The Five Companions (audio story)

The Five Companions (audio story)

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The Five Companions
Doctor:	[[doctor::Fifth Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Ian Chesterton Steven Taylor Sara Kingdom Polly Wright Nyssa
Main enemy:	The Daleks The Sontarans
Main setting:	An alternative Death Zone, Gallifrey
Key crew
Publisher:	[[publisher::Big Finish]]
Writer:	Eddie Robson
Release details
Release number:	X
Release date:	December 2011

The Five Companions was Big Finish's subscriber-free release for 2011.

Publisher's summary

Inside a cluster of fused-together derelict spaceships, four of the Doctor's oldest friends - and one of his newest ones - are lost and confused. They don't know how they got there or what they're meant to be doing - but as the place is infested with Daleks, Sontarans and dinosaurs, their first priority is staying alive.

To their collective relief, the Doctor turns up and has a reasonable idea of what's going on. If the six of them work together, they can escape this place and get home. But, unexpectedly, others may be working together to ensure they all die here...

Cast

• Fifth Doctor - Peter Davison
• Ian Chesterton - William Russell
• Steven Taylor - Peter Purves
• Sara Kingdom - Jean Marsh
• Polly Wright - Anneke Wills
• Nyssa - Sarah Sutton
• The Daleks - Nicholas Briggs
• Sontarans - Dan Starkey

References

• Steven encountered the Sontarans on the Elders' planet several years earlier.

Notes

• This is a special release given away to Big Finish subscribers who have BFA: Army of Death as part of their subscription.
• Dan Starkey previously played numerous other Sontarans in the revived series, namely Commander Skorr and Lieutenant Skree in DW: The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky, Commander Jask in DW: The End of Time and Commander Strax in DW: A Good Man Goes to War.
• This marks the first time that Peter Purves has reprised his role as Steven Taylor for Big Finish outside of the Companion Chronicles.

Continuity

• This audio takes place during the events of DW: The Five Doctors. The Fifth Doctor is diverted to an alternative Death Zone after using the Master's transmat recall device and discovers that some of his other companions have ended up there as well.
• Ian and Steven previously met in the Mechanoid City on Mechanus. (DW: The Chase)
• Ian sets a trap for the Dalek by placing a sheet of metal on the floor in the hopes of disrupting the static electricity supply by which they are powered and subsequently disguises himself as a Dalek. He previously did both of these during his first encounter with them on Skaro. (DW: The Daleks)
• Ian, Steven, Sara, Polly and Nyssa have all previously encountered the Daleks. (DW: The Daleks, DW: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, DW: The Chase, DW: The Daleks' Master Plan, DW: The Power of the Daleks, BFA: The Mutant Phase, BFA: Renaissance of the Daleks, BFA: Plague of the Daleks, BFA: The Elite)
• The Sontarans have images of all the Doctor's incarnations. They recognise the Fifth Doctor from their encounter with him on Samur. (BFA: Heroes of Sontar)
• Nyssa would later encounter the Fifth Doctor in her mind shortly before his regeneration into the Sixth Doctor. (BFA: Winter) Later in her personal timeline but earlier in his, she would re-join him as one of his companions. (BFA: Cobwebs)
• This is the Doctor's first encounter with each of his companions since they left the TARDIS. (DW: The Chase, DW: The Daleks' Master Plan, DW: The Savages, DW: The Faceless Ones, DW: Terminus) With the exception of Nyssa, they do not know the Doctor to be a Time Lord nor are they familiar with the concept of regeneration. Even Polly, who witnessed the Doctor's regeneration into his second incarnation remains uncertain of the process. (DW: The Tenth Planet)
• The Doctor tells Ian that he had recently intended to visit him. This is a reference to the original plans for DW: Mawdryn Undead which had envisaged William Russell taking the part ultimately allocated to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.
• Ian has gone out of retirement to take up teaching again and is married to Barbara Wright. Polly is married to Ben Jackson. This would appear to contradict ST: Mondas Passing, in which they are said to have both married other people, as well as CC: The Forbidden Time, in which Polly states that they saw each other only occasionally.
• Polly sarcastically mentions that making coffee was usually her main contribution to the proceedings. (DW: The Tenth Planet, DW: The Moonbase)
• The Doctor refers to Polly challenging the Cyber-Leader Krail in the Snowcap in December 1986. (DW: The Tenth Planet)

Timeline

• The Five Companions occurs during DW: The Five Doctors