''Minuet in Hell'' is a

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

audio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

based on the long-running British

science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''. Unlike the other Eighth Doctor audio plays from this "season", ''Minuet in Hell'' was not broadcast on

BBC 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British Digital radio in the United Kingdom, digital radio broadcasting, radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a ...

in 2005, primarily due to story references that were dropped for the broadcasts, and the more mature subject matter of this story.

Plot

The Brigadier finds the Eighth Doctor a patient of a medical institute. Meanwhile, Charley has lost her memory and is working in the Hell Fire Club under the direction of Francis Dashwood the Third, where a

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

ic creature called

Marchosias In demonology, Marchosias is a great and mighty Marquis of Hell, commanding thirty legions of demons. In the Ars Goetia, the first book of ''The Lesser Key of Solomon'' (17th century), he is depicted as a wolf with gryphon's wings and a serpent's t ...

has been summoned by the local dignitaries of Malebolgia. Are these demons real, or can the disturbed Doctor reclaim his wits and learn the truth?

Cast

*The

Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

—

Paul McGann Paul John McGann (; born 14 November 1959) is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the television serial ''The Monocled Mutineer'' (1986), then starred in the dark comedy ''Withnail and I'' (1987), which was a ...

Charley Pollard Charlotte Elspeth Pollard, or simply Charley, is a fictional character played by India Fisher in a series of audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions, many of which were broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra, BBC Radio 7, based on the long-runni ...

—

India Fisher India Fisher (born 1974) is a British actress, narrator and presenter. Her father is the ex- MP Mark Fisher. She is also the stepsister of musician Crispin Hunt and of actress Francesca Hunt, who appears with her in the play ''Other Lives''. S ...

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', created by writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln and p ...

—

Nicholas Courtney William Nicholas Stone Courtney (16 December 1929 – 22 February 2011) was an Egyptian-born British actor. He was known for his long-running role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Ear ...

*Brigham Elisha Dashwood III —

Robert Jezek Robert Jezek (born 6 April 1955) is a Canadian stage, film and television actor based in the United Kingdom. Career In 1989, Jezek appeared as Sergeant Zbrigniev in the ''Doctor Who'' television serial ''Battlefield''. He is known for playi ...

*Dr Dale Pargeter — Maureen Oakley *Gideon Crane —

Nicholas Briggs Nicholas Briggs (born 29 September 1961) is an English actor, writer, director, sound designer and composer. He is associated with the BBC science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, particularly as the voice of the Dal ...

*Becky Lee Kowalczyck — Helen Goldwyn *Senator Waldo Pickering — Morgan Deare *Orderly — Hylton Collins *Guard — Alistair Lock *Scott — Barnaby Edwards

Continuity

*In the second part of ''Minuet in Hell'', a litany of the Doctor's previous companions includes the name "Sam". At the time of the play's release, this was intended as a reference to Sam Jones, the Eighth Doctor's companion from the

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

; this placed the books and the audios in the same continuity. Producer

Gary Russell Gary Russell (born 18 September 1963) is a British freelance writer, producer and former child actor. As a writer, he is best known for his work in connection with the television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs in other media. As an a ...

subsequently decided that the two continuities should be separate (partly because of different directions taken between the two ranges). The play ''

Terror Firma ''Terror Firma'' is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The story follows on directly from the previous Eighth Doctor audio drama '' The Next Life'' and flash ...

'' introduced the characters of Samson and Gemma Griffin, previously unknown companions of the Eighth Doctor, providing the possibility that "Sam" was a reference to Samson instead. * Ramsay the Vortisaur first entered the TARDIS in ''

Storm Warning At sea, a storm warning is a warning issued by the National Weather Service of the United States when winds between 48 knots (89 km/h, 55 mph) and 63 knots (117 km/h, 73 mph) are occurring or predicted to occur soon. The wi ...

''.

Notes

*This audio drama is based on an earlier

Audio Visuals The Audio Visuals were an unlicensed series of '' Doctor Who'' audio dramas made by British fans in the 1980s. Featuring Nicholas Briggs as the Doctor, twenty-eight audio plays were recorded and distributed on audio cassette between 1985 and ...

story of the same name, which was set in the context of the historical

Hellfire Club Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high-society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood's Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe. Such clubs, ...

. The Big Finish version moves the action to a fictional U.S. state called "Malebolgia", which, despite its name, appears to be somewhere in the

Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States in which socially conservative Protestant Christianity plays a strong role in society and politics, and church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's aver ...

. The Audio Visuals version starred Nicholas Briggs as the "Nth Doctor". In the Big Finish version, Briggs plays a character who believes himself to be the Doctor. *Teenaged demon hunter Becky Lee Kowalczyck is an obvious homage to

Buffy Summers Buffy Anne Summers is the title character of the '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' before going on to appear in The WB/UPN 1997–2003 television series and subsequent 1998 ...

, heroine of ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

''.

External links

Big Finish Productions - ''Minuet in Hell''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minuet In Hell 2001 audio plays Eighth Doctor audio plays Fiction about amnesia Fiction set in 2003