Phantasmagoria (audio drama)

Big Finish Productions audio play
Phantasmagoria
Series	Doctor Who
Release number	2
Featuring	Fifth Doctor Vislor Turlough
Writer	Mark Gatiss
Director	Nicholas Briggs
Producer(s)	Gary Russell Jason Haigh-Ellery
Executive producer(s)	Stephen Cole
Set between	Resurrection of the Daleks and Loups-Garoux
Length	1 hr 29 mins
Release date	4th October 1999
Preceded by	The Sirens of Time
Followed by	Whispers of Terror

Phantasmagoria is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The story was written by Mark Gatiss and stars Peter Davison and Mark Strickson. It was recorded between 26–27 June 1999.

As with all Doctor Who spin-off media, its relationship to the televised serials is open to interpretation.

Synopsis

The Fifth Doctor and Turlough investigate mysterious goings-on at the Diabola Club in London, 1702, where patrons are disappearing after losing at cards to the mysterious Sir Nikolas Valentine.

Cast

• The Doctor — Peter Davison
• Turlough — Mark Strickson
• Henry Gaunt — Nicholas Briggs
• Quincy Flowers — David Walliams
• Edmund Carteret — Jonathan Rigby
• Jasper Jeake — Mark Gatiss
• Poltrot — Jez Fielder
• Sir Nicholas Valentine — David Ryall
• Dr Samuel Holywell — Steven Wickham
• Hannah Fry — Julia Dalkin
• Librarian — Jez Fielder
• Major Billy Lovemore — Jez Fielder

Plot

The programme opens to Jasper Jeake, Quincy Flowers and Edmund Carteret and a fourth playing whist and discussing the coming succession of Queen Anne in the Diabola club (an institution loosely based on the Hellfire Club). They argue and Carteret storms off claiming a desire for adventure and excitement. Carteret is then approached by Sir Nicholas Valentine (introduced as a scholar, landowner and astrologer), a sinister character, they agree to play cards. Carteret is later heard leaving alone furtively and acting "very queer". The following morning Valentine is heard to remark that he had good luck at cards the previous evening and inviting a down-at-heel school teacher to play with him the following evening.

Meanwhile in the Tardis the Doctor tries to educate Turlough in the esoteric rules of cricket with a 1928 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack and attempts to work out their time location from clues from the house they find themselves in. They are confronted by the home's owner a Dr Samuel Holywell who they deduce to be an antiquarian and so manage to explain their presence on the pretext that they were delivering him the Tardis to form part of his collection. Whilst the Doctor distracts Holywell Turlough notices that a number of his books are connected with necromancy. It then becomes apparent that the protagonists are being observed by an advanced intelligence not from their current era. That evening, whilst the Doctor and Turlough are being entertained by Holywell, Jeake and Flower are robbed by Major Billy Lovemore (a highwayman) and lose their winnings from the previous night. Later Ned Cotton (a drunken watchman) encounters Hannah Fry (who is Holywell's maid) outside Holywell's house and attempts to rape her. Hearing her cries from inside and the Doctor being distracted Turlough comes to her rescue on his own. Inside Holywell informs the doctor that has practical proof of the existence of ghosts and is in regular contact with them. Before Turlough can fight Cotton to protect Fry they are distracted by a man running towards them as if persuaded by invisible ghosts and dies of shock with a playing card in his hand. The Doctor takes this card and puts it into his Almanack. Holywell blames himself as he perceives the death to be due to his contact with the ghosts.

In an aside, to the background of screams of torment, Valentine is heard to comment that only a little time remains until his work is complete. Following the above altercation between Turlough and Cotton, Turlough has gone missing and the Doctor attempts to locate him. He notes that the dead man has numerous coins and promissory notes in his pockets and Holywell informs him that there have been a number of disappearances like Turlough's recently. Holywell claims that he has been able to contact the spirits of these missing persons through his experiments. Turlough it becomes apparent has fallen and injured his head but has been rescued by Flowers and Jeake. Holywell tells the doctor that twenty-four people have gone missing all of them within a mile of the area of the Diabola club. Meanwhile Lovemore murders Cotton citing vengeance as the reason. In then Diabola club Poltrot is playing cards with Valentine and notes that Valentine never removes his gloves. This is dismissed by Valentine as gamblers' suspicion. Flowers approaches Valentine and confronts him about Carteret's disappearance. Valentine claims that Carteret had left after a few hands and invites Flowers to play with him and Poltrot. Later Jeake and Turlough see Flowers leaving the club looking pale and apparently avoiding them.

Holywell, the Doctor and Hannah commence a seance in an attempt to locate the missing persons. They succeed in summoning sounds that remind them of the death outside Holywell's house, the sounds seem to be a series of numbers. Meanwhile Turlough and Jeake decide to try to follow Flowers. They catch up with him and he asks for help claiming that he is pursued by devils and a thousand voices. The voices are calling out numbers which the Doctor recognizes to be radio signals and he believes the Tardis can locate the source. Meanwhile Valentine is heard revealing to Carteret that he will be used for "restoration". In the Tardis the Doctor discovers that the source of the radio signal has been blocked and Fry remarks that someone (presumably the originator of the radio waves) is cleverer than they thought. The Doctor instructs Holywell and Fry to research into the disappeared people in order to find a pattern. Holywell discovers that a spate of young men in their prime disappearing in the area has happened every thirty years and finally connects this with the Diabola club. It becomes apparent that the out-of-context observers are looking for someone and have now noticed the presence of the Doctor in addition to a person they are apparently hunting. The Doctor and Holywell arrive at the club (leaving Fry behind) to find Valentine playing cards with Pultrot who is quickly dismissed and the Doctor takes over playing with Valentine. The Doctor wins with an Ace of Hearts and Valentine tells him to keep the card. The Doctor then decides to retire leaving Turlough and Jeake in the Diabola who decides to follow Valentine after he leaves the club unbeknown to the Doctor. Meanwhile Lovemore is heard talking to the alien presence stating that he believes the Valentine is the person they are looking for and he will now cast off his fake identities and confront Valentine. It is revealed that both Lovemore and Fry are his fake identities.

The Doctor discovers that the playing card he was given by Valentine is a tracking device and it is calling the 'spirits' to him and realizes that he must destroy it. On destroying it the 'spirits' depart. Valentine is heard to comment that if he could have the Doctor's mind it would complete his work. The Doctor realizes that he is stealing his victims consciousnesses and each card is tailored to its victim's touch which is why Valentine wears gloves when playing cards. It is these trapped consciousnesses which comprise the spirits or ghosts which are summoned to the card once it has been activated. The Doctor discovers a way to reprogram the card he took from the dead man to claim a new victim when he or she touches it and conceals it in his Almanack. Hannah returns and reveals herself to be the same person as Lovemore and an alien and then justifies her criminal life as a response to the gender stereotypes of the era. She goes on to disclose that Valentine is in fact Carthok of Deodalis (sp.) a deranged tyrant who escaped execution and she has been hunting him in revenge for the death of her family at his hands. Meanwhile Jeake and Turlough arrive at Valentines laboratory and are detained and disarmed by Valentine, in their cell they meet up with Carteret who appears to be bordering on insanity. The Doctor and Holywell decide to knock on Valentine's door and confront him directly. Valentine reveals his true identity (Carthok of Deodalis) and admits to murdering Fry/Lovemore's parents and explains that he needs the consciousness of his victims to power his bio-mechanical ship in order to escape from the earth where he has been trapped. He has been healing his ship every thirty years by feeding it people's minds. Fry/Lovemore tries to force Valentine to return to Deodalis in order to face his execution but she is disabled by Valentine's defense systems. Valentine then decides to use Fry/Lovemore's brain (rather than the Doctor's) to complete his repairs out of sense of irony and she is placed into some sort of machine. The Doctor pleads for her life in exchange for what he claims is an item of great power but is in fact his Almanack (which he refers to as "the Wisdens"). He feints trying to escape with the Almanack and when Valentine/Carthok opens the book he touches the concealed card-trap and the consciousness/spirits he uses to capture his victims turn on him and kill him led by Fry/Lovemore who also dies in the struggle.

External links

• Big Finish Productions - Phantasmagoria
• Phantasmagoria at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• DiscContinuity Guide - Phantasmagoria

Reviews

• Phantasmagoria reviews at Outpost Gallifrey
• Phantasmagoria reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide