First Doctor (original release)
Mark 7 (Custom/ Captain Jack base figure)
The Leviathan (Custom)
Lihmaha/ Shimmerlings - Star Poet (Sarah Jane Adventures)
Entropa - King Kong Monster set
The Leviathan robot is a wrestler figure with a bottletop for a head and arms replaced with various weapons from other figures.
Mark 7 has a definite progression and this is the next chapter of his story. I wanted him to feel some real emotion and discover the consequences of time travel. This story then is a tragic romance told from the perspective of the companion.
This philosophical argument about being powerless to alter time is a direct steal from The Aztecs.
The inspiration for the Shimmerlings themselves were the Star Poet/ Arcateen figures.
At the time, Series 5 (Matt Smith's first series) was on the air.
The Shimmerlings were originally called the Omac. The name was changed during the editing of the story in 2013 to match their ethereal nature.
Shooting began on this story back in 2010 when the script was done but at the time I didn't have a figure in mind for the enemy - originally called Hexapods.
I'd always intended them to be some kind of insect swarm but never really considered how I'd realise them. Inspiration finally hit when I was clearing out my toy cupboard and came across the Skull Island monsters from King Kong, one of which was used in my Indiana Jones story.
The pick-ups of the Entropia were shot in 2013 finally allowing the story to be completed at last.
Note that for the first time in this mini-arc, we use a classic TARDIS, in this case the McCoy TARDIS. The Hartnell Unearthly Child TARDIS was still to be released.
I think this wins the prize for longest AFT edit. Without the Entropia images, I couldn't finish and the story just fell further and further behind others.
It was edited as far as possible in 2013 but by this time the AFT schedule was firmly taken up with the epic Daleks v Cybermen and the 50th Anniversary story The 11 Doctors, so there was no time for the story to even be posted. (see Transmission below).
At the time it was published, it was the final AFT adventure. I considered altering the final frame to remove the cliffhanger but decided to leave it as originally intended.
Where this sits in first Doctor continuity has been discussed and this story offers no further insights. Clearly the Doctor and Mark have had at least one unseen adventure where the Leviathan catches up with them.
Mark's glimpse into the web of time shows a few things that are 'fixed points' such as the Silents using River Song to kill the Doctor and the Dalek Invasion of Earth. I also chucked in an image from Pyramid of Mars and a Cyberman - because they're bound to have done something 'fixed pointy'.
The
Although completed in 2013, The Fate of the Shimmerlings had to wait to be published. 2013's schedule was taken up with Daleks v Cybermen and the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary.
One reason for its delay was because I was waiting to see what (if any!) 60s figures would be released. The short answer was none, though of course we've since had Voord, Sensorites and Ian Chesterton!
The AFT stopped regular episodes in early 2014 but this story was published online on 16th November 2015. I think it was partly to celebrate the show's anniversary and partly just to get the story out there.
It was reposted as a companion piece to Series 2 on BBC/Disney+ on 17th and 24th May.