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{{Infobox Webcast|
{{title dab away}}
story name= Real Time |
{{real world}}
image= [[Image:Real_Time_temple_webcast.jpg|250px]]|
{{ImageLinkWC}}
series= [[Doctor Who]] - [[Webcast]]|
{{Infobox Story SMW
number= 2 |
|image          = Doctor in Real Time.jpg
doctor= [[Sixth Doctor]]|
|number         = 2
companions= [[Evelyn Smythe]] |
|adapted into    = Real Time (audio story)
enemy= [[Cybermen]] |
|doctor         = Sixth Doctor
setting= [[Chronos]] |
|companions     = [[Evelyn Smythe|Evelyn]]
writer= [[Gary Russell]] |
|enemy           = [[Cyber-Controller (Real Time)|Cyber-Controller]]
director= [[Gary Russell]] |
|setting         = {{il|[[Earth]], [[1951]]|[[Chronos]], [[3286]]|[[Far future]]}}
producer= [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]] (For Big Finish) <br> [[Jacqueline Rayner]] (For BBC Worldwide)|
|writer         = Gary Russell
animator= [[Lee Sullivan]]|
|director       = [[Gary Russell]]
broadcast date= 2nd August [[2002]] - 6th September [[2002]] |
|producer       = {{il|[[Jason Haigh-Ellery]] (for Big Finish)|[[Jacqueline Rayner]] (For BBC Worldwide)}}
format= 6 Episodes |
|animator       = [[Lee Sullivan]]
production code= BBCI-2 |
|broadcast date = 2 August - 6 September 2002
previous production= [[Death Comes to Time]]|
|format         = 6 Episodes
next production= [[Shada (webcast)|Shada]] }}
|production code = BBCI-2
'''Real Time''' was a six-episode [[webcast]] animated adventure featuring the [[Sixth Doctor]], which was available via the BBCI website in 2002. ''Real Time'' was one of a few animated webcasts produced featuring various incarnations of the Doctor in the years prior to the revival of the series.  
|series          = [[BBCi]] animations
|prev            = Death Comes to Time (webcast)
|next           = Shada (webcast)
}}{{TV stub}}
'''''Real Time''''' was a six-part [[webcast]] animated adventure featuring [[Colin Baker]] as the [[Sixth Doctor]]. It was available via the BBCI website in 2002. ''Real Time'' was one of a few animated webcasts produced featuring various incarnations of the Doctor in the years prior to the revival of the series. It is notable for including the character [[Evelyn Smythe]], marking the first time a character created for the [[Big Finish Productions]] audio dramas had appeared in a BBC-sponsored production.


This serial is notable for including the character of [[Evelyn Smythe]], marking the first time a character created for the [[Big Finish Productions]] audio dramas had appeared in a BBC-sponsored production. It also marked the final (active) appearance, to date, of the original version of the [[Cybermen]] in a BBC-sponsored production before the advent of the [[Cybus Cybermen]] in 2006.
''Real Time'' is also known for its unresolved cliffhanger, which has largely remained an untouched subject since its initial release, due to plans to continue the webisodes falling through.


==Synopsis==
== Synopsis ==
''to be added''
From Big Finish's website:


==Plot==
On a planet known only as Chronos, two scientific survey teams have vanished. Inexplicably. Without warning. But with just one clue supplied - a single screamed word: "Cybermen!"
===Episode 1===


The University they worked for has called in the Earth security forces who despatch a third team, a mix of military and scientific might, under the auspices of a University Administrator. If that kind of volatile grouping isn't bad enough, three strangers have been added to the mix - a young human expert in Cybermen and a mysterious traveller in space and time, the Doctor, along with his companion, Dr Evelyn Smythe.


Two humans, Hoyer and Fantham, manage to evade the Cybermen searching for them and reach their destination, the Chronosphere. The Doctor is already locked into its matrix, and they send him from 1951 to a nexus point in the year 3286. If all goes well, the Doctor will change the web of Time, and Hoyer and Fantham will cease to exist.
But can they solve the riddle of the vanished survey teams before the Cybermen harness Chronos' unique temporal gifts and rewrite the history of the galaxy?
 
== Plot ==
A human survey team lands on a deserted planet to find out what happened to two other, missing survey teams. Exactly one day after the previous disappearance, Osborn contacts the mothership to report that his team has found nothing -- but then a wave of temporal energy washes out of the structure which Osborn believes to be an ancient temple. As the signal begins to break up, the desperate Osborn warns his contact, Krueger, that there’s a Cyberman at the heart of the temporal wave...
''to be added''
 
The mention of Cybermen naturally causes concern, and soon another expedition has arrived on the planet, accompanied by the Doctor and Evelyn. Administrator David Isherwood isn’t pleased to have been saddled with strangers, and he turns Evelyn over to another man he’s been stuck with -- Doctor Reece Goddard, an expert on Cybermen who seems awed to learn that Evelyn is a companion of the legendary Doctor. Evelyn modestly dismisses her own exploits and inquires about the Cybermen, and Dr. Goddard gives her a potted history of the race, from their origins on Mondas through to their colonisation of other worlds, the destruction of Mondas, and the Orion wars. The Cybermen have learned from each defeat, and have constantly adapted their design to overcome their early weaknesses, such as radiation and gold dust. However, they haven’t been heard from in centuries, which is why Central became so worried when Osborn went missing after he reported seeing a Cyberman...
 
Inside the “temple”, the Doctor is studying the hieroglyphs on the walls while Renchard and Carey, unable to find any sign of the missing expeditions, amuse themselves by generating an echo field to block the transmissions from their subcutaneous transponders. The Doctor points out certain architectural oddities which suggest that this building was meant to be easier to get into than out of, and a large stone doorway which is much thinner than the others. Scans indicate a solid stone wall on the other side, which suggests that this stone is not a door but a cover. Savage sends Renchard back to fetch vacuum cylinders, with which to preserve whatever lies behind the covering, and she, Carey and the Doctor attempt to move it aside. However, the Doctor then notices scratches which suggest that the cover has been moved before; perhaps this is what unleashed the temporal wave in the first place. Savage’s professionalism slips, as she believes her missing friends and colleagues may be trapped behind the cover, and she feels the Doctor is risking their lives with unnecessary caution. As they argue, however, the covering vanishes to be replaced by a translucent membrane, behind which they can see a room too large to fit into the small space behind the covering. The Doctor realizes the truth, but Savage again ignores his pleas for caution and sticks her hand through the membrane -- and is yanked through, screaming, by something on the other side.


As Goddard and Evelyn discuss her spirit of adventure and his apparent fascination with the Cybermen, Isherwood informs them that Savage’s transponder has ceased signalling. Inside, the membrane has gone dark, and three Cybermen step out -- including one who is still recognisable as Nicola Savage. Her conversion has taken place remarkably quickly, and the Doctor realizes that the membrane is a time portal under Cyber control. And now he and Carey are prisoners of the Cybermen...
== Cast ==
* [[Sixth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Colin Baker]]
* [[Evelyn Smythe]] - [[Maggie Stables]]
* [[David Isherwood|Administrator Isherwood]] - [[Christopher Scott]]
* [[Reece Goddard|Doctor Reece Goddard]] - [[Yee Jee Tso]]
* [[Nicola Savage]] - [[Jane Goddard]]
* [[Cyber-Controller (Real Time)|Cyber-Controller]] - [[Nicholas Briggs]]
* [[Taylor Renchard]] - [[Richard Herring]]
* [[Ryan Carey]] - [[Stewart Lee]]
* [[Hoyer (Real Time)|Hoyer]] - [[Alistair Lock]]
* [[Fantham (Real Time)|Fantham]] - [[Andrew Hair]]
* [[Kreuger (Real Time)|Kreuger]] - [[William Johnston]]
* [[Osborn (Real Time)|Professor Osborn]] - [[Nicholas Briggs]]


===Episode 2===
== Crew ==
===Episode 3===
* [[Writer]] - [[Gary Russell]]
===Episode 4===
* [[Director (crew)|Director]] - Gary Russell
===Episode 5===
* [[Producer]]s - [[Jason Haigh-Ellery]] ([[Big Finish Productions|BF]]), [[Jacqueline Rayner]] ([[BBC]]), [[Richard Fell]], [[Martin Trickey]]
===Episode 6===
* [[Animator|Animation]] - [[Lee Sullivan]], [[James Goss]], [[Rob Francis]], [[Eduardo Armentia]]
* [[Online presentation|Online Presentation]] - James Goss
* [[Dialogue editor]] - [[William Johnston]]
* [[Composer]] - [[Alistair Lock]]
* [[Post-production|Post production]] - Alistair Lock
:''[[Cyberman|Cybermen]] created by [[Gerry Davis]] and [[Kit Pedler]] and used by kind permission.''


==Cast & Characters==
== Story notes ==
*[[Sixth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Colin Baker]]
* This story featured the debut of the blue version of the [[Sixth Doctor]]'s outfit. Multiple reasons were given for this: [[Colin Baker]] not having been fond of the original version and the blue suit being more suited to Big Finish's evolved version of the character. The main reason, though, was technical simplicity: the original version of the costume would have been too complex to portray in this webcast's illustrations of limited detail.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/webcasts/realtime/faq.shtml BBC - Cult - Doctor Who - Real Time - FAQ]</ref>
*[[Evelyn Smythe]] - [[Maggie Stables]]
** The blue suit has since been adopted into the Sixth Doctor's continuity in his Big Finish audio timeline, featuring in his audios both in dialogue ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Wrong Doctors (audio story)|The Wrong Doctors]]'') and in cover art.
*[[David Isherwood|Administrator Isherwood]] - [[Christopher Scott]]
** The blue-suited version of the Doctor from this webcast has since been released as [[Character Options]] and [[Character Building]] action figures.
*[[Reece Goddard|Doctor Reece Goddard]] - [[Yee Jee Tso]]
* Episodes 4 to 6 had warnings that "this week's episode contains scenes that may not be suitable for younger children".
*[[Nicola Savage]] - [[Jane Goddard]]
* Each episode was released at noon on a Friday.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/07_july/23/cybermen.shtml BBC - Press Office - Cybermen - BBCi brings Cybermen to Cyberspace]</ref>
*[[Cyber-Controller]] - [[Nicholas Briggs]]
* According to the [[Big Finish]] website, this story was specifically written to work as either a webcast or audio drama.
*[[Taylor Renchard]] - [[Richard Herring]]
* Author Gary Russell's subsequent novel ''[[Spiral Scratch (novel)|Spiral Scratch]]'' contains a cameo by, among other [[alternate timeline]] versions of the Sixth Doctor, one dressed in blue and accompanied by a woman in her fifties with visible cybernetic implants; this is suggested to be the Doctor and Evelyn from this story, some time after the effects of its cliffhanger.
*[[Ryan Carey]] - [[Stewart Lee]]
*[[Hoyer]] - [[Alistair Lock]]
*[[Fantham]] - [[Andrew Hair]]
*[[Krueger]] - [[William Johnston]]
*[[Osborn|Professor Osborn]] - [[Nicholas Briggs]]


==References==
=== Original website release/broadcast ===
''to be added''
* Episode 1 - [[2 August (releases)|2 August]] [[2002 (releases)|2002]]
* Episode 2 - [[9 August (releases)|9 August]] 2002
* Episode 3 - [[16 August (releases)|16 August]] 2002
* Episode 4 - [[23 August (releases)|23 August]] 2002
* Episode 5 - [[30 August (releases)|30 August]] 2002
* Episode 6 - [[6 September (releases)|6 September]] 2002


==Story Notes==
=== Production errors ===
*Episodes 4 through 6 had warnings that "this week's episode contains scenes that may not be suitable for younger children".
[[File:Cat brooch.jpg|thumb|right|The superimposed cat brooch.]]
*Yee Jee Tso played [[Chang Lee]] in ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]''.
* In closeup shots of the Doctor's changing [[cat brooch]], it is obvious that the brooch is a rectangular image superimposed onto the image of the Doctor's lapel, as the background of the cat is a shade of blue slightly different to the lapel.
* Due to the {{w|limited animation}} style of the broadcast, the character drawings are often mirrored to make it look like they have changed direction. This results in non-symmetric visual details like clothing and hairstyles constantly switching back and forth from one side to the other.


===Original Website Release/Broadcast===
== CD release ==
*Episode 1 - 2nd August, 2002
{{main|Real Time (audio story)}}
*Episode 2 - 9th August, 2002
[[Big Finish Productions]] released an extended version of this story on audio CD. The release contains two scenes not present in the webcast version, and the CD booklet contains the script for a further unrecorded scene.
*Episode 3 - 16th August, 2002
*Episode 4 - 23rd August, 2002
*Episode 5 - 30th August, 2002
*Episode 6 - 6th September, 2002


===Myths===
== Modern accessibility ==
''to be added''
Due to technical changes behind the scenes of the BBC website, the {{w|Realmedia}} audio and video streams which made up the webcast stopped working. The BBC acknowledged the error in a FAQ on the ''Doctor Who'' website during [[Series 4 (Doctor Who 2005)|Series 4]], stating they were aware of the error and were working to restore the webcast to functionality in another format "as soon as possible,"<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20081025103910/http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/faq/classic.shtml BBC - Doctor Who - FAQ - Classic Doctor Who]</ref> but no further announcements have been made. The relevant FAQ has since gone offline.


===Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors===
Though the webpages and links for the webcast still remain online as part of the archived "classic" ''Doctor Who'' website, the ''Real Time'' webcast itself remains inaccessible, although it can be unofficially found being shared around the internet.
''to be added''


==Continuity==
The [[Real Time (audio story)|audio version]] of the story remains available on CD from [[Big Finish Productions]].
''to be added''


==CD and Other Releases==
== External links ==
*Big Finish released an extended release on CD, see [[Real Time (audio release)|Real Time]] (audio release) for more information.
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/webcasts/realtime/ BBC Official Website - Real Time Webcast]
{{dwrefguide|bbci_02.htm|Real Time}}
{{tetrap|6/real.html|Real Time}}


==See also==
== Footnotes ==
''to be added''
{{reflist}}


==External Links==
{{WC}}
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/webcasts/realtime/ BBC Official Website - Real Time Webcast]
{{DWAP}}
*{{dwrefguide|bbci_02.htm|Real Time Webcast}}
{{Cyberman stories}}
*[http://www.tetrap.com/drwho/disccon/6/real.html The Discontinuity Guide '''Real Time Webcast''' page]
{{TitleSort}}


{{audio stub}}
[[Category:Sixth Doctor webcasts]]
[[Category:Webcasts]]
[[Category:2002 webcasts]]
[[Category:Cybermen stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1951]]
[[Category:Stories set in 3286]]
[[Category:Stories set in the far future]]
[[Category:Stories set in alternate timelines]]
[[Category:Stories with unique variations of the Doctor Who opening titles]]
[[Category:BBCi]]
[[Category:Stories that use Delia Derbyshire's 2nd theme]]
[[Category:2D animated productions]]

Latest revision as of 23:33, 17 November 2024

RealWorld.png

TVStub.png

Real Time was a six-part webcast animated adventure featuring Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor. It was available via the BBCI website in 2002. Real Time was one of a few animated webcasts produced featuring various incarnations of the Doctor in the years prior to the revival of the series. It is notable for including the character Evelyn Smythe, marking the first time a character created for the Big Finish Productions audio dramas had appeared in a BBC-sponsored production.

Real Time is also known for its unresolved cliffhanger, which has largely remained an untouched subject since its initial release, due to plans to continue the webisodes falling through.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

From Big Finish's website:

On a planet known only as Chronos, two scientific survey teams have vanished. Inexplicably. Without warning. But with just one clue supplied - a single screamed word: "Cybermen!"

The University they worked for has called in the Earth security forces who despatch a third team, a mix of military and scientific might, under the auspices of a University Administrator. If that kind of volatile grouping isn't bad enough, three strangers have been added to the mix - a young human expert in Cybermen and a mysterious traveller in space and time, the Doctor, along with his companion, Dr Evelyn Smythe.

But can they solve the riddle of the vanished survey teams before the Cybermen harness Chronos' unique temporal gifts and rewrite the history of the galaxy?

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Cybermen created by Gerry Davis and Kit Pedler and used by kind permission.

Story notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This story featured the debut of the blue version of the Sixth Doctor's outfit. Multiple reasons were given for this: Colin Baker not having been fond of the original version and the blue suit being more suited to Big Finish's evolved version of the character. The main reason, though, was technical simplicity: the original version of the costume would have been too complex to portray in this webcast's illustrations of limited detail.[1]
    • The blue suit has since been adopted into the Sixth Doctor's continuity in his Big Finish audio timeline, featuring in his audios both in dialogue (AUDIO: The Wrong Doctors) and in cover art.
    • The blue-suited version of the Doctor from this webcast has since been released as Character Options and Character Building action figures.
  • Episodes 4 to 6 had warnings that "this week's episode contains scenes that may not be suitable for younger children".
  • Each episode was released at noon on a Friday.[2]
  • According to the Big Finish website, this story was specifically written to work as either a webcast or audio drama.
  • Author Gary Russell's subsequent novel Spiral Scratch contains a cameo by, among other alternate timeline versions of the Sixth Doctor, one dressed in blue and accompanied by a woman in her fifties with visible cybernetic implants; this is suggested to be the Doctor and Evelyn from this story, some time after the effects of its cliffhanger.

Original website release/broadcast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Production errors[[edit] | [edit source]]

The superimposed cat brooch.
  • In closeup shots of the Doctor's changing cat brooch, it is obvious that the brooch is a rectangular image superimposed onto the image of the Doctor's lapel, as the background of the cat is a shade of blue slightly different to the lapel.
  • Due to the limited animation style of the broadcast, the character drawings are often mirrored to make it look like they have changed direction. This results in non-symmetric visual details like clothing and hairstyles constantly switching back and forth from one side to the other.

CD release[[edit] | [edit source]]

Main article: Real Time (audio story)

Big Finish Productions released an extended version of this story on audio CD. The release contains two scenes not present in the webcast version, and the CD booklet contains the script for a further unrecorded scene.

Modern accessibility[[edit] | [edit source]]

Due to technical changes behind the scenes of the BBC website, the Realmedia audio and video streams which made up the webcast stopped working. The BBC acknowledged the error in a FAQ on the Doctor Who website during Series 4, stating they were aware of the error and were working to restore the webcast to functionality in another format "as soon as possible,"[3] but no further announcements have been made. The relevant FAQ has since gone offline.

Though the webpages and links for the webcast still remain online as part of the archived "classic" Doctor Who website, the Real Time webcast itself remains inaccessible, although it can be unofficially found being shared around the internet.

The audio version of the story remains available on CD from Big Finish Productions.

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]