Big Finish Short Trips

Short Trips: Zodiac was the first anthology in the Big Finish-produced Short Trips range.

The Big Finish Short Trips are a collection of short story anthologies published by Big Finish Productions based on the BBC Television series Doctor Who, beginning with the collection Short Trips: Zodiac in December 2002 and ending with the loss of their license in 2009. The Short Trips name was inherited from similar collections published by the BBC, who decided in March 2000 that it was no longer financially viable to produce collections of short stories. Big Finish Productions negotiated a licence to continue producing these collections, publishing them in smaller runs and in hardback, thus allowing for a higher cover price and increased profit margins than on the BBC collections.

Big Finish's licence with BBC Enterprises only allows them to use copyrighted material from the "classic" Doctor Who series (1963–1989 and 1996), which means that their stories can only feature the first eight Doctors and their companions. There are also difficulties in using the Eighth Doctor's companions Grace Holloway and Chang Lee as the copyright to these is owned by Universal Television.

In May 2009 and after 28 collections, Big Finish announced that they were ending the Short Trips series as the BBC had not renewed it for a second licence,^[1] eventually halting sales of the books on the Big Finish Website in December 2009. Even so, the books are still available via off-site retailers and a final 29th volume collected the editor's favourite story of each of the previous volumes.

The books

The Big Finish Short Trips volumes are produced in a slightly different manner from their BBC predecessors: instead of being centrally produced, Big Finish commissions editors for the volumes, who in turn commission stories from writers for the themed collections. Because of this, each volume is produced depending on the working methods of its editor – some editors commission stories on invitation from writers, whilst others welcome unsolicited submission of stories. How The Doctor Changed My Life featured stories all written by previously unpublished authors. This was as a result of a competition, run by Big Finish in 2007, to seek out new talent.^[2]

Each collection is conceived around a single theme, with the individual stories exploring that theme:

Title	Editor	Published	Theme/Concept
Short Trips: Zodiac	Jacqueline Rayner	December 2002	The signs of the Zodiac
Short Trips: Companions	Jacqueline Rayner	March 2003	The Doctor's companions
Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors	John Binns	June 2003	Horror
Short Trips: The Muses	Jacqueline Rayner	September 2003	The Nine Muses
Short Trips: Steel Skies	John Binns	December 2003	Confined environments
Short Trips: Past Tense	Ian Farrington	April 2004	Historical settings
Short Trips: Life Science	John Binns	June 2004	The nature of life
Short Trips: Repercussions	Gary Russell	June 2004	Unforeseen consequences
Short Trips: Monsters	Ian Farrington	August 2004	Monsters
Short Trips: 2040	John Binns	October 2004	The year 2040
Short Trips: A Christmas Treasury	Paul Cornell	December 2004	Christmas
Short Trips: Seven Deadly Sins	David Bailey	March 2005	Seven deadly sins
Short Trips: A Day in the Life	Ian Farrington	June 2005	The hours of the day
Short Trips: The Solar System	Gary Russell	September 2005	The nine planets of Earth's solar system
Short Trips: The History of Christmas	Simon Guerrier	December 2005	Christmas past, present and future
Short Trips: Farewells	Jacqueline Rayner	March 2006	Death and other kinds of loss
Short Trips: The Centenarian	Ian Farrington	July 2006	The life of one man - Edward Grainger
Short Trips: Time Signature	Simon Guerrier	September 2006	Music, time and consequences
Short Trips: Dalek Empire	Nicholas Briggs with Simon Guerrier	December 2006	The Dalek Empire series
Short Trips: Destination Prague	Steven Savile	May 2007	The city of Prague
Short Trips: Snapshots	Joseph Lidster	June 2007	The effect the Doctor has on people
Short Trips: The Ghosts of Christmas	Cavan Scott & Mark Wright	December 2007	Christmas: past, present and future
Short Trips: Defining Patterns	Ian Farrington	March 2008	The causes and effects of the universe
Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership	Keith R.A. DeCandido	May 2008	The many leaders the Doctor has met
Short Trips: Transmissions	Richard Salter	July 2008	The art of communication
Short Trips: How The Doctor Changed My Life	Simon Guerrier	September 2008	The after effects of meeting the Doctor
Short Trips: Christmas Around the World	Xanna Eve Chown	December 2008	Christmas in different countries
Short Trips: Indefinable Magic	Neil Corry	March 2009	The magical life of the Doctor
Re:Collections	Various	May 2009	The final book and a collection of the best stories from the series

The collections have mixed established Doctor Who writers from the television series, such as Ben Aaronovitch, Ian Briggs, Andrew Cartmel, Terrance Dicks, Glen McCoy, James Moran, Marc Platt, Helen Raynor and Eric Saward with writers who made their name in other Doctor Who spin-off ranges, such as Paul Cornell, Joseph Lidster, Philip Purser-Hallard, Gareth Roberts, Gary Russell, Robert Shearman, Lance Parkin and Kate Orman, and writers from other literary spheres, including Dan Abnett, Lou Anders, Scott Andrews, Jonathan Clements, Peter David, Richard Dinnick, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Brian Dooley, Diane Duane, Nev Fountain, Lizzie Hopley, Todd McCaffrey, Juliet E. McKenna, Paul Magrs, James Moran, Gary Owen, Stel Pavlou, Steven Savile, James Swallow and Matthew Sweet.

Audio

On 31 December 2009, Big Finish lost their license to produce or sell their short story anthology book series Short Trips. On 10 February 2010 Big Finish announced that the range would be relaunched as double CD audiobooks featuring eight new short stories each. The stories were to be read by popular Doctor Who actors. Also on this day Big Finish asked for short story submissions, from anyone who hadn't written for them before, for possible inclusion on the CDs. Soon after the closing date it was announced that they had received 500 entries and that Colin Baker would be among the actors reading the stories, as well as writing the 6th Doctor story for Volume 1. After four volumes, this series was discontinued, but the range was relaunched yet again as a monthly download-only series in 2015.

Volume 1

Title	Authors	Doctors	Featuring	Read By	Released
Rise and Fall A Stain of Red in the Sand A True Gentleman Death-Dealer The Deep The Wings of a Butterfly Police and Shreeves Running Out of Time	~ George Mann ~ David A McEwan ~ Jamie Hailstone ~ Damian Sawyer ~ Ally Kennen ~ Colin Baker ~ Adam Smith ~ Dorothy Koomson	~ 1st ~ 2nd ~ 3rd ~ 4th ~ 5th ~ 6th ~ 7th ~ 8th	~ Ian ~ Zoe ~ ~ Leela ~ Nyssa ~ ~ Ace ~	~ William Russell ~ David Troughton ~ Katy Manning ~ Louise Jameson ~ Peter Davison ~ Colin Baker ~ Sophie Aldred ~ India Fisher	November 2010

Volume 2

Title	Authors	Doctors	Featuring	Read By	Released
1963 The Way Forward Walls of Confinement Chain Reaction Sock-Pig The Doctor's Coat Critical Mass Letting Go	~ Niall Boyce ~ Steve Case ~ Lawrence Conquest ~ Darren Goldsmith ~ Sharon Cobb & Iain Keiller ~ John Bromley ~ James Moran ~ Simon Guerrier	~ 1st ~ 2nd ~ 3rd ~ 4th ~ 5th ~ 6th ~ 7th ~ 8th	~ Ian, Barbara, Vicki ~ Victoria ~ Liz, the Brigadier ~ Sarah Jane ~ ~ ~ Ace ~ Charley	~ William Russell ~ David Troughton ~ Katy Manning ~ Louise Jameson ~ Peter Davison ~ Colin Baker ~ Sophie Aldred ~ India Fisher	February 2011

Volume 3

Title	Authors	Doctors	Featuring	Read By	Released
Seven to One The Five Dimensional Man Pop Up The Wondrous Box Wet Walls Murmurs of Earth The Riparian Ripper All the Fun of the Fair	~ Simon Miller ~ Kate Orman ~ Dave Curran ~ Juliet Boyd ~ Mathilde Madden ~ Michael Deacon, Jamie Middleton & Chris Wraight ~ Andrew Cartmel ~ Bev Conway	~ 1st-7th ~ 2nd ~ 3rd ~ 4th ~ 5th ~ 6th ~ 7th ~ 8th	~ ~ Zoe, Jamie ~ Jo ~ Sarah Jane ~ Peri ~ Peri ~ Ace ~ Lucie	~ Nicholas Briggs, William Russell ~ David Troughton ~ Katy Manning ~ Louise Jameson ~ Peter Davison ~ Colin Baker ~ Sophie Aldred ~ India Fisher	May 2011

Volume 4

Title	Authors	Doctors	Featuring	Read By	Released
A Star is Born Penny Wise, Pound Foolish Lost in the Wakefield Triangle The Old Rogue The Lions of Trafalgar To Cut a Blade of Grass The Shadow Trader Quantum Heresy	~ Richard Dinnick ~ Foster Marks ~ Vin Marsden Hendrick ~ John Grindrod ~ Jason Arnopp ~ Cindy Garland ~ Charles Williams ~ Avril Naude	~ 1st ~ 2nd ~ 3rd ~ 4th ~ 5th ~ 6th ~ 7th ~ 8th	~ Susan, Barbara, Ian ~ Jamie, Zoe ~ Jo ~ Romana, K-9 ~ Nyssa, Tegan ~ Peri ~ Ace ~	~ William Russell ~ David Troughton ~ Katy Manning ~ Louise Jameson ~ Peter Davison ~ Colin Baker ~ Sophie Aldred ~ India Fisher	August 2011

Series 5

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Doctor	Featuring	Release Date	Prod. code
1	"Flywheel Revolution"	Lisa Bowerman	Dale Smith	1st	TBA	January 2015	BFMSTDL01
2	"Little Doctors"	Lisa Bowerman	Philip Lawrence	2nd	Jamie, Zoe	February 2015	BFMSTDL02
3	"Time Tunnel"	Lisa Bowerman	Nigel Fairs	3rd	Jo, the Brigadier, UNIT	March 2015	BFMSTDL03
4	"The Ghost Trap"	Lisa Bowerman	Nick Wallace	4th	Leela	April 2015	BFMSTDL04
5	"The King of the Dead"	Lisa Bowerman	Ian Atkins	5th	Nyssa, Tegan	May 2015	BFMSTDL05
6	"The Shadows of Serenity"	Lisa Bowerman	Nigel Robinson	6th	Peri	June 2015	BFMSTDL06
7	"Dark Convoy"	Lisa Bowerman	Mark B Oliver	7th	Ace	July 2015	BFMSTDL07
8	"Foreshadowing"	Lisa Bowerman	Julian Richards	8th	Charley	August 2015	BFMSTDL08
9	"Etheria"	Lisa Bowerman	Nick Wallace	1st	Vicki, Steven	September 2015	BFMSTDL09
10	"The Way of the Empty Hand"	Lisa Bowerman	Julian Richards	2nd	Jamie, Zoe	October 2015	BFMSTDL10
11	"The Other Woman"	Lisa Bowerman	Philip Lawrence	3rd	Jo, UNIT	November 2015	BFMSTDL11
12	"Black Dog"	Lisa Bowerman	Dale Smith	4th	Leela	December 2015	BFMSTDL12

Series 6

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Doctor	Featuring	Release Date	Prod. code
1	"Gardens of the Dead"	Lisa Bowerman	Jenny Colgan	5th	Nyssa, Tegan, Turlough	January 2016	BFMSTDL13
2	"Prime Winner"	Lisa Bowerman	Nigel Fairs	6th	Peri	February 2016	BFMSTDL14
3	"Washington Burns"	Lisa Bowerman	Julian Richards	7th	Ace	March 2016	BFMSTDL15
4	"The Curse of the Fugue"	Lisa Bowerman	Alice Cavender	8th	Lucie	April 2016	BFMSTDL16
5	"This Sporting Life"	Lisa Bowerman	Una McCormack	1st	Steven, Dodo	May 2016	BFMSTDL17
6	"Lost and Found"	Lisa Bowerman	Penelope Faith	2nd	Polly, Ben	June 2016	BFMSTDL18
7	"The Blame Game"	Lisa Bowerman	Ian Atkins	3rd	Liz, the Monk	July 2016	BFMSTDL19
8	"Damascus"	Lisa Bowerman	Jonathan Barnes	3rd	TBA	August 2016	BFMSTDL20
9	"A Full Life"	Lisa Bowerman	Joseph Lidster	4th	Adric, Romana II	September 2016	BFMSTDL21
10	"Rulebook"	Lisa Bowerman	Tony Jones	5th	Peri	October 2016	BFMSTDL22
11	TBA	Lisa Bowerman	TBA	TBA	TBA	November 2016	BFMSTDL23
12	TBA	Lisa Bowerman	TBA	TBA	TBA	December 2016	BFMSTDL24

Single Short Trips

The releases listed below were single releases made available by Big Finish as subscriber and magazine exclusives and podcasts.

#	Title	Author	Doctors	Featuring	Read By	Released
1	One Small Step	Briggs, NickNick Briggs	2nd	Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot	Nick Briggs	January 2009 as a free podcast
2	Museum Peace	Swallow, JamesJames Swallow	8th	Kalendorf	Nick Briggs	November 2009 with release #128 - The Eternal Summer
3	The Doctor's First XI	Atkins, IanIan Atkins	4th	Romana I	Stephen Critchlow	March 2010 with release #132 - The Architects of History
4	The Switching	Guerrier, SimonSimon Guerrier	3rd	Jo Grant, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Mike Yates, Sergeant Benton	Duncan Wisbey	June 2010 with release #135 - Legend of the Cybermen
5	Lepidoptery for Beginners	Dorney, JohnJohn Dorney	2nd	Jamie and Zoe	Duncan Wisbey	September 2010 with releases #138 - The Cradle of the Snake and #139 - Project: Destiny
6	The Little Drummer Boy	Robson, EddieEddie Robson	1st	Steven Taylor and Sara Kingdom	Beth Chalmers	December 2010 with release #142 - The Demons of Red Lodge and Other Stories
7	Sound the Siren And I'll Come To You Comrade	Pritchard, JohnJohn Pritchard	4th	Leela	Stephen Critchlow	March 2011 with release #145 - Industrial Evolution
8	Twilight's End	Scott, CavanCavan Scott and Wright, MarkMark Wright	7th	Nimrod	Beth Chalmers	June 2011 with release #148 - Rat Trap
9	Neptune	Dinnick, RichardRichard Dinnick	3rd	Sarah Jane Smith	Beth Chalmers	September 2011 with releases #151 - The Doomsday Quatrain and #152 - House of Blue Fire
10	Lant Land	Morris, JonathanJonathan Morris	5th	Tegan, Turlough	Duncan Wisbey	December 2011 with release #155 - Army of Death
11	Breadcrumbs	Moran, JamesJames Moran	4th	Romana II	John Banks	March 2012 with release #158 - Wirrn Isle
12	Intuition	Nisbet, RobRob Nisbet	6th	Mel	Stephen Critchlow	June 2012 with release #161 - The Butcher of Brisbane
13	A Room With No View	Bartlett, DavidDavid Bartlett	5th	Peri	Stephen Critchlow	September 2012 with releases #164 - Gods and Monsters and #165 - The Burning Prince
14	Only Connect	Lane, AndyAndy Lane	4th		John Banks	December 2012 with release #168 - 1001 Nights
15	The Young Lions	Cavender, AliceAlice Cavender	8th	Lucie	Stephen Critchlow	March 2013 with release #171 - The Seeds of War
16	Crystal Ball	Rob Nisbet	7th	Ace	Stephen Critchlow	June 2013 with release #174 - Prisoners of Fate
17	Methuselah	Mann, GeorgeGeorge Mann	5th	Peri	John Banks	September 2013 with releases #177 - Daleks Among Us and 178 - 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men
18	Tweaker	Abnett, DanDan Abnett	5th	Nyssa	John Banks	December 2013 with release #181 - Afterlife
19	The Piltdown Men	Dale Smith, PaulPaul Dale Smith	2nd		Hugh Ross	March 2014 with release #184 - Scavenger
20	Late Night Shopping	Fitton, MattMatt Fitton	8th	Lucie	Hugh Ross	June 2014 with release #187 - Masquerade
21	Waiting for Gadot	John Dorney	4th		Hugh Ross	September 2014 with releases #190 - Mask of Tragedy and #191 - Signs and Wonders
22	A Home From Home	Wallace, NickNick Wallace	3rd	Liz	Stephen Critchlow	December 2014 with release #194 - The Rani Elite
23	String Theory	Brown, KiniKini Brown	4th	Leela	Stephen Critchlow	March 2015 with release #197 - The Entropy Plague
24	Sphinx Lightning	John Pritchard	3rd	Jo	Stephen Critchlow	June 2015 with release #200 - The Secret History
25	The Warren Legacy	Richards, JulianJulian Richards	4th	Romana I	Stephen Critchlow	September 2015 with releases #203 - Terror of the Sontarans and #204 - Criss-Cross
26	The Toy	Fairs, NigelNigel Fairs	5th	Nyssa, Tegan, Adric	Sarah Sutton	October 2015 with issues 4 & 5 of The Complete History
27	The Caves of Erith	Alice Cavender	8th	Lucie	Stephen Critchlow	December 2015 with release #207 - You Are the Doctor and Other Stories
28	The Horror at Bletchington Station	Wing, ChrisChris Wing	1st	Dodo	Stephen Critchlow	March 2016 with release #210 - The Peterloo Massacre
28	The Monkey House	Ford, NicNic Ford	5th	Tegan, Turlough, Nyssa	Stephen Critchlow	June 2016 with release #213 - The Two Masters
28	The Shrine of Sorrows	Julian Richards	7th	Ace	Stephen Critchlow	September 2016 with release #216 - Maker of Demons
28	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Stephen Critchlow	December 2016 with release #219 - Absolute Power and #220 - Quicksilver
28	Collector's Item	Salmanoff, Paul JPaul J Salmanoff	4th	Sarah	Stephen Critchlow	March 2017 with release #210 - TBA
28	The Horror of Hy-Brasil	McGee, RussellRussell McGee	2nd	Jamie, Zoe	Stephen Critchlow	June 2017 with release #210 - TBA
28	Helmstone	Jones, TonyTony Jones	1st	Steven	Stephen Critchlow	September 2017 with release #210 - TBA

External links

• Big Finish's Short Trips page
• Outpost Gallifrey's reviews page
• Interview with range editor, Ian Farrington

References

1. http://www.bigfinish.com/news/Short-Trips-Announcement
2. "Short Story Comp". BBC. 2007.