The Eternal Summer was the one hundred and twenty-eighth story in Big Finish's monthly range. It was written by Jonathan Morris and featured Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor and Sarah Sutton as Nyssa.
It was the second story in a trilogy centring around the fictional town of Stockbridge. This audio also marked the audio debut of Maxwell Edison, played by Mark Williams. Edison, like the village of Stockbridge, was created in Doctor Who Magazine comic stories.
Publisher's summary
It's been a long, hot summer in Stockbridge. Longer than the villagers can remember. Summer's lease is never-ending — and all thanks to the Lord and Lady of the Manor!
One man alone knows that something's wrong: Maxwell Edison, Stockbridge's unofficial ambassador to the universe. Or "flying saucer nut", as the locals have it. He'll need help proving it: from the local postmistress Miss Nyssa, perhaps; or the village Doctor, the fellow that's been living at the Green Dragon Inn these last 30 years.
They'd better hope that autumn never comes to Stockbridge. When autumn comes, the world is doomed...
Plot
to be added
Cast
- The Doctor/Lord of the Manor - Peter Davison
- Nyssa/Lady of the Manor - Sarah Sutton
- Maxwell Edison - Mark Williams
- Lizzie Corrigan - Pam Ferris
- Harold Withers - Roger Hammond
- Alice Withers - Susan Brown
- Dudley Jackson - Nick Brimble
- Jane Potter - Abigail Hollick
- Vicar - Barnaby Edwards
- Geoff - Nicholas Briggs
References
Individuals
- Alice Withers may be a descendant of Maud the Withered.
- The Lord of the Manor almost utters the Doctor's true name, but has forgotten it.
- Maxwell has read all of Terry Pratchett's books.
English towns and villages
- Stockbridge exists/existed within a time bubble for sixty years.
Organisations
- In an alternate timeline, Lizzie Corrigan ran the Psychic Investigation Group (PIG).
Spacecraft
- The Lord and Lady's manor is built on top of the Rutans' spacecraft.
Cultural references from the real world
- Lizzie tells Max that her PIG teammates are fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The X-Files.
- Lizzie compares the situation in Stockbridge to the storyline of the 1954 film Brigadoon starring Gene Kelly and Van Johnson.
Textless cover art
Notes
Preview illustration from DWM 415.
- CD 1 contains the CD extras following parts 1 & 2.
- Included on CD 2 is The Three Companions; Episode 9 - "Many Meetings".
- This audio drama was recorded on 11 and 12 June 2009.
- Subscribers whose subscription included this story received the bonus story Museum Peace, originally printed in the Dalek Empire anthology, read by Nicholas Briggs.
Continuity
- AUDIO: Castle of Fear leads directly into this story.
- When the Lady of the Manor touches Nyssa, there are flashbacks to AUDIO: Circular Time, AUDIO: The Mutant Phase and AUDIO: Primeval.
- Maxwell Edison first appeared and met the Doctor in COMIC: Stars Fell on Stockbridge, which is partially dramatised here in flashbacks.
- Nyssa unsuccessfully looks for her former lover, Andrew. During this quest, his surname is revealed to be Harper, despite being stated as Whitaker in AUDIO: Autumn. However, this is likely due to the paradoxical nature of this story, which may have been reverted when the timeline was corrected.
- The TARDIS interior would revert to that of a regular police box again in TV: Father's Day.
- The Doctor compared the village's circumstances to the fake Devesham which he and Sarah Jane Smith discovered on Oseidon during his fourth incarnation. (TV: The Android Invasion)
- The Doctor tries to get the Lady of the Manor to remember her life as Nyssa by reminding her of Adric (TV: The Keeper of Traken et al), Tegan Jovanka and the Tremas Master (TV: Logopolis, wt al.), and the Cyberman. (TV: Earthshock, AUDIO: Spare Parts)
External links
- Official The Eternal Summer page at bigfinish.com
- The Eternal Summer at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- DisContinuity for The Eternal Summer at Tetrapyriarbus - The DisContinuity Guide
