 After
the Eighth Doctor's debut in January 2001's "Storm
Warning" the release for February 2001 is the second
of four stories with Paul McGann as the Eighth
Doctor. Co-starring India Fisher as companion Charley
Pollard, "Sword of Orion", has been written and directed
by Nicholas Briggs and was recorded on the 16th and 17th
May 2000. This story is also the Big Finish Productions
debut for Doctor Who's second most popular enemy
- The
Cybermen, who are making their long awaited return
to the Doctor Who fold.
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Sword
of Orion
(Nicholas Briggs) |
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The cast includes:
Mark Gatiss, Barnaby Edwards, Ian Marr, Bruce Montague,
Hylton Collins, Michelle Livingstone, Helen Goldwyn and
Toby Longworth. Nicholas Briggs and Alistair Lock supply
the voices of the Cybermen.
As can be seen by the cover
for this story the Cyberman image used is a slight variation
on the versions of the silver giants that were seen in
the Second Doctor's television story "Invasion". Co-producer
Gary Russell has opted for this version of the Cybermen
rather than the later and more familiar "Earthshock" versions
as he felt that they conveyed a greater sense of power
and looked less like men in suits. The voices of the "Sword
of Orion" Cybermen however, sound similar to the "Earthshock"
Cybermen but slightly more mechanical.
Like "The
Mutant Phase", released in December 2000, "Sword of
Orion" was first produced in the 1980's by the non-profit-making
fan group Audio Visuals - and is still regarded as one
of their high points. "Sword of Orion" was the 17th Audio
Visuals release; coincidentally, it is also the 17th Big
Finish Productions Doctor Who release.
Charley and
The Doctor spot that their "pet" Vortisaur, which Charley
has named Ramsey, is ill. The Doctor decides that he needs
professional help and so sets the TARDIS
co-ordinates for the Garazone System. The TARDIS lands
amidst a sprawling bazaar and The Doctor and Charley go
in such of a Vortisaur expert but Charley is not hopeful
that they will find one. "This is the future of human
society in all its grim and grimy glory", claims The Doctor
- but these humans are burdened by a distant, self-made
problem: their war with the Orion Android Alliance.
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| Eighth Doctor |
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When The Doctor sets out to educate Charley on the
darker side of her race's future, he does not anticipate being embroiled in
this protracted war. The front line may be light years away, but the human
race's struggle for victory has led to desperate measures and the space lanes
around Garazone are littered with debris, creating a thriving, barely legal
salvage trade.
When the scrapship Vanguard takes off, with the TARDIS aboard
and with The Doctor and Charley on its trail, they find themselves heading for
a vast star destroyer unclaimed by previous salvagers. But Captain Deeva
Jansen's dissatisfied crew do not realise that this long-silent ship is now a
graveyard. The Doctor and Charley then find themselves inside this vast
derelict space hulk unaware of the danger they are in and why it is being
sought by the less than honest scrap-merchants.
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A
Cyberman |
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Trapped and
unable to return to the TARDIS, The Doctor and Charley
investigate the corridors of this mysterious ship. The
Doctor has a sense of foreboding and then they find a
badly injured member of Vanguard's crew. They soon find
themselves cast as scapegoats and The Doctor tries to
convince the Vanguard's crew that something more deadly
is lose onboard. But even The Doctor is unaware that somewhere
within the deserted corridors lies a terrible secret.
And this real danger has yet to awaken because hiding
aboard this abandoned freighter are deadly Cybermen and
they have received the signal for reactivation...
The
Doctor realises that Cybermats are causing power fluctuations
and on further investigation they then find aboard something
even more unpleasant - humans that have been partly converted
into Cybermen. The Doctor deduces that they are on a factory
ship that has been sent out to gather new recruits and
they have found a Cybernetic production line. But something
seems to have gone wrong with the Cybermen's plans causing
the human elements of their "volunteers" to become rotted
and decayed. But where are the Cybermen and what has stopped
their production line?
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| Cybermats |
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When the Cybermen awake and start advancing it
becomes clear that the Cybermen are still keen to increase the size of their
race. Can anyone escape this death-trap - or is the only way off to fall foul
of Cyber-conversion? And what is Captain Jansen's sinister agenda and why does
the Orion war suddenly seem so perilously close? But the biggest question is
why have the Cybermen been lying in space. Just waiting? Could a clue to this
mystery be something to do with an approaching ion storm?
The Doctor is
soon to find out that war is hell!
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Notes:
- Featuring the Eighth
Doctor and Charley
Pollard.
- This story has the first Big Finish appearance
of the Cybermen.
- Serial Number: 8C
- Number of Episodes: 4
- Cover Length: 110 minutes
- Episode Lengths: 1 = 34'44", 2 = 26'24", 3 =
29'02", 4 = 33'12"
- This story takes place after "Doctor
Who: The Movie".
- Cover Illustration: Clayton Hickman
- Recorded: 16th and 17th May 2000
- Recording Location: Christchurch Studios
- Released: February 2001
- ISBN: 1-903654-15-7
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On the
Back Cover:
The human race is locked in deadly combat with the
'Android Hordes' in the Orion System. Light years from the front line, The Doctor and Charley arrive to sample the dubious delights of a galactic
backwater, little suspecting that the consequences of the Orion War might reach
them there. But High Command's lust for victory knows no bounds.
Trapped aboard
a mysterious derelict star destroyer, The Doctor and Charley find themselves
facing summary execution. But this is only the beginning of their troubles. The
real danger has yet to awaken.
Until, somewhere in the dark recesses of the
Garazone System, the Cybermen receive the signal for reactivation... |
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On the
Inside Cover:
Although, far some strange reason, the tried and
trusted formula of a Doctor Who story seems as familiar as a well loved
old friend to me - and "Sword of Orion" itself is an adventure from a previous
'existence' of mine - this story was a grand opportunity for re-invention and
re-imagining. Producers Gary and Jason had often spoken to me of their wish to
bring back "Sword of Orion" - as a crackling, hissing amateur analogue audio
adventure buried back in the 1980s, it had been flatteringly popular, but
surely it wouldn't simply be a case of transcribing the original cassette and
handing the result to Paul McGann, would it?
I have to
admit that a surprisingly large amount of the original, fervently typed with
two sore fingers on an Olivetti portable typewriter, does survive. However, the
re-invention centres around the new Doctor himself. Not just because Paul's
interpretation of the character has its own unique flavour, but because the
only on-screen template for these new adventures was distinctly cinematic in
nature. So, in a way, I set out to write an audio movie. Certainly in the
opening episode, I wanted there to be the feeling that this could have been the
next Doctor Who movie to be made. Just a little bit of indulgence on my part,
but my aim was to stitch this claustrophobic Cyber encounter onto a broader,
futuristic tapestry.
As for directing the new Doctor himself, my chief memory is
of Paul's sense of fun and the slightly suspicious look he used to give me when
I said, "Give me more 'foreboding', Paul." Mind you, I have no idea of the
expression on his face when I was directing him from a sound-proofed booth,
with my voice Cyber-distorted. How could The Doctor be expected to take
direction from the Cyberleader himself? Somehow, Paul managed it with
consummate ease. |
Nicholas Briggs,
December
2000 |
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Full Cast
List:
| Part One |
| The Doctor |
Paul McGann |
| Charley Pollard |
India Fisher |
| Thinnes |
Mark Gatiss |
| Digly |
Barnaby Edwards |
| Ike |
Ian Marr |
| Grash |
Bruce Montague |
| Vol |
Hylton Collins |
| Deeva Jansen |
Michelle
Livingstone |
| Chev |
Helen Goldwyn |
| Kelsey |
Toby Longworth |
| Cyberman |
Nicholas Briggs |
| |
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| Part Two |
| The Doctor |
Paul McGann |
| Charley Pollard |
India Fisher |
| Chev |
Helen Goldwyn |
| Kelsey |
Toby Longworth |
| Grash |
Bruce Montague |
| Cyberman |
Nicholas Briggs |
| Ike |
Ian Marr |
| Deeva Jansen |
Michelle
Livingstone |
| Vol |
Hylton Collins |
| |
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| Part Three |
| The Doctor |
Paul McGann |
| Charley Pollard |
India Fisher |
| Deeva Jansen |
Michelle
Livingstone |
| Cybermen |
Nicholas Briggs
and
Alistair Lock |
| Vol |
Hylton Collins |
| Grash |
Bruce Montague |
| Chev |
Helen Goldwyn |
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| Part Four |
| The Doctor |
Paul McGann |
| Charley Pollard |
India Fisher |
| Chev |
Helen Goldwyn |
| Ike |
Ian Marr |
| Deeva Jansen |
Michelle
Livingstone |
| Vol |
Hylton Collins |
| Cybermen |
Nicholas Briggs
and
Alistair Lock |
| Grash |
Bruce Montague |
The
Production Team:
| Writer |
Nicholas Briggs |
| Director |
Nicholas Briggs |
| Sound/Music |
Nicholas Briggs |
| Theme Music |
David Arnold |
| Cybermen Created by |
Kit Pedler and Gerry
Davis |
| Producers |
Gary Russell and
Jason
Haigh-Ellery |
| Executive Producer for the BBC
|
Jaqueline Rayner |
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