I was always a Dr. Who geek. As a kid, I would watch Tom Baker (and the "other" Doctors) regularly defeat horrible monsters with great enjoyment.
- When the show was cancelled, I was dismayed.
- When they tried to make an American version, I was dismayed.
- When they made the new version, I was dismayed.
A year ago, I tried watching the new version of Dr. Who again, and I liked it. I watched all the way to the Peter Capaldi season (which isn't on Netflix yet).
If any both of you read the title of this post, you know I'm going. I decided to write an episode. The script below comprises the first quarter of it. I've outlined the rest, but haven't finished.
My question to you: What do you think? Should I finish it? Will the BBC answer my emails?
EXT. SPACE
A giant SPACE BATTLESHIP with GLOWING ENGINES tears through
space. It rushes towards a small, blue world, bent on
horrible destruction. Dark, terrifying music plays.
The engines flicker and with a sad BEEE-WOOP, go dark. The
battleship slows and the nose goes down as it loses attitude
control.
After a beat, the engines light up again with an ominous hum.
It rights itself and rushes forward towards the planet again.
BEEE-WOOP. The engines fail another time.
The TARDIS appears. It's spinning in circles around the
battleship's engines. The engines re-ignite but are struck
by a beam from the TARDIS and go out again. The battleship
and the TARDIS are stuck in a stalemate: technology vs.
technology.
INT. BRIDGE
CAPTAIN MALANTHE, a sleek, angry woman sits in the center
chair surrounded by lights and screens. The bridge rocks
around her, equipment sparks, but she ignores it all to stare
furiously at her VIEWSCREEN, where THE DOCTOR stares back at
her, leaning against the center console. CLARA stands in the
background, clutching a railing.
Melanthe presses a button on the arm of her chair.
MELANTHE
Re-ingite the primary engines.
MECHANICAL VOICE
(O.O.V.)
Main engines online.
The lights on the bridge brighten.
DOCTOR
(to Clara)
Press the button again.
Clara jumps forward and presses a single button. The
battleship bridge shakes and sparks fly from consoles again.
The muffled BEEE-WOOP can be heard as the engines shut down.
MELANTHE
You can't win, Doctor! That planet
will die, sooner or later.
2.
DOCTOR
It's going to be later. Much, much
later. Without your light drives,
it will take you about... Hm.
Does math on his fingers.
DOCTOR (CONT'D)
Carry the two... Fifty years to
reach Thalossa 3. You'll be old
and grey by then.
MELANTHE
So will you.
The Doctor glances at his reflection on the console and
subconsciously fixes his hair.
DOCTOR
Some of us wear it well. Who would
hire you to eradicate the
Thalossans? They don't harm
anyone. They're sympaths. It
literally hurts them more than it
hurts you.
MELANTHE
I don't ask why. It's just my job.
DOCTOR
Get a new job. I hear accounting
is nice.
MELANTHE
You can't stop me.
DOCTOR
(flustered)
I am stopping you. Didn't...
Didn't you just see that? With
your engines going "beeeeeeoop" and
all? You want me to do it again?
Clara! Button.
Click. Beeeeeoop.
MELANTHE
Oh, you can slow me down, but
sooner or later that ugly,
crumbling, wreck of yours is going
to fail and I will win.
3.
INT. TARDIS
The Doctor and Clara are watching Melanthe on a holographic
screen near the central console. He sputters with anger.
DOCTOR
Did you just call...? The TARDIS
is not a..! How dare..! It's not
crumbling! Clara!
CLARA
Push the button again?
DOCTOR
No, pull the lever!
She looks over the console for a beat.
CLARA
Which one?
DOCTOR
The BIG one. The Big Red Lever.
Clara pulls the lever. A deep hum builds up.
DOCTOR (CONT'D)
I was going to let you go. I was
going to let you start over. I
even signed you up for an
accounting class. But nobody
insults the TARDIS. Now you pay
the price.
The hum reaches its crescendo.
CUT TO:
EXT. SPACE
The TARDIS unleashes a piercing beam of energy at the
battleship. Lightning rips across the surface of the ship
and explosions blossom on the engines.
INT. BRIDGE
Melanthe is still smiling.
MELANTHE
Thank you doctor.
4.
She reaches down and picks up a metal ball the size of a shot
put with a small, paper note taped to it. The Doctor puts on
his glasses and leans forward.
DOCTOR
What's that?
MELANTHE
A gift from an old enemy of yours.
DOCTOR
Who? The Daleks?
MELANTHE
No.
DOCTOR
Cybermen?
MELANTHE
No.
DOCTOR
The Master? The Silence? The
Centaurans? Animus? Slitheen?
Sil? Megron? The Faceless Ooze?
Nomatron Seven?
Melanthe continues to shake her head.
CLARA
Now you're just making them up.
Melanthe takes the note off the ball and reads it.
MELANTHE
When The Doctor arrives, insult his
TARDIS. When he gets mad enough to
expose the TARDIS's power core,
blow.
DOCTOR
Blow?
Melanthe blows gently on the sphere. It flashes brightly,
transforming into a BALL OF LIGHT which whizzes forward
through the screen.
EXT. SPACE
The ball of light shoots out of the front of the battleship
and flies straight for the TARDIS.
5.
INT. TARDIS
The Doctor jumps to work the controls.
DOCTOR
Hang on!
Clara braces for impact.
EXT. SPACE
The TARDIS neatly avoids the ball of light.
INT. TARDIS
Crisis averted, the Doctor turns from the console and smiles
at the image of Melanthe.
DOCTOR
Crumbling? Ha! Wreck? Ha!
CLARA
Doctor.
DOCTOR
Not now, Clara. I'm gloating.
CLARA
Doctor!
He turns just in time to see the ball of light, now expanded
to giant size, engulf the TARDIS main console.
Sparks fly. The lights go out. The glowing ball of energy
casts an eerie glow over everything. The Doctor reaches out
to it but, it's solid.
DOCTOR
That's not good.
CLARA
What?
DOCTOR
It's a force field keeping me from
the controls. I can't vent the
core pressure. I can't even see
where we are. Clara, be a dear and
open the door.
Clara runs over to the door and opens it. Wind blows in at
her. She gasps. Outside, the PLANET looms large.
6.
They're falling towards it. The TARDIS is starting to heat
up in the atmosphere.
The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver on the force field.
CLARA
What do we do?
DOCTOR
(pointing at a hallway)
Go up there and open the third
closet from the left.
Clara rushes off. The Doctor keeps working while talking to
her. The hum of the TARDIS grows increasingly louder as if
it's going to explode.
DOCTOR (CONT'D)
You'll find a small metal chest at
the bottom.
Clara drags out a small trunk for possessions like a soldier
in WWII might have had.
DOCTOR (CONT'D)
Open it! There's two metal
cannisters at the bottom marked
EVAC 1 and 2.
She rummages through a pile of old socks before finding the
cannisters. They have high tech, weather-beaten look to
them. She runs back.
The Doctor gives up on the screwdriver and punches the force
field with frustration. The hum is dangerously loud.
CLARA
I've got them! What do I do?
The Doctor takes one and twists it open. A fish pops out,
with tiny fins and eyestalks.
Clara jumps back in surprise, dropping the second cannister,
as the fish flops to the floor. It swells, monstrously,
until it's twice as big as Clara.
CLARA (CONT'D)
(backing away as the fish
faces her)
Doctor! What-
With a giant gulp, it swallows her whole. The Doctor isn't
paying attention, he's on all fours chasing the other
cannister as it rolls away over the deck.
7.
The fish pivots its eyestalks at the door and sees the blue
world below. It hops on its fins and tumbles, happily out
into space. The cannister rolls after it as the TARDIS is
rocked by explosions.
The Doctor watches from the console.
DOCTOR
Good luck, Clara.
There's another explosion. Lights around the console flash
and a sad noise plays. The Doctor smiles makes a hushing
noise.
DOCTOR (CONT'D)
Hush. I'm not leaving you. I'd
never leave you. The Doctor is
nothing without his TARDIS.
EXT. SPACE
The TARDIS, spinning out of control, is close enough to the
planet that its features are clear. It's covered with giant,
blue oceans and dotted with a few, green islands. The TARDIS
flies out into space as the giant fish floats by. It "swims"
as best it can towards the planet, a look of intense
eagerness on its face.
After a beat, the TARDIS explodes spectacularly into tiny
fragments.
OPENING CREDITS
EXT. BEACH - DAY
Clara's POV.
Darkness. The sound of waves crashing on the beach. The
darkness clears to a fuzzy view of the sky. A fireball is
fading out. The fuzziness clears. Waves lap against the
shore. The giant fish, sitting in the sand, smiles, turns
clumsily, and flops into the water.
The sound of footsteps. Clara turns to see a man squatting
before her.
It's The Doctor.
DOCTOR
Are you all right, Clara?
8.
But it's not the Doctor. It changes and now the man is an
alien with a bluish cast to his skin and a fin on his domed
head. He wears primitive, dark brown clothes and has a net
in his belt. He squats down near her.
ALIEN
Are you all right, Clara?
Her vision blurs again and all goes black.
CUT TO:
INT. BRIDGE
Melanthe smiles at the viewscreen. The dust of the TARDIS is
slowly pulled down to the planet.
MELANTHE
Well, that was fun.
She presses a button on her chair.
MELANTHE (CONT'D)
Damage report. How long until we
can be underway again?
MECHANICAL VOICE
(O.O.V.)
Five weeks.
MELANTHE
Take your time. There's no hurry
anymore.
She turns back to the viewscreen, which shows a pristine blue
world, now undefended.
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