The Great White Hurricane (audio story)
The Great White Hurricane was the second and final story in the audio anthology The First Doctor Adventures: Volume One. It was written by Guy Adams and featured David Bradley as the First Doctor, Claudia Grant as Susan Foreman, Jamie Glover as Ian Chesterton and Jemma Powell as Barbara Wright.
Publisher's summary
Rival gangs turn streets into battlegrounds, and the Doctor and his friends are caught in the crossfire. They find themselves separated and lost in the cold.
As the hunt for a fugitive turns ever more desperate, a blizzard descends. The snow keeps falling. And soon it will prove as deadly as any weapon...
Plot
The Coming Storm (1)
Immediately following their previous adventure, the Doctor and his companions arrive in the TARDIS on Earth. Ian steps outside to see where they are and is shot. While Barbara and the Doctor attempt to tend to him, a gang member being pursued by police takes Susan hostage and flees. While Barbara takes Ian to the hospital (luckily his wound is a superficial one), the Doctor insists with a police officer that he goes after Susan; where he declines due to the force being busy, the Doctor then elects to go himself, and the policeman decides to imprison him. In a police carriage, the Doctor encounters another man who tells him that he is not only capable of helping the Doctor get out of prison, but is also the brother of the man who took Susan.
At the Presbyterian Hospital, Barbara meets Rosalita, a Puerto Rican woman who broke her leg while attempting to find food for her son, Joseph. She expresses concern for him, since she told him she wouldn't be away for longer than an hour. A nurse comes to ask Barbara for help with Ian, who is resisting instructions from the doctor attending to him. Meanwhile, Susan's kidnapper demands that she help him find food. When Susan resists, he reveals that he had no intention of hurting her and does not carry a weapon: his main interest is in staying out of jail.
Inside the prison house, the other prisoner introduces himself to the Doctor as Daniel Ellis, a former member of the Mad Boars who had joined to try to keep his brother Patrick out of trouble. He had been Patrick's primary caretaker since both of their parents died of cholera when Patrick was a few months old; the authorities and affluency did nothing to help Daniel even though he was only ten, forcing him to join the gang for support. While Daniel felt he eventually outgrew the gang and left, Patrick couldn't remember being without them and remained. Meanwhile, Patrick and Susan run from pursuers and hide under a fire escape after stealing some bread and bandages. Patrick has some prior wounds that reopen while running, so he suggests they go elsewhere to take cover and use the bandages.
Back at the hospital, Ian asks Barbara to help him leave to find Susan, but she tells him to rest to ease his concussion. Barbara tells Ian that they are in New York City, but they are not sure of the year. She goes to find out what year it is and to ask Ian's doctor how long he will need to recover. At a grocery store cellar, Susan uses windowlight to bandage Patrick's injury. He is concerned about infection, but Susan suggests simply using antibiotics (which Patrick never heard of). He tells her about his upbringing and expresses frustration with his brother Daniel who doesn't seem to care about him. She suggests going to him for help, but he is resistant. Looking out the window, she sees the first signs of snow. In prison, Daniel climbs the walls of the cell to try to get a look outside and also comments on the snow. He is surprised when the Doctor tells him that he has a habit of getting on the wrong side of the law despite his refinement, but the Doctor has a habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
There is no bed available for Rosalita at the hospital, and she has been sitting without yet receiving treatment all this time. She and Barbara notice the snow outside, which worries Rosalita who has already injured herself from slipping. Barbara notices a newspaper left by one of the doctors and is upset when she notices the date: March 12, 1888. She runs to Ian to tell him that they need to leave immediately: they are in the beginnings of the Great White Hurricane.
The Frozen City (2)
to be added
The Killer in the Snow (3)
to be added
River of Doom (4)
to be added
Cast
- The Doctor - David Bradley
- Susan Foreman - Claudia Grant
- Ian Chesterton - Jamie Glover
- Barbara Wright - Jemma Powell
- Patrick - Jackson Milner
- Daniel - Cory English
- Rosalita - Carolina Valdes
- O'Connell - Ronan Summers
- Policeman / Man with Ladder / Gang Member / Henry - Christopher Naylor
References
- The man with the ladder is from a work crew based on Mulberry Street.
- Ian is taken to the Presbyterian Hospital.
- The Great White Hurricane was one of the most devastating blizzards in US history. Barbara, being a history teacher, sees the date of March 12, 1888 in a newspaper and immediately recognizes that the blizzard is coming.
Notes
- This is the first historical story with David Bradley as the First Doctor.
Continuity
- The Doctor recalls having played backgammon with the Emperor of China. (TV: Marco Polo)
- The Doctor frequently later visited New York City. (TV: The Chase, Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks, Day of the Moon, The Angels Take Manhattan, The Return of Doctor Mysterio, AUDIO: The Side of the Angels)
- The beginning of the story picks up immediately from the cliffhanger at the end of AUDIO: The Destination Wars.
External links
- Official The Great White Hurricane page at bigfinish.com
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