Tales from the Vault (audio story)

Tales from the Vault
Main character(s):	Ruth Matheson
Main character(s):	Charlie Sato
Companion(s):	Steven, Dodo, Jamie, Zoe, Jo, Romana I
Featuring:	First Doctor, Second Doctor, Third Doctor, Fourth Doctor, Matheson, Sato
Main enemy:	Kali Carash
Main setting:	The Vault, Gateshead, England, 2011 England, the 1960s England, the 1970s Kensington, 2002 South Africa, 1900
Key crew
Writer:	Jonathan Morris
Director:	Lisa Bowerman
Music:	Alistair Lock
Sound:	Alistair Lock
Cover by:	Alex Mallinson
Release details
Release number:	6.01
Release date:	July 2011
Format:	1 disc
Production code:	BFPDWCC45
ISBN:	ISBN 978-1-84435-576-1
Official trailer
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The Companion Chronicles
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Tales from the Vault was the first story of the sixth series in The Companion Chronicles audio range. It was produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Jonathan Morris and featured Steven Taylor, Zoe Heriot, Jo Grant and Romana I.

Publisher's summary

Welcome to the Vault — jokingly known as "the Museum of Terrors" — a high security establishment where UNIT keeps all of its alien artefacts.

New recruit Warrant Officer Charlie Sato is given a guided tour by Captain Ruth Matheson, and the archive reveals some dark secrets. An army jacket, a painting, crystal and a wax cylinder all hold a grave significance, and their stories are told by the Doctor's companions: Steven Taylor, Zoe Heriot, Jo Grant and Romana...

Plot

to be added

Cast

• Captain Ruth Matheson - Daphne Ashbrook
• Warrant Officer Charlie Sato - Yee Jee Tso
• Steven Taylor - Peter Purves
• Zoe Heriot - Wendy Padbury
• Jo Grant - Katy Manning
• Romana - Mary Tamm

References

• The Vault is located under the Angel of the North.

Notes

• This is the second Companion Chronicles release to feature multiple companions from different eras (the first being The Three Companions). There are in fact six companions involved in the story, although only four are heard. This is not an omnibus of stories with linking material, but rather Jo, Romana, Steven and Zoe are worked into the narrative by way of archival recordings.
• This audio drama features a cast of six actors, more than any other Companion Chronicle release to date.
• Many Companion Chronicles are in the form of one actor reading a story, but the format of this story allows it to be presented as a regular audio drama.
• This audio drama was primarily recorded on 11 November 2010, however according to the interview included on the CD, contributions from some cast members were recorded during sessions for other Companion Chronicles.
• This was Mary Tamm's final appearance in The Companion Chronicles before her death on 24 July 2012.

Continuity

• Captain Matheson tells Warrant Officer Sato about the Terravore incursion in the London Underground in 2010. (AUDIO: The Crimes of Thomas Brewster)
• References are made to UNIT's involvement with an incident involving a sea monster appearing in the River Thames (TV: Terror of the Zygons) and the disturbances at the turn of the millennium. (TV: Doctor Who; PROSE: Millennial Rites; AUDIO: The Panda Invasion)
• The events involving Romana take place in 2002, around the time that Matheson first began working with her UNIT division. This is only the second time that the Time Lady has been chronicled interacting with UNIT, given that she previously met Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in PROSE: Heart of TARDIS.
• The events involving Jo are said to take place "70-odd" years after the death of Tommy Watkins in 1900, placing the Doctor's exile on Earth in the early 1970s. This is consistent with the TV: Mawdryn Undead version of the UNIT dating controversy and the real life broadcasts.
• Jo mentions her encounters with the Axons (TV: The Claws of Axos) and the Sea Devils (TV: The Sea Devils).
• The stated aim of the Vault is very similar to the mandate of Torchwood One. (TV: Army of Ghosts)
• Private Tommy Watkins was killed in the Battle of Spion Kop in 1900 during the Second Boer War, as was the case with Joan Redfern's husband Oliver. (TV: Human Nature)
• The painting that the Fourth Doctor and Romana was investigating was stolen from the Braxiatel Collection two centuries ago, it could show the viewer's death. (AUDIO: Bernice Summerfield)
• Alien artefacts in the Vault include the Terravore, (AUDIO: The Crimes of Thomas Brewster) Krynoid husks, (TV: The Seeds of Doom) a hunk of what is thought to be a Sontaran scout ship that crashed at Tunguska province, plastic daffodils, (TV: Terror of the Autons) a chess set, (TV: The Curse of Fenric) and a grandfather clock. (AUDIO: Mastermind)

External links

• Official Tales from the Vault page at bigfinish.com
• Tales from the Vault at the Doctor Who Reference Guide