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Chapter XVIII: The Production of Season 31 of Doctor Who
Season 30 of Doctor Who was, by every measure, a success. Gaiman’s style reinvigorated the franchise, and the new main cast seemed to have a chemistry not seen since the late 1980s. As a result, the announcement that Dante Basco would be joining the cast as a third companion midway through the season would leave many fans surprised. Nonetheless, early interviews seemed to suggest that he would fit in well.
In the run-up to its release, Gaiman announced that Season 31 would see the return of some iconic monsters from the classic series, but gave no indication as to which. He also announced that the season would see the mystery of Lucie solved.
The season would be notable in that the Master did not feature whatsoever, the first such occasion since Season 17 of the Classic Series back in 1979. That said, a new “Gallifreyan Gallery of Rogues” would be established, with many new characters like the Corsair and Iris Wildthyme making their debut appearances. The Monk and the Minister of Chance would also return, now played by Willie Rushton and Catherine Zeta-Jones respectively. This marked the first on-screen example of a Time Lord changing gender between regenerations, a fact that would lead many fans to wonder if the next Doctor would be female.
A notable inclusion in the new Gallery of Rogues was the Veteran, played by actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Many were surprised to see such a well-known actor appear on the show, though Schwarzenegger’s career had taken something of a downturn as of late. With Doctor Who’s prominence in pop-culture, it was his hope that appearing on the show could reinvigorate his career.
The "Gallifreyan Gallery of Rogues". From left to right: The Veteran (Arnold Schwarzenegger), The Minister (Catherine Zeta Jones), The Monk (Willie Rushton), Iris Wildthyme (Rue McClanahan), The Libertine (Leslie Jordan), and The Corsair (Claudia Black).
The production of the series would hit some minor stumbling blocks, however, as the planned story The Royal Disease, set during the Russian Revolution, was forced to be cut amidst the increasing civil unrest in Russia. The stories that replaced it, Crossing Wires and Where Time Runs Thin, were written on short notice, and Eek! A Spouse! was brought forward in the season. Despite this, production did continue on relatively unhindered. Doctor Who would continue to tackle heavier subjects in this season, especially with The Memory Hole, which dealt with memory loss and issues facing intersex people.
The release of the season would be notable for multiple reasons, and the opening story, The Happiness Patrol was the cause of most of these. The story, written by Graeme Curry and Neil Gaiman, was clearly a thinly-veiled criticism of the outgoing Thatcher government in the UK. While it caused some uproar in the Conservative benches, the newly inaugurated Prime Minister, Tony Benn, upon hearing these remarks, would joke “I’ve never been a fan, but I think I’ll give it a second chance now.” Benn later cited Season 31 as having “made a fan of [him].”
Another memorable moment would come at the end of The Backbone of Night, a story that saw the Doctor meet Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde. The final five minutes of the second part of the story would be cut off by a nation-wide activation of the new Emergency Alert System. Ultimately, the activation proved to be the result of a signal intrusion at one of the Primary Entry Point stations.
The intrusion was notable in that it was the first, and to date only, to abuse the EAS. The intruders broadcast a message beginning with the nationwide broadcast SAME header, which resulted in the WJR/Detroit station forwarding the message on to the other PEP stations, meaning the message was transmitted across the entire nation. The actual message of the intruders was never seen, as the EAS system’s activation overrode their broadcast, and normal broadcasting was not resumed until the end of the intrusion.
The perpetrators were never found, and the timing of the incident (coinciding with Doctor Who) led many to believe that they may have been inspired by the 1987 Max Headroom incident, which saw the interruption of a re-run of Horror of Fang Rock. This “Ten Minutes of Silence” intrusion had many lasting effects. It was the basis for the 2014 story Lost in Silence in Tom Scott’s FastForward, as well as many other TV stories related to the EAS.
The incident, combined with the nationwide activation of the EAS in March 1998, would result in the security of the network being greatly increased. No further intrusions would take place, and by the time that the system would be activated nationwide again in 2000, it had undergone many improvements.
Opinion was divided on the ostensible finale, Just War (with Bellwether treated as a coda). The uncompromising depiction of the Nazi occupation of Guernsey and the lead villain being an intelligent, capable man who elected to be evil because he enjoyed it caused many a discussion about the nature of evil. Lucie’s torture scenes also provoked a many complaints.
The Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC) also received a bevy of complaints for almost every story in the season. These ranged from the “blatantly anti-government” message of The Happiness Patrol, to the “death fetishism” of The Offer, unfounded accusations that The House Always Wins promoted "child gambling", and especially the apparently “sexually perverted” relationship between the Libertine and Malcolm in The Memory Hole and The League of Extraordinary Time Lords. The latter point was somewhat intentional, with Malcolm being presented as being effectively the Libertine’s servant in every regard. Surprisingly few complaints were lodged about the risqué Iris Wildthyme, though both her character and Eek! A Spouse! proved incredibly divisive to both fans and critics. Writer Paul Magrs and producer Neil Gaiman loved it, and another, longer script featuring Iris was immediately picked up for the following season.
Season 31 also brought around the renewal of the cast’s contracts. Unusually, Paul McGann announced that he would stay beyond his third season, the first Doctor since Tom Baker to stay for that long. Alex Rice and Nicole de Boer both decided to not renew their contracts.
As planning for Season 32 was underway, several issues presented themselves. Firstly, the budget was becoming increasingly thin. The lawsuit between the BBC and Avery Brooks had finally been settled out of court, with the BBC agreeing to produce a series of specials constituting a “third season” for Brooks, to be released in 1998. These would be set between The Dark Dimension and Season 28.
In addition, with the show’s increased popularity, an animated series had been commissioned, with Universal Animation Studios being hired to create the show. At the time, budgets for these two spin-offs had not been separated from the central Doctor Who budget, so cuts needed to be made somewhere. Eventually, Gaiman agreed to make Season 33 shorter. Planning for this season began almost immediately, as the shortened length meant that Gaiman could do something he’d wanted to try for a while, recapturing the essence of the Trial of a Time Lord arc, and making the entire season one long overarching story.
A still from the Doctor Who: The Animated Series story Batter Up!
With the first season of Doctor Who: The Animated Series set to start in late 1997, and a brand-new set of Avery Brooks stories in 1998, it looked like the next year was going to be a good one for Whovians everywhere. Rumor had it that both Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox were going to resume their iconic roles for the series. In the end, of course, the truth was far more complex, but the Sixth Doctor and Marty McFly still had plenty of life in them yet.
Chapter XVIII: "I Can't Keep Track of All Your Sworn Enemies!"
"I think that our second season was our high point, though that's not to say that our others weren't good. But every story seemed to be good in that season. I think we were on top form as well, looking back. I had a lot of fun then, though Ryan certainly made the third season a lot of fun. But the second season was where it was at. The world seemed to be looking up and we finally got to see Lucie's origins. After 1997, well, the whole mood in the US changed."
- Nicole de Boer on why Season 31 is her favourite season of Doctor Who.Season 30 of Doctor Who was, by every measure, a success. Gaiman’s style reinvigorated the franchise, and the new main cast seemed to have a chemistry not seen since the late 1980s. As a result, the announcement that Dante Basco would be joining the cast as a third companion midway through the season would leave many fans surprised. Nonetheless, early interviews seemed to suggest that he would fit in well.
In the run-up to its release, Gaiman announced that Season 31 would see the return of some iconic monsters from the classic series, but gave no indication as to which. He also announced that the season would see the mystery of Lucie solved.
The season would be notable in that the Master did not feature whatsoever, the first such occasion since Season 17 of the Classic Series back in 1979. That said, a new “Gallifreyan Gallery of Rogues” would be established, with many new characters like the Corsair and Iris Wildthyme making their debut appearances. The Monk and the Minister of Chance would also return, now played by Willie Rushton and Catherine Zeta-Jones respectively. This marked the first on-screen example of a Time Lord changing gender between regenerations, a fact that would lead many fans to wonder if the next Doctor would be female.
A notable inclusion in the new Gallery of Rogues was the Veteran, played by actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Many were surprised to see such a well-known actor appear on the show, though Schwarzenegger’s career had taken something of a downturn as of late. With Doctor Who’s prominence in pop-culture, it was his hope that appearing on the show could reinvigorate his career.
The "Gallifreyan Gallery of Rogues". From left to right: The Veteran (Arnold Schwarzenegger), The Minister (Catherine Zeta Jones), The Monk (Willie Rushton), Iris Wildthyme (Rue McClanahan), The Libertine (Leslie Jordan), and The Corsair (Claudia Black).
The production of the series would hit some minor stumbling blocks, however, as the planned story The Royal Disease, set during the Russian Revolution, was forced to be cut amidst the increasing civil unrest in Russia. The stories that replaced it, Crossing Wires and Where Time Runs Thin, were written on short notice, and Eek! A Spouse! was brought forward in the season. Despite this, production did continue on relatively unhindered. Doctor Who would continue to tackle heavier subjects in this season, especially with The Memory Hole, which dealt with memory loss and issues facing intersex people.
The release of the season would be notable for multiple reasons, and the opening story, The Happiness Patrol was the cause of most of these. The story, written by Graeme Curry and Neil Gaiman, was clearly a thinly-veiled criticism of the outgoing Thatcher government in the UK. While it caused some uproar in the Conservative benches, the newly inaugurated Prime Minister, Tony Benn, upon hearing these remarks, would joke “I’ve never been a fan, but I think I’ll give it a second chance now.” Benn later cited Season 31 as having “made a fan of [him].”
Another memorable moment would come at the end of The Backbone of Night, a story that saw the Doctor meet Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde. The final five minutes of the second part of the story would be cut off by a nation-wide activation of the new Emergency Alert System. Ultimately, the activation proved to be the result of a signal intrusion at one of the Primary Entry Point stations.
The intrusion was notable in that it was the first, and to date only, to abuse the EAS. The intruders broadcast a message beginning with the nationwide broadcast SAME header, which resulted in the WJR/Detroit station forwarding the message on to the other PEP stations, meaning the message was transmitted across the entire nation. The actual message of the intruders was never seen, as the EAS system’s activation overrode their broadcast, and normal broadcasting was not resumed until the end of the intrusion.
The perpetrators were never found, and the timing of the incident (coinciding with Doctor Who) led many to believe that they may have been inspired by the 1987 Max Headroom incident, which saw the interruption of a re-run of Horror of Fang Rock. This “Ten Minutes of Silence” intrusion had many lasting effects. It was the basis for the 2014 story Lost in Silence in Tom Scott’s FastForward, as well as many other TV stories related to the EAS.
The incident, combined with the nationwide activation of the EAS in March 1998, would result in the security of the network being greatly increased. No further intrusions would take place, and by the time that the system would be activated nationwide again in 2000, it had undergone many improvements.
Opinion was divided on the ostensible finale, Just War (with Bellwether treated as a coda). The uncompromising depiction of the Nazi occupation of Guernsey and the lead villain being an intelligent, capable man who elected to be evil because he enjoyed it caused many a discussion about the nature of evil. Lucie’s torture scenes also provoked a many complaints.
The Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC) also received a bevy of complaints for almost every story in the season. These ranged from the “blatantly anti-government” message of The Happiness Patrol, to the “death fetishism” of The Offer, unfounded accusations that The House Always Wins promoted "child gambling", and especially the apparently “sexually perverted” relationship between the Libertine and Malcolm in The Memory Hole and The League of Extraordinary Time Lords. The latter point was somewhat intentional, with Malcolm being presented as being effectively the Libertine’s servant in every regard. Surprisingly few complaints were lodged about the risqué Iris Wildthyme, though both her character and Eek! A Spouse! proved incredibly divisive to both fans and critics. Writer Paul Magrs and producer Neil Gaiman loved it, and another, longer script featuring Iris was immediately picked up for the following season.
Season 31 also brought around the renewal of the cast’s contracts. Unusually, Paul McGann announced that he would stay beyond his third season, the first Doctor since Tom Baker to stay for that long. Alex Rice and Nicole de Boer both decided to not renew their contracts.
As planning for Season 32 was underway, several issues presented themselves. Firstly, the budget was becoming increasingly thin. The lawsuit between the BBC and Avery Brooks had finally been settled out of court, with the BBC agreeing to produce a series of specials constituting a “third season” for Brooks, to be released in 1998. These would be set between The Dark Dimension and Season 28.
In addition, with the show’s increased popularity, an animated series had been commissioned, with Universal Animation Studios being hired to create the show. At the time, budgets for these two spin-offs had not been separated from the central Doctor Who budget, so cuts needed to be made somewhere. Eventually, Gaiman agreed to make Season 33 shorter. Planning for this season began almost immediately, as the shortened length meant that Gaiman could do something he’d wanted to try for a while, recapturing the essence of the Trial of a Time Lord arc, and making the entire season one long overarching story.
A still from the Doctor Who: The Animated Series story Batter Up!
With the first season of Doctor Who: The Animated Series set to start in late 1997, and a brand-new set of Avery Brooks stories in 1998, it looked like the next year was going to be a good one for Whovians everywhere. Rumor had it that both Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox were going to resume their iconic roles for the series. In the end, of course, the truth was far more complex, but the Sixth Doctor and Marty McFly still had plenty of life in them yet.
- Timelordtoe
- Word Count: 1.4k