Wednesday 17 September 2008

Fanfic: Origins

Fanfic Origins explains what might have happened, what did happen, and what wasn't supposed to happen. Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start...

Creating the Series

So it was at the beginning of the summer of 2007 when an idea popped into the head of some year 7's. They decided to make a Doctor Who series. Conner would be the companion, but some thought that there had to be a female one. So Georgia was to be the main companion.

Series One

Georgia and the Magnet Warriors
1.X was to be called The Magnet Warriors and it was going to feature a new companion Georgia, who would save the world from the magnet warriors. There was originally no UNIT in this episode and no Georgia's family! Georgia's parents were not going to appear in an episode until series 2 at this time. There are a couple of scenes which I did completely delete. To see these go to the Deleted Scenes page, found on the toolbar.

Conner
Episode 1 was always going to be called Conner and it was always going to introduce Conner. This was the first episode that was fully completed. It was always going to feature the Octopli. Gwen did not feature in her cameo role neither did UNIT. Colonel Mace hadn't even appeared then. Meanwhile, Zac's part was going to be bigger. In Will's first draft Zac did most of the heroic things and he did not get knocked out. However, Will had to change this because Conner was supposed to join the TARDIS crew, not Zac. The original scene with Zac saving the world was released in the deleted scenes page, found in the toolbar on the right.

Maids, Myths and Monsters
Episode 2 was originally going to be called Drought. It was going to be based in Roman Times, Georgia, Conner and the Doctor would be surrounded by lions in the Roman ampitheatre. The aliens were made of fire, they were causing the drought. The Doctor destroyed the aliens with a hosepipe stuck to a tap in the TARDIS. I wonder why we got rid of that idea, how did the BBC get inside our minds to create the Fires of Pompeii out of Drought? They stole our idea! Will decided to replace this idea with Maids, Myths and Monsters, based in medieval times.

Cats in the Kingdom
Episode 3 was to be called Design! It would be based on New Earth featuring Novice Hame. It was originally going to feature a new drug called design (drugs last seen in Gridlock). The drug was going to mutate the people of New Earth, but the Doctor was going to find an antidote which he mixed up - including some bananas! This idea was altered to remove the drug, and was replaced with a virus, but that was later changed to feature the Harassers. Jiberatt and Cgarnort were originally going to be a cross of the Moxx of Balhoon's race and the Forest of Cheem.

The Demon Headmaster / Slitheen School
Episode 4 and 5 were always going to be a double. Georgia's family weren't going to appear, but after they appeared in the christmas special it felt right to include them again. Richard wasn't originally in the episode, but after he was added, it was decided he would die at the hands of the Slitheen, to represent the dangers of Time Travel for Georgia. Will suggested the titles The Demon Headmaster and Slitheen School to Seb, who agreed, in late 2007. The Sarah Jane Adventures screened a story about the Slitheen in a school, but as it was a good idea we decided to go ahead with it anyway.

Spirits of the Past
Episode 6 was always going to be called Spirits of the Past. Another title suggested was Ghost Town, but we preffered Spirits of the Past. The story was originally going to be set in a deserted Shopping Centre, with Georgia persuading the Doctor to go for some lipstick. Zac was always intended to travel in the TARDIS for a few episodes, including this one. The episode was always going to feature Ghosts, but the portals were added at a later date.

Be Civil
Episode 7 was originally going to feature Classic Series monster the Brain of Morbius! It was going to be called Morbius Mayhem, and have the Doctor, Georgia, Conner and Zac battling to stop Morbius' resurrection. This was changed after the Slitheen were brought back because we didn't want too many returning monsters. Seb suggested Oliver Cromwell, and Will suggested the title Be Civil, reflecting the Civil War, and the famous expression. Oliver Cromwell was to be the historical figure of the series, but Seargent Jones as Georgia's love interest was added last minute.

Virtual Reality / Game Over
Episode 8 and 9 were always going to be called Virtual Reality and Game Over. The characters of Dorris and Lisa, as well as Sarah Jane's team were added because the episodes were a little short. Lisa's dad, Nathan, was originally meant to be in episode 9, but was cut because Will couldn't decide what to do with the idea.

A Study in the Straw
Episode 10 was always going to have Joan Redfern in it, but originally she was more angry at the Doctor and less helpful. I sent a first draft to someone and they suggested they make her more sympathetic. The Scarecrows were originally going to be animated once more by a fallen spaceship, but when the character of Petr Costravalos was developed, it was decided that he should be the villain behind the episode, as we get to learn more about him and see how powerful he is.

Silent Ice
Episode 11 was always going to be the Crew Member episode, and after several suggestions, I decided to name the characters after readers of the blog. It made the episode more interesting as readers wondered whether they'd be killed off or turned into monsters. I couldn't decide on a title, however, so I created a poll so that readers could vote. It seemed to be a tie between Silent Ice and Frozen Tears towards the end of the poll, but when it had finished Silent Ice had won by just one vote!

The Spidership / Betrayal and Death
Episode 12 and 13 were originally going to be called The Spidership and Trial of a Dalek. The stories origins were quite basic - every single spider grew all around the world. Instead of the three Daleks, there was only one. Dalek Caan was always going to appear in it until he appeared in The Stolen Earth and Journey's End. As soon as I realised that our series was doing well I felt that I had to make the final bigger. I added Zac and Kaylie's characters to the mix, Conner's were always going to appear and since I first put Georgia's family in the Christmas Special I felt I had to put them in it too.

After the Christmas Special I always wanted the Magnet Warriors to return and just to make sure that I would, I mentioned them quite a bit throughout the series. I then added them into the mix. UNIT came next and with them brought a completely new character Private Roxanne who would be with the Doctor for most of the episode. I added a go-between for the Daleks who came in the shape of Roger Ummelmann and I added a new student for Zac's school, who would replace Bert Brayswell... and then get killed off.

Series Two

The Boy Who Santa Claus Forgot
The Boy Who Santa Claus was originally going to include the cybus cybermen, and an original name for this episode was A Cyber Christmas. The original episode did include Kaylie and Zac, but no Elizabeth and Colin, as Georgia's parents were not originally intended to become recurring characters. Teresa and Mathew Core were both late additions to the cast.

The New Zygon World
Episode 1, The New Zygon World, was originally going to feature the Sontarans, but instead a poll was made to see who people would most like to return. The Zygons one so I brought them back. Zac was always going to appear in this episode, and I always planned to have a peaceful planet get invaded.

TimeSpan
TimeSpan was always going to be the episode to reintroduce Conner, but it started quite differently. Originally, it was just Conner who was captured, and he would have been rescued by Georgia while the Doctor stopped several evil alien midgets, but I decided it needed more plot and characters, so I introduced Holly Black, Kirsty Purcell, and the Krillitanes, who were unlikely allies as they had previously been enemies in School Reunion. I also decided to include previous enemies the Werewolf, and the Abzorbaloff as minor characters, and Miss Swade and Mr Faraday as enemies.

Angels and Demons
I originally planned to have a story based at Mount St. Helens, where the volcano would erupt, but then the Fires of Pompei appeared, so I had to scrap that idea. Yes, they do steal all my ideas... I replaced this with Angels and Demons, and I decided to use fairytale of Red Riding Hood as a base for the story. I also decided to add in Rack, as I had planned to give him a return since the final. I also planned to bring him back one final time, along with Dalek Gain. This will happen in Episode 9/10 of Series 3.

Message Received
Episode 6 was a relatively new idea before I wrote it. I began to plan it when we began Series 2. We decided to make it the crew member story of the Series, so all I had to do was add in a spaceship. Originally I was going to have Regal be a returning past companion, but Will advised me against it, so instead I changed his backstory, so that the Doctor and Martha saved the base he had worked at from the Rawrx.

Snowfall in the City
Episode 9 was always going to take place on Pluto with Zac and Kaylie helping out. Originally it was going to have the Plutonians as the main villains, but when it came to writing the episode, I decided to add in the Sednians and then the huge court. The beginning part with the school was also added in, so we could have a good reason for having Zac and Kaylie in it. It took us a long time to find a title for this episode, but Seb eventually agreed with Will's suggestion of Snowfall in the City, adding in the story with snow killing the Plutonians to fit the title.

Aquari Aquatics / The Water's Song
The final of Series 2 was planned before we had even started writing the stories on the blog. The Master was to return with the water creatures known as the Aquari. It was also going to be set in the future, we later decided to have it in Korena's time, with her family reappearing. Rack was added, along with Natalie and her friends, and Mrs Harrbungershon's cult. Without these I feel that the episode would have been very short. Once again, the title for episode 13 took a long time to decide, and we had many options to consider. Eventually we went for Will's suggestion of The Water's Song.

Sam and Sara were probably the latest additions to the story, while I cut out Elizabeth and Colin from Episode 13, as they didn't really have much to do. Zac and Kaylie were always going to appear when the Doctor returned to the present, but Beth another addition, as she became the third stay-at-home friend after Harry was killed.

Series Three

The Ace of Spades
Episode 1 of Series 3 was planned while I was writing Series 3. I really liked the idea of having a pack of cards coming to live, along with having the Ace of Spades as a force of evil. Gisgerm was an early addition, while the other characters including Mystic and Teeena were added pretty much last minute. Gisgerm was nearly always going to escape in my plans, so he could return as one of Rack's accomplices in episode 10.

The Georgian Terror
Episode 2 was originally going to be based in Viking times, and it was going to be called The Gathering of Vikings, and the Vikings were going to gather at an island for a festival, but it was to be attacked by sea creatures and maybe a dragon. We felt that the Vikings were too similar to the Huns, who were appearing in episode 4 and 5, so we cut them and replaced them with the Georgians and the brain-eating wigs. Eirlys and Emmett and the whole backstory were added as the story developed.

Attila / Rise of the Nayragar
Episode 4 and 5 were planned to feature the Huns and of course the most famoues Hun of all, Attila. I added the Nayragar straight away, but I originally planned for them all to be evil and that they were just invading the Earth, not that they were planning to terraform it. The Lions were then added, and episode 4 was originally going to be called The Lions Of the Huns, before I renamed it. The Woman and the rebels were late additions, along with Encwar or the Caller, who was originally called the Caster. Quetragar and Traynar were the last additions to be made.

One Last Chance
Episode 7 was always going to feature Rena Peakes, as I planned her to return from the moment I finished her first episode. I decided to write two other mini-eps featuring her, so that the readers wouldn't forget about her, and so that we could show that the Doctor meeting with Rena wasn't a coincidence. By this time we had a very large and growing recurring cast, so I decided quite early on, who was going to appear. UNIT were my immediate decision, along with Zac, Kaylie and Beth. I finally decided to just add Amy and Andrea, and Elizabeth and Colin, the four of whom would have particularly small roles in my last two 'Georgia and Conner' episodes.
The evil person in it was originally going to be a male, but I replaced him quite late on with Heiress Ecrad. Rena was originally going to have a baby, but we cut that idea.

Whisper of the Daleks / Rack's Scar
Episode 9 and 10 were always going to feature Dalek Gain, and after I planned Rack to return I felt that he should make an alliance with the Dalek. As this episode was based in the present I had to decide, again, who would make an appearance. I felt that as this was my last episode I'd quite like a lot of them to appear, but to make a change I decided to have Elizabeth and Colin only appear in a brief role. I also decided to give Catherine and Bradley big roles.

Episode 10 was originally going to be set on Earth, until I decided to have Rack move to different locations in the episode. I decided that this would give me a chance to say goodbye to the 4 main characters before, as this is my last Episode with Georgia, Conner, Zac and Kaylie. You will have to wait and see how my last three episodes of Series 3 shape out, as I have yet to post them...

This page will be updated in time.

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