Seasons of Fear (audio story)
Seasons of Fear was the thirtieth monthly Doctor Who audio story produced by Big Finish Productions. It was the third in a series of 6 audio stories featuring the Eighth Doctor. It featured Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor and India Fisher as Charlotte Pollard. It was the first appearance of the Nimon since the 1979/1980 story TV: The Horns of Nimon.
Publisher's summary
On New Year's Eve, 1930, the Eighth Doctor lets Charley keep her appointment at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. But his unease at what he's done to time by saving her life soon turns into fear. Sebastian Grayle: immortal, obsessed, ruthless, has come to the city to meet the Time Lord. To the Doctor, he's a complete stranger, but to Grayle, the Doctor is an old enemy.
An enemy that, many years ago, he finally succeeded in killing. And this is his only chance to gloat.
The Doctor and Charley desperately search human history for the secret of Grayle's power and immortality. Their quest takes in four different time periods, the Hellfire Club, the court of Edward the Confessor, and the Time Vortex itself. And when the monsters arrive, the stakes are raised from the life of one Time Lord to the existence of all humanity.
Plot
to be added
Cast
- The Doctor - Paul McGann
- Charley Pollard - India Fisher
- Sebastian Grayle - Stephen Perring
- Lucillius/Richard Martin - Stephen Fewell
- Edward the Confessor - Lennox Greaves
- Edith - Sue Wallace
- Marcus/Grayle's Masters - Robert Curbishley
- Lucy Martin - Justine Mitchell
- The Auditor - Don Warrington
References
The Doctor
- According to Charley, the Doctor smells of honey.
- The Doctor acquires various aliases such as Ambrosius Clemensis and ser Peter Pollard.
- The Doctor is again asked "Doctor who?".
Individuals
- Before finding out that Grayle is evil, the Doctor says to him that he "...must be confused. I'm not the one that says you must obey me, I don't meddle, and I'm not a glamorous woman at the moment." These are references to the Master, the Monk, and the Rani.
- Both the Doctor and Charley refer to Benjamin Franklin as having served as President of the United States. This alteration of history was later revealed to have been caused by the anti-time crisis.
- Charley calls the Doctor her best friend.
Locations
- The Doctor and Charley spend three weeks researching Grayle in the Abbey of Felsecar.
- Charley and the Doctor walk into the caves of the Hellfire Club.
- The Doctor enjoys the Singapore Hilton tea gardens.
Minerals
Species
- The Nimon are Grayle's masters.
TARDIS
- Charley uses the TARDIS' fast return switch.
Notes
- This story marks the first appearance of the Nimon in an audio drama.
- This audio drama was recorded on 19 and 20 January 2001 and 27 February 2002.
Continuity
- Charley tells the Doctor that she stowed away on the R101 in order to meet a young man named Alex Grayle in the Singapore Hilton on New Year's Eve. (AUDIO: Storm Warning)
- Charley has been thinking about her survival since her encounter with Edith Thompson in Edward Grove on 24 December 1906. (AUDIO: The Chimes of Midnight)
- The Doctor previously encountered the Nimon on Skonnos during his fourth incarnation. (TV: The Horns of the Nimon)
- The Doctor and Charley last encountered the Hellfire Club in Malebolgia in 2003. (AUDIO: Minuet in Hell)
- A Dalek appears in Roman times. This is explained in AUDIO: The Time of the Daleks.
- Felsecar (Monks and Abbeys) are mentioned in PROSE: Love and War and PROSE: Human Nature.
- The being that attacks Lucy and Richard Martin is revealed in AUDIO: Neverland.
- The Fourth Doctor previously visited Roman Britain in 60 AD in the company of Leela, where they encountered Boudica during her revolt against the Roman occupation. (AUDIO: The Wrath of the Iceni)
- Charley mentions to the Doctor that she attended an orgy before but did not stay for long. (AUDIO: Minuet in Hell)
- The Doctor once again recites the Zagreus nursery rhyme. (AUDIO: Project: Twilight)
- The Celestial Toymaker would later refer to the Nimon in a riddle while Charley was playing his games in the Celestial Toyroom. (AUDIO: Solitaire)
- The situation that the Doctor is in during his narration is revealed in AUDIO: Neverland.
- Alex Grayle would later tell Charley's parents Lady Louisa and Lord Richard Pollard that he danced with her in Singapore on 31 December 1930. (AUDIO: The Fall of the House of Pollard)
- The Doctor yells "geronimo" which becomes a habit of his in his Eleventh incarnation. (TV: The End of Time et al)
- The Doctor mentions that he rarely touches meat. He decided to become a vegetarian in his Sixth incarnation. (TV: The Two Doctors)
- The Doctor says that he "had his moments with swords". (TV: The Sea Devils, TV: The Masque of Mandragora TV: The Androids of Tara, TV: The King's Demons)
- The Doctor left Edith at the alter much like he would later do in his Tenth incarnation. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
External links
- Official Seasons of Fear page at bigfinish.com; note that it is out of print and is available as download only.
- Seasons of Fear at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- DisContinuity for Seasons of Fear at Tetrapyriarbus - The DisContinuity Guide
- Transcript of Seasons of Fear at Chrissie's Transcript Site
