There’s ghosts in the shadows and skeletons in the closet for the Fourth Doctor, as Philip Hinchcliffe brings the “gothic” era of classic 1970s Doctor Who to life once more
The God of Phantoms is out today from Big Finish Productions. The epic drama comes from an original story by Philip Hinchcliffe (the acclaimed producer of Doctor Who between 1975-77) as adapted for audio by Marc Platt. This full cast, six-part audio drama features Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and Louise Jameson as Leela. Together they uncover a ghostly world full of secrets and deceit.
The cast also includes Tim Faulkner (The End of the Beginning), Bryan Dick (Eric and Ernie, Gallifrey: Time War), Lynsey Murrell (The Blazing Hour), Aurora Burghart (Stranded 1, Masterful), Nigel Fairs (Bernice Summerfield, Gallifrey), Mandi Symonds (The Legacy of Time, The Diary of River Song), Glen McCready (The Robots, The Paternoster Gang) and Big Finish newcomer Sam Stafford.
Philip Hinchcliffe explained how he sets about recapturing the tone of his original era. “With these stories, I always try to hit the spot on the kind of things that we did on television; some are sci-fi, some have a historical setting, with this particular one set in the future. And I’m often attracted to the ideas of the Doctor’s earlier life, and that’s what underpins this story.”
Tom Baker discussed how he finds the Philip Hinchcliffe stories particularly engaging. “When I fell into Doctor Who in the 70s, and realised that Philip liked what I was doing, I kept on with it! It’s a wonderful, wonderful part and there’s nothing like it – I’m really at home doing this.”
Louise Jameson is also a great admirer of Hinchcliffe’s stories. “The thing about Philip is he’s not a compromiser. He has an incredibly clear vision and he just keeps whittling away until that vision is realised.
“And these Philip Hincliffe Presents stories absolutely sweep me right back. The soundtrack is very evocative of the era where the baddies are real baddies and the goodies are real goodies, and right triumphs over evil; it’s very traditionally done.”
Doctor Who: Philip Hinchcliffe Presents – The God of Phantoms
The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Leela to a colony world in the distant future. But they are not the only visitors to this place. The people of this planet are seeing the ghosts of their lost friends and relatives. And the ghosts are stealing people.
Trapped in the middle of an escalating conflict, the Doctor and Leela investigate the source of the spirits and find a diabolical machine, a terrible secret… and a foe long since forgotten.
Doctor Who: Philip Hinchcliffe Presents – The God of Phantoms is now available as a collector’s edition 3-CD box set (at £19.99) or digital download (at £16.99), exclusively from the Big Finish website.
Please note that Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. Factors beyond Big Finish’s control may delay the mail-out of collector’s edition CDs. But all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that listeners can immediately download or play on the Big Finish app from the release date.
