The WIDWWA Magazine - Issue 9

JUNE & JULY 2022

WELCOME BACK!

Hello everyone and welcome back to ‘What if Doctor Who Wasn’t Axed?’. It’s sure been a while, as the last update to the series was on 12 June 2022 and now it’s precisely 232 days later. In the real world we’ve had one new episode of Doctor Who since, the predictably controversial ‘The Power of the Doctor’, which ended with David Tenannt being revealed as the Fourteenth Doctor. I can’t promise you anything quite as crazy as that… except maybe the real actual Prince Charles encouraging Daleks?? Don’t worry, it’ll all be explained later in the issue.

So, when it comes to this magazine, 232 days ago it was called ‘The WIDWWA Newsletter’ and merely gave news about WIDWWA, essentially previewing the main content, which was on the WIDWWA Wordpress. Well, no more! This magazine is now THE place to be for WIDWWA. Everything WIDWWA that is being released is now being released

in this magazine. So this issue features the overviews of the first four episodes of Doctor Who: Adventures Series 4 and that’s because this issue focuses on July and July 2022. I’ve made the decision to keep us permanently behind by several months to increase the quality of WIDWWA so that I can more accurately determine what will and won’t happen.

“Where’s that WIDWWA book you were promising?” I hear you ask! Well, don’t worry, most of it had been written, but upon further inspection into copyright laws, the only way I could’ve been able to publish it as a book, would be to have cut nearly all plot description out and make it primarily a non-fiction (but still actually fiction) book. This would’ve meant you could’ve found out all about the production history of Doctor Who, but not the stories. So, the book’s gone, but everything that would’ve been in the book is now in this magazine and we’ll be covering a year

each issue. So, this issue is “Rewind to 1989” and the next issue is “Rewind to 1990”. Got that?

The vast majority of this issue is dedicated to June & July 2022, but the back end of it, takes us entirely into a Rewind to 1989 section, which goes into the precise details over how Doctor Who was saved. During this feature, I bring up a particular point that I’ve never seen anyone really talk about publicly when it comes to Doctor Who’s cancellation, so I wonder if this feature will start a conversation around that.

Finally, I just want to give everyone a big welcome and I hope you really enjoy this issue and stick around in the coming months for future issues. We have a lot of exciting stuff coming up including WIDWWA’s very own Centenary Special, The Restoration, and Mike Flanagan’s take on Doctor Who: The New Renegade But for now, enjoy this look into June & July 2022.

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WIDWWANEWS

ALL THE REAL-WORLD NEWS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE WIDWWA SERIES

WELCOME tO WidWWA.CO.UK

Wehave a new website! Well, it’s really what was the old WIDWWA Wordpress, but it has a new lick of paint, a lot of new pages and a new web address, which I can proudly say is widwwa.co.uk!

On the website, the centrepiece is The WIDWWA Guide, which is a comprehensive guide to every season of WIDWWA and where you can read the most up-to-date, expansive and canon version, wheth-

er that be in the original video, on the blog posts or in this very magazine. Additionally, it features the links to each season’s Wiki page on the WIDWWA Wiki, so that even if the season doesn’t yet have “full coverage” then it can still be read about.

The WIDWWA Wiki has also slightly regenerated with a new web address which is now wiki. widwwa.co.uk!

Also available on widwwa. co.uk are individual pages for

each issue of the WIDWWA Magazine, and formerly the WIDWWA Newsletter, which contains an overview of each issue, a link to read it and a link to buy a print copy, if you so wish.

There is also currently a tab called “Quiz” which features a short 13-question quiz about WIDWWA, which many of you have already tried, but I’m looking to expand into a full “Fun and Games” tab, at some point, so if you have any suggestions, please contact me using the WIDWWA Views form on the website.

WIDWWA

MAGAZINES ON ISSUU!

If you’re reading this, then you’re probably already aware of Issuu and just what it is, because you’re very likely reading this on Issuu. For those who don’t fully understand it,

Issuu is a website where digital publications, such as this one, can be published for free. Already available on there is a full back catalogue of this Magazine’s predecessor, the

WIDWWA Newsletter, which is available for everyone to read at their own pleasure. All new editions of this magazine will be published on Issuu!

WIDWWA

dISCORd REVAMP

The Official ‘What if Doctor Who Wasn’t Axed?’ Discord Server, which has been the home to the WIDWWA community since May 2021, has been revamped in anticipation of the relaunch of this magazine. The server has seen excessive changes, which seems to have drastically reduced previous issues with toxicity, trolling and bullying. The server now uses a forum-based lay-

out, allowing for different posts about different subjects to be made by different users, as and when they want to talk about a topic. If you’re not already a member, please join the server to join in and talk to the rest of the community.

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NEW EdItION fOR thE ELYSiUM

The Elysium: The Complete Story, a book which I authored alongside Tadeusz Cisłak, in September 2021, is getting a brand-new revised and expanded edition!

New additions feature sections about audience reaction to each season, as well as a selection of expanded episode overviews and brand new Radio Times cuttings, throughout, for every single episode. On top of this, there’s a selection of new bonus material at the very end of the book, just for the fans.

The book has an entirely new look and feel, inside and outside, emphasising The Elysium as an unmade TV show from an alternate universe, and using this as the book’s main selling point to a casual audience.

The original edition of the book has been unavailable for sometime, and will never be printed again, so any of you with an original copy will be among the 100-ish people who own one. However, despite this, I would strongly encourage any WIDWWA fan to

purchase the second edition as it’s overall a much better experience to read - especially for fans.

The new edition will be available in hardback, paperback and on ebook and will be purchasable through Am-

azon, with one-day delivery available for Prime members. While an exact release date cannot be announced, I expect this new edition will be out within the next month!

WIDWWA

The Elysium: The Complete Story

WIDWWAVIEWS

Your Views on Everything Happening in the World of WIDWWA

STAR VIEW

Vincentprice1911 Discord

I will say, while not a masterpiece, this is the first truly great story of Doctor Who since... probably the 14th Doctor era. For some context, I do majorly like the original The Daleks' Master Plan. It is certainly in my top ten favorite Hartnell stories. It does have some flaws (mainly in the second half) but it overall a great story. I like how this story doesn't try to be better than the original, just a different interpretation of such events. With that, it is also not worse than the original, because despite having this template, it has enough original plot that makes this a worthwhile watch. I thought everyone did a really great job. Except Ace Bhatti as The Doctor. I'm sorry, I really want to like him, I really do but he just seems like a poor man's Fourth Doctor. I understand why they did this, but it just seems like a corporate

TimeLordMaster108 Discord

I really enjoyed the final episode of The Daleks' Master Plan: it had good action; a satisfying and dark ending to the story and great action scenes. Also glad that they cleared up the confusion on what the end goal is. So overall; a solid conclusion to the first serial.

Tom Hollin Email

Where was my WIDWWA Newsletter this month? I'm on the mailing list and yet I haven't recieevd it. I really enjoy reading it and

decision and Bhatti is permanently stuck in this empty shell of what a Doctor should be. He's not bad, nor my least favorite Doctor (that honor still goes to Richard E. Grant). He's just really generic and leaves little impact. I thought Suranne Jones as Sara was excellent. Can't hold a candle to Jean Marsh, but she was still great. The stuff with The Monk (The Nun?) is really good, I like Jo Brand in the role. Probably my least favorite version of the character, but to be fair, Peter Butterworth, Graeme Garden, and Toby Jones were all fantastic. The Phaedra and Restoration stuff was a tad confusing, but still an intriguing mystery, and the end result was a great cliffhanger for the Centenary Special. I was upset that Jean Marsh didn't have a bigger role because it seemed like they were teasing something greater with her character. I also like and didn't like how these events happening twice was never really brought up. It's possible that it was, but it

was knee deep in the Restoration stuff that I need to probably re-read it. I like how they didn't explain why this happened twice because it makes it all the more intriguing, but also didn't because it comes across as confusing. I know that I'm probably missing something, and I apologize, but at points I seemed kinda lost. With that, I only have a few qualms with this, and despite this, I majorly loved this story. I thought the performances were great, the Daleks were properly threatening, the story intrigued me despite being confusing at points, the modern elements and original story components were seamless and intertwined beautifully, I thought Raleigh was okay here, and overall, I thought it was very well done, and Moore had a proper comeback to the Doctor Who franchise. Although now, I do kind of wish he was showrunning the new BBC Three show instead of... ugh... Steven Moffat... 9/10

Chelle Email

yet there wasn't one this month. Please can you send it to me?

Tom Hollin Email

Just reread the opening of the last issue again. Sorry.

Michael widwwa.co.uk

Hi! Can't wait for WIDWWA to come back. I loved the Daleks' Master Plan so I'm very excited to see what else you have in store. Can I ask if we'll be getting a new Doctor soon. If so I think it should be Ncuti Gatwa. Unless you have already picked someone else then you should go with them. I guess.

I was quite shocked to see that King Charles was in the trailer for the new series of Doctor Who: Adventures. I don't think that you should be writing such vile figures as the King into WIDWWA. There is simply no reason he had to be in it and you're simply just shoving your monarchy loving agenda down all our throats. It was bad enough when you had Michelle Gomez playing the Queen before. Please don't do anything like this again or you may lose yet another WIDWWA fan. Apart from that look forward to new episodes.

TO SUBMIT A WIDWWA VIEW TO THIS PAGE VISIT WIDWWA.CO.UK AND USE THE WIDWWA VIEWS FORM OR EMAIL WIDWWA1989@GMAIL.COM WITH YOUR WIDWWA VIEW ATTATCHED.

PUBLIC IMAGE

TOFFA reports on the UK television viewing figUres for the DaleKs’ Master plan

When we first saw how ratings for Season

56’s ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’ fared, we got as far as episode four’s overnight ratings with no 28-day figures yet. However, more than enough time has passed to give you the full story!

Before we do, you’ll notice that the 28-day chart rankings are missing. This is because before its original broadcast, BARB, which publishes the figures, changed the way in which the figures are shown. No official charts for the 28-day figures have been available at all from then. But that isn’t really necessary given how on our last check, the serial was hitting the top three on all accounts in the rankings for overnights and 7-day, giving Doctor Who its best chart rankings in general since Season 48.

Let’s pick up from where we left off in The WIDWWA Newsletter Issue 8 Episode 4, ‘The Cry of the Past’ had an overnight ratings boost, and was also reflected in the consolidated figures with 5.63m. But despite the increase, it dropped to fourth for the week, and third for the BBC with two episodes of long-running crime drama ‘Silent Witness’ winning out, with ITV’s ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ continuing to perform well, placing third that week.

‘The Secret of Kembel’, unlike the other episodes, ended up being third for the night with 3.95m. It’s direct competition was the final of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ which had over 6 million watching, but the top show on

the day was the BBC’s coverage of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with 6.3m. To make matters worse for the 7-day charts, with 5.47m, it placed tenth for the week. This was a case of unfortunate timing for Who, as that week saw extensive coverage of the aforementioned Jubilee with much of the coverage dominating the ratings that week, with Silent Witness and BGT once again placed above Who. Fortunately, the finale, ‘The Mutation of Time’ was back on track, with an increase in ratings and top show that Sunday with overnights of 4.24m. In consolidated terms, it managed 5.85m and placed third; two episodes of ‘Silent Witness’ topping the charts, with the added benefit of the finale beating everything else on ITV that week.

In summary, The Daleks’

Master Plan, as part of Season 56, averaged out at consolidated figures of 5.64m, with an average ranking of 4th place. In comparison, the original 1965-66 version had an average of 9.36m, but with a much lower average chart ranking of 38th. It shows how despite the lower ratings, the rankings show it has performed significantly better in today’s TV landscape despite the lower ratings.

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“It has performed significantly better in today’s TV landscape despite the lower ratings”

gallifreyan

Adrian Hodges to write 60th Anniversary Film

Inone of the most remarkable twists of fate, Adrian Hodges has been announced as the screenwriter of Doctor Who’s 60th Anniversary Film, currently known as Doctor Who VIII.

Adrian Hodges certainly has quite a large CV when it comes to Doctor Who, first writing for the franchise in 2001 with the Leftover episode, The Inhuman Advantage. It would be another 15 years before he returned to the franchise, when in 2016 he joined The Elysium as a co-executive producer, and in 2017 penned the episode In Her Own Words. He left The Elysium after being hired by Jane Espenson to write for the main show, and join as a co-executive producer. After penning both Crookback and Their Story, two of the standouts of Season 52, he was picked to become Doctor Who’s new showrunner by Espenson. He went onto write 15 episodes of the programme, as showrunner, before departing following Season 55.

What is remarkable about Hodges’ return to the franchise is that his exit was viewed by many as being quite an unhappy one and there was certainly no indication that he’d ever return to the franchise, let alone so soon and in such a huge manner. As far as

can be gathered, Hodges had been originally contracted to showrun Doctor Who for three seasons, and following his third season, Mal Young decided not to renew his contract. He wasn’t fired. His contract simply wasn’t renewed. Hodges did have plans for future seasons but was aware that it very well

could be his last. Obviously it seems now that Young’s reasons for letting Hodges go weren’t personal and weren’t about the quality of his writing, but instead about the direction of the manner he approached the main television show, as Young seems to be more than happy to hire Hodges in this new role.

⬅ Adrian Hodges, the screenwriter of Doctor Who VIII

The Lambert Centre Opens WhoStudios’

new base of operations, the Lambert Centre, in Greater Manchester, has opened with a lavish ceremony featuring an illustrious lineup of Doctor Who alumni. The centrepiece of the ceremony was the ribbon-cutting by Carole Ann Ford and Waris Hussein. The Lambert Centre, once fully operational in January 2023, will boast 12,000m2 of soundstage space, and will eventually be home to all of Doctor Who’s productions this side of the atlantic. Further information on Page 20.

The Time Meddlers Enters Production Doctor

Who: The Time Meddlers began production in early June with the first studio recording taking place on Friday 17 June in front of a live studio audience of 200 people at WhoStudios’

around the Monk and a team of fellow Time Meddlers. The first episode was written by Ronald D. Moore with the rest by Steven Moffat.

The series is due to air on BBC Three in January 2023. Full set reports for all 6 episodes can be read on Page 22, whereby a Doctor Who Magazine correspondent who was in the audience for the recordings has given their spoiler-free account of events.

Adventures Trailer Released

as himself.

The recording secretly took

place last year during a visit that the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall made to the set of The Daleks’ Master Plan in November.

Lambert Centre. The series which stars Jo Brand, Ray Fearon, Sally Bretton, Adrian Lukis and Nina Wadia centres

Atrailer

for Doctor Who: Adventures’ fourth series has been released. It contained many reveals in its 40 seconds including a return trip to Marinus, a run-in with Henry VIII and the appearance of the First Doctor and Susan. The First Doctor was voiced by John Guilor and it is unknown which episode he and Susan will appear in.

Prince Charles to star in Adventures

Anothermajor part of the trailer for Doctor Who: Adventures Series 4 saw the surprise announcement that the first episode of the series “Prince of the Daleks” will be a celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and include a voiceover role for Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales,

The episode as a whole will celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and see Prince Charles face the Daleks, alongside the Doctor, Erin and Kyle.

The New Renegade to air from October

Originallyscheduled for September, the third season of Doctor Who: The New Renegade has been pushed back for release in October, due to reasons currently undisclosed. This will now mean that the season will premiere around the time of The Restoration, whether before or after is currently unknown. The season will run for 10 episodes from October onward. A fourth season was announced, last November, as premiering in July 2023, but it is unknown whether that schedule will be held too. WIDWWA

⬅ The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visiting the Doctor Who set.

“Knowing that the current format couldn’t last forever, Phil Ford decided that one of the episodes, later in the season would focus around the First Doctor & Susan”

dVEN OUR

⬅ Erin Stevenson & Kyle Harrison

VENtURES GO OURth

For the fourth series of Doctor Who: Adventures was commissioned and produced as the second half of the third series, but broadcast as a separate season. From very early on in pre-production this had been intended, so the opener and finales of both series were both intended to be, just that, but as far as production was concerned, Episode 1 of Series 4 was considered Episode 11 of Series 3, even with the production code 311.

The final episode of Series 3 had originally been a Series 4 episode, but due to the fact that the original Ep310 didn’t really deal with, what had come to be considered as Series 3’s “season arc” about the Revoc, so Ep315 was drafted in as Series 3’s finale, at the last minute, because it featured their next appearance. The content in the episode about the Daleks was new material, scripted later on, to tie in with Series 4’s arc and

foreshadow it. The knock-on effect this had for Series 4 was that its reveal of the Daleks being back in Episode 1 was slightly undercut and that Episode 5 was now Data Breach, the original Series 3 finale.

Creatively, the fourth series was, again, much like the third, with the focus being on the same sort of stories. However, Series 4 was given two very important directives by BBC management. The first was to produce an episode about the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee to tie in with the celebrations in the Summer of 2022… the other was to produce an episode about the Centenary of the BBC to tie into the BBC100 celebrations. While the main show was making a whole Centenary Special, the BBC wanted an episode of Doctor Who: Adventures that would teach children specifically about the history of the BBC.

Knowing that the current format of Doctor Who:

Adventures couldn’t last forever, Phil Ford decided that one of the episodes, later in the season, would be almost entirely focused around the First Doctor & Susan, as a flashback episode. This was not only intended as a treat for the fans, but a trial run to see if the format would work with a different TARDIS team, and if successful Ford and Young were considering either making an Adventures spinoff series with the First Doctor and Susan, or another TARDIS team, or changing the TARDIS team for a future series of Adventures. None of this was decided, in theory or actuality, but the First Doctor & Susan episode was intended to act as a pilot if the possibility of changing the team and mixing up the format arose, in the future.

The series premiered on 4 July 2022, after a short promotional campaign, which launched a 2 weeks earlier. WIDWWA

THE FOURTH SERIES OF DoCtor who: aDventUres BEGINS HERE! LEARN ALL ABOUT THE FIRST FOUR EPISODES EXCLUSIVELY IN THE WIDWWA MAGAZINE!

The episode opens with a shot purposely reminiscent of the opening of Remembrance of the Daleks with a spaceship in-orbit of Earth observing transmissions from the planet below. We then cut to 1978 and we’re inside the Stevensons’ house, where the Doctor, Erin and Kyle are having dinner with Danielle and Roger. They are talking about the events of the previous years’ Jubilee, which leads onto a discussion about how they met the Queen, after saving her from a Dalek, and then onto Roger asking the Doctor about the Queen’s other Jubilees. The Doctor makes a few jokes about the events of the Golden and Diamond Jubilees, but then tells Roger that her favourite, by far, was the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022. This leads to Roger asking whether he could travel in the TARDIS, and see the Platinum Jubilee. Erin and Kyle both try to talk him out of it, but the Doctor obliges, as Roger joins the other two in the TARDIS. Danielle decides

to stay behind.

HOW IT HAPPeNeD!

The TARDIS lands outside a busy Buckingham Palace in 2022, with the entire mall covered in union jacks. Roger steps out and takes in the fact he’s in the future. He mentions that he’d be about 98 if he’s still around somewhere, which causes Erin and Kyle to laugh at the thought of Roger surviving to such an age. The three proceed to explore modern London, during the height of the Jubilee celebrations. However, they are interrupted when a group of Daleks teleport down in front of them and begin firing.

PRINCe OF THe DALeKs

WRITTEN BY PHIL FORD

DIRECTED BY NICHOLAS BRIGGS

The Doctor, Erin and Kyle are joined by Erin's father, Roger, to a very special royal visit... but will the Daleks almost ruin everything?

THE DOCTOR SAMANTHA BOND ERIN STEVENSON MONTSERRAT LOMBARD

KYLE HARRISON

WILLIAM MOSELEY ROGER STEVENSON

TREVOR COOPER

DANEILLE STEVENSON

SUSANNAH HARKER

VOICE OF THE DALEKS NICHOLAS BRIGGS

THE BBC WISHES TO THANK PRINCE CHARLES, THE PRINCE OF WALES, FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION TO THIS EPISODE

Aspart of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the BBC decided that they wanted Doctor Who: Adventures to feature an episode celebrating the event. The BBC had been in talks with the palace about the possibility of Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, appearing as himself in the episode, but negotiations were ongoing when the episode was written. Therefore, Ford was instructed to write two versions, one where Prince Charles actually appears and interacts with the Doctor and her companions, and one where this doesn’t happen.

The original version did feature an animated version of the Prince but he didn't speak or get involved with the speaking characters in any way, instead appearing much like his mother in God Save the Queen. The actual recording of Prince Charles’ dialogue came during a set visit that he and the Duchess of Cornwall made to the set of The Daleks’ Master Plan in late 2021. The rest of the episode had already been recorded, and partially animated. The details surrounding the Prince’s involvement in the episode were kept top secret until they were announced in June 2022.

but the Doctor says that’s not possible anymore. Roger, unable to effectively run for long, splits off with Erin, as the Daleks just continue to chase after the Doctor and Kyle.

A chase ensues across London, as the Daleks try to exterminate the Doctor. Erin and Kyle suggest they call in UNIT

The next part of the episode sees the chase continue, while Roger and Erin arrive at a nearby street party for the Jubilee. Roger comments about the fact that good old fashioned patriotism has endured despite her fiancée’s efforts to undermine it, to which Erin rolls her eyes, but the two are interrupted as a motorcade pulls up at the top of the street, and Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, steps out onto the street. Roger stands in shock at seeing the Prince, as the media begin to surround him. He and Erin have a small conversation about the fact that Roger

remembers Charles being born and how proud he is of him, which is played a little for comedy.

Suddenly, however, the Doctor and Erin run into the street party, with even more Daleks behind them. The Prince’s security draws weapons at the Daleks but they have no effect. The Doctor runs up to Charles and tells him to duck, to which he narrowly avoids a Dalek ray. The Doctor then tells Roger to look after the Prince, much to his delight, while she goes back to converse with Erin and Kyle.

The three of them discuss the best course of action, as the Daleks continue firing, to which they decide it’s best for the Doctor to give herself up, as it’s her the Daleks are

after. The Doctor surrenders to the Daleks and is teleported away with them, shortly after, leaving everyone else in the rubble. After a moment, Roger says that they all need to band together to get the street party back up and running, in honour of the Queen. Prince Charles says that he agrees, which jolts everyone into action.

On the Dalek spaceship, we see a montage of the Doctor and the Daleks exchanging conversation, over a period of many hours, but we don’t really hear what they’re talking about. However, we see that it is a long serious discussion, and it ends with the Doctor and the Daleks saying that they’ve reached an agreement. The Doctor then says coldly that they should

send an “expendable” Dalek down after her… “to make it look realistic”.

Back on Earth, the street party is up and running again and the Doctor teleports down. She is welcomed by everyone celebrating, but another Dalek comes down after her and begins shooting and firing at everyone. The Doctor attaches a device to the Dalek, blowing it up and once again, saving Prince Charles.

The Prince thanks the Doctor for saving his life and offers a toast to “Her Majesty, the Queen”. As everyone says the toast, while raising their glasses, we see Erin and Kyle looking right at the Doctor, just as everyone says “Queen”, and then we cut to the end credits.

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This episode sees a return to the planet Marinus. 100 years after The Keys of Marinus, when the First Doctor gave the natives their autonomy, the Marinus that the Doctor, Erin and Kyle arrive at is, therefore, very different to the one seen in the original serial, now a heavily industrialised and polluted planet. Instantly, when the TARDIS crew arrive on the beach, they see the sheer extent of the pollution everywhere.

The story descends into one of the Doctor having caused the modern iteration of Marinus due to her actions at the

end of the Keys of Marinus and, obviously, the episode acts as a commentary on environmentalism and needing to save the Earth. The resolution to the story sees the Doctor and her companions meeting and working with Marinus’ long-discarded scientists, whereby she teaches them about renewables and how to effectively

harness them to turn Marinus into a clean and safe planet. The episode finally ends with the trio visiting the planet another 100 years in the future and finding it a utopian paradise.

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THe MARINUs FACTOR

DOCTOR

WRITTEN BY ALAN BARNES DIRECTED BY JOHN AINSWORTH

The Doctor takes Erin and Kyle to the planet, Marinus, 100 years after her first visit, whereby she finds quite the opposite of the planet she was expecting...

Continuing the Fourteenth Doctor era’s ever present theme of royalty, this episode takes the TARDIS team back to 16th Century England, where they meet Henry VIII, although not intentionally, as the Doctor had intended to take Erin and Kyle several decades later to introduce them to Shakespeare, but instead she accidentally landed the TARDIS inside Hampton Court Palace, and almost instantly ran into Henry VIII, himself, who none of the group realised was the King, at first. They believed themselves to be many years after his death and instead just asked him directions to the Globe Theatre. Henry’s response was one of anger and had them taken to the Tower of London.

Inside the tower, the trio discuss how to get out, all the while they try and figure out what’s going on. They eventually conclude that the man they met was Henry VIII and that they’ve landed in slightly the wrong time and

place. The Doctor asks Erin and Kyle everything they know about Henry VIII from school and they try to put together a profile of the man.

Soon after, the cell door opens and the King walks in, having discovered the TARDIS and wanting answers about it. Using the opportunity, the Doctor says that she’ll show him what it does, as long as they are all let free. The King obliges and they return to the Palace and to the TARDIS. The Doctor pretends that the TARDIS is only a police box and therefore (still) blows Henry’s mind, when she opens the hatch and pulls out the telephone, showing Henry “her invention” of communication between two people. Henry is so delighted by it that he invites the Doctor, Erin and Kyle to a banquet that night.

the meal.

She examines and she quickly realises that the King has a severe case of gout. The Doctor knew that with her help, the King could be cured, but that she couldn’t do so without affecting the web of time. Henry, enraged at this, calls for the Doctor and her friends to be executed, and thus a chase around the palace grounds ensues (played mostly for comedy).

THe KING's WRATH

As they sit down to dine, the Doctor notices that the King seems troubled. She asks him about it, and he confides in her that he’s been plagued by mysterious health issues, and he’s desperate for a cure. The Doctor tries not to interfere but following an intense display of emotional blackmail from Henry, she decides to take a look at him, after

When Henry eventually catches them and is about to throw them back into the Tower, to await execution, the Doctor thinks quickly and pulls out a pack of paracetamol. She gives one to the King and tells him that it will ease his pain but not cure him. The King takes it and soon enough he feels much better. He is so happy that he proposes to the Doctor, but the Doctor rejects his proposal, causing Henry to call for their execution once more, which saw a chase back through the Palace, and this time ending up with the Doctor, Erin and Kyle making their way back to the TARDIS and dematerialising.

The episode finally ends up with Erin and Kyle in the TARDIS laughing and joking as they make-up a rhyme about Henry that goes along the lines of “Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Demateralised”... to which the Doctor isn’t impressed.

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KNIGHT RICHARD UNWIN CATHERINE PARR ISLA BLAIR JALIER DEREK GRIFFITHS

WRITTEN BY SARAH DOLLARD DIRECTED BY HELEN GOODWYN

The Doctor, Erin and Kyle meet King Henry VIII, but his temper knows no bounds, especially as he believes the Doctor can cure his mysterious illness.

This episode takes us once again back to 1978, but not into the Stevenson’s home, as the trio don’t make it that far. In fact, as soon as the TARDIS lands, they become distracted by the sound of thumping disco music and follow it to a club called “Murder on the Dancefloor”. Erin and Kyle say they don’t recognise it and that it must’ve been opened recently. They all step inside, deafened by the sheer loudness of the music, to see hundreds of teenagers dancing along. Kyle makes a comment about Disco not usually being his style, quite the opposite in fact, but that this particular piece is actually quite soothing. Erin raises an eyebrow but largely ignores the comment.

As the trio join the dancefloor, they begin to dance and dance and continue again and again, without a second thought. Then suddenly, the Doctor is snapped out of it… because she notices someone falling over and collapsing. She moves over to them, as everyone else continues dancing, and then checks their pulse to find that they’re dead. The Doctor then looks around and sees it… everyone is hypnotised and that there’s something in the music, something evil…

The Doctor tries to get Erin and Kyle but they’re entirely in the music’s trance. The Doctor then pulls out a smartphone and records the music onto it, before leaving and running

back to the TARDIS. Inside the TARDIS, she analyses the soundwaves and sees that indeed the music has been altered by an algorithm in order to induce hypnotisation, which after 32 hours of exposure will kill.

Without the help of her companions, the Doctor contacts UNIT and gets through to Benton, who comes over with a taskforce to try and clear the club. They are unable to, however, as everyone still remains hypnotised and just entirely ignores them. The Doctor and Benton discuss the situation and wonder whether they could create an antidote to the hypnotisation, perhaps by creating another piece of music. Instantly the Doctor is struck by an idea… Punk Rock. She goes back into the club and puts a pair of ear defenders over Kyle and almost drags him out of the club. She then administers him some drugs and eventually he comes round. The Doctor explains the situation to which Kyle gets to work writing an antidote.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Benton continue to investigate and try to find out who set this all up. They break

PLAYLIsT

into the office, at the back, and find that the building is registered to a Victor Magister - they both look at each other and roll their eyes.

After writing his song, Kyle goes onto stage, accompanied by his band, who he’d asked to come and help out, and then performs the song. Instantly, the effect begins to become apparent as people begin to come out of the trance. Erin is one of the first and comes up on stage and joins Kyle, singing along, as the couple sing the entire club out of the trance.

The episode ends with the TARDIS trio departing as the Doctor asks Benton to be on the lookout for the Master and to let her know if he turns up.

WIDWWA

MURDeR ON THe DANCeFLOOR

THE DOCTOR SAMANTHA BOND ERIN STEVENSON MONTSERRAT LOMBARD KYLE HARRISON WILLIAM MOSELEY

BENTON JOHN LEVENE UNIT SOLDIER DEREK GRIFFITHS

WRITTEN BY ED HIME DIRECTED BY JOHN AINSWORTH

The TARDIS trio arrive in 1978 and visit a new Disco club called Murder on the Dancefloor... but when this name becomes literal, they must find an antidote!

The Bee Gees - Night Fever; Brotherhood Of Man - Figaro; John Paul Young - Love Is In The Air; Odyssey - Native New Yorker; The Jacksons - Blame It On The Boogie; Sarah Brightman & Hot Gossip - I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper

MERCHANDISE RELEASES

2 JUNE

BBC AUDIO

BBC Audio released two different releases on 2 June. The first being an audiobook reading, by Jamie Glover, of Ian Marter's Target book of The Reign of Terror, while the second was a re-release of the Doctor Who BBC Radio dramas.

Included are: 1976's Doctor Who and the Pescatons starring Tom Baker; 1976's Exploration Earth starring Tom Baker; 1985's Slipback starring Colin Baker; 1993's The Paradise of Death starring Jon Pertwee; 1996's The Ghosts of N-Space starring Jon Pertwee & 2001's The Henrick Paradox starring Richard Griffiths. Available on CD and Download.

14 JUNE

ADVENTURES!

Thethird season of Doctor Who's animated spin-off series for children, which aired on CBBC & Nickelodeon, Doctor Who: Adventures, was released on DVD & Blu-ray.

The set contained all 10-episodes of the series, which aired from January to March 2022, and starred Samantha Bond as the Doctor.

Additionally, a small selection of special features were included on the set, including footage from the Doctor Who: Adventures panel at ODWC 2021.

Like the other Doctor Who: Adventures boxsets, no audio commentaries or in-depth behind-thescenes features were included.

The DVD was priced at £14.99, while the Blu-ray set was priced at £19.99.

CHRONICLES

Released by Panini, and produced by the same team as Doctor Who Magazine, the Doctor Who Chronicles 1967, was the 5th issue in a lavish series of "bookazines" dedicated to the in-depth history of each year of Doctor Who's production.

Articles inside covered the year's most significant events both off and on screen; Doctor Who in the popular press; the Dr Who Annual; production history; merchandise; special effects; each serial transmitted in 1967 and much more.

Priced at £9.99 physically & £8.99 digitally, the 116-page "bookazine" was a must-have for any fans devoted to learning everything about the early history of the show.

ULTRA-HD DALEKS

Remastered in 4K, the 1965 feature film, starring Peter Cushing as Dr. Who, was re-released on Ultra-HD Blu-ray & Blu-ray, in a never-before-seen fashion.

Two different editions were released by Studiocanal, the owners of the two Dalek movies: a Steelbook set & a Collectors set, priced at £39.99 & £49.99, respectively.

Included in the set weren't just a gorgeous 4K remaster of the movie, but additionally new and expansive special features, looking at the film's production.

A simillar set for the 1966 sequel was released on 18 July (see below).

DALEK TARGETS

Thelatest release in the ongoing Target range, by BBC Books, gave fans novelisations of each of the two Twelfth Doctor movies, released in 2018 & 2021.

Unlike most previous releases, both books have been released on the same day, and both are by the same author. This release is the first of a series of releases BBC Books have planned in this style.

Nicholas Briggs, while not writing either film, provided Dalek voices for the former and Cyberman voices for the latter, wrote both novels over the past year.

A press-launch featuring Paterson Joseph & Nicholas Briggs took place in London on 12 July 2022.

MORE ULTRA-HD DALEKS

20 JUNE

15 JULY

The second Peter Cushing-led Dalek movie, Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., was released a month after it's predecessor on Ultra-HD Blu-ray & Blu-ray by Studiocanal.

Like the previous film, it was released as a Steelbook & a Collector's edition, priced at £39.99 & £49.99, respectively.

Both films saw a limited cinema re-release from 10 July 2022.

18 JULY

Looking Back At...

Doctor Who: Revelation

JACK MURRAY-BELL LOOKS RESPECtiVELY, fROM AN iN-UNiVERSE PERSPECtiVE, At dOCtOR WhO’SS ECONd MOViE fROM 2007

Hello and welcome to the next instalment of my lookback on the movies, this time, we'll be looking at Doctor Who: Revelation.

Let's start by going over my history with this movie. By 2007, I was already becoming a fan of Doctor Who, and I was really excited when I learned that a movie would be coming out, so my mum took me to see it, since the 12A certificate was thankfully well established by this point. I remember loving the movie when I first saw it. I later bought the Revelation DVD when it came out.

Now let's get on to the review.

The opening titles are pretty cool. While we don't get anything too exciting, I love how the combination of the music and the shot from within the hangar of a ship heading to Gallifrey gives off a tense atmosphere. Thankfully, the yellow version of the then Chapter Three logo is less of an eyesore this time.

So, the plot for the movie is okay. The concept of the Master making one last attempt to take back Gallifrey is good, but I would say that it needed a lot of work. For starters: why exactly did the Master want the Sash of Rassilon? Seriously, how does getting the sash help you become president? It's used in that ceremony when a Time Lord becomes president, but you don't become president just by stealing it. Wouldn't it

have made more sense to hold the capital hostage and hold an illegitimate ceremony. Secondly: you kidnap your enemies and you don't try to kill them? Come on, Master, you have the freaking Lord President and some of his staff in your grasp, this is no time to gloat. There were so many better ways they

could have gone about this plot.

Another problem I had with the plot was the padding. The virtual simulations could have been interesting, but they're just dull and not even remotely fun, then of course we have the big space battle, which starts out really well, but soon

drags on for far too long … fifteen minutes … FIFTEEN MINUTES!!! Are you serious? A space battle in Star Wars doesn't drag on for this long. However, there are some

FACT CHECKER

Despite Jack's assertion that the 15 m inute space battle is too long and longer than Star Wars, I've done some research revealing that the average space battle length in Star Wars (from beginning to end, including other scenes intercut with it, just like Revelation) is 20 minutes. Episode 1's lasts for 16 minutes, Episode 3's for 22 minutes, Rogue One's for 27 minutes, Episode 4's for 12 minutes, Episode 6's for 29 minutes, Episode 7's for 21 minutes, Episode 8's for 12 minutes and Episode 9's for 26 minutes.

things I did like.

Geoffrey Bayldon is once again amazing as The Master; being both intimidating and creepy while still having the character traits that have been consistent across all his incarnations.

The rest of the cast also do an amazing job as always with An-

thony Head giving a great final performance as the Eleventh Doctor.

The ending scene served as a good end to the era, and you felt really happy seeing the Doctor 'finally' being able to travel again … however, a certain spin-off that started in 2020 has completely ruined this ending for me.

And of course there’s that amazing twist with the reveal that the Master we've been following is right before Delgado, though if the Time Lord judge from The War Games is also the Master, how come we never saw his face show up during the mind-bending contest.

The visual and special effects for this movie hold up really well, with my favourite effect being how they managed to make David Paymer look like Delgado. Also loved how the Doctor regenerated while walking.

John Debney once again provides a brilliant score, as he's

done for the show. This movie also has one of my favourite renditions of the Doctor Who theme; managing to give off a creepy, John Carpenter-esque vibe.

Graeme Harper is in the director's chair this time and … it's Graeme Harper, the direction is good. Trust me, I'd just be repeating what fans have said for years.

Also since it debuted here, I'll give my thoughts on the Twelfth Doctor's console room: I like it. It's not too overcrowded, the lighting's just right and I get a warm, homely feel from this one. Also, I just can't bring myself to hate this interior, it was my first interior, so I'm nostalgic.

Overall, Doctor Who: Revelation is a pretty decent second outing for the movie franchise. Next time, I'll be looking at my personal favourite movie in the franchise: Doctor Who: Vengeance.

WIDWWA

⬅ Timothy Dalton as the Rogue

Introducing...

Back in February 2022, it was announced that WhoStudios, a new joint-venture between BBC Studios & Paramount Global, would be taking over production of the Doctor Who franchise, beginning with Doctor Who: The Time Meddlers in June, at its new production hub in Greater Manchester. With the beginning of production on Doctor Who: The Time Meddlers fast approaching, let’s take a look at how WhoStudios came to be. While announced in February 2022, the beginnings of WhoStudios were founded in July 2020 when Mal

Though entirely a secret, WhoStudios was founded in August 2021. Young’s first tasks were to set out a timetable for the franchise’s transition to WhoStudios and to commission the building of two production hubs for the company - one in the UK and one in North America.

Several seasons of Doctor Who and its spinoffs had already been formally commissioned as BBC Studios or CBS Studios productions, and instead of attempting to transfer them across to WhoStudios, Young instead decided to take advantage of the lead time that it would allow. Doctor Who

main home of the Doctor Who franchise. The Greater Manchester Hub would later be christened as “WhoStudios: The Lambert Centre”, upon the opening of Stage A and most of the office space in May 2022. Upon the Lambert Centre’s completion, in January 2023, there’d be five different sound stages with a total of 12,000m2 of space. Stage E would be home to the UK’s first AR Wall, provided by Pixomondo. A similar wall at CBS Stages Canada had been utilised by Doctor Who and Doctor Who: The New Renegade in the past year or so, to great success, and

Young was appointed as Doctor Who’s new Franchise Executive. His approach from the beginning was to build Doctor Who up as an empire, with a core brand central to its identity. Young had a desire, right from the beginning, to create an independent production house, out of which all Doctor Who productions could be made, but this took over a year of work until plans were approved by the powers-thatbe at BBC Studios and ViacomCBS.

couldn’t be produced by WhoStudios until Season 57, Doctor Who: The New Renegade wouldn’t be until Season 4 and Doctor Who: Adventures wouldn’t be until Series 5. That meant that the first production the company would undertake wouldn’t be for another year.

Soon after, WhoStudios purchased a small production hub from BBC Studioworks in Greater Manchester. The hub was to be renovated and expanded significantly as it was to become the

Young was keen to have one at the Lambert Centre. The investment could also be potentially very financially lucrative, as it’d be the only one currently in the UK, so could be rented out to other productions when it wasn’t in use by WhoStudios.

Across the pond, WhoStudios had decided to build their North American hub from scratch in Toronto. WhoStudios purchased land within the vicinity of the existing “CBS Stages Canada” where Doctor Who had shot

“His approach from the beginning was to build Doctor Who up as an empire, with a core brand central to its identity.”

several episodes and where the vast majority of Doctor Who: The New Renegade had been shot. It was to be constructed over a period of 13 months and opened its first stage in November 2022. The production hub was later christened “WhoStudios: The Newman Center”, after the show’s Canadian co-creator, Sydney Newman. For financial reasons, it was decided not to build an AR Wall at the Newman Center, as one of the few available on the planet, was just a few miles away at CBS Stages Canada, and could easily be rented. Additionally, the AR Wall at the Lambert Centre could just be used in a different production block if needed. The Newman Centre was to be significantly smaller than the Lambert Centre with just 2 stages, and a total soundstage space of 5,000m2, however, enough land had been purchased for expansion, if needed in the future.

All three television shows would be made, in some shape or form, at both the

Lambert and Newman centres, but Doctor Who and Doctor Who: Adventures would be based at the Lambert Centre while Doctor Who: The New Renegade would be based at the Newman Center.

When Doctor Who: The Time Meddlers was commissioned, in December 2021, this was the first production commissioned under WhoStudios and, with production beginning in June, it would now be the first production. As a studio sitcom, the show would require the use of Stage E, now dubbed “The Barry Letts Stage”, for pre-records, and then Stage A, now dubbed “The Mervyn Pinfield Stage” for the recording of the programme, in front of a live studio audience. This would mean that the Barry Letts Stage would have to be completed in April or May, instead of in the Autumn as planned. The actual building of the AR Wall would take about 2 months, so WhoStudios just had to ensure by February, that the soundstage was

built and kitted out, for the wall to then be constructed. The Lambert Centre was officially opened in a ribbon-cutting ceremony in May 2022 by Carole Ann Ford and Waris Hussein. A drinks reception was held that evening, with a plethora of invited Doctor Who alumni, both in front and behind the camera. The following day, the Doctor Who Production Office, led by Mal Young, officially moved from BBC Scotland to the Lambert Centre. The BBC Scotland Production Office remained open while Season 56 was being completed, both production and post-production wise, but the main base of operation was now in the Lambert Centre.

With the exception of the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the first time the Lambert Centre was seen publicly was on 17 June 2022, when it opened its doors to 200 audience members for the recording of the first episode of Doctor Who: The Time Meddlers.

SET REPORTS

17 June 2022 EPISODE ONE

When we arrived at the Lambert Centre, it looked and felt hugely different from last month, when I attended its grand opening. The shining new building was proudly on display to the media and the world, when I was last here, but arriving with 200 other Doctor Who fans, a month later, we were greeted to, what essentially ended up being, a tour of the complex’s car parks, corridors and ever-present construction sites. It was vastly different to the gleaming front entrance and lavish bar that I found myself in before.

After being herded toward the Mervyn Pinfield Stage, we were all instructed to turn off our phones before several security guards led us inside, whereby a huge rack of plastic seating had been erected. In front of us were several sets layed out next to each other, all of which were fairly impressive. One particular set will certainly get fans very excited when it goes out on air. There were two TV screens at the side of the stage, where the camera feed was to be shown, as well as any pre-records. Additionally, it was clear there were extra behind-the-scenes cameras present filming the

audience.

After about 5 minutes of waiting, Rufus Hound walked in on to the soundstage. While it hadn’t been announced publicly, Hound was to be the Time Meddlers’ warm up man. He wasn’t in the actual show, but he was there to entertain the audience before the recording began, and during any breaks in the recording, whether it be because of technical reasons or otherwise.

His routine started with a joke about degenerating back into a man before complaining that he wasn’t offered a part in the show.

About 15 minutes later, Hound left the soundstage and was replaced by the cast, led by Jo Brand, who came in to introduce themselves before leaving again. Then the lights dimmed and the first pre-record played on the television screens. The pre-record had been shot sometime in the past few weeks on AR Wall at the Barry Letts stage, and instantly generated a lot of laughs. Once it was done, Jo Brand appeared on one of the sets standing in front of us and the recording began.

The recording took about 70 minutes from beginning to end. There was a lot of stop-starting, to which Rufus

Hound delightfully entertained us. While the script was very entertaining and the characters certainly got into some funny situations, it wasn’t quite the howler that was expected. We laughed a lot in the audience but there weren’t really any “big laughs”. The script was funny; it just lacked many actual ‘gags’. Considering that, from the next episode, the series is to be penned by Steven Moffat, this is likely to change. The episode had a lot of set up to do which is to be expected from a first episode, so it doesn’t look like too much of an issue.

Following the recording, the cast all came out to do their bows and then we were ushered out of our seats and back around the Lambert Centre into the car park.

WIDWWA

AN OffiCiAL Doctor Who MagazinE REPORtER SAt AMONG thE 200 AUdiENCE MEMBERS

At thE StUdiO RECORdiNGS Of Doctor Who: the tiMe MeDDlers. thEY REPORtEd BACK A SPOiLER-fREE ACCOUNt Of EACh EVENiNG.

⬅ Rufus HoundThe Time Meddlers' warm up man!

The second episode of Doctor Who: The Time Meddlers seemed almost like a different show to the first episode; Steven Moffat’s influence is very obvious. Without giving too much away the episode was instantly classic sit-com and was a lot more restricted than the first episode, allowing for the vast majority of it being recorded live, in front of the audience, instead of the large amount of pre-records, seen last week. This episode could seem boring, at first glance,

TWO

but it allows Moffat to utilise his skillset writing very sharp dialogue between different characters, in a very restricted setting, and making it not only engaging, but a constant stream of laughter. It does suffer slightly from Moffat’s obsession with sex-related comedy, which feels slightly dated for a show that’s going to be coming out in the opening month of 2023.

Like last week, Rufus Hound was on warm-up duties, and we saw a lot of him, as the cast frequently began to mess

up their lines, toward the end of the night, especially as everyone got a fit of giggles, on more than one occasion, which wasn’t necessarily helped by Hound’s interjections… but was very funny to watch.

Overall, two-scenes were shot on the AR Wall, in pre-records, with one location scene also featuring. The rest of the episode took place entirely on the live sets in studio.

1 JULY 2022 EPISODE THREE

Once again, Doctor Who: The Time Meddlers, is entirely different from the previous week. This episode, while still largely set on the same sets as last week, used them in such a way that it felt very different. Probably over half of Episode 3 was shown in pre-records, but while some of these were on the AR Wall, the vast majority were on the sets that

were standing right in front of us. The reason why was that the sequences in which we were seeing on the monitors contained a lot of very complex camera setups and VFX and therefore necessitated the need for a pre-record to be used. They were still funny and worked well, but the acting that the actors give with a live audience, compared to the pre-records, is often different,

8 JULY 2022 EPISODE

FOUR

Episode 4 feels like the episode we’ve been waiting for every week and we’ve finally got. We finally got a fairly large number of guest actors, after mainly being confined to the main

cast for the last few episodes, and suddenly it’s given the show an entirely new life. One particular guest actor is someone who fans have wanted to see in Doctor Who for quite some time!

and it has to be pointed out that it might become more and more noticeable the more the show relies on extensive pre-records.

As far as it comes to the plot, it was very Steven Moffat and I’m still not entirely sure what was happening, but it was very entertaining to watch. Perhaps I’ll be kinder or harsher to it when it airs in January.

WIDWWA

Most of the pre-records, this time, were on the AR Wall, but these were few and far between, with most of the episode being recorded live, on the sets. Most of the sets that featured were guest sets, with

SET REPORTS

the majority of the usual sets moved elsewhere, this week.

Once again, some of the more garish aspects of Moffat’s sense of humour came to the forefront but overall the

story works well enough that it can be easily ignored.

Due to the high number of actors on set, the recording took a lot longer than usual, with a lot of outtakes and a

15 JULY 2022 EPISODE FIVE

The fifth episode is most similar to the second episode, out of all the episodes so far, mainly being bound to the same sets and playing off character comedy. It works and it works very well, with an extremely tight script, and the comic chops of the cast… but it does feel like it’s doing just another variation on what we already

saw a few weeks ago.

The sex comedy is reduced in this episode, thankfully, allowing for the humour to feel a little less dated. The humour mainly comes from quite ‘clever’ comedy, which could seem needesely very overcomplicated, but the episode recognises this and then continues to make jokes about just how complicated the plot

22 JULY 2022 EPISODE SIX

lot of breaks. Rufus Hound continued to entertain us throughout, which kept us all in good and positive spirits.

WIDWWA

is at times.

The studio recording was a lot tighter than last week, with just the regular cast present, and they all seemed a lot more at ease with each other than the recording of Episode 2, allowing for a smoother recording. This was probably the quickest of the whole lot, so far.

WIDWWA

And so we’re here, the final episode of the first series of Doctor Who: The Time Meddlers. Instantly, when I entered the Lambert Centre, I was struck by just how much it had come on since we all first arrived there, six weeks earlier. A lot of building work had taken place, since then, on the other soundstages, but not just that, things such as railings and signs and carpets had all appeared around the site, slowly over the last six weeks. We’ve also occasionally caught site of the odd actor, here and there, heading to the Doctor Who production offices for meetings, but it’d be far too spoilery to name them in this

publication.

The final episodes’ recording was probably the most fun so far. It was probably one of the longer recordings overall, but it had that “final day of school” feel and so everyone was just in really good spirits, and it was just really fun to be a part of. Steven Moffat came and introduced the episode personally, before being booted off by Rufus Hound, which was fun to watch, and he also came out at the very end during the cast bows.

The episode itself was probably the most all-over-the-place since the pilot, but it felt a lot tighter and seemed to work better than in Episode 1. A lot of pre-records were used,

especially on the AR Wall this time, but everything seemed to work fine technically and the story itself was a really fun watch.

Jo Brand as the Monk was the standout performer of the episode, really going full out Peter Butterworth this week, after giving a slightly subtler performance in previous weeks. She’s really a credit to the show and she’s 100% what makes it work as much as it does. I look forward to Series 2 with much anticipation and I can’t wait to see what shenanigans Moffat puts these characters into next…

Oh and that cliffhanger. WIDWWA

“Doctor Who was cancelled because a single department at the BBC split into two.”

⬆ Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred on the set of Ghost Light

LET'S TRAVEL TO AN ALTERNATE 1989 TO LEARN JUST HOW DOCTOR WHO WAS SAVED!

Despite it being widely accepted as fact, Doctor Who’s cancellation at the end of the 1980s was not inevitable.

Michael Grade has often been credited as “the man who cancelled Doctor Who”, and while he did indeed cancel Doctor Who, he wasn’t the man who ended the show for 15 long years. Michael Grade was appointed Controller of BBC1 in 1984 upon taking a look at BBC1’s, then, current programming, and finding Doctor Who, a programme which had been running for 21 years; had done every conceivable story under the sun and was show that he didn’t particularly like, Grade made the decision to announce the cancellation of Doctor Who. What followed was an uproar. The press ran headlines like “Down-Graded” and “Dr Who Axed in Plot by the BBC”; Grade was doorstepped on a skiing holiday; fans organised Daleks to invade Grade’s office… and then perhaps, worst of all, a charity record Doctor in Distress was produced. All of this worked and soon Grade changed his cancellation order to an 18-month hiatus and Doctor Who was back. Doctor Who was cancelled instead, four years later, in a manner which wasn’t quite so cut-and-dry.

Looking over those final four seasons of the show’s original run, there’s a tendency for people to assume the show was on its last legs. It was cancelled in

1989, after all, there must’vebeen a reason… In fact, that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Through those final years, Doctor Who seemed to enter something of a renaissance, not seen since the days of Tom Baker. A new wave of young talent, led by new Script Editor, Andrew Cartmel, had joined the show, and the stories themselves had become increasingly made-up of 3-parters, often mostly on location becoming rather grounded and grown-up in tone.

One of the things people assume about Doctor Who’s cancellation was that it was because the viewing figures were awful and while viewing figures were low, this was only really because, the new Controller of BBC1, Jonathan Powell had scheduled Doctor Who against the No.1 most popular television show in the country, at the time, Coronation Street. Compared to other shows scheduled against

the juggernaut soap opera, Doctor Who held out better than most. In fact, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to describe Doctor Who’s ratings, given the circumstances, as… healthy.

Doctor Who was not cancelled because its ratings were bad, because, simply, they weren’t. Doctor Who was not cancelled because the stories were bad, because, simply, they weren’t. Doctor Who was cancelled because a single department at the BBC split into two.

Let’s rewind.

After Sydney Newman became Head of Drama in 1963, one of the first changes he made was splitting the Drama department up into three different departments: Series, Serials & Plays. The Series department was the least prestigious, covering any ongoing series that the BBC were making year-in-year-out. The Serials department was slightly more respected, and covered serials that the BBC

⬅ Sylvester McCoy on location shooting Battlefield

made, usually as a one-off 6-part series. These would nowadays be referred to as a miniseries or a limited-series. However, the Plays department was the most well respected of them all. Although the name Plays might fool you into thinking these had something to do with the theatre, the name was simply a holdover from the early days of the BBC, and in fact it meant a one-off drama or a TV Movie, as we might call it nowadays. The most important thing to note is that during the period the BBC operated under this structure, Doctor Who was in fact part of the Serials department. Now, this might raise an eyebrow, as Doctor Who was an ongoing series. By 1980, it’d been on every year for 18 years. It was a series, surely! Well, Doctor Who was technically a series of serials, not of stand-alone episodes, and therefore the skill-set to produce the series lay with the serials department. Essentially, Doctor Who was 5 or 6 different serials a year, all being produced consecutively, by the department.

In 1980, though, the Series and the Serials departments merged into a single department Serials & Serials, while the Plays department ceased to technically exist, instead falling directly under the provision of the Head of Drama. This didn’t mean much at the time, as it was pretty much business as usual, especially as the Head of Serials became the first Head of Series & Serials, therefore the man overseeing Doctor Who, Graeme MacDonald, was the same. Over the course of the next decade, the job switched hands many times, until in 1989, Mark Shivas, the Head of Drama decided to split the Series & Serials department in-two, again. This saw the appointment of Peter

Cregeen as Head of Series and Michael Wearing as Head of Serials. If the name Peter Cregeen sounds familiar to you, that’s because he is the man who, in actuality, cancelled Doctor Who… and if you’re wondering why the Head of Series cancelled Doctor Who, when Doctor Who was firmly under the provision of the Serials department, that’s because, perhaps mistakenly, perhaps intentionally, Doctor Who was given to the Series department following the split. Before 1980, Doctor Who was overseen by the Head of Serials, from 1989, Doctor Who was overseen by the Head of Series.

The Series department, which Peter Cregeen had been handed in 1989, was a boring department. It was full of lots of lowbudget programmes which had been running for several decades, and Doctor Who was one of them. As previously stated, the Series department was considered the least prestigious and the least important to the BBC. When the departments were merged, as Series & Serials, the Series side of things was mostly ignored and allowed to continue, as things had been, as all the focus remained on the much glossier Serials. Doctor Who was now in a position where it was one of many low-budget, long running series, that the BBC weren’t proud of… and they’d just assigned a new boss to oversee these programmes, and for the first time in years, it was someone who’s full attention and focus would be on those

specific shows. Naturally, the very first thing Peter Cregeen did was look through his roster of shows and cancel all the ones which he thought had run long enough, so he could free up his budget to start up some new and fresh series, that just maybe, the BBC could be proud of. Doctor Who was piled onto that list, and therefore Peter Cregeen decided to end the show.

Having been warned about the backlash in 1985, when Michael Grade had done

“If the name Peter Cregeen sounds familiar to you, that’s because he is the man who cancelled Doctor Who…”

⬆ Peter Cregeen, Head of Series

the same, it was decided that the public announcement would be the fact the Cregeen had decided to give Doctor Who a short break and that it’d be back in due course, but Cregeen had no intention of ever commissioning it again. This allowed interest in Doctor Who to slowly die, as news of a Season 27 never arrived.

So, returning to the statement of Doctor Who’s cancellation in 1989 not being inevitable, that’s because it was only really cancelled because of a new boss coming into a new department was clearing out the old to make way for the new, and this only happened because Doctor Who was put into the Series department, following the split of the Series & Serials department. It was not a complete given that, no matter what, Doctor Who would have ended in 1989.

Let’s imagine that, following the restructuring of the BBC Drama Department, Doctor Who was placed in the Serials department under Michael Wearing, as probably should’ve happened, given its placement there for 18 years! While not much is known about Wearing’s views on Doctor Who, it is likely that in a position where he was handed a successful and popular department, with an ever-changing line-up of programmes, he would’ve just left Doctor Who alone and allowed it to continue. He had no reason to cancel it, unlike Cregeen.

So, in a world where Doctor Who found itself under the supervision of Michael Wearing in 1989, and a 27th season was commissioned, as planned.. what would’ve happened? Well, I can’t tell you for sure, as noone really knows, but I can

give you my best guess, based on all the information that we do have… and then following my best guess, I can continue to guess, based upon those guesses and the creatives now involved and what they may have done, given their style and the time period they find themselves involved with Doctor Who. Over the course of these features, we’ll be travelling from 1989 to 1998, to see my best guess at just what may just very well have happened, if Doctor Who wasn’t axed…

⬅ Michael Wearing, Head of Serials

We’ve Got Work To Do...

As Michael Wearing became John Nathan-Turner’s new boss, Doctor Who had just entered production for its first serial of Season 26, The Wolves of Fenric. While most of the focus was on the current production, due for transmission in September, Script Editor, Andrew Cartmel was already in the process of drawing up ideas for the next run of

serials.While Season 27 had not yet been formally given the green light, due to the manner of a production as complex as Doctor Who, work on each season had to begin far in advance. It was assumed that the show would be renewed, so in the months before Wearing gave the thumbs up, the production

team began to make plans. In fact, Cartmel had been making plans for this season for a number of years. Well aware that he only had 4 serials, comprising just 14x25 minute episodes, to play with, Cartmel often oversubscribed story commissions, in order to make sure that the four that did make it, each year, would be of the best quality. The stories and writers who didn’t make the cut, were often carried over to the following season, meaning that when early pre-production began, Cartmel already had several writers waiting in the wings, with fully realised stories.

Cartmel had always been keen to give new and upcoming writers a chance, often scouting the BBC Writer’s Workshop, a course run by the BBC for young writers without any formal experience. However, since 1987, Cartmel’s “new writer’s only” policy had begun to crack, with a concession to, Producer, John Nathan-Turner being that one of the four serials would be from a returning writer. While this still let three slots open, three slots was not a whole lot. Cartmel had also

Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred on location shooting Survival

built up a strong portfolio of very able writers, over his time as Script Editor, and he had grown attached to some of them, both as friends, and because he knew he could rely on them to deliver good scripts. Cartmel admitted that there was always a certain amount of babysitting that he had to do with new writers.

Some of Cartmel’s frustration with the lack of episodes available for him to work with, were voiced later that month, when John Nathan-Turner met with the new Head of Serials, Michael Wearing to discuss the programme. The meeting wasn’t particularly long and mainly served as an opportunity for Wearing to introduce himself to Nathan-Turner. However, during the meeting a few points were raised.

Firstly, Nathan-Turner expressed his desire to leave the series sometime in the not-toodistant future, which surprised Wearing as Nathan-Turner was Doctor Who. Nathan-Turner explained that he’d been with the show for a decade, and thought that it was time to move on. Wearing’s response of suggesting replacements indicated to Nathan-Turner that Doctor Who would continue, after he left, which had not been the case when he’d asked Wearing’s predecessors the same thing, several times, over the past 5 years; instead threatening to cancel the show, if Nathan-Turner departed.

He also mentioned to Wearing, in the meeting, that Sylvester McCoy was currently only contracted for his 4th season, and that he thought it’d be a good idea to get McCoy on board for a 5th, giving a new producer a ready foundation. However, Wearing was more

tentative about this, explaining that a fresh start, with new faces, in-front and behind the camera, could be just what the show needed.

Finding Wearing reasonable, Nathan-Turner did ask about possibly extending Doctor Who’s episode count, allowing for more serials to be produced per year. As Head of Serials, Wearing found the prospect of making more individual Doctor Who serials appealing, but told Nathan-Turner that it wouldn’t be possible to allocate the money unless Doctor Who managed to pick up in the ratings. Nathan-Turner asked about moving it into a more sensible slot, rather than against the most-popular programme on

television, but Wearing insisted that was the Controller of BBC1, Jonathan Powell’s prerogativea man who was heavily involved in Doctor Who’s 1985 cancellation order - so while Powell was in the job, Doctor Who was staying put.

This meeting instigated two things, firstly a healthier working relationship between John Nathan-Turner and his boss, and secondly the beginning of the search for his successor. The only problem now… Who would say “yes” to the offer?

During this period, Cartmel had stories for future seasons of Doctor Who being developed by several writers, including newcomers David A. McIntee, Neil Penswick, John Peel, Robin

“A fresh start, with new faces, infront and behind the camera, could be just what the show needed.”

⬅ Producer, John NathanTurner

Mukherjee, Edward Young and Tony Etchells, as well as previous writers, Ben Aaronovitch, Marc Platt, Ian Briggs, Stephen Wyatt and Kevin Clarke. Needless to say, Cartmel had a lot of choices.

Development on some of these stories had begun as early as 1987, while some were only beginning at the time. It wasn’t Cartmel’s main focus, at the time, as Season 26 was in-production, but he did oversee each writer develop their serials, before pre-production on Season 27 began officially.

McIntee’s serial focused around body snatching aliens who inhabited the bodies of the dead; Penswick’s a shapeshifter space-hopping thriller; Peel’s a thrilling (and expensive) Dalek serial; Mukherjee’s a psychological introspective set on an asteroid; Edward Young’s a haunting horror piece; Etchells’ a politically charged first world war epic, set in the trenches; Aaronovitch’s a Star Trek-inspired space opera and Platt’s a 1960s Ice Warrior romp. Early ideas from Ian Briggs, Stephen Wyatt and Kevin Clarke, were at this point in their very early stages, being formulated in collaboration with Cartmel.

The most advanced serial, at this point, was Robin Mukherjee’s, which was titled Alixion. This had been in development for some time, and Cartmel had commissioned this for Season 26. His practice, at the time, was to commission five serials for each season, and then carry one of them over to the next. Alixion was the script that Cartmel chose to carry over, so, all being good, its place in Season 27 was secure.

Keen to carry on his “1 old writer/3 new writers” approach, Cartmel pencilled out a rough

plan to bring Marc Platt in as the old writer, while the 3 new slots went to Robin Mukherjee, Edward Young and David A. McIntee. This wasn’t set in stone, but at this point, those were the stories that were the most developed and ready-togo. However, circumstances would soon change.

As production moved from The Wolves of Fenric to Battlefield to Survival to Ghost Light, John Nathan-Turner had begun conversations with the show’s two main stars, Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, about the following year. During these conversations, Nathan-Turner had mentioned that the next season would be his last, and that it was currently contracted as McCoy’s last too, but his contract could be extended to a fifth season, to help settle the new producer in. McCoy reaffirmed to Nathan-Turner that he had only wanted to do three-seasons in the first place, and that he was only contracted for four, because he was told, by

Nathan-Turner, that the option was 2 seasons or 4 seasons, so he had no desire to stay on for a fifth. This confirmation that McCoy’s contract would not be renewed soon made its way up the chain of command and to Wearing’s office, who approved of the decision.

With news of this reaching Andrew Cartmel’s office, shortly, he realised that considering the next season would be seeing the departure of both Sylvester McCoy and John Nathan-Turner, the two most vital elements of the show, that the character of Ace should probably be written out too. Ace had always been intended to leave fairly shortly, as she’d been a companion for three years, at this point, but this gave Cartmel the motive to begin thinking about just how Ace would be written out. He knew he wanted to make sure that her exit was a big deal to the narrative, as he

⬅ Script

Editor, Andrew Cartmel

wasn’t a fan of previous departures where companions would just sort of say “goodbye” and leave. He took these ideas back to some of the writers, most specifically the core team of experienced writers, including Aaronovitch, Platt, Briggs and Clarke, to cook up some possible ways to write out Ace.

It was around this point that Cartmel decided that he, himself, would also leave at the end of Season 27, as he decided it made sense for the entire team to make their exit together. Cartmel had been on the show for a few years now, and knew he wanted to go on to do different things, and he knew that, at the moment, he’d be able to get another Script Editor’s position, at the BBC, fairly easily.

Production on Ghost Light, and thus Season 26,

wrapped on 3 August 1989, with John Nathan-Turner moving onto handling the post-production, and promotional, side of things for Season 26, while Andrew Cartmel turned his attention to officially beginning pre-production for Season 27.

It was during this period that The Wolves of Fenric was renamed The Curse of Fenric, and there were possible questions over the season’s running order, by John Nathan-Turner, to get certain episodes to air on Halloween, but as this was only a minor issue, which would have interfered with some lines within other stories, the order of serials was kept as intended. Cartmel had amended his planned Season 27, in light of both Doctor and companion departures, to give Ian Briggs (the creator of Ace) a slot, to write Ace out. As it was as-

sumed that Ace would leave in the fourth serial of the season, Ian Briggs would, in turn, be scripting Sylvester McCoy’s regeneration story. Not wanting to lose Platt’s Ice Warrior serial, especially as Nathan-Turner was keen for the Ice Warriors to reappear, Cartmel decided to drop one of the new writers from the season’s line-up. He decided to drop, for now, David A. McIntee’s serial, as he felt that was the least developed, of the three, but also the body snatching plot could be an issue, thematically, in a season where the Doctor changes bodies. Therefore, now Season 27’s line-up of writers looked like: Robin Mukherjee, Marc Platt, Edward Young and Ian Briggs.

WIDWWA

⬅ Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred on the set of Ghost Light

COMING sOON