The Merfolk Murders (audio story)

The Merfolk Murders
Doctor:	Fifth Doctor
Companion(s):	Adric, Nyssa, Tegan
Main setting:	St Andrews, August 1940
Key crew
Publisher:	Big Finish Productions
Writer:	Tim Foley
Director:	Ken Bentley
Producer:	David Richardson
Music:	Howard Carter
Sound:	Howard Carter
Release details
Number of parts:	4
Part of:	The Dream Team
Release date:	9 April 2024
Format:	1 CD Download
Production code:	BFPDWDR0505
ISBN:	ISBN 978-1-80240-171-4 (physical) ISBN 978-1-80240-172-1 (digital)
The Fifth Doctor Adventures
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The Merfolk Murders was the first story in the audio anthology The Dream Team, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Tim Foley.

Publisher's summary

St Andrews, Scotland, 1940. The Merfolk are a university society meeting through the summer to discuss murder mystery stories. Innocent escapism during wartime, they say. Their latest book is The Casebook of Orion Hood – whose hero is all-too-familiar to the Doctor...

When a real-life murder occurs soon after their gathering, the Doctor’s friends encourage him to investigate. Is one of the Merfolk responsible? Was this crime the result of espionage or envy? The Doctor must embrace his deerstalker once more and solve this wartime mystery – before the killer can strike again!

Plot

to be added

Cast

• The Doctor - Peter Davison
• Adric - Matthew Waterhouse
• Nyssa - Sarah Sutton
• Tegan Jovanka - Janet Fielding
• Professor Margo Hodgson - Josie Lawrence
• Henry Cuthbertson - Will Kirk
• Sebastian Callow - Angus Imrie
• Athena McDonnell / Anna - Pearl Appleby
• Private Aurek Kowalski - Tom Alexander

Worldbuilding

• The Doctor previously visited St Andrews in the 30th century.
• St Salvator's Hall and Seaview House are locations around the university in St Andrews. Castle Street is nearby. Unnamed locations include a beach, a ruined castle and a clifftop.
• In October 1940, a bomb will be dropped on the university's library.

Orion Hood novels

• The Merfolk are reading The Casebook of Orion Hood.
• The Orion Hunt novels were written by Sarah Jane Smith under the pseudonym "Sarah Joan Watson" when she and the Fourth Doctor were stuck at 107 Baker Street for a few months in the turn of the century.
• The novels include The Murder of Lord Acra and Death on the Caledonian Express.
• A 1960s entry in the series from the Doctor's future, written by "Janet Govanka", is The Return of Orion Hood, which has the Doctor on the cover wearing the a colourful coat.

Mathematics

• Henry discusses Goldbach's conjecture.

Notes

• As a pure historical, Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton all readily compared this story to TV: Black Orchid. (BFX: The Merfolk Murders)

Continuity

• Tegan claims Adric is looking to study mathematics (TV: Full Circle ^[+]Loading...["Full Circle (TV story)"]) at the university, Nyssa bioelectronics, (TV: The Keeper of Traken ^[+]Loading...["The Keeper of Traken (TV story)"]) and she herself would be studying aviation. (TV: Logopolis ^[+]Loading...["Logopolis (TV story)"])
• The Doctor refers to his "detective outfit", seen in TV: The Talons of Weng-Chiang ^[+]Loading...["The Talons of Weng-Chiang (TV story)"].
• The Doctor refers to the events at Cranleigh Hall, seen in TV: Black Orchid ^[+]Loading...["Black Orchid (TV story)"].
• "The Doctor" is known as an ally of Winston Churchill, reflecting their friendship first seen in TV: Victory of the Daleks ^[+]Loading...["Victory of the Daleks (TV story)"], and further established in audio stories such as AUDIO: Their Finest Hour ^[+]Loading...["Their Finest Hour (audio story)"] and Baker Street Irregulars ^[+]Loading...["Baker Street Irregulars (audio story)"], with Churchill's files including a description of the Fifth Doctor, as well as several other incarnations.
• Adric remembers clearing out Romana's TARDIS bedroom (AUDIO: Psychodrome ^[+]Loading...["Psychodrome (audio story)"]) after she left the TARDIS, choosing to remain in E-Space. (TV: Warriors' Gate ^[+]Loading...["Warriors' Gate (TV story)"])

External links

• Official The Merfolk Murders page at bigfinish.com