The Chimes of Midnight (audio story): Difference between revisions

The Doctor and Charley discover they've arrived on [[Christmas]] but the house is abandoned. Charley hears a faint voice singing [[Hark the Herald Angels Sing]] while Edith hears Charley's faint voice alerting the Doctor to a freshly prepared [[Turkey (bird)|turkey]]. The two continue to explore only to discover that it's very difficult to make impressions on the surrounding environment. They manage to find a way to interact with it, but to the Doctor's disturbance, the house's environment begins to taunt them. [[Frederick (The Chimes of Midnight)|Frederick]] finds and calls off his relationship with [[Mary (The Chimes of Midnight)|Mary]] after being forced to by Mrs Baddeley but Mary has other plans. Charley, who seems to be able to hear Edith, is prompted by the Doctor to find the source of the voice when she suddenly stumbles onto Edith taking a [[bath]]. They converse and find themselves getting along well when suddenly Charley hears another Edith say that she (Edith) is going to die soon. Charley, frightened, calls out for the Doctor and finds she can talk to him and he reveals they need to return to the TARDIS. She comments he's scared which he acknowledges, claiming some mysteries are best left alone, however, they hear a scream, a clock chime and the Doctor realises they are now trapped...

Charley relents and tries some pudding but ends up behaving strangely and catching herself, excuses herself after asking Baddeley who she suspects and Baddeley reveals she suspects Shaughnessy because he has "shifty eyes" (the same reason given by Shaughnessy to the Doctor). The Doctor interviews Frederick, the [[chauffeur]], and Charley interviews Mary, both claiming their accused of also having "shifty eyes". Suddenly Charley hears Edith again who reveals she needs to find out who murdered her, to not forget her, that another murder will occur and finally Edward Grove is alive. Charley yells for the Doctor who finds her but they discover that Mrs. Baddeley has been the next victim, and has been stuffed with her own pudding. The household believe it another suicide and the Doctor asks them to leave so he can consult with Charley. He reveals that he suspects they are playing a game and they know a few things, that the murders occur on the hour and something strange occurs each time, such as Mrs Baddeley being stuffed with her own pudding. Charley realises that the murders are occurring too quickly to be an hour apart and an impressed Doctor reasons that the killer must be speeding up time and they set off to find a clock. Frederick and Mary meet and their warped perception of the events begins to take hold as they forget about Edith and reaffirm their devotion to each other.

The Doctor and Charley find Shaughnessy and ask for his [[Watch|pocket watch]] but he refuses. They decide that they will go upstairs to find the [[grandfather clock]] that keeps striking but Shaughnessy holds them at [[Firearm|gunpoint]]. The Doctor then tricks Shaughnessy to give up his pocket watch and they end up not going upstairs. The Doctor explains to Charley that the entity sees them as a threat but cannot work out how to respond to them which is why he was able to convince Shaughnessy. They find the watch behaving strangely and call the house members together to see what will happen and who may be murdered only to find that they cannot remember Edith. They split up again despite the Doctor's warnings, claiming there is household work to return to and the grandfather clock strikes midnight...

The Doctor explains that they're still in the TARDIS but they're stuck in a [[time loop]]. He then explains that the problem is them as they are the [[Temporal paradox|paradox]] and are trapped. The household finds them and reveals their master is coming to meet him and they transport Charley elsewhere despite the Doctor's protests. The Doctor meets Edward Grove who has taken over the body of Shaughnessy to serve as a communication vessel. Charley, meanwhile, finds Edith again and she asks Edith to show herself. Edith does and Charley, shocked, realises Edith was the cook in her family's old estate, having not recognised her earlier because when Edith worked as a scullery maid she looked different, younger, as it was her first job. She mysteriously explains that she died for Charley. The Doctor and Edward Grove chat and the Doctor condemns Edward's horrific treatment of the household. He further questions the point of Grove's existence but Grove reveals it is enough for him to simply exist, even if it means keeping the others enslaved and the paradox going. Edith explains to the Charley the horrible treatment she's had to endure her whole life and how Charley was always so kind to her, and explains that Grove has filled aspects of her life into the household. When Charley asks why there's so much death, Edith simply says she died for Charley even though she came back to life. The Doctor and Grove talk more and Grove reveals that the Doctor and Charley are what are giving him life, having arrived and created a paradox. Edith explains to Charley that when the news of her death in the R101 crash reached home, Edith was ignored by all as the mood of the house was depressed over Charley's death and yet she, Edith, was not allowed to mourn Charley, her best friend. Not wanting to live without Charley, she commits suicide in the kitchen on the night of Christmas eve. The Doctor tries to convince Grove to commit suicide, saying that he is not really alive but Grove declares that having tasted existence, he will keep the paradox going for a single moment, destroying everyone inside the loop to keep himself alive. The Doctor tries to stop him, volunteering to sacrifice himself and takes advantage of the household's commitment to serve him under Grove's earlier orders, first telling them to kill him, Grove trying his best to stop him. Edith tries to convince Charley to commit suicide since Charley was supposed to have died in the R101 in 1931 but is still alive here in 1906. Charley must make a choice: her life or Edith's.

== References ==

*The Doctor finds [[plum pudding]] with brandy butter. Charley expresses dislike for plum pudding.

*Charlie smells [[lemon]]s and [[orange]]s when they arrive.

*Charlie knocks over a jar of [[jam]] that the Doctor [[taste]]s. They also find [[custard]] made in [[Leeds]] in the scullery.

==Gallery==

*There is an in-joke in the story when the Doctor mentions to Charley that it wouldn't be fair if the murderer is someone with whom they hadn't met yet, as was sometimes the case in the classic series.

*Mrs [[Baddeley]] believes her [[plum pudding]] to be superior to Mrs [[Beeton]]'s. The [[Second Doctor]] confessed that he enjoyed Mrs. Beeton's roly-poly custard pudding. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Queen of Time (audio story)|The Queen of Time]]'')