Hexagora (audio story): Difference between revisions

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{{real world}}
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{{Infobox Story
{{Infobox Story SMW
|adapted from = Hex (TV story)
|adapted from           = Hex (unproduced TV story){{!}}Hex
|image = Hexagora.jpg
|image                 = Hexagora.jpg
|range           = The Lost Stories
|range                 = The Lost Stories
|series in range = Series 3 (TLS)
|series in range       = Series 3 (TLS)
|series number in range = 3
|series number in range = 3
|number in series = 2
|number in series       = 2
|series = [[The Lost Stories]]
|series                 = [[The Lost Stories]]
|number = 3.02
|number                 = 3.02
|doctor = Fifth Doctor
|doctor                 = Fifth Doctor
|companions = [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]], [[Nyssa]]
|companions             = [[Nyssa]], [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]]
|enemy = [[Zellenger|Lord Zellenger]], [[Jezzavar|Lord Jezzavar]]
|enemy                 = [[Jezzavar]]
|setting = [[Brisbane]], [[1983]]; [[Lupara]], [[1983]]; [[London]], [[1977]]
|setting               = [[Lupara]], [[1983]]
|writer = [[Paul Finch]], from a story by [[Peter Ling]] and [[Hazel Adair]]
|writer                 = Paul Finch, from a story by Peter Ling and Hazel Adair
|director = [[Ken Bentley]]
|director               = [[Ken Bentley]]
|producer = [[David Richardson]]
|producer               = [[David Richardson]]
|music = [[Simon Robinson]]
|music                 = [[Simon Robinson]]
|sound = [[Simon Robinson]]
|sound                 = Simon Robinson
|cover = [[Alex Mallinson]]
|cover                 = [[Alex Mallinson]]
|publisher = Big Finish Productions
|publisher             = Big Finish Productions
|release date = [[November (releases)|November]] [[2011 (releases)|2011]]
|release date           = 9 November 2011
|format = 4 Episodes on 2 CDs
|format                 = 2 CDs<br/>Download
|isbn = ISBN 978-1-84435-574-7
|production code        = BFPDSLS16 (6E/AB)
|prev = The Elite (audio story)
|isbn                   = ISBN 978-1-84435-574-7 (physical)<br/>ISBN 978-1-78575-889-8 (digital)
|next = The Children of Seth (audio story)
|prev                   = The Elite (audio story)
|soundcloudtrailer = https://soundcloud.com/big-finish/doctor-who-the-lost-stories-hexagora-trailer
|next                   = The Children of Seth (audio story)
}}{{audio stub}}
|soundcloudtrailer     = https://soundcloud.com/big-finish/doctor-who-the-lost-stories-hexagora-trailer
{{you may|Hexagora|n1=the titular species}}
|epcount                = 4
'''''Hexagora''''' was a [[Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories|Big Finish ''Doctor Who'' audio story]] released in [[2011]]. It featured the [[Fifth Doctor]], [[Nyssa]] and [[Tegan Jovanka]].
}}{{you may|Hexagora|n1=the titular species}}
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the second story in the [[Series 3 (TLS)|third series]] of ''[[The Lost Stories]]'', produced by [[Big Finish Productions]]. It was written by [[Paul Finch]], from [[Hex (unproduced TV story)|the original story idea]] by [[Peter Ling]] & [[Hazel Adair]], and featured [[Peter Davison]] as the [[Fifth Doctor]], [[Sarah Sutton]] as [[Nyssa]] and [[Janet Fielding]] as [[Tegan Jovanka]].


== Publisher's summary ==
== Publisher's summary ==
When a [[newspaper]] reporter goes missing, the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa uncover a case of alien abduction. The trail leads them to the [[planet]] [[Luparis]], and a city that appears to be a replica of [[Tudor]] era [[London]].
When a [[newspaper]] reporter goes missing, [[Fifth Doctor|the Doctor]], [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]] and [[Nyssa]] uncover a case of alien abduction. The trail leads them to the [[planet]] [[Luparis]], and a city that appears to be a replica of [[Tudor]] era [[London]].


What are the monsters that lurk in the shadows? And what is the terrible secret at the heart of Luparis? To save a world, the Doctor must try and defeat the evil plans of [[Zafira|Queen Zafira]].
What are the monsters that lurk in the shadows? And what is the terrible secret at the heart of Luparis? To save a world, the Doctor must try and defeat the evil plans of [[Zafira|Queen Zafira]].
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== Plot ==
== Plot ==
=== Part one ===
=== Part one ===
An [[Mike Bretherton|Australian reporter]] speaks on the phone with someone in his apartment. Suddenly he hears a strange noise and the power goes off in his apartment. He goes to investigate and ends up being attacked by a strange creature.
[[Fifth Doctor|The Doctor]], [[Nyssa]] and [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]] relax in a [[villa]] outside of [[Brisbane]] following the events on [[Florana]], but Tegan reads in a [[newspaper]] about how investigative reporter and [[school]] friend [[Mike Bretherton]] disappeared after reporting a [[meteor]] and enlists the Doctor and Nyssa's help in searching for him. A visit to [[Mike Bretherton's apartment|Mike's apartment]] in [[the Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] reveals that Mike had been investigating a series of disappearances, after which the Doctor uses an [[ionograph]] to detect two [[space pod]]s which travelled to [[Luparis]], a tropical and supposedly empty [[planet]]. They travel there and find that [[Lupara]] greatly resembles [[16th century]] [[London]].


[[Nyssa]] interrupts the [[Fifth Doctor|Doctor]] watching cricket. They are staying in a hot villa just a bit of a ways from [[Brisbane]]. They agree that it is nice to finally be someplace where they can have a relaxing vacation, only to be interrupted by [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]]. She runs into the room exclaiming that her friend from high school, Mike Bretherton, has gone missing. He is a reporter who was always investigating top stories, according to Tegan, trying to expose corrupt officials and law-breaking denizens. The Doctor wants to just relax and take a holiday, but Nyssa insists that they help Tegan investigate his disappearance. 
The trio meet [[Jezzavar|Lord Jezzevar]], one of the two current husbands of [[Zafira|Queen Zafira]], who invites them to a duplicate of the [[Palace of Whitehall]] upon learning that Nyssa is effectively a [[Trakenite]] [[royal]]. Knowing that they are unlikely to find Mike on their own, they accept and are given Zafira's hospitality. Nyssa goes [[riding]] with Jezzevar and the Doctor goes for a walk on the [[veranda]] with Zafira, who indicates that she is attracted to him and advises that he direct any questions about the city to [[Astorius]], the [[Minister of Science]] and chief [[astrologer]]. Meanwhile, the impatient Tegan scales a gate and heads back into the city, finding the TARDIS gone and Mike living as Sergeant Zax, a member of the city watch.
 
They take the [[TARDIS]] to Mike’s apartment which they find is extremely messy. They find articles that Mike has gathered surrounding strange disappearances. Tegan reads from the news article about Mike’s disappearance that his last known contact had mentioned him explaining that he saw a meteor above his apartment before he disappeared.
 
Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor retrieves an ionograph that he says can help them. They use it to find the diminishing ion trail of a space pod, which the Doctor dubs "a space eddy" that most likely abducted Mike. 
 
They find that the "space eddy" as the Doctor refers to the space pod as has returned to its place of origin, [[Luparis]]. The Doctor is puzzled about this. This is because Luparis, the Doctor explains to a confused Tegan, is an uninhabited planet with a climate similar to a tropical paradise. They decide to go and investigate.
 
Meanwhile on the planet Luparis, a man named [[Jezzavar|Lord Jezzavar]] makes his way through the streets on horseback as people yell insults at him. He arrives at a palace where he is greeted by Lord [[Zellenger]]. They argue about the unrest going on in the city as Zellenger inquires as to why Jezzavar has twelve guards armed with rapiers following him wherever he goes, even if it's just to see their wife, the [[Zafira|Queen Zafira.]] They continue on with their business.
 
The TARDIS crew arrive on Luparis and find it is not at all what they expected, as it is colder and resembles [[Tudor]] earth. Tegan even notes the uncanny resemblance of the London bridge, visible from  their landing spot. Tegan runs off and the Doctor and Nyssa are forced to follow.
 
Queen Zafira is teaching a dance lesson to her handmaids when Zellenger arrives. He argues with her about the alarming amount of guards Lord Jezzavar is hiring to be in his presence. Zafira accuses him of being jealous of Jezzavar. She explains to him that his duty is to her, and that if she has grown tired of him then he must accept that and move on. The two argue about the public unrest, with Zafira suggesting that they publicly hang the drunkards and vagabonds. Zellenger disagrees and argues with her but she dismisses him. He chides her, explaining that while she has been a strong leader in the past, she is being faced with a challenge never before seen in their planet’s history. He advises her to deal with it rather than simply be affronted by it, but, disgusted, she demands he leave.
 
Tegan accidentally bumps into a rowdy crowd of commoners. One of them is interested in her and offers to buy he a drink. Disgusted, she attempts to leave but the man summons his friends. The Doctor and Nyssa manage to catch up with her. The Doctor intervenes, but the man, insulted, claiming that just because they dress fancy and are royalty means they think they can do whatever they want, demands his friends bring him his weapons. The royal guard then arrives and scares the men away.
 
Their saviour turns out to be Lord Jezzavar. He apologizes for the rudeness of his people, and asks them to identify themselves. The Doctor explains that they are from off-world and were interested in visiting the planet to see their society for themselves. Pleased, Lord Jezzavar decides to give them an audience with the Queen. Tegan protests, but Nyssa defuses the situation by addressing Lord Jezzavar honorific-ally. He is impressed and the Doctor explains that Nyssa herself is also from royalty from the planet Trakken. Lord Jezzavar is pleased to learn that the aristocratic system survives on other planets. They agree to then go see the Queen, with the Doctor quietly explaining to Tegan that if this place is indeed a replica of Tudor London, then there are about 200,000 people here and they are unlikely to find Mike by simply looking around, convincing her that seeing the Queen might give them a better chance to find him. 
 
As they travel to the palace, Lord Jezzavar inquires as to Nyssa's heritage. She sadly explains that her family have all perished. Lord Jezzavar offers some comforting words, but Tegan says he is trying to court Nyssa, having ulterior motives but the Doctor points out Jezzavar's
wedding ring and he explains he is only trying to offer some comfort. They arrive at the palace and the Doctor exclaims that it looks exactly like the Palace of Whitehall "to the T".
 
The TARDIS crew meet the Queen. She is impressed with Nyssa's heritage and the Doctor's knowledgeable background but no so much with Tegan. She sets up chambers for them to stay in close to her own quarters and has her guards escort them there. Talking privately with Jezzavar and [[Astorius]], she comments that the Doctor has the air of a warrior, and when asked whether she would like them to get rid of him, she insists that they may need him, as there are times when powerful men are beneficial to their cause. The two leave and Astorius asks Jezzevar about the "sleepers".
 
The trio of Nyssa, Tegan and the Doctor agree to play along for now in order to try and
gain their hosts’ trust. Lord Jezzavar interrupts and asks that Nyssa accompany him on a ride. He tell the Doctor, meanwhile, that the Queen has requested an audience with him. Tegan asks about herself and Jezzavar hesitantly says that she can admire the palace.
 
The Doctor and the Queen go for a walk on the veranda.
 
Elsewhere, Tegan, upset about having been left out, goes around asking for the garden and with access to the gates to go outside the palace. She talks with a servant who initially warns her about the "sleepers" but when Tegan begins to inquire about them, the servant drops the subject and shows her to the gates. They are locked, and despite being 12 feet high, Tegan decides to climb over them.
 
The Queen explains that she built the city herself. She asks where he comes from and he
tells her that he is a [[Timelord]] from the planet [[Gallifrey]] in the constellation of [[Kasterborous]]. The Doctor asks her about the hexahedron and comments that the mountains in the distance looked well-sculpted. She says that his questions should be directed at
Astorius, her minister of [[science]]. The Doctor requests an audience with him later which she consents to. She changes the subject to the Doctor, however, explaining that she is quite interested in him, seeing him as a fine specimen of manhood as he is handsome, strong yet also a man of science and wide travelling but also a man who has the courage to be a maverick. She asks him for his opinion of her and he comments that she is a remarkable women. She says that this is the correct answer.
 
Meanwhile, Tegan walks the streets, getting into small squabbles with the locals. She arrives at the Dragon's head pub and realizes that the TARDIS must be close by. Rounding a corner she finds it has disappeared. Just then she sees a shadow and hears a noise. Backing into a corner trembling, she is approached by a figure... who turns out to be Mike. However, when she exclaims her relief at finding him, he says that his name is Sargent Zacs of the City Watch and he has never seen Tegan in his life....


=== Part two ===
=== Part two ===
Mike arrests Tegan
Zax arrests Tegan for walking the [[street]]s unaccompanied, but [[Zellenger|Lord Zellenger]], head of security and another of Zafira's husbands, learns who she is and takes her back to the palace. Zafira and Astorius explain to the Doctor about how Luparis is rapidly cooling and that people are going into [[coma]]s, leading them to start putting people into [[sleep pod]]s in rooms known as nurseries. The sleep pods are arranged in pairs, one being for the husband and the other for the wife, but only one of each pair seems to be operational. The Doctor is also told that he will become Zafira's next husband and be known as her Consort Counsellor, prompting the upset Zellenger to engage him in a [[duel]]. Although the Doctor is able to disarm him, Zellenger accuses him of [[terrorism]] and has Zax take him to the nurseries.
for breaking Zellenger’s by-law about walking the streets
unaccompanied. He brings her to him and she asks him where the TARDIS
is. He says they have taken it and brings her back to the palace.  


The Doctor and the Queen walk through the palace. She asks him if he’s been to the Luparis before. He comments he has but it was a different planet. She reveals that there are dark spots appearing on the sun and this is causing the planet to cool drastically, as it is no longer hot and
Tegan catches up with Nyssa, who informs her that Jezzavar is planning to rebel against Zafira and would like to install Nyssa as her replacement; he believes that Zafira is too soft on her people and intends to rule through Nyssa. When [[serving girl]]s [[Anza]] and [[Eva (Hexagora)|Eva]] inform them of the Doctor and Zafira's [[wedding]] and that Nyssa and Tegan will be maids-in-waiting, they disguise themselves in the maids' [[clothes]] and run from a guard onto the streets. They hide in a dark passage where they they hear a clicking sound which Tegan heard before she met Zax. They flee to another hiding place, but a panel opens and they realise that they are in the [[nest]] of a group of [[insect]] creatures, one of them tells Tegan that he is Mike Bretherton.
tropical as the Doctor had described. She brings him to the nursery and reveals that they are doing work here to deal with the problem of the planet icing over. Astorius arrives and reveals that their solution is to put people into hibernation, or rather that people are already falling into comas as they are not able to deal with the rapid cooling. The Doctor is surprised at the reveal of an
electromagnetic locking system. They observe a man in a tank
connected to a series of web-like vines that feed them nutrients. The Queen explains that she has put husbands and wives together in
adjacent chambers.  


Nyssa describes the
=== Part three ===
fall of Trakken to Jezzavar. He comments that she has become quite a
Mike explains that the [[Hexagora]] put [[human]]s into insect bodies and did so to him because he was close to discovering them. Nyssa and Tegan go with him into the secret passageways and, whilst Tegan [[sleep]]s, Nyssa tells Mike about the Doctor and how he can help. She goes to Jezzavar's [[party]] without telling Tegan and pretends to join him in his planned [[coup d'état]]; when Tegan awakens, she runs from Mike to go and find her.
fighter given her circumstances and nature, but she denies this
saying it is only by happenstance. He exclaims that she is meant to
be a ruler as he believes she posses these qualities.  


The Doctor asks how many pairs of chamber there are and they reveal to him that the
Astorius refuses to place the Doctor in a sleep pod without an express order from Zafira and sends Zax away to help when one of the sleepers is brought back to the palace. The Doctor accuses him of lying about the sleep pods, leading Astorius to admit that his race are the Hexagora and that Lupara is based on their [[memory|memories]] of a temporary stay in London. They have been kidnapping and switching bodies with humans whilst the youngest Hexagora mature enough to leave the planet, but damage to their technology means that they are unlikely to be able to leave and, as a result, the human hosts are to be permanent, a prospect that troubles Astorius. The Doctor is chased by Zellenger and runs to Zafira, telling her that he would love to be her husband.
palace and beyond is full of them. The chambers are sealed as part of the cryo-process. The Doctor notes that only the left chambers are being monitored but the right ones are not, indicating that the
occupants could be gone or dead. He also notes that the palace is much warmer than the outside. She explains it is artificial. They ask him to share his knowledge about ice ages and he reluctantly
consents. She then reveals that they will be married that evening. The Doctor, confused, is hesitant, but the Queen insists that it was
she who asked him. With that she leaves. The Doctor expresses his
hesitance to Astorius who says that there is no greater honour than
being married to the Queen.  


<nowiki> </nowiki>Jezzavar explains
=== Part four ===
that the ice age falling over the planet has forced the farmers to
Zafira makes an order that Zellenger will be banished from the inner courts and be made to sleep outside the palace for twenty-five years, after which they will be [[divorce]]d. Upon learning that the Doctor knows the truth, she further explains that the [[hexian]] substance containing the knowledge of the Hexagora is degrading and that their only option, given the short life of humans, is to kidnap [[Gallifreyan]]s and mate with them to produce children who will be able to out-live the [[ice age]] of Luparis. The wedding goes ahead and Jezzavar attacks, holding Zafira at [[knife]]point until Astorius holds a [[flintlock]] into his back and makes him let her go. Zafira sentences him to death, but the Doctor asks for [[mercy]].
move to the city when their crops were destroyed. Nyssa explains that this must be the cause of the restlessness but Jezzavar reveals he
only cares about the solution, which is increased authority. He asks
Nyssa of her opinion on what kind of ruler they require and she suggests a kind and benevolent monarch. Jezzavar agrees with her that a highly efficient society is the best but Nyssa says she has seen
societies like that before and they are not as perfect as one might
think. He suggests that Nyssa should preside over them as ruler but she declines, citing that she is not in line to the throne and that Queen Zafira loves her people already and is sure she is already, as
Jezzavar has revealed, seen to be a great ruler. He says that one may
never know what can happen to the Queen, and if she were to pass away
it is up to her royal consults to rectify the situation immediately,
this time with a hint of malice.
 
A commoner accuses
Zellenger of his misdeeds and tries to harm him. The commoner is
arrested and Zellenger heads back to the castle to inform the Queen,
wanting to deal with the uprising situation in the current.  


The Doctor is told
The Doctor realises that the hexian is increasingly inaccessible because it no longer recognises the Hexagora due to them being in human bodies and that they will have to return to their original forms. The Hexagora act on this and gain the knowledge to rebuild their space pods to travel to a new world and to send the humans home, with Mike asking to be sent home last. This gives Tegan, who saved his life on the way to the palace, the chance to say goodbye and to promise to see him soon. On [[Earth]], [[Beth (Hexagora)|Beth]], the human whose body Zafira used, tells her husband [[Bill (Hexagora)|Bill]], whose body was used by Zellenger, that she had a strange [[dream]] and asks whether they are going to watch the Queen's [[silver jubilee]].
he will be known as the Queen’s Consult Consellor, and that Luparis
is a matriarchal society. They arrive at his pre-marital apartment,
and is told to wear his wedding suit, complete with trunk hoes, cartwheel ruff and tights.
 
The Doctor wants to
stay with his own clothes but Astorius warns him that Queen Zafira is
would rather he wear what he is told.
 
Tegan explains to
Nyssa what has happened to Mike and Nyssa reveals to him that
Jezzavar intends to lead a revolt and wants to make Nyssa the Queen.
The two agree they need to find the Doctor and get back to the
TARDIS. They are interrupted by the palace seamstress Anza, who says
that the queen would like them to be maids at the wedding. Nyssa
points out that Anza and Eva are about their shape and size, after
they have left.
 
The Doctor puts on
his new clothes but is interrupted by Zellenger who introduces himself as Minister of Security. Zellenger is suspicious of him and upset at discovering his sudden marriage. The Doctor explains he wants to leave soon. Zellenger, however, accuses him of being a coward and says that he loves Zafira for who she is, not for the crown, and that they had
fought many battles together and he would die for her.
 
The Doctor then asks to help him leave by taking him to his TARDIS so he may leave.
 
Nyssa and Tegan are
caught walking around the palace in disguise by a guard. They begin
to run as the guard chases them, and they climb over the wall of the
gate just as Tegan had done earlier.
 
The Doctor is taken
by Zellenger to the queen’s private rose gallery. There he finds
the TARDIS. But then Zellenger unsheathes his rapier, suspicious of
the Doctor’s motives, and explains that he is going to frame him,
telling the Queen that the Doctor was really after her secrets and
planned to run away. Zellenger forces the Doctor to take up a rapier
and fight him. The two begin to spar.
 
Tegan and Nyssa
wonder around the city and head down a passage. They hide but then
hear the same sound Tegan heard before and run.
 
The two watch as the
creature goes onto the street. They decide to stay put and wait for
the creatures to go away.
 
The Doctor and
Zellenger continue to spar, with the Doctor eventually disarming him.
Suddenly guards come to Zellenger and report the disturbances of
several sleepers invading the streets. The Doctor comments that he’s
seen the guard before but cannot make any further comment as
Zellenger has him arrested on charges of terrorism. Zellenger
commands the Doctor be cocooned in the nurseries.
 
Nyssa and Tegan hear
more strange noises and see a panel move. They realize they’re
right in the nest of the sleepers who take on a insect-like form. The
two are surrounded. Suddenly a voice whispers out Tegan’s name. It
turns out to be one of the insects, and he tells Tegan that it’s
him, Mike Bretherton...
 
=== Part three ===
''to be added''
 
=== Part four ===
''to be added''


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
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* [[Tegan Jovanka]] - [[Janet Fielding]]
* [[Tegan Jovanka]] - [[Janet Fielding]]
* [[Nyssa]] - [[Sarah Sutton]]
* [[Nyssa]] - [[Sarah Sutton]]
* [[Zafira|Queen Zafira]]/ [[Bev (Hexagora)|Bev]] - [[Jacqueline Pearce]]
* [[Zafira|Queen Zafira]] - [[Jacqueline Pearce]]
* [[Mike Bretherton]] - [[Toby Hadoke]]
* [[Mike Bretherton]] - [[Toby Hadoke]]
* [[Jezzavar|Lord Jezzavar]] - [[Richard Mark]]
* [[Jezzavar|Lord Jezzavar]] - [[Richard Mark]]
* [[Zellenger|Lord Zellenger]]/ [[Bill (Hexagora)|Bill]] - [[Dan Starkey]]
* [[Zellenger|Lord Zellenger]] - [[Dan Starkey]]
* [[Astorius]] - [[Sean Brosnan]]
* [[Astorius]] - [[Sean Brosnan]]
* [[Anza|Seamstress]] - [[Caroline Keiff]]


== References ==
=== Uncredited cast ===
* [[Zax]] - [[Toby Hadoke]] ([[BFX]]: ''Hexagora'')
 
== Crew ==
 
* Cover Art - [[Alex Mallinson]]
* Director - [[Ken Bentley]]
* Executive Producers - [[Nicholas Briggs]] and [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]]
* Music and Sound Design - [[Simon Robinson]]
* Producer - [[David Richardson]]
* Script Editor - [[John Dorney]]
* Writers - [[Peter Ling]] and [[Hazel Adair]], adapted by [[Paul Finch]]
 
== Worldbuilding ==
* [[Graham Sturges]] is Mike's [[news editor]].
* [[Luparis]] is the third planet of [[Proxima Centauri]] and is supposed to be overgrown with no intelligent life.
* [[Luparis]] is the third planet of [[Proxima Centauri]] and is supposed to be overgrown with no intelligent life.
* [[Proxima Centauri]] is the closest [[solar system]] to [[earth]]'s own.  
* [[Proxima Centauri]] is the closest [[solar system]] to [[earth]]'s own.
* Tegan and Mike Bretherton, who were next door neighbours, went to high school together in [[Brisbane]]. They were taught [[physics]] and [[chemistry]] by Miss Anderson. When she was fifteen, she broke her toe during track and gym and Mike carried her books home for her.
* Tegan and Mike Bretherton, who were next door neighbours, went to high school together in [[Brisbane]]. They were taught [[physics]] and [[chemistry]] by Miss Anderson. When she was fifteen, she broke her toe during track and gym and Mike carried her books home for her.
* Luparis is a replica of Tudor [[London]], featuring reproductions of the [[River Thames]] (which has frozen over due to the planet's rapidly falling temperatures, leading to a [[frost fair]]), [[London Bridge]] and the [[Palace of Whitehall]].
* Luparis is a replica of Tudor [[London]], featuring reproductions of the [[River Thames]] (which has frozen over due to the planet's rapidly falling temperatures, leading to a [[frost fair]]), [[London Bridge]] and the [[Palace of Whitehall]].
Line 205: Line 93:
* Tegan and Nyssa each have their own [[TARDIS key]]s.
* Tegan and Nyssa each have their own [[TARDIS key]]s.
* The Doctor says that [[Gallifreyan]]s can [[lifespan|live for "millennia"]].
* The Doctor says that [[Gallifreyan]]s can [[lifespan|live for "millennia"]].
* When attempting to climb the locked 12 foot gate, Tegan comments to herself about "always wearing [[High heel|heels]] at times like these."  
* When attempting to climb the locked 12 foot gate, Tegan comments to herself about "always wearing [[High heel|heels]] at times like these."
* The Doctor uses a device called an [[ionograph]] to help track down Mike. This is a device that can detect a diminishing ion stream from a spacecraft, or rather [[Space Pod (Hexagoran)|space pod]]. The Doctor further explains that "a spacepod isn't made of solid material; it is a spherical force-field, a sort of gravity bubble that uses photonic propulsion, capable of fantastic velocity and ideal for interplanetary travel, except that it can only usually carry one or two passengers at a time." He likens them to [[eddy]] made by liquids in flow; Nyssa comments that it is similar to a vapour trail from an earth [[aircraft]].
* Astorius describes the [[Agellae]] as "a race of hideous, moronic ape creatures".
* The [[Hexagora]]ns use a device called a "Scry warp" to observe other potentially habitable planets.
* [[Hexian]] is a material from the Hexagoran's homeworld that they use for both nutrients and technology.


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
* After ''[[Prison in Space (audio story)|Prison in Space]]'', this is the second Lost Story in which a female ruler seeks to marry the Doctor. [[Babs]], the Chairman of the [[World Federation of Womanhood]], became infatuated with the [[Second Doctor]] immediately after meeting him in that story.
* After ''[[Prison in Space (audio story)|Prison in Space]]'', this is the second Lost Story in which a female ruler seeks to marry the Doctor. [[Babs]], the Chairman of the [[World Federation of Womanhood]], became infatuated with the [[Second Doctor]] immediately after meeting him in that story.
* The Doctor uses a device called an [[Iono|ionograph]] to help track down Mike. This is a device that can detect a diminishing ion stream from a spacecraft, or rather spacepod. The Doctor further explains that "a spacepod isn't made of solid material; it is a spherical force-field, a sort of gravity bubble that uses photonic propulsion, capable of fantastic velocity and ideal for interplanetary travel, expect that it can only usually carry one or two passengers at a time." He likens them to [[eddy currents]]; Nyssa comments that it is similar to a vapor trail from an earth [[aircraft]]. 
* After ''[[The Foe from the Future (audio story)|The Foe from the Future]]'' and ''[[The Valley of Death (audio story)|The Valley of Death]]'', this is the third Lost Story to partially take place in [[1977]].
* After ''[[The Foe from the Future (audio story)|The Foe from the Future]]'' and ''[[The Valley of Death (audio story)|The Valley of Death]]'', this is the third Lost Story to partially take place in [[1977]].
* This audio drama was recorded on [[10 February (production)|10]] and [[11 February (production)|11 February]] [[2011 (production)|2011]].
* A solar room is a private chamber belonging to a [[Lord]] or [[Lady]].
* The original working title for this story was simply ''Hex''.
* This audio drama was recorded on [[10 February (production)|10]] and [[11 February (production)|11 February]] [[2011 (production)|2011]] at [[the Moat Studios]].
* The original working title for this story was simply ''[[Hex (TV story)|Hex]]'' and was originally written to feature [[Peri Brown]]. However, the story was adapted to feature Tegan and Nyssa instead.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* The Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan spend several days on holiday in [[Brisbane]], [[Australia]] following their ordeal with the Elite on [[Florana]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Elite (audio story)|The Elite]]'') The three of them and [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]] would subsequently visit Brisbane during [[World War VI]] in the early [[51st century]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Butcher of Brisbane (audio story)|The Butcher of Brisbane]]'') Later in his personal timeline, the Doctor would return to the city on [[22 September]] [[2006]], where he would be reunited with Tegan, approximately 22 years after she had left [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] following an encounter with the [[Dalek]]s in [[London]] in [[1984]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Gathering (audio story)|The Gathering]]'')
* The Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan spend several days on holiday in [[Brisbane]], [[Australia]] following their ordeal with the Elite on [[Florana]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Elite (audio story)|The Elite]]'') The three of them and [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]] would subsequently visit Brisbane during [[World War VI]] in the early [[51st century]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Butcher of Brisbane (audio story)|The Butcher of Brisbane]]'') Later in his personal timeline, the Doctor would return to the city on [[22 September]] [[2006]], where he would be reunited with Tegan, approximately 22 years after she had left [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] following an encounter with the [[Dalek]]s in [[London]] in [[1984]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Gathering (audio story)|The Gathering]]'')
* The Doctor tells Lord Jezzavar of the destruction of [[Traken]] in [[1981]] while Nyssa obliquely refers to the death of her father [[Tremas]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Logopolis (TV story)|Logopolis]]'')
* The Doctor tells Lord Jezzavar of the destruction of [[Traken]] in [[1981]] while Nyssa obliquely refers to the death of her father [[Tremas]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Logopolis (TV story)}})
* Nyssa mentions the time of [[Malador]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Guardians of Prophecy (audio story)|The Guardians of Prophecy]]'')
* Nyssa mentions the time of [[Malador]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Guardians of Prophecy (audio story)|The Guardians of Prophecy]]'')
* Tegan refers to the [[Great Fire of London]] in [[September]] [[1666]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Visitation (TV story)|The Visitation]]'')
* Tegan refers to the [[Great Fire of London]] in [[September]] [[1666]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Visitation (TV story)|The Visitation]]'')
* The Doctor tells Queen Zafira that he has previously visited the Palace of Whitehall. He did so in [[November]] [[1688]] during his [[Second Doctor|second incarnation]] in the company of [[Jamie McCrimmon]] and [[Zoe Heriot]] ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Glorious Revolution (audio story)|The Glorious Revolution]]'') and again, during his [[Fourth Doctor|fourth incarnation]], in [[1588]] in the company of [[Leela]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Devil's Armada (audio story)|The Devil's Armada]]'')
* The Doctor tells Queen Zafira that he has previously visited the Palace of Whitehall. He did so in [[November]] [[1688]] during his [[Second Doctor|second incarnation]] in the company of [[Jamie McCrimmon]] and [[Zoe Heriot]] ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Glorious Revolution (audio story)|The Glorious Revolution]]'') and again, during his [[Fourth Doctor|fourth incarnation]], in [[1588]] in the company of [[Leela]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Devil's Armada (audio story)|The Devil's Armada]]'')
* The Doctor mentions that he has witnessed [[human]]s thriving during one of [[Earth]]'s [[BC#Prehistory|Ice Ages]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'')
* The Doctor mentions that he has witnessed [[human]]s thriving during one of [[Earth]]'s [[BC#Prehistory|Ice Ages]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|An Unearthly Child (TV story)}})
* Tegan refers to Nyssa being brainwashed by the Elite on Florana. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Elite (audio story)|The Elite]]'')
* Tegan refers to Nyssa being brainwashed by the Elite on Florana. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Elite (audio story)|The Elite]]'')
* The Doctor has been reluctantly engaged before. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Aztecs (TV story)|The Aztecs]]'') He would get engaged to a royal monarch again, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'') as well as, accidentally, to [[Marilyn Monroe]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Christmas Carol (TV story)|A Christmas Carol]]'')
* The Doctor has been reluctantly engaged before. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Aztecs (TV story)|The Aztecs]]'') He would get engaged to a royal monarch again, ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Day of the Doctor (TV story)}}) as well as, accidentally, to [[Marilyn Monroe]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|A Christmas Carol (TV story)}})
* The Doctor would again encounter aliens snatching human bodies. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Unquiet Dead (TV story)|The Unquiet Dead]]'')
* The Doctor would again encounter aliens snatching human bodies. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Unquiet Dead (TV story)}})
* The Doctor and Nyssa have visited a planet resembling a period of England's past. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Spare Parts (audio story)|Spare Parts]]'')
* The Doctor and Nyssa have visited a planet resembling a period of England's past. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Spare Parts (audio story)|Spare Parts]]'')
* The Doctor once sparred with [[Errol Flynn]]. He would mention this again in his [[Twelfth Doctor|twelfth incarnation]] during his duel with [[Robin Hood]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Robot of Sherwood (TV story)|Robot of Sherwood]]'')
* The Doctor once sparred with [[Errol Flynn]]. He would mention this again in his [[Twelfth Doctor|twelfth incarnation]] during his duel with [[Robin Hood]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Robot of Sherwood (TV story)}})
* The Doctor mentions that his home planet [[Gallifrey]] is located in the [[constellation]] of [[Kasterborous]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned (TV story)|Voyage of the Damned]]'', ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'')
* The Doctor mentions that his home planet [[Gallifrey]] is located in the [[constellation]] of [[Kasterborous]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Voyage of the Damned (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Day of the Doctor (TV story)}})
* The Doctor is forced to wear a wedding suit, complete with trunk hoes, cartwheel ruff and [[tights]]. He wore a similar costume under different circumstances when attending a party at [[Cranleigh Hall]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Black Orchid (TV story)|Black Orchid]]'')
* The Doctor is forced to wear a wedding suit, complete with trunk hoes, cartwheel ruff and [[tights]]. He wore a similar costume under different circumstances when attending a party at [[Cranleigh Hall]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Black Orchid (TV story)|Black Orchid]]'')
* The Doctor has visited other planets in the Acteon galaxy before, such as [[Metebelis III]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Green Death (TV story)|The Green Death]]'', ''[[Planet of the Spiders (TV story)|Planet of the Spiders]]'', ''[[Hide (TV story)|Hide]]'')
* The [[Tenth Doctor]] later mentioned he would be rubbish at weddings, especially his own, ([[TV]]: {{cs|Blink (TV story)}}) as does the [[Eleventh Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Big Bang (TV story)}})
== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
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[[Category:Fifth Doctor audio stories]]
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[[Category:Stories set in Brisbane]]
[[Category:Stories set in Brisbane]]

Latest revision as of 11:06, 11 February 2024

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Hexagora was the second story in the third series of The Lost Stories, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Paul Finch, from the original story idea by Peter Ling & Hazel Adair, and featured Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa and Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka.

Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

When a newspaper reporter goes missing, the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa uncover a case of alien abduction. The trail leads them to the planet Luparis, and a city that appears to be a replica of Tudor era London.

What are the monsters that lurk in the shadows? And what is the terrible secret at the heart of Luparis? To save a world, the Doctor must try and defeat the evil plans of Queen Zafira.

And one of her plans is to marry him...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Part one[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan relax in a villa outside of Brisbane following the events on Florana, but Tegan reads in a newspaper about how investigative reporter and school friend Mike Bretherton disappeared after reporting a meteor and enlists the Doctor and Nyssa's help in searching for him. A visit to Mike's apartment in the TARDIS reveals that Mike had been investigating a series of disappearances, after which the Doctor uses an ionograph to detect two space pods which travelled to Luparis, a tropical and supposedly empty planet. They travel there and find that Lupara greatly resembles 16th century London.

The trio meet Lord Jezzevar, one of the two current husbands of Queen Zafira, who invites them to a duplicate of the Palace of Whitehall upon learning that Nyssa is effectively a Trakenite royal. Knowing that they are unlikely to find Mike on their own, they accept and are given Zafira's hospitality. Nyssa goes riding with Jezzevar and the Doctor goes for a walk on the veranda with Zafira, who indicates that she is attracted to him and advises that he direct any questions about the city to Astorius, the Minister of Science and chief astrologer. Meanwhile, the impatient Tegan scales a gate and heads back into the city, finding the TARDIS gone and Mike living as Sergeant Zax, a member of the city watch.

Part two[[edit] | [edit source]]

Zax arrests Tegan for walking the streets unaccompanied, but Lord Zellenger, head of security and another of Zafira's husbands, learns who she is and takes her back to the palace. Zafira and Astorius explain to the Doctor about how Luparis is rapidly cooling and that people are going into comas, leading them to start putting people into sleep pods in rooms known as nurseries. The sleep pods are arranged in pairs, one being for the husband and the other for the wife, but only one of each pair seems to be operational. The Doctor is also told that he will become Zafira's next husband and be known as her Consort Counsellor, prompting the upset Zellenger to engage him in a duel. Although the Doctor is able to disarm him, Zellenger accuses him of terrorism and has Zax take him to the nurseries.

Tegan catches up with Nyssa, who informs her that Jezzavar is planning to rebel against Zafira and would like to install Nyssa as her replacement; he believes that Zafira is too soft on her people and intends to rule through Nyssa. When serving girls Anza and Eva inform them of the Doctor and Zafira's wedding and that Nyssa and Tegan will be maids-in-waiting, they disguise themselves in the maids' clothes and run from a guard onto the streets. They hide in a dark passage where they they hear a clicking sound which Tegan heard before she met Zax. They flee to another hiding place, but a panel opens and they realise that they are in the nest of a group of insect creatures, one of them tells Tegan that he is Mike Bretherton.

Part three[[edit] | [edit source]]

Mike explains that the Hexagora put humans into insect bodies and did so to him because he was close to discovering them. Nyssa and Tegan go with him into the secret passageways and, whilst Tegan sleeps, Nyssa tells Mike about the Doctor and how he can help. She goes to Jezzavar's party without telling Tegan and pretends to join him in his planned coup d'état; when Tegan awakens, she runs from Mike to go and find her.

Astorius refuses to place the Doctor in a sleep pod without an express order from Zafira and sends Zax away to help when one of the sleepers is brought back to the palace. The Doctor accuses him of lying about the sleep pods, leading Astorius to admit that his race are the Hexagora and that Lupara is based on their memories of a temporary stay in London. They have been kidnapping and switching bodies with humans whilst the youngest Hexagora mature enough to leave the planet, but damage to their technology means that they are unlikely to be able to leave and, as a result, the human hosts are to be permanent, a prospect that troubles Astorius. The Doctor is chased by Zellenger and runs to Zafira, telling her that he would love to be her husband.

Part four[[edit] | [edit source]]

Zafira makes an order that Zellenger will be banished from the inner courts and be made to sleep outside the palace for twenty-five years, after which they will be divorced. Upon learning that the Doctor knows the truth, she further explains that the hexian substance containing the knowledge of the Hexagora is degrading and that their only option, given the short life of humans, is to kidnap Gallifreyans and mate with them to produce children who will be able to out-live the ice age of Luparis. The wedding goes ahead and Jezzavar attacks, holding Zafira at knifepoint until Astorius holds a flintlock into his back and makes him let her go. Zafira sentences him to death, but the Doctor asks for mercy.

The Doctor realises that the hexian is increasingly inaccessible because it no longer recognises the Hexagora due to them being in human bodies and that they will have to return to their original forms. The Hexagora act on this and gain the knowledge to rebuild their space pods to travel to a new world and to send the humans home, with Mike asking to be sent home last. This gives Tegan, who saved his life on the way to the palace, the chance to say goodbye and to promise to see him soon. On Earth, Beth, the human whose body Zafira used, tells her husband Bill, whose body was used by Zellenger, that she had a strange dream and asks whether they are going to watch the Queen's silver jubilee.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Uncredited cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Graham Sturges is Mike's news editor.
  • Luparis is the third planet of Proxima Centauri and is supposed to be overgrown with no intelligent life.
  • Proxima Centauri is the closest solar system to earth's own.
  • Tegan and Mike Bretherton, who were next door neighbours, went to high school together in Brisbane. They were taught physics and chemistry by Miss Anderson. When she was fifteen, she broke her toe during track and gym and Mike carried her books home for her.
  • Luparis is a replica of Tudor London, featuring reproductions of the River Thames (which has frozen over due to the planet's rapidly falling temperatures, leading to a frost fair), London Bridge and the Palace of Whitehall.
  • The Doctor once sparred with Errol Flynn.
  • Tegan and Nyssa each have their own TARDIS keys.
  • The Doctor says that Gallifreyans can live for "millennia".
  • When attempting to climb the locked 12 foot gate, Tegan comments to herself about "always wearing heels at times like these."
  • The Doctor uses a device called an ionograph to help track down Mike. This is a device that can detect a diminishing ion stream from a spacecraft, or rather space pod. The Doctor further explains that "a spacepod isn't made of solid material; it is a spherical force-field, a sort of gravity bubble that uses photonic propulsion, capable of fantastic velocity and ideal for interplanetary travel, except that it can only usually carry one or two passengers at a time." He likens them to eddy made by liquids in flow; Nyssa comments that it is similar to a vapour trail from an earth aircraft.
  • Astorius describes the Agellae as "a race of hideous, moronic ape creatures".
  • The Hexagorans use a device called a "Scry warp" to observe other potentially habitable planets.
  • Hexian is a material from the Hexagoran's homeworld that they use for both nutrients and technology.

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

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