The Wrath of the Iceni (audio story)
The Wrath of the Iceni was the third story in the first series of The Fourth Doctor Adventures.
Publisher's summary
Britain. The height of the Roman occupation. The Doctor has brought Leela to ancient Norfolk to learn about her ancestors...but has not idea how much education she is going to get.
Because this is the time of Boudica's rebellion. When the tribe of the Iceni rises up and attempts to overthrow the Roman masters.
As Leela begins to be swayed by the warrior queen's words, the Doctor has to make a decision: save his friend...or history itself?
Plot
The Doctor and Leela arrive in a field and begin a long walk towards a wood. Leela inquires why they simply do not return to the TARDIS, but the Doctor states that this is part of her education; to locate natives in the locations they visit and ask questions to learn more of her ancestry.
In the wood, a couple of Romans are being stalked by Boudica on horseback. They slay the horse and threaten her life. The Doctor and Leela arrive at this point, the latter of whom joins Boudica's side much to the former's dismay. Boudica uses Leela's convenient arrival as a distraction so she can slay the two Romans. Upon introducing herself as the ruler of the Iceni, the Doctor immediately gains an urge to return to the TARDIS, which both Leela and Boudica refuse. As thanks for Leela's loyalty, Boudica takes her and the Doctor to her tribe and arranges that they be given food and shelter.
Once they are alone, Leela questions the Doctor's urge to leave in the TARDIS so soon. He tells her about the time period - England had been invaded by the Roman empire 17 years prior to the day which they had arrived in. Boudica's husband Prasutagus, the previous ruler of the Iceni, was one of several tribal rulers in Britain who were bought off by the invading Romans. After his death, he left half of his kingdom to the Roman Emperor Nero and the other half to his daughters. However, the Emperor annexed the entire kingdom. When Boudica objected, she was flogged and her daughters were raped in public. The Doctor then tells Leela that the next day, Boudica intended to attack the nearest town with her tribe, which would result in their massacre. Leela reasons that surely they must prevent this, but the Doctor tries to explain that these events are history and cannot be changed. Leela objects and states that these events aren't history; they are here and now, and here and now she decides that she wants to aid the survival of the Iceni tribe. She loses her faith in the Doctor and flees to Boudica. A cook, Bragnar, had overheard their conversation and wanted to converse with the Doctor.
Cast
- The Doctor - Tom Baker
- Leela - Louise Jameson
- Boudica - Ella Kenion
- Bragnar - Nia Roberts
- Caedmon/Festucas - Michael Rouse
- Pacquolas/Man - Daniel Hawksford
References
- The Doctor refers to Noël Coward, whom he describes as "a brave man who said all sorts of things that society did not want to hear."
- The Doctor tells Leela that he hates Morris dancers almost as much as the Daleks and the Cybermen.
- Leela refers to the Roman legionnaires as "men in skirts."
- The Doctor recognises Boudica, the queen of the Iceni, due to her "very, very red hair."
- Pacquolas taunts Leela by telling her that he has seen cats bigger than her slain in the Colosseum.
- Boudica inquires if the Doctor and Leela belong to the Catuvellauni tribe. Leela tells her that she is of the Sevateem, whom the Doctor claims are located "as far north as you can go and then some."
- There are approximately 900 people in the Iceni tribe.
- The Iceni's camp in Norfolk is one day's ride from Camulodunum, the capital of Roman Britain which was formally the capital of the Trinovantes, a tribe which is allied with the Iceni. It is a retirement home for former soldiers, their wives and their children.
- Bragnar is a cook who did not support the war against the Romans. She claims that she would be rather mate with a Roman than Caedmon.
- The Doctor tells Leela that the Romans conquered Britain in 43, approximately seventeen years before Boudica's rebellion, after several unsuccessful attempts. Her husband Prasutagus, the previous ruler of the Iceni, was one of several tribal rulers in Britain who were bought off by the invading Romans. After his death, he left half of his kingdom to the Roman Emperor Nero and the other half to his daughters. However, the Emperor annexed the entire kingdom. When Boudica objected, she was flogged and her daughters were raped in public.
- In order to prevent Boudica from severing the Doctor's head, Leela tells her that the Doctor is a prophet who foresaw her defeat at the hands of the Romans.
- Bragnar wishes that she was back in Venta Icenorum, the Iceni capital in Norfolk. Unsurprisingly, she has never heard of the 19th century novel Moby Dick.
- With the Trinovantes and the Brigantes on their side, the Iceni outnumber the Roman forces at Camulodunum five to one. She tells Leela that the Roman governor Suetonius Paulinus is waging war against the druids on Mona and that he has left only a skeleton force of old soldiers. The Doctor tells her that the forces at Camulodunum are a decoy and Paulinus has stationed an army to the north and intends to attack Boudica's army while it is ransacking Camulodunum. However, this was not the case. There was no army to the north. According to established history, after the burning of Camolundunum, which would later become Colchester, Boudica marched to Londinium and slaughtered almost everyone in the city including the old, the weak and the infirm. She was eventually defeated in a field in the middle of England which no has ever been able to identify. Her army may have numbered up to 80,000 by this time but the Doctor notes that this figure could have been exaggerated by later historians. There were no survivors. Instead of allowing the Romans to execute her, Boudica killed her daughters before killing herself. The Doctor tells Leela that he has no desire to witness Boudica's defeat first hand.
- The Doctor refers to the American escapologist Harry Houdini, whom he claims kept several lock picks on his person.
- Boudica declares that "Andraste rides with us" during her attack on Camulodunum.
- After Bragnar accidentally kills Caedmon, the Doctor tells her that he is "as dead as a dodo. Or he will be, in about 1600 years."
- Boudica tells Leela that her name means "she who is victorious."
- The Doctor tells Leela and Bragnar that the Roman occupation of Britain would continue for another 350 years after the defeat of Boudica's revolt.
- Bragnar eventually marries and tells her daughters stories of Boudica, Leela and the Doctor so that their memory will live on.
Notes
- This is the first pure historical story in performed Doctor Who to feature the Fourth Doctor.
- Pacquolas mentions watching fights in the Colosseum. In reality, however, its construction did not begin until 70, ten years after the events of this story take place.
- This audio drama was recorded on 13 September 2011.
- It was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra's Seventh Dimension, presented by Toby Hadoke, on 30th May 2015.
Continuity
- The Doctor refers to their visit to the Morovanian Museum whereas Leela mentions Reginald Harcourt's attempt to drain her mind. (AUDIO: The Renaissance Man)
- The Doctor's hatred of Morris dancers may be due to the fact that he was once almost killed by a group of them in the English village of Devil's End in the 1970s during his third incarnation. (TV: The Dæmons)
- The Doctor once again observes that one person is unlikely to make a difference in the grand scheme of things. (AUDIO: The Foe from the Future)
- Leela tells Boudica that she knows from personal experience that history can be changed. (AUDIO: The Foe from the Future)
- The notion of saving specific individuals from fixed events allowed the Tenth Doctor to save lives during the eruption of Vesuvius in The Fires of Pompeii. Here the Fourth Doctor saves Bragnar alone as he cannot save all the Iceni.
- The Doctor refers to his encounter with Harry Houdini. Prior to their arrival in 1963, his first incarnation and his granddaughter Susan Foreman met Houdini in the United States. Houdini taught the Doctor how to perform sleight-of-hand tricks. (PROSE: The Sorcerer's Apprentice)
- The Doctor refers to the extinction of the dodo in 1681. (PROSE: The Last Dodo)
- The Doctor suggests to Leela that they take a trip to the 21st century. (AUDIO: Energy of the Daleks)
- The Doctor would later return to Norfolk in 2011 in the company of Romana. (AUDIO: Ferril's Folly)
- The Eighth Doctor would later return to Roman Britain in 305 in the company of Charley Pollard. (AUDIO: Seasons of Fear)
- The Tenth Doctor would encounter Boudica once again in the company of Donna Noble when she was taken out of her own time by Momus who wanted her to help lead Planet 12 of the Ridion Alliance into a new age of enlightenment. The Doctor eventually convinced her to return to her rightful place in Earth's history. (WC: The Lonely Computer)
- Gaius Calaphilus was among the soldiers who fought "Boudica's wretched Iceni." (PROSE: Byzantium!)
- Leela tells Boudica that her name has no meaning. However, she would later claim that she named after the greatest warrior in Sevateem history. (AUDIO: The Catalyst, Arbitration, The Abandoned)
- The renegade Time Lady Iris Wildthyme claimed that she had also been present at the Siege of Colchester. (AUDIO: The Elixir of Doom)
External links
- Official The Wrath of the Iceni page at bigfinish.com
- DisContinuity for The Wrath of the Iceni at Tetrapyriarbus - The DisContinuity Guide
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