Animal Instinct (audio story): Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Story
{{Infobox Story SMW
|image            = Animal Instinct cover.jpg
|image            = Animal Instinct cover.jpg
|series          = ''[[The Diary of River Song (audio series)|The Diary of River Song]]''
|series          = ''[[The Diary of River Song (audio series)|The Diary of River Song]]''
|number          = 5.2
|number          = 5.2
|anthology       = ''[[The Diary of River Song: Series Five]]''
|audio anthology = The Diary of River Song: Series Five
|range            = The Diary of River Song (audio series)
|range            = The Diary of River Song (audio series)
|series in range  = The Diary of River Song: Series Five
|series in range  = The Diary of River Song: Series Five
|number in series = 2
|number in series = 2
|main character  = [[River Song]]
|main character  = [[River Song|River]]
|featuring        =  
|featuring        = [[Luke Sullieman|Luke]]
|enemy            = {{Pratt|c}}
|enemy            = [[Decayed Master]]
|setting          =  
|setting          = [[Chasca Major]] and [[Chasca Minor]]
|writer          = [[Roy Gill]]
|writer          = Roy Gill
|director        = [[Ken Bentley]]
|director        = [[Ken Bentley]]
|producer        = [[David Richardson]]
|producer        = [[David Richardson]]
Line 20: Line 20:
|publisher        = Big Finish Productions
|publisher        = Big Finish Productions
|cover            = [[Tom Webster]]
|cover            = [[Tom Webster]]
|release date    = [[22 January (releases)|22 January]] [[2019 (releases)|2019]]
|release date    = 22 January 2019
|format          = 1 X 1 hour
|format          = 1 CD<br/>Download<br/>2nd of 4 stories
|production code  = BFPDWRIVER05
|production code  = BFPDWRIVER05
|isbn            = 978-1-78703-505-8
|isbn            = ISBN 978-1-78703-505-8 (physical); ISBN 978-1-78703-506-5 (digital)
|prev            = The Bekdel Test (audio story)
|prev            = The Bekdel Test (audio story)
|next            = The Lifeboat and the Deathboat (audio story)
|next            = The Lifeboat and the Deathboat (audio story)
}}{{audio stub}}
|epcount          = 1
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the second story of the audio anthology, ''[[The Diary of River Song (audio series)|The Diary of River Song]]: [[The Diary of River Song: Series Five|Series Five]]''.
}}
'''''Animal Instinct''''' was the second story of the audio anthology, ''[[The Diary of River Song (audio series)|The Diary of River Song]]: [[The Diary of River Song: Series Five|Series Five]]''. It was written by [[Roy Gill]] and featured [[Alex Kingston]] as [[River Song]] and [[Geoffrey Beevers]] as the [[Decayed Master]].


== Publisher's summary ==
== Publisher's summary ==
On a world where vicious beasts stalk ancient ruins, [[River Song|Professor Song]] teaches a student the finer points of [[archaeology]].
On [[Chasca Minor|a world]] where [[Therian|vicious beasts]] stalk ancient ruins, [[River Song|Professor Song]] teaches [[Luke Sullieman|a student]] the finer points of [[archaeology]].


But then she meets an incarnation of {{Pratt}} who is desperate to survive.
But then she meets an [[incarnation]] of [[Decayed Master|the Master]] who is desperate to survive.


And if they are going to escape this place alive, they all must work together.
And if they are going to escape this place alive, they all must work together.


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
''to be added''
[[River Song|River]] and [[Luke Sullieman|Luke]], a student who joined her as part of his practical [[exam]], break into the tomb of a supposed [[Chasca Minorian]] sun god and attempt to take an [[Obsidian Mirror]] from the hands of [[Decayed Master|the Master]]. The Master awakens, initially assuming that Luke is [[the Doctor]] because of his dress sense, and realises that his trap for the Doctor has failed thanks to the tomb being moved from [[Chasca Minor]] to [[Chasca Major]] some centuries ago. Believing herself responsible for any [[chaos]] that the Master might unleash, River makes Luke give the Master his clothes and knocks him out to provide [[security]] with a distraction whilst she and the Master escape.
 
Walking through the [[Feast Dance]] [[carnival]], River agrees to take the Master to Chasca Minor in the ''[[Condor (spacecraft)|Condor]]'' to recover [[the Master's TARDIS|his TARDIS]]. [[Dav Christos|Captain Dav Christos]] does not believe that the ''Condor'' can make the journey, but the Master manipulates him and [[Adella Franz]] with promises of riches. They take off after Luke joins them and River confides in Luke that she has slipped a [[biotracker]] tag onto the Master so that she can track him with [[River Song's vortex manipulator|her vortex manipulator]]. A flare of [[gamma radiation]] causes them to crash and they find that the Master's relay system, which caused the flare, is keeping the moon in eternal [[day]]time.
 
The group head to the [[Great Ziggurat of Chasca Minor]] and hide up a [[tree]] from a [[Therian|humanoid cat]] wearing [[glasses]], but the Master knocks the injured Captain Christos down to be eaten, giving the others the opportunity to escape. The Master reveals that the humanoid cats, called Therians, are a mutated strain of the [[Chasca Majorian]]s who were dumped on the moon and he created the relay to keep them from being feral as they are in the [[night]]. However, their glasses counteract this. River, the Master and Adella enter the [[Sun Chamber]] whilst Luke, who has his arm stuck in a trap, is locked outside when the doors close. The [[Therian Leader]] arrives and kills Adella.
 
Upon disabling the relay, River and the Master run. He attempts to [[hypnosis|hypnotise]] her into helping restore his TARDIS rather than leaving in the ''Condor'', believing that he has been subtly influencing her through the reversed biotracker, but this is not the case and River is naturally pragmatic without his influence. They flee from a Therian to the ''Condor'' and the Master [[torture]]s it; River recognises it as Luke, transformed as a blessing by the ziggurat, and restores him with a high-energy, super-lumiscent blast to rewrite his [[DNA]]. She plans to do the same for the other Therians, but they show no interest and Luke tells her that it is not her choice. She gives the Master's TARDIS's [[capacitor]] to them to make their choice, leaving the Master to their [[mercy]].
 
On the way back to Chasca Major, River tells Luke that he has passed his final exam and they detect a flash from Chasca Minor indicating that the Therians have either used or destroyed the capacitor. River asks Luke if he does indeed want to return home rather than go back to the Therians, which he says is the case.


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
* [[River Song]] - [[Alex Kingston]]
* [[River Song]] - [[Alex Kingston]]
* {{Pratt|C}} - [[Geoffrey Beevers]]
* [[Decayed Master|The Master]] - [[Geoffrey Beevers]]
* [[Luke Sullieman]] - [[Timothy Blore]]
* [[Dav Christos]] / [[Therian Leader]] - [[Delroy Atkinson]]
* [[Adella Franz]] / [[Therian]] - [[Emily Woodward]]


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
''to be added''
* Luke wears [[tweed]] and a [[deerstalker]]. River makes him lend his outfit to the Master.
* River uses [[River Song's sonic pen torch|a sonic pen torch]] and tells Luke that "[[the Doctor|he]] baggsied [[the Doctor's sonic screwdriver|the best name]]". It doubles as a [[torch]] and does not work on [[stone]].
* River describes [[Chasca Majorian university|Luke's university]] as a backwater.
* Luke brings a [[thermos]] of [[tea]].
* The Master's tomb was moved from [[Chasca Minor]] to [[Chasca Major]] by a relic hunter from [[Daedalus VI]].
* River has been intrigued by the [[Great Ziggurat of Chasca Minor]] for some time.
* The Master possesses an [[Obsidian Mirror]].
* River compares the Master's style to [[James Moriarty|Moriarty]].
* River slips a [[biotracker]] tag onto the Master.
* River has [[field glasses]].
* Luke has to write a [[dissertation]].
* The Master asks, "Who was it said 'Humans should never invite their ancestors round for dinner?'" This both a reference to ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' and its author, the late [[Douglas Adams]] who both wrote and script-edited episodes of the classic series. This is also asked by the [[Seventh Doctor]] in the [[Season 26 (Doctor Who 1963)|Season 26]] story ''[[Ghost Light (TV story)|Ghost Light]]''.
* Luke is reminded of the [[Toltec]]s.
* River mentions ''[[The Crystal Maze]]''.
* [[Chasca Major]] orbits [[Chasca Orionsis]].
* River says that she was practically worshipped in [[1970s]] [[Las Vegas|Vegas]].


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
''to be added''
[[File:The Diary of River Song Series Five (DWM 535).jpg|thumb|right|''The DWM Review'', [[DWM 535]].]]
* The scene where [[Luke Sullieman]] and [[River Song]] discover the Master was [[DWM illustrated previews|illustrated]] by [[Jamie Lenman]] for ''The DWM Review'' in [[DWM 535]].


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
''to be added''
* River calls herself a [[psychopath]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)|The Angels Take Manhattan]]'')
* River is a fan of [[handcuffs]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead (TV story)|Forest of the Dead]]'', ''[[Flesh and Stone (TV story)|Flesh and Stone]]'')
* The Master agrees that [[disguise]]s are fun. ([[TV]]: ''[[Terror of the Autons (TV story)|Terror of the Autons]]'', etc.)
* River says that [[legend]]s often end up being [[the Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'')
* River reveals to the Master that she married the Doctor. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song (TV story)|The Wedding of River Song]]'')
* The Master suggests that he should look into River's background. He will eventually do so by the time of his [[War Master|War incarnation]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Concealed Weapon (audio story)|Concealed Weapon]]'')
* The Master will later be stranded on another planet inhabited by human-feline hybrids, the [[Cheetah World]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Survival (TV story)|Survival]]'')


== External links ==
== External links ==
* {{bigfinish|releases/v/the-diary-of-river-song-series-05-1743}}
{{bigfinish|releases/v/the-diary-of-river-song-series-05-1743}}


{{DoRS}}
{{DoRS}}
{{Master stories}}
{{Decayed Master stories}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[Category:The Diary of River Song: Series Five audio stories]]
[[Category:The Diary of River Song: Series Five audio stories]]
[[Category:Decayed Master audio stories]]

Latest revision as of 20:19, 22 April 2024

RealWorld.png

Animal Instinct was the second story of the audio anthology, The Diary of River Song: Series Five. It was written by Roy Gill and featured Alex Kingston as River Song and Geoffrey Beevers as the Decayed Master.

Publisher's summary[[edit]]

On a world where vicious beasts stalk ancient ruins, Professor Song teaches a student the finer points of archaeology.

But then she meets an incarnation of the Master who is desperate to survive.

And if they are going to escape this place alive, they all must work together.

Plot[[edit]]

River and Luke, a student who joined her as part of his practical exam, break into the tomb of a supposed Chasca Minorian sun god and attempt to take an Obsidian Mirror from the hands of the Master. The Master awakens, initially assuming that Luke is the Doctor because of his dress sense, and realises that his trap for the Doctor has failed thanks to the tomb being moved from Chasca Minor to Chasca Major some centuries ago. Believing herself responsible for any chaos that the Master might unleash, River makes Luke give the Master his clothes and knocks him out to provide security with a distraction whilst she and the Master escape.

Walking through the Feast Dance carnival, River agrees to take the Master to Chasca Minor in the Condor to recover his TARDIS. Captain Dav Christos does not believe that the Condor can make the journey, but the Master manipulates him and Adella Franz with promises of riches. They take off after Luke joins them and River confides in Luke that she has slipped a biotracker tag onto the Master so that she can track him with her vortex manipulator. A flare of gamma radiation causes them to crash and they find that the Master's relay system, which caused the flare, is keeping the moon in eternal daytime.

The group head to the Great Ziggurat of Chasca Minor and hide up a tree from a humanoid cat wearing glasses, but the Master knocks the injured Captain Christos down to be eaten, giving the others the opportunity to escape. The Master reveals that the humanoid cats, called Therians, are a mutated strain of the Chasca Majorians who were dumped on the moon and he created the relay to keep them from being feral as they are in the night. However, their glasses counteract this. River, the Master and Adella enter the Sun Chamber whilst Luke, who has his arm stuck in a trap, is locked outside when the doors close. The Therian Leader arrives and kills Adella.

Upon disabling the relay, River and the Master run. He attempts to hypnotise her into helping restore his TARDIS rather than leaving in the Condor, believing that he has been subtly influencing her through the reversed biotracker, but this is not the case and River is naturally pragmatic without his influence. They flee from a Therian to the Condor and the Master tortures it; River recognises it as Luke, transformed as a blessing by the ziggurat, and restores him with a high-energy, super-lumiscent blast to rewrite his DNA. She plans to do the same for the other Therians, but they show no interest and Luke tells her that it is not her choice. She gives the Master's TARDIS's capacitor to them to make their choice, leaving the Master to their mercy.

On the way back to Chasca Major, River tells Luke that he has passed his final exam and they detect a flash from Chasca Minor indicating that the Therians have either used or destroyed the capacitor. River asks Luke if he does indeed want to return home rather than go back to the Therians, which he says is the case.

Cast[[edit]]

Worldbuilding[[edit]]

Notes[[edit]]

The DWM Review, DWM 535.

Continuity[[edit]]

External links[[edit]]

v • e
The Diary of River Song audio series
Series One
Series Two
Series Three
Series Four
Series Five
Series Six
Series Seven
Series Eight
New Recruit
Two Rivers and
a Firewall
Series Eleven
The Orphan Quartet
Special releases
Audio
Webcast
v • e
Decayed Master stories
Television
Audio
Prose
Comics
Video games
Considered
not part
of the DWU
* Substantial appearances only; see a full list of appearances here
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