Big Finish Doctor Who/Recap/086 The Reaping

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The Sixth Doctor brings Peri back to her home in 1984 Baltimore, where her best friend Kathy Chambers' father has just been murdered. While Peri struggles with her grief, her mother's cold reaction to her return, and her feelings of exclusion from her old life, a mysterious videotape and sightings of a "silver ghost" in the graveyard suggest there might be more to Mr. Chambers' death than meets the eye.

Forms a story arc with The Gathering, the Fifth Doctor story that follows it.

The Reaping contains examples of:

  • Arc Number: 8687, the significance of which is not revealed until The Gathering.
  • Bitter Almonds: How the Doctor knows Lt. Doyle is feeding him poisoned coffee.
  • Downer Ending: After the Cybermen are defeated and Peri has decided to stop traveling with the Doctor and stay with her family, a leftover bit of Applied Phlebotinum blows up her house while she is out enrolling in university, killing her mother.
  • Drives Like Crazy: Mrs. Van Gysegham, much to the Doctor's distress.
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: Peri's mom is Susan Ivanova.
  • "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Peri and the Chambers kids try to appeal to the partially cyber-converted Anthony Chambers' memories of his human self by showing him videos of himself and reminding him of the family's routines.
  • Magical Database: The Gogglebox actually is one, allowing users to access any recorded media from any point in history.
  • Video Wills: Mr. Chambers leaves one for his children at the end of a home movie of his 40th birthday party, revealing that he was being controlled by the Cybermen and telling them to leave Baltimore.