Pitch: The Great Gig in the Sky

by Samantha Carey

Originally written for a pitch for a Big Finish competition. A synopsis & sample scene was required -

The TARDIS lands in a field next to some portaloos, as the Doctor and Nyssa find themselves at “Metal Pig”, the largest heavy metal festival in Europe.  The Doctor has detected alien activity, and, after placing an “Out of Order” sign on the door of the TARDIS so it isn’t mistaken for a Portaloo, he tries to follow the trail backstage, where Terry, an ex-marine turned roady, and now security guard for the singer Frankie Rhodes, stops and detains them for questioning by Carrie Evetts, Frankie’s PR agent.

Carrie questions the Doctor, who convinces her to let them stay when he displays a surprising amount of knowledge about Frankie’s band and the heavy metal scene!  He knows that this is Frankie’s first solo gig since his band, The Superdudes, split up and was at their first gig in a club 20 years ago!

Carrie gets a pager message to go to Frankie’s camper van, where she knocks on the door and hears him supposedly on the phone arguing about the size of the amp.

The Doctor is left with Terry who reveals that Frankie has been acting very strangely since his split from the band, and as his last three bodyguards died in suspicious circumstances, Terry doesn’t want to be the fourth!

Carrie goes through the details of the gig with Frankie in his camper van, and when she comes across a control console where the dashboard should be, he locks Carrie in the camper van and then heads to the stage alone.

The Doctor, Nyssa and Terry try to track Frankie down but it is too late, he has gone onto the stage.
As the gig starts, Frankie starts to absorb the energy from crowd, through the lights and amps, but the amps blow, causing a power cut.

The crowd revive and start to boo, and Frankie uses the cover of darkness to escape from the stage, only to bump into the Doctor’s party.  Terry tries to restrain the singer, and receives a shock, but the Doctor intervenes and drains all the energy back onto the stage and into the crowd.

Frankie is in fact an alien who accidently crash landed on Earth twenty years ago.  He disguised himself as a human and discovered a talent for music and formed the Superdudes.  Now that the band has split up (musical differences!), Frankie has had enough and wants to go home.

The energy from the crowd would have been enough to power his camper van for the trip back home but the blast from takeoff would destroy the festival site, wiping out the crowd of 45,0000 people.  The Doctor offers to repair the camper van, and give him a tow, so long as he releases Carrie. Frankie readily agrees and the Doctor sends him on his way.

 

SCENE 2: EXT. SIDE OF MAIN STAGE
(FX: CROWDS BUSTLING AND CHEERING, DISTANT ROCK MUSIC)

TERRY:
(monotone) Pass, please.

DOCTOR:
(puzzled) I beg your pardon?

TERRY:
(irked, a bit sarcastic) VIP tickets only past this point.  You don’t look like you’re with any of the bands.

DOCTOR:
Well, Nyssa, would you believe it, I seem to have left the passes back in the... er, tent.

NYSSA:
We’re with... (uncertain) Frankie Rhodes? Isn’t that right, Doctor?

TERRY:
Oh yeah?  I’ve been his minder for 20 years and I’ve never seen you before.

DOCTOR:
Well, er... “Terry”... nice badge you have there... we’re friends from the early days, I was at his first gig at the Wheatsheaf, where it all started, and... Frankie said... we were welcome at any of his gigs, any time.

TERRY:
That was twenty years ago, you must have been about 14.

DOCTOR:
Well, I looked a lot older back then; haven’t always had this pleasant open face, you know.

TERRY:
I’ve had enough of this, you’re leaving now.

(FX: SCUFFLING AS HE GRABS THE DOCTOR)

DOCTOR:
Do you mind? That’s my bowling arm!  Look, there’s really no need for this, if we could just see Frankie I’m sure we could sort this out in a flash.

NYSSA:
Where exactly are you frogmarching us to?
(FX: SCUFFLING, DOOR OPENS)

TERRY:
In there, the pair of you.  You’re lucky I don’t have you thrown straight off the site, but there’s someone that’ll want a word with you before I do.

NYSSA:
Wait! Er... that’s an interesting tattoo you have... Terry?

DOCTOR:
Navy, by the looks of it.  Ex-marine, eh?

TERRY:
What of it?

NYSSA:
It looks quite new; I thought you said you’d been Frankie’s minder for 20 years?

TERRY:
I... (angry) stay right here, and don’t move a muscle, I’ll be back before you can say “Stairway to Heaven”, and then you’ll be the one answering the questions.

(FX: FOOTSTEPS AS HE LEAVES)

NYSSA:
I wonder why he lied...

DOCTOR:
I wonder why he didn’t just do as he said and throw us off the site.  He doesn’t believe our story but he wants us to talk to somebody for him.  He’s definitely hiding something.

NYSSA:
Doctor, do you really know this Frankie Rhodes person?

DOCTOR:
Of course!  I spent many years on Earth a couple of regenerations ago, and the Wheatsheaf pub was a regular haunt, cricket matches on Sundays, and new bands on Thursday nights.  I was there the night the Superdudes were formed.

NYSSA:
I’m surprised at you.  This... racket doesn’t seem like it would be your sort of thing at all.

DOCTOR: Racket?

(WILDTRACK: ROCK MUSIC, CROWD NOISE.)

(End of Scene)


TTFN! K.