Action Figure Theatre: January 2023

The third Doctor (Death to the Daleks)

Professor/ Mila/ Alex/ Traveller 1 - customs

Traveller 2 - Blowfish (Torchwood)

Traveller 3 - Jabe

Elkans - Geonosians from Star Wars

Time Whales - Primeval Mer Creature

The custom characters of Mila and Alex were made way back in 2008, originally for a 4th Doctor story "Terror Formed" that was never made.

Mila is a series 2 Rose figure with the hair removed and replaced with a Mimbari-esque head piece.

Alex is just Toby Zed with a repainted shirt.

The professor character in part one is a Utopia Master with repainted hair. He was created to be the Time Lord Daedelus for the original version of my 10th Doctor finale Godmaker.

The human time traveller is a Primeval Cutter head on Lester's body. None of the time travellers were given names in the script.

The time pod is actually the weapon from a Toybiz Superhero Showdown Silver Surfer figure.

This is one of those stories that seems to appear from nowhere and is written in a matter of hours. I was clearly inspired by the original releases of the Third Doctor figure in November 2009. With no (at the time) companions to go with him, I was inspired by the TV Comic versions of the third Doctor who takes himself off to remote country houses to work on the TARDIS, meeting odd scientists along the way.

Shooting on this one was rather sporadic with most of the pod interiors, the Doctor's TARDIS and lab, plus all the green screen stuff with the whales and the pod done on the first day. It would be sometime later before shooting resumed with the pod interior with the door blasted out for part two.

The pod interior has been deliberately designed with 70s Who in mind - that hexagonal patterned wall became a staple of sci-fi stories appearing in The Mutants, The Horns of Nimon, many episodes of Blake's 7 as well as Adric's room in the TARDIS and bits of the trial room in The Trial of a Time Lord.

More filming was done on Lowestoft beach for the 'location' shots in April 2010 with the green screen images of the Geonosions and some pick-ups for the Observation Deck completed soon after.

During editing, I realised one shot was missing - the Doctor and Mila on the landing ramp. That picture was taken on 22 June 2010.

While part one was edited well ahead of it's posting, part two was slower and not completed until the day before it was due.

The episode remained faithful to the original script apart from one line removed from part 2/ page 2 as it didn't really fit.

Part One was originally posted on 20 May 2010 - coincidentally the 14th anniversary of the death of Jon Pertwee.

Part Two followed on 23 June 2010.

Although it aired at a similar time, the Time Whales are not intended to be connected to the Space Whale of The Beast Below.

The episode was reposted to the web on 7th and 14th January 2023.

Other than mentioning the Doctor's ongoing exile, this story doesn't have any continuity links with the televised show. In the absence of any companions, it could sit between Inferno and Terror of the Autons, between Liz Shaw leaving and Jo Grant arriving.

I never ruled out a return for Mila and Alex.