Doctor Who spin-off with Inside No. 9 star announced by Big Finish

As a seasoned critic with a soft spot for Doctor Who and a knack for recognizing talent, I must say that the addition of Reece Shearsmith to the Big Finish family is nothing short of exhilarating! The man’s prowess in creating unsettling, yet brilliant characters in shows like The League of Gentlemen and Inside No. 9 has always left me eagerly anticipating his next project.

A new Audio Drama featuring Doctor Who is approaching, and this time it will be graced by the presence of a television icon.

Indeed, it’s been verified that the talented actor from The League of Gentlemen and Inside No. 9, Reece Shearsmith, is set to make his debut with Big Finish on a fresh, new audio series titled Planet Krynoid.

Absolutely, it’s worth noting that this isn’t Shearsmith’s debut within the Doctor Who universe, as he has already played a role in Season 9, specifically in the episode titled “Sleep No More,” where he portrayed the character Gagan Rassmussen.

In this installment, it was Peter Capaldi playing the role of the Twelfth Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald, who encountered a character portrayed by Shearsmith, a space station worker stranded around Neptune in the year 3800.

In the upcoming audio series, Shearsmith will be taking center stage, and this production will include a timeless Doctor Who creature known for its body horror elements – the title character being an alien plant that absorbs humans, which made its debut on our screens in the 1976 Tom Baker story titled The Seeds of Doom.

In the latest storyline, Shearsmith takes on the character of Robert Hodan, the ruler of Sunlight – a heaven-like planet overrun by the Krynoid. As per the plot summary, “two alien seed pods are found entangled in a satellite, leading to a rapid deterioration of events…

Upon learning about his part in the series, Shearsmith remarked: “Many actors are associated with Big Finish, among them my dear friend David Warner. He always enjoyed these productions and often shared stories about them, asking me, ‘Why haven’t you tried one yet?’

I was genuinely excited when I was invited for this project. It’s an enormous drama, reminiscent of classic disaster movies from the 70s, such as The Poseidon Adventure – it seems events are spiraling out of control, one crisis leading to another.

Alongside Shearsmith’s character, the ensemble for the upcoming audio series features xenobiologist Bryn Forrester (portrayed by Melody Chikakane Brown), as well as the Hart family – made up of Sarah Whitehouse, Ian Conningham, and Nye Occomore.

Additionally, you’ll notice a unique appearance by Paul McGann (known as the Eighth Doctor) in the second installment of the series. This series consists of three parts: “Sunlight” written by Jonathan Morris, “Sunset” by Jonathan S Powell, and “Darkness” by Chris Chapman.

Upon the unveiling of the series, producer Jonathan S Powell remarked, “Planet Krynoid represents Doctor Who’s equivalent to The Last of Us and The Walking Dead – a pulse-pounding depiction of society’s downfall due to one of television’s scariest creatures: the Krynoid.

“The Krynoids are frightening because they turn ordinary household plants into something terrifying, a trait common in science fiction that leaves us fearing our own pot plants. Additionally, they are a living contagion that contradicts our very existence, about which we are ill-prepared. This makes them an ideal monster for exploration, even fifty years after their initial appearance.

I truly love ‘The Seeds of Doom.’ It’s not just because of its B-movie charm, but because it instills a chilling sense that this could be the first time the Doctor might actually fail. That’s the essence we aimed to capture in this collection – that everyone is at risk and nothing is certain.

You can now reserve a copy of “The Worlds of Doctor Who – Planet Krynoid: Nightfall,” which will be released in April 2025, on BigFinish.com.

2024-09-30 18:33

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