Part II, Chapter XXXVII: "Keeping the Fans Happy"
“I think that one of the reasons that Season 27 is viewed so favourably by fans is that the writing that season seemed particularly tailored to them. Not that it wasn’t normally, but with it being the season of the thirtieth anniversary, the writers wanted to make sure that fans that had seen more of the older seasons got plenty out of it.”
- Russell T. Davies speaking about the writing of Season 27 of
Doctor Who. [1]
Season 27 of
Doctor Who, the sixth of the American series, was gearing up to be monumental for two big reasons. Firstly, it would be actor Siddig El-Fadil’s last as the Eighth Doctor, building excitement for the reveal of who would be playing the Ninth Doctor. Secondly, the season coincided with the thirtieth anniversary of the show. As the season consisted of twenty-six weekly episodes, beginning in May, the last four episodes, comprising of the anniversary story
The Dark Dimension, would be delayed by a little over two weeks so that the final part could be released on the 23rd of November 1993, the date of the anniversary.
With these two factors at play, Cartmel and the rest of the production team were promising that this season would be the biggest yet, seeing old faces return and the Doctor dealing with dangerous foes, old and new.
The season’s stories saw many old friends and foes of the Doctor return.
Meltdown would see Victoria Waterfield, one of the Second Doctor’s companions. The season opener,
The People From Nowhere, would see the return of Sergeant Benton. Romana and E-Space would return in
Closed Circle, while the Brigadier would return in
The Dark Dimension. [2]
The first three stories of the season would form a loose arc continuing on from the Doctor and Rachel’s stranding on Earth at the conclusion of
This Sceptred Isle. Throughout the season, it would become clear that the Web of Time is still destabilising, despite the Doctor and the Time Lords’ best efforts. This would culminate in the manifestation of a ‘Chronovore’, a being made of temporal energy that removed persons and altered events to restabilise the Web of Time.
The season finale,
The Dark Dimension, would open on a devastated Earth in the year 2148, where humanity is nearly extinct. There, a group of rebels, led by a character called “Summerfield”, would find the Eighth Doctor’s dead body, and a weakened Chronovore. The Chronovore would then alter time so that the Fourth Doctor survived his fall from the Pharos Project in
Logopolis. [3]
The story
The Dark Dimension was costlier than any other
Doctor Who television story at that point. The production team would collaborate with Jim Henson’s Workshop in creating the alternate Cybermen and Daleks, and many previous actors would be asked to return. The script called for the return of the Second through Seventh Doctors, though focus was given to the alternate Fourth Doctor.
The fact that Tom Baker would be given more screen time than any other actor in the special was a source of conflict among the other returning actors, in particular Jon Pertwee. To satisfy them, the script was altered to give them a larger part in the story, though Baker did still receive the most screen time. In stark contrast, the Sixth Doctor’s part was greatly reduced when Christopher Lloyd revealed his disinterest in the project and threatened to pull out. [4]
The story would consist of four parts, but would be more akin to an anthology of connected stories. Throughout, the alternate Fourth Doctor, accompanied by an alternate Brigadier and Rachel, would try to defeat the Chronovore, also acting as a framing story for the other Doctors’ battles against the creature. Despite this, no old companions would be asked to return, for fear of over-crowding the story. [5]
The first episode would encompass the Second and Third Doctor battling the Chronovore, the second documenting the Fifth and Seventh Doctors’ battles, the third focussing on the Eighth Doctor, while the final episode would see the Doctors uniting to put an end to the Chronovore’s changes to time.
The Dark Dimension would also see an alternate theme produced, to highlight its alternate historical setting. Music group Cybertech would be brought in to produce the theme and background music for the episode, covering for Lindsey Buckingham. This season would also be Buckingham’s last as composer, as he decided to focus on more commercial endeavours once more. [6]
While alternate versions of many enemies would appear in
The Dark Dimension, most of the enemies of the season would be new to the season. The Cybermen, however, would appear twice, with two designs. Their first appearance would see them with the
The Cyber Invasion design, while their second, in
The Dark Dimension, would make use of the rejected design for that film. The design would be highly controversial at the time, with many complaining that it was too scary, and others criticising that it was too much of a departure from the more classic designs. [7]
The Chronovore would primarily be rendered in computer imagery for its native form, but it would also have a human form, as it posessed a character called “Professor Hawkspur”. Hawkspur would be played by English actor Malcolm McDowell. McDowell agreed to appear as he was the maternal uncle of Eighth Doctor actor Siddig El-Fadil. [8]
The return of classic actors Lalla Ward and Deborah Watling, along with the reappearance of Nicholas Courtney, would be met with positive reception from fans. In addition, new guest stars like Adam Arkin would be followed closely as fans speculated as to who the next Doctor could be. The writers were refusing to give any hints, and it would not be until half-way through the season that they would reveal who would be playing the Ninth Doctor. [9]
1993 would bring the biggest season of
Doctor Who yet, as excitement mounted for the anniversary story and the return of many old characters.
[1] He's not writing for Doctor Who just yet, but he will be soon. I'm going to start hinting stuff for the future now, as I've hit a massive creative flow.
[2] The People From Nowhere is one of at least five stories this season written by @The Chimera Virus. He writes the opening three stories and a couple of others throughout the season. Also present will be a story by @Drorac, who wrote the Seventh Doctor's final story.
[3] I'm using the basic premise of that unproduced story, but as we don't really know anything more about it, I've taken it in my own direction. Much of this update is about that one story.
[4] At this point, Lloyd has a successful film career, and so he's still sort of moved on from Doctor Who.
[5] I originally had other companions come back, but realised that it didn't make much sense within the context of the story, and I wasn't really sure what to do with them.
[6] Yes, the Cybertech that did the Dimensions in Time theme. The theme will be quite different. I'd imagine it being much closer to the non-club mix on their first album, which I was introduced to by @The Chimera Virus. Thanks again for that!
[7] I love those "Dark Dimension" designs. Taken straight from OTL too. I also think that they would be very scary at the time, especially for children, though the entire story will be pretty dark. They'll be remembered for a good while.
[8] He can do a villain brilliantly, and there's a good reason for him to be involved if Siddig suggests it. He was nearly in DS9, should Siddig have directed an episode of it he would have appeared.
[9] You'll find out who on Friday. I'm looking forward to revealing it.