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A rip-roaring swashbuckling adventure from Big Finish
Productions |
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The
Church and the Crown
(Cavan Scott and
Mark Wright) |
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 The release
for November 2002 is "The Church and the Crown". It was originally titled "The
Swashbucklers" and was a replacement for "Nekromanteia", by Austen Atkinson,
which had to be delayed until February 2003. "The Church and the Crown" was
also originally due to be released in October but it swapped places with "The Sandman".
"The
Church and the Crown" marks the return of the writing team of Cavan Scott and
Mark Wright to the Big Finish Productions Doctor Who audios, who previously
wrote their successful debut story "Project:
Twilight". This time though they have delivered something completely
different: a pure historical adventure that has the hallmarks of being
influenced by The Three Musketeers.
It features
the same cast as "Nekromanteia" of Peter Davison, Nicola Bryant and Caroline
Morris as the Fifth
Doctor, Peri and Erimem and will now be the first actual
adventure with former Egyptian Pharaoh Erimem as a companion since her debut
story "The Eye of the
Scorpion". This story sees The Doctor and his two female companions
visiting 17th Century Paris where trouble - inevitably - waits for them.
Also
starring are: Andrew Mackay, Michael Shallard, Marcus Hutton, Peter John, Andy
Coleman, Robert Curbishley and Wendy Albiston. It is directed by Gary Russell
and was recorded on the 5th and 6th September 2002.
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Peri |
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The peace in
Paris, under the reign of Louis XIII, is regularly breached
by skirmishes between the King's musketeers - like the
flamboyant Delmarre and Rouffet - and the personal guards
of Louis' chief minister, Richelieu.
As the two King's
Musketeers find themselves confronted by a mob of the
Cardinal's Guards it is readily apparent that Paris is
not a very peaceful city.
So when the
temperamental TARDIS,
makes another off-course landing a few thousand years
off course, and deposits The Doctor and his two female
companions in the 17th Century French capital, they can
hardly escape the friction between the monarchy and the
man of God.
Shouldn't
The Doctor know better than to encourage his companion
Peri and their travelling guest Erimem take a look around
the city on the morning of King Louis' annual State Ball?
Why does Peri feel that
everyone - including Richelieu - is reacting strangely
to her? What intrigue is the Duke of Buckingham planning
and how will Pharoah Erimem fare in an unfamiliar court?
How dangerous will the King and Cardinal's own skirmishes
become and does anyone know the whereabouts of Queen Anne?
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| Fifth Doctor |
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As Peri becomes embroiled in a plot to kill Queen
Anne and smash the unity of the Church and the Crown, The Doctor's first
meeting with the story's hero Musketeers causes a misunderstanding which leads,
inevitably, to a challenge to a duel. The Doctor may claim that he knows a
thing or three about the novelised musketeers, but what happens when he runs
into some real ones?
With Richelieu determined to achieve what's best
for France, irrespective of whether his King approves or not and with his
guards' loyalty not being extended towards Louis' queen, Anne of Austria there
is a deep division between Cardinal Richelieu and King Louis XIII.
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| Caroline Morris |
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As
King Louis anxiously awaits Anne's return he, along with everyone
else in Paris, is
unaware that a look-a-like has already arrived.
Then after a chance meeting Peri finds herself kidnapped and in a
far great danger then she realises. And
with Erimem in danger too The Doctor has
rather a lot of things to do to save his travelling companions from
certain death.
As
the breakdown of the relationship between Cardinal Richelieu and King
Louis
escalate significantly there is a much greater
risk that the country will become even more divided between the two
factions that they represent. However,
could the conflict actually be manipulated
by an outside source? The Doctor is in a race to discover the truth
before it's too late.
With
Peri missing and Erimem catching King Louis' eye and with a Musketeer's
sword at
your throat, could things get any worse?
Highly
likely if The Doctor is involved...
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Notes:
- Featuring the Fifth
Doctor, Peri and Erimem.
- Serial Number: 6Q/C
- Number of Episodes: 4
- Cover Length: 105 minutes
- Episode Lengths: 1 = 23'28", 2 = 30'25", 3 =
21'09", 4 = 27'42"
- Total Story Length: 102'44"
- This story takes place between "Planet
of Fire"
and "The
Caves of Androzani", and follows "The
Eye of the Scorpion".
- Early Titles: "The Musketeers"
and "The Swashbucklers".
- Cover Illustration: Clayton Hickman
- Recorded: 5th and 6th September 2002
- Recording Location: The Moat Studios
- Released: November 2002
- ISBN: 1-903654-75-0
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On the Back Cover:
A nation divided
A Queen's life at risk
A net of conspiracy closing in...
Sometimes being
a time travelling adventurer just isn't easy...
For a start
there's a temperamental TARDIS that lands a few thousand
years off course in 17th Century Paris. But why shouldn't
The Doctor, Peri and their travelling guest Erimem take
a look around the city on the morning of King Louis' annual
State Ball?
As
Peri becomes embroiled in a plot to kill Queen Anne and
smash the unity of the Church and the Crown, The Doctor
finds himself duelling Musketeers on the streets.
With Peri missing, Erimem catching King Louis' eye and a Musketeer's sword at your
throat, could things get any worse?
Probably... |
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On the Inside Cover:
YOU KNOW, TIME
TRAVEL is supposed to be fun. From watching the Fifth
Doctor's era on TV, you may have missed that bit. The
TARDIS crew of the time were a whining bunch of kids who
spent most of the time arguing whilst the Universe tapped
its foot, looked at its watch and waited to be saved.
Nobody seemed to want to be there. And let's not get started
on Turlough.
Writing The Church and
the Crown was a particular pleasure for many reasons.
Firstly, Mark got to write for his favourite Doctor (Cav
got to do that last time), along with Peri, one of the
missed opportunities for a Doctor/companion team. Secondly,
we were able to play in a world of swashbuckling adventure,
romance and double cross, a real love since first watching
Richard Lester's filmic spin on The Three Musketeers
in our youth.
Finally, The Church
and the Crown sees Caroline Morris as cosmopolitan
Pharaoh around town, Erimem, embarking on her first adventure
as a member of the TARDIS crew proper, and the Fifth Doctor
finally getting two companions who can stand to be in
the same room together. lain, we hope we did your girl
proud.
Oh, and for those wondering,
the vampires don't turn up until the end of episode three
this time.
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Cavan Scott & Mark Wright,
September 2002 |
Mark
Wright lives in London. Cavan Scott lives in Bath. Thankfully
some bright spark invented email, thus enabling these
two miscreants to work on this, their second Big Finish
audio drama – their previous was called Project:
Twilight. They also wrote a Bernice Summerfield
short story for the Dead Men Diaries anthology,
entitled Christmas Spirit. These men are dangerous
and the public are advised to steer well clear. |
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Production Notes:
The
Church and the Crown emerged one evening from conversations
that took place regarding a possible sequel to the writers'
previous audio, Project:
Twilight. Another Fifth Doctor script had been
delayed and a replacement was needed, thus preliminary
discussions were halted on what would eventually become
Project: Lazarus and once it had been decided that
a pure historical was required, Mark was very keen on
a pastiche of The Three Musketeers or, in particular,
Bichard Lester's wonderful movie version from the late
Seventies. One further twist on this was giving Nicola
Bryant an opportunity to shine even brighter than she
normally does as Peri... |
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Full Cast List:
| The Doctor |
Peter Davison |
| Peri |
Nicola Bryant |
| Erimem |
Caroline Morris |
| De Chevreuse (A Lady-in-Waiting) |
Wendy Albiston |
| Rouffet (A Musketeer) |
Andy Coleman |
| Morand (A Captain) |
Robert Curbishley |
| Buckingham (An English Duke) |
Marcus Hutton |
| Delmarre (A Musketeer) |
Peter John |
| Louis (A King) |
Andrew Mackay |
| Richelieu (A Cardinal) |
Michael Shallard |
The Production Team:
| Writer |
Cavan Scott
and Mark Wright |
| Director |
Gary Russell |
| Sound/Music |
Russell Stone |
| Theme Music |
Mark Ayres
and Alistair Lock |
| Producers |
Gary Russell and
Jason Haigh-Ellery |
| Executive Producer for the BBC |
Jaqueline Rayner |
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