Doctor Who - Excelis Dawns

STORY PLACEMENT

THIS STORY TAKES

PLACE BETWEEN THE

NOVEL "THE KING OF

TERROR" AND THE TV

STORY "RESURRECTION

OF THE DALEKS," AND IS

CONCURRENT WITH THE

FINAL EPISODE OF THE

TV STORY "FRONTIOS."

WRITTEN BY

PAUL MAGRS

DIRECTED BY

GARY RUSSELL

WORKING TITLE

EXCELIS DAWNS

(WORSHIP MY

HANDBAG, DR. WHO!)

RECOMMENDED

PURCHASE

BIG FINISH SPECIAL

(ISBN 1-903654-63-7)

RELEASED IN FEBRUARY

2002.

BLURB

That terrible old

reprobate and

transdimensional

adventuress Iris

Wildthyme has gone

and locked herself up

in a nunnery on the

savage world of

Artaris. Here she is

discovered by the

fifth Doctor and the

reasonably brutal

warlord Grayvorn.

Together - with a

peculiar nun they pick

up en route - they

must travel the

forests and swamps

of this ghastly

world in Iris's double

decker bus in order to

tussle - to the death -

with a horde of

flesh-eating zombies

for a mysterious and

holy relic of

unfathomable value

and questionable

pedigree.

But what is the

Mother Superior's

part in all this?

| | | | | | | |

CONTEMPORANEOUS NEXT

PREVIOUS (IRIS WILDTHYME) NEXT (IRIS WILDTHYME)

Excelis Dawns

FEBRUARY 2002

(2 45-MINUTE EPISODES)

I was not all that excited about the Excelis Trilogy on its release as I was far too immersed in the concurrent eighth Doctor and Charley ‘season’ of stories. I had even speculated that these three extra-curricular releases would be lightweight bonus stories the like of “Last of the Titans” and “The Ratings War,” but of course I should have known better! Paul Magrs’ “Excelis Dawns” is every bit as good as most of the regular monthly releases, and is actually quite a bit better than the vast majority of the fifth Doctor's audio outings to date.

The first thing that struck me about this play is the music. David Darlington’s music has a very different feel compared to most of the stuff that Big Finish have used in earlier stories, and particularly when combined with Anthony Stewart Head’s excellent narration it really gives “Excelis Dawns” its own distinct sound and identity.

“Ooh. You’ve caught me doing one of my favourite things again!”

At its heart, “Excelis Dawns” is a metafictional comedy in true Magrs style. Anthony Stewart Head’s warlord Grayvorn is the straightest of all straight men; Katy Manning’s portrayal of Magrs' notorious “Trans-temporal Adventuress” Iris Wildthyme (“The Scarlett Empress”,

“The Blue Angel”) is as wacky as they come; and Peter Davison’s more sombre than usual fifth Doctor is hilariously stuck right in the middle of them as they embark on their quest for the mysterious relic. The three characters work very well together, especially the Doctor and Iris. The 'quest' format of the story, not to mention all the handbag gags (the relic itself is revealed to be a strange handbag that Iris picked up “at a bazaar”!), really gives this play the same sort of feel and tone that Magrs' esteemed novel “The Scarlett Empress” had. If anything sets the two stories apart, “Excelis Dawns” is perhaps funnier - imagine this scene, for example: the mighty warlord Grayvorn holds the effeminate handbag high above his head and proclaims, “With this I shall be revered!”

It is not all fun and frolics though. The Doctor is very hard on Iris for her meddling, which later is revealed to be due to his guilt over Adric’s death – Iris again serving as a sort of skewed mirror for the Doctor, reflecting his own flaws right back at him. And of course, just like in print, Iris is always constantly threatening to shows us a glimpse of a potential side of the Doctor we never knew was there…

On a side-note, I appreciated the Doctor’s comments about meeting his other selves in “The Five Doctors” and realising that they were somehow older, that they had “gone on…”

Although Terrance Dicks has since tried to repair some of the damage he did in that story with his novel “Players”, I found it quite refreshing to have the Doctor admit that even he does not understand the continuity of his own life!

It is also worth noting that although “Excelis Decays” sets up its sequels well, it works just as well as a stand-alone adventure, though after listening to this superb slice of entertainment purchasing the sequel should not even be in question...

E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

This audio drama’s blurb does not offer any guidance as to its placement. However, references made in the dialogue suggest that these events take place during the final episode of the television serial Frontios, during the period where the Doctor ferries the Gravis from Frontios to Kolkokron.

From Iris Wildthyme’s point of view, these events appear to take place after the novel The Scarlet Empress (where this story suggests that she acquired the Relic), and presumably The Blue Angel and Mad Dogs and Englishmen too.

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