An Introduction

There is no one “right” way to listen to Big Finish. I’ve talked to fans who have done it all kinds of ways - some have started from the beginning and gone in order, some have jumped around without rhyme or reason, some have gone through all the Doctors chronologically, some have done only the ‘big’ audios. It doesn’t matter. The result is always the same: they all ended up falling in love.

Personally, I started with Zagreus and couldn’t have been more confused. I still loved it, but I was left there wonderingwhat the hell just happened. I had to rely on friends who had more experience than me to guide me through, but I’ve realized that not every Doctor Who fan is lucky enough to have one of those, hence this guide.

I’m the type of person who doesn’t like to come in to something in the middle of a story. I don’t like being confused but more than that, I like getting wrapped up in watching the plot unfold. I wish I’d had something like this when I first started listening to Big Finish, which is why I’ve created it. But even if you’re not like me, even if you don’t give a damn about spoilers or story order, I hope this’ll still be useful as a reference guide. Consider it a map that you can either worship and overuse, or glance at and shove under the driver’s seat and forget about until you getreally lost.

It’s up to you how you want to navigate Big Finish. If going through 150 main range audios in order isn’t appealing or in your budget, pick a Doctor or companion you like or have heard good things about and start there. This guide is organized into three main parts: audios are listed by Doctor, by companion, and by series. There is also an articleoutlining major storylines, and I have listed some personal recommendations on each Doctor’s page.

The Guide

The Doctor Index:

First Doctor

Second Doctor

Third Doctor

Fourth Doctor

Fifth Doctor

Sixth Doctor

Seventh Doctor

Eighth Doctor

The companion index

The series index

A quick guide to major story arcs

Abbreviation key

I use abbreviations throughout the guide to identify which series an audio is part of. Here’s the key:

LS = Lost Stories

CC = Companion Chronicle

G = Gallifrey

JL = Jago & Litefoot

SB = subscriber bonus

BBC = BBC website content

DWM = Doctor Who Magazine bonus

U = Unbound

EDA = Eighth Doctor Adventure

FDA = Fourth Doctor Adventure

ST = Short Trips

SJ = Sarah Jane Smith