The Spare-Part People (unproduced TV story): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 19:20, 22 April 2024

The Spare-Part People was an seven-part unproduced TV story written by Jon Pertwee and Reed De Rouen for Season 8. It was also known as The Brain Drain and The Labyrinth.

The story was submitted in the summer of 1970,^[1] but it was rejected after the production team decided they wanted the Master to feature in every story of that season. Rouen was attached to the original version and stepped down from the project when it was rejected. Pertwee tried to rework it but ultimately abandoned the script.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

This section's awfully stubby.

Missing info from DWMSE 2.

There were several versions of the script with slight variations. In the first version, the Doctor investigates a series of disappearances at Cambridge University. This leads him to Antarctica, where he discovers a crew of dying aliens who have been replacing their own body parts with human limbs and organs. In this version, the Doctor would have faced a monster made from discarded body parts in a subterranean labyrinth constructed by the aliens.

In Pertwee's attempt at a second draft, the Doctor is drawn to Antarctica whilst searching for the Master, now stranded on Earth. This version of the script indicated that the Master was summoned to Earth by the alien crew, who hoped he would distract the Doctor and prevent their discovery. It also alluded to some familial connection between the Doctor and the Master.

Both drafts of the story contained a similar ending, as the Doctor uses an artificial bacteria to make the alien crew allergic to human DNA and forces them to leave Earth.

References[[edit] | [edit source]]

↑ Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel): The Lost Stories (The Third Doctor)

[1] Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel): The Lost Stories (The Third Doctor)

[1]

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-''The Spare-Part People'', also known as ''The Brain Drain'' and ''The Labyrinth,'' was an unproduced script written by [[Jon Pertwee]] and [[Reed De Rouen]] for [[Season 8]]. It was submitted in the summer of 1970, but was rejected after the production team decided they wanted the Master to feature in every story that season. Pertwee tried to rework the script, but Rouen was attached to the original version and stepped down from the project altogether. Pertwee later stepped down as well.
+{{title dab away}}
+{{real world}}
+{{unprod}}
+{{Infobox Story
+|image           =
+|series          = [[Season 8 (Doctor Who 1963)|Season 8]]
+|season number   =
+|story number    =
+|doctor          = Third Doctor
+|companions      =
+|enemy           =
+|setting         = [[Earth]]
+|writer          =
+|director        =
+|producer        =
+|broadcast date  =
+|format          = Unproduced TV story
+|production code =
+|made prev       =
+|made next       =
+}}
+'''''The Spare-Part People''''' was an seven-part unproduced TV story written by [[Jon Pertwee]] and [[Reed De Rouen]] for [[Season 8 (Doctor Who 1963)|Season 8]]. It was also known as '''''The Brain Drain''''' and '''''The Labyrinth'''''.
-The first version saw the Doctor investigating a series of disappearances at Cambridge University. The second version saw the Doctor and UNIT hunting for the [[Master]], now stranded on Earth. In both versions, the Doctor was led to Antarctica, where he found an alien ship buried beneath the ice. This ship was host to a crew of aliens that had been kidnapping humans and using their organs to sustain themselves.
+The story was submitted in the summer of [[1970]],<ref>[http://www.shannonsullivan.com/doctorwho/lost/lost3.html#Sparepart Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel): The Lost Stories (The Third Doctor)]</ref> but it was rejected after the production team decided they wanted [[the Master]] to feature in every story of that season. Rouen was attached to the original version and stepped down from the project when it was rejected. Pertwee tried to rework it but ultimately abandoned the script.
-Both versions had a similar resolution, involving an artificial bacteria that the Doctor used to make the aliens allergic to human DNA. In the first version however, this resulted in the death of the alien crew. Pertwee thought this was out of character, and rewrote the ending so that the crew survived and left Earth.
+== Synopsis ==
+{{section stub|Missing info from [[DWMSE 2]].}}
+There were several versions of the script with slight variations. In the first version, the Doctor investigates a series of disappearances at Cambridge University. This leads him to Antarctica, where he discovers a crew of dying aliens who have been replacing their own body parts with human limbs and organs. In this version, the Doctor would have faced a monster made from discarded body parts in a subterranean labyrinth constructed by the aliens.
-In Pertwee's incomplete version, it was suggested that these aliens were the ones who called the Master to Earth to begin with, as a distraction for the Doctor. This version may also have hinted at some familial connection between the Doctor and the Master.
+In Pertwee's attempt at a second draft, the Doctor is drawn to Antarctica whilst searching for the Master, now stranded on Earth. This version of the script indicated that the Master was summoned to Earth by the alien crew, who hoped he would distract the Doctor and prevent their discovery. It also alluded to some familial connection between the Doctor and the Master.
+Both drafts of the story contained a similar ending, as the Doctor uses an artificial bacteria to make the alien crew allergic to human [[DNA]] and forces them to leave Earth.
+<!-- Unsourced information:
+In the original version, the Doctor's bacteria killed the alien crew, but Pertwee thought this was out of character and rewrote the ending so the crew survived and left Earth.
+In Pertwee's revision of the script to include the Master, the Doctor and UNIT were brought to Antarctica by a hunt for the Earth-stranded Master, and it was suggested that the aliens were the ones who called the Master to Earth to begin with, as a distraction for the Doctor. This version may also have hinted at some familial connection between the Doctor and the Master.
+-->
+== References ==
+{{reflist}}
+{{TitleSort}}
+[[Category:Unproduced Doctor Who TV stories]]