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{{Infobox Story | {{Infobox Story SMW | ||
|image = Last of the Romanovs (audio story).jpg | |image = Last of the Romanovs (audio story).jpg | ||
|audio anthology = | |audio anthology = The First Doctor Adventures: Volume Four | ||
|number = 4.2 | |number = 4.2 | ||
|range = The First Doctor Adventures (audio series) | |range = The First Doctor Adventures (audio series) | ||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
|companions = [[Susan Foreman|Susan]], [[Ian Chesterton|Ian]], [[Barbara Wright|Barbara]] | |companions = [[Susan Foreman|Susan]], [[Ian Chesterton|Ian]], [[Barbara Wright|Barbara]] | ||
|featuring = [[Nicholas II]] | |featuring = [[Nicholas II]] | ||
|enemy = | |enemy = | ||
|setting = [[Ekaterinburg]], | |setting = [[Ekaterinburg]], [[16 July]] [[1918]] | ||
|writer = | |writer = Jonathan Barnes | ||
|director = [[Ken Bentley]] | |director = [[Ken Bentley]] | ||
|producer = [[David Richardson]] | |||
|music = [[Howard Carter (composer)|Howard Carter]] | |music = [[Howard Carter (composer)|Howard Carter]] | ||
|sound = Howard Carter | |sound = Howard Carter | ||
|cover = [[Tom Webster]] | |cover = [[Tom Webster]] | ||
|release date = | |publisher = Big Finish Productions | ||
|format = | |release date = 18 March 2020 | ||
|production code = | |format = 4 Episodes on 2 CDs (2nd of 2 stories) | ||
|isbn = | |production code = BFPDW1STCD04 | ||
|series = ''[[ | |isbn = ISBN 978-1-83868-156-2 (physical); ISBN 978-1-83868-157-9 (digital) | ||
|series = ''[[The First Doctor Adventures]]'' | |||
|prev = Return to Skaro (audio story) | |prev = Return to Skaro (audio story) | ||
|next = | |next = For the Glory of Urth (audio story) | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the second and final story in the audio anthology ''[[The First Doctor Adventures: Volume Four]]'', produced by [[Big Finish Productions]]. It was written by [[Jonathan Barnes]] and featured [[David Bradley]] as the [[First Doctor]], [[Claudia Grant]] as [[Susan Foreman]], [[Jamie Glover]] as [[Ian Chesterton]] and [[Jemma Powell]] as [[Barbara Wright]]. | |||
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the second | |||
Briefed by [[Producer]] [[David Richardson]] with writing a "[[Season 1 (Doctor Who 1963)|season one]] First Doctor [[pure historical]]", Barnes pitched three ideas, with Richardson ultimately gravitating towards the storyline about the Romanovs in [[1918]]. Barnes viewed the story as the kind of "gritty and hopeless... too-real historical tragedy" almost entirely devoid of science-fiction elements which only a very early version of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' in [[1963 (production)|1963]] and [[1964 (production)|1964]] was likely to tackle, ([[VOR 132]]) though he also envisioned the story as one that could have been made had pure historical serials lasted for a few more seasons. ([[BFX]]: ''Last of the Romanovs'') | |||
== Publisher's summary == | == Publisher's summary == | ||
[[The Doctor's TARDIS|The TARDIS]] lands on [[Earth]] near to an eerie and [[Ipatiev House|familiar house]]... with the only witness a [[Nicholas II|regal man]] watching from inside through a broken [[window]]. | |||
Leaving the ship the crew immediately find themselves in trouble - because they have landed in [[Ekaterinburg]] early in the [[20th century|twentieth century]]. | Leaving the ship the crew immediately find themselves in trouble - because they have landed in [[Ekaterinburg]] [[1918|early]] in the [[20th century|twentieth century]]. | ||
The man inside the house is [[Nicholas II|Nicholas]], the last [[Tsar]] of [[Russia]], imprisoned with his family... and one of the most notorious [[crime]]s in [[history]] is just about to happen. | The man inside the house is [[Nicholas II|Nicholas]], the last [[Tsar]] of [[Russia]], imprisoned with his [[family]]... and one of the most notorious [[crime]]s in [[history]] is just about to happen. | ||
== Plot == | == Plot == | ||
''to be | === The Shattered Pane (1) === | ||
[[Nicholas II|Nicholas]], the former [[Tsar]] of [[Russia]], smashes a darkened [[window]] in his [[Ipatiev House|house of imprisonment]] to peer at the outside world. [[Yakov Yurovsky]] arrives and arranges for the window to be fixed but not before Nicholas witnesses the arrival of [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] outside. | |||
[[First Doctor|The Doctor]] and [[Ian Chesterton|Ian]] leave the ship to investigate while [[Barbara Wright|Barbara]] searches for [[Susan Foreman|Susan]]. As the men head across the [[street]] towards a boarded up house, [[soldier]]s surround them and demand to see their [[paper]]s. Barbara finds Susan and wakes her from her [[meditation]] and they try to rescue the Doctor and Ian, but to no avail. The latter two are arrested and taken away to be put to work readying the [[town]]'s defences before the [[White Army]] and [[Czechoslovakia|Czech]] forces arrive. It is [[1918]] and their present location, [[Ekaterinburg]], is about to become the front lines in a [[Russian Civil War|civil war]] which will give birth to the [[Soviet Union]]. | |||
In the [[house]], Nicholas' [[daughter]], [[Anastasia Romanov|Anastasia]], joins her [[father]] and watches the events unfold through the broken window. The once-all-powerful Tsar is helpless to assist them. Briefly, Anastasia and Susan catch sight of each other and Susan notices the [[fear]] in her [[eye]]s. | |||
Barbara and Susan try to return to the safety of the TARDIS, only to find that it has been removed from the area. | |||
=== The House of Special Purpose (2) === | |||
A stranger approaches Barbara and Susan and inquires about whether they are seeking for a lost [[blue]] [[box]]. He takes them to his office and introduces himself as the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Consulate|Consul]] in Ekaterinburg, [[Thomas Preston]]. He offers to tell the travellers where the TARDIS is if they can do something for him in return. | |||
While they are transported away by their captors, the Doctor and Ian meet another [[prisoner]], a chimney sweep named [[Makerenkov]], who claims he has no love for either side of the conflict. They are set to work digging [[trench]]es to withstand the coming [[siege]]. As the work goes on, the Doctor collapses. [[Grigory Nikulin]] tends to him after overhearing he is a [[doctor]] and takes him elsewhere. | |||
In Ipatiev House, Anastasia reads about the [[French Revolution]]. She remembers stories her father told her about the [[Scarlet Pimpernel]] who rescued the royals from danger. She dares to hope that her family may still be rescued too. | |||
Preston confirms the Romanov family is being held as political prisoners in the "House of Special Purpose". Barbara knows the Bolsheviks ultimately intend to kill them. But Preston believes Barbara and Susan may be able to rescue the former Royal Family by sending them in [[disguise]]d as [[nun]]s on a [[reconnaissance]] mission. Remembering the fear on Anastasia's [[face]], Susan accepts the mission and convinces Barbara too. | |||
Yurovsky informs Nicholas that he is awaiting the arrival of an order regarding the family's situation by the end of the [[day]]. Nicholas is introduced to the Doctor who is to take on medical responsibilities. | |||
=== The Execution Order (3) === | |||
The White and Czech forces arrive and the workers are forced to defend the trenches without weapons, only their [[spade]]s and [[tool]]s. Ian and Makerenkov come under fire but manage to flee during a lull in the fighting. On the outskirts of town, Makerenkov reveal he is a counter-[[revolution]]ary intent on saving the Royals from captivity before the Bolsheviks [[Death sentence|execute]] them. However, a guard overhear them and prepare to execute them for [[desertion]]. Ian pretends to be an agent of [[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin]], [[Leon Trotsky|Trotsky]] and [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]], distracting the guard enough to knock him out. | |||
The Doctor determines Nicholas is medically healthy despite the living conditions. Nicholas appeals for help but the Doctor regrets that he [[Fixed point in time|cannot intervene]]. Susan and Barbara gain entry to Ipatiev House just after the Doctor is removed. They meet Anastasia who asks Susan if they are here to save her family. She draws them a plan of the house. | |||
Preston's [[diary]], dated [[16 July]] 1918, records the feeling that everyone is on the edge of a precipice. | |||
Yurovsky brings the Doctor to a nearby [[forest]] once used for [[mining]]. His orders demand that he kill the Romanovs and he intends to throw their [[corpse]]s into a deep [[mine]] shaft. The Doctor voices his disapproval at the idea that the Romanovs deserve to be executed and warns Yurovsky that the Bolshevik state will grow to be responsible for generations of industrialised slaughter. A part of Yurovsky hoped that the Doctor may dissuade him from the action but he is still perfectly content to carry it out. His order consists of two innocuous [[word]]s: "Chimney Sweep". | |||
Ian and Makerenkov make their way towards Ipatiev House. Makerenkov believes that soon, "it will all be over." | |||
=== The Waiting Cellar (4) === | |||
As Yurovsky drives him back to Ipatiev House, the Doctor finds himself disgusted about "the terrible justice of history" and considers whether he must stay bound by his [[Laws of Time|rules]]. | |||
Susan and Barbara [[pray]] with Nicholas and Anastasia, then Nikulin arrives to escort them out. They return to the Consulate, Barbara uncertain they can truly help the Romanovs. Preston begins questioning Ian and Makerenkov when they arrive and give their report. There seems few prospects of escape for the family. Leaving the Consulate, Preston is shot by Makerenkov, who was a Bolshevik agent all along. | |||
Susan, Ian and Barbara chase Makerenkov towards Ipatiev House, where they are joined by the Doctor and Yurovsky. Makerenkov delivers the words "Chimney Sweep" to Yurovsky, who recognises their meaning. As the Doctor and his [[companion]]s protest, Nicholas appears and is aware of what his fate is to be. He appeals for the travellers to be allowed to go. The Doctor warns the Bolsheviks that the act they are about to commit will become one of [[nation]]al infamy but acknowledges they have no choice and they depart. They make for the Consulate to find the TARDIS, before the Bolsheviks issue orders that they are all to be killed. Nikulin pursues them and they run. | |||
Yurovsky instructs Nicholas to inform his family they are to be moved but Nicholas sees through the euphemism. Although accepting of his fate, Nicholas challenges the Bolshevik worldview, pointing out they are no less brutal than the [[empire]]s they claim to oppose. Yurovsky accepts this and acknowledges that his cause too has simply become another prisoner of the course of [[history]], but feels the events in motion are now too far ahead to be stopped. | |||
The Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara reach the TARDIS as it materialises in front of the Consulate and they flee 1918. Unable to comprehend what he sees, Nikulin decides to forget they were ever a part of anything. The Doctor concludes that the TARDIS hid itself in accordance with the rules of [[time]]. | |||
The Doctor tells Ian and Barbara that the execution of the Romanovs is one atrocity that will lead to thousands more, but one day after [[1960s|their native time period]], the Soviet Union will collapse and a better world may be built. | |||
Nicholas tells Anastasia they are to be moved but she does not believe him. Frightened, they [[hug]] each other. | |||
Barbara comforts Susan, whose mood quickly brightens when she remembers she taught Anastasia how to mediate and slow her [[heart]]beat. Barbara feels that will not be enough to save Anastasia but Susan finds comfort in the fact that she was able to make even a small change. | |||
In the [[TARDIS control room|console room]], the Doctor is shaken by the experience and tells Ian that despite all his long-held beliefs, perhaps they ''do'' have a duty to intervene and that one day, he may have to change. For now, they prepare to move on. Suddenly, the TARDIS powers down. | |||
== Cast == | == Cast == | ||
* [[First Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[David Bradley]] | * [[First Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[David Bradley]] | ||
* [[Susan Foreman|Susan]] - [[Claudia Grant]] | |||
* [[Ian Chesterton]] - [[Jamie Glover]] | |||
* [[Barbara Wright]] - [[Jemma Powell]] | * [[Barbara Wright]] - [[Jemma Powell]] | ||
* [[Nicholas II|Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov]] / [[Thomas Preston]] - [[Leighton Pugh]] | * [[Nicholas II|Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov]] / [[Thomas Preston]] - [[Leighton Pugh]] | ||
* [[Makerenkov]] - [[John Albasiny]] | * [[Makerenkov]] - [[John Albasiny]] | ||
| Line 51: | Line 100: | ||
* [[Anastasia Romanov]] - [[Alex Tregear]] | * [[Anastasia Romanov]] - [[Alex Tregear]] | ||
* [[Grigory Nikulin]] - [[George Weightman]] | * [[Grigory Nikulin]] - [[George Weightman]] | ||
== | |||
'' | == Worldbuilding == | ||
* Nicholas used to read ''[[The Scarlet Pimpernel]]'' to Anastasia. | |||
* Nicholas and Anastasia discuss a [[Grigori Rasputin|late friend]] of [[Alexandra Fydorovna|Tsarina Alexandra]]. | |||
* The Doctor philosophically compares [[Time Lord|his own people]] and their [[Non-interference policy|policy of non-intervention]] to Nicholas and his reign. | |||
== Notes == | == Notes == | ||
''to | [[File:Last of the Romanovs alternate.jpg|thumb|Alternate cover]] | ||
* ''The Last of the Tsars'' by {{w|Robert Service (historian)|Robert Service}} was among the historical literature used by [[Jonathan Barnes]] to aid in the writing process. ([[VOR 132]]) | |||
* According to Barnes, [[Director (crew)|Director]] [[Ken Bentley]] sought to make the recording "sound as close as possible to a [[Missing episode|lost television]] soundtrack." ([[VOR 132]]) | |||
* Barnes had other ideas he would have liked to included in the story, including [[Grigori Rasputin|Rasputin]] in particular, but such ideas were dropped as they did not fit in with the historical order of events. ([[VOR 132]]) Rasputin is mentioned in the story, although not by [[name]]. | |||
* Bentley claimed that, compared with the "straightforward" casting process of ''[[Return to Skaro (audio story)|Return to Skaro]]'', ''Last of the Romanovs'' was made "tricky" by the debate on the use of accents in audio dramas. He believed it was important for listeners to be able to distinguish between the [[English (language)|English]] and [[Russian (language)|Russian]] characters present in the story. He made a point of casting at least one actor who could speak Russian and had lived in the country ([[John Albasiny]]) in order to have someone present who could advise others on pronunciation and dialect. ([[VOR 132]]) | |||
== Continuity == | == Continuity == | ||
* | * The First Doctor and this TARDIS team will later land in Russia during Nicholas II's reign, many years before [[Russian Revolution of 1917|the Revolution]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Wanderer (audio story)|The Wanderer]]'') | ||
* The [[Third Doctor]] later expressed his disapproval at what the Soviets did to the Romanovs. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Devil Goblins from Neptune (novel)|The Devil Goblins from Neptune]]'') | |||
* The Doctor sarcastically asks Ian and Barbara if they would prefer to return to [[Skaro]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Return to Skaro (audio story)|Return to Skaro]]'') | |||
* Susan and Barbara recall their encounter with the [[Aztec]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Aztecs (TV story)|The Aztecs]]'') | |||
* Anastasia did survive the execution, due to the intervention of the [[Faction Paradox]] subgroup, the [[Cult of Celebrity Death]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Book of the War (novel)|The Book of the War]]'') | |||
* The Doctor later would set aside his non-intervention policy to interfere directly in the course of Earth's history, by preventing [[World War III]] from breaking out following the [[WOTAN]] incident. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Time Travellers (novel)|The Time Travellers]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The War Machines (TV story)|The War Machines]]'') | |||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
{{bigfinish|releases/v/doctor-who-the-first-doctor-adventures-volume-04-2155}} | |||
{{BF 1DA}} | {{BF 1DA}} | ||
{{TitleSort}} | {{TitleSort}} | ||
[[Category:The First Doctor Adventures audio stories]] | [[Category:The First Doctor Adventures audio stories]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:2020 audio stories]] | ||
[[Category:Stories set in Russia]] | [[Category:Stories set in Russia]] | ||
[[Category:Stories set in 1918]] | |||
