PSAudios 1.1. Echoes of the Protii

Investigating the mystery of the destroyed planet Vrij, the Doctor and his two companions Nick and Rob arrive on Gidi - a deserted backwater policed by the law enforcing Water Guards.

But when Rob stumbles upon a body he realises that there's a murderer on Gidi; worse still, an ancient power is stirring - and with the Doctor accosted by dizzy Vera Jundrey, it's left to Nick to seek help.

How can the Doctor defeat an enemy so powerful it can undo time at the seams?
Where is the infamous Professor Endlemann - an infamous criminal wanted on a hundred worlds?
And can Nick be saved from the awesome power of the Protii before he becomes the key to its salvation?

In 2002, Si Hunt and Simon Hart were asked to write a story for the Doctor Who fiction website "Doctor Who: The Legacy". The pair wrote the story, "Echoes of the Protii", together at Si Hunt's house, hammering out each episode with both of them round the keyboard. The story featured a 'pantomime Dame' character called Vera, her devious grandson Cy (pronounced Si)and several elements from TV Doctor Who, including the Waterguards and several planets mentioned in the 1979 story "Nightmare of Eden".

During Autumn 2005, Si Hunt hit upon the idea of making an audio version of the story, and the script was duly adapted. It was decided to change the companion Alf into a male companion Rob, and to keep the other male companion Nick. Cy duly became Scott, as it was felt that Cy was too in-jokey being the first name of both authors.

The story was directly transcribed into three episodes of the audio script, with new material added in order to feature cameos from as many forum members as possible. There were several other additions, including the concept of "Clear Waters", a fictional soap opera in the style of Crossroads. Nick's "latent telepathy", mentioned throughout the adventure is a plot thread that would feature in later audio stories.

Si Hunt wrote the first draft of the script which was then edited and added to by Simon Hart. Although no major changes were made, Hart added the first Control Room scene to Episode 1 to introduce the new team to the listeners - reasoning that otherwise they'd have no idea who they were, as the story had opened with them already investigating the fate of the planet Vrij.

The cameo sequences were recorded first during October and November of 2005; including recordings by Heather Lawrence, Dave Taylor, Carol Baynes, Dave Lewis and Martin Penny. Several were sent on cassette which made the quality of the recordings extremely poor. Subsequently, it was decided to only accept digitally recorded performances for future stories.

The bulk of the story was recorded on Saturday 21st January 2006. A break was scheduled part way through the afternoon, and the crew wandered down to Sheering Mill Lock in Sawbridgeworth to take the photographs that would be used to make the CD cover. They then returned to recording the remainder of the story, including the climactic final scenes, which were recorded with the entire cast crammed into the bedroom "studio".

The song "Ooh Aah! Just A Little Bit" by Gina G was used in the Bird of Pride bar scene on Gidi, and the track "Tomorrow Night" by Bob Dylan (from his 1992 album "World Gone Wrong") was used in the cafe scene where the Doctor first encounters Vera. "I Found Someone" by Cher can be heard playing in Scott's bedroom.

A trailer was produced as a teaser for the story and a special mix of the Doctor Who theme music was chosen to bookend each episode. On 1st April 2006, a premier was held in Sawbridgeworth and the cast listened to the story for the first time together, following which CD copies were distributed to those that had taken part, raising money for Great Ormond Street Hospital in the process.