Illustration by Tim Keable
Audio adventures in time & space.
History[]
The Audio Visuals began with their pilot recording of The Space Wail in 1984. The following three seasons of stories were produced by Bill Baggs between 1985 and 1988. The fourth and final season was produced by Gary Russell from 1989 to 1991. There were plans for a fifth season which were later abandoned.
Many of the people working on the Audio Visuals went on to produce more professional, licensed Doctor Who audio dramas for companies like BBV and BIG Finish. Gary Russell became the executive producer of BIG Finish Productions, which he also wrote for along with numerous books. Nicholas Briggs is now executive producer of BIG Finish Productions, which he has also written, directed and acted for. He also worked for BBV. Both they (and others involved with Audio Visuals) went on to work for the BBC on the official Doctor Who franchise, with Briggs becoming the programme's designated Dalek and Cyberman voice artiste, as well as appearing on screen in the Torchwood: Children of Earth miniseries. Russell became the script editor for the revived series in 2005.
Some of the Audio Visuals' stories were later adapted for release by BIG Finish. These were, The Mutant Phase, Vilgreth (released as Last of the Titans), Minuet in Hell, Sword of Orion, and Cuddlesome. More Than a Messiah would later be adapted as a video production for BBV as part of the Stranger series, with Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant and Sophie Aldred in major roles, but with all direct references to Doctor Who characters and concepts changed.
Productions[]
| Season One | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer | Episodes |
| 01 | The Space Wail (pilot) | Gary Russell | 2 episodes |
| 02 | The Time Ravagers | Nicholas Briggs | 2 episodes |
| 03 | Connection 13 | Stuart Palmer | 2 episodes |
| 04 | Conglomerate | Nicholas Briggs | 2 episodes |
| 05 | Cloud of Fear | Alan Lear | 2 episodes |
| 06 | Shadow World | Richard & Deborah Marson | 2 episodes |
| Season Two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer | Episodes |
| 07 | Maenad | Gary Russell | 2 episodes |
| 08 | The Mutant Phase | Nicholas Briggs | 3 episodes |
| 09 | The Destructor Contract | Nicholas Briggs | 2 episodes |
| 09a | Vilgreth | Nicholas Briggs | 1 episodes |
| 10 | The Trilexia Threat | Nicholas Briggs & John Ainsworth | 2 episodes |
| 11 | Minuet in Hell | Alan W Lear | 2 episodes |
| 12 | Blood Circuit | Jim Mortimore | 4 episodes |
| Season Three | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer | Episodes |
| 13 | Second Solution | Jim Mortimore | 2 episodes |
| 14 | The Secret of Nematoda | Nicholas Briggs | 2 episodes |
| 15 | Enclave Irrelative | Alan W Lear | 2 episodes |
| 16 | More than a Messiah | Nigel Fairs | 3 episodes |
| 17 | Sword of Orion | Nicholas Briggs | 1 episodes |
| 18 | Carny | Jim Mortimore | 1 episodes |
| 19 | Planet of Lies | Alan W Lear | 1 episodes |
| Season Four | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer | Episodes |
| 20 | Deadfall | Gary Russell | 2 episodes |
| 21 | Requiem | Andy Lane | 2 episodes |
| 22 | Cuddlesome | Nigel Fairs | 2 episodes |
| 23 | Endurance | Nicholas Briggs | 4 episodes |
| 24 | Mythos | Jim Mortimore | 4 episodes |
| 24a | Truman's Excellent Adventure | Gary Russell | 1 episodes |
| 25 | Subterfuge | Nicholas Briggs | 4 episodes |
| 26 | Geopath | Stephen Bowkett | 2 episodes |
| 27 | Justyce | Nicholas Briggs | 2 episodes |
The Lost Fifth Season[]
Plans for the fifth season of Audio Visuals included:
- Spawn of the Beast - a Zygon story to be penned by Nicholas Briggs.
- Legacy - a story that later became the New Adventures novel of the same name; both penned by Gary Russell.
- Ice - a story by Colin Brake.
- An unnamed story where the Doctor returns to Truman to find he has become a terrorist and taken hostage a train line, the Doctor included. Truman was to die at the story's conclusion and the story was to be penned by Nigel Fairs, the actor who had played Truman for the past two seasons.
- And a new male/female companion who (after severe psychological trauma) had become an empty shell. It was the production team's intention that this new companion would try on new personas during each story and "grow" into a fully-rounded character for good or ill.
- There were also plans for Nicholas Briggs to step down as the Doctor and to have a new actor take his place, finally regenerating him.
The fifth season was abandoned when the production team feared they could not keep up the quality of their adventures with the ever-increasing workload of everyday life. Audio Visuals' productions therefore stopped, the fifth season never made and the audio production group itself separating to participate in other Doctor Who related endeavours.