Death and the Daleks (audio story)
Death and the Daleks was the final audio story of the fourth season of the Big Finish Bernice Summerfield series. It was a direct sequel to the short story anthology Life During Wartime.
It was unusual, though not unique, in that it began with a "previously on Bernice Summerfield" segment, which brought listeners up to speed with the details of the Fifth Axis Occupation of the Braxiatel Collection covered in Life During Wartime.
Written by Benny's creator Paul Cornell, this story revisited the planet Heaven, the planet where she first met the Doctor. This story also revealed greater details about the Fifth Axis, a group first introduced in The Doomsday Manuscript, the first full length Big Finish Bernice Summerfield novel published in 2000. It also debuted Benny's father on audio.
It was an unusual length, the first 2 CD Bernice Summerfield audio story since Just War and the only original Bernice Summerfield audio story to be 2 CDs long as of March 2018.
The second CD also includes the bonus story Closure, originally released as part of the audio anthology Buried Treasures.
Publisher's summary
The Braxiatel Collection has been occupied by the Fifth Axis, who seem to be led by a figure from Bernice's past. Behind this mysterious man lies the evil time-travelling power of the Daleks.
As Bernice's friends rise up to end the occupation, Bernice embarks on a desperate rescue mission, to somewhere she last went long ago.
Braxiatel confronts his destiny, Jason risks all for his love, and lives are shattered and lost, as the battle of the Braxiatel Collection reaches its epic conclusion.
Our heroes will live free or die...
Plot
Part one
After downloading Fifth Axis security data to her pass card, Benny sees her father, Isaac, on a screen and removes her disguise, but he claims not to know her and tells her that he leads the Fifth Axis fleet. He raises the alarm and she runs away to Jason, telling him that she believes him to be under mind control and giving him the pass card to have analysed. The next day, she visits Braxiatel, who has been repeatedly questioned by Marshal Anson about the whereabouts of his time equipment, and updates him on what she has learnt.
Jason shows Benny that Isaac's transmissions seem to be relayed from Heaven. She manipulates Anson into letting her go there on an archaeological mission and says farewell to Adrian, telling him that she loves him in case he is killed whilst she is away. After saying goodbye to Peter, Benny heads off with Jason, whom she is surprised to learn has been given permission to join her. Lieutenant Moskof interrogates Bev about the resistance, but Joseph knocks him out and rescues her, having been told by Jason not to worry about the Axis learning of their security data having been compromised as the resistance will receive the new codes once transmitted.
to be completed
Part two
to be added
Cast
- Bernice Summerfield - Lisa Bowerman
- Irving Braxiatel - Miles Richardson
- Jason Kane - Stephen Fewell
- Adrian Wall - Harry Myers
- Joseph - Steven Wickham
- Bev Tarrant - Louise Faulkner
- Ms Jones - Beverley Cressman
- Mister Crofton / The Daleks - Nicholas Briggs
- Isaac Summerfield - Ian Collier
- Marshal Anson - Michael Shallard
- Bernard Moskof - Andrew Westfield
References
Art
- Braxiatel has a J. M. W. Turner painting.
Daleks
- The Daleks use Isaac Summerfield as a Dalek Battle Computer.
Foods and beverages
- Braxiatel drinks lapsang souchong and eats Kunzle cakes.
- Benny mocks the Daleks stating they couldn't "exterminate [their] way out of a tomato".
Individuals
- Benny sees her father, Isaac Summerfield, who appears to be posing as the leader of the Fifth Axis.
- This is the first confirmation that Irving Braxiatel is a Time Lord as he has a TARDIS.
- Bernice mentions Winston Churchill, Napoléon Bonaparte and Alexander the Great.
Planets
- Benny and Jason track the transmission to the planet Heaven. The planet Heaven was the place where Benny first met the Seventh Doctor in Love and War.
Species
- Marshal Anson mentions the Hoothi when speaking of Heaven.
- Joseph delivers a message from Bernice to Braxiatel which reads "Doubtless Anyone Listening Expects Kind Sentiment" to alert him to who are really pulling the strings.
Notes
- To keep the secret of the Daleks' involvement in this audio, Big Finish released a fake cover for this audio (on their website) under the title The Axis of Evil.
- This audio drama was recorded on 14 December 2003.
- This story debuts a new theme tune composed by Simon Robinson for series 5 and onwards until Simon composed a secondary version.
Continuity
- Bernice voices a "previously on Bernice Summerfield" detailing the events of PROSE: Life During Wartime.
- Benny mentions Heaven and the Hoothi. (PROSE: Love and War)
- The Daleks use a battle computer as the Renegade Daleks did in Shoreditch, London in November 1963. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)
- Bernice mentions the Daleks making duplicates, which they last experimented with in TV: Resurrection of the Daleks.
- Bernice also mentions when she first met the Vardans. (PROSE: No Future)
- Bernice mentions the Movellans, when saying they were able to defeat the Daleks for centuries, making the universe look like a disco. She also mentions their weakness, of removing the hipside powerpacks. (TV: Destiny of the Daleks)
- Braxiatel listens to The Magic Flute to relax, as Romana II did during her Presidency. (AUDIO: Weapon of Choice)
- Bernice mentions that the Daleks' once manipulated one empire against another. (TV: Frontier in Space)
- Parasiel attended the lecture Benny delivered on the occupation, the framing story of this adventure. (AUDIO: The Goddess Quandary)
External links
- Official Death and the Daleks page at bigfinish.com
- Death and the Daleks at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
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