Paradise 5
Paradise 5 is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
| Paradise 5 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Big Finish Productions audio drama | |
| Series | Doctor Who: The Lost Stories |
| Release no. | 5 |
| Featuring | Sixth Doctor Peri Brown |
| Written by | PJ Hammond and Andy Lane |
| Directed by | Barnaby Edwards |
| Executive producer(s) | Nicholas Briggs Jason Haigh-Ellery |
| Production code | 6Y/AE |
| Release date | March 2010 |
Plot
The Doctor takes Peri to the Targus system in the 35th century to meet an old friend of his. However they find that his friend left for the nearby Paradise 5 resort – a space station in orbit around a volcanic planet within the system – three weeks prior and then did not return after his planned stay was up. The Doctor learns more about the station, which features its "Paradise Machine" as its prized highlight, and finds several more guests and staff have travelled to the resort but never returned. As the resort is invite-only, he falsifies computer records to sneak Peri aboard as a new hostess whilst he sneaks aboard the transport cargo bound for the station.
At Paradise 5 Peri is introduced to Gabriel, the resort's lead host; Michael, who monitors the station; and the current staff which includes Lorelei, Stella, and Bella. She is also introduced to the Cherubs, who Gabriel claims are an alien species of limited intelligence that resemble angelic cherubs. While she does her duties, she is surprised to learn that guests seemingly up and leave without notice, with none of the other hostesses really cognizant of this rapid disappearance; Gabriel states that this frequently happens after getting a call from Targus, and they return via a separate shuttle. The Doctor, meanwhile, has sneak aboard the station, and hides in the "backstage" portion of the station, reserved for the staff only. He discovers Mr. Winterbourne, a former guest but that has appeared to lost all memories of the resort and has gone partially insane. He also meets the Cherubs, including one that can write and warns him about the "Elohim".
After learning from Peri of her situation, the Doctor decides that he cannot gain more information from the backstage and sneaks into the main resort when the next guest shuttle arrives. He is able to help confide in Stella and Bella that there are irregularities at the resort, and with Peri, they show him the departure shuttle area. The Doctor cannot open the hatch, but recognise the ship behind it as alien in design. The Doctor's actions lead Michael to review the Doctor and Peri's arrival and finds the false records. Believing they have been found out by local authorities, the two make plans to "process" the remaining passengers while setting the station to fall out of orbit into the planet below.
The Doctor eventually is able to open the hatch to the departing shuttle, and determines the ship belongs to a race of multi-dimensional beings that call themselves the Elohim. The hold of the ship is filled with many of the guests of Paradise 5, shackled to prevent escape. When the Doctor learns that the one friendly Cherub is really his old friend, he deduces what has been going on. The Elohim have been paying Gabriel and Michael to bring prospective humans to the resort, and use the Paradise Machine to elevate their upper minds away from their senses. This allows the Elohim to determine which of those can fight their war with another multi-dimensional race for them; those that pass this test have been taken away as slaves, while those that fail transformed into Cherubs, or end up like Mr. Winterbourne. The Doctor instructs Peri, Stella, and Bella to free the guests and take them all to the arrival shuttle to escape, while he and Mr. Winterbourne use the Paradise Machine to alert the Elohim's opponents about the station. The two eventually reunite with Peri and the others and escape. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Michael attempt to get their final payment from the Elohim, but when the aliens find their slaves taken, they leave the station without paying the two. Gabriel and Michael find the arrival shuttle has also since gone, and they ride out the station's destruction.
Cast
- The Doctor — Colin Baker
- Peri Brown — Nicola Bryant
- Gabriel – Alex Macqueen
- Michael – James D'Arcy
- Stella/Bella – Helen Goldwyn
- Lorelei – Andrée Bernard
- Mr Gelter/Mr Bliss/Elohim Voice – Teddy Kempner
- Ms Aht – Claire Wyatt
- Mr Tapp/Mr Winterbourne – Richard Earl
Notes
Paradise 5 was originally intended to be part of The Trial of a Time Lord television series and would have featured Mel. Ultimately, Terror of the Vervoids was used instead. In this audio adaptation, Mel is replaced with Peri, in keeping with the rest of "The Lost Stories" season.
Author PJ Hammond is known for creating the television series Sapphire & Steel, for which Big Finish Productions also creates new audio adventures. Hammond has also written for the Doctor Who spin-off television series Torchwood.