A very nice title for the Doctor, I'm sure.
A story for the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, and Tegan Jovanka. Written by Ian Atkins, and read by Sarah Sutton.
When the Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan arrive in 1980s London, they find the current hot ticket is The King of the Dead, an interactive theatre experience they've inadvertently become part of. The Doctor settles into his usual role – trying to save the day after discovering an alien presence – but it's Nyssa who finds herself dealing with someone who is working from a different script entirely...
The King of the Dead contains examples of:
- Actionized Adaptation: The titular interactive play is based pretty faithfully on the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936, but with a lot of murder and intrigue thrown in.
- All Part of the Show: The TARDIS lands right in the middle of a stage during the "King of the Dead" play. The Doctor tells his companions to bow so the audience won't suspect anything is amiss.
- Call-Back:
- While glibly explaining how one could pull off materializing the TARDIS, the Doctor mentions one would need a working knowledge of artron energy.
- The Doctor's exile on Earth and subsequent time with UNIT is discussed, and has a fairly large impact on the plot.
- Nyssa tells Patrick about her father being murdered and his body taken over by The Master.
- Patrick mentions UNIT's vault.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: A rather dark example. Patrick's father was a UNIT soldier who worked with the Doctor and died in action during a horrific alien attack. The Doctor remembers neither the attack nor Patrick's father.
- Call-Forward:
- The TARDIS lands in 1982, but the Doctor was trying to get to the 2012 Olympics. He will get there, accidentally, much later in his life.
- Giant Spiders: Made of psychic energy.
- I Meant to Do That: The Doctor strolls confidently out of the TARDIS into 1982 as though he is exactly where he wants to be. Tegan notes that he was trying to get them to the London Olympics in 2012.
- Revenge: Patrick is absolutely fueled by this, and the psychic influence he is suffering from only makes things worse.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Nyssa is able to convince Patrick of this, saving the day in the process.
