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"The Wishing
Beast" - An Adventure in Three Episodes
"The Vanity Box" - A Single Episode Adventure
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The Wishing
Beast and
The Vanity Box
(Paul Sutton) |
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 July
2007 sees the third release with the two story per release
format.
Written
by Paul Magrs the two stories released this month are "The
Wishing Beast" - An adventure in three episodes
and "The Vanity Box" - A single episode adventure.
Both are Sixth
Doctor stories with companion Melanie
Bush. They have been directed by John Ainsworth and were
recorded on the 14th and 17th May 2007.
Subscribers
whose subscription included this title received
their copy of the play autographed by actor Toby Longworth
who appears in the play.
In "The
Wishing Beast" The Doctor is unexpectedly expected
by some weird sisters. Starring, alongside Colin Baker
and Bonnie Langford, is Jean Marsh who played the part
of Sara
Kingdom in the 1965/66 First Doctor story "The
Daleks' Master Plan". Also starring are: Geraldine
Newman, Sean Connolly, Toby Sawyer, Toby Longworth and
Rachel Laurence.
The
Doctor and Melanie follow a distress signal to an isolated,
distant asteroid. While they look at it on the TARDIS monitor
The Doctor describes as 'a lonely-looking hunk of nothing
much'. Now that they are closer to the asteroid
they hear a strange message - but is it meant for
them?
Then
The Doctor and Melanie notice that the asteroid has changed.
Instead of it being a lump of rock The TARDIS scanner
readings report a breathable atmosphere, lush vegetation
and a population - And then they spot a small house
near some woods. How can an entire environment change
at will? The Doctor decides to investigate - especially
as it seems that the message is from a couple of old
ladies pleading for the time travellers to come to them.
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The
TARDIS materialising nearby and The Doctor and Melanie
are alarmed when it seems they are being watched and
then chased by a ghostly apparition. They therefore make
a hasty path to the cottage. Inside they discover the
inhabitants are the elderly Applewhite Sisters.
What
can it mean when The Doctor and Melanie are drawn to
this asteroid? Especially as it seems they are expected!
Why are the Applewhite Sisters so delighted that they
have been visited by the Hero of Space and Time and that
Wishing Beast will be able to present his reward? Of
course The Doctor thinks that this reward is for him
but is shocked when it is announced that the reward is
meant for Melanie.
What
is their purpose in inviting The Doctor and Melanie into
their home? Why have they been promised that they will
receive their dearest wishes when they enter the frozen
forests of this benighted shard of a world? Why are the
ghosts that haunt this place so desperate to warn The Doctor about the sisters' promises? Only the ghosts know
the true nature of the legendary Wishing Beast.
What secrets do the ghostly apparitions who haunt this
desolate rock, have to tell and can they be trusted.
When one of them is attacked, by Maria with a vacuum
cleaner, should The Doctor have done more to stop her
or have the sisters saved them from the ghosts? Who is
friend and who is foe?
As The Doctor
and Melanie investigate this mysterious asteroid they
are in for a futuristic and grotesque fairytale from
the Brothers Grimm - where they discover a haunted forest,
a mystical beast, the sinister Maria and the dotty Eliza
- the two distinctly odd, elderly sisters who are not
what the first seem - and Mildew, the leader of the ghosts,
who reveals to The Doctor the truth behind Applewhite
Sisters and what they have planned for them when they
finally get to meet the Wishing Beast whose appetite
is never ending...
Only
the ghosts know the true nature of the legendary Wishing
Beast, and how to defeat it and the evil Applewhite Sisters,
but there very existence is under threat. Unless someone,
like The Doctor, is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice
and to become the Wishing Beast’s next victim…
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Melanie
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While in “The
Vanity Box” The Doctor finds himself in a cosy
northern backstreet. Colin Baker and Bonnie Langford
are joined by: Diana Flacks, Christine Moore, Rachel
Laurence and Toby Longworth.
The Doctor
investigates mysterious goings on at a strange beauty
salon which has just opened its doors for business in
a dowdy Salford terrace circa 1965.
Monsieur
Coiffure is the talk of the street with his fabulous
makeovers. But when The Doctor arrives, however, he knows
at once that there's been some unnatural titivation going
on.
The Doctor
and Melanie are alarmed to discover that there is more
to the treatments being carried out and to Monsieur Coiffure.
What is being used to strip years off of those undergoing
Monsieur Coiffure’s fabulous makeovers?
To uncover the truth The Doctor has to go undercover
so as to visit Monsieur Coiffure’s beauty salon.
But will The Doctor be able to survive the ultimate treatment?
He is though in for a huge surprise when he discovers
that the device being used, that is called The Vanity
Box, really is the Wishing Beast.
But how did
it get to Salford and what is the ultimate price being
paid for those who come face-to-face with the Wishing
Beast?
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Notes:
- Featuring the Sixth
Doctor and Melanie
Bush.
- Serial Number: 7C/V
- Number of Episodes – "The Wishing
Beast": 3 and "The Vanity Box": 1
- Cover Length: 120 minutes
- Episode Lengths – "The Wishing
Beast": 1 = 25'24", 2 = 25'07", 3
= 25'32" and "The Vanity Box ": 1
= 26'39"
- Total Story Lengths – "The Wishing
Beast": 76'03" and "The Vanity Box":
26'39"
- Also features 45 minutes
of trailers and special behind-the-scenes interviews
with the cast and producers.
- Both stories take place between "The
Trial of a Time Lord" and "Time
and the Rani" and they follow on from "Thicker
Than Water".
- Cover Illustration: Simon Holub
- Recorded: 14th and 17th May 2007
- Recording Location: Moat Studios
- Released: July 2007
- ISBN: 978-1-84435-284-5
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On the Back Cover:
" The Wishing Beast"
What can
it mean when The Doctor and Mel are drawn to an asteroid
by a message from the strange, elderly Applewhite
sisters? The travellers are promised that they will
receive their dearest wishes when they enter the
frozen forests of this benighted shard of a world.
But the ghosts that haunt this place are desperate
to warn The Doctor about the sisters' promises. Only
the ghosts know the true nature of the legendary
Wishing Beast.
Includes
Bonus One-Part Adventure:
"The Vanity Box"
A
strange beauty parlour has opened its doors for business
in a dowdy Salford terrace circa 1965. Monsieur Coiffure
is the talk of the street with his fabulous make-overs.
When The Doctor arrives, however, he knows at once
that there's been some unnatural titivation going on.
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On the Inside Cover:
Director: John Ainsworth
“It’s
been said before, but the wonderful thing about Doctor
Who is the flexible format that allows for a broad
range of story-telling styles. My previous directing
assignment with Colin Baker at the helm of the TARDIS
as the Sixth Doctor, was the techno-thriller I.D.
which had a distinctly hard edge to it, mixed in
with some topical, but quite depressing speculations
about the future of our own society. Just a few weeks
later, Colin and I were once again in the studio
to record The Wishing Beast which couldn’t
have been more of a contrast to our previous adventure
together.
“The Wishing Beast has all the elements of
a grotesque fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm – a
haunted forest, a mystical beast, and two, distinctly
odd, elderly sisters who invite The Doctor and Mel
in to their home. Everything is a bit larger-than-life
in The Wishing Beast, and it was important that the
performances of the guest cast were as well. Who
better than Jean Marsh to play the sinister Maria?
Jean told me that she has played quite a few witches
in her career, so her casting in a futuristic fairy-tale
seemed appropriate. With Geraldine Newman as the
wonderfully dotty Eliza, the Applewhite sisters must
be two of the most bizarre characters that The Doctor
has ever encountered.”
Actress: Bonnie Langford
“When
I first started doing the Doctor Who audios I was
very, very concerned that Mel would be that same
weak female character that I don’t think
represents people of this day and age anyway – and
certainly not of Mel’s day and age. Another
thing that I was always confused about was the
fat that she was supposed to be a computer programmer
and yet never really went near a computer. At the
time that I was doing the television series, quite
frankly, technology was over-taking what we were
able to do as far as special effects were concerned.
“With
a story as this you’re able to go further.
You don’t have the restrictions of any kind
of effects or anything like that. It’s wonderful
to be able to let your imagination take you where
it wants to go. And they’re great fun.”
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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. In his sixth incarnation, The Doctor’s propensity
for philolgy, sesquipedalianism and all matters grammatical has been 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 sometimes
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! |
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Full Cast List:
| The Wishing Beast |
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| The Doctor |
Colin Baker |
| Melanie Bush |
Bonnie Langford |
| Maria |
Jean Marsh |
| Eliza |
Geraldine Newman |
| Mildew |
Sean Connolly |
| Daniel |
Toby Sawyer |
| Wishing Beast |
Toby Longworth |
| Female Ghost |
Rachel Laurence |
| Ghost |
Sean Connolly |
| Ghost Brother |
Toby Sawyer |
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| The Vanity Box |
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| The Doctor |
Colin Baker |
| Melanie Bush |
Bonnie Langford |
| Nesta |
Diana Flacks |
| Winnie/Lily |
Christine Moore |
| Bessy |
Rachel Laurence |
| Monsieur Coiffure |
Toby Longworth |
The Production Team:
| Writer |
Paul Magrs |
| Director |
John Ainsworth |
| Sound/Music |
Andy Hardwick |
| Theme Music |
David Darlington |
| Script Editor |
Alan Barnes |
| Producer |
Sharon Gosling |
| Executive Producers |
Nicholas Briggs
and Jason Haigh-Ellery |
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