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{{Infobox Story SMW
{{Infobox CD|
|image           = Phantasmagoria revised.jpg
cd name= Phantasmagoria |
|range          = Main Range
image=[[File:phantasmagoria_cover.jpg|250px]] Cover art - [[James Arnott]]|
|number in range = 2
series=[[Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories|Big Finish ''Doctor Who'' audio stories]] |
|series         = ''[[Main Range]]''
number= 2 |
|doctor         = Fifth Doctor
doctor=[[Fifth Doctor]] |
|companions     = [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]]
companions= [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]] |
|setting        = [[London]], [[8 March|8]] - [[10 March]] [[1702]]
year= [[London]], the [[England|Kingdom of England]], [[Earth]], [[8 March|8]] to [[10 March]] [[1702]]|
|enemy           = [[Carthok|Nikolas Valentine]]
enemy= [[Carthok|Sir Nikolas Valentine]] |
|writer         = Mark Gatiss
writer= [[Mark Gatiss]] |
|director       = [[Nicholas Briggs]]
director= [[Nicholas Briggs]] |
|producer       = [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]], [[Gary Russell]]
producer= [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]] and <br />[[Gary Russell]] |
|cover          = [[James Arnott]]
publisher= [[Big Finish Productions]] |
|music          = [[Alistair Lock]]
release date= [[October]] [[1999]] |
|sound          = [[Alistair Lock]]
format= 4 Episodes on 2 CDs |
|publisher      = Big Finish Productions
production code= [[List of production codes#Big Finish production codes|6P/A]] |
|release date    = 4 October 1999
isbn= ISBN 1-903654 092 |
|format         = 2 CDs<br/>2 Cassettes<br/>Download
previous story= [[The Sirens of Time]] |
|production code = 6P/A
next story= [[Whispers of Terror]]}}{{audio stub}}
|isbn           = ISBN 978-1-90365-409-5 (physical)<br/>ISBN 978-1-84435-678-2 (digital)
|prev            = The Sirens of Time (audio story)
|next           = Whispers of Terror (audio story)
|epcount = 4
}}{{audio stub}}
{{spotify|album=40orhu14i0g9ULksrEBlot|height=350}}
'''''Phantasmagoria''''' was the second story in [[Big Finish Productions|Big Finish]]'s [[Main Range|main range]], released on [[4 October (releases)|4 October]] [[1999 (releases)|1999]].<ref>https://x.com/bigfinish/status/1842187923199848633</ref> It was written by [[Mark Gatiss]] and featured [[Peter Davison]] as the [[Fifth Doctor]] and [[Mark Strickson]] as [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]].


'''''Phantasmagoria''''' is the second in the series of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' CD Audio Dramas produced by [[Big Finish Productions]]. Written by [[Mark Gatiss]] and directed by [[Nicholas Briggs]], the story features the [[Fifth Doctor]] and [[Turlough]], with [[Peter Davison]] and [[Mark Strickson]] respectively reprising their roles from the original [[television]] series. Strickson becomes the first of many companion actors to reprise his TV role for Big Finish. It was recorded on 26 and 27 June 1999.
This meant that Mark Strickson became the first televised [[companion]] to reprise his role for Big Finish, as the preceding Big Finish audio, ''[[The Sirens of Time (audio story)|The Sirens of Time]]'', was a [[companion]]-less adventure.


== Publisher's summary ==
== Publisher's summary ==
[[the Doctor's TARDIS|The TARDIS]] takes the [[Fifth Doctor]] and [[Turlough]] to the [[London]] of [[1702]] where a mysterious highwayman roams the streets, a local occultist has made contact with the dead and gentlemen of fashion are disappearing, only to find themselves in a chamber whose walls weep blood...
[[the Doctor's TARDIS|The TARDIS]] takes the [[Fifth Doctor|Doctor]] and [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]] to the [[London]] of [[1702]] where a mysterious [[highwayman]] roams the streets, a local [[occultist]] has made contact with the dead and gentlemen of fashion are disappearing, only to find themselves in a chamber whose walls weep [[blood]]...


The [[time travel]]lers become enmeshed in the hideous plans of [[Carthok|Sir Nikolas Valentine]], a gambler at the mysterious [[Diabola Club]] who always seems to have a winning hand...
The [[time travel]]lers become enmeshed in the hideous plans of [[Carthok|Sir Nikolas Valentine]], a [[gambler]] at the mysterious [[Diabola Club]] who always seems to have a winning hand...


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
''to be added''
=== Part one ===
In the opening scene, Jasper Jeake, Quincy Flowers, Edmund Carteret and a fourth person are playing [[whist]] and discussing the coming succession of [[Anne (Queen of Great Britain)|Queen Anne]], at the Diabola Club (apparently a similar institution to the [[Hellfire Club]]). They argue and Carteret storms off, claiming a desire for adventure and excitement. Carteret is then approached by the sinister Sir Nicholas Valentine (introduced as a scholar, landowner and astrologer), and they agree to play cards. Carteret is later heard leaving alone furtively and acting "very queer". The following morning Valentine is heard to remark that he had good luck at cards the previous evening and inviting a down-at-heel schoolteacher to play with him the following evening.
 
Meanwhile, in [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]], the Doctor tries to teach Turlough the rules of [[cricket]] with the aid of a 1928 [[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack]], and attempts to work out their time location from clues from the house they find themselves in. They are confronted by the home's owner, Dr Samuel Holywell, whom they deduce to be an [[antiquarian]]; they explain their presence on the pretext that they were delivering him the [[TARDIS]] to form part of his collection. While the Doctor distracts Holywell, Turlough notices that some of his books are connected with [[necromancy]]. It then becomes apparent that the protagonists are being observed by an advanced intelligence, not from their current era. That evening, while the Doctor and Turlough are being entertained by Holywell, Jeake and Flower are robbed by Major Billy Lovemore (a [[highwayman]]) and lose their winnings from the previous night. Later Ned Cotton (a [[drunken]] [[Security guard|watchman]]) encounters Holywell's maid, Hannah Fry, outside Holywell's house and assaults her. Hearing her cries, Turlough comes to her rescue. Inside the house, Holywell informs the doctor that he has practical proof of the existence of ghosts and is in regular contact with them.
 
=== Part two ===
Before Turlough can fight and save Hannah from Cotton, they are distracted by a man running towards them as if chased invisible pursuers; he drops dead with a playing card in his hand. The Doctor puts the card into his Almanack. Holywell blames himself, believing the death to be a result of his contact with the ghosts.
 
In an aside, to the background of screams of torment, Valentine is heard to comment that only a little time remains until his work is complete. Following the altercation between Turlough and Cotton, Turlough has gone missing and the Doctor attempts to locate him. He notes that the dead man has numerous coins and promissory notes in his pockets and Holywell informs him that there have been a number of disappearances like Turlough's recently. Holywell claims that he has been able to contact the spirits of these missing persons through his experiments. Turlough, it becomes apparent, has fallen and injured his head but has been rescued by Flowers and Jeake. Holywell tells the doctor that twenty-four people have gone missing within a mile of the Diabola Club. Meanwhile, Lovemore murders Cotton, citing vengeance as the reason. In the Diabola Club, Poltrot is playing cards with Valentine and notes that Valentine never removes his gloves. This is dismissed by Valentine as a gambler's superstition. Flowers confronts Valentine about Carteret's disappearance. Valentine claims that Carteret left after a few hands, and invites Flowers to play with him and Poltrot. Later Jeake and Turlough see Flowers leaving the club, looking pale and avoiding them.
 
Holywell, the Doctor and Hannah hold a [[seance]] in an attempt to locate the missing persons. They hear sounds that remind them of the death outside Holywell's house, and represent a series of numbers. Meanwhile, Turlough and Jeake decide to follow Flowers. They catch up with him and he asks for help, claiming that he is pursued by devils and a thousand voices.
 
=== Part three ===
During the seance, the voices are calling out numbers which the Doctor recognises as radio signals; he believes the Tardis can locate the source. Meanwhile, Valentine is heard telling Carteret that he will be used for "restoration". In the Tardis the Doctor discovers that the source of the radio signal has been blocked. The Doctor instructs Holywell and Fry to look into the disappearances to find a pattern. Holywell discovers that a spate of young men in their prime disappearing in the area has happened every thirty years and finally connects this with the Diabola Club. It becomes apparent that outside observers are looking for someone and have noticed the presence of the Doctor in addition to their quarry. The Doctor and Holywell arrive at the club (leaving Fry behind) to find Valentine playing cards with Pultrot, who is quickly dismissed; the Doctor takes over playing with Valentine. The Doctor wins with an Ace of Hearts and Valentine tells him to keep the card. The Doctor decides to retire, leaving Turlough and Jeake in the Diabola. They follow Valentine after he leaves the club. Meanwhile, Lovemore is heard talking to the alien presence, stating that he believes Valentine is the person they are looking for and he will now cast off his fake identities and confront Valentine. It is revealed that both Lovemore and Fry are his fake identities.
 
=== Part four ===
The Doctor discovers that the playing card he was given by Valentine is a tracking device, calling the 'spirits' to him, and realises that he must destroy it; this causes the 'spirits' to depart. Valentine is heard to comment that if he could have the Doctor's mind it would complete his work. The Doctor realises that Valentine is stealing his victims' consciousnesses; each card is tailored to its victim's touch, which is why Valentine wears gloves when playing cards. These trapped consciousnesses are the spirits or ghosts which are summoned to the card once it has been activated. The Doctor discovers a way to reprogram the card he took from the dead man to claim a new victim when he or she touches it, and conceals it in his Almanack. Hannah returns and reveals herself to be the same person as Lovemore and an alien, but justifies her criminal life as a response to the [[gender stereotype]]s of the era. She goes on to disclose that Valentine is in fact Carthok of Deodalis, a deranged tyrant who escaped execution; she has been hunting him in revenge for the death of her family at his hands. Meanwhile, Jeake and Turlough arrive at Valentines laboratory and are detained and disarmed by Valentine; in their cell they find Flowers, who appears to be bordering on insanity. The Doctor and Holywell confront Valentine, who admits his true identity the murder of Fry/Lovemore's parents, and explains that he needs the consciousness of his victims to power his bio-mechanical ship to escape from the earth where he has been trapped. He has been healing his ship every thirty years by feeding it people's minds. Fry/Lovemore tries to force Valentine to return to Deodalis to face his execution but she is disabled by Valentine's defence systems. Valentine then decides to use her brain (rather than the Doctor's) to complete his repairs, and she is placed in a machine. The Doctor pleads for her life in exchange for what he claims is an item of great power but is in fact his Almanack (which he refers to as "the Wisdens"). He pretends to try to escape with the Almanack, and when Valentine/Carthok opens the book he touches the concealed card-trap and the consciousness/spirits he uses to capture his victims turn on him and kill him, led by Fry/Lovemore who also dies in the struggle.


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
* [[Fifth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Peter Davison]]
* [[Fifth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Peter Davison]]
* [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]] - [[Mark Strickson]]
* [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]] - [[Mark Strickson]]
* [[Carthok|Sir Nikolas Valentine]] - [[David Ryall]]
* [[Henry Gaunt]] - [[Nicholas Briggs]]
* Dr. [[Samuel Holywell]] - [[Steven Wickham]]
* [[Quincy Flowers]] / [[Ned Cotton]] - [[David Walliams]]
* [[Quincy Flowers]] / [[Ned Cotton]] - [[David Walliams]]
* [[Edmund Carteret]] - [[Jonathan Rigby]]
* [[Edmund Carteret]] - [[Jonathan Rigby]]
* [[Jasper Jeake]] - [[Mark Gatiss]]
* [[Jasper Jeake]] - [[Mark Gatiss]]
* [[Poltrot]] / [[Hannah Fry|Major Billy Lovemore]] / [[Librarian]] - [[Jez Fielder]]
* [[Poltrot]] / [[Hannah Fry|Major Billy Lovemore]] / [[Librarian (Phantasmagoria)|Librarian]] - [[Jez Fielder]]
* [[Carthok|Sir Nikolas Valentine]] - [[David Ryall]]
* [[Samuel Holywell|Dr Samuel Holywell]] - [[Steven Wickham]]
* [[Hannah Fry]] - [[Julia Dalkin]]
* [[Hannah Fry]] - [[Julia Dalkin]]
* [[Henry Gaunt]] - [[Nicholas Briggs]]


== References ==
== Crew ==
* Hannah is given [[Alcohol|brandy]] to settle her nerves.
 
* The Doctor gives Turlough his [[1928]] edition of ''Wisden's Almanac''.
* Cover Art - [[James Arnott]]
* Director - [[Nicholas Briggs]]
* Executive Producer - [[Stephen Cole]]
* Music and Sound Designer - [[Alistair Lock]]
* Producers - [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]] and [[Gary Russell]]
* Writer - [[Mark Gatiss]]
 
== Worldbuilding ==
* Hannah is given [[brandy]] to settle her nerves.
* The Doctor gives Turlough his [[1928]] edition of the ''[[Wisden Almanack]]''.
* The Doctor considers [[cricket]] to be "the greatest game in the [[universe]]", and gives Turlough an extended lecture about it.
* The Doctor and Valentine play [[Patience (card game)|patience]].
* The Doctor jokes that he is ‘here to read the meter’.
* Jasper learned of Edmund's death from [[Mother Connitt]].


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
* This story was originally released as a double cassette as well as a double CD. It was one of very few Big Finish audio dramas released on cassette.
[[File:phantasmagoria cover.jpg|thumb|Original cover art]]
* [[David Walliams]] would later play [[Gibbis]] in [[DW]]: ''[[The God Complex]]''.
* This audio drama was recorded on [[26 June (production)|26]] and [[27 June (production)|27 June]] [[1999 (production)|1999]] at [[the Nu Groove Studios]], [[London]].
* This story is set between the television stories ''[[Resurrection of the Daleks (TV story)|Resurrection of the Daleks]]'' and ''[[Planet of Fire (TV story)|Planet of Fire]]''.
* The title of the story comes from a type of a {{w|Phantasmagoria|horror theatre}} invented in France around 1700.<ref name="BFC">''[[The Big Finish Companion: Volume 1]]''</ref> Later, Gatiss put this word in a line for [[Charles Dickens]] in his first TV story ''[[The Unquiet Dead (TV story)|The Unquiet Dead]]''.
* The idea for the story originated from a card-game sketch that was written by Gatiss and [[Jeremy Dyson]] and featured in {{wi|The League of Gentlemen}} in 2000/2001.<ref name="BFC" /> xGatiss described the skit as "about an 18th century saloneer who may or may not be playing cards with the Devil."<ref>Inside cover of ''Phantasmagoria'' [[Big Finish CD booklets|CD booklet]]</ref>
* Gatiss's idea for a disguised highwayman comes from the film {{wi|The Wicked Lady}}.<ref name="BFC" />
* [[Nick Briggs]] suggested to use the line from the script ''The Architect of Pain'' as the title. Other working titles included ''Chamber of Blood'' and ''Restoration''.<ref name="BFC" />
* Gatiss did a lot of research into the way people spoke in the 17th century. But it was not used in the final version because it was too hard to understand for modern listeners.<ref name="BFC" />
* [[Alistair Lock]]'s soundtrack to the story was released on CD in ''[[Music from the New Audio Adventures - Volume 1 (soundtrack)|Music from the New Audio Adventures Volume 1]]'', alongside the scores for ''[[The Fearmonger (audio story)|The Fearmonger]]'', ''[[The Marian Conspiracy (audio story)|The Marian Conspiracy]]'' and ''[[The Spectre of Lanyon Moor (audio story)|The Spectre of Lanyon Moor]]''.
* It is the first Big Finish audio story to feature only one incarnation of the Doctor which in this case is the [[Fifth Doctor|fifth]], making him the first Doctor to have a Big Finish story where there is only the one actor playing the Doctor.
* [[Julia Dalkin]] is credited as [[Julia Deakin]] both on the Big Finish website and in ''[[The Big Finish Companion: Volume 1]]''.
* The story begins on the day that [[William of Orange]] died: [[8 March]] [[1702]].


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* Turlough enjoyed studying history at [[Brendon Public School]] on [[Earth]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Mawdryn Undead]]'')
* Turlough enjoyed studying history at [[Brendon Public School]] on [[Earth]] in [[1983]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Mawdryn Undead (TV story)}})
* The Doctor finds a [[cricket ball]] and a ball of string in his pocket. ([[DW]]: ''[[Four to Doomsday]]'')
* The Doctor finds a [[cricket ball]] and a ball of string in his pocket. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Four to Doomsday (TV story)}})
* The Doctor tells Turlough that has seen--and was very impressed by--a [[Type 70]] [[TARDIS]]. ([[BFA]]: ''[[The Sirens of Time]]'')
* The Doctor tells Turlough that he has seen and was very impressed by a [[Type 70]] [[TARDIS]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Sirens of Time (audio story)}})
* Turlough complains when he has to save [[Hannah Fry|Hannah]], saying that "this really isn't me at all". He would later save [[Peri Brown]], protesting "[[Earthling]]s". ([[TV]]: {{cs|Planet of Fire (TV story)}})


== Timeline ==
== External links ==
* ''Phantasmagoria'' occurs after [[VD]]: ''[[Zeitgeist (short story)|Zeitgeist]]''
{{bigfinish|releases/v/phantasmagoria-620}}
* ''Phantasmagoria'' occurs before [[BFA]]: ''[[Loups-Garoux]]''
{{dwrefguide|who_bf02.htm|Phantasmagoria}}
{{tetrap|5/phantasm.html|Phantasmagoria}}


== External links ==
== Footnotes ==
* {{bigfinish|02-Doctor-Who-Phantasmagoria|Phantasmagoria}}
{{reflist}}
* {{dwrefguide|who_bf02.htm|Phantasmagoria}}
* {{tetrap|5/phantasm.html|Phantasmagoria}}
* [http://regent-times.blogspot.com/2011/11/big-finish-phantasmagoria-audioreview.html AudioReview of '''''Phantasmagoria''''' at Regent Times]
{{BFA monthly}}
{{BFA monthly}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[Category:Fifth Doctor audio stories]]
[[Category:Fifth Doctor audio stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1702]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1702]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Doctor Who monthly audio stories]]
[[Category:Audio stories that use Delia Derbyshire's 2nd theme]]
[[Category:1999 audio stories]]
[[Category:Fifth Doctor Main Range audio stories]]
[[Category:1999 Main Range audio stories]]

Latest revision as of 23:11, 17 November 2024

RealWorld.png

audio stub

Phantasmagoria was the second story in Big Finish's main range, released on 4 October 1999.[1] It was written by Mark Gatiss and featured Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor and Mark Strickson as Turlough.

This meant that Mark Strickson became the first televised companion to reprise his role for Big Finish, as the preceding Big Finish audio, The Sirens of Time, was a companion-less adventure.

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

The TARDIS takes the Doctor and Turlough to the London of 1702 where a mysterious highwayman roams the streets, a local occultist has made contact with the dead and gentlemen of fashion are disappearing, only to find themselves in a chamber whose walls weep blood...

The time travellers become enmeshed in the hideous plans of Sir Nikolas Valentine, a gambler at the mysterious Diabola Club who always seems to have a winning hand...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

In the opening scene, Jasper Jeake, Quincy Flowers, Edmund Carteret and a fourth person are playing whist and discussing the coming succession of Queen Anne, at the Diabola Club (apparently a similar institution to the Hellfire Club). They argue and Carteret storms off, claiming a desire for adventure and excitement. Carteret is then approached by the sinister Sir Nicholas Valentine (introduced as a scholar, landowner and astrologer), and they agree to play cards. Carteret is later heard leaving alone furtively and acting "very queer". The following morning Valentine is heard to remark that he had good luck at cards the previous evening and inviting a down-at-heel schoolteacher to play with him the following evening.

Meanwhile, in the TARDIS, the Doctor tries to teach Turlough the rules of cricket with the aid of a 1928 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, and attempts to work out their time location from clues from the house they find themselves in. They are confronted by the home's owner, Dr Samuel Holywell, whom they deduce to be an antiquarian; they explain their presence on the pretext that they were delivering him the TARDIS to form part of his collection. While the Doctor distracts Holywell, Turlough notices that some of his books are connected with necromancy. It then becomes apparent that the protagonists are being observed by an advanced intelligence, not from their current era. That evening, while the Doctor and Turlough are being entertained by Holywell, Jeake and Flower are robbed by Major Billy Lovemore (a highwayman) and lose their winnings from the previous night. Later Ned Cotton (a drunken watchman) encounters Holywell's maid, Hannah Fry, outside Holywell's house and assaults her. Hearing her cries, Turlough comes to her rescue. Inside the house, Holywell informs the doctor that he has practical proof of the existence of ghosts and is in regular contact with them.

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

Before Turlough can fight and save Hannah from Cotton, they are distracted by a man running towards them as if chased invisible pursuers; he drops dead with a playing card in his hand. The Doctor puts the card into his Almanack. Holywell blames himself, believing the death to be a result of his contact with the ghosts.

In an aside, to the background of screams of torment, Valentine is heard to comment that only a little time remains until his work is complete. Following the altercation between Turlough and Cotton, Turlough has gone missing and the Doctor attempts to locate him. He notes that the dead man has numerous coins and promissory notes in his pockets and Holywell informs him that there have been a number of disappearances like Turlough's recently. Holywell claims that he has been able to contact the spirits of these missing persons through his experiments. Turlough, it becomes apparent, has fallen and injured his head but has been rescued by Flowers and Jeake. Holywell tells the doctor that twenty-four people have gone missing within a mile of the Diabola Club. Meanwhile, Lovemore murders Cotton, citing vengeance as the reason. In the Diabola Club, Poltrot is playing cards with Valentine and notes that Valentine never removes his gloves. This is dismissed by Valentine as a gambler's superstition. Flowers confronts Valentine about Carteret's disappearance. Valentine claims that Carteret left after a few hands, and invites Flowers to play with him and Poltrot. Later Jeake and Turlough see Flowers leaving the club, looking pale and avoiding them.

Holywell, the Doctor and Hannah hold a seance in an attempt to locate the missing persons. They hear sounds that remind them of the death outside Holywell's house, and represent a series of numbers. Meanwhile, Turlough and Jeake decide to follow Flowers. They catch up with him and he asks for help, claiming that he is pursued by devils and a thousand voices.

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

During the seance, the voices are calling out numbers which the Doctor recognises as radio signals; he believes the Tardis can locate the source. Meanwhile, Valentine is heard telling Carteret that he will be used for "restoration". In the Tardis the Doctor discovers that the source of the radio signal has been blocked. The Doctor instructs Holywell and Fry to look into the disappearances to find a pattern. Holywell discovers that a spate of young men in their prime disappearing in the area has happened every thirty years and finally connects this with the Diabola Club. It becomes apparent that outside observers are looking for someone and have noticed the presence of the Doctor in addition to their quarry. The Doctor and Holywell arrive at the club (leaving Fry behind) to find Valentine playing cards with Pultrot, who is quickly dismissed; the Doctor takes over playing with Valentine. The Doctor wins with an Ace of Hearts and Valentine tells him to keep the card. The Doctor decides to retire, leaving Turlough and Jeake in the Diabola. They follow Valentine after he leaves the club. Meanwhile, Lovemore is heard talking to the alien presence, stating that he believes Valentine is the person they are looking for and he will now cast off his fake identities and confront Valentine. It is revealed that both Lovemore and Fry are his fake identities.

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

The Doctor discovers that the playing card he was given by Valentine is a tracking device, calling the 'spirits' to him, and realises that he must destroy it; this causes the 'spirits' to depart. Valentine is heard to comment that if he could have the Doctor's mind it would complete his work. The Doctor realises that Valentine is stealing his victims' consciousnesses; each card is tailored to its victim's touch, which is why Valentine wears gloves when playing cards. These trapped consciousnesses are the spirits or ghosts which are summoned to the card once it has been activated. The Doctor discovers a way to reprogram the card he took from the dead man to claim a new victim when he or she touches it, and conceals it in his Almanack. Hannah returns and reveals herself to be the same person as Lovemore and an alien, but justifies her criminal life as a response to the gender stereotypes of the era. She goes on to disclose that Valentine is in fact Carthok of Deodalis, a deranged tyrant who escaped execution; she has been hunting him in revenge for the death of her family at his hands. Meanwhile, Jeake and Turlough arrive at Valentines laboratory and are detained and disarmed by Valentine; in their cell they find Flowers, who appears to be bordering on insanity. The Doctor and Holywell confront Valentine, who admits his true identity the murder of Fry/Lovemore's parents, and explains that he needs the consciousness of his victims to power his bio-mechanical ship to escape from the earth where he has been trapped. He has been healing his ship every thirty years by feeding it people's minds. Fry/Lovemore tries to force Valentine to return to Deodalis to face his execution but she is disabled by Valentine's defence systems. Valentine then decides to use her brain (rather than the Doctor's) to complete his repairs, and she is placed in a machine. The Doctor pleads for her life in exchange for what he claims is an item of great power but is in fact his Almanack (which he refers to as "the Wisdens"). He pretends to try to escape with the Almanack, and when Valentine/Carthok opens the book he touches the concealed card-trap and the consciousness/spirits he uses to capture his victims turn on him and kill him, led by Fry/Lovemore who also dies in the struggle.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Hannah is given brandy to settle her nerves.
  • The Doctor gives Turlough his 1928 edition of the Wisden Almanack.
  • The Doctor considers cricket to be "the greatest game in the universe", and gives Turlough an extended lecture about it.
  • The Doctor and Valentine play patience.
  • The Doctor jokes that he is ‘here to read the meter’.
  • Jasper learned of Edmund's death from Mother Connitt.

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Original cover art

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]