The Merfolk Murders (audio story)
The Merfolk Murders was the first story in the audio anthology The Dream Team, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Tim Foley.
Publisher's summary
St Andrews, Scotland, 1940. The Merfolk are a university society meeting through the summer to discuss murder mystery stories. Innocent escapism during wartime, they say. Their latest book is The Casebook of Orion Hood – whose hero is all-too-familiar to the Doctor...
When a real-life murder occurs soon after their gathering, the Doctor's friends encourage him to investigate. Is one of the Merfolk responsible? Was this crime the result of espionage or envy? The Doctor must embrace his deerstalker once more and solve this wartime mystery – before the killer can strike again!
Plot
Part one
The TARDIS lands in St Andrews in August 1940 and the Doctor, Adric, Nyssa and Tegan meet Athena, to whom the Doctor introduces his companions as prospective students of the University of St Andrews. Athena invites the group to join a gathering of the literary and dramatic association, the Merfolk, at Castle Sands, an offer which the Doctor accepts upon learning that the society will be discussing The Casebook of Orion Hood. In the meantime, the travellers head into town and are split into two groups when Tegan holds Adric back to discuss the fact that the Doctor seems to be hiding something from them. The Doctor and Nyssa bump into Seb, who points them to a tearoom and keeps the fact that he recognises the Doctor to himself.
Tegan takes Adric to a bookshop and finds a copy of The Casebook of Orion Hood whilst Adric looks at books on mathematics and meets Henry, a fellow wunderkind and member of the Merfolk who puts the copy of The Casebook of Orion Hood on his account when Tegan finds it. The two of them are shown the way to Castle Sands by Professor Hodgson, the Merfolk's patron, where they are reunited with the Doctor, Nyssa, Athena and Henry and meet Seb and Kowalski, a soldier. Before the meeting, Adric and Tegan confront the Doctor with the book's illustrations of the previous Doctor and he explains that he and Sarah solved mysteries together which Sarah fictionalised in the beginning of the 20th century under the name "Sarah Joan Watson".
to be completed
Part two
to be added
Part three
to be added
Part four
to be added
Cast
- The Doctor - Peter Davison
- Adric - Matthew Waterhouse
- Nyssa - Sarah Sutton
- Tegan Jovanka - Janet Fielding
- Professor Margo Hodgson - Josie Lawrence
- Henry Cuthbertson - Will Kirk
- Sebastian Callow - Angus Imrie
- Athena McDonnell / Anna - Pearl Appleby
- Private Aurek Kowalski - Tom Alexander
Worldbuilding
- The Doctor previously visited St Andrews in the 30th century.
- Marmalade is Athena's dog.
- Mrs Crane runs a bookshop.
- Athena claims that Mr Abbott put some salmon paste aside for her.
- St Salvator's Hall and Seaview House are locations around the university in St Andrews. Castle Street is nearby. Unnamed locations include a beach, a ruined castle and a clifftop.
- In October 1940, a bomb will be dropped on the university's library.
Orion Hood novels
- The Merfolk are reading The Casebook of Orion Hood.
- The Orion Hunt novels were written by Sarah Jane Smith under the pseudonym "Sarah Joan Watson" when she and the Fourth Doctor were stuck at 107 Baker Street for a few months in the turn of the century.
- The novels include The Murder of Lord Acra and Death on the Caledonian Express.
- A 1960s entry in the series from the Doctor's future, written by "Janet Govanka", is The Return of Orion Hood, which has the Doctor on the cover wearing the a colourful coat.
Mathematics
- Henry discusses Goldbach's conjecture.
Notes
- As a pure historical, Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton all readily compared this story to TV: Black Orchid. (BFX: The Merfolk Murders)
Continuity
- Tegan claims Adric is looking to study mathematics (TV: Full Circle [+]Loading...["Full Circle (TV story)"]) at the university, Nyssa bioelectronics, (TV: The Keeper of Traken [+]Loading...["The Keeper of Traken (TV story)"]) and she herself would be studying aviation. (TV: Logopolis [+]Loading...["Logopolis (TV story)"])
- The Doctor refers to his "detective outfit", seen in TV: The Talons of Weng-Chiang [+]Loading...["The Talons of Weng-Chiang (TV story)"].
- The Doctor refers to the events at Cranleigh Hall, seen in TV: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (TV story)"].
- "The Doctor" is known as an ally of Winston Churchill, reflecting their friendship first seen in TV: Victory of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Victory of the Daleks (TV story)"], and further established in audio stories such as AUDIO: Their Finest Hour [+]Loading...["Their Finest Hour (audio story)"] and Baker Street Irregulars [+]Loading...["Baker Street Irregulars (audio story)"], with Churchill's files including a description of the Fifth Doctor, as well as several other incarnations.
- Adric remembers clearing out Romana's TARDIS bedroom (AUDIO: Psychodrome [+]Loading...["Psychodrome (audio story)"]) after she left the TARDIS, choosing to remain in E-Space. (TV: Warriors' Gate [+]Loading...["Warriors' Gate (TV story)"])
External links
- Official The Merfolk Murders page at bigfinish.com
