Looking Ahead to Series 3.

So with the conclusion of "Call of the Spirits", brings in the conclusion of one of the story arcs that has spanned since the start of the series.

The story of Caroline, Danny and the Ancestors is now over. But that doesn't mean that Darkpaths is ending. No, we are continuing with series 3, which is due to start in January 2014.

Before we look at what to expect from series 3, I'd just like to take a look back at what I've done so far.

On the whole I'm happy with the series. I think sometimes some of the stories were a little long, but overall I've enjoyed writing them and writing the characters. In fact by the time I'd gotten to the end of "Call of the Spirits", I realised I was going to really miss Caroline and Danny.

One thing I would have done differently would be to have not made the stories so arc-heavy. This is something I'm changing for the next series.

The series will have 12 stories. Each story will be much shorter than anything done before. Each story will also have 4 parts to it. The aim is to start in January and have one part a week, effectively giving us one story a month leading up to next Christmas. The stories will be much more varied, less arc-heavy, but still helping to tie up a few loose plot threads.

What are those plot threads that need tying up? Well, in series 3, we'll see the Doctor finally confronting the might of the Eyeglass and the General. We'll also pay a visit to Ivy Coldstone (first introduced in 'Eye of the Jungle'), and see exactly what she got up to with the Doctor's previous incarnation (but who will he be played by...?) And we have the Master back as well. He's out there somewhere, causing havoc and mischief. And finally there's the Doctor. He will take this painful journey with Alice, his new companion, as he heads towards his possible death.

And so to Alice ("played" by Louise Brealey - Molly Hooper from "Sherlock"). She's a teacher living in a small village called Little Pebbleford. When she meets the Doctor she is eager to experience time, space and adventure, and she's just what the Doctor needs to kick start him again, after travelling with the sometime's reluctant Caroline, and the pre-occupied Danny.

One of the questions I thought I should answer is the revelations about Gallifrey/the Time War in the TV episode "The Day of the Doctor". All in all it shouldn't effect anything we've done so far with the series. Although I've used a couple of things relating to the Time War (The General and the Proto-Time Lords), I've always avoided it as best as I could. There's nothing worse than creating your own storyline and alluding to something from the TV series and then having the rug pulled from under your feet.
And that brings me to Gallifrey. Gallifrey may or may not return in the TV series. Luckily, I haven't references what the Time Lords are up to. It's all left open, so nothing will be affected. The question on why/if the Doctor can travel to Gallifrey to get his regenerating problem "fixed" is something that will be questioned in series 3. It's not just a question of going back to his home planet. It's something else...

There are a number of plot lines or changes to the ongoing plot that changed during the course of the two series. Originally Danny was supposed to have died after the events of "Lockdown". He was going to be fighting off the Apparite inside him and at the end wage out to the water where the ghost escaped and he died. The ghost would have taken part of his personality back into their dimension where at the end of "The Story of the Ancestors" a strange amalgamation of Danny and Adrian would have emerged. I scrapped that story line as I liked Danny and wanted to keep him alive.

Also the Doctor was due to regenerate at the end of series 2. I won't tell you who I lined up to take over from him, but I wanted to continue with him a little longer. And the circumstances in which he regenerated would have been different. After regeneration he wasn't going to return to Thornsby, and Caroline, Danny and the others would have had to accept that the Doctor was dead and gone.

So, here's a run-down on each story (ordering could possibly change).

3.1 Village of the Daleks
The Doctor meets Alice Stokes and they discover a Dalek shuttle buried underneath a school in Little Pebbleford.

3.2 The Tipping Point
The Doctor takes Alice to her first planet - the site of one of the first Human-colonised worlds. But, as the colonists begin their terraforming, the Doctor discovers that the ice-world is not as lifeless as everyone thought.

3.3 Reflections
The Doctor and Alice land in an abandoned American town where deadly reflections crawl out of mirrors.

3.4 The Story of Ivy Coldstone
The Doctor recounts the tale of how he first met Ivy, back when he had a different face...

3.5 The Fall of the Eye
The Doctor is finally captured by the General, whilst Alice escapes to Earth where she is pursued by Eyeglass operatives, and is rescued by an anti-Eyeglass group.

3.6 Number 17
The TARDIS lands at Number 17 Westcliffe Drive - a house that is supposedly haunted. And it's a house that brings back some bad memories for the Doctor.


3.7 The Trees of Cologne
A normal holiday in Cologne, Germany lands the Doctor in the middle of a mystery - the trees are moving in on the city, and people are dropping dead one by one.

3.8 The Curse of Nosferatu
The Doctor and Alice are summoned to an old film library where a copy of the old film "Nosferatu" has been stolen. Stolen by a vampire...

3.9 Before the Dawn
The TARDIS lands the Doctor and Alice in the early days of the Dalek Invasion of Earth, where the Doctor is embroiled with a group of resistance fighters. But how can he help them when he knows he must not interfere?

3.10 War of the Machines
The Doctor meets up with the 6th Doctor as they become caught up in the middle of the war between the Centrix robots.

3.11 Friends & Enemies
Alice receives some disturbing information, the Master reappears, and the Doctor is introduced to the deadly Swych - a lifeform that exists outside of any kind of dimension, time or space.

3.12 The Final Battle
As the Doctor reaches his final days, Ivy and Alice team up to find a cure for him. Meanwhile the Doctor returns to UNIT HQ on Earth where he helps them fight off an old and deadly enemy.


As always, if anyone is interested in writing for Darkpaths, then please get in touch with me.

as we go through December I'll be updating the blog with small snippets of info in the build of to Season 3, including another "Story So Far..." piece and, of course, the cover and blurb for "Village of the Daleks".

Also, keep an eye out as we approach Christmas for a little something extra.

We've also redesigned the blog with a few new touches, new colour-scheme and new logo/banner. There may be little tweaks along the way, and if you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

So, for now, it's goodbye. Keep checking up on us and we'll be ready to go with "Village of the Daleks" (Part 1) on Saturday January 4th 2014.

Have fun!