History Recap / BigFinishDoctorWho013TheShadowOfTheScourge

The Scourge turn out to feed on despair, and have inspired much of human religion (most notably the idea of hell, which is ''very very real'' and full of hungry Scourge). They've enlisted the Doctor as their servant. Seven tries to play cat and mouse with them, but they manage to transform him into one of their own, sending his morphed body into a deep coma and absorbing his mind into their collective consciousness. Benny and Ace are forced to work together with people from all three conventions in order to contact the Doctor and withstand the Scourge. The Doctor is part of the Scourge, the Scourge are part of the humans they possess, the humans are inside the hotel, the hotel is inside the void and the void is part of the Scourge's mind. Like nested Russian dolls trying to eat each other. While Bernice jumps into the Doctor's mind (with Annie's help) to drag him back to reality, Ace makes herself immune to the Scourge's words by ''having someone destroy her ear drums'' and sets about getting the hotel back into the regular universe. In the end, the Doctor manages to work one of the organisers of the cross-stitching convention like a ventriloquist's doll, uses the guy's body to manipulate the TARDIS and contain the Scourge's dimensional meddling, and starts TalkingTheMonsterToDeath. ThePowerOfFriendship saves the day.

* BattleInTheCentreOfTheMind: Throughout the episode. Seven notably kicks Bernice out of his mind when things get too dangerous, and she reponds by ''jumping right back in''.

* BorrowedCatchphrase: A triple "What?" gets used by one of the characters, when Ace is temporarily deaf he [[DeadpanSnarker snarks]] "I feel vindicated..."

* HarsherInHindsight: The Doctor's explanation of how the Scourge are eight dimensional beings causes someone to realise "We can look down on a world of flat circles and do anything." Cue the 2014 episode [[DoctorWhoS34E9Flatline Flatline]] and it turns out no, no we really can't.

This episode, written by Creator/PaulCornell, was the first Creator/BigFinish audio to take place in the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' canon rather than the Big Finish timeline. It's also the first AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho episode to star Professor Characters/BerniceSummerfield, who had already had [[Franchise/BerniceSummerfield her own Big Finish series]] for a few years.

** [[spoiler: The Doctor gets an awesome one fighting off a Scourge though.]]
* BeholdMyTrueForm: [[spoiler: The bodies that get taken over slowly reassert themselves into the Scourge.]]

* [[spoiler: CareBearStare]]: Once discovered what they really are and do.
* CasualTimeTravel: The Scourge can potentially easily move through the fourth dimension, as 8th dimensional beings.

* CrystalDragonJesus: Ohm is a golden man with blonde hair [[spoiler: in disguise]].

** InvertedTrope as well [[spoiler: The DOCTOR takes over a Scourge at one point, when his body is out of comission]].
* {{Determinator}}: When Ace realises that the Scourge talk people into despair and manipulate people with their words, she has someone ''destroy her eardrums''. She knows the TARDIS medbay can fix her up, so she spends almost half the story completely deaf and bleeding heavily from her ears. And she's not even bothered.

* [[spoiler: DyingAlone]]: Old Man Will [[spoiler: triggers the plot this way]].

* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler: The Doctor]].
* OtherMeAnnoysMe: Inside of the mind of the Doctor there's the occasional other regeneration of the Doctor (future and past), but he states they have no influence on him but turn up their noses.

* [[spoiler: TalkingTheMonsterToDeath]]: Seven, as per usual.

** [[spoiler: TheUndead]]
* TheTrickster: The Doctor.
* ThinkHappyThoughts: Inside of the Doctor's mind.
** [[spoiler: Actually it's everybody, in order to fight off the EmotionEater BalefulPolymorph]]

* XanatosGambit: The Doctor sets one in motion against the Scourge. [[spoiler:He gets OutGambitted, leading to a frantic game of XanatosSpeedChess.]]

This episode, written by Creator/PaulCornell, was the first Creator/BigFinish audio to take place in the ''Literature/VirginNewAdventures'' canon rather than the Big Finish timeline. It's also the first AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho episode to star Professor Characters/BerniceSummerfield, who had already had [[Franchise/BerniceSummerfield her own Big Finish series]] for a few years.

* AuthorAppeal: PaulCornell briefly mentions owls, focuses on the reveal of characters being in relationships with each other, teases the Benny/Eight ship a bit, and references his own most famous Seven line by having him state he's what the monsters are afraid of.

This episode, written by Creator/PaulCornell, was the first Creator/BigFinish audio to take place in the ''Literature/VirginNewAdventures'' canon rather than the Big Finish timeline. It's also the first AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho episode to star Professor BerniceSummerfield, who had already had her own Big Finish series for a few years.

* WhoWantsToLiveForever: People stuck in the Scourge home dimension [[FateWorseThanDeath will. Not. Die.]]

* SayMyName: "Ohm. Ohm. Ohm. Ohm. [[HellIsThaTNoise Ooooooooooooohhhhhm]]."

This episode, written by Creator/PaulCornell, was the first BigFinish audio to take place in the ''VirginNewAdventures'' canon rather than the BigFinish timeline. It's also the first AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho episode to star Professor BerniceSummerfield, who had already had her own BigFinish series for a few years.

This episode, written by Creator/PaulCornell, was the first BigFinish audio to take place in the ''VirginNewAdventures'' canon rather than the BigFinish timeline. It's also the first BigFinishDoctorWho episode to star Professor BerniceSummerfield, who had already had her own BigFinish series for a few years.

* AnotherDimension: Where the Scourge come from

** [[spoiler: The Doctor gets an awesome one fighting off a Scourge though]]
* BeholdMyTrueForm: [[spoiler: The bodies that get taken over slowly reassert themselves into the Scourge]]
* BorrowedCatchphrase: A triple "What?" gets used by one of the characters, when Ace is temporarily deaf he [[DeadpanSnarker snarks]] "I feel vindicated.."
* [[spoiler: CareBearStare]]: Once discovered what they really are and do
* CallForward: PaulCornell unintentionally does on to the Girl in the Fireplace "[[HeWhoFightsMonsters I am what you monsters]] [[InvertedTrope are afraid of!]]"

* [[PhraseCatcher Phrase]] [[CatchphraseInterruptus Catcher Interruptus]]: "It's bigger on the..!" "Yeah, yeah, not now!"

* ContinuityNod / DiscontinuityNod: the EverybodyLaughsEnding has the Doctor say [[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie he's only half human]]...

* CrystalDragonJesus: Ohm is a golden man with blonde hair [[spoiler: in disguise]]

* DemonicPossession: The Scourge taking over has a bit of this
** InvertedTrope as well [[spoiler: The DOCTOR takes over a Scourge at one point, when his body is out of comission]]
* {{Determinator}}: When Ace realises that the Scrouge talk people into despair and manipulate people with their words, she has someone ''destroy her eardrums''. She knows the TARDIS medbay can fix her up, so she spends almost half the story completely deaf and bleeding heavily from her ears. And she's not even bothered.
* DoingInTheWizard: See FireAndBrimstoneHell
* [[spoiler: DyingAlone]]: Old Man Will [[spoiler: triggers the plot this way]]

* FireAndBrimstoneHell: Apparently the Scourge home dimension is the inspiration of the Christians concept of Hell
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The [[PaulMcGann The 8th Doctor]]

* LampshadeHanging: "You know, I'm getting tired of running up and down corridors." "[[OnceAnEpisode You should try doing it profesionally.]]

* MeatPuppet: Gets ''namedropped''

* NoIndoorVoice: Ace at one point gets deafened (on purpose) but this is the result.
* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler: The Doctor]]
* OtherMeAnnoysMe: Inside of the mind of the Doctor there's the occasional other regeneration of the Doctor (Future and past) but he states they have no influence on him but turn up their noses.
* PhlebotinumAnalogy: [[BuffySpeak The things inside the Russian dolls]]. ItMakesSenseInContext
* PlayerPunch / TearJerker: Not a videogame but when Sylvester McCoy is crying (literally. Crying.) out "Please help me...!" it's hard to not feel sad.
* PowerEchoes: A slow reverb for the Scourge

* SanitySlippage: The Doctor

* SufficientlyAdvancedAlien: Ohm

** [[spoiler: Actually it's everybody in order to fight off the EmotionEater BalefulPolymorph]]

* WeirdnessCensor: Under the thrall of the CompellingVoice humans only see the original human hosts instead of the Scourge

* HumansAreSpecial

* TheReasonWhyYouSuckSpeech

* MeatPuppet