Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Science Fiction & Fantasy

Helen A, ruler of colony Terra Alpha, is determined that happiness will prevail. And if any killjoys insist on being miserable, the fun guns of the Happiness Patrol will remove them; or they will vanish into the Kandy Kitchen, where the Kandy Man will deal with them.

Madame Vastra, the fabled Lizard Woman of Paternoster Row, knew death in many shapes and forms. But perhaps one of the most bizarre of these was death by snow.... On a cold day in December, two young boys, tired of sweeping snow from the workhouse yard, decide to build a snowman - and are confronted with a strange and grisly mystery. In horrified fascination, they watch as their snowman begins to bleed....

Michael Cochrane reads this novelisation of a classic TV adventure featuring the First Doctor. The TARDIS materialises outside the Post Office Tower in London, 1966. The Doctor senses a powerful and evil force, which he and the ever-curious Dodo track down to scientist Professor Brett and WOTAN, his revolutionary new computer. Designed as a universal problem solver, WOTAN has suddenly begun to think for itself and has formulated a deadly plan.

Jon Culshaw reads this iconic novelisation of a Fourth Doctor TV adventure, newly restored and extended by the author. The Doctor and his companions are trapped in E-Space, struggling to find their way back into their own universe. Arriving at an intersection, the TARDIS is invaded by a refugee of the enslaved Tharil race. With K9 damaged by the Time Winds, the Doctor, Romana and Adric explore the strange white eternity of the Gateway, where past, present and future cross over.

Comedian Olga Koch has a masters degree in the social science of the Internet and can turn almost any file into a PDF. In these three series, she looks at life through the eyes of a computer scientist, taking the universal truths you hold dear and tearing them to shreds using logic. With the help of her sassy digital assistant ALGO (played by Sindhu Vee and Tia Kofi), she uses stand-up and storytelling to unpack concepts such as Nationality, Beauty, Health, Privacy, Fun, Intelligence, Friendship and Family.

The life and times of Titus Groan, 77th Earl of Gormenghast - a vast stronghold of crumbling masonry steeped in immemorial ritual and inhabited by an extraordinary cavalcade of characters including the kitchen boy, Steerpike, who ruthlessly rises to the upper echelons of dynastic power through mischief and murder.

Some art can be deadly . . . Young Frida Kahlo is angry. Injured in a terrible accident, she lives with constant pain and worries that her dreams are unreachable. But when the TARDIS lands in Mexico City – drawn by a strange disturbance in its energy fields – Frida’s life is turned upside down. Aliens have arrived, taking over the bodies of children and killing anyone who gets in their way.

An unabridged reading of this original BBC Books novel featuring the Sixth Doctor, as played on TV by Colin Baker. When an RAF squadron shoots down an unidentified aircraft over Turelhampton, the village is immediately evacuated. But why is the village still guarded by troops in 2001? When a television documentary crew break through the cordon looking for a story, they find they've recorded more than they'd bargained for.

When a Cardiff hospital is inundated with patients that have fallen into coma-like trances, Torchwood move in to investigate. They find that the trances were triggered by phone calls, all of which were made from a number that hadn't been active for over 30 years. Determined to find out who's been calling the unfortunate victims, Jack rings the mysterious number - two, zero, five, nine - nothing. It's a dead line. Until it calls Jack back, he answers - and falls into a deep trance...

Jamie Glover reads this Beyond the Doctor story featuring Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright. It's Spring 1965, and at last two time travellers have returned home after many adventures with the Doctor. Yet the world has moved on in their absence, and settling back in proves harder than expected.

Everyone knows that Pluto is a barren, airless rock. So naturally the Doctor is surprised when he discovers artificial suns and an ultra-modern industrial city. What’s more, a group of colonists is being worked - and taxed - to death in this inhospitable and supposedly undeveloped part of the Universe.... With the help of his companion Leela and the faithful K9, the Doctor takes on the mysterious and powerful Company, a ruthless exploiter of planets and their people.

An unabridged narration of this original novel featuring the Third Doctor, as played on TV by Jon Pertwee, and his companion, Sarah Jane Smith. When gangster Tommy Ramsey is released from prison, he is determined to retake control of his 1950s East End territory. But new arrivals threaten his grip on illegal activity in the area. An evangelical minister is persuading people to seek redemption from their sins. A new gang is claiming the streets. And a watchmaker called Smith is leading a revolt against the Ramsey Mob's protection racket.

The TARDIS arrives in a futuristic Australia, where the genius Salamander has found a way to end starvation by harnessing the sun's energy and preventing natural disasters on a global scale. But there are those who believe Salamander's office is moving towards dictatorship. One such person is Giles Kent, and he is immediately struck by the Doctor's remarkable likeness to the great man.

Again, the terrifying cry rang out. The Doctor quickened his pace along the gloomy tunnels of the castle. Suddenly, from the darkness lumbered the mighty Aggedor, Royal Beast and Protector of the Kingdom of Peladon! The Doctor fumbled in his pocket. Would the device work? As he trained the spinning mirror on the eyes of Aggedor, the terrible claws came closer and closer... What is the secret behind the killings on the Planet of Peladon?

Doctor Who and the Zarbi finds the TARDIS drawn to the eerie planet Vortis, on which the Doctor and his companions encounter a host of alien creatures, including the Menoptera, the Animus, and the Zarbi.

Long, long ago on the great plains of Asia Minor, two mighty armies faced each other in mortal combat. The armies were the Greeks and the Trojans and the prize they were fighting for was Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. To the Greeks it seemed the city of Troy was impregnable and only a miracle could bring them success. And then help comes to them in a most unexpected way as a strange blue box materializes close to their camp.

Deviant. Depraved. Dangerous. Denounced for their transgressive themes and inflammatory ideas, these 20th-century classics have all been considered so seditious that they had to be suppressed. Find out what made these iconic works so threatening to governments worldwide in these superlative dramatisations, featuring stellar casts and specially composed music.

‘There's no end to the horror in this place - it's like Hell, and there are devils round every corner.’ On Leisure Platform 9 gamblers and villains mix with socialites and celebrities. It’s a place where you won’t want to win the wrong game. With Rory kidnapped by a brutal crime lord, the Doctor and Amy infiltrate a deadly contest where fugitives become the hunted. But how long before they realise the Doctor isn’t a vicious mercenary and discover what Amy is up to?

Dan Starkey reads a brand new audio adventure for the Eighth Doctor, set in Victorian Edinburgh. It's the late 1890s, and newspaper journalist James MacFarlane is on the trail of a supernatural entity. He's joined in his investigations by a mysterious stranger, who calls himself the Doctor and professes to know a lot about vampires.

Lisa Bowerman reads this original novel featuring the Twelfth Doctor, as played in the BBC TV series by Peter Capaldi. Christmas 2015, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Imagine everyone's surprise when a time portal opens up in Sydney Cove. Imagine their shock as a massive pyramid now sits beside the Harbour Bridge, glowing with energy. Imagine their fear as Cyrrus 'the mobster' Globb, Professor Horace Jaanson and alien assassin Kik arrive.