The Transit of Venus was the seventh story of the third series in The Companion Chronicles audio range. It was produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Jacqueline Rayner and featured Ian Chesterton (appearing in an audio story for the first time).
This adventure described the first place where the TARDIS materialised after the television story The Sensorites, at the end of which the First Doctor had promised to throw Ian and Barbara out. Ironically, at the end of this adventure, the Doctor returned to his idea of throwing them out, thus leading directly into the events of the television story The Reign of Terror.
Publisher's summary
The year is 1770, and daring explorer Captain James Cook and his crew on the Endeavour are navigating the Pacific Ocean.
Into their midst come strangers: the First Doctor and Ian Chesterton, who are believed to have come from Venus. But the TARDIS is lost to them — along with both Susan and Barbara — and Ian makes an enemy of the ship's chief scientist, Joseph Banks.
Why is Banks acting strangely? Could it be that the travellers are not the only visitors from the stars?
Plot
Voyage of Discovery (1)
to be added
Dangerous Endeavours (2)
to be added
Cast
Characters
References
to be added
Textless cover art
Notes
- This was the first time that William Russell reprised his role as Ian Chesterton in a Big Finish audio drama.
- This audio drama was recorded on 3 November 2009.
- The story has the prerequisites to be considered a historical story: no prominent science fiction elements outside of the TARDIS and the main characters. However the conflict in this story is indirectly caused by the telepathic abilities of the Sensorites and the effects they have on the TARDIS crew being carried over from that story to this one.
Continuity
- Ian states that Susan told him and Barbara about her travels with the Doctor prior to their arrival in 1963. (TV: An Unearthly Child) He refers to Quinnis in the fourth universe (TV: The Edge of Destruction; AUDIO: Quinnis) and the metal seas of Venus (TV: Marco Polo) as well as the four time travellers' later encounters with the Daleks and the Thals on Skaro (TV: The Daleks), the Voord on Marinus (TV: The Keys of Marinus) and the Aztecs in Mexico in the 15th century (TV: The Aztecs).
- Several mentions are made of the Sense Sphere and of the telepathic enhancement that Susan experienced there. (TV: The Sensorites) This story takes place immediately after that one, with the Doctor preparing to throw Ian and Barbara out of the TARDIS the next place they land.
- Barbara repeats several times "I am your navigator. I will lead you back," which is a close paraphrase of what Ian said about her in TV: The Sensorites. "This is our navigator. She is going to lead us back."
- Susan continued to have trouble with these telepathic powers when the TARDIS crew visited Salem Village in 1692. (PROSE: The Witch Hunters)
External links
- Official The Transit of Venus page at bigfinish.com
- The Transit of Venus at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
