by Gary Russell
- UK
- Paperback
- Virgin Publishing
- October 1997
Regular Characters
Bernice Summerfield
Familiar Faces
Jason Kane / Chris Cwej / Emile Mars-Smith / Irving Braxiatel
Back Cover Blurb
'We've a killer brain-eater on board, half of us are dead, and all you want to do is discuss your wretched fish. Do you sense a problem with your priorities?'
Jason Kane is out to impress his ex-wife Bernice, and he has found the perfect way of doing it. He's convinced she knows the location of the legendary planet of Ardethe — a site of untold riches and forbidden knowledge. So, after rifling through her bag for information, he sets off with his trusty crewman Emile to a barren and isolated rock.
As usual, Jason's plans go awry. Very soon people begin to die — and die quite horribly. They have awakened something beneath the planet's surface that's feasting on human brains. And when a ship full of hard-bitten female convicts arrives in the skies above the desolate world, the situation becomes even more complicated.
Someone is pulling the strings and watching the carnage. It could be any of the desperate prisoners, the reclusive crew, or the suspicious governor. Not knowing who the true foe is, Jason calls for help. Assistance arrives in the form of his old companion Christopher Cwej — just the man you'd want by your side in a tricky situation. But something terrible has happened to Chris and he can't even remember his own name.
Original Audio Story
Deadfall
Writer: Warren Martyn (Gary Russell)
Director: Nick Briggs
- UK
- 2 × Cassette
- Audio Number: 20
Insert Blurb
PENAL REFORM PROVISIONS:
SCAVENGER PROGRAMME
(
EXTRACT)
"... obligation to the Galactic community and to replace the economically non-viable scrap-ships (as typified in the Garazone system), convicted criminals deemed suitable for such service shall, with a large degree of autonomy (linked to Central via the MT2X computer network), operate Scavenger ships to clear spaceways and retrieve valuable metals for the profit of the community and the financing of the penal system... The projection of a self-supporting, even profit making, penal system should be realised within three years.."
CONNOR (CHARLENE): Conv. under sect. 1&2 of the Galactic Charter Against Drug Abuse. 3 conv. for theft of company property.
GRIERSON (JENNIFER): Conv. under Special Provision 5, Galactic Public Order Charter. Also conv. for petty theft/assault.
HALLET (JAY): Conv. under Special Economic Measures Act, Conglomerate Charter, for grand fraud and theft of company property. Conv. for assault on numerous company personnel.
LLOYD (SIOBHAN): Conv. under sect. 7 of Kastor Major Social Behaviour Act. 3 prior conv. of political subversion.
TOLLAND (OLIVER): ...Ex-colonial education officer... service reactivated under Penal Reform Provisions Charter...
TOWNSEND (MARIANNE): Conv. under sect. 1&2 of Galactic Charter Against Drug Abuse. Conv. of grievous bodily harm. Charges on 7 counts of murder dismissed due to lack of evidence.
Characters / Cast
| Ria |
Heather Barker |
| Truman Crouch |
Nigel Fairs |
| The Doctor |
Nicholas Briggs |
| Tolland |
Julian Harries |
| Lloyd |
Amada Hurwitz |
| Townsend |
Lorraine Croft |
| Connor |
Helen Miller |
| Crierson |
Bernadette Harper |
| Hallet |
Tracy Sharpe |
| Computer |
Heather Barker |
| Others |
David Sax, Bill French, John Ainsworth and Julian Harries |
Notes
- Deadfall was Gary Russell's only Benny novel for the New Adventures range, although he had previously contributed Legacy to the Doctor Who series, as well as several other titles to the Missing Adventures range.
- Like Timewyrm: Revelation and Shakedown, Deadfall started life in an entirely different form entirely.
The mid-1980s saw Doctor Who fans starting to organize on a larger scale, and one group in particular saw the possibilities of creating their own stories for fans. But whereas the likes of Paul Cornell focused their energies of fan fiction, this particular group were more interested in writing their own stories to be performed — something which eventually led to no less than four seasons of unofficial audio adventures being produced, all of them being made available on cassette, and starring Nicholas Briggs as the Doctor.
The first three seasons were produced by Bill Baggs, who went on set up BBV who, in the 1990s, started to release spin-off Doctor Who dramas such as Auton, as well a range of audio dramas featuring appearances of monsters from Doctor Who (all licensed from their creators), and the rather more legally dubious adventures of The Professor and Ace...
The producer of the fourth and final season was one Gary Russell, and the opening story from that season was Deadfall, which Russell wrote himself under the name Warren Martyn — a pseudonym he would later re-use on I Can't Believe It's an Unofficial Simpsons Guide and The Torchwood Archives.
But Deadfall wasn't the only one of the Adventures in Time and Space series that was to re-appear, although it was the only one that would eventually end up in print.
Conglomerate and More Than a Messiah were eventually produced on video as part of the Stranger series of dramas by Bill Baggs — the former being re-titled In Memory Alone.
The Mutant Phase, Minuet in Hell and Sword of Orion eventually found themselves being produced (and extensively re-written) as part of the Big Finish range of Doctor Who audio plays — produced by Gary Russell, and now officially licensed.
Vilgreth became Last of the Titans, a Big Finish produced story given away on CD with issue #300 of Doctor Who Magazine in December 2001, while a new version of Nigel Fairs' Cuddlesome was given away free with issue #393 of Doctor Who Magazine in March 2008.