A Cosmic Hobo in Colour: A Doctor Who TL

Aw, I was hoping for a switcheroo giving us Bill Pertwee as The Doctor.
I wish I'd thought of that! I'd argue that even if they approached him he's probably committed to Dad's Army like OTL. Later on there's gonna be some classic comedy that gets butterflied away so if I can leave Dad's Army untouched I hopefully won't commit too many sins.
 
Season 8 (1971) - Serial List
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Season 8 (1971) - "The Claws of Axos" In Brief
In Brief


The Claws of Axos


Four Episodes. Written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin. Directed by Michael Ferguson.


The Doctor, still within the UNIT strategy tent in the Scottish Highlands, attempts to come to terms with his new incarnation. While attempting to explain to the Brigadier and Sgt. Benton what had just happened, he makes faces in a mirror and scrambles to find a more fashionable outfit. Meanwhile outside of London a large spaceship has landed, and its crew have released a message that they are willing to trade a rare mineral in return for energy to power their ship. On hearing this the Brigadier appoints a UNIT Nurse, Emma Stanton (played by Sally Geeson), to watch over the Doctor while he goes to investigate.


Upon meeting these aliens, calling themselves Axons, they capture the Doctor and Emma and hold both of them prisoner. The Axons want the secrets of time travel so they can consume all of history. They were passing our Solar System and detected a Time Lord on Earth, and faked a fuel shortage to draw him to them. After they threaten to destroy London with their “rare and powerful mineral”, the Doctor reluctantly agrees to show them the TARDIS, despite telling them that his knowledge of time travel is blocked. After the Axons link their engine up to the TARDIS, the Doctor hits a button hidden under the console which causes a feedback loop that traps them in a pocket dimension outside of time. Emma is enamoured with the idea of time travel and asks to stay and help restore the TARDIS. The Doctor reluctantly agrees.


One infamous continuity error is the absence of Rebecca Shaw, played by Caroline John who was pregnant by this time and also refused to return for one serial. Present at the Doctor's regeneration in The Mists of Madness, she has mysteriously disappeared. The scene has been partially re-filmed to omit her, and after the Doctor asks where she is, the Brigadier explains that she has been called away on an important family matter. In The Silurians it is mentioned that she has moved to Canada.


Reaction was positive, though some criticised the cop-out ending. Others complained about the new Doctor, saying his characterisation was not that of the familiar Time Lord. The TARDIS interior returns to mostly delighted reactions, though having been in storage and largely not prepped for colour television, it looks worse for wear. It would be seen again in The Space War, before a new set is unveiled in Season 9.
 
Season 9 (1972) - "Conquest of the Daleks" and "The Island of Fear" in Brief
In Brief


Conquest of the Daleks

Four Episodes. Written by Robert Sloman. Directed by Barry Letts.​


UNIT Scientists receive readings of huge power levels coming from a warehouse in the East End of London. Alongside this knowledge is the revelation that members of the public have been going missing for the last five days, the same period of time these energy readings have been occuring. The Doctor and Emma go to investigate, finding a group of zombie-like Human workers being controlled by a beeping noise over a loudspeaker system. After disrupting their work they turn violent and a fight breaks out. Judo chops everywhere. After escaping this madness the Doctor finds the warehouse's control room, where he encounters a small group of Daleks. They explain that their speaker system controls people with a certain brain pattern, approx. 14% of the global population, and they intend to take it worldwide within days. Their plan is to turn the 14% violent against the other 86% and in the ensuing chaos the Daleks will takeover all world governments.


Barely escaping with their lives, the Doctor and Emma hunt down the location of the system's core. After encountering a labyrinth of Daleks, they happen across the Engine Room where they rewire the speaker system to feed back on itself. They, alongside the now-deprogrammed humans escape as the building explodes, presumably destroying the Daleks with it.


Reception of this serial was mixed. While most people were happy to see the return of the Daleks after five years, criticism was levelled at the small scope of the adventure and lack of actual Daleks seen. Production was hindered by the crew only having access to three Daleks which resulted in the low numbers. One shot in-studio was split-screened to show eight on screen at once, though this was poorly done as one Dalek appears to partially vanish.



The Island of Fear

Six Episodes. Written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin. Directed by Christopher Barry.​


1906. A scientific research team, accompanied by several military personnel, arrive at an outpost on a tropical island to replace the incumbents. Upon arriving they discover it empty, and one crew member theorises that the station has been raided and massacred by pirates. Meanwhile in the future, Emma is helping the Doctor with his TARDIS repairs when he miraculously gets the ship working again. They arrive at said research outpost only to be immediately taken hostage by the team, believing them to be said pirates.


As the Doctor is protesting their innocence, a member of the previous crew, Ensign Bough, bursts through the door and insists that the Doctor and Emma ransacked and killed his fellow crew members, and that there is another survivor who needs assistance outside the building. Crewman Johnson goes with Bough to assist. The rest of the crew plan to execute the pair before a scream is heard. Johnson is dead and Bough is nowhere to be found. On Johnson's neck are green scratches.


The Doctor, attempting to break out of his cell, is notified of Johnson's death and insists he can help capture whoever or whatever did it. He and Emma investigate the murder site before hearing another commotion within the building. Captain Higgs is dead. Green scratches on his dead neck. Ensign Roger witnessed the incident and said Higgs was murdered by a man who turned into an “'orrible beast”. The Doctor realises he is dealing with a Hetlopath; a shape-shifting creature who lures its prey with its immense skills.


The Doctor sets a trap for the Hetlopath by pairing a mirror with a special ionised crystal, which will cause temporal feedback and trap the creature in a “time tomb” if it attempts to transform within sight of the mirror. Sure enough, the creature attempts to murder Doctor Alderton but is caught in the trap and is sealed away forever. Leaving the station, the Doctor tells Emma that he believes the TARDIS is working again, and he sets course for the year 30,000 to show her the Human colony of Emerald 19. However, they arrive back at UNIT in front of the Brigadier, interrupting his lunch. Although the TARDIS can travel again, it is anchored to Earth and will return there without fail if the Doctor attempts more than one trip.


Reception to The Island of Fear was mixed-to-positive. The “shape-shifting” effect was achieved by whiting out the screen and manually drawing a silhouette on several frames of the white flash to give the illusion of transformation.
 
Season 9 (1972) - "The Brain Drain" in Brief
In Brief


The Brain Drain


Six episodes. Written by Jon Pertwee and Reed de Rouen. Directed by David Maloney.​


Pop star Jameson Arthur is backstage at a gig when a man in a bowler hat enters his dressing room, asking for his autograph. When Arthur demands the man leave, a hatch in his hat opens and smoke pours out, rendering the singer unconscious...


Political pundit Barry Whittlestone is leaving a TV studio when he is approached by the same bowler hat man asking for a match. After Whittlestone gets agitated toward the man, the same hatch opens and he is knocked out...


Movie starlet Eve Palmer is in her home when a knock at the door reveals the bowler hat man. Smoke ensues...


At UNIT Headquaters, the Doctor learns of this news and attempts to piece together the mystery. He discovers that all three had either went to Cambridge or attempted to attend Cambridge. He and Emma travel to Anglia to investigate in person. The Doctor poses as tutor Dr. John Smythe and starts performing lectures in physics. One of his students, Arabel Tennor, constantly appears to be in a trance. Following her after one of his lectures, he discovers a room deep in the bowels of the building where multiple coffins lie. On uttering an incantation, the coffins open to reveal a group of mummies who are commanded by Arabel to force the Doctor into one of the awaiting coffins. He breaks free and disables the mummies with a well-placed judo chop, but Arabel summons a force field around the Doctor.


Arabel explains that she is actually Ryhocles, the fallen emperor of the Galzintine Empire. She led an epic war against the Celts and suffered a humiliating defeat. Locked out of time for 3000 years, she returns to find her palace has been replaced by Cambridge University and her worship has been usurped by fame and celebrity. She is taking her revenge by kidnapping celebrities and intends to execute them at a sacrifice ceremony, while simultaneously burning Cambridge down. From there she will take her army of the undead to claim Europe.


The Doctor is led to a dungeon to be sacrificed to Ryhocles' “pet” Lycericos. In battle with the beast he discovers that it is in fact a robot. On discovering a control room, he finds that all the mummies are also robots. Ryhocles is actually an alien stranded on Earth who has been driven mad and believes herself to be an ancient god. The Doctor approaches her and offers to return her home, but Ryhocles refuses and pushes forward with her plan. Outside, Emma and UNIT go into battle against the mummy robots. Losing the battle, Ryhocles reveals her backup plan, a large red orb which she claims will kill everyone except her within a 200 mile radius. As the orb powers up, the Doctor in a last-ditch effort to stop her, reverses the polarity and the orb in fact causes her to evaporate. The Doctor frees the kidnapped celebrities and reunites with Emma.


The serial received mixed reaction upon release. Criticism was levelled at the convoluted and twist-heavy plot, as well as lack of storyline for Emma, though praise was given to the production design. Jon Pertwee co-authored the script alongside Reed de Rouen. He made plans to write with de Rouen again for Season 10 but abandoned the plans owing to this serials' contemporary unpopularity. This was Barry Letts' last serial; he would depart Doctor Who at the end of Season 9's production citing creative dissatisfaction. One reason for this is executive meddling. Higher-ups at the BBC asked for a return to historicals, and while Letts was glad to move away from UNIT, he was dissatisfied with the resulting product. After leaving Who, he would head to ATV to write for the third and final season of UFO.
 
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Season 10 (1972-73) "The Three Doctors" in Brief
In Brief

The Three Doctors

Four Episodes. Written by Robert Holmes. Directed by Barry Letts.

The Doctor is lured to a seemingly abandoned planet by the Monk (David Battley) who wants him to bear witness to his latest hi-jinx. He has drawn many species of aliens together to face off; the winners will replace the Germans in WW1 and go on to change the course of history. But the Third Doctor isn't alone; his first and second incarnations have been brought to the planet too, and must work together to put a stop to the Monk's plan.

Wandering the planet with Emma and his former selves, the Doctor encounters many of his past foes in battle against each other. During all this the Second and Third Doctors barely get along as they try to stop the First Doctor fading in and out of the timestream. Just as the Cybermen and the Daleks are about to go head-to-head, the Doctors use the combined power of their TARDIS' to reverse the flow of time on the planet and send all the monsters back to their own rightful eras. The Monk escapes in the ensuing chaos. The Doctors say goodbye to each other as the Third Doctor discovers his TARDIS has broken free of the time lock the Time Lords had placed on him.

The Tenth Anniversary serial featured cameo appearances from many past Doctor Who foes, including the Cybermen (not seen in over five years), the Daleks, the Silurians, the Ice Warriors, the Krotons, a tribe of Yeti and several others. While it was originally intended to have the Cybermen and Daleks actually fight on-screen, interference from Terry Nation meant that this would not come to pass as he feared any indication the Daleks could be defeated by the show's other iconic villians could undermine his creative property. Barry Letts directs this serial, largely to aid in the transition process for new producer Philip Hinchcliffe.

This was David Battley's first appearance as The Monk, taking over from Peter Butterworth. Hinchcliffe as well as various executive staff thought the Doctor needed a recurring Time Lord foe for him to face off against. After briefly considering creating a new character, it is decided to revive the character of the Monk, not seen since 1966's The Daleks' Master Plan. This would be the only time Pertwee's Doctor would face off against Battley's Monk.

Hartnell's health was in large decline by this point and his involvement is limited to studio work only. This is worked around by having him “caught between timestreams”, achieved by fading him out just before an exterior scene starts, and having him return once action is back in-studio. After two episodes of this he is properly returned to his own timestream at the start of Episode Three. He is also seen in Episode 4 on a monitor in the TARDIS Console Room saying goodbye to his other incarnations. A body double also plays him from afar in one exterior scene.

It is explained that by breaking the time stream and meeting himself – twice – that the limits on the TARDIS are broken and he is now free to travel anywhere and anywhen with no restrictions. Philip Hinchcliffe had brought to a close a process that Barry Letts had started early in his tenure. The UNIT era was at an end. While The Doctor and Emma would soon return to visit in The Cocoon, it would be the last UNIT story of the Pertwee era.
 
Fourth Doctor Announcement, 1973
John Craven's Newsround, 22nd February 1973

There is going to be a new Doctor Who from later this year. Geoffrey Palmer, a largely unknown face in the world of Television, will take over from Jon Pertwee as the Dalek-fighting time-traveller for the next season of the programme. Palmer will be the fourth Doctor Who in the ten years the programme has been on air. William Hartnell was the first from 1963 to 1966, then Patrick Troughton took over the role from 1966 to 1970, and then of course Jon Pertwee ever since...


Jon Pertwee, Press Conference, 21st February 1973

Well of course I had a wonderful time playing the Doctor these last few years, but as with everything it's time to move on. Our producer Barry has left, our script editor Terrance has moved on. So I thought perhaps the time is right that I leave too. That's not to say I won't come back at some point! If Patrick and Bill can make a return then I don't see why I cannot!


Geoffrey Palmer, BBC News Interview, 22nd February 1973

Well I'm not much of a Science-fiction man you see. I don't read space novels, or watch a great deal many movies with space aliens, but I couldn't possibly turn down an opportunity to play a role such as the Doctor. I've been watching bits of it here and there, it's all kind of fascinating I think. The current run of episodes have a sort of horror influence in them, which I find fascinat- the combination of science-fiction and horror, is rather fascinating I think. I'd love to see where I can take the character and I'm delighted to be a part of the programme.



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any news?

Sorry for the delay. I'll be honest, I ran out of steam and haven't touched this since May. I'm not outright abandoning this though; I've planned out where I want to take this story through to the present day, it's just that creating a bunch of new and original Doctor Who stories that sound like believable alternate Doctor Who stories is rather difficult. Thank you for reminding me, I'll try to use this as motivation to get some more posts out soon.
 
Sorry for the delay. I'll be honest, I ran out of steam and haven't touched this since May. I'm not outright abandoning this though; I've planned out where I want to take this story through to the present day, it's just that creating a bunch of new and original Doctor Who stories that sound like believable alternate Doctor Who stories is rather difficult. Thank you for reminding me, I'll try to use this as motivation to get some more posts out soon.
I hope you find that motivation because I find this timeline very interesting..
 
Season 10 (1973-74) - "Curse of the Terromogs" In Brief
Hi Sports Fans! Been a while, hasn't it?

Look I'm gonna be honest, this timeline won't continue in the way it has. I found it far more difficult to conjure and flesh out fictional Who stories to a respectable quality than I originally thought it was going to be. My bad.

But I didn't want to just leave this thread to gather dust and have your once-burning questions unanswered. So I'm going to do the next best thing. I said above that I've mapped out where I wanted this to go. Well, here's the map. Over several posts I'm going to offer what is left of the timeline. This won't be to the same detail as before; as fun as it was to make alternate Wikiboxes with fictional serials it proved quite tough. At the very least I can give you a glimpse into what the Palmer Era looked like before I briefly show you what followed.

With that being said, here's the Road Map.

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Season 11 – Geoffrey Palmer's first season. Palmer is drawn to the show on the promise of Hinchcliffe's Gothic horror sensibilities. Tired of the constant action of the UNIT era, the Fourth Doctor is more modest, calmer, almost brooding. Known in some circles as the Accountant in Space. His first Serial, The Quiet Horror, sees The Doctor recuperating in 17th Century France after his stressful Regeneration on Halmarth. While relaxing, peasants in the nearby village begin to mutate into creatures most foul. It's up to Emma and a still affected Doctor to solve the mystery.

--

In Brief


Curse of the Terromogs


The Doctor and Emma are arguing about paradoxes when the TARDIS makes an emergency landing on the moon Omebera in the 23rd Century. He inspects the ship and while it will be fine in a few days, they need to leave as the oxygen generator has been temporarily impaired. After donning spacesuits they exit their ship in an attempt to reach a nearby Moonbase. After encountering a strange flash of light, they reach the base only to find the listed crew of eighty has been reduced to seventeen. Every night two crew members at random mysteriously vanish. Every attempt to monitor and counter this occurrence does nothing to stop it from happening.


That night two more vanish. The next day the crew's designated leader, Neil, accuses his brother Terry of perpetrating these events as he saw him out walking late. Terry strongly denies any involvement and a row ensues. These brothers have had a long history of sibling rivalry. After the Doctor stops the both of them, he points out that if a crew of eighty had two people go missing every night, why is there an odd-number of people left? Neil explains that the base's Chief Scientist, McMaster, went crazy and left the base after his wife was among the first two to vanish. The Doctor remembers a flash of light he saw on the way into the base and leaves with Emma to investigate.


Reaching the light's point of origin, he finds a cave where small, tentacled creatures live. Emma screams when she finds a human skull, which causes some movement from the creatures. The Doctor deduces that these creatures have devoured McMaster, but finding no further evidence of other human remains, the pair of them return to base before the creatures move any further.


The Doctor informs the remaining crew of his theory. These creatures are Terromogs; small psychic creatures that feast on an emotional being's body and inherit its mind. They then play out memories from their victim in the real world. These creatures had lured McMaster, a person under great mental anguish, to their cave and ate him. They then read his memories and applied them to the base, causing two people to vanish every night leaving no trace.


Terry speaks up. He knew where McMaster's wife went. She left the moonbase with the Sous Chef Harry in the dead of night and told no one. Terry only found out as he was out on one of his occasional late walks. The Doctor frowns. The only way for the Terromogs to 'complete the puzzle' and stop taking people is for them to access those memories, and they can only do that by killing. Terry realises what needs to be done; though the Doctor insists that he can find another way of stopping this. Terry ignores the Doctor's pleas and prepares for his fate. After apologising to his brother for their past indiscretions and saying goodbye to everyone, Terry leaves the base and enters the cave. Suddenly all the people who went missing (except McMaster, his wife and Harry) have been returned. The Doctor and Emma solemnly leave for the TARDIS and return to space.

--

The four-part story was well received though there was some controversy over the suggestion of two characters eloping, and of the depiction of McMaster's remains.
 
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