29 Dec 2013

Series 3: The Lowdown

Series 3 of Doctor Who: Darkpaths is just around the corner. The first story, "Village of the Daleks" will begin on Saturday 4th January 2014. It's an ideal jumping on point for new readers, but I'd advise any newcomers to read the previous two series anyway.

But for anyone who wants a quick refresher, here is the story so far, and what to expect from the new series.


The Doctor played by Richard O'Brien.


This Doctor is a future incarnation. Where in the future? Who knows. We never reference the incarnation number or how far on from the Peter Capaldi Doctor he is, but there is another incarnation before this one who is referenced from time to time and, again, he is not Peter Capaldi's incarnation. These stories are set far on from what is on TV at the moment. And the previous Doctor will be seen this series. But who will he be played by...?

We discovered during Series 1 and 2 that the Doctor had suffered a trauma during his previous regeneration. He has now lost the ability to regenerate, the cells inside having undergone a freak accident, causing them to burn out and die. So now the Doctor hangs on to life, but he knows that very soon that life is going to be over, unless he can find a way to re-ignite the regenerative cells.

The Doctor has recently said goodbye to his previous companions, Caroline Parker and Danny Lennon, leaving them to finally live and get on with their own lives. But the next - and possibly final - stage of his this life is about to get underway. And everything changes when he meets school teacher, Alice Stokes.

The Doctor is played by Richard O'Brien, known for his roles in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Crystal Maze and many, many more.





Alice Stokes played by Louise Brealey

Alice is a secondary school teacher in her mid-twenties. She works at the local school in the small village of Little Pebbleford. She's a down to Earth woman, happy with her job and happy with her life.

In her younger days she was responsible for looking after her four sisters and this experienced had led her to seek a career as a school teacher. But this had also had drawbacks. Because she had had to grow up quickly, she hadn't experienced much of an adventurous childhood, so when the Doctor shows up, she jumps at the chance to experience the excitement of life as a time traveller.

Alice is played by Louise Brealey, who people may recognise as Molly Hooper from Sherlock.


The Eyeglass and The General

The Eyeglass is a huge space company, formed from the ashes of the old Torchwood Institute, centuries in the future. The Doctor has encountered them and their agents a number of times during the first and second series, and he is due for one final encounter with them during Series 3.

General Helix (played by Liam Neeson) is the head of the company. Ruthless and efficient, he was a bio-engineered Human being, created by the Time Lords during the Time War. But during the events of the Time War, he lost his battle TARDIS, escaped the War and created the Eyeglass.

The last time the Doctor met associates of the Eyeglass, he defeated their plans. And so now General Helix wants the Doctor captured and brought to him alive, and with his bounty hunter associate, Paragrim, heading up the mission, he might just succeed this time...


Gallifrey and the Time Lords

Although the Time Lords and the Time War get mentioned during our series, we try our best to steer clear of current events with Gallifrey. I think it's safe to assume that a some point in the not-to-distant future, Gallifrey is going to return to our TV screens. Until then, we shan't be going near it. There are reasons why the Doctor doesn't consult the Time Lords with regards to his ill health. This may be addressed in the coming season. If and when Gallifrey returns, we may then start to use it in our stories, but for now we just have to steer well clear of it.


What to expect in Series 3

Series 3 will comprise of 12 stories in total. Each story will have either 4 or 5 parts and each story will be published over the course of a month, culminating at the end of the year with the Series 3 finale.

The stories will see the Doctor take Alice from Little Pebbleford to the ice world of Issenttii. He'll battle deadly reflections and we'll see the Doctor's previous incarnation with his old companion, Ivy Coldstone. He'll do battle with General Helix and the Eyeglass and travel to a mysterious, haunted house which holds a dark secret that the Doctor has tried to keep hidden. Trees will invade Cologne, vampires will crawl from old film reels, and the Doctor and Alice will find them at the very beginning of the Dalek Invasion of Earth. We'll see the familiar face of the Sixth Doctor again, as he teams up with our Doctor. The Master will return and the Doctor will face a final battle, meeting up with a deadly new life-form - The Swych.

And there will also be someone from far, far back in the Doctor's past. Someone who we always knew existed, but who we had never met before...


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