Farewell, Great Macedon (audio story)

 was the first story in the audio anthology The First Doctor Box Set, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was adapted by Nigel Robinson, from the original script by Moris Farhi, narrated by Carole Ann Ford and William Russell and featured the First Doctor, Susan, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright.

Publisher's summary
The TARDIS materialises in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, in the year 323 BC. The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan meet Alexander the Great – but their excitement is tempered by the realisation that these are the final days of Alexander's life. As the travellers become embroiled in the tragic events, the inevitability of history unfolds around them.

But can they – and should they – change it?

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (1)
The TARDIS stops suddenly to everyone's surprise: the TARDIS has a fuel leak. Realising they are on Earth and sometime in the past, and with no way to repair the TARDIS presently, the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan decide to step outside of the ship to investigate the "heavenly" sound just outside. They find themselves in a garden full of sound and beautiful exotic plants, and Ian realises that they must be in the Hanging Garden of Babylon, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. Shortly after, they hear the fanfare sound and the voices of beautiful women announcing that the king has arrived, and Susan runs off to see where the women are going.

In another part of the gardens, in a secluded arbour, four men are found drinking wine together: Seleucus, general of the Greek army; Glaucias, the camp physician; Iollas, a priest of the god Apollo, and Antipater, a politician and a trusted adviser to the king. Antipater makes known his distress for having been in a foreign land the last thirteen years and claims that not one Greek wouldn't welcome the thought of going back home. Argued by Seleucus that the army would never abandon the king, Antipater declares that the king will have to be separated from the army. Seleucus, who believes this to be treason attempts to leave before being reprimanded by Antipater who reminds him of his plot not too long before in which Seleucus tried to place himself in the order of succession to the throne. Antipater believes that, currently, there would be nothing to gain from the death of the king because one of his three generals would take the throne; Antipater suggests that they kill all three generals along with the king in order to better control the throne. Seleucus, unsure, leaves on the promise that he would decide at a later time. With Seleucus gone, Antipater discloses to Iollas and Glaucias that the Greek general would be nothing more than a figure head so that they could go after the treasure and riches of the empire. Antipater decides that they will work their way up to the kings death starting with the death of the generals, and to better prepare the situation he orders Iollas to "prophecy" something terrible.

Susan who had followed the singing women out of the hanging gardens, has made her way up to great towering city walls of Babylon. When the Doctor, Ian, and Barbara finally catch up to her they manage a glimpse of the tents outside of the city where the soldiers in the army reside; in the distance they can see the king waiting to greet the women who then greeted him with gifts. Losing the attention of the Doctor shortly thereafter to a curious smell which he begins to investigate; catching up with the Doctor and the source of the smell, the travellers find Iollas performing a ritual, though the travellers believed him to cooking; the Doctor even going so far as to try and teach him how to cook better. It isn't long before Ian and the Doctor are interrupted by a spear landing just between the two: turning to see who threw the spear, they see a young man of about thirty. It is the king, accompanied by four massive guards. Half joking, he tells them that they must not disturb Apollo's priest referring to Iollas who is bent over on the ground mumbling now, seemingly back in some trance, warning them of unspoken nightmares that could come from interrupting his prophesying. Iollas comes out of his trance and prophesies a warning that the king must leave Babylon before a four-headed misfortune descends upon him. The king, ignoring Iollas' words in another half joking manner, merits a praise from the Doctor for not believing in such foolish things, although the king scolds him in return for not respecting the customs of his people. As the king and the Doctor become more friendly to each other, the king offers to host the travellers, while completely ignoring Iollas' attempt to warn him with his "prophecy"; he introduces them to his generals Haphaeston, Cleitus, Calanus and Ptolemy. As the young king leads the travellers to the camp, Barbara figures who he is: Alexander of Macedon.

At the edge of the encampment near the walls, Iollas reaches Antipater and Glaucias. Learning of the strangers who interfered with Iollas, Antipater conjectures that this actually helps their cause: four strangers, four omens, four deaths. Claiming that they can easily link the deaths to the strangers by making others believe that these strangers are the evil omens and that the suspicion will fall on them by default.

O Son, My Son (2)
to be added

A Man Must Die (3)
to be added

The World Lies Dead at your Feet (4)
to be added

In the Arena (5)
to be added

Farewell, Great Macedon! (6)
to be added

Cast

 * Ian Chesterton - William Russell
 * Susan Foreman - Carole Ann Ford
 * Alexander the Great - John Dorney

Characters

 * First Doctor
 * Susan Foreman
 * Barbara Wright
 * Ian Chesterton
 * Alexander the Great
 * Hephaestion
 * Calanus
 * Cleitus
 * Ptolemy
 * Seleucus
 * Antipater
 * Iollas
 * Glaucias
 * Attalus
 * Roxane

Continuity

 * Ian would later tell Pendolin that it was Alexander who taught him how to ride a horse. (AUDIO: The Time Museum)
 * Immediately after his third regeneration, the Fourth Doctor recalled his encounter with Alexander the Great. Temporary memory loss caused him to refer to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart as "Alexander." (TV: Robot)
 * The Fifth Doctor would later describe Alexander as "a dreadful bore" to his companions Tegan Jovanka and Turlough. (PROSE: The Crystal Bucephalus)
 * During his eleventh incarnation, the Doctor and his companion Amy Pond later visited Babylon in 905 BC. (COMIC: In the Stars)
 * The Big Finish Productions audio adaptation of The Masters of Luxor establishes that The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance takes place before Farewell, Great Macedon, as it mentions the events of both, but is explicitly set immediately after Farewell, Great Macedon.