The Fires of Vulcan

Main Range #12

Released: 18 September 2000

Listened: 11/2/20

When you start getting into Big Finish, you’ll hear that some stories inspired new-series stories. You’ll learn that “Jubilee” was adapted into “Dalek,” and that “Spare Parts” inspired “The Rise of the Cybermen,” although I think that’s kind of a stretch. But what you won’t hear as often is that the Series 4 episode “The Fires of Pompeii” was inspired by “The Fires of Vulcan,” even though it’s much more obvious than the other two stories. The Seventh Doctor and Mel arrive in Pompeii just before Volcano Day, and the Doctor has advance knowledge that the TARDIS will be buried here, only to be recovered in 1980. He didn’t know exactly when in his timeline that would happen, but immediately becomes morose and secretive, more fitting for a later Seventh-Doctor story. Mel slips into Donna’s role quite nicely -- although Mel is brighter and more experienced than Donna, neither woman is shy about speaking her mind. She immediately starts to try to change things, and is annoyed with the Doctor’s fatalism. There’s no aliens here this time, nor any mention of Fixed Points -- this is a personal tragedy for them, and the Doctor doesn’t want to mess with the Web of Time as it applies to him. So it’s mostly a pure historical, even though there’s time-travel involved. It’s amusing to think of the Tenth Doctor and Donna running around on the opposite side of town, meeting up with doppelgangers for the Twelfth Doctor and Amy Pond, but I guess Pompeii is just a busy place, temporally speaking. It’s less exciting and dramatic than the TV version, but it’s more personal.