The Sandman (audio story): Difference between revisions

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
No edit summary
m (External link template conversions)
 
(44 intermediate revisions by 18 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{title dab away}}
{{title dab away}}
{{real world}}
{{real world}}
{{Infobox Story
{{Infobox Story SMW
|image=The Sandman cover.jpg  
|image           = The Sandman cover.jpg
|series=[[Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories|Big Finish ''Doctor Who'' audio stories]]
|range          = Main Range
|audio series   = [[Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories|Main Range]]
|number in range = 37
|series release number = 37
|series         = ''[[Main Range]]''
|number= 37  
|number         = 37
|doctor=Sixth Doctor  
|doctor         = Sixth Doctor
|companions= [[Evelyn Smythe|Evelyn]]  
|companions     = [[Evelyn Smythe|Evelyn]]
|enemy= General [[Voshkar]]
|featuring      = [[Mordecan]]
|setting= [[The Clutch]], the [[27th century]]
|enemy           = [[Voshkar]]
|writer= [[Simon A. Forward]]
|setting         = [[The Clutch]], [[27th century]]
|director= [[Gary Russell]]
|writer         = Simon A. Forward
|music=[[Russell Stone]]
|director       = [[Gary Russell]]
|sound=[[Gareth Jenkins]] @ ERS
|producer        = [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]] and Gary Russell
|cover=[[Lee Binding]]
|music           = [[Russell Stone]]
|publisher= Big Finish Productions
|sound           = [[Gareth Jenkins (sound designer)|Gareth Jenkins]] @ [[ERS]]
|release date= [[October (releases)|October]] [[2002 (releases)|2002]]
|cover           = [[Lee Binding]]
|format= 4 Episodes on 2 CDs  
|publisher       = Big Finish Productions
|production code= [[List of production codes|7C/F]]  
|release date   = 24 October 2002
|isbn= ISBN 1-903654-76-9
|format         = 2 CDs<br/>Download
|prev= The Rapture (audio story)  
|production code = [[List of production codes|7C/F]]
|next= The Church and the Crown (audio story)
|isbn           = ISBN 978-1-90365-476-7 (physical)<br/>ISBN 978-1-84435-746-8 (digital)
}}{{dab page|Sandman}}
|prev           = The Rapture (audio story)
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the thirty-seventh [[Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories|monthly ''Doctor Who'' audio story]] produced by [[Big Finish Productions]] it was released in [[2002 (releases)|2002]]. It featured the [[Sixth Doctor]] played by [[Colin Baker]] and [[Evelyn Smythe]] played by [[Maggie Stables]]. This story introduced the Clutch and the [[Galyari]] to the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' universe.
|next           = The Church and the Crown (audio story)
|made prev      = Primeval (audio story)
|made next      = ...ish (audio story)
|epcount        = 4
}}{{audio stub}}
{{dab page|Sandman}}
{{spotify|album=3evU3WeUYkcZ1S27fuJnF3|height=350}}
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the thirty-seventh story in [[Big Finish Productions|Big Finish]]'s [[Main Range|monthly range]]. It was written by [[Simon A. Forward]] and featured [[Colin Baker]] as the [[Sixth Doctor]] and [[Maggie Stables]] as [[Evelyn Smythe]].
 
This story introduced the Clutch and the [[Galyari]] to the [[Doctor Who universe|''Doctor Who'' universe]]. Among the guest cast is [[Anneke Wills]], best known for being companion [[Polly Wright]] from 1966-1967, playing Director [[Nrosha]].


== Publisher's summary ==
== Publisher's summary ==
The Clutch is a fleet in constant motion, ships jostling for position, in an endless migration between the stars. For the [[Galyari]], forbidden by an ancient curse from settling on a world ever again, the Clutch is home. But the curse travels with them...
[[The Clutch]] is a fleet in constant motion, ships jostling for position, in an endless migration between the stars. For the [[Galyari]], forbidden by an ancient curse from settling on a world ever again, the Clutch is home. But the curse travels with them...


The Sandman, a figure of myth and folk-lore, preys on the young and old alike. He lurks in the shadows and it is death to look upon him.
The Sandman, a figure of myth and folk-lore, preys on the young and old alike. He lurks in the shadows and it is death to look upon him.
Line 38: Line 47:
=== Part 1 ===
=== Part 1 ===


In deep space travels a large fleet of ships called the Clutch, which is led by a reptilian race, the Galyari, but populated by hundreds of races.  A Galyari nursemaid tells a group of children the legend of the Sandman, who takes the skins of misbehaving children. Suddenly the story becomes terribly real, and the children die in agony.  Their mother, trade director Nrosha, feels their pain, and takes security Commander Brel and his patrol with her to the nursery...but it is too late. The Sandman, also known as the Doctor, has struck again.
[[Foster (The Sandman)|A foster]] shushes the children in her care, warning them that the Sandman will come if they don't settle. Despite her pleas, the Sandman does come for the children.
 
[[Nrosha]] says the warrens are infested, and is trying to find a quicker path through them to the nurseries, knowing her children have growth sickness so the Sandman will be coming for them, but [[Shol]] tells her that there isn't a quicker path. He knows there's nothing anyone can do against the Sandman - against [[Sixth Doctor|the Doctor]]. Nrosha arrives, but too late - her children are dead.


Two years later, the TARDIS arrives on the bridge of a transport ship owned by a star gypsy named Mordecan. The Sixth Doctor and Evelyn Smythe alarm him at first, but manage to calm his nerves.  He carries them with him to the Clutch, where he has an appointment.  Accompanying him is his anxious partner, Nintaru.  Evelyn marvels at the sight of the fleet, like a massive school of fish in coordinated grace...and then they dock with the ships.  Irritated, Mordecan lets them out into the fleet, but warns them that they must return before he leaves in three days if they want their blue box back. He warns them to avoid the Warrens, a dangerous area of the fleet; and he urges Evelyn to get rid of the Doctor. Meanwhile, Orchestrator Shol, the Galyari responsible for the coordination of the fleet, has his own problems; he meets with Nrosha, who is sure the Sandman is returning, and reminds her that despite her past tragedy, she must continue to carry out her duties.  For the moment, those duties include monitoring Mordecan; and she promises to do so, though she does not respect Shol’s wishes.
Shol talks to [[Mordecan]] en route to the Clutch, and then the Doctor and [[Evelyn Smythe]] arrive on his ship. Mordecan's partner [[Nintaru]] talks to Mordecan over intercom, and Mordecan reassures him. The Doctor says that he's overdue for this visit: he has to go to [[the Clutch]], where to the [[Galyari]] people, he is a bad memory. Shol and commander [[Brel]] talk about what to do about Mordecan. The Doctor tells Evelyn about the Clutch - a fleet of different species clustering together for protection. Shol contacts the ship, allowing Mordecan to dock.


While the Doctor and Evelyn set off, Mordecan contacts Nintaru’s and reviews their agenda; Mordecan must first meet Nrosha, but then they will meet another contact in another ship, as they have done in the past. Nintaru’s anxiety grows; the Galyari have stringent trade laws, and are not happy with what she is selling, but she intends to go through with it—especially as this is the last shipment. Meanwhile, Evelyn notices a strange thing: none of the Galyari will look directly at the Doctor. She suspects something is going on, and her thoughts are verified when he breaks into the Orchestrator’s control centre. He intentionally trips the alarm, knowing it will summon the Orchestrator to him. He explains that this is a valid technique for him, as the Galyari have no grasp on a criminal mindset; this means, however, that they punish severely any criminal that does face justice.  While they wait, the Doctor plays with the controls for Traffic, the central computer that coordinates the fleet, and learns it is being controlled from an auxiliary command centre. Orchestrator Shol arrives, and the Doctor becomes haughty and arrogant, terrifying the Orchestrator.  When Evelyn confronts him about it, he tells her she is wrong about him; he IS the monster they believe him to be.
Mr. Mordecan is there to trade with the Galyari, having grown up with them in the Clutch. Shol comes to tell Nrosha her that she must learn to respect authority, and she says that she thinks they should attack the Doctor. Mordecan and the Doctor part, the latter and Evelyn heading to the leader of the Clutch. Shol tells Nrosha to liaise with Brel about Mordecan. Mordecan and Nintaru go over their plan to smuggle something illegal into the Clutch. The Doctor and Evelyn arrive at Shol's office, breaking in. The Doctor explains that the [[Orchestrator (The Sandman)|Orchestrator]], Shol, carefully governs the traffic of the Clutch. Shol leaves Nrosha, arriving to see the Doctor, who suddenly acts very commanding. Shol insists that looking at the Sandman would kill him, and the Doctor admits his monstrosity.


=== Part 2 ===
=== Part 2 ===


The Doctor’s behaviour continues to shock, as he dictates to Shol that the Galyari must cease their trade in weapons, a problem which reappears every few generations despite the Doctor’s efforts. Shol reluctantly agrees, though he knows it will make his people poor.  Meanwhile, Mordecan talks business with Nrosha; he has brought a shipment of sunbirds, which the Galyari regard almost reverently, as they themselves descend from an avian species. He realises she is more troubled than usual—and she becomes even more so when he reveals that his unwilling passenger was called “the Doctor”—the alternate name of the Sandman...
The Doctor says that the curse is what the Galyari deserve, and that the Clutch is heavily involved in the arms trade. He orders this to stop, but makes no promises as to stopping preying upon the Galyari, even if these demands are met. Meanwhile, Mordecan meets Nrosha, showing her a sunbird. He's brought her a flock of the birds - considered holy by some [[Lanfan]]s - in exchange for weapons so some of the Lanfans can overthrow the others. When Mordecan tries to ask about the Sandman, Nrosha attacks him, and then releases him. He realises that the man he met was the same Doctor, the same Sandman, and tells Nrosha everything.


The Doctor orders Shol to tell Evelyn about the history of the Galyari and the Sandman.  Shol explains that their homeworld, Galyar, was overrun by vermin who burrowed in the ground. When an army of conquest under the command of famed General Voshkar returned to the world and found it in ruins, they fought the vermin, but were defeated by a monster called the Sandman. The Doctor is that monster; he appeared and overwhelmed Voshkar’s army, and ordered the general never to return to the world.  He then took the skins of the fallen as trophies.  Voshkar left, but raised a second army of twenty thousand soldiers, and returned.    Though he had some success against the vermin, the Sandman returned, wearing the skins of the dead, and the Galyari could not look on him without pain. The Sandman stated he had given the vermin, the Cuscaru, intelligence, so that they could oppose the Galyari.  He cursed the Galyari to never live on a planet again; and more, he crushed the planet’s Srushkubr, its Memory Egg, to dust.  The Doctor explains this part of the story to Evelyn; the Srushkuby is an organic data bank of sorts, which holds the race memory of the Galyari, and to which all of them are bound.  Every Galyari colony world has one; Shol balks at the idea that Galyar was just another colony and not the homeworld, but the Doctor insists it is so.  The Doctor admits that he did curse the Galyari, so that they will not curse others.
The Doctor makes Shol explain to Evelyn the Galyari's great shame: when they returned home to [[Galyar]], their cities were destroyed and their home overrun. General [[Voshkar]] led the campaign to take back their home, but they were ambushed, and many Galyari were killed. The Doctor - calling himself the Sandman - confronted Voshkar, having taken the skins of his soldiers as trophies, and ordered the Galyari to leave this planet. Instead, Voshkar told his council that they simply need to kill the Sandman, and so he returned to the planet with a massive army to do just that.


With Mordecan’s information, Nrosha contacts Commander Brel, who is investigating more mysterious deaths. She persuades him to come with her, insisting that they may be able to kill the Sandman and end the nightmare now. Tempted by the thought of being the hero who destroyed the Sandman, Brel agrees, and joins her en route to the command centre. Meanwhile Mordecan makes his way to the Warrens and to an unmonitored terminal, from which he transmits a current map of the Clutch to Nintaru so that she can meet with him at their appointed rendezvous.
The army moved into the city to take the "[[Shushkubra]]", the memory egg of the species, but the Doctor is there, and it is death to look upon him. He makes Voshkar bow before him, telling him that this world belongs to the [[Kuscaru]] now, and that the Galyari must never set foot on a planet again. The Doctor destroys the race-memory, the Shushkubra. This imprints himself on the race subconscious.


Despite Evelyn’s disgust with the Doctor, Shol agrees to the demands, if the Doctor will end the recent unnatural deaths. The Doctor knows nothing of these deaths, and is caught off guard, but plays along, and gets Shol to describe the deaths, which began with Shol’s own predecessor as Orchestrator. That death began after a meeting with Mordecan, but the sale proposed at the meeting fell through with the Orchestrator’s death.  Since then, others have died, and it has been attributed to the Sandman.  The Sandman would, in the past, only take skins shed during the “growth sickness” that all Galyari periodically undergo; but now the skins are being taken before they are shed, killing the victims. Evelyn and the Doctor are horrified, especially upon learning that trade director Nrosha’s young were early victims.  The Doctor promises to end the deaths as soon as he meets with Mordecan—but they are interrupted by Nrosha and Brel, who burst in.  Through the pain of looking at the Doctor, Brel opens fire.
In the present, Mordecan is leaving, and Nrosha goes to tell Brel the new information she learned from him about the Doctor. Shol begs the Doctor to end the unnatural deaths, and the Doctor doesn't know what he means. Word of more deaths in the nursery reach Brel and Nrosha, and Shol tells the Doctor that the first of the deaths was the previous Orchestrator. Mordecan was the last to see him alive. Those in the growth sickness - during the period where the Galyari shed their skins - have been taken, as well as others, but Shol explains that unlike how the Doctor acted before, in the recent spate of killings, Galyari skins have been taken before they have shed. Nrosha and Brel plan their attack on the Doctor while Mordecan directs Nintaru over comms, not having left the Clutch as he said he would. Nrosha and Brel arrive, shooting at the Doctor.


=== Part 3 ===
=== Part 3 ===


Brel’s inability to look directly at the Doctor throws off his aim, and the Doctor and Evelyn retreat, destroying the door lock on the way out. They flee through the Clutch, and notice the lights flickering as they do; this indicates there is a cloaked security drone watching them, tapping into the somewhat-incompatible power system. The Doctor captures the drone and begins rewiring it to find Mordecan, but before he can finish, an announcement is made: this ship is leaving the Clutch, and is about to be detached from its neighbours. Evelyn manages to make it to the airlock and into the next ship, but the Doctor, delayed by his electronic work, does not.
The Doctor and Evelyn run, and the Doctor finds a Galyari surveillance drone which he hopes will have information on Mordecan. Nrosha tells Shol to give the patrols orders to only report their sightings of the Doctor, not to detain him, while Brel hunts him. The Doctor and Evelyn are separated, with the Doctor on a ship that's temporarily leaving the Clutch. As Mordecan and Nintaru continue to communicate, Evelyn finds Mordecan in the bar. The Doctor arrives back in the Clutch. Shol suggests that he might kill Brel if he fails, to appease the Doctor. If he succeeds, he'll be a hero. Mordecan leaves Evelyn, and Nintaru is being attacked by birds when the Doctor finds him and helps scare them off.


Nrosha takes the Doctor’s flight to mean he fears death. Shol fears what may come of this if they fail to kill the Doctor, but reluctantly complies; Nrosha sends out patrols to track the Doctor but not attack him, leaving Brel to press the attack. When the door is prepared, Brel sets off; Shol seals himself and Nrosha in, and warns her that if Brel fails, he will kill the Commander so as to appease the Sandman.  Meanwhile, Nintaru becomes aware of the extra patrols, which make her more anxious than ever.  She warns Mordecan, and changes her route to the rendezvous. En route, Mordecan meets Evelyn in the Warrens.  She asks about his meeting with the previous Orchestrator, but he says that all he did was connect the Orchestrator with Nintaru before the deal fell through.  He does not know what merchandise Nintaru peddles, but he knows it was unusual.
Evelyn follows Mordecan, and he tells her that he introduced the previous Orchestrator to Nintaru, but the orchestrator didn't want what he offered. Nintaru tells the Doctor that the Clutch has been on it's way back to his home world - the world once called Galyar. Nintaru explains that he brought the remains of the Shushkubra to the Clutch as a peace offering, but now Mordecan has convinced him to take his deal underground, and Nintaru is on his way now to take the remains to this underground deal. The Doctor decides to come along. [[Sub-Orchestrator]] [[Korshal]] fails to report in to Shol. Evelyn and Mordecan arrive at the underground meeting.


The Doctor’s drone has caught the transmission between Nintaru and Mordecan.  When the ship docks in a new position, the Doctor finds Nintaru and questions her; as he does so, they pass through one of many aviaries in the fleet, and the birds attack Nintaru.  The Doctor helps drive them off, and explains the genetic connection between the Galyari and birds—which, as it seems, leads the reptilian Galyari to revere such species.  Nintaru reveals her own species—the Cuscaru—and learns that the Clutch is nearing Nintaru’s world—a planet once called Galyar. He knows that the Galyari rename every colony world Galyar, and have often forgotten that each world is not the homeworld—so it is with Nintaru’s world. The Cuscaru also have a version of the legend about the Sandman and the early conquest over the Galyari; and when they detected the Clutch approaching, some years earlier, they connected it to the legend, and began seeking a solution.  They found trace elements in their soil which must have come from the Memory Egg; and, collecting the fragments, they set out to return them as a peace offering.  That mission became a trade mission, but failed; now, Nintaru continues it in secret.  The Doctor realises there are yet larger stakes; when he destroyed the Srushkubr, it released neural energy that forced a mutation on all the Galyari who were present. If the egg’s ashes come into contact with any of those mutated Galyari, it will mean disaster—in fact, it may already have done so.
The Doctor explains that when he destroyed the Shushkubra, the neural energy released permeated every Galyari present, and that if any remains of the Shushkubra came into contact with those energies, it could cause a catastrophic mutation. Mordecan and Evelyn meet his contact, who has changed physically more and more each time Mordecan sees him. Brel contacts Shol, telling him that he is still following the Doctor. The Doctor and Nintaru reach Mordecan, Evelyn, and the client, but the Doctor reveals that he stole the package from Nintaru. The client recognises the Doctor.


Shrol is unable to wait patiently, and resumes his duties—but he is unable to contact his sub-Orchestrator, Korshal, in the auxiliary command centre.  It seems the Sandman has struck again, although the Doctor is nowhere near that area.  Meanwhile, Mordecan and Evelyn arrive at the rendezvous point, waiting for Nintaru and their secretive contact.  When the trade deal under the former Orchestrator fell through, this was the only option.  Mordecan warns her that the contact is unpleasant to look at; if Nintaru is smuggling drugs, as Mordecan suspects, the contact seems to have sampled them.  Nintaru and the Doctor arrives, but when she reaches for her merchandise, the Doctor reveals he has stolen it, to prevent any Galyari from having contact with it.  The contact grows angry, and comes out of the shadows to attack—and calls the Doctor by name.
=== Part 4 ===


=== Part 4 ===
Nintaru is attacked by the client, and Brel arrives. Mordecan takes Brel's gun, shooting the client, revealing that it is hollow: only a skin. Sampling the goods (the Shushkubra dust) did this to him. Brel wants to shoot the Doctor, so the Doctor removes his coat and waistcoat, allowing Brel to look at him. It was the intensely coloured coat that hurt sensitive Galyari eyes. The Doctor points out that he alone understands what's happened here, so Brel shouldn't shoot him. Nintaru is still alive, and the Doctor asks Brel calls a medical team for him.


Brel arrives, having tracked the Doctor, but is stunned by the sight of the monster.  Mordecan snatches Brel’s gun and kills the creature.  It proves to be a Galyari skin, empty inside. Brel still plans to the kill the Doctor; to stop him, the Doctor removes his coat and waistcoat, revealing that it serves as a sort of camouflage to the Galyari, who are highly sensitive to bright, clashing colours.  This is tantamount to admitting he has no supernatural powers; but Brel lets that go in the face of a more important issue: once, the Galyari also had a power of camouflage, much like chameleons on Earth. Brel realises that the walking skin is something requiring analysis, and he summons a medical team for Nintaru; but at that moment, they are interrupted by a broadcast summons.  Its voice comes from the auxiliary command centre, and is familiar to the Doctor.  It claims to be the new Sandman, and the new Orchestrator of the Clutch; and it will let every non-Galyari depart, if only they bring him the Doctor.
Shol continues trying to contact Korshal. Someone makes an announcement: the Clutch has a new Orchestrator. The announcer is claiming to be the Sandman, saying he will now send out his patrols, his "sandmen", and that the Doctor must be captured. Brel allows the Doctor to contact Shol, telling him that the announcer is the murderer. Shol's predecessor was a descendent of Voshkar. Shol agrees to meet the Doctor in the cultivation chamber. Nrosha takes a patrol out to find Korshal, to prove that the Doctor is the enemy. The Doctor explains that Shol's predecessor came into contact with the Shushkubra, causing him to mutate, and that they will need organic material like the bird feathers from the aviaries to defeat him - the predecessor is the announcer calling himself the Sandman.


The Doctor has Brel connect him to Shol, and transmits the image of the husk monster.  He explains that fragments of the ancient Srushkubr are present; as well, the previous Orchestrator was a descendant of the long-dead General Voshkar.  The Doctor can expose and eliminate their tormentor, but it will require letting him into the sacred cultivation chambers.  Nrosha objects, but Shol realises the truth: the Doctor could easily get there in his TARDIS; instead he is asking for their help.  Nrosha cannot abide Shol’s decision to listen, and takes a patrol to the auxiliary command centre, trying to prove Shol wrong.  Meanwhile, leaving Nintaru to recover, the Doctor goes with Evelyn, Mordecan, and Brel to the aviary to collect feathers, which they will need for the cultivation chamber.  He explains that the legend wasn’t quite right; the Cuscaru were the natives of this Galyar, and were just becoming intelligent when the Galyari colonised it. The Doctor helped them to mount a defense, and so gained access to the Srushkubr, and realised he would need dead Galyari tissue to interface with it.  This, he obtained from the battlefield; but he was found harvesting skins by the Galyari soldiers. He acted the part of a monster in an attempt to get Voshkar to leave peacefully; the retreat was only temporary, but by the time Voshkar returned, the Doctor had gained control of the Srushkubr.  He used it to drive the Galyari away, and destroyed it, blasting them with the neural energy which imprinted them with a fear of him—the Sandman, as they knew him.  However, the neural energy was enough to irradiate the soldiers, and that contamination was passed down through many generations.  Contact with Nintaru’s fragments unleashed the energy, creating a new Srushkubr.  That Srushkubr, filled with malice, was formed around a living core, but has been adding skins to itself ever since—thus creating the husk monsters.  Still, as they now embody the racial memory, Brel cannot shoot them.
100,000 years ago, a guide amongst the Kuscaru showed the Doctor how their people were rising from the borrows, and how the Galyari left one structure untouched. The Galyari returned, which is when the Doctor stripped dead Galyari of their skins to interface with the artifact (the Shushkabra) inside the structure. He told Voshkar to leave, but he didn't listen. The Doctor was able to telepathically trigger the Shushkabra explode.


Still, this racial memory—and the control of it afforded by the Srushkubr—will allow the Doctor a plan. He uses the feathers, along with Galyari skin cells and his own blood, to create his own Srushkubr inside the cultivation chambers. He sends Evelyn and Shol to the command centre, and gets Brel to have all the Galyari seal themselves behind secure bulkheads.  He takes Mordecan to the auxiliary command deck to confront the Sandman and then transfer Traffic control back to the main command centre. The plan is not lost on Shol or Evelyn; they realise that the one the Galyari have considered their nemesis, is now working to save them all.
In the present day, the Doctor and co arrive at the cultivation chamber to grow a new memory egg, with ingredients including bird feathers and the Doctor's blood. Voshkar's men were imprinted with neural radiation from the Shushkabra, passing this down genetically, and this was activated when Voshkar's descendent came into contact with the same energies in the Shushkabra dust. This means he has the seeds for a new Shushkabra, and this is what has been taking skins to power itself, with Mordecan's new supplies of dust continuing to rejuvenate it. And Nrosha has gone to face it.


The corridor outside auxiliary command is full of bodies and husks.  Only Nrosha, in her hatred, managed to fight her way past the husks; but, the Doctor finds, it was in vain, as the Sandman has torn her apart. The Sandman reveals himself: he is Voshkar reborn, as his mind was the strongest in the race memory. Now he will lead his people to retake the Cuscaru world and make it Galyar again. The Doctor angrily tells him that the Sandman—as the Doctor created the legend—was no killer; he merely harvested shed skins and planted fear, which kept the Galyari from harming anyone else.  Under Voshkar, the Clutch will become a war fleet; and this, the Doctor cannot allow.  Voshkar attacks him, and in the chaos, Mordecan transfers control back to Shol.  Shol opens all the internal bulkheads except those behind which the Galyari shelter. Throughout the fleet, the birds—at the telepathic suggestion of the Doctor—flood the corridors from the aviaries, attacking the husks, who cannot fight them off.  As the husks die, Voshkar is steadily diminished, until, wracked with pain, he dies.
Nrosha battles with the Sandman, dying in the process. Shol and Evelyn head back to command, Brel gets his officers to gather Galyari into the garrison ships and seal them in, and Mordecan delivers the Doctor to the Sandman. He is unravelling, becoming more like his ancestors. He's been harvesting skins to graft onto himself over the years, and now each of his sandmen is one of them. He wants to colonise worlds once again. The Doctor and the Sandman fight, and Evelyn and Shol carry out their part of the plan, opening all doors except the ones to the garrison ships and command. Birds fly through the air, destroying the Sandmen. Mordecan and the Doctor leave as the birds the Doctor is telepathically controlling (the psychic link cemented by his blood) destroy the Sandman.


Later, at the Doctor’s suggestion, Shol drops the old charges against Nintaru, who acted in good faith without knowledge of the trouble she would cause. Since the Cuscaru world still contains the ashes of the ancient Srushkubr, the Clutch will bypass it, for the sake of safety. With a new era dawning for the Galyari, the Doctor and Evelyn depart in the TARDIS.
Nintaru is healing well, and will not be charged for his part in this. Mordecan as well. The Shushkabra ashes will be kept on what was once Galyar. Change is beginning on the Clutch, and for the Galyari. The Doctor and Evelyn leave in the TARDIS.


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
Line 86: Line 97:
* Commander [[Brel]] - [[Mark Wharton]]
* Commander [[Brel]] - [[Mark Wharton]]


== References ==
== Crew ==
=== Species ===
 
* Cover Art - [[Lee Binding]]
* Director - [[Gary Russell]]
* Executive Producer - [[Jacqueline Rayner]]
* Music - [[Russell Stone]]
* Producers - Gary Russell and [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]]
* Sound Design - [[Gareth Jenkins (sound designer)|Gareth Jenkins]]
* Writer - [[Simon A. Forward|Simon A Forward]]
 
== Worldbuilding ==
* The [[Galyari]] find [[bird]]s appealing.
* The [[Galyari]] find [[bird]]s appealing.
* The [[Shushkubra]] is a memory egg that lies at the heart of every Galyari world, holding the race memory of the Galyari.
* Most Galyari worlds are called 'Galyar'.
* The [[Kuscaru]] were once animal burrowers on [[Galyar]], the Shushkubra holding back their development, but they became intelligent by the time the Galyari returned to their world.
== Gallery ==
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true" widths="250">
The Sandman cover.jpg|Original CD cover
Doctor Who Magazine 323 sandman.jpg|Art by [[Martin Geraghty]] featured in [[DWM 323]]
</gallery>


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
* The Doctor narrates some parts of the story.
* The Doctor narrates some parts of the story.
* This audio story was recorded on [[4 March (production)|4]] and [[5 March (production)|5 March]] 2002 at [[The Moat Studios]]
* The Doctor mentions [[Daphne Du Maurier]].
[[File:Doctor Who Magazine 323 sandman.jpg|thumb|Art by [[Martin Geraghty]] featured in DWM 323]]
* This audio story was recorded on [[4 March (production)|4]] and [[5 March (production)|5 March]] [[2002 (production)|2002]] at [[the Moat Studios]].


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Bone of Contention (audio story)|The Bone of Contention]]'' takes place on the Clutch prior to the events of this story. The Galyari and Mordecan appear in both stories.
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Bone of Contention (audio story)|The Bone of Contention]]'' takes place on the Clutch prior to the events of this story. The [[Galyari]] and [[Mordecan]] appear in both stories.


== External links ==
== External links ==
* {{bigfinish|releases/v/the-sandman-203|The Sandman}}; note that it is out of print and is available as download only.
{{bigfinish|releases/v/the-sandman-203|The Sandman}}; note that it is out of print and is available as download only.
{{dwrefguide|who_bf37.htm|The Sandman}}
{{dwrefguide|who_bf37.htm|The Sandman}}
* {{tetrap|6/sandman.html|The Sandman}}
{{tetrap|6/sandman.html|The Sandman}}
{{BFA monthly}}
{{BFA monthly}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[Category:Sixth Doctor audio stories]]
 
[[Category:Doctor Who monthly audio stories]]
[[Category:2002 audio stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 27th century]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 27th century]]
[[Category:Audio stories that use Delia Derbyshire's 2nd theme]]
[[Category:Audio stories that use Delia Derbyshire's 2nd theme]]
[[Category:Sixth Doctor Main Range audio stories]]
[[Category:2002 Main Range audio stories]]

Latest revision as of 23:12, 17 November 2024

RealWorld.png

audio stub
You may wish to consult Sandman for other, similarly-named pages.
▶︎
Spotify

The Sandman was the thirty-seventh story in Big Finish's monthly range. It was written by Simon A. Forward and featured Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Maggie Stables as Evelyn Smythe.

This story introduced the Clutch and the Galyari to the Doctor Who universe. Among the guest cast is Anneke Wills, best known for being companion Polly Wright from 1966-1967, playing Director Nrosha.

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

The Clutch is a fleet in constant motion, ships jostling for position, in an endless migration between the stars. For the Galyari, forbidden by an ancient curse from settling on a world ever again, the Clutch is home. But the curse travels with them...

The Sandman, a figure of myth and folk-lore, preys on the young and old alike. He lurks in the shadows and it is death to look upon him.

All too soon after the TARDIS arrives, it is evident that the Doctor and the Galyari share a dark history, and Evelyn is shocked to discover that, on the Clutch, it is her friend who is the monster.

The Sandman, according to the tales, also goes by the name of the Doctor...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Part 1[[edit] | [edit source]]

A foster shushes the children in her care, warning them that the Sandman will come if they don't settle. Despite her pleas, the Sandman does come for the children.

Nrosha says the warrens are infested, and is trying to find a quicker path through them to the nurseries, knowing her children have growth sickness so the Sandman will be coming for them, but Shol tells her that there isn't a quicker path. He knows there's nothing anyone can do against the Sandman - against the Doctor. Nrosha arrives, but too late - her children are dead.

Shol talks to Mordecan en route to the Clutch, and then the Doctor and Evelyn Smythe arrive on his ship. Mordecan's partner Nintaru talks to Mordecan over intercom, and Mordecan reassures him. The Doctor says that he's overdue for this visit: he has to go to the Clutch, where to the Galyari people, he is a bad memory. Shol and commander Brel talk about what to do about Mordecan. The Doctor tells Evelyn about the Clutch - a fleet of different species clustering together for protection. Shol contacts the ship, allowing Mordecan to dock.

Mr. Mordecan is there to trade with the Galyari, having grown up with them in the Clutch. Shol comes to tell Nrosha her that she must learn to respect authority, and she says that she thinks they should attack the Doctor. Mordecan and the Doctor part, the latter and Evelyn heading to the leader of the Clutch. Shol tells Nrosha to liaise with Brel about Mordecan. Mordecan and Nintaru go over their plan to smuggle something illegal into the Clutch. The Doctor and Evelyn arrive at Shol's office, breaking in. The Doctor explains that the Orchestrator, Shol, carefully governs the traffic of the Clutch. Shol leaves Nrosha, arriving to see the Doctor, who suddenly acts very commanding. Shol insists that looking at the Sandman would kill him, and the Doctor admits his monstrosity.

Part 2[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor says that the curse is what the Galyari deserve, and that the Clutch is heavily involved in the arms trade. He orders this to stop, but makes no promises as to stopping preying upon the Galyari, even if these demands are met. Meanwhile, Mordecan meets Nrosha, showing her a sunbird. He's brought her a flock of the birds - considered holy by some Lanfans - in exchange for weapons so some of the Lanfans can overthrow the others. When Mordecan tries to ask about the Sandman, Nrosha attacks him, and then releases him. He realises that the man he met was the same Doctor, the same Sandman, and tells Nrosha everything.

The Doctor makes Shol explain to Evelyn the Galyari's great shame: when they returned home to Galyar, their cities were destroyed and their home overrun. General Voshkar led the campaign to take back their home, but they were ambushed, and many Galyari were killed. The Doctor - calling himself the Sandman - confronted Voshkar, having taken the skins of his soldiers as trophies, and ordered the Galyari to leave this planet. Instead, Voshkar told his council that they simply need to kill the Sandman, and so he returned to the planet with a massive army to do just that.

The army moved into the city to take the "Shushkubra", the memory egg of the species, but the Doctor is there, and it is death to look upon him. He makes Voshkar bow before him, telling him that this world belongs to the Kuscaru now, and that the Galyari must never set foot on a planet again. The Doctor destroys the race-memory, the Shushkubra. This imprints himself on the race subconscious.

In the present, Mordecan is leaving, and Nrosha goes to tell Brel the new information she learned from him about the Doctor. Shol begs the Doctor to end the unnatural deaths, and the Doctor doesn't know what he means. Word of more deaths in the nursery reach Brel and Nrosha, and Shol tells the Doctor that the first of the deaths was the previous Orchestrator. Mordecan was the last to see him alive. Those in the growth sickness - during the period where the Galyari shed their skins - have been taken, as well as others, but Shol explains that unlike how the Doctor acted before, in the recent spate of killings, Galyari skins have been taken before they have shed. Nrosha and Brel plan their attack on the Doctor while Mordecan directs Nintaru over comms, not having left the Clutch as he said he would. Nrosha and Brel arrive, shooting at the Doctor.

Part 3[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor and Evelyn run, and the Doctor finds a Galyari surveillance drone which he hopes will have information on Mordecan. Nrosha tells Shol to give the patrols orders to only report their sightings of the Doctor, not to detain him, while Brel hunts him. The Doctor and Evelyn are separated, with the Doctor on a ship that's temporarily leaving the Clutch. As Mordecan and Nintaru continue to communicate, Evelyn finds Mordecan in the bar. The Doctor arrives back in the Clutch. Shol suggests that he might kill Brel if he fails, to appease the Doctor. If he succeeds, he'll be a hero. Mordecan leaves Evelyn, and Nintaru is being attacked by birds when the Doctor finds him and helps scare them off.

Evelyn follows Mordecan, and he tells her that he introduced the previous Orchestrator to Nintaru, but the orchestrator didn't want what he offered. Nintaru tells the Doctor that the Clutch has been on it's way back to his home world - the world once called Galyar. Nintaru explains that he brought the remains of the Shushkubra to the Clutch as a peace offering, but now Mordecan has convinced him to take his deal underground, and Nintaru is on his way now to take the remains to this underground deal. The Doctor decides to come along. Sub-Orchestrator Korshal fails to report in to Shol. Evelyn and Mordecan arrive at the underground meeting.

The Doctor explains that when he destroyed the Shushkubra, the neural energy released permeated every Galyari present, and that if any remains of the Shushkubra came into contact with those energies, it could cause a catastrophic mutation. Mordecan and Evelyn meet his contact, who has changed physically more and more each time Mordecan sees him. Brel contacts Shol, telling him that he is still following the Doctor. The Doctor and Nintaru reach Mordecan, Evelyn, and the client, but the Doctor reveals that he stole the package from Nintaru. The client recognises the Doctor.

Part 4[[edit] | [edit source]]

Nintaru is attacked by the client, and Brel arrives. Mordecan takes Brel's gun, shooting the client, revealing that it is hollow: only a skin. Sampling the goods (the Shushkubra dust) did this to him. Brel wants to shoot the Doctor, so the Doctor removes his coat and waistcoat, allowing Brel to look at him. It was the intensely coloured coat that hurt sensitive Galyari eyes. The Doctor points out that he alone understands what's happened here, so Brel shouldn't shoot him. Nintaru is still alive, and the Doctor asks Brel calls a medical team for him.

Shol continues trying to contact Korshal. Someone makes an announcement: the Clutch has a new Orchestrator. The announcer is claiming to be the Sandman, saying he will now send out his patrols, his "sandmen", and that the Doctor must be captured. Brel allows the Doctor to contact Shol, telling him that the announcer is the murderer. Shol's predecessor was a descendent of Voshkar. Shol agrees to meet the Doctor in the cultivation chamber. Nrosha takes a patrol out to find Korshal, to prove that the Doctor is the enemy. The Doctor explains that Shol's predecessor came into contact with the Shushkubra, causing him to mutate, and that they will need organic material like the bird feathers from the aviaries to defeat him - the predecessor is the announcer calling himself the Sandman.

100,000 years ago, a guide amongst the Kuscaru showed the Doctor how their people were rising from the borrows, and how the Galyari left one structure untouched. The Galyari returned, which is when the Doctor stripped dead Galyari of their skins to interface with the artifact (the Shushkabra) inside the structure. He told Voshkar to leave, but he didn't listen. The Doctor was able to telepathically trigger the Shushkabra explode.

In the present day, the Doctor and co arrive at the cultivation chamber to grow a new memory egg, with ingredients including bird feathers and the Doctor's blood. Voshkar's men were imprinted with neural radiation from the Shushkabra, passing this down genetically, and this was activated when Voshkar's descendent came into contact with the same energies in the Shushkabra dust. This means he has the seeds for a new Shushkabra, and this is what has been taking skins to power itself, with Mordecan's new supplies of dust continuing to rejuvenate it. And Nrosha has gone to face it.

Nrosha battles with the Sandman, dying in the process. Shol and Evelyn head back to command, Brel gets his officers to gather Galyari into the garrison ships and seal them in, and Mordecan delivers the Doctor to the Sandman. He is unravelling, becoming more like his ancestors. He's been harvesting skins to graft onto himself over the years, and now each of his sandmen is one of them. He wants to colonise worlds once again. The Doctor and the Sandman fight, and Evelyn and Shol carry out their part of the plan, opening all doors except the ones to the garrison ships and command. Birds fly through the air, destroying the Sandmen. Mordecan and the Doctor leave as the birds the Doctor is telepathically controlling (the psychic link cemented by his blood) destroy the Sandman.

Nintaru is healing well, and will not be charged for his part in this. Mordecan as well. The Shushkabra ashes will be kept on what was once Galyar. Change is beginning on the Clutch, and for the Galyari. The Doctor and Evelyn leave in the TARDIS.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Galyari find birds appealing.
  • The Shushkubra is a memory egg that lies at the heart of every Galyari world, holding the race memory of the Galyari.
  • Most Galyari worlds are called 'Galyar'.
  • The Kuscaru were once animal burrowers on Galyar, the Shushkubra holding back their development, but they became intelligent by the time the Galyari returned to their world.

Gallery[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

v • e
Big Finish Main Range
 
Fifth Doctor
Adric, Nyssa, Tegan
Nyssa
Nyssa, Brewster
Nyssa, Hannah
Nyssa, Tegan
Nyssa, Tegan, Marc
Nyssa, Tegan, Turlough
Tegan, Turlough, Kamelion
Tegan, Leela
Turlough
Peri
Peri, Erimem
Amy
Vicki, Steven
Solo travels
 
Sixth Doctor
Peri
Evelyn
Evelyn, Brewster
Frobisher
Charley
"Jamie"
Flip
Constance
Constance, Flip
Mel
Jamie, Zoe
Solo travels
 
Seventh Doctor
Mel
Ace
Ace, Hex
Ace, Benny
Sally
Ace, Hex, Lysandra, Sally
Ace, Hex, Sally
Ace, Mel
Mags
Klein
Klein, Will
Jo
Solo travels
 
Eighth Doctor
Mary Shelley
Charley
Charley, C'rizz
Solo & other travels
All stories from Big Finish Productions' main monthly range from 1999 to 2021 are included in this navigation box, including the "subscriber exclusive" stories which were part of the subscription service for this range.
Retrieved from "https://tardis.wiki/w/index.php?title=The_Sandman_(audio_story)&oldid=3897800"