List of unmade Doctor Who serials and films
Encyclopedia
During the long history of the British
science fiction television
programme Doctor Who
, a number of stories were proposed but, for a variety of reasons, never fully produced. Below is a list of unmade serials which the BBC
had intended to produce, were submitted by recognised professional writers, or had been the subject of a feature in Doctor Who Magazine
or other professional periodicals or books.
Such serials exist during the tenure of each of the previous ten incarnations
of the Doctor
. The reasons for the serials being incomplete include strike action
(which caused the partially-filmed Shada to be abandoned), actors leaving roles (The Final Game, which was cancelled after Roger Delgado
's death), and the series being put on hiatus twice—once in 1985, and again in 1989—causing the serials planned for the following series to be shelved.
The plots of the unmade serials also vary. A theme of a civilisation where women are dominant was proposed twice—once for The Hidden Planet, and again for The Prison in Space. In some cases, elements of unmade serials were adapted, or were moved from one serial to another; for example, The Song of the Space Whale was intended to be the introduction of Vislor Turlough
until it was repeatedly set back, leading Mawdryn Undead
to be Turlough's first appearance.
Some unused stories have found use in other media. Shada was made into an audio play of the same name, while several unmade serials have been compiled into an audio series released by Big Finish
called The Lost Stories
.
, and would concern the four main characters (at that point named as the Doctor, Cliff, Lola, and Biddy) being shrunk to a "miniature size" and attacked by giant animals. The episode would have revealed that the Doctor had escaped from "his own galaxy" in the year 5733, seeking a perfect society in the past, and that he was pursued by agents from his own time who sought to prevent him from stopping their society from coming into being.
The story was rejected in June 1963 on the grounds that the story was too thin on characterisation
and that the giant monsters would be clichéd and too expensive to produce. Much of the setup was retained for An Unearthly Child
, though the details about the Doctor's home were removed. The story's premise was reused for a submission by Robert Gould which was to be the fourth serial, but this story was dropped in January 1964. The third attempt to use a miniaturisation story was accepted for the second series opener, Planet of Giants
.
for Series 1, but never produced, in which the Doctor faces a self-aware robot which is trying to gain a soul. Titan Books
published the unused scripts in 1992. Major differences in style between these scripts and the transmitted series include a religious subtext, with the Doctor clearly presented as a believer.
. In the story, the Doctor and his companions are framed for murder as part of a conspiracy to kill Alexander the Great and must pass a number of trials, including walking on hot coals, to gain the trust of his bodyguard Ptolemy
.
The script was published by Nothing at the End of the Lane in October 2009.
Big Finish Productions
released an audio adaptation, an enhanced audiobook, performed by William Russell
and Carole Ann Ford
as Ian Chesterton
and Susan Foreman
. This was the first in their second series of Lost Stories
, released in November 2010.
Big Finish Productions have released an enhanced audiobook adaptation, performed by William Russell and Carole Ann Ford as Ian Chesterton and Susan Foreman. It was released with Farewell Great Macedon as part of their Lost Stories
series, in November 2010.
had intended for his second serial to be set during the British Raj in India, but the story was ultimately abandoned as the Daleks became a success, and demand for further adventures grew.
was at one point to be the second serial of Series 2. The story would have concerned a planet in an orbit opposite Earth's, with a parallel but in some ways opposite society to ours; for example, women were to be the dominant sex. The original script was sent back for rewrites, and due to a pay dispute the rewrites were not made until after Susan had left the series; this necessitated further rewriting. A third submission was similarly rejected as Ian and Barbara
were due to leave, and the script was dropped.
The story has at times also been stated to have had the title Beyond The Sun; however this was actually a working title for The Daleks
, an early serial from season 1 of Doctor Who. Later in the 1970s it would be used for The Edge of Destruction
. The idea of a "twin planet" for Earth was used in The Tenth Planet
, which was another suggested title for this story, while a female-dominated society was used as background for the Drahvins in the 1965 serial Galaxy 4
(and would be proposed again for The Prison in Space).
was to concern a space station overrun by Imp
-like aliens and aggressive alien vegetation. The script had to be rewritten to accommodate new companion Jamie
; due to sickness on the part of Emms, this took so long that further rewrites were needed to explain the loss of Ben and Polly
.
Emms reused elements of the story in Mission to Venus, a Choose Your Own Adventure
-style story featuring the Sixth Doctor
.
returned to the idea of a female-dominated planet. The Doctor and Jamie were to be imprisoned, and Zoe was to start a sexual revolution
and then be brainwashed. The story was intended to inject humour into the show, and was to feature Jamie in drag
and end with the Doctor deprogramming
Zoe by smacking her bottom.
The serial was rewritten to accommodate Frazer Hines
' desire to leave, and again when he decided to stay. The production team became unhappy with the serial, and when Sharples refused to perform further rewrites, the serial was dropped and replaced by The Krotons
.
Big Finish Productions have released an audio adaptation as part of their Lost Stories
series. The adaptation, an enhanced audiobook, is performed by Frazer Hines
and Wendy Padbury
as Jamie and Zoe.
In 2011, an illustrated scriptbook was released by Nothing at the End of the Lane which included the original story and behind the scenes material.
references a serial entitled Doctor Who and the Impersonators which was scheduled to precede The War Games. The serial was cancelled and its production budget allocated to The War Games, allowing it to be expanded to 10 episodes.
s after a five year absence. Little is known about the exact storyline of the Robert Sloman
serial, other than the fact that it would have had some similarities to The Dalek Invasion of Earth
, except set in contemporary London
.
This similarity caused the production team some concern, and producer Barry Letts
eventually decided that he would rather start the series with a Dalek adventure instead of ending it with one. An unrelated submission by Louis Marks
was therefore rewritten into Day of the Daleks
, and The Time Monster
was commissioned to replace the original series finale.
. The story was to feature the Master
, and to reveal that he and the Doctor were two aspects of the same individual—the Doctor being the ego
(the intellectual part), while the Master was the id
(the instinctive, violent part). The story was to end with the Master dying in a manner which suggested that he was trying to save the Doctor's life.
The actor who played the Master, Roger Delgado
, was killed in a car accident in Turkey
in mid-1973, forcing the scrapping of the story. The story was replaced by Planet of the Spiders
.
on screen in The Deadly Assassin
, producer Graham Williams
commissioned another Gallifrey story from writer David Weir. Weir's script, a six-part story entitled Killers of the Dark, would have concluded Series 15 in 1978. Weir's script had elements drawn from Asian cultures, and included a race of cat-people native to Gallifrey. Scenes included a gladiatorial duel in a stadium filled with cat-people.
Script editor Anthony Read
and director Gerald Blake
, upon reading the finished script, determined that the story would be impossible to shoot on Doctor Whos budget. With only two weeks to spare before filming, Read and Williams quickly co-wrote a replacement script—The Invasion of Time
.
When asked about Weir's story at a fan convention years later, Williams could not recall its title and made up the name The Killer Cats of Geng Singh, by which title the story became widely known in fan circles.
, a frequent collaborator with script editor Douglas Adams
, adapted material from his unpublished science fiction story GiGax and in October 1978 submitted The Doomsday Contract, a four-episode serial written in Adams' light-hearted style. In it, the Doctor is called to intervene when a corporation tries to buy Earth in order to obtain a matter-transmutation device.
Lloyd was asked to modify several elements of the script, and in January 1979 was forced to abandon the project in order to fulfil his commitments as producer of Not the Nine O'Clock News
. With Lloyd's permission, Adams brought in Allan Prior
to complete the project, but his scripts were rejected. Adams contacted another writer to complete the story for Series 18 under the title Shylock, but no progress had been made by the time Adams left the series.
The story was later remade as a webcast production featuring Paul McGann
's Eighth Doctor
and a Big Finish audio story (also featuring the Eighth Doctor), while Adams himself reused elements from the serial for his first Dirk Gently
book Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
.
, author of the unproduced Farewell Great Macedon script, was officially commissioned by producer Graham Williams
to write a four-episode teleplay entitled The Divided. The script was not produced and Farhi no longer recalls what it was about; the script itself is lost.
and Andrew McCulloch
. It was not intended to follow on directly from the events of Logopolis
; instead, the Doctor and his companions would have already left Earth. The story was to concern nuclear disarmament
. The script proved unworkable, and producer John Nathan-Turner
commissioned Logopolis writer Christopher H. Bidmead
to write a replacement, Castrovalva. This also disrupted the shooting schedule, and Castrovalva was the fourth serial filmed, though it was the first transmitted.
in the third serial of Season 20. The story concerned a group of people living in the belly of a giant whale in space. The Doctor would find this out while attempting to protect the creature from being slaughtered by a rusting factory ship. The castaways living in the whale, as well as the ship's captain, would be working class
characters, with the former's dialogue being based on that of a working-class Northern Irish family that 2000 AD
author Pat Mills
knew.
The script was originally pitched by Mills and his writing partner John Wagner
in 1980 as a Fourth Doctor story. Although the script editor at the time, Anthony Read
, was not interested in the story, Mills and Wagner continued to update the script. The script was commissioned as a Fifth Doctor
story in December 1982, but Wagner left the project and Mills' disagreements with new script editor Eric Saward
led to the script being delayed until it was too late to serve as Turlough's introductory story. The script was considered for Series 21 and 22, and was at one point in competition with the script that became Vengeance on Varos
, but it was ultimately rejected in July 1985.
During the writing, Mills and Saward "fundamentally disagreed" on the character of the captain (Saward wanting a more Star Trek
-type figure) and the dialogue for the castaways. Mills has said that "there was a Coronation Street
quality to it that Eric felt didn't work in space. He thought the future would be classless, and I didn't."
The story has been adapted for audio by Big Finish Productions as part of their series The Lost Stories
. Renamed The Song of Megaptera
and featuring the Sixth Doctor and Peri
, it was released in May 2010.
, Eric Saward requested that writer Christopher Bailey
devise another story. The initial outline for May Time was comissioned on 24 August 1982 and was about the Doctor and his companions arriving at the court of Byzantium. Full scripts were comissioned on September 16 1982 with the new title Manwatch, but the scripts were dropped from production for unclear reasons. A second attempt at the story under the title The Children of Seth was attempted as a story for the Sixth Doctor and had scripts comissioned on 15 August 1983 and failed because of Bailey's failure to devise a structure for the new doctor's new 45 minute episode format and a tangible villan for the Doctor to face. It has been adapted to audio by Marc Platt
for Big Finish Productions' third series of The Lost Stories, to be released in 2012, and features the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa.
, when the series resumed in September 1986.
Three of these– The Nightmare Fair
, The Ultimate Evil
, and Mission to Magnus
—were subsequently novelized by Target Books
appearing from 1989.
Yellow Fever, and How to Cure It was a three-episode story by Robert Holmes
that would have taken place in Singapore
and featured the Autons as the monsters with either the Rani
, the Master
, or both appearing. Holmes reportedly only completed a story outline before Series 23 was canceled.
Gallifrey was a Pip and Jane Baker
script that reportedly would have dealt with the destruction of the Doctor's aforementioned home planet
; this script was replaced by the Trial of a Time Lord arc, while the concept of Gallifrey's destruction was briefly revived for the proposed interregnum feature film version of Doctor Who before being incorporated into the Doctor's backstory
beginning in the 2005 series.
Other stories put forward for Series 23 included The Hollows of Time, a two-episode story by Christopher H. Bidmead
; a two-episode script of an unknown title submitted by Bill Pritchard
; and The Children of January, a two-episode script by Michael Feeney Callan
which was submitted in competition against Pritchard's script for the final available serial of the series.
Several of these stories are to be adapted by Big Finish Productions for their The Lost Stories
audio series. These include The Nightmare Fair, Mission to Magnus and The Hollows of Time
, as well as lesser known stories, Leviathan
, Point of Entry and The Macros
(originally titled The Macro Men).
.
Paradise 5
was adapted for audio as part of Big Finish Productions' Lost Stories
series. The trial elements are removed and Mel has been replaced with Peri. P.J. Hammond would later become a writer for Torchwood
.
intended to chronicle the Doctor's first meeting with Melanie Bush
in a later episode, presumably during Series 24. The subsequent dismissal of Colin Baker
from the role of the Doctor rendered this potential storyline moot, although the later novel Business Unusual
would attempt to fill in this gap in the show's continuity.
proposed a serial for Series 26 inspired by Leo Tolstoy
's War and Peace
, concerning aliens looking for their God-King in Tsarist Russia
. His idea was rejected in favour of a story that became Ghost Light
.
Other serials under consideration, submitted, or commissioned included:
Big Finish Productions has produced audio adaptations of several of the Season 27 scripts as part of their Lost Stories
releases. The safecracking companion (who was never named during the planning for Season 27) has been named Raine Creevey and she is portrayed by Beth Chalmers.
to play the part of the villain, Hawkspur.
The production did not occur, in part due to problems between the BBC and BBC Enterprises, and the difficulty in coordinating the short appearances of the other actors. Instead, the anniversary was celebrated with the light-hearted (and widely regarded as non-canonical
) charity special, Dimensions in Time
.
had Amblin Entertainment
produced a writers' bible which detailed John Leekley
's proposed pilot and episodes of a new series. The new series would have established a new continuity rather than following on from the classic series, and the bible reused many elements from the classic series. It is unclear whether clearance could have been obtained for all the episodes detailed, as the costs would likely have fallen to the BBC.
The pilot was to feature the half-human Doctor seeking his father, Ulysses, through various time periods—contemporary Gallifrey (where Borusa dies and is merged with the TARDIS
, and the Master
becomes leader of the Time Lords), England
during the Blitz
, Ancient Egypt
, and Skaro
(where the Daleks are being created
). A writer for Doctor Who Magazine, when reviewing the Revisitations boxset from 2010 (which included special editions of "The Talons of Weng Chiang", "The Caves of Androzani", and the TV Movie), described the proposed idea as "a self-mythologizing guff".
Other proposed episodes in the bible included The Pirates, in which the Doctor teamed up with Blackbeard
, and several remakes of stories from the classic series, including
Earlier versions of the bible included, among them:
Leekley's scripts were not well-received at Amblin or elsewhere; and in September 1994, he was removed from the project.
, this episode was intended for episode 11 of series 1
. With Jack Harkness
having joined the Ninth Doctor
and Rose Tyler
, Rose feels left out. But when they land in Pompeii in 79 AD, Jack discovers that Rose's life has been manipulated by the Doctor in an experiment to create the perfect companion. Abbot's commitment to Shameless and other projects led to him dropping out of the episode and Russell T Davies took over, before scrapping the idea and writing "Boom Town
" in its place.
, concerned Queen Victoria getting an alien insect in her eye.
For the same series, episode 11 involved a villain who has discovered how to drain things of their beauty, and has reduced his planet to a sterile grey landscape.
, set in the 1920s. Rumours appeared on the BBC's websites shortly after the airing of the new Series 1 and the story was pencilled in as the tenth episode of Series 2. According to a video diary entry by David Tennant
, Fry attended the very first cast read-through for Series 2, indicating that his script was still under consideration at that point. Due to budgetary constraints, the episode was moved to Series 3 and replaced by Fear Her
.
The story was subsequently abandoned, as Fry did not have spare time for the rewriting necessary to replace Rose
with Martha
. Fry said, "They asked me to do a series and I tried, but I just ran out of time, and so I wrote a pathetic letter of "I'm sorry I can't do this" to Russell Davies."
for Series 3 of the revised show. The Doctor was to appear on a live broadcast of Most Haunted
, investigating a house haunted by the "Red Widow", with Martha Jones
watching at home as a framing device. The episode did not fit into the production schedule, and was reworked such that the show was watched by Donna Noble
and her mother Sylvia.
Due to dissatisfaction with the premise, and to avoid two comedic episodes in the same series, the episode was dropped and replaced with Russell T Davies' Midnight
.
This episode was written by Mark Gatiss
and planned to air in the fourth series of Doctor Who, but was replaced by The Fires of Pompeii
. Elements of the story were later reused in Stephen Moffat's The Big Bang
, the finale of Series 5
.
, an alien creature attaches itself to author J.K. Rowling. Suddenly, the real world is replaced by a magical reality influenced by the writer's own imagination. The Doctor must battle witches and wizards to reach Rowling and put the world to rights.
have been proposed, including one featuring Professor George Litefoot
and Henry Gordon Jago
from The Talons of Weng Chiang, and a children's show featuring "Young Doctor Who" which was vetoed by Russell T Davies and replaced by The Sarah Jane Adventures
. The following is the remainder of the proposed but eventually cancelled spin-off productions of the series:
wrote a 30-minute teleplay entitled The Destroyers as a possible pilot episode
for an American-produced spin-off of Doctor Who. Like Doctor Who, the untitled series would have had a serial format and focus on the adventures of the SSS, an organization that finds itself battling the Daleks. Lead characters included agents Captain Jack Corey, David Kingdom, his sister Sara Kingdom
, and an android named Mark Seven.
Although the show went unproduced, elements of this teleplay (and in particular, Sara Kingdom) was earlier used in The Daleks' Master Plan
. Big Finish Productions released an audio adaptation in December 2010 as part of their Lost Stories
series, packaged with The Prison in Space.
was planned by Canadian animation house Nelvana
which was to feature an unspecified Doctor who incorporated elements of various BBC series Doctors.
Concept art was prepared depicting several possible versions of the Doctor as well as K-9, an unnamed companion, Daleks, Cybermen and few new characters but the project did not proceed further and no pilot was produced.
was approached to return to the series as Sarah Jane Smith
, but resisted the offer. Following the outcry after K-9
was removed from the show, producer John Nathan-Turner
proposed a spin-off featuring the two characters.
A single episode, "A Girl's Best Friend", was produced as a pilot for a proposed series, and broadcast by BBC1 as a Christmas special on 28 December 1981, but the series was not taken up. The basic premise of a series centered on Sarah Jane Smith was reused in the Sarah Jane Smith
audio series and in The Sarah Jane Adventures
just over 25 years later.
would leave the series at the end of Series 2, executive producer and head writer Russell T Davies considered giving her character Rose Tyler
her own 90-minute spin-off production, Rose Tyler: Earth Defence, with the possibility of such a special becoming an annual Bank Holiday
event.
The special would have picked up from Rose's departure in Doomsday
in which Rose joins the Torchwood Institute
of a parallel Earth and the title is a play on what the Doctor says when she tells him. The special was officially commissioned by Peter Fincham
, the Controller of BBC One
, and assigned a production budget.
Davies changed his mind while filming Piper's final scenes for Series 2 of Doctor Who
, later calling Earth Defence "a spin-off too far" and deciding that for the audience to be able to see Rose when the Doctor could not would spoil the ending of Doomsday, and the production was cancelled. Davies said Piper had been told about the idea, but the project ended before she was formally approached about starring in it. The plot element of Tyler working with Torchwood to defend the earth would be revisited towards the end of Series 4 in 2008.
were produced based upon the television series. Since then, there have been periodic further attempts to adapt Doctor Who as a feature film.
) version of the character, Dr. Who, appeared in two films—Dr. Who and the Daleks
(a major box-office success in America, long before the television series aired there, and based upon The Daleks
) and Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD
(based upon The Dalek Invasion of Earth
). The second film failed to replicate the box-office success in America of the first film, and as a result plans for a third Cushing film—an adaptation of The Chase
—were cancelled.
and Ian Marter
(who played Harry Sullivan
in the series and later novelised several Doctor Who scripts for Target Books) wrote a script for a Doctor Who film, Doctor Who meets Scratchman.
The script, sometimes titled Doctor Who and the Big Game, saw the Doctor encounter the Daleks, meet the Devil known as Harry Scratch or Scratchman, robots known as Cybors, scarecrows made from bones, the Greek god Pan, and at times Vincent Price
and Twiggy
were associated with the production to play as the villain Harry Scratch and a possible new female companion after Elisabeth Sladen left the TV series. The finale of the film was to have taken place on a giant pinball table, with the Doctor, Harry and Sarah dodging balls as well as battling Daleks on the board.
During his tenure as the Fourth Doctor
, Baker repeatedly tried to attract funding for the film. At one point, he received substantial donations from fans, but after taking legal advice was forced to return them. The plans were eventually dropped.
A feature article about the film was featured in Doctor Who Magazine
issue 379 including the full screenplay of the story.
at one point prepared a submission for a Doctor Who film, Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen.
Elements of Krikkitmen were used in the Key to Time story arc, for which Adams wrote a story, and Krikkitmen was reworked as the third Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book Life, the Universe and Everything
.
, in his book The Nth Doctor, profiles a number of film proposals, some of which came close to being produced. Ultimately, however, the only film version of Doctor Who (other than the two Cushing films) produced to date has been the 1996 made-for-TV film which was developed as a continuation of the TV series rather than a reboot or reimagining of the concept. At one point, the film had the full working title, Doctor Who: The Last of the Time Lords.
Among the script proposals profiled by Lofficier are several submissions by Space: 1999
alumnus Johnny Byrne, plus others by Robert DeLaurentis, Adrian Rigelsford
, John Leekley
, Mark Ezra and Denny Martin Flinn.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
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...
, a number of stories were proposed but, for a variety of reasons, never fully produced. Below is a list of unmade serials which the BBC
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...
had intended to produce, were submitted by recognised professional writers, or had been the subject of a feature in Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
or other professional periodicals or books.
Such serials exist during the tenure of each of the previous ten incarnations
Regeneration (Doctor Who)
Regeneration, in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, is a biological ability exhibited by Time Lords, a race of fictional humanoids originating on the planet Gallifrey. This process allows a Time Lord who is old or mortally wounded to undergo a transformation into a new...
of the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
. The reasons for the serials being incomplete include strike action
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
(which caused the partially-filmed Shada to be abandoned), actors leaving roles (The Final Game, which was cancelled after Roger Delgado
Roger Delgado
Roger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado Torres Castillo Roberto was an English actor, best known for his role as the first Master in Doctor Who....
's death), and the series being put on hiatus twice—once in 1985, and again in 1989—causing the serials planned for the following series to be shelved.
The plots of the unmade serials also vary. A theme of a civilisation where women are dominant was proposed twice—once for The Hidden Planet, and again for The Prison in Space. In some cases, elements of unmade serials were adapted, or were moved from one serial to another; for example, The Song of the Space Whale was intended to be the introduction of Vislor Turlough
Vislor Turlough
Vislor Turlough is a fictional character played by Mark Strickson in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was a companion of the Fifth Doctor, being a regular in the programme from 1983 to 1984.-Character history:...
until it was repeatedly set back, leading Mawdryn Undead
Mawdryn Undead
Mawdryn Undead is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast in four twice weekly parts from 1 February to 9 February 1983...
to be Turlough's first appearance.
Some unused stories have found use in other media. Shada was made into an audio play of the same name, while several unmade serials have been compiled into an audio series released by Big Finish
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
called The Lost Stories
The Lost Stories
The Lost Stories are a range of Doctor Who audio plays from Big Finish, adapted from unused TV stories.-Series 1:The first series is largely adapted from stories planned for the unmade 1985-1986 series...
.
The Giants
The first serial of the series was originally to be written by C. E. WebberC. E. Webber
Cecil Edwin Webber was a British television writer and playwright. He is best remembered for his contribution to the creation of the famous science-fiction series Doctor Who while working as a staff writer for the BBC in the early 1960s...
, and would concern the four main characters (at that point named as the Doctor, Cliff, Lola, and Biddy) being shrunk to a "miniature size" and attacked by giant animals. The episode would have revealed that the Doctor had escaped from "his own galaxy" in the year 5733, seeking a perfect society in the past, and that he was pursued by agents from his own time who sought to prevent him from stopping their society from coming into being.
The story was rejected in June 1963 on the grounds that the story was too thin on characterisation
Characterisation
Characterization or characterisation is the art of creating characters for a narrative, including the process of conveying information about them. It may be employed in dramatic works of art or everyday conversation...
and that the giant monsters would be clichéd and too expensive to produce. Much of the setup was retained for An Unearthly Child
An Unearthly Child
The serial that became An Unearthly Child was originally commissioned from writer Anthony Coburn in June 1963, when it was intended to run as the second Doctor Who serial. At this stage, it was planned that the series would open with a serial entitled The Giants, to be written by BBC staff...
, though the details about the Doctor's home were removed. The story's premise was reused for a submission by Robert Gould which was to be the fourth serial, but this story was dropped in January 1964. The third attempt to use a miniaturisation story was accepted for the second series opener, Planet of Giants
Planet of Giants
*An early draft of this story – by C.E. Webber and entitled The Giants – was originally meant to be the first story of the first season.-Episode 4:*This story was originally four episodes in length...
.
The Masters of Luxor
The Masters of Luxor was a six-episode story submitted by Anthony CoburnAnthony Coburn
Anthony Coburn was an Australian television writer and producer, who spent much of his professional career living and working in the United Kingdom. He moved to the UK in the 1950s, where he joined the staff of BBC Television...
for Series 1, but never produced, in which the Doctor faces a self-aware robot which is trying to gain a soul. Titan Books
Titan Books
Titan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...
published the unused scripts in 1992. Major differences in style between these scripts and the transmitted series include a religious subtext, with the Doctor clearly presented as a believer.
Farewell Great Macedon
Farewell Great Macedon (also known as Alexander the Great in the script's early stages) was a six-episode story pitched for Series 1 and was written by Moris FarhiMoris Farhi
Moris Farhi MBE is an author who has been vice-president of International PEN since 2001.-Background:Farhi was born in Ankara, Turkey, in 1935. Farhi received B.A. in Humanities from Robert Academy, Istanbul, in 1954. He came to the UK the same year and trained at The Royal Academy of Dramatic...
. In the story, the Doctor and his companions are framed for murder as part of a conspiracy to kill Alexander the Great and must pass a number of trials, including walking on hot coals, to gain the trust of his bodyguard Ptolemy
Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy I Soter I , also known as Ptolemy Lagides, c. 367 BC – c. 283 BC, was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, who became ruler of Egypt and founder of both the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Dynasty...
.
The script was published by Nothing at the End of the Lane in October 2009.
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
released an audio adaptation, an enhanced audiobook, performed by William Russell
William Russell (actor)
William Russell is an English actor, mainly known for his television work. He was born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.-Doctor Who:...
and Carole Ann Ford
Carole Ann Ford
Carole Ann Ford is a British actress best known for her role as Susan Foreman in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. She also appeared in the 1962 film version of The Day of the Triffids....
as Ian Chesterton
Ian Chesterton
Ian Chesterton is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and a companion of the First Doctor. He was played in the series by William Russell, and was one of the members of the programme's very first regular cast, appearing in the bulk of the first two...
and Susan Foreman
Susan Foreman
Susan Foreman is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The granddaughter and original companion of the First Doctor, she was played by actress Carole Ann Ford from 1963 to 1964, in the show's first season and the first two stories of the second season...
. This was the first in their second series of Lost Stories
The Lost Stories
The Lost Stories are a range of Doctor Who audio plays from Big Finish, adapted from unused TV stories.-Series 1:The first series is largely adapted from stories planned for the unmade 1985-1986 series...
, released in November 2010.
The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance
The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance was the first script sent by Moris Farhi. It was one episode long and was a calling card piece never seriously pitched for production. This story never made it to the production stage, and was included in the 2009 publication of Farhi's script for Farewell Great Macedon.Big Finish Productions have released an enhanced audiobook adaptation, performed by William Russell and Carole Ann Ford as Ian Chesterton and Susan Foreman. It was released with Farewell Great Macedon as part of their Lost Stories
The Lost Stories
The Lost Stories are a range of Doctor Who audio plays from Big Finish, adapted from unused TV stories.-Series 1:The first series is largely adapted from stories planned for the unmade 1985-1986 series...
series, in November 2010.
The Red Fort
Terry NationTerry Nation
Terry Nation was a Welsh screenwriter and novelist.He is probably best known for creating the villainous Daleks in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who...
had intended for his second serial to be set during the British Raj in India, but the story was ultimately abandoned as the Daleks became a success, and demand for further adventures grew.
The Hidden Planet
The Hidden Planet by Malcolm HulkeMalcolm Hulke
Malcolm Hulke was a British television writer and author of the industry "bible" Writing for Television in the 70s...
was at one point to be the second serial of Series 2. The story would have concerned a planet in an orbit opposite Earth's, with a parallel but in some ways opposite society to ours; for example, women were to be the dominant sex. The original script was sent back for rewrites, and due to a pay dispute the rewrites were not made until after Susan had left the series; this necessitated further rewriting. A third submission was similarly rejected as Ian and Barbara
Barbara Wright (Doctor Who)
Barbara Wright is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and a companion of the First Doctor. She was one of the programme's very first regulars and appeared in the bulk of its first two seasons from 1963–65, played by Jacqueline Hill. In the film version...
were due to leave, and the script was dropped.
The story has at times also been stated to have had the title Beyond The Sun; however this was actually a working title for The Daleks
The Daleks
The Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts from 21 December 1963 to 1 February 1964...
, an early serial from season 1 of Doctor Who. Later in the 1970s it would be used for The Edge of Destruction
The Edge of Destruction
The Edge of Destruction is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on February 8 and February 15, 1964. The serial is distinguished as a rare "bottle episode", in that the entire story is shot on a single set, with just...
. The idea of a "twin planet" for Earth was used in The Tenth Planet
The Tenth Planet
The Tenth Planet is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 8 October to 29 October 1966. It was William Hartnell's last regular appearance as the First Doctor, and the first story to feature the Cybermen...
, which was another suggested title for this story, while a female-dominated society was used as background for the Drahvins in the 1965 serial Galaxy 4
Galaxy 4
Galaxy 4 is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 11 September to 2 October 1965.-Plot:...
(and would be proposed again for The Prison in Space).
Other First Doctor stories
- The Living World, by Alan WakemanAlan WakemanAlan Wakeman is an English saxophonist, known for his work in Soft Machine during 1976, appearing on the album Softs. He is a cousin of the keyboard player Rick Wakeman....
- The Miniscules (first version), by Robert GouldRobert GouldRobert Gould was a significant voice in Restoration poetry in England.He was born in the lower classes and orphaned when he was thirteen. It is possible that he had a sister, but her name and fate are unknown. Gould entered into domestic service...
- The Miniscules (second version), by Margot BennettMargot BennettMargot Bennett was a writer of crime and thriller novels. She was educated in Scotland and Australia. Worked as a copywriter in Sydney and London, and as a nurse during the Spanish Civil War...
- The New Armada, by David Whitaker
- Untitled Egyptian storyline, by Dennis SpoonerDennis SpoonerDennis Spooner was an English television screenwriter and story editor, known primarily for his programmes about fictional spies and his work in children's television in the 1960s...
- Untitled American Civil War storyline, by unknown author
- The Face of God, by John WilesJohn WilesJohn Wiles was a television writer and producer, now best known for being the second producer of the popular science fiction serial Doctor Who, succeeding Verity Lambert...
- The White Witch, by Brian HaylesBrian HaylesBrian Hayles was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. His body of work as a writer for television and film, most notably for the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, lasted from 1962 to 1978....
- The Hands of Aten, by Brian Hayles
- The Big Store, by David EllisDavid Ellis (writer)David Ellis was the co-writer with Malcolm Hulke of the Doctor Who serial The Faceless Ones, recorded with Patrick Troughton in 1967. The story was penned by the duo following the rejection of previous scripts by the two men...
& Malcolm HulkeMalcolm HulkeMalcolm Hulke was a British television writer and author of the industry "bible" Writing for Television in the 70s... - The Heavy Scent of Violence, by George Kerr
- The Hearsay Machine, by George Kerr
- The Man from the Met, by George Kerr
- The Ocean Liner, by David Ellis
- The Clock, by David Ellis
- The Evil Eye, by Geoffrey OrmeGeoffrey OrmeGeoffrey Orme was a British screenwriter for television and film.Orme's prolific film work extended from the 1930s to the 1960s and included a number of the popular Old Mother Riley films starring Arthur Lucan....
- The Nazis, by Brian Hayles
- The Herdsmen of Aquarius, by Donald CottonDonald CottonDonald Cotton was a writer for radio and television during the black and white era. He also wrote numerous musical revues for the stage...
- The People Who Couldn't Remember, by David Ellis
- The Mutant, by Barry LettsBarry LettsBarry Leopold Letts was a British actor, television director, writer and producer best known for his work on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and for producing the BBC's Sunday Classic drama serials in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
- Britain 408 AD, by Malcolm HulkeMalcolm HulkeMalcolm Hulke was a British television writer and author of the industry "bible" Writing for Television in the 70s...
- The Dark Planet, by Brian HaylesBrian HaylesBrian Hayles was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. His body of work as a writer for television and film, most notably for the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, lasted from 1962 to 1978....
- Nothing at the End of the Lane, by C.E. Webber
- The Son of Doctor Who, a story idea originated by William HartnellWilliam HartnellWilliam Henry Hartnell was an English actor. During 1963-66, he was the first actor to play the Doctor in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
The Imps
Planned as the fifth or sixth serial of Series 4, The Imps by William EmmsWilliam Emms
William Emms wrote the Doctor Who serial Galaxy 4 in 1965 and also adapted the script for a Target novelisation. Later scripts for the programme from the 1960s to the 1980s were not commissioned...
was to concern a space station overrun by Imp
Imp
An imp is a mythological being similar to a fairy or demon, frequently described in folklore and superstition. The word may perhaps derive from the term ympe, used to denote a young grafted tree.-Folklore:...
-like aliens and aggressive alien vegetation. The script had to be rewritten to accommodate new companion Jamie
Jamie McCrimmon
James Robert "Jamie" McCrimmon is a fictional character played by Frazer Hines in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A piper of the Clan McLaren who lived in 18th century Scotland, he was a companion of the Second Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1966...
; due to sickness on the part of Emms, this took so long that further rewrites were needed to explain the loss of Ben and Polly
Polly (Doctor Who)
Polly is a fictional character played by Anneke Wills in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A young woman from the year 1966, she was a companion of the First and Second Doctors and a regular in the programme from 1966 to 1967.-Character history:Polly first...
.
Emms reused elements of the story in Mission to Venus, a Choose Your Own Adventure
Choose Your Own Adventure
Choose Your Own Adventure is a series of children's gamebooks where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actions and the plot's outcome. The series was based on a...
-style story featuring the Sixth Doctor
Sixth Doctor
The Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...
.
The Prison in Space
The Prison in Space by Dick SharplesDick Sharples
Dick Sharples is a British TV scriptwriter of British sitcoms. He has also written novels, plays and drama series .-Life and career:...
returned to the idea of a female-dominated planet. The Doctor and Jamie were to be imprisoned, and Zoe was to start a sexual revolution
Sexual revolution
The sexual revolution was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the 1960s into the 1980s...
and then be brainwashed. The story was intended to inject humour into the show, and was to feature Jamie in drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
and end with the Doctor deprogramming
Deprogramming
Deprogramming refers to actions that attempt to force a person to abandon allegiance to a religious, political, economic, or social group. Methods and practices may involve kidnapping and coercion...
Zoe by smacking her bottom.
The serial was rewritten to accommodate Frazer Hines
Frazer Hines
Frazer Hines is an English actor best known for his roles as Jamie McCrimmon in Doctor Who and Joe Sugden in Emmerdale. Hines was born in Horsforth, a civil parish of Leeds.-Acting career:...
' desire to leave, and again when he decided to stay. The production team became unhappy with the serial, and when Sharples refused to perform further rewrites, the serial was dropped and replaced by The Krotons
The Krotons
The Krotons is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from December 28, 1968 to January 18, 1969...
.
Big Finish Productions have released an audio adaptation as part of their Lost Stories
The Lost Stories
The Lost Stories are a range of Doctor Who audio plays from Big Finish, adapted from unused TV stories.-Series 1:The first series is largely adapted from stories planned for the unmade 1985-1986 series...
series. The adaptation, an enhanced audiobook, is performed by Frazer Hines
Frazer Hines
Frazer Hines is an English actor best known for his roles as Jamie McCrimmon in Doctor Who and Joe Sugden in Emmerdale. Hines was born in Horsforth, a civil parish of Leeds.-Acting career:...
and Wendy Padbury
Wendy Padbury
Wendy Padbury is a British actress from Warwickshire, England. She is most famous for her involvement in various Doctor Who projects....
as Jamie and Zoe.
In 2011, an illustrated scriptbook was released by Nothing at the End of the Lane which included the original story and behind the scenes material.
The Impersonators
The Production Notes commentary on the 2009 DVD release of The War GamesThe War Games
The War Games is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969. It was the last regular appearance of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor, and of Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines as companions Zoe...
references a serial entitled Doctor Who and the Impersonators which was scheduled to precede The War Games. The serial was cancelled and its production budget allocated to The War Games, allowing it to be expanded to 10 episodes.
Other Second Doctor stories
- The Eye in Space, by Victor Pemberton
- The Rosemariners (aka The Rosacrutians), by Donald ToshDonald ToshDonald Tosh was a BBC screenwriter during the 1960s who contributed to the Doctor Who programme in 1965.Before working on Doctor Who Tosh was briefly script editor on the series Compact, and had helped to develop the show that eventually became Coronation Street.Tosh was the story editor for the...
- The Dream Spinner, by Paul WheelerPaul WheelerPaul Wheeler is a former Welsh professional footballer.Wheeler began his career at Bristol Rovers, signing as an apprentice after being spotted by one of the clubs scouts Stan Montgomery who scouting the South Wales area...
- The Aliens in the Blood, by Robert HolmesRobert Holmes (scriptwriter)This entry is about the television scriptwriter. For other people with the same name, see Robert Holmes .Robert Colin Holmes was an English television scriptwriter, who for over twenty-five years contributed to some of the most popular programmes screened in the UK...
- Untitled story, by Derrick SherwinDerrick SherwinDerrick Sherwin is a British television producer, writer, and actor. He is best known as the story editor and later producer of Doctor Who...
- The Ants, by Roger Dixon
- Bar Kochbar, by Roger Dixon
- The King's Bedtime Story, by Roger Dixon
- The Laird of McCrimmon, by Mervyn HaismanMervyn HaismanMervyn Haisman was a television and film script writer. Prior to this career he worked as an actor and managed a theatre company as well as working in insurance.- Overview :...
and Henry LincolnHenry LincolnHenry Lincoln is an English author, television presenter, scriptwriter and former Supporting actor. He co-wrote three Doctor Who multi-part serials in the 1960s, and —starting in the 1970s— authored a series of books and inspired documentaries for the British television channel BBC2,... - The New Machines, by Roger Dixon
- Operation Werewolf, by Douglas CamfieldDouglas CamfieldDouglas Gaston Sydney Camfield was an accomplished director for television from the 1960s to the 1980s. His programme credits include Z-Cars, Paul Temple, Van der Valk, The Sweeney, Shoestring, The Professionals, Out of the Unknown, The Nightmare Man, the BBC dramatisation of Beau Geste and...
and Robert Kitts - The Return of the Neanderthal, by Roger Dixon
- The Sleepwalkers, by Roger Dixon
- Twin World, by Roger Dixon
The Daleks in London
The Daleks in London was to be the final story of season 9 in 1972, re-introducing the DalekDalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
s after a five year absence. Little is known about the exact storyline of the Robert Sloman
Robert Sloman
Robert Sloman was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England on 18 July 1926 and died aged 79 on 24 October 2005. He was an actor who later worked at The Sunday Times circulation department for more than 20 years, becoming distribution manager; but is best known for his work as a writer for television.In...
serial, other than the fact that it would have had some similarities to The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Dalek Invasion of Earth is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from November 21 to December 26, 1964....
, except set in contemporary 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...
.
This similarity caused the production team some concern, and producer Barry Letts
Barry Letts
Barry Leopold Letts was a British actor, television director, writer and producer best known for his work on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and for producing the BBC's Sunday Classic drama serials in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
eventually decided that he would rather start the series with a Dalek adventure instead of ending it with one. An unrelated submission by Louis Marks
Louis Marks
Louis Frank Marks was a British script writer and producer mainly for the BBC. He attended the Balliol College, Oxford and graduated with a DPhil. He made the surprising choice to become a writer...
was therefore rewritten into Day of the Daleks
Day of the Daleks
Day of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 1 January to 22 January 1972.-Synopsis:...
, and The Time Monster
The Time Monster
The Time Monster is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 20 May to 24 June 1972.- Synopsis :...
was commissioned to replace the original series finale.
The Final Game
The Third Doctor's final story was to be The Final Game by Robert SlomanRobert Sloman
Robert Sloman was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England on 18 July 1926 and died aged 79 on 24 October 2005. He was an actor who later worked at The Sunday Times circulation department for more than 20 years, becoming distribution manager; but is best known for his work as a writer for television.In...
. The story was to feature the Master
Master (Doctor Who)
The Master is a recurring character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is a renegade Time Lord and the archenemy of the Doctor....
, and to reveal that he and the Doctor were two aspects of the same individual—the Doctor being the ego
Id, ego, and super-ego
Id, ego and super-ego are the three parts of the psychic apparatus defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche; they are the three theoretical constructs in terms of whose activity and interaction mental life is described...
(the intellectual part), while the Master was the id
Id, ego, and super-ego
Id, ego and super-ego are the three parts of the psychic apparatus defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche; they are the three theoretical constructs in terms of whose activity and interaction mental life is described...
(the instinctive, violent part). The story was to end with the Master dying in a manner which suggested that he was trying to save the Doctor's life.
The actor who played the Master, Roger Delgado
Roger Delgado
Roger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado Torres Castillo Roberto was an English actor, best known for his role as the first Master in Doctor Who....
, was killed in a car accident in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
in mid-1973, forcing the scrapping of the story. The story was replaced by Planet of the Spiders
Planet of the Spiders
Planet of the Spiders is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from May 4 to June 8, 1974. It was Jon Pertwee's last serial as the Doctor and marks the first, uncredited appearance of Tom Baker in the role. It also marks...
.
Other Third Doctor stories
- The Mists of Madness, by Brain Wright
- The Shadow People, by Charlotte and Dennis Plimmer
- The Harvesters (aka The Vampire Planet), by Williams Emms
- The Cerebroids, by Brian WrightBrian WrightBrian Wright was an Australian rugby league player for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Eastern Suburbs Roosters in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership competition....
- The Spare-Part People (aka The Brain Drain, The Labyrinth), by Jon PertweeJon PertweeJohn Devon Roland Pertwee , was an English actor. Pertwee is best known for his role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, in which he played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974, and as the title character in the series Worzel Gummidge...
& Reed de Rouen - The Mega, by Bill StruttonBill StruttonBill Strutton was a prolific British screenwriter who worked on some of the best-remembered 1960s television shows including Ivanhoe, The Saint, The Avengers, Riptide and Doctor Who. Born in Australia, Bill Strutton won a state scholarship to university at 14 but dropped out after two years to go...
- The Space War (aka The Furies), by Ian Stuart BlackIan Stuart BlackIan Stuart Black was a novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Both his 1959 novel In the Wake of a Stranger and his 1962 novel about the Cyprus emergency The High Bright Sun were made into films, Black writing the screenplays in each case.He also wrote scripts for several British television...
- The Brain-Dead, by Brian Hayles
- The Shape of Terror, by Brian Hayles
- Multiface, by Godfrey Harrison
- The Automata, by Robert HolmesRobert Holmes (scriptwriter)This entry is about the television scriptwriter. For other people with the same name, see Robert Holmes .Robert Colin Holmes was an English television scriptwriter, who for over twenty-five years contributed to some of the most popular programmes screened in the UK...
Killers of the Dark
Following the successful realisation of the Doctor's home planet of GallifreyGallifrey
Gallifrey is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and is the homeworld of the Doctor and the Time Lords...
on screen in The Deadly Assassin
The Deadly Assassin
The Deadly Assassin is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 30 October to 20 November 1976...
, producer Graham Williams
Graham Williams
Graham Williams was a British television producer and script editor, whose best known work was on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who....
commissioned another Gallifrey story from writer David Weir. Weir's script, a six-part story entitled Killers of the Dark, would have concluded Series 15 in 1978. Weir's script had elements drawn from Asian cultures, and included a race of cat-people native to Gallifrey. Scenes included a gladiatorial duel in a stadium filled with cat-people.
Script editor Anthony Read
Anthony Read
Anthony "Tony" Read is a British script editor, television writer and author. He was principally active in British television from the 1960s to the mid-1980s, although he occasionally contributed to televised productions until 1999. Starting in the 1980s, he launched a second career as a print...
and director Gerald Blake
Gerald Blake
Gerald Blake was a television director during the 1960s to the 1980s.His numerous credits include The Gentle Touch, The Omega Factor , Blake's 7, Survivors, The Onedin Line, Out of the Unknown, Doctor Who , Dr...
, upon reading the finished script, determined that the story would be impossible to shoot on Doctor Whos budget. With only two weeks to spare before filming, Read and Williams quickly co-wrote a replacement script—The Invasion of Time
The Invasion of Time
The Invasion of Time is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 4 February to 11 March 1978...
.
When asked about Weir's story at a fan convention years later, Williams could not recall its title and made up the name The Killer Cats of Geng Singh, by which title the story became widely known in fan circles.
The Doomsday Contract/Shylock
For Series 17, John LloydJohn Lloyd (writer)
John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd CBE is a British comedy writer and television producer. He is the great nephew of John Hardress Lloyd.-Early life and career:...
, a frequent collaborator with script editor Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
, adapted material from his unpublished science fiction story GiGax and in October 1978 submitted The Doomsday Contract, a four-episode serial written in Adams' light-hearted style. In it, the Doctor is called to intervene when a corporation tries to buy Earth in order to obtain a matter-transmutation device.
Lloyd was asked to modify several elements of the script, and in January 1979 was forced to abandon the project in order to fulfil his commitments as producer of Not the Nine O'Clock News
Not the Nine O'Clock News
Not the Nine O'Clock News is a television comedy sketch show which was broadcast on BBC 2 from 1979 to 1982.Originally shown as a comedy "alternative" to the BBC Nine O'Clock News on BBC 1, it featured satirical sketches on current news stories and popular culture, as well as parody songs, comedy...
. With Lloyd's permission, Adams brought in Allan Prior
Allan Prior
Allan Prior was an English television scriptwriter and novelist, who wrote over 300 television episodes from the 1950s onwards....
to complete the project, but his scripts were rejected. Adams contacted another writer to complete the story for Series 18 under the title Shylock, but no progress had been made by the time Adams left the series.
Shada
Shada was a six-episode serial written by Douglas Adams that was to have concluded Series 17 in 1980. Production was halted during filming due to a strike and never resumed, although a reconstruction of the serial using narration and existing footage was later released on VHS.The story was later remade as a webcast production featuring Paul McGann
Paul McGann
Paul McGann is an English actor who made his name on the BBC serial The Monocled Mutineer, in which he played the lead role...
's Eighth Doctor
Eighth Doctor
The Eighth Doctor is the eighth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Paul McGann...
and a Big Finish audio story (also featuring the Eighth Doctor), while Adams himself reused elements from the serial for his first Dirk Gently
Dirk Gently
Dirk Gently is a fictional character created by Douglas Adams and featured in the books Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul...
book Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is a humorous fantasy detective novel by Douglas Adams, first published in 1987. It is described by "the author" on its cover as a "thumping good detective-ghost-horror-who dunnit-time travel-romantic-musical-comedy-epic".The book was followed by a sequel,...
.
The Divided
On 8 November 1977, Moris FarhiMoris Farhi
Moris Farhi MBE is an author who has been vice-president of International PEN since 2001.-Background:Farhi was born in Ankara, Turkey, in 1935. Farhi received B.A. in Humanities from Robert Academy, Istanbul, in 1954. He came to the UK the same year and trained at The Royal Academy of Dramatic...
, author of the unproduced Farewell Great Macedon script, was officially commissioned by producer Graham Williams
Graham Williams
Graham Williams was a British television producer and script editor, whose best known work was on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who....
to write a four-episode teleplay entitled The Divided. The script was not produced and Farhi no longer recalls what it was about; the script itself is lost.
Other Fourth Doctor stories
- The Prisoner of Time, by Barry Letts
- The Haunting, by Terrance DicksTerrance DicksTerrance Dicks is an English writer, best known for his work in television and for writing a large number of popular children's books during the 1970s and 80s.- Early career :...
- Space Station, by Christopher Langley
- The Angurth, by Eric PringleEric PringleEric Pringle is a British writer for radio and television. He has also written three novels for children....
- The Mentor Conspiracy, by Chris BoucherChris BoucherChris Boucher is a British television writer, best known for his frequent contributions to two genres, science fiction and crime dramas.-Biography:...
- Untitled Story, by Robert SlomanRobert SlomanRobert Sloman was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England on 18 July 1926 and died aged 79 on 24 October 2005. He was an actor who later worked at The Sunday Times circulation department for more than 20 years, becoming distribution manager; but is best known for his work as a writer for television.In...
- The Dreamers of Phados, by Chris Boucher
- Untitled Story, by Basil Dawson
- Puffball, by John LucarottiJohn LucarottiJohn Lucarotti was a British screenwriter.Lucarotti began his career at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, writing on over 200 various scripts for them as well as for Canadian television. He then moved back to England where he had a prolific career...
- The Vampire Mutation(s) (aka State of DecayState of DecayState of Decay is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 22 November to 13 December 1980. The serial was the second of three loosely connected serials known as the E-Space trilogy...
), by Terrance Dicks - The Nightmare Planet, by Dennis Spooner
- Untitled Story, by Douglas AdamsDouglas AdamsDouglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
- Erinella, by Pennant RobertsPennant RobertsPennant Roberts was a British director noted for his work on British television.Roberts was born at Weston-super-Mare to Welsh parents...
- Valley of the Lost, by Philip HinchcliffePhilip HinchcliffePhilip Hinchcliffe is a British television producer, who brought shows including Private Schulz and The Charmer to the screen, probably best known for the overseeing of British television series Doctor Who from 1974-1977...
- The Secret of Cassius, by Andrew Smith
- Avalon (aka The Psychonauts), by David FisherDavid Fisher (writer)David Fisher is a British professional writer for television. He was born in 1929.He wrote the scripts for four serials of Doctor Who. He first contributed The Stones of Blood and The Androids of Tara during that show's sixteenth season, and The Creature from the Pit for the seventeenth season...
- Sealed Orders, by Christopher Priest
- The Beasts of Manzic, by Robin Smyth
- The Castle of Doom, by David FisherDavid Fisher (writer)David Fisher is a British professional writer for television. He was born in 1929.He wrote the scripts for four serials of Doctor Who. He first contributed The Stones of Blood and The Androids of Tara during that show's sixteenth season, and The Creature from the Pit for the seventeenth season...
- Child Prodigy, by Alistair BeatonAlistair BeatonAlistair Beaton is a Scottish left wing political satirist, journalist, radio presenter, novelist and television writer. At one point in his career he was also a speechwriter for Gordon Brown....
and Sarah DunantSarah DunantSarah Dunant is the author of many international bestsellers, most recently Sacred Hearts, the completion of her Italian historical trilogy.... - Farer Nohan, by Andrew StephensonAndrew StephensonAndrew Stephenson is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Pendle in Lancashire since the 2010 general election. Formerly a borough councillor in Macclesfield, he worked as an insurance broker before becoming an MP.-Early life and education:Stephenson...
- Fires of the Starmind, by Marc PlattMarc PlattMarc Platt is a British writer. He is most known for his work with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.After studying catering at a technical college, Platt worked first for Trust House Forte, and then in administration for the BBC...
- The Gaslight Murders, by Basil Dawson
- Into the Comet, by James FollettJames FollettJames Follett is an author and screenwriter, born in 1939 in Tolworth, England.Follett became a full-time fiction writer in 1976, after resigning from contract work as a technical writer for the British Ministry of Defence. He has since written over 20 novels, several television plays, and many...
- Invasion of the Veridians, by Nabil ShabanNabil ShabanNabil Shaban is a British actor and writer. He founded The Graeae - a theatre group which promotes performers with disabilities. He has a son named Zenyel....
- The Lost Legion, by Douglas CamfieldDouglas CamfieldDouglas Gaston Sydney Camfield was an accomplished director for television from the 1960s to the 1980s. His programme credits include Z-Cars, Paul Temple, Van der Valk, The Sweeney, Shoestring, The Professionals, Out of the Unknown, The Nightmare Man, the BBC dramatisation of Beau Geste and...
- Mark of Lumos, by Keith MilesKeith MilesKeith Miles is a writer of historical fiction and mystery novels. He has also written children's books, radio and television dramas and stage plays. He is best known under the pseudonym Edward Marston, and has also written as Martin Inigo and Conrad Allen.-Career:Miles was born and educated in...
- The Menday Fault, by David Wiltshire
- Mouth of Grath, by Malcolm EdwardsMalcolm EdwardsMalcolm John Edwards is a British editor and critic in the science fiction field. He received his degree from the University of Cambridge. He is currently Deputy CEO at the Orion Publishing Group. Edwards resides in London with his wife, the CEO of a public relations company...
and Leroy Kettle - Return to Sukannan, by Terry NationTerry NationTerry Nation was a Welsh screenwriter and novelist.He is probably best known for creating the villainous Daleks in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who...
- Shield of Zarak (aka The Doppelgangers, Shield of Zareg), by Ted LewisTed LewisTed Lewis may refer to:*Ted Lewis , Edward Morgan Lewis*Ted Lewis , US bandleader, musician, entertainer, singer*Ted Lewis , English crime novelist...
- The Silent Scream, by Chris BoucherChris BoucherChris Boucher is a British television writer, best known for his frequent contributions to two genres, science fiction and crime dramas.-Biography:...
- Soldar and the Plastoids, by John BennettJohn Bennett-Arts & entertainment:* John Bennett , British actor from the film The Fifth Element* John Bennett , British composer and organist* John Bennett , drummer of the UK doom metal band The Prophecy...
- The Tearing of the Veil, by Alan Drury
Project Zeta Sigma
The Fifth Doctor's first story was to be Project Zeta Sigma, written by John FlanaganJohn Flanagan (author)
John Flanagan is an Australian fantasy author. She lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband. Her best known work is the Ranger's Apprentice novel series, which is about a boy named Will who is taken as an apprentice Ranger to the grim and mysterious Halt. They meet up with many new people,...
and Andrew McCulloch
Andrew McCulloch (television)
Andrew McCulloch , often credited as Andy McCulloch, is a British television writer and actor.He was born in Glasgow, Scotland....
. It was not intended to follow on directly from the events of Logopolis
Logopolis
Logopolis is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 28 February to 21 March 1981. It was Tom Baker's last story as the Doctor and marks the first appearance of Peter Davison in the role...
; instead, the Doctor and his companions would have already left Earth. The story was to concern nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament refers to both the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated....
. The script proved unworkable, and producer John Nathan-Turner
John Nathan-Turner
John Nathan-Turner was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, from 1980 until it was effectively cancelled in 1989...
commissioned Logopolis writer Christopher H. Bidmead
Christopher H. Bidmead
Christopher Hamilton Bidmead is a British writer and journalist.Bidmead trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts , later playing several roles on stage, television and radio. By the early 1970s he was scriptwriting for Thames Television, producing material for Harriet's Back in...
to write a replacement, Castrovalva. This also disrupted the shooting schedule, and Castrovalva was the fourth serial filmed, though it was the first transmitted.
The Song of the Space Whale
The Song of the Space Whale was intended to introduce new companion Vislor TurloughVislor Turlough
Vislor Turlough is a fictional character played by Mark Strickson in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was a companion of the Fifth Doctor, being a regular in the programme from 1983 to 1984.-Character history:...
in the third serial of Season 20. The story concerned a group of people living in the belly of a giant whale in space. The Doctor would find this out while attempting to protect the creature from being slaughtered by a rusting factory ship. The castaways living in the whale, as well as the ship's captain, would be working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
characters, with the former's dialogue being based on that of a working-class Northern Irish family that 2000 AD
2000 AD (comic)
2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serialises a number of separate stories each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold...
author Pat Mills
Pat Mills
Pat Mills, nicknamed 'the godfather of British comics', is a comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since....
knew.
The script was originally pitched by Mills and his writing partner John Wagner
John Wagner
John Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since.He is best known for his work on...
in 1980 as a Fourth Doctor story. Although the script editor at the time, Anthony Read
Anthony Read
Anthony "Tony" Read is a British script editor, television writer and author. He was principally active in British television from the 1960s to the mid-1980s, although he occasionally contributed to televised productions until 1999. Starting in the 1980s, he launched a second career as a print...
, was not interested in the story, Mills and Wagner continued to update the script. The script was commissioned as a Fifth Doctor
Fifth Doctor
The Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....
story in December 1982, but Wagner left the project and Mills' disagreements with new script editor Eric Saward
Eric Saward
Eric Saward was born on 9 December 1944 and became a scriptwriter and script editor for the BBC, resigning from the latter post on the TV programme Doctor Who in 1986....
led to the script being delayed until it was too late to serve as Turlough's introductory story. The script was considered for Series 21 and 22, and was at one point in competition with the script that became Vengeance on Varos
Vengeance on Varos
Vengeance on Varos is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from 19–26 January 1985.-Synopsis:...
, but it was ultimately rejected in July 1985.
During the writing, Mills and Saward "fundamentally disagreed" on the character of the captain (Saward wanting a more Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
-type figure) and the dialogue for the castaways. Mills has said that "there was a Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
quality to it that Eric felt didn't work in space. He thought the future would be classless, and I didn't."
The story has been adapted for audio by Big Finish Productions as part of their series The Lost Stories
The Lost Stories
The Lost Stories are a range of Doctor Who audio plays from Big Finish, adapted from unused TV stories.-Series 1:The first series is largely adapted from stories planned for the unmade 1985-1986 series...
. Renamed The Song of Megaptera
The Song of Megaptera
The Song of Megaptera is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
and featuring the Sixth Doctor and Peri
Peri Brown
Peri Brown, full name Perpugilliam Brown, is a fictional character played by Nicola Bryant in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
, it was released in May 2010.
May Time/Manwatch/The Children of Seth
After the success of SnakedanceSnakedance
*In post-production, episode four of this story overran very badly. As a result, it had to be completely restructured. Originally the door for a third Mara adventure was to be left open, with closing scenes discussing the ultimate fate of the Great Crystal. Furthermore, a sequence in which the...
, Eric Saward requested that writer Christopher Bailey
Christopher Bailey
Christopher Bailey is a lecturer of English at the University of Brighton and is an occasional screenwriter for television.He wrote the script for the Doctor Who serial Kinda in 1982...
devise another story. The initial outline for May Time was comissioned on 24 August 1982 and was about the Doctor and his companions arriving at the court of Byzantium. Full scripts were comissioned on September 16 1982 with the new title Manwatch, but the scripts were dropped from production for unclear reasons. A second attempt at the story under the title The Children of Seth was attempted as a story for the Sixth Doctor and had scripts comissioned on 15 August 1983 and failed because of Bailey's failure to devise a structure for the new doctor's new 45 minute episode format and a tangible villan for the Doctor to face. It has been adapted to audio by Marc Platt
Marc Platt
Marc Platt is a British writer. He is most known for his work with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.After studying catering at a technical college, Platt worked first for Trust House Forte, and then in administration for the BBC...
for Big Finish Productions' third series of The Lost Stories, to be released in 2012, and features the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa.
Other Fifth Doctor stories
- Hebos, by Rod Beacham
- The Enemy Within, by Christopher Priest
- Untitled story, by Tanith LeeTanith LeeTanith Lee is a British writer of science fiction, horror and fantasy. She is the author of over 70 novels and 250 short stories, a children's picture book and many poems. She also wrote two episodes of BBC science fiction series Blake's 7...
- The Parasites (aka Parasites), by Bill LyonsBill LyonsWilliam Allen Lyons is a former Major League Baseball infielder. He played in parts of two seasons in the majors, and , for the St. Louis Cardinals, primarily as a second baseman.-External links:...
- Genesis of the Cybermen, by Gerry DavisGerry Davis (screenwriter)Gerry Davis was a British television writer, best known for his contributions to the science-fiction genre. He also wrote for the soap operas Coronation Street and United!....
- The Torson Triumvirate, by Andrew Smith
- The Dogs of Darkness, by Jack GardnerJack GardnerJack Gardner may refer to:*Jack Gardner , 1948 ABA Heavyweight Champion*Jack Gardner , college basketball coach*Jack Gardner , general in the United States Army*Jack Gardner , American jazz musician...
- The Psychrons, by Terence Greer
- The Return, by Eric SawardEric SawardEric Saward was born on 9 December 1944 and became a scriptwriter and script editor for the BBC, resigning from the latter post on the TV programme Doctor Who in 1986....
- Poison, by Rod Beacham
- Untitled story, by Lesley Elizabeth Thomas
- The Darkness, by Eric Pringle
- Warmongers, by Marc PlattMarc PlattMarc Platt is a British writer. He is most known for his work with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.After studying catering at a technical college, Platt worked first for Trust House Forte, and then in administration for the BBC...
and Charles M. Stevens (pseudonym for J Jeremy Bentham) - The Zeldan, by William EmmsWilliam EmmsWilliam Emms wrote the Doctor Who serial Galaxy 4 in 1965 and also adapted the script for a Target novelisation. Later scripts for the programme from the 1960s to the 1980s were not commissioned...
- The SCI, by William Emms
- Circus of Destiny, by Ben Steed
- The Elite, by Barbara CleggBarbara CleggBarbara Clegg is a British actress and scriptwriter for television and radio. She was born in Manchester and spent her early years in Gatley.Clegg started out acting in the theatre before moving into film and television with roles in Emergency Ward 10 and The Dream Maker...
- The House That Ur-Cjak Built, by Andrew Stephenson
- The Nightmare Country, by Stephen GallagherStephen GallagherStephen Gallagher is an English writer.He has written several novels and television scripts, including for the BBC television series Doctor Who — for which he wrote two serials, Warriors' Gate and Terminus — as well as for the series Rosemary & Thyme and Bugs, for two seasons of...
- The Place Where All Times Meet, by Colin DavisColin DavisSir Colin Rex Davis, CH, CBE is an English conductor. His repertoire is broad, but among the composers with whom he is particularly associated are Mozart, Berlioz, Elgar, Sibelius, Stravinsky and Tippett....
- The Rogue TARDIS, by Barbara CleggBarbara CleggBarbara Clegg is a British actress and scriptwriter for television and radio. She was born in Manchester and spent her early years in Gatley.Clegg started out acting in the theatre before moving into film and television with roles in Emergency Ward 10 and The Dream Maker...
- The Romanoids, by Geoff Lowe
- The Six Doctors, by Robert HolmesRobert Holmes (scriptwriter)This entry is about the television scriptwriter. For other people with the same name, see Robert Holmes .Robert Colin Holmes was an English television scriptwriter, who for over twenty-five years contributed to some of the most popular programmes screened in the UK...
- The Underworld, by Barbara Clegg
- Way Down Yonder, by Lesley Elizabeth Thomas
Planned 1986 serials
When Doctor Who was put on hiatus following Series 22 in 1985, several scripts were already being prepared with others in the story-outline stage. All of these scripts were abandoned to make way for The Trial of a Time LordThe Trial of a Time Lord
The Trial of a Time Lord is a fourteen-part British science fiction serial of the long running BBC series Doctor Who. The serial, produced as the twenty-third season of the Doctor Who television series, aired in weekly episodes from 6 September to 6 December 1986...
, when the series resumed in September 1986.
Three of these– The Nightmare Fair
The Nightmare Fair
The Nightmare Fair is a story originally written for the 1986 season of Doctor Who, but never filmed. A novelisation based on the script was published in 1989 by Target Books, as the first volume of its Missing Episodes series...
, The Ultimate Evil
The Ultimate Evil
The Ultimate Evil is the second in a series of novelisations, based on a number of cancelled scripts from the 1986 season of Doctor Who. It was written by Wally K. Daly. It was first published by Target Books in 1989 as the second volume of its Missing Episodes series.-Synopsis:The Sixth Doctor's...
, and Mission to Magnus
Mission to Magnus
Mission to Magnus is a story originally written to be part of the unfilmed 1986 season of Doctor Who. It was written by Philip Martin, who had previously written the television stories Vengeance on Varos and Mindwarp....
—were subsequently novelized by Target Books
Target Books
Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...
appearing from 1989.
Yellow Fever, and How to Cure It was a three-episode story by Robert Holmes
Robert Holmes (scriptwriter)
This entry is about the television scriptwriter. For other people with the same name, see Robert Holmes .Robert Colin Holmes was an English television scriptwriter, who for over twenty-five years contributed to some of the most popular programmes screened in the UK...
that would have taken place in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and featured the Autons as the monsters with either the Rani
Rani (Doctor Who)
The Rani is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. She was played by Kate O'Mara. The word "Rani" means "queen" in the Urdu and Hindi languages and "The Rani" follows the naming convention for other renegade timelords, "The Doctor," "The Monk," "The War...
, the Master
Master (Doctor Who)
The Master is a recurring character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is a renegade Time Lord and the archenemy of the Doctor....
, or both appearing. Holmes reportedly only completed a story outline before Series 23 was canceled.
Gallifrey was a Pip and Jane Baker
Pip and Jane Baker
"Pip" and Jane Baker are British television writers best known for their contributions to the long running science fiction series Doctor Who. A husband-and-wife writing team, they wrote four serials for the programme: The Mark of the Rani, Parts 9–12 and 14 of The Trial of a Time Lord and Time...
script that reportedly would have dealt with the destruction of the Doctor's aforementioned home planet
Gallifrey
Gallifrey is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and is the homeworld of the Doctor and the Time Lords...
; this script was replaced by the Trial of a Time Lord arc, while the concept of Gallifrey's destruction was briefly revived for the proposed interregnum feature film version of Doctor Who before being incorporated into the Doctor's backstory
Time War (Doctor Who)
The Time War, more specifically called The Last Great Time War, is a conflict within the fictional universe of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
beginning in the 2005 series.
Other stories put forward for Series 23 included The Hollows of Time, a two-episode story by Christopher H. Bidmead
Christopher H. Bidmead
Christopher Hamilton Bidmead is a British writer and journalist.Bidmead trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts , later playing several roles on stage, television and radio. By the early 1970s he was scriptwriting for Thames Television, producing material for Harriet's Back in...
; a two-episode script of an unknown title submitted by Bill Pritchard
Bill Pritchard
Bill Pritchard is a British singer-songwriter, instrumentalist , musical arranger and producer. Despite being little known in his native country he has achieved considerable recognition in France and elsewhere.-Biography:...
; and The Children of January, a two-episode script by Michael Feeney Callan
Michael Feeney Callan
Michael Feeney Callan is a novelist, filmmaker and painter, also known for his biographical writing.An award winner for his short fiction, he joined BBC television drama as a story editor, and wrote screenplays for The Professionals and for American television...
which was submitted in competition against Pritchard's script for the final available serial of the series.
Several of these stories are to be adapted by Big Finish Productions for their The Lost Stories
The Lost Stories
The Lost Stories are a range of Doctor Who audio plays from Big Finish, adapted from unused TV stories.-Series 1:The first series is largely adapted from stories planned for the unmade 1985-1986 series...
audio series. These include The Nightmare Fair, Mission to Magnus and The Hollows of Time
The Hollows of Time
The Hollows of Time is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
, as well as lesser known stories, Leviathan
Leviathan (Doctor Who audio)
Leviathan is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. -Plot:The Doctor discovers a medieval village where nobody ages...
, Point of Entry and The Macros
The Macros
The Macros is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. -Plot:...
(originally titled The Macro Men).
Trial of a Time Lord candidates
Several scripts were commissioned for possible use as the third, four-episode segment of the Trial of a Time Lord story arc, a position ultimately taken by Terror of the VervoidsTerror of the Vervoids
Terror of the Vervoids is the title commonly used for a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 1 November to 22 November 1986. It is part of the larger narrative known as The Trial of a Time Lord, emcompassing the...
.
- Attack from the Mind by David HalliwellDavid HalliwellDavid William Halliwell was a British dramatist.Halliwell was an art student at Huddersfield College of Art who later studied acting at RADA and was expelled for a time from the former institution...
, set on the planet Penelope, which went through several drafts in consideration of becoming a segment of the Trial arc but was ultimately dropped. - The Second Coming a two parter by Jack Trevor StoryJack Trevor StoryJack Trevor Story was a British novelist, publishing prolifically from the 1940s to the 1970s. His best-known work is the story for Alfred Hitchcock's comedy The Trouble With Harry, the Albert Argyle trilogy , and his Horace Spurgeon novels Jack Trevor Story (30 March 1917 - 5 December 1991) was a...
set alongside Halliwell's story that was likewise ultimately dropped. - Pinacotheca (aka The Last Adventure) by Christopher H. Bidmead.
- Paradise Five (aka End of Term) by P.J. Hammond, creator of Sapphire and Steel. Paradise Five would have seen the Doctor and new companion MelMelanie BushMel, also sometimes referred to as Melanie, is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A computer programmer from the 20th Century who is a companion of the Sixth and Seventh Doctors, she was a regular in the programme from 1986 to 1987...
going undercover to expose sinister doings on a holiday pleasure planet.
Paradise 5
Paradise 5
Paradise 5 is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. -Plot:...
was adapted for audio as part of Big Finish Productions' Lost Stories
The Lost Stories
The Lost Stories are a range of Doctor Who audio plays from Big Finish, adapted from unused TV stories.-Series 1:The first series is largely adapted from stories planned for the unmade 1985-1986 series...
series. The trial elements are removed and Mel has been replaced with Peri. P.J. Hammond would later become a writer for Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
.
Mel introduction story
According to his book Doctor Who: The Companions (published at about the time Trial of a Time Lord was broadcast), series producer John Nathan-TurnerJohn Nathan-Turner
John Nathan-Turner was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, from 1980 until it was effectively cancelled in 1989...
intended to chronicle the Doctor's first meeting with Melanie Bush
Melanie Bush
Mel, also sometimes referred to as Melanie, is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A computer programmer from the 20th Century who is a companion of the Sixth and Seventh Doctors, she was a regular in the programme from 1986 to 1987...
in a later episode, presumably during Series 24. The subsequent dismissal of Colin Baker
Colin Baker
Colin Baker is a British actor who is known for playing Paul Merroney in The Brothers from 1974 to 1976 and as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, from 1984 to 1986.- Background:Colin Baker was born in London, but moved north to...
from the role of the Doctor rendered this potential storyline moot, although the later novel Business Unusual
Business Unusual
Business Unusual is a BBC Books original novel written by Gary Russell and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Sixth Doctor, Melanie Bush, and the Brigadier....
would attempt to fill in this gap in the show's continuity.
Other Sixth Doctor stories
- Untitled, by Eric Pringle
- Untitled, by Robin Squire
- League of the Tancreds, by Peter GrimwadePeter GrimwadePeter Grimwade was a British television writer and director, best known for his work on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who....
- Leviathan (aka Livanthian), by Brain Finch (released as part of Big FinishBig Finish ProductionsBig Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
's Lost StoriesThe Lost StoriesThe Lost Stories are a range of Doctor Who audio plays from Big Finish, adapted from unused TV stories.-Series 1:The first series is largely adapted from stories planned for the unmade 1985-1986 series...
in January 2010) - The Guardians of Prophecy (aka The Place of Serenity), by Johnny Bryne
- Hex, by Peter LingPeter LingPeter Ling was a British writer in many media, but best known for his work in television, where he was the co-creator of the soap opera Crossroads....
and Hazel Adair (will be renamed HexagoraHexagoraHexagora is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. -Plot:...
and released as part of Big FinishBig Finish ProductionsBig Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
's Lost StoriesThe Lost StoriesThe Lost Stories are a range of Doctor Who audio plays from Big Finish, adapted from unused TV stories.-Series 1:The first series is largely adapted from stories planned for the unmade 1985-1986 series...
in November 2011) - The First Sontarans, by Andrew Smith
- Dark Labyrinth, by David BanksDavid BanksDavid Banks is a British actor.As a theatre actor he has played many leading roles in London and throughout the UK...
- Doomwraiths, by Philip MartinPhilip Martin (screenwriter)Philip Martin is an English television screenwriter.His early work included regular series such as Z-Cars in the late 1960s/early 70s, but his most famous work is the postmodern television series Gangsters. This was an examination of race seen through an increasingly surreal vision of...
- The Ghost Planet, by Robin SquireRobin SquireRobin Clifford Squire was a British politician. He was the Conservative MP for Hornchurch from 1979 until 1997 when he lost the seat to John Cryer....
- Iceberg, by David Banks
- Space Sargasso, by Philip Martin
- Valley of Shadows, by Philip Martin
Shrine
Writer Marc PlattMarc Platt
Marc Platt is a British writer. He is most known for his work with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.After studying catering at a technical college, Platt worked first for Trust House Forte, and then in administration for the BBC...
proposed a serial for Series 26 inspired by Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
's War and Peace
War and Peace
War and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in 1869. The work is epic in scale and is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature...
, concerning aliens looking for their God-King in Tsarist Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. His idea was rejected in favour of a story that became Ghost Light
Ghost Light (Doctor Who)
-Pre-production:Working titles for this story included The Bestiary and Life-Cycle. As revealed in the production notes for the DVD release, the story was renamed Das Haus der tausend Schrecken upon translation into German.The story evolved out of an earlier, rejected script entitled Lungbarrow...
.
Season 27 and beyond
Before the original Doctor Who series reached its conclusion, some plans had been made for a proposed Season 27.- The opener was to be Earth Aid by Ben AaronovitchBen AaronovitchBen Denis Aaronovitch is a London-born British writer who has worked on television series including Doctor Who, Casualty, Jupiter Moon and Dark Knight...
, a space operaSpace operaSpace opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap...
featuring a race of samuraiSamuraiis the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
insect-like aliens called the Metatraxi. Earth Aid was to open with AceAce (Doctor Who)Dorothy Gale McShane, better known by her nickname Ace, is a fictional character played by Sophie Aldred in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
in the captain's chair of a starship, and the story would concern the politics of humanitarian aidHumanitarian aidHumanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
. The story was originally conceived as a stage play entitled Doctor Who: The Ultimate Adventure and War World. The Metatraxi were later used in Lawrence MilesLawrence MilesLawrence Miles is a science fiction author known for his work on original Doctor Who novels and the subsequent spin-off Faction Paradox...
' spin-off novel Alien BodiesAlien BodiesAlien Bodies is an original novel written by Lawrence Miles and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Eighth Doctor and Sam. This story marks the first appearance of Faction Paradox, a time travelling Gallifreyan voodoo cult...
. - Ice Time, written by Marc Platt, was to feature Ice WarriorIce WarriorThe Ice Warriors are a fictional extraterrestrial race of reptilian-like humanoids in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The race originated on Mars, and first appeared in the 1967 serial The Ice Warriors where they encountered the Second Doctor and his...
s in 1960s London, and would have seen the departure of AceAce (Doctor Who)Dorothy Gale McShane, better known by her nickname Ace, is a fictional character played by Sophie Aldred in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
to the Prydonian Academy to become a Time LordTime LordThe Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
. The story was to introduce a character with underworld connections who was intended to become a recurring character similar to the BrigadierBrigadier Lethbridge-StewartBrigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Nicholas Courtney...
. The plot would have featured an Ice Warrior's armour in the London DungeonLondon DungeonThe London Dungeon is a popular London tourist attraction, which recreates various gory and macabre historical events in a grimly comedic 'gallows humour' style, attempting to make them appealing to younger audiences...
and two reincarnated Warriors continuing a long rivalry. Platt also intended to have bikers being controlled by the Ice Warriors (and wearing similar helmets), scenes on a terraformed pastoral Mars, and a more mystical bent to the aliens while deepening their history. Marc Platt has revealed that the name Ice Time was "only ever invented for an article in Doctor Who Magazine." - Crime of the Century was to have been written by Andrew CartmelAndrew CartmelAndrew Cartmel is a British science fiction writer and journalist, and former script editor of Doctor Who. He has also worked as a script editor on other television series, as a magazine editor, a film studies lecturer and as a novelist.-Biography:...
, and would have introduced a cat burglar/safecracker as the next companion. The story was also intended to feature drug smuggling and a house on Earth as a base for the Doctor, ideas which Cartmel would use in his Virgin New AdventuresVirgin New AdventuresThe Virgin New Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
novel, Cat's Cradle: WarheadCat's Cradle: WarheadCat's Cradle: Warhead is an original novel written by Andrew Cartmel and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor and Ace...
. - Alixion by Robin Mukherjee, in which the Doctor would be lured to an isolated asteroid to play a series of life-or-death games and would have regenerated at the end of the story.
Other serials under consideration, submitted, or commissioned included:
- Night Thoughts by Edward Young, a horror story set on an isolated island. The story took its name and theme from the poem Night-ThoughtsNight-ThoughtsNight-Thoughts is a piece for piano solo written by Aaron Copland in 1972 for the fourth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.The piece is subtitled "Homage to Ives". It is about eight minutes long....
by Edward YoungEdward YoungEdward Young was an English poet, best remembered for Night Thoughts.-Early life:He was the son of Edward Young, later Dean of Salisbury, and was born at his father's rectory at Upham, near Winchester, where he was baptized on 3 July 1683. He was educated at Winchester College, and matriculated...
, namesake of the story's writer. In 2006, Big Finish released Night ThoughtsNight Thoughts (Doctor Who audio)Night Thoughts is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Plot:...
as an audio story with the Seventh Doctor and Ace, as well as adding their own companion HexHex (Doctor Who)Thomas Hector Schofield, nicknamed Hex, is a fictional character played by Philip Olivier in a series of audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A staff nurse working for St. Gart's Hospital in London in the year...
. - Illegal Alien by Mike TuckerMike TuckerMike Tucker is a special effects expert who worked for many years at the BBC Television Visual Effects Department, and now works as an Effects Supervisor for his own company, The Model Unit. He is also the author of a variety of spin-offs relating to the television series Doctor Who and...
and Robert Perry, a 1940s CybermenCybermanThe 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...
story. Illegal AlienIllegal Alien (Doctor Who)Illegal Alien is a BBC Books original novel written by Mike Tucker and Robert Perry and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor and Ace, as well as the Cybermen....
was adapted as a novel in 1997. - A School For Glory by Tony Etchells, set during The Great War.
- Avatar by David A. McInteeDavid A. McIntee-Biography:McIntee has written many spin-off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, as well as one each based on Final Destination and Space: 1999. He has also written a non-fiction book on Star Trek: Voyager and one jointly on the Alien and Predator movie franchises...
, a LovecraftianCthulhu MythosThe Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
horror. - Hostage by Neil Penswick, a futuristic thriller.
Big Finish Productions has produced audio adaptations of several of the Season 27 scripts as part of their Lost Stories
The Lost Stories
The Lost Stories are a range of Doctor Who audio plays from Big Finish, adapted from unused TV stories.-Series 1:The first series is largely adapted from stories planned for the unmade 1985-1986 series...
releases. The safecracking companion (who was never named during the planning for Season 27) has been named Raine Creevey and she is portrayed by Beth Chalmers.
The Dark Dimension
For the series' 30th anniversary in 1993, BBC Enterprises planned a made-for-TV movie titled The Dark Dimension. The film was to feature an alternative timeline in which the Fourth Doctor never regenerated, and involve cameo appearances for the other remaining Doctors. The writers intended Rik MayallRik Mayall
Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...
to play the part of the villain, Hawkspur.
The production did not occur, in part due to problems between the BBC and BBC Enterprises, and the difficulty in coordinating the short appearances of the other actors. Instead, the anniversary was celebrated with the light-hearted (and widely regarded as non-canonical
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
) charity special, Dimensions in Time
Dimensions in Time
Dimensions in Time is a charity special crossover between the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and the soap opera EastEnders that ran in two parts on 26 and 27 November 1993. It was filmed on the EastEnders Albert Square set, and features several of the stars of that programme...
.
Other Seventh Doctor stories
- Lungburrow, by Marc Platt (released as a New Adventure in 1997)
Leekley stories
Early in the process that was to lead to the 1996 Doctor Who film, Universal TelevisionUniversal Television
Universal Television is the television production arm of the NBCUniversal Television Group, and by extension, the NBC television network...
had Amblin Entertainment
Amblin Entertainment
Amblin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1981. Amblin is only a production company, and has never distributed its own movies, nor has it fully financed its...
produced a writers' bible which detailed John Leekley
John Leekley
John Leekley is an American writer, director and producer. He is one of the most prolific writer/producers in television. He received a Primetime Emmy Award for his work as Executive Producer/Writer on the HBO Original Series “Spawn”....
's proposed pilot and episodes of a new series. The new series would have established a new continuity rather than following on from the classic series, and the bible reused many elements from the classic series. It is unclear whether clearance could have been obtained for all the episodes detailed, as the costs would likely have fallen to the BBC.
The pilot was to feature the half-human Doctor seeking his father, Ulysses, through various time periods—contemporary Gallifrey (where Borusa dies and is merged with the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
, and the Master
Master (Doctor Who)
The Master is a recurring character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is a renegade Time Lord and the archenemy of the Doctor....
becomes leader of the Time Lords), England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
during the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
, Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
, and Skaro
Skaro
Skaro is a fictional planet from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who created by the writer Terry Nation as the home planet of the Daleks and, at times, the centre of the Dalek Empire....
(where the Daleks are being created
Genesis of the Daleks
Genesis of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was originally broadcast in six weekly parts from 8 March to 12 April 1975. It marks the first appearance of Davros, the creator of the Daleks.-Plot:...
). A writer for Doctor Who Magazine, when reviewing the Revisitations boxset from 2010 (which included special editions of "The Talons of Weng Chiang", "The Caves of Androzani", and the TV Movie), described the proposed idea as "a self-mythologizing guff".
Other proposed episodes in the bible included The Pirates, in which the Doctor teamed up with Blackbeard
Blackbeard
Edward Teach , better known as Blackbeard, was a notorious English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American colonies....
, and several remakes of stories from the classic series, including
- The Talons of Weng-ChiangThe Talons of Weng-ChiangThe Talons of Weng-Chiang is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 26 February to 2 April 1977.-Synopsis:...
, set in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east... - EarthshockEarthshockEarthshock is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 8 March to 16 March 1982...
, featuring the "Cybs" (Leekley's more piratical version of the Cybermen) - Horror of Fang RockHorror of Fang RockHorror of Fang Rock is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 September to 24 September 1977.-Synopsis:...
- The Celestial ToymakerThe Celestial ToymakerThe Celestial Toymaker is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 2 April to 23 April 1966.-Plot:...
, who was to be under the control of the Master. - Don't Shoot, I'm the Doctor, a more historically-accurate remake of The GunfightersThe GunfightersThe Gunfighters is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, set in 19th Century America on the days leading up to the famous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral...
- Tomb of the Cybs, a remake of The Tomb of the CybermenThe Tomb of the CybermenThe Tomb of the Cybermen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that originally aired in four weekly parts from September 2 to September 23, 1967 and is the earliest serial starring Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor to exist in its entirety...
in which the Cybs are awoken by the Master - The Yeti, a remake of The Abominable SnowmenThe Abominable SnowmenThe Abominable Snowmen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from September 30 to November 4, 1967. The story is notable for the introduction of recurring foes, the Yeti....
featuring the Dalai LamaDalai LamaThe Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
and Sir Edmund Hillary - The Ark in SpaceThe Ark in SpaceThe Ark in Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 25 January to 15 February 1975.-Plot:The TARDIS materialises in a darkened room on board the station...
Earlier versions of the bible included, among them:
- The Cybs, a story set on Mars in which the Doctor escapes capture by hiding in a gold mine
- A remake of The Sea DevilsThe Sea DevilsThe Sea Devils is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from February 26 to April 1, 1972.-Synopsis:...
, set in a LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
oil rigOil platformAn oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing... - The Outcasts, in which the Cybs would attack Gallifreyan outcastsThe Invasion of TimeThe Invasion of Time is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 4 February to 11 March 1978...
- The Land of Fear, a conflation of The Reign of Terror and The Claws of AxosThe Claws of Axos-Writing:In late 1969, script editor Terrance Dicks contacted new writing duo Bob Baker and Dave Martin after reading a draft script they had sent around the BBC for another production, A Man's Life. After offering the duo a seven-part story in November 1969 for Doctor Whos eighth season, Baker and...
- A remake of The DæmonsThe DæmonsThe Dæmons is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in five weekly parts from May 22 to June 19, 1971.-Plot:...
, set in Salem, MassachusettsSalem, MassachusettsSalem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County... - A completed version of ShadaShadaShada is an unaired serial of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was intended to be the final serial of the 1979-80 season , but was never completed due to a strike at the BBC during filming...
, which would have introduced RomanaRomanaRomana, short for Romanadvoratrelundar, is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
and Professor Chronotis as her uncle.
Leekley's scripts were not well-received at Amblin or elsewhere; and in September 1994, he was removed from the project.
The New Team/Pompeii
Conceived by Paul AbbottPaul Abbott
Paul Abbott is a BAFTA award-winning English television screenwriter and producer. Abbott has become one of the most critically and commercially successful television writers working in Britain today, following his work on many popular series, including Coronation Street, Cracker and Shameless,...
, this episode was intended for episode 11 of series 1
Doctor Who (series 1)
The new first series of British science fiction series Doctor Who began on 26 March 2005 with the episode "Rose", which marked the end of the programme's 16-year absence from episodic television following its cancellation in 1989, and aired its finale episode "The Parting of the Ways" on 18 June 2005...
. With Jack Harkness
Jack Harkness
Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. He first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and reappeared in the remaining episodes of the 2005 series as a companion of the ninth incarnation of the...
having joined the Ninth Doctor
Ninth Doctor
The Ninth Doctor is the ninth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by Christopher Eccleston....
and Rose Tyler
Rose Tyler
Rose Marion Tyler is a fictional character portrayed by Billie Piper in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was created by series producer Russell T Davies...
, Rose feels left out. But when they land in Pompeii in 79 AD, Jack discovers that Rose's life has been manipulated by the Doctor in an experiment to create the perfect companion. Abbot's commitment to Shameless and other projects led to him dropping out of the episode and Russell T Davies took over, before scrapping the idea and writing "Boom Town
Boom Town (Doctor Who)
"Boom Town" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 4 June 2005. The Doctor, Rose and Jack travel to modern-day Cardiff and meet up with Rose's boyfriend, Mickey...
" in its place.
Tenth Doctor
For Series 2 of 2006, an untitled episode 2 set at Buckingham PalaceBuckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
, concerned Queen Victoria getting an alien insect in her eye.
For the same series, episode 11 involved a villain who has discovered how to drain things of their beauty, and has reduced his planet to a sterile grey landscape.
The 1920s
The revived Doctor Who series was to feature a script by Stephen FryStephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, set in the 1920s. Rumours appeared on the BBC's websites shortly after the airing of the new Series 1 and the story was pencilled in as the tenth episode of Series 2. According to a video diary entry by David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
, Fry attended the very first cast read-through for Series 2, indicating that his script was still under consideration at that point. Due to budgetary constraints, the episode was moved to Series 3 and replaced by Fear Her
Fear Her
"Fear Her" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 24 June 2006.The episode takes part on the day of the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, almost exclusively on a fictitious cul-de-sac named after the British athlete...
.
The story was subsequently abandoned, as Fry did not have spare time for the rewriting necessary to replace Rose
Rose Tyler
Rose Marion Tyler is a fictional character portrayed by Billie Piper in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was created by series producer Russell T Davies...
with Martha
Martha Jones
Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. She is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, replacing Rose Tyler...
. Fry said, "They asked me to do a series and I tried, but I just ran out of time, and so I wrote a pathetic letter of "I'm sorry I can't do this" to Russell Davies."
Century House
A "companion-lite" episode, Century House was written by Tom MacRaeTom MacRae
Tom MacRae is a British television writer. He is the creator of Sky One’s Mile High. He has also written for Channel 4's No Angels and As If....
for Series 3 of the revised show. The Doctor was to appear on a live broadcast of Most Haunted
Most Haunted
Most Haunted is a British paranormal documentary reality television series. The series was first shown on 25 May 2002 and ended on 21 July 2010. It was broadcast on Living and presented by Yvette Fielding. The programme was based on investigating purported paranormal activity...
, investigating a house haunted by the "Red Widow", with Martha Jones
Martha Jones
Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. She is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, replacing Rose Tyler...
watching at home as a framing device. The episode did not fit into the production schedule, and was reworked such that the show was watched by Donna Noble
Donna Noble
Donna Noble is a fictional character played by Catherine Tate in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A secretary from Chiswick, London, she is a companion of the Tenth Doctor, appearing in one scene at the end of the final episode of the 2006 series,...
and her mother Sylvia.
Due to dissatisfaction with the premise, and to avoid two comedic episodes in the same series, the episode was dropped and replaced with Russell T Davies' Midnight
Midnight (Doctor Who)
"Midnight" is the tenth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 14 June 2008. The episode placed much more emphasis on the role of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor than in the rest of the fourth series, with the...
.
The Suicide Exhibition
During the Second World War, a Nazi task force assaults the Natural History Museum in London, which has been overrun by monsters. Later action would have involved the discovery of a secret chamber beneath the museum.This episode was written by Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock....
and planned to air in the fourth series of Doctor Who, but was replaced by The Fires of Pompeii
The Fires of Pompeii
"The Fires of Pompeii" is the second episode of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 12 April 2008....
. Elements of the story were later reused in Stephen Moffat's The Big Bang
The Big Bang (Doctor Who)
"The Big Bang" is the 13th and final episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is the second part of a two-part season finale started with "The Pandorica Opens", at the end of which The Doctor is trapped, the TARDIS destroyed, and Amy Pond has been shot...
, the finale of Series 5
Doctor Who (series 5)
The fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 3 April 2010 with "The Eleventh Hour" and ended with "The Big Bang" on 26 June 2010. The series was led by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, who took over after the departure of Russell T Davies. The...
.
2008 Christmas special untitled
On Christmas EveChristmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
, an alien creature attaches itself to author J.K. Rowling. Suddenly, the real world is replaced by a magical reality influenced by the writer's own imagination. The Doctor must battle witches and wizards to reach Rowling and put the world to rights.
A Midwinter's Tale
A grandmother is trapped in a posh hotel with her unruly family. Wishing that they'd all just disappear, she storms out of their suite to fetch some ice, only to find the corridors deserted. Returning to her rooms, she discovers that her family has indeed disappeared—but so has all of humanity. Finally, she comes upon the TARDIS and the Doctor. Investigating, they discover eight-legged centaur-like creatures abroad in London. It transpires that aliens from another dimension, the Shi'ar, have frozen time on Earth in order to hold a festival celebrating the marriage of their queen. The life of the grandmother's family becomes endangered, culminating in a race through secret tunnels beneath Buckingham Palace.Television spin-offs
During its run, several Doctor Who spin-offsDoctor Who spin-offs
Doctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of, but related to, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
have been proposed, including one featuring Professor George Litefoot
Professor George Litefoot
Professor George Litefoot was a character who appeared in the 1977 Doctor Who television serial, The Talons of Weng-Chiang. He was played by Trevor Baxter. He worked so well with Christopher Benjamin's character, Henry Gordon Jago, the production team briefly considered giving them their own...
and Henry Gordon Jago
Henry Gordon Jago
Henry Gordon Jago was a character who appeared in the 1977 Doctor Who television serial, The Talons of Weng-Chiang. He was played by Christopher Benjamin. He worked so well with Trevor Baxter's character, Professor George Litefoot, the production team briefly considered giving them their own...
from The Talons of Weng Chiang, and a children's show featuring "Young Doctor Who" which was vetoed by Russell T Davies and replaced by The Sarah Jane Adventures
The Sarah Jane Adventures
The Sarah Jane Adventures is a British science fiction television series, produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies and starring Elisabeth Sladen...
. The following is the remainder of the proposed but eventually cancelled spin-off productions of the series:
The Destroyers
In the mid-1960s, Dalek creator Terry NationTerry Nation
Terry Nation was a Welsh screenwriter and novelist.He is probably best known for creating the villainous Daleks in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who...
wrote a 30-minute teleplay entitled The Destroyers as a possible pilot episode
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
for an American-produced spin-off of Doctor Who. Like Doctor Who, the untitled series would have had a serial format and focus on the adventures of the SSS, an organization that finds itself battling the Daleks. Lead characters included agents Captain Jack Corey, David Kingdom, his sister Sara Kingdom
Sara Kingdom
Sara Kingdom is a fictional character played by Jean Marsh in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A security officer for Mavic Chen from the 41st century, she would later join the First Doctor and Steven to work against Chen's interests...
, and an android named Mark Seven.
Although the show went unproduced, elements of this teleplay (and in particular, Sara Kingdom) was earlier used in The Daleks' Master Plan
The Daleks' Master Plan
The Daleks' Master Plan is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The twelve episodes were aired from 13 November 1965 to 29 January 1966...
. Big Finish Productions released an audio adaptation in December 2010 as part of their Lost Stories
The Lost Stories
The Lost Stories are a range of Doctor Who audio plays from Big Finish, adapted from unused TV stories.-Series 1:The first series is largely adapted from stories planned for the unmade 1985-1986 series...
series, packaged with The Prison in Space.
Nelvana cartoon series
In the 1980s, a cartoon seriesCartoon series
A cartoon series is a set of regularly presented animated television programs with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same characters and a basic theme...
was planned by Canadian animation house Nelvana
Nelvana
Nelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment company founded in 1971 known for its work in children's animation. It was named by founders Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith after a Canadian comic book superheroine created by Adrian Dingle in the 1940s...
which was to feature an unspecified Doctor who incorporated elements of various BBC series Doctors.
Concept art was prepared depicting several possible versions of the Doctor as well as K-9, an unnamed companion, Daleks, Cybermen and few new characters but the project did not proceed further and no pilot was produced.
K-9 and Company (Series 1)
Elisabeth SladenElisabeth Sladen
Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen was an English actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series Doctor Who. She was a regular cast member from 1973 to 1976, alongside both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and reprised the role many times in subsequent decades, both on...
was approached to return to the series as Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running British BBC Television science-fiction series Doctor Who and its spin-offs K-9 and Company and The Sarah Jane Adventures....
, but resisted the offer. Following the outcry after K-9
K-9 (Doctor Who)
K-9, or K9, is the name of several fictional robotic canines in the long-running British science fiction television series, Doctor Who, first appearing in 1977...
was removed from the show, producer John Nathan-Turner
John Nathan-Turner
John Nathan-Turner was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, from 1980 until it was effectively cancelled in 1989...
proposed a spin-off featuring the two characters.
A single episode, "A Girl's Best Friend", was produced as a pilot for a proposed series, and broadcast by BBC1 as a Christmas special on 28 December 1981, but the series was not taken up. The basic premise of a series centered on Sarah Jane Smith was reused in the Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith: Comeback
Sarah Jane Smith: Comeback is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It stars Elisabeth Sladen reprising her role as Sarah Jane Smith.- Plot :...
audio series and in The Sarah Jane Adventures
The Sarah Jane Adventures
The Sarah Jane Adventures is a British science fiction television series, produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies and starring Elisabeth Sladen...
just over 25 years later.
Rose Tyler: Earth Defence
When it was decided that Billie PiperBillie Piper
Billie Paul Piper is an English singer and actress.She began her career in the late 1990s as a pop singer and then switched to acting. She started in acting and dancing and was talent spotted at the Sylvia Young stage school by Smash Hits magazine who wanted a "face" for their magazine...
would leave the series at the end of Series 2, executive producer and head writer Russell T Davies considered giving her character Rose Tyler
Rose Tyler
Rose Marion Tyler is a fictional character portrayed by Billie Piper in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was created by series producer Russell T Davies...
her own 90-minute spin-off production, Rose Tyler: Earth Defence, with the possibility of such a special becoming an annual Bank Holiday
Bank Holiday
A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...
event.
The special would have picked up from Rose's departure in Doomsday
Doomsday (Doctor Who)
"Doomsday" is the thirteenth and final episode in the second series of the revival of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 8 July 2006 and is the conclusion of a two-part story; the first part, "Army of Ghosts", was broadcast on 1 July 2006...
in which Rose joins the Torchwood Institute
Torchwood Institute
The Torchwood Institute is a fictional secret organization from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series Torchwood. It was established in 1879 by Queen Victoria after the events of "Tooth and Claw". Its prime directive, is to defend the earth against...
of a parallel Earth and the title is a play on what the Doctor says when she tells him. The special was officially commissioned by Peter Fincham
Peter Fincham
Peter Fincham is a British television producer and executive, currently the Director of Television for the ITV network. He was also formerly the Controller of BBC One, the primary television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation, until his resignation on 5 October 2007, following...
, the Controller of BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, and assigned a production budget.
Davies changed his mind while filming Piper's final scenes for Series 2 of 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...
, later calling Earth Defence "a spin-off too far" and deciding that for the audience to be able to see Rose when the Doctor could not would spoil the ending of Doomsday, and the production was cancelled. Davies said Piper had been told about the idea, but the project ended before she was formally approached about starring in it. The plot element of Tyler working with Torchwood to defend the earth would be revisited towards the end of Series 4 in 2008.
Proposed films
In the mid-1960s, two motion pictures starring Peter CushingPeter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
were produced based upon the television series. Since then, there have been periodic further attempts to adapt Doctor Who as a feature film.
The Chase
Cushing's human (as opposed to Time LordTime Lord
The Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
) version of the character, Dr. Who, appeared in two films—Dr. Who and the Daleks
Dr. Who and the Daleks
Dr. Who and the Daleks was the first of two Doctor Who films made in the 1960s. It was followed by Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D....
(a major box-office success in America, long before the television series aired there, and based upon The Daleks
The Daleks
The Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts from 21 December 1963 to 1 February 1964...
) and Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD
Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD
Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. is the second of two films based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. It was the sequel to Dr. Who and the Daleks , and starred Peter Cushing in his return to the role of the eccentric inventor and time traveller "Dr. Who". It also...
(based upon The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Dalek Invasion of Earth is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from November 21 to December 26, 1964....
). The second film failed to replicate the box-office success in America of the first film, and as a result plans for a third Cushing film—an adaptation of The Chase
The Chase (Doctor Who)
The Chase is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 22 May to 26 June 1965. The story is set on multiple locations including the Mary Celeste, the Empire State Building, and the planet Aridius...
—were cancelled.
Doctor Who Meets Scratchman
During spare time in filming, Tom BakerTom Baker
Thomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...
and Ian Marter
Ian Marter
Ian Don Marter was an English actor and writer, perhaps best known for his role as Harry Sullivan in the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, from December 1974 to September 1975 as a regular, with a one story return in November and December 1975...
(who played Harry Sullivan
Harry Sullivan
Harry Sullivan is a fictional character from the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who and is a companion of the Fourth Doctor...
in the series and later novelised several Doctor Who scripts for Target Books) wrote a script for a Doctor Who film, Doctor Who meets Scratchman.
The script, sometimes titled Doctor Who and the Big Game, saw the Doctor encounter the Daleks, meet the Devil known as Harry Scratch or Scratchman, robots known as Cybors, scarecrows made from bones, the Greek god Pan, and at times Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
and Twiggy
Twiggy
Lesley Lawson née Hornby known as Twiggy is an English model, actress, and singer. In the early-1960s she became a prominent British teenage model of swinging sixties London with others such as Penelope Tree....
were associated with the production to play as the villain Harry Scratch and a possible new female companion after Elisabeth Sladen left the TV series. The finale of the film was to have taken place on a giant pinball table, with the Doctor, Harry and Sarah dodging balls as well as battling Daleks on the board.
During his tenure as the Fourth Doctor
Fourth Doctor
The Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
, Baker repeatedly tried to attract funding for the film. At one point, he received substantial donations from fans, but after taking legal advice was forced to return them. The plans were eventually dropped.
A feature article about the film was featured in Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
issue 379 including the full screenplay of the story.
Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen
During the Fourth Doctor era, future Doctor Who script editor Douglas AdamsDouglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
at one point prepared a submission for a Doctor Who film, Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen.
Elements of Krikkitmen were used in the Key to Time story arc, for which Adams wrote a story, and Krikkitmen was reworked as the third Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book Life, the Universe and Everything
Life, the Universe and Everything
Life, the Universe and Everything is the third book in the five-volume Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy science fiction series by British writer Douglas Adams...
.
Lacuna film proposals (1987-1994)
As the original Doctor Who series was nearing its end and continuing during the first interregnum (1989–1996), numerous attempts were made to adapt the series for the big screen for the first time since the Peter Cushing films of the 1960s. Jean-Marc LofficierJean-Marc Lofficier
Jean-Marc Lofficier is a French author of books about films and television programs, as well as numerous comic books and translations of a number of animation screenplays. He usually collaborates with his wife, Randy Lofficier .-Biography:Jean-Marc Lofficier was born in Toulon, France in 1954...
, in his book The Nth Doctor, profiles a number of film proposals, some of which came close to being produced. Ultimately, however, the only film version of Doctor Who (other than the two Cushing films) produced to date has been the 1996 made-for-TV film which was developed as a continuation of the TV series rather than a reboot or reimagining of the concept. At one point, the film had the full working title, Doctor Who: The Last of the Time Lords.
Among the script proposals profiled by Lofficier are several submissions by Space: 1999
Space: 1999
Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and...
alumnus Johnny Byrne, plus others by Robert DeLaurentis, Adrian Rigelsford
Adrian Rigelsford
Adrian Rigelsford is a writer and TV historian whose factual and fictional work has been subject to controversy. In June 2004, he was convicted of stealing photographs from the Daily Mail/Associated Newspapers archive in Kensington...
, John Leekley
John Leekley
John Leekley is an American writer, director and producer. He is one of the most prolific writer/producers in television. He received a Primetime Emmy Award for his work as Executive Producer/Writer on the HBO Original Series “Spawn”....
, Mark Ezra and Denny Martin Flinn.
External links
- The Lost Stories on A Brief History of Time (Travel), which includes, in addition to the above stories, stories that were cancelled early in development.