Tucked away in a quiet side street in London's Ladbroke Grove, Moat Studios is playing host to something rather special - the Big Finish audio recording of Doctor Who's legendary 'lost' season. Before the show was controversially taken off the air for 18 months in 1985, a series of scripts was commissioned for the planned 23rd season - only for them to be scrapped and a new slate of stories revolving around the 'Trial Of A Time Lord' theme used instead. For over two decades, many have wondered what might have been.
Cult Spy was fortunate enough to be present for the second and final day of the recording of Christopher Bidmead's 'The Hollows Of Time' and spent some quality time chatting to the very friendly and talented cast and crew, including The Sixth Doctor himself, Colin Baker, and his companion Peri - Nicola Bryant. Those two particular interviews will be published in full later in 2009 to coincide with the launch of the 'lost' season on audio.
It was a joy to behold the duo bring the time travelling characters to life along with guest stars Susan Sheridan as Simon/Mrs Streeter and Trevor Littledale as the intriguingly titled Foxy. Unusually recorded out of sequence, it's hard to grasp exactly what's going on, although this serves to whet the appetite for the story's release in several months. Do keep your ears peeled for some sparkling interaction between The Doctor and Foxy, plus an epic sentence packed full of 'Bidmeadean' technical jargon that poor Colin Baker has the unenviable task of tackling. It almost makes Raxacoricofallapatorius roll off the tongue in comparison!
Occasionally, in conjunction with director John Ainsworth, Baker and Bryant suggest slight alterations to suit their character. Would The Doctor really let a child walk before him into a time corridor, and would Peri really say 'real cool'? After all, as Bryant later points out, "Colin and I have been having this relationship as Doctor and Peri for so many years with Big Finish - 12 years - as well as all the television times". It's pleasing to see the creative process evolve in the studio through the dedication of all involved, constantly striving to turn out the best story possible.
Going back to the aborted 23rd season poses its own challenges for the pair, with Bryant observing that "it feels like literally travelling back in time to the 80s to recapture the relationship that we had then, so that is strange because we are playing it differently from the way that we would play the current stories that we've been doing."
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