Blood of the Daleks
Encyclopedia
Blood of the Daleks is an audio drama based on the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions
; the first of two 50-minute parts was broadcast on BBC 7
on 31 December 2006, and the second was aired on 7 January 2007. It is the first original Doctor Who drama produced for BBC 7, and stars Paul McGann
as the Eighth Doctor
and Sheridan Smith
as new companion Lucie Miller. Lucie, described as a "brash northern lass", will initially be an unwilling passenger in the TARDIS
; she has been placed with the Doctor as part of a "Time Lord
witness protection programme". It is the first in a series of six stories commissioned by BBC 7 from Big Finish.
The story is set on a human colony named Red Rocket Rising, and features the Dalek
s.
strike and the consequent impact winter
. The survivors include the colony's acting president, Eileen Klint, disgraced scientist Asha Gryvern and the apparently paranoid Tom Cardwell. Klint receives a message from a Dalek fleet offering rescue to the colony's citizens, and accepts the offer, believing the Daleks to be benevolent. Lucie reveals that the Time Lords have placed her in the Doctor's care because of something she'd seen, although she doesn't know what it is. Asha, apparently the assistant to one Professor Martez, is in reality Martez himself, who had combined dead and living humans with technology salvaged from a crashed Dalek ship in an effort to ensure survival; Martez has created a new race of Daleks. When the true Daleks land, they welcome the survivors onto their ship, and demand that Klint turn the Doctor over to them. Meanwhile Martez orders his Daleks to open fire on the Doctor.
".
Lucie considers staying with the survivors on Red Rocket Rising, but the Doctor discovers that the Time Lords will not let him leave the planet without her. And elsewhere, a woman calling herself the Headhunter accepts a commission from one Mr. Hulbert, promising him that she will find Lucie Miller anywhere in space and time...
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
; the first of two 50-minute parts was broadcast on BBC 7
BBC 7
BBC Radio 4 Extra, formerly known as BBC 7 and BBC Radio 7, is a British digital radio station broadcasting comedy, drama, and children's programming nationally 24 hours a day. It is the principal broadcasting outlet for the BBC's archive of spoken-word entertainment...
on 31 December 2006, and the second was aired on 7 January 2007. It is the first original Doctor Who drama produced for BBC 7, and stars Paul McGann
Paul McGann
Paul McGann is an English actor who made his name on the BBC serial The Monocled Mutineer, in which he played the lead role...
as the Eighth Doctor
Eighth Doctor
The Eighth Doctor is the eighth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Paul McGann...
and Sheridan Smith
Sheridan Smith
Sheridan Smith is an English actress and singer who is best known for her contributions to the British sitcoms Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Gavin & Stacey and Benidorm. She has also become a recognised face in West End theatre, where she has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors,...
as new companion Lucie Miller. Lucie, described as a "brash northern lass", will initially be an unwilling passenger in the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
; she has been placed with the Doctor as part of a "Time Lord
Time Lord
The Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
witness protection programme". It is the first in a series of six stories commissioned by BBC 7 from Big Finish.
The story is set on a human colony named Red Rocket Rising, and features the Dalek
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
s.
Part 1
To the Doctor's puzzlement and consternation, Lucie Miller appears in the TARDIS; he attempts to return her to the North of England in 2006, but finds that a temporal shield prevents him from landing there. Instead, the two find themselves on the human colony world Red Rocket Rising, which has suffered an asteroidAsteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
strike and the consequent impact winter
Impact winter
An impact winter is a period of prolonged cold weather caused by the impact on the Earth of a large asteroid or comet. If such an impact occurred on land or the floor of a shallow sea, it could cause large amounts of dust or ash to be thrown into the Earth's atmosphere, blocking the Sun's light...
. The survivors include the colony's acting president, Eileen Klint, disgraced scientist Asha Gryvern and the apparently paranoid Tom Cardwell. Klint receives a message from a Dalek fleet offering rescue to the colony's citizens, and accepts the offer, believing the Daleks to be benevolent. Lucie reveals that the Time Lords have placed her in the Doctor's care because of something she'd seen, although she doesn't know what it is. Asha, apparently the assistant to one Professor Martez, is in reality Martez himself, who had combined dead and living humans with technology salvaged from a crashed Dalek ship in an effort to ensure survival; Martez has created a new race of Daleks. When the true Daleks land, they welcome the survivors onto their ship, and demand that Klint turn the Doctor over to them. Meanwhile Martez orders his Daleks to open fire on the Doctor.
Part 2
The Doctor tricks Martez's Daleks and escapes. Martez has summoned the Daleks for assistance with his own Dalek creations, but the true Daleks see Martez's Daleks as a threat to the purity of the Dalek race, and plan to destroy them. The Doctor allies himself temporarily with the true Daleks in order to destroy Martez's Daleks, but then works with Tom Cardwell to eliminate both Dalek groups. The Daleks reveal that they caused the asteroid strike on Red Rocket Rising, in a failed attempt to eliminate Martez's creations; they also destroyed the exodus ships carrying refugees from the disaster. Martez's Daleks, which are being birthed at a rapid rate, initially have an advantage over the true Daleks, who are weakened from another conflict. The Doctor eventually convinces Martez that a Dalek-dominated world will know only hatred, war and death. Martez, whose stolen body is breaking down, halts the birthing process; in return, his creations kill him. Eventually, the two groups of Daleks (aided by Cardwell's resistance) destroy each other. The humans are left to pick up the pieces, and Klint announces that a new offer of rescue has been received from the inhabitants of a planet whose name begins "Tel-Telos (Doctor Who)
Telos is a fictional planet from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is an arid and mountainous planet, with little sign of vegetation...
".
Lucie considers staying with the survivors on Red Rocket Rising, but the Doctor discovers that the Time Lords will not let him leave the planet without her. And elsewhere, a woman calling herself the Headhunter accepts a commission from one Mr. Hulbert, promising him that she will find Lucie Miller anywhere in space and time...
Cast
- The DoctorDoctor (Doctor Who)The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
— Paul McGannPaul McGannPaul McGann is an English actor who made his name on the BBC serial The Monocled Mutineer, in which he played the lead role... - Lucie MillerLucie MillerLucie Miller is a character in a series of audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions for BBC7 based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
— Sheridan SmithSheridan SmithSheridan Smith is an English actress and singer who is best known for her contributions to the British sitcoms Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Gavin & Stacey and Benidorm. She has also become a recognised face in West End theatre, where she has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors,... - Computer/Headhunter — Katarina Olsson
- Eileen Klint — Anita DobsonAnita DobsonAnita Dobson is an English television actress and singer. She gained her highest profile while playing Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders...
- Tom Cardwell — Kenneth CranhamKenneth CranhamKenneth Cranham is a film, television and stage actor. He starred in the title role in the popular 1980s comedy drama Shine on Harvey Moon. He also appeared in Layer Cake, Gangster No. 1, Rome, Oliver! and many other films. He is probably best known to horror genre fans as the deranged Dr...
- Asha/Martez — Hayley Atwell
- Lowell — Gerry O'Toole
- Daleks — Nicholas BriggsNicholas BriggsNicholas Briggs is a British actor and writer, predominantly associated with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and its various spin-offs, particularly as the voice of the Daleks. Briggs sometimes uses the pseudonym Arthur Wallis...
Continuity
- The real reason Lucie and the Doctor are brought together is revealed in Human ResourcesHuman Resources (Doctor Who audio)Human Resources is an audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions and was broadcast in two parts on BBC 7 on 11 February and 18 February 2007 and was the last to use David Arnold's arrangement of...
. - The Doctor refers to one of the Daleks as Dalek Fred, a popular fan nickname for the Dalek who shot the Tenth DoctorTenth DoctorThe Tenth Doctor is the tenth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant, who appears in three series, as well as eight specials...
in The Stolen EarthThe Stolen Earth"The Stolen Earth" is the twelfth episode of the fourth series and the 750th overall episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was written by show runner and head writer Russell T Davies and is the first of a two-part crossover story; the concluding episode is...
. - At the end of the play, Klint declares that help is coming once more; she names their new saviours' home planet, but only the first part of the name, "Tel-", is heard before the signal cuts off. This implies the planet is TelosTelos (Doctor Who)Telos is a fictional planet from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is an arid and mountainous planet, with little sign of vegetation...
, and that Red Rocket Rising will soon be invaded by Cybermen. - The Headhunter reappears in several of the following Eighth Doctor stories. She finally catches Lucie at the end of No More LiesNo More Lies (Doctor Who audio)No More Lies is an audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions and was broadcast on BBC 7 on 4 February 2007.-Plot:...
. - The DalekDalekThe Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
s talk about putting the Doctor on trial to deceive the inhabitants of Red Rocket Rising. This may refer to the TV movie in which the Daleks, out of the norm, put the Master on trial, listening to his plea, and explains why this had happened. - Lucie meets the Daleks again in her last story, Lucie Miller / To the Death.