The Stranger (video series)

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Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant in the first entry of The Stranger series, Summoned By Shadows.
Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant in the first entry of The Stranger series, Summoned By Shadows.

The Stranger was a series of direct-to-video (and audio CD) science fiction dramas made by BBV and starring Colin Baker. They are now available on DVD

The series began in 1991 with Summoned by Shadows, co-produced with the BBC Film Club. Partly as a knowing homage to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which BBV founder Bill Baggs was a fan; and partly in a pragmatic attempt to take advantage of the consequent pre-existing audience. Summoned by Shadows was a Who-style tale of strange doings on a distant planet featuring three actors known for their roles in Doctor Who and playing not dissimilar characters.

The unnamed protagonist (listed in the credits as 'The Stranger') was played by Colin Baker, his assistant Miss Brown by Nicola Bryant, who had played the Doctor's assistant Peri Brown opposite Colin Baker for two years, and the villain of the piece by Michael Wisher, who had been the first actor to play Davros.

The second story, More Than A Messiah, adapted the Doctor Who Audio Visuals story of the same name, but with the Stranger and Miss Brown substituted for the Doctor and original companion Ria (who was modeled after Peri). In a further connection, it co-starred Sophie Aldred, better known as Ace from Doctor Who, and Peter Miles, who had co-starred (opposite Wisher) in the series' Genesis of the Daleks – both in completely different roles.

In Memory Alone, the third film, found the Stranger and Miss Brown stranded without their mysterious transport (never seen or referred to as the TARDIS) in a desolate train station with amnesia, and battling a robot and a mysterious man played by Nicholas Briggs (who also wrote the film along with others in the Stranger series). Most releases of this film (including VHS) include a behind-the-scenes featurette and a blooper reel.

While the first three may be (and usually were) taken as Doctor Who by another name, the departure here of the Miss Brown character (for which Nicola Bryant had not used her Peri Brown American accent, it should be noted) and 'the Stranger' himself being likewise 'returned to his proper time and place' at the story's conclusion allowed for a move to divorce the series from any such notions. The adventures of the Stranger ran in all to six videos (and four audio dramas, although the second audio drama was much the same as the sixth video), in the later half of which the series established its own style and distinct back story, abandoning any pretence of being the further adventures of the Sixth Doctor under another name (or lack thereof). The Stranger was thus eventually given an identity: Solomon, a reluctant former assassin and terrorist leader, as the series' continuity was tied up.

The series' re-release on DVD began in 2003[citation needed].

The videos in the series are:

  1. Summoned by Shadows by Christian Darkin
  2. More Than A Messiah by Nigel Fairs
  3. In Memory Alone by Nicholas Briggs
  4. The Terror Game by Nicholas Briggs (featuring Louise Jameson, who had played Leela in Doctor Who)
  5. Breach of the Peace by Nicholas Briggs (featuring Caroline John, who had played Liz Shaw in Doctor Who)
  6. Eye of the Beholder by Nicholas Briggs

The four audio dramas are:

  • The Last Mission by Nicholas Briggs (featuring Elisabeth Sladen, who had played Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who)
  • Eye of the Storm by "Arthur Wallis" (Nicholas Briggs) - remade as Eye of the Beholder
  • The Coming of Shadows by Stuart Robinson and James Potter (a bonus audio drama on the DVD release of Summoned by Shadows)
  • Force of Nature by Stuart Robinson and James Potter (a bonus audio drama on the DVD release of More Than a Messiah)

Another BBV production, The Airzone Solution, is sometimes erroneously listed as part of the Stranger series. In fact, it is a standalone 'ecological thriller' that, other than its cast, has no connection to either The Stranger or Doctor Who. Nicholas Briggs, meanwhile, went on to write and star in numerous Big Finish Doctor Who audio spin-offs and to voice the Daleks and other monsters in the TV series itself.