Overview of Season 29 of Doctor Who
“I had no idea that you had such a good singing voice, Professor.”
“One of the many perks of being a Time Lord, Jennifer. Every body brings a new surprise. I’ve had so many now that I could form a complete boy band of just me!”
“That would be a sight to see.”
“That it would.”
- Jennifer and the Doctor discuss the Doctor’s singing voice while undercover in a club.
Time Travel 101
Shortly after returning to his teaching post at the University of Washington, the Doctor is contacted by UNIT, who have learned of an academic at the University of Cambridge who claims to have discovered a method of time travel. They send the Doctor to investigate, as he can not only verify the claim, and find if there is any alien involvement. The Doctor meets the academic in question, Professor Rackham, and finds that contrary to his expectations, Rackham lets him view the device and his calculations. The Doctor finds that the device and calculations are junk, but appear to work regardless, forming a primitive time corridor. This intrigue leads the Doctor to suspect that there is someone on the other side who is opening the corridor, someone who has an interest in Earth.
Moving On by
@tornadobusdriver
Back in 1995, Jennifer befriends Abigail, a new girl at university who is quiet and in her own shell. They bond over their losses, with the girl confessing her guilt over the death of her beloved sister. The Doctor is busy looking into strange energy readings around the university. Abigail then begins acting more strange. She has found a way to get her sister back. But she must fulfil her duty. She must kill the Doctor. Because the Black Guardian always gets what he wants.
Guest Star: Sarah Silverman as Abigail
The Orlok Inheritance by
@The Chimera Virus
To the bemusement of everyone, the Doctor’s 7pm Monday nuclear physics lecture is interrupted by a gorgeous woman who presents the Doctor with a sealed letter, kisses his cheek, and walks out. Notably, the woman only appeared after sunset. This is not lost on the Doctor, naturally. The letter is an invitation to a funeral, for him and Jennifer. It claims that a close friend of theirs has passed away and they are expected to eulogize him at the funeral that Friday. Jennifer can’t remember losing any friends in her lifetime – at least not by dint of them dying. The Doctor informs her that any number of factors may be at work, not the least of which is that this may be an elaborate trap laid by one of his species’ oldest and most heinous enemies: the Vampires. In fact, the truth is even stranger, as the mysterious Count Orlok wishes to enact an even stranger and more audacious plan. He plans to merge his DNA's with the Doctor's to create a true Time Vampire.
Guest Stars: Daphne Zuniga as Countess Mircalla and Tony Todd as Count Orlok
Outsiders by
@tornadobusdriver
The Tardis is called back to Gallfrey, where the Doctor meets the outsiders, led by his old friend Leela. Members of the outsider community have been turning up dead and Leela needs the Doctor's help to investigate the cause. As the Doctor and Leela catch up, Jennifer works with the outsiders to keep them safe. The Doctor will discover the dark secret behind the creatures in the forests, remnants of a war long ago.
Guest Stars: Louise Jameson as Leela, John Leeson as K9 Mark 1
Death on the Thames by
@Drorac
The Doctor and Jennifer are captured by the Judoon, the rhino intergalactic policemen in order to capture an Androvax who has arrived on planet Earth. After some work the Doctor tracks the Androvax to a murder aboard a cruise ship on the river Thames. In order to work out who the Androvax is, he must first play detective for a while.
In Plain Sight by
@The Chimera Virus
Upon their return to Earth, the Doctor and Jennifer find they’ve become both invisible and inaudible to everyone around them. Attempts to resolve their condition fail, which is a problem as someone has planted a bomb on campus. Unable to gain access to the room the bomb has been put in, the time travelers must somehow get everyone off-campus long enough to resolve their condition using the riskiest method possible: a full temporal reinsertion.
Pedigree by
@The Chimera Virus
Romana and Leela urgently request that the Doctor return to Gallifrey. Reactionaries in the Capitol have been agitating for his retrieval to examine his role in the events that transpired during Homecoming – namely if he is one and the same with the mysterious Other. Unable to convince Romana to do so, nor go behind her back, they have instead managed to coerce her into recalling Susan and putting the Doctor’s granddaughter on trial instead. The Doctor is apoplectic with rage and bursts into the courtroom – “How dare you involve her in this! You had no right!” Inquisitor Maxil has the Doctor arrested for contempt of court. It’s then revealed that Susan’s retrieval was a ploy to get the Doctor to Gallifrey; Susan was merely a pawn in their game the whole time. Locked away, Susan makes contact with Jennifer, Romana, and Leela – they must find a way to get the Doctor out of this, and perhaps the only one who can help is her father, the Doctor’s son Satthralope.
Guest Stars: Lalla Ward as Romana II, Carole Ann Ford as Susan Campbell-Foreman, Louise Jameson as Leela, Colin Baker as Inquisitor Maxil, Trevor Martin as the Prosecutor (implied to be one of the Time Lords from The War Games), and Peter Capaldi as Satthralope
The Crooner
The Doctor takes Jennifer to a lounge in 1950s Seattle to relax following their ordeal on Gallifrey. While the Doctor is the subject of some racial remarks, he comments that he has grown used to them by now though they still bother him. He is more surprised by the appearance of Peri Brown, one of his old companions. The Doctor greets her, and she does not recognise him , saying that she is travelling with “the Doctor”, who came back for her. However, the Monk soon enters, and the Doctor realises that he is posing as him and using Peri for his own plans. The Doctor decides to go undercover at the club to keep an eye on the Monk, and see what his plans are this time. Meanwhile, Jennifer is faced with the fact that at some point, her travels with the Doctor will end, and expresses fears that he will forget her just as he forgot about Peri.
Guest Stars: Eric Idle as the Monk, Nicola Bryant as Peri Brown
The Man Behind the Mask by
@Drorac
Davros has been captured by the Movellans, and a large proportion of his Dalek force has been wiped out by the Movellans new weapon, a sonic disruptor that causes the creature inside the Dalek vibrate and explode. The Doctor arrives on Skaro to find the Daleks on the run and Davros in chains, giving the perfect impetus to destroy the Daleks once and for all. However Davros should not be underestimated, as even when captured he is still a deadly enemy, and he may be part Dalek in more ways than one….
Part 1: The Doctor arrives on Skaro and finds evidence of a large battle where the shells of Daleks remain everywhere. After being captured by the Movellans he is bought before Commander Scarrel, one of the longest serving Movellan commanders, where he is told to interrogate their latest prisoner; Davros
Part 2: The Doctor and Davros trade verbal spats at each other, but neither is able to ascertain any important information from one another until the Doctor threatens to remove Davros from his wheelchair, at which point he acquesses. Davros then only promises to speak to commander Sharrel and tell him where the last remaining Daleks are. However Davros electrocutes Sharrel and he falls to the ground screaming. The Doctor reacts and pleads with the Movellans to not have Davros executed. Davros in the meantime holds true to his word and takes the Doctor and some Movellans to the last remaining Dalek hideout
Part 3: Davros invites them further into the cave, where a Dalek hybrid creature attacks all of them, wounding Davros and killing some of the Movellans. After crossing a particularly narrow crossing further into the cave, Davros is able to escape the Doctor through a secret door and has newly awoken Daleks attack them, forcing them to retreat. Having spoken to Davros, the Doctor realises he has been tricked; Davros was willing to sacrifice his life to rebuild the Dalek army. The Doctor flees and causes the caves to collapse on themselves, burying the Dalek army and Davros; giving the Movellans time to plan the next stage.
Guest Star: Terry Molloy as Davros
Keep Your Enemies Close by
@tornadobusdriver
The Doctor and Jennifer are pulled into a a vast prison for seemingly unknown crimes. Criminals are handcuffed together. Jennifer is handcuffed to Slyvia, a notorious space pirate, while the Doctor is handcuffed to his oldest enemy, the Master. But when a prison riot breaks out, the two groups must work together to survive and discover the plan behind the prison and the sadistic warden behind it.
Guest Stars: Sir Derek Jacobi as the Master, Lucy Lawless as Slyvia
Every Little Bit Helps by
@The Chimera Virus
Jennifer’s childhood friend Aaron Thomason is reeling after his father Merrick’s suicide due to PTSD from his involvement in the Gulf War. He calls Jennifer back to their hometown, where Jennifer finds her father isn’t doing as well as he’d said he was after her mother left him. Both Aaron’s mother Claudia and Jennifer’s father Vincent find minor solace at a support group hosted by the nearby branch of Panacea Guidance Centers. At the end of the meeting the group’s hosts, Mr. Davis and Dr. Pedler, puts out an offer to those who feel they need the next step. A free consultation at the nearby PGC and a total removal of grief. “And remember, everyone,” Pedler says, “every little bit helps!”
Aaron is also informed by the funeral home that his father’s body has gone missing from the morgue. He calls Jennifer late that night in a panic. Claudia has returned home and no longer understands the concept of grief. She is so disturbed by Aaron’s distraught reaction to her lack of interest in the theft of her late husband’s corpse that she’s gone to have more emotions removed. The discomfort is too much to bear. Jennifer calls the Doctor, who immediately realizes that Panacea Guidance Centers is an insidious front for one of his oldest enemies: the Cybermen. They are preying upon the mourning and emotionally compromised.
WE SHALL FREE YOU FROM THE PRISON OF EMOTION. WE SHALL CAST OFF YOUR WEAK, YIELDING FLESH. WE SHALL REFASHION YOU INTO CYBERMEN. YOU SHALL SURVIVE. WE SHALL ALWAYS SURVIVE.
They are too late to save Claudia, however. She has taken the offer for the Deluxe Package and is turned into a Cyberman alongside Merrick’s revivified body. The Doctor realizes that things have gone from bad to worse as PGC is nationwide. Forced between a rock and a hard place, the Doctor comes to the horrible conclusion that things are too far gone. He’ll need to destroy all the Cybermen outright with a single kill command placed into the main CyberPlanner. He will have crippled all the Cybermen on Earth, who seem to be the only ones left in this sector of space at this juncture in their history. After doing so, however, he feels no satisfaction. Aaron, overcome by the double-whammy of losing both his parents, breaks down in Jennifer’s arms.
After the funeral for Aaron’s parents, Jennifer makes Vincent promise he’ll attend proper therapy and take care of Aaron. Vincent likewise makes the Doctor promise to keep ensuring his daughter’s safety. The Doctor and Jennifer leave, but it doesn’t feel like a victory – especially as Davis and Pedler managed to get away. And, as the Doctor knows all too well, the Cybermen always survive….
Guest Stars: Ethan Hawke as Aaron Thomason, DeForest Kelley as Mr. Davis, Whoopi Goldberg as Dr. Pedler, Margo Martindale as Claudia Thomason, and Peter Gallagher as Vincent Davies
The Other
The Doctor is plagued by visions of a strange man urging him to return to Gallifery to “learn your truth”. The Doctor is unable to recall ever meeting him, and decides that he must travel to Gallifrey to see if there is any record of him in the Matrix, the sum of all Time Lord experiences. After his experiences in “Pedigree”, the Doctor knows that there is a high possibility that he is the ancient Time Lord known as “the Other”, and considers the possibility that these events are connected. Jennifer accompanies him to Gallifrey, hoping to spend more time with Leela.
Upon arriving at Gallifrey, the Doctor finds that he is expected. Romana reveals that there is an unknown force inside the Matrix that is attempting to manifest in reality. The Doctor reveals his reason for coming to Gallifrey, and he and Romana decide to enter the Matrix together to find out why the Doctor is having his visions, and find out what is trying to escape the Matrix. Jennifer meets with Leela, and observes the life that she has lived since leaving the Doctor.
The Doctor and Romana enter the Matrix, finding themselves on Gallifrey in the time before Time Lord society. The Doctor sees the figure that he has been hallucinating convene with two others. He and Romana hypothesize that the three are Rassilon, Omega and the Other. This would confirm their theory that the Doctor is somehow the Other, reincarnated. Leela reveals to Jennifer that she and Andred have been trying to conceive a child, but that the Time Lords have a genetic flaw that means that they cannot reproduce without the aid of a device called a “Loom”, which takes the genetic material of the two parents to create a new child. However, the Looms are not compatible with Leela’s human DNA, so Leela and Andred are considering adopting an orphaned Galliferyan.
The Doctor and Romana find themselves thrust onto the bridge of a Gallifreyan Bowship from the Eternal War, the war with the Great Vampires that shaped modern Time Lord society. They see Rassilon in control, with Omega and the Other commanding stations on the vessel. Rassilon notices them, saying that “someone finally heard my message”. He reveals that before his death, he uploaded himself to the Matrix, hoping to be released someday, to continue his rule of Gallifrey. Jennifer comes to the realisation that although she has enjoyed her adventures with the Doctor, she still wishes to have a relatively normal life, and that spending time with the Doctor will endanger that.
Neither the Doctor nor Romana wish to see Rassilon released to rule Gallifrey once more. Rassilon reveals that the Matrix has predicted the destruction of the Time Lords at the hands of a coalition of those it has scorned throughout time, unless Rassilon takes control of Gallifrey. Angered by their refusal to release him, Rassilon chases the Doctor and Romana through the Matrix, trying to steal the Crown of Rassilon from them. They seem to be cornered by Rassilon and his allies at one point, but are freed by the Other and Omega, who urge Romana to use the Crown of Rassilon to leave the Matrix and stop Rassilon from the outside. Escaping with the Doctor, the Other reveals that he was dissatisfied with Rassilon’s rule, and deciding to “become a piece in this game of chess, rather than a player”, he threw himself into the mechanisms in the Looms, resulting in his reconstitution as the Doctor. As his base genetic material is effectively the same, his artefacts have reacted to the presence of the Doctor, and his dissatisfaction with Time Lord society continued, resulting in the Doctor running away in his youth.
The Other reveals that as he is just a collection of memories that other Time Lords have of him, he cannot stop Rassilon, and that do contain Rassilon, the toll on his mind and body will be great. The Other says that he will hold Rassilon back for now, but that he will not be able to do so for long, and that the Doctor make peace with whomever he knows on the outside, should he not return. The Doctor exits the Matrix with the Crown of Rassilon, and meets up with Romana once more. The Doctor reveals that he is the Other, and that he will have to travel back into the Matrix to stop Rassilon. Jennifer meets with the Doctor, asking him to take her back to Seattle, as she wants to life a proper life before her adventures with the Doctor result in her death. The Doctor obliges, taking her back to Seattle, and tells her that he may not return. Jennifer and the Doctor share a teary goodbye, as he pledges that “I won’t forget you, don’t worry. If you’re lucky, I may swing by from time to time.”
The Doctor returns to Gallifrey, and says goodbye to Romana and Leela before he enters the Matrix. He asks where Ace is, as she is supposed to be on Gallifrey. Romana reveals that Ace is in the Prydonian Academy, but could not be relieved of her duties there. The Doctor asks Romana to wish her his best, should he not return. The Matrix begins to destabilise from Rassilon’s repeated attempts to find a backdoor out, and the Doctor enters to stop him.
The Doctor finds himself face to face with Rassilon once more, and says that he will make sure that Rassilon does not escape the Matrix. The Doctor challenges Rassilon to a mindbending contest, which Rassilon accepts, sure that he will win. To Rassilon’s surprise, the Doctor proves adept at mindbending, though the Doctor is soon forced back through many faces. Rassilon gloats as he starts to beat the Doctor back to his first incarnation. Then, as it had with Morbius, a new face appears, that of the Other. The Doctor admits defeat, but reveals this to have been a distraction, while Romana partitions Rassilon off from the rest of the Matrix. Rassilon realises he had been tricked all too late, and is forced away from the Matrix, left to face solitude for the rest of eternity, a fate to which he had condemned Omega many millions of years ago. The Doctor stumbles, realising that the mindbending contest has taken a great toll on him, as he begins to regenerate inside the Matrix. The Doctor is taken out of the Matrix by Romana, who realises what is happening.
On the floor of the Gallifreyan capital building, the Ninth Doctor begins to regenerate, tearily commenting “I was just getting started...”. A white light encompasses the Doctor, and then fades. The Tenth Doctor is here. He is helped to his feet by Romana, who says that she will take him to a Zero Room for him to recover. The Tenth Doctor blearily states “just getting started” before passing out completely.
Guest Stars: Lalla Ward as Romana, Louise Jameson as Leela, Chris Tranchell as Andred, Ian Richardson as the Other, Ian McDiarmid as Rassilon
PAUL MCGANN is THE TENTH DOCTOR
