The Same Face (audio story)

The Same Face
Doctor:	Third Doctor
Companion(s):	Jo
Main enemy:	The Master
Main setting:	Samael
Key crew
Publisher:	Big Finish Productions
Writer:	Julian Richards
Director:	Nicholas Briggs
Producer:	Alfie Shaw
Music:	Richard Fox
Sound:	Richard Fox
Read by:	Katy Manning
Cover by:	Mark Plastow
Release details
Release number:	9.6
Release date:	27 June 2019
Production code:	BFMSTDL54
ISBN:	978-1-78703-719-9
Official trailer
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Short Trips
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The Same Face was the sixth story of the ninth season of Big Finish Productions Short Trips series.

Publisher's summary

No one survives in politics on Samael. Felicity Morgan has learnt this the hard way, as she keeps being assassinated. However, she has a secret. A secret that has kept her alive. A secret that has propelled her to the top job. When the Doctor and Jo arrive on Samael, they learn the impossible truth.

One woman. One face. Many lives.

Plot

to be added

Characters

• Third Doctor
• Jo Grant
• The Minister / Felicity Morgan
• The Master

References

• The Minister used to work for the Celestial Intervention Agency but left them before arriving on Samael.
• The Master threatens to use the Tissue Compression Eliminator but is disarmed. The Third Doctor pushes it away.
• The Minister chose her title when she left Gallifrey as a renegade, stating that "Everyone seems to pick some kind of title when they run away from Gallifrey".
• The Minister has survived nine attempts on her life, regenerating each time.
• The Minister uses the telepathic circuits of her TARDIS to help her in her regeneration. The Third Doctor notes that 'a single imbalance' in the telepathic circuits could lead to disastrous consequences, which the Master used to cause the next regeneration to fail.
• The Doctor put psychic barriers on the Minister's mind to prevent her from regenerating and maintaining the same face. This was in order to protect her sanity, but left her forgetting how to regenerate in this way.

Notes

• This story was recorded on 27 February 2019 at Heavy Entertainment.
• This story was released as a download only.

Continuity

• The Celestial Intervention Agency performed genetic tampering on the Minister, allowing her to regenerate but maintain the same face. This was something the Tenth Doctor was only able to do with the help of his severed hand. (TV: Journey's End)
• The Minister uses regenerations to alter her personality to better suit her role as a different government ministers, such as having a more war-like demeanour as Minister for War and a diplomatic attitude as Minister for Foreign Affairs. The Eighth Doctor also did a similar thing at the end of his life, asking the Sisterhood of Karn to shape his personality to be more war-like before his regeneration into the War Doctor. (TV: The Night of the Doctor)
• The Minister suffered post-regenerative issues similar to the Doctor's symptoms following their regenerations, including confusion, erratic behaviour, extended periods of unconsciousness and memory loss. (TV: Spearhead from Space, Robot, Castrovalva, Doctor Who, The Christmas Invasion, The Woman Who Fell to Earth, AUDIO: The Lady in the Lake, et al.) Like the Doctor, she needed to be brought back to the TARDIS for her regeneration to be successful. (TV: Castrovalva, AUDIO: X and the Daleks, The Black Hole)
• The Master hypnotised the Minister after her regeneration and while she was still suffering from amnesia, similar to how the Rani was able to effectively brainwash the Seventh Doctor after the latter's regeneration. (TV: Time and the Rani)
• Jo was able to talk the Minister through her post-regenerative amnesia to help her remember who she is. The Eleventh Doctor asked Clara Oswald to help his next incarnation through the process. (TV: Deep Breath)
• The Minister has a crisis of faith as she realises that her next regeneration will have a different face, but emphasises that despite her not wearing the same face, she won't stop being the Minister. The Doctor also shared similar concerns as to his future selves and regenerations. (TV: The Time of the Doctor, The Doctor Falls, Twice Upon a Time, PROSE: Head Games)

External links

• Official The Same Face page at bigfinish.com