Goth Opera was the twelfth story in Big Finish Productions' Novel Adaptations range. It was adapted from the novel of the same name by Lizbeth Myles and featured Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka and Richard Armitage as Rassilon.
Publisher's summary[]
Manchester, 1993. The Time Lady Ruath, an old friend of the Doctor's, arrives on the planet to inform Earth's vampires that the arrival of their legendary messiah is imminent. His rising will herald an age of endless night where the undead reign supreme. All that is needed is the blood of a Time Lord.
In Tasmania, the Doctor, Tegan, and Nyssa are enjoying the sun and plenty of cricket. When they are attacked by vampires, they escape unscathed, except for Nyssa who suffers two small puncture wounds to her neck. Compelled by her attacker to remain silent, she can tell no-one what she's turning into.
Why is Ruath so determined to see the descendants of the Great Vampire rise to power? If only the Doctor knew the truth, she's certain he would turn to her side, and help to secure the future of Vampire kind, no matter how much humanity must suffer.
Plot[]
Part one[]
to be added
Part two[]
to be added
Part three[]
to be added
Cast[]
- The Doctor - Peter Davison
- Nyssa - Sarah Sutton
- Tegan - Janet Fielding
- Rassilon - Richard Armitage
- Yarven - Micah Balfour
- Jeremy / Bob - Ewan Goddard
- Ruath - Natalie Gumede
- Jake - Nathan Jonathan
- Eric / Mike - Mathew McQuinn
- Olivia / Newsreader - Lionelle Nsarhaza
- Victor Lang - John Schwab
- Maddy - Lydia Wilson
Crew[]
- Senior Producer - John Ainsworth
- Cover Art - Sean Longmore
- Producer & Director - David O'Mahony
- Executive Producers - Nicholas Briggs and Jason Haigh-Ellery
- Music - Tim Steemson
- Script Editor - Scott Handcock
- Sound Design - Simon Robinson
- Writer - Paul Cornell, adapted by Lizbeth Myles
Worldbuilding[]
to be added
Notes[]
- This story was recorded on 20-21 September and 11 October 2023 at the Soundhouse.
Deviations from the original novel[]
- Scenes featuring Romana in the original book are excluded in the audio adaptation, as are more direct references to the events of Blood Harvest.
- A prologue scene is added in which Rassilon tells of the history of the Vampires and their subsequent war with the Time Lords.
- The Doctor and Tegan begin to suspect about Nyssa's transformation into a vampire much sooner than in the original novel.
- In the original novel, Romana contacted the Doctor via telepathic contact to give him a code word to take remote control of Ruath's TARDIS. Here the Doctor is aware of such a code word on his own due to his time as Lord President giving him access to certain Time Lord secrets, such as Rassilon's old override codes.
Continuity[]
- Rassilon refers to working alongside Omega (TV: The Three Doctors, Arc of Infinity) and the Other. (PROSE: Remembrance of the Daleks, Human Nature, etc)
- Tegan and Nyssa refer to Tegan's recent encounter with the Mara. (TV: Snakedance)
- Ruath refers to Ravolox as being an alternate name for Earth. (TV: The Mysterious Planet)
- Ruath takes Yarven to the time stream/possible future of the Haemovores. (TV: The Curse of Fenric)
- Yarven is aware of the Doctor's role in the death of the King Vampire. (TV: State Of Decay)
External links[]
- Official Goth Opera page at bigfinish.com
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