the Eighth Doctor series, Doom Coalition. So when Emma Haigh and I took over as joint producers on the Seventh Doctor stories this year, I leapt at the opportunity and asked script editor Matt Fitton to commission a script. There’s a lot in Dark Universe – not only does it return to the Eleven’s story, it also shows what happens to Ace in her later life. And it features Ollistra and Rasmus, two characters who are important to our ongoing Time War series, plus it sets up other things too… It’s actually a pivotal release, for so many reasons.”
Actor Mark Bonnar said,
“I was really pleased with the script as it gave a bit of the Eleven’s backstory. When I first played the Eleven, Sylvester was the Doctor who caught him. I’d met him previously because Sophie Aldred is a pal of mine, but it was really good to work with him as we hit it off pretty much straight away. I really enjoyed being the Eleven with another Doctor this time – I hope there are plans to have him meet some of the other ones!”
Doctor Who: Dark Universe is now available at www.bigfinish.com
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