The Phoenix Rises - Part Two

 

Fifth Doctor (Time Crash)

First Doctor (Original release with Dalek Saucer Commander)

Professor April Moon - Jenny Lewis (Primeval)

Greg Jackson - Ryan (Primeval)

Weevils (Torchwood)

Kraath - Customs

The only customs for this story are the Kraath, a new race of monsters. They don't look quite as monstrous and I hoped to give them a revamped look for their second appearance.

The base figures were Wrestlers from Poundland who appeared in BACKWARDS.

The Jenny Lewis figure makes her first appearance as April Moon, a character that could have returned.

When looking for a group to be her subordinates and not wishing to use the VOC robots or Ood, I settled for Weevils, postulating that by the 25th Century Weevils could be advanced enough to operate machinery.

Not going to lie, I hate gratuitous Doctor team-ups. They are the epitome of fan-fiction and something I prefer to reserve for special occasions. 
Having said that, back in 2009 when CO released the frankly marvellous First Doctor figure for the first time, I was reminded of an article in Doctor Who magazine (issue 76, May 1983) which revealed that some lost footage from an abandoned Hartnell story, Beyond The Sun had been unearthed and would be put together with newly shot material from the (then) current Doctor, Peter Davison to form a new adventure: The Phoenix Rises.

Of course this turned out to be an April Fool's joke but now with these figures it can be a reality. Sadly, I didn't have the article to hand when I came to write this story so there are probably loads of plot points I could have nicked - er- borrowed. But there are nods to the article in my story with character called April and the story taking place on the 1st of April 2498.

The eponymous "Phoenix" is my new monster race, the Kraath. Having Hartnell means we can introduce a new monster early in the Doctor's life and have them return to battle all the Doctors. If that does happen, they'll certainly be getting a makeover.

The story was shot in two sessions. All the scenes aboard the station were done in one block with the remaining TARDIS sequences for part 2 done back to back with two more upcoming adventures (I forget which but probably Nemesis From Nowhere and Enemy of the Cybermen. 

For the first time I used a new camera with superior macro facility allowing for my crisper images and no more shaky blurred images.

For the editing, a new look is attempted to make the story look more like a comic. For recent stories, the frames were presented individually in regular shaped panels. It made editing simple but the pages looked static and lifeless.

For the 5th Doctor, this story takes place in the AFT niche created after Decoy To Denebola which is set after The Awakening.

For the first Doctor, it's a little more tricky. He never travelled alone but without figures of any of his companions (at the time), I was forced to create a point where he did, possible after he's been taken out of time for The Three Doctors or The Five Doctors.

As later stories in this series will suggest, it has to be some time during season three as he's aware of the events of The Dalek Masterplan.  It could be set at some point during The War Machines but for now, we'll have to keep it vague.

The Doctor's 'telepathic conference' was used in The Three Doctors.

Episode One was posted on 23 September 2009 with part two following on 23 October 2009.

It was reposted as an homage, a companion piece to Series 2 on the BBC/Disney with part one starting on Saturday 12th April 2025 and part two the following week, 19 April 2025.

Ahead of next week's episode, you may want to check out this little cutaway introducing the Doctor's latest companion: The Secret of Vega X2

 

The Phoenix Rises - Part One

 

Decoy To Denebola Part Two

 

Inspiration

It's 2008! Character have been making Doctor Who figures for a few years but have JUST announced they're making Classic Doctors and monsters. I was OVERJOYED. This was the second story to use the new classic figures (the first was New Year's Eve featuring the 6th Doctor)

Without any companions to accompany him, the function of this story was to separate him from his TV companions and establish him travelling alone for the AFT - something he never did on TV.

In the original storyline, the Doctor was to lead the Werewolf fleet to several planets, dispatching werewolves as he goes. The first planet Quinnus 5 was mentioned in The Edge Of Destruction as somewhere the first Doctor and Susan nearly lost the TARDIS. The second planet was called Abydon.

In that early draft, the Doctor displaces the TARDIS early on and uses a tracking device to find it again, at one point dropping the device down a mountainside. He clambers down to retrieve it only to have it destroyed by the werewolves!

When the werewolves force the TARDIS back to Earth, the Doctor interferes with his co-ordinate selector to steer them to a black hole. The effect would leave him unable to navigate straight back to Little Hodcombe.

The ending would have seen the armada plunged into a black hole where it is crushed. This was contrary to the Doctor's pacifist nature so I changed it to a wormhole that simply sends them to another part of the galaxy. You'll also notice that he doesn't kill any of the werewolves chasing him.

The story went through several possible titles 

Touchdown on Deneb (which I think was used in an annual?), The Deneb Diversion, The Deneb Decoy, Diversion To Deneb, Decoy To Deneb. Obviously, I picked the last one and changed the planet's name.

Cast

I shouldn't have bought the Werewolf figure. It's an amazing sculpt and wonderfully articulated but it's one of those I bought to be completist rather than because I wanted it - something I no longer do! I'm glad then that I got to use it in this story. It required a savage, brutal and unstoppable monster. I did consider using the Primeval Future Predators (they get PLENTY of use later!) but decided on the werewolf, here multiplied with the magic of photoshop. And armed with Rose Tyler's 'Girl In The Fireplace' fire extinguisher.

The Fifth Doctor figure is the Time Crash with celery version which was initially released as a San Diego Comic Con exclusive for Children In Need. I missed out on a set initially but a wonderful chum - Edmund Barnett Ward (I think I'm okay to say, 15 years later!!) sent me a set in return for a donation to CiN. I will always be grateful for his kindness.

Shooting

The jungle setting for Denebola uses a variety of plastic foliage that would return over the years on AFT. There's a backdrop of a woodland background and the floor is a green "grass" sheet from a model shop. The woods near Little Hodcombe use the same backdrop and floor but the fishtank foliage is swapped out for paper tree trunks.

With few spaceships in my possession, the werewolf fleet bears a remarkable similarity to the Slitheen's Space Pig ship.

The signal device is from Spy Kids.

Edits

The shot of the Doctor flinging acid rain at the werewolf was bolstered during the edit .Sadly the edit also lost a shot of the werewolves carrying the gun that the Doctor picks up from them.

When it was originally posted, the frames were individual images. When preparing it to be reposted in 2023, I was able to combine them with white borders round the frames for the first time.

Transmission

Episode One was originally posted on 23 October 2008 with part two following on 23 Nov 2008. Due to other commitments at the time, it didn't have a cover or a behind the scenes page until 23 Feb 2009.

When it was originally shown, it had a wonderful title sequence made by Aaron Vanderkley. The pages also had incidental music from The Awakening by Peter Howell.

The episodes were reposted here on 18th and 20th March 2023.

Continuity

This takes place just after The Awakening in season 21. The Doctor, Tegan and Turlough are taking a break in Little Hodcombe, the setting for that story, where they've come to visit Tegan's grandfather. Technically of course, the Doctor isn't alone as Kamelion is still in the TARDIS somewhere.

The HADS (Hostile Action Displacement System) was first seen in The Krotons.

Decoy To Denebola Part One