Line #21 Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho028InvadersFromMars


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ed8addec382b2f7270491efb5cb5f5e0.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:A tale [[Literature/OfMiceAndMen of mice and men]], with emphasis on the mice. More specifically, they're mice from Mars. (But not [[WesternAnimation/BikerMiceFromMars biker mice from Mars.]])]]
3
4	The Eighth Doctor and Charley pop up on October 30, 1938, just in time for Creator/OrsonWelles' legendary [[Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds radio adaptation]] of Creator/HGWells' ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds''. Orson himself isn't particularly excited about doing the show, but he does his job and hopes for the best.
5
6	Charley is still hoping to [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho016StormWarning get to that rooftop in Singapore]] in 1930, but the TARDIS isn't cooperating very much. She also soon finds a corpse, belonging to a detective. The Doctor's first instinct is to take on the detective's identity, put his feet on the guy's desk and take on the case of the first distressed dame that walks into his office. This earns him a rather confused WhatTheHellHero from Charley, and he reluctantly agrees to stop playing around and start saving the day. As it turns out, this particular day needs saving from mobsters with ray guns. They've kidnapped a professor who specialises in atomic power, as well as a crash-landed alien. And they're planning on selling what they found to the highest bidder -- the USA, or Mother Russia, or the Nazis.
7
8	The mobsters are happily listening to Welles' reading of ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'', and are therefore a bit confused when actual space mafia aliens appear to come pick up their crashed friend. Said friend is also spawning a nest of giant alien baby bats.
9
10	Welles is plain exasperated when people across the USA confuse his radio drama for an actual alien invasion. But this gives the Doctor an idea: he teams up with Welles to stage a second radio drama, tuned to the aliens' frequency, to convince them that Martians beat them to Earth and will kill them all. This works marvelously until the Doctor can't resist the urge to play the part of the angry evil Martians himself. He immediately proceeds to cock it up by asking how he's doing while his mic is still on.
11
12	In the end, though, the aforementioned kidnapped professor saves the day.
13
14	[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho033Neverland As for all those continuity errors]], [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho032TheTimeOfTheDaleks and why Orson Welles can't quote from Hamlet...]]
15
16	!Tropes
17	* AlternateHistory: It's very subtle, but the story is full of historical inaccuracies: the number of U.S. states, the year the C.I.A. was founded, and Welles not recognising Shakespeare's work when the Doctor quotes from Theatre/{{Hamlet}}. This is all {{Foreshadowing}} for later episodes.
18	%%* AncestralWeapon
19	%%* AuctionOfEvil
20	* BackupBluff: '''Sort''' of. The Doctor and Orson re-reenact the War of the Worlds except with an [[EvilIsHammy hammy overlord]] in order to trick the invaders into thinking Martians [[note]]implied to be the Ice Warriors[[/note]] were actually invading.
21	%%* BigDamnFireExit
22	%%* ChairmanOfTheBrawl: HIT HIM WITH THE CHAIR
23	%%* ChandlerAmericanTime
24	* ContinuityNod: [[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E6TheSeedsOfDoom The Doctor still likes putting his feet on other people's desks. This still causes everyone to question his sanity.]]
25	* ContrivedCoincidence: Actual aliens arrive during the mass panic that breaks out due to Orson's reading of The War of the Worlds.
26	* DamselInDistress: Poor Charley is already sick and tired of embodying this trope.
27	-->'''Charley''': Can't a person walk down the street without being kidnapped these days?!
28	* DeadPersonImpersonation: The Doctor impersonates Halliday for the first half of the story.
29	* DirtyCoward: Deveen starts working out for the Nazis, but drops his connections and offers the aliens a deal as soon as he realizes they could potentially become more powerful.
30	* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler:Miss Bee.]]
31	%%* DitzyGenius: Oh, ''Eight''...
32	* DontExplainTheJoke: "'cause it's probably the ice cream what made him fat, right baws?"
33	%%* DramaticGunCock: Used too many times to count.
34	%%* EatenAlive
35	* EvenEvilHasStandards: The Mafia is happy with selling alien tech, but not the fact communists are trying to steal it.
36	* FakeAmerican: All of the Americans, actually...
37	** [[spoiler:Glory Bee is one in-universe.]]
38	%%* FedToTheBeast: Mr. Mouse
39	%%* FlyingSaucer
40	%%* ForScience: The Professor Yurish' reason for working on the alien tech.
41	%%* FourLinesAllWaiting
42	* GloriousMotherRussia: Glory Bee reveals herself to be a spy at the end of the second part.
43	* HalloweenEpisode: At least insofar as it's set on Halloween.
44	%%* HardboiledDetective: The Doctor plays one for a bit.
45	* HeroicSacrifice: Professor Yurish gets eaten by the fledgling bats. He lives, and finishes the world's ''first'' atomic bomb
46	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Orson Welles.
47	%%* HumansAreUgly
48	%%* IsThisThingStillOn: Trips up the heroes near the end of the story.
49	%%* {{Joisey}}
50	%%* LadyDrunk: Carla suggests she's this.
51	%%* LandmarkingTheHiddenBase: The Brooklyn Bridge.
52	* LargeHam: The Doctor, pretending to be a Martian invader fleet.
53	%%* TheMafia
54	%%* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Oh ''Eight''.
55	* NormalFishInATinyPond: Deveen offers this to the aliens.
56	* PaintingTheMedium: The incidental music is InTheStyleOf a classic 30's radio drama, including the occasional "dun dun dun dun DUNNNN".
57	%%* SharkPool
58	* ShoutOut: The aliens unwittingly quote Lorenz Hart.
59	--> We'll take Manhattan, and Staten Island too! Ha ha!
60	%%* RaygunGothic: In spades.
61	* StuffBlowingUp: The climax involves the alien ship being blown up by an atomic bomb.
62	* [[TheyCallMeMisterTibbs They Call Me Mister Deveen]] doubles as a BondOneLiner.
63	* WeComeInPeaceShootToKill: Of the aliens that land, Streeth wants [[AxCrazy to burn, destroy and kill]] everything. His colleague at least has some sense in her head.
64	* WhoWritesThisCrap: Orson dislikes what he wrote.
65	* WhoWouldWantToWatchUs: Orson also thinks people would rather look at a ventriloquist.
66	%%* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Mr. Mouse.

Context Recap / BigFinishDoctorWho028InvadersFromMars