The Return Of Dr Who

The TARDIS materialises in a wasteland. Mel asks where they are. 6 replies that he has been here before. The party leave and approach a railway track. Suddenly they hear a yell, racing around a corner they see the 4th Doctor with his foot trapped in a track. 3 and 6 rescue him before a train races past. As the rest of the party catches up 4 recognises Jo and the Brigadier but they have no idea who he is.

Returning to the TARDIS and again via telepathic conference the 4th is brought up to date and they again set off to find the fifth doctor. The TARDIS lands in a room behind the conference room on Gallifrey where Borusa is trying to gain control of the 5th. The combined mental efforts of 3, 4 and 6 are able to overcome Borusa. The 5th who has been made aware of what is going on joins his other selves.

6 tries to set a new course but the TARDIS refuses to work. The party is overcome by a huge energy beam.

Waking up 6 is strapped to a table in a lab. Looking round he sees his previous selves along with Mel, Jo and the Brigadier being held in stasis. Standing in front of him is the Valeyard

The Valeyard tells him that he intends to take his remaining regenerations. Engaging a new beam 6 feels his life being drained away from him. As the Valeyard absorbs his lifeforce his other selves start to fade away as does Jo, Mel and LS.

Suddenly the Valeyard screams in agony. Something is stopping the feed.

The lab starts to low up. 1 to 5, Jo and LS vanish. 6 struggles free and releases Mel. The Valeyard vanishes.

6 and Mel find the TARDIS and leave. 6 is seriously injured and Mel can't help him.

The TARDIS materialises in the Courtroom where 6 had been on trial. The doors open and a team of medics enter along with the Inquisitor. Nothing can be done to help 6 and he dies in Mel's arms. The regeneration starts....


THE SEVENTH DOCTOR

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Whoa! Now that's a leftfield choice.

In the early 1990s Ade's reputation was still steeped in mindless, violent comedy.. but he's recently proven that he does have some talent for drama. I guess this butterflies away series 3 of Bottom, probably series 2 as well.

I'm guessing a POD here is that he gets tired of comedy earlier than OTL.

What chance Rik Mayall making an appearance in Doctor Who? He could be a handy recurring villan - not necessarily the Master, but the chance of their chemistry in a more serious setting is tempting.
 
I can accept the BBC bringing back the Doctor for the 30th anniversary and the better than expected VHS sales, I can even accept them bringing back one Mr. C. Baker, but do they really have to pair him up with Melanie Bush? Surely, she could have been lost in the Matrix somewhere?


Thios eoof us exist who do not hate Mel as a companion.
 
The Dark Dimension gained 11 million viewers when it was transmitted and sold 700,00 videocassettes. Reviews were mixed. It was criticised for its cheapness and reliance on knowledge of a plot from some 7 years earlier. Likewise the appearance of old Doctors and companions was slammed as being brief and having very little interaction. Its worth noting that both Pertwee and Bellingham were only able to film their parts in 1 day. A tearful Katy Manning said in an interview when the Sixth Doctor's adventurers were released on Blu-Ray that Jon's health was poor but he wanted to be in the special so much that the producers "moved heaven and earth" to get it done.

The decision to cast Edmondson as the 7th Doctor was a secret until the actual transmission. It was originally thought that 6 dying at the end would form a cliffhanger if the show was recommissioned but the sheer interest generated by the fans led to John Birt recommissioning the show. Baker said he would do the special to bring his time to a close.

Edmondson was eager to expand his acting range. He said in 2003 during the show's 40th Anniversary

"I'd been leaping about and making a fool of myself for 20 years. I loved every minute of it but was starting to slow down a bit. I wanted to be regarded as more then just a loser whacking Rik Mayall about the head"


Edmondson was busy filming Bottom so the BBC agreed to slot DW filming around his commitments. Doctor Who would be a "special event" of a series of movies.
 
The Seventh Doctor
In some ways the new doctor is already known to us. The injuries sustained by the sixth in the matrix slowly triggered his regeneration. These were slowly introduced due to the effects of his timestream being interfered with. This can be said to be a cause of his costume change in The Dark Dimension

The seventh is in some ways the complete opposite of his predecessor. He is calm almost to the point of docility. That is an illusion. He acts like he is disinterested but deep down he retains his desire for justice. He does however get exasperated by his struggle. He says to Mel.

"I've spent six lifetimes trying not just to defeat evil but to understand it and every time I think I grasp it it changes. When it happens as many times as it has to me it makes me feel frustrated"
 
"Jealousy? I think he was pissed off that I'd got the role. It had been me and rik for 20 plus years now I was striking out on my own he felt left behind. I think when he got the part of Merlin a few years later it was his way of evening the playing field. He was my dearest friend but he could be a real twat sometimes"

Interview from "Rik Mayall, Lord Of Misrule" 2014
 
"Jealousy? I think he was pissed off that I'd got the role. It had been me and rik for 20 plus years now I was striking out on my own he felt left behind. I think when he got the part of Merlin a few years later it was his way of evening the playing field. He was my dearest friend but he could be a real twat sometimes"

Interview from "Rik Mayall, Lord Of Misrule" 2014

Yep. Rik's one of those actors who carried a *lot* of his on-screen persona off screen (or was it that his on-screen persona was a great projection of the real off-screen Rik? It's hard to say.)

With Adrian moving into serious acting, there's gonna be butterflies. I can see Adrian resisting Rik's calls to do Bottom stage shows in the late 1990s, being more focused on his future than re-treading the past. To Rik's great frustration.
 
We'll wait and see.

"The success of The Dark Dimension led the BBC to start developing a new arm. BBC Films would produce the new series of Dr Who movies and link up with BBC Enterprises to publish them on VHS. This would be the start of the arm's success with new talent"
 
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