Bernice Summerfield Unbound
Thursday, 3 March 2016 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Big Finish have announced a new series for the character that first launched their audio range, Professor Bernice Summerfield, this time teamed up with a rather different third incarnation of the Doctor, first introduced in the Unbound stories Sympathy for the Devil and Masters of War, as played by David Warner.Doctor Who – The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield Volume 3: The Unbound Universe will see the universe's greatest archaeologist recruited by the Doctor for a mission to his parallel dimension – where together they set off to explore the aftermath of a disaster that has laid waste to reality. Benny and the Doctor will face the Kareem, the Blanks, Unicorns and the Sisters of Saint Beedlix – as a terrible truth awaits them at the end of reality.
Producer James Goss said:
We were trying to work out where we could take Benny next, and the idea just sort of happened. We immediately got very excited about it. David Warner is a legend, and his Doctor is the perfect foil to Lisa Bowerman. Whereas Benny is a famously gung-ho adventuress, he's a cautious man with a twinkle in his eye. She falls into his universe and gives him a new lease of life.
We were very lucky with the guest cast – we've a wealth of national treasures. Not only do we have David Warner, we've got Radio 4 newsreader Zeb Soanes; we've Dr Gillian Magwidle herself – Julie Graham.
Another returnee for this series is the Master, as played by Sam Kisgart aka Mark Gatiss; Goss explained:We were very lucky with the guest cast – we've a wealth of national treasures. Not only do we have David Warner, we've got Radio 4 newsreader Zeb Soanes; we've Dr Gillian Magwidle herself – Julie Graham.
Kisgart's Master originally featured in David Warner's first adventure, Sympathy For The Devil, and we couldn't leave him out of this boxset. We contacted Mark, who said that Sam would be available. Well, once panto season was over.
The series has been directed by long term Benny-associate Scott Handcock, who said:
Lisa and David have a brilliant chemistry – it's a very different Doctor/Companion relationship. Benny really is the adventurer, dragging the Doctor along behind her. When we first meet him, he's given up all hope – but Benny is determined to, quite literally, save the universe. The guest cast are marvellous – it's a hoot. Kisgart has never been more sinister.
The other three episodes in the set have been written by Guy Adams, Una McCormack and Emma Reeves. Guest stars in the box-set include Rowena Cooper, Zeb Soanes, Tom Webster, Alex Jordan, Sophie Wu, Julie Graham, Kerry Gooderson, Deirdre Mullins, George Blagden, Richard Earl, Aaron Neil, Laura Doddington, Lizzie Hopley, Shvorne Marks and Gus Brown.
Doctor Who – The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield Volume 3: The Unbound Universe is due to be released in August 2016, and can be pre-ordered from the Big Finish website. CD orders direct from the company will also include a digital copy for download.
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