The Wormery (audio story)

Publisher's summary

There's one place in creation where the truth really can be found in the bottom of a glass -- Bianca's, a very special and very exclusive little club.

The Doctor, careworn and seeking quiet distraction, gains admission. But his rest and relaxation is soon shattered by the wobbly arrival of louche trans-temporal adventuress Iris Wildthyme. She claims she's on a secret mission of vital importance, the success of which hinges on her getting paralytic. When she's drunk, she can hear the whispering voices in her head..

The Doctor soon learns that Bianca's airs and graces cover not just one malevolent power lurking in the shadows, but several. And a wriggling, writhing presence has designs on the clientele -- just as Bianca herself has designs on the Doctor.

At last, after so many centuries, the weary Time Lord is dragged by the heels into that darkest of undiscovered countries... love...

Cast

Uncredited cast

Barman - Ian Brooker (listed on the BF web site)
Psychic Worms - Gary Russell
Mr. Ashcroft - Sylvester McCoy

References

When asked what's so bad about getting drunk, the Doctor quotes his "good friend Douglas": "You ask a glass of water," a line from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Notes

Paul Magrs revealed on the Iris Wildthyme website that Bianca is the final incarnation of Iris, and that the club itself is the remains of Iris' TARDIS.
Along with The Sirens of Time,Zagreus, Project: Lazarus, Thicker than Water and The Four Doctors, this is one of six Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories in which both Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy appear.
To date, this is the only appearance of Iris in the main range.
The story's setting is loosely based on the stage musical Cabaret.

Continuity

The Seventh Doctor makes a cameo appearance in a Sixth Doctor story, as he would later do in BFA: Thicker than Water.
The Doctor refers to the second time that he was put on trial by the Time Lords. (DW: The Trial of a Time Lord)
An agent of the Celestial Intervention Agency is implied to be in the audience during this story. (BFG: A Blind Eye)

Timelines

For the Sixth Doctor

The Wormery occurs after MA: Killing Ground
The Wormery occurs before ST: The Spindle of Necessity

For Iris Wildthyme

The Wormery occurs after BFBS: The Dance of the Dead
The Wormery occurs before BFIW: Wildthyme at Large

External links

Official The Wormery page at bigfinish.com
The Wormery at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
http://www.iriswildthyme.thiswaydown.org/who.html