The Feast of Axos (audio story)
The Feast of Axos was the one hundred and forty-fourth story in Big Finish's monthly range. It was written by Mike Maddox and featured Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor, Maggie Stables as Evelyn Smythe and John Pickard as Thomas Brewster.
Released in February 2011, it was the second in a series of three Sixth Doctor audio stories from Big Finish during that year. This was the first appearance of Axos in performed Doctor Who since their introduction in the 1971 story The Claws of Axos. Notably, Axos was played by Bernard Holley, who previously provided its voice in the 1971 story.
Publishers summary
"Axos calling Earth. Fuel system exhausted. Request immediate assistance."
Many years ago, the vast space parasite Axos attempted to suck the planet Earth of its energy. Now it's all but forgotten — a dried-up husk, marooned in orbit, still stuck in the time loop it was placed in by Earth's defender, the Doctor.
Forgotten, that is, except by space tourism billionaire Campbell Irons — who's hatched a plan to solve the world's energy crisis by reviving Axos, and transmitting its power back to Earth. But the crew of the spaceship Windermere aren't alone aboard the parasite. The Doctor has returned, to correct an error of decades past...
And Axos is waiting.
Plot
Part one
Thomas Brewster has snuck aboard the TARDIS and demands the Doctor take him back to his time, having grown dissonant with the 21st century. Meanwhile the spaceship Windermere with its crew-members Joanna Slade, David Brock, Craig Swanson and others enters Earth's orbit on its historic flight towards Axos which has been stuck in a time loop for the last 50 years on a mission for billionaire Campbell Irons. Irons wants to use Axos to supply unlimited energy to the world to solve the energy crisis and make money. After hitting a rough patch and making their way through the time distortion, they prepare to enter Axos, just as the Doctor, Evelyn and Thomas Brewster arrive in the TARDIS, as the Doctor was on his way to bring Brewster to DI Menzies to be locked up but they were drawn off course by the same time distortion that effected the crew of the Windermere. The three decide to go out and investiagte and the Doctor sends Evelyn to get spacesuits for them while he comes to an agreement with Thomas regarding Brewster's future. Once settled, Brewster helps Evelyn in the wardrobe and makes amends with her and apologises for kidnapping her to another planet. They go out to investigate.
The crew of the Windermere make contact with Axos and exit the ship, and prepare to enter by drilling inside. The three make their way to the central chamber of Axos and the Doctor explains that they're looking for the source of what made Axos "cry out", the thing that effected the TARDIS earlier. Just then, they realise drilling going on outside and are attacked by Axos, and the Doctor leaves Evelyn and Thomas to go find and stop the drilling. He stumbles through a membrane and accidentally awakens Axos, which attempts to read his mind. Axos recognises the Doctor from their last encounter and attempts to kill him...
Part two
Axos makes the Doctor sleep and takes a body print of him, creating an axon duplicate of the Doctor. The Windermere crew manage to drill through Axos, causing it damage and pain and it prepares to react. Brewster, with no sign of the Doctor, decides to head back to the TARDIS against Evelyn's wishes, but she follows him anyway. They hear the drilling making its way inside. Evelyn meets Joanna and Craig but before she can introduce Thomas Brewster they discover he has disappeared. The two are sceptical of Evelyn but are intrigued once she mentions she arrived with the Doctor and she convinces them to help her get out of Axos' tendrils so she can explain to them what happened. Meanwhile, Brewster finds the Axonite Doctor who offers him a proposition which piques his interest.
Evelyn, Joanna and Craig eventually locate the TARDIS, which Joanna and Craig, awestruck, immediately recognise from having read the UNIT files and realise they can trust Evelyn as she is telling the truth. Just as Joanna attempts to remove Axos' tendrils which are engulfing the TARDIS, she is warned by the Doctor, who appears on the scene, and explains that Axos has absorbed and replicated his brain, putting them all in immediate danger. They get acquainted and explain to the Doctor they're here on a private mission to Axos for corporate interests, much to the Doctor's annoyance. The Axonite Doctor takes Thomas to the eye of Axos (Axos central control) and he strikes up a deal with Axos, if he helps them, they promise to use Axonite to copy the TARDIS once they safely secure it and give him the copy.
Joanna contacts Axos to negotiate a deal with them and reveals that Campbell Ironside will do the negotiating. Axos agrees but will be negotiating through Brewster, and they begin, but Evelyn notices Craig Swanson sneak off and with the Doctor's agreement, follows him. Campbell explains he wants to use Axos' energy to end the energy crisis on earth and that he will detonate the nuclear reactor drive in the Windermere aimed at Axos and since it is stuck in a time loop, the blast will occur over and over, causing it unending pain, with Campbell explaining that the Windermere crew is expendable and he is fine sacrificing them to get what he wants. He continues, saying that in exchange for Axos' energy, he will permit it to come down and feed off an entire country in Africa for example every ten years, thereby providing it with the energy source it needs. He gives Axos time to decide and Axos plans to "agree", but only after first sucking the Earth completely dry of energy...
Part three
Evelyn finds Craig communicating with someone in French and she deduces he's a spy so he takes her hostage after failing to convince her otherwise. It is discovered that he's working on behalf of the Eurozone Space Agency who believe that the energy source from Axos should be used and shared with everyone worldwide. Craig demands to speak with Campbell Irons. The Eurozone sends two ships to attack Axos, the Jules Verne and the Johannes Kepler. They pass through the time threshold and hear a possible message from the future saying they've failed which worries them, but they proceed anyway, dismissing it as a potentiality. The Doctor, in the meantime, takes the others with him to shut off the nuclear drive in the Windermere so Campbell Irons cannot use it as he claimed. Axos, preparing for battle with the ships, absorbs Craig, killing him in the process, and preapares to absorb the Windermere. The Doctor, Evelyn and Joanna arrive in the Windermere where they meet David who explains he's discovered the nuclear reactors have been booby trapped, and if they break the dials it will detonate. Just then they discover that Axos has killed and absorbed Craig, giving it an energy boost which it is using to wrap its tendrils around the Windermere. The Doctor refuses to kill Axos since it is still a living thing and suggests that they escape using his TARDIS. Evelyn only allows the Doctor to enact his risky plan that will put Thomas in danger only if he promises to return him to his own time as he requested earlier and the Doctor reluctantly agress. Axos, eavesdropping on their conversation along with Brewster, cuts off the transmission before Brewster hears that last part and conivnces him that the Doctor is not interested in saving him, and he pledges his allegiance to Axos.
Cast
- The Doctor / Axos - Colin Baker
- Evelyn Smythe - Maggie Stables
- Thomas Brewster - John Pickard
- Voice of Axos / The Axons - Bernard Holley
- Campbell Irons / Svenni Nilson - John Banks
- Joanna Slade - Andree Bernard
- David Brock - Chook Sibtain
- Craig Swanson - Peter Forbes
- Philippe Lefevre - Duncan Wisbey
References
Cultural references from the real world
- Evelyn mentions David Bowie.
- Whilst in their spacesuits, Evelyn calls the Doctor "Flash Gordon" and Thomas Brewster "Buck Rogers".
Individuals
- Brewster gives Evelyn the nicknames of "Old Mother Hubbard" and "Old Mum Smythe."
Organisations
- Eurozone have the connections with Geneva to know of the Doctor, the TARDIS and the Master.
Spacecraft
- The Jules Verne is a Eurozone Space Agency vessel.
Notes
- This story marks the first audio appearance of Axos.
- This audio story was recorded at The Moat Studios.
Continuity
- The Doctor tells Evelyn that Brewster's pretending to be him is 'the second time [he's] pulled that particular stunt'. (AUDIO: Time Reef)
- Many years later, the Seventh Doctor and Evelyn would reminisce about spending time "in a spacesuit bouncing about Axos with that poor boy Brewster." (AUDIO: A Death in the Family)
- The events of TV: The Claws of Axos are mentioned, stated as being "nearly 50 years ago".
- The Doctor comments that his spacesuit is "the one with the fishbowl helmet". (TV: The Moonbase)
- Campbell Irons bought the British Rocket Group (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks, PROSE: The Dying Days) and runs his operation from the former Space Defence Station in Devesham. (TV: The Android Invasion)
External links
- Official The Feast of Axos page at bigfinish.com
- The Feast of Axos at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- DisContinuity for The Feast of Axos at Tetrapyriarbus - The DisContinuity Guide
