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Between 1976 and 1996, the BBC produced 5 radio dramas, starring the Third, Fourth, and Sixth Doctors.
Unfortunately, the very first story in this list is really terrible – the characters don’t act like themselves, the plot makes very little sense, and it feels like the story wasn’t even proofread. It is the only story in this entire list which I give a “don’t listen” rating to.
If you’re just getting started with audio dramas, probably don’t start here. Start with the Big Finish Monthly Adventures.
Where to get them
The BBC has not made it particularly easy to get any of these, so I wouldn’t blame you for skipping this segment.
Doctor Who and the Pescatons is hard to find, but that’s ok because it’s not very good.
Each of the other dramas in this list was released on CD in the early 2000s, so you might be able to track one of those down. Exploration Earth and Slipback were given away for free with the The Daily Telegraph in 2010.
There’s a fan-animated version of Exploration Earth here.
Slipback, Paradise of Death, and The Ghosts of N-Space are available on audible.
| Story | Doctor | Featuring | Listen? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doctor Who and the Pescatons | 4th | Sarah Jane | No very poorly written |
| Exploration Earth | 4th | Sarah Jane | Maybe a short educational story – entertaining, but not much plot |
| Slipback | 6th | Peri | Maybe a pastiche of Hitchiker's Guide. Fun, but doesn't feel like Doctor Who |
| The Paradise of Death | 3rd | Sarah Jane, Brigadier | Yes warning: sexual references, violence |
| The Ghosts of N-Space | 3rd | Sarah Jane, Brigadier | Maybe |
| Story | Doctor | Featuring |
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Who and the Pescatons | 4th | Sarah Jane |
| Exploration Earth | 4th | Sarah Jane |
| Slipback | 6th | Peri |
| The Paradise of Death | 3rd | Sarah Jane, Brigadier |
| The Ghosts of N-Space | 3rd | Sarah Jane, Brigadier |
BBV productions was a video and audio production company, designed to create Doctor Who content for fans, including the original actors (and often original authors), without actually being “official”. While a lot of their content is interesting, they didn’t have the rights to anything owned by the BBC (for example, The Doctor, or any of the companions), so any of their content that features “The Doctor” changes the name. Because these stories don’t include the Doctor but instead include “the Professor” or “the Stranger”, they’re not set in the Doctor Who Universe and so aren’t in this guide.
However, sometimes they tried to get the permission of one of the original writers to use a species or character that the writer owned – the stories where they used species or characters without renaming are set in the Doctor Who Universe, so they will be in this guide.
In 1999, BBV Productions decided to make a sequel to the TV episode Warrior’s Gate, where Romana II and K9 were left in E-Space. They got the original actors (Lalla Ward and John Leeson) to voice the parts, and the rights to K9, but were unable to get the rights for Romana or E-Space, so Romana remains unnamed and they are travelling in Ecto-Space.
Where to get them
I have no idea where to get these, currently – BBV no longer exists, and even if it did they ceased selling their audio dramas in the mid–2000s.
This means that the only way to track them down is to find someone with a disc, or to find copies being shared around online, which means that the BBV dramas are the hardest to get out of this entire list.
| Story | Featuring | Listen? |
|---|---|---|
| The Choice | K9, “The Mistress” | Maybe |
| The Search | K9, “The Mistress” | Maybe |
| Story | Featuring |
|---|---|
| The Choice | K9, “The Mistress” |
| The Search | K9, “The Mistress” |