INSPIRATION
As with so many AFT stories at the time, we were governed by what figures were available - especially in a 5" scale that ONLY Doctor Who seemed to use. In the case of this story, we had a generic old lady figure and some scarecrows.
Throw in a village church and you have all the ingredients for a quaint English Doctor Who story. So quaint in fact it was originally going to be a 5th Doctor story. But with the 5th Doctor figure sill months away, I decided to give the story to the Tenth Doctor.
At the time (late 2007) the Doctor on TV was between companions. Martha had gone and Donna was on the horizon so it was fitting that the Doctor was travelling alone. By the time it was posted online, Donna was gone, in tragic circumstances and the Doctor was alone again, reflecting on those he's lost. Suddenly this story felt more relevant.
CAST
This one uses the first release of the 10th Doctor in brown suit, along with Grandma Connolly (The Idiot's Lantern) and the two original variants of Scarecrow (from Family of Blood)
The device Connolly is holding in Part Two is from a Playmates Star Trek figure. I forget which one!
SHOOTING
With the script completed on 19 Dec 2007, shooting began on 21 Jan 2008. The church set was built in its entirety (inside and out) and the grave yard scenes were shot first before moving to the interior.
The final scenes with the church in ruins were shot on 24 Jan 2008.
A Harry Potter story (The Star of Protagorus) was shot at the same time using the church as a museum and part of Hogwarts.
EDITS
The gravestone that the Doctor is looking at was originally going to be that of Vendari 63 - long term AFT readers might remember she was a companion I created for the 8th Doctor long before Character started making figures. Dari's fate was never seen on-screen but I always intended to kill her off in a meaningful way.
When it came to this story, I felt the sudden appearance of this random person's grave was an incongruous ending to the story so I altered the grave to make it less specific. It could refer to anyone. At the time, as far as we knew Rose was gone for good, trapped in a parallel universe so it could well be dedicated to her.
CONTINUITY
This story is very much stand-alone. The reflective nature of the Doctor has particular resonance when it's placed after Journey's End or Planet of the Dead where the Doctor is alone and contemplating staying that way in the light of those he's lost. But Forget-Me-Nots makes no reference to any other TV adventure.
TRANSMISSION
It was reposted online on 6th and 13th May 2023 with white frames for the first time and fresh title bar.
It was originally posted online on 24 March and 24 April 2009, over a year after it was made. This and another story New Acquisitions were made and kept on the back burner until needed. With David Tennant about to leave, this was the perfect time to post them.