The Ratings War (audio story)

The Ratings War
Doctor:	Sixth Doctor
Main enemy:	Beep the Meep
Key crew
Publisher:	Big Finish Productions
Writer:	Steve Lyons
Director:	Gary Russell
Music:	David Darlington
Sound:	David Darlington
Release details
Release number:	2
Release date:	10 January 2002
Format:	1 Episode on 1 CD
Production code:	DWMCD03
Doctor Who -Specially Released Audio Dramas
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The Ratings War was a 2002 Big Finish audio drama, featuring the Sixth Doctor taking on one of his old comic strip foes, Beep the Meep. Originally released as an inclusion with Doctor Who Magazine #313, it was later re-released as a free download on the Big Finish Productions website.

Publisher's summary

Beep the Meep is back — and he's found a new channel for his aggression! A brand new series is about to make television history, but can the Doctor prevent his furry foe from turning a docu-drama into a crisis, or will the fluffy-wuffy animals get it in the neck? The first shots in the ratings war have been fired, and the next one is aimed at your head...

Plot

to be added

Cast

• The Doctor - Colin Baker
• Beep the Meep - Toby Longworth
• Roger Lowell - Robert Jezek
• Robbie McHale - Alistair Lock
• Lucy / Susan - Jane Goddard

References

• The new shows on the network include Young Cops in Hospital, Wacky Domestic Mishaps, Look! Cute Animals!, Hospital Street, Appealing Animals in Distress and Audience Shares.
• Beep threatens the Doctor with Grundian Blood Nogs.

Notes

• The Ratings War features the return of Beep the Meep, the villain in Doctor Who and the Star Beast. His fate in Star Beast II is also mentioned. Black Sun radiation is also mentioned, though referred to as Black Star radiation instead. To date, this is his only appearance in performed Doctor Who.
• The original CD release includes "hidden material" which is heard if the CD is left playing for several minutes after the conclusion of the story. The bonus material includes outtakes, the full version of Beep's improvised rant and a complete version of the Beep and Friends theme song.
• Also included as a bonus on the original CD release is the first episode of the Eighth Doctor audio adventure, Invaders from Mars.
• This is one of only a few stories in which the Sixth Doctor is depicted travelling without a companion.
• The Doctor's speech at the end has several meta-fictional references. The Doctor disparages television, claiming it is limiting and unsuitable to his needs, a reference either to Doctor Who's cancellation or Colin Baker's unceremonious firing. He also claims that he needs a medium that allows him to be "louder" and that the audience will be "hearing more from me, I can assure you", a reference to the audio stories. Robbie McHale asks if the audience will ever know who he is (a reference to the Doctor's mysterious past) or if he would ever come back (a reference to the potential return). Further, Beep & Friends is placed on "hiatus" for eighteen months, referencing the eighteen-month hiatus that Doctor Who suffered in 1986 after barely avoiding cancellation by the BBC.
• This marks Beep's first appearance in an audio story. Additionally, it is his first not to be in comic or comic-strip form.
• After the 2019 redesign of the Big Finish website, this release was added to The Sixth Doctor Adventures.

Continuity

• The Doctor compares Beep to a Speelsnape. (TV: Revelation of the Daleks)

External links

• Official The Ratings War page at bigfinish.com
• The Ratings War at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• DisContinuity for The Ratings War at Tetrapyriarbus - The DisContinuity Guide