Doctor Who: The Cancelled Years - Season 50

Season 50 of Doctor Who would’ve been the first season for Damien Molony as the Doctor, Kate Bracken as Heather McKenzie & Toby Whithouse as Showrunner.

This season would’ve marked the first season for Damien Molony as the Fourteenth Doctor. Molony’s Doctor would’ve been quite different to the most recent Doctor, as his Doctor has finally been able to put the Eternity War behind him & has begun to forge a new path. This would also be the debut season of Incoming showrunner Toby Whithouse, who had been writing for Doctor Who on-and-off since 2004. Whithouse wished to move away from the post Eternity War anxiety, which had plagued the show throughout the Moffat & Cornell eras and wished to take the Doctor (& the show itself) back to its basic routes.

This would also be the first season for the new companion, Heather McKenzie, played by Kate Bracken, a young woman working part time at a movie theatre.

With the appointment of a new showrunner & Doctor, a number of changes would have occurred this season. Firstly, the Doctor Who logo was changed for the first time since 2009. Along with the new logo came a new title sequence, as well as a new arrangement of the Doctor Who theme. The new theme music would’ve been composed by the show's new composer Blair Mowat, who would do all the music for this season.

Also, with a new showrunner, there was a new production team behind the cameras. Joining Whithouse as an Executive Producer would be Rob Pursey & Hilary Salmon. As well as this, the show would also replace the old producers, with the new producers being Peter Bennett & Nikki Wilson.

A new TARDIS exterior & interior were created for the new Doctor, both being designed by Michael Pickwoad. The new exterior would’ve harkened back to the police boxes of the 80s & 90s, while still resembling the 21st century boxes. As for the new interior, we get something vastly different to what we had prior. The new interior goes back to the mechanical & classic style of the TARDIS, while also incorporating a 2nd & lower layer to the interior. Essentially, it’s the Capaldi era from our universe.

The last major change for this season would be the episode format. The show would return to its traditional format of airing the show in the later half of the year in its entirety, instead of splitting the season into two, like what was done in the Cornell era. A big change to the format however was the return of traditional 2-parters. The season would consist of 12 episodes which would be split across 10 stories, with 8 single parters & 2 2-parters. Along with this season, there would also be a Christmas special, which would air at the very end of the season.

(Blogger doesn't allow me to post the new title sequence, so CLICK ME to view it on YouTube)

STORY ONE: The Uprising

WRITTEN BY: Toby Whithouse
DIRECTED BY: Philip John
PRODUCED BY: Peter Bennett

This would’ve been the first story for the new Doctor & the new companion, Heather McKenzie. This would’ve been a very different first story due to the fact that it isn’t a post-regeneration story, as Whithouse wanted to open the season without any baggage of the Cornell era & decided to open his season with an already seasoned Doctor.

Like most companion introduction stories, the story mostly follows around Heather McKenzie, a young woman who works part time at a movie theatre. We initially follow her through the events of the day, as she deals with her family, works at the theatre stand, serving popcorn & drinks & clearly being bored. Then near closing time as Heather is packing up, she hears a thud coming from one of the screening rooms. She cautiously enters the room to see what caused the room, and she finds one of her colleagues named James with his head against the wall.

She asks if he’s alright, and he slowly turns around to face her. We see that his eyes are glowing an unnatural blue colour, and he appears to be almost dead. He slowly walks towards her like a ghoul. Out of fear, Heather goes to leave the room but finds it to be locked. & As James closes in on her, a staff-only side door bursts open, and out runs the new Doctor. He tells Heather to stand back, before he quickly ties up James with some rope. He then pulls a strange electrical device out of his ear, before pocketing it, grabbing Heather’s hand as they run out of the room.

Heather is naturally puzzled at what is going on, but the Doctor tells her not to worry about it & to go home. They depart ways outside the theatre, before the Doctor dashes off into the distance, as Heather goes home.

The story then follows very similar beats to the real Doctor Who episode Rose, with Heather running into the Doctor on several random occasions. We see her taking an interest in him & deciding to work alongside him. However her parents, named David & Chloe, played by Paddy Considine & Jessica Hynes, are unsure about the Doctor & when asked who exactly he is, Heather says he’s involved with a charity company she’s signed up for, as to throw any suspicion off her.

It turns out that the earpiece he pulled out of James ear was a sort of mind controlling device named an Zapmac, which is being sold off as a cool new futuristic mobile device, which alters the brain of anyone who wears one. We find that these devices have been bought & implanted by 100s across the UK & are being controlled by a Cyborg named Mak10, who is attempting to take over the Earth.

Eventually, the Doctor & Heather are able to defeat Mak10 when the Doctor destroys the machines powering the Zapmacs, as well as defeating Mak10 by trapping her in the theatre after it's closed for a night & blowing it up.

At the end of the episode, the Doctor thanks Heather for her help & invites her onboard the TARDIS, to which she instantly accepts.

STORY TWO: Space Mutiny

WRITTEN BY: Sarah Dollard
DIRECTED BY: Paul Wilmshurst
PRODUCED BY: Peter Bennett

The story sees the Doctor Taking Heather on her first trip in the TARDIS, which is to the space colony ship named Goldline, where we see a colony of humans living in harmony. We explore the colony at first, as the Doctor & Heather take in the environment. However, trouble occurs as the ship comes under attack, and we discover the attackers to be a rebel of Space Pirates named Deity.

We learn that Deity consists of former members of this society who were outcast & exiled for their crimes. They eventually all found each other & formed an alliance with a dream of revenge. They plan to take control of the Goldline & bring the ship back to their headquarters, where the population will be sold off to slavery & the colony ship will be turned into a battle ship for the Deity.

We would’ve saw the Doctor & Heather working with the population of Goldline to fight back & rebel against Deity. We also would’ve saw how the Doctor & Heather work together, as well as the 2 of them learning more about each other & Heather starting to wonder whether the Doctor is safe to be with.

We would’ve saw a massive battle in the food court, as well as the Doctor getting into a sword fight with the Captain of Deity named Kralx, & Heather helping a platoon take back the main flight deck.

Eventually, the population of Goldline are able to take back control & Deity are either arrested or sent fleeing.

STORY THREE: The First Step for Mankind

WRITTEN BY: Toby Whithouse
DIRECTED BY: Niall MacCormick
PRODUCED BY: Nikki Wilson

This story sees the Doctor Taking Heather to America in 1969 to witness the moon landing. The story sees the 2 of them arriving in NASA to see the take-off live. However they quickly discover that something is wrong, as something has caused all communications with NASA & the men in space to be cut off & if connection isn’t re-established, the men in space will die.

It turns out that an alien known as Geelove has travelled back in time to alter Earth’s history. Their plan was to sabotage the original moon landing by infecting NASA’s systems with a deadly computer virus so that Earth’s history in space travel is altered forever & their race can win their war against the humans in the future. In the end however, the Doctor & Heather are able to defeat Geelove by managing to clear the virus off the systems & re-establish connection with the astronauts. Geelove then teleports himself away however the Doctor ends up rigging his teleport device so that he ends up stranded on a dead alien planet, with no way back.

STORY FOUR: The Age of Machines

WRITTEN BY: Toby Whithouse
DIRECTED BY: Daniel O'Hara
PRODUCED BY: Nikki Wilson

The story begins with the Doctor & Heather in the TARDIS, where we see Heather charging her phone after forgetting about it during her travels. Upon turning her phone on, she receives a phone call from her mother Chloe, telling her that she’s late for her dad's business event. Heather says she’s on her way &, after hanging up the phone, she turns to the Doctor & says “This is a time machine right? I need your help” as we cut to the titles.

After the titles, we see the Doctor & Heather dressed in black-tie arriving at a big, posh & fancy building, where they meet up with Heather’s parents, David & Chloe. The group would have a chat, where we learn that David is a part of the police force & that tonight’s event is about unveiling a new type of weapon that’ll be helping the police in the future. David & Chloe also begin asking Heather & the Doctor about their charity work, however the 2 of them become suspicious of the Doctor after he & Heather begin to mix up their facts & begin sounding less confident.

Eventually, the attendees are asked to quiet down, as the lights dim & the head of the police climbs to the stage. He gives a generic speech about how crimes are becoming bigger everyday & that crime must be fought, and fortunately for the police, they have a new weapon for fighting crime, thanks to their cooperation with a tech company named Cobotor. He presses a button on his tablet and the doors behind him slide open, and out of the doors emerges a group of robots, which he calls “Officer 2.0, the future of the police force”.

After the presentation, we see the Doctor & Heather discussing their initial thoughts on the new robots, with the Doctor being a bit suspicious. Then suddenly, Chloe walks over to the Doctor & slaps him in the face, before asking what he & her daughter have been up to, after realising that the charity he claims to work for is fake. However, before the Doctor & Heather can explain the situation, the power to the building cuts off, the doors are sealed shut & everyone is left in the dark. & Then suddenly, the Officer 2.0 robots power on & begin shooting up the convention.

The Doctor works with Heather to try & restore power to the building as well as opening the doors & shutting down the robots, all the while David & Chloe watch as they see her daughter confidently dealing with the situation like nothing they’ve ever seen. Eventually, Heather is able to restore the power & everyone flees the facility. Meanwhile, the Doctor is able to shut down the robots & begins deconstructing one. He then discovers a rogue component installed in the robot's head which doesn’t match any of the other tech in the robot & discovers this to be in every robot. He discovers the component to be a sort of remote control, which causes him to realise that a third party has been controlling the robots. He uses his sonic screwdriver to scan the component & finds that he can track down the source of its origin, so he dashes off into the night, with Heather following behind, much to the shock of her parents.

It turns out that the robots have been hijacked by a rival tech company to Cobotor named Auto-telum. Their sales in technology & weaponry have been declining thanks to Cobotors' recent work, and so the CEO of the company, named Albert, planned to sabotage Cobotors' latest work so that their stock market would crash & Auto-telum gains a massive profit, as people switch to their work.

Eventually however, Auto-telum are shut down for good, when the Doctor rigs their warehouse to self-destruct & wipes Albert’s bank account clean, leaving him without any money or any protection, as the police arrive to arrest him.

At the end of the story, we see the Doctor & Heather revealing the truth about their friendship to David & Chloe, who are naturally horrified. They plead for Heather to stop this travelling as they believe it’s dangerous, but Heather chooses to stay with the Doctor, as she feels like for the first time in her life, she’s making a difference. & with that, David & Chloe reluctantly let her leave with the Doctor, as the 2 head back to the TARDIS.

STORY FIVE: Planet of the Silurians

WRITTEN BY: John Dorney
DIRECTED BY: Philip John
PRODUCED BY: Peter Bennett

This would be the season's first 2-parter & would’ve saw the return of the Silurians. The story would’ve been set on a Silurian colony planet, where a human expedition ship crash lands. The Silurians on this planet have never known of any other life beyond their planet, so the humans are taken away to government facilities to be experimented on.

The Doctor & Heather arrive, after picking up the human’s distress signal. After convincing the Silurians to let the humans go, the Doctor teaches the Silurians about Earth’s history & the humans, which these Silurians have no idea about, having been born & raised on this planet. The humans & Silurians then begin to form an idea of possibly co-existing with each other & sharing the Silurian planet & Earth with each other.

We then see the Silurian Ambassadors contacting the Earth ambassadors, as they negotiate on how the coexistence would work. However we also see that anti-human & anti-Silurian factions are slowly forming in each race, as they wish to wipe out the opposing race. This then results in a battle on the Silurian planet, with the leader of the anti-Silurian faction threatening to blow up the planet. This plan however is stopped by Heather & a Silurian she made friends within this story named Leoguna, who manage to find & deactivate the bomb.

The story then ends with the 2 races announcing that the coexistence will go ahead, thanks to the bravery of Heather & Leoguna & showing that the 2 races can work side-by-side. & The story ends with the Doctor & Heather leaving in the TARDIS as a gateway is established between Earth & the Silurian planet.

STORY SIX: Mummy on the Orient Express

WRITTEN BY: Jamie Mathieson
DIRECTED BY: Paul Wilmshurst
PRODUCED BY: Peter Bennett

This would’ve been pretty much the same story as it is in our own universe. The only real difference would’ve been the current relationship between the Doctor & companion, with this being just another adventure unlike the real episode. Other than that though, it would’ve been pretty much the same story.

STORY SEVEN: Time Reaver

WRITTEN BY: Jenny T Colgan
DIRECTED BY: Daniel O'Hara
PRODUCED BY: Nikki Wilson

The story sees the TARDIS landing on a mechanical planet named Calibris, so that the Doctor can find a new fluid link for the TARDIS. However while exploring the planet, they discover that a race named the Vacintians have occupied the planet, and the Doctor learns from them that they’re searching for a weapon named a Time Reaver, a weapon that can slow a victim's perception of time & are outlawed in many major galaxies.

Eventually, the Doctor discovers that a gangster named Gully has acquired the weapon from a Vacintian named Cora, who was trying to sell the weapon on Calibris as she believed people would use it for good, however it turns out that Gully is planning on using them for evil.

Eventually, the Doctor & Heather find the Time Reaver & the Doctor defuses it by exposing all of its energies to him, which slows time around himself so much, it feels like decades have passed in mere minutes. Eventually, when normal time resumes & the Doctor comes back round, Heather informs him that Gully has escaped. & so with the Time Reaver destroyed, the Vacintians withdraw from the planet & the Doctor & Heather depart in the TARDIS.

STORY EIGHT: The Witch Trial

WRITTEN BY: Pete McTighe
DIRECTED BY: Niall MacCormick
PRODUCED BY: Nikki Wilson

The story would’ve been a pure historical in the 17th century. We begin with the Doctor & Heather exploring the 17th century however trouble occurs when the 2 of them spot a group of people drowning a woman they believe to be a witch. Heather tries to help the woman, which results in the people believing her to be a witch & so she’s arrested.

The story would’ve saw the Doctor trying to find Heather & rescue her, as she’s believed to be a witch & is sentenced to be burned alive in the nearest town. Eventually however, the Doctor is able to find Heather & rescue her from the stake before she’s burned alive. & with the people of the town now believing the Doctor to be a person of evil, the 2 of them make their way back to the TARDIS, as the entire town attempts to hunt them down.

STORY NINE: Kill the Moon

WRITTEN BY: Peter Harness
DIRECTED BY: Paul Wilmshurst
PRODUCED BY: Peter Bennett

This would’ve been pretty much the same story as it is in our own universe, however with some differences. The obvious difference would’ve been the removal of the coat hill school student. The story would also have a slightly different ending where instead of walking out on the Doctor, Heather wishes to go back home. Other than that though, it would’ve been pretty much the same story.

STORY TEN: War of the Sontarans

WRITTEN BY: Toby Whithouse
DIRECTED BY: Rachel Talalay
PRODUCED BY: Peter Bennett

This would’ve been the other 2-parter of the season. The story sees the Doctor taking Heather back home, after she wishes to return home following on from the events of the last episode. However upon arrival, they discover the streets to be mostly deserted. The Doctor knows something is wrong, so he decides to investigate. Then suddenly, the 2 of them are ambushed by a squad of Sontarans, who capture the Doctor & Heather & take them to a prison camp.

We would’ve saw the Doctor & Heather talking to other prisoners about the Sontarans & what they’re doing on Earth. We learn very vague information about how the Sontarans have overthrown the Earth’s government & taken control of the planet's resources.  Then suddenly, masked human soldiers storm the camp, taking out the Sontarans & rescuing the Doctor, who are thrown into the back of a military truck.

They’re driven into a secret facility & are taken to meet the person the soldiers call “the leader”. The 2 of them enter the war room, where we see a man waiting for the Doctor, played by Joe Armstrong, who the Doctor is delighted to see. & through their interactions, we learn this man is named Nicholas; Nicholas Lethbridge-Stewart, the son of Lethbridge-Stewart & the new head of UNIT.

We’re then briefly introduced into what will become the new UNIT family with Ellen Yorke, UNITs current scientific advisor, played by Shelley Conn, Seargent Florence Benton, a former friend of Heather who joined up with UNIT, played by Catrin Stewart and Sergeant Sean Pelham, who is your typical recurring UNIT soldier like Mike Yates in the Pertwee era, played by Sam Heughan.

Nicholas explains to the Doctor that the Sontarans are essentially using Earth as a giant military camp, where they experiment with new weapons & clone new soldiers for their war against the Rutans. After discussing their theories on how to stop the Sontarans, the Doctor theorises that perhaps the Rutans could help.

The Doctor then uses the TARDIS to contact the Rutans & warn them about the Sontarans. The Rutan army arrives & they team up with UNIT & begin a massive fight against the Sontarans. Meanwhile, we see the Doctor & Heather go off to rescue Heather’s parents. They find them trapped in a Sontaran prison camp however they’re successfully able to break them out with support from Nicholas. During these scenes, we’d have some serious character drama where Heather begins to think that the Sontarans capturing her family was her fault & that had she never met the Doctor, all this would never have happened. However the Doctor is able to calm her & put her at rest by telling her it’s not, while also apologising for letting her down in the previous episode. & while she is a bit more cautious of the Doctor, she accepts his apology.

With their numbers decreasing & their weapon plans exposed, the Sontarans decide to abandon the Earth & destroy it using a deadly nuclear bomb, which would destroy all Rutans & all other life on the planet. However their plan ends up backfiring on them when the Doctor hijacks control over the missile & redirects it into the Sontaran ship in space, thus wiping out the Sontaran army.

The story ends with the Rutans heading back off into time & space & the Doctor & Heather heading back to the TARDIS, before they dematerialize & the episode ends.

XMAS SPECIAL: The Gift

WRITTEN BY: Toby Whithouse
DIRECTED BY: Niall MacCormick
PRODUCED BY: Nikki Wilson

The story begins with the Doctor & Heather in the TARDIS, where they’re discussing their plans for their next trip. The Doctor then notices a mysterious red present sitting on one of the chairs. Neither he or Heather know what it is or where it comes from. Curious, the Doctor unwraps the present & opens it. Then suddenly, a beam of light bursts out of the box, blinding the 2 of them.

The light shuts off & the 2 of them find themselves standing in what appears to be the North Pole, however they quickly discover it to be a set of sorts. A voice is heard, welcoming the Doctor back for another round, and the Doctor quickly realises that the person responsible for all this is the Celestial Toymaker.

The story would play out with similar beats to the Season 3 story, The Celestial Toymaker, with the Doctor & Heather forced to play the Toymaker’s games. They find all the games to be Christmas themed but with a deadly twist, such as pulling crackers with some containing dynamite & a Christmas quiz against a bunch of elves where getting an answer wrong starts to freeze you. Eventually however, the Doctor & Heather are able to beat the games, find the TARDIS & escape from the Toymaker’s toy room.

CONCLUSION:

& that concludes Season 50. This would’ve been a fairly well received season, with it bringing a breath of fresh air that the show needed at this time. Molony’s Doctor was an instant success & his dynamic with new companion Heather proved to be one of the all-time best.

Join me next time for Season 51 of Doctor Who.

Thank you for & goodbye!