"Is this a Dalek I see before
me?" |
 The
Fifth story of this second 'season' of stories, starring
Paul McGann as the Eighth
Doctor and India Fisher as companion Charley
Pollard, is titled "The Time of the Daleks". As the
title suggests the Daleks are back. This story has been
written by Justin Richards, directed by Nicholas Briggs
and was recorded on the 22nd and 23rd January 2001.
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The
Time of the Daleks
(Justin Richards) |
|
With the Web of Time at breaking point, and the
Daleks seemingly in full control, can The Doctor and Charley save
Shakespeare?
The answers lie in the Eighth Doctor's debut audio
adventure with the dreaded Daleks - and for this, a crucial component of their
2002 Paul McGann season, Big Finish co-producer Gary Russell turned to writer
Justin Richards who knows the Eighth Doctor (and indeed, Shakespearean drama)
very well.
"The Time of the Daleks" is Justin Richards' first Doctor
Who audio play since May 2000's "Red Dawn", which featured
the Fifth Doctor, Peri and the Ice
Warriors. However, Justin Richards is better
known for his role as consultant for the BBC Books' range.
The cast list
includes: Don Warrington, Dot Smith, Nicola Boyce, Julian Harries, Jem Bassett,
Mark McDonald, Lee Moone, Ian Brooker, Ian Potter and Robert Curbishley.
Nicholas Briggs and Clayton Hickman have supplied the Dalek voices.
"A world of
conformity. No individuals, just a mass of humanity following orders.
A
world where there's no thought. No imagination. No love." |
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| Eighth Doctor |
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As the Dalek Empire continues to spread through
the galaxy, the Daleks are experimenting with time yet again. This time they
are attempting to conquer the fourth dimension and travel back to the
post-apocalyptic 21st century Earth to find a particular leader who can aid
them in their quest which involves Shakespeare - which could explain their
strange dialogue. But the Daleks are not fully aware that the consequences of
doing this can have very unpredictable results especially when The Doctor
becomes involved.
The Doctor and Charley arrive in 21st century Britain and
find a country torn apart by rebellion, a leader obsessed with Shakespeare and
a time machine that has been made from clocks and mirrors. And then there are
the Daleks...
To The Doctor,
this time device is crude and unworkable, and yet it does - leading him to
wonder if the Daleks know more than they are letting anyone else to believe.
However, inadvertently the Daleks trigger an explosive series of events which
The Doctor is forced to mend before everything is destroyed by the Dalek's
meddling with time. And then, when he the terrible truth about the Dalek's plan
begin to dawn on The Doctor, he becomes distracted by his concern for Charley,
who finds herself trapped in the past.
But in General
Maria Learman's New Britain, others are also conducting time experiments of
their own. A tempest in time has brought the Skarosian 'scholars' here, which
creates extreme turbulence in the Vortex that was responsible for the buffeting
The Doctor and Charley experienced before they even reached New Britain.
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| India Fisher |
|
What connection do these events have with the
gradual, unexplained disappearance of Shakespeare, 'the greatest playwright in
the universe' from England's history? Could this account for the unusual
vocabulary of the Daleks that The Doctor and Charley meet in Learman's palace?
What connects the array of mirrors in Professor Osric's breathtaking Hall of
Clocks with a trapped Dalek time ship? Can The Doctor trust General Learman -
and with rebels close at hand, can the General trust her own niece, Viola? Has
Shakespeare really disappeared from Earth's history and if so where has he
gone?
With rebels attacking the palace, the Daleks agreeing to help
Learman - but on their own terms - and The Doctor unwilling help, it looks as
if nothing is going to stop the Daleks in their preparations to become the
Masters of Time.
But could The Doctor have overlooked something. Something
very important - Could Charley herself be at the very heart of all the recent
events and time distortions which could threaten her very existence? There is
only one person who can stop the Daleks. But can he also save Charley?
Only
time will tell. If there is any left…
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Notes:
- Featuring the Eighth
Doctor and Charley
Pollard.
- This story includes the Daleks.
- Serial Number: 8K
- Number of Episodes: 4
- Cover Length: 110 minutes
- Episode Lengths: 1 = 31'24", 2 = 30'02", 3 =
28'05", 4 = 32'00"
- This story takes place after "Doctor
Who: The Movie".
- Cover Illustration: Clayton Hickman
- Recorded: 22nd and 23rd January 2001
- Recording Location: Christchurch Studios
- Released: May 2002
- ISBN: 1-903654-61-0
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On the
Back Cover:
The Doctor has always admired the work of William
Shakespeare. So he is a little surprised that Charley doesn't hold the galaxy's
greatest playwright in the same esteem. In fact she's never heard of
him.
Which The Doctor thinks is quite improbable.
General Mariah
Learman. ruling Britain after the Eurowars, is one of Shakespeare's greatest
admirers, and is convinced her time machine will enable her to see the plays'
original performances.
Which The Doctor believes is extremely
unlikely.
The Daleks just want to help. They want Learman to get her
time machine working. They want Charley to appreciate the first ever
performance of Julius Caesar. They believe that Shakespeare is the greatest
playwright ever to have existed and venerate his memory.
Which The Doctor knows is utterly impossible. |
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On the
Inside Cover:
THERE IS ALWAYS THE temptation to try to 'update'
the Daleks. but the danger with reinvention is that you might invent-out the
very elements that made the thing successful in the first place. So you have to
tread carefully, and you have to decide what those elements are, and play to
them. Having decided for myself what I thought they were, then I thought about
'reinvention'. Or possibly 'rediscovery'.
The
Evil of the Daleks has always been a favourite story of mine. One reason is that the
Daleks work so well within their city, because they are so totally in-keeping
with the surroundings. Yet they are equally impressive and striking in the
Victorian manor house - because they are so out of place, so
bizarre.
As a starting point for The Time of the Daleks, tasked myself
what the aural equivalent of this bizarre image might be - what could a Dalek
say that is striking and frightening simply because it is so totally out of
character? And having decided on that, all I needed was a story in which
Daleks' have a plausible reason for saying it.
Well, okay, it
wasn't quite that straightforward. Nothing about the Daleks ever is. They are
such stuff as nightmares are made on... |
Justin Richards,
January
2002 |
| |
FOR
JOHN
NATHAN-TURNER,
WITHOUT WHOM... |
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|
Full Cast
List:
| Part One |
| The Doctor |
Paul McGann |
| Charley Pollard |
India Fisher |
| The Orator |
Don Warrington |
| Dalek Voices |
Nicholas Briggs |
| General Mariah Learman |
Dot Smith |
| Viola |
Nicola Boyce |
| Major Ferdinand |
Julian Harries |
| Kitchen Boy |
Jem Bassett |
| Priestly |
Mark McDonald |
| Hart |
Lee Moone |
| Professor Osric |
Ian Brooker |
| Mark Anthony |
Ian Potter |
| |
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| Part Two |
| The Doctor |
Paul McGann |
| Charley Pollard |
India Fisher |
| Major Ferdinand |
Julian Harries |
| General Mariah Learman |
Dot Smith |
| Viola |
Nicola Boyce |
| Dalek Voices |
Nicholas Briggs
and
Clayton Hickman |
| Professor Osric |
Ian Brooker |
| Priestly |
Mark McDonald |
| Hart |
Lee Moone |
| Kitchen Boy |
Jem Bassett |
| |
|
| Part Three |
| The Doctor |
Paul McGann |
| Charley Pollard |
India Fisher |
| General Mariah Learman |
Dot Smith |
| Major Ferdinand |
Julian Harries |
| Dalek Voices |
Nicholas Briggs
and
Clayton Hickman |
| Hart |
Lee Moone |
| Viola |
Nicola Boyce |
| Kitchen Boy |
Jem Bassett |
| Priestly |
Mark McDonald |
| |
|
| Part Four |
| The Doctor |
Paul McGann |
| Charley Pollard |
India Fisher |
| General Mariah Learman |
Dot Smith |
| Dalek Voices |
Nicholas Briggs
and
Clayton Hickman |
| Major Ferdinand |
Julian Harries |
| Priestly |
Mark McDonald |
| Viola |
Nicola Boyce |
| Army Officer |
Ian Potter |
| Marcus |
Robert Curbishley |
| Professor Osric |
Ian Brooker |
| Kitchen Boy |
Jem Bassett |
The
Production Team:
| Writer |
Justin Richards |
| Director |
Nicholas Briggs |
| Sound/Music |
Nicholas Briggs |
| Theme Music |
David Arnold |
| Producers |
Gary Russell and
Jason
Haigh-Ellery |
| Executive Producer for the BBC
|
Jaqueline Rayner |
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