Recorded Time and Other Stories (Catherine Harvey, Richard Dinnick, Matt Fitton and Philip Lawrence)

Big Finish Production’s main Doctor Who range has reached its landmark 150th release, and so for August 2011 they are celebrating with a collection of four single-episode adventures staring Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Nicola Bryant as Peri.

Titled "Recorded Time and Other Stories" each story has been written by different authors who are:

Sixth Doctor

These stories were recorded on the 16th and 17th March 2011. Three of them were originally submitted as part of a 2010 pitching window for the Fifth Doctor, and the title story - Catherine Harvey's "Recorded Time" - is one of them. ‘The change of Doctor and companion was interesting’, she has stated. ‘I don't think it altered the plotline so much as the dialogue and interactions between characters’. This story involves Henry VIII, and is ‘about political spin, really. Henry VIII has such an iconic image - history has turned him into a legend’.

Established writer Richard Dinnick contributes "Paradoxicide". ‘It's even more timey-wimey than most Steven Moffat scripts’, he has stated. ‘It does revolve quite a lot around Peri. There are three or four time paradoxes going on, needing to be sorted out, and it all has to come good in the end. It was quite hard to plot!’.

Matt Fitton's story is "A Most Excellent Match". ‘We begin the story very much in Jane Austen territory’, he has revealed. ‘Peri is being courted by one Mr Darcy, while The Doctor is considering something we've never seen him do before. Then things start to twist and turn as people and places may not be what they first appear...’.

Peri

When Philip Lawrence's "Question Marks" begins, all its characters have lost their memories. ‘They don't know who they are’, he has explained, ‘and the only identifying marks are the question marks on The Doctor's collar. I wanted to explore the notion of who we are. Obviously we're made up of memories, and if that's stripped away, what's left? Every character kind of reverts to a comfort zone, and The Doctor reverts to the arrogance of himself. The Doctor is automatically running in Doctor mode, but at the same time his arrogance is a cover for him being desperately scared that he can't remember anything’.

One of this release's guest stars is Raquel Cassidy (recently seen in "The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People"), who appears in two stories. ‘You come to play two characters and you have to try to find quite different parts of yourself’, she has revealed. Her first character is Inquiza in "Paradoxicide". ‘My first character is great. It's written on the script that if she was made for the Spanish Inquisition, she would've been head honcho. She loves torturing people, with her mind. She inflicts a great deal of pain’. Her second character is Destiny Gray in "Question Marks". ‘It's just such a great name! It's quite beautiful. I don't think you could give it to a child, but it is a great name...’

Also staring in these stories are Paul Shearer, Laura Molyneux, Philip Bretherton, Rosanna Miles, Joan Walker, James George and Joe Jameson.

All four stories have been directed by Ken Bentley who has revealed: ‘I'm quite touched that I'm getting to do the 150th release. It's a landmark of sorts, and it's quite nice to do that. I'm really chuffed’.

On the Back Cover:

Recorded Time
The TARDIS travellers find themselves at the court of Henry VIII, where the tragic Anne Boleyn will soon be discarded by her King in favour of the lovely Perpugilliam Brown. Or so it is written…

Paradoxicide
On the legendary lost planet of Sendos, the Doctor and Peri find themselves caught up in the hunt for the cache of galaxy-busting super-weapons stored inside its fabled Armoury.

A Most Excellent Match
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single girl in possession of a mind of her own must be in want of a husband. But which of Miss Peri Brown's rival suitors will be the one to win her hand: handsome Mr Darcy, or the mysterious Doctor?

Question Marks
Five survivors of an unknown catastrophe wake to find themselves caught in an inescapable trap. But can the oddly-dressed man in the question-marked collar work out what's really going on before time runs out – for good?

I have always been interested in the power of language. I've always loved words. Words can save or they can kill; they can make someone laugh or reduce them to tears. And words can change the course of history. Spin and image-making may seem a modern phenomenon but they are, in fact, as old as time itself.

Catherine Harvey
May 2011


Paradoxicide was an idea that had been running around in my head for some time, and when Nick Briggs and Alan Barnes asked me to submit some ideas for a one-part story, I was very pleased that it was selected as the one to develop because I had written it with the idea of making it very female-centric (which I thought unusual for Doctor Who)! Peri was the focus and therefore I wanted her to have a strong role, but it was also crucial that the Volsci didn't come across as clichéd. The Centuria's bandying of words with Colin's Doctor was a favourite aspect and having such fine actresses in all roles was a dream come true. Finally, Alan's input was (as ever) spot on and invaluable to the script's success.

Richard Dinnick
May 2011


Writer's Notes

It is a tradition universally observed that any homage to Austen must be in want of a particular opening sentence. And believe me, I held off using it for as long as I could. But then, twenty-five minutes is not a long time. To build a setting, create characters, establish associations. So, how better to hit the ground running than to take - ahem, borrow - from the best? As a student of relationships, human nature, good and bad, Jane Austen is indeed most excellent. But, as you'll discover, that's just the beginning. I do hope you enjoy the journey.

Matt Fitton
May 2011


I'm a very lucky boy. I started writing Doctor Who stories when Colin and Nicola were running up and down corridors on telly, so who better to write for for my first contribution to Doctor Who proper. It's been a terrific journey getting here; it still makes me beam from ear to ear. I want to thank all the readers of the AFT for their faith and support. Alan Barnes, you have my eternal gratitude for seeing the potential in my pitch and for the title. Raquel, thanks for the accent. Oh, and Nicola: I'm very sorry about the ending.

Philip Lawrence
May 2011