‘THE DEMON OF PARIS’

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Paris in June 1894 with the Fourth Doctor and Mrs. Wibbsey

It’s time for the second story of the ‘Demon Quest’ saga called ‘The Demon of Paris’.

Judging by how ‘Demon Quest’ is going so far with the Fourth Doctor and Mrs. Wibbsey (and sometimes Mike Yates, who would join them in their adventures at the end of this episode) going on a quest to collect fragments of the TARDIS’ spatial geometer, perhaps this set of audios will be good.

I like the ‘quest romp’ feel to the ‘Demon Quest’ audios, echoing ‘The Key to Time’ season (Season 16) in the classic ‘Doctor Who’ TV series, which was something I wanted to hear in ‘Hornets’ Nest’. Things were getting interesting in terms of who was behind the quest for the Doctor and Wibbsey. 🙂

In ‘The Demon of Paris’, the Fourth Doctor and Wibbsey set off on a trip to Montmartre in Paris in 1894. They arrive in 1894 via TARDIS, but of course without the spatial geometer, they start off their journey in Surrey where Nest Cottage is going to be. They have to get to Paris in France via the train.

I quite like the fact that the Fourth Doctor and Wibbsey have to go on the train to get to Paris once they’ve arrived in Surrey in 1894. It makes their limitations to travel only in time and not space more interesting. Thankfully, the end of the world is coming about by this point in their adventures so far.

In this episode, we have Susan Jameson as Mrs. Wibbsey narrating to us. This is a nice change, as I often wondered how Wibbsey felt being on these adventures compared to the Doctor and we get to have a ‘Companion Chronicle’-style of narration from her and we hear things from her perspective. 🙂

Mind you, the narration is quite ruined when Wibbsey shares things that happened to the Doctor that she didn’t get to experience herself. Wouldn’t it have been better to have a mixture of narration in this case, where Wibbsey told things from her perspective and Tom’s Doctor told things for his. 😐

I’m sure Tom’s Doctor relayed things to Mrs. Wibbsey so that she can narrate things to us an audience after this adventure (or maybe she’s telling this story to Mike Yates when he visits them at Nest Cottage at the episode’s end), but it’s confusing when you’re hearing this adventure as it’s told.

The clue that the Fourth Doctor and Wibbsey are following to be in Paris 1894 is a Toulouse-Lautrec poster of Aristide Bruant, which has been ‘doctored’ to feature the Fourth Doctor’s face. It also has him holding a piece of the spatial geometer. The Aristide Bruant poster happens to be a real thing. 🙂

I’m not sure if the production team of ‘Robot’, including Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks, were inspired by the Aristide Bruant poster to create the look of Tom Baker’s Doctor, but it’s fascinating that the Fourth Doctor looks almost similar to Aristide Bruant, especially with the hat and the scarf.

Mind you, the scarf is shorter in the Aristide Bruant poster compared to what Tom’s Doctor wears. Also, Tom’s Doctor’s scarf was apparently knitted for him by Madame Nostradamus, according to ‘The Ark In Space’. The Doctor would later meet Nostradamus in the story ‘The Doomsday Quatrain’.

Whilst in Paris, the Doctor is mistaken for being Bruant, who has been missing and is presumed dead for quite a while. People want him to sing whenever they see him. Apparently, Bruant is a singer in this time of Paris’ history. This is something I didn’t know about when listening to this audio story. 😐

Paris is also a place that the Fourth Doctor has visited a couple of times in his travels, including when he was the First Doctor in ‘The Reign of Terror’ and ‘The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve’. He has yet to visit Paris in ‘City of Death’. I prefer ‘City of Death’ as a Paris story over ‘The Demon of Paris’. 🙂

In Paris, the Doctor and Wibbsey meet a girl who calls herself La Charlotte. She’s played by Finty Williams. This is one of two times that Flinty Williams works with Tom Baker’s Doctor. The other time is when she plays Ada Lovelace in the Big Finish audio story called ‘The Enchantress of Numbers’.

Flinty Williams is also Dame Judi Dench’s daughter. 🙂 La Charlotte ran into the Fourth Doctor when escaping someone and she tells him and Wibbsey about the disappearance of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and the recent murders whilst they buy her dinner. La Charlotte seems to be a troubled soul.

Like the Aristide Bruant poster, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec happens to be a real person and is played by Mark Meadows. It’s interesting how the episode’s writer Paul Magrs incorporates actual historical elements such as Tolouse-Lautrec and his Bruant poster with fantastical sci-fi elements in the tale. 🙂

Mark Meadows has also played Leon Foiret in the ‘Torchwood’ audio story called ‘Lost Souls’. The Doctor finds Toulouse-Lautrec at the Moulin Rouge dance hall. He attempts to question him, but Lautrec evades the questions and leaves, only for Wibbsey to follow him. She becomes his model. 😀

The episode also features Rupert Holliday Evans (who was previously in ‘The Relics of Time’) playing an artist that the café where the Fourth Doctor and Wibbsey provide La Charlotte dinner. The artist (who doesn’t have a name) happens to be drunk and he takes a fancy to Mr. Wibbsey at the café. 😐

It’s intriguing how actors like Rupert Holliday Evans, who appeared in previous instalments of ‘The Nest Cottage Chronicles’, keep returning to play different characters in other audios of this Fourth Doctor BBC series. The same applies to Clare Corbett and Susie Riddell in the ‘Hornets’ Nest’ audios.

Also in ‘The Demon of Paris’ is Rowena Cooper who plays La Concierge at Toulouse-Lautrec’s home. Rowena Cooper has had her fair share of ‘Doctor Who’-related appearances, including playing Angela Price in ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’ story ‘Lost in Time’. She has also played Queen Victoria.

Most specifically, she’s played Queen Victoria in the ‘Torchwood’ Big Finish audios. She’s also married to Terrence Hardiman. And she has played Emily Shaw, Liz Shaw’s mother in the Big Finish audio ‘The Last Post’. Rowena Cooper as La Concierge provides us a twist in the ‘Demon Quest’ saga.

It turns out the villain of ‘Demon Quest’ happens to be someone that can change appearance. In ‘The Relics of Time’, it was the Emperor Claudius or a wizard. Here, the concierge happens to be the same entity luring the Doctor and Wibbsey on their quest to collect the spatial geometer fragments.

I’m not sure why the supposed ‘demon’, as we’ll call it here, is luring the Doctor and Wibbsey on this quest and why it wanted the spatial geometer to begin with. Hopefully, as the story arc unfolds, we will learn more about why it’s doing these things and what is making it to be so cruel and malicious.

Whilst listening to the audio adventure, I kept guessing as to whether it would be La Charlotte, Toulouse-Lautrec or La Concierge behind what was going on, concerning the murders happening in Paris. I appreciate this episode kept me guessing throughout and the surprise was quite rewarding. 🙂

Sadly, La Charlotte gets killed by the concierge when she saps her life-force. The concierge of course framed Lautrec for the murders, but thankfully, the Doctor, Wibbsey and Lautrec manage to escape whilst La Concierge vanishes. Apparently, she vanished the same way Emperor Claudius vanished. 😐

After the Doctor and Wibbsey part ways with Lautrec, they make their return to the TARDIS. I appreciate the time taken for us to hear the Doctor and Wibbsey’s return journey to the TARDIS by Paul Magrs. Thankfully, the homeward journey isn’t as long as featured in ‘The Return of the King’. 🙂

The book version anyway. And perhaps the radio version. 😀 Soon, the Doctor and Wibbsey return to Nest Cottage on the same day they left, which is December 23rd in 2011, I believe. They have enough time to prepare for Christmas, but it isn’t long before Mike Yates and his hound dog Captain arrive. 🙂

It’s nice to hear Richard Franklin as Mike Yates again, compared to hearing him as a recorded message in ‘The Relics of Time’. Mike hopes to enjoy a quiet Christmas with the Fourth Doctor and Mrs. Wibbsey at Nest Cottage compared to the previous Christmas. Sadly, that isn’t to be for him. 😐

Apparently, Mike is involved in the ‘Demon Quest’ mystery, considering there’s an illustration in a book of fairy tales that contains an ice monster and the images of the Fourth Doctor and Mike Yates. Mike, of course, is willing to help, as the Doctor and Wibbsey tell him about their recent adventures. 🙂

Thankfully, we won’t have to hear Tom’s Doctor and Wibbsey tell Mike of their latest adventures in the next two episodes like how the Doctor did it in the first four instalments of ‘Hornets’ Nest’. We can safely assume Mike will know all of the Doctor and Wibbsey’s adventures in the next instalment.

‘The Demon of Paris’ is another enjoyable instalment in ‘Demon Quest’. I can’t say it’s better than ‘The Relics of Time’, but it’s intriguing how the story arc is progressing and how the mystery is being unravelled, especially with what the titular demon is and how Mike Yates gets to be involved at last.

I enjoyed the connections to actual history including Toulouse-Lautrec and his painting of Aristide Bruant. It was also nice to hear the story told to us by Mrs. Wibbsey. Tom Baker and Susan Jameson are excellent throughout and I’m looking forward to Richard Franklin as Mike Yates joining the duo next time.

‘The Demon of Paris’ rating – 8/10

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The previous story For the Fourth Doctor was ‘The Relics of Time’ (Audio) For Mrs. Wibbsey was ‘The Relics of Time’ (Audio) For Mike Yates was ‘The Relics of Time’ (Audio)	The next story For the Fourth Doctor is ‘A Shard of Ice’ (Audio) For Mrs. Wibbsey is ‘A Shard of Ice’ (Audio) For Mike Yates is ‘A Shard of Ice’ (Audio)
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