Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Plague Herds of Excelis (audio story)

Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Plague Herds of Excelis, or simply The Plague Herds of Excelis, was the final story in the Excelis Saga; it was not part of the initial run of Big Finish Productions' Bernice Summerfield series. Listed as release 3.0, it is actually set immediately before The Dance of the Dead.

This is the first story to feature Iris Wildthyme portrayed by Katy Manning opposite Lisa Bowerman's Benny. This is also the first story featuring Iris Wildthyme that is not written by her creator Paul Magrs.

Publisher's summary
The once proud city of Excelis is a crumbling ruin in a state of siege, as barbarians catapult pestilent animal corpses into the city to spread disease among those trapped inside.

Excelis is a city clinging to life by a thread. But ancient prophecies foretell a final retribution for the past arrogance of its rulers. When the sun is eaten away from the sky, when the ancient relic of Excelis is taken from its rightful resting-place, and when strangers are discovered among the people, then shall the whole world be doomed to die.

Today, the sun is a moth-eaten shadow. Plans are afoot to steal the relic. And a very tired and very fraught Professor Bernice Summerfield has just stomped into town in the company of a mysterious traveller in space and time known only as Iris Wildthyme. Pitted against a sinister prophet, the machinations of the Imperial court, and hordes of animal undead, Benny finds herself embroiled in the final stages of an aeons-old plan to commit genocide twice over — with no way out.

Plot
The people of Excelis gather and burn the corpses of those killed by a plague whilst Snyper attempts to stop them, preaching that the sickness is only of the soul and predicting that a stranger will arrive and the sun will be eaten.

Needing to get away from Peter, Jason and Adrian, Benny takes Braxiatel's shuttle to the Artaris System and, upon becoming aware of a space fleet, she lands on the ruined Artaris and meets Iris Wildthyme. Iris takes her to watch Empress Vitutia's trial, at which Vitutia is charged by Representative Aragon with failing to keep her people safe from barbarians, but the assembly vote not to execute her. Afterwards, Iris tells Benny that she plans on stealing the Relic to wear with a new outfit and they go for a drink.

Benny is recognised as an outsider and taken to Vitutia, who does not suspect Benny of any wrongdoing, she intends on using her as a scapegoat. At the trial, Snyper demands Benny's release and Iris comes to her rescue in her bus. Vitutia is hit by lightning, which Aragon believes was drawn in by the Relic, and Snyper claims that it is divine judgement and she must be deposed, taking the Relic and declaring himself her successor. Benny, Iris and Aragon leave in the bus, which has had some of its functions disabled by the energy wave, whilst Vitutia is taken prisoner by Snyper, who has destroyed Braxiatel's shuttle.

Outside Excelis, Benny, Iris and Aragon find the catapults used to launch diseased animals into the city but see no sign of the barbarians, indicating that Snyper is the real one behind the siege. Iris speculates that he was able to predict that the sun would be eaten, which is actually the arrival of the space fleet Benny saw, and reveals that she was tricked into bringing the Relic to Artaris and that the souls of everybody on the planet will be "snuffed out" if she does not get it away. The diseased animals seem to rise from the dead and infect the population, killing people simply by making contact.

Benny, Iris and Aragon go to the Imperial Palace and learn from Snyper that Artaris has become a bomb which will detonate and wipe out the incoming fleet once every last person on the planet has been killed. He transforms into his true form before becoming Sister Jolene and revealing that he was the one who manipulated Iris. She takes the Relic and throws it to Benny, who realises that, in his true form, Snyper is vulnerable to the plague and he is killed, his death putting an end to the zombie animals. Vitutia declares that Excelis will be restored and has a romantic moment with Aragon.

Benny returns with Iris to the bus and declines the offer of going to a disco. When Iris mentions that her bus would be bigger on the inside if she had managed to get a working dimensional stabiliser, Benny realises that she is a Time Lord and that she knows the Doctor, whom Iris claims is likely to propose to her.

Cast

 * Bernice Summerfield - Lisa Bowerman
 * Iris Wildthyme - Katy Manning
 * Snyper - Trevor Littledale
 * Empress Vitutia - Kate Brown
 * Aragon - Stewart Alexander

Crew

 * Cover Art - Adrian Salmon
 * Director - John Ainsworth
 * Executive Producer - Jason Haigh-Ellery
 * Music and Sound Design - David Darlington
 * Producer - Gary Russell
 * Writer - Stephen Cole

Worldbuilding

 * Benny takes Braxiatel's shuttle which, unlike the other shuttles on the Braxiatel Collection, has a jacuzzi and stealth mode.
 * Iris gives Benny a brandy.
 * Iris's TARDIS has a cloaking device.
 * Snyper has inoculated himself.
 * Iris does not have a dimensional stabiliser.

Continuity

 * Benny says that Peter and "everyone else" keep screaming. (AUDIO: Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Green-Eyed Monsters)
 * When an unidentified ship appears, Benny asks if it is part of Fifth Axis forces, as she doesn't fancy being in a fight. (PROSE: The Doomsday Manuscript, The Glass Prison)
 * The chameleon circuit was also referred to as a cloaking device in TV: Doctor Who.