Invaders from Mars (audio drama) explained

Invaders from Mars is the twenty-eighth audio drama of the British science fiction audio series from Big Finish Productions. It was written and directed by Mark Gatiss.

Initially released as a CD on 28 January 2008, this story was later broadcast on BBC 7 in four weekly parts (starting on 29 October 2005) and was later rebroadcast on the same channel once more (beginning on 19 November 2006).

Summary

In Manhattan 1938, the Eighth Doctor and Charley meet a crooked gangster, a Russian spy, a sinister fifth columnist and Orson Welles. Welles's broadcast of War of the Worlds is just a story, but maybe there really are aliens at loose.

Cast

• The Doctor — Paul McGann
• Charley Pollard — India Fisher
• Mouse/Winkler/Luigi/Heavy — Ian Hallard
• Ellis — Mark Benton
• John Houseman/Thug/Streath — Jonathan Rigby
• Orson Welles/Professor Stepashin/Halliday — David Benson
• Bix Biro/Noriam/Man — Paul Putner
• Don Chaney/Actor — Simon Pegg
• Glory Bee/Carla/Women — Jessica Stevenson
• Cosmo Devine/Hotel Clerk — John Arthur
• Reception Guest - Katy Manning
  • Radio Announcer - Mark Gatiss Thug/Toastmaster - Alistair Lock

Deliberate errors

The second season of Eighth Doctor audios featured a number of deliberate errors:

• There were 48 States in the United States in 1938, not 49 as Chaney claims.
• The CIA was not established until 1947, almost nine years after the events portrayed here.
• Welles fails to recognise a Shakespearean quotation.
• Don Chaney claims to own a 1929 Lamborghini previously owned by Al Capone, but Lamborghinis did not exist until 1963.

The first two "mistakes" in this list were deliberate, intended to be examples of anti-time contamination. The third was also deliberate, but was explained in The Time of the Daleks. The last was not deliberate but was later retconned to be another example of anti-time contamination.

Another possible example of anti-time contamination is the date. The War of the Worlds aired on 30 October 1938, yet, when he asks what day it is, the Doctor is told that it is 31 October 1938.

Later Doctor Who appearances

The episode is particularly notable in that 5 of the actors went on to star in the re-booted Doctor Who TV series from 2005, including:

• Mark Benton in "Rose"
• Ian Hallard in "Robot of Sherwood"
• Simon Pegg in "The Long Game"
• Jessica Stevenson in "The Family of Blood" (as Jessica Hynes)
• Mark Gatiss in a number of roles, including "The Lazarus Experiment" and "Twice Upon a Time"

This does not include Paul McGann and Katy Manning who had appeared in Doctor Who prior to their appearance in this episode.

External links

• Big Finish Productions - Invaders from Mars