Shada (audio story)

 was an audio exclusive of the webcast adaptation of the unaired Douglas Adams' Doctor Who story of the same name. It featured Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor, Lalla Ward as Romana II and John Leeson as K9 Mark II.

This story, like the previous story Real Time, was co-produced with BBCi, and, also like Real Time, it included extra scenes that did not feature in the webcast version.

Publisher's summary
The Doctor has a spot of unfinished business. Reunited with his old friends Romana and K9, he answers a summons from Professor Chronotis, a retired Time Lord now living the academic life in a Cambridge college.

But the Doctor isn't the only visitor to Cambridge. Somewhere in the city is the sinister alien Skagra, who is intent on stealing an ancient and mysterious book brought to Earth by the Professor many years before.

What is Skagra's diabolical masterplan? And who or what is the mysterious Shada? To discover the truth, the Doctor and his friends must embark on a perilous journey that will take them from the cloisters of Cambridge to the farthest reaches of deep space, risking deadly encounters with a sentient spaceship, the monstrous Krargs, and an ancient Time Lord criminal called Salyavin. As the Doctor soon discovers, the fate of the universe hangs in the balance...

''Written in 1979, the original production of Shada was halted by industrial action, and for many years the story remained unmade – until now. Featuring an all-star cast headed by Paul McGann, and boasting an unforgettable script by the great Douglas Adams, this legendary Doctor Who adventure is lost no more!''

Plot
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Paul McGann
 * Romana - Lalla Ward
 * K9 - John Leeson
 * Professor Chronotis - James Fox
 * Skagra - Andrew Sachs
 * Chris Parsons - Sean Biggerstaff
 * Clare Keightley - Susannah Harker
 * Wilkin - Melvyn Hayes
 * The Ship - Hannah Gordon
 * Professor Caldera - Barnaby Edwards
 * Constable - Stuart Crossman
 * Think Tank Voice - Nicholas Pegg

Crew

 * Cover Art by - Clayton Hickman
 * Director - Nicholas Pegg
 * Executive Producer - Martin Trickey, James Goss and Jacqueline Rayner
 * Music - Russell Stone
 * Producer - Gary Russell and Jason Haigh-Ellery
 * Sound Design - Gareth Jenkins
 * Writer - Douglas Adams

Story notes

 * This audio drama was recorded on 12-14 November 2002 at the Moat Studios.
 * This is the first Eighth Doctor audio drama not to feature Charley Pollard.
 * Clayton Hickman's cover art for this release models Romana II's appearance on a contemporary 2003 photo of Lalla Ward, the only departure to date from Big Finish's standard practice of modelling post-Warrior's Gate appearances of Romana II on reference photos from Ward's original 1979-1981 tenure on the programme.

Deviations from the webcast story

 * Gary Russell changed small scenes which would not work for audio, such as the scene of Skagra stealing the motorist's mind.
 * When Skagra scans the Doctor's mind, audio clips from AUDIO: Phantasmagoria, AUDIO: The Marian Conspiracy and AUDIO: The Fires of Vulcan are added.

Continuity

 * On recruiting Romana and K9 to recommence their original summons to Chronotis (TV: Shada), the Doctor and Romana refers to being taken out of time by Borusa. (TV: The Five Doctors)
 * The Doctor recalls Romana assisting him with the Key to Time. (TV: The Ribos Operation to The Armageddon Factor)