In August 2020, Big Finish will unite two titans of Doctor Who as the Fourth Doctor and the Tenth Doctor collide in Doctor Who: Out of Time. A release that will kick off a trilogy of Doctor pairings, Tom Baker and David Tennant reprise their roles, pitting them against the dreaded Daleks…

The Cathedral of Contemplation is an enigma, existing outside time. It turns through history, opening its doors across the universe to offer solace to those in need. Occasionally, the Doctor drops in –when he’s avoiding his destiny, it’s an ideal place to get some perspective. Only, he’s already there several lives earlier, so when dimension barriers break down, his past and present collide. And when the Daleks invade and commandeer the Cathedral, two Doctors must unite to stop them – or face extermination twice over!

Synopsis

Doctor Who: Out of Time is available to pre-order now from the Big Finish website.

Needless to say, I am absolutely chuffed about this. I’m not exaggerating when I say I actually shouted out loud when seeing the press release. With Tennant in the role during my formative years and cultivating a strong appreciation for Baker’s incarnation in the time since, putting them together is a dream come true for me. Likewise for David Tennant…

Tom Baker was obviously the first Doctor that I knew. I was small when he took over and I grew up through the seven years that he was the Doctor. I was a massive fan. I met him in John Menzies in Glasgow and he signed my book. I had a doll of him. All that. Tom Baker was very much the Doctor. There is something about the way he is associated with the character that seems utterly timeless.

David Tennant

Tom Baker was unavailable for comment but sent this message from 2008:

Matt Fitton, who has written for both Doctors and some of my fave episodes in the UNIT and River Song ranges, is an excellent choice. Not to mention this will be the first time that Tennant has faced the Daleks in audio, despite how often his era relied on the villains. Given the Tenth Doctor’s tricky relationship to them after the Time War, teaming him up with a Doctor who takes a far more irreverent attitude towards them will be interesting.

Of course it was hugely exciting – with a certain amount of pressure too – to bring together two of the most iconic Doctors, cemented in the public imagination from new and classic TV eras of Doctor Who. I thought putting them up against the Daleks – the Doctor’s most persistent enemy – would bring out all the ways in which they are at once the same Time Lord – and also very different versions too. We find them both at particular points in their lives. The Tenth Doctor is avoiding his destiny; and the Fourth Doctor is wandering alone, missing a friend – but even he may be shocked at what his future holds…

Matt Fitton

Though fans are hoping David Tennant will be involved with Big Finish’s side of the upcoming Time Lord Victorious project, Out of Time appears to be a different entity altogether. We don’t yet know which Doctors will be appearing in the other two volumes or if the stories will connect in any way. Though I still hold out hope that a surprise appearance from Christopher Eccleston in one of these stories may hint at his involvement in TLV or further Big Finish adventures.

Producer David Richardson, meanwhile, echoes something I wrote way back in 2016 about the Tenth Doctor meeting various classic Doctors.

As fans we’re fascinated by the idea of different incarnations of the Doctor meeting, and Out of Time celebrates that. It’s a series where pairs of Doctors come together to battle a familiar enemy – and we begin with Tom Baker and David Tennant battling Daleks together. How brilliant is that? And there’s lots of exciting combinations yet to come.

David Richardson

Doctor Who: Out of Time is available to pre-order now from the Big Finish website. All three volumes are also available as a bundle.