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Many Happy Returns
"We thought we'd get a surprise for you."
"And here I am!"
"OH NO!"
Rob and Nick are taking the opportunity in a quiet moment between
their adventures to explore the TARDIS. Deep in the corridors lies a
dusty old wooden control room, the perfect venue for a little
surprise they have planned for the Doctor.
Will they be able to pluck Simon and Garfunkel out of their time
stream and pop them down in the TARDIS? How will the Doctor's
running repairs to his beloved ship affect their plans? What's wrong
with the Cloister Room? And who is having the perfect cuppa? Rob and
Nick grapple with a little time problem, but just what have they
brought to the TARDIS...
Pre-Production
This story came about after a lament from PS Audios Supremo, Si Hunt
who said it was a shame that he always knew what was coming up for
the audio series. There were never any surprises. So Simon Hart
decided to surprise him with a special birthday treat; his very own
PS Audio.
Unfortunately for Simon Hart, he only came up with the idea 3 weeks
before Si's birthday, so this story probably had the fastest turn
around from script to CD of any PS Audios story ever.
Fortunately for Simon, there was a recording scheduled for the
weekend before Si's birthday and the script was written to make use
of the people coming to the recording. This and Si's impending
birthday gave Simon the idea of Nick and Rob trying to organise a
party for the Doctor's birthday and grabbing guests from throughout
the PS Audios so far. The guest list was determined by the casts of
"Curse of Ratanapura" and "Eye of the Daleks" which were recording
that weekend.
With this in mind Simon wrote the play. Very quickly. It had a
single draft, looked over by Steven Alexander and was possibly the
easiest script Simon Hart has ever written. “It just sort of poured
out,” Simon said of it one night a few years later, “I knew the
characters really well by this point and it just came together
without any problems.” He included lots of in jokes to make Si
smile.
Simon sent an email to the cast with a copy of the script and swore
everyone to secrecy. Fortunately the cast were really understanding
and were all happy to sneak in lines when Si Hunt wasn't around over
the weekend.
Production
The script was recorded right under Si's nose on the weekend of the
2nd August 2008, after being sent out to the cast on the Friday
before! Fortunately many of the cast arrived before Si did on the
Saturday so much of the recording could be done before he even
turned up. Si Hunt later recalled, "I remember Dave Taylor seeming
particuarly interested in talking to me that day. 'I must be being
really fascinating today' I thought to myself. It turned out he was
just trying to distract me from going upstairs where scenes were
being taped in secret."
Production was by Simon Hart and was completed in the week following
the recording. It was a fairly easy story to complete, with no huge
hassles, though Simon was unhappy that he couldn't find a suitable
table scraping on a wooded floor sound effect for one scene.
The Simon and Garfunkel clip came from their 1982 reunion concert.
The Triumph cue heard in many PS audios was requested from Si
himself and he never twigged why!
The play was finished on 15th August.
Pip Madeley rallied round and rustled up a suitably camp cover by
August 20th and the completed play was in the post in time to
surprise Si for his birthday.
Si Hunt very graciously agreed that we could use it to take part in
the Children In Need audio/ video challenge, and so the story went
online on Friday 14 November 2008, with a request that anyone
downloading make a donation to the charity.
Si now listens to the
story every year on his birthday, with a smile on his face.
Quote/Unquote
ROB: Right,
that’s the last one. We’ve got sandwiches, jelly, drinks of all
kinds.
NICK And lots of éclairs I see.
ROB: Why do you always do that?
NICK Oh. I’ve never really stopped to think about it.
NICK: Hang on though. When did Art Garfunkel start wearing
dresses?
ROB: And I knew Paul Simon was small, but not that small!
NICK: It’s gone wrong.
ROB: What have we brought into the TARDIS?
VERA: (In shock!) What? Oh! Uh! OH MY!
CRAIG: Where are we grandma?
VERA: Looks like we’re at some kind of party… Well, well, well…
NICK and ROB: (together) OH NO!
NICK: Ok! Quiet, everyone, QUIET! Thank you! I’d just like to
say Happy Birthday to my best friend….
ROB: The best friend anyone could have, ever! (pause)
VERA: It’s not my birthday!
NICK and ROB: Quiet you! We meant The Doctor!
Listener Response
Si Hunt:
Just listened to this and it's BRILLIANT! Smiled my head off all the
way through it. I love the use of the Time Scoop and all the rogues
that turn up from other stories (especially Vera!). Ben returns at
last! But best of all...
"Lots of éclairs I see!"
It was really well edited too (I notice these things!) who did it?
I thoroughly enjoyed my birthday treat! Thank you all so much for
making it for me!!
Tim Hawtin:
Just listened to it. Well done chaps! A nice little play that. Not
over done & doesn't go on too long. Lots of in jokes that will keep
regular listeners happy but might be lost on irregular ones.
But over all a nice piece of history. I love Rob's line right at the
end, that should make the Doctor Who fans who remember Feast of
Steven happy.
Martin Penny:
I thought that was a very enjoyable little episode. Nice to hear
from Vera again, and I really liked the Five Doctors sound effects
for the time scoop. Rob picking up on Nick's 'Lots of eclairs I
see!' made me laugh too!
Trivia
Vera is still married to Father Christmas.
The TARDIS's Architectural Configuration once went on the blink and
accidentally deleted the bathroom, leading the Doctor to spend 5
days searching for it.
The Secondary Control Room makes its first appearance in a Planet
Skaro audio.
The Doctor is usually reticent to mention his birthday.
Rob and Nick have both experienced strange birthdays during their
travels with The Doctor. Nick's trip to the set of his favourite
soap opera, Clear Waters, ended with the show being cancelled in
Soap of Fatal Death and Rob was taken to the Dolcis Hyper-Shoe-Mart,
where he didn't enjoy the shoes.
Nick and Rob allude to the Doctor liking the music of both Simon and
Garfunkel and George Gershwin.
Existing Material
Everything recorded, all sound effects and musical cues exist in the
archives.
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Episodes
Many Happy
Returns (15.22)
Cast List and Production Credits
The Doctor - Paul Monk
Rob - Steven Alexander
Nick - Dave Tudor
with additional voices by Tim Hawtin, Simon Hart, Alex Finch,
Dave Taylor and Pip Madeley
Originally released
Friday 14 November 2008
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