Starting Big Finish

Spare Parts and the first Dalek Empire aside, I've never really bothered with any of the audio dramas and never properly sat down and listened to them. But recently, I've thought of trying to get into them and was wondering which of the older dramas you'd recommend?
(Mainly older, just because if the Dick Briggs parody is based off something that's even in the slightest true, I think I'd steer clear....)

There's quite a lot of good starting points for Big Finish for me, so it's hard to narrow it down properly.

In terms of 6th Doctor material, I'd say that The Marian Conspiracy is maybe the best starting point. It's a nice pure historical (yeah Big Finish loves to do pure historicals) that introduces the companion Evelyn Smithe: a mid-50s year old lecturer that almost has the same crabby personality as the 6th Doctor and from that point, 6 and Evelyn become one of my favourite Tardis Teams in the franchise. From that point, carry on with the 6 and Evelyn stories, they are brilliant from start to finish.

In terms of 5th Doctor material, I haven't heard much, if any at all of his earlier stuff. But from what I've heard, the material with 5, Peri and the new companion Erimem (an Ancient Egyptian companion) is really strong. It's also the run where it delves the most into pure historicals, so if you're a fan of those kind of stories, then definitely check them out.

As for 8th Doctor material, yeah you've got to start with his first story, Storm Warning. The story, while a bit basic in concept, is a nice Base-Under-Seige  murder mystery story in a 1930's Airship. Paul McGann's Doctor is far more comfortable in the role than in the TV Movie, with him being verbose and energetic in the story (only to develop more as stories go on), and Charley is just a delightful Edwardian companion. Definitely carry on with the 8th Doctor material, it takes a bit to get going, but after Minuet in Hell, the 8th Doctor material is my favourite.

The eras of big finish I got most into were the 5/Peri/Erimem audios, the first ten or so 8th Doctor stories (before they went to the parallel universe - the parallel universe ones were ok, but I thought the 8th Doctor stories after that when they went to the shorter format really weren't as good), and the lost season 23 with the 6th Doctor. There are other good stories, but those three eras were where I thought there was a long sequence of good stories in a row. I haven't listened to any since 2011, so I really can't comment on any of their newer stuff.

Most of the early ones are good to very good. Still the occasional clanger, but here's my recommendations:

5th Doctor:

Phantasmagoria, The Mutant Phase, Loups-Garoux, Eye of the Scorpion, The Church and the Crown

6th Doctor:

The Marian Conspiracy, The Spectre of Lanyon Moor, The Apocalypse Element, The Holy Terror, Bloodtide, Jubilee, Davros, (pretty much most of the 6th Doctor audios are great up to The Pirates)

7th Doctor:

The Fearmonger, The Shadow of the Scourge, Dust Breeding, Colditz, The Rapture, Master


The absolute best of these are Jubilee, Davros, and Master, in my opinion, and the 6th Doctor in particular really shines in these early audio stories.
If you're into McGann, I'd recommend the excellent Chimes of Midnight, Neverland, Scherzo, and The Natural History of Fear.
Worth noting that 4 of the best BF audios have been written by Robert Shearman. (Holy Terror, Jubilee, Chimes of Midnight and Scherzo)

I concur with the suggestions above. I would also add Night Thoughts and Live 34 for McCoy, and the McGann version of Shada. There's also the Lost Stories range, which is exactly what it sounds like, featuring planned stories from the aborted Season 23 and Season 27.

In terms of the crap I was satirising as Dick Briggs, Big Finish didn't really start to shit the bed until they acquired the NuWho license in mid-2015. Even now, there are still good stories being released, it's just that you have to be much more careful and selective these days. Still, if you're just getting started, most of the best stuff can be found within the early £2.99 range.

Indrid Mercury wrote:Spare Parts and the first Dalek Empire aside, I've never really bothered with any of the audio dramas and never properly sat down and listened to them.

I'd definitely recommend the second Dalek Empire series. That was a nice conclusion.

You can probably just stop there.

I'd probably skip the third. It starts good but pretty much goes nowhere in the end.

The fourth is a definite steer clear one. It's probably the worst thing Briggs has ever written.

Thanks for all the recommendations guys. As soon as things calm down, I'll give these a whirl.