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The
Game
(Darin Henry) |
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 Continuing
the initial run of regular Doctor Who releases
for 2005 being written by writers previously unconnected
to Big Finish February sees Seinfeld writer Darin
Henry’s "The Game". Darin Henry also counts
Muppets Tonight, Grosse Point and Futurama
amongst his writing credits. "The Game" has
been directed by Gary Russell and was recorded between
the 27th and 29th October 2004.
Formerly
called "Game Time" this Fifth
Doctor story, starring Peter Davison, was due to be
the first release for 2005. However, it has swapped places
with "The Juggernauts" and is now entitled "The
Game". Originally Big Finish Productions were planning
that this release, like the month before last release
"The
Next Life", to be a triple CD adventure. Even
though it is still a six-part story it will now be released
on a normal double CD.
Darin Henry 's script is the first original play
to use the extra episodes within the standard two disc
format. In his author's notes he talks about how in the
past the inherent danger of the traditional six part Doctor
Who adventure was "repetition, padding and tedium"
- The solution used in this story is rather novel, for
"The Game" is a six part story that runs to
the length of what has become the standard Big Finish
Productions Doctor Who Audio of just under two hours.
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"The
Game" also sees the welcome return of Nyssa, played
by Sarah Sutton, who we have not heard since May 2003’s
"Creatures of Beauty". This story also features
a special guest appearance by William Russell who played
companion Ian
Chesterton with William Hartnell, the First
Doctor, back in the 1960's. However, William Russell
is not reprising his role of Ian Chesterton but is playing
the part of Lord Darzil Carlisle, whose reputation as
a brilliant peace negotiator may not be wholly accurate...
As
stated by William Russell "Carlisle is rather
a complicated creature because at first he appears indifferent
to Cray’s peace process, almost embarrassed. Yet
he has apparently, according to The Doctor, stopped many
wars. That connection between them is rather ambiguous.
It’s quite a complicated story but a very exciting
one."
Other
guests include: Christopher Ellison and Gregory Donaldon,
who both starred in the ITV police drama series "The
Bill", and Jonathan Pearce who is a football commentator
for the BBC. Also starring are: Steve Berry, Ursula Burton,
Robert Curbishley, Ian Kubiak, Andrew Lothian and Dickon
Tolson.
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Nyssa |
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The
Doctor and Nyssa experience the full violence of a spectator
sport where the only rule is kill or be killed. The Game
in question is "naxy" where each match consists
of the two sides, the Gora and Lineen, battling for the
most fatal eliminations in a competition that has lasted
for years. While the population of Cray view it as brutal
entertainment, their recently-twinned world of Earth sees
it from a different perspective. They believe the game
is a war and have dispatched their greatest peacekeeper
to end the slaughter. That man, Lord Carlisle, is someone
The Doctor has longed to meet and the planet Cray is his
last chance to do so. Therefore he decides to take Nyssa
to Cray for a holiday...
However, when The Doctor and Nyssa arrive, the Gora and
the Lineen are set to face off in the grudge match to
end all grudge matches. The players are limbering up,
the commentators are preparing, the fans are daubing themselves
in their team's colours. The arena is set, and the kick-off
is approaching.
Cray's entire future depends on the match's outcome, but
the time travellers soon realise that it is anything but
just a game and that naxy is a sport that anyone can play
- whether they want to or not and The Doctor finds himself
doing just that.
While
The Doctor is trying to save his life and to stop the
bloodshed that is taking place around him he inadvertently
becomes the naxy's new hero after his plan to stop the
slaughter unwittingly leads to the Gora's greatest victory
for sometime. The Doctor unwittingly finds himself a celebrity
and also the defeated Lineen’s number one enemy.
Nyssa meanwhile finds herself in the company of Lord Carlisle
and is horrified to witness the predicament that The Doctor
has found himself in and is unable to persuade the Earth
delegation of the brutality and to call a halt to the
match. Despite wanting to gain access to the arena herself
she is finally relieved that The Doctor survives his first
match virtually unscathed albeit disgusted at what goes
on in Cray.
During her time with Lord Carlisle she comes across some
papers which contain the suggestion that, despite Lord
Carlisle’s reputation as one of the greatest forces
for peace throughout the galaxy and a noble negotiator
for peace, his current peace talks that he is involved
in might not be all they seem. As Nyssa is soon to discover
that the reality is that Carlisle has infact relied on
the assistance of The Doctor throughout his career to
achieve his goals. And so when faced with a situation
where The Doctor is unavailable Lord Carlisle finds himself
totally out of his depth especially when the peace talks
start.
Could the influence of an outside agent also be involved
in Cray’s affairs and what is the real significance
of an alien coin that doesn't belong on Cray that The
Doctor stumbles across? What is happening to Ambassador
Faye Davis and why is Lord Carlisle not the same person
that The Doctor thinks he is? How can a team sport instil
such a large tribal mentality bordering on fanaticism
in its supporters and how can a civilised sport become
such a popular killing game where killing others is the
only option for survival?
But is there something The Doctor should be more worried
about then his own survival? Like that of his companion
whose developing friendship with Lord Carlisle could lead
her into mortal danger especially when Nyssa revisits
Lord Carlisle and in doing so is attacked by mysterious
creature who has a reputation for brutal murder. Luckily
for her Hollis Az comes to her rescue - but Nyssa is soon
to find out that Hollis has challenged The Doctor to a
naxy one-on-one duel and so it is up to her to help Lord
Carlisle and so rescue The Doctor from certain death.
Nyssa also becomes a captive and forced to accept the
outcome of her naivety, when she deduces that the real
traitor is someone who is also involved with the current
peace talks and who both her and The Doctor have trusted.
As aliens invade the naxy pitch, and start to terrorise
Cray’s population, it soon becomes clear that there
is a much greater threat to The Doctor’s very existence
than the sport of naxy. All starts to become clear when
and he finds himself held captive, along with Nyssa, and
in the hands of the universally renown villain and crime
boss Morian. But what does Morian want with The Doctor
and his TARDIS?
Will The Doctor be able to prevent even more bloodshed
when Cray’s population turn against Morian and his
alien lapdogs - especially when The Game is everything
and The Game gets out of control...
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Notes:
- Featuring the Fifth
Doctor and Nyssa.
- Serial Number: 6C/G
- Number of Episodes: 6
- Cover Length: 115 minutes
- Episode Lengths: 1 = 18'37", 2 = 18'22",
3 = 19'18", 4 = 21'45", 5 = 20'17",
6 = 19'51"
- Total Story Length: 118'10"
- This story takes place between "Time-Flight"
and "Arc
of Infinity" and after "Creatures
of Beauty".
- Early Title: "Game Time".
- Cover Illustration: Lee Binding
- Recorded: 27th and 29th October 2004.
- Recording Location: The Moat Studios
- Released: February 2005
- ISBN: 1-84435-100-9
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On the Back Cover:
On the planet Cray,
it's game time. The Gora and
the Lineen are set to face off in the grudge match to
end all grudge matches. The players are limbering up,
the commentators are preparing, the fans are daubing
themselves in their team's colours.
The arena is
set, and the kick-off is approaching.
When The Doctor
and Nyssa arrive, however, they find that naxy is a
sport that anyone can play - whether they want to or
not. Cray's entire future depends on the match's outcome,
but the time travellers soon realise that it is anything
but just a game… |
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On the Inside Cover:
THE DALEKS?
PUSHOVERS. THE CYBERMEN? Wimps. To me, the scariest
Doctor Who monster of all was The Six-Part
Adventure. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, this bloated
beast blazed a path of destruction, leaving repetition,
padding and tedium in its wake. It could obliterate
production budgets and devour plot twists as quickly
as they could be devised. To my great regret, the Fifth
Doctor was never given a chance to tackle The Six-Part
Adventure... until now.
When Gary Russell
and I first discussed my idea for The Game, I said...
well, actually, I can’t remember what I said but
it worked and here I am, writing this. But I do recall
that I was itching to write my first Doctor Who
and six episodes felt like ample scratching time. It
was only as I finished the first draft of Part Four
that I realised why so many have tried to tame The Six-Part
Adventure: Doctor Who is extremely fun to write!
I certainly
hope you enjoy listening to The Game and find it worthy
of all of its six parts. Me, I’m off to prep my
proposal for the Fifth Doctor’s very first Twelve-Part
Adventure!
Eternal thanks
to my wife, Ursula, whose talent and generosity know
no limits. Additional thanks to my family in Pennsylvania
who knew of my love for Doctor Who and respected
my desire to keep its secret. Thanks also to my writer
friends in LA and London, who continually teach me better
ways to tell stories. Finally, thanks to the Fitzroy
regulars, especially Paul, Ian, Rob and Simon.
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Darin Henry,
October 2004 |
Darin
Henry has had a writing career most of us can only dream
of… and we hate him for it. Lots. He’s written
for Seinfeld, Ellen, Grasse Point,
The Muppets Tonight and Futurama...
but we’re not jealous - oh, no! Recently he’s
been in the UK working on BBC One’s My Family
and in Los Angeles working with Jenny McCarthy. Actually,
we’re just grateful he found the time to do Doctor
Who... |
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Production Notes:
When writer Darin Henry and producer Gary Russell sat
down to discuss the story that ultimately became The
Game, Darin’s initial idea was to feature the
Sixth
Doctor. He felt that a romance between the character
of Darzil Carlisle and The Doctor’s companion, Evelyn
Smythe, would be a new direction for the series.
However,
unbeknownst to Darin until that meeting Arrangements
for War, featuring a similar concept, had recently
been recorded. Darin and Gary then threw around other
possible line-ups for the story and settled upon the
Fifth Doctor (always a sporty kind of chap) and Nyssa,
who could see in Carlisle a kind of surrogate father
figure to whom she could relate.
Dam was very keen that a genuine football commentator
play the part of Diblick - and they don’t come
any better than Match of the Day’s Jonathan
Pearoe. Gary, meanwhile, was delighted to secure William
Russell - no relation! - for the role of Carlisle, as
well as a couple of stars from the heyday of ITV’s
The Bill in the shapes of Christopher Ellison and Greg
Donaldson to play some of the less savoury characters
found on Cray...
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Who's Who?
The Fifth Doctor
First television appearance: "Castrovalva"
First chronological Big Finish audio appearance: "The
Land of the Dead"
He
has been exploring the universe for hundreds of years.
He fights injustice. He defeats evil. He helps people.
In his fifth incarnation, The Doctor has found himself
not only in a less explosive state - more restrained in
temper, calmer in attitude - but also visually younger
in appearance than he used to be. Some underestimate him
due to his comparatively youthful nature. The enemies
who do, do so at their own risk...
Nyssa
First television appearance: "The
Keeper of Traken"
First chronological Big Finish audio appearance: "The
Land of the Dead".
After
the death of her father, Nyssa, a young, intelligent woman
from the planet Traken, began travelling with The Doctor.
She is logical and pragmatic - a great believer in science
and reason - but is also compassionate and caring. At
first, she and The Doctor shared the TARDIS with others,
but lately, it’s just been the two of them. They
have recently visited Earth at various points in its history
- Alaska in the 1990’s, Switzerland in the 1960’s,
America in the twenty-second century - as well as both
Traken and Trios in their respective infancies. Their
last trip was to the planet Veln, where Nyssa was arrested,
tortured and interrogated... |
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Full Cast List:
| The Doctor |
Peter Davison |
| Nyssa |
Sarah Sutton |
| Robot Butler |
Steve Berry |
| Ambassador Faye Davis |
Ursula Burton |
| Ockle Dirr |
Robert Curbishley |
| Coach Bela Destry |
Greg Donaldon |
| Morian |
Christopher Ellison |
| Mr Jelluhjee |
Ian Kubiak |
| Hollis Az |
Andrew Lothian |
| Garny Diblick |
Jonathan Pearce |
| Lord Carlisle |
William Russell |
| Coach Sharz Sevix |
Dickon Tolson |
The Production Team:
| Writer |
Darin Henry |
| Director |
Gary Russell |
| Sound/Music |
Andy Hardwick |
| Theme Music |
David Darlington |
| Producers |
Gary Russell and
Jason Haigh-Ellery |
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