The Vardan Invasion of Mirth (audio story): Difference between revisions

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{{title dab away}}
{{title dab away}}
{{real world}}
{{real world}}
{{Infobox Story
{{Infobox Story SMW
|image                  =  
|image                  =  
|anthology              = ''[[The First Doctor: Volume Three]]''
|anthology              = The First Doctor: Volume Three
|number                = 13.3
|number                = 13.3
|range                  = The Companion Chronicles
|range                  = The Companion Chronicles
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|series number in range = 13
|series number in range = 13
|number in series      = 3
|number in series      = 3
|doctor                = First Doctor
|main character        = [[Steven Taylor]]
|companions            = [[Steven Taylor|Steven]]
|featuring              = [[First Doctor]]
|featuring              =  
|enemy                  = [[Michael Hart]]
|enemy                  = [[Vardan]]s
|setting                = {{il|[[London]], [[1956]]|[[Mediasphere]]}}
|setting                = {{il|[[London]], [[1956]]|[[Mediasphere]]}}
|writer                = [[Paul Morris]] and [[Ian Atkins (writer)|Ian Atkins]]
|writer                = Paul Morris, Ian Atkins (writer)
|director              = [[Lisa Bowerman]]
|director              = [[Lisa Bowerman]]
|music                  = [[Steve Foxon]]
|music                  = [[Steve Foxon]]
|sound                  = Steve Foxon
|sound                  = Steve Foxon
|read by                = [[Peter Purves]]
|read by                =  
|publisher              = Big Finish Productions
|publisher              = Big Finish Productions
|release date          = [[18 September (releases)|18 September]] [[2019 (releases)|2019]]
|release date          = 18 September 2019
|format                =  
|format                =1 CD<br/>Download<br/>3rd of 4 stories
|production code        = BFPDWCC130
|production code        = BFPDWCC130
|isbn                  = ISBN: 978-1-78703-590-4
|isbn                  = ISBN 978-1-78703-590-4
|series                = ''[[The Companion Chronicles]]''
|series                = ''[[The Companion Chronicles]]''
|prev                  = Daybreak (audio story)
|prev                  = Daybreak (audio story)
|next                  = The Crumbling Magician (audio story)
|next                  = The Crumbling Magician (audio story)
|producer = [[Ian Atkins (writer)|Ian Atkins]]|epcount=2
}}{{audio stub}}
}}{{audio stub}}
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the third story in ''[[The First Doctor: Volume Three]]''.
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the third story in ''[[The First Doctor: Volume Three]]'' and featured [[Peter Purves]] as [[Steven Taylor]].


== Publisher's summary ==
== Publisher's summary ==
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== Cast ==
== Cast ==
* [[Steven Taylor|Steven]] / [[First Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Peter Purves]]
* [[Steven Taylor|Steven]] / [[First Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Peter Purves]]
* [[Teddy Baxter]] / [[Michael Hart (The Vardan Invasion of Mirth)|Michael Hart]] - [[Stephen Critchlow]]
* [[Teddy Baxter]] / [[Michael Hart]] - [[Stephen Critchlow]]


=== Additional Voices ===
=== Additional Voices ===
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* [[Paul Spragg]]
* [[Paul Spragg]]


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
* Steven finds himself in [[Studio 1]] at ATW, or [[Associated Tele-Wave]].
* Steven finds himself in [[Studio 1]] at ATW, or [[Associated Tele-Wave]].
* Steven regards [[slapstick]] comedy as less sophisticated than the [[comedy]] of his era. Teddy Baxter later reveals that giving and receiving [[punch]]es sometimes play a part in slapstick.
* Steven regards [[slapstick]] comedy as less sophisticated than the [[comedy]] of his era. Teddy Baxter later reveals that giving and receiving [[punch]]es sometimes play a part in slapstick.
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* [[Emma Birch]] disappeared in [[West London]], last seen attending a recording of ''[[The Tommy Allan Show]]''. She was the sixth person to have gone missing this month.
* [[Emma Birch]] disappeared in [[West London]], last seen attending a recording of ''[[The Tommy Allan Show]]''. She was the sixth person to have gone missing this month.
** ''The Tommy Allan Show'' was recorded in the [[studio]] next to Steven and Teddy's at ATW.
** ''The Tommy Allan Show'' was recorded in the [[studio]] next to Steven and Teddy's at ATW.
* The [[Free Trade Hall]] in [[Manchester]] was [[bomb]]ed in [[December]] [[1940]], destroying the surrounding area with it.
* The [[Free Trade Hall]] in [[Manchester (city)|Manchester]] was [[bomb]]ed in [[December]] [[1940]], destroying the surrounding area with it.
* Emma Birch is turned into a [[Vardan]] whilst she is helpless in [[laughter]].
* Emma Birch is turned into a [[Vardan]] whilst she is helpless in [[laughter]].
* The Vardans came because they discovered the [[wavelength]]s put out into [[space]] by [[humanity]].  
* The Vardans came because they discovered the [[wavelength]]s put out into [[space]] by [[human]]ity.
* The Doctor is at the Vardan [[Mediasphere]], which has been in [[orbit]] around [[Saturn]] for nearly 20 years. The Vardans set up here to study the full [[wavelength spectrum]] of [[Earth]]. Here, they generated [[data model]]s based on extrapolated [[waveform]] [[data]].
* The Doctor is at the Vardan [[Mediasphere]], which has been in [[orbit]] around [[Saturn]] for nearly 20 years. The Vardans set up here to study the full [[wavelength spectrum]] of [[Earth]]. Here, they generated [[data model]]s based on extrapolated [[waveform]] [[data]].
* In essence, the Vardans plan to attack Earth using [[laughter]], which in their estimation is one of humanity's greatest vulnerabilities. They plan to unleash a [[conversion wave]], a "virus" of sorts, modulated through and disguised as laughter.
* In essence, the Vardans plan was to attack Earth using [[laughter]], which in their estimation is one of humanity's greatest vulnerabilities. They planned to unleash a [[conversion wave]], a "virus" of sorts, modulated through and disguised as laughter.
** The [[carrier wave]] resulting from Teddy Baxter's influence, however, has an unstable [[waveform]], which means it would nullify any Vardan who makes contact with it. As a result, the Mediasphere had to be evacuated and abandoned.
** The [[carrier wave]] resulting from Teddy Baxter's influence, however, has an unstable [[waveform]], which means it would nullify any Vardan who makes contact with it. As a result, the Mediasphere had to be evacuated and abandoned.
* In Teddy's relative [[future]], seen in a [[biodata projection]], he stars in ''[[It's Teddy Baxter!]]'', as a [[stand-up comedian]].
* In Teddy's relative [[future]], seen in a [[biodata projection]], he stars in ''[[It's Teddy Baxter!]]'', as a [[stand-up comedian]].
** As a result of seeing his own future via [[biodata extract]], that future [[fixed point in time|must now take place]]. The Doctor explains that [[biodata]] is an individual's [[space-time event]]. If that should change, the Vardans would become locked in a [[temporal paradox|paradox]] forever.
** As a result of seeing his own future via [[biodata extract]], that future [[fixed point in time|must now take place]]. The Doctor explains that [[biodata]] is an individual's [[space-time event]]. If that should change, the Vardans would become locked in a [[temporal paradox|paradox]] forever.
* ''[[Sunday Night at the London Palladium]]'' apparently has "quite the following" on [[Alpha Centauri (planet)|Alpha Centauri]].


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
''to be added''
* The voice of [[Paul Spragg]] is used posthumously to provide the sound for a comedy sketch which they needed in one scene to play in the background for 2-3 minutes. [[Ian Atkins (writer)|Ian Atkins]] had recorded these with Spragg before even joining [[Big Finish]]. The pair had put together a number of comedy videos which Atkins, before this release, had never put to use in a project. ([[BFX]]: ''The Vardan Invasion of Mirth'')
* [[Teddy Baxter]] was in part based on the real-world comedian {{w|Will Hay}}, particularly with regards to his outside interest in [[astronomy]]. The writers were also inspired by the [[Chuckle Brothers]] while writing Teddy's [[double act]] routines. ([[BFX]]: ''The Vardan Invasion of Mirth'')
* The title is a play on ''[[The Dalek Invasion of Earth (TV story)|The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]''.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* Steven remembers having to live in the [[1950s]] on a previous occasion, although that time he'd had with him a friend, [[Sara Kingdom|Sara]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[An Ordinary Life (audio story)|An Ordinary Life]]'')
* Steven remembers having to live in the [[1950s]] on a previous occasion, although that time he'd had with him a friend, [[Sara Kingdom|Sara]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[An Ordinary Life (audio story)|An Ordinary Life]]'')
* Steven tries selling a [[Magpie Electricals|Magpie]] [[Magpie Tele-Wave 2000|Tele-Wave 2000]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)|The Idiot's Lantern]]'')
* Steven tries selling a [[Magpie Electricals|Magpie]] [[Magpie Tele-Wave 2000|Tele-Wave 2000]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)|The Idiot's Lantern]]'')
* Steven has encountered the [[Vardan]]s before but makes no mention how they are responsible for the death of his fellow companion and friend [[Oliver Harper]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The First Wave (audio story)|The First Wave]]'')
* The [[Vardan]] [[Mediasphere]] was previously central to their plots. When [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]] and the [[Seventh Doctor]] encountered this technology, it allowed entrance into the [[Mediascape]], which was similar in conceit and technology to the [[Land of Fiction]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[No Future (novel)|No Future]]'')
* The [[Vardan]] [[Mediasphere]] was previously central to their plots. When [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]] and the [[Seventh Doctor]] encountered this technology, it allowed entrance into the [[Mediascape]], which was similar in conceit and technology to the [[Land of Fiction]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[No Future (novel)|No Future]]'')
* The Doctor warns that the Vardans would be locked in a [[temporal paradox|paradox]] for eternity, should they kill Teddy Baxter before the now-[[fixed point]] from his future. The [[Eleventh Doctor]] and [[River Song]] would later face this exact consequence when attempting to change the fixed point of the Doctor's supposed death at [[Lake Silencio]], becoming trapped within a [[River Song's World|time bubble]] until the paradox was resolved. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song (TV story)|The Wedding of River Song]]'')
* The Doctor warns that the Vardans would be locked in a [[temporal paradox|paradox]] for eternity, should they kill Teddy Baxter before the now-[[fixed point]] from his future. The [[Eleventh Doctor]] and [[River Song]] would later face this exact consequence when attempting to change the fixed point of the Doctor's supposed death at [[Lake Silencio]], becoming trapped within a [[River Song's World|time bubble]] until the paradox was resolved. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song (TV story)|The Wedding of River Song]]'')
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{{Vardan stories}}
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{{TitleSort}}
[[Category:The First Doctor: Volume Three audio stories]]
[[Category:Vardan audio stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1956]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1956]]
[[Category:Audio stories set in the Sol System]]
[[Category:Vardan audio stories]]
[[Category:The First Doctor: Volume Three audio stories]]

Latest revision as of 05:57, 28 June 2024

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audio stub

The Vardan Invasion of Mirth was the third story in The First Doctor: Volume Three and featured Peter Purves as Steven Taylor.

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

The Doctor and Steven think they've arrived in London 1956, but the TARDIS disagrees. When both the Doctor and his craft are lost, it's down to Steven to solve a mystery that holds his fate in its grasp. With the help of comic Teddy Baxter, Steven's going to have to find a way into Television...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Something in Television (1)[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

"It's Teddy Baxter!" (2)[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Additional Voices[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The voice of Paul Spragg is used posthumously to provide the sound for a comedy sketch which they needed in one scene to play in the background for 2-3 minutes. Ian Atkins had recorded these with Spragg before even joining Big Finish. The pair had put together a number of comedy videos which Atkins, before this release, had never put to use in a project. (BFX: The Vardan Invasion of Mirth)
  • Teddy Baxter was in part based on the real-world comedian Will Hay, particularly with regards to his outside interest in astronomy. The writers were also inspired by the Chuckle Brothers while writing Teddy's double act routines. (BFX: The Vardan Invasion of Mirth)
  • The title is a play on The Dalek Invasion of Earth.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

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