 |
Cuddlesome
(Nigel Fairs) |
|
 This story was given away as a
free gift with issue 393 of Doctor Who Magazine and is
the sixth Doctor Who play that Big Finish Productions
have produced in association with Doctor Who Magazine.
Starring
Peter Davison’s Fifth Doctor, the adventure, "Cuddlesome",
has been written by Nigel Fairs and is directed by Barnaby
Edwards.
‘It’s a chilling tale
of ‘cute’ 1980s nostalgia toys for grown-ups
taking on a life of their own.’ explains executive
producer Nicholas Briggs. ‘It's unusual in
that it's a Fifth Doctor story where he's without a regular
companion in order to avoid cluttering the story for
any new listeners who may be joining us.’
The basic concept of this story was born
two decades back, when the fan-group Audio Visuals recorded a somewhat wilder
version. As revealed by Nicholas Briggs ‘In today's more rarefied and
responsible atmosphere it's probably not the best idea to do a story about toys
injecting diseases into children's eyes!’
Nigel Fairs, the writer of Cuddtesome's two incarnations,
has revealed that ‘Twenty year's ago
I first imagined Cuddlesome as a sort of "Terror
of the Autons" for the 1980s. The original then strayed
from that to genetic experimentation, whereas this
one's gone back more to the idea of toys coming to
life, it's really an exploration of the dark side of
the human psyche’.
 |
| Fifth Doctor |
|
In the 1989 Audio Visuals release The Doctor was
played by Nicholas Briggs – This Big Finish version
Nicholas Briggs also stars but his role is much smaller
- as the voice of a television newscaster.
Special guests are: Timothy West (distinguished CBE-bestowed
actor who returns to Doctor Who audio after
last year’s BBC7/Eighth Doctor story "No
More Lies"), plays Ronald Turvey - a
mad, sinister scientist, and Roberta Taylor (former Eastenders regular,
star of The Bill and acclaimed 2001 Big Finish
Productions Doctor Who audio "The
Holy Terror") plays
plucky lady plumber Angela Wisher, this story's one-off
companion who develops quite a soft spot for The Doctor.
One notable guest member making his debut in a Doctor
Who audio adventure, as the bizarre Tinghus, is
David Troughton. The son of Second Doctor Patrick Troughton,
he played
Private Moor in his father's final story, 1969's "The
War Games", and King Peladon in 1972’s Third
Doctor story "The
Curse of Peladon" and
has been announced as playing the part of Professor
Hobos in a story called "Midnight" in
the television series during 2008.
‘I worked with David many years ago’,
explains Nicholas Briggs, ‘and have been
trying to get him in an audio for ages but he’s always
busy! So I was really chuffed that he could make this
one. He spent all his downtime in the green room performing
other voices for me, and asking to be brought back
in numerous other roles. So you can expect David back
in the near future.’
Also starring are: Matthew Noble, Kate Brown and
Nicholas Briggs.
| cuddle
Verb - cuddled,
cuddling, cuddles
To fondle in the arms; hug tenderly.
To nestle; snuggle.
The act of cuddling; a hug or embrace.
adjective - cuddlesome |
The Cuddlesomes - pink vampire hamsters from the
1980s. For so long now the Cuddlesomes have been forgotten,
lying in attics and junk shops. But now they're waking
up. And they want to give a whole generation a long,
slow, deadly cuddle.
So it is lucky that The Doctor is around to uncover
a dastardly plot to infect the world – and what
can be the most perfect way to get to the population
but to use a cute range of toys that have a hidden,
deadly agenda.
But who are The Cuddlesomes and why should they be
intent on going on a killing rampage - and why after
such a long time after their original release into
the world? The Doctor is soon to discover the mastermind
behind The Cuddlesomes and why they should be intent
on using an alien virus to infect the whole population.
Who or what is The Tinghus? What is “The White
Elephant” and what is the true nature of the
virus that The Cuddlesomes are carrying? And what is
going to happen when Total Obliteration takes place
and will The Doctor be able to stop it?
The Cuddlesomes may look cute and cuddly and are
dangerous but they are about to evolve into something
far more deadly…
|
