The Book of Kells (audio story): Difference between revisions

Ireland, 1006. Strange things have been happening at the isolated Abbey of Kells: disembodied voices, unexplained disappearances, sudden death. The monks whisper of imps and demons. Could the Lord of the Dead himself be stalking these hallowed cloisters?

The Doctor and his companion find themselves in the midst of a medieval mystery. At its heart is a book: perhaps the most important book in the world. The Great Gospel of Columkille. The Liber Columbae. The Book of Kells.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor - Paul McGann
Tamsin Drew - Niky Wardley
Brother Bernard - Jim Carter
King Sitric - Terrence Hardiman
Abbot Thelonious - Graeme Garden
Brother Patrick / Brother Timothy - Ryan Sampson
Olaf Eriksson - Nick Brimble
Brother Lucianus - Ash Hidminster

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Cover Art - Alex Mallinson
Writer & Director - Barnaby Edwards
Executive Producers - Nicholas Briggs and Jason Haigh-Ellery
Music and Sound Design - Martin Johnson
Producer - Barnaby Edwards and David Richardson
Script Editor - Alan Barnes

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

Brother Bernard is the chief librarian at the Abbey of Kells.
Olaf Eriksson mistakes Tamsin for a valkyrie after she is covered in powdered chalk.
In order to gain entry to the Abbey, Tamsin uses the alias of Sister Maria from Salzburg, Austria.
Tamsin refers to King Sitric Silkbeard, the Norse king of Dublin, as "King Citrus".
King Sitric spent three days riding to Dublin on his horse Sleipnir, who was named after the eight-legged horse Sleipnir from Norse mythology.
Olaf suspects that Abbot Thelonious may favour Brian Boru, the King of Munster, in the aftermath of the Leinster Revolt of 1000.
King Sitric has ruled Dublin since 989.
The Doctor tells Brother Bernard that there will be a second revolt in Leinster in several years time and advises him to stay away from Clontarf in 1014.
Abbot Thelonious is revealed to be the Monk and his companion, Lucianus, is the alias of Lucie Miller.
The Monk's alias "Abbot Thelonious" refers to the 20th century American musician and composer Thelonious Monk.
The Monk has regenerated at least once since his previous encounter with the Doctor.
Tamsin falls into a midden.
Tamsin mentions Hawking but she calls him "Hawkings". The Doctor corrects her.

Species[[edit] | [edit source]]

A Vortisaur recently crashlanded in a barn near the Abbey of Kells. The monks used its hide to make vellum.

Technology[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor uses a temporal spectroscope to scan for irregularities in the time space field so as to determine whether any other time travellers have been dragged to the Abbey in 1006. He detects a time eddy in the Abbey's library.
The Monk has a Mark IV TARDIS, which is considerably more advanced than the Doctor's TARDIS.
The Monk made a DIY time scoop. It is only calibrated for interstitial space.
Using its fully functional chameleon circuit, the Monk's TARDIS disguises itself as a sarcophagus.
The Monk employed the monks at the Abbey to create a new directional unit for his TARDIS, given that the First Doctor had stolen his previous one many years earlier.
Brother Lucianus uses a vocoder to make her voice sound masculine.
The Monk's DIY time scoop uses the dematerialisation circuit of the Monk's TARDIS.
Among the components of the Monk's TARDIS is a neutrino filter, an epsilon modulator, and a time accelerator - the Doctor notes that the TARDIS didn't have those when he'd taken out the directional unit, and the Monk's dimensional control, or he would have stolen those as well.

Time travel[[edit] | [edit source]]

Tamsin refers to the Time Vortex as a "temporary whirlpool" rather than a "temporal wormhole".

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

This story marks the first appearance of the Monk in an audio drama as well as his first appearance in performed Doctor Who since the television story The Daleks' Master Plan in 1966.
Sheridan Smith is credited as "Ash Hidminster" (an anagram) in the liner notes, to disguise the reappearance of Lucie. She is only recognisable in the sequence after the end titles.
As the Doctor states, it is a matter of historical record that the Book of Kells was stolen from the Abbey of Kells in 1006. When it was recovered some weeks later, the gold and jewels of the cover were missing, along with several pages. This brief period was the only time that the Book of Kells was outside the monastery until it was placed on display in the Old Library of Trinity College, Dublin in the 19th century, where it remains today.
The story was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra on 10 January 2013.
This story was recorded on 17 August 2009 at the Moat Studios.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

When the Doctor claims that the TARDIS has been thrown off course, Tamsin reminds him that "that is what [he] said last time". (AUDIO: Nevermore)
The Doctor's former companion Charley Pollard kept a Vortisaur named Ramsay as a pet in the TARDIS for a brief period after it travelled through the Time Vortex and arrived on the British airship R101 on 5 October 1930. She named it after the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Ramsay MacDonald, whom it apparently resembled. (AUDIO: Storm Warning to Minuet in Hell)
The Doctor once again superstitiously refers to Macbeth as "the Scottish Play". (AUDIO: Medicinal Purposes, The Next Life)
The Seventh Doctor previously visited Ireland in September 1649 during Oliver Cromwell's sieges of Drogheda and Wexford in the company of Ace and Hex. (AUDIO: The Settling)
The Doctor recalls his first encounter with the Monk in Northumbria in 1066 when he attempted to alter the outcome of the Battle of Hastings (TV: The Time Meddler) as well as their subsequent meetings on the volcano planet Tigus and in Egypt in 2650 BC. (TV: The Daleks' Master Plan)
The Doctor's last encounter with the Monk occurred in London in 1976 during his seventh incarnation. On that occasion, the Monk assisted the Vardans during their attempted invasion of Earth. (PROSE: No Future)
The Monk refers to the Doctor stealing the directional unit from his TARDIS in Egypt, which caused him to be stranded on an ice planet, the name of which he never learned. He was eventually able to repair his TARDIS sufficiently to allow him to leave the planet, though he has not been able to replace the directional unit. (TV: The Daleks' Master Plan)
The Monk was the time traveller who organised the companion auditions in London in 2010 (AUDIO: Situation Vacant) and the "strange little man" who was responsible for the destruction of Corinth Minor. (AUDIO: Nevermore)
Lucie Miller left the Doctor in Blackpool on 25 December 2009 following the death of her aunt Patricia Ryder. (AUDIO: Death in Blackpool)

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

Official The Book of Kells page at bigfinish.com
The Book of Kells at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
DisContinuity for The Book of Kells at Tetrapyriarbus - The DisContinuity Guide

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{title dab away}}
 {{real world}}
-{{Infobox Story
+{{Infobox Story SMW
 |image           = TheBookofKells.jpg
+|range           = Eighth Doctor Adventures (audio series)
+|series in range = Series 4 (8DA)
+|series number in range = 4
+|number in series = 4
 |series          = ''[[Eighth Doctor Adventures (audio series)|Eighth Doctor Adventures]]''
 |number          = 4.4
 |doctor          = Eighth Doctor
-|companions      = [[Tamsin Drew]]
+|companions      = [[Tamsin Drew|Tamsin]]
-|enemy           = [[The Monk]]
+|enemy           = {{Garden|c}}
-|featuring       = [[Lucie Miller|Brother Lucianus]]
+|featuring       = [[Lucie Miller|"Brother Lucianus"]]
-|setting         = The [[Abbey of Kells]], [[Kells]], [[Meath]], [[Ireland]], [[1006]]
+|setting         = The [[Abbey of Kells]], [[Kells]], [[Ireland]], [[1006]]
-|writer          = [[Barnaby Edwards (actor)|Barnaby Edwards]]
+|writer          = Barnaby Edwards
-|director        = [[Barnaby Edwards (actor)|Barnaby Edwards]]
+|director        = Barnaby Edwards
+|producer        = [[David Richardson]], Barnaby Edwards
 |music           = [[Martin Johnson (composer)|Martin Johnson]]
-|sound           = [[Martin Johnson (composer)|Martin Johnson]]
+|sound           = Martin Johnson
 |cover           = [[Alex Mallinson]]
 |publisher       = Big Finish Productions
-|release date    = [[30 September (releases)|30 September]] [[2010 (releases)|2010]]
+|epcount         = 2
-|format          = 1 CD - 2 parts
+|release date    = 13 September 2010
+|format          = 1 CD<br/>Download
 |production code = BFPDWCDMG028
-|isbn            = ISBN 978-1-84435-478-8
+|isbn            = ISBN 978-1-84435-478-8 (physical)<br/>ISBN 978-1-78575-293-3 (digital)
 |prev            = Nevermore (audio story)
 |next            = Deimos (audio story)
-}}
+}}{{audio stub}}
-'''The Book of Kells''' was the fourth release of the fourth series of ''[[Eighth Doctor Adventures (audio series)|Eighth Doctor Adventures]]''.
+'''''The Book of Kells''''' was the fourth story in the [[Series 4 (8DA)|fourth series]] of the ''[[Eighth Doctor Adventures (audio series)|Eighth Doctor Adventures]]'', produced by [[Big Finish Productions]]. It was written by [[Barnaby Edwards]] and featured [[Paul McGann]] as the [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[Niky Wardley]] as [[Tamsin Drew]].
+It marked the return of [[The Monk|the Meddling Monk]] in his first appearance in performed ''[[Doctor Who]]'' since ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)|The Daleks' Master Plan]]''. Here, [[The Monk (The Book of Kells)|a new incarnation]] is introduced.
 == Publisher's summary ==
@@ Line 30: / Line 38: @@
 [[Ireland]], [[1006]]. Strange things have been happening at the isolated [[Abbey of Kells]]: disembodied voices, unexplained disappearances, sudden death. The monks whisper of imps and demons. Could the Lord of the Dead himself be stalking these hallowed cloisters?
-The [[Eighth Doctor|Doctor]] and his [[Tamsin Drew|companion]] find themselves in the midst of a medieval mystery. At its heart is a book: perhaps the most important book in the world. The Great Gospel of Columkille. The Liber Columbae. The [[Book of Kells]].
+[[Eighth Doctor|The Doctor]] and [[Tamsin Drew|his companion]] find themselves in the midst of a medieval mystery. At its heart is a book: perhaps the most important book in the world. The Great Gospel of Columkille. The Liber Columbae. The [[Book of Kells]].
 == Plot ==
@@ Line 40: / Line 48: @@
 * [[Bernard (The Book of Kells)|Brother Bernard]] - [[Jim Carter]]
 * [[Sitric Silkbeard|King Sitric]] - [[Terrence Hardiman]]
-* [[The Monk|Abbot Thelonious]] - [[Graeme Garden]]
+* {{Garden|n=Abbot Thelonious}} - [[Graeme Garden]]
 * [[Patrick (The Book of Kells)|Brother Patrick]] / Brother [[Timothy (The Book of Kells)|Timothy]] - [[Ryan Sampson]]
 * [[Olaf Eriksson]] - [[Nick Brimble]]
-* [[Lucie Miller|Brother Lucianus]] - [[Sheridan Smith|Ash Hidminster]]
+* [[Lucie Miller|Brother Lucianus]] - [[Ash Hidminster]]
-== References ==
+== Crew ==
+* Cover Art - [[Alex Mallinson]]
+* Writer & Director - [[Barnaby Edwards]]
+* Executive Producers - [[Nicholas Briggs]] and [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]]
+* Music and Sound Design - [[Martin Johnson (composer)|Martin Johnson]]
+* Producer - Barnaby Edwards and [[David Richardson]]
+* Script Editor - [[Alan Barnes]]
+== Worldbuilding ==
 === Individuals ===
 * [[Bernard (The Book of Kells)|Brother Bernard]] is the chief [[librarian]] at the [[Abbey of Kells]].
 * [[Olaf Eriksson]] mistakes [[Tamsin Drew|Tamsin]] for a [[valkyrie]] after she is covered in powdered chalk.
-* Abbot Thelonious' predecessor Abbot Anselm disappeared from the Abbey one night, leaving behind all of his belongings. Abbot Thelonious tells Brother [[Patrick (The Book of Kells)|Patrick]] that he left the Abbey "as monastic life isn't for everyone."
+* In order to gain entry to the Abbey, Tamsin uses the alias of Sister Maria from [[Salzburg]], [[Austria]].
-* In order to gain entry to the Abbey, Tamsin uses the alias of Sister Maria from [[Salzburg]], [[Austria]] referencing {{w|Maria von Trapp}} from the 1965 musical film ''[[The Sound of Music]]''. Forced to improvise, she tells Abbot Thelonious about the edelweiss, the mountains and the goat herds, all of which appear in the film. Furthermore, she claims that the Doctor is her apothecary.
 * Tamsin refers to King [[Sitric Silkbeard]], the [[Viking|Norse]] king of [[Dublin]], as "King Citrus".
-* Brother Timothy is the head illuminator in the scriptorium at the Abbey. Prior to his death, Brother Patrick was his partner.
 * King Sitric spent three days riding to Dublin on his [[horse]] [[Sleipnir]], who was named after the eight-legged horse [[Sleipnir (mythology)|Sleipnir]] from [[Norse mythology]].
 * Olaf suspects that Abbot Thelonious may favour [[Brian Boru]], the King of [[Munster]], in the aftermath of the [[Leinster Revolts|Leinster Revolt]] of [[1000]].
-* King Sitric has ruled Dublin since [[989]] but tells Brother Patrick that he has been little more than a lapdog to Brian Boru, who unlike him is Irish-born, since the Leinster Revolt. Although the [[Book of Kells]] was written on the Scottish island on [[Iona]], it is a powerful symbol of Irishness. He is concerned that if Brian Boru gains possession of the book, he may be able to use it to gain control of Dublin and Ireland as a whole. Brother Bernard and Olaf Eriksson were plotting to protect the book to prevent Brian using it as a pawn in his political machinations.
+* King Sitric has ruled Dublin since [[989]].
 * The Doctor tells Brother Bernard that there will be a second revolt in Leinster in several years time and advises him to stay away from [[Battle of Clontarf|Clontarf]] in [[1014]].
-* Abbot Thelonious is revealed to be [[the Monk]] and his companion, Lucianus, is the alias of [[Lucie Miller]]. The Doctor initially believes that Brother Bernard is the Monk. The Doctor had previously believed that the Monk was dead.
+* Abbot Thelonious is revealed to be [[the Monk]] and his companion, Lucianus, is the alias of [[Lucie Miller]].
 * The Monk's alias "Abbot Thelonious" refers to the [[20th century]] American musician and composer [[Thelonious Monk]].
 * The Monk has [[Regeneration|regenerated]] at least once since his previous encounter with the Doctor.
-* At Lucianius' insistence, the Monk did not kill Abbot Anselm. Instead, he rendered him unconscious and smuggled him into his bedchamber, where he remained until the Monk departed the Abbey.
 * Tamsin falls into a [[midden]].
-* Tamsin hopes that they won't have an experience like in "The Name of the Rose".
 * Tamsin mentions [[Stephen Hawking|Hawking]] but she calls him "Hawkings". The Doctor corrects her.
-* Tamsin reversed into something during either her fourth or fifth driving test; she is unsure which.
 === Species ===
-* A [[Vortisaur]] recently crashlanded in a barn near the Abbey of Kells. Shortly before its death, it immolated Brother Timothy. The monks used its hide to make [[vellum]]. Brother Patrick refers to it as "a winged demon" whereas Abbot Thelonious dismissed it as a strange looking bird.
+* A [[Vortisaur]] recently crashlanded in a barn near the Abbey of Kells. The monks used its hide to make [[vellum]].
 === Technology ===
 * The Doctor uses a [[temporal spectroscope]] to scan for irregularities in the time space field so as to determine whether any other time travellers have been dragged to the Abbey in 1006. He detects a [[time eddy]] in the Abbey's library.
-* The Monk has a Mark IV [[TARDIS]], which is considerably more advanced than the [[The Doctor's TARDIS|Doctor's TARDIS]].
+* The Monk has a [[Mark IV]] [[TARDIS]], which is considerably more advanced than [[the Doctor's TARDIS]].
 * The Monk made a DIY [[time scoop]]. It is only calibrated for interstitial space.
 * Using its fully functional [[chameleon circuit]], the [[The Monk's TARDIS|Monk's TARDIS]] disguises itself as a sarcophagus.
 * The Monk employed the monks at the Abbey to create a new directional unit for his TARDIS, given that the [[First Doctor]] had stolen his previous one many years earlier.
 * [[Lucie Miller|Brother Lucianus]] uses a [[vocoder]] to make her voice sound masculine.
+* The Monk's DIY time scoop uses the dematerialisation circuit of the Monk's TARDIS.
+* Among the components of the Monk's TARDIS is a [[neutrino filter]], an [[epsilon modulator]], and a [[time accelerator]] - the Doctor notes that the TARDIS didn't have those when he'd taken out the [[directional unit]], and the Monk's [[dimensional control]], or he would have stolen those as well.
 === Time travel ===
-* Tamsin refers to the [[Time Vortex]] as a "temporary whirlpool" rather than a "temporal wormhole."
+* Tamsin refers to the [[Time Vortex]] as a "temporary whirlpool" rather than a "temporal wormhole".
 == Notes ==
-* This story marks the first appearance of the Monk in an audio drama as well as his first appearance in performed ''Doctor Who'' since [[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)|The Daleks' Master Plan]]'' in [[1966 (releases)|1966]].
+* This story marks the first appearance of the Monk in an audio drama as well as his first appearance in performed ''Doctor Who'' since the television story ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)|The Daleks' Master Plan]]'' in [[1966 (releases)|1966]].
-* Sheridan Smith is credited as 'Ash Hidminster' (an anagram) in the liner notes, to disguise the reappearance of Lucie.
+* Sheridan Smith is credited as "Ash Hidminster" (an anagram) in the liner notes, to disguise the reappearance of Lucie. She is only recognisable in the sequence after the end titles.
 * As the Doctor states, it is a matter of historical record that the [[Book of Kells]] was stolen from the [[Abbey of Kells]] in [[1006]]. When it was recovered some weeks later, the gold and jewels of the cover were missing, along with several pages. This brief period was the only time that the Book of Kells was outside the monastery until it was placed on display in the Old Library of {{w|Trinity College, Dublin}} in the [[19th century]], where it remains today.
-* The story was broadcast on {{w|BBC Radio 4 Extra}} on [[10 January (releases)|10 January]] [[2013 (releases)|2013]].
+* The story was broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4 Extra]] on [[10 January (releases)|10 January]] [[2013 (releases)|2013]].
+* This story was recorded on [[17 August (production)|17 August]] [[2009 (production)|2009]] at [[the Moat Studios]].
 == Continuity ==
-* When the Doctor claims that the TARDIS has been thrown off course, Tamsin reminds him that "that is what [he] said last time." ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Nevermore (audio story)|Nevermore]]'')
+* When the Doctor claims that the TARDIS has been thrown off course, Tamsin reminds him that "that is what [he] said last time". ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Nevermore (audio story)|Nevermore]]'')
 * The Doctor's former companion [[Charlotte Pollard|Charley Pollard]] kept a [[Vortisaur]] named [[Ramsay (Storm Warning)|Ramsay]] as a pet in the TARDIS for a brief period after it travelled through the [[Time Vortex]] and arrived on the British [[airship]] [[R101]] on [[5 October]] [[1930]]. She named it after the then [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] [[Ramsay MacDonald]], whom it apparently resembled. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Storm Warning (audio story)|Storm Warning]]'' to ''[[Minuet in Hell (audio story)|Minuet in Hell]]'')
-* The Doctor once again superstitiously refers to ''[[Macbeth]]'' as "the Scottish Play." ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Medicinal Purposes (audio story)|Medicinal Purposes]]'', ''[[The Next Life (audio story)|The Next Life]]'')
+* The Doctor once again superstitiously refers to ''[[Macbeth]]'' as "the Scottish Play". ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Medicinal Purposes (audio story)|Medicinal Purposes]]'', ''[[The Next Life (audio story)|The Next Life]]'')
 * The Seventh Doctor previously visited Ireland in [[September]] [[1649]] during [[Oliver Cromwell]]'s sieges of [[Drogheda]] and [[Wexford]] in the company of [[Ace]] and [[Hex]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Settling (audio story)|The Settling]]'')
-* The Doctor recalls his first encounter with the Monk in [[Northumbria]] in [[1066]] when he attempted to alter the outcome of the [[Battle of Hastings]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time Meddler (TV story)|The Time Meddler]]'') as well as their subsequent meetings on the [[volcano]] [[planet]] [[Tigus]] and in [[Egypt]] in [[BC|2650 BC]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)|The Daleks' Master Plan]]'').
+* The Doctor recalls his first encounter with the Monk in [[Northumbria]] in [[1066]] when he attempted to alter the outcome of the [[Battle of Hastings]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time Meddler (TV story)|The Time Meddler]]'') as well as their subsequent meetings on the [[volcano]] [[planet]] [[Tigus]] and in [[Egypt]] in [[BC|2650 BC]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)|The Daleks' Master Plan]]'')
 * The Doctor's last encounter with the Monk occurred in [[London]] in [[1976]] during his [[Seventh Doctor|seventh incarnation]]. On that occasion, the Monk assisted the [[Vardan]]s during their attempted invasion of [[Earth]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[No Future (novel)|No Future]]'')
 * The Monk refers to the Doctor stealing the directional unit from his TARDIS in Egypt, which caused him to be stranded on an ice planet, the name of which he never learned. He was eventually able to repair his TARDIS sufficiently to allow him to leave the planet, though he has not been able to replace the directional unit. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)|The Daleks' Master Plan]]'')
-* The Monk was the time traveller who organised the companion auditions in [[London]] in [[2010]] ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Situation Vacant (audio story)|Situation Vacant]]'') and the "strange little man" who was responsible for the destruction of [[Corinth Minor]] ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Nevermore (audio story)|Nevermore]]'').
+* The Monk was the time traveller who organised the companion auditions in [[London]] in [[2010]] ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Situation Vacant (audio story)|Situation Vacant]]'') and the "strange little man" who was responsible for the destruction of [[Nevermore|Corinth Minor]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Nevermore (audio story)|Nevermore]]'')
 * [[Lucie Miller]] left the Doctor in [[Blackpool]] on [[25 December]] [[2009]] following the death of her aunt [[Patricia Ryder]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Death in Blackpool (audio story)|Death in Blackpool]]'')
+== Footnotes ==
+{{Reflist}}
 == External links ==
-* {{bigfinish|releases/v/the-book-of-kells-542|The Book of Kells}}
+{{bigfinish|releases/v/the-book-of-kells-542|The Book of Kells}}
 {{dwrefguide|bbc7_24.htm|The Book of Kells}}
 * {{tetrap|8/bookofkells.html|The Book of Kells}}
@@ Line 104: / Line 122: @@
 {{Monk stories}}
 {{TitleSort}}
+[[Category:Series 4 (8DA) audio stories]]
 [[Category:2010 audio stories]]
-[[Category:Eighth Doctor Adventures audio stories]]
 [[Category:Stories set in Ireland]]
 [[Category:Stories set in 1006]]
 [[Category:The Monk audio stories]]
 [[Category:Vortisaur audio stories]]
+[[Category:Audio stories that use Nicholas Briggs' Doctor Who theme]]
+[[Category:Two part audio stories]]
+[[Category:Eighth Doctor audio stories]]