Goth Opera (TV Story)

***Goth Opera*** was the sixth and final serial of Season 31 of *Doctor Who*. It was written by Paul Cornell, directed by Michael Owen Morris, and starred Richard Griffiths as the Eighth Doctor, Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield and Robert Llewellyn as Norman Manning.

## Synopsis

York, 1993. The vampires of Great Britain have received a message: the long-awaited arrival of their evil messiah is imminent. It's time for a recruitment drive.

On holiday with Norman and the Doctor, Benny is attacked by a demonic child. She escapes unharmed — except for two small wounds in her neck.

Why are the descendants of the Great Vampire so desperate to obtain the blood of a Time Lord? And what is their connection to a forbidden ancient Gallifreyan cult?

## Cast

* The Doctor - Richard Griffiths
* Bernice - Lisa Bowerman
* Norman - Robert Llewellyn
* Romana - Lalla Ward
* Ruath - Julie Graham
* Yarven - Oliver Ford Davies
* Spandrell - Richard Braine
* Jake Hedges - Peter Helmer
* Madelaine Worth - Jill Greenacre
* Eric - Jim Carter
* Jeremy Sanders - Mark Strong
* Victor Lang - Corey Johnson
* Matthew - Kevin Bishop
* Child - Sammy O'Grady
* Sabalom Glitz - Tony Selby
* Dibber - Glen Murphy
* Pogarel - Jo Castleton
* Agonal - Peter Cleall

## Worldbuilding

### The Doctor

* The Doctor is a contributor to the *Wisden* cricket magazine and has been since his fifth incarnation.
* The Doctor brushes up on his batting skills in the cricket nets.
* The Doctor also uses a bowling machine.

### Individuals

* Norman thinks cricket players sneak off for a pint of beer during a match.

### Gallifrey

* Romana II's political rise on Gallifrey is chronicled here.
* The Doctor and Ruath were classmates at the Prydonian Academy on Gallifrey with the Monk.

## Notes

* The plot for the episode was originally developed from an unproduced comic strip for *Doctor Who Magazine*, which would have featured the Fourth Doctor in a fight against Dracula. Cornell revised the story to use the Eighth Doctor for this story. (REF: *I, Who*)
* Paul Cornell once called the experiencing of writing this episode "most unpleasant", but did not elaborate.

## Continuity

* Norman is still recovering from *it*'s attacks. (TV: *Nothing*)
* Following Raine's death, the Doctor swears that he will not allow another of his companions to die during his current incarnation. (TV: *The Green Knight*)
* The Doctor refers to the Xeraphins. (TV: *Time-Flight*)
* Tracking the journeys of the Eighth Doctor, Ruath notes that he has travelled to the Althosian System, (TV: *Hostage*) Arthur's World, (TV: *The Herald*, *The Green Knight*) Tethrak, (TV: *Destruction of the Daleks*) Earth on several occasions, (TV: *Avatar*, *Hostage*, *A School for Glory*, *The Green Knight*, *Illegal Alien*, *Nightshade*, *Network*, *Transit*, *The Domesday Book*, *Destiny*, *Nothing*) Gallifrey, (TV: *Lungbarrow*), Heaven, (TV: *Love and War*) Venus (TV: *Venusian Lullaby*) and Peladon. (TV: *Legacy*)
* Ruath takes Yarven to the time stream/possible future of the Haemovores. (TV: *The Curse of Fenric*)
* Romana refers to the Minyans. (TV: *Underworld*)
* Ruath traps Romana in a Miniscope containing Drashigs. (TV: *Carnival of Monsters*)
* Melanie Bush is no longer travelling with Sabalom Glitz aboard the *Nosferatu II*. (TV: *Dragonfire*)
* Romana complains about the decor of the presidential suite. (TV: *The Invasion of Time*)
* The Black Guardian and the White Guardian play chess on Gallifrey. (TV: *Enlightenment*)
* The Doctor has encountered vampires before in TV: *State of Decay* and TV: *Hostage.*

## Home Video & DVD Releases

### VHS

* This story was released on VHS in 1998.

### DVD

* This story was released alongside *Love and War* on a DVD Box Set entitled *The Bernice Chronicles* in 2006.
* This story along with the other stories in Season 31 were released as *Doctor Who: The Complete Thirty-First Season* in 2007.

### Blu-ray

* This story along with the other stories in Season 31 were upscaled in 1080i50 high definition and were released as *Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 31* in the UK.