House of Cards was the eighth story of the seventh series in The Companion Chronicles audio range. It was produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Steve Lyons and featured Jamie McCrimmon and Polly Wright.
Publisher's summary
The TARDIS has landed in a futuristic space casino, where the Doctor, Ben, Polly and Jamie find fun, games... and monsters everywhere. There are vicious robot dogs, snake-headed gangsters from the Sidewinder Syndicate and a mysterious masked woman called Hope.
In this place, time travellers are to be tracked down and arrested. Yet, as events spiral out of control, time may be Polly's only ally...
Plot
Part one
to be added
Part two
to be added
Cast
Characters
Crew
- Cover Art - Mark Plastow
- Director - Lisa Bowerman
- Executive Producers - Nicholas Briggs and Jason Haigh-Ellery
- Music - Daniel Brett
- Producer - David Richardson
- Script Editor - Jacqueline Rayner
- Sound Design - Thea Cochrane
- Writer - Steve Lyons
Worldbuilding
The Doctor
- Polly notes that the Doctor grabs his lapels in the same manner as his first incarnation used to do.
Casino
- The casino has robot croupiers which were made to resemble playing cards.
- One of the games at the casino is Three Card Vulcan Hold 'Em.
- The casino has a time travel alarm.
- Fortune rules the whole arid world the casino is located on.
Individuals
- After Polly explains to Jamie what a casino is, he tells her that there were gambling dens in London in his time.
- Although he is from 1746, Jamie knows what a cowboy is.
- Polly has always been afraid of snakes.
Sidewinder Syndicate
- The Sidewinder Syndicate's ancestors were stranded on Old Earth in Chicago during the 1920s and adopted the method and mannerisms of the Chicago gangsters enthusiastically.
- The Sidewinder Syndicate's rivals are the Ratler Mob.
Technology
- Hope uses a time bangle.
Notes
- This story marks the first appearance of the Sidewinder Syndicate in an audio drama.
- This story was recorded on 14 September 2012 at the Moat Studios.
- This story was originally released on CD and download. It is now available as a download only.
Continuity
- Jamie refers to being attacked by a Selachian in the Galacti-Bank. (AUDIO: The Selachian Gambit)
- Jamie mentions that he has fought "metal beasties" before. (TV: The Moonbase)
- Polly tells Hope that she has learned her lesson about attempting to change history. (AUDIO: Resistance)
- Jamie tells Ben that the last time that the Doctor gambled, he lost the TARDIS to "some Chinese Emperor"in a game of backgammon. (TV: Marco Polo)
- The Tenth Doctor, Jamie's descendant Heather McCrimmon and Wolfgang Ryter would later encounter the Sidewinder Syndicate in the United States (COMIC: Snakes Alive!) while the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond would encounter them in a Ratlings bank in circa 40,412. (COMIC: Money Troubles)
External links
- Official House of Cards page at bigfinish.com