Doctor Who: The Alternative War is a two-part fan audio series from TT Productions 23. The “alternative” universe branches off from the TV Doctor Who universe at the moment of the Eighth Doctor’s regeneration. In the alternative universe, the Doctor regenerates into a female incarnation who is still very much the Doctor, but who must find a way to bring the Time War to an end. She is the ninth Doctor of this universe.

The first part, simply called “Doctor Who: The Alternative War”, was my first stab at a full-cast script. I won’t deny that I was in a bit over my head. Partly because I took on too much. I brought the cast together but didn’t have the means for them to record it live, so each actor performed in isolation, with the exception of Alia and Abi, who recorded together. I stitched the recordings together as best I could. Fortunately, Jaspreet Singh came to my rescue and tweaked the dialog and added sound effects and music. I enjoyed the result, but came away thinking that I could have done better. I could have written a better script.

And I did do better with the sequel, “Doctor Who: The Alternative War—Reprieve.” The recording used the normal TT Productions 23 process and was much better for it. There was a table-read to iron out the kinks, and then the recording proper with all the actors present. And boy, did the actors nail it. Abi brought us a more seasoned Aliana. Jack played two roles, the 10th and 11th Doctors. He nailed each of them and switched between them like a slippery chameleon. You’d have sworn there were two different actors present. I’ve always been fond of Jaz’s performances as the Third Doctor, and he tackled the role once again with gusto and vim. Marcus gave us a War Master who delighted in getting under the Doctor’s skin. But it was the Master’s sparring with Aliana that was a highlight for me. And then there’s Chelsea and Sam who played the constantly bickering Time Lords Strange and Love. I could listen to those two go at it all day. You would never think that the two actors had never met before the recording. The striking cover art is, as usual by ‪@johannesviii.bsky.social.

As for the script, I was very happy with the result. It was a bit of a large cast for the length of the story, with three Doctors, a companion, the Master, and Strange and Love. I wanted each character to have a purpose—to have agency. And so, the third Doctor has his own little adventure and gets to drive a fast car and reverse the polarity. Aliana, having grown since the first adventure, is often the adult in the room. The eleventh Doctor has a bad day, getting eaten by a lake serpent and then having his sonic screwdriver melted. The tenth Doctor, still recovering from his regeneration, has to keep his ragtag team focussed on the job at hand. And if you’re fond of ’50’s era sci-fi movies, there’s something here for you, too.

So if you haven’t listened to it yet, give Doctor Who: The Alternative War — Reprieve a try. I think you’ll be glad you did.