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{{title|''{{PAGENAME}}''}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Four Doctors, T}}
{{title dab away}}
{{Infobox CD|
{{real world}}
cd name= The Five Companions |
{{Infobox Story SMW
image= [[File:The Five Companions.jpg|250px]]|
|image             = The Five Companions.jpg
series=[[Doctor Who]]<br />[[Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories#Special Releases|Specially Released Audio Dramas]] |
|range            = Bonus Releases
number= X|
|number in range  = X
doctor= [[Fifth Doctor]] |
|series           = ''[[Bonus Releases]]''
companions= [[Ian Chesterton]]<br />[[Steven Taylor]]<br />[[Sara Kingdom]]<br />[[Polly Wright]]<br />[[Nyssa]]|
|number           = X
enemy= The [[Dalek]]s<br />The [[Sontaran]]s |
|doctor           = Fifth Doctor   
year= An alternative [[Death Zone]], [[Gallifrey]]|
|companions       = [[Ian Chesterton|Ian]], [[Steven Taylor|Steven]], [[Sara Kingdom|Sara]], [[Polly Wright|Polly]], [[Nyssa]]
writer= [[Eddie Robson]] |
|enemy             = [[Silver Dalek]]s, [[Grex]]  
director= |
|setting          = Disused alternate section of [[Death Zone]], [[Gallifrey]]
producer= |
|writer            = Eddie Robson
publisher= [[Big Finish]] |
|director          = [[Ken Bentley]]
release date= [[December]] [[2011]] |
|producer          = [[David Richardson]]
format= |
|music            = [[Howard Carter (composer)|Howard Carter]]
production code= |
|sound            = Howard Carter
isbn= |
|cover            = [[Alex Mallinson]]
previous story=[[The Four Doctors]] |
|publisher        = Big Finish Productions
next story=
|release date     = 11 December 2011
}}{{audio stub}}
|format           = 1 CD
|production code   = 6K/A
|isbn             = ISBN  978-1-78178-691-8 (physical); ISBN 978-1-78178-692-5 (digital)
|prev              = The Four Doctors (audio story)
|next             = Night of the Stormcrow (audio story)
|soundcloudtrailer = https://soundcloud.com/howardcarter-1/the-five-companions-trailer
|epcount          = 1
|series2          = Classic Series - Special Releases
|prev2            = The Four Doctors (audio story)
|next2            = The Light at the End (audio story)
}}
'''''The Five Companions''''' was the ninth ''[[Doctor Who]]'' bonus story released on [[11 December (releases)|11 December]] [[2011 (releases)|2011]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20111228065248/http://bigfinish.com:80/whatsnew.aspx Latest and Upcoming releases] (Archived 28-12-2011 on the Wayback Machine)</ref> by [[Big Finish Productions]]. It was written by [[Eddie Robson]] and featured [[Peter Davison]] as the [[Fifth Doctor]], [[Sarah Sutton]] as [[Nyssa]], [[William Russell]] as [[Ian Chesterton]], [[Peter Purves]] as [[Steven Taylor]], [[Jean Marsh]] as [[Sara Kingdom]] and [[Anneke Wills]] as [[Polly Wright]].


'''The Five Companions''' was [[Big Finish Productions|Big Finish]]'s subscriber-free release for [[2011]].
It was one of only two bonus releases which aren't available for general purchase and can only be obtained by a subscription including a main range release (in this case, ''[[Army of Death (audio story)|Army of Death]]''), the other being ''[[The Four Doctors (audio story)|The Four Doctors]]''.
 
Essentially, this audio acts as an extension of the events of ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'', with the Fifth Doctor encountering more past [[companion]]s and [[Dalek]]s, as well as the [[Sontaran]]s, in the [[Death Zone]].


== Publisher's summary ==
== Publisher's summary ==
Inside a cluster of fused-together derelict spaceships, four of the Doctor's oldest friends - and one of his newest ones - are lost and confused. They don't know how they got there or what they're meant to be doing - but as the place is infested with Daleks, Sontarans and dinosaurs, their first priority is staying alive.
Inside a cluster of fused-together derelict spaceships, four of [[the Doctor]]'s oldest friends — and one of his newest ones — are lost and confused. They don't know how they got there or what they're meant to be doing — but as the place is infested with [[Dalek]]s, [[Sontaran]]s and [[dinosaur]]s, their first priority is staying alive.


To their collective relief, the Doctor turns up and has a reasonable idea of what's going on. If the six of them work together, they can escape this place and get home. But, unexpectedly, others may be working together to ensure they all die here...
To their collective relief, the Doctor turns up and has a reasonable idea of what's going on. If the six of them work together, they can escape this place and get home. But, unexpectedly, others may be working together to ensure they all die here...
== Plot ==
A long time after leaving the [[First Doctor]], [[Steven Taylor|Steven]] finds that he has been transported to a place made of fused [[spacecraft]] and is taken prisoner by a [[Dalek]], but he is saved when the Dalek falls down a shaft disguised with a sheet of [[metal]] by a similarly perplexed [[Ian Chesterton|Ian]]. They flee when the Dalek flies back upwards and take refuge in an [[airlock]], utilising the system's magnetic force against the Dalek when it breaks in and leaving it vulnerable.
[[Polly Wright|Polly]], transported away whilst on her way to a [[restaurant]], hides in a hatch from a [[dinosaur]] and pulls [[Sara Kingdom|Sara]] inside to save her. The dinosaur is attacked by Daleks and both sides seemingly kill one another, after which Polly and Sara emerge and find that one Dalek is still alive. Sara soon kills it with a [[pipe]], takes its [[gunstick|gun]] and leads Polly away in search of a way to escape; she destroys a group of Daleks and rescues [[Nyssa]], whom the Daleks have been forcing to assist them in their mission to get away from the [[pocket dimension]] they have all arrived in.
Instead of being transported from the [[Death Zone]] to [[the Capitol]] as he had intended, the [[Fifth Doctor]] finds himself with [[Skarl]] of the [[Sontaran Sixth Column]] and is taken prisoner. A Dalek argues with Skarl over the Doctor and Steven knocks the [[Sontaran]] out by hitting his [[probic vent]], after which the Dalek reveals himself to be Ian inside a travel machine. They are joined by Nyssa, Polly and Sara, the last of whom brushes away her survival as "a long story", and the Doctor realises that they have all been dragged into an inescapable alternative environment of the Death Zone.
Nyssa adapts a [[ground radar]] and she and Ian use it as a weapon to herd the dinosaurs away and prevent the Daleks from retreating. Steven and Sara are captured by [[Grex|Marshal Grex]], Skarl and [[Varsh (The Five Companions)|Varsh]] as they make their way to steal the Daleks' equipment and tell them about the gateway that Nyssa has been helping the Daleks develop, a device which the Sontarans intend to use and destroy. Although Skarl is ordered to guard Steven and Sara, he leaves them to hunt down the Doctor to restore his [[honour]]. He chases the Doctor and is killed when Polly pierces him in the [[probic vent]] with her [[stiletto]].
The Sontarans fight the Daleks and capture the gateway, which does not function, but the Daleks reveal that they knew of their objective and have sealed them inside their base. When Grex proposes that the two forces work together to boost the power of the gateway and destroy the dimension that they are in to kill the Doctor, the Daleks agree, only for an argument to break out and Grex to begin a fight in which he is killed. Ian and Nyssa disconnect the [[power cable]]s attached to the gateway too late and the dimension begins to collapse, so the Doctor has Steven fly Skarl's ship, made of [[dwarf star alloy]], to open a path to the gateway.
Using the Sontaran ship's [[tractor beam]], Steven and Nyssa protect the Doctor with a bulkhead, but Nyssa refuses to let him work alone and takes over from him. Ian, Steven, Sara and Polly link arms to reach the Doctor and prevent him from falling when the floor breaks apart and Nyssa succeeds in shutting the gateway down. The Doctor is then able to make contact with the Capitol and says goodbye to his [[companion]]s, promising to visit them and warning that their [[memory|memories]] might be affected before transmatting away. His former companions doubt that he will ever visit them, however, as he has better things to do.


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
* [[Fifth Doctor]] - [[Peter Davison]]
* [[Fifth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Peter Davison]]
* [[Ian Chesterton]] - [[William Russell]]
* [[Ian Chesterton]] - [[William Russell]]
* [[Steven Taylor]] - [[Peter Purves]]
* [[Steven Taylor]] - [[Peter Purves]]
Line 36: Line 62:
* [[Nyssa]] - [[Sarah Sutton]]
* [[Nyssa]] - [[Sarah Sutton]]
* [[Dalek|The Daleks]] - [[Nicholas Briggs]]
* [[Dalek|The Daleks]] - [[Nicholas Briggs]]
* [[Sontaran]]s - [[Dan Starkey]]
* [[Sontaran|The Sontarans]] - [[Dan Starkey]]


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
* Steven encountered the Sontarans when one of their scout ships crashed on the [[unnamed planet (The Savages)|Elders' planet]] several years earlier. This experience taught him that a Sontaran could be incapacitated by striking their [[probic vent]].
=== Culture ===
* A ''[[Tyrannosaurus rex]]'' is transported to the alternative Death Zone, where it proceeds to kill several Daleks before itself being exterminated.
* The Doctor mentions to Polly that he is attempting to get into contact with the [[Capitol]].
* The Doctor tells Polly that he tended not to refer to himself as a [[Time Lord]] during his [[First Doctor|first]] and [[Second Doctor|second incarnations]] as he was then on the run from his people.
 
=== Species ===
* Steven encountered the Sontarans when one of their scout ships crashed on the [[planet (The Savages)|Elders' planet]] several years earlier in his personal timeline. This experience taught him that a Sontaran could be incapacitated by striking their [[probic vent]].
* A ''[[Tyrannosaurus rex]]'' is transported to the alternative [[Death Zone]], where it kills several Daleks before it is exterminated.
 
=== Technology ===
* The Sontaran ship is provided with [[dwarf star alloy]] and a [[tractor beam]].


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
* This is a special release given away to Big Finish subscribers who have [[BFA]]: ''[[Army of Death]]'' as part of their subscription.
* The Fifth Doctor is the only character to appear in both this story and the television story ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]''.
* [[Dan Starkey]] previously played numerous other Sontarans in the revived series, namely [[Skorr|Commander Skorr]] and [[Skree|Lieutenant Skree]] in [[DW]]: ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem]]'' / ''[[The Poison Sky]]'', [[Jask|Commander Jask]] in [[DW]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'' and [[Strax|Commander Strax]] in [[DW]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War]]''.
* This marks the first time that [[Peter Purves]] and [[Anneke Wills]] have reprised their roles as [[Steven Taylor]] and [[Polly Wright]] respectively for Big Finish outside of the ''Companion Chronicles ''range. Similarly, it is the first time that [[William Russell]] has reprised his role as [[Ian Chesterton]] in a full cast Big Finish audio drama.
* This marks the first time that [[Peter Purves]] and [[Anneke Wills]] have reprised their roles as [[Steven Taylor]] and [[Polly Wright]] respectively for Big Finish outside of the ''Companion Chronicles ''range. Similarly, it is the first time that [[William Russell]] has reprised his role as [[Ian Chesterton]] in a full cast Big Finish audio drama.
* This was a special release given away to Big Finish subscribers who have the audio story ''[[Army of Death (audio story)|Army of Death]]'' as part of their subscription.<ref>'About' tab of [https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-the-five-companions-subscription-exclusive-684 the official ''The Five Companions'' page] at [https://www.bigfinish.com bigfinish.com].</ref><ref name=":0">[https://web.archive.org/web/20110514125806/http://bigfinish.com/news/The-Five-Companions-In-the-Studio The Latest Big Finish News - The Five Companions - In the Studio] (Archived 14-05-2011 on the Wayback Machine)</ref>
* The cover for this story was revealed on 9 May 2011.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110512110251/http://www.bigfinish.com/news/The-Five-Companions-Cover-revealed The Latest Big Finish News - The Five Companions - Cover revealed] (Archived 12-05-2011 on the Wayback Machine)</ref>
* This story was recorded at [[the Moat Studios]],<ref>'Backstage' tab of [https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-the-five-companions-subscription-exclusive-684 the official ''The Five Companions'' page] at [https://www.bigfinish.com bigfinish.com].</ref> and at least partly recorded on [[12 May (production)|12 May]] [[2011 (production)|2011]].<ref name=":0" />
* This audio takes place during the events of ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]''. The [[Fifth Doctor]] is diverted to an alternate section of the [[Death Zone]] that is disused after using {{Ainley}}'s transmat recall device, and discovers that some of his other companions have ended up there as well.
* The Doctor tells Ian that he had intended to visit him several months earlier. This is a reference to the original plans for ''[[Mawdryn Undead (TV story)|Mawdryn Undead]]'', which had envisaged Ian taking the part ultimately allocated to [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]].


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* This audio takes place during the events of [[DW]]: ''[[The Five Doctors]]''. The Fifth Doctor is diverted to an alternative [[Death Zone]] after using the [[The Master (Tremas)|Master]]'s transmat recall device and discovers that some of his other companions have ended up there as well.
* Ian and Steven previously met in the [[Mechonoid City]] on [[Mechanus]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Chase (TV story)|The Chase]]'')
* Ian and Steven previously met in the [[Mechanoid City]] on [[Mechanus]] in the [[23rd century]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Chase]]'')
* Ian sets a trap for a Dalek by placing a sheet of metal on the floor in the hopes of disrupting the static electricity supply by which they are powered and subsequently disguises himself as a Dalek. He did both of these in his first encounter with them on [[Skaro]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]'')
* Ian sets a trap for the Dalek by placing a sheet of metal on the floor in the hopes of disrupting the static electricity supply by which they are powered and subsequently disguises himself as a Dalek. He previously did both of these during his first encounter with them on [[Skaro]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Daleks]]'')
* Ian, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]'', ''[[The Dalek Invasion of Earth (TV story)|The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]'', ''[[The Chase (TV story)|The Chase]]'') Steven, ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Across the Darkened City (audio story)|Across the Darkened City]]'', ''[[The Dalek Occupation of Winter (audio story)|The Dalek Occupation of Winter]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)|The Daleks' Master Plan]]'') Sara, ([[AUDIO|AUDIO:]] ''[[The Destroyers (audio story)|The Destroyers]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)|The Daleks' Master Plan]]'') Polly ([[TV]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks (TV story)|The Power of the Daleks]]'') and Nyssa ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Mutant Phase (audio story)|The Mutant Phase]]'', ''[[Renaissance of the Daleks (audio story)|Renaissance of the Daleks]]'', ''[[Plague of the Daleks (audio story)|Plague of the Daleks]]'', ''[[Dalek Soul (audio story)|Dalek Soul]]'', ''[[The Elite (audio story)|The Elite]]'') have all previously encountered the Daleks.
* Ian, Steven, Sara, Polly and Nyssa have all previously encountered the Daleks. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Daleks]]'', [[DW]]: ''[[The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]'', [[DW]]: ''[[The Chase]]'', [[DW]]: ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan]]'', [[DW]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks]]'', [[BFA]]: ''[[The Mutant Phase]]'', [[BFA]]: ''[[Renaissance of the Daleks]]'', [[BFA]]: ''[[Plague of the Daleks]]'', [[BFA]]: ''[[The Elite]]'')
* The Sontarans have records of all the Doctor's incarnations. They recognise the Fifth Doctor from their encounter with him on [[Samur]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Heroes of Sontar (audio story)|Heroes of Sontar]]'')
* The Sontarans have records of all the Doctor's incarnations. They recognise the Fifth Doctor from their encounter with him on [[Samur]]. ([[BFA]]: ''[[Heroes of Sontar]]'')
* The Doctor initially believes that he and his former companions are trapped in an artificial construct which has been created by the Master. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'')
* The Doctor initially believes that he and his former companions are trapped in an artificial construct which has been created by the Master. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Five Doctors]]'')
* Nyssa would later encounter the Fifth Doctor in her mind shortly before his regeneration into the [[Sixth Doctor]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Winter (audio story)|Winter]]'') Later still in her personal timeline, she would meet the [[Fourth Doctor]] in [[3488]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Asylum (novel)|Asylum]]'') and subsequently rejoin the Fifth Doctor as one of his companions. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Cobwebs (audio story)|Cobwebs]]'') From the Doctor's perspective, the latter two events have already happened.
* Nyssa would later encounter the Fifth Doctor in her mind shortly before his regeneration into the [[Sixth Doctor]]. ([[BFA]]: ''[[Winter (audio story)|Winter]]'') Later still in her personal timeline, she would meet the [[Fourth Doctor]] in [[35th century|3488]] ([[PDA]]: ''[[Asylum (novel)|Asylum]]'') and subsequently re-joined the Fifth Doctor as one of his companions <span style="font-style: normal; ">(</span>[[BFA]]<span style="font-style: normal; ">: </span>''[[Cobwebs]]''<span style="font-style: normal; ">)</span>. From the Doctor's perspective, both of these events have already happened.
* This is the Doctor's first encounter with each of his first incarnation's companions since they left the TARDIS. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Chase (TV story)|The Chase]]'', ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)|The Daleks' Master Plan]]'', ''[[The Savages (TV story)|The Savages]]'', ''[[The Faceless Ones (TV story)|The Faceless Ones]]'') None of them know that the Doctor is a [[Time Lord]] nor are they familiar with the concept of [[regeneration]]. Even Polly, who witnessed the Doctor's regeneration into [[Second Doctor|his second incarnation]], remains uncertain of the process. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet (TV story)|The Tenth Planet]]'') With reference to Ian Chesterton, this will be contradicted in [[COMIC]]: ''[[Hunters of the Burning Stone]]'', where the [[Eleventh Doctor]] meets a younger version of the science teacher and attends his wedding.
* This is the Doctor's first encounter with each of his companions since they left the TARDIS. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Chase]]'', [[DW]]: ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan]]'', [[DW]]: ''[[The Savages]]'', [[DW]]: ''[[The Faceless Ones]]'', [[DW]]: ''[[Terminus (TV story)|Terminus]]'') With the exception of Nyssa, they do not know that the Doctor is a [[Time Lord]] nor are they familiar with the concept of [[regeneration]]. Even Polly, who witnessed the Doctor's regeneration into his [[Second Doctor|second incarnation]], remains uncertain of the process. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]'')
* Polly claims sarcastically that making [[coffee]] was usually her main contribution to the proceedings. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet (TV story)|The Tenth Planet]]'', ''[[The Moonbase (TV story)|The Moonbase]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Selachian Gambit (audio story)|The Selachian Gambit]]'')
* The Doctor tells Ian that he had recently intended to visit him. This is a reference to the original plans for [[DW]]: ''[[Mawdryn Undead]]'' which had envisaged Ian taking the part ultimately allocated to [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]].
* The Doctor refers to Polly challenging the [[CyberMondan|Mondasian]] [[Cyber-Leader (Mondas)|Cyber-Leader]] [[Krail]] in the [[Snowcap]] in [[December]] [[1986]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet (TV story)|The Tenth Planet]]'') and destroying a squadron of [[CyberTelosian|Cybermen]] on the [[Moonbase (The Moonbase)|Moonbase]] in [[2070]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Moonbase (TV story)|The Moonbase]]'')
* Ian has gone out of retirement to take up teaching again and is married to [[Barbara Wright]]. Polly is married to [[Ben Jackson]]. This would appear to contradict [[ST]]: ''[[Mondas Passing]]'', in which they are said to have both married other people, as well as [[CC]]: ''[[The Forbidden Time]]'', in which Polly states that they saw each other only occasionally.
* [[Marshal (rank)|Marshal]] [[Grecks]] refers to the [[Sontaran invasion of Gallifrey]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion of Time (TV story)|The Invasion of Time]]'')
* Polly sarcastically mentions that making [[coffee]] was usually her main contribution to the proceedings. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]'', [[DW]]: ''[[The Moonbase]]'')
* The fact that Ian is an elderly man would seem to disprove the rumour (as related by Sarah Jane to her friends [[Clyde Langer]] and [[Rani Chandra]] in [[2010]]) that he and Barbara have not aged since the [[1960s]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Death of the Doctor (TV story)|Death of the Doctor]]'')
* The Doctor refers to Polly challenging the [[Cyber-Leader]] [[Krail]] in the [[Snowcap]] in [[December]] [[1986]] ([[DW]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]'') and destroying a squadron of [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Cybermen]] on the [[Moonbase]] in [[2070]] ([[DW]]: ''[[The Moonbase]]'').
* Martha would later refer to how pompous the name "Time Lord" sounds quite, ([[TV]] ''[[Smith and Jones (TV story)|Smith and Jones]]'') as would a future version of the Master. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Timeless Children (TV story)|The Timeless Children]]'') The [[Twelfth Doctor]] would soon get unwarranted treatment when he revealed to [[Danny Pink]] that he's a Time Lord. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Caretaker (TV story)|The Caretaker]]'')
* Commander Skaal refers to the [[Sontaran invasion of Gallifrey]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Invasion of Time]]'')
 
* The Doctor tells his former companions that, after being returned to their respective native eras by the Time Lords, their memories of their experiences in the alternative Death Zone may be hazy. This could account for the fact that [[Sarah Jane Smith]] did not remember the events of [[DW]]: ''[[The Five Doctors]]'' when she was reunited with the Doctor, then in his [[Tenth Doctor|tenth incarnation]], in [[DW]]: ''[[School Reunion]]''.
== External links ==
{{bigfinish|releases/v/the-five-companions-subscription-exclusive-684|The Five Companions}}
 
== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist}}{{BFA monthly}}
{{Dalek audio stories}}
{{Sontaran stories}}
{{TitleSort}}


== [[Fifth Doctor - Timeline|Timeline]] ==
[[Category:Bonus Releases audio stories]]
* ''The Five Companions'' occurs during [[DW]]: ''[[The Five Doctors]]''
[[Category:Big Finish special releases]]
[[Category:Fifth Doctor audio stories]]
[[Category:Fifth Doctor audio stories]]
[[Category:Sontaran audio stories]]
[[Category:Sontaran audio stories]]
[[Category:Dalek audio stories]]
[[Category:Dalek audio stories]]
[[Category:2011 audio stories]]
[[Category:2011 audio stories]]
[[Category:Stories set on Gallifrey]]
[[Category:Audio stories set on Gallifrey]]
[[Category:Audio stories that use the Peter Howell theme]]
[[Category:One part audio stories]]

Revision as of 12:27, 2 October 2024

RealWorld.png

The Five Companions was the ninth Doctor Who bonus story released on 11 December 2011[1] by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Eddie Robson and featured Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, William Russell as Ian Chesterton, Peter Purves as Steven Taylor, Jean Marsh as Sara Kingdom and Anneke Wills as Polly Wright.

It was one of only two bonus releases which aren't available for general purchase and can only be obtained by a subscription including a main range release (in this case, Army of Death), the other being The Four Doctors.

Essentially, this audio acts as an extension of the events of The Five Doctors, with the Fifth Doctor encountering more past companions and Daleks, as well as the Sontarans, in the Death Zone.

Publisher's summary

Inside a cluster of fused-together derelict spaceships, four of the Doctor's oldest friends — and one of his newest ones — are lost and confused. They don't know how they got there or what they're meant to be doing — but as the place is infested with Daleks, Sontarans and dinosaurs, their first priority is staying alive.

To their collective relief, the Doctor turns up and has a reasonable idea of what's going on. If the six of them work together, they can escape this place and get home. But, unexpectedly, others may be working together to ensure they all die here...

Plot

A long time after leaving the First Doctor, Steven finds that he has been transported to a place made of fused spacecraft and is taken prisoner by a Dalek, but he is saved when the Dalek falls down a shaft disguised with a sheet of metal by a similarly perplexed Ian. They flee when the Dalek flies back upwards and take refuge in an airlock, utilising the system's magnetic force against the Dalek when it breaks in and leaving it vulnerable.

Polly, transported away whilst on her way to a restaurant, hides in a hatch from a dinosaur and pulls Sara inside to save her. The dinosaur is attacked by Daleks and both sides seemingly kill one another, after which Polly and Sara emerge and find that one Dalek is still alive. Sara soon kills it with a pipe, takes its gun and leads Polly away in search of a way to escape; she destroys a group of Daleks and rescues Nyssa, whom the Daleks have been forcing to assist them in their mission to get away from the pocket dimension they have all arrived in.

Instead of being transported from the Death Zone to the Capitol as he had intended, the Fifth Doctor finds himself with Skarl of the Sontaran Sixth Column and is taken prisoner. A Dalek argues with Skarl over the Doctor and Steven knocks the Sontaran out by hitting his probic vent, after which the Dalek reveals himself to be Ian inside a travel machine. They are joined by Nyssa, Polly and Sara, the last of whom brushes away her survival as "a long story", and the Doctor realises that they have all been dragged into an inescapable alternative environment of the Death Zone.

Nyssa adapts a ground radar and she and Ian use it as a weapon to herd the dinosaurs away and prevent the Daleks from retreating. Steven and Sara are captured by Marshal Grex, Skarl and Varsh as they make their way to steal the Daleks' equipment and tell them about the gateway that Nyssa has been helping the Daleks develop, a device which the Sontarans intend to use and destroy. Although Skarl is ordered to guard Steven and Sara, he leaves them to hunt down the Doctor to restore his honour. He chases the Doctor and is killed when Polly pierces him in the probic vent with her stiletto.

The Sontarans fight the Daleks and capture the gateway, which does not function, but the Daleks reveal that they knew of their objective and have sealed them inside their base. When Grex proposes that the two forces work together to boost the power of the gateway and destroy the dimension that they are in to kill the Doctor, the Daleks agree, only for an argument to break out and Grex to begin a fight in which he is killed. Ian and Nyssa disconnect the power cables attached to the gateway too late and the dimension begins to collapse, so the Doctor has Steven fly Skarl's ship, made of dwarf star alloy, to open a path to the gateway.

Using the Sontaran ship's tractor beam, Steven and Nyssa protect the Doctor with a bulkhead, but Nyssa refuses to let him work alone and takes over from him. Ian, Steven, Sara and Polly link arms to reach the Doctor and prevent him from falling when the floor breaks apart and Nyssa succeeds in shutting the gateway down. The Doctor is then able to make contact with the Capitol and says goodbye to his companions, promising to visit them and warning that their memories might be affected before transmatting away. His former companions doubt that he will ever visit them, however, as he has better things to do.

Cast

Worldbuilding

Culture

  • The Doctor mentions to Polly that he is attempting to get into contact with the Capitol.

Species

  • Steven encountered the Sontarans when one of their scout ships crashed on the Elders' planet several years earlier in his personal timeline. This experience taught him that a Sontaran could be incapacitated by striking their probic vent.
  • A Tyrannosaurus rex is transported to the alternative Death Zone, where it kills several Daleks before it is exterminated.

Technology

Notes

  • The Fifth Doctor is the only character to appear in both this story and the television story The Five Doctors.
  • This marks the first time that Peter Purves and Anneke Wills have reprised their roles as Steven Taylor and Polly Wright respectively for Big Finish outside of the Companion Chronicles range. Similarly, it is the first time that William Russell has reprised his role as Ian Chesterton in a full cast Big Finish audio drama.
  • This was a special release given away to Big Finish subscribers who have the audio story Army of Death as part of their subscription.[2][3]
  • The cover for this story was revealed on 9 May 2011.[4]
  • This story was recorded at the Moat Studios,[5] and at least partly recorded on 12 May 2011.[3]
  • This audio takes place during the events of The Five Doctors. The Fifth Doctor is diverted to an alternate section of the Death Zone that is disused after using the Tremas Master's transmat recall device, and discovers that some of his other companions have ended up there as well.
  • The Doctor tells Ian that he had intended to visit him several months earlier. This is a reference to the original plans for Mawdryn Undead, which had envisaged Ian taking the part ultimately allocated to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

Continuity

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Latest and Upcoming releases (Archived 28-12-2011 on the Wayback Machine)
  2. ↑ 'About' tab of the official The Five Companions page at bigfinish.com.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Latest Big Finish News - The Five Companions - In the Studio (Archived 14-05-2011 on the Wayback Machine)
  4. ↑ The Latest Big Finish News - The Five Companions - Cover revealed (Archived 12-05-2011 on the Wayback Machine)
  5. ↑ 'Backstage' tab of the official The Five Companions page at bigfinish.com.
v • e
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v • e
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