The Top of the Tree (audio story)

 was the second story of The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Simon Guerrier, performed by Jacob Dudman and Danny Horn and featured the Eleventh Doctor and Kazran Sardick.

Publisher's summary
On one of their annual jaunts, young Kazran Sardick and the Doctor find themselves in trouble when the TARDIS is tangled in the branches of a very strange, very large tree.

They emerge into a habitat where myriad species fight for survival: an ecosystem of deadly flora and fauna, along with a tribe of primitive humans.

This is a mystery which can only be solved by climbing. But what will they find at the top of the tree?

Plot
In the TARDIS, the Doctor and Kazran pick up an untranslatable signal which they follow through the Time Vortex. They arrive in a giant tree and, upon exiting the ship, fall from a great height onto soft moss. Kazran is knocked out and the Doctor assesses his injuries and examines a pod which starts to swallow his arm. When Kazran awakens, he tries to use a branch to force the pod open but is instead stuck himself. They fall and are freed by a child of humans who speak a proto-language.

The Doctor and Kazran climb the tree and reach a village where they meet people wearing the remains of space suits and other signs of advanced technology. Awkward remembers stories of how her ancestors arrived here and learnt to live in harmony with the tree and tells them that there is something down in the dark. The Doctor and Kazran descend with some of the people, passing large insects fleeing upwards on the way, and Bluebeard is killed by a dark liquid. After being bitten by flying insects, they return to the village.

to be completed

Cast

 * The Narrator / The Doctor - Jacob Dudman
 * Kazran Sardick - Danny Horn

Continuity

 * Kazran mentions fishing for sharks. (TV: A Christmas Carol)
 * The Doctor goes to the Sisters of the Infinite Schism to heal and notes that he must remember them. He would later take River Song there after she used all her regeneration energy to save his life. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler)