The Time of the Daleks
Encyclopedia
The Time of the Daleks is a Big Finish Productions
audio drama based on the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
. It is the last serial in the Dalek Empire arc, which began with The Genocide Machine
and continued in The Apocalypse Element
and The Mutant Phase
.
. But when he travels to Britain in the near future and discovers a leader obsessed with watching Shakespeare's plays — and the Dalek
s wanting to help her — the mystery grows more sinister. Can the Daleks really claim to be the 'Masters of Time'?
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...
. It is the last serial in the Dalek Empire arc, which began with The Genocide Machine
The Genocide Machine
The Genocide Machine is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It forms the first serial in the Dalek Empire arc, which continues in The Apocalypse Element and The Mutant Phase...
and continued in The Apocalypse Element
The Apocalypse Element
The 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...
and The Mutant Phase
The Mutant Phase
The Mutant Phase is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
.
Plot
The Doctor is confused enough when he finds that Charley has never heard of William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. But when he travels to Britain in the near future and discovers a leader obsessed with watching Shakespeare's plays — and 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 wanting to help her — the mystery grows more sinister. Can the Daleks really claim to be the 'Masters of 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... - 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...
— India FisherIndia FisherIndia Fisher is a British actress born in 1974. Her father is the ex-MP Mark Fisher. She is also the stepsister of musician Crispin Hunt and of actress Francesca Hunt, who appears with her in the play Other Lives.... - The Orator — Don WarringtonDon WarringtonDon Warrington, MBE is a Trinidadian British actor.-Personal life:Warrington was born in Trinidad and Tobago on 23 May 1951 and brought up in Newcastle upon Tyne, England from age five. His father was the Trinidadian politician, Basil Kydd, who died in 1958. He has two sons.His acting career...
- Dalek Voices — 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...
- General Mariah Learman — Dot Smith
- Viola — Nicola Boyce
- Major Ferdinand — Julian HarriesJulian HarriesJulian Harries is a British actor and playwright who works mostly in Suffolk, England.He played Callum McCulloch in EastEnders, as well as appearing in the short film Undercover Heart...
- Kitchen Boy — Jem Bassett (actually Jemma Bassett who agreed to take a shortened name to conceal the fact that she was a teenaged girl playing a young boy)
- Priestly — Mark McDonnell
- Hart — Lee Moone
- Professor Osric — Ian BrookerIan Brooker (actor)Ian Anthony Brooker better known as Ian Brooker is a versatile character actor, with experience of theatre, television and film. However, it is in the medium of radio and audio drama that he is best known....
- Mark Anthony — Ian PotterIan Potter (writer)Ian Potter is a UK based writer and broadcaster, best known for a series of short stories in the Big Finish Short Trips Doctor Who fiction range...
- Army Officer — Ian Potter
- Marcus — Robert Curbishley
Continuity
- The kitchen boy in this story is eventually revealed to be a young William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, dislocated from his proper time. Shakespeare was previously glimpsed in the Time/Space Visualiser in The ChaseThe Chase (Doctor Who)The Chase is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 22 May to 26 June 1965. The story is set on multiple locations including the Mary Celeste, the Empire State Building, and the planet Aridius...
. In Planet of EvilPlanet of EvilThe plot was deliberately conceived by Philip Hinchcliffe, Robert Holmes and Louis Marks as a mixture of the film Forbidden Planet and the novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. In addition, Marks had been reading science magazine articles about antimatter, and decided to write a...
, the Doctor mentioned having met Shakespeare, and in City of DeathCity of Death-Pre-production:Writer David Fisher had contributed two scripts to Doctor Whos sixteenth season – The Stones of Blood and The Androids of Tara – and was asked by producer Graham Williams for further story ideas...
claimed that he helped transcribe the original manuscript for HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
. The Doctor also meets Shakespeare in the 2007 episode "The Shakespeare CodeThe Shakespeare Code"The Shakespeare Code" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 7 April 2007, and is the second episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. According to the BARB figures this episode was seen by 7.23 million viewers and was...
". Shakespeare also appears in the Virgin 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 The Empire of GlassThe Empire of GlassThe Empire of Glass is a Virgin Missing Adventures original novel written by Andy Lane based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
. A time-travelling adult Shakespeare appears in The KingmakerThe KingmakerThe Kingmaker is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The drama was written by Nev Fountain who is better known for his work on the radio and television series Dead Ringers, and also stars Jon Culshaw who in the same...
, again credited under an alias. None of these stories reference each other and it is unclear how these different accounts can be reconciled, if at all. - The short story "Apocrypha Bipedium" by Ian PotterIan Potter (writer)Ian Potter is a UK based writer and broadcaster, best known for a series of short stories in the Big Finish Short Trips Doctor Who fiction range...
(in the collection Short Trips: CompanionsShort Trips: CompanionsShort Trips: Companions is a Big Finish original anthology edited by Jacqueline Rayner and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The stories focus on the companions and their travels with the Doctor.-Stories:...
) is set immediately following The Time of the Daleks, and involves the Doctor's attempt to return young Shakespeare to his own time. Also featuring VickiVickiVicki is a fictional character played by Maureen O'Brien in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. An orphan from the 25th century, she was a companion of the First Doctor and a regular in the programme in Seasons 2 and 3 in 1965...
, it deals with the Doctor's previous encounters with Shakespeare and tries to reconcile Vicki's apparently happy ending as Cressida in The Myth MakersThe Myth MakersThe Myth Makers is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 16 October to 6 November 1965. The story is set in Homeric Troy, based on Iliad by Homer...
with the tragic ending of Troilus and CressidaTroilus and CressidaTroilus and Cressida is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1602. It was also described by Frederick S. Boas as one of Shakespeare's problem plays. The play ends on a very bleak note with the death of the noble Trojan Hector and destruction of the love between Troilus... - This is the last in the Dalek Empire arc previously heard with 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....
(The Genocide MachineThe Genocide MachineThe Genocide Machine is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It forms the first serial in the Dalek Empire arc, which continues in The Apocalypse Element and The Mutant Phase...
), 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...
(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...
) and 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....
(The Mutant PhaseThe Mutant PhaseThe Mutant Phase is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
). Elements from these stories tie in with the Dalek Empire series. - Direct references are made to the invasion of Gallifrey in and the events on Kar-Charrat in The Genocide MachineThe Genocide MachineThe Genocide Machine is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It forms the first serial in the Dalek Empire arc, which continues in The Apocalypse Element and The Mutant Phase...
. - The Daleks trapped at the end of this story are later seen begging for mercy in NeverlandNeverland (Doctor Who audio)Neverland is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Plot:...
.
Outside References
- The dialogue in this play is loaded with direct and indirect quotations from the plays of Shakespeare, but several character names are also taken from the plays, such as Osric from HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, Viola from Twelfth Night and Ferdinand from The TempestThe TempestThe Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
. Mariah Learman's name could also be a reference to the title character of King LearKing LearKing Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
.