The Plague of Dreams (audio story)

The Plague of Dreams
Main character(s):	Polly
Featuring:	The Player, First Doctor, Ben
Main enemy:	Psychoactive virus
Main setting:	Wyld Heath, 16th century
Key crew
Publisher:	Big Finish Productions
Writer:	Guy Adams
Director:	Lisa Bowerman
Producer:	Ian Atkins
Music:	Robert Harvey
Sound:	Robert Harvey
Release details
Number of parts:	2
Release number:	11.4
Part of:	The First Doctor: Volume Two
Release date:	15 June 2017
Format:	1 CD Download 4th of 4 stories
Production code:	BFPDWCC110
ISBN:	ISBN 978-1-78703-006-0 (physical); ISBN 978-1-78703-007-7 (digital)
The Companion Chronicles
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Next →	The Curator's Egg
The First Doctor
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The Plague of Dreams was the fourth and final story in The First Doctor: Volume Two.

Publisher's summary

"Pray welcome, one and all, to this, a fantasy in two acts, presented, most humbly, for your pleasure. We bring you drama and magic, angels and demons, a tale of mysterious plague... of nightmares made flesh... of a war fought both in this world and those immeasurably distant. A war, in fact, fought through the mists of time itself. It will make you gasp! It will make you weep! It may even make some of you wake-up..."

Plot

to be added

Cast

• Polly - Anneke Wills
• The Player/Ben Jackson - Elliot Chapman

Worldbuilding

• The psychoactive virus turns dream into reality, and was created by the enemy.
• The Player refers to the enemy as taking the "belt and braces" approach.
• The Player quotes William Shakespeare.
• Polly mentions a recent encounter with the Confederate of Brillpoor.

Notes

• While the three other stories in the box set all adopted straightforward first-person narration, the narrative of this story is presented in a framing device common among The Companion Chronicles.
• The Player warns the Doctor about the Time War and the Daleks in his future but they are not referred to by name, leaving the references very vague. This was intentional in order to maintain the feel of a First Doctor story. (BFX: The Plague of Dreams) The references are elaborated upon in the trailer for the box set, which is presented from an in-universe perspective, serving to complement The Plague of Dreams in particular.

Continuity

• The Player warns that the Doctor's timeline is under attack, (AUDIO: Fields of Terror, Across the Darkened City) and the Doctor realises they were diverted to Lewes from where they should be. (AUDIO: The Bonfires of the Vanities) The attackers are the Daleks from the Last Great Time War. The Time Lords fix most of the damage but are unable to interfere in this case as he is so close to his regeneration. (AUDIO: Volume Two trailer)
• The Player makes telepathic contact with the Doctor and Polly. (TV: The Three Doctors et al)
• The Player mentions that the enemy could destroy Earth, but it would damage their own timeline. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)
• The Player tells the Doctor that he was always supposed to go to the South Pole. (TV: The Tenth Planet)
• The Player speaks of an incarnation of the Doctor the Time Lords need for the Time War. (TV: The Night of the Doctor, The Day of the Doctor)

External links

• Official The Plague of Dreams page at bigfinish.com