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Big Finish: Monthly Range #173
Doctor Who: The Lady of Mercia
The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa to the University of Frodsham, close to where the warrior queen Æthelfrid fought a desperate and bloody rearguard action against the savage Danes. Over a thousand years later, in 1983, battle is still being raged, with student activists taking on savage funding cuts… and disrupting a conference about Æthelfrid convened by history professor John Bleak.
Meanwhile, over in the Physics Department, Dr Philippa Stone is working night and day on a top-secret project – but can her theoretical time machine really be the solution to the university's problems?
Present and past are about to collide – and the results, as the TARDIS crew is about to discover, will be far from academic!
Meanwhile, over in the Physics Department, Dr Philippa Stone is working night and day on a top-secret project – but can her theoretical time machine really be the solution to the university's problems?
Present and past are about to collide – and the results, as the TARDIS crew is about to discover, will be far from academic!
Audio CD
First published May 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 9, 2014
I have to say Paul definitely gets points for making a "historical" setting of 1983 when the episodes went out but it really captured how for most of the characters this was a big step backwards. It was also nice to have a historical without aliens. This was really great for Tegan, who got to be the warrior princess which was really great. Turlough and Nyssa seemed very underused unfortunately but with such a big group I think it's hard to find interesting things for everyone.
December 9, 2017
I'd describe this as a "semi-historical", since, while there are no aliens or monsters, time travel is itself quite integral to the plot, rather than merely a vehicle for getting our heroes on site - The Time Meddler is really the only TV story to fit this sort of description. In this instance, the TARDIS crew follow a trace to a time experiment being conducted at a university in the north of England in 1983. Soon enough, Tegan finds herself transported back to the summer of 918, where she encounters Æthelflæd, the titular Lady of Mercia.
Æthelflæd is a real, if obscure, historical figure, by some definitions the last non-Viking ruler of an independent kingdom in northern England, and a very rare example of a reigning queen from the period. Exactly what happened to her - and even more so, to her daughter Ælfwynn - is obscure, which gives Magrs room to play with the various possibilities.
The plot largely centres around the regulars attempting to get back together again, but has plenty of complications built around the guest characters, both at the university and in 10th century Mercia. Ælfwynn is particularly notable, here portrayed as an aggressive warrior-woman causing havoc wherever she goes. (I can't help but think, what with the regional accents and the frequent mentions of 'the kingdom of the North' that must all sound a bit Game of Thrones to American listeners...)
It's mostly serious, but lightened with a few good comic lines here and there, and many of the guest actors play multiple roles, allowing for more characters than there might otherwise be. Tegan is the primary focus, with Turlough and Nyssa taking a back seat. There are a few duff notes here and there, with perhaps the most obvious being that Ælfwynn's fate is not being entirely satisfactory - although, historically speaking, it's certainly plausible. For me, this is more than offset by some good characterisation and an involving tale set in a relatively unknown period of England's history.
Æthelflæd is a real, if obscure, historical figure, by some definitions the last non-Viking ruler of an independent kingdom in northern England, and a very rare example of a reigning queen from the period. Exactly what happened to her - and even more so, to her daughter Ælfwynn - is obscure, which gives Magrs room to play with the various possibilities.
The plot largely centres around the regulars attempting to get back together again, but has plenty of complications built around the guest characters, both at the university and in 10th century Mercia. Ælfwynn is particularly notable, here portrayed as an aggressive warrior-woman causing havoc wherever she goes. (I can't help but think, what with the regional accents and the frequent mentions of 'the kingdom of the North' that must all sound a bit Game of Thrones to American listeners...)
It's mostly serious, but lightened with a few good comic lines here and there, and many of the guest actors play multiple roles, allowing for more characters than there might otherwise be. Tegan is the primary focus, with Turlough and Nyssa taking a back seat. There are a few duff notes here and there, with perhaps the most obvious being that Ælfwynn's fate is not being entirely satisfactory - although, historically speaking, it's certainly plausible. For me, this is more than offset by some good characterisation and an involving tale set in a relatively unknown period of England's history.
June 27, 2021
I loved this story! 5 (Peter Davison) and crew Tegan (Janet Fielding), Turlough (Mark Strickson), and Nyssa (Sarah Sutton), wind up on campus in 1983 amidst protest. An ancient sword, a hackneyed amateur time machine, and some Dark Age politics all mix in this wild adventure. Full of equal parts excitement and humor.
September 5, 2018
Nice to hear some northern English vowels coming to the fore but otherwise this is a slender tale that, albeit well-produced and entertaining, doesn't rise above the rest of this audiobook series as something special.
March 31, 2019
A very nice, fun, straight historical serial. Absolutely brilliant to hear Tegan as the doppelganger, Turlough bored with the 'backwater' of Earth, and the incomparable Nyssa, as always. Oh, and The Doctor had some lines!
June 7, 2020
I got this because I learned about The Lady Of Mercia on The Last Kingdom (Netflix) and I wanted to hear more about her.
It’s a very different take on her character, and that of her daughter, (obviously) but it was fun and I liked that Tegan got to be strong. Brave instead of abrasive. Y’know?
It’s a very different take on her character, and that of her daughter, (obviously) but it was fun and I liked that Tegan got to be strong. Brave instead of abrasive. Y’know?
May 4, 2023
This one was a lot of fun. I really liked this. The story is a bit basic but Tegan is very funny here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 17, 2015
Diesmal landet die Tardis mit dem Doktor (welcher auch immer das ist) und seinen Begleitern Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa während einer Historikerkonferenz in der Uni von Frodsham(die scheint es nicht wirklich zu geben, zumindest noch nicht). Mittelaltergelehrte haben sich zu einem Symposium zur Kriegerkönigin Æthelfrid zusammengefunden.
Die Frau eines der Historiker ist Physikerin an derselben Uni und bastelt an einer Zeitmaschine. Sie braucht aber anscheinend einen Gegenstand aus der entsprechenden Zeit zu Steuerung. Daher klaut sie das Schwert der Kriegerkönigin. Etwas geht (natürlich) gehörig schief und ihr so gut wie Ex-Mann und Teagan landen im Englischen Mittelalter, wo man sie nicht sonderlich begeistert empfängt.
Eine interessante Mischung von ein Yankee am Hofe des König Artus mit echten historischen Hintergründen. Diese historischen Hintergründe sind es, die das Hörspiel für mich so interessant machen, denn es geht um ein nicht ganz so bekanntes Kapitel der Englischen Geschichte. Ethelfleda gab es wirklich. Sie war die älteste Tochter von König Alfred von Wessex mit Ealhswith. Ethelfleda heiratete Aethelred und hatte eine Tochter namens Aelfwynn. Die Historiker dieser Tagung wollen nun wissen, was aus Aelfwynn wurde. Generell glaubt man ja, sie ist im Kloster versauert.
Dieses Hörspiel ist netter Geschichtsunterricht mit Dr. Who. Man muss weder die Figuren kennen, noch Ahnung von Dr. Who haben. Dieses Hörspiel steht für sich alleine und funktioniert alleine und nebenbei lernt man was über englische mittelalterliche Geschichte.
Die Sprecher sind allesamt sehr gut, Soundkulisse sowieso, ein klassisches Big Finish Hörspiel. Wirklich erstaunlich, dass die bei so vielen Hörspielen das Niveau halten können, das ist ja eigentlich echte Massenproduktion.
Die Frau eines der Historiker ist Physikerin an derselben Uni und bastelt an einer Zeitmaschine. Sie braucht aber anscheinend einen Gegenstand aus der entsprechenden Zeit zu Steuerung. Daher klaut sie das Schwert der Kriegerkönigin. Etwas geht (natürlich) gehörig schief und ihr so gut wie Ex-Mann und Teagan landen im Englischen Mittelalter, wo man sie nicht sonderlich begeistert empfängt.
Eine interessante Mischung von ein Yankee am Hofe des König Artus mit echten historischen Hintergründen. Diese historischen Hintergründe sind es, die das Hörspiel für mich so interessant machen, denn es geht um ein nicht ganz so bekanntes Kapitel der Englischen Geschichte. Ethelfleda gab es wirklich. Sie war die älteste Tochter von König Alfred von Wessex mit Ealhswith. Ethelfleda heiratete Aethelred und hatte eine Tochter namens Aelfwynn. Die Historiker dieser Tagung wollen nun wissen, was aus Aelfwynn wurde. Generell glaubt man ja, sie ist im Kloster versauert.
Dieses Hörspiel ist netter Geschichtsunterricht mit Dr. Who. Man muss weder die Figuren kennen, noch Ahnung von Dr. Who haben. Dieses Hörspiel steht für sich alleine und funktioniert alleine und nebenbei lernt man was über englische mittelalterliche Geschichte.
Die Sprecher sind allesamt sehr gut, Soundkulisse sowieso, ein klassisches Big Finish Hörspiel. Wirklich erstaunlich, dass die bei so vielen Hörspielen das Niveau halten können, das ist ja eigentlich echte Massenproduktion.
May 3, 2016
The Doctor, Nyssia, Teagan, and Turlough arrive at a history conference in 1983 but Tegan gets in a time machine that transports her to the Dark Ages. Does she change history and can the Doctor get her back.
September 17, 2015
Delightfully, this is a straight up time travel story, wherein the Doctor is the only alien and his alienness never comes up. Fans of the Oxford Time Travel novels will be pleased.by this tale, as will fans of Teagan, who gets to shine... in the ninth century!
June 1, 2013
A bit muddled and I'm not fond of how Paul Magrs writes Turlough but better than I expected.
August 30, 2014
Historically interesting Dr.Who story chronicling the death of Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, daughter of Alfred the Great.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews