10 Historicals That Show What Modern Doctor Who Is Missing

This is the first Big Finish audio drama on our list to not feature the First Doctor.

Colditz instead features Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred as the Seventh Doctor and Ace. It is also noteworthy for starring David Tennant (in his first role in any Doctor Who media) as a Nazi officer named Kurtz.

This story is not for the faint of heart. It deals with some difficult subjects, like abuse and torture. The Doctor and Ace mistakenly arrive in a German prisoner of war camp, Colditz castle, and they immediately get captured by Nazi guards, and the Doctor gets shot. The Doctor and Ace must try to survive as prisoners of the Nazis and somehow escape, but things get even more complicated with the arrival of a woman named Klein, who seems to know things she shouldn’t.

Colditz somewhat stretches the definition of a pure historical. While it doesn’t feature any sci-fi elements other than the Doctor, the TARDIS, and Ace (and a portable CD player), it still manages to rely quite a bit on classic Doctor Who timey-wiminess! This is offset by the dark nature of the story, which features a gruesome death scene that manages to deeply affect Ace.