At Big Finish Productions, we’re guilty of using a lot of jargon. To a new listener, reading our website may seem like being a young recruit at UNIT, introduced to the scientific advisor just as the latest crisis is erupting. While we can’t explain what a neutron flow is or how to reverse its polarity, we can provide clarity on some of our commonly used terms, in-jokes, and other assorted technobabble... 

Audiobooks and Audio Drama 

The majority of our productions are audio dramas, which means a full cast of actors read scripted dialogue, with sound effects and music then added. Think of it like a movie or TV show, but without the visuals. 

We also produce audiobooks. These are prose stories read by a single narrator – imagine someone reading a book to you, and you’re not far off. Our audiobooks often include sound effects and music too, for that immersive experience. 

Box Sets

Many of our audio drama and audiobook productions are released as box sets. This can mean multiple CDs in a physical box, but that’s not always the case – we also offer digital download-to-own versions of the box sets.  

Basically then, a box set means that there are multiple episodes within one package. The CD box sets usually come with one hour-long episode per CD, and the digital files are arranged similarly in a zip folder. 

Ranges 

When we talk about one of our ranges, we mean an ongoing series of audio releases, such as Doctor Who – The Second Doctor Adventures, Sherlock Holmes, or Big Finish Originals. Each one has its own page on the Big Finish website, from which you can explore all of its releases. Click on ‘Audiobooks’ on the top menu bar to see the full list of ranges.  

Monthly Ranges 

You’ll often hear Big Finish listeners talk about the Doctor Who ‘monthly range’. This was our flagship series of full-cast audio adventures featuring the Fifth to Eighth Doctors, which ran from 1999 to 2021, with one two-hour story (or sometimes two one-hour stories) per release. It ended after its 275th instalment, when our schedule was revamped to give each Doctor their own ‘Adventures’ range (more on which below). 

The other monthly range you’ll likely have seen reference to is Torchwood, though we’ve stopped using that term to describe it, as it’s not monthly anymore. Covering the Torchwood Institute across its many eras, this began in 2015 and, apart from a couple of hiatuses, ran monthly until March 2025, when releases became bimonthly (that’s every two months, not twice a month – you’re not the only one who’s never sure about that). The Torchwood (bi-)monthly range ends in May 2026 with Fare Well.  

Doctor Adventures and Chronicles 

Within our Doctor Who output, each incarnation of the iconic Time Lord from the First Doctor to the Thirteenth has their own ‘Adventures’ range. That’s the place to go to find full-cast audio dramas featuring your favourite Doctor and their companions. 

We previously had separate ranges called ‘Chronicles’, which featured New Series Doctors with new voice actors giving their own spin on the character, rather than the original TV actors. Now, we have standardised the naming so that each Doctor has an Adventures range, regardless of whether it’s the original actor voicing them or not. 

Unbound 

While most of our Doctor Who audio dramas fit into the main continuity of the Whoniverse, others are labelled Unbound. This range deviates from canon to explore other ways the Doctor’s life might have developed. 

Think of it as a ‘What If?’ series. What if the Sixth Doctor had fought in the Time War? What if the Doctor and Susan had never left Gallifrey? The possibilities in this range are more endless than ever! 

CDs and Downloads 

Big Finish releases are often available in two formats – collector’s edition physical CDs and digital downloads to own. Most CD purchases come with a complimentary digital version, meaning that once you buy a title from us, you’ll have instant access to the associated download files in your account. 

While all of our releases are available as downloads, not all are available as CDs – as digital downloads have become increasingly popular, some of our recent and upcoming titles are download-only. And, with CDs, all releases are limited pressings, so order yours before stocks run out. 

Download to Own 

Our titles are available as digital downloads to own, which means that you can download the audio files in mp3 or m4b format, then transfer them between all your devices and listen to them whenever you like, without an internet connection. 

This is different to streaming services, where the media remains hosted online, meaning you don’t own the file and must have a consistent internet connection while you listen. For more on the benefits of download to own, see our blog post Why Audio Downloads Beat Streaming. 

Bundles 

Sometimes we will give you the option to purchase multiple titles within a range together as a multibuy bundle, at a specially discounted price. For example, fans of the Fourth Doctor can purchase all three of 2026’s Fourth Doctor Adventures releases together, or as part of a 15-release bundle featuring all of the year’s Classic Doctor Who box sets. 

These are available as download bundles or, when all titles in the bundle are available on CD and still in stock, as CD bundles (which also include the downloads). With CD bundles, each CD release will be shipped separately once it becomes available. 

Pre-orders 

When we announce a title, it becomes available for pre-order. With anything you have pre-ordered, the digital files will become available for you to download on the day of release. 

During the pre-order period, titles are exclusively available from the Big Finish website, and at a discounted price. One or two months after release, they become available from other retailers, and the price increases to the general release price. 

Sales 

The Big Finish website has frequent sales, sometimes tying into an occasion such as an actor’s birthday or the anniversary of a classic Doctor Who story, and sometimes because we need to clear space in our warehouse. 

These are often the cheapest way to get your hands on some of our titles, and a good opportunity to try out a range new to you. To find out what’s on offer, keep an eye on Big Finish’s social media or subscribe to our newsletter. 

The Big Finish Car Park 

Audio production is a glamourous world. When we record an audio drama, we like to get photographs of the cast, but sometimes find ourselves stuck for an appropriate space in the recording studios, so take them to the car park. 

Over the years, the Big Finish car park has been frequented by Time Lords, Daleks, and everyone in between, and the photo taken there has become something of a tradition. And as well as a photography studio, it doubles as a handy space to park our cars in. 

Subscribers Get More 

Back when the Doctor Who monthly range was running, we offered subscriptions, allowing users to save money by purchasing a number of consecutive releases together. Subscribers were also given access to bonus content, including extra behind-the-scenes materials and subscriber-exclusive Short Trips, hence the slogan “subscribers get more”. 

Subscriptions are no longer available, but listeners can still save money by purchasing our titles in multibuy bundles. And, we’re looking into ways to make selected subscriber-only content (such as those Short Trips) available via alternative means in future.   

Big Finish Lunches 

A well-fed team is a productive team, we’ve always believed, and so we like to provide a good catering service at our recording sessions. 

Many actors have talked about how impressive they found the lunch buffet at a recording, and so the Big Finish lunches have become an in-joke. There’s an art to filling a cast up satisfactorily while not sending them into a food coma. 

Sam Kisgart 

When an alternative universe version of the Master appeared in the Unbound series, he was voiced by an actor named Sam Kisgart, whose only credit outside of Big Finish audio dramas is a 2009 episode of BBC TV comedy Psychoville. 

But rearrange the letters and you’ll find that Sam Kisgart is in fact an anagram of Mark Gatiss, the regular Doctor Who writer and actor who played the role under a pseudonym. Other actors have occasionally been credited in Big Finish releases using pseudonyms – but we don’t want to spoil all the secrets! 

The Big Finish Insider 

Who is the mysterious ‘Big Finish Insider’? That’s the name used on our Twitter/X account, and they’re a knowledgeable fan who works for Big Finish, also often referred to as ‘the intern’. 

But is there actually an ‘insider’? We don’t want to ruin the mystique, but we will say that we're not in the habit of hiring unpaid interns, especially not for as long as this in-joke's been going on! 

Big Finish Day 

Big Finish Day is our regular convention, which provides opportunities to meet, greet and quiz the people behind Doctor Who and other ranges, as well as interview panels, autograph opportunities, and a photo studio. 

It’s always an enjoyable day out and a chance for our community of listeners to get together. Keep an eye on the Big Finish website for details of future Big Finish Day events. 

For the Love of Stories 

“For the love of stories” is Big Finish’s slogan, which you’ll have heard if you’ve ever listened to one of our productions, as part of the opening ident. 

The slogan used to be “we love stories”, but we changed this in 2022 to what we feel is a more inclusive message – the stories aren’t just for us to love, they’re for the listeners too. It reflects our ethos of imaginative audio drama, made with care.