A semi-regular series released on the titular date, The Eighth of March audio drama box sets from Big Finish celebrate International Women’s Day with anthologies of adventures led by female characters from the Whoniverse.

This first set was released in 2019 and features four stories, with some unusual pairings of characters alongside more familiar groups.

The first story, Emancipation (written by Lisa McMullin), sees Leela dispatched by Gallifrey to investigate the appearance of a Time Lord at a Galactic Heritage Convention, only to become embroiled in a kidnapping plot alongside River Song.

Lizzie Hopley’s The Big Blue Book sees Ace and Benny (aka Bernice Summerfield) trying to get to the bottom of some mysterious events at a University.

Inside Every Warrior, by Gemma Langford, marked the Big Finish debut of The Paternoster Gang; my personal favourite characters in the wider Whoniverse, here they investigate what appears to be a lycanthrope, loose on the streets of London.

Finally, we have Sarah Grochala’s Narcissus, which sees UNIT’s Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and the two Osgoods (one is secretly a Zygon, for reasons best explained in the Doctor Who show itself) taking on a vain, shallow enemy who may be far more sinister than even their actions make them seem.

One thing I really liked about the Eighth of March is that it does such a fantastic job of delivering a superb set of one-off stories, each of which feels incredibly different; it’s a perfect showcase for the different series and ranges that Big Finish offer.

Each character gets a real chance to shine in their respective stories too; there’s also the sense that each of the adventures could easily slot into a different series and not feel out of place: The Diary of River Song, a Benny or Seventh Doctor story, The Paternoster Gang and the UNIT sets, for example.

They’re also perfect to give you a taste for each of those respective series if you want to explore them further.

There’s not a bad story here and it’s easy enough, given that there’s no connecting plot threads or elements other than them being female led stories, to just dive into them in whatever order you want.

It’s a brilliant showcase for not just how strong the Big Finish ranges are overall, but for the number and strength of their female led stories too.

Who needs the Doctor, when you’ve got so many fantastic characters, able to have their own compelling, exciting adventures without him?

Happy International Women’s Day!

You can buy The Eighth of March 1 directly from Big Finish here.