 The
release for July 2006 is "The Nowhere Place" and
is a Sixth
Doctor story where he has some ghostly encounters.
It is written and directed by Nicholas Briggs and was
recorded on the 27th and 28th March 2006.
This
is Nicholas Briggs’ first audio for Big Finish’s
regular Doctor Who range since 2003 – His previous
story being "Creatures
of Beauty". He also
wrote Big Finish’s first ever Doctor Who audio
drama, which started this series off, "The Sirens of Time".
This
release also sports two alternative covers. Back in 2003
Big Finish released the story "Project:
Lazarus" with two
alternative covers, by Lee Binding, each featuring either
Colin Baker or Sylvester McCoy.
For 2006, this July's Sixth Doctor release, "The
Nowhere Place" will also come with one of two alternative
covers. However, as they only feature the Sixth Doctor,
the opportunity for subscribers to choose a cover will
not this time be an option. But each cover has been produced
in identical quantities so no one cover is harder to
find than the other and they will be randomly selected
for both subscribers, online and store deliveries.
Both covers have been obtained from budding
graphic designers who have demonstrated their talents
on the web. Producer Gary Russell and cover artist Lee
Binding have been keeping an eye on various threads in
the Big Finish section of the Outpost Gallifrey forum
and a small number of these artists were contacted and
were offered the chance to submit cover ideas for "The
Nowhere Place". From the subsequent ideas and submissions
received, two ideas struck the right chord and they were
then worked up by the artists to a finished state, submitted
to the BBC for approval (as all covers are) and once
they were signed off, the two artists were told that
they had been successful.
Thus
Simon Holub from East Anglia in the UK and William Cox
from West Virginia in the USA have created the two covers
below.
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The Nowhere Place
(Nicholas Briggs) |
Cover by Simon Holub
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The Nowhere Place
(Nicholas Briggs) |
Cover by William Cox
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Alongside
Colin Baker, the Sixth Doctor, and Maggie Stables, as
companion Evelyn Smythe, this release guest-stars "Bad
Wolf’s" controller, alias Martha Cope,
and Dalek actor John Schwab – both from the new
Doctor Who television series - plus Andrew Wisher, son
of original
Davros actor, Michael Wisher. Also starring are: Nicholas
Briggs, Stephen Critchlow, Andrew Fettes, John Killoran,
Benjamin Roddy and Philip Wolff.
Something
has worried The Doctor - enough to make him prevent
the TARDIS from
materialising in Evelyn’s future
all because something was very wrong with the readings
on the TARDIS console. But even when he puts the TARDIS
in reverse something still worries him especially when
they hear the sound of a ring bell that The Doctor identifies
is from the 1950’s - but according to the
TARDIS readings they are in the year 2197…
On
the fighter-carrier Valiant, as it travels among the
outer planets, the crew also hear the same bell - A bell
that strikes terror into their hearts - just before the
TARDIS lands and so deposits The Doctor and Evelyn onboard.
Captain
Oswin, the Valiant’s captain, is expecting trouble
from alien raiders as she protects the solar system.
Captain Oswin though is not expecting The Doctor and
Evelyn and their strange story of being onboard her ship
all because of the bell that they heard. And when The
Doctor learns that a member of the Valiant has also heard
the bell he wants to investigate - despite Captain Oswin
not wanting to believe that the illness affecting Armstrong
and other members of her crew is connected – but
then the Valiant’s captain and crew are distracted
by alien raiders as the Valiant crosses Pluto's orbital
path.
But
the attack force sent out against the alien invaders
are distracted by the sound of the same bell The Doctor
and Evelyn heard. Like the mythical sirens, whatever
unsettled The Doctor is luring the crew of the Valiant to their doom. But there’s no siren: merely a ghostly
bell. Then The Doctor and Evelyn on entering the sickbay
to visit Armstrong they follow him to a storage area
near to where the TARDIS materialised. There they find
an impossible door in the hull of the ship. A door that
was not there when they arrived. A door that appears
to lead to open space - despite there being no air-lock.
A door that leads, according to Armstrong, nowhere. A
door that, according to The Doctor, is fifty billion
years old…
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| Sixth Doctor |
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And
then they hear other sounds – the sounds of a steam
train from the past…
This
concerns The Doctor even more - especially when the door
keeps opening and closing and sucks whoever is nearby
to... Well who knows where… He is concerned enough
to have to resort to telling Captain Oswin of what he
thinks is going on so as to protect his TARDIS which
is in its direct vicinity of the door. But even though
Captain Oswin agrees to the TARDIS being moved she draws
the line to allowing The Doctor and Evelyn access to
it - even though it is the only means The Doctor has
to solving the mystery of the door - a mystery that requires
The Doctor and Evelyn to travel back 250 years and to
the source of the bell - The Turret Class locomotive
Ivy Lee.
What’s
to fear on the Valiant? What is so special about
the impossible door and why when that part of the, Valiant is
destroyed, does the door still exist - hanging in space?
Why does
it involve an almost deserted train 250 years previously
and why does its presence cause such a reaction of utter
dread for The Doctor and, when it opens, such a powerful
reaction to those in its vicinity?
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| Maggie Stables |
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Hopefully
all will be answered when The Doctor manages to gain
access to his TARDIS and it takes our two time travellers
to 1952 and on the Turret Class locomotive Ivy Lee that
is hurtling through the night. On board, there should
only be two passengers: both of them carrying documents
from the War Office. But now, there are also two unexpected
visitors on the train. One is a guard with ill-fitting
trousers, the other is an excessively dotty old lady.
The
Doctor and Evelyn have arrived and are looking for answers
- but will they be able to fulfil their promise to Captain
Oswin, and save her ship and crew, when 'Time's End'
is approaching.
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Notes:
- Featuring the Sixth
Doctor and Evelyn
Smythe.
- Serial Number: 6MB
- Number of Episodes: 4
- Cover Length: 120 minutes
- Episode Lengths: 1 = 27'59", 2 = 27'11",
3 = 27'23", 4 = 36'49"
- Total Story Length: 119'22"
- This story takes place between "The
Trial of a Time Lord" and "Time
and the Rani" and follows on from "Pier
Pressure".
- Early Title: "The End".
- Cover Illustrations: Simon Holub and William
Cox
- Recorded: 27th and 28th March 2006
- Recording Location: The Moat Studios
- Released: July 2006
- ISBN: 1-84435-174-2
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On the Back Cover:
2197. The fighter-carrier Valiant has just
crossed Pluto's orbital path. Its captain is expecting
trouble from alien raiders. She is not expecting The Doctor and Evelyn.
She does not believe members of her crew when
they say they can hear an ancient bell ringing. A bell
that strikes terror into their hearts.
1952. The Turret Class locomotive Ivy Lee is
hurtling through the night. On board, there should only
be two passengers: both of them carrying documents from
the War Office.
But now, there are also two unexpected visitors
on the train. One is the guard with ill-fitting trousers,
the other is an excessively dotty old lady.
The Doctor and Evelyn have arrived and 'Time's
End' is approaching. |
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On the Inside Cover:
Every now and then, Gary
Russell lets me write a Doctor Who story. I think
I asked this time. And he just smiled and said, ‘Sure.
Colin and Maggie all right for you?’ Some time
later, at some Doctor Who convention or other, I
suggested to him that I did something a bit scary,
supernatural… sort of ‘ghosty’.
Gary said he liked that, but thought it would be
fun if I did a spooky story in a futuristic, technological
environment. ‘Sort of ghosts in the machine,’ Gary
suggested. At that point, I was work¬ing on an
idea about reincarnation called The Immortal
Isle.
Gary felt that some of its concepts were being dealt
with in other stories he’d commissioned. So
that idea bit the dust. I also flirted with the idea
of doing a story about sentient plants, called Plant
Life. Rob Shearman and I laughed about that one a
lot. During all this, Ian Farrington kept asking
me how ‘the giant slugs’ were going to
feature, since I’d mentioned a story about
slugs to him several lunchtimes before! So, I played
around with ideas, coming up with stories that may
never ever see the light of day - one called The
Spark and one called Ghost Driver - but I went off
them and never showed them to anyone. In fact, you’re
the first person I’m telling. Keep it to yourself.
Then Rob Shearman helped
me, because I had writer’s block. I said I needed
a spooky story, possibly in space or the future, and
that I was having trouble with spooky stories, because,
by their nature, they remain largely unexplained… and
I like to explain everything. Rob confirmed for me
that spooky stories should remain largely unexplained,
then said he’d give me an idea. He sat in silence
for a moment, considered, then he began, ‘What
if... there’s this door on a space ship...?’ He
also gave me a few other bits, but I won’t spoil
those for you now. But those ideas first materialised
in a storyline called The End, then I changed the title.
Anyway,
it’s thanks to Gary and it’s thanks to
Rob that The Nowhere Place now exists. Yes, that’s
me avoiding the blame if you don’t like it. If
you love it, however, it was all my idea and those
two blighters are just making it an up! Grrr...
|
Nicholas Briggs,
May 2006 |
Nicholas
Briggs is a writer, director and actor. But not necessarily
in than order. Amongst his huge body of work for Big
Finish are the various Dalek Empire and Cyberman miniseries.
He also wrote Big Finish’s first ever Doctor
Who audio drama, The Sirens of Time, and others,
including
Sword
of Orion, Creatures
of Beauty and The
Mutant Phase.
He’s recently been working on some new BBC TV series
called Doctor Who, playing Dalek and
Cyberman voices.
But we don’t know what that’s
all about... |
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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 for hundreds of years. He fights injustice.
He defeats evil. He helps people. The Doctor was travelling alone when he
met Evelyn Smythe, a companion who has had a calming effect on him, and a
deep bond of friendship and respect has quickly developed between the two.
More used to loud, energetic youngsters, The Doctor has appreciated the change
of gear the chocolate-cake-loving divorcee has brought into his life.
Doctor Evelyn Smythe
First Big Finish audio appearance: "The
Marian Conspiracy"
When
she first encountered The Doctor, Evelyn Smythe was a history lecturer at
Sheffield’s Hallam university. He took her on an adventure involving
her ancestors in the sixteenth century - which led to Evelyn joining The Doctor in his travels. Unbeknownst to him, Evelyn was resisting efforts by
the university administration to retire her due to a possibly fatal heart
condition, and so she took the opportunity to explore both history and the
wider universe with relish. Recently, they have visited the planet Világ
and nineteenth-century Edinburgh. |
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The Cast Gallery:
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The Sixth Doctor & Evelyn Smythe - Played by
Colin Baker & Maggie Stables
‘Don’t just sit there “oooh,
Doctoring”. This is a two-man job. I scratch...
you bash the door.’ |
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Captain
Oswin - Played by Martha Cope ‘I’ve
got an ace pilot who’s hearing bells
and crying like a baby; and now I’ve
got... “odd” people. I do hope
there isn’t a pattern emerging here.’
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Executive
Officer - Played by John Schwab ‘If
they don’s get space-borne in less than
four minutes, I will personally fly their asses!’
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Master-At-Arms
- Played by Andrew Fettes
‘Security report over thirty people on
there way here, all of them under the influence
of that… that thing.’
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Armstrong
- Played by Andrew Wisher ‘I
heard it! I heard it! And I never want to
hear it again!’
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Palmer
- Played by John Killoran ‘What
the hell are you doing, if you don’t
mind my asking, Mr Ridgely? That’s
classified material in that case of yours...’
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Ridgley
- Played by Nicholas Briggs ‘Can’t
have old ladies wandering around on our train,
can we? I mean, she might be a Russian spy.
Didn’t look Russian, though, did she?
Probably the lack off fur hat. Cunning disguise,
eh? No fur hat. Ingenious. What will the
KGB think up next?’
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Operations
- Played by Benjamin Roddy
‘Security lockdown! Intruder
alert. Security Condition One. We may be
under attack!’
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O’Keefe
- Played by Stephen Critchlow ‘Four
minutes, people. Go, go, go! Come on, Armstrong,
don’t just stand there! Move!’
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Hayman
- Played by Philip Wolff ‘Bong!
Ask not for whom the bell tolls! It tolls
for thee!’ |
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Full Cast List:
| The Doctor |
Colin Baker |
| Evelyn Smythe |
Maggie Stables |
| Trevor Ridgely |
Nicholas Briggs |
| Captain Oswin |
Martha Cope |
| O'Keefe |
Stephen Critchlow |
| Master-at-Arms |
Andrew Fettes |
| Palmer |
John Killoran |
| Operations |
Benjamin Roddy |
| EXO Moore |
John Schwab |
| Armstrong |
Andrew Wisher |
| Hayman |
Philip Wolff |
The Production Team:
| Writer |
Nicholas Briggs |
| Director |
Nicholas Briggs |
| Sound/Music |
Nicholas Briggs |
| Theme Music |
David Darlington |
| Story Editor |
Alan Barnes |
| Producers |
Gary Russell and
Jason Haigh-Ellery |
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