The Natural History of Fear (audio story)

The Natural History of Fear
Main setting:	Light City, the Divergent Universe
Key crew
Publisher:	[[publisher::Big Finish Productions]]
Writer:	Jim Mortimore
Director:	Gary Russell
Music:	Jim Mortimore
Post production:	Jim Mortimore
Cover by:	Steve Johnson
Release details
Release number:	54
Release date:	February 2004
Format:	4 Episodes on 2 CDs
Production code:	8Q
ISBN:	ISBN 1-84435-038-X
Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories
← Previous	The Creed of the Kromon
Next →	The Twilight Kingdom

The Natural History of Fear was the fifty-fourth monthly Doctor Who audio story produced by Big Finish Productions. It featured Paul McGann, India Fisher and Conrad Westmaas.

Publisher's summary

IT IS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE TO COPY OR ATTEMPT TO COPY ANY PERSONALITY OR MEMORY-RELATED ARTICLE SHOWN OR DISPLAYED IN THIS PUBLIC THEATRE, INCLUDING THIS WARNING. PUNISHMENT OR CONVICTION IS AN UNLIMITED REDUCTION OF AUTHORISED OVERTIME HOURS AND TOTAL PERSONALITY REVISION. YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO BRING ANY JUKEBOX OR RECORDING EQUIPMENT INTO THIS PUBLIC THEATRE. THIS WILL BE TREATED AS AN ATTEMPT TO BREACH COPYRIGHT. ANY PERSON DOING SO CAN BE EJECTED AND THE EDITOR MAY CONFISCATE SUCH ARTICLES. WE ASK THE PUBLIC TO BE VIGILANT AGAINST ANY SUCH ACTIVITY AND REPORT ANY MATTERS AROUSING SUSPICION TO THEIR LOCAL CONSCIENCE. THANK YOU.

Public Warning

Faction Against Character Theft

Cast

• The Doctor / The Editor - Paul McGann
• Charley Pollard / Female Prole / Nurse 3 / Conscience 2 / Censor 2 - India Fisher
• C'rizz / Conscience 1 / The New Editor - Conrad Westmaas
• Voice of Light City / DJ - Geoff Searle
• Sub-conscience / Certification Board Member 2 - Alison Sterling
• Sub-editor / Certification Board Member 3 / Citizen / Censor 1 - Sean Carlsen
• Male Prole / Engineer / Fire Chief - Wink Taylor
• Broadcast Lodge Receptionist / Nurse 2 - Jane Hills
• Nurse 1 / Shipping Clerk / Trooper / Certification Board Member 1 - Ben Summers

References

• The Proles of Light City are forbidden to ask questions, have names, to wonder, to listen to non-sanctioned music, to use words such as "evolution," "change" and "overseas", to use metaphors or analogies in their speech, to worship gods and to discuss any form of solipsism. They must watch a mandatory number of Infotainment broadcast hours. The upper-class consider the Proles to be incapable of original thought.
• The state slogans include "Happiness through Acceptance", "Productivity through Happiness" and "A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place" while the state prayers include "I love the state" and "I venerate the regime."
• The office of the Editor is located in the Ministry of Tourism.
• The Broadcast Lodge is the seat of power in Light City.
• The people in Light City have files ranging from Axos to Zarbi.
• The infotainment versions of the Doctor and Charley's adventures consist of a total of 1,306 episodes. According to the DJ, there are missing episodes as well as episodes which were commissioned but never produced such as White Noise and Dark Rising.
• Proles must apply for permission to have children. However, the paperwork is extensive.
• The regime has existed in Light City for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of generations.
• Jubilee Day is the only day every quarter that the Proles can engage in banned activities. It is a form of controlled chaos.
• The Doctor carries a spinning top, at least two pairs of Ray-Bans, a toy robot and other items in his pockets.
• When the Doctor mentioned the Dalai Lama during their visit to Light City, C'rizz initially believed that he is speaking about an animal. Charley then explained about Buddhism and reincarnation. She describes that the belief in reincarnation as being "very pagan."
• The Doctor believes that Light City is comparable to the glory of Rome.
• C'rizz is able to see the Doctor and Charley's skeletons if he stares at them hard enough.
• The inhabitants of Light City have eight limbs and are very short-lived compared to most humanoid species. A hundred of their generations amount to less than one year.

Notes

Illustrated preview by Martin Geraghty from DWM 340.

• This audio deals with personality alteration. Accordingly, characters' names are generally not given in the narrative. Titles are substituted. The cast list, both on the official website and on the liner notes, attempts to extend the confusion by merely listing the names of the actors, without giving the characters' names.
• An illustrated preview for this story appeared in DWM 340 illustrated by Martin Geraghty.
• Sean Carlsen is better known for his role as Coordinator Narvin in all four series of the Gallifrey audio series.
• The theme music used for the Infotainment programmes was originally used for the Audio Visuals, a unlicensed series of fan Doctor Who audio dramas produced by many of the personnel involved with Big Finish Productions, including writer Jim Mortimore
• The end of disc two features a music suite consisting of the Infotainment theme, the ambient music the The Editor 1 listens to, and the sound effects used during the Doctor, Charley and C'rizz's arrival in Light City.
• Clips from AUDIO: Neverland, Living Legend, The Creed of the Kromon and Scherzo are used as Infotainment programmes shown to the citizens of Light City.
• The DJ refers to an unproduced story called Dark Rising. This is a reference to an intended audio drama written by Mike Tucker which would have pitted the Seventh Doctor against the Anthony Ainley version of the Tremas Master. Tucker eventually wrote AUDIO: Dust Breeding in which the Master was played by Geoffrey Beevers.
• The working title for this story was "Pendulum". Writer Jim Mortimore originally submitted the idea for this story to David J. Howe for the Telos Doctor Who novella range.
• Jane Hills (Broadcast Lodge Receptionist / Nurse 2) previously played L'da in AUDIO: The Creed of the Kromon and would later reprise her role as AUDIO: Faith Stealer and The Next Life.
• Following his introduction in AUDIO: The Creed of the Kromon, this is the only story in the Divergent Universe arc in which the Kro'ka does not appear.
• This story is unusual in that it does not feature the TARDIS.
• This audio drama was recorded on 11 and 12 May 2003 at The Moat Studios.

Continuity

• The Doctor previously referred to the Censor shortly after he and Charley entered the Divergent Universe, though paradoxically he did not know who he was at the time. (AUDIO: Scherzo)
• The Doctor, Charley and C'rizz contributed their memories to the pool used to programme the Proles. The memories broadcast as part of the mandatory Infotainment hours include the Doctor and Charley's first visit to Gallifrey (AUDIO: Neverland), their encounter with the Threllips in Ferrara, Italy on 11 July 1982 (AUDIO: Living Legend), their first meeting with C'rizz in Zone Eutermes (AUDIO: The Creed of the Kromon) and the Doctor reciting a fable about a wise king who passed the reins of power to his foolish son and heir (AUDIO: Scherzo).
• The Editor refers to the Great Fire of Rome in July 64. (TV: The Romans)
• The Doctor is aware that C'rizz is a monk and understands why he killed L'da in the Kromon biosphere. (AUDIO: The Creed of the Kromon)
• Following their visit to Light City, the Kro'ka sent the Doctor, Charley and C'rizz to the jungles of Setarus. (AUDIO: The Twilight Kingdom)

External links

• Official The Natural History of Fear page at bigfinish.com
• The Natural History of Fear at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• DisContinuity for The Natural History of Fear at Tetrapyriarbus - The DisContinuity Guide