Hunters of Earth (audio story)

Shoreditch, London, 1963. The Beatles have beaten John Smith and the Common Men to No. 1 and satellites are being launched in outer space. Back down on Earth, strange goings-on are occurring: the normally placid teenagers of Coal Hill are running riot and a master thief is stealing highly specialised equipment.

Schoolgirl Susan Foreman just wants an easy life for herself and her grandfather, the mysterious Doctor. She wants to be liked and accepted by Cedric and all the other pupils at Coal Hill School. But there’s trouble in the streets and bombsites around Totter’s Lane.

The teenagers are becoming dangerous… Their mission: to hunt down anyone different, or alien… Susan’s quiet life is about to spiral out of control. Having inadvertently started drawing attention to herself, she finds herself drawn into a desperate situation. Suddenly, the chase is on and she and her grandfather are now the hunted.

Cast

Characters

References

The Doctor nearly gets run over by a motorbike driven by either a Mod or a Rocker in the East End.
The Doctor has been stealing equipment in order to repair the TARDIS.
Besides Susan, Cedric's friends at Coal Hill School include Brian, Mavis and Richard. Mavis refers to him affectionately as "posh boy."
Susan began attending Coal Hill School at the start of the autumn term.
Cedric's parents are socialists.
Susan and Cedric listen to the Beatles on Susan's transistor radio.
Susan reads articles in The Daily Sketch about the Cold War and the Space Race. She had never previously heard of either of them.
Colonel Rook served in the British Army during World War II.
Rosa's is a popular hangout for Coal Hill students. Its owner Rosa is a German Jewish woman who fled her country during World War II due to the rising tide of anti-semitism. In the previous four months, she has been harassed several times by Mods and Rockers.
Brian and Richard are avid readers of the popular comic Eagle.
Susan and her friends listen to Radio Luxembourg in Rosa's.
Susan makes Cedric buy an LP of Bob Dylan music. Neither of them had previously heard of Dylan. For some reason, Susan reads the name as "Ob Ylan", even though neither of the albums Dylan released prior to the timeframe of the story obscure his name.
Colonel Rook believes that the Soviet Union is conducting experiments into extrasensory perception.
In reality, Cedric is Colonel Rook's nephew. After he realised that Susan had telepathic abilities, Cedric was recruited by his uncle to spy on her.
Susan has a premonition that something terrible is coming far in the Doctor's future and that it is part of his destiny.
The DJ's dedication establishes the first in a set of clues that the Doctor sends himself in the series.

The DJ: (garbled) music lovers and here's a special message for Susan Foreman and not least of all her friend, the mighty Cedric. And this is from, well our geezey here says, he's a doctor. (Laughs) Wait a mo, he says he is THE DOCTOR. Now how impressive is that listeners? Now...wonder what's in his casebook...? And he hopes you're having a real groovy time in the swinging sixties. Miniskirts and Telstars, Steve Zodiac and Fireball XL5, Flower Power and Woodstock...Flower power? Woodstock? What's he talking about? Hey Sue, maybe your friend is a tiny bit...(laughs) spaced out?...if you know what I mean.
And let's see what your trippy friend has got to say to you, Sue. What's this? Something about the Beatles never catching on with all those soppy love songs?
Hey! I think your friend has gone a too bit far here, Sue. We all dig that Mersey beat around here. But, each to his own, I guess. Now, what else has he got to say? Looks like it's a message from Boy Cedric! It's blowing in the wind, Cedric. Whatever that might be... And remember, it's all in the beat. Don't let Cedric forget that Sue, he says. The Doc says, It's all in the beat. Oh, and he wants you to enjoy your coffee at Rosa's too. (laughs) Well, we sure get some crazies here from time to time, but that's 1/2 the fun. And now here's another one from everyone's fab favs, The Beatles! And remember to tune in on Tuesday evening when we'll have a whole hour devoted to our lovable Merse...

- The origin of this bizarre message, which includes references to events in earth's future, is left a mystery.

Notes

This audio drama was recorded on 10 September 2012.

Continuity

Before the Doctor and Susan settled down in Shoreditch in 1963, they took a brief trip to St Albans on 17 December 1997 to ensure that the United Kingdom would remain safe during and after the 1960s. Unbeknownst to either of them, the Fourth Doctor and his companions Romana and K9 were in the vicinity on the same day. (PROSE: The Little Things)
The TARDIS is located in I.M. Foreman's junkyard at 76 Totter's Lane. (TV: An Unearthly Child)
Cedric jokes that sometimes it seems that Susan can read people's minds. (TV: The Sensorites)
Susan and Cedric both refer to John Smith and the Common Men. (TV: An Unearthly Child)
The Doctor tries to purchase components from Magpie Electricals. (TV: The Idiot's Lantern)
Susan reacts angrily when Cedric jokingly suggests that she and her grandfather are on the run from someone. (TV: An Unearthly Child, The War Games)
Colonel Rook is aware that Susan has greater knowledge of science than is normal for a 15-year-old girl. (TV: An Unearthly Child)
The story is said to take place in October 1963, four months after Susan and the Doctor arrived on Earth. An Unearthly Child is said to take place five months after their arrival (per dialogue by Susan), placing this story a month before the fateful encounter with Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright.
Susan and the Doctor are depicted as being "stranded" on Earth in 1963 due to a fault with the TARDIS that the Doctor is attempting to fix by procuring supplies, both legally and illegally. As the ship is able to leave Earth a month later, the Doctor would appear to be close to finishing the work.

External links

Official Hunters of Earth page at bigfinish.com