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|doctor          = Sixth Doctor
|doctor          = Sixth Doctor
|companions      = [[Mel Bush|Mel]]
|companions      = [[Mel Bush|Mel]]
|featuring        =  
|featuring        = [[Edgar Allan Poe]]
|enemy            =  
|enemy            = [[Tremas Master|The Master]]
|setting          =  
|setting          = [[The Matrix]]
|writer          = [[Andrew Collins (writer)|Andrew Collins]]
|writer          = [[Andrew Collins (writer)|Andrew Collins]]
|director        =  
|director        =  
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|prev            = Frozen Worlds (audio story)
|prev            = Frozen Worlds (audio story)
|next            = Meanwhile Turlough (audio story)
|next            = Meanwhile Turlough (audio story)
}}{{audio stub}}
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'''''The Ultimate Poe''''' was the seventh audiobook released in the ''[[Interludes]]'' series. It was released as a bonus download with the audio anthology ''[[The Quin Dilemma (audio anthology)|The Quin Dilemma]]''. It was written by [[Andrew Collins (writer)|Andrew Collins]] and featured the [[Sixth Doctor]].
'''''The Ultimate Poe''''' was the seventh audiobook released in the ''[[Interludes]]'' series. It was released as a bonus download with the audio anthology ''[[The Quin Dilemma (audio anthology)|The Quin Dilemma]]''. It was written by [[Andrew Collins (writer)|Andrew Collins]] and featured the [[Sixth Doctor]].


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== Plot ==
== Plot ==
Finding a series of [[book]]s he has never heard of in a [[library]], [[Sixth Doctor|the Doctor]] deduces that somebody is affecting [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s [[timeline]] and leaves with [[Melanie Bush|Mel]] in [[the TARDIS]]. He connects an [[e-reader]] to the [[TARDIS console|console]] using the port once used for the [[core to the Key to Time|core]] to the [[Key to Time]] to trace the interference to [[Edgar Alien Poe]], [[captain]] of a [[raven]]-shaped [[spaceship]].
Finding a series of [[Edgar Allan Poe]] [[book]]s he has never heard of during a visit to a [[library]] with [[Melanie Bush|Mel]], [[Sixth Doctor|the Doctor]] deduces that somebody is affecting [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s [[timeline]]. He connects an [[e-reader]] to the [[TARDIS console]] using the port once used for the [[core to the Key to Time|core]] to the [[Key to Time]] and traces the interference to [[Edgar Alien Poe]], [[captain]] of a [[raven]]-shaped [[spaceship]]. Poe's [[Robot raven (The Ultimate Poe)|robot raven]] attacks the Doctor and Mel and they leap into a [[portal]] they come across to escape, after which they find themselves in a [[carnival]] and meet [[Montresor]], who addresses the Doctor as [[Fortunato]] and takes him into his family's [[catacomb]]s to sample a cask of [[vonix]].  


''to be completed''
Montresor does not register Mel's presence, however, and the Doctor notes that the character of Montresor in [[The Cask of Amontillado|one of Poe's stories]] takes only Fortunato into the catacombs. Montresor chains the Doctor to a wall inside a niche, bricks him up and departs, allowing Mel to dismantle the wall and release the Doctor using a [[lockpick]] from one of [[the Doctor's pockets|his pockets]]. Another portal takes them back to the spaceship, now captained by [[Edgar Android Poe]], but they are soon chased by the raven back through a portal to the world of ''[[The Masque of the Red Death]]''. A cloaked figure interrupts [[Prospero (The Ultimate Poe)|Prince Prospero]]'s [[masquerade]] and is torn apart by the revellers after the prince, chasing the figure, falls dead. The figure is without form, however, and the revellers begin to die of the Red Death.
 
Another portal returns the Doctor and Mel to the spaceship, now staffed by [[hologram]]matic figures and captained by [[Edgar AI Poe]], who is unsure why the two travellers are not yet dead and has the raven chase them towards a portal once again. This time, the Doctor arrives alone with the ailing [[Roderick Usher]] as the [[House of Usher]] starts to fall apart whilst Mel takes on the role of [[Madeline Usher|Madeline]], Roderick's prematurely entombed sister, and frightens Roderick to death. As the house crumbles, the Doctor carries the now unconscious Mel outside and through another portal which transports them to a [[bedroom]]. They share a [[hug]] and the Doctor determines that they are in ''[[The Telltale Heart]]'', standing above a body hidden under the floorboards.
 
As the Doctor struggles to remove the floorboards with a [[crowbar]], he bemoans the loss of [[Third Doctor's sonic screwdriver|his sonic screwdriver]], only for Mel to find it nearby. They find the real Edgar Allan Poe and the world fades away, confirming the Doctor's suspicion that they were in [[the Matrix]] beneath [[the Capitol]] and that Poe had been plugged into its heart. [[Tremas Master|The Master]] claims responsibility and explains that he has been trying to use Poe's imagination to kill the Doctor. Poe has been helping the Doctor, however, and the Doctor [[reverses the polarity of the neuron flow]] to take control of the Matrix. He initiates [[contact]] with the Master and he and Mel trap him in miniature form on a [[picnic blanket]] as [[insect]]s approach.
 
The Doctor and Mel take Poe into the TARDIS before the robot raven can shoot them and return him to [[Baltimore]] at the end of his life, although Mel is upset to leave him to his death given how he helped them. They watch on the [[TARDIS scanner]] as Poe is found by [[Joseph Walker]] and asks after "Reynolds", the [[Aliases of the Master|alias used by the Master]] when he captured him. Mel asks to go somewhere happier and the Doctor decides that he will take her to [[Blackpool]].


== Characters ==
== Characters ==
Line 41: Line 47:
* [[Melanie Bush]]
* [[Melanie Bush]]
* [[Edgar Alien Poe]]
* [[Edgar Alien Poe]]
''to be added''
* [[Robot raven (The Ultimate Poe)|Robot raven]]
* [[Montresor]]
* [[Edgar Android Poe]]
* [[Prospero (The Ultimate Poe)|Prospero]]
* [[Edgar AI Poe]]
* [[Roderick Usher]]
* [[Edgar Allan Poe]]
* [[Tremas Master|The Master]]
* [[Joseph Walker]]


== Worldbuilding ==
== Worldbuilding ==
* The Doctor finds copies of ''[[The Telltale Hearts]]'', ''[[The Pit and the Penguin]]'', ''[[The Fall of the House of Prydon]]'' and ''[[The Splinx]]''.
* The Doctor finds copies of ''[[The Telltale Hearts]]'', ''[[The Pit and the Penguin]]'', ''[[The Fall of the House of Prydon]]'' and ''[[The Splinx]]''.
* [[Melanie Bush|Mel]] mentions [[Monty Python]].
* [[Montresor]] has a [[trowel]].
* The Doctor is a fan of [[Roland Rat]].
* In [[the Doctor's pockets]] are a [[cricket ball]], [[jelly babies]], a [[catapult]] and a [[lockpick]].
* Mel eats something which looks and smells like [[spiced meat]].
* The Red Death in ''[[The Masque of the Red Death]]'' emulates [[consumption]], of which a number of people Poe knew died.
* Poe dies on [[7 October]].


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
Line 52: Line 73:


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
''to be added''
* The titles of the altered [[Edgar Allan Poe]] works echo aspects of [[the Doctor]]'s life in general and the [[Sixth Doctor]] in particular:
** The plural ''[[The Telltale Hearts]]'' alludes to [[Time Lord]]s' [[binary vascular system]]s, a plot point introduced in [[TV]]: {{cs|Spearhead from Space (TV story)}} and made ubiquitous thereafter.
** ''[[The Pit and the Penguin]]'' evokes [[Frobisher]], a long-term shapeshifting [[companion]] of the Sixth Doctor well-known for defaulting to the form of a talking penguin, introduced in [[COMIC]]: {{cs|The Shape Shifter (comic story)}}.
** ''[[The Fall of the House of Prydon]]'' references the [[Prydonian Chapter]], one of the castes of Time Lord society as introduced in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Deadly Assassin (TV story)}}, specifically being the Doctor's Chapter. Although [[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Book of the War (novel)}} suggested that the castes corresponded to the spheres of influence of particularly powerful [[Ruling House]]s, and another chapter (the [[Patrex Chapter]]) had been confirmed as having a ruling "[[House Patrex]]" in [[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Neverland (audio story)}}, this is technically the first mention of a [[House of Prydon]].
** ''[[The Splinx]]'' references [[Splinx]], a robot cat who acted as a companion of the Sixth Doctor in [[GAME]]: {{cs|Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror (video game)}}. Splinx had previously been referenced in [[Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories|Big Finish ''Doctor Who'' audio stories]] in [[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Key To Key To Time (audio story)}} where an [[Splinx (The Wanderer's reality)|alternative version of her]] travelled with an alternate Doctor going by [[The Wanderer (The Key to Key to Time)|the Wanderer]].
* Mel recognises [[Tremas Master|the Master]], whom she first encountered in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Ultimate Foe (TV story)}}.


== Footnotes ==
== Footnotes ==

Latest revision as of 21:52, 2 August 2024

RealWorld.png

The Ultimate Poe was the seventh audiobook released in the Interludes series. It was released as a bonus download with the audio anthology The Quin Dilemma. It was written by Andrew Collins and featured the Sixth Doctor.

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

The Doctor and Mel go in search of Edgar Allan Poe, after discovering someone has been changing the titles of his famous works.[1]

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Finding a series of Edgar Allan Poe books he has never heard of during a visit to a library with Mel, the Doctor deduces that somebody is affecting Edgar Allan Poe's timeline. He connects an e-reader to the TARDIS console using the port once used for the core to the Key to Time and traces the interference to Edgar Alien Poe, captain of a raven-shaped spaceship. Poe's robot raven attacks the Doctor and Mel and they leap into a portal they come across to escape, after which they find themselves in a carnival and meet Montresor, who addresses the Doctor as Fortunato and takes him into his family's catacombs to sample a cask of vonix.

Montresor does not register Mel's presence, however, and the Doctor notes that the character of Montresor in one of Poe's stories takes only Fortunato into the catacombs. Montresor chains the Doctor to a wall inside a niche, bricks him up and departs, allowing Mel to dismantle the wall and release the Doctor using a lockpick from one of his pockets. Another portal takes them back to the spaceship, now captained by Edgar Android Poe, but they are soon chased by the raven back through a portal to the world of The Masque of the Red Death. A cloaked figure interrupts Prince Prospero's masquerade and is torn apart by the revellers after the prince, chasing the figure, falls dead. The figure is without form, however, and the revellers begin to die of the Red Death.

Another portal returns the Doctor and Mel to the spaceship, now staffed by hologrammatic figures and captained by Edgar AI Poe, who is unsure why the two travellers are not yet dead and has the raven chase them towards a portal once again. This time, the Doctor arrives alone with the ailing Roderick Usher as the House of Usher starts to fall apart whilst Mel takes on the role of Madeline, Roderick's prematurely entombed sister, and frightens Roderick to death. As the house crumbles, the Doctor carries the now unconscious Mel outside and through another portal which transports them to a bedroom. They share a hug and the Doctor determines that they are in The Telltale Heart, standing above a body hidden under the floorboards.

As the Doctor struggles to remove the floorboards with a crowbar, he bemoans the loss of his sonic screwdriver, only for Mel to find it nearby. They find the real Edgar Allan Poe and the world fades away, confirming the Doctor's suspicion that they were in the Matrix beneath the Capitol and that Poe had been plugged into its heart. The Master claims responsibility and explains that he has been trying to use Poe's imagination to kill the Doctor. Poe has been helping the Doctor, however, and the Doctor reverses the polarity of the neuron flow to take control of the Matrix. He initiates contact with the Master and he and Mel trap him in miniature form on a picnic blanket as insects approach.

The Doctor and Mel take Poe into the TARDIS before the robot raven can shoot them and return him to Baltimore at the end of his life, although Mel is upset to leave him to his death given how he helped them. They watch on the TARDIS scanner as Poe is found by Joseph Walker and asks after "Reynolds", the alias used by the Master when he captured him. Mel asks to go somewhere happier and the Doctor decides that he will take her to Blackpool.

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-the-sixth-doctor-adventures-the-quin-dilemma-2873#tab2
  2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240203172033/https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-the-sixth-doctor-adventures-the-quin-dilemma-2873
  3. ↑ https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/bonus-interludes-for-2024
  4. ↑ https://twitter.com/bigfinish/status/1783808513195573520
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