The Company of Friends
Encyclopedia
The Company of Friends is a Big Finish Productions
audio drama based on the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
. The play is made of four one-part stories, by different authors, rather than the usual multi-part serial. All episodes use the Eighth Doctor
as played by Paul McGann
, and he is joined in each episode by a companion who originated in either the Doctor Who book or comic ranges.
Benny is hired to recover a familiar artifact: the key to the TARDIS.
The Doctor and Fitz investigate an alien world's alien defense business.
Izzy asks the Doctor to look into the rarest comic book in history: 'Aggrotron!'
Mary Shelley
becomes inspired by events in Switzerland
, 1816, at the Villa Diodati
when she meets the two Doctors.
bonus feature, Part 4.
Cremation Point by Marc Platt
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...
. The play is made of four one-part stories, by different authors, rather than the usual multi-part serial. All episodes use 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...
as played by 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...
, and he is joined in each episode by a companion who originated in either the Doctor Who book or comic ranges.
Benny's Story
by Lance ParkinBenny is hired to recover a familiar artifact: the key to the TARDIS.
- Bernice SummerfieldBernice SummerfieldBernice Surprise Summerfield is a fictional character created by author Paul Cornell as a new companion of the Seventh Doctor in Virgin Publishing's range of original full-length Doctor Who novels, the New Adventures...
- Lisa BowermanLisa BowermanLisa Bowerman is a British actress.Bowerman trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and was a regular in the first two series of BBC medical drama Casualty playing Sandra Mute, the show's first female paramedic. Her other television work includes: Dodgem, The Count of Solar, Grange Hill, The... - Klarner - Richard Earl
- Venhella - Su Douglas
Fitz's Story
by Stephen ColeThe Doctor and Fitz investigate an alien world's alien defense business.
- Fitz KreinerFitz KreinerFitzgerald Michael Kreiner, or simply Fitz, is a fictional character in the Eighth Doctor Adventures novels based upon the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. The Eighth Doctor first met him in the novel The Taint by Michael Collier — the character was co-created by Stephen Cole...
- Matt Di AngeloMatt Di AngeloMatt Di Angelo in London, England is an English actor and singer.He is mostly known for playing fictional character Deano Wicks in the popular British soap EastEnders, and for his current role of Sean Kennedy in the BBC series Hustle.-Education:He attended Southgate School, and started studying... - Commander Hellan Femor - Fenella WoolgarFenella WoolgarFenella Woolgar is an English actress. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1999 and has since appeared in several film, television and theatre productions. She also works as an audio book narrator and voice over artist...
- Michael Rond - Paul Thornley
- Gem Weston - Su Douglas
Izzy's Story
by Alan BarnesIzzy asks the Doctor to look into the rarest comic book in history: 'Aggrotron!'
- Izzy SinclairIzzy SinclairIsabelle "Izzy" Sinclair, is a fictional character who appeared in the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. She was a companion of the Eighth Doctor...
- Jemima RooperJemima RooperJemima Rooper is an English actress.- Background :Born in Hammersmith, London, Rooper is the daughter of TV journalist Alison Rooper. She attended Redcliffe Primary School in Chelsea, London and Godolphin and Latymer girls' school. While working on The Famous Five, she passed eight GCSEs with A*... - Grubb/The Man - Steve Hansell
- Grakk/Clerkie/The Camp Robot - Teddy Kempner
- Courtmaster Cruel - Anthony Glennan
- Foreman - Ian Hallard
- Juror - Katrina Cooke
- Captain Cannibal - Robert Forknall
- Suits - Robert Forknall/Ian Hallard
Mary's Story
by Jonathan MorrisMary Shelley
Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
becomes inspired by events in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, 1816, at the Villa Diodati
Villa Diodati
The Villa Diodati is a manor in Cologny close to Lake Geneva. It is most famous for having been the summer residence of Lord Byron, Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, John Polidori and others in 1816, where the basis for the classical horror stories Frankenstein and The Vampyre was laid.Originally called...
when she meets the two Doctors.
- Mary ShelleyMary ShelleyMary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
- Julie CoxJulie CoxJulie Cox is an English-Scottish actress perhaps best known for her role as Princess Irulan in the Sci Fi Channel's 2000 Dune miniseries and its 2003 follow-up, Children of Dune.... - Percy Shelley - Anthony Glennon
- Lord Byron - Robert Forknall
- John PolidoriJohn PolidoriJohn William Polidori was an English writer and physician of Italian descent. He is known for his associations with the Romantic movement and credited by some as the creator of the vampire genre of fantasy fiction. His most successful work was the 1819 short story, The Vampyre, the first vampire...
- Ian Hallard - Claire ClairmontClaire ClairmontClara Mary Jane Clairmont , or Claire Clairmont as she was commonly known, was a stepsister of writer Mary Shelley and the mother of Lord Byron's daughter Allegra.-Early life:...
- Katrina Cooke
The Three Companions
The Three CompanionsThe Three Companions
The Three Companions is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is a 12-part mini-series included as a bonus feature on 12 consecutive monthly Doctor Who plays, starting with The Magic Mousetrap and ending with...
bonus feature, Part 4.
Cremation Point by Marc Platt
Marc Platt
Marc Platt is a British writer. He is most known for his work with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.After studying catering at a technical college, Platt worked first for Trust House Forte, and then in administration for the BBC...
- PollyPolly (Doctor Who)Polly is a fictional character played by Anneke Wills in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A young woman from the year 1966, she was a companion of the First and Second Doctors and a regular in the programme from 1966 to 1967.-Character history:Polly first...
- Anneke WillsAnneke WillsAnneke Wills is an English actress, best-known for her role as the Doctor Who's companion Polly in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Biography:... - 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...
- 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:... - Gerry Lenz/Announcer - Russell FloydRussell FloydRussell Floyd is a British actor. He played Michael Rose in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 1996 to 1999, and DC Ken Drummond in the ITV police drama, The Bill, from 2002 to 2005...
Continuity
- The chronological placement of these adventures is unclear, but it is fair to assume that they all occur soon after the Television Movie, earlier than any other main range drama.
- Benny last appeared in the main Doctor Who range in 2003's The Dark FlameThe Dark FlameThe Dark Flame is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Cast:*The Doctor — Sylvester McCoy*Ace — Sophie Aldred*Bernice Summerfield — Lisa Bowerman...
opposite 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....
and AceAce (Doctor Who)Dorothy Gale McShane, better known by her nickname Ace, is a fictional character played by Sophie Aldred in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
. Benny first met the Eighth Doctor in the novel The Dying DaysThe Dying DaysThe Dying Days is an original novel written by Lance Parkin and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was last of that range to feature the Doctor and the only one of that range to feature Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor. Thereafter the series centred around...
.
- Fitz appeared in the Eighth Doctor AdventuresEighth Doctor AdventuresThe Eighth Doctor Adventures are a series of spin off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and published under the BBC Books imprint. 73 books were published overall...
novels, starting with The TaintThe TaintThe Taint is an original novel written by Michael Collier and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The work features the Eighth Doctor and Sam. This also marks the introduction of a new companion, Fitz Kreiner.-External links:*-Reviews:*...
. How he parted company with the Doctor is uncertain, as he was also in the final book of the range, The Gallifrey ChroniclesThe Gallifrey Chronicles (2005 novel)For the John Peel book of the same name, see: The Gallifrey Chronicles The Gallifrey Chronicles is a BBC Books original novel written by Lance Parkin and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
.
- Izzy was the first companion given to the Eighth Doctor in the Doctor Who MagazineDoctor Who MagazineDoctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
comics. She traveled with him from End Game until Oblivion. In this audio story, they visit Stockbridge, a town which has featured in many Doctor Who Magazine comics as well as audios such as Circular TimeCircular TimeCircular Time is a British audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is produced by Big Finish Productions.-Circular Time:...
and The Eternal SummerThe Eternal SummerThe Eternal Summer is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It contains a three part story and a one part story as well. -Plot:...
. Located somewhere in GloucestershireGloucestershireGloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, is also Izzy's home.
- Bernice, Fitz and Izzy have all been featured previously in Big Finish's Short TripsBig Finish Short TripsThe Big Finish Short Trips are a collection of short story anthologies published by Big Finish Productions based on the BBC Television series Doctor Who, beginning with the collection Short Trips: Zodiac in December 2002 and ending with the loss of their license in 2009...
short story anthologies: Fitz in ZodiacShort Trips: ZodiacShort Trips: Zodiac is a Big Finish original anthology edited by Jacqueline Rayner and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Stories:-External links:*Reviews...
, Izzy in Life ScienceShort Trips: Life ScienceShort Trips: Life Science is a Big Finish original anthology edited by John Binns and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The collection's theme is the nature of life.-Stories:-Notes:...
and Benny in various collections.
- There have been several references in Big Finish's Eighth Doctor stories to the incident in 1816Year Without a SummerThe Year Without a Summer was 1816, in which severe summer climate abnormalities caused average global temperatures to decrease by about 0.4–0.7 °C , resulting in major food shortages across the Northern Hemisphere...
, in Lake GenevaLake GenevaLake Geneva or Lake Léman is a lake in Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. 59.53 % of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland , and 40.47 % under France...
, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, with Mary Shelley, Percy ShelleyPercy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
, John PolidoriJohn PolidoriJohn William Polidori was an English writer and physician of Italian descent. He is known for his associations with the Romantic movement and credited by some as the creator of the vampire genre of fantasy fiction. His most successful work was the 1819 short story, The Vampyre, the first vampire...
and Lord ByronGeorge Gordon Byron, 6th Baron ByronGeorge Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, later George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, FRS , commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was a British poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement...
, which resulted in Mary writing FrankensteinFrankensteinFrankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
. The first mention is in Big Finish's very first Eighth Doctor play, Storm Warning. At its very start, the Doctor picks up the aforementioned book and reads the preface, in which she recounted her version of the incident. The Doctor implies what she had written wasn't the entire truth. This scene was repeated in its entirety in Terror FirmaTerror FirmaTerror Firma is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The story follows on directly from the previous Eighth Doctor audio drama The Next Life and flashes back to scenes that takes place before the first Eighth Doctor...
. In Neverland, while dazed, the Doctor blurts out warnings to Byron about meddling with terrible forces and also warns Mary that that someone or something isn't really her brother. A similar moment occurs in 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...
, where he laments Polidori as well as Mary. In the Shada remake, the Doctor mentions meeting up with his friend Professor Chronotis at Lake Geneva with Mary and Byron. And in the last Eighth Doctor story in the main range, The Girl Who Never WasThe Girl Who Never WasThe Girl Who Never Was is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It takes place in Singapore in 1942 & 2008.-Plot:After the loss of C'rizz, Charley demands to be taken home...
, the Doctor is very excited when he stumbles across one of Mary's books. The Doctor mentions Mary one last time before the release of Mary's Story in The Beast of OrlokThe Beast of OrlokThe Beast of Orlok 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.-Cast:*The Doctor — Paul McGann*Lucie Miller — Sheridan Smith...
. A year after its release, he recalls being at the Villa Diodati in NevermoreNevermore (Doctor Who audio)Nevermore 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.-Plot:...
.
- In the 1996 TV Movie, during the first moments of the Eighth Doctor's life, the 1931 film adaptationFrankenstein (1931 film)Frankenstein is a 1931 Pre-Code Horror Monster film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and adapted from the play by Peggy Webling which in turn is based on the novel of the same name by Mary Shelley. The film stars Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles and Boris Karloff, and features...
of Mary's Frankenstein was playing on a nearby television, mirroring the creature's first moments of life.
- Prior to the launch of the Big Finish range, clones of Mary and Percy Shelley and three clones of Byron had been featured in the Missing AdventuresVirgin Missing AdventuresThe Virgin Missing Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which had been cancelled in 1989, featuring stories set between televised episodes of the programme. The novels were published from 1994 to 1997, and...
novel ManagraManagraManagra is an original novel written by Stephen Marley and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The novel features the Fourth Doctor and Sarah. The title is an anagram of the word "anagram"....
by Stephen MarleyStephen Marley (writer)Stephen Marley is a British author and video game designer, best known for his Chia Black Dragon series. He was born in Derby of Irish parents and was educated in Bemrose School in Derby and at Nottingham. He graduated in Social Anthropology in 1971 in London, gained an M.Sc in the Sociology of...
, where it is implied that the originals were known 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....
.
- The characters Samson and Gemma, who are waiting for the Doctor in ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, were previously heard in Terror FirmaTerror FirmaTerror Firma is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The story follows on directly from the previous Eighth Doctor audio drama The Next Life and flashes back to scenes that takes place before the first Eighth Doctor...
. They are waiting for him the on the same day as Mary's Story, in June, 1816.
- Mary Shelley's adventures with the Doctor continue after this, starting with The Silver TurkThe Silver TurkThe Silver Turk is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Plot:...
, in which he attempts to reunite with Samson and Gemma.
- The older Doctor recalls the "years" that Mary spent journeying in the TARDIS, mentioning Cybermen, AxonsThe Claws of Axos-Writing:In late 1969, script editor Terrance Dicks contacted new writing duo Bob Baker and Dave Martin after reading a draft script they had sent around the BBC for another production, A Man's Life. After offering the duo a seven-part story in November 1969 for Doctor Whos eighth season, Baker and...
and "King HeroldHarold GodwinsonHarold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
at The Battle of Hastings". The events with the Cybermen occur in her first trip, The Silver Turk.
- The older Doctor also recalls many of his former companions, including Charley PollardCharley PollardCharlotte Elspeth Pollard, or simply Charley, is a fictional character played by India Fisher in a series of audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions, many of which were broadcast on BBC Radio 7, based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A young woman...
, 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...
, Trix MacMillanTrix MacMillanBeatrix MacMillan, or simply Trix, is a fictional character in the Eighth Doctor Adventures novels based upon the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. The Eighth Doctor first met her in the novel Time Zero by Justin Richards, but it was not until the novel Timeless by Stephen Cole...
, SsardSsardSsard is a fictional character in the Radio Times comic strips based upon the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. The Eighth Doctor and Stacy Townsend first met the Ice Warrior in the comic strip Descendance by Gary Russell, and he went on to become one of his companions...
, CompassionCompassion (Doctor Who)Compassion is a fictional character in the Eighth Doctor Adventures novels based upon the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. Compassion was originally from a people known as the Remote, a splinter group of the time travelling voodoo cult Faction Paradox...
, DestriiDestriiDestrii, or to give her full title, the Primatrix Destriianatos, is a fictional character who appeared in the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. She was a companion of the Eighth Doctor...
, Samson and Gemma. He also mentions Alex, which may be a reference to his great-grandson, who meets in An Earthly ChildAn Earthly ChildAn Earthly Child is a Big Finish Productions audiobook based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is free to those whose subscription includes Plague of the Daleks.-Plot:...
.