Resistance (audio story)

Resistance
Main character(s):	Polly Wright
Featuring:	Second Doctor, Ben, Jamie
Main enemy:	The Milice
Main setting:	The South of Vichy France, February 1944
Key crew
Publisher:	Big Finish Productions
Writer:	Steve Lyons
Director:	Lisa Bowerman
Producer:	David Richardson
Music:	David Darlington
Sound:	David Darlington
Cover by:	Simon Holub
Release details
Number of parts:	2
Release number:	3.9
Release date:	March 2009
Format:	1 CD Download
Production code:	BFPDWCC17
ISBN:	ISBN 978-1-84435-378-1
The Companion Chronicles
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Resistance was the ninth story of the third series in the Companion Chronicles range. It was produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Steve Lyons, narrated by Anneke Wills and featured the Second Doctor, Ben Jackson, Polly Wright and Jamie McCrimmon.

Though it was not the first Big Finish release to feature the vocal talents of Anneke Wills, it was the first time that she had played the character of Polly Wright since the television story The Faceless Ones in 1967. It was further notable for being a so-called "pure historical" — a story that occurred in Earth's past and involved no alien but the Doctor.

Because of its setting in 1944, one year after Polly's birth, it explored details about Polly's personal past. Amongst other things, it was the first piece of performed Doctor Who in which Polly's last name was definitively confirmed to be "Wright".

Publisher's summary

February, 1944: France is occupied by the Third Reich, the French Gestapo has an iron grip and the native resistance attempts to overthrow the invaders. On one quiet winter's night, a British plane crashes to the ground, leaving a flying officer desperate to escape via the evasion lines.

Separated from the TARDIS, Ben and Jamie, the Doctor and Polly find themselves with enemies on all sides. Trapped in one of the darkest times in history, Polly discovers that humanity can be just as dangerous as any threat from outer space. She resolves to make a difference — even if it means leaving the Doctor forever...

Plot

Part one

to be added

Part two

to be added

Cast

• Polly Wright - Anneke Wills
• The Pilot - John Sackville

Characters

• Second Doctor
• Polly Wright
• Ben Jackson
• Jamie McCrimmon
• "Randolph Wright"
• Michelle ("Jacqueline")
• Taylor
• Claude
• Paul Bernard
• Randolph Wright

Worldbuilding

• Polly would almost rather face the Daleks and the Cybermen than confront the evils on her own planet — in particular, the Nazis and their allies.
• She was only one year old when her Uncle Randolph Wright, her father's brother, was thought to be lost to a German POW camp. He was a Pilot Officer.
• The Doctor claims there are safeguards to prevent the TARDIS landing on train tracks, implying a train would smash it to bits.
• The Milice are essentially the French Gestapo.
• Spain is neutral during the war.
• The Doctor says history has a way of protecting itself.

Textless cover art

Notes

• The script allows Anneke Wills and John Sackville to share narration duties, though Wills exclusively narrates any scenes involving the TARDIS crew. There is no particularly strong narrative reason for this, but it does help the listener distinguish between two types of scene. Ones where Polly was present are narrated by Wills, while Sackville handles narration duties for scenes where Polly was not ostensibly within earshot.
• Unlike many stories in the Companion Chronicles range, there is no "framing element" in which an older Polly has some sort of narrative in the present with another character. Instead, the story begins and ends firmly in 1944, with Polly never appearing as some sort of older version of herself, though some lines indicate that her narration takes place some time later.
• Polly was not given a surname in televised Doctor Who. "Wright" being Polly's surname was introduced by Gary Russell in the novel Invasion of the Cat-People.
• This story introduces Polly's uncle, Randolph Wright, also first mentioned in Invasion of the Cat-People, and gives more details about Polly's family than any other story.
• Chronologically, this was the earliest audio drama to feature the Second Doctor until the release of The Curator's Egg in 2018.
• This audio drama was recorded on 2 May 2008 at the Moat Studios.
• This story is set between The Macra Terror and The Faceless Ones.

Continuity

• The Doctor refers to the events of TV: The Power of the Daleks ^[+]Loading...["The Power of the Daleks (TV story)"], acknowledging Polly's faithfulness around the time of his recent regeneration, saying, "Without your help, I wouldn't be the man I am."
• The Eighth Doctor would later visit Vichy France in the company of Lucie Miller in AUDIO: The Scapegoat ^[+]Loading...["The Scapegoat (audio story)"].
• Polly mentions the Cybermen, whom she encountered in the Snowcap in Antarctica in December 1986, shortly before the Doctor's regeneration, in TV: The Tenth Planet ^[+]Loading...["The Tenth Planet (TV story)"]; and the Daleks, whom she encountered immediately after in TV: The Power of the Daleks ^[+]Loading...["The Power of the Daleks (TV story)"].
• The Doctor saves Polly after taking a quick peek at the time scanner. The time scanner first appeared in TV: The Moonbase ^[+]Loading...["The Moonbase (TV story)"], which took place chronologically shortly before this story.

External links

• Official Resistance page at bigfinish.com
• Resistance at the Doctor Who Reference Guide