The Chimes of Midnight (audio story): Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Story
{{ImageLinkAudio}}
|image=The Chimes of Midnight cover.jpg  
{{Infobox Story SMW
|series= [[Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories|Big Finish ''Doctor Who'' audio stories]]
|image             = <gallery>
|number= 29
The Chimes of Midnight cover.jpg|CD
|script=The Audio Scripts: Volume Three
Chimes of Midnight vinyl.jpg|Vinyl </gallery>
|doctor= Eighth Doctor
|range            = Main Range
|companions= [[Charlotte Pollard|Charley]]  
|number in range  = 29
|featuring = [[Edith Thompson|Edith]]
|series           = ''[[Main Range]]''
|enemy= [[Edward Grove]]  
|number           = 29
|writer= [[Robert Shearman]]
|script           = The Audio Scripts: Volume Three
|director= [[Barnaby Edwards (actor)|Barnaby Edwards]]
|doctor           = Eighth Doctor
|setting= [[Edward Grove]], [[London]], [[24 December]] [[1906]]
|companions       = [[Charlotte Pollard|Charley]]
|music= [[Russell Stone]]
|enemy            = [[Edward Grove]]
|sound= [[Andy Hardwick]]
|setting          = [[Edward Grove]], [[London]], [[24 December]] [[1906]]
|cover=[[Clayton Hickman]]
|writer           = Robert Shearman
|publisher= Big Finish Productions
|director         = [[Barnaby Edwards]]
|release date= [[February (releases)|February]] [[2002 (releases)|2002]]
|producer          = [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]] and [[Gary Russell]]
|format= 4 Episodes on 2 CDs
|music             = [[Russell Stone]]
|production code= 8G
|sound             = [[Andy Hardwick]]
|isbn= ISBN 1-903654-58-0
|cover             = [[Clayton Hickman]] (CD), [[Tom Webster]] (LP)
|prev=Invaders from Mars (audio story)
|publisher         = Big Finish Productions
|next=Seasons of Fear (audio story)
|release date     = 25 February 2002{{dl/set|February 2002|Release}}
|trailer = The Chimes of Midnight Vinyl Trailer - Doctor Who
|format           = 2 CDs<br/>Download<br/>Vinyl
|production code   = [[List of production codes#Big Finish production codes|8G]]
|isbn             = 2002 Release:<br/>ISBN 978-1-90365-458-3 (physical)<br/>ISBN 978-1-84435-730-7 (digital)<br/></br>2016 Release:<br/>ISBN 978-1-78575-333-6 (physical)<br/>ISBN 978-1-80240-259-9 (digital)
|prev             = Invaders from Mars (audio story)
|next             = Seasons of Fear (audio story)
|trailer           = The Chimes of Midnight Vinyl Trailer - Doctor Who
|soundcloudtrailer = https://soundcloud.com/big-finish/doctor-who-the-chimes-of-midnight-trailer
|soundcloudtrailer = https://soundcloud.com/big-finish/doctor-who-the-chimes-of-midnight-trailer
|soundcloudbts = https://soundcloud.com/big-finish/the-chimes-of-midnight-exclusive-clip-from-the-new-documentary
|soundcloudbts     = https://soundcloud.com/big-finish/the-chimes-of-midnight-exclusive-clip-from-the-new-documentary
}}{{audio stub}}
|epcount = 4
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the twenty-ninth [[Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories|monthly ''Doctor Who'' audio story]] produced by [[Big Finish Productions]]. It was the second in a series of 6 audio stories featuring the [[Eighth Doctor]]. It featured [[Paul McGann]] as the Eighth Doctor and [[India Fisher]] as [[Charlotte Pollard]].
}}{{spotify|album=6Ze4coxArPzZ3jixIjRIZR|height=350}}
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the twenty-ninth story in [[Big Finish Productions|Big Finish]]'s [[Main Range|monthly range]]. It was written by [[Robert Shearman]] and featured [[Paul McGann]] as the [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[India Fisher]] as [[Charlotte Pollard]].
 
It was the second in a series of 6 audio stories featuring the Eighth Doctor.


== Publisher's summary ==
== Publisher's summary ==
Line 39: Line 47:


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
=== Part 1 ===
=== Part one ===
[[Eighth Doctor|The Doctor]] and [[Charlotte Pollard|Charley]] step out of [[the TARDIS]] and find themselves in a dark room. The Doctor asks Charley where they are, but it is so dark that she can't tell. The Doctor says that the console's giving a blank readout.
The [[Eighth Doctor|Doctor]] and [[Charlotte Pollard|Charley]] land somewhere that the [[The Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] cannot even identify and they decide to explore (the Doctor is trying to get her to [[Singapore]]). The home resembles Charley's old home and they discover that their interactions with the house undo themselves after a while. Charley accidentally knocked over a jar of [[jam]] and when the Doctor returns to the TARDIS to get some tools and exits, he notices that the jar is back on the table, having reset itself and the stain on Charley's dress has disappeared, among other strange happenings in the house including Charley writing her name in the dust, only for it to immediately disappear.
 
The Doctor goes into the TARDIS to find some [[torch]]es, and tells Charley to investigate, but she says she can't see. He tells her to use her other senses. She says she can't hear anything, but she can smell [[fruit]].
 
She tries to feel around, but accidentally smashes a jar. The Doctor thinks she has been badly wounded, but he realises the jar was full of [[raspberry]] jam. On shining a torch around, they see that they are in a well stocked [[larder]]. On inspecting some cans of [[custard]], the Doctor figures that they've landed in the early [[20th century]]. They leave the larder to investigate the rest of the house.
 
In a scullery, a maid, named [[Edith Thompson|Edith]],  is singing "[[Hark the Herald Angels Sing]]." She says one of the words wrong, and the butler, Mr [[Shaughnessy]], walks in and corrects her.
 
He asks her why she is caterwauling, saying that it is so loud that even the master of the house may be able to hear it upstairs. He says that her excitement over [[Christmas]] is causing her work to suffer, and that the dust is so thick she could write her name in it.
 
Edith says she couldn't write her name if she wanted to, as she can't write, and Mr Shaughnessy shows her how to. He then tells her to return to work, and to remember what he always tells her, to which she says, "I'm nothing, sir. I'm nobody."
 
In the dark house, the Doctor and Charley find themselves in the [[scullery]] of an [[Edwardian]] house, sometime from [[1901]] to [[1910]]. The Doctor lights [[candle]]s instead of continuing to use the torches so as not to be anachronistic.
 
Charley finds that the scullery maid has left her dish washing half-done, but that the water is still warm. The Doctor walks over to the table and finds a name written in the dust, Edith Thompson. The Doctor wonders if she is the missing scullery maid.
 
Charley tries to write her name in the dust, but the dust spreads back over it, leaving only Edith's name intact. The Doctor remembers that he found the jar Charley had smashed intact, and Charley finds that the raspberry jam stain on her dress is gone too. They look for someone who can explain what is happening to them.
 
In the kitchen, Mr Shaughnessy asks the cook, Mrs [[Baddeley]], whether everything will be ready for the Christmas feast the next day. She replies that she's got everything prepared and that the [[turkey (bird)|turkey]]'s especially big this year. She says that she's made one of her famous [[plum pudding]]s.
 
As Mr Shaughnessy complements Mrs Baddeley's plum puddings, they hear Edith singing in the scullery. Mrs Baddeley tells her to stop working in the scullery and to help her in the kitchen. She tells Edith to take the plum pudding off the [[stove]] for her.
 
Edith asks if they will be eating the pudding on [[Christmas Eve]]. Mrs Baddeley says that the servants are eating the smaller one. Edith asks why they don't get the bigger one, as there are more servants than people upstairs, and Mr  Shaugnessy says that that's a wicked thought. Edith apologises, not meaning to be wicked on Christmas. Mrs Baddeley tells Edith to remember that "we are nothing. We are nobody."
 
Mr Shaugnessy hears a bell ringing, and goes off to give his master his [[sherry]].  He tells Edith to keep helping Mrs Baddeley. While they work, [[Frederick (The Chimes of Midnight)|Frederick]], the [[chauffeur]], walks in. He asks Mrs Baddeley if he could have a private word. She sends Edith out, and tells him she knows what he wants to talk about, and that it will do him no good. He asks if they can come to an arrangement.
 
The Doctor and Charley walk into the kitchen, and find that there is still no one to be seen. The Doctor finds a plum pudding, and Charley finds another. Charley says that her cook always made too much plum pudding at her house.
 
They look for a turkey, to find whether it is before or after Christmas. Charley exclaims that she has hunted the turkey, and the Doctor says this means it's Christmas Eve. The Doctor wonders where everyone is, and wonders whether everyone else is still there, and they're the ones missing.
 
Charley stops and asks the Doctor if he can hear anything. He says he can't. She says she can very faintly hear someone singing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", but the Doctor can't hear anything. Charley says it's probably a caroler outside, and the Doctor says he hopes so.
 
In the kitchen, Frederick is again complementing Mrs Baddeley on her plum pudding when Edith hears Charley's voice saying that she's hunted the turkey. Neither Frederick or Mrs Baddeley can hear it, and Mrs Baddeley tells Edith that his lordship hunts [[fox]]es, not turkeys. Frederick again asks Mrs Baddeley for a private word, and Mrs Baddeley again sends Edith out.
 
Mrs Baddeley says she knows what Frederick wants to ask, and that it'll do him no good. She knows what he is, a "veritable monster." Frederick begs her not to tell, or he and Mary, the lady's maid, will lose their jobs. Mrs Baddeley says that's for her lady to decide.
 
Frederick says it was just a bit of fun, and offers Mrs Baddeley [[money]]. She says she already has plenty saved up, and that she's richer than him. Frederick says she's not stronger than him, and, shocked at this threat, she throws him out of her kitchen.
 
The Doctor and Charley find the [[servant]]s' lounge. They see that the [[fire]] is burning, but the flames aren't moving. The Doctor tells Charley to pull a [[Christmas cracker|cracker]] with him, as an experiment, and it flies back together.
 
The Doctor says that time is blocking them out, which isn't possible unless someone's doing it intentionally. He tells Charley to pull the cracker with him again. It seems to be as before, but this time the Doctor has managed to grab a joke and a paper hat which he puts on.
 
They read the joke. It says, "When is a door not a door?" but instead of saying, "When it's ajar," it says, "When it's a raspberry jam jar." The Doctor says that whatever is doing this, it's mocking them.
 
=== Part 2 ===
 
The Doctor and Charley find themselves in the scullery, in Edith’s version of reality—but Edith is dead, drowned in the kitchen sink.  The Doctor and Charley try to revive her as the servants arrive; they believe him to be from Scotland Yard, and believe Charley to be his niece.    Shaughnessy believes Edith killed herself, but the Doctor explains that she would have passed out and fallen from the sink instead of drowning.  Mrs. Baddeley says that Edith was too stupid to know it was impossible.  The Doctor determines to question each servant individually.  In the meantime, he sends the staff back to their duties.
 
Charley compares the situation to an Agatha Christie mystery; but in seriousness, she wonders how Edith knew her death was impending.  How did she scream if she was drowning; and why was the death at precisely 10:00?  The Doctor decides to play along with the roles set by the unknown intelligence for them.  He questions Shaughnessy, who regrets the loss of a scullery maid, but does not care that Edith died.  The butler claims to know little about the other staff, and to care even less.  He refuses to discuss his masters from upstairs, and becomes uncomfortable.  He suspects the cook of the murder.
 
Baddeley sends Mary to finish Edith’s work; Mary takes it bdly.  Charley questions Mrs. Baddeley, but the woman refuses to answer; instead she dotes over Charley as over a child, and offers her plum pudding.  She is offended when Charley refuses, and refuses to speak again until Charley accepts the pudding.  When Charley tastes it, she begins to act like a child, but realises it and returns to normal.  The cook claims she suspects Frederick, the chauffeur, of the murder.
 
The Doctor questions Frederick, and is surprised when Frederick believes the Doctor to be a sleuth...from an Agatha Christie story, the mystery of the Seven Dials.  His story turns up anachronisms: the Christie story won’t be published for several years, and Frederick claims to drive a Chrysler, which won’t exist until 1924 (the current year being 1906).  He accuses Mary of the murder.
Charley also questions Mary, who is upset over her change in assignment, but not over the death.  Mary accuses Edith of the murder; when Charley points out that Edith was the victim, she changes her story and accuses Shaughnessy, the butler.  In every interview, the person being interviewed has indicated that their preferred suspect “has shifty eyes”.  Charley suddenly finds herself back in the dark, and Edith is there; Edith is again cold toward Charley.  She claims she is tired of dying, but refuses to name her killer.  She says there will be another death soon, which will cause everyone to forget her.  She charges Charley to remember her, and to remember that Edward Grove is alive.
 
At the stroke of 11:00, there is another scream.  Charley finds herself back in the lit kitchen, and this time Mrs. Baddeley is dead, smothered with her plum pudding.  Shaughnessy laments the loss of another servant, and the pudding as well.  The staff again call it suicide; the Doctor sends them away while he confers with Charley.  Charley tells him about Edith, but he has no idea who Edward Grove is.  If this is a Christie-esque mystery, the killer must not be a stranger, for that would break the genre’s rules.  The nature and timing of the murders  lends credence to the idea that rules are at work here.  However, there doesn’t seem to be sufficient time between the screams and the actual deaths—did the killer make the screams?  Charley comments that time seems to be running fast—there hasn’t really been an hour between murders, despite the clock.  The intelligence in charge seems to have altered the rules of time here.
 
Mary confronts Frederick, and each accuses the other of the murder of the cook.  However, Mary admits this allows them to continue their affair; but Frederick ridicules the idea of a chauffeur engaging with a scullery maid.  Mary is surprised, and says that Edith is the scullery maid; but he claims to have never heard of Edith, and after a moment, Mary admits that she hasn’t either.  She remembers always being the scullery maid.  She returns to work, humming the same carol as Edith; she admits that Frederick couldn’t love her, because she is nothing.
 
The Doctor and Charley can find no clocks, despite hearing one.  Shaughnessy declines to help, claiming the staff don’t need to know the time, they only need to know how to obey.  The Doctor asks to borrow Shaughnessy’s watch, and the butler becomes uncomfortable.  The Doctor threatens to go upstairs, and the butler pulls a gun on him.  However, the Doctor quickly asks for the watch again, and the butler hands it over—demonstrating that the intelligence in charge can only concentrate on one thing at a time.
 
The Doctor and Charley check the watch, and find it is 11:20; there has not been enough time for that.  The second hand freezes, then starts to run increasingly fast.  The Doctor fears what may happen at midnight; he tells the staff to remain in the common room, but the butler refuses to disrupt the household operations.  He sends the staff back to work.  They claim not to understand; they remember the cook killing herself, and they do not remember Edith at all.  As they exit, the clock strikes midnight.
 
=== Part 3 ===
At the chime of midnight, the Doctor and Charley find themselves in the darkness again, and hear a beating heart.  They reappear in the lit scullery, and find Edith dead on the floor, suffocated with a sink plunger.  The staff arrive, and with only minor variations, things play out much as the first time—but this time, the name “Edward Grove” is written in the dust beneath Edith’s and Charley’s.  The Doctor thinks the killer is signing his name to this, his work of art.  He goes to check a theory, leaving Charley to watch Mrs. Baddeley, whom they know is slated to die next.
 
In the common room, the Doctor tells Mary to open the door and Frederick to take him for a drive.  They object, and when he presses, they apologetically threaten his life; they have been advised to do so by their master.  The Doctor relents and accepts his role, and interviews them about the murder; however he is beginning to think the murder doesn’t matter.  The duo accuse each other of Mrs. Baddeley’s death; however, she has not been killed yet.  This confuses them, and Frederick wonders if he is the one who was killed—or perhaps that is yet to come.
 
Baddeley has already forgotten Edith’s death. She again offers Charley plum pudding, and Charley senses something familiar here.  The cook claims that Charley was her only friend, and that Charley died, but has returned.  Charley finds herself in the darkness with Edith again.  Edith is tired of the deaths, and says that Charley forgot her; she says that Edward Grove is alive, and Charley must stop it.


As the clock strikes eleven, Charley returns to the kitchen.  However, Mrs. Baddeley isn’t dead; a scream calls them to the common room, where Frederick has been run over by his own car.  The Doctor was there, but saw nothing; the room went dark at the stroke of eleven, and when the lights returned, Frederick was dead.  Mary weeps over Frederick, but the butler reminds her that she is a scullery maid, and therefore Frederick could not have loved her.  He suggests that it was suicide, piquing the Doctor’s interest.
Meanwhile, a [[scullery maid]] named [[Edith Thompson|Edith]] is ordered around the house to do menial chores and is treated poorly by all the household, including her master Mr [[Shaughnessy]] and [[kitchen]] maid Mrs [[Baddeley]].


The Doctor and Charley discuss the murders, including how everyone seems to know they will die, and yet they have neither fear nor excitement. Charley feels she is failing Edith. The Doctor thinks the intelligence in charge is trying to make Charley a part of the scenario; he cautions her to resist any new memories. She returns to the scullery, but finds Edith’s name gone from the dust. Edith speaks, and asks her why she died for Charley when Charley has forgotten her?  Letters appear, carved into the table, stating “Edward Grove is alive; Edith states that Edith and Charley are responsible.
The Doctor and Charley discover they've arrived on [[Christmas]] but the house is abandoned. Charley hears a faint voice singing [[Hark the Herald Angels Sing]] while Edith hears Charley's faint voice alerting the Doctor to a freshly prepared [[Turkey (bird)|turkey]]. The two continue to explore only to discover that it's very difficult to make impressions on the surrounding environment. They manage to find a way to interact with it, but to the Doctor's disturbance, the house's environment begins to taunt them. [[Frederick (The Chimes of Midnight)|Frederick]] finds and calls off his relationship with [[Mary (The Chimes of Midnight)|Mary]] after being forced to by Mrs Baddeley but Mary has other plans. Charley, who seems to be able to hear Edith, is prompted by the Doctor to find the source of the voice when she suddenly stumbles onto Edith taking a [[bath]]. They converse and find themselves getting along well when suddenly Charley hears another Edith say that she (Edith) is going to die soon. Charley, frightened, calls out for the Doctor and finds she can talk to him and he reveals they need to return to the TARDIS. She comments he's scared which he acknowledges, claiming some mysteries are best left alone, however, they hear a scream, a clock chime and the Doctor realises they are now trapped...


The Doctor starts up the stairs; Shaughnessy holds him at gunpoint again.  The Doctor didn’t actually intend to go up, but wanted to push his adversary to act.  Even Shaughnessy doesn’t understand his own behaviour. The Doctor explains that all the staff have been dulled by repeated time loops, making them able to be manipulated—but who is doing the manipulating?  The butler explains that the house is at 22 Edward Grove—the Doctor realises the house itself is alive. Mary and Mrs. Baddeley come to kill the Doctor, but he urges them to resist; however, they can’t kill him yet, as the hour has not yet struck. Time speeds toward midnight again, but  the Doctor urges the staff to describe their masters; if they cannot, their masters are not human. Charley arrives, and is now fully under the house’s spell; she believes she is the daughter of the house’s family, and she does not know the Doctor.  The Doctor tries to get through to her as midnight strikes.
=== Part two ===
They find Edith [[drowning]] and while the Doctor tries to save her, she [[Death|dies]]. The household come to investigate the commotion and think she died by accidental [[suicide]] but the Doctor suspects otherwise, as he suspects it was [[murder]]. They then reveal they were expecting the Doctor, claiming he's [[Scotland Yard|Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard]], to arrive and investigate. Mr Shaughnessy tells the Doctor he has access to anywhere he likes and can question whomever he wants and tells the household staff they are to answer every one of his questions except those concerning the going-ons of the house. The Doctor tells Charley he has an unnerving feeling but they ought to play along, saying he suspects the murder and the time anomaly are linked when Charley asks which task they should be focusing on. He and Charley split up, and he interviews Shaughnessy while Charley interviews Mrs. Baddeley. Baddeley refuses to help Charley since she won't taste her [[plum pudding]] while the Doctor learns about the residents of the house from him and Shaughnessy says he suspects Mrs Baddeley.


When midnight arrives, time resets again; the Doctor and Charley find themselves in the scullery with Edith’s body. She has been beaten to death with a broom.  Charley is herself again, but the staff hurry through the steps of the loop. The Doctor thinks Edith’s death is the key; he thinks the ghosts are traumatic emotions trapped in the house’s structure.  After so many time loops, the house and its “ghosts” have developed sentience. It seems to feed on death, and every time the loop repeats, the deaths make it stronger.
Charley relents and tries some pudding but ends up behaving strangely and catching herself, excuses herself after asking Baddeley who she suspects and Baddeley reveals she suspects Shaughnessy because he has "shifty eyes" (the same reason given by Shaughnessy to the Doctor). The Doctor interviews Frederick, the [[chauffeur]], and Charley interviews Mary, both claiming their accused of also having "shifty eyes". Suddenly Charley hears Edith again who reveals she needs to find out who murdered her, to not forget her, that another murder will occur and finally Edward Grove is alive. Charley yells for the Doctor who finds her but they discover that Mrs. Baddeley has been the next victim, and has been stuffed with her own pudding. The household believe it another suicide and the Doctor asks them to leave so he can consult with Charley. He reveals that he suspects they are playing a game and they know a few things, that the murders occur on the hour and something strange occurs each time, such as Mrs Baddeley being stuffed with her own pudding. Charley realises that the murders are occurring too quickly to be an hour apart and an impressed Doctor reasons that the killer must be speeding up time and they set off to find a clock. Frederick and Mary meet and their warped perception of the events begins to take hold as they forget about Edith and reaffirm their devotion to each other.


Still, something has to have initiated the loop. The Doctor decides to leave, and takes Charley to the TARDIS against the protests of the staff.  The Doctor dematerialises the TARDIS, but Charley hears a clock ticking. The console room disappears, and the scullery takes its place; the scenario has followed them.
The Doctor and Charley find Shaughnessy and ask for his [[Watch|pocket watch]] but he refuses. They decide that they will go upstairs to find the [[grandfather clock]] that keeps striking but Shaughnessy holds them at [[Firearm|gunpoint]]. The Doctor then tricks Shaughnessy to give up his pocket watch and they end up not going upstairs. The Doctor explains to Charley that the entity sees them as a threat but cannot work out how to respond to them which is why he was able to convince Shaughnessy. They find the watch behaving strangely and call the house members together to see what will happen and who may be murdered only to find that they cannot remember Edith. They split up again despite the Doctor's warnings, claiming there is household work to return to and the grandfather clock strikes midnight...


=== Part 4 ===
=== Part three ===
The TARDIS is inside the larder as before, but inside it is another scullery—the time loop, it seems, is now a spatial loop as well. The butler approaches and explains that the staff have all accepted their fate, and will serve Edward Grove forever. Charley disappears into the darkness. The butler tells the Doctor she will be safe, as she is the catalyst for Edward Grove’s birth.  Time speeds up to reach 11:00, then slows down again; Edward Grove speaks through the butler.
The Doctor and Charley are returned to the [[scullery]] and find that things have reverted back, then find Edith dead, having been suffocated to death by a plunger. The household members find them, with Mrs. Baddeley still alive and the events of before have repeated themselves, seeming as if the two have gone back in time. This time the Doctor and Charley find a third scribble in the dust, with the name Edward Grove, and attempt to deduce what is happening. The two split up again to investigate. The Doctor questions Frederick and asks him to take him for a drive but Frederick refuses, then attempts to open the door to go outside the house but the two reveal that their master has instructed them to kill him if he attempts to leave. The Doctor decides to play along further and Frederick and Mary say they suspect that they killed Edith. Charley, in the meantime, questions Mrs Baddeley and discovers some of her more distrubing traits. The Doctor learns that Frederick and Mary were to kill Mrs. Baddeley but don't remember who Edith is. Mrs. Baddeley disturbs Charley, saying she had already died. A confused Charley is then contacted mentally by Edith who says she is forgetting her and mentions [[Edward Grove]] and finally doesn't understand why she had to die but Charley can live. Just then another death occurs, this time Frederick's. However, Mary is thought to be the scullery maid despite Charley trying to remind them of Edith and they all resume their work. The Doctor and Charley attempt to understand what they've misunderstood and Charley storms out when the Doctor tries to explain to her she's misremembering things. Charley goes to find Edith's dust signature but it has disappeared and Edith appears to Charley, saying she is forgetting her and they need to find Edward Grove.


In the darkness, Edith is hiding, thinking that Charley has forgotten her again. Charley promises to help, and Edith emerges; but this time, Charley recognises her as the older Edith who served as cook in the Pollard household during her childhood. By 1930, she was no longer a scullery maid, but a cook; Charley was the only one who showed her kindness.  Everyone else treated her as nothing, even the chauffeur who once seduced her.  Charley realises that the scenario encapsulates Edith’s life in miniature, with all her humiliations. Edith says that she died for Charley; when her diary was found in the R101 wreckage, the family mourned, but Edith, being a servant, was not allowed time to do so.  Therefore, on Christmas Eve, she slit her own wrists; though she screamed, no one hears, and her death was prolonged.  However, if Charley lives, then her death was for nothing. Charley is overwhelmed, and realises she did die on the R101, validating Edith’s death—and suddenly she cannot remember the Doctor.
The Doctor attempts to go to the forbidden upstairs and is stopped by Shaughnessy holding him at gunpoint, revealing that Shaughnessy was manipulated by the outside force as he himself reveals he doesn't feel in control. The Doctor then has Shaughnessy confirm his suspicions, that the name Edward Grove is actually the name of the house. The Doctor explains that it's the house doing the murders. The household are called to action to kill the Doctor and in the process, they call forth Charley who has also come under the control of the house. However, as the clock strikes twelve time is reversed and the Doctor reveals that it seems even the entity itself doesn't have complete control. They arrive back in the scullery where Edith has been clubbed to death this time and the household, forgetting the finer details, go back to their duties. The Doctor explains to Charley that the house is performing this and that it's slowly trying to make her and the Doctor part of its narrative. He reveals that all the traumatic memories that may have happened may have been absorbed by the house, causing its sentience.


Edward Grove speaks to the Doctor, and explains that it only feels fully alive when it hears time passing, as marked by the chiming of the hour.  The Doctor accuses it of being a parasite on the lives of the servants, but it counters by saying that the human masters did the same.  Grove credits the Doctor with its existence, and does not want the Doctor dead; everything here reflects the death of Edith in 1930, which became impossible when the Doctor saved Charley and came here in 1906. The Doctor realises it is the paradox which created Edward Grove.
The Doctor tells Charley they are to return to the TARDIS as they're in a trap and while the household tries to stop them, they manage to leave. Inside the TARDIS the Doctor reveals that if they'd brought any bit of paradox with them they'd be trapped. Just then Charley hears the grandfather clock striking again, the console disappears and the house begins to reform around them and the Doctor realises that they haven't escaped the house but instead, brought it with them....


At the Doctor’s urging, the maturing presence in the house realises that it will never have a full life—but it refuses to free the servants from the loop, as this would kill the house. Instead, it plans to crush the time loop down to the few seconds each hour that give it life, thus allowing it to live forever. The Doctor realises he must prevent this, but he must free Charley and Edith first—and they are already playing out the scenario, which will sustain the paradox. The Doctor realises the only way he can enter the scenario and intervene is if he is the next victim; he orders Shaughnessy to kill him. Shaughnessy can’t disobey an order from a gentleman, and despite Grove’s protests, he strangles the Doctor.
=== Part four ===
The Doctor explains that they're still in the TARDIS but they're stuck in a [[time loop]]. He then explains that the problem is them as they are the [[Temporal paradox|paradox]] and are trapped. The household finds them and reveals their master is coming to meet him and they transport Charley elsewhere despite the Doctor's protests. The Doctor meets Edward Grove who has taken over the body of Shaughnessy to serve as a communication vessel. Charley, meanwhile, finds Edith again and she asks Edith to show herself. Edith does and Charley, shocked, realises Edith was the cook in her family's old estate, having not recognised her earlier because when Edith worked as a scullery maid she looked different, younger, as it was her first job. She mysteriously explains that she died for Charley. The Doctor and Edward Grove chat and the Doctor condemns Edward's horrific treatment of the household. He further questions the point of Grove's existence but Grove reveals it is enough for him to simply exist, even if it means keeping the others enslaved and the paradox going. Edith explains to the Charley the horrible treatment she's had to endure her whole life and how Charley was always so kind to her, and explains that Grove has filled aspects of her life into the household. When Charley asks why there's so much death, Edith simply says she died for Charley even though she came back to life. The Doctor and Grove talk more and Grove reveals that the Doctor and Charley are what are giving him life, having arrived and created a paradox. Edith explains to Charley that when the news of her death in the R101 crash reached home, Edith was ignored by all as the mood of the house was depressed over Charley's death and yet she, Edith, was not allowed to mourn Charley, her best friend. Not wanting to live without Charley, she commits suicide in the kitchen on the night of Christmas eve. The Doctor tries to convince Grove to commit suicide, saying that he is not really alive but Grove declares that having tasted existence, he will keep the paradox going for a single moment, destroying everyone inside the loop to keep himself alive. The Doctor tries to stop him, volunteering to sacrifice himself and takes advantage of the household's commitment to serve him under Grove's earlier orders, first telling them to kill him, Grove trying his best to stop him. Edith tries to convince Charley to commit suicide since Charley was supposed to have died in the R101 in 1931 but is still alive here in 1906. Charley must make a choice: her life or Edith's.


In the darkness, Edith gives Charley a knife and urges her to stop pretending to live.  The Doctor arrives, and begs her to stop; he once chose life over death in saving Charley, and he urges her to do the same thing.  He recounts some of their adventures, and says that these events allowed Charley to make a difference in the universe.  She chooses to live, and drops the knife. Edith reacts badly; urged by Grove, she intends to kill herself anyway.  The Doctor warns her that if she does so, she will be trapped here forever.  Charley persuades her by promising to always remember her; she chooses to live, knowing she is not just nothing after all.  With the paradox broken, Grove dies.
The Doctor, however, managing to overcome Grove, reaches out to Charley and convinces her to live, and the two them convince Edith to live, ending the paradox. Everything returns to normal and as a final check, the Doctor lands the TARDIS in the moment they arrived before the paradox occurred, and when they find Edith, they disguise themselves, tell Shaughnessy that Edith has done a fine work as a scullery maid, Charley tells Edith that she's not nobody but a good person, and they leave, having resolved and broken the paradox.
 
The Doctor and Charley appear in the console room.  They step outside to find themselves still at Edward Grove in 1906; but the loop is broken, and the servants are free.  After meeting with the servants, and praising Edith’s work, Charley forces the butler to compliment Edith as well.  They return to the TARDIS and leave; however, Charley admits she still remembers dying on the R101.  The Doctor promises to explain later, as they depart.  Edith, meanwhile, ponders the events, and is happy; she is, after all, somebody.


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
Line 142: Line 82:
* [[Mary (The Chimes of Midnight)|Mary]] - [[Juliet Warner]]
* [[Mary (The Chimes of Midnight)|Mary]] - [[Juliet Warner]]


== References ==
== Crew ==
 
* Cover Art - [[Clayton Hickman]] (2002 release) and [[Tom Webster]] (2016 release)
* Director - [[Barnaby Edwards]]
* Executive Producer - [[Jacqueline Rayner]]
* Music - [[Russell Stone]]
* Producers - [[Gary Russell]] and [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]]
* Sound Design - [[Andy Hardwick]]
* Writer - [[Robert Shearman]]


== Worldbuilding ==
=== Real World ===
=== Real World ===
* [[Agatha Christie]] is mentioned for her detective mysteries.
* [[Agatha Christie]] is mentioned for her detective mysteries.
Line 155: Line 104:
=== Time travel ===
=== Time travel ===
* The Doctor and Charley experience several [[time loop]]s.
* The Doctor and Charley experience several [[time loop]]s.
* The Doctor mentions travelling for centuries.
* The Doctor mentions travelling for [[Century|centuries]].


=== Individuals ===
=== Individuals ===
* Plum pudding has always been Charley's favourite. The Doctor also seems fond of it.
* The Doctor finds [[plum pudding]] with brandy butter. Charley expresses dislike for plum pudding.
 
=== Food and drink ===
* Charley expresses a love of [[Milk|condensed milk]] but a dislike of [[custard]].
 
* Charlie smells [[lemon]]s and [[orange]]s when they arrive.
* Charlie knocks over a jar of [[jam]] that the Doctor [[taste]]s. They also find [[custard]] made in [[Leeds]] in the scullery.
 
=== Songs ===
* Edith sings "[[Hark the Herald Angels Sing]]" and Shaughnessy mentions "[[Silent Night]]".


== Notes ==
=== Vehicles ===
[[File:Doctor_Who_Magazine_314_chimes_of_midnight.jpg|thumb|Art by [[Martin Geraghty]] featured in DWM 314]]
* Frederick drives a [[Bentley]] and has never heard of [[Chrysler]].
* ''The Chimes of Midnight'' was the first time that a companion created specifically for the audio range had featured on the cover.
* In 2016, this story was re-released on vinyl in a limited run of 500 copies. [[Tom Webster]] designed a new cover, and a new behind-the-scenes documentary was recorded.
* The cook, Mrs Baddeley, is named after actress {{w|Angela Baddeley}}, who played Mrs Bridges in the [[ITV]] television series ''[[Upstairs, Downstairs]]'' which is also set in a large Edwardian house. Shaughnessy is named after the show's script editor, {{w|Alfred Shaughnessy}}.
* This audio drama was recorded on [[17 January (production)|17]] and [[18 January (production)|18 January]] 2001.
* After [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Invaders from Mars (audio story)|Invaders from Mars]]'', this is the second consecutive story in which the Doctor impersonates a detective.


=== Cover gallery ===
== Gallery ==
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
The Chimes of Midnight cover.jpg|Original cover
The Chimes of Midnight cover.jpg|Original cover
Chimes of Midnight vinyl.jpg|Cover for limited vinyl edition
Chimes of Midnight vinyl.jpg|Vinyl cover
Doctor_Who_Magazine_314_chimes_of_midnight.jpg|Art by [[Martin Geraghty]] featured in DWM 314
</gallery>
</gallery>
== Notes ==
* ''The Chimes of Midnight'' was the first time that a companion created specifically for the audio range had featured on the cover.
* In 2016, this story was [[Big Finish vinyl releases|re-released on vinyl]] in a limited run of 500 copies. [[Tom Webster]] designed a new cover, and a new behind-the-scenes documentary was recorded.
* The cook, Mrs Baddeley, is named after actress {{w|Angela Baddeley}}, who played Mrs Bridges in the [[ITV]] television series ''[[Upstairs, Downstairs]]'' which is also set in a large Edwardian house. Shaughnessy is named after the show's script editor, {{w|Alfred Shaughnessy}}.
* This audio drama was recorded on [[17 January (production)|17]] and [[18 January (production)|18 January]] [[2001 (production)|2001]].
* After [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Invaders from Mars (audio story)|Invaders from Mars]]'', this is the second consecutive story in which the Doctor impersonates a detective. It is also the second story in a row set on a holiday of some sort, since ''Invaders from Mars'' was set on Halloween, and this on Christmas.
* This audio was streamed as part of the “lockdown” event.
* The Doctor imagines opening the door of the house and seeing a void, claiming that he has "seen that" before. This is a reference to the [[BBV]] audio drama ''Punchline'', also by Shearman, which featured a thinly-veiled [[Seventh Doctor]].
* There is an in-joke in the story when the Doctor mentions to Charley that it wouldn't be fair if the murderer is someone with whom they hadn't met yet, as was sometimes the case in the classic series.
* Each cliffhanger was based on Shearman's favourite cliffhangers from the series <ref>https://twitter.com/ShearmanRobert/status/1256287932819914754</ref>
:* Part 1's was based on ''[[The Space Museum (TV story)#The Space Museum (1)|The Space Museum: Part One]]''.<ref>https://twitter.com/ShearmanRobert/status/1256289395793068033</ref>
:* Part 2's was based on ''[[Kinda (TV story)#Part three|Kinda: Part Three]]''.<ref>https://twitter.com/ShearmanRobert/status/1256297627198644224</ref>
:* Part 3's was based on ''[[Horror of Fang Rock (TV story)#Part three|Horror of Fang Rock: Part Three]]''.<ref>https://twitter.com/ShearmanRobert/status/1256304930991812609</ref>


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* Edith references some of the events of [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Storm Warning (audio story)|Storm Warning]]''.
* Edith references some of the events of [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Storm Warning (audio story)|Storm Warning]]''.
* The Doctor mentions the events of [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Stones of Venice (audio story)|The Stones of Venice]]'' and [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Minuet in Hell (audio story)|Minuet in Hell]]''.
* The Doctor mentions the events of [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Stones of Venice (audio story)|The Stones of Venice]]'' and [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Minuet in Hell (audio story)|Minuet in Hell]]''.
* The Doctor mentions travelling for centuries without ever knowing where he'd landed. ([[TV]]: ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'' et al.)
* The [[Celestial Toymaker]] would later refer to Edith Thompson in a riddle while Charley was playing his games in the [[Celestial Toyroom]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Solitaire (audio story)|Solitaire]]'')
* The [[Celestial Toymaker]] would later refer to Edith Thompson in a riddle while Charley was playing his games in the [[Celestial Toyroom]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Solitaire (audio story)|Solitaire]]'')
* Edith was the only person who knew that Charley intended to stowaway aboard the ''R101'' and helped her prepare for the adventure. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Fall of the House of Pollard (audio story)|The Fall of the House of Pollard]]'')
* Edith was the only person who knew that Charley intended to stowaway aboard the ''R101'' and helped her prepare for the adventure. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Fall of the House of Pollard (audio story)|The Fall of the House of Pollard]]'')
Line 183: Line 152:
* The Eighth Doctor seems to like custard much like the [[Eleventh Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|The Eleventh Hour]]'' et al)
* The Eighth Doctor seems to like custard much like the [[Eleventh Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|The Eleventh Hour]]'' et al)
* The Doctor previously solved the riddle "When is a door not a door?" during his [[Second Doctor|second incarnation]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Mind Robber (TV story)|The Mind Robber]]'')
* The Doctor previously solved the riddle "When is a door not a door?" during his [[Second Doctor|second incarnation]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Mind Robber (TV story)|The Mind Robber]]'')
* Mrs [[Baddeley]] believes her [[plum pudding]] to be superior to Mrs [[Beeton]]'s. The [[Second Doctor]] confessed that he enjoyed Mrs. Beeton's roly-poly custard pudding. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Queen of Time (audio story)|The Queen of Time]]'')


== External links ==
== External links ==
* {{bigfinish|releases/v/the-chimes-of-midnight-653|The Chimes of Midnight}}; note that it is out of print and is available as download only.
{{bigfinish|releases/v/the-chimes-of-midnight-653|The Chimes of Midnight}}; note that it is out of print and is available as download only.
{{ChakoteyaWM|20151230142437/http://www.chakoteya.net:80/8Doctor/main29.html}}
{{dwrefguide|who_bf29.htm|The Chimes of Midnight}}
{{dwrefguide|who_bf29.htm|The Chimes of Midnight}}
* {{tetrap|8/chimes.html|The Chimes of Midnight}}
{{tetrap|8/chimes.html|The Chimes of Midnight}}
* [http://www.eruditorumpress.com/blog/so-many-ideas-so-much-darkness-the-chimes-of-midnight/#comments Robert Shearman discussing the story in depth.]
 
== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist}}
{{BFA monthly}}
{{BFA monthly}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[fr:The Chimes of Midnight]]
[[fr:The Chimes of Midnight]]
[[Category:Eighth Doctor audio stories]]
 
[[Category:Doctor Who monthly audio stories]]
[[Category:2002 audio stories]]
[[Category:Stories set outside time and space]]
[[Category:Stories set outside time and space]]
[[Category:Stories set at Christmas]]
[[Category:Stories set at Christmas]]
Line 199: Line 172:
[[Category:Stories set in alternate timelines]]
[[Category:Stories set in alternate timelines]]
[[Category:Audio stories that use the David Arnold theme]]
[[Category:Audio stories that use the David Arnold theme]]
[[Category:Charlotte Pollard audio stories]]
[[Category:Eighth Doctor Main Range audio stories]]
[[Category:2002 Main Range audio stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in a time loop]]

Latest revision as of 23:12, 17 November 2024

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The Chimes of Midnight was the twenty-ninth story in Big Finish's monthly range. It was written by Robert Shearman and featured Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor and India Fisher as Charlotte Pollard.

It was the second in a series of 6 audio stories featuring the Eighth Doctor.

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

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house not a creature was stirring...

But something must be stirring. Something hidden in the shadows. Something which kills the servants of an old Edwardian mansion in the most brutal and macabre manner possible. Exactly on the chiming of the hour, every hour, as the grandfather clock ticks on towards midnight.

Trapped and afraid, the Doctor and Charley are forced to play detective to murders with no motive, where the victims don't stay dead. Time is running out.

And time itself might well be the killer...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Part one[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor and Charley land somewhere that the TARDIS cannot even identify and they decide to explore (the Doctor is trying to get her to Singapore). The home resembles Charley's old home and they discover that their interactions with the house undo themselves after a while. Charley accidentally knocked over a jar of jam and when the Doctor returns to the TARDIS to get some tools and exits, he notices that the jar is back on the table, having reset itself and the stain on Charley's dress has disappeared, among other strange happenings in the house including Charley writing her name in the dust, only for it to immediately disappear.

Meanwhile, a scullery maid named Edith is ordered around the house to do menial chores and is treated poorly by all the household, including her master Mr Shaughnessy and kitchen maid Mrs Baddeley.

The Doctor and Charley discover they've arrived on Christmas but the house is abandoned. Charley hears a faint voice singing Hark the Herald Angels Sing while Edith hears Charley's faint voice alerting the Doctor to a freshly prepared turkey. The two continue to explore only to discover that it's very difficult to make impressions on the surrounding environment. They manage to find a way to interact with it, but to the Doctor's disturbance, the house's environment begins to taunt them. Frederick finds and calls off his relationship with Mary after being forced to by Mrs Baddeley but Mary has other plans. Charley, who seems to be able to hear Edith, is prompted by the Doctor to find the source of the voice when she suddenly stumbles onto Edith taking a bath. They converse and find themselves getting along well when suddenly Charley hears another Edith say that she (Edith) is going to die soon. Charley, frightened, calls out for the Doctor and finds she can talk to him and he reveals they need to return to the TARDIS. She comments he's scared which he acknowledges, claiming some mysteries are best left alone, however, they hear a scream, a clock chime and the Doctor realises they are now trapped...

Part two[[edit] | [edit source]]

They find Edith drowning and while the Doctor tries to save her, she dies. The household come to investigate the commotion and think she died by accidental suicide but the Doctor suspects otherwise, as he suspects it was murder. They then reveal they were expecting the Doctor, claiming he's Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard, to arrive and investigate. Mr Shaughnessy tells the Doctor he has access to anywhere he likes and can question whomever he wants and tells the household staff they are to answer every one of his questions except those concerning the going-ons of the house. The Doctor tells Charley he has an unnerving feeling but they ought to play along, saying he suspects the murder and the time anomaly are linked when Charley asks which task they should be focusing on. He and Charley split up, and he interviews Shaughnessy while Charley interviews Mrs. Baddeley. Baddeley refuses to help Charley since she won't taste her plum pudding while the Doctor learns about the residents of the house from him and Shaughnessy says he suspects Mrs Baddeley.

Charley relents and tries some pudding but ends up behaving strangely and catching herself, excuses herself after asking Baddeley who she suspects and Baddeley reveals she suspects Shaughnessy because he has "shifty eyes" (the same reason given by Shaughnessy to the Doctor). The Doctor interviews Frederick, the chauffeur, and Charley interviews Mary, both claiming their accused of also having "shifty eyes". Suddenly Charley hears Edith again who reveals she needs to find out who murdered her, to not forget her, that another murder will occur and finally Edward Grove is alive. Charley yells for the Doctor who finds her but they discover that Mrs. Baddeley has been the next victim, and has been stuffed with her own pudding. The household believe it another suicide and the Doctor asks them to leave so he can consult with Charley. He reveals that he suspects they are playing a game and they know a few things, that the murders occur on the hour and something strange occurs each time, such as Mrs Baddeley being stuffed with her own pudding. Charley realises that the murders are occurring too quickly to be an hour apart and an impressed Doctor reasons that the killer must be speeding up time and they set off to find a clock. Frederick and Mary meet and their warped perception of the events begins to take hold as they forget about Edith and reaffirm their devotion to each other.

The Doctor and Charley find Shaughnessy and ask for his pocket watch but he refuses. They decide that they will go upstairs to find the grandfather clock that keeps striking but Shaughnessy holds them at gunpoint. The Doctor then tricks Shaughnessy to give up his pocket watch and they end up not going upstairs. The Doctor explains to Charley that the entity sees them as a threat but cannot work out how to respond to them which is why he was able to convince Shaughnessy. They find the watch behaving strangely and call the house members together to see what will happen and who may be murdered only to find that they cannot remember Edith. They split up again despite the Doctor's warnings, claiming there is household work to return to and the grandfather clock strikes midnight...

Part three[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor and Charley are returned to the scullery and find that things have reverted back, then find Edith dead, having been suffocated to death by a plunger. The household members find them, with Mrs. Baddeley still alive and the events of before have repeated themselves, seeming as if the two have gone back in time. This time the Doctor and Charley find a third scribble in the dust, with the name Edward Grove, and attempt to deduce what is happening. The two split up again to investigate. The Doctor questions Frederick and asks him to take him for a drive but Frederick refuses, then attempts to open the door to go outside the house but the two reveal that their master has instructed them to kill him if he attempts to leave. The Doctor decides to play along further and Frederick and Mary say they suspect that they killed Edith. Charley, in the meantime, questions Mrs Baddeley and discovers some of her more distrubing traits. The Doctor learns that Frederick and Mary were to kill Mrs. Baddeley but don't remember who Edith is. Mrs. Baddeley disturbs Charley, saying she had already died. A confused Charley is then contacted mentally by Edith who says she is forgetting her and mentions Edward Grove and finally doesn't understand why she had to die but Charley can live. Just then another death occurs, this time Frederick's. However, Mary is thought to be the scullery maid despite Charley trying to remind them of Edith and they all resume their work. The Doctor and Charley attempt to understand what they've misunderstood and Charley storms out when the Doctor tries to explain to her she's misremembering things. Charley goes to find Edith's dust signature but it has disappeared and Edith appears to Charley, saying she is forgetting her and they need to find Edward Grove.

The Doctor attempts to go to the forbidden upstairs and is stopped by Shaughnessy holding him at gunpoint, revealing that Shaughnessy was manipulated by the outside force as he himself reveals he doesn't feel in control. The Doctor then has Shaughnessy confirm his suspicions, that the name Edward Grove is actually the name of the house. The Doctor explains that it's the house doing the murders. The household are called to action to kill the Doctor and in the process, they call forth Charley who has also come under the control of the house. However, as the clock strikes twelve time is reversed and the Doctor reveals that it seems even the entity itself doesn't have complete control. They arrive back in the scullery where Edith has been clubbed to death this time and the household, forgetting the finer details, go back to their duties. The Doctor explains to Charley that the house is performing this and that it's slowly trying to make her and the Doctor part of its narrative. He reveals that all the traumatic memories that may have happened may have been absorbed by the house, causing its sentience.

The Doctor tells Charley they are to return to the TARDIS as they're in a trap and while the household tries to stop them, they manage to leave. Inside the TARDIS the Doctor reveals that if they'd brought any bit of paradox with them they'd be trapped. Just then Charley hears the grandfather clock striking again, the console disappears and the house begins to reform around them and the Doctor realises that they haven't escaped the house but instead, brought it with them....

Part four[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor explains that they're still in the TARDIS but they're stuck in a time loop. He then explains that the problem is them as they are the paradox and are trapped. The household finds them and reveals their master is coming to meet him and they transport Charley elsewhere despite the Doctor's protests. The Doctor meets Edward Grove who has taken over the body of Shaughnessy to serve as a communication vessel. Charley, meanwhile, finds Edith again and she asks Edith to show herself. Edith does and Charley, shocked, realises Edith was the cook in her family's old estate, having not recognised her earlier because when Edith worked as a scullery maid she looked different, younger, as it was her first job. She mysteriously explains that she died for Charley. The Doctor and Edward Grove chat and the Doctor condemns Edward's horrific treatment of the household. He further questions the point of Grove's existence but Grove reveals it is enough for him to simply exist, even if it means keeping the others enslaved and the paradox going. Edith explains to the Charley the horrible treatment she's had to endure her whole life and how Charley was always so kind to her, and explains that Grove has filled aspects of her life into the household. When Charley asks why there's so much death, Edith simply says she died for Charley even though she came back to life. The Doctor and Grove talk more and Grove reveals that the Doctor and Charley are what are giving him life, having arrived and created a paradox. Edith explains to Charley that when the news of her death in the R101 crash reached home, Edith was ignored by all as the mood of the house was depressed over Charley's death and yet she, Edith, was not allowed to mourn Charley, her best friend. Not wanting to live without Charley, she commits suicide in the kitchen on the night of Christmas eve. The Doctor tries to convince Grove to commit suicide, saying that he is not really alive but Grove declares that having tasted existence, he will keep the paradox going for a single moment, destroying everyone inside the loop to keep himself alive. The Doctor tries to stop him, volunteering to sacrifice himself and takes advantage of the household's commitment to serve him under Grove's earlier orders, first telling them to kill him, Grove trying his best to stop him. Edith tries to convince Charley to commit suicide since Charley was supposed to have died in the R101 in 1931 but is still alive here in 1906. Charley must make a choice: her life or Edith's.

The Doctor, however, managing to overcome Grove, reaches out to Charley and convinces her to live, and the two them convince Edith to live, ending the paradox. Everything returns to normal and as a final check, the Doctor lands the TARDIS in the moment they arrived before the paradox occurred, and when they find Edith, they disguise themselves, tell Shaughnessy that Edith has done a fine work as a scullery maid, Charley tells Edith that she's not nobody but a good person, and they leave, having resolved and broken the paradox.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Real World[[edit] | [edit source]]

Books[[edit] | [edit source]]

Objects[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

  • The Doctor and Charley experience several time loops.
  • The Doctor mentions travelling for centuries.

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor finds plum pudding with brandy butter. Charley expresses dislike for plum pudding.

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

Songs[[edit] | [edit source]]

Vehicles[[edit] | [edit source]]

Gallery[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Chimes of Midnight was the first time that a companion created specifically for the audio range had featured on the cover.
  • In 2016, this story was re-released on vinyl in a limited run of 500 copies. Tom Webster designed a new cover, and a new behind-the-scenes documentary was recorded.
  • The cook, Mrs Baddeley, is named after actress Angela Baddeley, who played Mrs Bridges in the ITV television series Upstairs, Downstairs which is also set in a large Edwardian house. Shaughnessy is named after the show's script editor, Alfred Shaughnessy.
  • This audio drama was recorded on 17 and 18 January 2001.
  • After AUDIO: Invaders from Mars, this is the second consecutive story in which the Doctor impersonates a detective. It is also the second story in a row set on a holiday of some sort, since Invaders from Mars was set on Halloween, and this on Christmas.
  • This audio was streamed as part of the “lockdown” event.
  • The Doctor imagines opening the door of the house and seeing a void, claiming that he has "seen that" before. This is a reference to the BBV audio drama Punchline, also by Shearman, which featured a thinly-veiled Seventh Doctor.
  • There is an in-joke in the story when the Doctor mentions to Charley that it wouldn't be fair if the murderer is someone with whom they hadn't met yet, as was sometimes the case in the classic series.
  • Each cliffhanger was based on Shearman's favourite cliffhangers from the series [1]

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ https://twitter.com/ShearmanRobert/status/1256287932819914754
  2. ↑ https://twitter.com/ShearmanRobert/status/1256289395793068033
  3. ↑ https://twitter.com/ShearmanRobert/status/1256297627198644224
  4. ↑ https://twitter.com/ShearmanRobert/status/1256304930991812609
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