Gallifrey: Panacea
Encyclopedia
Gallifrey: Panacea is a Big Finish Productions
audio drama based on the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
. The series is set on the Doctor's
home planet of Gallifrey
.
is just a shadow of its former, grandiose self. The population has been decimated, the infrastructure toppled and the finances needed to restore order have dried up. Worst of all, the original Dogma Virus is spreading among the Time Lords, carried by swarms of breeding pig-rats. Newly elected President Matthias agrees to listen to a proposal by Mephistopheles Arkadian, dealer in information and arms, who President Romana had the displeasure of encountering during the events on Gryben
and back in Earth's past
. He is willing to give Gallifrey the money it needs and, in exchange, he wishes to get his hands on a vast stockpile of unique and powerful temporal weapons, amassed by the former Time Lord despot, Imperiatrix Pandora. Afraid the weapons could end up in the hands of the Free Time terrorists, the High Council refuse his offer. To make it more irresistible, he claims he has the long sought-after cure to the Dogma Virus.
The Time Lords agree to his proposal, but plan on booby-trapping the weapons in the hopes of destroying the Free Time organization. Former President Romana is placed in charge of the exchange, and takes the weapons in a TARDIS to the specified coordinates. Eventually, she finds her self in a decrepit art gallery, mostly devoid of its exhibits. It's the famous Braxiatel Collection, albeit hidden a step outside of real time. Braxiatel himself welcomes her. His next trick is to use an old Timescoop to collect Arkadian, Leela, K-9, Narvin and, perhaps most importantly, Gallifrey's biodata archive, containing the genetic sequences of every living Time Lord, in all of their incarnations. Arkadian, Braxiatel and even K-9 have been conspiring together to bring about these final events.
Braxiatel explains that a bigger threat
will permanently destroy Gallifrey, and in its current weakened state, it could happen very soon. He made sure Matthias became President because he didn't want Romana to be at the centre of Gallifrey's inevitable collapse. Instead, Braxiatel hopes the biodata archive could be used as an ark, to resurrect the Time Lords at a future point. He also has the cure for the Dogma Virus, but it also comes with a price. The original virus latched on to the host's next regeneration
, turning their following incarnation into a Free Time zombie. The only cure is a secondary virus that forever removes the Time Lords' ability to regenerate. As everyone is unsure what to do next, Arkadian seizes on the opportunity, steals the secondary virus and makes his escape in the TARDIS full of time weapons. Unfortunately for him, he's trapped with a zombie inside a volatile TARDIS, locked on course to return to Gallifrey. Romana, Leela, K-9, Narvin and Braxiatel are trapped in the museum, and the fall of the oldest civilization is eminent. Considering her to be one of the wisest leaders he knows, Brax asks Romana what they should do next.
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
audio drama based on the long-running British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. The series is set on the Doctor's
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
home planet of Gallifrey
Gallifrey
Gallifrey is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and is the homeworld of the Doctor and the Time Lords...
.
Plot
After all the terrorism and war, GallifreyGallifrey
Gallifrey is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and is the homeworld of the Doctor and the Time Lords...
is just a shadow of its former, grandiose self. The population has been decimated, the infrastructure toppled and the finances needed to restore order have dried up. Worst of all, the original Dogma Virus is spreading among the Time Lords, carried by swarms of breeding pig-rats. Newly elected President Matthias agrees to listen to a proposal by Mephistopheles Arkadian, dealer in information and arms, who President Romana had the displeasure of encountering during the events on Gryben
Gallifrey: Weapon of Choice
Gallifrey: Weapon of Choice is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :...
and back in Earth's past
Gallifrey: A Blind Eye
Gallifrey: A Blind Eye is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.-Plot:...
. He is willing to give Gallifrey the money it needs and, in exchange, he wishes to get his hands on a vast stockpile of unique and powerful temporal weapons, amassed by the former Time Lord despot, Imperiatrix Pandora. Afraid the weapons could end up in the hands of the Free Time terrorists, the High Council refuse his offer. To make it more irresistible, he claims he has the long sought-after cure to the Dogma Virus.
The Time Lords agree to his proposal, but plan on booby-trapping the weapons in the hopes of destroying the Free Time organization. Former President Romana is placed in charge of the exchange, and takes the weapons in a TARDIS to the specified coordinates. Eventually, she finds her self in a decrepit art gallery, mostly devoid of its exhibits. It's the famous Braxiatel Collection, albeit hidden a step outside of real time. Braxiatel himself welcomes her. His next trick is to use an old Timescoop to collect Arkadian, Leela, K-9, Narvin and, perhaps most importantly, Gallifrey's biodata archive, containing the genetic sequences of every living Time Lord, in all of their incarnations. Arkadian, Braxiatel and even K-9 have been conspiring together to bring about these final events.
Braxiatel explains that a bigger threat
Time War (Doctor Who)
The Time War, more specifically called The Last Great Time War, is a conflict within the fictional universe of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
will permanently destroy Gallifrey, and in its current weakened state, it could happen very soon. He made sure Matthias became President because he didn't want Romana to be at the centre of Gallifrey's inevitable collapse. Instead, Braxiatel hopes the biodata archive could be used as an ark, to resurrect the Time Lords at a future point. He also has the cure for the Dogma Virus, but it also comes with a price. The original virus latched on to the host's next regeneration
Regeneration (Doctor Who)
Regeneration, in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, is a biological ability exhibited by Time Lords, a race of fictional humanoids originating on the planet Gallifrey. This process allows a Time Lord who is old or mortally wounded to undergo a transformation into a new...
, turning their following incarnation into a Free Time zombie. The only cure is a secondary virus that forever removes the Time Lords' ability to regenerate. As everyone is unsure what to do next, Arkadian seizes on the opportunity, steals the secondary virus and makes his escape in the TARDIS full of time weapons. Unfortunately for him, he's trapped with a zombie inside a volatile TARDIS, locked on course to return to Gallifrey. Romana, Leela, K-9, Narvin and Braxiatel are trapped in the museum, and the fall of the oldest civilization is eminent. Considering her to be one of the wisest leaders he knows, Brax asks Romana what they should do next.
Cast
- RomanaRomanaRomana, short for Romanadvoratrelundar, is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
- Lalla WardLalla WardSarah Ward known as Lalla Ward, is an English actor, author and illustrator. As an actor, she is known for playing the part of Romana in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. She is married to evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.-Early career:Ward's stage name, "Lalla", comes... - LeelaLeela (Doctor Who)Leela is a fictional character played by Louise Jameson in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Leela was a companion of the Fourth Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1977 to 1978...
- Louise JamesonLouise JamesonLouise Jameson is an English actress, best known for playing Leela, the leather-clad barbarian warrior companion of the fourth Doctor in Doctor Who. Jameson has also appeared on Emmerdale , The Omega Factor Louise Jameson (born 20 April 1951 in Wanstead, London) is an English actress, best known... - K9 MK IIK-9 (Doctor Who)K-9, or K9, is the name of several fictional robotic canines in the long-running British science fiction television series, Doctor Who, first appearing in 1977...
- John LeesonJohn LeesonJohn Leeson is a British actor who is best known for voicing K-9 on the television series Doctor Who from 1977 to 1979, and again in the 1980–1981 season. He was called back to do the voice of K-9 again for the 2006 episode "School Reunion" and again for the 2008 Doctor Who episode "Journey's End"... - Irving BraxiatelIrving BraxiatelIrving Braxiatel or Cardinal Braxiatel is a fictional character from the Virgin New Adventures—spin-off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. He subsequently became a regular character in novels and audio dramas in the Bernice Summerfield universe...
- Miles RichardsonMiles RichardsonMiles Richardson is a British actor.He was born on 15 July 1963 in Battersea, London to parents Ian Richardson and Maroussia Frank , both founder members of the Royal Shakespeare Company... - CIA Coordinator Narvin - Sean Carlsen
- Chancellor Valyes - Steven WickhamSteven WickhamSteven Wickham is a British actor known largely for his roles in Big Finish Productions audio dramas as well as guest appearances in Red Dwarf, Casualty, The Bill, Eastenders and Doctor Who in a career which began in 1984.-Career:...
- President Matthias - Stephen Perring
- Arkadian - Hugo MyattHugo MyattHugo Myatt is a British actor, best known for his role as dungeon master Treguard of Dunshelm in the children's game show Knightmare. He has often commented that he did not mind working with children on Knightmare as his first job was as an actor in children's theatre.In addition to numerous...
- Janartis - Charlie Ross
- Surgeonmaster Elbon - Paul Grunert
- Captain Henzil - John DorneyJohn DorneyJohn Dorney is a British writer and actor best known for stage roles including the National Theatre and his scripts for the Big Finish Doctor Who range...
Continuity
- Romana visits the remains of her ancestral home, Heartshaven. She visits an alternate version of Heartshaven in the next story, RebornGallifrey: RebornGallifrey: Reborn is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :Gallifrey will fall...
. - The Timescoop was first seen in The Five DoctorsThe Five DoctorsThe Five Doctors is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced in celebration of the programme's twentieth anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago PBS station WTTW and various other PBS member stations...
. - Braxiatel hints about the possible approach of a great Time WarTime War (Doctor Who)The Time War, more specifically called The Last Great Time War, is a conflict within the fictional universe of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
.