Doctor Who: Empty Vessels

by Matt Fitton, Roy Gill, Paul McGann (Narrator )

The TARDIS will always respond to a cry for help - although its timing can be a little off! The Doctor, Liv and Helen have the skills to save anyone in danger - if they can find them. Empty vessels make the loudest sound - but sometimes that sound is a scream of terror...

by Matt Fitton - The Doctor, Helen and Liv find themselves on an abandoned spacecraft, hurtling towards an inhabited world. The crew have vanished - but the TARDIS travellers are not alone on this empty vessel. Have they really discovered a ghost ship?

Lure of the Zygons Parts 1-2 by Roy Gill - A distress call draws the Doctor, Liv and Helen to a remote world and a crashed ship, where Captain Elhan is searching for her lost sibling. As the storms close in, the two crews must investigate the wreck together. In the darkness, the Zygons are waiting...

Genres: Doctor Who, Audiobook, Science Fiction

Audio CD

First published December 9, 2025

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

And so my 8th Doctor Big Finish continues with this latest boxset, as I write this on the 17th of December 2025.
For me a new set of companions by the name of Liv & Helen, still trying to figure out who is whom.

EOS FALLING- is the first tale with the Doctor caught on a ship falling down to a planet. which has a colony about to be crushed. Liv and Helen play their part with the Doctor already figuring out the final twist of the story. which leaves you with a tad of bewilderment at the end of the story, which is how I like my DW tales.

LURE OF THE ZYGON- In essence a two-parterre in which Liv, Helen & the Doctor find themselves on a zygon vessel which is not unlike its masters. Having found a Earth Interstellar spaceship the Zygon crew thinks to copy it which is easier said than done. Overal a nice two-parter which brings a bit more insight intoo the Zygons.

Overall a nice boxset with some new stories concerning the Doctor at wirk

[Drew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Congratulations on another aggressively dull episode made worse by pandering to the gender-confused. There's nothing brave or edgy about doing exactly what every other form of modern entertainment is doing.

I'll add this:
The first episode: "Hey, we got this distress call from a crashing ship! Let's check it out!"
Second episode: "Hey, we got this distress call from a crashed ship! Let's check it out.

Maybe don't put two episodes with such similar plots in the same box set. And the pronoun lectures are exhausting. All the action is brought to a halt as we listen to a PSA about pronouns. Might as well throw in a record-scratch sound effect to signal it. And given the ending, it sounds like the next episode will be a followup with the "non-binary" woman's quest to find her ship. Ugh. Please, my ears can't take anymore of "they" being used as a singular pronoun.

The Eighth Doctor Adventures took a nosedive with "Stranded" and has not recovered.

[Daniel Cork · Rating 4 out of 5]

So here we are again with the 8th Doctor, Live and Helen. It's safe to say I've really enjoyed their travels together, but I'll admit, they kind of need a break, which is why I definitely think they're building up to the current TARDIS crew's eventual departure, there's definitely an arc running throughout these stories, but we don't yet know what it's all building up to.

Eos Falling:
The Tardis has answered a distress call from a planet below a crashing spaceship. If they cannot prevent a terrible disaster, an entire colony will perish. Onboard, however, the ship is empty, but Helen seems to believe there are ghosts on board desperate for their attention.

Matt Fitton has written an atmospheric and spooky listen that, despite its subtle eeriness, actually has a lot of heart behind it. This story isn't especially new or special, but it's a good way to spend an hour listening to something spooky. 8/10

Lure of the Zygons:
A ship has crash-landed and The Doctor, Liv and Helen bump into the sister of the ship's pilot. What made the shape crash-land? Are the occupants onboard still alive? Something's hiding in the shadow's something with a devious plan for survival.

Roy Gill has written a terrific 2-parter, the first part is an atmospheric and intriguing mystery episode, whereas the second episode is an episode of our characters trying to survive to the best of their abilities. I really enjoyed this story, but the first half was definitely the standout to me, more unnerving than the previous story in my opinion. The first part's a 10/10, but the second half's an 8/10 at least, so a 9 works out, I think.

Overall: 17/20

[Sara Habein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the Zygon story more than I enjoy most Zygon stories. I mean, they're fine as a villain, but I'm never all that excited about them.

[Layne S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

That Zygon story was wayyyyy too long, just saying.

[Barry Bridges · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the first story but the Zygons were hard to understand in the second.

[R.H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well i have given this a relisten and am going to jump it up from my initial 2 stars to a 3 star.
My original gripes still remain about Liv.I always wanted more Helen and less Liv and whatever arc they have for Helen can ,if my reasoning is correct, occur after Liv returns to Tania.But who knows as no way am going to go through Stranded 4 😃.
First story definitely has great atmosphere .

But since its release and initial listens it’s been shelved and just remains another empty vessel of a dying if not dead franchise.