{"id":37752,"date":"2023-02-24T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-24T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/?p=37752"},"modified":"2023-02-23T19:36:10","modified_gmt":"2023-02-23T19:36:10","slug":"big-finish-rereleases-the-doctor-who-excelis-saga-as-a-special-boxset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/2023\/02\/24\/big-finish-rereleases-the-doctor-who-excelis-saga-as-a-special-boxset\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Finish Rereleases the Doctor Who Excelis Saga as a Special Boxset"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The full quadrilogy in the Excelis saga, featuring the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Doctors, is re-released today as a single download from Big Finish Productions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally released on separate CDs in 2002, this miniseries of four full-cast audio dramas chronicles the rise and fall of the city of Excelis on the planet Artaris, and stars Peter Davison (as the Fifth Doctor), Colin Baker (as the Sixth Doctor), Sylvester McCoy (as the Seventh Doctor), Lisa Bowerman (as Bernice Summerfield) and Katy Manning (as Iris Wildthyme).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, of course, School Reunion<\/em> and Buffy the Vampire Slayer <\/em>star Anthony Stewart Head makes special guest appearances across the series, playing three different characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now all four of the action-packed adventures, plus the incredible music suite from David Darlington, have been repackaged as a single collected download for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Executive Producer Jason Haigh-Ellery said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy favourite memory of working on Excelis was meeting and working with Anthony Stewart Head. He is such a lovely person to work with and very entertaining between scenes in the studio.<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019m so delighted that this series is being presented again as a box set. The original concept was that the Doctor would visit a world repeatedly over time and we would see the consequences of this interaction on the history of the planet. Listened to as a single collection, this becomes more of a unified story and helps to build a better understanding of the world of Excelis.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The four Excelis<\/em> adventures are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doctor Who: Excelis Dawns by Paul Magrs <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That terrible old reprobate and transdimensional adventuress Iris Wildthyme has gone and locked herself up in a nunnery on the savage world of Artaris. Here she is discovered by the Doctor and the reasonably brutal warlord Grayvorn. Together – with a peculiar nun they pick up en route – they must travel the forests and swamps of this ghastly world in Iris’s double decker bus in order to tussle – to the death – with a horde of flesh-eating zombies for a mysterious and holy relic of unfathomable value and questionable pedigree.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

But what is the Mother Superior’s part in all this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doctor Who: Excelis Rising by David A McIntee<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A thousand years after his first visit to the planet Artaris, the Sixth Doctor returns. As the city of Excelis spreads her Empire throughout the globe, death follows a mysterious Relic through the halls of the Imperial Museum.<\/p>

As the Doctor helps the Curator and the local authorities with this mystery, he finds himself crossing paths with a familiar face from Excelis’ history – but no-one lives for a thousand years, do they?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Doctor Who: Excelis Decays by Craig Hinton<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When the Doctor last visited the city of Excelis, its citizens were about to enter an age of enlightenment and reason. But some centuries later, he discovers a vicious totalitarian regime at war with the rest of Artaris, living off the efforts of a drugged and broken underclass.<\/p>

Who is the mysterious Lord Sutton, and what hold does he have over the ruling classes? What are the Meat Puppets, and what role do they play in the eternal war? And why is the Doctor’s arrival the final piece in a plan that has been centuries in the making?<\/p>

Throughout his lives, the Doctor has fought legends. But some legends refuse to die.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Bernice Summerfield: The Plague Herds of Excelis by Stephen Cole<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The once-proud city of Excelis is a crumbling ruin in a state of siege, as barbarians catapult pestilent animal corpses into the city to spread disease among those trapped inside.<\/p>

Excelis is a city clinging to life by a thread. But ancient prophecies foretell a final retribution for the past arrogance of its rulers. When the sun is eaten away from the sky, when the ancient relic of Excelis is taken from its rightful resting-place, and when strangers are discovered among the people, then shall the whole world be doomed to die.<\/p>

Today, the sun is a moth-eaten shadow. Plans are afoot to steal the relic. And a very tired and very fraught Professor Bernice Summerfield just stomped into town in the company of a mysterious traveller in space and time known only as Iris Wildthyme. Pitted against a sinister prophet, the machinations of the Imperial court, and hordes of animal undead, Benny finds herself embroiled in the final stages of an aeons-old plan to commit genocide twice over, with no way out.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Doctor Who: Excelis Collected <\/em>is now available for \u00a319.99 (as a digital download only).<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Anthony Head quadrilogy?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":".@bigfinish Rereleases the #DoctorWho Excelis Saga as a Special Boxset","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[205],"tags":[5388,5,125,91,8,96,11,13,142,15],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/DWEXCOMP_exceliscollected_v2_1417.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17913,"url":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/2018\/11\/16\/peter-davisons-fifth-doctor-meets-georgia-tennants-jenny-in-big-finishs-the-legacy-of-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":37752,"position":0},"title":"Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor Meets Georgia Tennant's Jenny In Big Finish's The Legacy of Time","author":"Andrew Reynolds","date":"16 November 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Father and daughter will play father and daughter when the Fifth Doctor meets Jenny in Big Finish\u2019s mega box set The Legacy of Time. Georgia Tennant will team up with her real-life father Peter Davison in Relative Time, written by Matt Fitton, with Jenny meeting an earlier regeneration of her\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/georgia-and-peter.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/georgia-and-peter.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/georgia-and-peter.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15433,"url":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/2018\/04\/19\/retrospective-big-finishs-the-highest-science\/","url_meta":{"origin":37752,"position":1},"title":"Retrospective: Big Finish's The Highest Science","author":"Mez Burdett","date":"19 April 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"During Doctor Who\u2019s television hiatus, the show continued in book form, thanks at first to a series of New\u00a0Adventures\u00a0published between 1991 and 1996 by Virgin Books (a licence that reverted to BBC Books after this time, and remained there ever since). These books evolved Doctor Who, but weren\u2019t universally popular.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Finish"","block_context":{"text":"Big Finish","link":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/category\/reviews\/big-finish\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Highest-Science-Virgin-New-Adventures.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Highest-Science-Virgin-New-Adventures.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/The-Highest-Science-Virgin-New-Adventures.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21458,"url":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/2019\/07\/10\/big-finish-audios-to-look-forward-to-in-2019-october-december\/","url_meta":{"origin":37752,"position":2},"title":"Big Finish Audios to Look Forward to in 2019 (October- December)","author":"Philip Bates","date":"10 July 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Big Finish celebrates 20 years of producing Doctor Who audio adventures - but what have you got to look forward to after the anniversary special, The Legacy of Time is released this month? We've already picked a few exciting tales from July, August, and September; now, we turn to October,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Features"","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/category\/features\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31428,"url":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/2021\/03\/15\/free-download-the-sirens-of-time-the-first-main-range-release-from-big-finish\/","url_meta":{"origin":37752,"position":3},"title":"Free Download: The Sirens of Time, the First Main Range Release from Big Finish","author":"Philip Bates","date":"15 March 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"It's the end (of The Monthly Adventures), but the moment has been prepared for.","rel":"","context":"In "Merchandise"","block_context":{"text":"Merchandise","link":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/category\/news\/doctor-who-merchandise\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/The-Sirens-of-Time-Big-Finish-lockdownloads.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/The-Sirens-of-Time-Big-Finish-lockdownloads.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/The-Sirens-of-Time-Big-Finish-lockdownloads.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/The-Sirens-of-Time-Big-Finish-lockdownloads.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/The-Sirens-of-Time-Big-Finish-lockdownloads.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29909,"url":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/2020\/11\/02\/its-bernice-summerfield-vs-the-cybermen-in-this-free-big-finish-audio-download\/","url_meta":{"origin":37752,"position":4},"title":"It’s Bernice Summerfield Vs. The Cybermen in this FREE Big Finish Audio Download","author":"Philip Bates","date":"2 November 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Download Silver Lining until 8th November, and enjoy more discounts!","rel":"","context":"In "Merchandise"","block_context":{"text":"Merchandise","link":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/category\/news\/doctor-who-merchandise\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Big-Finish-Bernice-Summerfield-Cybermen-Silver-Lining-Adrian-Salmon.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Big-Finish-Bernice-Summerfield-Cybermen-Silver-Lining-Adrian-Salmon.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Big-Finish-Bernice-Summerfield-Cybermen-Silver-Lining-Adrian-Salmon.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Big-Finish-Bernice-Summerfield-Cybermen-Silver-Lining-Adrian-Salmon.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Big-Finish-Bernice-Summerfield-Cybermen-Silver-Lining-Adrian-Salmon.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1185,"url":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/2016\/04\/06\/14-big-finish-releases-to-look-forward-to-in-2016-june-sept\/","url_meta":{"origin":37752,"position":5},"title":"14 Big Finish Releases to Look Forward to in 2016 (June- Sept)","author":"Philip Bates","date":"6 April 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Since their first release in 1999, Big Finish's schedule has expanded exponentially. We've now got Doctors Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, and Ten on audio, plus of course John Hurt's War Doctor. We can listen to how the Ninth and Tenth Doctors helped out Churchill, and hear the likes of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Features"","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/category\/features\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"And You Will Obey Me Big Finish","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/And-You-Will-Obey-Me-Big-Finish.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7lD76-9OU","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37752"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37752"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37755,"href":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37752\/revisions\/37755"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}