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The Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors, together for the first time!  

Audio - The Sirens of Time

The Sirens of Time
(Nicholas Briggs)



 The first of these all-new audio plays was released in July 1999 and stars Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. It was recorded over two days on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th March 1999. Titled "The Sirens of Time" this audio adventure marked the first time that the 5th, 6th and 7th Doctors have appeared in a Doctor Who story together. Also starring are: Andrew Fettes, Anthony Keetch, Michael Wade, Sarah Mowat, Maggie Stables, Colin McIntyre, John Wadmore, Mark Gatiss, Nicholas Briggs and Nicholas Pegg.

 This brand new four part audio adventure was written and directed by Nicholas Briggs and features new music and sound effects along with the traditional sound effects from the television series including the familiar TARDIS noises and the theme tune, originally composed by Ron Grainer.

Three Doctors Reunited
Three Doctors Reunited
 Gallifrey is in a state of crises, facing destruction at the hands of an overwhelming enemy. A fleet of unidentified warships, possessing incomprehensible technology, has laid siege to Gallifrey and is ignoring all attempts at communication. At the same time a member of the Celestial Intervention Agency arrives in the Capitol with urgent news for the Lord President. It seems that the siege of Gallifrey has been brought about by a drastic change to history and the Agency has detected The Doctor's artron signature within the time distortion.

 While events on Gallifrey become more desperate, three different incarnations of The Doctor are pitted against a mysterious enemy that they encounter on different worlds at different times. Sylvester McCoy stars in episode 1, Peter Davison is in episode 2 and Colin Baker is in episode 3. They then all combine forces to tackle the menace in the final episode. The listener will find themselves in a harsh swamp on an alien planet, in the confined space within a World War 1 German U-boat, in the futuristic splendour of a starcruiser and then finally on Gallifrey, The Doctor's home planet, for the big show down.


Seventh Doctor
Seventh Doctor
 Part One - When the cloister bell begins to toll the Seventh Doctor finds himself setting the TARDIS co-ordinates without thinking why. The Time Lords attempt to contact him with a warning, but their transmission is cut off. The TARDIS lands and The Doctor, on hearing an ethereal voice outside, sets off to explore. The Doctor finds himself in an alien swamp and hears a young woman, who he learns is called Elenya, calling desperately for help in the distance. But after he helps her he finds that he can't get back into the TARDIS. The Doctor is still completely unaware of the danger he is in and the true nature of the Time Lords warning. Bio-assassins, who have been sent to prevent the execution of a person called Sancroff, are on the loose. It is not long before The Doctor gets involved with these alien creatures who are intent on destroying all those that cross their path. And this includes The Doctor and the young woman he has just rescued. But who is she and why does she seem familiar to The Doctor? Maybe events in The Doctor's past holds the clue...

Fifth Doctor
Fifth Doctor
 Part Two - In seeking the source of a time distortion the Fifth Doctor materialises the TARDIS in the hold of a British merchant ship. Before he can investigate The Doctor hears a Time Lord's voice urging him to return to the TARDIS immediately as all of time is at risk. The Doctor attempts to carry out this urgent request but he finds that his TARDIS key will no longer fit into the lock. In his attempt to attract Tegan and Turlough's attention he is confronted by Helen, a suspicious member of the ships crew. However, before she can take him to the captain to explain himself a torpedo, from a German U-boat, strikes the ship. Luckily for The Doctor and Helen the German U-boat crew spot them clinging to a crate and so the U-boat captain orders them to be taken onboard. But now The Doctor is separated even further from the safety of his TARDIS. The Doctor is forced into using desperate measures to try and convince the German U-boat captain to turn back so that he can get back to the TARDIS. But with the time distortion around him increasing, and members of the U-boat crew going berserk trying to kill The Doctor, things do not seem to be quite right. Can The Doctor convince the captain of the importance of returning the submarine to its earlier location? And if so will he be able to find the TARDIS and then get inside? But more importantly he desperately needs to know why somebody is trying to kill him...


Sixth Doctor
Sixth Doctor
 Part Three - The Time Lords are becoming even more desperate and then the transduction barriers are breached and alien time ships start to materialise on Gallifrey. The Knights of Velyshaa demand the unconditional surrender of the Time Lords, and there seems to be nothing that can be done to stop them... Meanwhile following a collision with a temporal anomaly the Sixth Doctor finds himself expelled from his TARDIS and aboard a starcruiser where he meets a waitress named Ellie. The Doctor dismisses the odd feeling that he has met her before and follows her to the conference room, where he learns that he is aboard the starcruiser Edifice which is near the so-called Kurgon Wonder. When an enormous particle disruption field envelops the ship The Doctor recognises it as a shard of time distortion and within it he hears a deep voice begging for help. When the distortion passes, The Doctor finds that he and Ellie are apparently the only survivors, along with an android pilot, and that the ship has aged dramatically. The Doctor realises that the Edifice is continuing to drift towards the Kurgon Wonder, and will soon be completely enveloped in the time distortion. The Doctor also suspects that Ellie is more than she seems and that she has been manipulating him all along. When things get to the point where they can not get any worse The Doctor receives a message from the Time Lords, via the android pilot, that he must not free the Temperon. But who are the Temperon and why are the Knights of Velyshaa so interested in Gallifrey? And why should he heed the warning 'Beware The Sirens of Time'?

 Part Four - The Sixth Doctor finds himself transported to the Panopticon on Gallifrey along with his Fifth and Seventh selves. However, they find that the Panopticon lies in ruins. But where are the Time Lords, what has happened to Gallifrey and why has the Temperon crossed The Doctor's timestream to bring all three of them together? The Doctors link minds and share their experiences, and realise that the woman accompanying them in each nexus, whether Elenya, Helen, or Ellie, was in fact the same woman each time. She is obviously not what she appears to be, and her manipulations have somehow led to the destruction of Gallifrey. The Doctors are outraged, but they are informed that it is their interference which has made it possible for the Knights of Velyshaa to acquire the power of time travel and thus conquer Gallifrey. The Doctors agree to try and fix their mistakes, although the Fifth Doctor feels that there's still more going on than they realise. They still don't know who the woman was in each time zone, why they were sealed out of the TARDIS, or who or what the Sirens of Time are...


 
 This is the first of many audio stories that Big Finish Productions have so far released on double audio cassettes and CDs. The CD version, which is only available from specialist shops and mail order, contains extra material.

 To mark this special occasion issue 279 of The Doctor Who Magazine contained a free CD on the making of "The Sirens of Time", interviews and a look at the other audio stories that have been made in the past. As stated in issue 279 of The Doctor Who Magazine:

"This month's free CD charts the production of the first of the new Big Finish Doctor Who audio dramas, 'The Sirens of Time'. Nicholas Pegg talks to the cast and crew - including Doctors Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy - and finds out just how such a play is put together. As a bonus, there's also clips from a variety of Doctor Who audio dramas of years gone by, with notable performances from Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker".
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Notes:

On the Back Cover:

 The Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors, together for the first time!

 Gallifrey is in a state of crisis, facing destruction at the hands of an overwhelming enemy. And The Doctor is involved, in three different incarnations - each caught up in a deadly adventure, scattered across time and space. The web of time is threatened - and someone wants The Doctor Dead.

 The three incarnations of The Doctor must join together to set time back on track - but in doing so, will they unleash a still greater threat?
 

Full Cast List:

Part One
The Doctor Sylvester McCoy
Commander Raldeth Andrew Fettes
Coordinator Vansell Anthony Keetch
The President Michael Wade
Elenya Sarah Mowat
Ruthley Maggie Stables
Sancroff Colin McIntyre
Commandant John Wadmore
 
Part Two
The Doctor Peter Davison
Lt Zentner John Wadmore
Captain Schwieger Mark Gatiss
Schmidt Andrew Fettes
Helen Sarah Mowat
The President Michael Wade
Coordinator Vansell Anthony Keetch
 
Part Three
The Doctor Colin Baker
Coordinator Vansell Anthony Keetch
The President Michael Wade
The Temperon Nicholas Briggs
Ellie Sarah Mowat
Pilot Azimendah John Wadmore
Captain Mark Gatiss
Delegate Nicholas Pegg
 
Part Four
The Doctor Peter Davison
The Doctor Colin Baker
The Doctor Sylvester McCoy
The Temperon Nicholas Briggs
Sub-commander Solanec John Wadmore
Knight Commander Lyena Sarah Mowat
Knight 2 Mark Gatiss
Reldath Andrew Fettes
Coordinator Vansell Anthony Keetch
Ruthley Maggie Stables

The Production Team:

Writer Nicholas Briggs
Director Nicholas Briggs
Sound/Music Nicholas Briggs
Theme Music Mark Ayres
Producers Gary Russell and
Jason Haigh-Ellery
Executive Producer for the BBC Stephen Cole
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