Like (audio story)

Like was the second story in the audio anthology The Sixth Doctor and Peri: Volume One, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Jacqueline Rayner and featured Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Nicola Bryant as Peri Brown.

Publisher's summary
On the Earth colony world Rusina, the populace strive to be popular. Likes lead to promotion, dislikes lead to demotion – and more recently, something worse. So when the Doctor investigates the truth behind their subscriber-led society, he finds himself about to become very unpopular indeed.

Plot
The Doctor is contacted by his old friend Sandis-Fernis, who tells him that his planet has been left uninhabitable by an asteroid strike and that the people of nearby Rusina will not let his people land. The Doctor decides to travel to Rusina to persuade them otherwise, telling Peri that he presumes that they are too busy with their rustic lifestyles to have paid attention to the distress calls. When they land, however, they find themselves in a bustling, high-tech city.

On the way to find the authorities, Peri notices a shop called Peri Beauty and is asked by a woman for a photograph with Peri Pore-Reduction Serum. The woman uploads the photo and receives dozens of likes, but deletes it and reports Peri upon learning that she does not have a chip and contacts City Chip Control. Peri runs away, but the Doctor instead decides that they will wait so that they can speak to somebody in authority. They are immediately arrested, taken to Law Station 2085 and forcibly chipped.

The Doctor and Peri are released into the custody of Christie, head of Christie Corp, who takes them to her office. She asks Peri to be the face of Peri Summer, which she refuses, and subs to her before calling a car to take her and the Doctor to Governor Crompton per their wish. They are denied entry to the building due to them not having at least 50,000 subscribers, forcing Peri to contact Christie and accept her offer.

Peri quickly becomes a celebrity and, having amassed enough subscribers to enter the office, shows Crompton a recording of the Doctor speaking on behalf of the Yoblans. Crompton asks to be sent the recording and invites Peri to stay with her whilst she makes a speech about the situation. In her address, Crompton encourages everybody to subscribe to the Doctor and broadcasts an incriminatingly edited version of his speech; his subscribers send him dislikes which cause him physical pain. Peri is angry with Crompton, who reveals that she believes the Doctor but will not risk being killed by dislikes to help the Yoblans.

Marconi uses a chip blocker to save the Doctor and take him to safety below the ground. He meets the resistance led by Hoffman, the genius creator of the chips who hates what Crompton has done with her invention and has felt guilty since a schoolboy died because of dislikes. She issued a message condemning the chips as a fitting way to commit suicide, but a student of hers saved her life with the short-range chip blocker. Marconi had been in contact with Hoffman whilst working in PR and remained in contact; upon learning what happened, she tracked Hoffman down.

Having lost the Doctor, Peri goes to Christie and asks for her help. Christie tells her that she would have to change people's minds without force, leading Peri to film a series of comedic videos called Life With Yob with Sandis-Fernis and the help of the Doctor, Christie, Hoffman and Marconi. The public soon felt affection for the Yoblans which grew over days and, the Doctor hopes, will soon cause them to see the Yoblans as individuals. The group, minus Christie, visit Crompton and blackmail her into accepting the Yoblans as refugees until Hoffman has completed a power source foe their ship.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Colin Baker
 * Peri Brown - Nicola Bryant
 * Christie - Lucy Robinson
 * Marconi - Eilidh Loan
 * Hoffman - Amelia Donkor
 * Crompton - Rachel Atkins
 * Sandis-Fernis - Timothy Blore

Worldbuilding

 * Rusina is a minor Roman goddess of the fields.
 * Peri Beauty is located at 6398AC. She sells Peri Pore-Reduction Serum.
 * Christie contacts City Chip Control.
 * Peri is wearing a scarlet trouser suit.
 * The Doctor and Peri are taken to Law Station 2085.
 * Peri likens the people's broadcast of their thoughts to a David Attenborough documentary.
 * Candy Dental Floss is candy floss-flavoured floss.
 * The Doctor and Peri are restrained by magnetic chairs which have force fields strong enough to hold a herd of elephants. The Doctor used to have one.
 * The Doctor and Peri are automatically subbed to State News, Laws and Regulations and Governor Crompton Official.
 * Christie offers the Doctor and Peri protein water and vitjuice.
 * MyLids are see-through eyelids.
 * There is an advert for Hush Advertising Agency.

Continuity

 * The Doctor and Peri quote the former's description of the peri in Persian mythology. (TV: The Twin Dilemma)