Matthew Jacobs writes a radio play about the 8th Doctor

The author of the Doctor Who TV film contributes script to upcoming audio box set Deadly Strangers.

Matthew Jacobs' connection to Doctor Who goes back to his childhood. His father Anthony Jacobs played alongside William Hartnell in “The Gunfighters” and he remembers a visit to the set.

Fast forward to 1996, with screenplay credits on The Chronicles of Young Indiana JonesJacobs wrote the screenplay for Doctor Who – The Movie.

The made-for-television film, a British-American co-production, offered us a confrontation with the Master at the turn of the millennium. It showed us the final moments of the Seventh Doctor and introduced us to the Eighth, played by Paul McGann. Unfortunately, despite good ratings in the UK, the show never became a series.

Jacobs moved away from Doctor Who Circles for many years, but returned with his recent documentary Doctor, who am I?. In the film he reflected on the television film and its mixed reception.

Now he is writing for the Doctor again, this time for Big Finish Productions. Jacobs has contributed a story for publication in December in The Adventures of the Eighth Doctor Reach.

“Puccini and the Doctor”

Big Finish tells us: “In Jacobs' story, the TARDIS arrives in Milan at the turn of the century, where the time travellers meet the legendary opera composer Giacomo Puccini. But the Doctor is not the only alien interested in the music of love.”

The main roles are played by the regular cast Paul McGann, India Fisher and Jaye Griffiths. Also in the cast is Tim McInnerny (Black Adder, (Game of Thrones) plays Puccini.

Here are the details for the Deadly Strangers Box set:

The Doctor, Audacity and Charley visit many places and times, always with the best intentions. But others have other plans.

An alien princess takes an interest in Puccini, a visitor causes chaos in Iceland, and a deadly invader slips into the dreams of a sleeping population. Some strangers have deadly intentions…

In addition to Jacobs' story, there is “Women's Day Off” by Lisa McMullin and “The Gloaming” by Lauren Mooney and Stewart Pringle.

Matthew Jacobs said:

“This is the first time I've written a Doctor Who adventure since 1996. The Doctor is such an integral part of my life that it's been fascinating to see it grow over the years. Paul has kept the Doctor alive beautifully at Big Finish and he's become so much more fleshed out as a character than he was when he started.

“I was overjoyed when screenwriter Matt Fitton asked me to put a story together. We discussed that this version of Paul's Doctor would be closer to the Doctor in the TV movie – curious, not as bitter as he experiences in the Time War.

“The idea that stuck with me was that I had to deal with some unfinished business from the TV movie. In the film, the Doctor says how sad it was that Puccini never got to finish Turandot, and that it was the bane of his life towards the end. I wanted to tell a story about how we use music and how we search for love.”

Doctor Who – The Adventures of the Eighth Doctor: Deadly Strangers can be pre-ordered now from Big Finish. It will be released in December 2024 on Collector's Edition CD (+ download) or as a digital download only.