Shadow of Death (audio story)

Following an emergency landing, the TARDIS arrives on a remote world orbiting a peculiar star – a pulsar which exerts an enormous gravitational force, strong enough to warp time.

On further exploration the Doctor and his friends, Jamie and Zoe, discover a human outpost on the planet surface, inhabited by scientists who are there to study an ancient city. The city is apparently abandoned, but the scientists are at a loss to explain what happened to its sophisticated alien architects.

The Doctor discovers that something dark, silent and deadly is also present on the world - and it is slowly closing in on the human intruders...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Second Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe find themselves on a planet orbiting a pulsar in the year 2724. The pulsar's gravitational pulses are strong enough to the drag the TARDIS out of its flight, leading it to be at least temporarily stuck on the planet.

Things are not as they seem. They find themselves in a human base built near an ancient city. Looking out onto the surface, the Doctor and his companions see what appear to be statues of figures in spacesuits. The Doctor and his companions are quickly captured by more humans, who prove to be part of a galactic survey expedition, led by Dr Sophie Topolovic. Although there is mutual suspicion at first, it quickly turns to an alliance of necessity when it becomes clear that they are not alone. A shadowy being—or possibly more than one—is also roaming the corridors of the base; and its touch is death. Zoe explains to Jamie that the statues are more of Sophie's crew, but moving much more slowly outside, which the Doctor realises is because of the gravitational forces of the pulsar: while just minutes might pass outside, it would be weeks in the base.

After much misdirection and danger—both from the shadow and from the gravitational pulses—the Doctor finds himself isolated, and attempts to get to the TARDIS and escape the city, then recover his friends. However, he is stopped by an odd visitation. The Eleventh Doctor, from far in his personal future, makes psychic contact with him; he sees the Eleventh Doctor's image and that of his psychic paper, which spells out written instructions. He must not only save himself and the others, but must also save the survey team's work; it will be vital in the future. Resigned, he forgoes the TARDIS and returns to the control room to save the data... and is captured by the shadows.

Hours later, the Doctor rejoins Jamie and the others. He explains that the shadows are the indigenous, intelligent species of this world; he refers to them as the Quiet Ones. He explains that their world was once a rogue planet, without a star; Jamie compares them and their situation to the Cybermen of Mondas, which was also a sort of rogue planet. The Doctor states that their world was captured by the pulsar; to protect themselves, they transformed themselves into a non-corporeal form which exists at a much higher rate of time than humans. The deaths were unintentional, caused by the colliding of different time zones; they were attempting to make contact, not kill. The problem, it seems, is the noise the humans make; the Quiet Ones are highly sensitive to sound, and need a quiet environment to live. All they really wanted, it seems, was to get the humans to "keep it down". The Doctor has brokered a truce which will allow the research to continue.

Jamie, however, realises something is amiss. He asks why the Doctor was not killed when touched; the Doctor attributes it to his relationship with time, which is different from that of the humans. Still, he has aged a bit; and under pressure, he reveals that while Jamie and Zoe only experienced a few hours on the planet, for him, it was a few years.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Jamie was born in 1724.
Zoe has recently joined the TARDIS crew, while Jamie estimates that he has been travelling with the Doctor for "two or three" years.
The Doctor refers to his first incarnation's former companion Steven Taylor.
Dr Sophie Topolovic and her colleagues Woodbridge, Callaghan, Miles and Gough are members of the Fifth Galactic Surveyor Corps. Sophie blames the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe for Woodbridge's death.
The Eleventh Doctor sends the Second Doctor a message using his psychic paper.
The Second Doctor, who briefly views the future Doctor via a psychic link, describes his eleventh incarnation's bow tie as "rather fetching."

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

This audio drama was recorded on 28 September 2012.
Although his presence is implied in Hunters of Earth, this story features the first direct appearance of the Eleventh Doctor in a Big Finish production.
At 57 minutes and 48 seconds, this has the shortest running time of any release in the Destiny of the Doctor range.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

Jamie was 22 years old when he first met the Doctor, although has lost track of his current age. (TV: The Highlanders)
The surface of the planet reminds Jamie of when he walked on the Moon. (TV: The Moonbase)
Jamie compares the Quiet Ones to the Cybermen. (TV: The Moonbase, The Tomb of the Cybermen)
The Doctor refers to the Hostile Action Displacement System. (TV: The Krotons) As the Doctor explains to Zoe what the HADS does, this implies the story takes place prior to The Krotons.

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

Official Shadow of Death page at bigfinish.com
Official Shadow of Death page at serialbox.com