Are you a bad enough dude to write for the Doctor?
May 18, 2017 5:41 AM Subscribe
Big Finish Productions, producers of Doctor Who audio plays and audiobooks since 1999 (including New Series content since 2015 - guess an obstructive BBC higher-up died or something), on May 8th began accepting submissions for the second annual Paul Spragg Memorial Short Trip Opportunity - a contest whose winner gets to write a Doctor Who short story audiobook that will be made available for free (the first winner: Forever Fallen, a look at what happens to a villain after he fails). The rules and entry format are listed here. Entries close June 30.
Recent licensed Big Finish productions outside of Doctor Who include their long-running Dark Shadows line, Dan Dare, reimaginings of The Prisoner and Terry Nation's Survivors, adaptations of The Avengers comic strips and scripts of lost episodes (and two non-lost ones), and Gerry Anderson's Terrahawks and, coming soon, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (via adaptations of books and a box-set of re-releases of the original audioplays and audio from several episodes with new linking material by Captain Blue's voice actor). Breaking news: they're also resuming their Blake's 7 releases. Here's their entire list of ranges (minus five).
Recent licensed Big Finish productions outside of Doctor Who include their long-running Dark Shadows line, Dan Dare, reimaginings of The Prisoner and Terry Nation's Survivors, adaptations of The Avengers comic strips and scripts of lost episodes (and two non-lost ones), and Gerry Anderson's Terrahawks and, coming soon, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (via adaptations of books and a box-set of re-releases of the original audioplays and audio from several episodes with new linking material by Captain Blue's voice actor). Breaking news: they're also resuming their Blake's 7 releases. Here's their entire list of ranges (minus five).
I'm writing Dr Who's on First, a comedic cautionary tale about time travel and baseball rosters.
posted by Literaryhero at 6:01 AM on May 18, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by Literaryhero at 6:01 AM on May 18, 2017 [10 favorites]
6. No established monsters can be used
An excellent rule which I should like to see more widely applied.
posted by Segundus at 6:36 AM on May 18, 2017 [6 favorites]
An excellent rule which I should like to see more widely applied.
posted by Segundus at 6:36 AM on May 18, 2017 [6 favorites]
Pitch #1: The Doctor travels to the New York City club CBGB in 1976, is transformed by the birth of punk, and becomes "THE ROCK-TOR."
Pitch #2: The Doctor and The Master must join forces to defeat the most dangerous and slobbiest of all degree-named cosmic beings: the Bachelor! And beware his compatriot, The Associate!
Pitch #3: The Doctor and his companion travel to a planet where civil wars are resolved through mass hot-dog eating contests and chaos threatens as the planet's condiment reserves are dangerously low! Working title: Flustered by Mustard!
As you can see, I've got this all wrapped up.
posted by Harvey Jerkwater at 6:41 AM on May 18, 2017 [7 favorites]
Pitch #2: The Doctor and The Master must join forces to defeat the most dangerous and slobbiest of all degree-named cosmic beings: the Bachelor! And beware his compatriot, The Associate!
Pitch #3: The Doctor and his companion travel to a planet where civil wars are resolved through mass hot-dog eating contests and chaos threatens as the planet's condiment reserves are dangerously low! Working title: Flustered by Mustard!
As you can see, I've got this all wrapped up.
posted by Harvey Jerkwater at 6:41 AM on May 18, 2017 [7 favorites]
If it needs to be written in the current Moffatt "fuck you I know what I'm doing" style....
PRELUDE. Vaguely creepy or menacing thing that'll be brought out in full in the 3rd act, or the 2nd if we can't keep our finger on it.
TITLE. (Note to production: can we have this louder? and I'm liking distortion right now so put some of that on the guitars kthx?)
Act ONE. Whilst TARDISing from last weeks cool adventure that I wrote to this even cooler one...
Witty banter. Or at least a lot of words here that might be witty. Doctor says something about he wishes he still had a car (to please fanbois).
Strange thing found, questions asked. No answers given, just self-aggrandizing statements that have nothing to do with plot. oh and mention River Song for some reason even though she's not in the season.
Act TWO. i dunno, i hate writing act 2. f'ck'n boooring is there any more vodka? how about doctor and bill talk at people, find body (horribly killed to death).
Act THREE. they find the monster and its thefucking Cybermen fucking Daleks goddamn fucking Angels ok, make up a new monster. no tentacles as they have to be CGI'ed. Lots of running and yelling.
Act LAST. More running. More yelling. NOTE- if no corridors, caves will do. Doctor remembers how to stop them, takes all of 2 min to do so (5 if there has to be a speech) with this season's deus ex machina.
Nod to "big" "overarching" plot-ish thing that I haven't made up yet.
Credits.
Check please!
posted by Zack_Replica at 10:38 AM on May 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
PRELUDE. Vaguely creepy or menacing thing that'll be brought out in full in the 3rd act, or the 2nd if we can't keep our finger on it.
TITLE. (Note to production: can we have this louder? and I'm liking distortion right now so put some of that on the guitars kthx?)
Act ONE. Whilst TARDISing from last weeks cool adventure that I wrote to this even cooler one...
Witty banter. Or at least a lot of words here that might be witty. Doctor says something about he wishes he still had a car (to please fanbois).
Strange thing found, questions asked. No answers given, just self-aggrandizing statements that have nothing to do with plot. oh and mention River Song for some reason even though she's not in the season.
Act TWO. i dunno, i hate writing act 2. f'ck'n boooring is there any more vodka? how about doctor and bill talk at people, find body (horribly killed to death).
Act THREE. they find the monster and its the
Act LAST. More running. More yelling. NOTE- if no corridors, caves will do. Doctor remembers how to stop them, takes all of 2 min to do so (5 if there has to be a speech) with this season's deus ex machina.
Nod to "big" "overarching" plot-ish thing that I haven't made up yet.
Credits.
Check please!
posted by Zack_Replica at 10:38 AM on May 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
Dr Who's on First
More likely an early '60s encounter with a seminal British rock band (in which he shows Pete Townshend how to be dramatic while playing guitar), then to Canada for another R&R encounter where we learn that River Song was the inspiration for "She's Come Undun".
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:56 PM on May 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
More likely an early '60s encounter with a seminal British rock band (in which he shows Pete Townshend how to be dramatic while playing guitar), then to Canada for another R&R encounter where we learn that River Song was the inspiration for "She's Come Undun".
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:56 PM on May 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
The Doctor goes from planet to planet introducing stairs to primitive humanoids as a way of giving them a viable defense against the Daleks. However, he's being closely followed by a robotic race, which looks like giant slinkies and who take advantage of the newly built stairs to eat every primitive bipedal creature they find.
posted by honestcoyote at 2:50 AM on May 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by honestcoyote at 2:50 AM on May 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
Not a big Doctor Who fan ... So was hoping someone could please explain the 'bad enough dude' reference? (Apologies if there is a really obvious answer)
Sounds like a great competition at any rate. Would be tempted to enter but haven't seen enough episodes.
posted by daybeforetheday at 10:45 PM on May 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
Sounds like a great competition at any rate. Would be tempted to enter but haven't seen enough episodes.
posted by daybeforetheday at 10:45 PM on May 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
daybeforetheday: Not a reference to Doctor Who, but to the game Bad Dudes.
posted by BiggerJ at 4:03 AM on May 21, 2017
posted by BiggerJ at 4:03 AM on May 21, 2017
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posted by Artw at 5:46 AM on May 18, 2017 [2 favorites]