Doctor Who Live
Encyclopedia
Doctor Who Live is an arena stage show based on the BBC
TV programme Doctor Who
.
. It centers around Vorgenson, the Greatest Showman in the Galaxy, who with the help of his incredible invention, 'The Minimiser', can make any Doctor Who character appear on stage as part of his traveling show dedicated to his hero. The show features Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor
in pre-recorded video clips, with Nigel Planer as Vorgenson, The Inter-Galactic Showman. The show features numerous monsters from the show: the Judoon
, Clockwork Robots
, Silurians, Weeping Angels
, Ood
, Cybermen, Daleks, Scarecrows
, Winders and Smilers
.
After showing off the different monsters he has captured Vorgenson reveals that he plans to use his device to create a scenario in which the Doctor will believe that the audience is in peril, he does this by pulling Winston Churchill
from World War II
, causing a paradox and threatening the present. As Vorgenson leaves the stage, Churchill is able to take advantage of this moment by contacting the Doctor through a mobile phone, and the Doctor rushes on his way to save Winston and the audience. Once Vorgenson comes back, he manages to sends Winston back into the minimiser and then sends the Judoon into the audience to find the Doctor in case he has already arrived. The Judoon attempt to scan Voregenson (who is an alien) but he tricks them into thinking the Doctor is in the minimiser and they return to it. Vorgenson leaves. The Doctor contacts the audience and tells them that if he shouts "Geronimo!" at them they must shout it back as this will automactically bring the TARDIS to the Doctor. A beep on the TARDIS screen troubles the Doctor and he turns to the audience and warns them that a group of Weeping Angels
have escaped from the minimiser and he warns the audience not to blink before leaving. A weeping angel appears on the big screen in a neutral position, staying there for a few minutes. Suddenly, the audience is distracted by a group of policemen entering from the back of the theatre, informing the audience to stay in their seats, and revealing that they were alerted by an anonymous tipoff. The police walk onto the stage and are picked off one-by-one by two new angels that have appeared next to the screen. Vorgenson comes back onscreen, and he sends the angels are sent back into the minimiser with Vorgenson joking that the police were collateral damage. The Doctor appears and tells Vorgenson that it is his last chance to shut down the minimiser and that if he doesn't, the Doctor will. Vorgenson, in a shock twist of events, manages to trap the Doctor himself inside of the minimiser. Before Vorgenson leaves, he yells to the audience that there is something else going on and someone else is behind all this but Vorgenson turns off the screen and leaves, ending the first act.
Some of the scarecrows entertain the audience during the interval.
The second act starts immediately with the Cybermen being released into the audience, which features a sequence that a man is thrown into the minimiser and is "upgraded
" into a Cyberman himself. Afterwards, the Daleks appear, and they reveal that they were the ones that gave Vorgenson the concept for the minimiser by projecting the ideas into his dreams, and then they capture the Doctor, who was trapped in the Minimiser by Vorgenson in the first act, and they imprison him inside of a box on the stage. From the box, The Doctor manages to send out Cybermen from the Minimiser, and they engage in battle with the Daleks. At first, it seems that the Daleks have the upper hand, as they manage to destroy one of the Cybermen, but they then reveal that they had upgraded their own technology, which allowed them to overpower the Daleks. Realising that they can't win, the Daleks all retreat into the minimiser, and it seems that their evil plan has been stopped once and for all. The Doctor escapes from the box, and Vorgenson comes to apologize to the Doctor for everything he's done. The Doctor reveals that he's released all of the monsters that Vorgenson had trapped, with the exception of the Daleks themselves, and then offers to send Vorgenson back to his own planet. Suddenly, it is revealed that one of the Daleks managed to sneak away during the confrontation, and it threatens the Doctor and the audience. The Doctor then calls on the audience to shout out "Geranimo" with him, which allows for the Tardis to appear. The Tardis overpowers the lone Dalek, and it is sent far away. The show ends with the Doctor thanking the audience, and leaving on his Tardis.
decided to develop a live Doctor Who concert tour. Around Christmas 2009, Worldwide approached Will Brenton, creator of Tweenies
, to direct the show. Brenton, who had experience with large arena-based shows (including a Thomas the Tank Engine
live experience), decided that the performance would need more narrative thrust and live engagement with the audience. In discussions with Doctor Who executive producer Steven Moffat
, Brenton proposed a "Jurassic Park
kind of feel, with this character who's reeling out these characters"; Moffat suggested that the show could follow on from elements of the 1973 Doctor Who television serial Carnival of Monsters
, which featured an interstellar showman who kept different monsters miniaturised for entertainment. Doctor Who writer Gareth Roberts
was brought on to co-write the show's script with Brenton. Ben Foster
, who orchestrates Murray Gold
's compositions for the television programme, developed the musical component of the show, and conducts the 16-piece band.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV programme Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
.
Plot
The live show is an implied sequel to the 1973 Doctor Who television episode Carnival of MonstersCarnival of Monsters
Carnival of Monsters is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 27 January to 17 February 1973....
. It centers around Vorgenson, the Greatest Showman in the Galaxy, who with the help of his incredible invention, 'The Minimiser', can make any Doctor Who character appear on stage as part of his traveling show dedicated to his hero. The show features Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor
Eleventh Doctor
The Eleventh Doctor is the eleventh incarnation of the protagonist of the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. Matt Smith plays this incarnation, replacing David Tennant's Tenth Doctor in the 2010 episode "The End of Time, Part Two"...
in pre-recorded video clips, with Nigel Planer as Vorgenson, The Inter-Galactic Showman. The show features numerous monsters from the show: the Judoon
Judoon
The Judoon are a fictional extraterrestrial species of mercenary police from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-offs. They first appeared in the episode Smith and Jones in 2007....
, Clockwork Robots
The Girl in the Fireplace
"The Girl in the Fireplace" is the fourth episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 6 May 2006, and is the only episode in the 2006 series written by Steven Moffat...
, Silurians, Weeping Angels
Weeping Angels
The Weeping Angels are a fictional ancient race of aliens from the Doctor Who television series, featured in the Tenth Doctor episode "Blink", and the Eleventh Doctor episodes "The Time of Angels", "Flesh and Stone" and in a cameo appearance in Series 6's "The God Complex"...
, Ood
Ood
The Ood are a fictional alien species with telepathic abilities from the long running science fiction series Doctor Who. In the series' narrative, they live in the distant future ....
, Cybermen, Daleks, Scarecrows
Human Nature (Doctor Who)
Human Nature is an original novel written by Paul Cornell, from a plot by Cornell and Kate Orman, and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The novel was also serialised in e-book form on the BBC Doctor Who website, but was removed from the site in 2010...
, Winders and Smilers
The Beast Below
"The Beast Below" is the second episode of the fifth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was written by showrunner Steven Moffat and broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 10 April 2010....
.
After showing off the different monsters he has captured Vorgenson reveals that he plans to use his device to create a scenario in which the Doctor will believe that the audience is in peril, he does this by pulling Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
from World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, causing a paradox and threatening the present. As Vorgenson leaves the stage, Churchill is able to take advantage of this moment by contacting the Doctor through a mobile phone, and the Doctor rushes on his way to save Winston and the audience. Once Vorgenson comes back, he manages to sends Winston back into the minimiser and then sends the Judoon into the audience to find the Doctor in case he has already arrived. The Judoon attempt to scan Voregenson (who is an alien) but he tricks them into thinking the Doctor is in the minimiser and they return to it. Vorgenson leaves. The Doctor contacts the audience and tells them that if he shouts "Geronimo!" at them they must shout it back as this will automactically bring the TARDIS to the Doctor. A beep on the TARDIS screen troubles the Doctor and he turns to the audience and warns them that a group of Weeping Angels
Weeping Angels
The Weeping Angels are a fictional ancient race of aliens from the Doctor Who television series, featured in the Tenth Doctor episode "Blink", and the Eleventh Doctor episodes "The Time of Angels", "Flesh and Stone" and in a cameo appearance in Series 6's "The God Complex"...
have escaped from the minimiser and he warns the audience not to blink before leaving. A weeping angel appears on the big screen in a neutral position, staying there for a few minutes. Suddenly, the audience is distracted by a group of policemen entering from the back of the theatre, informing the audience to stay in their seats, and revealing that they were alerted by an anonymous tipoff. The police walk onto the stage and are picked off one-by-one by two new angels that have appeared next to the screen. Vorgenson comes back onscreen, and he sends the angels are sent back into the minimiser with Vorgenson joking that the police were collateral damage. The Doctor appears and tells Vorgenson that it is his last chance to shut down the minimiser and that if he doesn't, the Doctor will. Vorgenson, in a shock twist of events, manages to trap the Doctor himself inside of the minimiser. Before Vorgenson leaves, he yells to the audience that there is something else going on and someone else is behind all this but Vorgenson turns off the screen and leaves, ending the first act.
Some of the scarecrows entertain the audience during the interval.
The second act starts immediately with the Cybermen being released into the audience, which features a sequence that a man is thrown into the minimiser and is "upgraded
Cyberman
The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of humanoids originating on Earth's twin planet Mondas that began to implant more...
" into a Cyberman himself. Afterwards, the Daleks appear, and they reveal that they were the ones that gave Vorgenson the concept for the minimiser by projecting the ideas into his dreams, and then they capture the Doctor, who was trapped in the Minimiser by Vorgenson in the first act, and they imprison him inside of a box on the stage. From the box, The Doctor manages to send out Cybermen from the Minimiser, and they engage in battle with the Daleks. At first, it seems that the Daleks have the upper hand, as they manage to destroy one of the Cybermen, but they then reveal that they had upgraded their own technology, which allowed them to overpower the Daleks. Realising that they can't win, the Daleks all retreat into the minimiser, and it seems that their evil plan has been stopped once and for all. The Doctor escapes from the box, and Vorgenson comes to apologize to the Doctor for everything he's done. The Doctor reveals that he's released all of the monsters that Vorgenson had trapped, with the exception of the Daleks themselves, and then offers to send Vorgenson back to his own planet. Suddenly, it is revealed that one of the Daleks managed to sneak away during the confrontation, and it threatens the Doctor and the audience. The Doctor then calls on the audience to shout out "Geranimo" with him, which allows for the Tardis to appear. The Tardis overpowers the lone Dalek, and it is sent far away. The show ends with the Doctor thanking the audience, and leaving on his Tardis.
Conception and development
After the success of the first Doctor Who Prom, BBC WorldwideBBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. In the year to 31 March 2010 it made a profit of £145m on a turnover of £1.074bn. The company had made a profit of £106m...
decided to develop a live Doctor Who concert tour. Around Christmas 2009, Worldwide approached Will Brenton, creator of Tweenies
Tweenies
Tweenies was a television programme aimed at young children, broadcast on the BBC's Cbeebies channel.-Overview:The programme was created by Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton, a pair with a track record of being involved in BBC children's programming...
, to direct the show. Brenton, who had experience with large arena-based shows (including a Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional steam locomotive in The Railway Series books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher. He became the most popular character in the series, and the accompanying television spin-off series, Thomas and Friends.Thomas is a tank engine, painted blue...
live experience), decided that the performance would need more narrative thrust and live engagement with the audience. In discussions with Doctor Who executive producer Steven Moffat
Steven Moffat
Steven Moffat is a Scottish television writer and producer.Moffat's first television work was the teen drama series Press Gang. His first sitcom, Joking Apart, was inspired by the breakdown of his first marriage; conversely, his later sitcom Coupling was based upon the development of his...
, Brenton proposed a "Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (franchise)
The Jurassic Park franchise is a series of books, films, comics, and videos centering on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs...
kind of feel, with this character who's reeling out these characters"; Moffat suggested that the show could follow on from elements of the 1973 Doctor Who television serial Carnival of Monsters
Carnival of Monsters
Carnival of Monsters is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 27 January to 17 February 1973....
, which featured an interstellar showman who kept different monsters miniaturised for entertainment. Doctor Who writer Gareth Roberts
Gareth Roberts (writer)
Gareth John Pritchard Roberts is a British television screenwriter and novelist, best known for his work related to the science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
was brought on to co-write the show's script with Brenton. Ben Foster
Ben Foster (orchestrator)
Ben Foster is a British composer, orchestrator and conductor who is best known for his work as an orchestrator on the BBC series Doctor Who.- Career :...
, who orchestrates Murray Gold
Murray Gold
Murray Gold is an English composer for stage, film, and television and a dramatist for both theatre and radio.-Television:Gold has been nominated for a BAFTA four times in the category Best Original Television Music, for Vanity Fair , Queer as Folk , Casanova and Doctor Who...
's compositions for the television programme, developed the musical component of the show, and conducts the 16-piece band.
Tour
The show is scheduled to visit arenas in 9 UK cities in October and November 2010:| Tour schedule | ||
|---|---|---|
| City | Venue | Dates |
| London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
Wembley Arena Wembley Arena Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:... |
8–10 October |
| Sheffield Sheffield Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely... |
Sheffield Arena | 12–13 October |
| Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands... |
Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre , located on the north bank of the River Clyde, in Glasgow, is Scotland's largest exhibition centre.... |
15–17 October |
| Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... |
National Indoor Arena National Indoor Arena The National Indoor Arena is a large indoor arena and is owned by the NEC Group. It is situated in central Birmingham, England and was opened in 1991, as the largest indoor arena at the time in the UK... |
18–20 October |
| Manchester Manchester Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater... |
Manchester Evening News Arena Manchester Evening News Arena The Manchester Evening News Arena is an indoor arena situated in Manchester, England. It is adjacent to Manchester Victoria station near Corporation Street... |
22–24 October |
| Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group... |
Trent FM Arena | 25–26 October |
| Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for... |
Cardiff International Arena Cardiff International Arena The Cardiff International Arena was opened on 10 September 1993, by Shirley Bassey, in front of 5,500 fans. On 1 March 2011, the Cardiff International Arena was officially renamed Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, after the car sales company with a branch in Newport bought the naming rights to the Cardiff... |
28–31 October |
| Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880... |
Echo Arena Liverpool | 2–3 November |
| Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly... |
Odyssey Arena Odyssey (Belfast) The Odyssey Arena is a large sports and entertainment centre situated in Titanic Quarter, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was jointly funded by the Millennium Commission, the Laganside Corporation, the DCAL, the Sheridan Group and the Sports Council for Northern Ireland. The Arena opened in 2000 with... |
6–7 November |