Charley Pollard is back in the latest Short Trips instalment from Big Finish: Hall of the Ten Thousand sees Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor taking his companion (played by India Fisher) to see The Ten Thousand, a decidedly creepy art installation.
Narrated by Fisher, Hall of the Ten Thousand is by first-time Big Finish writer, Jaine Fenn, and takes as its influence the story of the terracotta warriors of Xi’an. Here’s the synopsis:
The Ten Thousand represent everything the Doctor admires. Ingenuity, creativity and triumph of peace over war. So, naturally he’s taken Charley to see them.
However, their arrival isn’t the quite the gallery visit they expected. Why is everything slowly falling apart? Why is the artist refusing to see them?
But for Charley, there’s a question that’s far more urgent. Did that statue just move?
Producer, Alfie Shaw says:
“It was such a delight to work with India Fisher on this story. She, along with her character Charley, are firm fan-favourites, and you can easily see (and hear!) why. With India behind the mic and Lisa Bowerman directing, the day flew past as they both brought this wonderful tale to life.”
Jaine Fenn adds:
“I was delighted to get a chance to write for Doctor Who, if a little daunted. In Hall of the Ten Thousand the Doctor comes to see that a glorious human achievement is anything but glorious, and that was a hard revelation to manage, especially as the truth is so dark. On a lighter note, although the story is set in the future, I did enjoy riffing off a fascinating historical phenomenon.”
You can download Short Trips: Hall of the Ten Thousand from the Big Finish website right now for just £2.99. Or the bundle (12 stories from series 9 for just £30) unlocks all the previous 2019 Short Trips releases – including The Second Oldest Question, Dead Media, #HarrySullivan, Battle Scars, The Same Face, Under ODIN’s Eye, Year of the Drex Olympics, Doctors and Dragons, The Astrea Conspiracy and The Revisionists.