DR Who: A New Dimension

" At first I thought it was a joke. My love for the series was well known and I was bereft when it ended. So when JNT called me out of the blue I thought it was a prank. I was just about to tell him to fuck off when I realised its was him and he wanted to talk to me.

What he had to say left me shaking with shock and excitement"

Mark Gatiss 2001
 
"It was like Christmas and Birthdays all at once. You dream of things like this but never imagine it could happen in real life"

Bill Baggs 1997
 
THE SUN

GUESS WHO'S BACK

Dr Who is set for a dramatic return.

In a deal between the BBC and an independent production company The Time Lord will come back in what will be an exclusive series of adventures on VHS. These stories will be more in-depth and more intricate then their TV predecessors.

Both Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred will feature....
 
I remember the meeting as if it was yesterday. Myself, JNT, Andrew (Cartmel) and Marc (Platt). We discussed ideas, plots, characters etc. It was all so exciting. The idea was that new Who would be a series of stand-alone movies but have a thread running through them. The idea would be that whilst on the surface the Dr and Ace would be travelling through the universe as usual something would be guiding their travels.

That something would the notion of the Doctor as Time's Champion.


Mark Gatiss
 
EDITORIAL FROM DR WHO MAGAZINE APRIL 1993

Like everyone else we are so excited about DW coming back if only on VHS...but we would not be responsible if we didn't express some concerns. The series future is no certain due to the purely voluntary nature of getting the show, If you don't want to buy, you don't have to.

We're also concerned about the route the show appears to be taking. Early rumours indicate that the material shot is only suitable for a certificate of 15. Granted we'd like to see the show have a bit more grit but this is worrying. DR Who was and is a kids show. This may lead to a loss of its key audience.

Yet it may mean a wider fanbase. Dr Who is changing..
 
DW Magazine June 1993
 

Attachments

  • aba268e17aa3fda5ddb2e27ce78b1d30.jpg
    aba268e17aa3fda5ddb2e27ce78b1d30.jpg
    56.3 KB · Views: 116
FULL FATHOM FIVE

Written by Mark Gatiss

Released 22nd November 1993

The Doctor and Ace arrive on the planet Arimus 3 in 2176. A planet made entirely of water populated by a human research colony encased in an station at the bottom of the sea. The Doctor is puzzled as the TARDIS was programmed to land on Earth 1963. Nonetheless they find a crew carrying out tests on how humans can survive underwater for extended periods of time. The medical officer is concerned about a spate of recent deaths. The victims died of drowning even though the station is hermetically sealed.

The base commander Jenkinson is more concerned with the research than the fatalities. The Doctor is able to tie in the base's computer with the TARDIS' Genetic Matrix Extrapolator (GME) and finds that the dead scientists had two DNA strands in their system. One human the other unknown...

The Doctor approaches Jenkinson who accuses him of causing un-necessary panic. When the Doctor insists that something be done Jenkinson orders that he and Ace are imprisoned.

During the imprisonment another death is discovered. Jenkinson reluctantly releases the Doctor and Ace. An examination of the body using the GME reveals a faint reminder of what seems to be alien brain activity.

The Doctor uses an advanced defibrillator to trigger the alien brain pattern...

This leads to the walls of the station being breached by a lifeform made entirely out of water. The creature introduces itself as a member of the Hydrax Imperial. A race of aquatic xenophobic beings. They have killed the humans to prevent their existence from being found out by penetrating their lungs.

The Doctor explains that the humans are peaceful and seek knowledge. The Hydrax demands that the humans leave the station or they will destroy it. To prove it a wall of water appears and crushes a part of the base.

The Doctor, Ace and the humans escape to the TARDIS. There they come up with a plan. They will overload the base's generator effectively causing the water to become electrified and destroying the Hydrax.

During the battle 7 of the staff are killed by the Hydax including Jenkinson who gives his life by overloading the reactor.

The TARDIS escapes just before the explosion and materialise on an nearby space station. The remaining scientists sends an SOS to Earth.

As the TARDIS dematerialises the Doctor retires to the Cloister Room. An anxious Ace follows him.

The Doctor says:

"We've seen a new evil Ace. A form of evil that can't be understood and can't be reasoned with. And yet there's more..."

"What sort of more, Professor?

The Doctor doesn't answer.
 
My interest is piqued and I look forward to more. Just what may this Evil be, how much will the Doctor and Ace discover before more death and destruction ensue, and could it be that f(r)iends of the Doctor will have a part to play?
 
TARDIS DATABASE

During the show's TV history the TARDIS has changed its internal infrastructure either due to the whims of the Doctor or through unspecified and unexplained developments.
For the new video version this has been amplified.

The GME is a new tool that the TARDIS possesses. While its exact premise is unknown the Doctor's use of it in FFF suggests that it is a full body biobed style scanner a'la Star Trek.

The cloister room is seen fleetingly but the medieval style design coupled with the deep droning noise and sinister underlighting indicates it is the setting for much future drama
 
Dr Who Magazine: Special Edition December 1993

Well...its different. But is it any good?

STORY
We suppose it was inevitable somewhat that a new series would have a new focus. Admittedly the siege story has been done before and with aquatic adversaries. But the Hydrax made an impact. For the first 45 minutes or so it was a classic kind of foreboding with the victims drowning even though there was no water in sight.

The revelation itself was a bit weak but the arrival was impressive.

It was the second half that really made an impression. The death scenes were quite impressive and gruesome. The story was classified 15 and this was we feel pretty close to the limit.

The ending felt a bit rushed and again reliant on old tropes but the final 5 minutes were quite spellbinding. McCoy's staring into the depths of the cloister room heralding something darker...
 
Top