The Cradle of the Snake (audio story): Difference between revisions

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{{real world}}
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{{Infobox Story
{{Infobox Story SMW
|image          = TheCradleoftheSnake-cover.jpg
|image          = TheCradleoftheSnake-cover.jpg
|range          = Main Range
|range          = Main Range
Line 8: Line 8:
|number          = 138
|number          = 138
|doctor          = Fifth Doctor
|doctor          = Fifth Doctor
|companions      = [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]], [[Nyssa]], [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]]
|companions      = [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]], [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]], [[Nyssa]]
|enemy          = [[Mara]]
|enemy          = [[The Mara]]
|setting        = [[Manussa (planet)|Manussa]], [[Manussan]] year 2215
|setting        = [[Manussa (planet)|Manussa]], [[Manussan]] year 2215
|writer          = [[Marc Platt]]
|writer          = Marc Platt
|director        = [[Barnaby Edwards (actor)|Barnaby Edwards]]
|director        = [[Barnaby Edwards]]
|post production = [[Andy Hardwick]]
|producer        = [[David Richardson]]
|music          = [[Andy Hardwick]]
|sound          = Andy Hardwick
|cover          = [[Iain Robertson]]
|cover          = [[Iain Robertson]]
|epcount        = 4
|publisher      = Big Finish Productions
|publisher      = Big Finish Productions
|release date    = [[13 September (releases)|13 September]] [[2010 (releases)|2010]]
|release date    = 13 September 2010
|production code = [[List of production codes|6H/C]]
|production code = [[List of production codes|6H/C]]
|format          = 2 CDs<br/>Download
|format          = 2 CDs<br/>Download
|isbn            = ISBN 978-1-84435-474-0
|isbn            = ISBN 978-1-84435-474-0 (physical)<br/>ISBN 978-1-78575-685-6 (digital)
|prev            = The Whispering Forest (audio story)
|prev            = The Whispering Forest (audio story)
|next            = Project Destiny (audio story){{!}}Project: Destiny
|next            = Project Destiny (audio story){{!}}Project: Destiny
|producer = [[David Richardson]]|epcount=4}}'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the one hundred and thirty-eighth story in [[Big Finish Productions|Big Finish]]'s [[Main Range|monthly range]]. It was written by [[Marc Platt]] and featured [[Peter Davison]] as the [[Fifth Doctor]], [[Sarah Sutton]] as [[Nyssa]], [[Janet Fielding]] as [[Tegan Jovanka]] and [[Mark Strickson]] as [[Turlough]].
}}
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the one hundred and thirty-eighth story in [[Big Finish Productions|Big Finish]]'s [[Main Range|monthly range]]. It was written by [[Marc Platt]] and featured [[Peter Davison]] as the [[Fifth Doctor]], [[Sarah Sutton]] as [[Nyssa]], [[Janet Fielding]] as [[Tegan Jovanka]] and [[Mark Strickson]] as [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]].


It was the third and final Big Finish audio story in the 2010 Fifth Doctor season. It continued a series of stories starring Davison, Sutton, Fielding and Strickson, who were reunited as a [[the Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] team for their first new ''[[Doctor Who]]'' stories since 1983. It was further notable for including the return of the [[Mara]], a recurring enemy of the Fifth Doctor's era on television.
It was the third and final Big Finish audio story in the 2010 Fifth Doctor season. It continued a series of stories starring Davison, Sutton, Fielding and Strickson, who were reunited as a [[the Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] team for their first new ''[[Doctor Who]]'' stories since 1983. It was further notable for including the return of the [[Mara]], a recurring enemy of the Fifth Doctor's era on television.


== Publisher's summary ==
== Publisher's summary ==
"The [[Mara]] is in all of us, deep in our minds. In our darkest thoughts, that's where it started. Some people call it a [[demon]], but that's too simple. It's about temptation."
"The [[Mara]] is in all of us, deep in our minds. In our darkest thoughts, that's where it started. Some people call it a [[demon]], but that's too simple. It's about [[temptation]]."


Tegan's nightmares have returned. Seeking to banish the [[snake]]-like Mara from his [[companion]]'s psyche, the Doctor sets course for [[Manussa (planet)|Manussa]], the creature's point of origin. But [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] arrives instead in the heyday of the [[Manussan Empire]], where infotainment impresario [[Rick ausGarten]] is preparing to turn dreams into reality.
[[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]]'s [[nightmare]]s have returned. Seeking to banish the [[snake]]-like Mara from his [[companion]]'s psyche, [[Fifth Doctor|the Doctor]] sets course for [[Manussa (planet)|Manussa]], the creature's point of origin. But [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] arrives instead in the heyday of the [[Manussan Empire]], where infotainment impresario [[Rick ausGarten]] is preparing to turn [[dream]]s into reality.


The sun is setting on the Manussan Empire... and it's all the Doctor's fault.
The [[star|sun]] is setting on the Manussan Empire... and it's all the Doctor's fault.


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
=== Part one ===
=== Part one ===
[[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]] has locked herself in her room, and the [[Fifth Doctor|Doctor]] is worried. He tries to speak with her, but with no luck. [[Nyssa]] wants to try, so she sends the Doctor and [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]] away so she can talk to Tegan in private. They discuss the possibility of the Mara having come back into her. Tegan shows Nyssa the mark of the Mara on her arm, so Nyssa tells the Doctor.
[[Nyssa]] manages to get [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]] to let her into [[Tegan Jovanka's TARDIS bedroom|their bedroom]] to talk about the [[Mara]] before realising that she is currently under the Mara's control. Tegan collapses after [[Fifth Doctor|the Doctor]] and [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]] join them and the Doctor uses a [[Little Mind's Eye]] to enter her mind to drive the Mara out, but it refuses to leave without a new host and shows him the mark of the [[snake]]. Despite the Doctor's orders not to disturb him, Nyssa is distressed by his restlessness and wakes him up. The Little Mind's Eye is broken and Tegan's mark has disappeared.


The Doctor believes that the Mara has come back into Tegan, so he uses the Mind's Eye to delve into the depths of her mind with the intention of driving out the Mara. He gives Nyssa and Turlough orders not to wake him while he is sleeping. Just as the Doctor is at the climax of drawing the Mara from Tegan into himself, Nyssa wakes the Doctor, scared at the fitfulness of his sleep. He reprimands her and goes with her and Turlough for breakfast while Tegan gets some more sleep. He plans to go to [[Manussa (planet)|Manussa]], the once-great planet before the Mara took hold of it, to see if he really succeeded at driving the Mara from Tegan.
Unsure of whether he has managed to drive out the Mara, the Doctor flies [[the Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] to [[Manussa (planet)|Manussa]] to get [[Dojjen]]'s help but lands several [[century|centuries]] early, long before the [[Manussan Empire]]'s subjugation by the Mara and the decline of its advanced civilisation. The Doctor takes Tegan to the [[Faculty of Advancement]] to see [[Honri Kerrem|Dr Honri Kerrem]], leaving Turlough and Nyssa to wander around, and a scan finds only a small amount of tissue damage in her [[hippocampus]].


The four of them step out onto the planet, and discover that it is not the Manussa they remember: there are high-rise buildings and a more advanced society from the last time. Nyssa comments that they must be in the future, but the Doctor rebuffs this, noting that this is past, before the Mara took over. The Doctor asks which of them had touched the controls; they all deny it. He takes Tegan to a specialist to run some tests, leaving Nyssa and Turlough to wait for them in a park.
At [[Sundown Studios]], [[Rick ausGarten]] and his [[assistant]], [[Baalaka]], give a demonstration of a machine that makes [[dream]]s a [[reality]] to [[Yoanna Rayluss]] whilst [[Snakeherd]] [[Dadda Desaka]] protests outside. The machine does not create what she is imagining but a giant [[rose]] in which she can see a fair-haired man writhing and trying to get free, so she deems it dangerous and intends to recommend in her report that his project cease. At the Faculty, the Doctor talks to Dr Kerrem in private and shows him the mark of the Mara on his arm.
 
Meanwhile, an officer is set to come and inspect Sunset Studios, the broadcasting studio of one [[Rick ausGarten|Rick AusGarten]], a [[scientist]] who uses [[Crystal|crystals]] to make dreams a reality. He tells his assistant [[Baalaka]] - Barla, for short - to stop feeding the livestock and get on with cleaning the studio for them to pass inspection. He returns that it upsets the animals when their schedules are disturbed. AusGarten takes the officer - a woman by the name of  [[Yoanna Rayluss]] who is inspecting his facility - on a tour around the studio, to show her that everything is in order, for the demonstration later tonight. She nods and tells him that the people he uses for the demonstration will need thorough background and medical checks. He tells her that it is impossible; the people are chosen live.
 
He offers to let her try it out, let her mind fixate on an object, and the crystals will make the vision a reality - "think into existence" AusGarten calls it. As she images, the figure of a rose forms in the dream tank. "But that's not what I was imagining," she tells AusGarten. She then notices something in the petals, writhing, trying to get free. It's a tall, fair-haired man, she whispers.
 
Tegan gets settled in the chair and the specialist runs his tests, using crystals that Tegan notes are "like the Minds' Eye." He calls the Doctor back into the room - who had been sitting in a corner, muttering to himself - and tells them that Tegan's scans had come back clean. There was some scarring on the hypocampus, but that should be of no bother. The Doctor tells Tegan to wait outside, while he settles with the specialist. "You have money?" Tegan asks, bemused. "I'm sure we can come to some agreement," he says. Tegan leaves. The Doctor begins rooting around in the specialist's desk, all the while talking about having a recent affliction of his checked out. He then shows the specialist something on his arm: the mark of the Mara!


=== Part two ===
=== Part two ===
Nyssa and Turlough are looking for the Doctor, since he hasn't returned, when suddenly they both doze off and reawaken. They are approached by a strange hunter who gives them a warning and walks off. Meanwhile, Doctor Kerren laughs off the Doctor's intimidating "Mara" speech but the Doctor asks him about Rick and tasks him with bringing together Manussan intellectuals and gets money from him. He and an unsuspecting Tegan leave. Nyssa and Turlough run into a distraught Yoanna Rayluss who explained what has just happened to her. They are eventually joined by Tegan but are startled when they are approached by a snake. Tegan, under the instruction of Turlough, manages to stop get away from it but they discover it belongs to [[Dadda Desaka]], the hunter they encountered earlier. He gives an ominous prediction and goes into a trance when Tegan suddenly remembers her dream and tells the others they have to go tell the Doctor, who didn't follow them. Turlough finds him but the Doctor is acting strange.  
The Doctor gets Dr Kerrem to write him a list of Manussa's intellectuals and give him [[money]] before heading to Sundown Studios to meet ausGarten, sending Tegan back to Turlough and Nyssa. She finds them with a distressed Yoanna and is briefly harrassed by a snake which Dadda Desaka comes for, making a [[prophecy]] about a dark cloud swallowing Manussa which reminds Tegan of a dream of the Doctor taking the Mara upon himself. Whilst Turlough finds the Doctor nearby and agrees to go alone with him to [[Scrampus Park]], Tegan, Nyssa and Yoanna are joined by more Snakeherds who send out their snakes to find the Mara.


Tegan, Nyssa and Yoanna see hunters from a nearby tribe enter the city and command the snakes to search out the 'shadow' (the Mara) but Tegan and Nyssa start to argue due to Tegan having been tricked by the Mara-possessed Doctor who sowed seeds of doubt in her mind regarding Nyssa's confidence in her earlier. The Doctor causes a ruckus at the festival while Yoanna tries to get the hunters cleared out, despite them saying they are only trying to get rid of the evil entity (the Mara). The Doctor traps Turlough and locks him away while the Mara-possesed Doctor is found by ausGarten and he strikes up a deal with him, claiming he has been searching for ausGarten. Tegan, Nyssa, Yoanna and Dadda discover where the Doctor may be thanks to the [[Tuk-tuk]] driver they encountered earlier whom the Doctor frightened. Dadda heals him and they go searching for the Mara/Doctor. ausGarten guides the Doctor through his studio, explaining how he uses his equipment to turn people's dreams into tangible objects and how it has been successful but doesn't always work. The Mara-possesed Doctor suddenly goes berserk, smashes the cages holding the snakes and freeing them while he claims to a frightened ausGarten that he is the Mara...  
Dadda Desaka identifies the Doctor as the host of the Mara and the Doctor leaves with Turlough for Sundown Studios upon seeing the snakes. They find deformed [[animal]]s in hutches and the Doctor locks Turlough in an empty one before calling Dr Kerrem to ensure that Manussa's intellectuals are all paid to attend a [[dinner]]. He offers to fund ausGarten's project, of which he learns that the animals are byproducts, and to have celebrity guests endorse it. As Tegan, Nyssa, Yoanna and Dadda arrive outside of the studios, the Doctor frees the snakes created by the machine and declares that he is the Mara, the rightful heir to the world of [[chaos]].


=== Part three ===
=== Part three ===
[[Baalaka]] frees Turlough but is frightened of the Doctor-possesed Mara and hides while Turlough finds Nyssa, Tegan and Yoanna just as they arrive and explains what happened. However, they are found by ausGarten. Luckily, Yoanna's back-up arrives to confiscate all the equipment after she relayed her report to the bureau informing them of the illegal activities ausGarten was  performing such as keeping animals in cages without proper protection and they confiscate the equipment. The Mara-possesed Doctor appears and frightens them, then runs off while they chase him. ausGatren, in the meantime, finds Baalaka and frightens him into helping him again. Doctor Kerrem arrives, having been called in by Yoanna as an independent consultant.  
Turlough is released by Baalaka and runs into Tegan, Nyssa, Yoanna and Dadda before both he and the Doctor are [[arrest]]ed and taken away for public disturbances at the park. Tegan and Nyssa are now certain that the Doctor has been possessed by the Mara and theorise that the Mara intends to become real several centuries early using the now-confiscated technology built by ausGarten, who is also under the Mara's control. In their cell, the Doctor attacks Turlough with a snake and has Dr Kerrem, called in by Yoanna to run tests, free him, but Turlough manages to steal [[the Doctor's TARDIS key|his TARDIS key]].


Turlough worries about the Doctor as he struggles to stop the Mara from taking over the Doctor's mind while they are imprisoned in a [[cage]] on Yoanna's orders. Kerrem helps the Mara-possessed Doctor escape while Turlough is left behind and he makes a plan with Yoanna. The Mara-possesed Doctor finds that Turlough stole the [[TARDIS key]] from him. Nyssa and Tegan find the TARDIS chained up by Dadda who claims it is the coffin that brought the evil there. Turlough arrives while Dadda is captured and converted by the Mara-possessed Doctor having the snake mark transferred to his arm and he gets Nyssa and Tegan inside the TARDIS before the Mara-possessed Doctor gets them. They try look up the Mara in the [[TARDIS library]] only to find the pages missing in the book they need, as the Mara took them earlier and intends to follow through on the instructions on how to release it. They fear that the Mara taking over too early at this point will damage the [[Web of Time|web of time]], which they believe the Mara gives no cares about the consequences so long as it gets what it wants, complete domination. Meanwhile, the Mara-possessed Doctor prepares to free itself but all the crystals used fail and he demands Kerrem get some more from an academic faculty. Having found the [[The Doctor's spare TARDIS key|spare key]], he then enters the TARDIS and ends up taking over Nyssa's mind as well. They tie up Turlough and Tegan and then start a studio broadcast using ausGarten's equipment which they recovered.  They use the thought visualiser to bring the Mara back into existence right in the studio, as a giant snake appears...
Tegan and Nyssa wait at the TARDIS for the Doctor and Turlough and are joined by Dadda, who is taken over when the Doctor arrives. Tegan and Nyssa get into the TARDIS with Turlough and look for information on the Mara in the [[TARDIS library]], but they find that the relevant pages in [[An Universal History of Fable and Demonology Written at the End of All Time|a book of demonology]] have been removed by the Mara to help it achieve its goals early. The Doctor enters the TARDIS, having created a key using the dream-maker, and takes over Nyssa's mind before tying Tegan and Turlough up and flying the ship to the studio. On live [[television]], the Doctor and ausGarten use the machine to rebirth the Mara as a giant snake.


=== Part four ===
=== Part four ===
ausGarten begins boasting about having brought the snake into existence out of pure [[thought energy]] on live television while Tegan and Turlough think of a way to escape. The Mara-possesed Doctor attempts to tell the viewers that the Mara is their protector and will make its first appearance at the midnight New-year festival while Tegan and Turlough try to convince Baalaka to help them as ausGarten treats him horribly and is not his friend. Turlough succeeds in getting through to him and they go off leaving Tegan behind and contact Yoanna, explaining the situation. However, they are found by ausGarten who learns of their plans and wants to put the Mara-possessed Doctor in his place for disgracing him earlier. Tegan finds a Mara-possessed Nyssa and tries to stay with her by taking advantage of the new-found possessed Nyssa's arrogance, since none of the Mara-possessed individuals seem to want to cooperate with each other and only do so under the Mara's influence. The Doctor comes in and Nyssa, surprisingly, doesn't give away that Tegan is hiding in the room, where the Mara-possessed Doctor suggests she find a more attractive outfit in the [[TARDIS wardrobe]] and that he has disabled the flight controls in case so no one can get away.
Using Dr Kerrem and Dadda's influence with the public, the Doctor paints a positive image of the Mara and announces that it will accept [[sacrifice]]s at [[midnight]]. Tegan and Turlough persuade Baalaka to let them go and split up; Turlough calls Yoanna for help and learns that she is already outside of the studio whilst Tegan tries to get through to Nyssa and goes with her into the disabled TARDIS to find a [[dress]] for her to wear. Turlough joins Tegan and they pretend to agree to join Nyssa, who believes that the Doctor is unworthy of his current role as leader of the [[Council of the Snake]], but secretly plan to remove the crystal used by the dream-maker.
 
Turlough finds Tegan inside the TARDIS while Nyssa tries on outfits and they discuss their next course of action with Baalaka. She finds them and reveals that she believes the Doctor an imbecile who is not worthy to be the right-hand servant of the Mara and asks if the two will serve her instead, which they pretend to agree. Satisfied, she leaves and joins the Doctor and the others while Tegan and Turlough secretly discuss a way to get the crystal away from the Mara, which it is currently tightly wound around, and get rid of it for good to try save their friends. Yoanna finds them and tells them how the people are too terrified to reject the Mara and are about to become enslaved. Outside, the Mara-possessed Dadda prepares the crowd for the Mara's reveal, and claims that the [[Manussan Empire|Manussan empire]] will fall to make way for the [[Sumaran Era|Sumaran]] empire. The Mara begins to feast on the fear and subjugation of the gathered crowds but Tegan and Turlough try to trap the Mara-possessed Doctor in the studio and use the cameras and mirrors but to no avail. Suddenly, at the behest of Baalaka staring into the crystal, they are transported to the [[place of dreams]] where they find Dadda and an unpossessed Nyssa. They then find the Doctor and free him from the Mara's possession.


They return to reality with the Doctor and Nyssa freed from the Mara's possession, however the Mara is still alive and still has ausGarten and now Yoanna under its control. They go inside the TARDIS but the Mara swallows them whole, and Nyssa mockingly reveals she is still under the Mara's control and converts Turlough. Tegan attempts to sacrifice herself by taking the crystal out into the beast's belly but Baalaka stops her, explaining that he now realises that he is the reason the Mara is still alive, as they are one and the same (earlier Turlough and Tegan were wondering where he came from and where his family was, however he mentioned he had no memory of them or his [[Place of birth|birthplace]] and that he just sort of 'came-to-be'). He takes the crystal from an unwilling Tegan and sacrifices himself to destroy the Mara.
The Mara feeds on the [[fear]] of the crowds gathered outside of the studio and Tegan and Turlough trap the Doctor using [[camera]]s and screens, but the mark of the Mara remains on him. Baalaka stares into the crystal and is transported with Tegan and Turlough to a place similar to the [[Place of Great Dreamings|Place of Dreaming]] where the Doctor, Nyssa and Dadda are. The Doctor banishes the Mara within him to the [[Dark Places of the Inside|Dark Places Inside]] and regains control, getting the crystal into the TARDIS and inverting its power. Tegan decides that she will be the one who defeats the Mara by touching it with the crystal, but Baalaka, who now knows that he is the light casting the shadow of the Mara, takes it upon himself.


All returns to normal, despite the sad loss of Baalaka and the Mara is defeated. The Doctor is offered a chance to become a television presenter, with ausGarten insisting he's a natural, but he politely declines and he, Tegan, Turlough and a recovering Nyssa depart and Tegan asks if the Mara is finally gone for good, however the Doctor laments that it never will be, as it dwells within everyone deep down. It is also revealed Yoanna, who has also returned to normal, has started a "Mara helpline".
The Mara and Baalaka disappear. Dadda is commissioned to write a book about recent events and ausGarten offers the Doctor the opportunity to star in a series of his own, but he declines and tells his companions that he does not believe that the Mara is or will ever truly be gone. He brushes Yoanna off when she asks about whether he has any posts available on the TARDIS and leaves with Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa as she answers her [[phone]], having established a Mara [[helpline]].


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
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* [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]] - [[Mark Strickson]]
* [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]] - [[Mark Strickson]]
* [[Rick ausGarten]] - [[Dan Stevens]]
* [[Rick ausGarten]] - [[Dan Stevens]]
* Dr. [[Hanri Kerrem]] - [[Hugh Fraser]]
* [[Honri Kerrem|Dr Honri Kerrem]] - [[Hugh Fraser]]
* [[Yoanna Rayluss]] - [[Madeleine Potter]]
* [[Yoanna Rayluss]] - [[Madeleine Potter]]
* [[Dadda Desaka]] - [[Vernon Dobtcheff]]
* [[Dadda Desaka]] - [[Vernon Dobtcheff]]
* [[Baalaka]] - [[Toby Sawyer]]
* [[Baalaka]] - [[Toby Sawyer]]


== References ==
== Crew ==
 
* Cover Art - [[Iain Robertson]]
* Director - [[Barnaby Edwards]]
* Executive Producers - [[Nicholas Briggs]] and [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]]
* Music and Sound Design - [[Andy Hardwick]]
* Producer - [[David Richardson]]
* Script Editor - [[Alan Barnes]]
* Writer - [[Marc Platt]]
* The Mara created by [[Christopher Bailey]]


== Worldbuilding ==
* The Doctor wants [[tea]] and a slice of [[toast]] for [[breakfast]].
* The Doctor wants [[tea]] and a slice of [[toast]] for [[breakfast]].
*Doctor Kerrem has the most advanced techniques in [[Neural relay|neural]] probes and [[crystal]] scanning, or so he claims.
* Dr Kerrem has the most advanced techniques in [[Neural relay|neural]] probes and [[crystal]] scanning, or so he claims.
*The Doctor wins a [[stuffed animal]] at the [[New Year|New year's]] [[festival]].
* The Doctor wins a [[stuffed animal]] at the [[New Year|New year's]] [[festival]].
*There are [[Car|cars]] on [[Manussa (planet)|Manussa]] in this time period.
* There are [[car]]s on [[Manussa (planet)|Manussa]] in this time period.
*The [[TARDIS library]] is used to find [[Book|books]] on [[Demon|demons]] and legends.
* The [[TARDIS library]] is used to find [[book]]s on [[demon]]s and legends.
*"[[An Universal history of Fable and Daemenology, Written at the End of All Time]]" is a book in the TARDIS library detailing all kinds of [[Legend|legends]] and [[Fantasy|fantasies]]. The page on the Mara was torn out by the Mara-possessed Doctor, however.
* ''[[An Universal History of Fable and Demonology Written at the End of All Time]]'' is a book in the TARDIS library detailing all kinds of [[legend]]s and [[Fantasy|fantasies]]. The page on the Mara was torn out by the Mara-possessed Doctor, however.
*The [[Web of Time|web of time]] is mentioned, but Nyssa, Tegan and Turlough theorise that the Mara doesn't care for it, even though it's still too early to take over Manussa.
* The [[Web of Time|web of time]] is mentioned, but Nyssa, Tegan and Turlough theorise that the Mara doesn't care for it, even though it's still too early to take over Manussa.
 
* The Mara-possessed Nyssa drinks [[alcohol]] and tries being [[Humour|funnier]], contrary to her regular self.
*The Mara-possessed Nyssa drinks [[alcohol]] and tries being [[Humour|funnier]], contrary to her regular self.
* The Mara-possessed Doctor suggests Nyssa find some far more [[Beautiful|attractive]] [[Clothing|clothes]] in the [[TARDIS wardrobe]] such as a [[red]] or [[black]] [[dress]].
*The Mara-possessed Doctor suggests Nyssa find some far more [[Beautiful|attractive]] [[Clothing|clothes]] in the [[TARDIS wardrobe]] such as a [[red]] or [[black]] [[dress]].
 
*


=== History ===
=== History ===
[[File:The Cradle of the Snake CD illustration.jpg|thumb|CD sleeve illustration showing events of the story.]]
* Tegan's father owned a [[sheep]] farm with two thousand head of merino. He flew a [[Cessna]] Skyhawk.
* Tegan's father owned a [[sheep]] farm with two thousand head of merino. He flew a [[Cessna]] Skyhawk.
* The [[Manussan Empire]] is at its height in [[2215]]; according to the [[TARDIS data bank]]s, the rise of the [[Sumaran Empire|Sumaran regime]] will occur in the [[Manussan year]] [[2326]], over a hundred years later.
* The [[Manussan Empire]] is at its height in [[2215]]; according to the [[TARDIS data bank]]s, the rise of the [[Sumaran Empire|Sumaran regime]] will occur in the [[Manussan year]] [[2326]], over a hundred years later.
Line 102: Line 104:
== Notes ==
== Notes ==
* This story marks the first and, so far, only appearance of the [[Mara]] in an audio story.
* This story marks the first and, so far, only appearance of the [[Mara]] in an audio story.
* This audio drama was recorded on [[6 January (production)|6]] and [[8 January (production)|8 January]] [[2010 (production)|2010]] at [[The Moat Studios]].
* This audio drama was recorded on [[6 January (production)|6]] and [[8 January (production)|8 January]] [[2010 (production)|2010]] at [[the Moat Studios]].
* The story was broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4 Extra]] between [[26 May (releases)|26]]-[[27 May (releases)|27]] and [[30 March (releases)|30]]-[[31 May (releases)|31 May]] [[2011 (releases)|2011]], forming a radio season with the previous two stories.
* The story was broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4 Extra]] between [[26 May (releases)|26]]-[[27 May (releases)|27]] and [[30 March (releases)|30]]-[[31 May (releases)|31 May]] [[2011 (releases)|2011]], forming a radio season with the previous two stories.
* Subscribers whose subscriptions included this story also received the audio short story ''[[Lepidoptery for Beginners (short story)|Lepidoptery for Beginners]]''.
* Subscribers whose subscriptions included this story also received the audiobook version of the short story ''[[Lepidoptery for Beginners (short story)|Lepidoptery for Beginners]]''.
* [[Marc Platt]] previously wrote another Mara story: the short story ''[[Encounter on Burnt Snake Flat (short story)|Encounter on Burnt Snake Flat]]''.
* [[Marc Platt]] previously wrote another Mara story: the short story ''[[Encounter on Burnt Snake Flat (short story)|Encounter on Burnt Snake Flat]]''.
* This story is set between [[Enlightenment (TV story)|''Enlightenment'']] and [[The King's Demons (TV story)|''The King's Demons'']].
* This story is set between ''[[Enlightenment (TV story)|Enlightenment]]'' and ''[[The King's Demons (TV story)|The King's Demons]]''.
* This story was originally released on CD and download on [[13 September (releases)|13 September]] [[2010 (releases)|2010]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100921023753/http://www.bigfinish.com:80/whatsnew.aspx LATEST AND UPCOMING RELEASES - Archived on 21-09-2010]</ref>. It is now available as a download only.
 
== Gallery ==
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true" widths="250">
TheCradleoftheSnake-cover.jpg|Original CD cover art.
The Cradle of the Snake CD illustration.jpg|CD sleeve illustration showing events of the story.
</gallery>


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* The Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan encountered the Mara on two previous occasions. ([[TV]]: ''[[Kinda (TV story)|Kinda]]'', ''[[Snakedance (TV story)|Snakedance]]'')
* The Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan encountered the Mara on two previous occasions. ([[TV]]: ''[[Kinda (TV story)|Kinda]]'', ''[[Snakedance (TV story)|Snakedance]]'')
* The Doctor mentions that he plans to catch up with [[Dojjen]] at a later date. ([[TV]]: ''[[Snakedance (TV story)|Snakedance]]'')
* The Doctor mentions that he plans to catch up with [[Dojjen]] at a later date. ([[TV]]: ''[[Snakedance (TV story)|Snakedance]]'')
*The Doctor reminds Turlough of his past coercion under the [[Black Guardian]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Mawdryn Undead (TV story)|Mawdryn Undead]], [[Enlightenment (TV story)|Enlightenment]] et al''.)
* The Doctor reminds Turlough of his past coercion under the [[Black Guardian]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Mawdryn Undead (TV story)|Mawdryn Undead]], [[Enlightenment (TV story)|Enlightenment]] et al''.)
*Tegan complains that the Doctor is always winding her up but then bringing her to the wrong place, when they land on [[Manussa (planet)|Manussa]] in the wrong [[time period]]. He was often, often unsuccessfully, trying to get her back to [[Heathrow Airport|Heathrow airport]] in their earlier travels.([[TV]]: ''[[Logopolis (TV story)|Logopolis]], [[The Visitation (TV story)|The Visitation]] et al''.)
* Tegan complains that the Doctor is always winding her up but then bringing her to the wrong place, when they land on [[Manussa (planet)|Manussa]] in the wrong [[time period]]. He was often, often unsuccessfully, trying to get her back to [[Heathrow Airport|Heathrow airport]] in their earlier travels.([[TV]]: ''[[Logopolis (TV story)|Logopolis]], [[The Visitation (TV story)|The Visitation]] et al''.)
*Turlough reminds the Doctor of their many adventures including [[Helheim]] and the [[Cractid|Cractids]] as well as their oter adventures. ([[AUDIO]]: [[Cobwebs (audio story)|''Cobwebs'']] et al.)
* Turlough reminds the Doctor of their many adventures including [[Helheim]] and the [[Cractid]]s as well as their oter adventures. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Cobwebs (audio story)|Cobwebs]]'' et al.)
*The Mara-possessed Doctor curses [[bureaucracy]]. The Doctor often made [[Joke|jokes]] about bureaucracy. ([[TV]]: ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]] et al.'')
* The Mara-possessed Doctor curses [[bureaucracy]]. The Doctor often made [[joke]]s about bureaucracy. ([[TV]]: ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]] et al.'')
*Nyssa reminds Tegan, while under the Mara's influence, that she was born into [[royalty]]. She is a [[princess]]. ([[TV]]: [[The Keeper of Traken (TV story)|''The Keeper of Traken'']])
* Nyssa reminds Tegan, while under the Mara's influence, that she was born into [[royalty]]. She is a [[princess]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Keeper of Traken (TV story)|The Keeper of Traken]]'')
*Tegan recognises the [[place of dreams]] from when they were on the [[Kinda]] world. ([[TV]]: ''[[Kinda (TV story)|Kinda]]'')
* Tegan recognises the [[place of dreams]] from when they were on the [[Kinda]] world. ([[TV]]: ''[[Kinda (TV story)|Kinda]]'')


== Footnotes ==
== Footnotes ==
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{{dwrefguide|who_bf138.htm|The Cradle of the Snake}}
{{dwrefguide|who_bf138.htm|The Cradle of the Snake}}
* {{tetrap|5/cradleofthesnake.html|The Cradle of the Snake}}
{{tetrap|5/cradleofthesnake.html|The Cradle of the Snake}}
{{BFA monthly}}
{{BFA monthly}}
{{Mara stories}}
{{Mara stories}}

Latest revision as of 23:16, 17 November 2024

RealWorld.png

The Cradle of the Snake was the one hundred and thirty-eighth story in Big Finish's monthly range. It was written by Marc Platt and featured Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka and Mark Strickson as Turlough.

It was the third and final Big Finish audio story in the 2010 Fifth Doctor season. It continued a series of stories starring Davison, Sutton, Fielding and Strickson, who were reunited as a TARDIS team for their first new Doctor Who stories since 1983. It was further notable for including the return of the Mara, a recurring enemy of the Fifth Doctor's era on television.

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

"The Mara is in all of us, deep in our minds. In our darkest thoughts, that's where it started. Some people call it a demon, but that's too simple. It's about temptation."

Tegan's nightmares have returned. Seeking to banish the snake-like Mara from his companion's psyche, the Doctor sets course for Manussa, the creature's point of origin. But the TARDIS arrives instead in the heyday of the Manussan Empire, where infotainment impresario Rick ausGarten is preparing to turn dreams into reality.

The sun is setting on the Manussan Empire... and it's all the Doctor's fault.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

Nyssa manages to get Tegan to let her into their bedroom to talk about the Mara before realising that she is currently under the Mara's control. Tegan collapses after the Doctor and Turlough join them and the Doctor uses a Little Mind's Eye to enter her mind to drive the Mara out, but it refuses to leave without a new host and shows him the mark of the snake. Despite the Doctor's orders not to disturb him, Nyssa is distressed by his restlessness and wakes him up. The Little Mind's Eye is broken and Tegan's mark has disappeared.

Unsure of whether he has managed to drive out the Mara, the Doctor flies the TARDIS to Manussa to get Dojjen's help but lands several centuries early, long before the Manussan Empire's subjugation by the Mara and the decline of its advanced civilisation. The Doctor takes Tegan to the Faculty of Advancement to see Dr Honri Kerrem, leaving Turlough and Nyssa to wander around, and a scan finds only a small amount of tissue damage in her hippocampus.

At Sundown Studios, Rick ausGarten and his assistant, Baalaka, give a demonstration of a machine that makes dreams a reality to Yoanna Rayluss whilst Snakeherd Dadda Desaka protests outside. The machine does not create what she is imagining but a giant rose in which she can see a fair-haired man writhing and trying to get free, so she deems it dangerous and intends to recommend in her report that his project cease. At the Faculty, the Doctor talks to Dr Kerrem in private and shows him the mark of the Mara on his arm.

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

The Doctor gets Dr Kerrem to write him a list of Manussa's intellectuals and give him money before heading to Sundown Studios to meet ausGarten, sending Tegan back to Turlough and Nyssa. She finds them with a distressed Yoanna and is briefly harrassed by a snake which Dadda Desaka comes for, making a prophecy about a dark cloud swallowing Manussa which reminds Tegan of a dream of the Doctor taking the Mara upon himself. Whilst Turlough finds the Doctor nearby and agrees to go alone with him to Scrampus Park, Tegan, Nyssa and Yoanna are joined by more Snakeherds who send out their snakes to find the Mara.

Dadda Desaka identifies the Doctor as the host of the Mara and the Doctor leaves with Turlough for Sundown Studios upon seeing the snakes. They find deformed animals in hutches and the Doctor locks Turlough in an empty one before calling Dr Kerrem to ensure that Manussa's intellectuals are all paid to attend a dinner. He offers to fund ausGarten's project, of which he learns that the animals are byproducts, and to have celebrity guests endorse it. As Tegan, Nyssa, Yoanna and Dadda arrive outside of the studios, the Doctor frees the snakes created by the machine and declares that he is the Mara, the rightful heir to the world of chaos.

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

Turlough is released by Baalaka and runs into Tegan, Nyssa, Yoanna and Dadda before both he and the Doctor are arrested and taken away for public disturbances at the park. Tegan and Nyssa are now certain that the Doctor has been possessed by the Mara and theorise that the Mara intends to become real several centuries early using the now-confiscated technology built by ausGarten, who is also under the Mara's control. In their cell, the Doctor attacks Turlough with a snake and has Dr Kerrem, called in by Yoanna to run tests, free him, but Turlough manages to steal his TARDIS key.

Tegan and Nyssa wait at the TARDIS for the Doctor and Turlough and are joined by Dadda, who is taken over when the Doctor arrives. Tegan and Nyssa get into the TARDIS with Turlough and look for information on the Mara in the TARDIS library, but they find that the relevant pages in a book of demonology have been removed by the Mara to help it achieve its goals early. The Doctor enters the TARDIS, having created a key using the dream-maker, and takes over Nyssa's mind before tying Tegan and Turlough up and flying the ship to the studio. On live television, the Doctor and ausGarten use the machine to rebirth the Mara as a giant snake.

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

Using Dr Kerrem and Dadda's influence with the public, the Doctor paints a positive image of the Mara and announces that it will accept sacrifices at midnight. Tegan and Turlough persuade Baalaka to let them go and split up; Turlough calls Yoanna for help and learns that she is already outside of the studio whilst Tegan tries to get through to Nyssa and goes with her into the disabled TARDIS to find a dress for her to wear. Turlough joins Tegan and they pretend to agree to join Nyssa, who believes that the Doctor is unworthy of his current role as leader of the Council of the Snake, but secretly plan to remove the crystal used by the dream-maker.

The Mara feeds on the fear of the crowds gathered outside of the studio and Tegan and Turlough trap the Doctor using cameras and screens, but the mark of the Mara remains on him. Baalaka stares into the crystal and is transported with Tegan and Turlough to a place similar to the Place of Dreaming where the Doctor, Nyssa and Dadda are. The Doctor banishes the Mara within him to the Dark Places Inside and regains control, getting the crystal into the TARDIS and inverting its power. Tegan decides that she will be the one who defeats the Mara by touching it with the crystal, but Baalaka, who now knows that he is the light casting the shadow of the Mara, takes it upon himself.

The Mara and Baalaka disappear. Dadda is commissioned to write a book about recent events and ausGarten offers the Doctor the opportunity to star in a series of his own, but he declines and tells his companions that he does not believe that the Mara is or will ever truly be gone. He brushes Yoanna off when she asks about whether he has any posts available on the TARDIS and leaves with Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa as she answers her phone, having established a Mara helpline.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

History[[edit] | [edit source]]

Planets[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Nyssa says the goodness on Traken is more robust and less forced than on some other worlds.

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Gallery[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Original CD cover art.

    Original CD cover art.

  • CD sleeve illustration showing events of the story.

    CD sleeve illustration showing events of the story.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

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