Luna Romana was the seventh story of the eighth series in the Companion Chronicles audio range. It was produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Matt Fitton and featured Romana I, Romana II and Romana III.
Uniquely, it featured both televised incarnations of Romana, as well as a third, who previously appeared only in the Gallifrey audio series. It is the only example of a "multi-Romana story". It was the third and final story of a Companion Chronicles trilogy released by Big Finish Productions in November 2013—January 2014 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the show. This trilogy was centred around the character of Quadrigger Stoyn introduced in The Beginning and then appearing in The Dying Light.
Publisher's summary
The search for the final segment of the Key to Time takes the Doctor and the First Romana to Ancient Rome. The Time Lady is appalled when her companion prefers to watch the latest Plautus comedy rather than complete their mission, and is even less delighted to meet the playwright himself.
But all is not what it seems, either onstage or behind the scenes...
In the far, far future, the Second Romana is destined to have her own encounter with a legacy of Rome, but Stoyn has been waiting. And his actions will set Romana on a collision course with her own past.
Quadrigger Stoyn wants his final revenge on the Doctor, and only Romana stands in his way.
Both of her.
Plot
Part one
to be added
Part two
to be added
Part three
to be added
Part four
to be added
Cast
- Romana - Lalla Ward
- Romana - Juliet Landau
- Quaddriger Stoyn - Terry Molloy
- Romana - Mary Tamm (uncredited; archival recordings)
References
- Romana has gathered that the Doctor rarely attended the Academy on Gallifrey.
Notes
- This story was recorded on 18 September and 4 October 2012.
- Although Juliet Landau performs the voice of Romana I, archival recordings of Mary Tamm taken from her Big Finish appearances are also featured.
- When discussing the events observed in Paris by Stoyn, the Doctor makes a meta-reference, asking him if he had no choice to watch one channel because of a strike; in real life, the broadcast of City of Death was positively impacted by the fact that ITV was off the air due to a strike, leaving only BBC on the air, resulting in the serial receiving the series' highest ratings in it history.
- As the version of Romana III featured in AUDIO: Renaissance and Ascension was revealed to have been a projection generated by the Matrix, this story marks the first time Juliet Landau is truly playing Romana III.
- At one point during the story, the Doctor pops up from behind the sofa and quips, "Sometimes you get the best view from here." This is a reference to the habit children have of hiding behind the sofa while watching Doctor Who during a particularly scary part.
Continuity
- The Doctor mentions Henry Gordon Jago's Palace Theatre and states that he will have to make a return visit. (AUDIO: The Justice of Jalxar)
- Stoyn refers to the Sanctuary. (AUDIO: The Dying Light)
- Stoyn shows the Doctor and Romana images from their past adventures, including Paris in 1979 (TV: City of Death), Cornwall in 1978 (TV: The Stones of Blood) and Cambridge in 1980 (TV: Shada). Additional images are shown of the First Doctor (TV: The Reign of Terror), the Second Doctor (TV: The Web of Fear) and the Third Doctor (TV: The Sea Devils, Invasion of the Dinosaurs).
- Stoyn also shows them an image of a future adventure in Pudding Lane on 2 September 1666 which resulted in the outbreak of the Great Fire of London (TV: The Visitation) which the Doctor previously claimed was not his fault (TV: Pyramids of Mars; PROSE: The Republican's Story).
- Luna Romana offers them the opportunity to see a reconstruction of the Battle of Reykjavik, the first battle of World War VI in the early 51st century. (TV: The Talons of Weng-Chiang; AUDIO: The Butcher of Brisbane)
- The sequence where Romana meets herself and instructs her to enter the vortex is similar to what happens to Amy Pond in TV: Space and Time. Romana even tells her earlier self "this is where it gets complicated" as Amy told herself.
- The Doctor says that he has visited an alternate future in which the Roman Empire never fell but did not enjoy it very much. (COMIC: Doctor Who and the Iron Legion)
- K-9 spent time playing games with the TARDIS computer while marooned in the TARDIS during their recent visit to Delta III. (TV: The Power of Kroll)
- When Stoyn asks Romana II about the circumstances of her regeneration (TV: Destiny of the Daleks), she evades the question, referencing something about a wardrobe. (PROSE: The Lying Old Witch in the Wardrobe)
- Romana II states that Gallifrey has entered its "darkest hour again". (PROSE: The Shadows of Avalon, AUDIO: Panacea)
- Romana II, when she goes back in time, notes how the Doctor's clothes have changed since then (referencing the change in costume between TV: Shada and The Leisure Hive).
- During her brief excursion into the past, Romana II briefly meets the Fourth Doctor, but while disguised. From the Doctor's perspective, this is his first encounter with Romana's second incarnation, though he is not aware of this fact until later.
- Romana III consistently refers to her earlier incarnations as the First and Second Romanas, confirming that there were no previous incarnations prior to her first joining the TARDIS. (TV: The Ribos Operation)
- Romana mentions that the Doctor loved visiting Earth, as he kept visiting it during her travels, when they were meant to be searching for the Key To Time. (TV: The Stones of Blood, PROSE: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang, Heart of TARDIS, AUDIO: Ferril's Folly)
External links
- Official Luna Romana page at bigfinish.com
