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Recap / Big Finish Doctor Who 257 Interstitial

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Two dual-part stories featuring The Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and new companion Marc, who joined the TARDIS crew in the previous story, "Tartarus".


Interstitial by Carl Rowens

When the TARDIS is drawn off-course by temporal disruption, the Doctor and his companions discover a research facility conducting dangerous experiments. But how do you fight the future when time itself is being used as a weapon?

Interstitial contains examples of:

  • The Ace: Carrying on from the previous story. Despite a serious case of Fish out of Temporal Water, Marc picks up on the finer points of time distortion very quickly.
  • An Odd Place to Sleep: Marc sleeps on the floor in his new TARDIS bedroom, unable to get used to the bed which is so unlike anything he's used to as a slave in Rome.
  • And Then What?: Basically the Doctor and Marc's reaction when Kalu explains the nature of her change, as they question what exactly she will do with herself in her new state apart from glowing and being made of energy.
  • Bizarre Alien Senses: The Doctor is physically affected by Kalu and Jennings moving around using chronon waves.
  • Blatant Lies: Jennings telling Tegan that she couldn't be harmed by touching the seed.
  • Broken Pedestal: Jennings had a bit of hero worship going on for Kalu, until everything went wrong with the chronon seed.
  • Call-Back:
    • The Doctor asks Marc, a recently freed slave, not to refer to him as Master for "so many reasons".
    • Nyssa tells Marc that she came from a place that was "all dust and peace".
    • Marc worries that the TARDIS is reacting badly to his presence, thinking that he might make the crew one too many. Tegan pauses for a moment before reassuring him that it's taken four of them before.
    • The Doctor tells Marc that the Minotaur they are facing off against is not his first.
    • In the Time Vortex, Chris lists chronovores and vortisaurs among the species he can see there.
  • Contemporary Caveman: Jennings can only physically manifest as one of these, complete with Hulk Speak.
  • Fish out of Temporal Water: Par for the course with new companions, but Marc, being from 63BC, really takes the cake. He is completely fascinated by sliding doors, and has never so much as heard of energy before.
  • Fling a Light into the Future: Only by an hour, but Nyssa writes a letter to the Doctor separated from her by the timelines to explain to him what is going on.
  • A God Am I: Kalu certainly believes the power of the chronon seed makes her this.
  • Just One Second Out of Sync: Due to the chronon seed experiment going wrong, Tegan and Nyssa end up separated from the Doctor and Marc by an hour despite leaving the TARDIS only seconds after them.
  • Light Is Not Good: Kalu becomes a shining being of pure light, and is the biggest threat in this story.
  • Quintessential British Gentleman:
    Kalu: Go back to the solar stacks.
    The Doctor: Not today, thank you. Heading back to my ship, in the laboratory, but thank you anyway.
    Kalu: I COMMAND YOU!
    The Doctor: ...Well, that's terribly interesting, but my friend and I are still going the other way.
  • Ridiculous Future Inflation: By the 30th century, paper has become phenomenally rare and expensive. Unauthorized use of it can even lead to a prison sentence.
  • Set Right What Once Went Wrong: The Doctor is able to use the chronon seed to undo its own creation.
  • Techno Babble: Tegan tells Marc that any time something goes wrong with the TARDIS, the Doctor gives it a fancy name and puts the word "time" in front of it.
  • The Watson:
    Tegan: What was that?
    The Doctor: One thing about Tegan you need to remember, Marc, she really likes asking questions knowing I don't know the answer.


Feast of Fear by Martyn Waites

At the height of the Irish famine, a carnival travels the country bringing cheer to all they encounter. But it also brings something else along with them… and it already has the Doctor.

Feast of Fear contains examples of:

  • Big Damn Kiss: Brianna kisses Rosheen, finally breaking the Spae Wife's control over her.
  • Break His Heart to Save Him: A milder version than usual, but Tegan pretending not to care about her friendship with Nyssa is enough to help the other girl break out of the Spae Wife's control.
  • Continuity Nod: Tegan refuses to blame Nyssa for what she did while being controlled by the Spae Wife, knowing all too well what it's like to have something else take over your body.
  • Circus of Fear: On the surface, the carnival is fairly normal, but once the show is over, this trope definitely kicks in.
  • Cold Ham: The Ringmaster takes Nyssa's trademark calm demeanor and uses it for arch, villainous dialogue.
  • Demonic Possession: The Spae Wife takes control of Rosheen as its primary host, but is able to manipulate other people as well, namely Nyssa.
  • Deliberate Values Dissonance: It's the 19th century, so the church naturally takes a very dim view of Brianna and Rosheen's marriage.
  • Die Laughing: An extremely sinister version. The Spae Wife feeds off humans' joy, forcing them to laugh until the life is drained out of them, and their desiccated corpses have unsettling smiles on their faces.
  • Distressed Dude: The Doctor is caged and shackled in the carnival and forced to act as a soothsayer because he refuses to let the Spae Wife possess him. He is also blindfolded, but he did that to himself.
  • Emotion Eater: The Spae Wife feeds off joy and fear, draining people to husks to do so.
  • Evil Laugh: As the Ringmaster, Nyssa's cackle is chilling.
  • "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Everyone that gets possessed has a loved one try to do this to them at various points. The Doctor has attempted it on Nyssa multiple times but could never break through the Spae Wife's control. In the end, Tegan manages it.
  • In Medias Res: Nyssa has already been taken over and the Doctor captured when the story begins. We only learn how this came to be about halfway through.
  • Instant Expert: Averted by Marc. The Ace he may be, but learning to juggle for a carnival act with only an hour's training is beyond his abilities.
  • Motor Mouth: The Doctor keeps the Spae Wife out of his head by maintaining a near-constant stream of consciousness, even when he's alone.
  • Mythology Gag: Marc describes the Doctor as having a "pleasant, open face", one of many Author Catchphrases used by Terrance Dicks to describe the Fifth Doctor in his novels.
  • The Nicknamer: Marc and Tegan are close enough by now that she has taken to calling him "Roman Boy".
  • The Power of Love: Brianna's love for her wife ultimately destroys the Spae Wife.
  • Tentacled Terror: The Spae Wife's natural form.
  • Whip of Dominance: The Repulsive Ringmaster is quite vicious with her whip, using it to intimidate her crew.

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