Big Finish Top 10 (2024)

It’s that time of the year again! Daniel Mansfield counts down Who Review‘s top 10 Big Finish releases of 2024

Honourable Mentions

Before we get on with the list, here are some of the stories that just missed out on this year’s Top 10.

Time War Uncharted 1: Reflections, a complex, characterful boxset that pushes the Eighth Doctor, Cass and Alex’s adventures in a gripping new direction
Once and Future: Coda – The Final Act, which introduced the Fugitive Doctor to Big Finish, giving us more of Jo Martin‘s electrifying performance as this most mysterious incarnation of our favourite Time Lord
Torchwood: End Game, a tense thriller that sees Tosh do battle with an apocalypse simulator that seems to affect the real world
War Stories, the winner of this year’s Paul Spragg Short Trips Competition, a charming, creative little story with some great moments for the Twelfth Doctor and Bill Potts

And now, on with the countdown!

10. The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Star-Crossed

If you’ve followed Who Review for a while, you’ll know I’ve spent years lamenting that the Ninth Doctor Adventures could be so much better than they are, and Star-Crossed proves my point: characterful, beautifully performed and full of insanely brilliant ideas. Christopher Eccleston and Alex Kingston give some of their best performances as the Doctor and River ever here, giving us a completely different take on their iconic relationship and cutting deeper into both characters than ever before at Big Finish. What a shame, then, that this range has to end after a boxset as good as this.

9. The Lost Stories: Operation Werewolf

Thrilling, suspenseful and full of danger and derring-do, Operation Werewolf is a true gem of a story. Every cliffhanger propels things into new territory, every character has something to contribute, and the guest cast are all on sparkling form, bringing to life intrepid Résistance agents and zealous Nazis alike. The highlight, though, is hearing the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe back together again; while the three characters reunited later in their lives in this year’s Conspiracy of Raven, this is the first time we’ve heard them in situ in a full-cast story since, well, 1969! A joy to listen to from start to finish.

8. Torchwood: Art Decadence

The first of two Mara stories this year, Art Decadence is far and away the better of the two, and one of the best showcases of the sinister serpent in the Whoniverse. Torchwood in the 1920s is such a fantastic setting, and Simon Kane and Wilf Scolding do an excellent job at bringing to life the twisted Jeeves and Wooster dynamic of its two operatives, Sir Reggie and Forster, who I hope we hear more of in the future. A disturbing story about power dynamics and temptation, Art Decadence is one of 2024’s biggest successes.

7. The Death and Life of River Song: Last Words

A noir detective story, apocalyptic disaster movie, love story and Biblical epic all rolled into one, Last Words, like Tim Foley‘s Friend of the Family before it, proves that River Song thrives in huge, expansive tales brimming with big ideas and well-drawn characters. Set on Earth in the days before it’s destroyed by solar flares, this release sees River plucked from her digital afterlife by billionaire Garrison Clay (Greg Wise), who puts her in a clone body and tasks her with finding a missing scientist.

Valentine weaves together political intrigue, a revenge plot, romance, and even a surprising side-step into Austen territory, creating a rich narrative tapestry which ties into the events of iconic 1970s episode The Ark in Space. What’s more, like Friend of the Family, this isn’t just a story that features River Song; it’s a story that needs River Song in it – it simply wouldn’t work without her. All of this means Last Words feels like a truly essential chapter in River’s story.

6. Dark Gallifrey: Morbius

The first trilogy in the new, eighteen-part Dark Gallifrey series, Morbius by Tim Foley is a Gothic masterpiece set on a creaking wooden ship traversing the Time Vortex. Samuel West is a delight as the sinister, sibilant Morbius, first seen in the 1970s, while Lara Lemon and Rachel Atkins act their socks off as Gilda and Argento. There’s even a delightful appearance by Tom Baker‘s Fourth Doctor, as he does battle with his old enemy once more. Doctor Who meets Frankenstein meets Moby Dick meets The Terror, this trilogy is a towering achievement, unlike anything else in the Whoniverse.

5. Goth Opera

This year, the Novel Adaptations range returned for one night only to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Virgin Missing Adventures. Big Finish couldn’t have chosen a better novel to adapt for the occasion; Goth Opera by Paul Cornell is one of the most iconic of the Missing Adventures, not just because of the controversial cover depicting Nyssa as a bloodstained vampire, but because it’s a properly good story. This audio adaptation is no exception, brimming with a weight and gravitas that persists from Richard Armitage‘s opening narration right until the final seconds.

As its name suggests, Goth Opera full-on Gothic horror story the likes of which Doctor Who has never done before – seriously, this is darker and grittier than even the Hinchcliffe era’s scariest stories. Peter Davison and Janet Fielding rise to the occasion as the Doctor and Tegan, who are forced to face some horrifying situations here, while Sarah Sutton is both terrifying and arresting as a vampiric Nyssa. If you’re a Fifth Doctor fan, a horror fan or honestly just a Who fan in general, I urge you to pick this up.

4. The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles: Victory of the Doctor

To pretty much everyone’s surprise, The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles have been one of Big Finish‘s best series of recent years, seeing Jacob Dudman take on the role of the Eleventh Doctor alongside Safiyya Ingar as new companion Valarie Lockwood. This final boxset of adventures pits this incredible duo against the New Dalek Paradigm in a twisty-turny, timey-wimey, heartbreaking, romantic, action-adventure extravaganza that serves as the perfect conclusion to one of the best series Big Finish has ever created.

3. Torchwood: Missing Molly by Gareth David Lloyd

A haunting tale about a missing girl who returns to her family twelve years later. Gwyneth Keyworth gives an unsettling central performance as Molly, while Nia Roberts and Matthew Gravelle are stunning as grieving, broken parents whose lives are turned upside down when their daughter (or is it?) comes back. Full of drama and emotion, and with an open-ended conclusion that’ll stick with you long after you’ve finished listening, this is a belter of a story.

2. Torchwood: Disco by Gareth David-Lloyd

An unusually timey-wimey tale for the Torchwood series, Disco sees Ianto go back in time to visit his deadbeat dad, ‘Disco’ Jones. We’ve only ever heard bits and pieces about Ianto’s dad before, but this story gives us the full picture, with Gareth David-Lloyd and Rhys ap Trefor giving barnstorming performances in this emotional, sometimes bleak, sometimes hopeful masterpiece.

1. The Third Doctor Adventures: The Quintessence

And in first place is The Quintessence by Lauren Mooney and Stewart Pringle! Where other Third Doctor Adventures releases feel like they’re almost slavishly recreating 70s-style stories, this feels altogether modern, giving us a dark, emotionally-charged, Gothic masterpiece that takes the familiar characters of the Third Doctor and Jo Jones and pushes them further than we’ve ever seen (or heard).

The star of the show here is Katy Manning as the older, wiser version of Jo, who serves as the emotional core of the story. Grieving the loss of her husband Cliff, this version of Jo carries a depth that contrasts beautifully with the more optimistic younger iteration of the character we’re used to. Furthermore, this story is one of the best takes on the Cybermen I’ve yet heard from Big Finish, focusing more on the body horror aspect of the villains and making them into a truly terrifying threat. Bold, dark and daring, The Quintessence is not just a standout in the Third Doctor Adventures range, but the strongest Big Finish release of 2024.

And that’s it for Who Review in 2024. Thanks to all our readers for making this our biggest year yet.

See you in 2025!

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