My 2-part 2010 Doctor Who audio Deimos/The Resurrection Of Mars is on sale today for £5 only. Click here to buy it. (Other excellent Doctor Who audios by Alan Barnes, Eddie Robson, Barnaby Edwards, Marc Platt and Nicholas Briggs are also available).
As a preview-type "tasters", here are the first two pages of Deimos (as the first page of The Resurrection Of Mars would be a bit of a spoiler!)
DEIMOS
PART ONE
(PRE-CREDITS:)
1: INT. ICE WARRIOR COUNCIL CHAMBER (VIA AUDIOGUIDE)
(FX: ICE PARLIAMENT IN SESSION. THE FOLLOWING IS ACTED IN A STILTED, OVERWROUGHT MANNER – NOT A TOP-QUALITY CAST!)
WARRIOR
Silence in the chamber! Lord Izdal to speak!
(FX: ICE WARRIORS FALL SILENT, SAVE FOR OCCASSIONAL MUMBLE.)
IZDAL
(OLD & GROWLY, LIKE BRIAN BLESSED) My Lords, the disaster facing our planet has passed the point of no return! The atmosphere can no longer protect us from the sun’s radiation! The surface temperature is rising and the equatorial ice sheet is melting! If we are to survive, we must evacuate!
(FX: CONSTERNATION. EPIC STOCK MUSIC.)
WARRIOR
But My Lord, we have nowhere to evacuate to! The world of Earth is uninhabitable during this period of history!
IZDAL
Then we must construct great catacombs on the moon known as Deimos! There, we shall sleep, entombed in ice, until such time as our world – or the world of Earth – becomes suitable for re-habitation. And then we shall awake – to take our rightful place as rulers of the Solar System!
(FX: CONSTERNATION. MORE EPIC MUSIC.)
WARRIOR
You speak false! This is only a temporary [state of –]
IZDAL
I will prove the truth of my words. Tomorrow, I shall face the Martian dawn. If I am mistaken, then I shall live. But if I speak the truth then… I shall die!
(FX: CONSTERNATION AND EPIC MUSIC, DURING WHICH WE CROSSFADE TO:)
2: INT. CATACOMBS. (CONTINUOUS)
(FX: TOURISTS WANDERING ABOUT, MUTTERING, SNAPPING PHOTOS.)
BOSTON (NARRATION)
(FX: A RECORDING, REPLAYED VIA AN AUDIO GUIDE:) … And so the next morning Lord Izdal faced the lethal ‘Red Dawn’, sacrificing his life to prove to the Ice Warriors that they must abandon Mars. (BEAT) For more information on the Red Dawn, press ‘eight’ on your audio guide now.
MARGARET
(LISTENING, EXCITEDLY) Imagine! The final resting place of the Ice Warriors!
HAROLD
(UNIMPRESSED, BORED) Yeah.
MARGARET
This bit is probably where they slept. On that rock over there. Harold, you sit on it while I take your hologram. And don’t go pulling your grumpy face, you’re on holiday!
(FX: PHOTO TAKEN.)
HAROLD
It’s just that I thought there’d be a bit more to it than a load of empty [tunnels and caves –]
(FX: A SWELL OF MUSIC, ACTIVATED BY THE CROWD REACHING A NEW POINT IN THE TOUR)
HAROLD
Oh, here we go again.
BOSTON (PUBLIC ADDRESS RECORDING; MUSICAL BACKING)
You are now in the deepest part of the catacomb to have been opened to the public. But this is merely a section of a labyrinth which extends deep into the moon’s crust. Nobody knows how many chambers remain to be discovered!
HAROLD
I suppose they’ve put all the good stuff in the museum.
MARGARET
That’s probably it. Oh, I’m looking forward to having a sit-down! We’ll do that first. A sit-down, a cup of tea, and then a look at some ancient Martian artefacts! Okay?
HAROLD
Whatever you want, Margaret. It’s your treat, not mine.
MARGARET
Oh, don’t be like that. How can I enjoy myself if you’re going to be all miserable? (BEAT) Ooh, what’s down here?
