Tartarus was the two hundred and fifty sixth story in Big Finish's monthly range. It was written by David Llewellyn and featured Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa and Janet Fielding as Tegan and introduced George Watkins as new companion Marc.
Publisher's summary[]
63BC. Following the overthrow of Catiline, Cicero and his wife retire to the coastal town of Cumae, safe from the threats of Rome.
But when a stranger and his companions arrive at Cicero's villa, new dangers lie in wait and Cicero finds himself plunged into a realm of gods and monsters.
His only hope of returning home lies with a man known as the Doctor. But can Cicero trust him?
Plot[]
Part one[]
to be added
Part two[]
to be added
Cast[]
- The Doctor - Peter Davison
- Nyssa - Sarah Sutton
- Tegan Jovanka - Janet Fielding
- Cicero - Samuel Barnett
- Terentia - Laura Riseborough
- Septus - Joe Shire
- Tartarus - Tracy Ann Oberman
- Marc - George Watkins
Worldbuilding[]
- Cicero addresses a letter to Atticus.
- Tartarus is a sentient warp ship.
- Tartarus was sent by the Hive Leadership on Zorth, which is in the Fraxis Galaxy in the constellation of Zandrobar. The Zorth lived there before their home planet was destroyed.
Notes[]
Alternate cover.
- With Samuel Barnett playing Cicero and Laura Riseborough as Terentia, this story was a crossover with Big Finish's Cicero series. (BFX: Tartarus)
- Playing new companion Marc is George Watkins, who is Peter Davison's nephew. (BFX: Time in Office)
- The story was recorded on 29 and 30 January 2019 at the Moat Studios.
- The Doctor says that Marc has lived his entire life in 1st century Naples. However, the story is actually set in 63 BC, during the previous century.
Continuity[]
- The Doctor assures Tegan that Vesuvius will not erupt for another 140 years. The Doctor would later be present at this event in at least his seventh and tenth incarnations. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii; AUDIO: The Fires of Vulcan)
- The Doctor has previously met a Roman Emperor. (TV: The Romans)
- Nyssa remarks that it's been a long time since the Doctor last mentioned Adric. (TV: Earthshock, Time-Flight)
- Tegan tries saying "veni, vidi, vici", but Cicero does not understand, asking her what language it was in. Donna Noble would later do the same, and discover that her Latin sounds like Celtic to the locals, due to the TARDIS translation circuits. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii)
- The Doctor recalls that he used to play the recorder. (TV: The Power of the Daleks, etc.)
External links[]
- Official Tartarus page at bigfinish.com
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