Doctor Who: Marco Polo (TV Soundtrack) Audiobook on Audio CD, Audio Download, buy now from AudioGO

The first Doctor, William Hartnell, and his companions join the caravan of the legendary explorer Marco Polo in this seven-part 'lost' story from the programme’s original 1964 series.The TARDIS materialises at the roof of the World, Central Asia, in 1289. There they meet Marco Polo and his fellow travellers, on their mammoth journey across the Pamir Plateau and through the Gobi desert to Peking. Unfortunately for the Doctor, his Ship proves to be of immense interest to Polo, who sets his mind on presenting it to the mighty Kublai Khan on arrival at his court.But Polo isn’t the only one with designs on the TARDIS. The war-like Tegana will go to any lengths to steal the magical blue box: lengths which endanger the lives of all the travellers. When the Doctor meets Kublai Khan himself, his precious Ship is his only collateral in a high-stakes game of backgammon and Khan is a master of the game...William Russell, Jacqueline Hill and Carole Ann Ford co-star as the Doctor’s companions, whilst Mark Eden plays the explorer Marco Polo. This story is currently missing from the BBC Television Archives.

Marco Polo is one of the legendary ‘lost’ Doctor Who stories; during the 1970’s the BBC wiped a lot of their film stock, to make it reusable. Thankfully, the original soundtrack survived and has been released as a CD audiobook, allowing fans to listen to Hartnell’s cranky First Doctor, complete with the original music and sound-effects.

The Doctor and the Tardis-gang land in Asia, close to the camp of Marco Polo. Polo is on his way to meet Kublai Khan and extends and invitation to the time-travellers, even going so far as to carry the Tardis on a wagon. However, when the finally meet the Kublai, Polo reveals his hidden agenda; he offers the Tardis to the warlord, as a gift. How can the Doctor retrieve his transport without incurring the wrath of the Mongol hordes?

Listening to the original soundtrack is a real treat. First off, you get to hear Hartnell’s Doctor in all his crabby glory and New Who fans will see where the current Doctor has inherited some of his characteristics. The story cracks along at tremendous pace, never letting-up. In addition, the threat isn’t on a universal scale; it’s a simple ‘how do we get back to the Tardis?’ story, which is a refreshing change from the huge horrors faced by Hartnell’s older/younger counterpart.

Product Information

Author: John Lucarotti Reader: Soundtrack, Soundtrack Running Time: 2hrs 55min Publisher: AudioGO Ltd Series: Doctor Who Number of CDs: 3 File Quality: MP3 (256 kbps) Release Date: 05/01/2004 D/L ISBN: 9781405697668

Buy Download £3.99 £10.99