The Saviour of Time (video game)
The Saviour of Time was an interactive six-part video game released on Skype on 3 May 2017. It would see a Doctor Who Bot connect to the accounts belonging to the users of Skype to find the Key to Time.
Jaclyn Lee-Joe, Chief Marketing Officer at BBC Worldwide said It's hugely exciting to be launching a Doctor Who Bot on Skype - which gives us the opportunity to deliver a new form of digital story-telling with our cutting-edge brand. Through this new innovation we get to experience first-hand how bots can help deliver digital first content, and immerse audiences, old and new, in the Doctor Who universe like never before.[1]
Steven Abrahams, Group Product Manager, Studios and Strategic Partnerships for Skype said Our goal is for everyone in the world to experience the best Skype has to offer and the Doctor Who bot with BBC Worldwide brings a range of new features and functionality. We’re excited to see the bot bring users and fans one step closer to meeting the iconic Doctor.[1]
Synopsis
Every few hundred years the Key to Time needs to be found again and reassembled to restore peace and balance to the universe. Now that time has arrived once again. Connect to Skype and help the Twelfth Doctor find the Key to save the universe.
Plot
The Key to Time (Chapter 1)
The Doctor connects with a human, whose help he requires in saving the world. He asks for their name, and accepts the first word that the human says as the correct answer. Bill and Nardole are present on the TARDIS with the Doctor. The Doctor informs the human that they need to use a Tracer to find the Key to Time, a powerful device which can be used to balance the universe, but is split into several pieces. The Doctor promises that when they get through with this they'll be able to visit other locations, such as the Fifth Galaxy (with purple stars and moonbeams made of marzipan).
Going down a list of potential planets in the solar system with the human (Mercury and Venus), the Doctor eventually narrows down the segments location to somewhere around Neptune. Certainly not on Neptune (as the planet isn't exactly solid) but instead on one of its moons; Triton.
As some force is trying to divert the TARDIS' flightpath, the Doctor asks the human to help type the coordinates to Triton, with the final code being 5, 6; 3, 5; 8, 11; 847, 851. The Doctor leaves Nardole and Bill in the TARDIS, as he drives onto Triton's surface on a buggy. The buggy no longer has a steering wheel (due to a fiasco where the Doctor's needed to make a crown for a frog princess), and the human must drive it from 2.7 billion miles away. The Doctor begins to hear a noise near a ravine, a troublesome occurrence as nothing has ever been recorded as to live on the moon.
Moving north despite interference with the signal, the buggy eventually enters an emergency mode, which reveals the true presence of the first segment of the Key. The buggy soon stops being able to move, stuck in something that begins to melt through its tires. The Doctor ejects, accidentally dropping the Tracer for the Key to Time in the same substance. In his last chance to escape, the Doctor uses a personal Vortex manipulator to return to the TARDIS, not knowing if the presence of a piece of the Key to Time will disrupt his travel.
The Doctor returns to the TARDIS and dematerialises, soon witnessing the piece of the Key transform. Celebrating with the human, the Doctor soon realises that Nardole and Bill have totally disappeared. Shocked to learn that they are not with the human, he tracks their artron energy back to Earth, where he heads to look for them.
A side transmission from another unknown user reminds the human to "remember, remember the fifth of..."
Time Gambit (Chapter 2)
The Doctor returns with another incoming transmission. Once connected, the Doctor will ask the human what they've been doing. Later, he'll ask the human whether he heard anything, or if anyone sent him a clue. When they tell the Doctor about the cryptic message from earlier, he asks what it could be referring to. Once they realise it's about The Gunpowder Plot, the Doctor realises Bill and Nardole could be in explosive danger. The Doctor sets co-ordinates for November 5th, 1605 and the transmission ends.
Afterwards, Bill contacts the human. She tells the human that when they were on Triton, a "glowy light thing" appeared in the TARDIS and grabbed them. She then asks what they think it was. She proceeds to state it's weird, and that everything was black. She also informs the human that she isn't aware or Nardole's whereabouts, before she's interrupted by the unknown user from before.
It starts off by saying that she asks a lot of questions. It also says that it's very much like the Doctor to get another friend after losing two, and greets the human finally. It tells the human that it's changed history and that The Gunpowder Plot will now succeed, and that Bill is tied up in the House of Lords. It asks the human if they want to know how to find her. The unknown user tells them the rules, and that it'll ask them ten questions in ten minutes. If they get seven or more right then it tells the Doctor where Bill is.
1. Before they lived on the Internet, trolls lived under bridges. The Three WHAT Goats Gruff had to get past one...?
2. The Doctor's always playing chess because he think he's clever. What piece only moves diagonally?
3. I'm in disguise because I didn't want Bill telling the Doctor what I look like. What TV cartoon robots were robots in disguise?
4. 1 ACROSS (9 LETTERS) Angry Utterance.
- Crossword
5. Lord Ena is all mixed up...
- Nardole
6. What boxer used to float like a butterfly but sting like a bee? Although I'm not sure that's literally possible!
7. "Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the BLANK of an Englishman" Hint: It's my favourite smell.
8. How many red queens are there in a deck of cards?
- 2
9. How many dots are there on a dice?
- 21
The tenth question is the user asking if the human enjoyed the game. It'll be surprised that the human succeeded, and said that if the human were with it, it'll be causing the human a lot of pain. It proceeds to tell the Doctor where Bill is, as part of the deal.
The Doctor later reconnects with the human telling it that he has Bill and corrected history, as well as obtain a new fragment of the Key to Time, stating that he got wind that the human was a big help in rescuing Bill. The Doctor goes to congratulate the human, but is interrupted by Bill saying that she is not Bill multiple times. As it turns out, the second segment transformed to look like Bill, but it dawns on the Doctor that Bill and Nardole are still missing, and that someone is playing games with the duo.
The transmission ends.
Chapter 3
to be added
Chapter 4
to be added
Chapter 5
to be added
Chapter 6
to be added
Cast
Crew
to be added
Story notes
Real world
- The Fourth Doctor, Romana and K-9 searched for the Key to Time over the course of Season 16 and saw a climactic battle with the Black Guardian.
- This is not the first story since the original arc to resurrect the Key to Time under a new Doctor. The first Doctor Who video game ever, The First Adventure, saw the Fifth Doctor searching for the segment. The 1993 Doctor Who Magazine comic story Time & Time Again saw the Seventh Doctor searching for the pieces with his companions. An arc produced by Big Finish Productions saw the Fifth Doctor again looking for the Key, starting with AUDIO: The Judgement of Isskar.
- The Doctor will choose to call the user the first word that is said when he asks for their name. If the user gives a naughty word, the Doctor will take offense and designate the user "human."
- The Doctor Who Bot is programmed with a specific set of comments, meaning it can answer specific questions and such, but you can't chat with it however you want to.
In-universe
- If the human declines, the Doctor forces the call through anyways.
- Similarly if the human declines a trip in the TARDIS, the Doctor will eventually decide to ignore this.
- If the human says hello, he'll answer that he's still there.
- If the human does this repetitively, he'll get annoyed and say a parrot could do the same.
- If the human asks the "Doctor Who?" question he'll tell you he studied under Joseph Lister in Glasgow in 1888.
- If the human gets the coordinates wrong he remarks relief that he put on the handbrake or else the TARDIS would have drifted to the Middle Ages.
- If the human ask about summoning another Time Lord to help him, he tells the human his race is tricky to find, that he's the nicest they'll meet. Bill will laugh, and he will remark his lack of understanding and call humans Pudding-brains.
- If the human asks him where Gallifrey is, he'll answer "It's hidden somewhere a very long way away… Probably sulking."
- If the human asks him what Gallifrey is, he'll answer "Ah yes... Gallifrey, in the constellation of Kasterbouros. Home of the Time Lords. Well, most of them. But these days, the TARDIS is my home."
- If the human asks him about companions, he'll answer "You know, I've had so many humans travel with me over the years. And each one was special in their own unique, wonderful way."
- However, the human can specifically ask about Bill, Nardole and River Song. When asked about Clara, he'll answer "Oh yes... I knew a Clara, once. An actor. Clara Bow. She was terrified by the prospect of talkies so I got Shakespeare to give her some acting lessons. She was quite a force..."
- When the Doctor ask for planets, if the human name either Uranus, Earth, Saturn, Mars or Jupiter, the Doctor will ask if it's a joke, say you were far off, or ask for another planet.
- If the human name Pluto, the Doctor will answer "I said planet! Yes, I am a planet snob. I've been to thousands of them." or "Pluto is indeed cold, but while it does a halfway decent impression of being a planet, it's not one."
- If the human says it has already been in the Fifth Galaxy, the Doctor will answer "You-- how? Either you're having me on or you have a TARDIS of your own. I don't know which thought's more upsetting."
- If the human ask where the Fifth Galaxy is, the Doctor will answer "I could tell you. But would the knowledge even mean anything to you?"
- If the human asks him who he is, he'll answer "I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous and I'm over two-thousand years old."
- If the human asks why the TARDIS is bigger on the inside, he'll answer "I'll tell you so long as you promise not to build one yourself and do foolish things with it. I'm kidding! There's no way you'd be able to. Anyway, the TARDIS works on the combined principles of-- hmm, how should I put this? A bunch of timey-wimey stuff happens, and voila! You're fighting Visigoths. That was an example. Don't fight Visigoths. They're very mean. And shockingly smelly."
- If the human asks what Daleks are, he will answer "Just thinking about the Daleks brings out a side of me I hope nobody ever has to see. The less we can talk about those screechy little killing machines, the better."
- If the human asks what Cybermen are, he will answer "I may never look at Cybermen the same way after poor PE became one. Actually, I rather hope I never have to look at one at all."
- If the human asks what Weeping Angels are, he will answer "Miserable beings that spread misery across the universe, though they are curiously gentle in how they ruin your life. My advice? Carry eye drops wherever you go."
- If the human is too slow to answer, the Doctor bemoans that he could have done something interesting in the meantime such as finding the cure for the common cold.
- If the human can't remember the cryptic message, the Doctor will use the TARDIS to download the human's Internet history, and finds lots of cats, lots of shopping (and ask if it had checked the bank balance), an inappropriate site, and finally the cryptic message.
- When provoked about the end to "remember remember the fifth of...", the human gives the Doctor a reminder about Guy Fawkes' attempt to destroy parliament on the 5 November 1605. However, if the human guesses any month other than November as the end to the riddle, the Doctor will discuss specific events which occurred on the fifth of those months.
- 5 January - The death of Edward the Confessor. The Doctor has already checked there, and Edward confessed to just about everything but the kidnapping of Nardole and Bill.
- 5 February - The day of the "Appollo 14" moon landing landing. The Doctor notes that he was there, and played a round of lunar golf with Commander Alan Shepard. He doesn't remember seeing Bill or Nardole in any of the bunkers.
- 5 March - Winston Churchill delivered the speech that introduced the phrase, 'the iron curtain'. The Doctor was there, but doesn't remember Nardole or Bill being there.
- 5 April - The Dutch discovery of the Easter Island Moai statues. The Doctor claims that he was worshipped there, and that River was often pulling his leg about it...
- 5 May - The Doctor states that 5 May rings no bells, although bells come to make him think of the phrase "remember, remember the fifth of November..."
- 5 June - Elvis was on The Milton Berle Show, scandalizing a nation with a dance routine that earned him the nickname "Elvis the Pelvis". The Doctor notes that he was in the audience with Rose Tyler, but he didn't see Bill or Nardole.
- 5 July - The publication of the Principia Mathematica by Isaac Newton. The Doctor notes that he was the one who dropped the apple on Newton's head, and he still had to explain gravity to him over dinner.
- 5 August - Departure of the Mayflower for the New World. The Doctor was on the ship at some point, and casually suggested that they head west. The Doctor searched the whole ship, and saw no sign of Bill or Nardole.
- 5 September - The end of the Great Fire of London. The Doctor attempted to search there, but all of the fire made it difficult.
- 5 October - The release date of The Beatles' first single. The Doctor made sure to hide a secret message for Bill and Nardole, but to no avail.
- 5 December - Columbus lands on Hispaniola. The Doctor had already checked the entire hemisphere with the Vikings, and saw no sign of Bill or Nardole.
References
Technology
- The Doctor connects with the human on Skype.
- The Key to Time needs to be reassembled once again.
- The Doctor uses a Tracer to find the Key to Time.
- The Doctor uses a vortex manipulator
Locations
- The Doctor mention Mercury and Venus.
- The first segment of the Key is located on Triton, one of Neptune's moons.
- The Doctor mention the Fifth Galaxy.
- The Doctor mention the Solar System.
- The Doctor heads for Earth after finding the first segment of the Key.
- The Doctor heads out of the Space/Time vortex.
Species
- The Doctor talks about the Weeping Angels.
Food and beverages
- The Doctor says the Fifth Galaxy has moonbeams made of marzipan.
People
- Bill and Nardole both give the Doctor disparaging looks. In Nardole's case, he is reacting to the Doctor not being on Earth as he is supposed to be.
- The human gets to help the Doctor find the Key to Time.
- The Doctor mentions Mercury and indirectly mention Venus.
- The Doctor mentions Renoir.
- Bill and Nardole have disappeared after the Doctor and the human return to the TARDIS.
- The Doctor once met a frog princess.
- The Doctor tells you "You were brilliant. It was all due to my influence, of course. You mustn't take any of the credit."
- The Doctor says that he's strictly speaking supposed to stay behind on Earth.
- If the user answer correctly, the Doctor says humans are not so pudding-brainy after all.
- The Doctor mention that he had a spot of bother a while back in the orbit of Neptune.
TARDIS
- The Cloister Bells sounds.
- Artron energy is detected in the TARDIS.
- The Emergency Mode is activated.
