Changes: Walking to Babylon (audio story)

Walking to Babylon was the third Bernice Summerfield audio drama produced by Big Finish Productions. It was the first in a trilogy of stories known as the "Time Ring Trilogy" whose arc element was the use of Bernice Summerfield and Jason Kane's wedding time rings, given to them when they were married in Happy Endings. Like the previous audio story, this story also features a former Doctor Who television actor, with Elisabeth Sladen playing Ninan-ashtammu.

This story was the first to show photos of the actors on the front cover, with Lisa Bowerman and Elisabeth Sladen both pictured.

Publisher's summary

The Time Ring Trilogy: Part 1

"I'm scared of letting all these people down. At least if I get blown up as well, they can say I died heroically. Assuming I ever existed at all."

The People are one of the most technologically advanced races in the Universe - except in the area of time travel. Professor Bernice Summerfield has a time ring. So does her ex-husband Jason Kane. Trouble is, they're their wedding rings, and they won't work unless they're together.

Benny is surprised when Jason turns up to visit her at St Oscar's, especially when she discovers that he has brought one of the People with him. She should have guessed that her good-for-nothing ex wasn't just interested in her company...

Using the time rings, two People create a Time Path and travel back to ancient Babylon, taking an unwilling Jason with them. Benny has just 48 hours to find them and rescue her errant husband, before the People back in the 26th century send a singularity bomb to destroy the Path - and Babylon.

But someone else has discovered the Path and walked to Babylon - Edwardian time sensitive John Lafayette. And Benny discovers her mission has a complication that she never dreamed of - romance.

Plot

to be added

Cast

References

Species

The People make their first audio appearance.
Jason and Bernice's Time Rings make their first audio appearance.

Notes

This is the first audio in the "Time Ring Trilogy", comprised of Walking to Babylon, Birthright and Just War. To emphasise this fact, their covers feature a ring motif.
Unlike all other releases of the first season, the cover of the audio does not reuse the cover art for the novel it has been adapted from. Instead it reproduces the novel cover, which was a wrong shape, from a different angle.^[1]
Kate Orman does not have any rights to the audio adaptation aside from those attached to her original work, as these were signed away in her contract.^[2]
Gary Russell announced the adaptation of the novel without making sure that Orman, its author, had been notified, which caused certain awkwardness. Part of the reason was that Big Finish Productions had a contract with Virgin, who owned the rights to the story, rather than with the author.^[1]
One of the fans invited to the recording of the story, Paul Ebbs,^[1] went on to write the story The Greatest Shop in the Galaxy, which was released as part of the third season of the range.
This audio drama was recorded on 5 and 6 November 1998 at Crosstown Studios, London.
The Big Finish Companion: Volume 1 states the release date as January 1999, which corresponds to the 1999 copyright year on the CD. It appears that the November 1998 release date on the website of Big Finish Productions is erroneous.

Cover gallery

Continuity

The People were introduced in PROSE: The Also People.
Both contradictory accounts of her visit to Guernsey (PROSE: Just War, AUDIO: Just War) appear to have taken place (PROSE: Paydirt) and Bernice was able to recall them both. (PROSE: Big Finish Productions

External links

Official Walking to Babylon page at bigfinish.com
Walking to Babylon at the Doctor Who Reference Guide

Footnotes

[BFC-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 The Big Finish Companion: Volume 1

[2] Ask Kate Orman and Jonathan Blum - The Doctor Who Forum at Outpost Gallifrey (ezyboard membership required)

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 |series          = [[Big Finish Bernice Summerfield series|Big Finish ''Bernice Summerfield'' series]]
 |story number    = 3
+|audio series    = ''[[Bernice Summerfield (series)|Bernice Summerfield]]''<br />Single Releases
-|season number   = Series 1 (BFBS)
-|series episode number          = 3
+|audio series number   = [[Series 1 (BFBS)|1]]
+|series release number          = 3
 |adapted from    = Walking to Babylon (novel)
 |main character  = [[Bernice Summerfield]]

Tardis