The Waters of Amsterdam
Peter Davison (
Reunited with The Doctor and Nyssa, Tegan joins them on a trip to Amsterdam’s Rijkmuseum to see a new exhibition of the work of Rembrandt van Rijn, featuring his drawings of “Vessels of the Stars”. The Doctor is astonished to discover that tey are designs for spaceships that would actually work, and decides to pop back to the Dutch Golden Age for a quiet word with Rembrandt – but the world-weary artist is no mood to help.
Meanwhile, strange forces are swirling in the canals, creatures from ancient myth, the watery, goblin-like Nix. What is their connection to the mysterious Countess Mach-Teldak – and to the events of Tegan’s life during her year away from The Doctor?
Written by: Jonathan Morris
Directed by: Jamie Anderson
“This is a very, very good release… an extremely polished production with plenty to enjoy and, to my mind, certainly one to recommend to newcomers to both Doctor Who and audio drama.’ Kroagnon
“With a sterling musical score by Jamie Robertson, excellent writing by Jonathan Morris, wonderful sound effects from Martin Montague, some tight direction by Jamie Anderson and of course resounding performances from the regular and guest cast, this is a splendid start to The Doctor Who 2016 range.’ Kasterborous
“Some strong work across the board makes this one of the best The Fifth Doctor tales from Big Finish. 9/10′ SFB
- The Waters of Amsterdam was the two hundred and eighth story in Big Finish’s monthly range.
- This story takes place immediately after Omega was defeated (Arc of Infinity) and a year after Tegan left the
Fifth Doctor and Nyssa at Heathrow Airport. (Time-Flight)
- Tegan mentions that she saw her cousin Colin Frazer turned into a zombie and describes the Ergon as “looking suspiciously like a plucked chicken”. (Arc of Infinity)
- Tegan tells Kyle that she does a”mean Charleston”. (Black Orchid)
- The Doctor would later encounterother living water creatures during both his seventh (The Genocide Machine) and
ninth
- Tegan references some of her past trips in the TARDIS, including visiting spaceships (Four to Doomsday), Ireland (Iterations of I), England in the 1920s (Black Orchid) and the Great Fire of London on 2 September 1666. (The Visitation)
- Polsbroek refers to the fact that Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protectorof England, is dying. (The Roundheads)
- Nyssa refers to the destruction of Traken in 1981. (Logopolis)
The Countess wants The Doctor to take her back in time and prevent the destruction of her homeworld, something that he says has been tried before. (The Hand of Fear)
- Teldak has never heard of Traken.
- In an alternate timeline, by 1983, the Galactic Dutch Company has created domed colonies on both Venus and Mars, and possesses a fleet of 1, 000 interstellar ships.
- Teldak’s craft includes warp drive and a focus resonator.
- After leaving Amsterdam, The Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan travelled to Akoshemon’s moon (Fear of the Dark) and Florana. (The Elite)
- Tegan mentions that she saw her cousin Colin Frazer turned into a zombie and describes the Ergon as “looking suspiciously like a plucked chicken”. (Arc of Infinity)
