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100
(Robert Shearman, Joseph Lidster, Jacqueline Rayner
and Paul Cornell) |
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 The
100th Big Finish Productions’ Doctor Who audio
release is a double CD containing four self-contained,
25-minute long stories featuring the Sixth
Doctor and
Evelyn
Smythe. Release in late September 2007 and entitled "100" this
release is in a similar format to "Circular
Time" -
this time with each story reflecting the concept of the
number 100.
Each
story has been written by a different writer and from
some of Big Finish Productions best-loved authors. These
being: Robert Shearman, Joseph Lidster, Jacqueline Rayner
and Paul Cornell. This release has been directed by Nicholas
Briggs and was recorded on the 25th June and 12th July
2007.
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| Sixth Doctor |
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As revealed
by Executive Producer Nicholas Briggs, ‘We’ve
been planning the shape of our anniversary release for
some time because we wanted something that was quintessentially
Big Finish and clearly a special celebration. "Circular
Time" worked so well earlier this year that we were
keen to revisit the four-story format’.
‘Colin’s
story commemorates our 100th regular Doctor Who release.
And it’s also the first one I’ve directed
in ages. We had four, wildly different scripts and a
lovely cast. John Sessions appears as Mozart in various
confusing guises, and Frank Finlay plays the mysterious
Old Jacob. Will Thorp, who appeared in last year’s
TV story "The
Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit",
takes on the role of Gaius Caesar’.
Joining Colin
Baker, as the Sixth Doctor, and Maggie Stables, as his
companion Evelyn Smythe, are: Will Thorp, Lucy Paterson,
Susan Brown, John Sessions, Frank Finlay, Martha Cope,
Alex Mallinson and Nicholas Briggs.
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1.
100 BC (by Jacqueline Rayner)
The
Doctor and Evelyn arrive in Rome, 101 BC in October where
they get to meet Julius Caesar (Senior).
They
manage to get themselves invited back to Julius Caesar’s
house so they can meet his wife Aurelia. It appears soon
becomes obvious to The Doctor and Evelyn that Aurelia
had other plans for her husband – one that could
result in a happy event 9 months later. Doctor and Evelyn
realise that just being in their presence has damaged
the true course of history and this is proved correct
when the TARDIS takes them 9 months into the future where
they arrive just in time to witness the birth of their
son Julius Caesar (Junior), who will one day become the
Emperor of Rome. But instead of a son Aurelia gives birth
to a daughter…
Realising
that they have changed history The Doctor is desperate
to put time back on the right track. Evelyn though is
excited at the prospect of what would happen if a woman
became all important at this time in history. And so
while The Doctor tries to put things right Evelyn does
everything she can to thwart him.
But her excitement soon turns to confusion when they
both realise that they have not changed history at all…
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2.
My Own Private Wolfgang (by Robert Shearman)
The
Doctor takes Evelyn to attend the 100th birthday party
concert of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart but instead of finding
a genius at work they find a tormented young man who
wonders if his music would be better respected, maybe,
if he had died as a young man?
And
so at the concert, The Doctor and Evelyn attend, they
witness, as does the other masked guests, Mozart shooting
himself in the head. When they go backstage they discover
that rather than dying Mozart has survived and there
is no visible sign of any gunshot wounds.
Then
when Mozart’s assistant arrives they discover that
not all is well. It seems that Mozart’s assistant
is in fact a Mozart of the future, who has been travelling
back in time to manipulate the Mozart of the present.
Realising that his cover has been exposed Mozart of the
future activates a teleport device taking Evelyn with
him – back to the future.
Separately
The Doctor and Evelyn discover that there is more than
the one Mozart – in fact there are over 800 thousand
clones!
Mozart
has become so popular in the future, and with everyone
wanting a clone of him, and so he has been mass produced
and replicated. The would be legend of music has become
a scientific curiosity.
But
even the novelty of having your very own Mozart can lose
its appeal and so the Mozart of the future decides to
prevent Mozart from become so popular. Things though
get very confusing for The Doctor and Evelyn when more
and more of the Mozart clones try to prevent the real
Mozart from taking the commands of each other.
Then The Doctor discovers a novel way of preventing Mozart
from becoming so popular…
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3.
Bedtime Story (by Joseph Lidster)
Once upon
a time...
Jacob Williams
is going to tell the tale of Sleeping Beauty but
he realises he has told that one too many times so,
instead, tells of how he once met this man called
The Doctor...
It's a tale
of love and death and a family with a terrifying
secret…
The
Doctor and Evelyn learn of a death in Jacob Williams’ family – one
of her students before she was whisked away by The Doctor.
Evelyn decides that they should visit Jacob so as to
offer their condolences.
The
Doctor and Evelyn learn that Jacob’ father died
all because Jacob has a newly born son. But how can this
be?
However,
shortly after arriving Jacob’s mother dies and
it is then that The Doctor discovers that not all is
well with Jacob’s family – especially as
Jacob told The Doctor that his mother would die very
soon. But how can this prediction come true when Jacob’s
mother come true when she is fit and well?
The
Doctor and Evelyn become involved in a family with a
terrifying secret… A secret that has haunted it
for generations and, unless The Doctor can solve the
mystery, will haunt it for generations to come…
But
are Jacob’s parents really dead or has something
else happened to them? Why is there a history of these
strange deaths in Jacob Williams’ family every
time a son is born into the family? And why is Evelyn
acting strangely and not her normal self?
The
Doctor discovers that not all is well with his companion
making it even harder to get to the bottom of this mystery.
And when he does he comes up with a very timely way of
bring those who have ‘died’ back to life…
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4.
100 Days of The Doctor (by Paul Cornell)
While
in the TARDIS The Doctor loses control and Evelyn
witnesses the take over of his body and mind by an intelligent
virus that seeks revenge for the actions of The Doctor.
The virus takes over The Doctor’s speech and so
announces that over the next 100 days it is going to
close down parts of The Doctor until he is dead.
Why
would someone want to assassinate The Doctor and will
he be able to use the next 100 days to find out who
did it and so prevent his own death?
The
Doctor decides that he needs to discover exactly
when he became infected and so The Doctor and
Evelyn use the TARDIS to travel back in time
so that they spy on the previous incarnations
of The Doctor. Much to the amusement of Evelyn
who gets to see younger versions of The Doctor
and his previous companions.
With
time against them and The Doctor’s health
deteriorating day by day the task to identify
the point in time when The Doctor was assassinated
is fast approaching. But as they get closer
to that point in time the alien virus retakes
over The Doctor’s body in an attempt
to prevent The Doctor and Evelyn from seeking
out the truth.
Will
The Doctor be able to overcome the virus and
so track down his killer in time and if he
does will he be able to stop his own assassination?
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| Big Finish Magazine - Issue
10 (Autumn 2007) |
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Big Finish Magazine
- Issue 10 |
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Issue
10 of the 'Big Finish Magazine', a series of
behind-the-scenes CDs given away free to subscribers,
was also sent out with this release.
On this
issue...
1. Introduction 2.
Nicholas Briggs Interview Part 1 – The
producer of Big Finish’s Doctor
Who CDs discusses the range.
3.
100 Feature Part 1 – Who
scribe Robert Shearman talks about
his writing,
including the 100 story: My Own
Private Wolfgang.
4.
100 Feature Part 2 – Nicholas
Briggs and John Sessions discuss the
making of 100.
5. 100
Feature Part 3 – John
Sessions makes an impression on Nicholas
Briggs with his dazzling performance as Mozart
and then goes on to chat about the world
of Doctor Who.
6.
Nicholas Briggs Interview
Part 2 – Continuing
our interview with Who
audio producer, Nicholas
Briggs goes into detail
about the history of
the audios and in particular,
the lack of Tom Baker’s
popular fourth Doctor.
7.
Bernice Summerfield Interview – We
catch up with outgoing
Benny producer Simon
Guerrier.
8.
Nicholas Briggs Interview Part
3 – More
of our interview with Nicholas
Briggs as he
elaborates on the Big Finish ‘house
style’.
9.
David Tennant Interview – An
archive feature from
2003, when we caught
up with future Tenth
Doctor Tennant
at the recording of Doctor
Who
Unbound story: Exile.
10.
100 Feature Part 4 – Colin
Baker chats about his
time as The Doctor and
working with Big Finish.
11.
100 Feature Part 5 – Evelyn
Smythe actress Maggie
Stables talks about her
popular role.
12.
100 Feature Part 6 – More
behind-the-Scenes of
100 as we look at Joseph
Lidster’s dark
tale: A Bedtime Story and chat to its star
Frank Finlay.
13.
Nicholas Briggs Interview
Part 4 – In
the conclusion to this
interview,
Briggs looks to the future
of Doctor Who from Big
F– We hear from
Nick Briggs and the fans
at the 2007 Bad Wolf
convention in Birmingham.inish.
14.
Bad Wolf Convention
15.
Dalek Empire – A
sneak peek behind the
scenes of forthcoming
mini-series, Dalek
Empire: The Fearless.
16.
Son of the Dragon bloopers – Interviews
don’t always run
smoothly. Hear what happens
when interviewers Martin
Montague and Nicholas
Briggs come a cropper!
17.
Coming Soon from Big
Finish Productions – Trailers
for forthcoming releases
from the many Big Finish
ranges.
Presented
by Martin Montague. Edited and mastered by
David Darlington. Design by Barry Piggott.
Length 1 hour 20 minutes.
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Notes:
- Featuring the Sixth
Doctor and Evelyn
Smythe.
- Serial Number: 7C/MC
- Number of Episodes – "100
BC": 1, "My Own Private Wolfgang":
1, "Bedtime Story": 1 and "100 Days
of The Doctor": 1
- Cover Length: 120 minutes
- Story Lengths – "100 BC":
29'09", "My Own Private Wolfgang":
30'14", "Bedtime Story": 31'59" and "100
Days of The Doctor": 30'54"
- Total Story Length: 122'16"
- Also features 29 minutes of music, trailers
and special behind-the-scenes interviews with
the cast
and producers.
- These stories take place between the "The
Trial of a Time Lord" and "Time
and the Rani" and after "The
Nowhere Place".
- Cover Illustration: Barry Piggott
- Recorded: 25th June and 12th July 2007
- Recording Location: Moat Studios
- Released: September 2007
- ISBN: 978-1-84435-286-9
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On the Back Cover:
Time, dates,
numbers, anniversaries… They are all essential
ingredients of The Doctor’s seemingly infinite
travels. Here, he emerges from the TARDIS to embark
upon four separate adventures, all of them fundamentally
connected by the concept of ’100’. He
meets Mozart, visits Rome, goes to a funeral and
spies on himself.
Sometimes,
a Time Lord’s life can be quite hectic…
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On the Inside Cover:
Directors Notes: Nicholas Briggs
”This
is our 100th Doctor Who adventure (give or take a
few specials). It seems to me that what you’re
looking for when you celebrate an anniversary is
something that epitomizes what you’re celebrating.
That’s why when Alan Barnes suggested that
we produce four one-part stories by some of the best
writers who’ve contributed to the Audio Adventures
of Doctor Who, I leapt at the idea. And the choice
of authors wasn’t difficult. We’re just
lucky they all had the time to do it. Each one of
them brings something unique. There’s Jac’s
cheeky wit and fondness for history, Rob’s
anarchism, Joe’s kitchen sink angst and Paul’s
inspiring evocation of Doctor Who’s magic.
Then we got ourselves a great cast (John, Frank and
Will, to name but three), called upon a team of our
best sound designers (Davy, Simon and Gareth) and
topped it off with great music (thanks Andy). My
wish is that this collection of stories will evoke
the flavour of all that has been great about Big
Finish, with the promise of more of the same to come.
Happy 100th.”
Quotes: Colin Baker
”How
long’s it been going now – 8 years…?
I enjoy doing them. The standard is pretty high.
I mean the standard varies from the ‘slightly
above OK’ to the very, very good indeed.
I don’t recall having done a story that was
below ‘OK’… and that’s…that’s
tough when you you’re churning them out.
In fact I’d put it higher than that: the
majority of them are ‘good’ and above – I
mean, I can’t think of any ‘OK’ ones,
they’re all ‘good’. And there
seems to be an endless supply of writers with imagination
who can write for my Doctor.”
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Who's Who?
The Sixth Doctor
First television appearance: "The
Twin Dilemma"
First chronological Big Finish audio appearance: "Davros"
He
has been exploring the universe for hundreds of years. He fights injustice.
He defeats evil. He helps people. The Doctor was travelling alone when he
met Evelyn Smythe, a companion who has had a calming effect on him, and a
deep bond of friendship and respect has quickly developed between the two.
More used to loud, energetic youngsters, The Doctor has appreciated the change
of gear the chocolate-cake-loving divorcee has brought into his life.
Evelyn Smythe
First Big Finish audio appearance: "The
Marian Conspiracy"
When
she first encountered The Doctor, Evelyn Smythe was a history lecturer
at Sheffield’s Hallam university. He took her on an adventure involving
her ancestors in the sixteenth century - which led to Evelyn joining
The Doctor in his travels. Unbeknownst to him, Evelyn was resisting efforts
by the university administration to retire her due to a possibly fatal
heart condition, and so she took the opportunity to explore both history
and the wider universe with relish. Amongst the many people and places
Evelyn has encountered are Charles Darwin, Burke and Hare and the planet
Világ. |
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Full Cast List:
| 100 BC |
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| The Doctor |
Colin Baker |
| Evelyn Smythe |
Maggie Stables |
| Gaius Julius Caesar |
Will Thorp |
| Aurelia |
Lucy Paterson |
| Midwife |
Susan Brown |
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| My Own Private Wolfgang |
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| The Doctor |
Colin Baker |
| Evelyn Smythe |
Maggie Stables |
| Mozart/Young Mozart/Butler/Mask/Old
Mask |
John Sessions |
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| Bedtime Story |
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| The Doctor |
Colin Baker |
| Evelyn Smythe |
Maggie Stables |
| Jacob |
Will Thorp |
| Old Jacob |
Frank Finlay |
| Talia |
Martha Cope |
| Mary |
Susan Brown |
| Julia |
Lucy Paterson |
| Patrick |
Alex Mallinson |
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| 100 Days of The Doctor |
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| The Doctor |
Colin Baker |
| Evelyn Smythe |
Maggie Stables |
| Assassin |
Nicholas Briggs |
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The Production Team:
| Writers |
Jacqueline Rayner, Robert
Shearman, Joseph Lidster and Paul Cornell |
| Director |
Nicholas Briggs |
| Sound/Music |
Andy Hardwick |
| Theme Music |
David Darlington |
| Script Editor |
Alan Barnes |
| Producer |
Sharon Gosling |
| Executive Producers |
Nicholas Briggs
and Jason Haigh-Ellery |
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