The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield Vol. 3 – The Unbound Universe

The wrong Doctor, the wrong universe, a whole heap of trouble – Bernice Summerfield is having a really bad day.

3.1 The Library In The Body by James Goss

In a dying reality knowledge is the only thing left of value – and the Kareem have come to destroy it. Can Bernice, the Doctor save the last library?

3.2 Planet X by Guy Adams

Bernice and the Doctor land on a planet so dull no-one ever bothered naming it. Finally something interesting is about to happen here.

3.3 The Very Dark Thing
by Una McCormack

Tramatz is an idyllic world – the rivers hum to themselves, unicorns prance through the emerald forests, and, at the very corner of your eye, is a horrible secret.

3.4 The Emporium At The End by Emma Reeves

The Last Song has been sung, and the final day of the universe have begun. Everyone flees to the gateway – to find that The Emporium At The End is having a closing down sale.

27 – Adorable Illusion

Dear Peter

Hope this finds you. Goodness only knows how. But these things have a way of working out. Sometimes.

Look, I’m on this huuuuge dreadnought ship with Jack, lost in space. And it’s got a hole in the middle. I mean, who builds a ship with a hole in it? Well, presumably someone did.

Not that I’m surprised – the Robot pilot’s a drunk, the doctor’s a vet and the cook is a Madras (literally – the guy making our dinner is a living curry) and the priest is a born-again atheist. I ask you – how do I get into these situations? No, no don’t answer that.

Anyway, the hole in the ship is getting larger, I have to get the passengers (ie prisoners) from one end to the other, and it’s about to crash into a living sun (don’t ask).

People are disappearing into the hole, and then coming back. But different. Not quite so nice (and they were no bundles of fun to start with).

Oh yes, and then there’s the monsters. They were locked up. Then they weren’t. Which Jack says is my fault. Which may be true. And they want to eat us.

Quite why they call this ship The Adorable is, frankly, beyond me.

Anyway, assuming I survive monsters, holes, criminals and a walking curry, hope to see you soon.

Much love

Mum.

aka Professor Bernice Summerfield

aka Prisoner 442

Damn. Forgot to mention the “I’m here ‘cos I murdered someone” bit…

26 – Filthy Lucre

Money makes the world go round, as can a few too many strong drinks. But when Benny, in a fit of sobriety, agrees to do a pre-Advent favour for Irving Braxiatel, little does she suspect that a bit of corporate schmoozing with a fast food magnate is going to lead her into the biggest spin she’s experienced for a very long time.

In a whistle-stop tour of frontier planets, she encounters mysterious burials, guns and swords, legs and claws, lost treasure, mortal combat, conspiracy, stomach-churning posh nosh and a little man called Perkin.

Oh, and love and war, again.

Meanwhile, Jack has to tackle possibly the most irritating computer virus ever created, and Ruth must clamber through the bowels of a crashed ship with ‘The Man With The Vulpine Tattoo’.

And this was supposed to be the holiday season?

25 – The Slender-Fingered Cats of Bubastis

It wasn’t true that you could see the Cats from space. It was impossible, a ridiculous idea that wouldn’t stand up to even the slightest examination.

And yet there were people on Bubastis who believed it…

Most archaeologists – including Professor Bernice Summerfield – know only two facts about Bubastis: one is that its cheerless swamps are home to five giant stone Cats, whose ancient origins are shrouded in mystery; the other that it has more bugs and beetles than anyone should ever have to deal with.

So when Bernice, Ruth and Jack arrive on the planet to search for a missing girl, they are unprepared for what they will find. Like the insectoid villagers with a decidedly squeamish attitude to mammals. Or the archaeological expedition made up of over-sexed students. Or the alarmingly unprofessional Neon Tsara…

To make matters worse, Jack suddenly finds himself on the wrong side of the law and Ruth has brain-ache from ingesting forbidden historical knowledge. Worse still, Bernice has promised to write a book of poetry that’s due to be published in a week… and she can’t think of anything to rhyme with ‘Bubastis.’

24 – The Weather on Versimmon

Inveigled into a survey of botanical art on Versimmon, Bernice is disappointed to get bogged down in an unseasonal cold spell – and to discover that Ruth has some radical ideas about how the living archive should be managed.

Why is a hailstorm bringing back memories of a war two generations gone? Where are Versimmon’s first animals appearing from? And who can Bernice trust on a planet full of budding artists?

As the forest world is bombarded by ice and the collection’s guards start disappearing, the archaeologists find themselves getting back to their roots and branching out into local politics. All the time, the weather on Versimmon is changing, and its inhabitants will find that revolutionary times demand revolutionary works of art…

23 – Present Danger

When the entire galaxy finds itself under attack, Bernice Summerfield and her various friends and colleagues are scattered across space, doing what they can for the war effort.

22 – Secret Histories

In a broken down church on an isolated planet, Bernice discovers more than she bargained for on her latest excavation. An old crime is uncovered, and Bernice is asked to find out what she can about the culprits. The long-dead victims are surprisingly talkative but they ask for something in return… stories.

18 – The Two Jasons

Something is astir in the universe. If Benny is to save all she holds dear, she needs all the Jason Kanes she can get!

17 – Old Friends

Benny Summerfield has run through all time and space to avoid a reunion. But now she must finally uncover her own past.

16 – Collected Works

Amidst the chaos of visitors from the far future, old friends and new enemies, Bernice Summerfield must keep the doors of The Collection open.

15 – Genius Loci

Benny is 21 years old and gets her first big break as an archaeologist on the planet Jaiway where nothing has ever happened. Or has it?

14 – Something Changed

Benny is assigned to babysit a daft experiment. Doggles claims his “history machine” will change everything. And he’s right.

10 – A Life Worth Living

The war is over. The Braxiatel Collection is back to normal. Better than that, people are all making more of an effort ­ to rebuild, to get on, to re-establish the Collection at the forefront of academic excellence. Benny and Jason are back together. Life is good.

It’s not going to last, is it?

09 – The Big Hunt

Benny crashlands on a lifeless planet. Lifeless, that is, except for the robotic animals, big game hunters and ruthless corporate administrators.

07 – A Life of Surprises

Professor Bernice Summerfield, interstellar archaeologist, adventurer, romantic and drinker, has had either one very big life or a number of only slightly smaller ones. This anthology contains stories from many times and places across her long career, ranging from the starkly dramatic, through the thrilling, to the hilarious. It links Bernice to her roots, as well as sending her forward into new adventures. And it celebrates a decade of Bernice in print. Cheers!

06 – The Glass Prison

Don’t ever annoy the Fifth Axis. They might throw you into the Glass Prison on Deirbhile and then throw away the key.

Once you’re inside, there’s nowhere to hide. They can see your every movement. They control you. You’re going to be watched for the rest of your life, wherever you go, whoever you are. Even if you’re a professor of archaeology. Even if you’re a friend of the famous Irving Braxiatel, and you’ve written several popular coffee-table books.

Even if you’re pregnant. Even if your baby’s due any day now.

05 – The Infernal Nexus

Acting on an abstruse tip-off from the renowned paraphysiologist Dr. Rupert Gilhooly (a man who, like, knows a lot of stuff) one Bernice Summerfield has found herself on a probe-ship heading deep into the Problematic Heart of the galaxy — not knowing what, or quite who, she might find.

04 – The Squire’s Crystal

Legend tells of an evil sorceress who used the power of magical crystals to transfer her mind into the bodies of others. Her reign of terror was long and bloody, and her final defeat the cause of great rejoicing. But that’s just a legend. A story told to children. Isn’t it? I mean, it’s ridiculous. It couldn’t have really happened — could it?

01 – The Dead Men Diaries

The ideal introduction to the life of Bernice Summerfield: getting sacrificed to orange pygmies, saving the universe and trying to buy a new frock.

The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield Vol. 2 – The Triumph of Sutekh

1 – The Pyramid of Sutekh – Professor Bernice Summerfield, archaeologist and adventurer, has discovered a Pyramid on Mars. Inside she finds her old friend the Doctor is fighting a battle with the Osiran God Sutekh. One he is losing.

2 – The Vaults of Osiris – Egypt in 2015 is an unsettled place. The trade in stolen antiquities is a murky one, and it’s about to get a whole lot worse, as an ancient and terrible force enters the market.

3 – The Eye of Horus – Ancient Egypt is enjoying a golden age – peace, prosperity and a powerful Pharaoh. But something is moving through the sands. A forgotten god requests an invite to the feast.

4 – The Tears of Isis – Russell Courtland prophesied the world would end on Tuesday. No-one was more surprised than he was when it did.

The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield Vol. 1

1 – The Revolution – On the planet of Arviem 2, Bernice Summerfield has a lot of problems. Pursued by robots, maniacs and miracles, she has another issue to contend with. The Doctor’s come looking for her – and he’s not feeling himself.

2 – Good Night, Sweet Ladies – Bernice has come to the Moon of Adolin on a desperate mission. Instead, she finds an abandoned labyrinth, two confused survivors, and something ancient that needs her help.

3 – Random Ghosts – Welcome to the Forbidden World. This world has a secret. The problem is that no-one can remember what it is. Time is broken here. Those trapped here must live the same day over and over – forming alliances, lying to each other, trying to escape. Welcome to the Forbidden World.

4 – The Lights of Skaro – Bernice Summerfield is on Skaro, and she’s very much on her own. The Doctor can’t get to her, not this time. All Benny can do is stay alive for as long as possible. And, in a city full of Daleks, that’s not going to be very long.

Boxset 05 – Missing Persons

1 – Big Dig – Bernice has been invited to appear on a very special live edition of the archaeology series Big Dig: a programme she grew up with as a girl… which now makes her feel very old. Not as old, however, as the mysterious stone robot she unwittingly uncovers during an excavation on the planet Saravas.

With no other trace of civilisation, this could be the only clue to the Truth of the planet’s inhabitants. But when Ruth and Jack start acting strangely, Bernice realises there was a reason things were hidden… and secrets aren’t the only things to be buried.

Welcome to the biggest Big Dig ever!

2 – The Revenant’s Carnival – Bernice Summerfield has never been to Moros Prime before – and it’s unlikely she’ll be rushing back. Moros is a world of diplomacy and warfare, ruled over by a variety of creeps, dandies and outright weirdoes, where cybernetic implants are the latest fashion accessory and the native humans are ethically harvested for their organs.

Peter Summerfield, however, has a job to do: heading the security team at the country estate of Willem van der Heever, the effective ruler of Moros Prime. Because Van der Heever is throwing a masquerade ball – which means fancy dress, fluorescent peacocks and an almost certain attempt on his life.

Van der Heever is not without his enemies… But as Bernice and Peter uncover more about his past, whose side will they end up taking?

3 – The Brimstone Kid“Welcome to the White Rabbit. What’ll it be?”
“You can start by locking and bolting the doors. Then everyone in here can keep real calm…”

Bernice and Irving were expecting another quiet night at the White Rabbit saloon – their only customers a veteran prospector named Toothless Bob and timid schoolteacher Miss Hannigan. But the evening takes a sinister turn with the arrival of the Brimstone Kid, a wanted outlaw, and the terrifying bounty hunter Cazador hot on his trail…

Soon, Bernice and Irving find themselves caught up in an adventure involving giant, flightless crows, buried treasure and the galaxy’s most ruthless detective agency.

4 – The Winning Side – Bernice is lost in the ruins of an alien world. Long ago, something arrived there. Something arrived and found an idyllic civilisation: a city of wonders full of artists and scientists and poets… Something came to this world and destroyed it.

Wandering the ruins, Bernice tries to solve the mystery. What came to this planet? What wiped out its people? Was it a plague? An alien invasion?

Bernice Summerfield explores all that remains of paradise. And she discovers the name of the creature that came and wiped it out…

‘Bernice Summerfield’

5 – In Living Memory – Bernice Summerfield is alone…

Having been captured – albeit technically rescued – by an old enemy, she finally learns the truth her friends and their disappearances… and realises that she is a cog in a far greater machine.

Whatever happens, this is now the end for Bernice Summerfield… and she’s determined to go down fighting.

But how long can she resist when the odds are stacked against her? And is there really such a thing as a happy ending…?

Boxset 04 – New Frontiers

1 – A Handful of Dust – “S.O.S. Emergency. Please send… an archaeologist?”

On a routine postal mission for a deranged millionaire, Bernice, Ruth and Jack intercept a distress signal from the most haunted planet in the galaxy: Nemeqit.

Taking their newly-christened shuttle – The Irverfield – down to investigate, the trio soon find themselves confronted with a pair of childlike extra-terrestrials; Vonna Byzantium, presenter of Paranormal Planets and part-time diva… and an awful lot of dust.

But something else is going on beneath the surface of Nemeqit, something none of them ever imagined. And this time, Bernice really can’t save everyone…

2 – HMS Surprise – Mortis Dock: the last manned shipyard in the cosmos…

Population: six thousand and two…

And now, not a soul in sight… at least, until Bernice, Peter and Jack are drawn off-course.

Where have all the workers disappeared to? Why is Jack behaving oddly? And what is the secret of the HMS Surprise?

Only a stranger in a lighthouse holds the key… but can he be trusted?

3 – The Curse of Fenman – It’s Advent Day on Legion: a time that traditionally calls for celebration; a day spent with the people you love, when all the family come together, setting aside their differences… or when they bring old scores to settle.

An old foe has been biding her time, manipulating the people and events around Bernice Summerfield for as long as any of them can remember… She knows so many secrets – the secrets they’ve all been hiding – but not everybody wants to learn the truth.

Today is the day Avril Fenman comes to Legion. She comes to claim her son… and to set Bernice on her final, lonely battle. But will her friends stand by her, one last time?

Boxset 03 – Legion

1 – Vesuvius Falling – Things aren’t going great for Bernice Summerfield. Her one time comrade-cum-adversary, Irving Braxiatel, isn’t the man she knew; her long-lost teenage son, Peter, isn’t exactly pleased to see her; and she’s woken up with one hell of a hangover. But when an ancient and dormant spacecraft threatens the safety of Legion City, Bernice and Peter have to put their differences aside in order to investigate an inexplicable mystery involving time-travelling scientists, corporate espionage and simple, cold-blooded murder. Can Benny discover the true killer before a warp core breach destroys them all? Can a five thousand-year-old body solve a murder yet to happen? And will the Vesuvius fall to the planet below…?

2 – Shades of Gray – They used to say this house attracts nothing but evil… What are we all doing here, I wonder?’

Many years ago, in an old and dilapidated house, a priceless and powerful artefact was hidden: an item that has long since been forgotten… at least until Bernice, Ruth and Jack were sent to collect it. In the depths of Triptic House, Bernice and her friends find themselves at the mercy of an ancient and ruthless entity, one that has been yearning for escape, biding its time and going mad. It has lived so very long now, with so many stories to share – tales of haunted mental institutions; tormented tapestries; living nightmares – and through each of them now, its stories shall be told. They shall be told, lived, suffered, shared… and ultimately, concluded.

3 – Everybody Loves Irving – Bernice and Braxiatel have never quite seen eye-to-eye… but now he wants to make amends. He’s taking her on a leisure drive across Legion’s deadly surface to an Ikerian settlement not far from Legion City. Their mission: shopping. The Ikerians are renowned traders, dealing in everything from the finest art to cut-price battlecruisers. They’re willing to do a good deal too. After all, they know Irving Braxiatel of old… and better than this Brax knows himself. Everywhere they go and everyone they deal with, Braxiatel’s reputation precedes him. He has good friends and even better enemies… but one thing’s for certain. Everybody loves Irving.

Boxset 02 – Road Trip

1. Brand Management – Bernice Summerfield needs a job. Professor Harry Burtenshaw thinks she’s just the ticket. But with the people of Lyndyaz celebrating their most important festival, and the ruling Dominicci Corporation maintaining control with draconian glee, has Bernice turned up in the wrong place at the wrong time?

2. Bad Habits – Meet Sister Bernice – newest initiate into the order of Saint Celestion. Such is her devotion to the faith that she has undertaken a pilgrimage to the planet Agora, birthplace of the blessed Saint himself. The pilgrims aren’t alone, however. Also on the planet is a team of archaeologists searching for the lost tomb of Celestion – a subject in which Sister Bernice seems curiously interested…

3. Paradise Frost – Kaff Zarnak was once the holiday destination of choice for the rich and famous. At least, it was until the planet spun off its axis, and a deadly virus wiped out its population. Now it’s absolutely the last place anyone wants to visit: a barren, ice-encrusted wasteland, sitting amongst the stars. So when Bernice and her loud-mouthed cab driver Ray are drawn off course, it’s fair to say that they’ve both had better days.

Boxset 01 – Epoch

Since the end of series 11 the Benny range has been released in yearly boxsets. Epoch starts from the end of series 11 to continue Benny’s story.

1 – The Kraken’s Lament – “Gather round, wretched peoples of Atlantis, for Acanthus the Talesmith has a story to tell! A story of adventure, of courage, of a Winged Goddess searching for truth and sanctuary in a friendless city… Come one, come all and listen! Listen to Acanthus the Talesmith and let him amaze you with his story… the story of Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Kraken’s Lament!”

2 – The Temple of Questions – Life can be dangerous when a god’s got it in for you. Bernice and her Historian allies, Ruth and Leonidas, are trying to unearth the truth behind the mysterious world they’re living in. Poseidon, god of the seas, is apparently offering them answers – but only if they play his games. And he’s not playing fair…

3 – Private Enemy No. 1 – The Great Leader is dead… Long live the Great Leader! Atlantis is in disarray. The Historians are hiding Bernice, Leonidas and Ruth within their safe house – but the world is changing more than they could have ever imagined.People are being erased from existence, their memories wiped clean and replaced with those of others. Entire buildings are altering, times are changing… and the Hierophants are on the move.

4 – Judgement Day – Atlantis has fallen. The Epoch are in command. And terrible decisions lie in wait for Bernice Summerfield.

11.4 – Dead Man’s Switch

26 years ago, a team of scientists came to a moon to unearth the secrets of a long-dead civilisation. They were later found to have died in what the authorities called an anti-matter explosion. Alone and desperate, Bernice Summerfield will do anything to get back home. But where is home?

11.1 – Resurrecting the Past

When a group of Irving Braxiatel’s defensive mechanoids embarks on a kidnapping spree, Braxiatel denies all knowledge – but his former associates Bev Tarrant and Adrian Wall suspect something else is going on. They’ve been waiting for Braxiatel to show his hand for months and this looks like it.

Special Feature – Dead and Buried

Because series 11 returns to a massive story arc that started in series 3, Big Finish made this 10 minute animated special.

It brings together events from the past in order to set up their resolution in series 11 and also serves as an introduction to the range for newcomers by quickly telling the story so far.

Therefore, whilst not an audio per se, the tie in is too important to be left out of the audio range.

It can be seen on Youtube.

Silver Lining

Bernice is asked to investigate the remains of an ancient civilisation on Tysir IV. As she digs deeper into the mystery, she discovers that Tysir IV is not quite as dead as she’d been told.

This story was released free with Dr Who Magazine.

Special – Buried Treasures

This was originally a bonus CD for the Big Finish customers who bought all three of ‘The Time Ring Trilogy’ plays. It included two stories, Making Myths and Closure, and also an interview with Paul Cornell, the creator of Bernice Summerfield. Closure also appeared at the end of the 2 CD Story, Death and the Daleks.

Making Myths

Benny joins her old friend and bridesmaid Keri Pakhar on her radio show to investigate a myth about a planet of mud that was once a great civilisation. Huge carts under the mud, indeed. That’s ridiculous. Isn’t it?

Closure

You’re not supposed to do it. Go back in history and change a person from childhood. Not even if they will grow up to be a bloodthirsty dictator who kills millions. So why is Benny breaking the rules?

10.2 – Absence

Benny is stranded on the cluster object Absence, where if she can’t find a way to make some cash she’ll be stuck forever…

10.1 – Glory Days

Benny tries to evade death yet again, but that’s tricky when the father of your child is one of the galaxy’s most wanted criminals.

9.4 – The Diet of Worms

The Depository is a vast store of the literary remains of Earth’s cultural greats: Charles Darwin, Martin Luther, Wilkie Collins, Barbara Cartland. Benny’s heard that there’s a job going, and thinks that it might offer just the kind of stable environment that her son requires. It has friendly bars, a reliable atmosphere shield, a fantastic patisserie run by a robot called Mrs Tishpishti – and no history of alien invasion. But you know where you are with an alien invasion. Or you do, at least, if you’re Bernice Summerfield. And even she has never encountered a monster whose main objective is to tell her that she doesn’t look very good in trousers.

9.2 – The Adolescence of Time

Earth is still suffering the after-effects of the asteroid (or something) which collided with the planet many years ago: the dust cloud which blots out the sun shows no sign of settling and the dinosaurs are doomed. Above the cloud, colonies of winged reptiles – more intelligent than any we know of – are fighting to survive. A strange creature calling itself Summerfield appears in their midst: is it destined to save them?

9.1 – Beyond the Sea

A new phase in the never-dull life of Bernice Summerfield opens as she arrives on the human colony world of Maximediras, with her son Peter in tow, to begin work…

8.2 – The Judas Gift

For the Collection to survive the war between Mim and Draconia, Benny must fathom the motives of the Draconian ambassador.

7.6 – The Empire State

Benny leaves the Braxiatel Collection in turmoil to excavate the site of the lost city Empire State – lost, that is, until it impossibly reappears!

7.4 – Summer of Love

The hottest summer on record and the last summer before the war – and now everyone’s shagging like rabbits! Everyone except for Bernice…

7.1 – The Tartarus Gate

Why is Benny missing on the cliff-edge of the universe? On a planet rumoured to have links to the Tartarus Gate, the mythical gateway to hell?

6.5 – The Crystal of Cantus

Can Benny find the fabled crystal, rescue Jason, destroy the Cybermen and be home in time for supper? After this, things will never be the same again.

6.3 – The Lost Museum

Prized relics are missing from the war torn Trib Museum. Benny and Jason struggle to find answers but all they can unearth are more questions.

3.4 – The Mirror Effect

Trapped and alone in an alien mirror, with her friends distorted and turned against her, Benny is haunted by fears and reflections…

1.5 – Just War

THE TIME RING TRILOGY: PART 3 – The Nazis are building the utimate weapon and it’s up to Benny to put history back on course.

1.4 – Birthright

THE TIME RING TRILOGY: PART 2 – Trapped in London 1909 Benny investigates a series of grisly East End murders.