Assassin in the Limelight (audio story)
Assassin in the Limelight was the one hundred and eighth story in Big Finish's monthly range. It was written by Robert Ross and featured Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor, Maggie Stables as Evelyn Smythe and Leslie Phillips as Robert Knox.
This story features the return of two previous characters — Robert Knox played by Leslie Phillips from Medicinal Purposes and the Indo from Pier Pressure.
Publisher's summary
Ford's Theatre, Washington. Friday, 14th April, 1865. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
The place, the date and the event which made history. Or did it? Someone has been tampering with time, muddying the waters of history for his own purposes. Time itself is out of joint and the chief culprit is the enigmatic Doctor Knox. Somehow the Doctor and Evelyn must put history back on track before the future dissolves into chaos. But Knox, it turns out, may be the least of their worries...
Plot
Part One
to be added
Part Two
to be added
Part Three
to be added
Part Four
to be added
Cast
- The Doctor - Colin Baker
- Evelyn Smythe - Maggie Stables
- Dr Robert Knox - Leslie Phillips
- Clara Harris / Knox's TARDIS - Lysette Anthony
- John Parker - Eric Loren
- Lizzie Williams - Madeleine Potter
- Henry Clay Ford - Alan Marriott
- John Wilkes Booth - Paul Dubois
- Thomas Eckert - Mikey O'Connor
Crew
- Cover Art - Grant Kempster
- Director - Barnaby Edwards
- Executive Producers - Nicholas Briggs and Jason Haigh-Ellery
- Music and Sound Design - Martin Johnson
- Producer - David Richardson
- Script Editor - Alan Barnes
- Writer - Robert Ross
Worldbuilding
Individuals
- Knox poses as the Irish author and playwright Oscar Wilde. The Doctor realises this congruity immediately since, as he tells Evelyn, Wilde was "still in short trousers" in 1865.
- Knox's body is rotting, but he is using a concoction of lavender and bergamot to cover up the stench, but his breath smells badly.
TARDIS
- Knox has a TARDIS with voice control which allows him to control the ship's functions, like take-offs and for mundane things like turning the scanner on. Like the Doctor's TARDIS, it has a fast return switch.
- Knox's TARDIS speaks with a calm female voice.
- Type 70 TARDISes can quickly scan their systems to determine if there is a fault.
- Knox's TARDIS's chameleon circuit turns into a cabinet and then a thorny bush.
History
- Evelyn recalls some notable events from 1865:
- Leopold II was crowned King of the Belgians.
- The Matterhorn was first climbed.
- on 30 December, Rudyard Kipling was born.
Gallery
Original cover art
Illustration from DWM 395 by Anthony Dry
Notes
- This is the final appearance of Evelyn Smythe in the main range until the audio story A Death in the Family in October 2010.
- Given that the majority of the events of the audio story The Haunting of Thomas Brewster take place in November 1867, this is the second consecutive audio drama based predominantly in the 1860s.
- This audio drama was recorded on 7 and 8 February 2008 at the Moat Studios.
- This story was previewed in DWM 395 with an illustration from Anthony Dry.
Continuity
- The Doctor and Evelyn previously encountered Knox in Edinburgh in December 1828 (AUDIO: Medicinal Purposes) and the Indo in Brighton in 1936. (AUDIO: Pier Pressure)
- On this occasion, the Doctor ensures that Lincoln is assassinated in accordance with recorded history. During his fifth incarnation, he had prevented Lincoln from being prematurely assassinated by Aaron Eddowes in Richmond, Virginia on 9 April 1865. (PROSE: Blood and Hope) Conversely, the Eighth Doctor would later tell his companion Charley Pollard that he once attempted to convince Lincoln not to go to the theatre. (AUDIO: Minuet in Hell)
- The Doctor mentions that he witnessed the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War in October 1854. (TV: The Evil of the Daleks)
- The Doctor refers to the Irish author and playwright Oscar Wilde. Having previously met Wilde, he was later able to procure tickets for Henry Gordon Jago, Professor George Litefoot, Leela and Ellie Higson to attend the premiere of his play A Woman of No Importance in the Haymarket Theatre in London in the 1890s. At the time, the Doctor, still in his sixth incarnation, was operating under the pseudonym "Professor Claudius Dark." (AUDIO: Beautiful Things)
External links
- Official Assassin in the Limelight page at bigfinish.com
- Assassin in the Limelight at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- DisContinuity for Assassin in the Limelight at Tetrapyriarbus - The DisContinuity Guide
