The Founding Fathers (audio story)

The Founding Fathers was the third story in the 2015 The Companion Chronicles audio box set The First Doctor: Volume One.

Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

The TARDIS lands in Leicester Square in the summer of 1762. When the Doctor, Steven and Vicki find themselves locked out of the TARDIS, only one man can possibly help them. But the American, Benjamin Franklin, has problems of his own...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

• Steven Taylor - Peter Purves
• Sida - Alice Haig
• Abigail Holt - Lisa Bowerman

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Steven's planet[[edit] | [edit source]]

• Steven Taylor
• Sida
• First Doctor's mind copy

London 1762[[edit] | [edit source]]

• First Doctor
• Vicki Pallister
• Steven Taylor
• Benjamin Franklin
• Abigail Holt

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

• In 1762, St Paul's Cathedral is the only landmark that Steven recognises from his first visit to London 150 years later.
• Benjamin Franklin speaks of a proposal of his that was rejected, suggesting the American colonies should unite together as one country governed by a president. The Doctor says that he would be instrumental later on in forming the country.
• Steven worked as a boatman on the River Thames while stranded in 1762.
• Franklin's son William Franklin disapproved of his affair with Abigail Holt.

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

• This is the second part in the Steven trilogy written by Simon Guerrier that began with The War to End All Wars and concluded with The Locked Room.
• This story is a "pure historical" featuring no science fiction elements apart from the presence of the Doctor, Steven, Vicki and the TARDIS.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

• Sida refers to the fact that Steven was deposed as king. (AUDIO: The War to End All Wars)
• The duplicate of the Doctor's mind refers to Steven's first encounter with the real Doctor on Mechanus. (TV: The Chase)
• The duplicate of the Doctor's mind says that, "A man is the sum of his memories." (TV: The Five Doctors)
• The duplicate of the Doctor's mind is running in the election at the demand of the people. (AUDIO: The War to End All Wars)
• The TARDIS materialises in Leicester Square. It would later do so again in July 1966. (TV: The War Machines)
• Steven refers to his previous visit to London in 1912. (AUDIO: The Suffering) He would visit the city again in February 1814, (AUDIO: Frostfire) 1966 (AUDIO: The Perpetual Bond) and March 1965. (TV: The Massacre)
• The Doctor refers to the fact that Vicki has a certificate in medicine. (TV: The Web Planet)
• Steven says that the TARDIS door has a complex lock that will melt if tampered with. (TV: The Daleks)
• The Doctor refers to Franklin's kite experiment when he discovered static electricity. The Tenth Doctor later claimed that he was present that night and he got rope burns from the kite before being soaked and electrocuted. (TV: Smith and Jones)
• Steven refers to the Monk's attempt to alter history by helping the Saxons to defeat the Normans in the Battle of Hastings in 1066. (TV: The Time Meddler)
• During his tenth incarnation, the Doctor would be struck by lightning again in New York City on 1 November 1930. (TV: Evolution of the Daleks)
• The Doctor makes the console live resulting in an electric shock delivered to Franklin as soon as he touches the controls. Previously, the Doctor used the same trick to prevent Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright from leaving the TARDIS. (TV: An Unearthly Child)
• Sida mentions that Steven was ultimately successful in his attempt to contact the Doctor. (AUDIO: The Locked Room)

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

• Official The First Doctor Volume 1 page at bigfinish.com