The Silver Turk (audio story)

The Silver Turk is the first story in the 2011 Eighth Doctor audio trilogy. The story marks the first appearance of the Eighth Doctor in the Big Finish monthly range since The Company of Friends in 2009. However, an alternative version of the Eighth Doctor appeared in Klein's Story in the interim.

Publisher's summary
Roll up! Roll up! To the great Viennese Exposition, where showman Stahlbaum will show you his most wonderful creation, the Silver Turk — a mechanical marvel that will not only play for you the fortepiano, the spinet and the flute, it will play you at the gaming table too!

But when the Doctor brings his new travelling companion Mary Shelley to nineteenth-century Vienna, he soon identifies the incredible Turk as one of his deadliest enemies — a part-machine Cyberman.

And that’s not even the worst of the horrors at large in the city…

Part One
In Vienna, scared Leopold Krauss hails a cab to Stephansplatz because he is being pursued. The driver of the cab introduces himself as Johan Drossel and mentions that they have a mutual acquaintance, Alfred Stahlbaum, who is a beneficiary to them both. Drossel then whistles to call a monster who savages and kills Krauss.

The TARDIS materialises. After several attempts, Mary Shelley guesses that they are in Vienna, Austria. The Eighth Doctor explains that he wanted to introduce her to traveling in the TARDIS gently and, thus, decided to travel only in space, not leaving the year 1816. In addition, he has to meet Samson and Gemma, who are waiting for him in Café Demel, to which Mary and the Doctor proceed on foot.

Count Rolf Wittenmeier, another patron of Stahlbaum, is trying to retrieve his investments in the Silver Turk after losing everything in the Stock Market Crash. The Silver Turk is an automaton exhibited by Stahlbaum at the Vienna Exposition. It is capable of playing musical instruments and games. But the returns on its performances are smaller than expected because of the Crash. Stahlbaum refuses to return any money but offers a bet instead: the loan will be repaid in full if Count Wittenmeier publicly beats the Silver Turk at the game of his choosing.

At Café Demel, Mary marvels at her sudden new-found ability to communicate in German and even read newspapers. The first thing that catches her eye is an article about "the second eyeless murder on the Ringstrasse". But then she notices the date on the newspaper, 11 September 1873, which means that they did travel in time after all and which explains the absence of Samson and Gemma.

At the Vienna Exposition, Count Wittenmeier loses to the Silver Turk at chequers. He is so distressed by the loss of his loan that he tries to attack Stahlbaum and is thrown out by Heinz.

Upon realising that this is 1873, the year of the Vienna Exposition, the Doctor brings Mary there, although he has to rely on her paying both at the café and the entrance fee to the exposition. They hear Drossel inviting the public to a puppet performance at the Marionettenburg and promising that the puppets have "no strings attached" but decide to look at more famous attractions, including the Rotunda and the Industrial Palace. Meanwhile Drossel recognises the distressed Count Wittenmeier and invites him to his tent. Drossel says that he has also been wronged by Stahlbaum and seems to ask for the count's help in revenge. He then whistles to call Columbinetta, a puppet moving on her own, and asks her to bring his watchdog, whom he calls "his burden, his curse". Before the watchdog attacks the count, Drossel states that his theatre is "out of this world".

Count Wittenmeier's wife, Mitzi, with whom Stahlbaum used to be in love four years ago, visits him in between performances in hopes of finding her husband. Stahlbaum suggests that they leave Vienna together tomorrow. He is interested in her influence in the Royal circles, but she protests his embraces saying she is married now and has a daughter.

Ernst Bratfisch, a cab driver for the nobility, is very persistent in trying to provide services to the Doctor and Mary. He has been following them since Café Demel upon recognising them as Englishmen. He shares gossip about the grisly murders described in the newspaper. Two nights ago, he himself happened to witness on Wolfstrasse by the river a black hearse-like fiacre without a driver or passengers led by blue-eyed horses sounding like they had wooden shoes. Captivated by this story, Mary does not notice Mitzi Wittenmeier rushing towards her in her continued search for her husband. Bratfisch, who carried the count several times, recognises Mitzi and says that fifteen minutes ago the count was arrested by the police looking for him. The Doctor then proposes to accompany the countess to the police station, employing Bratfisch's services after all.

At the police station, the countess, accompanied by Mary and the Doctor, is given only five minutes to talk to her husband through the bars. The angry count lashes at Stahlbaum and his automaton. The Doctor wonders if this is the same Turk that was touring the courts of Europe playing chess and becomes even more interested upon learning that this automaton can play other games, as well as music. Although the policeman refused to explain what Count Wittenmeier is accused of, the count admits that he is a murder suspect. He describes how he was attacked by a malshaped monster with three legs growing from its shoulders and with a bandaged head shaped like a table vase. The Doctor decides to pay a visit to the Silver Turk.

Stahlbaum feeds cabbage soup to the Silver Turk, promising this to be their last performance, when the Doctor lets himself in using his sonic screwdriver. The Doctor only manages to observe the Turk's mask and wheelchair before being asked to leave. Alarmed by what he saw, the Doctor decides to attend the next performance at 5 o'clock. The countess hesitantly decides to join him and Mary.

At the performance, the Doctor is appalled at the the way the Turk plays Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Mary realises that the Turk somehow manages to work the pedals despite having no legs. The Doctor disrupts the performance to the displeasure of the public and proposes a game of chequers but demands to see the actual form of the Silver Turk. Stahlbaum protests and the Doctor accuses him of fraud, noting that the Turk stinks of antiseptic, ether and cabbage soup suggesting a living being rather than a fairground automaton. The Doctor proceeds to remove the mask, confirming his suspicions that the Silver Turk is a Cyberman.

Part Two
to be added

Part Three
to be added

Part Four
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Paul McGann
 * Mary Shelley - Julie Cox
 * Dr Johan Drossel - Gareth Armstrong
 * Alfred Stahlbaum - Christian Brassington
 * Ernst Bratfisch - David Schneider
 * Count Rolf Wittenmeier - Gwilym Lee
 * Countess Mitzi Wittenmeier - Claire Wyatt
 * The Cybermen - Nicholas Briggs
 * Policeman - Gareth Armstrong
 * Hannalore - Claire Wyatt
 * Empress - Claire Wyatt
 * Heinz - Nicholas Briggs
 * Krauss - Barnaby Edwards
 * Waiter - Barnaby Edwards
 * Punters - Gareth Armstrong, Claire Wyatt
 * Barkers - Gareth Armstrong, Nicholas Briggs, Christian Brassington, Julie Cox, Gwilym Lee

The Doctor

 * The Doctor tells Mary that her books "scared the pants off" him.
 * Mary breaks the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. The Doctor is indifferent as the TARDIS has a room full of them.

History

 * Both Bratfisch and Countess Wittenmeier mention the economic problems besetting Austria as a result of "the Crash." This refers to the.
 * The Doctor refers to travelling in the TARDIS as "the Grand Tour to end all Grand Tours." This a reference to the description of World War I as "the war to end all wars" attributed to H.G. Wells.

Individuals

 * Once the fact that she is more than half a century in her personal future sinks in, Mary begins to consider how old she would be in September 1873 and the fates of her family and friends. She later notes that she would be seventy-six years old by this time.
 * The Doctor attempts to pick up Samson and Gemma Griffin in Vienna, having left them there in June 1816.
 * The Doctor refers to Ludwig van Beethoven and the Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and his wife Empress Elisabeth, commonly referred to by her nickname "Sisi."
 * Mary has hazel eyes, flecked with green.
 * Mary carries a knife for sharpening her pencil and smelling salts.
 * Mary used to imbue so much laudanum that she could not trust her memory.
 * Stahlbaum claims to have contacts at the Hofburg.
 * Count Wittenmeier used to be a skilful gambler. He once beat Count Larisch at cards in a spectacular manner.
 * Percy Shelley told Mary that she would never master German. While travelling with the Doctor, she is able to speak German and even read newspapers in this language.
 * Stahlbaum and Mitzi use the Doctor puppet for their shows, calling him "the Silver Doctor".

Vienna landmarks

 * Leopold Krauss orders a cab to Stephansplatz.
 * The Doctor takes Mary to Café Demel where he was scheduled to meet with Samson and Gemma Griffin in June 1816.
 * A newspaper picked up in Café Demel calls the murder of Leopold Krauss "the second eyeless murder on the Vienna Ringstrasse." Bratfisch proposes to take Mary and the Doctor once round the Ringstrasse to show them all the landmarks of Vienna. Later on, the cab with the Doctor and Stahlbaum driven by Bratfisch is pursued by Gramm and Mary in a mechanical cab along the Ringstrasse until it crashes trying to turn into the Hofburg.
 * The Doctor and Mary visit the Rotunda and the Industrial Palace at the Vienna Exposition.
 * Ernst Bratfisch proposes to take the Doctor and Mary to the Opera House and the Hofburg Palace.

Locations

 * Mary has never been to Frankfurt.
 * Before figuring out that they are in Vienna, Mary unsuccessfully guesses the city to be Stuttgart, then Prague, then Salzburg, then Innsbruck.
 * Mary mentions Germany and Austria.
 * The Doctor describes Vienna as the city of Kaffee, Kuchen and waltzes.
 * Mary mentions that only an hour ago they were near Lake Geneva.
 * The Doctor mentions that Mary's left her friends at the Villa Diodati.

Literature

 * Mary is unfamiliar with the term "science fiction".

Music

 * Mitzi sings a lullaby to the tune of  originally composed in Austria. In 2011, the year this story was released, UNESCO declared this song to be an intangible cultural heritage of Austria.
 * The Doctor mentions that Viennese like waltzes almost as much as they like cake and that he has not gone waltzing for ages.
 * The Silver Turk plays the Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven on a piano.

Species

 * The Doctor refers to the Cyberman as "one of the Mondas originals."

Planets

 * Mondas is located 200 light-years from Earth.

Food

 * The Doctor mentions that hasn't been invented yet in 1816 but should already exist in 1873.
 * The Doctor orders gingerbread with hot chocolate at the Café Demel. Mary orders and coffee.

Continuity

 * This story begins only an hour after the events of Mary's Story from the Doctor and Mary's perspective. The Doctor recalls what he told Mary at the end of that story: that he promised her "the marvels of the universe", that he is "the Doctor" and "not the Monster" and that she called the TARDIS his "hut". The Doctor initially believes that they have not left June 1816 and wants to pick up Samson and Gemma Griffin, whom he left in Vienna. (AUDIO: Mary's Story)
 * The Doctor tells Mary that he witnessed the creation of the Cybermen on Mondas. (AUDIO: Spare Parts)
 * Mary is unfamiliar with the term "science fiction". The term was created by H. G. Wells, another 19th century author, who accompanied the Sixth Doctor on a trip from Scotland in 1885 to Karfel. (TV: Timelash)
 * The Doctor refers to Draconian sazou. (AUDIO: Paper Cuts)
 * The future Eighth Doctor previously told Mary that they had encountered the Cybermen during their travels together. (AUDIO: Mary's Story)
 * Mary feels pity for the deteriorated condition of the Cybermen as she did for the Doctor in Mary's Story. This also resembles how Rose Tyler felt pity for the deteriorated Dalek in the Vault in 2012. (TV: Dalek)