BBV Productions

BBV Productions is a UK-based video and audio production company founded in 1991, specialising in science fiction drama. The company has expanded to include publishing of novels and scripts associated with its productions.

Origin

Company co-founder Bill Baggs is a longtime fan of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and BBV productions often involve characters or actors from that series. It was originally founded as "Bill & Ben Video". The "Ben" in the company name is the nickname of Bill Baggs's wife and fellow company co-founder, Helen. Marian Baggs, the mother of Bill Baggs, also operated a second distribution chain on behalf of BBV.

Video

BBV's first production was ''Summoned by Shadows'' (1991), co-produced with the BBC Film Club. Partly as a homage to ''Doctor Who'', which Baggs was a fan of, and partly in a pragmatic attempt to take advantage of a pre-existing audience, ''Summoned by Shadows'' was a ''Who''-style tale of strange doings on a distant planet starring Colin Baker as the nameless protagonist (listed in the credits as "The Stranger"). Nicola Bryant co-starred as "Miss Brown". The adventures of The Stranger ran to six videos (and two audio dramas, the second remade as the sixth video). (For more information, see The Stranger (video series).)

BBV's next effort was '' The AirZone Solution?'', an ecologically themed thriller about a near-future conspiracy. Released in 1993, ''Doctor Who'''s thirtieth anniversary year, it involved four out of five surviving ex-Doctors. Baker and Bryant starred. Successor Sylvester McCoy and predecessors Peter Davison and Jon Pertwee also appeared as members of a small group joined against a sinister conspiracy.

''The Zero Imperative'' (1994) marked a new departure for BBV. Although stuffed to the gills with ex-''Doctor Who'' guest stars, only one of them was actually playing the same character: the story was built around Caroline John's Liz Shaw, the Doctor's companion in the seventh season of ''Doctor Who'', now depicted as an investigator for PROBE (the "Preternatural Research Bureau"). The PROBE series ran for an additional three stories; all four were written by Mark Gatiss, who found more widespread fame as a member of the League of Gentlemen, later going on to write episodes for the revived series. The potentially-confusing mixture of Caroline John reprising her ''Doctor Who'' role with other recognisable ''Who'' stars playing different characters worked against the series, as did the way that Liz Shaw often seemed to be herself a different character from the ''Doctor Who'' original. (The latter problem may have been exacerbated by the fact that, although BBV had obtained permission to use Liz Shaw, they had no rights relating to ''Doctor Who'' itself - which meant that no explicit reference could be made to any other aspect of ''Doctor Who'', including the events of the stories in which Liz had appeared.)

BBV's next series was a spin-off from two ''Doctor Who'' stories in the 1970s in which the Doctor assisted the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT) in defeating the Autons, robotic invaders sent to conquer Earth on behalf of the alien Nestenes. The trilogy, beginning with ''Auton'' in 1997, recounted UNIT's battle against another Auton invasion, this time without the Doctor's aid (since BBV had obtained permission to use UNIT and the Autons, but was never given permission to use the Doctor himself). ''Auton'' was also the first BBV production to have no ''Doctor Who'' guest stars at all, after Nicholas Courtney (who was to reprise his ''Doctor Who'' role as UNIT commander Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart) had to withdraw from the project, due to ill health. With Courtney out, the focus of the series was the original character of Lockwood, an enigmatic UNIT agent played by Michael Wade.

After the success of the Auton trilogy, BBV produced ''Cyberon'' (involving a race of alien cyborgs reminiscent of the Cybermen). 2001's ''"Do you Have a Licence to Save this Planet?"'' was a comedy starring Sylvester McCoy as the chiropodist. This spoof not only referenced previous BBV productions- but also ''Doctor Who'' itself.

BBV's '' Zygon: When Being You Just Isn't Enough'' (previously titled ''Zygon: When Being Me Is Not Enough''). In which Mike Kirkwood dreams of being a monster, unaware that he is in fact a Zygon, believing himself to be human. This story also includes Jo Castleton's character of Doctor Lauren Anderson from ''Cyberon''.

A new PROBE film was released 15 April 2015 with Hazel Burrows taking over from Caroline John as Liz Shaw.

Audio

After a few earlier experiments, BBV began regularly releasing audio dramas on CD in 1998, under the umbrella title ''Audio Adventures in Time & Space''. The mainstay of the CD line to begin with was a series starring Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred (the Doctor/companion team from the 1987, 1988 and 1989 seasons of ''Doctor Who'') as a pair of wanderers in time and space named "The Professor" (McCoy) and "Ace" (Aldred) who so closely resembled the characters McCoy and Aldred had played on ''Doctor Who'' - even addressing each other by the same nicknames - that the BBC stepped in and their seventh outing, ''Ghosts'', consequently introduced a number of changes to the characters that made the resemblance somewhat less close, the main one being that the protagonists were now called "The Dominie" (McCoy) and "Alice" (Aldred).

The first of the ''Audio Adventures in Time & Space'' not to include the McCoy/Aldred double act was ''Cyber-Hunt'', the first BBV production about the Cyberons. A further ''Who''-ish note was added by the introduction of an amnesic space traveler played by Nicholas Briggs, who some years earlier had played the Doctor in the Audio Visuals series of unlicensed fan audios. (He was dubbed "Fred" by one of the other characters after her pet goldfish).

BBV moved away from characters-who-might-be-the-Doctor (a field that, in any case, lost some of its appeal for fan audiences once Big Finish Productions began producing officially licensed ''Doctor Who'' audio dramas with the original actors reprising their incarnation of the character) and, following the success of the Auton trilogy, focussed more on stand-alone dramas about various ''Doctor Who'' alien races, licensed directly from the writers who created them. For some of those writers, the BBV audios have offered a chance to revisit their creations: for instance, the range includes a story by Pip & Jane Baker explaining what happened to the Rani (last seen in ''Doctor Who'' being abducted by a group of aliens that were also created by the writing pair), and a series of stories by Lawrence Miles about his history-spanning terrorist organisation Faction Paradox.

In 2002, BBV announced that they would not produce any more audio CDs, but would instead concentrate on their new DVD releases.

In 2022 BBV announced physical collections of their audios would be produced.

Productions

Video

*'' The Stranger''
**''Summoned by Shadows'' by Christian Darkin
**''More Than A Messiah'' by Nigel Fairs
**''In Memory Alone'' by Nicholas Briggs
**''The Terror Game'' by Nicholas Briggs
**''Breach of the Peace'' by Nicholas Briggs
**''Eye of the Beholder'' by Nicholas Briggs
*The Auton trilogy
**''Auton'' by Nicholas Briggs
**'' Auton 2: Sentinel'' by Nicholas Briggs
**'' Auton 3: Awakening'' by Arthur Wallis (Nicholas Briggs) and Paul Ebbs
*Faction Paradox
**''P.R.O.B.E. Case Files'': "Daylight Savings" by James Hornby
**''Overture to Sabbath and the King'' by Aristide Twain (YouTube release)
*Erimem
**''My mate, Erimem'' by Iain McLaughlin (YouTube release)
* '' The Brigadier Adventures''
**''P.R.O.B.E. Case Files'': "Legend" by James Hornby
*Standalone
**''The Airzone Solution'' by Nicholas Briggs
**''Cyberon'' by Lance Parkin
**''Do You Have A Licence To Save This Planet?'' by Paul Ebbs and Gareth Preston
**'' Zygon: When Being You Just Isn't Enough'' by Jonathan Blum & Lance Parkin
**''Sunrise: Love Again'' by William Baggs & Kristina Wilde
*Documentary
**''Stranger Than Fiction''
**''Stranger Than Fiction 2: From Script To Screen''
**''The Doctors: 30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond''
**''Bidding Adieu''
*''P.R.O.B.E.''
**'' The Zero Imperative'' by Mark Gatiss
**'' The Devil of Winterborne'' by Mark Gatiss
**'' Unnatural Selection'' by Mark Gatiss
**'' Ghosts of Winterborne'' by Mark Gatiss
**'' When to Die'' by Bill Baggs
**'' P.R.O.B.E. Case Files''
***Volume 1
****"First Entry" by James Hornby
****"Kelpie" by James Hornby
****"Peckham Poltergeist" by James Hornby
****"Manchester" by James Hornby
****"Shadow People" by James Hornby
****"Stacey Facade" by James Hornby
****"Varunastra" by James Hornby
****"Doctor X" by James Hornby
****"Goo!" by Bill Baggs
****"Sherwood Sorceress" by James Hornby
***Volume 2
****"A Message From Sir Andrew"
****"Daylight Savings" by James Hornby
****"Ichor" by Bill Baggs
****"Out of the Shadows of Doubt" by James Hornby, Hunter O'Connell, James Wylder & Lucy Wood-Ives, from an initial concept by Aristide Twain
****"Fog" By Bill Baggs
****"Lauren Anderson" by James Hornby and Bill Baggs
****"Living Fiction" by Warren Lewis
****"The Only Cure" by James Hornby
****"Ex-President" by James Hornby
****"Legend" by James Hornby
***Volume 3
****"Maxie Masters" by Bill Baggs
****"O'Kane" by Bill Baggs
****"Mist Mystery" by Bill Baggs
****"Stranger" by Bill Baggs

Audio

Licensed ''Doctor Who'' spin-offs

* K-9 and his Mistress
**''The Choice'' by Nigel Fairs
**''The Search'' by Mark Duncan
*Zygons
**''Homeland'' by Paul Dearing
**''Absolution'' by Paul Ebbs
**''The Barnacled Baby'' by Anthony Keetch
* Krynoids
**''The Root of All Evil'' by Lance Parkin
**''The Green Man'' by Zoltán Déry
*Sontarans
**''Silent Warrior'' by Peter Grehan
**''Old Soldiers'' by Simon J Gerard and Colin Hill
**''Conduct Unbecoming'' by Gareth Preston
* Rutans
**''In 2 Minds'' by Iain Hepburn
* The "I"
**''I Scream'' by Lance Parkin
* Guy de Carnac
**''The Quality of Mercy'' by Dave McIntee
*The Rani
**''The Rani Reaps The Whirlwind'' by Pip & Jane Baker
*The Wirrn
**''Race Memory'' by Paul Ebbs
*Faction Paradox
**''The Eleven Day Empire'' by Lawrence Miles
**''The Shadow Play'' by Lawrence Miles
**''Sabbath Dei'' by Lawrence Miles
**''The Year of the Cat'' by Lawrence Miles
**''Movers'' by Lawrence Miles
**''A Labyrinth of Histories'' by Lawrence Miles
**''Eternal Escape'' by James Hornby
**''Dionus's War''
***''Call Me Ishmael'' by J.T. Mulholland
***''The Healer's Sin'' by J.T. Mulholland
***''Me & My Ghost'' by Bill Baggs
**''Sabbath and the King'' by Aristide Twain
**''The Confession of Brother Signet'' by Michael Gilroy-Sinclair
**''Hellscape''
***''Lucifer'' by Trevor Spencer
***''Lucifer's Sleep'' by Trevor Spencer
***''Babylon's Own Personal Hell'' by Trevor Spencer
***''Brother's Keeper'' by Trevor Spencer
***''Unwanted Guest'' by Trevor Spencer
***''Lilith Fades'' by Trevor Spencer
*P.R.O.B.E.
**''The Door We Forgot'' by James Hornby and James Wylder
**''9 to 5'' by James Hornby
**''A Worthy Successor'' by James Hornby and James Wylder
**''She Came From Another World!'' by James Wylder
**''What Happened in Manchester'' by James Hornby
**''Broken Bonds'' by James Hornby
**''Silver-Tongued Liars'' by James Wylder
**''New Companions''
***''Maxie'' by Bill Baggs
***''Sam Myers'' by Trevor Spencer
**''Giles: The Beginning'' by Bill Baggs
**''First Case'' by Bill Baggs
**''Bold'' by Bill Baggs
* '' The Brigadier Adventures''
**''Memories of Tomorrow'' by John Peel
**''New Pastures'' by James Hornby
**''The Fall of Shield Sentai'' by Charles EP Murphy
**''The Man Inside'' by Bill Baggs
**''Necessary Force'' by Steve Lyons
**''Translation'' by John Peel
*Erimem
**''The Beast of Stalingrad'' by Iain McLaughlin
**''Prime Imperative'' by Iain McLaughlin
**''Churchill's Castle'' by Iain McLaughlin
* The Makers
**"Maker's Wish: After Dark"
***"Slalvok" by Trevor Spencer & Bill Baggs
**"Maker's Wish""
***"Ticket To Ride" by Trevor Spencer

Unofficial/Apocryphal ''Doctor Who'' spin-offs

*The Dominie and Alice ("The Professor" and "Ace" until ''Guests for the Night'')
**''Republica'' by Mark Gatiss
**''Island of Lost Souls'' by Mark Gatiss
**''Prosperity Island'' by Tim Saward
**''The Left Hand of Darkness'' by Mark Duncan
**''The Other Side'' by Mark Duncan
**''Guests for the Night'' by Nigel Fairs
**''Ghosts'' by Nigel Fairs
**''Only Human'' by Mark J. Thompson
**''Blood Sports'' by Nigel Fairs
**''Punchline'' by Jeremy Leadbetter ( Robert Shearman)
*Fred
**''Cyber-Hunt'' by Martin Peterson
**''Vital Signs'' by Tim Saward
*Cyberons
**''Cyber-Hunt'' by Martin Peterson
**''Cybergeddon'' by Paul Ebbs
**''Cyberon'' by James Hornby (unabridged audiobook of the novelisation of the film)
**''Silver-Tongued Liars'' by James Wylder
**''Curse of the Cyberons'' by Chris McAuley
**''The Weapon and the Warrior'' by John Peel
* The Stranger
**''The Last Mission'' by Nicholas Briggs
**''Eye of the Storm'' by Arthur Wallis (Nicholas Briggs)
*Stand-Alone
**''Infidel's Comet'' by Colin Hill and Simon J Gerard
**''The Pattern'' by Mark Duncan
**''A Whisper in the Darkness'' by Chris McAuley and Dacre Stoker
**''The Forbidden Act'' by Chris McAuley

Books

Novelisations

*''Republica'' by Micah K. Spurling
*''Cyber-Hunt'' by Callum Phillpott
*''Cybergeddon'' by Lupan Evezan
*''The Rani Reaps the Whirlwind'' by Micah K. Spurling
*''The Airzone Solution'' by Charles EP Murphy
*''Auton'' by David Black
*''The Root of All Evil'' by Paul Mount
*''The Choice'' by James Mulholland

Scripts

*Faction Paradox
**''Faction Paradox Protocols: The Scripts Vol. 1'' by Lawrence Miles
**''Faction Paradox Protocols: The Scripts Vol. 2'' by Lawrence Miles
**''Faction Paradox Protocols: The Scripts Vol. 3'' by Lawrence Miles
*Erimem
**''Erimem: The Beast of Stalingrad - The Script'' by Iain McLaughlin

Comics

*Cyberon
**''Before The Storm'' by Leopold Agnew

See also

* Big Finish Productions
* Reeltime Pictures

References

External links

Bill & Ben Video (BBV)
at IMDb

BBV website

The TARDIS Library
— Full guide to Doctor Who books, videos and audios. Includes an expanded listing of BBV's ''Doctor Who'' releases, with cover images & user ratings/reviews.

''Downtime - The Lost Years of Doctor Who''
Dylan Rees, (Obverse Books, 2017)

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