Arrangements for War (Paul Sutton)

For May 2004 we have the welcome return, after a gap of just under a year, of a story with the Sixth Doctor, played by Colin Baker, with companion Evelyn Smythe played by Maggie Stables. This story follows on from “Project: Lazarus” where we witnessed the tragic events in the Forge and the death of Cassie - a young girl who had been turned into a vampire and who had been befriended by Evelyn.

 This story, titled “Arrangements for War”, centres on the effects of recent events on Evelyn’s and The Doctor’s relationship. It has been described as a Mills and Boon-style gentle romance of love and war mixed in a heady concoction.

Written by Paul Sutton this story, that marks his Big Finish debut, has been directed by Gary Russell and was recorded 19th and 20th February 2004.

 Also starring are: Gabriel Woolf (who played Sutekh in the television story “Pyramids of Mars”), Philip Bretherton, Geoffrey Leesley, Katarina Olsson, Lewis Rae and Kraig Thornber.

Sixth Doctor

After escaping the tragic events in the Forge, the murderous clutches of Nimrod and the death of Cassie nerves are strained onboard the TARDIS.

 The Doctor and Evelyn have things to talk about. But it seems The Doctor's attitude towards another death in their lives is a subject that these days that is too close to Evelyn's heart. Despite The Doctor clearly trying his best to deal with his own emotions she eventually demands to be set down somewhere where she can be free of him for a while. And so they come to Világ - where love is everywhere. But then war is too.

 But not all is straight forwards as Evelyn and The Doctor part company and then fall in with opposite sides and in different ways which creates rather of a dilemma - the marriage between Princess of Galen and the Prince of Melidian that will unite the two countries and put an end to their conflict. Of course, as it always is, things are not that simple and the Princess has her eye on another man, Corporal Reid - who just happens to be one of her own military men, and has to choose between true love or a false love that will bind her people...

 The Doctor finds himself in the unconventional role of go-between, he knows full well that the marriage has to take place to unite the two countries so that their union can strengthen the military and so avert an upcoming Killoran invasion. So he finds himself assisting in the hushing up the Princess's affair with her guard, passing notes between them and forced to endure their flirting as he is wedged between them in public displays.

 However, Corporal Reid's longing for Princess Krisztina is just the start of a potentially politically harmful union so it is therefore of no surprise that The Doctor's meddling has landed him in the middle of a truly dangerous liaison despite Evelyn's current opinion of him.

Maggie Stables

 Evelyn in the meantime meets a man who wants to change the course of her life forever. As if all her prayers were answered Evelyn meets up with Rossiter, Governor of Vilag, who offers her stability and beauty and romance. Naturally after such a terrible time of late she dives head first into his affections and they greatly enjoy their time together, splashing in the sea, taking in the sights. He even manages to get her involved with the politics of the planet, an important position that she finds stimulating in the extreme. Could it really be time for Evelyn to leave The Doctor? Or is the choice about to be taken out of her hands? Then as love vows are shared, Rossitor mysteriously disappears. Her blooming relationship with Governer Rossitor it seems is a strange one.

 However, the biggest mistake The Doctor makes is misjudging the timing of the coming of the alien invaders the Killoran. Evelyn seems rather more worried about this, and the aura of doom that befalls Világ, than The Doctor.

  Despite all The Doctor can do it seems that events are still out of their control. History is about to repeat itself as The Doctor and Evelyn are about to witness another tragic death - and one that is a direct result of The Doctor’s meddling in things that maybe should have been left well alone.

 As tragedy strikes The Doctor decides enough is enough and so makes the dramatic decision to set the TARDIS on a course to alter established history that could have far greater tragic results. Given his aversion to such crimes in the past, it reveals just how hurt he is by recent developments. Who is to say what is the beginning and what is the end of love? Will Evelyn ever be able to forgive The Doctor or maybe her timely intervention can not only save the day but also their relationship.

 Only time will tell…

On the Back Cover:

 Onboard the TARDIS, nerves are strained.

 After escaping the Forge and the murderous clutches of Nimrod, The Doctor and Evelyn have things to talk about. The Doctor's attitude towards death is a subject that these days is too close to Evelyn's heart, and eventually she demands to be set down somewhere where she can be free of him for a while.

 And so they come to Világ, where The Doctor's meddling lands him in the middle of a truly dangerous liaison and Evelyn meets a man who wants to change the course of her life forever.

 Love is everywhere. But then war is too.

 Is it time for Evelyn to leave The Doctor? Or is the choice about to be taken out of her hands?

 And who is to say what is the beginning and what is the end of love?

 I’D LIKE TO DEDICATE THIS adventure to my grandmother, Mrs Ethel Elizabeth Wright (1914-1992), who provided me with my earliest memory of Doctor Who: at her house one Saturday, a six-year-old me drew a perfect picture of a TARDIS. I’d used blue crayons and everything. To complete it I asked her how to spell ‘police’ but unfortunately she thought I’d said ‘please’. So I was left with a perfect picture of a time-travelling please box. Thanks, nan.

 Thanks to Gary and everyone at Big Finish for carrying on the tradition. Long may they do so.

 Thanks to my friend Andrew ‘Marcus’ Reid for spending a shed-load of his time reading all the proposals I wrote and making damn fine suggestions when he should really have been writing his own stuff.

 Thanks to Paul Boyling, Kurcz Tünde, Andrew (again) and my wife for a fun afternoon (without sandwiches...) doing the read-through.

 And thanks to Iron Maiden for writing Dance of Death, and every other album in their back catalogue. Up the Irons!

 And just to say that I love my wife, who not only came up with the truly fabulous expression ‘mind-blindingly’, but is quite possibly the only Hungarian on this or any other planet who knows when to come in with the ‘oo-eee-ooo’s when her husband starts going ‘dum-di-di-dum, dum-di-di-dum’...!

Production Notes:

Although he was unsuccessful when pitching an idea for the Excelis mini-series, when the open-door policy for unsolicited scripts was announced in 2003 Paul Sutton immediately sent in an idea entitled Thine Will Be Done. It was a terrific idea except that many of the themes of love, death and redemption had been explored recently by Joseph Lidster in Master.

 Having lost contact with Paul after Excelis, but being terribly impressed by his pitch, producer Gary Russell was delighted to receive Thine Will Be Done, but rejected it, asking for another idea. First off, Paul suggested Containment, set in and around Lithuania with military cover-ups and other paranoia elements, and Arrangements for War, which suited the producer’s desire for a Mills and Boon-style gentle romance. Paul was asked to feature the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn, and to resolve some of the incidents alluded to in Project: Lazarus.

About the only real changes were the Princess’s name being altered from Amelia (the same as a character from Project: Twilight) to Krisztina (the name of Paul’s wife), rather less location-hopping, and the replacement of Paul’s aliens, the Choy’im, with a race from the Bernice Summerfield audio series, the Killorans.