Doctor Who: Why I’m excited for Eighth Doctor box set Ravenous 4

The Eighth Doctor will face four Masters in Doctor Who: Ravenous 4 next month! But is there more to look forward to than the Day of the Master?

Next month will see the release of Doctor Who: Ravenous 4, the final volume of the current Eighth Doctor series from Big Finish Productions. This is the third major arc that we’ve had for Paul McGann’s Doctor, following the two previous series Dark Eyes and Doom Coalition.

Overall, while I’m reluctant to say that Ravenous has been my least favorite – especially as it isn’t quite finished yet – I do feel it’s been a little less consistent. The first volume was probably my least favorite Eighth Doctor box set, whereas the second gave me probably one of my favorite Christmas stories ever with Better Watch Out/Fairytale of Salzburg. The third volume pushed the arc forward, and while it wasn’t perfect, it did feature some interesting ideas.

But honestly, the fourth and final volume of the series looks set to be the most exciting yet. Originally, that was just for one story, primarily based on just two things: the title and the cast. The latter features four very special guests. The former? Day of the Master.

That’s quite a bold title to use, but when you’re going to tell a story with four different incarnations of the Master, you might as well use it. Spread across two episodes and featuring Geoffrey Beevers, Eric Roberts, Derek Jacobi and Michelle Gomez, this story is clearly the box set’s biggest draw.

But it’s not the only huge draw that Ravenous 4 has. Recently, Big Finish have revealed some extremely exciting details about the first half of the box set, too…

Earlier this year, River Song met the exact same incarnations of the Master herself. But while those adventures were spread out across her life, Ravenous 4 will feature all of them in the same story at once!

(Image credit: The Diary of River Song/Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Whisper and Planet of Dust

In this month’s issue of Vortex – Big Finish’s own free magazine, one that’s worth checking out if you listen to any of their stories – details have been revealed for all four episodes of Ravenous 4. Whisper sounds like an intriguing opener, as it deals with the aftermath of the ending of Ravenous 3. Writer Matt Fitton describes it as being like “A Quiet Place – but on audio!” Which honestly sounds like an interesting idea for an episode.

However, it’s the description for the second episode Planet of Dust that has left me especially intrigued. Because before, I had assumed that Big Finish would save all of their Masters for the last two episodes. But it appears that isn’t the case in this story, as Matt Fitton reveals.

"Planet of Dust is about the [Geoffrey] Beevers Master heading towards the end of his life – and he knows his time is finally running out. Of all the Masters he is the one who’s the great survivor, having extended his life again and again – but he needs to keep on living."

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The end of the decayed Master?

Now that sounds intriguing. Geoffrey Beevers has been magnificent as the Master for a long time. Playing an incarnation that has become permanently scarred and decaying, he represents the final true incarnation of his first cycle of regenerations. He may have possessed and used the bodies of others, but he has continually come back to this particular form.

However, at the same time, we also know that he gets a brand new life cycle of regenerations eventually. We know that he will regenerate into Alex Macqueen’s incarnation at some point, thanks to the Time Lords. But we don’t know the exact circumstances of how that happened. Could the events of Ravenous 4 finally reveal that, in some way?

Regardless, it’s clear that the final Ravenous box set will be very Master heavy. And honestly, the Master fan in me loves that. I honestly can hardly wait until this box set is released. Expectations are high, but with the writer of The Two Masters handling Day of the Master, I’m sure this will live up to them.

What Big Finish release are you excited about over the coming months? Are you looking forward to the Eighth Doctor having to deal with four Masters? Let us know in the comments below.