The Fires of Vulcan (audio story)

 was the twelfth story in Big Finish's monthly range. It was written by Steve Lyons and featured Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush.

This was the third full story to feature the Seventh Doctor but the first audio story to feature Mel, a role which she last played in Children in Need presentation Dimensions in Time in 1993. This was also writer Lyons' first contribution to an audio story; he has also contributed to a number of novels and short stories.

Publisher's summary
Two thousand years ago, a cataclysmic volcanic eruption wiped the Roman city of Pompeii from the face of the Earth. It also buried the Doctor's TARDIS...

Arriving in Pompeii one day before the disaster, the Seventh Doctor and Mel find themselves separated from their ship and entangled in local politics. With time running out, they fight to escape from the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. But how can they succeed when history itself is working against them?

Plot
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Sylvester McCoy
 * Melanie Bush - Bonnie Langford
 * Professor Scalini - Anthony Keetch
 * Captain Muriel Frost - Karen Henson
 * Tibernus / Roman Legionary - Robert Curbishley
 * Popidius Celsinus - Andy Coleman
 * Valeria Hedone - Nicky Goldie
 * Murranus - Steven Wickham
 * Eumachia - Lisa Hollander
 * Aglae - Gemma Bissix
 * Priest - Toby Longworth

The Doctor

 * During his fifth incarnation, the Doctor was contacted by UNIT, who told him that they had found his TARDIS encased in rock at Pompeii during an archaeological excavation in 1980.

Individuals

 * Mel states that she is a vegetarian. Valeria Hedone responds that she has never heard of Vegetaria.
 * Mel made a replica of Mount Vesuvius out of papier mâchè while at primary school.

The Master

 * The Doctor uses his voice to compel a guard and later Popidius into handing over a key and going to sleep, a skill previously demonstrated by the Master.

Earth history

 * According to the Roman calendar, 23 August is the tenth day before the Kalends of September.

Continuity

 * An older version of the Seventh Doctor would later return to Pompeii in August 79 in the company of Ace (PROSE: The Algebra of Ice), as would the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble (TV: The Fires of Pompeii) and his future travelling companion Captain Jack Harkness, on multiple occasions (TV: The Doctor Dances).
 * The Seventh Doctor is unaware that the eruption of Mount Vesuvius was triggered by his tenth incarnation in order to kill the Pyrovile. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii)