Great! I know how intimidating it can be to try and start listening, so I’ve tried to compile a guide to the main story arcs. More under the cut (minor spoiler warning)!
Also known as the Monthly Adventures, it’s a great way to get into the DWEU and definitely one I would recommend. It is also accessible, with the first 50 stories available on Spotify, or available to buy from Big Finish or second-hand fairly easily (or, you know, via less-legitimate means).
Main Range involves stories from the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors, and various TV and original companions. If you are a fan of eighties and nineties Who, then Main Range might be for you! My general recommendations for people are to pick a specific doctor AND companion(s) to listen to and go from there. Although, if you’re looking for a first story to try, why not start at the very beginning (a very good place to start) with the Sirens of Time.
While many Main Range stories are stand-alone, there are also some overarching plots, which are actually very companion-focussed. Trying to understand these arcs and listen to them in order can be intimidating for people looking to get into listening, however its probably simpler than you’d think.
To help you out with all of this, I have done my best to write down the stories that are probably best listened to in order, with a bit of an explanation about how it fits into TV continuity if relevant. The order is pretty easy to follow as it is pretty much just in release order. No, Big Finish did not intentionally try to confuse their audience by releasing stories out of order (okay maybe they did just a little). However I have provided the story number in brackets [like so] for clarity.
Also, to be clear, all of the arcs are self-contained, so seperate arcs don't have to be listened to in the order I've written them down in, unless I've specified otherwise (like with the Evelyn and Hex storyline).
Again, it is not super important to listen to things in order. If you are getting bored with a story or with listening in order then feel free to skip things. Maybe you could just skim the Tardis Wiki page for the plot if you like. To help, I’ve also marked any of the super plot-heavy stories with an asterix. Most other stories, especially ones that I don’t mention here are standalone and can be listened to however you like.
Also feel free to let me know if I miss anything! Happy listening :)
Fifth Doctor:
The Erimem Arc
This takes place after Planet of Fire and before Caves of Androzani, and features the Fifth Doctor, Peri and an original character called Erimem - an ancient Egyptian princess. This is a pretty good arc and one I would definitely recommend. Please feel free to skip Nekromanteia though it’s genuinely terrible.
[24] The Eye of the Scorpion*
[38] The Church and the Crown
[41] Nekromanteia
[56] The Axis of Insanity
[59] The Roof of The World
[69] Three’s a Crowd
[71] The Council of Nicaea
[81] The Kingmaker
[99] Son of the Dragon
[102a] The Mind’s Eye
[104] The Bride of Peladon*
The Key 2 Time
A trilogy featuring the Fifth Doctor and an original companion called Amy which acts as a sequel to the Key to Time. It is set between Planet of Fire and Caves of Androzani. The Fifth Doctor meets Amy again in the boxset Wicked Sisters.
[117] The Judgement of Isskar
[118] The Destroyer of Delights
[119] The Chaos Pool
The Stockbridge trilogy
Featuring The Doctor and Nyssa and set in the fictional town of Stockbridge which was first introduced in the Fifth Doctor’s DWM comics. Knowledge of that is not at all essential however. Set between Time Flight and Arc of Infinity.
[127] Castle of Fear
[128] The Eternal Summer
[129] Plague of the Daleks
The Older Nyssa Arc
This is set between Enlightenment and the King’s Demons and features Tegan, Turlough and an older Nyssa - some years after the events of Terminus.
[136] Cobwebs*
[137] The Whispering Forest
[138] The Cradle of the Snake
[146] Heroes of Sontar
[147] Kiss of Death
[148] Rat Trap
[159] The Emerald Tiger
[160] The Jupiter Conjunction
[161] The Butcher of Brisbane
[172] Eldrad Must Die!
[173] The Lady of Mercia
[174] Prisoners of Fate
[195] Mistfall
[196] Equilibrium
[197] The Entropy Plague*
The Hannah Arc
A very short trilogy featuring the Doctor, Nyssa and another original companion - Hannah - an Edwardian woman. Set sometime between Time Flight and Arc of Infinity.
[185] Moonflesh
[186] Tomb Ship
[187] Masquerade
The Season 19 Gang Arc
Set during the events of Season 19, these stories feature the original gang of the Doctor, Adric, Tegan and Nyssa.
[221] The Star Men
[222] The Contingency Club
[223] Zaltys
[234] Kingdom of Lies
[235] Ghost Walk
[236] Serpent in the Silver Mask
The Kamelion Arc
There’s not much to say about this apart from that these three are probably best listened to in this order? Set between the King's Demons and the Five Doctors (i think) and featuring Tegan, Turlough and Kamelion.
[247] Devil in the Mist
[248] Black Thursday/Power Game
[249] The Kamelion Empire
The Marc Arc
These stories follow the Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa, and an original companion Marc - a man from ancient Greece. It is set sometime between the end of Arc of Infinity and Mawdryn Undead.
[256] Tartarus*
[257] Interstitial/Feast of Fear
[258] Warzone/Conversion*
[266]Ghost Station/The Bridge Master/What Lurks Down Under/The Dancing Plague
[267]Thin Time/Madquake*
Sixth Doctor:
The Evelyn Arc
One of my favourite arcs with some great stories, and maybe where things get a little confusing. This arc features the Sixth Doctor and an original companion, Evelyn - an historian from modern-day England. Set sometime before the Sixth Doctor meets Mel I think.
This arc set up some story aspects which are explored further with the Seventh Doctor’s stories - specifically, the Forge trilogy. There are a few ways you could listen to these but to keep it simple I would also recommend listening to the Seventh Doctor story the Harvest before you listen to Thicker Than Water, and then A Death in the Family once you’ve listened to all the Evelyn stories AND the Forty-Five anthology. This could also be listened to concurrently in release order with the Hex storyline which I’ll outline a bit later.
[6] The Marian Conspiracy*
[9] The Spectre of Lanyan Moor
[11] The Apocalypse Element
[22] Bloodtide
[23] Project: Twilight*
[37] The Sandman
[40] Jubilee
[43] Doctor Who and the Pirates
[45] Project: Lazarus*
[57] Arrangements for War*
[58] The Harvest (7th Doctor)*
[60] Medicinal Purposes
[73] Thicker Than Water*
[100] 100 BC/My Own Private Wolfgang/Bedtime Story/The 100 Days of the Doctor*
[143] The Crimes of Thomas Brewster
[144] The Feast of Axos
[145] Industrial Evolution
[115] Forty-Five anthology (7th Doctor)*
[140] A Death in the Family (7th Doctor)*
You can theoretically listen to the following before or after Thicker Than Water if you want - they are sort of standalone stories with the Doctor and Evelyn:
[78] Pier Pressure
[84] The Nowhere Place
[108] Assassin in the Limelight
The Charley Arc 2.0
This is best listened to once you’ve listened to the Charley Arc with the Eighth Doctor. Featuring the Sixth Doctor and Charley.
[105] The Condemned*
[111] The Doomwood Curse
[114] Brotherhood of the Daleks
[116] The Raincloud Man
[124] Patient Zero
[125] Paper Cuts
[126] Blue Forgotten Planet*
The Flip and Constance Arc
Featuring the Sixth Doctor and two original companions, Flip - a girl from modern-day England - and Constance - a woman from World War II. Set sometime before the Doctor meets Mel.
[143] The Crimes of Thomas Brewster*
[156] The Curse of Davros
[157] The Fourth Wall
[158] Wirrn Isle
[182] Antidote to Oblivion
[183] The Brood of Erys
[225] Vortex Ice/Cortex Fire
[184] Scavenger*
[204] Criss-Cross*
[205] Planet of the Rani
[206] Shield of the Jotunn
[218] Order of the Daleks
[219] Absolute Power
[273] Colony of Fear
[220] Quicksilver*
[231] The Behemoth
[232] The Middle
[233] Static
[263] Cry of the Vultriss
[264] Scorched Earth
[265] The Lovecraft Invasion
The Older Peri trilogy
Featuring the Doctor and Peri from after she marries King Yrcanos.
[192] The Widow’s Assassin*
[193] Masters of Earth
[194] The Rani Elite
Seventh Doctor:
The Hex Arc
A great arc that sort of starts with Evelyn’s arc. I would not recommend starting this until after you’ve listened to Project: Lazarus, but maybe at least listen to The Harvest before Thicker Than Water (no stress if you don’t want to juggle listening to arcs concurrently). Features the Seventh Doctor, Ace, and an original companion from 2020s London - Hex. Set after the end of Classic Who.
[58] The Harvest*
[67] Dreamtime
[74] LIVE 34
[79] Night Thoughts
[82] The Settling
[89] No Man’s Land
[92] Nocturne
[106] The Dark Husband
[115] False Gods/Order of Simplicity/Casualties of War/The Word Lord*
[120] The Magic Mousetrap
[121] Enemy of the Daleks
[122] The Angel of Scutari*
[139] Project: Destiny*
[140] A Death in the Family*
[141] Lurkers at Sunlight’s Edge
[149] Robophobia (side note: this is our introduction to Liv Chenka who is one of the Eighth Doctor’s main companions from Dark Eyes onwards).
[151] The Doomsday Quatrain
[152] House of Blue Fire*
[162] Protect and Survive*
[163] Black and White*
[164] Gods and Monsters*
[181] Afterlife*
[189] Revenge of the Swarm
[190] Mask of Tragedy
[191] Signs and Wonders
Also at some point before or after the Angel of Scutari you can listen to the following as they are standalone stories:
[226] Shadow Planet/World Apart
[245] Muse of Fire
[268] The Flying Dutchman/Displaced
The Klein Arc
An Arc featuring The Seventh Doctor and an original character, Klein - a woman from 1940s Germany. Set after the end of Classic Who.
[25] Colditz*
[130] A Thousand Tiny Wings
[131] Klein’s Story/Survival of the Fittest
[132] The Architects of History
[175] Persuasion
[176] Starlight Robbery
[177] Daleks Among Us
Klein is also involved in the final story of the Daniel trilogy which spans the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors.
Eighth Doctor:
The Charley Arc 1.0
The best Main Range arc in my opinion. If you listen to anything, listen to this. Featuring the Eighth Doctor and original companion Charley, with another original companion C’rizz in Part 2 of the arc.
Part 1:
[16] Storm Warning*
[17] Sword of Orion
[18] The Stones of Venice
[19] Minuet in Hell
[28] Invaders from Mars
[29] The Chimes of Midnight
[30] Seasons of Fear
[31] Embrace the Darkness
[32] The Time of the Daleks
[33] Neverland*
[50] Zagreus*
Part 2:
[52] Scherzo*
[53] The Creed of the Kromon* (TW for sexual assault in the Creed of the Kromon. Feel free to stop listening after episode one or just read the Tardis Wiki page for relevant plot info)
[54] The Natural History of Fear
[55] The Twilight Kingdom
[61] Faith Stealer
[62] The Last
[63] Caerdroia
[64] The Next Life*
[72] Terror Firma
[75] Scaredy Cat
[77] Other Lives
[80] Time Works
[83] Something Inside
[88] Memory Lane
[101] Absolution*
[103] The Girl Who Never Was*
The Mary Shelley arc
A short arc featuring the Eighth Doctor and Mary Shelley! Yes, that Mary Shelley.
[123d] Mary’s Story*
[153] The Silver Turk
[154] The Witch from the Well
[155] Army of Death
Multi-doctor arcs:
These are mostly trilogies featuring stories which Big Finish probably mostly intended to be listened to together.
The Forge trilogy
Relevant to the Evelyn and Hex arcs - best listened to in conjunction with the rest of their stories.
^^^ I’m naming it that because the other name I’d give it would be a big spoiler lol (if you saw me forget the Harvest out of this no you didn’t)
[58] The Harvest (Seventh Doctor)
[86] The Reaping (Sixth Doctor)
[87] The Gathering (Fifth Doctor)
The Brewster Arc
Thomas Brewster is also vaguely relevant to the events of Stranded with the Eighth Doctor but it’s not really important.
[107] The Haunting of Thomas Brewster (Fifth Doctor)
[113] Time Reef/A Perfect World (Fifth Doctor)
[143] The Crimes of Thomas Brewster (Sixth Doctor)
[144] The Feast of Axos (Sixth Doctor)
[145] Industrial Evolution (Sixth Doctor)
The Sorsha trilogy
[165] The Burning Prince (Fifth Doctor)
[166] The Acheron Pulse (Sixth Doctor)
[167] The Shadow Heart (Seventh Doctor)
The 1963 trilogy
These don’t really have an overarching plot as far as I can remember, they were just released as part of the 50th anniversary.
[178] 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men (Fifth Doctor)
[179] 1963: The Space Race (Sixth Doctor)
[180] 1963: The Assassination Games (Seventh Doctor)
The Companions Trilogy
[198] The Defectors (Seventh Doctor)
[199] Last of the Cybermen (Sixth Doctor)
[200] The Secret History (Fifth Doctor)
The Master trilogy
[211] And You Will Obey Me (Fifth Doctor)
[212] Vampire of the Mind (Sixth Doctor)
[213] The Two Masters (Seventh Doctor)
The Daniel trilogy
[237] The Helliax Rift (Fifth Doctor)
[240] Hour of the Cybermen (Sixth Doctor)
[244] Warlock’s Cross (Seventh Doctor) (Klein is in this one if you want to listen to her arc beforehand)
Edit/addendum:
If you’re like me, you’ve maybe been intrigued by Main Range from seeing/hearing other fans talk about some of the excellent stories there are. Personally, when I am struggling getting through a series, it helps to have a specific story or episode to look forward to. As such, here are a few of my personal favourites from the above list that are definitely worth waiting for (at least in my humble opinion):
— FILE DEBRIEF : Hurt/Comfort
General Audience
MLM/MLFTM
Creator Chose not to use Archive Warnings
One-shot - File completion 100%
What a coincidence it was that the whole Task Force’s leave landed in June this year. No one hadn’t even remembered what this month was till they all landed back home via plane. And I mean— who could blame them when their whole career held the weight on their shoulders to save lives and make sure a tragedy is only remembered by the few who were qualified enough to be deemed worthy of such information. But soon the whole Task force had been acknowledged of this information.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTINUE ?
𝐢. YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO ENTER THE PDF AT YOUR OWN RISK. BE CAUTIOUS, AND IF YOU LIKE THE PDF AHEAD PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR ARCHIVIST BY REBLOGING AND/OR LEAVING KUDOS.
CELEBRATION.PDF
AO3.PDF — MASTERLIST.PDF
@ 9-istol — FILE PDF. THIS IS A MLM ARCHIVE ONLY. IF YOU ARE NOT MASC/MALE-ALIGNED PLEASE EXCUSE YOURSELF FROM THIS ARCHIVE. THANK YOU.
Scott: Hello! My Name is Scott Handcock. I am the director of Torchwood: Fall to Earth and I am joined this afternoon by
James: Uh James Goss, I wrote this.
Gareth: Gareth David-Lloyd, play Ianto.
Lisa: Lisa Zahra, I play Zeynep.
Scott: And what a lovely day, what a lovely script it’s been. James, do you want to talk a little bit about how the idea came to you for this episode?
James: uh cus when we brought back Torchwood, we had one script already written which is by David Llewellyn and the next one obviously had to be Ianto because he’s the one that everyone loves.
Gareth: mhmm. mhmm.
Scott: Yup, quite right. and Gareth how has it been returning to the role after, six years to the week—we realized today—since you died on screen?
Gareth: It’s, it’s been amazing! I was worried when I- when I first heard I was gonna be doing it, how long it would take me to sort of get back into the skin of the character the- but it, within two lines I w- I was back there. It was like I never left. It was lovely and it’s been a very no- nostalgic experience for me to let him breath once more.
Scott: Um and Lisa as well, what do you make of Zeynep? And the lovely character you've brought to life today which sort of flew right off the page, actually, the moment we got the pair of you into studio!
Lisa: Aw, I've absolutely loved it I think um, as soon as I read it, actually. And the relationship between them both is just brilliant. Just to have two of us in the whole episode has just been really good to, to have that experience. I really enjoyed it. Really enjoyed it.
James: In a lot of the tv episodes Ianto is standing in the background and you, ya know it’s kind of, Captain Jack walks into a room and says something brave and heroic! Eve Myles walks into a room, shoots somebody and it’s full of heart and everything. And then Ianto just gets to walk in and say the really pithy lovely line.
Gareth: And raises his left eyebrow.
everyone laughing
James: Yes! Go on, do that. Do that now on audio please!
Lisa laughing
James: Thank you.
Scott: That has indeed been done. Um but yay! I'm- I mean we were talking a little bit earlier about how visual this uh drama has been.
Gareth: Yeah, uh, uh i was saying ya know I've- I've ha- uh- have-e-each scene has a sort of core emotion and I- I -I- I find myself to get into that emotion uh- a stock facial expression for each, for each scene which has helped me um, its- it- although the people at home can't see it, it’s been a very visual- it’s been a very visual episode for me as far as uh- um my face goes.
Lisa: Yeah, I think definitely. And the expressions with it it- the- I mean you have to do it when you’re sitting there it’s just you’re completely- I saw it all straight away when I first read it. But today, being able to read it out loud, the both of u,s has just been brilliant because I can see it. I’d love to see it actually, I’d love to see it on tv.
Scott: That was always you’re sort of mission, wasn’t it James? To come up with story lines that were the sort of episodes you wish you'd seen on screen in series one and two?
James: Yeah! and it’s just I- isn't great having an episode that’s all about Ianto! And all about what a noble, honest, decent man he is. And then just at the end you realize he’s there going "oh I've just asked somebody really nice to kill herself. Oh. ssss today's not great actually.”
Gareth: Yeah, but it’s, I mean. What’s lovely is the relationship between Ianto and um, uh Zeynep. um I think what he recognizes in her very early on is the sort of fact she’s got this very sort of rigid job to- to do. She works from a script, and everything has to be just so which he completely connects with cus the-uh that’s the way he sort of deals with himself every day. Wears a rigid suit, he- he makes coffee, ev-ev-everything that- everything is just right. everything’s ordered neatly. I think he mentions that in the script. So, I think he- that- that they’ve got a sort of relationship that he recognizes quite early on and that quite fun sort of playing with that (Lisa: mm, yeah.) y-y-you know he says to her a couple of time "are you off script now?" " oh, you've gone of script!" you know and he- he sort of, he sort of r-recognizes her, her job. So, it’s nice to have s-you know to have two character that are quite similar (Scott: that’s it, you’re both the little people) bon-bon-bonding across, yeah, bonding across the uh, across the airwaves.
Lisa: And it’s a strong bond. At the end you do wonder, and when I first read it thinking do they, do they meet? I wonder what would happen if they did? Ya know and its quite, Its quite romantic, I think, at the end. There’s a- a romantic, a romantic aspect to it that comes at the end- at the end of the piece.
Gareth: Yeah.
Lisa: Which I really like
Scott: There’s a huge affection that really builds throughout the story as well.
Lisa: mm.
James: yeah, but if they ever met up Ianto would set fire to her house.
Lisa: yeah.
James: He would do it for the best of intentions. (Lisa and Gareth laugh) but within half an hour the house would be on fire, the car would be crashed, and one of the children would be in hospital.
Lisa: It’s probably best that he doesn’t get to meet the family, I think.
everyone agreeing
Scott: and, and Gareth how has, obviously it’s almost ten years since you started filming the very first series of Torchwood. It’s never left you, you're back as Ianto all this time on. Did you ever expect, when you started, that it would you know keep coming back yeah?
Gareth: Live on as much as it has? No not at all. I uh it’s- the whole, the whole, the whole thing for me from- from the beginning, has been completely overwhelming. And I didn't expect the character to- to grow into the character that he did. I didn't expect the series to be as popular worldwide as it was. I knew, I always knew, it was a good series but I d- I didn’t expect everything to grow so rapidly and so huge. um I didn’t expect to come back to do radio dramas after Ianto had died in series three. I didn't expect to get as far as season three as far as living goes! (Scott laughs) and- and to come back now this, this long after to- to know that people are still out there, wanting more, wanting to hear more and- and the fact that people are still prepared to- to write for it and make it is- is- is great and it’s you know it’s gonna be a big part of my life um til the day I die I think.
James:(whispered) Hooray!
Scott: Hooray indeed. And uh, what, what have been your favorite moments from today?Whatt have you most enjoyed playing in the script?
Lisa: I think it’s both the comedy between them but also the end because it feels like they really come together and there’s, a r- yeah I enjoy the end where you really, the gentleness in those scenes and those intimate scenes where they come together is really, that was really lovely, I enjoyed that.
Gareth: yeah, um I-I sort of happened with us realizing it, that we were sort of playing, I noticed with Zeynep as well she's got some great ianto-esque lines when sh- you know quite dry and quite uh- uh ironic, sardonic. um and then you know sort of them having the sort of dry- dry wit duel, in a lot of the scenes and then at the end sort of, sort of realizing they’ve actually forged this sort of underly- th- th- the two sensitive aspects of the characters have sort of bonded and underneath all that sort of um play, through- throughout the first um firs l- it was a nice- it was nice.
Scott: well, on that note, Lisa, Gareth, James, thank you very much for a lovely day (Lisa: thank you) and hopefully we'll be hearing more from Ianto jones very soon!
