Affiliated Fifth Doctor First appearance The Eye of the Scorpion Home planet Earth | Home era 1400 BC Species Human Last appearance The Bride of Peladon | |
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Portrayed by Caroline Morris (voice) Similar Fifth Doctor, Peri Brown, Charley Pollard, Evelyn Smythe, Nyssa | ||
Erimemushinteperem, or simply Erimem, is a fictional character played by Caroline Morris in a series of audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A princess of Ancient Egypt born in 1419 BC, she is the daughter of Pharaoh Amenhotep II and a companion of the Fifth Doctor.
Contents
Character history
Erimem first appeared in the 2001 audio drama The Eye of the Scorpion, set in 1400 BC. She was supposed to take the throne upon her father's death, but there was controversy about the throne passing to a woman. It was in the midst of this intrigue that the Doctor and Peri arrived in Egypt in the TARDIS.
The Doctor realised that according to history, Amenhotep was succeeded by Thutmose IV, and feared that Erimem was going to die in a revolution to prevent her from becoming Pharaoh. Erimem did survive the events of Scorpion, however, and realising that she was not destined to rule Egypt, decided to leave for Greece. Peri persuaded the Doctor to take Erimem aboard the TARDIS, as Erimem was no longer required to play any further role in history.
Erimem was raised as a warrior princess of Ancient Egypt, and, despite being just a young woman had both the royal charisma and the strength that entailed. She relied on Peri and the Doctor a great deal, as her knowledge of the world, let alone the universe, was limited and her travels in the TARDIS a constant source of amazement to her.
However, when called on, she was more than capable of taking care of herself. She led armies in Ancient Egypt, and when the TARDIS crew landed in Paris in 1626, becoming embroiled in a plot to kill Queen Anne, Erimem was able to inspire and lead a combined force of both King Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu's guards against the English forces of the Duke of Buckingham (The Church and the Crown, 2002). In The Council of Nicaea she even stood against the Doctor on matters of principle that she felt were important.
Erimem parted ways with the Doctor and Peri in The Bride of Peladon, when she accepted the marriage proposal of Peladon's King. She explained to her companions, that she was genuinely fond of the king and the planet, and that it had always been her destiny to rule.
Other appearances
As well as appearing in the Big Finish audio dramas, the character of Erimem featured in the Telos novella Blood and Hope by Iain McLaughlin. In that story, the Doctor, Peri and Erimem travelled to the time of the American Civil War where, because slavery still existed, some people had a problem with Erimem's dark skin.
A novel featuring Erimem, The Coming of the Queen by Iain McLaughlin and Claire Bartlett and set before the events of The Eye of the Scorpion, was published by Big Finish in 2005.
Iain McLaughlin tweeted in April 2011 that Erimem would be appearing in a forthcoming episode of the Kerides The Thinker series on Imagination Theater. The episode, "Return of the Queen", aired on February 19, 2012 with Christine Mosere playing the role of Erimem.