 |
Catch-1782
(Alison Lawson) |
|
 "Catch-1782"
was the release for April 2005 and features Colin Baker,
as the Sixth
Doctor, and Bonnie Langford, as Melanie
Bush.
Formerly called "The Time Spirit" this story
has been written by Alison Lawson. This is Alison Lawson's
first Doctor Who audio play for Big Finish Productions.
It was recorded on the 25th and 26th October 2004 and
is directed by Gary Russell.
This
story was scheduled to be released in May 2005 but due
to cast availability for "Three's
a Crowd"
Big Finish Productions decided to swap these two releases.
Therefore "Catch-1782" was released in April
and "Three’s a Crowd" was released in
May.
Also starring are: Derek Benfiled, Michael Chance, Keith
Drinkel, Ian Fairbairn, Rhiannon Meades and Jillie Meers.
 |
| Sixth Doctor |
|
When
Melanie’s uncle, John Hallam, invites her to the
scientific foundation, where he lives, to attend a centenary
ceremony marking the organisation's inauguration and to
witness the burying of a time capsule in the foundation’s
grounds, The Doctor decides they should attend. However,
even Berkshire may conceal a kink in time and a prototype
time capsule that is oddly duplicated.
While
at the foundation, and instead of partaking in scientific
discussion while consuming champagne and nibbles, Melanie
takes the chance to slip away so that she can delve into
her family history for the building the foundation is
housed within once belonged to them. However, unbeknown
to The Doctor and Melanie the prototype time capsule is
made of an unstable material which the presence of the
TARDIS
opens a kink in time and so Melanie soon finds herself
blasted back into the past trapped far from the twenty-first
century.
Melanie
it seems has arrived within the house of Henry Hallam
in the month of December in the year 1781. There she meets
the grieving Lord or the Manor – who has recently
lost his wife, housekeeper Mrs McGregor and Henry’s
physician and friend Doctor Wallace.
Lost,
alone and seemingly confused Henry Hallam takes pity on
Melanie and gives refuge until she can recover her senses.
Unfortunately for Melanie her post-temporal time travel
sickness and confused knowledge of the future condemns
her to a life in the past. And worse the physicians of
1781 misdiagnose her daze and give her a strong drug which
puts her into a drugged stupor for six months. During
this time Henry Hallam's kindness turns into affection
as he looks to replace his late wife with Melanie or,
as he believes her to be called, Elena.
 |
Melanie
|
|
Melanie though is convinced that The Doctor will turn
up to rescue her. But why is it taking so long?
Luckily for Melanie The Doctor eventually arrives to rescue
her. But there is a dilemma for it appears that Melanie
has inadvertently become a key part of her own family
history and so it seems is condemned never to return to
the twenty-first century.
How
will the Hallams’ history, which John has researched,
rebound on his niece? Will Melanie be able to escape the
grieving Lord or the Manor who falls for her out of sympathy?
And will obsessive, the insanely jealous housekeeper,
who wants Henry for herself, come to her rescue or will
she succumb to the treatment of the ineffective physician
who's blind to the truth of what's before him?
The Doctor may have arrived to rescue her, but after being
banished from the house, Melanie is still alone and in
danger from a man obsessed with affection for Melanie.
Will The Doctor be able to rescue her or will he have
to leave her in 1782, so as to preserve her and John's
future, and will he be able to resolve this catch 1782?
|
| |
|
Notes:
- Featuring the Sixth
Doctor and Melanie
Bush.
- Serial Number: 7C/T
- Number of Episodes: 4
- Cover Length: 100 minutes
- Episode Lengths: 1 = 27'07", 2 = 23'12",
3 = 28'11", 4 = 24'21"
- Total Story Length: 102'51"
- This story takes place between "The
Trial of a Time Lord" and "Time
and the Rani" and after "The
Juggernauts".
- Early Title: "The Time Sprite".
- Cover Illustration: Lee Binding
- Recorded: 25th and 26th October 2004
- Recording Location: The Moat Studios
- Released: April 2005
- ISBN: 1-84435-135-1
|
|
On the Back Cover:
When The Doctor and
Mel visit the National Foundation for Scientific Research
as it celebrates its centenary, Mel expects only to be
able to catch up with her uncle. She doesn’t expect
to meet her own ancestors... What is buried
in the grounds of the Foundation?
What secret
has Henry Hallam kept from his descendants for three
hundred years?
Can Mel escape
her own past?
Visiting your relatives
can sometimes be trying, but surely it should never
be this difficult?
|
| |
|
On the Inside Cover:
DO YOU LIKE
GHOST STORIES? I WAS NEVER much of a fan of them until
one day someone told me that the building I worked in
was supposedly haunted. It made me think. Not so much
about what ghosts may be, whether they exist or why
people believe in them, but what fantastic stories are
told about them and how marvellous the spine-tingling
feeling is when you hear those stories.
So is Catch-1782
a ghost story? No, not really. But if you travel to
your own past, are you the ghost or are you walking
among ghosts? I pondered this question while on holiday,
sitting in the sunshine with a glass of wine, and the
idea for Catch-1782 began to take shape.
The astonishment
I felt when Gary Russell liked my idea and commissioned
me to write the play was matched only by my terror at
having to write real, recorded Doctor Who. That terror
was, however, eclipsed by the pressure of deadlines
and the play was soon written. Then rewritten. And rewritten
again. But the pressure didn’t matter, because
it was a dream come true.
I enjoy writing
for the Sixth Doctor, who I feel has much to offer in
terms of emotional range. I worried a little about putting
Mel through the mill, but was pleased to be able to
write for her in a historical setting where she is the
centre of attention.
Catch-1782
was fun to write. I hope you enjoy it.
|
Alison Lawson,
October 2004 |
Alison
Lawson has written a number of Doctor Who short
stories for Big Finish’s Short Trips anthology
range. This is her first audio drama. However, we suspect
it won’t be her last. |
| |
|
Production Notes:
Although Catch-1782 was initially conceived with
Peri in mind, it was then decided to use Mel instead. This
allowed an exploration of Mel’s ancestry - a plot
originally earmarked for Julia, the daughter of Professor
Munro. At first, Mel’s transportation was the work
of a mischievous elfin character, a time sprite who sought
to cause mischief and mayhem, and make Mel’s eighteenth-century
life hell! But as the story progressed, and the characters
in Henry Hallam’s household became stronger, it
was realised that the sprite itself was largely redundant
and was, in fact, detracting from the historical setting.
Casting
Mel’s family was fun - and director Gary Russell
turned to Cohn Baker for help. As a longtime fan of
one of Cohn’s old TV series, The Brothers,
Gary enquired from Colin the whereabouts of Derek Benfield,
who’d played lorry driver Bill Riley. Luckily,
Cohn and Derek were still great mates. Then, to play
Mel’s Georgian relative, Gary asked A Family
at War actor Keith Drinkel, unaware that he too
was an old friend of Colin’s! Naturally, a great
deal of studio time was therefore spent reminiscing
rather than working...
|
| |
|
Who's Who?
The Sixth Doctor
First television appearance: "The
Twin Dilemma"
First chronological Big Finish audio appearance: "Davros"
He
has been exploring the universe fix hundreds of years.
He fights injustice. He defeats evil. He helps people.
In his sixth incarnation, The Doctor’s propensity
for philology, sesquipedalianism and all matters grammatical
has developed to a degree of dexterity that puts all others
to shame. He has recently found himself travelling with
Mel, an energetic and effervescent young woman. Her optimistic
attitudes and able-minded attack of problems have helped
soften the at times terse and troubled Time Lord.
Melanie Bush
First television appearance: "The
Trial of a Time Lord"
First chronological Big Finish audio appearance: "The
One Doctor".
A
computer expert from twentieth-century Earth - Pease Pottage,
East Sussex, to be specific - Melanie Jane Bush is young,
bright and enthusiastic. She enjoys her time with The Doctor and the adventures they have. They met for the
first time from Mel’s point of view in 1989 - however,
The Doctor had by this point seen his future and had already
met Miss Bush! More recently, the pair encountered the
twisted scientist Davros and became embroiled in a battle
between two of his creations - The
Mechanoids and the
Daleks! |
| |
|
Full Cast List:
| The Doctor |
Colin Baker |
| Melanie |
Bonnie Langford |
| John Hallam |
Derek Benfiled |
| Dr Wallace |
Michael Chance |
| Henry Hallam |
Keith Drinkel |
| Professor David Munro |
Ian Fairbairn |
| Rachel |
Rhiannon Meades |
| Mrs McGregor |
Jillie Meers |
The Production Team:
| Writer |
Alison Lawson |
| Director |
Gary Russell |
| Sound/Music |
Russell Stone |
| Theme Music |
David Darlington |
| Producers |
Gary Russell and
Jason Haigh-Ellery |
|
|
|
|
