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Wildthyme at Large was the first release in the Iris Wildthyme audio series. It was written by Paul Magrs.
It featured the first acted appearance of Thomas Daley, and it introduced Panda, but this wouldn't be his first chronological appearance.
Publisher's summary
"Apparently, it has been ten years since Tom's adventures aboard Iris Wildthyme's transdimensional double-decker bus. Tom has now settled into a life of writing weird and wonderful novels (his description; I call them schlocky) about his erstwhile friend in order to support himself and, of course, his best real friend, me! One small, highly intelligent and terribly sophisticated Panda.
Then, one night at a book launch, there was a ruckus in the signing queue. Suddenly, the loud-mouthed floozy of the multiverse was back in his life, no, our lives... I ask you, how rude is that? Anyway, she embarrassed him in front of his fans and caused a punch up. Before Tom even knew it, Iris had entrusted him with her most precious possession, ridden off into the night with Robin Hood, and revealed that she was being hunted by evil forces from a higher dimension... Of course, they both needed me to save the day..."
- Panda (X)
Plot
At a book reading/signing, Lucretia (a bookseller) tells the crowd to form a line, if they want their books signed by the author, Tom. Tom goes to the front of the queue, as a fan approaches him, and as they're talking, the fan deduces that the main character of Tom's novels, Iris Wildthyme, is actually real, which Tom implicitly confirms. All of a sudden, a brash, loudmouthed woman barges through the crowd, exclaiming that she's come back for Tom. It's Iris Wildthyme. Tom invites her out for dinner later, and Iris accepts.
Iris goes over to the wine table, where a fan tells her that she doesn't really look like Iris, and he criticises her "costume". Iris slaps the fan in retaliation.
At the restaurant, Iris and Tom talk about how they left each other, and she entrusts Tom with a Memory Crystal from the Mines of Marlion, which contains all of her memories. She gives it to him hastily, before she's picked up by her ride, Robin Hood and his Merry Men.
At his home, Tom tells Panda that he met Iris, and at his incredulous tale, Pamda asks if Tom's p*ssed. Tom asserts that he isn't, and he shows Panda the Memory Crystal.
In the Greenwood, Iris camps out with Robin and his gang. Little John alerts Robin that Friar Tuck and Maid Marian have been taken hostage by the Sheriff, and the only way to get them back is to trade Iris and her double decker bus.
The next morning in Tom's home, he decides to stop writing books about Iris, and he and Panda head off to the publisher, Satan & Satan Ltd..
With Iris tied up, the Merry Men are hauling Iris' bus with ropes through the forest, and Little John alerts them that they're nearing the castle.
Tom and Panda arrive at Satan & Satan Ltd., and Mida Slike welcomes them into her office.
At the castle, Robin announces that he has brought Iris and her "magic conveyance", and an escort of Normans takes them into the castle.
After Mida inadvertently insults Panda by calling him a "bear", Mida happily tells Tom what a runaway success his third book has been, but after Tom tells her he wants to stop, she turns nasty.
As they get taken deeper into the castle, Iris and Robin realise that they've been separated from the Norman guards, and they find themselves being locked in a dungeon.
Mida tries to get Tom to change his mind, mentioning that he signed a contract. Tom tries to explain why he doesn't want to write anything more about Iris, but Mida refuses to listen. After Mida starts acting suspiciously, Tom and Panda run, and Muda sends Lucretia and Hortensia after them.
Cast
References
- When Tom realises he doesn't have a pen, Lucretia jokes that he should have one "beamed up".
- It has been almost ten years since Tom and Iris last saw each other, in the late 1990s.
- Panda refers to Tom as an ingrate.
- Iris refers to Robin's native time as the Dark Ages.
- Iris comments that she has a memory like an Elephant.
- Panda knows Jujutsu.
- After Tom went on Everybody's on the Settee with Phelula and Ken, his third book became extremely successful.
- In castle, Iris gets gooseflesh from fright.
Food and drink
- Iris drinks Pinot Grigio.
- At the restaurant, Iris eats garlic bread and anchovies on pizza, and Tom eats dough balls.
- Iris likens putting her memories into the Memory Crystal like "pouring brandy into a decanter".
Clothes
- Iris is wearing a silver frock and a tigerskin coat.
People
- Iris is glad Alan-a-Dale stopped playing his instrument, which is either a mandolin or a bango. She likened the music it played to world music.
- Iris thinks that Will Scarlet was giving her the "glad-eye".
- Lucretia and Hortensia are MIAOW operatives.
Notes
- This audio drama was recorded on 4 September 2005 at The Moat Studios.
- This story was originally released on CD.
- In track five, a rendition of Greensleeves plays.
Continuity
- Iris and her companion Tom first appeared in PROSE: Verdigris.
- Iris mentions the Mines of Marlion, (PROSE: Mad Dogs and Englishmen) and Jenny Winterleaf and her irritable bowels, who was Iris' companion, first seen in PROSE: ().
- Mida Slike had appeared in PROSE: Mad Dogs and Englishmen.
- This incarnation of Iris had previously appeared in AUDIO: Excelis Dawns, AUDIO: The Plague Herds of Excelis and AUDIO: The Wormery.
External links
- Official Wildthyme at Large page at bigfinish.com
- Wildthyme at Large at the Doctor Who Reference Guide