DOCTOR WHO AUDIO TITLES

THE SMUGGLERS

William Hartnell stars as the first Doctor in this 'lost' recording released by BBC Radio Collection. The TARDIS lands in a remote stretch of Cornish coastline in the 17th century, and the travellers soon discover that these are far from friendly times. The local squire heads a band of smugglers using the area to offload contraband, and the Doctor and his companions are soon in danger when they inadvertently stumble on the operation.

The local village church has also recently become the focus of rumours of long forgotten treasure, and when the Doctor is passed a cryptic clue by an ill-fated local, this little knowledge becomes a very dangerous thing.

As with all the other 'lost' adventures, a recording was made privately of the soundtrack, and to provide the full picture, Anneke Wills (the companion Polly in this story) narrates the linking material. A must for any fan.

Priced £12.99 (CD), the ISBN is 0563 535040.

THE DALEK MASTER PLAN

The Daleks threaten to destroy the fabric of time itself in their quest to gain control of the Solar System. Taking control of the time destructor, a weapon that threatens the safety of all who stand in their way. They have formed an alliance with the Outer Galaxies, all of them bent on destroying the human race, and a council of delegates has been called to their base on the planet Kembel. In their midst is none other than Mavic Chen, the treacherous Guardian of the Solar System.

When the Doctor learns the extent of the Daleks' plan, he steals the taranium core of the weapon, rendering it useless, and thus stalling the conquest. The crew of the TARDIS are pursued across volcanoes and deserts, through jungles and futuristic cities, and to London, Egypt and even Hollywood. As the Daleks close in and the stakes become progressively higher, allies and enemies are won and lost. Shockingly, not all of the Doctor's companions will escape with their lives.

The story runs for a whopping 12 episodes, and also includes the special pre-quel, Mission to the Unknown, which sets the scene for this classic story. This is the first release of the entire story, although the two surviving episodes were released on video many years ago. Priced £29.99, and containing 5 discs, this set is excellent value for money and is not to be missed. (ISBN 0563 535008),

FACELESS ONES

This chilling tale of body snatching has Patrick Troughton playing the Doctor, and Frazer Hines, who played his companion Jamie, adding additional linking material to the TV soundtrack.

This six-part story was first broadcast in 1967, but the film prints were not retained in the archives. Luckily off-air sound recordings were made by a fan and it is through these that we can now hear the complete story.

The TARDIS makes a hazardous return to contemporary Earth, materialising at Gatwick Airport in the path of an oncoming aeroplane! The travellers split up in a bid to evade airport security, but in doing so they become embroiled in a plot to steal the personalities of young humans.

The Chameleons: faceless aliens who have lost their very identities following a disaster on their home world, have infiltrated the airport and have set up the bogus airline, Chameleon Tours, in order to kidnap the passengers and steal their identities. The Doctor and his companions become mixed up this the alien machinations and it soon becomes difficult to tell who is who.

This story has been issued on double CD and is priced £13.99. ISBN 0563 535016.

THE MOONBASE

A particular favourite of mine as it has Pat troughton as the Doctor. It is the year 2070 on Earth and the weather is fully under the control of the Gravitron, a device based on the Moon and manned by an international team of scientific experts. The TARDIS materialises on the surface, and soon discover that the base is in the grip of a plague that is seriously reducing the number of personnel. The Doctor, being his normal self, is curious about this, and offers his help to the stricken base in place of the resident medic who is infected.

This story sees the return of the Cybermen and was originally broadcast on BBC TV between the 11th February and 4th March 1967. With the video tapes of episodes 1 and 3 wiped in the early 70s, this audio track is the only complete recording of the story and is available for the first time on this stunning Radio Collection double CD. ISBN 0563 478543

THE CELESTIAL TOYMAKER

Another lost classic, but this time from the first incarnation of the Doctor, played by William Hartnell. Only the last episode of this story exists in visual form (and was released many years ago on The Hartnell Years video), and, like all the rest of the stories, it available for the first time in full on this BBC Radio Collection double CD. In the domain of the Toymaker, nothing is quite what it seems, and this is apparent when the TARDIS materialises inside. The Doctor appears to be well versed in the tastes of the mysterious mandarin, but his companions are not quite so well off and the stakes become much greater.

First broadcast between the 2nd April and 23rd April 1966, this four parter was adapted to allow for the signs of illness that Hartnell was showing, and he becomes 'invisible' for a large chunk of this story, not that there is any visible sign of this in this release! Later in the history fo the programme, the Toymaker was to make a return, but it was his turn to be invisible this time, and the season that was planned to contain this story never made it to screen. ISBN 0563 478551.

THE MYTHMAKERS

The Doctor, in his travels, has adopted many guises, but the god Zeus has to be at the pinnacle of these. The TARDIS lands on the plains of Asia Minor, not far from the fabled city of Troy, and the Doctor is taken to the Greek camp by Achilles, introduced to Agamemnon and Odysseus and forced to admit that his is not quite so god-like as they would have first believed. It is then that he is given two days to come up with a sure-fire plan to defeat the Trojans - and it wouldn't be giving anything away if I said a wooden horse featured somewhere in this story!

If the Doctor is making yet another mark on history, then the same cannot really be said for his companions who had got themselves caputered by the other side, who think Vicky is a spy. She too has been given just two days to think of a plan to defeat the Greeks. Containing 2 CDs, this set is the next in an ever increasing line of 'wiped' shows to appear as audio tracks, and it doesn't disappoint at all. A must for any fan.

SLIPBACK

This is an oddity in the history of the series coming in the middle of the Colin Baker era when the future of the series was very uncertain. Until now I have never heard it, but was pleasantly surprised. Written by Eric Saward, the Doctor wakes, after a night on the juice, to find that the TARDIS has materialised in the service ducting of Vipod Mor, a huge craft that is floating in deep space. If this wasn't enough, the console has detected time spillage - someone is tampering with the fabric of time - not something to be entered into lightly as it can not only bugger up the space-time continuum, but probably end life as we know it!

this isn't the only illegal activity going on on board the ship and works of art have been stolen from planets on the route of the craft. The plot thickens. this is the first time this has been issued on CD and has been digitally remastered for the issue. Running to just over an hour, this is not quite such good value as some of the other releases, but worth getting nonetheless.

THE MACRA TERROR

Continuing with the release schedules of those stories where only the soundtrack remains, the Macra Terror is a welcome re-release. This was one of the first soundtracks to be released 10 or so years ago,a nd the cassette has been difficult to get hold of, but now it has been digitally remastered and released on CD. It is one of my favourites as it has Patrick Troughton as the Doctor in a world that appears to paradise - everyone is happy and the place ahs the feel of a giant holiday camp, however, there is sinister goings on. The evil Macra, a race of giant crab-like creatures, are controlling the colony and forcing the humans to mine for a gas that is vital to them, but deadly to humans. The Doctor has to act fast before he, his companions, and the rest of the colony fall prey to the Macra.

Priced £13.99, and containing two CDs, the ISBN is 0563 477563.

THE HIGHLANDERS

The second release for Doctor Who this month is a real gem. Again with Pat Troughton as the Doctor, this is The Highlanders, and is the story where the Doctor first meets Jamie McCrimmon and it is Frazer Hines who provides the linking narration to the soundtrack. The year is 1745, and the place is Scotland. The Doctor, Ben and Polly all arrive just after the Battle of Culloden, and they meet a band of Highlanders who are fleeing in defeat with their injured Laird. The TARDIS crew offer to help, but whilst Polly and the Laird's daughter are away fetching water, the others are captured by Redcoat troops.

Thigs go from bad to worse when they are taken again - this time by the crooked Solicitor Grey who is part of a the West Indian slave trade, and they are bundled on board the Annabelle, the slave ship. All this time the Doctor uses a number of disguises to wreak confusion all around in order to get everyone back - can the bumbling exterior of the Doctor sort everything out - of course he can, but find out how with this double CD, priced £13.99, ISBN 0563 477555.

GALAXY 4

This is one of those releases that I have been waiting for. Wiped just before it was requested for a convention, this is a moralistic story dwelling on the 'looks can be deceiving' maxim. The first Doctor, William Hartnell, gets caught up in the battle between good and evil when the TARDIS lands on a seemingly lifeless planet. However, there are two crashed spacecraft on the planet and the occupants of each are fighing each other. I don't want to give the story line away as it is one of the better ones of the Hartnell era, and with linking narration supplied by Peter Purves, this is as near as we are likely to ever get to 'seeing' this lost classic.

This Radio Collection release is available a double CD priced £13.99, and has the ISBN 0563 477008.

This was Jon Pertwee's final story as the Doctor and was written especially for radio after the success of the Paradise of Death. It was originally released on double cassette, but became very hard to find, so I am glad that it has resurfaced, and more so as it is on CD.

The Doctor, Sarah-Jane, and the Brigadier are all back, and the Brig's great uncle Mario seems unperturbed by the spirits that haunt his Sicilian castle. When the Doctor arrives to investigate, he encounters a danger as great as any he has faced before, and is called upon to battle the fiends of N-Space.

Written by Barry Letts, this story has a great pedigree and compliments all those that have recently been released on CD. This one weighs in as a triple CD with the ISBN 0563 477016, and a price tag of £16.99.

This story was recorded in 1993 as part of the show's Thirtieth Anniversary, and was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 5 in August and September, with a subsequent issue on tape, but now it is available for the first time on CD.

The story is set between the television stories, The Time Warrior and The Invasion of the Dinosaurs, and fits in seamlessly, pitting the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and his first companion, Sarah-Jane Smith, against the strange goings-on at Space World. After as death at the adventure park, UNIT is called and the Doctor, working with Lethbridge-Stewart, suspects that the Parakon Corporation is not all that it appears to be, and this is confirmed when they all find themselves on a distant planet!!!

Written by Barry Letts, this was the first full length radio adventure for the famous Time Lord, and the success of this lead to a second adventure, The Ghost of N-Space, also released on the BBC Radio Collection, and to be re-issued on CD later in the year. The series was produced by Phil Clarke. Released on the 6th of March, this CD runs to 145 mins and costs just £12.99, ISBN 0563 553 235.

This story, broadcast during February and March in 1968, has been all but lost in the TV archives, but the soundtrack survives thanks to a fan of the show, and can now be brought to you via the BBC Radio Collection.

Patrick Troughton stars as the Doctor (my favourite!) with Fraser Hines (a former star of Emmerdale Farm, when it was still a farm!) as the companion. The Doctor and his companions have just survived an adventure that has left them in space. fighting to close the TARDIS doors before being sucked out, the dematerialise and almost instantly find themselves caught in a strange web-like substance. The Doctor manages to escape again, adn they then find themselves materialising in the London Underground in the late Twentieth Century. The Underground has been shut off and London evacuated, however, as the tunnels are full of a strange glowing web, with Yeti lurching from the shadows.

Teamed with his old friend Professor Travers, and Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart (later to go on to higher things), can the Doctor defeat the intelligence behind this insidious web before it spreads across the whole globe?

This story was written by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln and was the second adventure to include the Yeti. The Web of Fear was directed by Douglas Camfield and produced by Peter Bryant. This CD is released on 6th March and is priced £12.99, ISBN 0563 553820, and runs for a whole 165mins.

Although I generally cover radio more than anything else, Doctor Who is probably Britain's most known science fiction series, and I could not pass up the opportunity to add details about recent releases of the series - especially as I am such a fan!!! The first to be covered here is a release on the BBC Radio Collection as the visual footage has been destroyed. The entire story is here though, and boasts brand new linking material by former Blue Peter presenter Peter Purves (who also played the companion Steven in this story) over an excellent quality soundtrack.

The Doctor and Steven are travelling alone - a recent adventure fighting their foes the Daleks has left them weary and on edge with each other. The Doctor opts for a break and the TARDIS brings them to Paris in 1572. The Doctor leaves Steven with a group of friendly Protestants, and goes to visit Charles Preslin, the famous apothecary. However, Steven is in danger - the Catholic Queen Mother, Catherine de Medici and her aides, including the vile Abbot of Amboise, are preparing to massacre their religious opponants.

Desparate to find the Doctor, Steven encounters first a young girl, Anne Chaplet, and then the Abbot of Amboise himself - only to discover that the Abbot is a dead ringer for the Doctor - or is he the Doctor?

The story was written by John Lucarotti and Donald Tosh, and was directed by Paddy Russell, with production by John Wiles. Transmission was during February 1966 on BBC 1.

Available on cassette, ISBN 0563 552565 at £8.99 of on CD, ISBN 0563552611priced £11.99.