Monsters in Metropolis (audio story)
Monsters in Metropolis was the third and final story in the audio anthology Lost Warriors, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by John Dorney and featured Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor.
Publisher's summary
Berlin, 1927. The making of a science fiction legend. But death stalks the film set and history is not what the Doctor expects it to be. And this new ‘Machine Man’ is a more terrifying vision of humanity’s future than Fritz Lang had in mind...
Plot
The Doctor arrives at Babelsberg Studio, on the set of the film, Metropolis, in 1925, where he meets Anna Dreyfus, Fritz Lang's assistant. As Dreyfus escorts him to the set, he expresses his excitement seeing the film being produced, to the her annoyance. They reach the set, they see Fritz Lang directing the scene, and the Doctor further expresses excitement in those involved in the production. However, he is surprised when he finds out the male lead, Gustav Fröhlich, is not cast as the lead in the film, but another actor, Olaf Richter, instead.
As he meets Lang, the Doctor waits in anticipation for the film's iconic character, "The Machine Man". However, the Doctor is horrified to see that "The Machine Man" is not the costumed character played by Brigitte Helm, but instead, a Cyberman. The Doctor tries to warn them of the danger of the Cyberman, but no one is listening to him. The Cyberman technician and "creator", Dieter Jovanovic, tries to activate the Cyberman but the Doctor uses his sonic to distrupt it before it could fully activate, causing it pain. Angry at the Doctor's interference, the Doctor is escorted off the set by Dreyfus.
The Doctor finds another way into the studio, where he's met by Jovanovic who asks for the Doctor's help and he offers to show the Doctor the Cyberman. As they make their way to the Cyberman, Jovanovic explains how he found the creature. When they reach the creature, the Doctor is surprised to see the Cyberman is expressing pain, which should be impossible for the Cybermen race. Jovanovic continues to say the Cyberman must have evolved, and the Doctor tells the technician of what a Cyberman is. Jovanovic also displays that the Cyberman does exactly what he says, and is in complete control. They leave the creature alone to rest, and the Doctor still expresses his concern that the Cyberman might revert back to it's base program to convert and destroy. Jovanovic begs the Doctor to leave it be, as he spent so much to buy it, and it is all he feels he has after he lost most of his family in World War One, and lost most of his money during the peace following the war. The Doctor agrees to allow it to stay, but on the condition he stays on set to make sure it does not cause much damage if it goes out of control.
While in his dressing room, Olaf Richter is confronted by the Cyberman and it kills the actor. Dreyfus makes her way to Richter's dressing room, but find the Cyberman in the process, who attacks her. The Doctor and Jovanovic follows her screams and finds her being attacked. The Doctor tries to use the sonic screwdriver again but it fails to affect the creature, and the Cyberman threatens the Doctor. As the Cyberman approaches the three, the Doctor remembers that Fredersen's pen prop has gold plating and uses it on the Cyberman, forcing it to retreat. They find Richter's body, and the Doctor is convinced the Cyberman has reverted to it's true base drive, and needs to be destroyed. The Doctor, concerned with preserving history, asks Dreyfus to work with Lang and keep filming going, while he and Jovanovic hunt the Cyberman off the studio.
The Doctor and Jovanovic follow the Cyberman into the sewers, where they find the creature, in unusual emotional distress. It says "home" and it begs for the Doctor's help, saying it wants to go home. Seeing the scorch marks that match the Cyberman, the Doctor concludes that the Cyberman first appeared in the sewers, damaged. The Cyberman continues to express regret and how it does not wish to kill, and the Doctor believes the human within the Cyberman is becoming more independant of the machine. The Cyberman asks "Why does he order me to kill?" and the Doctor figures out that the Cyberman is indeed being controlled by Jovanovic. Unfortunately, as he discovered this, Jovanovic strikes the Doctor and orders the Cyberman to kill him. The Cyberman attacks the Doctor and appears to kill him, and Jovanovic orders the Cyberman back to the studio, to kill again.
Jovanovic arrives back with the Cyberman, claiming the Doctor fixed it. As filming proceeds, Jovanovic makes the Cyberman attack Lang. The Doctor arrives, holding a pen, pointing it behind Jovanovic with the implication it is a weapon, and has him command the Cyberman to release Lang. Jovanovic expresses his desire to stop the film production, concerned the film will encourage further peace for Germany, and lead to more poverty and despair, instead of revenge against the Allied forces from World War One. Jovanovic turns to see the Doctor is holding a pen and not a gun and he orders the Cyberman to kill the Doctor, Dreyfus, and Lang.
The Cyberman pursues the three through the studio, until it and Jovanovic have them cornered. Jovanovic orders it to kill the Doctor first and as it tried to strangle the Doctor, he reasons with the creature. He says that it does not have to kill and that it can resist the order, which would explain why it did not kill the Doctor back in the sewers. The Cyberman finally breaks from Jovanovic's control and turns on Jovanovic, but chooses to show mercy, tired of killing. Jovanovic is arrested for murder, and the Doctor leaves, taking the Cyberman with him. The production continues as history continues as was, with Brigitte Helm being casted as The Machine Man.
The Doctor and the Cyberman watch the finished completed film Metropolis, which the Doctor retrieved from 1927, alone in a theater. The Cyberman was moved by the film. Despite enjoying the film, the Cyberman still wants the Doctor to end its life, fearing it will be used again to kill. The Doctor meets with Dreyfus again, after dealing with the Cyberman. Dreyfus tells the Doctor that Lang had to replace Richter with another actor, Gustav Fröhlich, and she remembered the Doctor mentioning him when they spoke earlier. She asked how he knew, but he instead tells her the film will fail in the time of its release, and Jovanovic's actions were pointless as no one saw the film on its release. The Doctor recalls Dreyfus comparing the Cyberman to a golem, and advises her to leave Germany as soon as possible, before he departs in the TARDIS.
Cast
- The Doctor - Christopher Eccleston
- Fritz Lang - Nick Wilton
- Anna Dreyfus - Helen Goldwyn
- Dieter Jovanovic - Peter Bankole
- Olaf Richter - Raj Ghatak
- Cyberman - Nicholas Briggs
References
- The Doctor names Sunrise, The General and The Wings as being among the great works of the silent film era.
- The Doctor notes the huge influence Metropolis had on Star Trek and Star Wars.
Notes
- This was the first story in a performed medium in which the Ninth Doctor encounters the Cybermen. Both Supremacy of the Cybermen and The Patchwork Pierrot had previously made the match in print. The Ninth Doctor also came across the inert Cyberman helmet in Dalek, a scene which Matt Fitton felt made their eventual encounter "inevitable". (VOR 152)
- John Dorney's initial thoughts for the story were for it to be a celebrity historical in the style of the RTD-era. He knew very little about Metropolis or Fritz Lang upon being asked to submit some story ideas, although he had seen M. He later watched Metropolis with friends for a podcast and formed further ideas around the film, leading him to conduct his own research into its director and production. Much of these details made it into the script. (VOR 152)
- The Cybermen were not originally planned to have appeared in the Lost Warriors box set. Their inclusion in this story came about at Dorney's suggestion as he continued to develop ideas about his Metropolis storyline. (VOR 152)
- Although the synopsis claims that the story is set in 1927, dialogue within the story actually establishes the setting as 1925. Likewise in the real world Metropolis was filmed in 1925 but released in 1927.
Continuity
- The Doctor finally arrives in 1925. (AUDIO: The Hunting Season, The Curse of Lady Macbeth)
External links
- Official Monsters in Metropolis page at bigfinish.com
