The Armageddon Chair (audio story): Difference between revisions

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{{real world}}
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{{Infobox Story
{{Infobox Story SMW
|image                  =  
|image                  =  
|range                  = The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield (audio series)
|range                  = The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield (audio series)
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|number in series      = 1
|number in series      = 1
|series                = ''[[The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield (audio series)|The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield]]''
|series                = ''[[The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield (audio series)|The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield]]''
|audio anthology        = ''[[The Eternity Club 1]]''
|audio anthology        = The Eternity Club 1
|number                = 8.1
|number                = 8.1
|main character        = [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]]
|main character        = [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]]
|featuring              =  
|featuring              = [[312 (The Armageddon Chair)|312]], [[Altazar]], [[Derek the Tree|Derek]], [[Suspension of Geren|Geren]], [[Grizella]], [[Nurse (The Armageddon Chair)|the Nurse]], [[the Oldest]], [[Pym]], [[Starll]]
|enemy                  =  
|enemy                  =  
|setting                =  
|setting                = [[Eternity Club]]
|writer                = [[James Goss]]
|writer                = James Goss
|director              = [[David O'Mahony]]
|director              = [[David O'Mahony]]
|producer              = James Goss
|producer              = [[James Goss]]
|music                  = [[Rob Harvey]]
|music                  = [[Rob Harvey]]
|sound                  = Shayne O'Byrne
|sound                  = [[Shane O'Byrne]]
|publisher              = Big Finish Productions  
|publisher              = Big Finish Productions  
|release date          = [[11 September (releases)|11 September]] [[2024 (releases)|2024]]
|release date          = 11 September 2024
|format                = 1 CD<br/>Download<br/>1st of 2 stories  
|format                = 1 CD<br/>Download<br/>1st of 2 stories  
|production code        = BFPDWNABOX00801
|production code        = BFPDWNABOX00801
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|next                  = Triumph of the Drahvin (audio story)
|next                  = Triumph of the Drahvin (audio story)
|epcount                = 1
|epcount                = 1
}}{{Audio stub}}
|soundcloudtrailer=https://soundcloud.com/big-finish/the-eternity-club-1-trailer}}
'''''The Armageddon Chair''''' was the first story in ''[[The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield (audio series)|The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield]]'' audio anthology ''[[The Eternity Club 1]]'', produced by [[Big Finish Productions]]. It was written by [[James Goss]] and featured [[Lisa Bowerman]] as [[Bernice Summerfield]].
'''''The Armageddon Chair''''' was the first story in ''[[The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield (audio series)|The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield]]'' audio anthology ''[[The Eternity Club 1]]'', produced by [[Big Finish Productions]]. It was written by [[James Goss]] and featured [[Lisa Bowerman]] as [[Bernice Summerfield]].


== Publisher's summary ==
== Publisher's summary ==
[[Bernice Summerfield]] is still settling in at [[The Eternity Club]]. [[Pym (The Armageddon Chair)|Secretary Pym]] sends her on a quest enlisting help from [[Draconian]]s, [[Sontaran]]s, [[Drahvin]]s and the club's enigmatic Oldest member.
[[Bernice Summerfield]] is still settling in at [[The Eternity Club]]. [[Secretary Pym]] sends her on a quest enlisting help from [[Draconian]]s, [[Sontaran]]s, [[Drahvin]]s and the club's enigmatic [[the Oldest|Oldest]] member.


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
''to be added''
[[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]] has joined the [[Eternity Club]] on an [[asteroid]] circling the edge of [[the universe]], but [[Secretary]] [[Pym (The Armageddon Chair)|Pym]] informs her that her fees have not been paid despite her standing order and that she will have to pay her way through menial work until payment has been received. She offends the club members when she sits in the [[chair]] designated for amnesiac [[cyborg]] [[312 (The Armageddon Chair)|312]], despite him being unable to sit for 273 years, and upsets 312 further by repairing his [[knee]], which she was unaware he had kept in disrepair since the [[Fall of Kreldor]] as a sign of [[honour]].
 
Although Benny decides to leave because of the resulting complaints to Pym, she is unable to do so until she has paid and continues her work. She walks in on [[Nurse (The Armageddon Chair)|the Nurse]] as she treats [[the Oldest]], a figure in [[regenerative microweave]] who knows Benny's name, and agrees to locate the [[Ascension Pennant]] for 312 as it is the only proof of his accomplishments in the [[Scarlet Time]]. Following advice from the [[Suspension of Geren]], Benny attempts to locate the [[planet]] Catafalque, whose [[King of the Catafalque|king]] gave 312 the pennant, using the [[holographic observatory]] and finds only stellar debris, making her realise that the Scarlet Time was not a battle.
 
Benny deduces that 312, whom [[Starll]] knows to have been a [[solar engineer]], had built a [[catafalque]] around a dying [[star|sun]] so that the system's inhabitants could escape its destruction and that the King of the Catafalque was his employer. She informs 312 of this, gets [[Grizella]]'s help to track the system's survivors to [[New Catafalque]] to find the pennant and prepares to leave by shuttle, but [[Derek the Tree]] advises her to think rather than race off and she realises that the pennant is being used as a [[tablecloth]] in the [[dining room]].
 
312 is delighted by the discovery, remembers his achievements and how he injured himself by staying too long as the system was destroyed and realises that he must have put the pennant in the [[laundry]]. He agrees to allow Benny to sit in his seat as thanks, but he soon forgets about this and again asks for the pennant to be put in the wash, frustrating Benny and leaving her with nowhere to sit. She again encounters the Oldest, who is healthier in the Nurse's absence, and finds that, like her, she cannot remember how she arrived at the Eternity Club. When they do remember, the Oldest says, [[the Death]] will return.


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
* [[Bernice Summerfield]] - [[Lisa Bowerman]]
* [[Bernice Summerfield]] - [[Lisa Bowerman]]
* [[Pym (The Armageddon Chair)|Secretary Pym]] - [[Nickolas Grace]]
* [[Secretary]] [[Pym]] - [[Nickolas Grace]]
 
* [[The Oldest]] - [[Niamh Cusack]]
''to be added''
* [[312 (The Armageddon Chair)|312]] - [[Simon Kane]]
* [[Starll]] - [[Dan Starkey]]
* [[Grizella]] - [[Naana Agyei-Ampadu]]
* [[Professor]] [[Altazar]] - [[Shai Matheson]]
* [[The Suspension of Geren]] - [[Victoria Gee]]
* [[Derek the Tree|Derek]] - [[Derek Elroy]]
* [[Nurse (The Armageddon Chair)|The Nurse]] - [[Dianne Pilkington]]
* [[Clockwork butler|Butlers]] - [[David O'Mahony]]


== Worldbuilding ==
== Worldbuilding ==
''to be added''
* The [[Eternity Club]] is based on a private [[asteroid]] which circles the edge of [[the universe]].
* Benny likes [[Altraxian soup]], which she claims she last had on a dig on [[Kalvor]].
* [[Grizella|Queen Grizella]] is a [[Drahvin]].
* [[Altazar]] is a [[Draconian]] whom Benny is hoping will show her some [[Draconian song cylinder]]s.
* Benny has been playing [[canasta]] with the [[Suspension of Geren]].
* [[Derek the Tree]] has a new [[leaf mould]].
* The Eternity Club has a [[dish droid]] and a [[clockwork butler]].
* The [[Sontaran]]s fought in the [[Battle of Zardle]]. 800,020 combatants died.
* The Draconians had [[armour]] woven from [[Ergon]] [[hide]] until they were hunted to extinction, according to [[Erasmus (The Armageddon Chair)|Don Erasmus]].
* The [[Suspension of Geren]] is a living [[gas]].
* [[Sontaran armour]] is woven from their [[gene loom]]s.
* [[Treekind]] do not have armour.
* Draconians do not visit former [[battlefield]]s as they believe that it disturbs their [[honour]].
* The Drahvins were once [[warrior]]s and entered their golden age once they changed their ways.
* 312 has a designated [[chair]] that he is unable to sit in because of his [[knee]], which was damaged in the [[Fall of Kreldor]].
* Starll goes to check his [[thermic shower]].
* Benny went on the crusade for the [[Ruby Blade]] with [[Jezerak|Emperor Jezerak]], who failed to return and was afterwards known as the Lost Emperor. She was unaware of this, however.
* [[Regenerative microweave]] looks like [[cobweb]]s.
* The [[Ascension Pennant]] was a [[flag]] given to 312 by the [[King of the Catafalque]] in recognition of his triumph during the [[Scarlet Time]].
* Starll and Grizella talk about the [[12th Sontaran Death Legion]].
* Starll observes the [[Magellan Cluster]] where two million Sontarans, namely the [[19th Astrometric Brigade]], supposedly sacrificed themselves to seal a breach torn by the [[Rutan]]s, saving the galaxy from spatial damage.
* 312 was once a [[solar engineer]].
* A [[red star]] is the last stage of a dying [[star|sun]].
* A [[catafalque]] is a support structure built around a [[coffin]].
* The [[Drahvin Empress]] fell and a [[republic]] was established which gave men equal rights, meaning they are no longer required to be shackled in the [[street]]s.
* Grizella believes that [[Virginia Woolf]] was a [[warrior queen]] in [[exile]].


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
''to be added''
* This is the first ''The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield'' story following the passing of [[David Warner]]. Discussions were had with [[Lisa Bowerman]] about the future of the range, and it was decided that it should continue.<ref name=":02">'Backstage' tab of [https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-the-new-adventures-of-bernice-summerfield-volume-08-the-eternity-club-1-2980 the official ''The Eternity Club 1'' page] at [https://www.bigfinish.com bigfinish.com].</ref>
* This story continues the use of the ''Doctor Who'' theme arrangement by [[Blair Mowat]] introduced in ''[[The Unbound Universe (audio anthology)|The Unbound Universe]],'' as according to Goss, "we just weren't ready to let it go".<ref>https://x.com/gossjam/status/1833808702500995206</ref>
* This story was recorded either on [[3 October (production)|3]]-[[4 October (production)|4]] or [[9 October (production)|9]]-[[10 October (production)|10 October]] [[2023 (production)|2023]] at [[the Soundhouse]].<ref name=":02" /> Given the sequential recording of the other releases of ''The Eternity Club'',<ref>'Backstage' tab of [https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-the-new-adventures-of-bernice-summerfield-volume-08-the-eternity-club-2-2981 the official ''The Eternity Club 2'' page] at [https://www.bigfinish.com bigfinish.com].</ref><ref>'Backstage' tab of [https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-the-new-adventures-of-bernice-summerfield-volume-08-the-eternity-club-3-2982 the official ''The Eternity Club 3'' page] at [https://www.bigfinish.com/ bigfinish.com].</ref><ref>'Backstage' tab of [https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-the-new-adventures-of-bernice-summerfield-volume-08-the-eternity-club-4-2983 the official ''The Eternity Club 4'' page] at [https://www.bigfinish.com/ bigfinish.com].</ref> it was presumably the first recorded, on 3-4 October 2023.
* Details for this story were revealed on 10 July 2024.<ref name=":1">[https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/what-secrets-does-the-eternity-club-hide What secrets does The Eternity Club hide?]</ref>


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
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{{bigfinish|releases/v/doctor-who-the-new-adventures-of-bernice-summerfield-volume-08-the-eternity-club-1-2980}}
{{bigfinish|releases/v/doctor-who-the-new-adventures-of-bernice-summerfield-volume-08-the-eternity-club-1-2980}}


{{BFBS}}
== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist}}{{BFBS}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}
 
[[Category:2024 audio stories]]
[[Category:Bernice Summerfield audio stories]]
[[Category:Bernice Summerfield audio stories]]
[[Category:Draconian audio stories]]
[[Category:Sontaran audio stories]]

Latest revision as of 15:12, 21 November 2024

RealWorld.png

The Armageddon Chair was the first story in The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield audio anthology The Eternity Club 1, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by James Goss and featured Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield.

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

Bernice Summerfield is still settling in at The Eternity Club. Secretary Pym sends her on a quest enlisting help from Draconians, Sontarans, Drahvins and the club's enigmatic Oldest member.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Benny has joined the Eternity Club on an asteroid circling the edge of the universe, but Secretary Pym informs her that her fees have not been paid despite her standing order and that she will have to pay her way through menial work until payment has been received. She offends the club members when she sits in the chair designated for amnesiac cyborg 312, despite him being unable to sit for 273 years, and upsets 312 further by repairing his knee, which she was unaware he had kept in disrepair since the Fall of Kreldor as a sign of honour.

Although Benny decides to leave because of the resulting complaints to Pym, she is unable to do so until she has paid and continues her work. She walks in on the Nurse as she treats the Oldest, a figure in regenerative microweave who knows Benny's name, and agrees to locate the Ascension Pennant for 312 as it is the only proof of his accomplishments in the Scarlet Time. Following advice from the Suspension of Geren, Benny attempts to locate the planet Catafalque, whose king gave 312 the pennant, using the holographic observatory and finds only stellar debris, making her realise that the Scarlet Time was not a battle.

Benny deduces that 312, whom Starll knows to have been a solar engineer, had built a catafalque around a dying sun so that the system's inhabitants could escape its destruction and that the King of the Catafalque was his employer. She informs 312 of this, gets Grizella's help to track the system's survivors to New Catafalque to find the pennant and prepares to leave by shuttle, but Derek the Tree advises her to think rather than race off and she realises that the pennant is being used as a tablecloth in the dining room.

312 is delighted by the discovery, remembers his achievements and how he injured himself by staying too long as the system was destroyed and realises that he must have put the pennant in the laundry. He agrees to allow Benny to sit in his seat as thanks, but he soon forgets about this and again asks for the pennant to be put in the wash, frustrating Benny and leaving her with nowhere to sit. She again encounters the Oldest, who is healthier in the Nurse's absence, and finds that, like her, she cannot remember how she arrived at the Eternity Club. When they do remember, the Oldest says, the Death will return.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This is the first The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield story following the passing of David Warner. Discussions were had with Lisa Bowerman about the future of the range, and it was decided that it should continue.[1]
  • This story continues the use of the Doctor Who theme arrangement by Blair Mowat introduced in The Unbound Universe, as according to Goss, "we just weren't ready to let it go".[2]
  • This story was recorded either on 3-4 or 9-10 October 2023 at the Soundhouse.[1] Given the sequential recording of the other releases of The Eternity Club,[3][4][5] it was presumably the first recorded, on 3-4 October 2023.
  • Details for this story were revealed on 10 July 2024.[6]

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

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

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]