Horror of Glam Rock (audio story)

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***Horror of Glam Rock*** was the second story, though third release part of Big Finish Productions' *The New Eighth Doctor Adventures* audio stories that were co-produced with BBC 7. This story aired on 7 and 14 January 2007 and then was released two months later in March.

## Publisher's summary

The Doctor and Lucie go glam when the TARDIS makes an unexpected landing in 1974. Slade, the Sweet and Suzi Quatro are Top of the Pops — and brother-and-sister duo the Tomorrow Twins will soon be joining them, if Arnold Korns, a starmaking Svengali, has his way. But will their dreams turn to dust at a service station somewhere on the M62, besieged by a pack of alien monsters?

## Plot

In Bramlington, 1974, Arnold Korns and siblings Trisha and Tommy Tomorrow are in a car while listening to rock music. Arnold then pulls them into a cafe to have a quick drink and from the cold weather outside. Somewhere outside of the cafe, a man is drinking and is intoxicated. Something approaches him, but he dismisses it as someone else. The creature then attacks the man, who lets out a scream.

In the TARDIS, Lucie feels like she's about to throw up after a bumpy ride. The Doctor then suggests that they go somewhere to eat. The TARDIS materializes somewhere in Bramlington, 1974, instead of the intended destination, 2006, to return Lucie to her time zone. However, the TARDIS wouldn't allow them to travel there for some reason. As the Doctor tries to inform Lucie about the popular music in the '70s, they stumble across a dead body, which has been torn apart by an unknown assailant.

In the cafe, a young woman named Pat is talking about Bendy Roger, who just walked out of the cafe, to the waiter, Flo. Pat expresses sadness that her band is no more now that the members have left. Suddenly, the power goes out much to everyone's dismay. Pat has no way of transport as she only walked there and Flo offers to drive her. Pat then notices Arnold in the cafe along with Trisha and Tommy and Arnold is actually her manager, who had hated her band. The Doctor and Lucie make their way into the cafe and they try to inform Flo and Pat about what they have found, but they have left the cafe as Flo's shift has just ended. The phones are mysteriously kaput and Arnold asks them what's going on. The Doctor informs him that they have found the body of a Glam rocker.

Outside, Flo and Pat are walking towards Flo's car but they hear something following them. They panic and Flo accidentally drops the keys to her car. They give up and retreat back to the cafe and make it safely inside.

Back in the cafe, the Doctor informs Arnold and the Tomorrow siblings that they might be in danger and they'll need resources. Suddenly, Flo and Pat burst in and shout that something's outside and they have barricaded the back door. Flo tells them that there's a glass walkway to another cafe, where an entrance is open that needs to be blocked. The Doctor orders Lucie to take someone with her to search for any openings to block so the creature can't make it inside. Pat describes the creature to be bear-like with large fangs and she is curious as to why the Doctor just instantly believed her. The Doctor responds that he has seen much more bizarre things. In addition, a man who calls himself "Ron the Roadie" helps the others barricade the main entrance to the quite and lonely cafe. As they're barricaded, Arnold expresses despondency that he needs to get to London to see Trisha and Tommy perform as they will be performing on Top Of The Pops tomorrow. Suddenly, they hear the creature outside and they witness it destroy Arnold's car to shreds.

As Lucie, Trisha and Tommy walk the glass walkway to block another entrance, Lucie asks if Trisha recognizes Pat, because she reminds Lucie of someone she can't quite place her finger on. Trisha doesn't know and explains that ever since Tommy has been playing a stylophone, he's been acting weird i.e. telling people that the songs he writes come from space. Tommy then stops playing the stylophone and says "they'll be here very soon". Tommy says that "they" are talking to him as he continues to play his stylophone once more. He then says that the "Only Ones" are coming. Trisha tries to get him to stop this, but Lucie begins to hear ghostly noises. Trisha and Lucie hear the Only Ones say that they'll be with Tommy as long as he keeps the wavelength of the stylophone open for them. Tommy then says that this is what him and Trisha wanted when they both played their music. Trisha denies this as nonsense in unease and suggests getting the Doctor.

Horrified, Arnold insists on going outside to his car after the creatures have disappeared. Pat insults Arnold to listen to her as she introduces herself as Patricia Ryder, a drummer from Methylated Spirits. She reminds him that he laughed at them at their performance in Crowley on Sea. The Doctor scoffs that humans fight over pop music in the face of danger and decides to go find Lucie. The Doctor then finds Lucie and the Tomorrow twins and asks if they barricaded the other entrance. Trisha explains that they didn't and that Tommy has been acting weird. Tommy tells the Doctor that "they" don't want the entrance to be blocked and the Doctor suggests that he should see Arnold's car for proof of their hostility.

Ron becomes impatient and decides to make a run for it outside past his van to get help from the outside. Pat, Flo and Arnold argue that it's suicide. Ron ignores them and leaves the cafe. Arnold tells Pat and Flo that it was his decision just when the creatures are heard from outside followed by Ron's screams, confirming that they have found and killed him. Arnold callously compares Ron to his car, to which Flo and Pat are angered by. The Doctor, Lucie and the twins return and are angered to learn that Arnold simply allowed Ron to go outside and get himself killed.

Later on, Flo serves everyone some hot tea and food to keep themselves sheltered within the cafe. Lucie and the Doctor secretly talk to each other and both analyze how the creatures are starting to amass within this area as if they're circling around something. This leads them to believe that Tommy's stylophone has something to do with it.

Somewhere else, Tommy tells Arnold and Trisha, who are arguing, that the Only Ones say that the Doctor is bad and shouldn't listen to him. Meanwhile, Lucie and Pat share another cup of tea and Lucie asks Pat if she has seen her before. Pat denies knowing her and that people just ignore her seeing how she is "Passed-over Pat". Lucie then asks if her name is Patricia Ryder. Pat answers yes, confirming that Pat is revealed to be Lucie's "Auntie Pat" from the past. Pat doesn't recognize Lucie as she was not born yet, but Lucie tells Pat that she is time traveling with the Doctor and she is Pat's niece. Pat decides to accept this and asks more questions about the future. Lucie reluctantly and glumly tells her that in the future, she won't become a drummer and she'll just stay as her Auntie Pat.

Arnold grows impatient about missing the Top of the Pops performance and decides to take Trisha by force. As Trisha fights back, Arnold becomes hostile and grabs a knife and yells that Trisha and Tommy go with him. The others notice this and the Doctor tries to talk Arnold out of doing this, but he stays firm. Arnold demands Flo's car keys and she hands them over to him. Arnold then gets Tommy to move the fridge away from the door and the three exit the cafe. Pat then urges the Doctor that he can't let them go as they are in dager from the creature. Arnold keeps insisting on leaving, just when the creature attacks and Trisha is killed as Arnold makes his way back inside safely, leaving Tommy outside. The Only Ones then tell Tommy that Trisha was only a human on Earth and doesn't matter. Angered, the Doctor berates Arnold for Trisha's death at the hands of his cowardice. Lucie then proceeds to go outside to fetch Tommy, who is sobbing at his sister's death. Tommy insists that the aliens have powers to bring her back, but Lucie tells him to come back, but he runs away.

Inside, Arnold's leg is injured and the Doctor tells Pat to get Ibuprofen from Lucie's bag. Instead, Pat finds an MP3 player, which she doesn't know what it is because of the time period. Pat then asks if Lucie's claims that they're from the future are true, to which the Doctor confirms and glooms over the fact that they're not helping much. Arnold complains further about his injuries and Pat tells him to shut up or she'll "zap" him with the MP3 player. Hearing those words, the Doctor then gets an idea as he reveals that he now has Tommy's stylophone and he nabbed it from him during the scuttle of coming back indoors. The Doctor orders Pat to go after Lucie and Tommy while he needs Flo's help with the stylophone. The Doctor tests the stylophone's noises, but can't remember the notes. He asks Arnold to sing along so he can hit the correct notes.

Outside, Tommy tells Lucie that the Only Ones promised him and Trisha that they'll take them across the universe. The reason why they're called the Only Ones is because they're literally the only ones who don't see themselves as cold-harded, cruel people like on Earth as they see it. Tommy tells Lucie that they're the only ones out there in the universe now. Lucie then tells Tommy that this is false because there are billions and billions of life forms out there. Pat then shows up and tells them that the Doctor requests them back immediately. Tommy realizes that the stylophone is gone and begins to strangle Pat, demanding it back.

The Doctor plays along with Arnold's singing and the stylophone begins to respond. The Only Ones' voice says that no place is good and to "come with us Tommy". Lucie rushes back into the cafe and informs the others that Tommy has gone delusional after his sister's death and is willing to kill Pat. The Only Ones demand to be let in and the Doctor decides that he may have increased their energy. The creatures burst into the cafe, startling everyone. Arnold decides to stay behind to fight them off in order for the others to escape. The others escape the cafe as they hear Arnold's screams and find Tommy and Pat.

Tommy demands for the stylophone back, but the Doctor offers that he returns Pat for trade. Tommy gives up Pat and plays the stylophone once more. As he plays it, the Only Ones appear before them and announce that they have come to take them away. The Doctor calls their bluff and demands to know the real reason they have come. The Only Ones then reveal that they are aliens that have fed on humans as a source of polyunsaturates. They used Tommy as a way to lure fans with his music. Tommy asks about Trisha, who meant nothing to the Only Ones after all. Overwhelmed with emotions and betrayal, Tommy faints and the Only Ones close in on the group. Suddenly, Arnold reveals himself to still be alive. He explains that he escaped from the creatures and tosses Flo's funnel, which is what the Doctor needs to stop the Only Ones. As the creatures surround them, the Doctor reverses the output frequency and the sequences of notes, thus turning them into nothing but sound. Using the funnel and Lucie's MP3 player, the creature are frozen within the MP3 player on shuffle one. Lucie fancies the idea of having monsters on her MP3 player, but the Doctor urges her to never play that track.

In the aftermath, Tommy comes to and is emotionally damaged, but Arnold promises to be there for him as he knows how to handle the "disillusioned youth". Before leaving, Lucie bids her aunt farewell and Pat accepts the fact that Lucie is her niece from the future. The Doctor and Lucie exit the cafe and see that the storm has died down. On their way back to the TARDIS, the Doctor asks if it's a bad thing to consider exploring the universe if the opportunity comes to be. Lucie says that it's okay to and then asks who will have caused the mess if anyone asks any questions. The Doctor jokes that it was Hell's Angels, which he was a part of once.

Back in the cafe, Pat regrets not asking Lucie about many things about the future, but Flo assures her that it's probably the best to look forward instead. A mysterious woman enters the cafe and asks if Lucie Miller was here. The woman refuses to give her name and explains that it's vital that she gets her. Pat and Flo say that they're off traveling somewhere and have no idea where she is. The mysterious woman is revealed to be the Headhunter.

## Cast

* The Doctor - Paul McGann
* Lucie Miller - Sheridan Smith
* Arnold Korns - Bernard Cribbins
* Flo - Una Stubbs
* Tommy Tomorrow - Stephen Gately
* Trisha Tomorrow - Clare Buckfield
* Pat Ryder - Lynsey Hardwick
* Headhunter/The Only Ones - Katarina Olsson

## References

### The Doctor

* The Doctor says he was in the "Hell's Angels" Martian chapter.

### Individuals

* The Doctor refers to his second incarnation's companions Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot
* Lucie's mother is named Mary.

### Technology

* Tommy Tomorrow plays the stylophone, and the instrument is used by the Only Ones to contact and influence him.

## Notes

* The title alludes to the Fourth Doctor story *Horror of Fang Rock*.
* This play includes the original song "Children of Tomorrow." The music is by Tim Sutton; the lyrics by Barnaby Edwards; and it was performed by Stephen Gately and Clare Buckfield. The play closes with a glam rock version of the *Doctor Who* theme, also arranged by Tim Sutton. Both songs are included in full as extras on the story's CD release.
* This audio drama was recorded on 25 and 29 August 2006 at The Moat Studios.

## Continuity

* The Doctor and Lucie would once again encounter Pat in Kendal in 1984. (AUDIO: *The Zygon Who Fell to Earth*)

## External links

* Official ***Horror of Glam Rock*** page at bigfinish.com
* ***Horror of Glam Rock*** at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
* DisContinuity for ***Horror of Glam Rock*** at Tetrapyriarbus - The DisContinuity Guide

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