The Chaos Pool
Encyclopedia
The Chaos Pool is a Big Finish Productions
audio drama based on the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
.
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
audio drama 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...
.
Plot
Chaos and Order, old friends and old enemies and beginning and end of time come head to head at the conclusion of the search for The Key to 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....
— Peter DavisonPeter DavisonPeter Davison is a British actor, best known for his roles as Tristan Farnon in the television version of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, which he played from 1982 to 1984.-Early life:Davison was born Peter Moffett in Streatham,... - Amy - Ciara JansonCiara JansonCiara Janson is an English actress best known for her role in Hollyoaks as Nicole Owen.The character of Nicole Owen was Ciara Janson's first major television work. Previous parts include the role of Heidi for a BBC radio drama...
- Zara - Laura Doddington
- Madam President - Lalla WardLalla WardSarah Ward known as Lalla Ward, is an English actor, author and illustrator. As an actor, she is known for playing the part of Romana in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. She is married to evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.-Early career:Ward's stage name, "Lalla", comes...
- The Black GuardianBlack GuardianThe Black Guardian is a character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was played by Valentine Dyall....
- David TroughtonDavid TroughtonDavid Troughton is an English actor, best known for his Shakespearean roles on the British stage.- Biography :David Troughton was born in Hampstead, North London. He comes from a theatrical family: he is the son of Doctor Who actor Patrick Troughton, elder brother of Michael Troughton, and father... - The White GuardianWhite GuardianThe White Guardian is a character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was played by Cyril Luckham, with the exception of a vocal message in The Stones of Blood which was performed by Gerald Cross....
- Jason WatkinsJason Watkins (actor)Jason Watkins , is an award-nominated British stage, film and television actor.-Career:Since training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he has established himself as a stage actor, and is a member of the National Theatre company....
(uncredited) - Captain Pargrave - Ben Jones
- Commander Hectocot - Toby LongworthToby LongworthToby Longworth is a British actor who has appeared on film, radio and television. He is originally from Somerset, where he attended King Edward's School, Bath...
- The Voice - Cate Hamer
Cast Notes
- David Troughton is the son of Second DoctorSecond DoctorThe Second Doctor is the second incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by character actor Patrick Troughton....
actor Patrick TroughtonPatrick TroughtonPatrick George Troughton was an English actor most widely known for his roles in fantasy, science fiction and horror films, particularly in his role as the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which he played from 1966 to 1969,...
. His previously Doctor Who credits were in The Enemy of the WorldThe Enemy of the WorldThe Enemy of the World is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 23 December 1967 to 27 January 1968...
, The War GamesThe War GamesThe War Games is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969. It was the last regular appearance of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor, and of Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines as companions Zoe...
, The Curse of PeladonThe Curse of PeladonThe Curse of Peladon 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 1972.-Synopsis:...
, MidnightMidnight (Doctor Who)"Midnight" is the tenth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 14 June 2008. The episode placed much more emphasis on the role of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor than in the rest of the fourth series, with the...
and the Big Finish audio dramas CuddlesomeCuddlesomeCuddlesome is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was released free with issue 393 of Doctor Who Magazine. This has Peter Davison playing the Doctor....
and The Destroyer of DelightsThe Destroyer of DelightsDestroyer of Delights is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
. - This is the first Big Finish play that Lalla Ward has appeared in since The Beautiful PeopleThe Beautiful People (Doctor Who audio)The Beautiful People is a Big Finish Productions audiobook based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
Continuity
- Zara also appeared in The Judgement of IsskarThe Judgement of IsskarThe Judgement of Isskar is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. -Plot:The Key to Time must be sought again, due to the Doctor's carelessness during its last assembling...
and the Companion Chronicles story The Prisoner's DilemmaThe Prisoner's DilemmaThe Prisoner's Dilemma is a Big Finish Productions audiobook based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
.
- RomanaRomanaRomana, short for Romanadvoratrelundar, is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
(originally played by Mary TammMary TammMary Tamm is an English actress. She is best known for being the first actress to play the character of Romana in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, opposite Tom Baker as the Doctor, from the 1978–1979 season known collectively as The Key to Time.-Early life:Mary Tamm was born in...
) was first introduced to the Fourth DoctorFourth DoctorThe Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
in TV story The Ribos OperationThe Ribos OperationThe Ribos Operation is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from September 2 to September 23, 1978. This serial introduces Mary Tamm as the companion Romana. After finishing his first year as producer of Doctor Who,...
, where she was given a tracer wand and instructed by the White GuardianWhite GuardianThe White Guardian is a character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was played by Cyril Luckham, with the exception of a vocal message in The Stones of Blood which was performed by Gerald Cross....
to find the Key to Time. After it was found and re-dispersed, she continued to travel in the TARDISTARDISThe TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
, despite the Time Lords' insistence that she return to GallifreyGallifreyGallifrey is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and is the homeworld of the Doctor and the Time Lords...
.
- Astra (played by Lalla Ward) appeared in the final TV Key to Time story The Armageddon FactorThe Armageddon FactorThe Armageddon Factor is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 20 January to 24 February 1979...
, where she was revealed to be the final segment. In the following story, Destiny of the DaleksDestiny of the DaleksDestiny of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 1 September to 22 September 1979. The story introduces Lalla Ward as the newly-regenerated Romana....
, Romana unexpectedly regenerates into Astra's form (and is thereafter played by Ward).
- Romana left the Doctor and chose to stay in E-Space in the TV story Warriors' GateWarriors' GateWarriors' Gate is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was written by the English author Stephen Gallagher and first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 January to 24 January 1981...
.
- In the novel Blood HarvestBlood HarvestBlood Harvest is an original novel written by Terrance Dicks and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features vampires in common with Dicks' 1980 television serial State of Decay and makes reference to that story's events as well as to those of The...
the Seventh DoctorSeventh DoctorThe Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
helps Romana return to Normal Space and Gallifrey. In the book Goth OperaGoth OperaGoth Opera is an original Doctor Who novel, published by Virgin Publishing in their Missing Adventures range of Doctor Who novels...
, she contacts the Fifth Doctor, which is why he knows of her current situation in this audio. For Romana, Goth Opera and Chaos Pool take place roughly around the same time. The novel Happy EndingsHappy Endings (Doctor Who)Happy Endings is an original novel written by Paul Cornell and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is the fiftieth book in the Virgin New Adventures series...
establishes that she has become President of the Time Lords. This was later seen in audio stories like The Apocalypse ElementThe Apocalypse ElementThe Apocalypse Element is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It forms the second serial in the Dalek Empire arc, following on from events in The Genocide Machine...
, Neverland and ZagreusZagreus (Doctor Who audio)Zagreus is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was presented on three compact discs, and was made by Big Finish as their primary release to celebrate forty years of Doctor Who.-Plot:Following directly...
.
- After all these other appearances, President Romana is heard in the Gallifrey spin-off series, where she implements her pledge to open Gallifrey's Academy to other races. In the episode entitled LiesGallifrey: LiesGallifrey: Lies is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.-Plot:...
, she seems to have forgotten some of the events of The Chaos Pool, and hypothesizes that she initiated her own regeneration in order to escape the Imperiatrix Imprimatur which linked her to the ancient dictator Pandora.
- This story follows on from The Destroyer of DelightsThe Destroyer of DelightsDestroyer of Delights is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
.