Hornets' Nest (Doctor Who)
Encyclopedia
Hornets' Nest is an audio play
in five episodes based on the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
. It is written by Paul Magrs
, and stars Tom Baker
as the Fourth Doctor
and Richard Franklin
as Captain Mike Yates
. It was released on five CDs by BBC
Audiobooks between September and December 2009.
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
in five episodes based on the long-running British
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...
. It is written by Paul Magrs
Paul Magrs
Paul Magrs is a writer and lecturer. He was born in Jarrow, Tyne and Wear, England, and now lives in Manchester with his partner, author and lecturer Jeremy Hoad.-Early life:...
, and stars Tom Baker
Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...
as the Fourth Doctor
Fourth Doctor
The Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
and Richard Franklin
Richard Franklin
Richard Franklin is a British actor.He has had various roles in different television programmes including Crossroads and Emmerdale Farm...
as Captain Mike Yates
Captain Mike Yates
Captain Mike Yates is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Richard Franklin. He was adjutant of the British contingent of UNIT , an international organisation that defends the Earth...
. It was released on five CDs by BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Audiobooks between September and December 2009.
The Stuff of Nightmares
(released 3 September 2009)- Captain Mike YatesCaptain Mike YatesCaptain Mike Yates is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Richard Franklin. He was adjutant of the British contingent of UNIT , an international organisation that defends the Earth...
(retired) responds to an advert in a paper that seems to be specifically directed at him. This leads him to a small cottage in SussexSussexSussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
and a meeting with his old UNITUNITUNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures...
colleague, the DoctorFourth DoctorThe Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
, who looks exactly as he did over three decades ago. Once there, the Doctor tells Yates about his recent fight against a swarm of psychic alien Hornets. His first encounter with them involved their possession of an army of taxidermyTaxidermyTaxidermy is the act of mounting or reproducing dead animals for display or for other sources of study. Taxidermy can be done on all vertebrate species of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians...
animals.
Cast
- The DoctorFourth DoctorThe Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
– Tom BakerTom BakerThomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:... - Captain Mike YatesCaptain Mike YatesCaptain Mike Yates is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Richard Franklin. He was adjutant of the British contingent of UNIT , an international organisation that defends the Earth...
– Richard FranklinRichard FranklinRichard Franklin is a British actor.He has had various roles in different television programmes including Crossroads and Emmerdale Farm... - Mrs Wibbsey – Susan JamesonSusan JamesonSusan Jameson is an English actress who is best known for her television work.Jameson was born in Barnt Green, Worcestershire, England, UK. She is married to actor James Bolam with whom she has a daughter, Lucy...
- Percy Noggins – Daniel HillDaniel Hill (actor)Daniel Hill is a British actor known primarily for his television work.His most notable role was as the avaricious Harvey Bains, manager of the retirement home in Waiting for God, alongside Stephanie Cole and Graham Crowden; though he had also appeared with Martin Clunes and William Gaunt in the...
The Dead Shoes
(released 8 October 2009)- The Doctor explains that he tracked the Hornets back to 1932, to a pair of ballet slippers in a shop called Cromer’sCromerCromer is a coastal town and civil parish in north Norfolk, England. The local government authority is North Norfolk District Council, whose headquarters is in Holt Road in the town. The town is situated 23 miles north of the county town, Norwich, and is 4 miles east of Sheringham...
Palace of Curios. The owner, Mrs Wibbsey, shrinks the Doctor and traps him inside a possessed dollhouseDollhouseA dollhouse is a toy home, made in miniature. For the last century, dollhouses have primarily been the domain of children but their collection and crafting is also a hobby for many adults. The term dollhouse is common in the United States and Canada...
.
Cast
- The Doctor – Tom Baker
- Captain Mike Yates – Richard Franklin
- Mrs Wibbsey – Susan Jameson
- Ernestina Stott – Clare Corbett
- The Reverend Small – Christian RodskaChristian RodskaChristian Rodska is an English actor who has appeared in many television and radio series and narrated a number of audiobooks...
The Circus of Doom
(released 5 November 2009)- The Doctor traces the Hornets further back in time. In 1832, a decadent circusCircusA circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
run by a bitter dwarf, entrances the simple citizens of Blandford.
Cast
- The Doctor – Tom Baker
- Captain Mike Yates – Richard Franklin
- Sally – Susie Riddell
- Dr. Adam Farrow – Michael MaloneyMichael MaloneyMichael Maloney is an English actor.Born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Maloney's first television appearance was as Peter Barkworth's teenage son in the 1979 drama series, Telford's Change....
- Old Lady – Susan Jameson
- Francesca – Jilly Bond
- Antonio – Stephen ThorneStephen ThorneStephen Thorne is a British actor of radio, film, stage and television.He trained at the and after a time in weekly rep. he played several seasons with the Old Vic Company and the RSC in Stratford and London including a tour to Russia...
A Sting in the Tale
(released 3 December 2009)- The Doctor finally finds the earliest infestation of the Hornets in the year 1039. A nunnery in NorthumbriaNorthumbriaNorthumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
is besieged by wild dogs. The Hornets, new to Earth, encounter the Doctor for the first time (from their perspective) and fight to find their lost queen. This leads to a chase through the corridors and strange forgotten rooms of the TARDISTARDISThe TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
.
Cast
- The Doctor – Tom Baker
- Captain Mike Yates – Richard Franklin
- Nun – Clare Corbett
- Sister – Susie Riddell
- The Swarm – Rula LenskaRula LenskaRula Lenska is an English actress. Best known for her work in the United Kingdom, she is remembered in the United States for a television advert that presented her as a celebrity, even though she was not widely known in the US at the time the advert was produced.She has appeared extensively on...
- Mrs Wibbsey – Susan Jameson
Hive of Horror
(released 3 December 2009)- Yates and the Doctor make their final confrontation with the queen of the hive, inside the paper skull of a stuffed zebraZebraZebras are several species of African equids united by their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds...
.
Cast
- The Doctor – Tom Baker
- Captain Mike Yates – Richard Franklin
- Mrs Wibbsey – Susan Jameson
- The Queen – Rula Lenska
Crew
- Writer – Paul MagrsPaul MagrsPaul Magrs is a writer and lecturer. He was born in Jarrow, Tyne and Wear, England, and now lives in Manchester with his partner, author and lecturer Jeremy Hoad.-Early life:...
- Producer & Director – Kate Thomas
- Script Editor & Executive Producer – Michael StevensMichael StevensMichael Stevens may refer to:*Mick Stevens , English musician, guitar player, singer, and songwriter*Michael Stevens , American jazz composer and musician...
- Cover Illustrators – Ben Willsher and Anthony Dry
Continuity
- The Doctor tells Yates about his "recent escapades", including "giant rats"The Talons of Weng-ChiangThe Talons of Weng-Chiang is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 26 February to 2 April 1977.-Synopsis:...
, "killer robots"The Robots of DeathThe Robots of Death is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 29 January to 19 February 1977.-Synopsis:...
and "skulls from the dawn of time"Image of the FendahlImage of the Fendahl is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 29 October to 19 November 1977.-Plot:...
. As these adventures take place with LeelaLeela (Doctor Who)Leela is a fictional character played by Louise Jameson in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Leela was a companion of the Fourth Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1977 to 1978...
and because he is now alone, this story presumably takes place just after she left him at the end of The Invasion of TimeThe Invasion of TimeThe Invasion of Time is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 4 February to 11 March 1978...
. - K9 (presumably Mark II) is indirectly mentioned. It is unclear if the Doctor has started or finished constructing him.
- Yates' breakdown, dark times and search for redemption were chronicled in his last few television stories, The Green DeathThe Green DeathThe Green Death is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast in six weekly parts from 19 May 1973 to 23 June 1973. It was the last to feature Katy Manning as companion Jo Grant in Doctor Who...
, Invasion of the DinosaursInvasion of the DinosaursInvasion of the Dinosaurs is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 12 January to 16 February 1974.-Synopsis:...
and Planet of the SpidersPlanet of the SpidersPlanet of the Spiders is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from May 4 to June 8, 1974. It was Jon Pertwee's last serial as the Doctor and marks the first, uncredited appearance of Tom Baker in the role. It also marks...
. - The Fourth Doctor, Yates and Mrs Wibbsey are reunited one year later in Paul Magrs' sequel, Demon QuestDemon QuestDemon Quest is an audio play in five episodes based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is written by Paul Magrs, and stars Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates...
and again in Serpent CrestSerpent CrestSerpent Crest is an audio play in five episodes based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is written by Paul Magrs, and stars Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates...
.
Cast Notes
- This is the first time Tom Baker has reprised the role of the Doctor in an original full length story.
- Richard Franklin reprised the role of Captain Yates in The Magician's OathThe Magician's OathThe Magician's Oath is a Big Finish Productions audiobook based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
, a Big Finish ProductionsBig Finish ProductionsBig Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
audio story released a few months before Hornet's Nest. - Susan Jameson was also in a Big Finish Production, ten years previously. The Spectre of Lanyon MoorThe Spectre of Lanyon MoorThe Spectre of Lanyon Moor is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Plot:The Sixth Doctor and Evelyn team up with the Brigadier to defeat an ancient evil in Cornwall....
featured Colin BakerColin BakerColin Baker is a British actor who is known for playing Paul Merroney in The Brothers from 1974 to 1976 and as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, from 1984 to 1986.- Background:Colin Baker was born in London, but moved north to...
as the Sixth DoctorSixth DoctorThe Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...
and Nicholas CourtneyNicholas CourtneyWilliam Nicholas Stone Courtney was an English television actor, most famous for playing Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
as The BrigadierBrigadier Lethbridge-StewartBrigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Nicholas Courtney...
. - Daniel Hill appeared in ShadaShadaShada is an unaired serial of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was intended to be the final serial of the 1979-80 season , but was never completed due to a strike at the BBC during filming...
, the Fourth Doctor TV story that was aborted due to a strike. - Rula Lenska appeared in the Fifth DoctorFifth DoctorThe Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....
TV story Resurrection of the DaleksResurrection of the DaleksResurrection of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts between 8 February and 15 February 1984...
. - Stephen Thorne played several monsters in the TV series. He was in the Third DoctorThird DoctorThe Third Doctor is the third incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee....
stories The DæmonsThe DæmonsThe Dæmons is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in five weekly parts from May 22 to June 19, 1971.-Plot:...
as Azal, The Three Doctors as OmegaOmega (Doctor Who)Omega is a fictional character from the long-running British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. In the context of the series, Omega is known as one of the founding fathers of the Time Lords of the planet Gallifrey, and is a revered figure in Time Lord history together with the equally...
and Frontier in SpaceFrontier in SpaceFrontier in Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from February 24 to March 31, 1973...
as an OgronOgronOgrons are a fictional extraterrestrial race from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The name may be derived from the mythological ogres....
. He was also in one episode of the Fourth Doctor story The Hand of FearThe Hand of FearThe Hand of Fear is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 2 October to 23 October 1976...
as the male version of Eldrad.