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The Fifth,
Sixth and Seventh Doctors, together for the first
time! |
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The
Sirens of Time
(Nicholas Briggs) |
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The
first of these all-new audio plays was released in July
1999 and stars Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester
McCoy. It was recorded over two days on Saturday 6th and
Sunday 7th March 1999. Titled "The Sirens of Time" this
audio adventure marked the first time that the 5th, 6th
and 7th Doctors have appeared in a Doctor Who story
together. Also starring are: Andrew Fettes, Anthony Keetch,
Michael Wade, Sarah Mowat, Maggie Stables, Colin McIntyre,
John Wadmore, Mark Gatiss, Nicholas Briggs and Nicholas
Pegg.
This
brand new four part audio adventure was written and directed
by Nicholas Briggs and features new music and sound effects
along with the traditional sound effects from the television
series including the familiar TARDIS noises and the theme
tune, originally composed by Ron Grainer.
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Three Doctors Reunited |
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Gallifrey is in a state of crises, facing
destruction at the hands of an overwhelming enemy. A fleet of unidentified
warships, possessing incomprehensible technology, has laid siege to Gallifrey
and is ignoring all attempts at communication. At the same time a member of the
Celestial Intervention Agency arrives in the Capitol with urgent news for the
Lord President. It seems that the siege of Gallifrey has been brought about by
a drastic change to history and the Agency has detected The Doctor's artron
signature within the time distortion.
While events
on Gallifrey become more desperate, three different incarnations of The Doctor
are pitted against a mysterious enemy that they encounter on different worlds
at different times. Sylvester McCoy stars in episode 1, Peter Davison is in
episode 2 and Colin Baker is in episode 3. They then all combine forces to
tackle the menace in the final episode. The listener will find themselves in a
harsh swamp on an alien planet, in the confined space within a World War 1
German U-boat, in the futuristic splendour of a starcruiser and then finally on
Gallifrey, The Doctor's home planet, for the big show down.
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Seventh Doctor |
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Part
One - When the cloister bell begins to toll
the Seventh
Doctor finds himself setting the TARDIS
co-ordinates without thinking why. The Time Lords attempt
to contact him with a warning, but their transmission
is cut off. The TARDIS lands and The Doctor, on hearing
an ethereal voice outside, sets off to explore. The Doctor
finds himself in an alien swamp and hears a young woman,
who he learns is called Elenya, calling desperately for
help in the distance. But after he helps her he finds
that he can't get back into the TARDIS. The Doctor is
still completely unaware of the danger he is in and the
true nature of the Time Lords warning. Bio-assassins,
who have been sent to prevent the execution of a person
called Sancroff, are on the loose. It is not long before
The Doctor gets involved with these alien creatures who
are intent on destroying all those that cross their path.
And this includes The Doctor and the young woman he has
just rescued. But who is she and why does she seem familiar
to The Doctor? Maybe events in The Doctor's past holds
the clue...
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Fifth Doctor |
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Part Two - In
seeking the source of a time distortion the Fifth
Doctor materialises the
TARDIS in the hold of a British merchant ship. Before he can investigate The Doctor hears a Time Lord's voice urging him to return to the TARDIS immediately
as all of time is at risk. The Doctor attempts to carry out this urgent request
but he finds that his TARDIS key will no longer fit into the lock. In his
attempt to attract Tegan and Turlough's attention he is confronted by Helen, a
suspicious member of the ships crew. However, before she can take him to the
captain to explain himself a torpedo, from a German U-boat, strikes the ship.
Luckily for The Doctor and Helen the German U-boat crew spot them clinging to a
crate and so the U-boat captain orders them to be taken onboard. But now The Doctor is separated even further from the safety of his TARDIS. The Doctor is
forced into using desperate measures to try and convince the German U-boat
captain to turn back so that he can get back to the TARDIS. But with the time
distortion around him increasing, and members of the U-boat crew going berserk
trying to kill The Doctor, things do not seem to be quite right. Can The Doctor
convince the captain of the importance of returning the submarine to its
earlier location? And if so will he be able to find the TARDIS and then get
inside? But more importantly he desperately needs to know why somebody is
trying to kill him...
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Sixth Doctor |
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Part Three - The
Time Lords are becoming even more desperate
and then the transduction barriers are breached and alien time ships
start to materialise on Gallifrey. The
Knights of Velyshaa demand the unconditional
surrender of the Time Lords, and there seems to be nothing that can
be done to stop them... Meanwhile following
a collision with a temporal anomaly the
Sixth
Doctor finds himself expelled from his TARDIS and aboard
a starcruiser where he meets a waitress named Ellie.
The Doctor dismisses the odd feeling that
he has met her before and follows her to
the conference room, where he learns that he is aboard the starcruiser
Edifice which is near the so-called Kurgon
Wonder. When an enormous particle disruption
field envelops the ship
The Doctor recognises it as a shard of time
distortion and within it he hears a deep
voice begging for help. When the distortion
passes, The Doctor finds that he and Ellie are apparently the only
survivors, along with an android pilot,
and that the ship has aged dramatically.
The Doctor realises that the Edifice is continuing to drift
towards the Kurgon Wonder, and will soon
be completely enveloped in the time distortion.
The Doctor also suspects that Ellie is more than she seems and that
she has been manipulating him all along.
When things get to the point where they
can not get any worse The Doctor
receives a message from the Time Lords,
via the android pilot, that he must not
free the Temperon. But who are the Temperon
and why are the Knights of Velyshaa so interested in Gallifrey? And
why should he heed the warning 'Beware The
Sirens of Time'?
Part Four - The Sixth Doctor finds himself
transported to the Panopticon on Gallifrey
along with his Fifth and Seventh selves. However, they find that the
Panopticon lies in ruins. But where are the
Time Lords, what has happened to Gallifrey
and why has the Temperon crossed The Doctor's timestream to bring all
three of them together? The Doctors link minds and share their experiences,
and realise that the woman accompanying them in
each nexus, whether Elenya, Helen, or Ellie,
was in fact the same woman each time. She is obviously not what she
appears to be, and her manipulations have
somehow led to the destruction of Gallifrey.
The Doctors are outraged, but they are informed that it is their interference
which has made it possible for the
Knights of Velyshaa to acquire the power
of time travel and thus conquer Gallifrey. The Doctors agree to try
and fix their mistakes, although the Fifth
Doctor feels that there's still more going
on than they realise. They still don't know who the woman was in each
time zone, why they were sealed out of the
TARDIS, or who or what the Sirens of Time
are...
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This is the
first of many audio stories that Big Finish Productions have so far released on
double audio cassettes and CDs. The CD version, which is only available from
specialist shops and mail order, contains extra material.
To mark this
special occasion issue 279 of The Doctor Who Magazine contained a free CD on
the making of "The Sirens of Time", interviews and a look at the other audio
stories that have been made in the past. As stated in issue 279 of The Doctor
Who Magazine:
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"This month's free CD charts the
production of the first of the new Big Finish Doctor Who audio dramas, 'The
Sirens of Time'. Nicholas Pegg talks to the cast and crew - including Doctors
Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy - and finds out just how such a
play is put together. As a bonus, there's also clips from a variety of Doctor
Who audio dramas of years gone by, with notable performances from
Jon
Pertwee and
Tom
Baker". |
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Notes:
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On the Back Cover:
The Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors, together for
the first time!
Gallifrey is in a state of crisis, facing destruction at the
hands of an overwhelming enemy. And The Doctor is involved, in three different
incarnations - each caught up in a deadly adventure, scattered across time and
space. The web of time is threatened - and someone wants The Doctor
Dead.
The three incarnations of The Doctor must join together to
set time back on track - but in doing so, will they unleash a still greater
threat? |
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Full Cast List:
Part
One |
The Doctor |
Sylvester McCoy |
Commander Raldeth |
Andrew Fettes |
Coordinator Vansell |
Anthony Keetch |
The President |
Michael Wade |
Elenya |
Sarah Mowat |
Ruthley |
Maggie Stables |
Sancroff |
Colin McIntyre |
Commandant |
John Wadmore |
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Part
Two |
The Doctor |
Peter Davison |
Lt Zentner |
John Wadmore |
Captain Schwieger |
Mark Gatiss |
Schmidt |
Andrew Fettes |
Helen |
Sarah Mowat |
The President |
Michael Wade |
Coordinator Vansell |
Anthony Keetch |
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Part
Three |
The Doctor |
Colin Baker |
Coordinator Vansell |
Anthony Keetch |
The President |
Michael Wade |
The Temperon |
Nicholas Briggs |
Ellie |
Sarah Mowat |
Pilot Azimendah |
John Wadmore |
Captain |
Mark Gatiss |
Delegate |
Nicholas Pegg |
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Part
Four |
The Doctor |
Peter Davison |
The Doctor |
Colin Baker |
The Doctor |
Sylvester McCoy |
The Temperon |
Nicholas Briggs |
Sub-commander Solanec |
John Wadmore |
Knight Commander Lyena |
Sarah Mowat |
Knight 2 |
Mark Gatiss |
Reldath |
Andrew Fettes |
Coordinator Vansell |
Anthony Keetch |
Ruthley |
Maggie Stables |
The Production Team:
Writer |
Nicholas Briggs |
Director |
Nicholas Briggs |
Sound/Music |
Nicholas Briggs |
Theme Music |
Mark Ayres |
Producers |
Gary Russell and Jason
Haigh-Ellery |
Executive Producer for the BBC
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Stephen Cole |
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