Farewell, Great Macedon The TARDIS materialises in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, in the year 323 BC. The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan meet Alexander the Great – but their excitement is tempered by the realization that these are the final days of Alexander's life. As the travellers become embroiled in the tragic events, the inevitability of history unfolds around them. But can they – and should they – change it?
The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance Fragrance is a paradise world – a utopia that the travellers are loathe to leave after a relaxing stay. But the way of life is different here. And so is the way of love – as Barbara discovers when the Fragile Yellow Arc is broken...
Farhi was born in Ankara, Turkey, in 1935. Farhi received B.A. in Humanities from Robert Academy, Istanbul, in 1954. He came to the UK the same year and trained at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1956 and settling in London. After a brief career as an actor, he took up writing.
Farhi has written several novels, including Children of the Rainbow and Journey through the Wilderness. Children of the Rainbow has received two prizes: the “Amico Rom” from the Associazione Them Romano of Italy (2002); and the “Special” prize from the Roma Academy of Culture and Sciences in Germany (2003). The French edition of Young Turk (Jeunes Turcs) received the 2007 Alberto Benveniste Prize for Literature. His poems have appeared in many British, US and European publications and in the anthology of 20th century Jewish poets, Voices Within the Ark (Avon, US, 1979). He has also published short stories in anthologies and magazines in the UK, the US and Poland. He has written many television scripts; a film, The Primitives; and a stage play, From The Ashes of Thebes.
Farhi's essay, "The Courage To Forget", appeared in Index on Censorship (Vol.24, No.2, 2005). "God Save Us From Religion", is included in the collection, Free Expression is No Offence (edited by Lisa Appignanesi, published by Penguin Books, 2005). "All History is the History of Migration", given at the “Know Your Place?” Conference in November 2005, was also published by Index on Censorship in 2006. Farhi's works have been translated into Arabic, Dutch, French, Galician, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Polish, Romanian and Turkish.
Farhi has donated part of his personal library, consisting over 19.000 books, to Boğaziçi University.
For over twenty-five years Farhi has campaigned, from the ranks of English PEN Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC), for writers persecuted and/or imprisoned by repressive regimes. Between 1994-1997, he served as Chair of the English WiPC; and between 1997–2000, as Chair of International P.E.N.’s Writers in Prison Committee. In November 2001, he was elected a Vice President of International PEN. He was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in June 16, 2001, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, for services to literature. He is a Fellow of both The Royal Society of Literature and The Royal Geographical Society.
Farhi also briefly worked on the BBC science fiction adventure TV series Doctor Who during its early stages of production in 1963.
Farhi was married to the late Nina Farhi (née Gould), a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, and has a stepdaughter, Rachel Sievers, a speech therapist. He is related to the late prominent businessman Üzeyir Garih.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy this. The “narrated” stories don’t quite work as well for me as the full cast productions, that are more like old-time radio plays. But...
Farewell, Great Macedon! - To be fair: I’m a big fan of Alexander the Great. Some people love King Arthur and Knights of the Round Table. Some people get off on all things Robin Hood. For others it’s the Monkey King, Sun Wukong (ok, I’m into Sun Wukong as well). Or maybe anything to do with the myth of Atlantis or Bigfoot or Area 51. Most people have something that really triggers their imaginative sparks. For me, I do love a good tale of Alexander the Great (in fact I wrote a short fanfic of the first Doctor meeting up with an adolescent Alexander and Hephaestion). And I was deeply worried that this one would offer a watered down, safe and sanitized version of Alexander. And in some ways it did. It’s also not very historically accurate (but I’m not a Whovian for historical accuracy). But there is enough wiggle room and vagueness that allows for some interruptions of motivations and intention. So I found myself really enjoying this narrative, in fact I was nearly brought to tears on more than one occasion. Which had more to do with me adding information into the narrative, than what was actually there. But in any case, I really did enjoy this enormously. My ONLY complaint (well, there is another, but that one couldn’t be helped) was that this wasn’t a full cast production. It was great to have William Russell and Carole Ann Ford reprising their respective roles and alternating the narration, but it would be wonderful to hear the new cast lead by David Bradley as the Doctor doing this. Still, with how much I did enjoy this one I don’t really care that much.
The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance - I was not expecting, with how brilliant and entertaining the first story was, that this one would be good as well. I was expecting that this one might be just a fun and light romp, but there were some very poignant and very personal moments in this story that were surprisingly intimate. Was it as good as the first story? No, but to be fair that one has 6 episodes to develop, this has only the one. Still, it achieves an enormous amount in that single episode.
There are also some nice interviews rounding out the set that have some delightful anecdotes. My thanks to Big Finish for delivering some truly unforgettable new memories for Doctor Who. Great job everyone.
Yep, this is peak Lost Stories material right here. A real shame we never got either of Moris Farhi’s scripts made for television as they would’ve shown a richness and thematic depth on par with the era it was written for. For something that was never meant to be made in the first place, The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance is a beautiful doomed romance for Barbara with powerful ideas at its core though I think it needs another part for it to be proper 10/10 material. Said material is reserved for the six-part Farewell Great Macedon, a gut-wrenching story that sees the downfall of Alexander the Great and his dearest people, mixing the epic scope of Marco Polo with an overwhelmingly doomladen and tragic atmosphere. If the junking of missing episodes is a sad event in Who history, then this never being made is on the same level of depressing. It’s that peerless.
Stunningly well-done! This box set contains audio adaptations of two "lost stories": Farewell, Great Macedon (a six-part historical), and The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance, a one-episode vignette that is both succinct and bittersweet.
Farewell, Great Macedon is the main attraction here, of course, and the story is just stellar. In form, it easily evokes comparisons to the televised story "Marco Polo", and for good reason: Both are historicals, both unfold over the span of several weeks, and the main character is a legendary, charismatic figure who is in turns both befriended ally and dangerous antagonist. Upon reaching its conclusion, you're stunned that such an engaging piece of storytelling never made it to the screen! But then, it's entirely possible that such a tale being made on a one-episode-per-week time frame, with all the extra considerations that video would have required, might have suffered in the making; all told, this audio presentation really might be the best version audiences could ever have hoped for.
By contrast, The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance is a much shorter piece, and if it doesn't have the room to reach the heights that Macedon does, it nevertheless is a gripping, heartbreaking work. Rather than being a "lost story" like Macedon - in other words, one that was commissioned, but then never produced - Fragrance appears to have been more of a spec script; a one-episode story to prove Farhi could write for the show. The short-story format works astonishingly well here - having the tale begin, for instance, at what would seem to be the tail end of a unseen journey on an alien world would seem to be a concise stroke of genius - and Barbara's terrible dilemma provides the emotional crux on which the story depends. Her decision at the end is the only one that could ring true for the character, and the resolution is one that is equally in-character for the Doctor, in a way that is both shocking and unavoidable. Clearly this is a story that doesn't have any real televised analogue for easy comparison, but it's one well worth telling, and listening to.
Taken together, these two tales are nothing less than superb. If you're a fan of the Hartnell years, you won't be disappointed.
The six-parter, Farewell Great Macedon, really feels like it could've been a serial of the William Hartnell era, save for the more dramatic-sounding music that actually adds tension. It takes place in the last days of Alexander the Great, and I do like that The Doctor agrees to provide medical attention. He even mentions that he went to medical school for two years. But of course, there's a lot of talk of how history shouldn't be changed. Barbara's comment at the end about how she wishes they'd stop seeing historical events because they tend to be sad reminds me of how the show would eventually stop doing purely historical serials.
The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance is much shorter, all being one part. The TARDIS crew goes to a planet called Fragrance, where there's not one person 30 or older who does not have a husband or wife. One of the inhabitants, Rhythm, falls in love with Barbara and wants her to stay. I honestly thought that Ian was gonna have to proclaim his love to Barbara, but that doesn't end up happening. Obviously, Barbara has to leave, but it's sad because people here can only fall in love once, and so Rhythm ends up deciding that he needs to end his life. While tragic endings have their place, I'm honestly not sure about the execution here. It did make me feel something, at least.
Farewell Great Macedon is one of best works Big Finish has to offer. As it’s told mainly through narration to work around the absence of actors for the Doctor and Barbara, William Russell and Carole Ann Ford do some of their best work bringing it to life, accompanied by John Dorney’s take on Alexander the Great.
Is it historically accurate? Almost certainly not, but it’s a thrilling adaptation of a never made 60s script retelling Alexander’s final days. In which betrayal and murder bring his dreams crashing down around him, ending a great man in ignominy.
Yellow Arc of Fragrance is a curious piece. Though it’s a “lost story”, it was never really meant as anything other than proof of the writer’s skills hence wasn’t ever expected to go on TV. As a result it’s not the format you’d expect of 60s Who at all, but adapted here it’s a rather beautifully written tragic tale. One of the few Who stories out there which dares to float the notion a group of travellers crashing into alien cultures they don’t really understand might not be an entirely good thing.
All in all; this pair is some of the best First Doctor material out there.
Big Finish, faced with the difficulty of doing them for audio now that William Hartnell and Jacqueline Hill are unable to contribute, have gone for an extended Companion Chronicle type format, with William Russell and Carole Ann Ford reprising the characters of Ian and Susan, also taking on various other incidental characters, joined by John Dorney as Alexander the Great for the first story and by Dorney and Helen Goldwyn for the second. As I said on reading them, they are both very sad stories which would have been unlikely to make it to the screen i 1964; but they are excellent pieces, and though each of the seven episodes (six for Macedon and one for Fragrance) extends well beyond the usual 25 minutes, they are well worth it. In particular, I was able to form a much better idea of the characters in Alexander's entourage thanks to Russell and Ford's performance than I could from simply reading the script. Strongly recommended for First Doctor fans in particular but really for anyone; these are good stories in their own right.
This collection consists of two audio dramas - Farewell, Great Macedon and The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance.
Farewell, Great Macedon is the "full" adventure as based on a full TV serial that was never produced. It's a very compelling story that was firmly placed known history but at the same time it really feels like a 1960's serial. By this I'm referring to the timely sound effects and of quirky bits like some of the pseudo-science brought to explain this or that solution conceived by the Doctor. The best example of this is how he managed to succeed in his trial of truth.
The Fragile Yellow Arc is a very short piece and essentially a single-episode script. There's an interesting philosophical dilemma at the center of it all but it's not all that exciting as stories go.
On the whole, it was great to have the original actors for Ian Chesterton and Susan reprising their roles and providing great narration support as well. And man, he does a great job of sounding like the First Doctor - the consequences of familiarity and age I suppose.
The first story is a very interesting 6-part serial featuring Alexander the Great. It's tedious and slow moving at times but overall very well done. One wonders why it was never produced by the BBC back in the day, it would have been a brilliant Willam Hartnell series. I could envision in my "theater of the mind" very nicely (only my theater of the mind is color, not black and white like the Hartnell era shows were).
The second story is a proof of concept piece that is very unique and must be heard to be understood. It's less than an hour long and certainly proves that the scriptwriter had chops - which seems to be the whole point of it.
The audiobook wraps up with interviews with the production team and actors and fills in the backstory of these stories and the overall production very nicely.
Overall, I really enjoyed this audiobook and recommend it heartily.
Farewell, Great Macedon: An incredibly strong pure historical that taught me a lot about Alexander The Great and the conspiracy. The characters were well written and the cast do a fantastic job bringing this historically lost story to life. John Dorney as Alexander was my favorite part about this story, a powerful performance and a strong character. The story has plenty of powerful moments and Moris Farhi has written a truly compelling story that is wonderfully adapted by Nigel Robinson provided by it's lustrous production. 10/10
The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance: A decent but different story with great melancholic atmosphere and a tragic ending. 7/10
The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan land in the Hanging Garden of Babylon and find themselves in Alexander the Great's camp. This is a lost story written in the 60s. It is slightly in the style of the companion chronicles, more narration than cast. This is a brilliant story, gripping and full of great characters. I really don't know why it wasn't made. Just one thought, listen to it in one go as it doesn't make much sense when listened to in bits. It captured all the characters perfectly. A very good listen.
This is a pair of First Doctor stories that were written in the early 60 s but never filmed .
The first one is an old school historical story set in the time of Alexander the Great . As with all of the historical stories, it was meticulously researched. It also has one really good scene where they argue about tampering with history .
The second one is a brief story where Barbara falls in love on an alien world.
1) Farewell, Great Macedon 4/5 Very typical first doctor story: Ian, Barbara, Susan and the doctor visit Alexander the Great and witness history being made. It's part audio-drama part audiobook narration by William Russel and Carole Ann Ford as William Hartnell and Jaqueline Hill could not speak their parts.
2) The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance 2/5 I don't know - short and just a fillingstory.
I simply loved it, it was emotional but enjoyable all at the same time. I LOVE the historical ones, which I always find myself being captivated by. I must say, after watching Doctor who (newer version) I got curious to watch the classic after finding out that there was a series before. No spoilers! You can imagine how it would look like if it got in the show and Jaqueline Hills character (Barbara Wright)really is in her element here.
In the first story the gang witnesses the final days of Alexander. It was good. The second story is about a race of aliens who try and guilt Barbara into staying on a planet with a man she's not in love with, because he will die if she leaves. Kinda weird that he didn't forewarn her of this possibility at the start. Odd story. But it was the 60s. All in all, a good adventure romp with the doctor.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Great adventure with Alexander the great. William Russell and Carole Ann Ford tell the true story the Alexander the great's assassination and then a short involving Barbara being forced to love a man or else he'll kill himself. Great walking tales.
This includes two stories from scripts that was never produced. As a result, these stories really have the flavor of the 1st Doctor and his companions.
Doctor Who: Farewell, Great Macedon is a straight history piece (as were most of the First Doctor adventures) focusing on Alexader the Great. Perhaps a tad overlong, the biggest challenge for me was the two "reader" format. It is a weird mix of the Companion Chronicles and the regular Doctor series, written in a book style but with the readers also performing their characters (and some background sounds and music). This is a must for completists and fans of the 1st Doctor. But for those who prefer the latter Doctors, this might not be the best choice.
The "Doctor Who: The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance" takes place on another planet. I liked the word-building and, for once, this was a place you would want to visit. However, the plot itself was a tad silly--spoiler: --perhaps too much of the era to translate well.
I got this because the first story is a historical trip wherein the Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara meet Alexander the Great. Unfortunately they meet him days before he dies. Sort of covers the same themes the Doctor and Donna dealt with in that Pompeii story. You know the one? It's moving and sad and I am taking a little break before I listen to the next story.
Next story: Wait. WHAT? That’s how it ends? I … I … well I suppose I support how Barbara wasn’t guilt-tripped and there was no expectation that she should return affection just because the man liked her. That was good.