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Excelis
Decays
(Craig Hinton) |
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 Titled "Excelis
Decays" this single-CD story stars Sylvester McCoy as
the Seventh
Doctor. The Doctor finds himself for the third
time on the planet Artaris and involved again in the events
occurring in the city of Excelis.
This third and final Excelis
adventure is the first Big Finish Productions audio story
by novelist Craig Hinton and is directed by Jason Haigh-Ellery.
David Darlington again provides the music. It was recorded
on the 18th March 2002.
It is a known
fact that the whole Excelis series was envisaged as a
way of keeping the three 'past' Doctors still in the public's
ear while the 6 part season of Eighth
Doctor stories took
centre stage. However, as this phase of Excelis draws
to a close with Excelis Decays it is clear that this experimental
mini series has been a success with its three very different
but combined tales which form a greater whole when heard
together.
This story is the culmination
of the Doctor Who part of the Excelis series (for there
is still the Bernice Summerfield centred 'epilogue' -
The Plague Herds Of Excelis - to come).
Alongside
Sylvester McCoy again is Anthony Stewart Head who is famous
for his role as Rupert Giles in Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
Guest stars include: Ian Collier, who previously appeared
in Doctor Who in "The
Time Monster" and "Arc
of Infinity",
and Yee Jee Tso who played companion Chang Lee in "Doctor
Who: The Movie" alongside Paul McGann's Eighth
Doctor.
Also
starring are: Stuart Piper, Alistair Lock, Mark Gatiss,
Penelope McDonald and Patricia Leventon.
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| Seventh Doctor |
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After giving
the TARDIS
a thorough refit, the Seventh Doctor decides to treat
his old ship to a spot of autonomous control. However,
rather than taking him 'somewhere nice' as he hoped for,
the TARDIS takes him back to the city of Excelis some
centuries after his previous visit. But The Doctor at
first is not aware of this.
The
Doctor is rather surprised that the brutal and unwelcoming
world in which he finds himself is the planet Artaris,
which he last visited in his Sixth regeneration. The Doctor
discovers that the city of Excelis has changed radically
since his last visit.
The current leaders have
turned Excelis from a city awash with the new science
of spiritualism to a brutal totalitarian dictatorship
and that a vicious regime, which is at war with the rest
of Artaris, is living off the efforts of a beleaguered
underclass.
The
Doctor, on discovering his current whereabouts and the
state the population is in, gives him the impetus to track
down the source behind the changes that have so drastically
effected Excelis. With the help of world weary old soldier
Commissar Sallis, whose has seen it all, and is torn between
his duty and the sense of futility he has begun to feel
concerning the never ending war Excelis is engaged in,
The Doctor comes face-to-face with dreaded ultimate fighting
machines known as Meat Puppets.
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But there is worse to come when The Doctor learns
the true and horrific nature of the Meat Puppets and the role they play in the
eternal war. He is then shocked to discover a most unexpected reason for why
the he finds himself returning to Artaris at regular intervals. The Doctor soon
finds that he has unfinished business to attend to...
Why is the
sinister Lord Sutton, a man who will do anything to accomplish his goals, been
pushed to the very limits of his sanity? What is the true significance of Lord
Sutton, Warlord
Grayvorn, Reeve Maupassan and The Mother Superior? And why has
the TARDIS become so important?
The Doctor,
who is consumed by the overriding sense of foreboding, is certain that his
arrival is the final move in a game that has been aeons in the making...
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Notes:
- Featuring the Seventh
Doctor.
- Serial Number: EX/03
- Number of Episodes: 1
- Cover Length: 74 minutes
- Episode Lengths: 1 = 73'35"
- This story takes place prior to "Doctor
Who: The Movie".
- Cover Illustration: Lee Binding
- Recorded: 18th March 2002
- Recording Location: The Moat Studios and
Christchurch Studios
- Released: June 2002
- ISBN: 1-903654-65-3
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On the
Back Cover:
When The Doctor last visited the city of Excelis,
its citizens were about to enter an age of enlightenment and reason. But some
centuries later, he discovers a vicious totalitarian regime at war with the
rest of Artaris, living off the efforts of a drugged and broken
underclass.
Who is the mysterious Lord Sutton, and what hold does he have
over the ruling classes? What are the Meat Puppets, and what role do they play
in the eternal war? And why is The Doctor's arrival the final piece in a plan
that has been centuries in the making?
Throughout his
lives, The Doctor has fought legends. But some legends refuse to die.
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On the Inside
Cover:
When Gary commissioned me to write the final part of Excelis
Trilogy, I set myself a few personal goals. My Doctor Who novels are
renowned for being replete with continuity - Excelis Decays isn't.
They're also renowned for being light-hearted romps - and Excelis Decays
most certainly isn't. But the most important goal for me - apart from writing
something that people would enjoy - was pinning down the character of the
Seventh Doctor.
Six years ago, I wrote a Seventh
Doctor novel for Virgin
called GodEngine,
and spectacularly failed to get a grip on possibly the most enigmatic of
Doctors. But with Excelis Decays - knowing that Sylvester McCoy would
actually be saying the lines - meant that getting the Seventh Doctor right
became all the more important, and I'd like to think that I've actually done it
this time. And knowing that Anthony Stewart Head is the villain has made this
Buffy fan very, very happy!
There are a
few people I'd like to thank: Dave Hyslop, Brian Swift and Dave Whittam for
proofing; Paul Magrs, David A Mclntee and Jason Haigh-Ellery for creating a
world that I could play in; Ian Collier, Andrew Hair, Peter Lovelady and Mike
Ramsay for sanity checks, and, above all, Gerard Hall for putting up with me
when I was writing this. That bloke is a saint!.
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Craig Hinton,
February
2002 |
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Full Cast
List:
| Part One |
| The Doctor |
Sylvester McCoy |
| Lord Vaughan Sutton |
Anthony Stewart
Head |
| Commissar Sallis |
Ian Collier |
| Major Brant |
Yee Jee Tso |
| Mattias |
Stuart Piper |
| Reeve Cless |
Alistair Lock |
| Deputy Warden Baris |
Mark Gatiss |
| Jancis |
Penelope McDonald |
| The Mother Superior |
Patricia Leventon |
The
Production Team:
| Writer |
Craig Hinton |
| Director |
Gary Russell |
| Sound/Music |
David Darlington |
| Theme Music |
Mark Ayres |
| Producers |
Gary Russell and
Jason
Haigh-Ellery |
| Executive Producer for the BBC
|
Jaqueline Rayner |
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