The Eleven Doctors - part two

 

Ed: not tomorrow, next Saturday!

Enemy of the Cybermen Part Three

 

INSPIRATION

When CO first announced the first and second Doctor figures, needless to say I was excited and immersed myself in their stories both on screen and in comics. With a lack of monsters for them (only daleks and cybermen), I hit upon the idea of pitting them against the Trods.

For Troughton, accompanied by the Tomb Cybermen (my personal faves!) plus the Telos sets I'd made, they were an obvious enemy for the second Doctor but with a twist.

CAST

Minimal cast here. Just the second Doctor, Tomb Cybermen, Cybermats, custom Trods and Jamie. Wait, what?

Yes, the trouble with Troughton is we didn't (and still don't at time of writing!) have any companions for him and at no point did he travel alone. 

My custom Jamie is made out of a Time Lord figure (with the robe cut down to kilt length) with a Captain Jack head. Details added in green stuff.

SHOOTING

Filming began in September with the TARDIS and Telos interiors, shot back to back with the TARDIS interiors for two Hartnell stories Nemesis From Nowhere and The Trodos Conundrum which will be posted in the future.

The alien planet was filmed in October using sheets of white crepe paper. The mist was added in photoshop. The massive tomb set was constructed and these scenes filmed at this time.

26 Jan 2010 saw final pick-ups in the revitalsing chamber.

EDITS

Episode one was edited in January well ahead of its publishing date with the following two episodes being edited in February.

CONTINUITY

Exactly when the story takes place is uncertain, but probably slots in between Fury From The Deep and The Wheel In Space.

TRANSMISSION

 Part One was originally posted on 18 Feb 2010 with Part Two following on 23 March 2010 and Part Three on 20 April 2010. A couple of the eps were posted days early since they were already edited in advance.

At the time, this was the 50th Action Figure Theatre Story.

It has been reposted on 15th/22nd/29th April almost exactly 13 years later.

REACTION

At the time it received a LOT of reaction from readers. With ep one misdirecting everyone to expect Daleks, many were stunned.

"Great story! And what a cliffhanger!" Jamie Bate

"Indeed, that was a cliffhanger I was not expecting!" Aaron Vanderkley

"I bloody LOVED that... A brilliantly engaging and fun story with a very palpable tension and great, funny, bizarre and intriguing cliffhanger." Babyjelly

But more amazingly than this, lots of people were thrilled to see the Trods.

"I nearly did that Squeeing thing when they were revealed, which I haven't done since the Macra turned up in Gridlock!" Bernie Fishnotes

"I don't think I've cheered at the sight of a returning monster that loudly since Earthshock! Just wonderful!" Jim Sangster

"Someone get on to Steven Mofatt straight away, the Trods need to be on the TV!" Tomfan

Enemy of the Cybermen Part Two

 

Enemy of the Cybermen Part One

 

The Logic Trap Part Two

 

CAST

A very simple cast for this one. Just the Tenth Doctor, Rose (series 2), Cybermen and Cyber Controller (Toys R Us exclusive. Or was it Woolworths?)

INSPIRATION

The AFT began life using home-made custom 4" figures but I was delighted when Character started making their 5" range. The trouble was, they were the ONLY figures in that scale at the time so finding supporting cast was next to impossible.

This was one of the stories I came up with to get round that. Essentially, a retelling of TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN.

I did consider using K-9 as the Earth robot but in order to get something new into the story, I created a papercraft robot. You can download and make your own (see below). Note the Torchwood logo on the side. A subtle series 2 touch.

SHOOTING

I've no idea when I shot this but probably at some point during 2006, soon after the Cybermen were released.

It was one of the first times I designed sets in photoshop, all based on the Tomb of the Cybermen.

The Cybermen's transmitter is the cloud city weather vain that came with the Saga Bespin Luke Skywalker figure in 2002 with the power box and cables from the vintage tripod laser cannon and vehicle maintenance engineer.

The control panel that the Cyberman is holding is the firing backpack from the Episode 1 Sith accessory pack. The Doctor's cloaking device is an accessory from a Spy Kids figure. His bomb is an accessory from a Corps Space figure.

The TARDIS console room appears in all its glory for the first time (it had been glimpsed in a previous tenth Doctor story BACKWARDS). Also appearing for the first time is the TARDIS money box as the Police Box. The proper TARDIS exterior had yet to be released.

EDITING

For its original appearance, the story was posted as individual panels so the layout isn't particularly dynamic. For this reproduction, I've put the images together into pages and added frames.

The opening EarthNet newsfeed was deliberately meant to look like the BBC website.

CONTINUITY

The story is set after AGE OF STEEL where Rose first meets the Cybermen but before ARMY OF GHOSTS/ DOOMSDAY. Despite the fact that these are 'parallel Earth' Cybus Cybermen, our story makes the assumption that such a look was also developed in OUR universe. Later Doctor Who episodes would confirm this.

The headlines on the opening page are mostly random but the 'Earth Reptile Parliament' refers to the Silurians speculating that they co-exist on Earth following the events of WARRIORS OF THE DEEP. London Seabase is a reference to climate change and an assumption at the time that London will be flooded by the 22nd Century.

TRANSMISSION

This story was originally posted in early 2007. It was reprinted on 4th and 11th March 2023.

The Logic Trap Part One