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{{Infobox CD|
{{title dab away}}
image=[[Image:08TheMacros.png|250px]] Cover Art - [[Alex Mallinson]] |
{{real world}}
cd name= The Macros|
{{Infobox Story SMW
series=[[Doctor Who]] -<br/>[[Big Finish - Doctor Who Audio Dramas | Big Finish Audio Dramas]] ([[The Lost Stories]]) |
|image             = The Macros cover.jpg
number= 1.08 |
|adapted from      = The Macro Men (unproduced TV story)
doctor=[[Sixth Doctor]] |
|range            = The Lost Stories
companions= [[Peri]] |
|series in range  = Series 1 (TLS)
enemy= [[Osloo]] |
|series number in range = 1
year= |
|number in series = 8
writer= [[Ingrid Pitt]] and [[Tony Rudlin]] |
|series            = [[The Lost Stories]]
director= [[John Ainsworth]] |
|number           = 1.08
producer= |
|doctor           = Sixth Doctor
publisher= [[Big Finish]] |
|companions       = [[Peri Brown|Peri]]
release date= [[June]] [[2010]] |
|enemy             = [[Osloo|Presidenta Osloo]]
format= 2 Episodes on 2 CDs |
|setting          = [[USS Eldridge|USS ''Eldridge'']], [[Philadelphia Bay]], [[28 October]] [[1943]];<br/>[[Capron (planet)|Capron]];<br/>[[Washington DC]], [[26 October]] [[1943]]
previous story= [[The Song of Megaptera]] |
|writer            = Ingrid Pitt, Tony Rudlin
next story= [[Farewell Great Macedon]]
|director         = [[John Ainsworth]]
}}{{audio stub}}
|producer         = [[David Richardson]]
'''The Macros''' formally the Macros Men is the Eighth and final Lost Story of [[Season 23]] to be developed into an audio play, starring [[Colin Baker]] and [[Nicola Bryant]] as the [[Sixth Doctor]] and [[Peri]].
|music            = [[Richard Fox]] & [[Lauren Yason]]
|sound            = Richard Fox & Lauren Yason
|cover            = [[Alex Mallinson]]
|publisher        = Big Finish Productions
|release date      = June 2010
|format           = 2 CDs<br/>Download
|production code  = [[List of production codes|6Y/AH]]
|isbn              = ISBN 978-1-84435-451-1 (physical); ISBN 978-1-78178-191-3 (digital)
|prev              = The Song of Megaptera (audio story)
|next             = Farewell, Great Macedon (audio story)
|soundcloudtrailer = https://soundcloud.com/big-finish/doctor-who-the-lost-stories-the-macros-trailer
|epcount = 2}}
{{spotify|album=25gYbMFsMrTC5dotrR9kmN|height=350}}
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the eighth and final story in the [[Series 1 (TLS)|first series]] of ''[[The Lost Stories]]'', produced by [[Big Finish Productions]]. It was adapted by [[Ingrid Pitt]] and [[Tony Rudlin]], from their original script, and featured [[Colin Baker]] as the [[Sixth Doctor]] and [[Nicola Bryant]] as [[Peri Brown]].


==Publisher's summary==
The story dealt with the [[Philadelphia Experiment]], a historical curiosity which had earlier been explored in a different but similar fashion in the [[BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures|BBC ''Eighth Doctor Adventures'']] novel {{cite source|Autumn Mist (novel)}}.
The TARDIS materializes on the USS Eldridge, after the Philadelphia Experiment has gone disastrously wrong. Most of the crew are dead, the ship is disintegrating, and the Doctor soon realizes that the problem comes from another dimension…


As they attempt to find a way to get the ship home, the Doctor and Peri visit the distant planet Capron and meet its tyrannical ruler Osloo. But the search for a possible solution only creates increasingly dire problems. Osloo's horizons have been widened – and space and time are hers for the taking…
== Publisher's summary ==
[[the Doctor's TARDIS|The TARDIS]] materialises on the [[USS Eldridge]], after the [[Philadelphia Experiment]] has gone disastrously wrong. Most of the crew are dead, the ship is disintegrating, and [[Sixth Doctor|the Doctor]] soon realises that the problem comes from another [[dimension]]...


==Cast==
As they attempt to find a way to get the ship home, the Doctor and [[Peri Brown|Peri]] visit the distant [[planet]] [[Capron (planet)|Capron]] and meet its tyrannical ruler [[Osloo]]. But the search for a possible solution only creates increasingly dire problems. Osloo's horizons have been widened – and space and time are hers for the taking...
*[[Sixth Doctor|The Doctor]] – [[Colin Baker]]
*[[Peri]] – [[Nicola Bryant]]
*[[Osloo]] - [[Linda Marlowe]]
*[[Ezz]] - [[Jack Galagher]]
*[[Yka]] - [[Rachael Elizabeth]]
*[[Tessler|Professor Tessler]] - [[Vincent Pirillo]]
*[[Bosun]]/[[Guard (The Macros)|Guard]] - [[Stewart Alexander]]
*[[Mers]]/[[Calloway]]/[[1st Rigger]] - [[Paul David-Gough]]
*[[Bundth]]/[[2nd Rigger]]/[[Captain]]/Guard/Tannoy - [[Matt Addis]]


==References==
== Plot ==
=== Part one ===
Two men aboard the a ship are talking. They check the instruments and repair some damage that one attributes to moisture at sea. He says the interface was a few seconds off. They discuss the countdown on board and what will happen when it reaches zero.
 
[[The Doctor's TARDIS|The TARDIS]] lands and the [[Sixth Doctor]] and [[Peri Brown]] walk out. Peri notices that there is thick fog outside. Peri is trying to get back to [[Baltimore]] to contact her family. The Doctor determines that they are on a ship at sea. Peri hears two men talking, but they don't see her or acknowledge her when she tries to make contact with them. They are repeating their previous conversation. As Peri tries to get back in the TARDIS to leave, the Doctor tells her that he noticed something went wrong as they were materialising, some sort of interdimensional temporal flux that caught them between two dimensions. Peri looks and sees the same two men repeating the same conversation again. They decide to investigate. Peri calls the Doctor over to the capstan where he finds it covered in a strange, green rust. They notice that the ship is being eaten away by the rust.
 
Up in the wheelhouse, the Doctor and Peri find the Captain and helmsman. The Doctor tries talking to them and notice that the Captain is just like the other men they saw on the ship, he can't see or hear them. The Captain initiates a 20 second countdown. Peri tries to switch off the panel, but is unable to change anything. The Doctor determines they can't interact because all this has already happened. At zero, the men on the bridge disappear. Suddenly, the conversation begins again. A life vest on the ship reads ''[[USS Eldridge]]'' and the Doctor explains that the Eldridge was the subject of invisibility experiments in [[1943]]. They head back to the TARDIS as the conversation on the bridge starts again.
 
As the Doctor explains what's happening to Peri, they don't realise they're being watched by [[Brian Tessler]] and [[Bosun (The Macros)|Bosun]] who are unaffected by what's happening on the ship. The Doctor takes a probe out of his pocket and asks Peri to find a large patch of the green rust and put the probe into it so he can take some reading back at the TARDIS. The probe has a two way communicator so the Doctor can keep track of her. Peri walks back to the capstan and the Doctor begins his diagnosis. He determines that the rust has anti magnetic elements. The Doctor begins talking to himself trying to determine where the rust is coming from.
 
Peri screams as she is grabbed and gagged by Tessler. The Doctor shouts for Peri. They remove the gag and Peri explains that she and the Doctor are there to help. Peri asks why they can see her. Bosun responds that Tessler thinks it was because of where they were in the ship when the test went off, but they're really not sure. They all introduce themselves. Bosun says that Tessler has been working on their problem, but can't pinpoint a time of how long that has been. The Doctor explains that the ship is caught between two dimensions and if Tessler is able to boost the power in their generators, they should be able to pop themselves in one of the two dimensions. He says he's been trying to do that but each time they boost the generators it drains away without moving the ship. The Doctor explains there is another element at play, but Tessler may find it difficult to believe.
 
On the [[Planet]] [[Capron (planet)|Capron]], [[Bundth|Commander Bundth]] introduces [[Osloo|Presidena Osloo]]. She explains to the court that the traitor is her step-son, [[Ezz|Commander Ezz]] who has been mislead by subversive elements of society. Currently, the planet uses slave labour to extract power for the city and Ezz wishes to stop this practice saying this is destroying the world. Osloo asks the council to pass judgement on him.
 
''to be continued''
 
=== Part two ===
''to be added''
''to be added''


==Notes==
== Cast ==
'''''The Macros''''', originally '''''The Macro Men''''', was an unproduced story for ''[[Doctor Who]]'' written by [[Ingrid Pitt]] and her husband Tony Rudlin after the former appeared in ''[[Warriors of the Deep]]'' in [[1984]].
* [[Sixth Doctor|The Doctor]] – [[Colin Baker]]
* [[Peri Brown]] – [[Nicola Bryant]]
* [[Osloo|Presidenta Osloo]] / [[Anne Tessler]] - [[Linda Marlowe]]
* [[Ezz|Commander Ezz]] / [[Steward (The Macros)|Steward]] - [[Jack Galagher]]
* [[Yka|Lady Yka]] - [[Rachael Elizabeth]]
* [[Brian Tessler|Professor Brian Tessler]] - [[Vincent Pirillo]]
* [[Bosun (The Macros)|Bosun]] / [[Guard (The Macros)|Guard]] - [[Stewart Alexander]]
* [[Mers]] / [[Greg Calloway|Admiral Greg Calloway]] / [[1st Rigger]] - [[Paul David-Gough]]
* [[Bundth|Chancellor Bundth]] / [[2nd rigger|2nd Rigger]] / [[Captain (The Macros)|Captain]] / [[Guard (The Macros)|Guard]] / [[Tannoy (The Macros)|Tannoy]] - [[Matt Addis]]
 
== Worldbuilding ==
* The riggers refer to the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] [[Winston Churchill]].
* [[Osloo|Presidente Osloo]] is the ruler of [[Capron (planet)|Capron]]. She imprisons her stepson [[Ezz|Commander Ezz]] on a trumped-up charge of treason.
* Professor Tessler compares the Doctor to [[H. G. Wells]].
* The Doctor compares the colourful sky of Capron to the [[aurora|aurora borealis]].
* Peri cannot sing. However, she attempts to sing ''[[Row, Row, Row Your Boat]]'' for Osloo and her guests.
* Time passes much more rapidly in Capron's [[pocket universe]] than in the [[N-Space|primary one]].
* The USS ''Eldridge'' has been trapped in a state of [[temporal flux]] for 67 years.
* The Doctor tells Anne Tessler that he is [[Aliases of the Doctor#John Smith|Dr John Smith]] and that Peri is his niece.
* [[Greg Calloway|Admiral Greg Calloway]] was the best man at the Tesslers' [[wedding]].


The couple first got the idea from reading Charles Berlitz' ''The Philadelphia Experiment'', a story about an experiment conducted by the [[United States]] during [[World War II]] in the attempts to try and make the ''USS Eldridge'' invisible to [[radar]]. The plot involved [[the Doctor]] and [[Peri]] arriving onboard the ship in harbour in [[1943]] where they battled microscopic [[humanoid]] life native to [[Earth]] but unknown to [[human]]s.
== Notes ==
[[File:The SDF-1 Macros Big Finish Story Art.jpg|thumb|Interior CD illustration showing the Macros.]]
* The Macros, originally ''The Macro Men'', was an unproduced story for ''[[Doctor Who]]'' written by [[Ingrid Pitt]] and her husband Tony Rudlin after the former played [[Solow]] in ''[[Warriors of the Deep (TV story)|Warriors of the Deep]]'' in 1984. Pitt also played [[Galleia]] in ''[[The Time Monster (TV story)|The Time Monster]]'' in 1972. The couple first got the idea from reading Charles Berlitz' ''The Philadelphia Experiment'', a story about an experiment conducted by the [[United States]] during [[World War II]] in the attempts to try and make the ''USS Eldridge'' invisible to [[radar]].
* This audio drama was recorded on [[2 November (production)|2]] and [[3 November (production)|3 November]] [[2009 (production)|2009]] at [[the Moat Studios]].
* This story is set between ''[[Revelation of the Daleks (TV story)|Revelation of the Daleks]] and ''[[Season 23 (Doctor Who 1963)|The Trial of a Time Lord]]''.


After meeting with [[Eric Saward]] numerous times, ''The Macro Men'' became ''The Macros'' and many revisions only resulted in a draft first episode script before all progress was stopped.
== Continuity ==
* Peri requested that the Doctor take her to visit her mother [[Janine Foster]] and her [[stepfather]] [[Howard Foster]] in [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]] in [[1984]] to let them know that she is alright after she left them on [[Lanzarote]] to travel with the [[Fifth Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of Fire (TV story)|Planet of Fire]]'') They would eventually do so after Peri learned that [[Anthony Chambers]], her best friend [[Katherine Chambers]]' father, had been murdered. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Reaping (audio story)|The Reaping]]'')
* The Doctor tells Peri that the TARDIS was once accidentally reduced in size. ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of Giants (TV story)|Planet of Giants]]'')
* The Doctor is able to restore Peri to full health by placing her in the [[Zero Room]]. He tells Ezz and Yka that he has used it himself to recover from accidents. ([[TV]]: ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]'')
* Peri tells Yka that, during her travels with the Doctor, she has been transformed into a bird, ([[TV]]: ''[[Vengeance on Varos (TV story)|Vengeance on Varos]]'') placed on "an [[Androgum]]'s lunch menu", ([[TV]]: ''[[The Two Doctors (TV story)|The Two Doctors]]'') chased by [[Ice Warrior]]s ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Red Dawn (audio story)|Red Dawn]]'', ''[[The Bride of Peladon (audio story)|The Bride of Peladon]]'', ''[[Mission to Magnus (audio story)|Mission to Magnus]]'') and [[Tractator]]s ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Hollows of Time (audio story)|The Hollows of Time]]'') and that she was once almost trapped on the astral place. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Point of Entry (audio story)|Point of Entry]]'')
* The Doctor took a battery from [[Foxwell|Reverend Foxwell]]'s laboratory in [[Hollowdean]], [[England]] during the early [[1980s]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Hollows of Time (audio story)|The Hollows of Time]]'')
* The [[Eleventh Doctor]] and [[Amy Pond]] would later visit the U.S.S. ''Eldridge'' during the [[23rd century]]. ([[GAME]]: ''[[Shadows of the Vashta Nerada]]'')
* In the cliffhanger between parts 1 and 2 Peri starts to age to death, the Doctor had witnessed something similar with [[Sara Kingdom]] on [[Kembel]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)|The Daleks' Master Plan]]'')


==Continuity==
== External links ==
*This story was written by [[Ingrid Pitt]] and her husband [[Tony Rudlin]]. Ingrid had previosly been in Doctor Who twice before in the episodes [[The Time Monster]] and [[Warriors of the Deep]].
{{bigfinish|releases/v/the-macros-428|The Macros}}
{{dwrefguide|loststories08.htm|The Macros}}
{{tetrap|6/themacros.html|The Macros}}
{{BFA LostStories}}


==Timeline==
{{TitleSort}}
* The story takes place immediately after ''[[BFA]]: [[The Song of Megaptera]]''
* The story takes place before ''[[BFA]]: [[Whispers of Terror]]''


==External Links==
[[Category:Series 1 (TLS) audio stories]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macros, the}}
[[Category:2010 audio stories]]
[[Category:Sixth Doctor audio plays]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1943]]
[[Category:Lost Stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in Washington DC]]
[[Category:2010 audio plays]]
[[Category:Stories set in parallel universes]]

Latest revision as of 23:16, 17 November 2024

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The Macros was the eighth and final story in the first series of The Lost Stories, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was adapted by Ingrid Pitt and Tony Rudlin, from their original script, and featured Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Nicola Bryant as Peri Brown.

The story dealt with the Philadelphia Experiment, a historical curiosity which had earlier been explored in a different but similar fashion in the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures novel Autumn Mist [+]Loading...["Autumn Mist (novel)"].

Publisher's summary[[edit]]

The TARDIS materialises on the USS Eldridge, after the Philadelphia Experiment has gone disastrously wrong. Most of the crew are dead, the ship is disintegrating, and the Doctor soon realises that the problem comes from another dimension...

As they attempt to find a way to get the ship home, the Doctor and Peri visit the distant planet Capron and meet its tyrannical ruler Osloo. But the search for a possible solution only creates increasingly dire problems. Osloo's horizons have been widened – and space and time are hers for the taking...

Plot[[edit]]

Part one[[edit]]

Two men aboard the a ship are talking. They check the instruments and repair some damage that one attributes to moisture at sea. He says the interface was a few seconds off. They discuss the countdown on board and what will happen when it reaches zero.

The TARDIS lands and the Sixth Doctor and Peri Brown walk out. Peri notices that there is thick fog outside. Peri is trying to get back to Baltimore to contact her family. The Doctor determines that they are on a ship at sea. Peri hears two men talking, but they don't see her or acknowledge her when she tries to make contact with them. They are repeating their previous conversation. As Peri tries to get back in the TARDIS to leave, the Doctor tells her that he noticed something went wrong as they were materialising, some sort of interdimensional temporal flux that caught them between two dimensions. Peri looks and sees the same two men repeating the same conversation again. They decide to investigate. Peri calls the Doctor over to the capstan where he finds it covered in a strange, green rust. They notice that the ship is being eaten away by the rust.

Up in the wheelhouse, the Doctor and Peri find the Captain and helmsman. The Doctor tries talking to them and notice that the Captain is just like the other men they saw on the ship, he can't see or hear them. The Captain initiates a 20 second countdown. Peri tries to switch off the panel, but is unable to change anything. The Doctor determines they can't interact because all this has already happened. At zero, the men on the bridge disappear. Suddenly, the conversation begins again. A life vest on the ship reads USS Eldridge and the Doctor explains that the Eldridge was the subject of invisibility experiments in 1943. They head back to the TARDIS as the conversation on the bridge starts again.

As the Doctor explains what's happening to Peri, they don't realise they're being watched by Brian Tessler and Bosun who are unaffected by what's happening on the ship. The Doctor takes a probe out of his pocket and asks Peri to find a large patch of the green rust and put the probe into it so he can take some reading back at the TARDIS. The probe has a two way communicator so the Doctor can keep track of her. Peri walks back to the capstan and the Doctor begins his diagnosis. He determines that the rust has anti magnetic elements. The Doctor begins talking to himself trying to determine where the rust is coming from.

Peri screams as she is grabbed and gagged by Tessler. The Doctor shouts for Peri. They remove the gag and Peri explains that she and the Doctor are there to help. Peri asks why they can see her. Bosun responds that Tessler thinks it was because of where they were in the ship when the test went off, but they're really not sure. They all introduce themselves. Bosun says that Tessler has been working on their problem, but can't pinpoint a time of how long that has been. The Doctor explains that the ship is caught between two dimensions and if Tessler is able to boost the power in their generators, they should be able to pop themselves in one of the two dimensions. He says he's been trying to do that but each time they boost the generators it drains away without moving the ship. The Doctor explains there is another element at play, but Tessler may find it difficult to believe.

On the Planet Capron, Commander Bundth introduces Presidena Osloo. She explains to the court that the traitor is her step-son, Commander Ezz who has been mislead by subversive elements of society. Currently, the planet uses slave labour to extract power for the city and Ezz wishes to stop this practice saying this is destroying the world. Osloo asks the council to pass judgement on him.

to be continued

Part two[[edit]]

to be added

Cast[[edit]]

Worldbuilding[[edit]]

Notes[[edit]]

Interior CD illustration showing the Macros.

Continuity[[edit]]

External links[[edit]]

v • e
The Lost Stories
First Doctor
Second Doctor
Third Doctor
Fourth Doctor
Fifth Doctor
Sixth Doctor
Seventh Doctor
Sara Kingdom
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