The Auntie Matter (audio story)

The Auntie Matter
Doctor:	Fourth Doctor
Companion(s):	Romana
Main enemy:	Lady Florence Bassett Grenville Diggery
Main setting:	London and Bassett-on-Hamble, Hampshire, 1929
Key crew
Publisher:	[[publisher::Big Finish Productions]]
Writer:	Jonathan Morris
Director:	Ken Bentley
Music:	Howard Carter
Sound:	Howard Carter
Release details
Release number:	2.01
Release date:	January 2013
Format:	1 CD, 2 Parts
Production code:	BFPTOMCD007
ISBN:	ISBN 978-1-78178-054-1
Official trailer
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The Fourth Doctor Adventures
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The Auntie Matter was the first story in the second series of The Fourth Doctor Adventures.

Publisher's summary

England in the 1920s.

Whilst K9 is off in the TARDIS leading the Black Guardian on a wild goose chase, the Doctor and Romana are enjoying a leisurely lifestyle as the Lord and Lady of a London townhouse. But trouble never stays away from them for long, and before they know it a chance discovery of alien technology leads them deep into the heart of the English countryside where a malign presence lurks.

As the Doctor dodges deadly butlers and ferocious gamekeepers, Romana is faced with a malevolent Aunt and an even deadlier peril — marriage.

Plot

to be added

Cast

• The Doctor - Tom Baker
• Romana - Mary Tamm
• Florence Wickham/Lady Florence Bassett - Julia McKenzie
• Reginald "Reggie" Bassett - Robert Portal
• Mabel Dobbs - Lucy Griffiths
• Grenville/Diggery - Alan Cox
• Lady Ligeia Bassett - Jane Slavin

References

• Florence refuses to call Reginald "Reggie" as she believes that diminutives suggest over familiarity. Furthermore, she claims that Reginald sounds like the name of a High Court judge while Reggie sounds like the name of a door to door salesman.
• Romana considers Earth to be "harmless, if a bit primitive" as humans have only recently developed the theory of relativity. She regards them as only one step above banging each other on the head with rocks.
• The Doctor refers to George and Ira Gershwin, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and flappers.
• The butler Grenville and the gameskeeper Diggery are identical androids. They are equipped with crystalline microcircuitry and are powered by a neutron cell.
• Reggie refers to the Martian invasion from The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells.
• Bassett Hall was built in the late 18th century.
• Lady Florence is a Valjax, a meditative species which was wiped out by a spaceborne virus. Her ship crash-landed on Earth by accident and took on human form to extend her life. However, it extends the ageing process so she needs a constant stream of new bodies. To that end, Reggie has procured twelve young women for her. His memory of each of his potential brides was subsequently wiped by Grenville on Lady Florence's orders.

Notes

• One of Lady Florence's lines is "Leave the man. It's the girl I want." This is a in-joke as the Rani stated "Leave the girl. It's the man I want," referring to the Seventh Doctor and Melanie Bush, in TV: Time and the Rani.
• This story is unusual in that it does not feature the TARDIS.
• This audio drama was recorded on 18 July 2011.

Continuity

• In an attempt to evade the Black Guardian, the Doctor has activated the TARDIS' randomiser and programmed it to travel to approximately 1,000 planets, which could take up to a month. He left K9 aboard the TARDIS. (TV: The Armageddon Factor)
• Reggie asks Romana if her name is short for something. (TV: The Ribos Operation)
• The Doctor and Romana previously encountered androids on Tara. (TV: The Androids of Tara)
• Romana previously visited 1929 when she and the Doctor holidayed in Anitebes, France for several weeks. (AUDIO: The Stealers from Saiph)

External links

• Official The Auntie Matter page at bigfinish.com