"Where Are We Going This Time": The Golden Age of Science Fiction

[Ogrebear]

Have Paramount do a fan competition at the end of the and end up with something like the Luna Class?

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter XXXV: "One Man, Two Doctors"​

“Of course, my concept was changed a great deal. Little did I know, they were working on a similar project at the time, so while I’m credited as one of the creators, it wasn’t really my idea, more parts of it were adapted to fit their ideas.”​

- J. Michael Straczynski, speaking about his role in the production of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. [1]


By the time of the end of the release of Season 6 of Star Trek: The Next Generation, much of the work had already been completed on the first season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Writers had been found, a cast had been assembled, and filming had begun.

The initial trio in charge of the show were Rick Berman, Michael Piller, and J. Michael Straczynski. While Berman and Piller were veterans with the franchise, Straczynski was completely new, and it was hoped that he could help to take this show in a new direction for the franchise.

The three had decided that the show would be far more serialised than The Next Generation, following a larger story, rather than ‘hitting a reset button’ at the end of every story. This, it was the writers’ hope, would allow for them to tell more nuanced stories than shows like The Next Generation could.

They also planned to take the tone of the show in a darker direction than any of its predecessors, while still remaining optimistic. This show would reveal the darker sides of the Federation by placing the characters on the edge of Federation space, away from many of the luxuries of core Federation.

From a more technical standpoint, it would also be a departure as models began to be replaced by CGI. While the station itself would remain a model for almost all of the show’s run, the ships would be rendered in CGI for the most part, allowing for larger and more exciting battles. [2]


The cast of Deep Space Nine would, at face value, be approximately the same size as that of The Next Generation. However, the space station setting allowed for far more recurring characters than other science fiction shows. The first season’s main cast of nine characters were more varied than the previous shows’ in addition, with two civilians and two more working for the Bajorans. Over time, the supporting cast would be fleshed out more, undergoing major character development.


The commander of the space station Deep Space Nine would be Commander Benjamin Sisko. As the “central” character, the casting of Sisko took more time. The role would initially be offered to Avery Brooks, who turned it down, due to his involvement with other projects at that time. Many other actors had auditioned or been considered for the role, so the production team had plenty to choose from. [3]

The hope was to cast someone from an ethnic minority in the main role, as had happened with the Eighth Doctor. The role of Commander Sisko was therefore offered to Laurence Fishburne, who accepted it. Fishburne would, later in 1993, be nominated for an Oscar, which worked well for the promotional material for the fledgling show. [4]

Two actors that had either been considered for, or auditioned for, the role of Sisko would be offered parts as recurring characters. Pierce Brosnan, who was at the time best known for the drama Remington Steele, would play Admiral David Gardener, Sisko’s commanding officer. Scottish actor Peter Capaldi, a self-admitted fan of the franchise, was cast as Captain John Sheridan, captain of the USS Lakota, which would be assigned to the Badlands, located near the station. [5]


For Sisko’s second-in-command, the production team had originally planned to bring in Ensign Ro from The Next Generation, giving her a promotion in the process. Michelle Forbes proved reluctant to move over to a new show, so a new character had to be created. To fill the role, the team created Major Kira Nerys, a veteran of the Bajoran Occupation, who would have a more hot-headed attitude, and initially hostile to the Federation presence on the station.

American actress Nana Visitor was offered the role of Major Kira. Initially, she turned down the role for fear of being typecast, but later accepted the offer when she realised that it would be a chance to change the type of role that she tended to play.


The science officer, Jadzia Dax, would be a joined Trill, and therefore have many lifetimes of experience. Dutch actress Famke Janssen was cast as Dax, as she had appeared in “The Perfect Mate”. [6]


The head of security on board Deep Space Nine would be the shapeshifting character Constable Odo. He, along with Major Kira, would be one of two main characters to be involved with the running of the station, but not a part of Starfleet. Actor René Auberjonois would be cast in the role. As the character could change shape, the character involved a good deal of computer rendering at times.


One of the main characters would be Commander Sisko’s young son Jake Sisko. It was the hope of the writers that having the main character be a single father would give the writers something new to work with. Jake Sisko, who would be played by Cirroc Lofton, would, at times, complicate matters for his father, as Jake spends his adolescence on the station.


The character of Dr. Julian Bashirwould be written specifically for actor Siddig El-Fadil. Siddig, who by 1993 had announced his intention to leave Doctor Who, was seen by many as an up-and-coming actor. Rick Berman originally wanted him to play Sisko, but realised that he was too young, and so wrote the character of Bashir for him. Siddig was initially reluctant to join the cast of Deep Space Nine, as he had just been through three seasons of fellow sci-fi show Doctor Who, but when it was made clear to him that he would be playing a more minor character, and given some creative freedom with the character, he signed on. [7]


Two other main cast members would make their way over to Deep Space Nine from other major shows, both from The Next Generation. Colm Meaney and Christian Slater would both reprise their roles as Chief O’Brien and Ensign Kelly, transferring over from the Enterprise following its destruction at the end of The Next Generation’s sixth season. [8]


The recurring cast would be much larger, but featured, among others, Max Grodénchik as Rom, Louise Fletcher as Vedek Winn, Andrew Robinson as Garak and Marc Alaimo reprising his one-off role as Gul Dukat from The Next Generation. [9]


After the end of the sixth season of The Next Generation, it was announced that Deep Space Nine would begin syndication in January 1994, during The Next Generation’s seventh season. The two would have a soft crossover, in the first story of Deep Space Nine, and a two-part story in The Next Generation. [10]



[1] Think of TTL's DS9 as "Star Trek with Babylon 5 characteristics". It's relatively close to the DS9 of OTL, with some major changes. Elements of Babylon 5 will make their way in, but as I haven't seen the show, I won't be adapting too much.
[2] One main things that Straczynski will bring is a lot of cost-cutting measures. Expect episodes to cost somewhere between half and two thirds that of an episode of TNG. ($750k-$1m). Another thing he'll bring is 16:9 filming, cropped to 4:3. That's important down the line.
[3] A difficult choice to make, as I think Brooks is brilliant as Sisko. He, however, gets the same treatment Baker does. Signed off to another show because I wanted someone more well known in there.
[4] He was actually offered the role in OTL. ITTL however, there's a little more opportunity in sci-fi television, as Laurie and Hanks are both having successful film careers. As sci-fi is a decent bit bigger, he doesn't turn it down to focus on film.
[5] Brosnan was offered the role IOTL too, and Capaldi auditioned for it too. Both very good actors that I wanted to include, so I wrote them new characters. Little element of Babylon 5 here too with Capaldi's character.
[6] Another case of "was offered the role, turned it down to focus on film". Again, that's changed here.
[7] Bashir was actually written for Siddig (according to Berman at least). Here, as Siddig has proven himself a very popular actor, he'll bring some star power (not that Fishburne and Brosnan won't). The name doesn't get changed last minute, and Siddig is given a little more creative freedom with his character. I mainly kept him in for Garak's sake, as without Siddig, there is no Bashir type character. He's a bit different here though.
[8] Kelly is brought over too, in the hopes of boosting ratings early on (similar to Worf). I have plans for Lt. Kelly (surprise) in the show, as he's young, as is pretty much only used to the luxuries of the Enterprise.
[9] No real changes here, apart from the fact that Dukat already exists in-universe by this point. DS9 is a how that, to me at least, seems pretty perfectly cast in OTL, so I was hard pressed to make any real changes.
[10] This will be The Emissary (DS9) and Birthright (TNG). Characters from one show will appear in the other for this story, as in OTL.

 

[Plus-Sized Scribe]

Loving this so far, @Timelordtoe! Now, I just had a few things...

Namely, you consistently misspell Anthony Ainley and Nicholas Courtney's names and, in the last post, you mention the makeup change for Dax when you noted for TTL's The Host that the Trill have always had the DS9 makeup.

Otherwise, I like it. That said, removing Pen Pals killed a massively important discussion of the nature of the Prime Directive that I rather liked, but hey-ho, win some, lose some. I've got story ideas to spare, by the way, so if you want to add more original material rather than adapting OTL novels for Doctor Who (and other such things for Star Trek), drop me a line. Or I could come to you!

Best wishes and happy new year!

 

[Timelordtoe]

Loving this so far, @Timelordtoe! Now, I just had a few things...

Namely, you consistently misspell Anthony Ainley and Nicholas Courtney's names and, in the last post, you mention the makeup change for Dax when you noted for TTL's The Host that the Trill have always had the DS9 makeup.

Otherwise, I like it. That said, removing Pen Pals killed a massively important discussion of the nature of the Prime Directive that I rather liked, but hey-ho, win some, lose some. I've got story ideas to spare, by the way, so if you want to add more original material rather than adapting OTL novels for Doctor Who (and other such things for Star Trek), drop me a line. Or I could come to you!

Best wishes and happy new year!

Thanks for reading and happy new year to you too!

I shall have to go back and fix my spelling mistakes for Ainley and Courtney, as well as the inconsistency with the Trill. I'd completely forgotten that I'd changed it earlier. I should probably note stuff like that down so I don't forget it.

I'll most likely drop you a line about your story ideas, as it can be a bit difficult to come up with many myself. I'm always eager to hear about other people's ideas.


It's 1.30 am for me right now, so I must be going to bed, but I'll do my best to get another update out today. One week until the anniversary!

 

[tornadobusdriver]

Deep Space Nine is the Trek I know best. And I love the cast you've assembled so far! So I'm really excited for more.

 

[Ogrebear]

Hopefully Ensign Kelly gets a promotion!

A very strong cast there. With luck we will see and learn more the the Lakota’s crew as the show goes on. A second Starfleet Klingon maybe? Even Chaoktay and B’lanna before the defect (if it exists) to the Marquis?

JMS is a good serial writer provided he has the support. He is good new blood. I totally recommend B5. Perhaps you can get some of the actors from there into DS9 such as the excellent Andreas Katsulas (played Tomalok on TNG) or Peter Jurasik?

Looking forward to more.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter XXXVI: "Bat Out of (Development) Hell"​

“For a while, we really weren’t sure if it was going to be made at all. We had the Writers’ Guild of America strike in ‘88, then Nimoy was busy. When he came back, we couldn’t get the story to a point where everyone was happy, and eventually I decided to change it drastically. That delay did do us some good though, it allowed us to get Sean Connery as Sybok, and it meant that we could work with Industrial Light and Magic.”​

- William Shatner speaking about his role as director and writer for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. [1]


The fifth film in the Star Trek franchise was originally planned to be released in 1989, but would take four more years due to various behind-the-scenes events. The end result was that the story was changed drastically from William Shatner’s original plan.

The delay did much good for the film, however. The original release date would have seen it compete with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Ghostbusters II and Batman, all commercial successes. While it was now up against Jurassic Park and The Last Action Hero, it was part of an already established franchise with a large fan base.


Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was released on June 18th, 1993. It received largely positive reviews, with many critics noting that the film was “well worth the wait”. Particular praise was given to the performances of Sean Connery and the actors of the three ambassadors.


Plot Synopsis for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier: (based on a proposal by @Ogrebear) [2]

The crew of the Enterprise take shore leave on Earth following the Enterprise-A’s poor shakedown cruise. Captain Kirk camps at Yosemite National Park with Dr. McCoy and his First Officer, Spock. Their stay is interrupted, however, by an urgent order from Starfleet, telling them that three ambassadors have been kidnapped on Nimbus III, “The Planet of Galactic Peace”. The ambassadors represent the Federation, the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Empire on the planet, in an attempt to prevent diplomatic incidents. As the Romulans and Klingons hear of the kidnapping, they also send ships to rescue the ambassadors. The Klingon captain, Klaa, also hopes to gain glory by besting the Federation in battle.

Upon arriving at Nimbus III, the crew find that the planet has undergone a sudden change in climate. What was once a lush world is now nothing but desert. Resolving to find out why later, the crew begin planning a rescue mission. They are unaware of the identity of the kidnappers, and so prepare for heavy resistance. Kirk decides to lead the team, leaving Spock and McCoy on the ship. The team manages to break into the compound where the ambassadors are being held, finding very few guards beyond some Breen mercenaries. However, the team soon find themselves under attack psionically, and Kirk is captured while the rest of the team is forced to flee.

Kirk is introduced to his captor, Sybok. Sybok reveals that his kidnapping of the ambassadors was a plan to get a ship to Nimbus III, on which he had been stranded. Sybok also reveals that he has vast psionic powers to inflict pain, on a planetary scale at the limit of his powers. The devastation to Nimbus III was also to act as proof of his strength to observers. Sybok decides to torture Kirk, forcing him to relive the destruction of the Enterprise. Back on the ship, the rescue team returns, informing Spock and McCoy of the kidnapper’s identity. Spock recognises Sybok as his estranged uncle, exiled from Vulcan when he refused to suppress his emotions or psionic powers. The Klingon and Romulan ships arrive, leading Spock to task Sulu and Chekov with finding a way of together with them to free Kirk and the ambassadors. [3]

Kirk works with the ambassadors in organising a jail break, confident that his crew will send another team down to take down Sybok. In this time, the ambassadors get to know each other better, finding that “more unites them than divides them”. On the Enterprise, neither the Romulans nor Klingons seem interested in a joint raid on the compound, as the Romulans see no political benefit in the move, while the Klingons refuse to work with a species as “weak” as the humans. Klaa is then surprised when Crewman Keyes challenges him to an arm wrestle, besting him. Meanwhile, Uhura and Spock speak with the Romulan captain, Commander Reval, convincing him that it would be in the Romulan Empire’s best interests to work with the Federation and Klingons. With both the Romulans and Klingons convinced, Spock begins planning the new rescue.

Sulu is placed in command of the Federation forces, “as preparation for his new command”, while Klaa and Reval lead their respective forces. Sybok takes Kirk to torture him more, hoping to learn the Enterprise’s transport codes so that he can escape. This time, he makes Kirk face his fears that the crew will be broken up by Sulu’s imminent promotion, and reassignment to be given his own command. While this occurs, the ambassadors, led by Korrd, are alerted to the arrival of the rescue party by the sounds of phaser fire. They use the opportunity to break out, joining the rescue team. [4]

Sybok realises that the prisoners have been freed, but that he now has a way to the ships via the shuttles. Sybok stops torturing Kirk, unleashing a wave of psionic energy that momentarily incapacitates the attacking forces. He creates psionic illusions, disorienting them further, and escapes to the Federation shuttle in the confusion. Unbeknownst to him, Spock is hiding there, having anticipated Sybok’s moves. Sybok starts psionically attacking Spock, insisting that “no Vulcan could best me”. Spock counters with a kick to the groin, remarking “It is good then, that I am half-human.”

The crews return to their ships, remarking the détente that they achieved could set an example for how Nimbus III should work. On the Enterprise, the crew celebrate one last night together before Sulu is given his promotion, breaking the team up.


Cast of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier:

• Captain James T. Kirk – William Shatner
• Spock – Leonard Nimoy
• Dr. Leonard McCoy – DeForest Kelley
• Montgomery Scott – James Doohan
• Hikaru Sulu – George Takei
• Pavel Chekov – Walter Koenig
• Uhura – Nichelle Nichols
• Sybok – Sean Connery
• Crewman Keyes – Michael Clarke Duncan [5]

With a positive reception to Star Trek V, a sixth film would be greenlit. With The Next Generation drawing to a close, plans for the cast of that show to take over the film franchise would begin to be made, and discussions about the sixth film serving as a “handover” would become more commonplace. [6]


[1] The four year delay over OTL means that ILM isn't busy with Indiana Jones or Ghostbusters II, and Sean Connery isn't busy with the former.
[2] Many thanks to you @Ogrebear for your suggestion a few pages back. As you can tell, I've used most of them.
[3] I want to clarify Sybok's powers here. His power to "remove pain by making people relive their fears" is sort of reversed. He makes them relive their fears and regrets, siphoning their "mental strength" off of them. To begin with, he didn't have the power to cause an extinction-level event like he does with Nimbus III, sparing those in the compound so that he has hostages, but the more he feeds off of, the stronger he becomes. His plan is to go back to Vulcan and take his revenge on the Vulcans for exiling him.
[4] Sulu's command is brought up earlier, as the possibility of this being the last TOS film is a very real one.
[5] This would be his first major acting role in TTL, but he was looking for work at the time. He may come out of the bodyguard field earlier if this leads to anything. Also, this list is mainly so that you can see the major casting change, if it wasn't already obvious.
[6] OTL's Star Trek VI has been butterflied.

My apologies if the plot synopsis seems a little fuzzy at times, I was trying to fit a fair bit in, but I changed my mind about a couple of things at times, or realised I'd forgotten something. I may come back at a later date and give it a polish. Once again, my thanks to @Ogrebear for your brilliant plot suggestion. I only wish I could see this on the screen, but alas, that is the burden of being a fan of alternate history.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Howdy everyone,

So I forgot the update to the site was coming, so I wasn't able to work on the timeline much the past two days. Anyway, It's up now and I've figured my way around the new layout of things.

It's looking like we should hit the anniversary update on schedule, and I'm really looking forward to it. On a side note, I'm planning on doing more of the "Character Profile" style updates that I did for the three (soon to be four) alternate Doctors so far, but with companions and Trek characters. I don't want to put them in the middle of the timeline, so I'll probably make an appendix for them all. It looks like the new update has changed the threadmarks slightly, as it seems like the indenting isn't clear when you use the interface, but I'll figure it out.

When the profile updates start coming out, I'll move the three Doctor profiles I've done so far down there as well. The first profile will be Leslie Crusher, as she's the first major character from TNG to be killed off that's had changes from OTL (perhaps the most drastic ones too). My general rule will be that the profile will come after a character has been written out of a show, so I don't need to keep updating it. I will have to do it a couple of times to avoid giving future plans away though. So, another general rule I have is that every rule has exceptions.

Anyway, next four updates all concern Doctor Who's twenty-seventh season. I'm receiving some help on story ideas on that from @The Chimera Virus, so look forward to that.

 

[Plus-Sized Scribe]

Spock saves the day by kicking his own uncle right in the nuts. Glorious!

Also, I'm rather glad The Undiscovered Country has been butterflied, as it makes everyone rather OOC and racist. Keith R. A. DeCandido's review explains this better than I can.

 

[TheDimensionalWatcher]

What ship does Sulu commands?

 

[tornadobusdriver]

I'm looking forward to seeing what you and chimera come up with!

 

[Timelordtoe]

Hopefully Ensign Kelly gets a promotion!

A very strong cast there. With luck we will see and learn more the the Lakota’s crew as the show goes on. A second Starfleet Klingon maybe? Even Chaoktay and B’lanna before the defect (if it exists) to the Marquis?

JMS is a good serial writer provided he has the support. He is good new blood. I totally recommend B5. Perhaps you can get some of the actors from there into DS9 such as the excellent Andreas Katsulas (played Tomalok on TNG) or Peter Jurasik?

Looking forward to more.

As hinted by the DS9 pre-production update, Ensign Kelly is due a promotion. He'll be Lieutenant (junior grade) Kelly when Deep Space Nine comes. The promotion will come as part of his move. He'll sort of provide a contrast to Bashir. Both are young officers, and while Bashir is excited about "being on the frontier", Kelly has a harder time adjusting from the relative luxury of the Enterprise.

We will see more of the Lakota's crew. By this point in the in-universe timeline (2369), both Chakotay and B'Elanna have left Starfleet, and I don't really want to change that. The Lakota's crew will become more important as time goes on, but I can't reveal too much yet.

Spock saves the day by kicking his own uncle right in the nuts. Glorious!

Also, I'm rather glad The Undiscovered Country has been butterflied, as it makes everyone rather OOC and racist. Keith R. A. DeCandido's review explains this better than I can.

Star Trek VI did seem odd to me. While I like seeing the darker side of Starfleet as much as (maybe even more than) the next person, the motivations seemed strange at best.

What ship does Sulu commands?

I plan of giving him the Excelsior, per OTL. I felt that it followed on really nicely from his comment at the end of Star Trek IV that he hoped they'd be assigned to the Excelsior.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you and chimera come up with!

He's sent me some stuff already, and it's good. He writes the opening arc for the next season. I've loved his stuff in the past, so I'm looking forward to our collaborations too.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter XXXVII: "Keeping the Fans Happy"​

“I think that one of the reasons that Season 27 is viewed so favourably by fans is that the writing that season seemed particularly tailored to them. Not that it wasn’t normally, but with it being the season of the thirtieth anniversary, the writers wanted to make sure that fans that had seen more of the older seasons got plenty out of it.”​

​

- Russell T. Davies speaking about the writing of Season 27 of Doctor Who. [1]


Season 27 of Doctor Who, the sixth of the American series, was gearing up to be monumental for two big reasons. Firstly, it would be actor Siddig El-Fadil’s last as the Eighth Doctor, building excitement for the reveal of who would be playing the Ninth Doctor. Secondly, the season coincided with the thirtieth anniversary of the show. As the season consisted of twenty-six weekly episodes, beginning in May, the last four episodes, comprising of the anniversary story The Dark Dimension, would be delayed by a little over two weeks so that the final part could be released on the 23rd of November 1993, the date of the anniversary.

With these two factors at play, Cartmel and the rest of the production team were promising that this season would be the biggest yet, seeing old faces return and the Doctor dealing with dangerous foes, old and new.


The season’s stories saw many old friends and foes of the Doctor return. Meltdown would see Victoria Waterfield, one of the Second Doctor’s companions. The season opener, The People From Nowhere, would see the return of Sergeant Benton. Romana and E-Space would return in Closed Circle, while the Brigadier would return in The Dark Dimension. [2]

The first three stories of the season would form a loose arc continuing on from the Doctor and Rachel’s stranding on Earth at the conclusion of This Sceptred Isle. Throughout the season, it would become clear that the Web of Time is still destabilising, despite the Doctor and the Time Lords’ best efforts. This would culminate in the manifestation of a ‘Chronovore’, a being made of temporal energy that removed persons and altered events to restabilise the Web of Time.

The season finale, The Dark Dimension, would open on a devastated Earth in the year 2148, where humanity is nearly extinct. There, a group of rebels, led by a character called “Summerfield”, would find the Eighth Doctor’s dead body, and a weakened Chronovore. The Chronovore would then alter time so that the Fourth Doctor survived his fall from the Pharos Project in Logopolis. [3]


The story The Dark Dimension was costlier than any other Doctor Who television story at that point. The production team would collaborate with Jim Henson’s Workshop in creating the alternate Cybermen and Daleks, and many previous actors would be asked to return. The script called for the return of the Second through Seventh Doctors, though focus was given to the alternate Fourth Doctor.

The "Dark Dimension" variants of the Special Weapons Dalek and Cyber-Leader respectively.​

The fact that Tom Baker would be given more screen time than any other actor in the special was a source of conflict among the other returning actors, in particular Jon Pertwee. To satisfy them, the script was altered to give them a larger part in the story, though Baker did still receive the most screen time. In stark contrast, the Sixth Doctor’s part was greatly reduced when Christopher Lloyd revealed his disinterest in the project and threatened to pull out. [4]

The story would consist of four parts, but would be more akin to an anthology of connected stories. Throughout, the alternate Fourth Doctor, accompanied by an alternate Brigadier and Rachel, would try to defeat the Chronovore, also acting as a framing story for the other Doctors’ battles against the creature. Despite this, no old companions would be asked to return, for fear of over-crowding the story. [5]

The first episode would encompass the Second and Third Doctor battling the Chronovore, the second documenting the Fifth and Seventh Doctors’ battles, the third focussing on the Eighth Doctor, while the final episode would see the Doctors uniting to put an end to the Chronovore’s changes to time.

The Dark Dimension would also see an alternate theme produced, to highlight its alternate historical setting. Music group Cybertech would be brought in to produce the theme and background music for the episode, covering for Lindsey Buckingham. This season would also be Buckingham’s last as composer, as he decided to focus on more commercial endeavours once more. [6]


While alternate versions of many enemies would appear in The Dark Dimension, most of the enemies of the season would be new to the season. The Cybermen, however, would appear twice, with two designs. Their first appearance would see them with the The Cyber Invasion design, while their second, in The Dark Dimension, would make use of the rejected design for that film. The design would be highly controversial at the time, with many complaining that it was too scary, and others criticising that it was too much of a departure from the more classic designs. [7]

The Chronovore would primarily be rendered in computer imagery for its native form, but it would also have a human form, as it posessed a character called “Professor Hawkspur”. Hawkspur would be played by English actor Malcolm McDowell. McDowell agreed to appear as he was the maternal uncle of Eighth Doctor actor Siddig El-Fadil. [8]


The return of classic actors Lalla Ward and Deborah Watling, along with the reappearance of Nicholas Courtney, would be met with positive reception from fans. In addition, new guest stars like Adam Arkin would be followed closely as fans speculated as to who the next Doctor could be. The writers were refusing to give any hints, and it would not be until half-way through the season that they would reveal who would be playing the Ninth Doctor. [9]

1993 would bring the biggest season of Doctor Who yet, as excitement mounted for the anniversary story and the return of many old characters.


[1] He's not writing for Doctor Who just yet, but he will be soon. I'm going to start hinting stuff for the future now, as I've hit a massive creative flow.
[2] The People From Nowhere is one of at least five stories this season written by @The Chimera Virus. He writes the opening three stories and a couple of others throughout the season. Also present will be a story by @Drorac, who wrote the Seventh Doctor's final story.
[3] I'm using the basic premise of that unproduced story, but as we don't really know anything more about it, I've taken it in my own direction. Much of this update is about that one story.
[4] At this point, Lloyd has a successful film career, and so he's still sort of moved on from Doctor Who.
[5] I originally had other companions come back, but realised that it didn't make much sense within the context of the story, and I wasn't really sure what to do with them.
[6] Yes, the Cybertech that did the Dimensions in Time theme. The theme will be quite different. I'd imagine it being much closer to the non-club mix on their first album, which I was introduced to by @The Chimera Virus. Thanks again for that!
[7] I love those "Dark Dimension" designs. Taken straight from OTL too. I also think that they would be very scary at the time, especially for children, though the entire story will be pretty dark. They'll be remembered for a good while.
[8] He can do a villain brilliantly, and there's a good reason for him to be involved if Siddig suggests it. He was nearly in DS9, should Siddig have directed an episode of it he would have appeared.
[9] You'll find out who on Friday. I'm looking forward to revealing it.

 

[Ogrebear]

@Timelordtoe I am glad the suggestions helped. I like your write up, it makes for a *much* better movie than OTL's mess.

Also Connery getting kicked in the groin would be one of the first internet memes.

Sulu is likely to get Excelsior here I figure.

A crossover movie is possible, but TNG being 80ish years in the future does make life more awkward. Perhaps a different approach would be a TOS movie with the crew dealing with X problem or mystery, and then a TNG movie where the crew have to deal with the legacy of what the TOS crew did? You could mix it up with Spock telling the TNG crew about said incident using flashbacks, and then the TNG crew solving something the TOS one could not?

Idea (rough) How about a Iconican Complex is found on/in an Asteroid by the 1701-A and they manage to get a door to open revealing an artificial Rama like interior, they probe for a while and its stable with an artificial sun and nice, Kirk, some science and security types, and Uhura beam down to the surface, but it turns out the inhabitants are missing. They try and access the old computers (Uhura is the coms/tech/hacker here) and thanks to linking to the Enterprise superior databases Spock discovers the sun is actually unstable, going through periods of intense activity, which is beginning to start up. Enterprise's shields start to get battered by the eminations from the Sun. They cannot risk dropping them to beam the Away Team up. Kirk makes the Order to leave, shutting the doors to seal the unstable star in. Spock, Chekov, and Scott protest, but Uhura tells them to go. We get a lingering shot of Kirk watching the Enterprise-A leave, just as the Sun flares- however one of the security detail have found a route into the inside of the Sphere...

76 years later- Spock is on the 1701-D, he recounts the events of the first mission and reveals he and Scotty worked out that the Iconican Complex's sun stabilised every 76.5 years. With Scotty recently rescued by the D, and he and Spock have taken up the quest of returning to the sphere and rescuing, or discovering what happened to Kirk and Uhura. So the D collects Scotty, and the other surviving TOS crew, and flies to the Iconican Complex- it is a little more battered than in the earlier shots, but intact. As with 1701-A before Enterprise opens up the Complex, and revives a hail from the surface...

 

[Unknown]

Here's my guess as to who the 9th Doctor is: "You killed my father. Prepare to die." Yeah, my guess for the 9th Doctor is Mandy Patinkin (aka Inigo Montoya in the Princess Bride and Gideon in Criminal Minds); he'd certainly fit into Doctor Who, IMO (keep in mind that he's...difficult...to work with, IIRC (1))...

Good update, BTW...

(1) And this is by his own admission; he's admitted to behaving badly on the set of Chicago Hope (to the point that he doesn't watch it nowadays). With regards to Criminal Minds, he left that show because the subject matter was becoming too dark for him and he was developing a cynical view of humanity as a result. That being said, he does enjoy interacting with his fans...

 

[Plus-Sized Scribe]

I'd love to see Mandy Patinkin as the Doctor, personally!

 

[Ogrebear]

I maintain that Anthony Head would make a great Doctor.

Or Rowan Atkinson.

 

[Timelordtoe]

Part II, Chapter XXXVIII: "Your Future Secured?"​

“I was pretty comfortable with leaving at the end of my third season. It ended working out well with the anniversary story. Three seasons was what Hugh [Laurie] recommended to me, to avoid being typecast. I ended up being typecast anyway, but that’s another story. The point is, at the time at least, I was pretty sure that the show was in safe hands with Cartmel. I knew who my successor was, and I liked them. But I think Cartmel had a hard time learning from his mistakes at times.”​

- Siddig El-Fadil, taken from An Adventure in Space and Time. [1]


Compared to the previous two seasons, Season 27 was starting from a much stronger position. The fans had largely been won over by the previous season, and a large level of hype had been built up in the lead-up to the thirtieth anniversary.

The pairing of Siddig and Anderson was proving to be a popular one, and fans were interested to see the duo interact with previous companions and Doctors, as was being teased.

Season 27 of Doctor Who began airing on Sunday 16th May 1993. It was the sixth season of the revival series.


List of Episodes of Season 27 of Doctor Who: [2]

1. The People From Nowhere (Part 1)
2. The People From Nowhere (Part 2)
3. Boom City (Part 1)
4. Boom City (Part 2)
5. Despair for Sale (Part 1)
6. Despair for Sale (Part 2)
7. Ideals (Part 1)
8. Ideals (Part 2)
9. Closed Circle (Part 1)
10. Closed Circle (Part 2)
11. As You Were
12. Christmas on a Rational Planet (Part 1)
13. Christmas on a Rational Planet (Part 2)
14. Christmas on a Rational Planet (Part 3)
15. Happy Hunting (Part 1)
16. Happy Hunting (Part 2)
17. The Black Sunrise (Part 1)
18. The Black Sunrise (Part 2)
19. Meltdown (Part 1)
20. Meltdown (Part 2)
21. Premonitions (Part 1)
22. Premonitions (Part 2)
23. The Dark Dimension (Part 1)
24. The Dark Dimension (Part 2)
25. The Dark Dimension (Part 3)
26. The Dark Dimension (Part 4)

Bold denotes a story written by @The Chimera Virus. Italics denotes a story by @Drorac.

Cast of Season 27 of Doctor Who (abridged): [3]

• The Eighth Doctor – Siddig El-Fadil
• Dr. Rachel Vance – Gillian Anderson
• The Master – J. E. Freeman
• The Monk – Eric Idle
• Romana – Lalla Ward

Season 27 of Doctor Who was met with positive critical reviews. Critics praised the performances of Siddig and Anderson, drawing particular note to The Dark Dimension, where critics commented that they still stood out among more experienced actors. The Dark Dimension received particular praise, with it drawing the highest figures of any Doctor Who story up to that point. [4]

With the Ninth Doctor on their way, fans were excited for the future of the show. [5]



[1] Read into that what you will.
[2] The key is below that list, but as you can see, I'm writing fewer and fewer stories. That will speed things along a bit. Some of @The Chimera Virus's stories are based on unproduced stories or VNAs, but he's adapted them for the ATL Eighth Doctor.
[3] This is very abridged. There's a good amount of guest stars too. I'm editing the previous update to mention a couple of them.
[4] I think that's reasonable. It's a big "event" in television. Doctor Who has a big fan base in the US now, so almost every one of them is going to want to watch it at its original airing.
[5] Only three days until you find out who they are. I've enjoyed your thoughts so far, and I think you might be surprised by who it is.

 

[Plus-Sized Scribe]

As the footnote says, I'm not the writer of Christmas on a Rational Planet (a Virgin New Adventure) or Meltdown (adapted for Big Finish as "Power Play"). They're adaptations. Boom City is about halfway between (Marc Platt's original 1989 pitch to the AudioVisuals was wack, so I made sense of it).

The People from Nowhere originated as a very different idea for a Fifth Doctor, Adric, Nyssa, and Tegan novella. I remember it was going to be split into four episodes, the first being Adric thrown off a staircase and having his head cracked open by school bullies, the second being Nyssa getting taken by the Shadow People, and then the third being the Doctor crying out that the Shadow People, curious about his odd physiology, need to stop as the scalpel descends... This last cliffhanger would likely be the Part One cliffhanger here, with Rachel swapped out for the Doctor.

Despair for Sale came whole cloth from my head as I was writing it. Originally it was to form a pair with another Cyberman story I plan to write called Every Little Bit Helps. I like this better; expect a race called the Lachrymoids to show up on occasion, @Timelordtoe permitting. (Oops, minor spoilers!)

 

[Timelordtoe]

Overview of Season 27 of Doctor Who​

“You’ve changed appearance, I see.”​

“You haven’t.”
“Yes, well you see, I’ve been careful. What number are you on now?”
“This would be my, let me see, eighth body.”
“Eighth? Well, if it’s a midlife crisis you’re having it certainly explains why you’re so young.”
- Romana and the Eighth Doctor discuss regeneration shortly after reuniting in Closed Circle.


The People from Nowhere by @The Chimera Virus

After being condemned by the Time Lords at the end of This Sceptred Isle, the Doctor and Rachel find themselves stranded in contemporary Croydon, England with nothing except a smaller-on-the-inside TARDIS, a crummy rowhouse, and a whole lot of suspicious neighbors. Soon, UNIT comes calling with reports of strange silhouettes sneaking into homes in the dead of night and spiriting people away. There’s no apparent pattern – gender, age, sexuality, religion, location… nothing adds up. Just when everyone’s wits begin to reach their end, Rachel starts to see shadowy figures in her peripheral vision and hear distant voices that hiss for her to accept their all-consuming embrace…​

Guest Stars: Marina Sirtis as Brigadier Winifred Bambera and John Levene as Warrant Officer John Benton​

Boom City by @The Chimera Virus

Having managed to procure a makeshift relative dimensional stabilizer from the alternate dimension Rachel was drawn into in The People from Nowhere, the Doctor plots a course for Boom City. This is a huge Dyson sphere located near the epicenter of civilized space (relative to the 51st Century). While taking a look around, the Doctor and Rachel find that many people have wandered off in a trance lately, all going to work for the Emoter, a charismatic quadriplegic who used to be the Lord Mayor of Boom City until he suffered a dreadful accident. Furthermore, he has intergalactically renowned opera singer Corona Moonblink under his spell and plans to use her as an unlikely assassin by concentrating her high notes into a sonic boom to kill his successor, Lord Mayor Lyman Rex, in revenge for crippling him. The TARDIS crew must take down the Emoter, liberate his victims, and topple a government all in the span of one night.​

Guest Stars: Adam Arkin as the Emoter and Leontyne Price as Corona Moonblink​

Despair for Sale by @The Chimera Virus

Now in possession of a proper relative dimensional stabilizer, the TARDIS brings the Doctor and Rachel to Zelanix IX, a distant Earth Empire colony world. Here, humans, Draconians, and Silurians live in peace… or, well, they’re supposed to by all accounts. The time travelers find the planet under constant overcast with the occasional rumble of thunder – it’s been like this for months with not a drop of rain. The local ecosystem and agriculture are both in a very bad way. Depression has run rampant. The only other thing that stands out is a recent visit by a group of Lachrymoid salespeople. Just as the Doctor and Rachel resolve to get to the bottom of things, however, a booming, synthesized voice rings out: “Citizens of Zelanix IX, we bring you salvation. Join us and escape your sorrow; be free of all weakness. Become like us – become Cybermen.”​

Ideals

The Doctor and Rachel are summoned to the Land of Fiction by its new master who has, unbeknownst to them, been installed by the Monk. He reveals that many fictional villains have escaped from the Land of Fiction, and tasks the Doctor with retrieving them. While capturing the villains will be an easy task, they find out that another escapee is the Doctor’s fictional self, whose more simplified morals are wreaking havoc on the disputed planet of Gravis V.​

Guest Star: Eric Idle as the Monk​

Closed Circle

The TARDIS is summoned back to E-Space by Romana. Romana reunites with the Doctor, commenting on his altered appearance. She reveals that the Time Lords have discovered that she is in E-Space and have sent agents from the Celestial Investigation Agency to retrieve her. As the Doctor and Romana catch up on all of their adventures since they parted ways, they must deal with the Time Lord agents coming for them both.​

Guest Stars: Lalla Ward as Romana, John Leeson as K9​

As You Were

Have you ever wondered what your past self would think of you? For the inhabitants of the planet Tarnus, they need only ask. The Doctor and Rachel are, at first, intrigued by the computer system that allows them to perform this feat. But why are the past selves becoming so judgemental towards the inhabitants’ choices? And why are they urging them to build a device that the Doctor claims will open a portal to the other side of the universe?​

Christmas on a Rational Planet by @The Chimera Virus

“An end to history. An end to certainty. Is that too much to ask?”​

The TARDIS crew come face-to-face with a gynoid - which the Doctor says are not built but simply exist, unlike androids, and distort the universe around them. Knowing something is wrong, the TARDIS tracks down a critical threat to reality. New York State, 1799 - the Age of Reason is ending, and Satanic conspiracies lurk around every corner. While Rachel is trapped aboard the TARDIS with someone designed especially to murder her, the Doctor is stranded in a town where festive cheer and random acts of violence go hand-in-hand. His investigation is hampered by both the evils of racism and the fact that the End of the Age of Reason isn't just something from Earth's history anymore. It will be very real consequence of what's to come unless he can stop the Carnival Queen, an entity comprised of all the irrationality purged from Time Lord souls. Christmas is coming to town, and the end of civilization is hot on its heels.​

Happy Hunting

The Doctor and Rachel continue their travels, but find that something is stalking them. Determined to find out what it is, they lay a trap for it on Rachel’s home planet, Beta Caprisis. The trap sprung, they find that it is the Master, who has been rescued from the doomed Cheetah Planet by the Time Lords. The Master reveals that he has been tasked with capturing the Doctor and taking him back to Gallifrey, after the Time Lords realise that he has repaired his TARDIS. The High Council is ordering the return of all Time Lords to prevent further damage to the Web of Time. When the Master frees himself, Rachel and the Doctor must face an already dangerous foe now armed with the latest Gallifreyan technology.​

Guest Star: J. E. Freeman as the Master​

The Black Sunrise by @Drorac

The Doctor arrives on the beaches of Iceland in the year 2430 only to find radical changes to the Earth, notably a Black Sun. All across the island there are cases of disappearances, and strange black cubes that have randomly appeared one morning, and while the Doctor tries to figure out what is going on, the Nightmare Patrol close their grip on humanity.​

Guest Star: Charlie Higson as Captain Valk [1]​

​

Meltdown by @The Chimera Virus

For a woman born in the 19th Century, Victoria Waterfield has adjusted well to life in the 20th. She's sure that she's doing her absent friends, the Doctor and Jamie, proud with her anti-nuclear activism. There's a new nuclear facility near Holton le Clay, and Victoria is all prepared to protest when, suddenly, she's abducted by the Pleyarec - man-sized lizards in SWAT armor. The Doctor is nearby, they inform her, and she'll be their sleeper agent… her job is to kill him and halt his vigilante meddling in "police business." Meanwhile, the Doctor and Rachel meet Victoria's protester friends and come to find out that the nuclear facility isn't all that it seems. Why do the supply trucks arrive from 600 million years ago? What does Dominic, the plant director's mysterious assistant, have to do with the Terrible Zodin? And how do the Doctor and Rachel plan to stop that fiendish femme fatale from detonating the entire plant in, oh… about one hour?​

Guest Stars: Deborah Watling as Victoria Waterfield and Brent Spiner as Dominic/Dominicus​

Premonitions

The Doctor and Rachel track the Monk down to Earth in 1974, confident that he is the source of the damage to the Web of Time. Once again, they find that history has been altered, but this time, more subtly. The Monk, however, maintains innocence, claiming that something else is causing the changes to history. When the Monk is attacked by an unseen alien foe, the Doctor and Rachel realise that they are in grave danger. Pursued across time and space by the entity, the Doctor decides to face it alone, leaving Rachel on Earth. [2]​

Guest Star: Eric Idle as the Monk​

TO BE CONTINUED​

[1] Higson's almost a complete unknown at this point, and I'm guessing that many/most of you don't know who he is. This is more of a note that he appears in the story, rather than him being a proper "guest star".
[2] This is where the story finishes, leading directly into The Dark Dimension.
So, no update tomorrow, most likely. Next update will be The Dark Dimension's plot synopsis. That's coming out on Friday, the one year anniversary of the start of this timeline. That's worked out rather nicely.