David Richardson talks about his work with Big Finish, and the Lost Season of Doctor Who… Just for reference, we should point out that this interview was conducted a while back.
How did the idea of doing the Lost Season come about?
Its kind of two things.
I joined Big Finish back in late 2007 and it was something I really wanted to do.
So we would actually logistically manage to do it.
And then the real work began… Is it the Wally K Daly one,The Ultimate Evil?
Presumably you would have thought that would be one of them.
The two definites wereThe Nightmare Fair, andMission to Magnus.
I tracked down Jacky Williams (Graham Williams wife) and put the idea to her.
Actually she was very, very kind and just gave us the rights to go ahead and make it.
WithMission to Magnus, it was very easy to get Philip Martin on board.
They were the first starting points.
Who did you get to do the Nightmare Fair adaptation?
So that was really touching.
You mention Wally K. Daly andThe Ultimate Evil.
Youve stated theres only one sort of extant episode in any way shape or form…
Yes I mean all of it, all that exists is the synopsis for the first episode.
It wouldnt be what it was purporting to be.
It wouldnt have been the original product.
We would have fooled people and thats wrong.
Yes, weve recorded it now.
Right, how did that go?
It went very well.
Chris Bidmead adapted it himself.
He had the script I think on old computer tape, so he had to retrieve it.
We did have to do a few tweaks toHollows of Time.
Chris added a flashback structure into it.
So it is, yes its a bit different to all the other ones in the season.
He absolutely embraced the idea.
He was so enthusiastic.
So I approached Andy Lane and he took it on board.
We had a storyline from PJ Hammond and also a script for Episode One.
They had to go.
So in cutting that out it meant that Andy had to fill in the gaps really.
He had to expand the story a bit.
Peter was absolutely so enthusiastic he just thought what Andy had done was brilliant.
I now have all four episodes delivered as scripts and Im really excited about that story.
Its been one of the thrills of doing it actually.
When you see the scripts and they go into the studio its actually quite exhilarating.
Is it as much of a chore from now changing the companion to Peri?
I believe it was originally for Mel.
It was originally for Mel.
There are a number of reasons for changing it to Peri.
I wanted these eight stories just to feel as though they were part of a cohesive whole.
So, we did change it to Peri and, I think when people hear it theyll understand why.
Point of Entryby Barbara Clegg?
That is the only one that had no script written in any form.
So I read the synopsis and it just intrigued me.
I went for Marc Platt, because I just love working with Marc Platt.
He is a genius.
He has the craziest ideas, but he turns in the most superb scripts.
I just thought putting him and Barbara together side-by-side would work perfectly.
And that leaves us withThe Song of Megaptera.
Pat Mills wrote a Paul McGann story calledThe Scapegoatand he came into the studio for the recording of that.
The Song of Megapteraof all the Lost Stories probably had the most complicated history.
It was originally going to be a Turlough introductory story was it?
That was Phillips script for television and hes just adapted it for audio.
That presented several challenges in that it has a lot of characters.
I believe Colin was very enthusiastic about The Lost Stories wasnt he?
Well actually when I rang Colin he said You know I cant believe you said this.
So it was just literally two minds thinking alike at the same time.
Nicola likewise really wanted to do it and thankfully Nabil Shaban wanted to come back as Sil.
All I can say is thank heavens they all did.
Watching Nabil come back and actually recreating Sil on audio has been one of the thrills of doing these.
This time around all he would have was his voice.
But the voice creates everything in this performance.
I mean you listen to him and he is Sil in that character right in your mind.
Ive got almost the finished version ofMission the Magnusnow; weve got a couple of minor tweaks to make.
But its nearly there.
And its a fantastic romp.
Its a huge big spectacle.
We had to respect that.
Yes, so I think wed always realised that we were going to be recasting.
The trick was to find somebody who had the right combination of charisma, threat, magic.
All of the elements that made Michael Goughs performance so special.
Who was just absolutely magnetic?
Its got to be David Bailie!
and he said yes lets try it.
And it was a simple as that.
I managed to track him down and rang him up.
I put it to him and sent him the script and you know, he loved the idea.
He came in, but we didnt show him the existing episode ofCelestial Toymakeron DVD.
I mean, he has a voice that drips with malevolence and charm and hes perfect.
Whod know if he looks the part if its in a studio?
Again its like with Sil.
You listen to David Bailies voice and you see a Mandarin costume.
Its like with Colin, 20 years on the voice, its still exactly the same.
If Id known then that all these years later Id be makingDoctor Whoaudios, Id never have believed it!
They care so much about it.
Thats why theyre so good.
We just have fun as well.
Its that mixture of absolute professionalism and just fun.
Just see how it goes, I mean there are other scripts.
So its down to the people buying them.
So any rumours of a Season 27 depends on the sales of these sorts of things does it?
I mean I dont know what exists of Season 27.
Ive certainly seen it in print people suggesting we should do it.
I dont know whether there are scripts of storylines or whatever so everythings just totally up in the air.
Did you just want to carry on doing the stories as they were?
Obviously you wanted to do the Lost Season didnt you?
On top of that Im doing Companion Chronicles on The Lost Stories.
What did I want to do when I came in?
I just said to Jason Yeah it would be great to do these monthly.
As somebody who loved The Companion Chronicles, thats really what I would have loved to see.
Thankfully, people bought them, were continuing monthly, so its been really exciting.
David Richardson, thank you very much.
