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Big Finish Productions have been back in the
studio with Paul McGann and India Fisher, recreating
their roles as the Eighth
Doctor and companion Charley
Pollard at the beginning of 2001. Whereas for
2001 four plays were made with Paul and India in
this new run they have done six!
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Invaders
from Mars
(Mark Gattis) |
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 This is the
first story of the second 'season' of six audio dramas, starring Paul McGann as
the Eighth Doctor. Released in January 2002 it is titled "Invaders from Mars"
and has been written and directed by Mark Gattis. It was recorded on the 16th
and 17th January 2001 and again co-stars India Fisher playing companion
Charley
Pollard.
Paul and India are joined by a host of famous
names from today's comedy including: David Benson who is best known for his
hugely successful tour and West End run on his one-man Kenneth Williams show
and also Paul Punter who featured alongside Mark Gatiss in some of the sketches
in BBC2's An Evening With Doctor Who shown in November 1999. Also
starring are: Ian Hallard, Mark Benton, Jonathan Rigby, Simon Pegg, Jessica
Stevenson and John Arthur.
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| Eighth Doctor |
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It should come as no surprise to find that League
of Gentlemen star Mark Gatiss relishes getting to grips with an alien invasion
story. His first Doctor Who novel for Virgins New Adventure "Nightshade",
showed an adeptness for Quatermass-style thrills.
"Invaders from
Mars", while sharing its title with a classic 1950's sci-fi movie, combines the
real events of Orson Welles' notorious radio production with a rather different
sort of invasion.
"Invaders from Mars" was recorded in January 2001, but given
the recent events in the Big Apple, Gatiss is reported to comment on how an
invasion story set in Manhattan might be received now: "September 11th does
have repercussions," he concedes, "but the best response anyone can have is to
carry on as normal - otherwise terror does win out. This is a bit of fun and we
could all do with more of that."
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| India Fisher |
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Trying to deliver
Charley to Singapore in 1930, The Doctor finds the TARDIS
has landed instead on New York's Broadway, eight years
late - and right in front of a freshly-shot private eye.
But The Doctor is quick to realise that this private detective
has been wiped out by something that is definitely not
of this Earth...
While
The Doctor assumes the guise of the dead gumshoe and finds
himself helping out a dame searching for her missing uncle
who just happens to also be a Russian scientist. Charley,
meanwhile, finds herself kidnapped by hoodlums trying
to break into another gangster's 'patch'.
Meanwhile, at the nearby CBS radio studios, Orson
Welles is in the final rehearsals for his shocking Hallowe'en radio production
of "The War of the Worlds" blissfully unaware that New York has indeed been
visited by extraterrestrials.
As tensions rise between Hitler's Germany, Soviet
Russia and the other world powers, the frontiers of military science are being
pushed back at a frightening rate. And underworld baron, Don 'The Phantom'
Chaney, is keen for a piece of that action despite the fact that he is a
mobster with only half a nose!
Does Orson Welles know that there are signs of a
genuine alien presence in the city? Will his broadcast become a documentary
after all? Can The Doctor pass himself off as a private investigator? And what
if some of the panicked listeners to the legendary 'War of the Worlds'
broadcast weren't just imagining things and that there really are Martians
breeding in 1930's New York?
Will The Doctor, with the help of Orson Welles, be
able to defeat a real alien invasion?
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| Important Information |
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Doctor Who Magazine
(Issue
313) |
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If like me you were eagerly awaiting the release
of this the first story in the Eighth Doctor's second season then you would not
have wanted to miss Issue 313 of The Doctor Who Magazine.
Free with this
issue, released on 10th January 2002, was a cover-mounted unique CD featuring a
promotional version of the first episode of "Invaders From Mars". Also include
on this very special disc, fans of the Sixth
Doctor are also in for a treat as
the CD also features an exclusive all-new adventure, titled "The Ratings War"
starring Colin Baker, which has been specially written and recorded for Doctor
Who Magazine.
This specially commissioned 34 minute story sees the Big
Finish debut of Beep the Meep. Beep first appeared in the comic strip "The Star
Beast" in issue 19 of The Doctor Who Weekly. He returned to plague The Doctor
in the 1996 Doctor Who Year book and again in The Doctor Who Magazine's 20th
anniversary strip "TV Action!"
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Notes:
- Featuring the Eighth
Doctor and Charley
Pollard.
- Serial Number: 8F
- Number of Episodes: 4
- Cover Length: 100 minutes
- Episode Lengths: 1 = 21'34", 2 = 20'18", 3 =
22'16", 4 = 29'53"
- This story takes place after "Doctor
Who: The Movie".
- Cover Illustration: Clayton Hickman
- Recorded: 16th and 17th January 2001
- Recording Location: Christchurch Studios
- Released: January 2002
- ISBN: 1-903654-57-2
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On the
Back Cover:
Hallowe'en 1938.
A year after a
mysterious meteorite lit up the skies of New York state, Martian invaders laid
waste to the nation. At least, according to soon-to-be infamous Orson Welles
they did. But what if some of the panicked listeners to the legendary War of
the Worlds broadcast weren't just imagining things?
Attempting to
deliver Charley to her rendezvous in Singapore 1930, The Doctor overshoots a
little, arriving in Manhattan just in time to find a dead private detective.
Indulging his gumshoe fantasies, The Doctor is soon embroiled in the hunt for a
missing Russian scientist whilst Charley finds herself at the mercy of a very
dubious Fifth Columnist.
With some genuinely out of this world
'merchandise' at stake, the TARDIS crew are forced into an alliance with a
sultry dame called Glory Bee, Orson Welles himself and a mobster with half a
nose known as 'The Phantom'.
And slowly but surely, something is drawing plans
against them. Just not very good ones... |
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On the
Inside Cover:
I wrote my first story for Big Finish, "Phantasmagoria",
two years ago. After the initial thrill
of actually being able to write the words "TARDIS" and "Doctor" I must
admit I found the format of writing for
a past Doctor a little restrictive. It was
great fun, of course, but nothing like
being presented with the opportunity to
write for a 'new' Doctor. With only the
TV
Movie to go on, I found it really
liberating to be able to say "this is what
Doctor Who is like now". That's why, after an initially quite
serious draft of Part One, the story became
... well, a bit silly.
I had the idea
whilst lying in the bath and it made me laugh. What if there'd been a real
alien invasion during Orson Welles' War of the Worlds? After that it was just a
question of working out what the story could actually concern. I knew I wanted
a brassy, old-New York feel with lots of mobsters, Nazis, Communists and fast
film-noir dialogue. As for The Doctor himself, I tried to get a lot of Paul
McGann's real-life brio and cheekiness into it. This is a Doctor who can be
quite reckless, just to see how things might turn out.
Directing the
story was an added bonus and I'd like to say how grateful I am to the whole
cast for making it such a laugh. We were only in the studio for a couple of
days but there was a real 'company' feel. The kid in me was genuinely touched
at how thrilled everyone was to be in Doctor Who. Simon Pegg, in particular,
for all his dabblings with the Force, basked, grinning, in the 'wintry
Saturday-nightness' of the experience.
I know we'd
all do it again like a shot. |
Mark Gatiss,
December 2001
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Full Cast
List:
| Part One |
| The Doctor |
Paul McGann |
| Charley Pollard |
India Fisher |
| Mouse |
Ian Hallard |
| Ellis |
Mark Benton |
| John Houseman |
Jonathan Rigby |
| Orson Welles |
David Benson |
| Bix Biro |
Paul Punter |
| Don Chaney |
Simon Pegg |
| Glory Bee |
Jessica Stevenson |
| Cosmo Devine |
John Arthur |
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| Part Two |
| The Doctor |
Paul McGann |
| Charley Pollard |
India Fisher |
| Ellis |
Mark Benton |
| Don Chaney |
Simon Pegg |
| Bix Biro |
Paul Punter |
| Glory Bee |
Jessica Stevenson |
| Orson Welles |
David Benson |
| John Houseman |
Jonathan Rigby |
| Cosmo Devine |
John Arthur |
| Winkler |
Ian Hallard |
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| Part Three |
| The Doctor |
Paul McGann |
| Charley Pollard |
India Fisher |
| Glory Bee |
Jessica Stevenson |
| Orson Welles |
David Benson |
| Cosmo Devine |
John Arthur |
| Ellis |
Mark Benton |
| Winkler |
Ian Hallard |
| John Houseman |
Jonathan Rigby |
| Bix Biro |
Paul Punter |
| Don Chaney |
Simon Pegg |
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| Part Four |
| The Doctor |
Paul McGann |
| Charley Pollard |
India Fisher |
| Cosmo Devine |
John Arthur |
| Don Chaney |
Simon Pegg |
| Ellis |
Mark Benton |
| Orson Welles |
David Benson |
| John Houseman |
Jonathan Rigby |
| Bix Biro |
Paul Punter |
The
Production Team:
| Writer |
Mark Gatiss |
| Director |
Mark Gatiss |
| Sound/Music |
Alistair Lock |
| Theme Music |
David Arnold |
| Producers |
Gary Russell and
Jason
Haigh-Ellery |
| Executive Producer for the BBC
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Jaqueline Rayner |
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