INSPIRATION
As with Story 2, this was me thinking about creepy, gothic horror. There is something very creepy about Victorian playrooms and I threw every kind of nasty scare I could.
I think Emily is
one of the best villains I've created for the AFT. She has no morals at all,
not because she's actually evil, but because she's selfish and has never been
taught better. Coupled with the limitless power at her disposal she's a monster
that you can't reason with, you can only placate her and hope to beat her in
other ways.
One early idea
was that the Doctor and Angel put Emily's book prison in a library where it is
stolen by an enemy of the Doctor's who is collecting his recent enemies in
order to unleash them on mass in the finale. It's no spoiler to say that isn't
going to happen. But I wouldn't rule out a return for Emily at some point in
the future.
The story I think owes a fair amount to the DWM comic strip Evening's Empire where a teenager harnesses the power of a crashed spaceship. It was by no means intentional but that excellent story was no doubt an influence.
The nursery
rhyme that Emily recites in part one is a genuine Victorian children's poem.
CAST
8th Doctor - 11
Doctors boxset
Angel - Hermione
Grainger (Deathly Hallows)
Emily - Eleanor
Lamb (Bioshock 2)
Dad - The Master
Regenerated
Boy - Empty
Child (body) Harry Potter, The Philosopher's Stone (Face)
Mother - Helen
Cutter (Face) Gelth Zombie (Body)
SHOOTING
The attic scenes
were done first on 8th November 2010 followed by the hallway where the TARDIS
appears. Filming continued on the 9th November with the rest of the scenes in
the house. The final shots of the TARDIS interior were done along with all the
other TARDIS scenes for the series on 7th Jan 2011.
EDITS
The first storyline had the Doctor in part two chased by animated toys but I wanted something more horrific so I decided that Emily would turn him into a teddy bear.
This story
required a hefty amount of photoshop to achieve the various scares. Almost
every frame has something going on. It was the first story to be completed.
In retrospect, I
could have come up with something better for the Antarans themselves but the
point was that they are tiny, almost microscopic.
Unlike most of
the other stories this series, this didn't need any additional dialogue to be
added during the edit. The script was pretty much right from the beginning.
You may
recognise the Antaran ship. It was previously the Godmaker machine from Godmaker.
TRANSMISSION
It was essential
for anyone reading the story that Emily should be portrayed as the sweet
innocent so I deliberately avoided showing her doing anything bad in the teaser
images. Additionally I didn't want to spoil any of the horror elements either.
The title was
originally Play Time but changed to The Whispering
Walls to take the emphasis off
Emily. But during the edit I realised
that Play Time was the perfect title and had to stay.
It was republished on 23/30 Sept 2023.
CONTINUITY
No exact date is
given for the story but it's certainly Victorian.
The Doctor
mentions the plains of enchanted song, a destination he promised to Sarah Jane in
2010's White Christmas.
