Doctor Who and the Pescatons (audio story)

Doctor Who and the Pescatons was the first original, officially licensed audio drama based upon Doctor Who. Released originally by Argo Records (reissued in the 1991 by Silva Screen Records), the dramatized story featured Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen as their TV characters, the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith, with Baker providing additional first-person narration as the Doctor. The story is divided into two episodes, complete with opening and closing themes, simulating the televised series. This release is considered the forerunner and in some ways a template of the much-later Big Finish Productions audio dramas.

Discounting a couple of radio appearances, and an LP version of Genesis of the Daleks with added narration, The Pescatons marked the last time Baker participated in an original Doctor Who audio drama until the Hornets' Nest arc in 2009.

Publisher's summary
The Doctor and his companion Sarah Jane battle against some of the most heinous foes to emerge from the outer universe: The Pescatons. The Doctor finds himself in the capital city of London, where the population is bewildered and trembling beneath the violent onslaught of a merciless invader.

Who or what is the mighty Zor, whose green slanting luminous eyes glare out from the dark of night like giant emeralds? What is the powerful alien force that is bringing Earth's civilisation to a standstill, threatening to annihilate everything in its path?

This is the story of a dying Planet, of a Deadly Weed, and the merciless Creatures themselves. It is a Challenge to the Doctor -- a frightening race against time...

Cast

 * The Doctor - Tom Baker
 * Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
 * Zor - Bill Mitchell

Continuity
Although never placed into official continuity, many fan sources set it as immediately following the events in The Masque of Mandragora.

Novelisation

 * Main article: The Pescatons (novelisation)


 * Novelised as The Pescatons by Victor Pemberton and released in 1991 by Target Books. To date it remains the only Doctor Who audio drama (as opposed to radio play) to be adapted as a novel.

Home media releases
This story has been released several times on both cassette and audio CD.

Timeline

 * This story occurs after DW: The Masque of Mandragora
 * This story occurs before ST: Eternity