The Doll of Death was the third story of the third series of The Companion Chronicles, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Marc Platt, narrated by Katy Manning (in-character as Jo Grant) and featured the Third Doctor, Jo Grant, Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart, Captain Yates, Sergeant Benton and UNIT.
Publisher's summary[]
A new adventure with the Third Doctor as told by his companion, Jo Grant.
"Retrocausation! Events before their cause. Time in reverse."
While investigating a temporal anomaly in Central London, the Doctor and Jo Grant meet Professor Harold Saunders, a man who possesses an unstable alien artefact, and who is seemingly haunted by the ghosts of dolls.
Who is the mysterious Mrs Killebrew? Why is a pack of hounds hunting them in reverse? And can Jo pick up any bargains while backwards shopping on Oxford Street?
Plot[]
Part I
While attending a climate conference in modern-day London, Jo Grant Jones recalls a long-forgotten UNIT adventure — one that began with a mysterious “blue-shift” reading and ended in tragedy. Drawn with the Doctor to the National Museum, Jo encounters haunted toys, a paranoid professor, and a strange glowing tablet that seems alive. When the object erupts with temporal energy, time itself begins to unravel.
Defying orders, Jo investigates alone and discovers the eerie Killebrew’s Toy Hospital, a shattered relic filled with motionless dolls and whispers from another timeline. Inside waits Mrs Killebrew — and “Hannah,” a doll begging to be sent home through the tablet’s power. But the dolls awaken, glowing with reversed fire, and spectral hounds known as Retrievers prowl for their lost artifact.
As UNIT closes in, the Brigadier and the Doctor witness events folding backwards in time. In the chaos, Jo runs back into the collapsing shop to rescue Sergeant Benton — just as the building “un-explodes” into nothingness.
Part II
In the wake of a white-hot implosion, Jo, the Brigadier, and a wounded Benton find themselves inside Killebrew’s shattered toy hospital as London outside runs in eerie reverse. Sightless “Retrievers” prowl the streets, while Jo’s blue-shift beeper lures them like bloodhounds. Pursued through backwards crowds and buses, the trio reunite with the Doctor — but Jo’s split-second throw of the detector seals their trap in time, leaving them stranded in the retrograde flow.
Driven by a desperate plan, Jo agrees to carry “Hannah,” the mind from a counter-flow Earth riding inside a cracked china doll. Hannah’s will hijacks Jo’s voice and limbs as the Doctor needles out the truth: she’s not here to study alien invasions — she’s here to study him. With Doreen Killebrew buckling under the strain, the only hope is to reach the National Museum at the exact instant the shattered tablet “un-explodes” and becomes whole again.
At the museum, Retrievers corner them — until Doreen drags in a gigantic toy bear to brawl the hounds. As time rewinds to Sanders’ death scene, Hannah tries to seize the tablet through Jo’s body. Jo fights her off; Doreen takes up the burden. The Doctor reveals a sleight of hand — he’s already swapped the shards for a restored tablet — forcing the final choice: send Hannah home or end the temporal siege.
Handing fate to Jo — “the one here with the most future” — the Doctor lets her decide. Jo hurls the tablet skyward; dogs and doll collide; paradox cancels paradox in a blinding flare. Time sluices forward. UNIT’s lab reappears, tax returns neatly filled, and the TARDIS hums with enigmatic noises. Years later, Jo smiles at six-inch red platform boots and the motto she kept: “Make the future yourselves.”
Cast[]
Crew[]
- Cover Art - Simon Holub
- Director - Lisa Bowerman
- Executive Producers - Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
- Music and Sound Design - David Darlington
- Producer - David Richardson
- Script Editors - Alan Barnes and Jacqueline Rayner
- Writer - Marc Platt
Worldbuilding[]
- Jo is concerned about her husband Clifford Jones' blood pressure.
- Jo is staying in a London hotel as she is attending a climate conference.
- According to Jo, alien invasions always seemed to occur on Fridays.
- Mike Yates refers to Jo as "Jemima Bond, Licence to Spill."
- Jo was 18 years old when she began working for UNIT.
- In the National Museum, the Doctor indicates an Egyptian mummy to Jo, claiming that he knew the person in question in life.
- By the 2000s, UNIT HQ has become the embassy of an Eastern European country.
- The Doctor is now a British citizen.
- Benton has recently bought a new Allegro.
- Benton refers to the IRA.
- As a child, Jo had "an army of gonks and trolls" but even then found dolls creepy.
Textless cover art
Notes[]
- This was the first time that Katy Manning had reprised her role as Jo Grant since her departure in the television story The Green Death in 1973.
- This audio drama was recorded on 23 May 2008 at the Moat Studios.
- This story is set between The Dæmons and Day of the Daleks.
- Jo is 18 during this story.
- Jo was 19 first met the Doctor in 1970, according to AUDIO: The Other Woman.
- Jo has been "on the UNIT books since 1971", according to PROSE: Genocide.
- Jo joined UNIT in 1972, according to AUDIO: The Sacrifice of Jo Grant.
Continuity[]
- Jo refers to being hypnotised by the Master. (TV: Terror of the Autons)
- After their encounter with Mrs Killebrew, the Doctor and Jo were sent to Zayin Eight in the far future by the Time Lords. (AUDIO: The Mists of Time)
- Polly Wright would later read about this incident on Jo's blog. (AUDIO: The Three Companions)
External links[]
- Official The Doll of Death page at bigfinish.com
