The Doctor's Tale (audio story)

The Doctor's Tale was the second story of the first season of The Early Adventures. The Doctor and his TARDIS were the only science-fiction elements that appeared in the story. The title is a play on those of the individual tales within The Canterbury Tales, whose author, Geoffrey Chaucer, features prominently.

Publisher's summary
England, 1400. Winter. Blood in the snow. Henry IV has usurped the throne, and deposed King Richard II languishes in Pomfret Castle.

Meanwhile the Doctor and his companions preside over New Year revels at Sonning Palace.

But Sonning is a prison, treachery is in the air and murderous Archbishop Thomas Arundel will stop at nothing to crush the rebellion.

As the Doctor and Barbara take the road to Canterbury, Vicki finds a royal friend and Ian is dragged into a dark web of conspiracy at whose heart sits that teller of tales, Geoffrey Chaucer.

The Lord of Misrule (1)
The First Doctor, Vicki, Ian and Barbara visited Sonning Palace. They learn from the bishop that Henry IV has recently deposed Richard II, so Barbara correctly identifies the date as 1400.

Vicki meets Isabella, Richard's queen, and the Doctor is appointed to be her tutor. Sir Robert de Wensley expresses empathy with Isabella's plight, being cut off from her husband who is imprisoned in Pomfret Castle.

The travellers attend an Epiphany feast, with the Doctor presiding as Lord of Misrule. However, their revelries are interrupted by Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury who - after being affronted by Barbara and the Doctor - declares them to be Lollard heretics. He tells them they must recant or be sent to God.

The White Hart (2)
Robert negotiates for the release of the Doctor and his companions. Barbara and the Doctor go to Canterbury, desiring to discover the fate of Geoffrey Chaucer. Ian and Robert, after learning that King Henry has been attacked at his tournament at Oxford, travel in their wake, hoping to warn them that troubles will soon consume London. They stop at the Black Oak, which is more a stable than an inn.

Vicki stays with Isabella and they meet Jud Hacker and acquire his services as a cart driver. A train of men goes part and Isabella and Vicki hide in the cart. They see a cartload of dead men - supporters of Richard II killed in Oxford. Arundel is with the party and, catching glimpse of a face in Hacker's cart, orders him to uncover it.

Sanctuary (3)
Vicki hides Isabella and pretends to be Hacker's daughter. Isabella pays him to take her to Oxford. When they arrive, Hacker asks for more payment, but Isabella steals his cart and rides off with Vicki for Pomfret Castle.

Meanwhile, Ian is invited to an abbey by Robert, into the company of a conspiratorial group, mostly composed of clergy. Among their number is Geoffrey Chaucer. They plan to depose King Henry. In Oxford, Isabella is found by the King, who tells her she is free from her confinement in Sonning Palace now that Richard's forces have been defeated.

Arundel interrupts Chaucer's meeting. After he leaves, they learn that there has been a murder outside - the gatekeeper - and Chaucer's home has been raided and his work is being burned. Robert pulls his sword on Ian and Chaucer and, revealing he has aligned himself with Arundel, has them taken prisoner.

Isabella learns from Henry that Richard is dead, but refuses to believe it. Chaucer tells Ian he gave the original manuscript of The Canterbury Tales to the Doctor and Barbara for safe keeping. They are shown the body of Richard and, when none of the conspirators agree to recognise Henry, are sentenced to death by Arundel. They are killed one by one.

When only Ian and Chaucer are left, Henry arrives and order proceedings to be halted while Isabella grieves over Richard's body. In a prison cell, Ian and Chaucer find the Doctor. He tells them that Barbara is safe and that Arundel cannot be defeated - he is a part of history.

The Empty Crown (4)
Henry berates Arundel for his actions, but he shows no remorse. Vicki comforts Isabella. Tom Chaucer, Geoffrey's son, manages to contact his father. The Doctor asks him to find out how Vicki is faring. In their conversation, Robert expresses to Arundel a desire to find Barbara, which the Archbishop takes to be his desired prize.

Vicki and Isabella discuss Richard, and the former queen says he had been dead along a while to her, having been separated for so long. Henry banishes Vicki and, as she exits, she meets Tom from whom she gets the idea to have the Doctor and his fellow prisoners pardoned.

The Doctor picks the lock of his cell and find Robert as they escape. After he makes a comment about Barbara, he and Ian fight. While Robert has his sword caught, the Doctor knocks him out with a chamber pot. Isabella rejects Henry's proposition that she marry Prince Hal. Vicki and Tom tell the King that Chaucer is not dead, as Arundel claims, that the Doctor and Ian are also being held, despite being innocent.

Ian gets into a fight in the street. As the guard moves to strike him, Isabella shoots him with an arrow. The Doctor's party escape and Henry sends Robert after them, to collect Chaucer. They travel by boat and pass London Bridge.

They go to the Tabard Inn to find Barbara and learn that she is performing recitations of The Canterbury Tales. Ian sees Robert with her, holding her hand. Robert stands before the crowd and declares Chaucer to be a traitor and asks them to put his head on the bridge. Instead, they cheer for him who brought the tales Barbara read. They lift the Doctor onto their shoulders and parade him. Robert pulls a knife, but Isabella aims an arrow at him. He flees.

Ian follows and confronts him. Robert says Barbara will never be Ian's, but as he does, he slips on the ice and falls into the Thames beneath London Bridge where the current drowns him. The Doctor tells Chaucer his tales have been sent to Wales where they will be copied. He stands up and tells the crowd he is Chaucer.

Arundel arrives and is isolated. They confuse him with multiple voices until he is frightened. They taunt him and he cries that he will banish them all. He runs away in panic. Chaucer is going to Wales. Isabella will return to Sonning Palace where the Doctor tells her she will be safe with the bishop before returning to France. She asks Vicki to stay, but she says she cannot leave the Doctor.

The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki walk back to the TARDIS. Barbara put her arm through Ian's and asks what became of Robert. He tells her that he ran away. The party find themselves back at the ship.

Cast

 * Ian Chesterton/The Doctor - William Russell
 * Vicki/Barbara Wright/Narrator - Maureen O'Brien
 * Geoffrey Chaucer/The Bishop/Jud Hacker - Gareth Armstrong
 * Sir Robert de Wensley/King Henry IV/Adam/Tom Chaucer - Joseph Kloska
 * Isabella - Alice Haig
 * Thomas Arundel/Abbot William - John Banks

The Doctor

 * The Doctor has a cold.
 * The Doctor considers himself to be very dangerous when roused.
 * Chaucer describes the Doctor as "a man of rare wit and temper, a philosopher."
 * The Doctor refers to Ian as "Chessington".

People

 * The Earl of Kent, the Earl of Huntingdon and Geoffrey Chaucer were favourites of Richard II.
 * Henry Plantagenet, also known as Henry Bolingbroke, seized the English throne from Richard II three months earlier in 1399, becoming Henry IV. Henry led the barons in revolt against Richard, who was then imprisoned in Pomfret Castle.
 * Isabella, who is younger than Vicki, is the queen of the deposed Richard II.
 * Sir Robert de Wensley is a supporter of Richard II and Queen Isabella.
 * Isabella mentions King Arthur.
 * Thomas Arundel is the Archbishop of Canterbury.
 * Miguel de Cervantes gave the Doctor some Spanish oranges.
 * Jud Hacker was an executioner before he became a butcher.
 * Chaucer is involved in the failed plot to assassinate Henry IV and restore Richard II to the throne. The attack on Henry took place in Oxford.
 * Chaucer has a son named Tom, who works as Henry IV's butler.
 * Having been denied food on Arundel's orders, Richard II starved to death in Pomfret Castle.
 * The Doctor describes Vicki as "rather willful".
 * Henry IV has a 13-year-old son named Prince Hal, whom he hopes will marry Queen Isabella. However, she refused to do so, describing him as "a spotty boy".
 * Chaucer was present in London for Wat Tyler's rebellion.

Locations

 * Isabella is being held prisoner in Sonning Palace.
 * Isabella was born in France.
 * Arundel threatens to place Queen Isabella in the Tower of London.
 * Chaucer's tomb was placed in Westminster Abbey long after his death. Ian visited it prior to meeting the Doctor.
 * The Black Oak is "a roof with ale and pies".
 * Chaucer intends to flee to the Low Countries if the plot to assassinate Henry IV fails.
 * After Arundel's defeat, Chaucer goes into hiding in Wales under an assumed name.
 * Ian and Barbara first became friends while protesting against nuclear weapons on the Aldermaston marches.
 * Barbara performs recitals of The Canterbury Tales in Tabard Inn.

Other

 * Arundel refers to "heathen Lollardy"
 * Queen Isabella gives Vicki archery lessons.
 * Richard II's emblem is the White Hart.
 * Chaucer often mocks the Catholic Church in his work.
 * Barbara is obsessed with Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.
 * Gibbets are used to display the dead around Oxford.
 * Isabella always beat Richard at Serpents and Siege Engines, but thinks he might have let her win.

Continuity

 * Vicki refers to the Crusades. (TV: The Crusade)
 * Ian introduces himself to Sir Robert as "Sir Ian of Jaffa," a title bestowed on him by Richard the Lionheart in Palestine in 1190. (TV: The Crusade)
 * The Doctor refers to Ian's pursuit of Sir Francis Drake in Cadiz in 1587. (AUDIO: The Flames of Cadiz)
 * Vicki tells Queen Isabella that she does not have a family anymore. (TV: The Rescue)
 * Ian refers to Coal Hill School. (TV: An Unearthly Child)
 * The Doctor refers to the TARDIS' Time-Space Visualiser. (TV: The Chase)
 * The Doctor and Vicki would later visit another monastery in Northumbria in 1066 in the company of Steven Taylor. (TV: The Time Meddler)
 * Ian tells Chaucer that he and Barbara first became friends while participating in the Aldermaston march. During his third incarnation, the Doctor and Jo Grant later participated in the 1960 march. (PROSE: Come Friendly Bombs...)
 * At some point prior to his seventh incarnation, the Doctor received a copy of "The Doctour of Science's Tale" from Chaucer. (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible)