Year Of The Pig
The Doctor and Peri arrive at a pleasant resort in 1913, meeting an assortment of fellow vacationers, few of whom are actually on vacation. Inspector Chardalot is pursuing a quarry he considers very dangerous, and Nurse Albertine is visiting in the company of a fellow vacationer who prefers not to show his face. That face is exactly what Miss Bultitude, a movie buff, would like to see. And the reason one of the vacationers isn’t showing his face? He’s Toby the Sapient Pig, a reclusive film star who is, in actuality, a sentient pig. But Toby’s not the only pig present, and his pursuers (whether adversaries or admirers) will stop at nothing to find him. Caught up in this collision of personalities and motives, the Doctor and Peri can do little but try to keep themselves, and anyone nearby, from coming to harm.
written by Matthew Sweet
directed by Gary Russell
music by ERSCast: Colin Baker (The Doctor), Nicola Bryant (Peri), Adjoa Andoh (Nurse Albertine), Paul Brooke (Toby the Sapient Pig), Michael Keating (Inspector Chardalot), Maureen O’Brien (Miss Alice Bultitude)
Timeline: after Timelash and before Revelation Of The Daleks
Notes: Actress Maureen O’Brien played TARDIS traveler Vicki, the first-ever “new companion” in the history of Doctor Who, during the William Hartnell years; she went on to star in Big Finish’s series Dalek Empire IV: The Fearless before returning to the role of Vicki in the Companion Chronicles. Michael Keating, who had already appeared in such Big Finish audios as The Twiligiht Kingdom, was the only original Blake’s 7 cast member to appear in all 52 episodes of that series; he later resumed the role of Vila when Big Finish picked up the license to produce classic Blake’s 7 audio dramas. Adjoa Andoh had made her first appearance in the newly revived TV series earlier in 2006 (as Nurse Jatt in New Earth), but would become a semi-regular for the 2007 and 2008 seasons as Martha Jones’ mother.
LogBook entry & review by Earl Green