Dead London (audio story): Difference between revisions

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{{real world}}
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{{Infobox Story
{{Infobox Story SMW
|image          = Dw201 dead london - web - big.jpg
|image          = Dw201 dead london - web - big.jpg
|range          = Eighth Doctor Adventures (audio series)
|range          = Eighth Doctor Adventures (audio series)
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|enemy          = [[Sepulchre (Dead London)|Sepulchre]]
|enemy          = [[Sepulchre (Dead London)|Sepulchre]]
|setting        = Inside [[Sepulchre (Dead London)|Sepulchre]]'s mind  
|setting        = Inside [[Sepulchre (Dead London)|Sepulchre]]'s mind  
|writer          = [[Pat Mills]]
|writer          = Pat Mills
|director        = [[Barnaby Edwards (actor)|Barnaby Edwards]]  
|director        = [[Barnaby Edwards]]
|producer        = [[David Richardson]], [[Sharon Gosling]]
|sound          = [[Simon Robinson]]
|sound          = [[Simon Robinson]]
|music          = [[Simon Robinson]]
|music          = [[Simon Robinson]]
|cover          = [[Grant Kempster]]
|cover          = [[Grant Kempster]]
|publisher      = Big Finish Productions
|publisher      = Big Finish Productions
|release date    = [[January (releases)|January]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]]
|epcount        = 1
|format          = 1 CD  
|release date    = January 2008
|format          = 1 CD<br/>Download
|production code = BFPDWCDMG009  
|production code = BFPDWCDMG009  
|isbn            = ISBN 978-1-84435-308-8  
|isbn            = ISBN 978-1-84435-308-8 (physical)<br/>ISBN 978-1-78178-484-6 (digital)
|prev            = Human Resources (audio story)
|prev            = Human Resources (audio story)
|next            = Max Warp (audio story)
|next            = Max Warp (audio story)
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== Plot ==
== Plot ==
The Doctor is called before a [[judge]], [[criminal charge|charged]] with leaving [[The Doctor's TARDIS|a blue box]] on a [[Double yellow lines|double yellow line]]. He explains that he was only parked temporarily while Lucie was [[shopping]]. A [[police officer]] tells the [[court]] that he was unable to check inside the box. The Doctor then says he waited two hours, but Lucie didn’t come back. He then detected a localised [[temporal shift]], stepped outside the TARDIS to find Lucie, but when he did so when he was arrested. The judge, finding the Doctor guilty, then [[Death sentence|sentences him to death]].


The Eighth Doctor is in court, charged with “Leaving a blue box on a double yellow line” while Lucie is shopping. While waiting, he discovered a localised temporal shift in the area; but this explanation is not enough to acquit him, and he is sentenced—to death, for a parking offence.
The Doctor then finds himself in the dock of the [[Old Bailey]] in the [[17th century|17<sup>th</sup> century]], and realises he’s fallen through a temporal shift. He tells the judge there that he is not the [[horse]] [[thief]] they previously thought was on trial. To his surprise, the 17<sup>th</sup> century judge recognises the Doctor. The Doctor recognises him as 'Hanging George Jeffries', someone he has never met before, and accuses him of being imposter. Spring-Heeled Sophie, a [[Funambulism|tightrope walker]], then enters the courtroom.


The localised temporal shift is more local than he thought, it seems. He has suddenly, in the middle of the trial, been transported to the 17th century, to the dock of the Old Bailey court. Here he is being confused with someone else, but there’s no convincing the judge of that. The judge—“Hanging” judge Jeffreys—admits he may have met the Doctor before, but will not meet him again. Before he has the Doctor removed, the Doctor insists that the judge is not really Jeffreys, based on inconsistencies in his statements. While the Doctor is still present, the next prisoner is brought into the dock: a flamboyant young woman called “Spring-Heeled Sophie”, Sophia Shepherd, a tightrope walker who boasts about her skills while slipping her shackles.
Lucie walks around in the dark, asking if there’s been a [[power cut]]. She is then unexpectedly almost knocked over by a [[tram]]. A woman helps her up, asking why she was walking on the tram tracks, and suggests that Lucie must be [[Inebriation|drunk]]. The woman introduces herself as Beryl, a [[Munitions worker|munitions]] worker, and mentions that Lucie is in [[1917]].


Lucie has become lost while shopping, and stranger still, the city has gone dark. She is nearly run down in the streets by a tram, before encountering an oddly yellow-skinned woman calling herself “Yellow Beryl”. Beryl explains that the strange colour is from the TNT that she works with in a munitions factory, and that England is fighting the Germans and Austrians. To Lucie’s surprise, it is the year 1917. They are forced to take shelter as zeppelins fly over and begin dropping bombs.
In the Old Bailey, Sophie is accused of stealing a valuable [[tankard]] and a [[silver]] [[spoon]]. As the judge berates her, the Doctor asks him to stop, saying Sophie is too young to [[Hanging|hang]]. A guard punches the Doctor, and the judge finds Sophie guilty and sentences her to hang.


Sophie denies involvement in the robberies of which she is accused; the Doctor comes to her defence, trying to prevent her from being hanged, but is shouted down. As the guards subdue him, he is knocked out. Sophie is sentenced to death, and the judge orders the court’s Turnkey to take the Doctor and Sophie to Newgate to await their hanging. They are temporarily placed in the condemned cell at the Old Bailey, where they introduce themselves to each other, with Sophie flirting with the Doctor. She offers to help him find Lucie if they can escape, and they pool their resources to try to bribe the guard. However, the Doctor is surprised to see Sophie’s contribution—a box made of telmonium, a non-terrestrial metal. The box is filled with flashing control lights, which Sophie calls fairies. He tells her it comes from a world called Quagreeg, which is inhabited by reptilian creatures; it seems they are dealing with a more serious problem now. She admits that she has pressed the buttons on the box, which concerns the Doctor greatly; he explains that it controls a system of tractor beams, which may have brought him here through time. He is sure the owner of the box will want it back, and may be dangerous.
In 1917 London a [[Zeppelin]] appears in the sky. Beryl, knowing this is dangerous, tells Lucie to follow her to an [[London Underground|underground station]].


Beryl and Lucie make their way to the Underground station at St. Paul’s, for safety. Beryl explains that it’s not just the bombings; there’s a killer on the loose, the Blackout Killer, who takes advantage of the air raids to kill his victims—respectable women in every case—during the blackouts. No one sees him; they only hear the tapping of the stick he carries. At the underground station, the gates at the bottom are locked; and a massive explosion nearby knocks them to the ground. Heading back to ground level, they find the building next door levelled by the bombs. They separate, as Beryl needs to get to the factory, but Lucie wants to find the Doctor; Beryl gives her directions to the Holborn Viaduct, where she last saw him. Lucie almost immediately sees a river appear in front of her; Beryl doubles back and tells her that the river appears and disappears at random, and usually has Fleet Street on the other side, dependent on what “he” wants. She refuses to elaborate, and warns Lucie not to ask too many questions—if you do, things become “fuzzy” and fade away.
In a 17<sup>th</sup> century [[Prison|jail]] the Doctor introduces himself to Sophie. He mentions Lucie, and Sophie offers to help him find her if he helps her escape. She suggests that the Doctor might have something valuable to [[bribe]] a guard with. She then reveals she has a [[cista mystica]], an [[Roman Empire|ancient Roman]] box, and inside the box the Doctor finds some alien technology.  


The Doctor questions Sophie further, searching for anything strange. She says that she escaped from a workhouse, and in the process she saw a flash and heard a loud noise. She found herself in a Roman temple inside a cave, where she found the box. The description of the temple tells the Doctor it is a temple to the god Mithras; the flash of light is characteristic of the tractor beams, but this one seems to be for space only, not time, as Sophie is from this time period. The temple is at the end of the river; she agrees to take them there, if they can escape. The Doctor considers, and concludes that the 17th century and Roman versions of London are now adjacent—an impressive piece of temporal engineering. As they wait, they hear the Bellman, the town crier, making announcements outside; the Doctor thinks he has heard the man’s voice before.
Beryl warns Lucie about the Blackout Killer, who attacks respectable females in [[Newgate]], taking advantage of the [[Black Out|blackout]] for cover. Lucie and Beryl then arrive at the underground station, only to find it locked.


Lucie asks Beryl where to find the mysterious “he”, but Beryl is no help; she says that “he” is everywhere. Beryl is strangely at ease with encountering people from other times. Lucie intends to cross the river, but Beryl wishes her luck and moves on. Lucie searches for a bridge, and sees modern buildings on the other side; she concludes that the varying times are now geographically related, and she is getting close to one. Nearby, a figure sniffs the air, and a stick can be heard tapping as he follows Lucie.
The Doctor, noting the presence of the alien technology, suspects foul play in the temporal shifts. Something is playing with the people in this world.


The Turnkey delivers the Doctor and Sophie to Newgate, and hands them over to the chief warder, Jack Ketch. Ketch makes Sophie uncomfortable, and says he intends to take the Doctor’s coat after the execution; he doubles as the hangman. The Doctor is unimpressed, and tells him to drop his disguise; he recognises Ketch as the same man who was posing as the Judge, the Magistrate (in the modern court before the time shift) and the Bellman. He is sure the man is really a shape-shifting alien, probably from Quagreeg, given the source of the box. He deduces that the alien transferred him here to avoid disrupting his 2008 version of London when he deals with the Doctor. The Doctor assures him he won’t get the TARDIS if that is what he wants; in reply, Ketch says he will make sure the Doctor takes a long time to die. He puts them in a carriage to take them to the gallows at Tyburn. The Doctor tries again, this time speaking in the Quagreeg language; Ketch obliges him and changes into a reptilian creature from Quagreeg. The creature says that he and his other avatars are called Sepulchre here, after St. Sepulchre’s church.
Beryl and Lucie relax as the Zeppelin leaves. They see a [[building]] has been knocked down. Beryl offers to take Lucie to the [[munitions factory]], but Lucie declines and heads off to find the Doctor. As she turns to retrace her steps [[River Fleet|a river]] suddenly appears in front of her. Beryl explains calmly that this river appears sometimes and disappears in others. She says it happens whenever “he” wants, and tells Lucie it’s best not to question things. She says that those who don’t willingly believe in the [[reality]] of what they see end up going [[Insanity|crazy]].


Lucie realises she’s being followed. She finds herself near a modern pub, clearly in 2008; she asks some people outside if there is a bridge she can use to cross to their side. One young man offers to help, but is called away, and asks her to join him if she gets across. She is then accosted by the Blackout Killer. She runs from him, but finds herself at a dead end; the killer taunts her, and tells her he is also a lookout for the Zeppelins, and hearing her in her hiding spot is no trouble for him. He confronts her, and says that “they” need new blood, then transforms into a reptilian creature, similar to the one confronting the Doctor. She manages to push it into the river and escape. She makes her way to a bridge, but upon crossing, she finds she is not in 2008—she is in the 17th century.
The Doctor asks Sophie to think about anything unusual she might have noticed. Sophie recalls once escaping from a [[workhouse]] when she experienced a whoosh and weird flash, and says that she felt weird for a few days following. The Doctor tells her that she experienced being transported by a [[tractor beam]]. He finds it odd, since tractor beams can transport people through [[space]] but not through [[time]]. Sophie then says she got the cista mystica in the [[Temple of Mithras]], and tells the Doctor she found the temple at the end of [[River Thames|the river]].


Sepulchre explains that his race is a hive mind. He has transported many of the poor—who won’t be missed—from various eras into re-enactment chambers, where they are killed over time. He insists it’s not for pleasure, but is necessary for their race’s well-being. The Doctor intends to put a stop to it; Sepulchre, for his part, is thrilled to have captured a Time Lord, as his death will greatly enhance the Quagreegs. He resumes the image of Ketch, and says he doesn’t understand the Doctor’s care for the humans. At the gallows, a crowd waits. Ketch prepares them for execution, and Sophie spits in his face. The Doctor gives a speech, but it’s not the rant Sepulchre expects; the Doctor’s lack of fear confuses him, and the Doctor reminds him that this is not real, just a re-enactment. Sophie realises that the area is breaking down; Sepulchre seems to be losing control of this re-enactment. The Doctor makes a rather overblown speech, irritating Sepulchre, but he continues, allowing Sophie to slip her chains and undo the Doctor’s chains as well. She pulls the trapdoor, on which Ketch happens to be standing, and he falls through, allowing the Doctor and Sophie to escape.
Beryl causally mentions that Lucie is from another time, and assumes she was “sentenced to transportation”. After Beryl gives Lucie directions to the road the TARDIS was parked on Lucie says she needs to cross the river, but Beryl warns her against going against “his” wishes. Lucie then walks down the river and sees the buildings becoming more modern.


They escape to the River Fleet, where Sophie had previously hidden a boat. The Doctor realises the river connects the various re-enactment chambers, and asks Sophie to take him via boat to the temple where she obtained the control box. If he is right, it will be Sepulchre’s base of operations; and the real being may be present, instead of his avatars… Sophie at first refuses, but the Doctor talks her into it; while they talk, she discovers someone watching from the shadows, and so they give the illusion of continued arguing. Sophie lassoes the figure, and finds that it is Lucie, who is overjoyed to be reunited with the Doctor; she admits to waiting to approach so that she could be sure of his identity, having already met one shapeshifter. As a group of rough-looking men approach, the trio flees in the boat.
The next day, the billman comes to announce the execution of the Doctor and Sophie. They are put into a [[Carriage|horse-drawn carriage]] to be transported to their deaths. The [[hangman]] Jack Kletch introduces himself, and the Doctor accuses him of being an [[avatar]] of a [[Shapeshifter|shape-shifting]] alien. He suggests that that’s how he was recognised in the courtroom, and that he was then moved to another time where he could be dealt with more inconspicuously. The hangman then threatens to make the Doctor’s execution slow and painful.


Judge Jeffreys—another avatar—finds and awakens Ketch. Their meeting is a break in protocol, but it’s allowed for now, as Ketch failed to kill the Doctor. They go in pursuit of the Doctor and his companions.
Lucie sees [[Smoking|smokers]] standing outside a [[pub]], and says it must be [[2008]]. She then comes face to face with the blackout killer.


The river takes the group underground, and Sophie lights a lantern. The Doctor explains how the river connects the zones, serving not just for transport, but for information transmission, like a neural pathway. He expects to find the real Sepulchre at the temple, and can use the box on him—but only on the real being. In the temple, Sepulchre is watching their progress with several avatars. He intends to see the Doctor killed before he can arrive here, and decides to route them to another time; Ketch suggests the attack on London by Boudicca during the Roman era. However, Sepulchre realises the box is missing, and can’t send the Doctor without it. Though this represents a danger, there is another way to send the Doctor…
The Doctor speaks [[Quagreegian]], provoking the creature imitating a hangman to reveal itself as a [[Quagreeg (species)|Quagreeg]]. The Quagreeg’s avatar then identifies itself, and all of the other avatars, as parts of a single Quagreeg named Sepulchre.


A lock gate opens, sending a flood of water into the river, and pulling the boat away from the Temple. It carries them over a waterfall. The boat is smashed, and they find themselves above Roman London, trapped with a hundred others inside a giant Wicker Man. Sepulchre intends to burn them, then recover the box from the Doctor’s ashes. The Doctor wants Sophie to use the rope she brought from the boat to set a line for them to walk from the Wicker Man, but she refuses, as the Doctor and Lucie are amateurs with no tightrope-walking experience. Lucie sees a man with a torch, who ritually sets the Wicker Man aflame; the Doctor recognises him as Boudicca’s arch-druid, and also an avatar. Sepulchre, satisfied with this fate, sends Ketch and Jeffreys back to their own eras, and goes to watch the burning personally. As the smoke begins to choke them, the Doctor has Sophie lasso part of the city gate instead, creating not a tightrope but a zipline, which they can navigate with their belts. He uses the sonic screwdriver to weaken the wicker, allowing them to break out. The Doctor insists the other captives aren’t actually in danger, and they slide down the line; and the Wicker Man vanishes. The Doctor reminds them that the re-enactments are contingent on Sepulchre’s authority; if something unexpected happens, they break down. Sepulchre appears and congratulates the Doctor on deducing the situation—but the Doctor has missed one critical piece. The river isn’t just like a neural pathway, it is a neural pathway; and they are all inside Sepulchre’s brain! The box’s tractor beams, like the TARDIS, are dimensionally transcendental—Sepulchre’s mind is bigger in the inside.
The blackout killer tells Lucie she cannot escape, then drops its disguise, saying “we need new blood”.


Sepulchre demands the box, and Lucie tells the Doctor to use it on Sepulchre instead. He refuses, knowing it would kill not only Sepulchre, but everyone inside his mind. Instead, he berates Sepulchre for treating humans like cattle; and he uses his sonic screwdriver to shut off various neural connections. The re-enactments will still function, but they are now disconnected from each other. The group finds themselves back in the 17th century re-enactment. Sepulchre can no longer hide behind his avatars; and the crowd sees him as a demon. Militia officers arrive and take custody of him, placing him with Ketch and Jeffreys. He swears revenge on the Doctor. The Doctor is optimistic; he can’t remove the people from the re-enactments, but as long as Sepulchre lives, they will as well, and will be free of his tyranny. Sophie, of course, has to stay, but intends to learn to write and become a novelist—with her first book based on herself, of course. The Doctor and Lucie find their way back to the 2008 re-enactment, and find the TARDIS, which is covered in parking tickets. As they leave, Lucie listens to the city, which now sounds very much alive.
The Doctor asks Sepulchre if it is trapped on [[Earth|this planet]] too. The avatar explains that Sepulchre transports suitable [[human]]s, those who won’t be missed, and uses them to sustain itself. As the carriage pulls into [[Tyburn]] the Sepulchre avatar restores its human guise and prepares for the execution.
 
Lucie pushes the Sepulchre avatar of the blackout killer into the river and makes her escape.
 
The Doctor is about to be hung. He tells the crowd he repents a number of offences against [[fashion]]. He then tells the hangman he’s not afraid because the situation is [[Illusion|not real]]. The more he denies the reality of the situation, the fuzzier it becomes. Sepulchre’s avatars attempt to silence the Doctor, but the Doctor insists that in this place and time he has the right to make a final [[speech]]. With the Sepulchre then distracted, the Doctor and Sophie make their escape.
 
Lucie, walking further, finds herself again in another time period which she cannot identify.
 
The Doctor and Sophie head to the river and find Sophie’s [[Rowboat|boat]]. The Doctor realises the river is connecting all of the [[Historical re-enactment|time zone re-enactments]]. The Doctor asks Sophie to help him put an end to Sepulchre’s rule, and when she refuses he implores her. He says that Sepulchre has deliberately put her down, and that the more she fights back the weaker he becomes. Sophie grabs some [[rope]]s from her boat. A stranger approaches, and Sophie [[lasso]]s her. The Doctor then recognises the stranger as Lucie, and Sophie unties her. When a group of men – Sepulchre avatars – appear in the distance, the three get into the boat and head off.
 
The Old Bailey judge leaves his time zone to meet the hangman. He warns his Sepulchre counterpart of the Doctor’s movements towards the temple.
 
The three row the boat into a [[tunnel]], taking out a [[lantern]] to see. The Doctor explains that [[information]] flows down the river, like in a [[Brain|brain’s]] [[neural pathway]]s, connecting and updating all the parts of Sepulchre’s [[psyche]]. The Doctor, noting that Sepulchre’s avatars are disposable, explains that he can only defeat Sepulchre by attacking the entity itself.
 
At the temple, Sepulchre tells its avatars that the Doctor and his companions must be sent back to another time. When [[Boudica|Boudica’s]] [[Great Britain|Britain]] is suggested, Sepulchre agrees that this time will be suitably dangerous enough to contain the [[Time Lord]]. Sepulchre then realises that the cista mystica has has been stolen, and panics knowing that the Doctor can use it to destroy him.
 
The Doctor, Lucie and Sophie reach the temple, and the Doctor attempts to tie up the boat. Then, the Doctor, Lucie and Sophie suddenly find themselves flowing off a [[waterfall]]. When they land, they find themselves in Roman London, suspended inside a [[Wicker man (ritual)|wicker man]] about to be [[burn]]ed in a [[ritual]] of [[Celt]]ic [[sacrifice]]. Lucie sees a man in robes walking towards the wicker man with a flaming torch. He lights the wicker man’s wooden legs.
 
Sepulchre, at the temple, celebrates the Doctor’s demise, and sends his avatars to attend the Doctor’s death in person. The Doctor uses [[The Doctor's sonic screwdriver|his sonic screwdriver]] to weaken the fastenings in the [[wicker]]. The three jump out, and when they land they see the wicker man has disappeared – by disrupting the simulation they have undermined its reality. They are then met by Sepulchre, who welcomes them to his neural re-enactment chambers. The Doctor then realises that the re-enactments are taking place [[Imagination|inside Sepulchre’s head]]. Lucie, grasping his meaning, describes Sepulchre’s head as being like [[TARDIS|a TARDIS]], with the same mechanism TARDIS uses to be bigger on the inside being the device inside the cista mystica. The Doctor then confronts Sepulchre, who says humans are like [[livestock]]. The Doctor uses his sonic on the cista mystica to destroy the device inside, closing the neural pathways between the different chambers of Sepulchre’s mind.
 
With the illusions shattered, Sepulchre’s avatars are revealed as monsters to the humans in the 17<sup>th</sup> century London. The humans in this mental re-enactment turn on the avatars. The mob soon turns towards the Doctor and Lucie. The Doctor, realising that they must now seem alien too since they were not originally part of this simulation, tells Lucie they need to leave.
 
They walk back along the river to 2008, and find the TARDIS covered in [[parking ticket]]s. They step inside. The Doctor explains that all the versions of London will continue inside Sepulchre’s head, but without Sepulchre being able to control their realities and prey upon their inhabitants. The Doctor then messes with the TARDIS controls, and he and Lucie set off on their next adventure.


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
* [[Eighth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Paul McGann]]
* [[Eighth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Paul McGann]]
* [[Lucie Miller]] - [[Sheridan Smith]]
* [[Lucie Miller]] - [[Sheridan Smith]]
* [[Sepulchre (Dead London)|Sepulchre]] - [[Rupert Vansittart]]
* [[Sepulchre (Dead London)|Sepulchre]] / [[George Jeffreys]] / [[Jack Kletch]] - [[Rupert Vansittart]]
* [[Sophie Shephard|Spring-Heeled Sophie]] - [[Clare Buckfield]]
* [[Sophie Shephard|Spring-Heeled Sophie]] - [[Clare Buckfield]]
* Clerks - [[Richard Laing]]
* Clerks - [[Richard Laing]]
* [[Yellow Beryl]] - [[Katarina Olsson]]
* [[Yellow Beryl]] - [[Katarina Olsson]]
* Street seller / Passerby / [[Herald]] - [[Duncan James]]


== References ==
== Crew ==
 
* Cover Art - [[Grant Kempster]]
* Director - [[Barnaby Edwards]]
* Executive Producer - [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]] and [[Nicholas Briggs]]
* Music & Sound Design - [[Simon Robinson]]
* Producers - [[David Richardson]] and [[Sharon Gosling]]
* Script Editor - [[Alan Barnes]]
* Writer - [[Pat Mills]]
 
== Worldbuilding ==
=== The Doctor ===
=== The Doctor ===
* The Doctor mentions the bad fashion sense of his previous incarnations, in particular the brightly coloured clothes of the [[Sixth Doctor]].
* The Doctor mentions the bad fashion sense of his previous incarnations, in particular the brightly-coloured clothes of the [[Sixth Doctor]].
* The Doctor mentions once being grabbed by a [[Sea Devil]].
* The Doctor mentions once being grabbed by a [[Sea Devil]].
* The Doctor says [[Geronimo]].


=== Real Life ===
=== People ===
* Don Quixote is mentioned.
* [[David Lloyd George|The Prime Minister of 1917]] is alluded to, and quoted as having said "we're fighting [[Austria]]ns, [[Germany|Germans]], and [[Alcohol|drink]]."


=== Clothes and Fashion ===
=== Clothes and fashion ===
* Lucie Miller wears a [[Beatles]] t-shirt.
* Lucie Miller wears a [[The Beatles|Beatles]] vest top.
 
=== Food and drink ===
* Lucie mentions [[kebab]] and [[chips]], as well as [[veggie burger]]s.
* [[Gin]] is mentioned.
* [[Avocado]] is mentioned.


=== Objects ===
=== Objects ===
* The [[Cista Mystica]] is a [[Roman]] artefact used by the followers of [[Dionysus]].
* The [[Cista Mystica]] is a [[Roman]] artefact used by the followers of [[Dionysus]].
* Beryl likens Zeppelins to [[cigar]]s.


=== Planets ===
=== Planets ===
* [[Quagreeg]] is a marsh world in the [[Sirius system]] inhabited by unpleasant reptilian life forms who are a gestalt being.
* [[Quagreeg (planet)|Quagreeg]] is a marsh world in the [[Sirius system]] inhabited by unpleasant reptilian life forms who are a gestalt being.


=== Recreation ===
=== Recreation ===
* Spring-Heeled Sophie is a [[Funambulism|funambulist]].
* Spring-Heeled Sophie is a [[Funambulism|funambulist]].
* Lucie recalls [[white water rafting]] in [[Wales]].


=== Science ===
=== Science ===
* [[Telmonium]] is an incredibly durable and rare extra-terrestrial metal that can only be found on [[Quagreeg]].
* [[Telmonium]] is an incredibly durable and rare extra-terrestrial metal.
* Sophie mentions [[rat]]s.


=== Film ===
=== Culture ===
* Judge Jeffreys refers to [[Don Quixote]] and [[Sancho Panza|Sancho]].
* Lucie paraphrases from ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]''.
* Lucie has seen the movie ''[[The Wicker Man]]''.
* Lucie has seen the movie ''[[The Wicker Man]]''.


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
[[File:EDA2.jpg|thumb|Promotional art for the series by [[Anthony Dry]], printed in ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'']]
[[File:EDA2.jpg|thumb|Promotional art for the series by [[Anthony Dry]], printed in ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]''{{Which}}]]
* This audio drama was recorded on [[21 August (production)|21 August]] [[2007 (production)|2007]] at [[The Moat Studios]].
* This audio drama was recorded on [[21 August (production)|21 August]] [[2007 (production)|2007]] at [[the Moat Studios]].
* This story debuts a new theme arrangement for the Eighth Doctor, arranged by [[Nicholas Briggs]] and based on the [[Delia Derbyshire]] theme tunes. This replaces the David Arnold theme used from ''[[Storm Warning (audio story)|Storm Warning]]'' through to ''[[Human Resources (audio story)|Human Resources]]''.
* This story debuts a new theme arrangement for the Eighth Doctor, arranged by [[Nicholas Briggs]] and based on the [[Delia Derbyshire]] theme tunes. This replaces the David Arnold theme used from ''[[Storm Warning (audio story)|Storm Warning]]'' through to ''[[Human Resources (audio story)|Human Resources]]''.
* The story was broadcast on [[BBC Radio 7]] on [[19 October (releases)|19 October]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]].
* The story was broadcast on [[BBC Radio 7]] on [[19 October (releases)|19 October]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]].
* The audio's title originated as that of a chapter in [[H. G. Wells (writer)|H. G. Wells]]'s ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'' (1898), where it referred to a [[London]] left desolate by the [[Martian (War of the Worlds)|Martian]] [[Martian invasion of Earth|invasion]]; the title had since been used more prominently for a song in Jeff Wayne's 1978 musical adaptation.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* The Doctor mentions the cult of [[Mithras]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Seasons of Fear]]'')
* The Doctor mentions the cult of [[Mithras]] previously depicted in the [[Main Range]] story [[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Seasons of Fear (audio story)}}.
* Different time zones has been created in a similar fashion as in [[TV]]: ''[[The War Games (TV story)|The War Games]]''.
* A set of different time zones connected to each other had previously been created in [[TV]]: {{cs|The War Games (TV story)}}.
* The Doctor uses his cravat to create a zip wire and slide in a rope from the Wicker Man in the same fashion he does in [[COMIC]]: ''[[The Forgotten (comic story)|The Forgotten]]'', shouting ''Geronimo'' (one of the catchphrases of the [[Eleventh Doctor]]).
* The Doctor uses his [[cravat]] to create a zip wire and slide along a rope from the Wicker Man like he did in [[COMIC]]: {{cs|The Forgotten (comic story)}}, shouting "[[Geronimo]]!" (later one of the catchphrases of the [[Eleventh Doctor]]).


== External links ==
== External links ==
{{bigfinish|releases/v/dead-london-523|Dead London}}
{{bigfinish|releases/v/dead-london-523|Dead London}}
{{dwrefguide|bbc7_07.htm|Dead London}}
{{dwrefguide|bbc7_07.htm|Dead London}}
* {{tetrap|8/deadlondon.html|Dead London}}
{{tetrap|8/deadlondon.html|Dead London}}


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[[cy:Dead London (stori sain)]]
[[fr:Dead London]]


[[Category:Series 2 (8DA) audio stories]]
[[Category:Series 2 (8DA) audio stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[cy:Dead London (stori sain)]]
[[fr:Dead London]]

Latest revision as of 23:14, 17 November 2024

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Dead London was the first story in the second series of the Eighth Doctor Adventures, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Pat Mills and featured Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor and Sheridan Smith as Lucie Miller.

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

Someone's playing with us. Manipulating time and space for their own ends.

The TARDIS lands in London. But which one? The Doctor and Lucie find themselves trapped in a maze of interlocking Londons from Roman times to the present day.

But they are not alone in this labyrinth: a killer is on their trail.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor is called before a judge, charged with leaving a blue box on a double yellow line. He explains that he was only parked temporarily while Lucie was shopping. A police officer tells the court that he was unable to check inside the box. The Doctor then says he waited two hours, but Lucie didn’t come back. He then detected a localised temporal shift, stepped outside the TARDIS to find Lucie, but when he did so when he was arrested. The judge, finding the Doctor guilty, then sentences him to death.

The Doctor then finds himself in the dock of the Old Bailey in the 17th century, and realises he’s fallen through a temporal shift. He tells the judge there that he is not the horse thief they previously thought was on trial. To his surprise, the 17th century judge recognises the Doctor. The Doctor recognises him as 'Hanging George Jeffries', someone he has never met before, and accuses him of being imposter. Spring-Heeled Sophie, a tightrope walker, then enters the courtroom.

Lucie walks around in the dark, asking if there’s been a power cut. She is then unexpectedly almost knocked over by a tram. A woman helps her up, asking why she was walking on the tram tracks, and suggests that Lucie must be drunk. The woman introduces herself as Beryl, a munitions worker, and mentions that Lucie is in 1917.

In the Old Bailey, Sophie is accused of stealing a valuable tankard and a silver spoon. As the judge berates her, the Doctor asks him to stop, saying Sophie is too young to hang. A guard punches the Doctor, and the judge finds Sophie guilty and sentences her to hang.

In 1917 London a Zeppelin appears in the sky. Beryl, knowing this is dangerous, tells Lucie to follow her to an underground station.

In a 17th century jail the Doctor introduces himself to Sophie. He mentions Lucie, and Sophie offers to help him find her if he helps her escape. She suggests that the Doctor might have something valuable to bribe a guard with. She then reveals she has a cista mystica, an ancient Roman box, and inside the box the Doctor finds some alien technology.  

Beryl warns Lucie about the Blackout Killer, who attacks respectable females in Newgate, taking advantage of the blackout for cover. Lucie and Beryl then arrive at the underground station, only to find it locked.

The Doctor, noting the presence of the alien technology, suspects foul play in the temporal shifts. Something is playing with the people in this world.

Beryl and Lucie relax as the Zeppelin leaves. They see a building has been knocked down. Beryl offers to take Lucie to the munitions factory, but Lucie declines and heads off to find the Doctor. As she turns to retrace her steps a river suddenly appears in front of her. Beryl explains calmly that this river appears sometimes and disappears in others. She says it happens whenever “he” wants, and tells Lucie it’s best not to question things. She says that those who don’t willingly believe in the reality of what they see end up going crazy.

The Doctor asks Sophie to think about anything unusual she might have noticed. Sophie recalls once escaping from a workhouse when she experienced a whoosh and weird flash, and says that she felt weird for a few days following. The Doctor tells her that she experienced being transported by a tractor beam. He finds it odd, since tractor beams can transport people through space but not through time. Sophie then says she got the cista mystica in the Temple of Mithras, and tells the Doctor she found the temple at the end of the river.

Beryl causally mentions that Lucie is from another time, and assumes she was “sentenced to transportation”. After Beryl gives Lucie directions to the road the TARDIS was parked on Lucie says she needs to cross the river, but Beryl warns her against going against “his” wishes. Lucie then walks down the river and sees the buildings becoming more modern.

The next day, the billman comes to announce the execution of the Doctor and Sophie. They are put into a horse-drawn carriage to be transported to their deaths. The hangman Jack Kletch introduces himself, and the Doctor accuses him of being an avatar of a shape-shifting alien. He suggests that that’s how he was recognised in the courtroom, and that he was then moved to another time where he could be dealt with more inconspicuously. The hangman then threatens to make the Doctor’s execution slow and painful.

Lucie sees smokers standing outside a pub, and says it must be 2008. She then comes face to face with the blackout killer.

The Doctor speaks Quagreegian, provoking the creature imitating a hangman to reveal itself as a Quagreeg. The Quagreeg’s avatar then identifies itself, and all of the other avatars, as parts of a single Quagreeg named Sepulchre.

The blackout killer tells Lucie she cannot escape, then drops its disguise, saying “we need new blood”.

The Doctor asks Sepulchre if it is trapped on this planet too. The avatar explains that Sepulchre transports suitable humans, those who won’t be missed, and uses them to sustain itself. As the carriage pulls into Tyburn the Sepulchre avatar restores its human guise and prepares for the execution.

Lucie pushes the Sepulchre avatar of the blackout killer into the river and makes her escape.

The Doctor is about to be hung. He tells the crowd he repents a number of offences against fashion. He then tells the hangman he’s not afraid because the situation is not real. The more he denies the reality of the situation, the fuzzier it becomes. Sepulchre’s avatars attempt to silence the Doctor, but the Doctor insists that in this place and time he has the right to make a final speech. With the Sepulchre then distracted, the Doctor and Sophie make their escape.

Lucie, walking further, finds herself again in another time period which she cannot identify.

The Doctor and Sophie head to the river and find Sophie’s boat. The Doctor realises the river is connecting all of the time zone re-enactments. The Doctor asks Sophie to help him put an end to Sepulchre’s rule, and when she refuses he implores her. He says that Sepulchre has deliberately put her down, and that the more she fights back the weaker he becomes. Sophie grabs some ropes from her boat. A stranger approaches, and Sophie lassos her. The Doctor then recognises the stranger as Lucie, and Sophie unties her. When a group of men – Sepulchre avatars – appear in the distance, the three get into the boat and head off.

The Old Bailey judge leaves his time zone to meet the hangman. He warns his Sepulchre counterpart of the Doctor’s movements towards the temple.

The three row the boat into a tunnel, taking out a lantern to see. The Doctor explains that information flows down the river, like in a brain’s neural pathways, connecting and updating all the parts of Sepulchre’s psyche. The Doctor, noting that Sepulchre’s avatars are disposable, explains that he can only defeat Sepulchre by attacking the entity itself.

At the temple, Sepulchre tells its avatars that the Doctor and his companions must be sent back to another time. When Boudica’s Britain is suggested, Sepulchre agrees that this time will be suitably dangerous enough to contain the Time Lord. Sepulchre then realises that the cista mystica has has been stolen, and panics knowing that the Doctor can use it to destroy him.

The Doctor, Lucie and Sophie reach the temple, and the Doctor attempts to tie up the boat. Then, the Doctor, Lucie and Sophie suddenly find themselves flowing off a waterfall. When they land, they find themselves in Roman London, suspended inside a wicker man about to be burned in a ritual of Celtic sacrifice. Lucie sees a man in robes walking towards the wicker man with a flaming torch. He lights the wicker man’s wooden legs.

Sepulchre, at the temple, celebrates the Doctor’s demise, and sends his avatars to attend the Doctor’s death in person. The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to weaken the fastenings in the wicker. The three jump out, and when they land they see the wicker man has disappeared – by disrupting the simulation they have undermined its reality. They are then met by Sepulchre, who welcomes them to his neural re-enactment chambers. The Doctor then realises that the re-enactments are taking place inside Sepulchre’s head. Lucie, grasping his meaning, describes Sepulchre’s head as being like a TARDIS, with the same mechanism TARDIS uses to be bigger on the inside being the device inside the cista mystica. The Doctor then confronts Sepulchre, who says humans are like livestock. The Doctor uses his sonic on the cista mystica to destroy the device inside, closing the neural pathways between the different chambers of Sepulchre’s mind.

With the illusions shattered, Sepulchre’s avatars are revealed as monsters to the humans in the 17th century London. The humans in this mental re-enactment turn on the avatars. The mob soon turns towards the Doctor and Lucie. The Doctor, realising that they must now seem alien too since they were not originally part of this simulation, tells Lucie they need to leave.

They walk back along the river to 2008, and find the TARDIS covered in parking tickets. They step inside. The Doctor explains that all the versions of London will continue inside Sepulchre’s head, but without Sepulchre being able to control their realities and prey upon their inhabitants. The Doctor then messes with the TARDIS controls, and he and Lucie set off on their next adventure.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor mentions the bad fashion sense of his previous incarnations, in particular the brightly-coloured clothes of the Sixth Doctor.
  • The Doctor mentions once being grabbed by a Sea Devil.

People[[edit] | [edit source]]

Clothes and fashion[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Lucie Miller wears a Beatles vest top.

Food and drink[[edit] | [edit source]]

Objects[[edit] | [edit source]]

Planets[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Quagreeg is a marsh world in the Sirius system inhabited by unpleasant reptilian life forms who are a gestalt being.

Recreation[[edit] | [edit source]]

Science[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Telmonium is an incredibly durable and rare extra-terrestrial metal.
  • Sophie mentions rats.

Culture[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Promotional art for the series by Anthony Dry, printed in Doctor Who Magazine[which?]

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor mentions the cult of Mithras previously depicted in the Main Range story AUDIO: Seasons of Fear [+]Loading...["Seasons of Fear (audio story)"].
  • A set of different time zones connected to each other had previously been created in TV: The War Games [+]Loading...["The War Games (TV story)"].
  • The Doctor uses his cravat to create a zip wire and slide along a rope from the Wicker Man like he did in COMIC: The Forgotten [+]Loading...["The Forgotten (comic story)"], shouting "Geronimo!" (later one of the catchphrases of the Eleventh Doctor).

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

v • e
Big Finish Eighth Doctor Adventures
 
Eighth Doctor Adventures S1-4
Series 1
Series 2
Series 3
Series 4
 
Dark Eyes
Dark Eyes
Dark Eyes 2
Dark Eyes 3
Dark Eyes 4
 
Doom Coalition
Doom Coalition 1
Doom Coalition 2
Doom Coalition 3
Doom Coalition 4
 
Ravenous
Ravenous 1
Ravenous 2
Ravenous 3
Ravenous 4
 
Stranded
Stranded 1
Stranded 2
Stranded 3
Stranded 4
 
Standalone sets (Liv and Helen)
What Lies Inside?
Connections
Echoes
 
Standalone sets (Audacity and Charley)
Audacity
In the Bleak Midwinter
 
"Further Adventures" sets
The Eighth Doctor: The
Further Adventures of
Lucie Miller: Volume One
Charlotte Pollard:
The Further Adventuress
Special
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