Asking for a Friend (audio story): Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Story
{{Infobox Story SMW
|image           =  
|image                 = Asking for a Friend (audio story).jpg
|series         = ''[[The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield (audio series)|The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield]]''
|range                  = The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield (audio series)
|anthology       = ''[[Ruler of the Universe (audio anthology)|Ruler of the Universe]]''
|series in range        = Ruler of the Universe (audio anthology)
|number         = 4.2
|series number in range = 4
|doctor          =
|number in series      = 2
|companions      =
|series                 = ''[[The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield (audio series)|The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield]]''
|main character = [[Bernice Summerfield]]
|audio anthology       = Ruler of the Universe (audio anthology)
|featuring       = [[The Doctor (Sympathy for the Devil)|The Doctor]]      
|number                 = 4.2  
|enemy          =
|main character         = [[Unbound Doctor]]
|setting        =
|featuring             = Bernice Summerfield{{!}}Benny
|writer         = [[James Goss]]
|featuring2            = Ebbis (Unbound Universe){{!}}Ebbis
|director       = [[Scott Handcock]]
|setting                = [[Guilana (Unbound Universe)|Guilana]]'s [[office]]
|read by        = <!--don't fill in this variable if a full-cast audio story-->
|writer                 = James Goss
|music           = [[Steve Foxon]], Unbound theme arrangment [[Blair Mowat]]
|director               = [[Scott Handcock]]
|sound           =  Steve Foxon
|music                 = [[Steve Foxon]], Unbound theme arrangement [[Blair Mowat]]
|cover       = [[Tom Webster]]
|sound                 =  Steve Foxon
|publisher       = Big Finish Productions  
|cover                 = [[Tom Webster]]
|release date   = [[20 September (releases)|20 September]] [[2017 (releases)|2017]]
|publisher             = Big Finish Productions
|format         =  
|release date           = 20 September 2017
|production code =  
|format                 =1 CD<br/>Download<br/>2nd of 4 stories
|isbn           = ISBN 978-1-78575-360-2  
|production code       =BFPDWNABOX004
|prev           = The City and the Clock (audio story)
|isbn                   = ISBN 978-1-78575-360-2 (physical)<br/>ISBN 978-1-78703-251-4 (digital)
|next           = Truant (audio story)
|prev                   = The City and the Clock (audio story)
}}'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the second story in ''[[The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield (audio series)|The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield]]'' box set ''[[Ruler of the Universe (audio anthology)|Ruler of the Universe]]''.
|next                   = Truant (audio story)
|producer              = [[James Goss]]
|epcount                = 1
}}
'''''Asking for a Friend''''' was the second story in ''[[The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield (audio series)|The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield]]'' box set ''[[Ruler of the Universe (audio anthology)|Ruler of the Universe]]''.


== Publisher's summary ==
== Publisher's summary ==
Vast wars are raging across the stars, planets are dying, and [[The Doctor (Sympathy for the Devil)|the Doctor]] is sat on a psychiatrist's couch. What's it like to be the Doctor's therapist?
Vast wars are raging across the stars, planets are dying, and [[The Doctor (Sympathy for the Devil)|the Doctor]] is sat on a psychiatrist's couch. What's it like to be the Doctor's therapist?


==Plot==
== Plot ==
''to be added''
At [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]]'s suggestion, [[Unbound Doctor|the Doctor]] goes to see the [[therapist]] [[Guilana (Unbound Universe)|Guilana]]. He gives short answers but eventually tells her about how he ended the [[Boskotain War]] by cancelling out a [[robot]]'s [[aggression ray]] with [[Unbound Doctor's sonic screwdriver|his sonic screwdriver]] and feels guilty for not having saved more. He also had a meeting with the [[genocide|genocidal]] [[Grand Vogmarsh]] regarding trade, which reflected very badly on him.
 
At the next meeting, Guilana asks the Doctor if he has ever made a decision that he regrets. He says that he has not, but tells her about how he used [[time travel]] and split himself in seventy-two to do his paperwork and attend all of his meetings. Benny admonished him for paying no attention to his meetings and stormed out, ensuring that she had the last word.
 
At the next meeting, the Doctor says that he is unsure about whether there is room in his life for Benny. He asks Guilana about why the room is so bare, but she refuses to talk about herself and prompts him to talk about his loneliness. He reminisces about how he crossed the [[Mother Superior (Unbound Universe)|Mother Superior]] and tried to get the [[Dominar of Dree]] to allow anybody and everybody through his sector to be protected by the [[Apocalypse Clock (Unbound Universe)|Apocalypse Clock]]; when he refused, the Doctor banned any traffic from his sector from entering the safe zone. Benny is appalled.
 
At the next meeting, the Doctor is nostalgic about the simpler times. Benny later visits Guilana herself and talks about how difficult it can be being friends with a man who changes his personality and her concerns about the Doctor's ability to run [[Unbound Universe|the universe]]. She tells Guilana about how she tried to get the Doctor to win the public's confidence back and that there are rumours that somebody has been conspiring against him. He attempted to get the people of [[Vastron]] to safety as the [[Great Collapse]] approaches the planet, but the people voted against it.
 
Guilana tells the Doctor that she had a session with Benny and has him draw a [[timeline]] of important events in his life. He remembers how he abandoned the [[Time Lord (Unbound Universe)|Time Lords]] in the [[Great War (Unbound Universe)|Great War]] because he knew that they were wrong and would lose and that the [[Unbound Master]] eventually sold them out. More recently, the world of the [[Quarg]]s was lost to a [[sun spike]] due to the uselessness of Parliament.
 
Aware that the Doctor was cheating with his sessions, Guilana installed shielding which has made her realise that the Doctor has rewritten her entire life; when she first met him, she was single and childless, but now she has a family. The Doctor confesses that he saved her sweetheart from being killed by the [[Kareem]] to make her happier given how many people he has failed to save. He asks Guilana if she can fix him, but she says no. He leaves.
 
Benny is waiting for the Doctor and congratulates him on saving the people of Vastron, which he did by paying the Dominar to terraform a planet using refugee labour and building a replica of their planet. She walks him home, saying that that is what friends are for.


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
* [[Bernice Summerfield]] - [[Lisa Bowerman]]
* [[Bernice Summerfield]] - [[Lisa Bowerman]]
* [[The Doctor (Sympathy for the Devil)|The Doctor]] - [[David Warner]]
* [[Unbound Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[David Warner]]
* [[Guilana (Asking for a Friend)|Guilana]] - [[Annette Badland]]
* [[Guilana (Unbound Universe)|Guilana]] - [[Annette Badland]]
* [[Ebbis (The City and the Clock)|Ebbis]] - [[Hattie Hayridge]]
* [[Ebbis (Unbound Universe)|Ebbis]] - [[Hattie Hayridge]]
* [[Radio (Asking for a Friend)|Radio]] - [[Wilf Scolding]]
* [[Radio (Unbound Universe)|Radio]] - [[Wilf Scolding]]
* [[Host (The City and the Clock)|Host]] - [[Guy Adams (writer)|Guy Adams]]
* [[Host (Unbound Universe)|Host]] - [[Guy Adams]]


== References ==
== Crew ==
''to be added''
 
* Cover Art - [[Tom Webster]]
* Director [[Scott Handcock]]
* Executive Producers - [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]] and [[Nicholas Briggs]]
* Music and Sound Design - [[Steve Foxon]]
* Writer, Producer & Script Editor - [[James Goss]]
 
== Worldbuilding ==
* The Doctor adores [[shed]]s.
* The Doctor likes ''[[The Beano]]'' but can do without it.
* Guilana mentions the [[Kareem]].
* There are very few remaining sources of [[doxite]].
* The [[Grand Vogmarsh]] has committed [[genocide]].
* [[Orange]]s are Guilana's favourite.
* The Doctor met [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]].
* The Doctor mentions [[Aaron Blinovitch|Blinovitch]].'
* The Doctor brings Guilana [[biscuit]]s.
* The [[Mother Superior (Unbound Universe)|Mother Superior]] is the leader of [[Parliament (Unbound Universe)|Parliament]].
* The [[Wolvian]]s have sixteen arms. Benny gets them to offer to sponsor the [[refugee]]s from [[Zalvon]].
* [[Vastron]] has especially beautiful [[sunset]]s.
* Guilana has worked with victims of the [[Unbound Master]] and the [[Gateway Emporium]].
* The Doctor brings [[cheese and onion]] [[crisp]]s.
* The [[High Quarg]] calls the Doctor.


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
Line 48: Line 86:


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* Benny talks that she hoped that the Dcotor would be the same in each bodies he's in, no matter how tall or short or young or old or handsome or Scottish they are. These describe the incarnations of the Doctor's she met, short and Scottish being the [[Seventh Doctor]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Love and War (novel)|Love and War]]'' et al), young and handsome being the [[Eighth Doctor]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Dying Days (novel)|The Dying Days]]''), tall and Scottish being the [[Twelfth Doctor]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Big Bang Generation (novel)|Big Bang Generation]]''), and old and tall being the alternate Doctor. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Library in the Body (audio story)|The Library in the Body]]'')
* Guilana mentions the [[Gateway Emporium]] and what the [[Unbound Master]] did there. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Emporium at the End (audio story)|The Emporium at the End]]'')
* Guilana mentions the [[Gateway Emporium]] and what [[The Master (Sympathy for the Devil)|The Master]] did there. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Emporium at the End (audio story)|The Emporium at the End]]'')
* The [[Kareem]] attacked Guilana's home planet. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Library in the Body (audio story)|The Library in the Body]]'')
* Benny mentions meeting several different doctors, by identifying them as short ([[Seventh Doctor]]) ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Love and War (novel)|Love and War]]'' et al.), tall ([[Unbound Doctor]]) ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Library in the Body (audio story)|The Library in the Body]]'' et. al.), handsome ([[Eighth Doctor]]) ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Dying Days (novel)|The Dying Days]]'' et. al.) or Scottish (Seventh and [[Twelfth Doctor]]) ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Big Bang Generation (novel)|Big Bang Generation]]'')


== External links ==
== External links ==
''to be added''
{{bigfinish|releases/v/1640}}
{{BFBS}}
{{TitleSort}}


{{TitleSort}}
[[Category:Ruler of the Universe audio stories]]
[[Category:2017 audio stories]]
[[Category:Bernice Summerfield sources]]
[[Category:Bernice Summerfield stories]]
[[Category:Bernice Summerfield audio stories]]
[[Category:Bernice Summerfield audio stories]]
[[Category:The Master audio stories]]
[[Category:Unbound Doctor audio stories]]
[[Category:Stories that use the Blair Mowat Doctor Who theme]]

Latest revision as of 03:48, 27 March 2024

RealWorld.png

Asking for a Friend was the second story in The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield box set Ruler of the Universe.

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

Vast wars are raging across the stars, planets are dying, and the Doctor is sat on a psychiatrist's couch. What's it like to be the Doctor's therapist?

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

At Benny's suggestion, the Doctor goes to see the therapist Guilana. He gives short answers but eventually tells her about how he ended the Boskotain War by cancelling out a robot's aggression ray with his sonic screwdriver and feels guilty for not having saved more. He also had a meeting with the genocidal Grand Vogmarsh regarding trade, which reflected very badly on him.

At the next meeting, Guilana asks the Doctor if he has ever made a decision that he regrets. He says that he has not, but tells her about how he used time travel and split himself in seventy-two to do his paperwork and attend all of his meetings. Benny admonished him for paying no attention to his meetings and stormed out, ensuring that she had the last word.

At the next meeting, the Doctor says that he is unsure about whether there is room in his life for Benny. He asks Guilana about why the room is so bare, but she refuses to talk about herself and prompts him to talk about his loneliness. He reminisces about how he crossed the Mother Superior and tried to get the Dominar of Dree to allow anybody and everybody through his sector to be protected by the Apocalypse Clock; when he refused, the Doctor banned any traffic from his sector from entering the safe zone. Benny is appalled.

At the next meeting, the Doctor is nostalgic about the simpler times. Benny later visits Guilana herself and talks about how difficult it can be being friends with a man who changes his personality and her concerns about the Doctor's ability to run the universe. She tells Guilana about how she tried to get the Doctor to win the public's confidence back and that there are rumours that somebody has been conspiring against him. He attempted to get the people of Vastron to safety as the Great Collapse approaches the planet, but the people voted against it.

Guilana tells the Doctor that she had a session with Benny and has him draw a timeline of important events in his life. He remembers how he abandoned the Time Lords in the Great War because he knew that they were wrong and would lose and that the Unbound Master eventually sold them out. More recently, the world of the Quargs was lost to a sun spike due to the uselessness of Parliament.

Aware that the Doctor was cheating with his sessions, Guilana installed shielding which has made her realise that the Doctor has rewritten her entire life; when she first met him, she was single and childless, but now she has a family. The Doctor confesses that he saved her sweetheart from being killed by the Kareem to make her happier given how many people he has failed to save. He asks Guilana if she can fix him, but she says no. He leaves.

Benny is waiting for the Doctor and congratulates him on saving the people of Vastron, which he did by paying the Dominar to terraform a planet using refugee labour and building a replica of their planet. She walks him home, saying that that is what friends are for.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

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