Doctor Who Expanded
Register
Advertisement
Trouble
Toil & Trouble
Season: "The Vaults"
Story Number: 8
Doctor: Aron Toman Doctor
Companions: Astra, The Computer
Writer: Aron Toman
Producer: Crossover Adventure Productions
Release Date: 15 May 2000
Running Time: 10 minutes
No. Episodes: 1 episodes
Previous Story: Judgement
Following Story: A TARDIS Christmas


Story[]

Synopsis[]

The TARDIS takes a horrendous buffeting, and the Doctor fears the worst. Is it Callisto, escaped from her Time Warp or the Master after finding a way off Terserus? No, it's merely Astra's Computer, one that seems to have linked up from her home planet of Pendor and infested itself into the TARDIS's systems. Despite it's somewhat annoying personality, the Doctor soon realises she's the least of his problems. The TARDIS has landed in 11th Century Scotland, at the castle of the famed Macbeth, soon after his murder of King Duncan. Toil and Trouble aplenty, after all, who needs cackling witches when the Rani is posing as Lady Macbeth?

Plot[]

to be added

Continuity[]

to be added

Production[]

Featuring the characters from William Shakespeare's Macbeth and the Rani, Toil & Trouble also introduces The Computer as a new addition to the TARDIS crew.

Cast[]

The Doctor: Aron Toman
Astra: Coren Idle
The Computer: Jane Karr
The Rani: 'Kate O'Mara'
The Rani's Assistant: 'Sam West'
Macbeth: 'Sir Anthony Quayle'
Lady Macbeth: 'Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies'

Crew[]

Sound Design: Aron Toman
Music: Aron Toman
Original Theme: Ron Grainer
Arrangement: Howard Richardson
Cover Art: Aron Toman
Director/Producer: Aron Toman

Production Notes[]

Well, for the second of May's crossovers (this has to be a first - two crossovers within a month) is another single one - A Crossover with Macbeth! I know this may be testing fate a little (after all, Macbeth is the Cursed Play that brings bad luck to all the feature it. Just ask FloorTen Audio with their The Mobius Trap) but still, we're not superstitious. Right? Right? Anyway, despite its simplicity (especially when compared to the previous Judgement) this really is a landmark episode as it introduces a new companion for our own Nth Doctor - The Computer as played by, erm, Jane Karr. Anyway, the Computer is supposed to be the same one the Sixth Doctor encountered on the Vipod Moor in 'Slipback', and appeared more recently in Illusia, albeit only in a cameo. However now she's intergrated herself into the TARDIS's systems and will be with the Doctor for a good while, hopefully bringing a level of popularity only ever reached during Mel's tenure (in other words, plain annoying). We hope you like her :-)


As for the story itself, well, there's a story behind it. It was actually written sometime last year (during The Woodsboro Murders, possibly) for one of Aron's school assignments on Macbeth. Well, if this story was ever cursed, that was it. The original was *terrible*! Coren had the flu and wasn't feeling well, Aron was rushed and panicking as everything had been left till the last minute and the plot itself was very poor to say the least. It even had a song that still gives us nightmares when we think of it (imagine the Witches' spell sung to the tune of "Hail Holy Queen" with one singer wildly off key and one with a stuffed nose. [shudders] well, despite the glowing review it got when played in class, we've re-recorded most of it (the scene with Macbeth has been retained from the original due to the fact the Macbeth sounds were unavailable the second time around - you'll still be able to hear the difference if you listen carefully enough) so hopefully you'll find it much better.


See-ya next month with another story. A Christmas one (and no, that does not mean the Squid. Necessarily).


Aron and Coren,

May 2000.

Links[]

Downloadable audio page @ Crossover Adventure Productions

See also[]

Advertisement