The Runaway (webcast)

Doctor Who: The Runaway was a virtual reality webcast created by the BBC. It featured the Thirteenth Doctor, voiced by Jodie Whittaker, in the TARDIS, taking the individual viewer on an adventure.

The game was released on 16 January 2020 as a 360 video on YouTube with a run time of 11 minutes and the tagline "Enter the TARDIS in VR!"

It was written by Victoria Asare-Archer, directed by Mathias Chelebourg and produced by BBC's digital drama team, BBC VR Hub and Passion Animation Studios with original music by Segun Akinola.

Summary

Join the Doctor on a mini-mission in 360º VR! Together in the TARDIS, can you help a lost alien make its way home before impending disaster strikes? Best experienced with headphones and Google Cardboard, or a similar VR device.

An interactive version of The Runaway is available for free on the Steam, Oculus and Viveport stores, and you can also experience the 360 video version in the BBC VR app for the Oculus Go and Samsung Gear VR.

Plot

The companion wakes up inside the TARDIS and is greeted by the Thirteenth Doctor, who scans them with her sonic screwdriver, saying they got caught in a "flying alien versus space vehicle accident" and twisted your ankle, knee and got a bruised hip, and proceeds to tell you to stay calm and still.

Saying that, in fact, they should ALL stay calm, she turns on some music, but quickly turns it off as it is rock music. She does acknowledge she generally "love[s] the track, [as it's] great for cardio". She next tries another track, but finds out it's pop music. Finally, the Doctor tries a third one. This time, it's relaxing mood music, and the Doctor says she can feel both hearts slowing down.

She then introduce you to Volta, an Engarian entity made of pure energy that can explode when stressed and turn into a black hole, unless he is back in his own galaxy. She has built a machine to help it stay calm. She then gives Volta a very mild tell-off for running away from home to discover and tells him that his parents are worried sick, until they are attacked by the Special Positron Undercover Death Squad, a unit who specializes in hunting down and destroying whatever threatens the very stability of the universe.

They start searching the TARDIS for instabilities and clears the Doctor and you but finds Volta volatile and announce a strict violation of Code 27592KJGD9 and ask nicely to hand over all explosive items onboard or else the TARDIS and all its content would be destroyed, giving her 30 seconds to comply.

As the seconds go, the Doctor tells you they need to get away and gives you her sonic, connecting it to a steering map so you can fly the TARDIS while she tries to calm down Volta.

As the TARDIS auto-pilots through a junk field the SPUD Squad tries to stop it from escaping and calls for assistance. But, as the TARDIS continues to hurtle through space, the Squad offers you a final chance. However, they end up having to use stasis clamps to stop you, so close to the Engarian home planet. As the emergency power in the TARDIS turns on, the Squad prepares for destruction as the Doctor finds a headlight. She tries to start the TARDIS to no avail as the Squad counts down.

As the Doctor tries to fix the circuits of the TARDIS, she sends out an electro-magnetic pulse and starts up the TARDIS to find them in the Engarians' galaxy, next to the planet.

However, she realizes that the EMP has triggered Volta's stress instability and he grows bigger, then miniaturizes into a bright ball and explodes into a black hole that sucks everything in.

As the Doctor holds on to the console she tells the companion to transfer the electro-magnetic energy into the time rotor by using the sonic. As it doesn't work, the Doctor slams the machine holding Volta, which eventually sends Volta hurtling towards the wall and returning to his own form.

He then flies around the TARDIS, thanking the Doctor and companion for helping as his parents turns up to pick him up.

The Doctor then congratulates the companion and prepares to send them back to Earth, but stops and asks if they are ready for another trip.

Cast

The Doctor - Jodie Whittaker
SPUDS Officer - Richard Eifyn
Motion Capture Performance - Maria McClurg

Crew

The Runaway

Written By - Victoria Asare-Archer
Directed By - Mathias Chelebourg

Sound and Music

Music composed by - Segun Akinola
Sound Design & Mix - Guillaume Moutardier
Music Recorded and Mixed by - Olga FitzRoy
Cello - David Cohen
Guitar - Andrew Cooksley
Original Theme Music by - Ron Grainer

BBC Doctor Who

Executive Producer - Matt Strevens
Creative Director - Jo Pearce
Producer - Matthew Rogers
Script Executive - Sam Hoyle
Producer (motion capture) - Alex Mercer

BBC VR Hub

Commissioning Editor, VR - Zillah Watson
Producer - Niall Hill
Programme Manager - Katie Hudson
Technical Consultant - David Johnston
Production Manager - Angela Crago

Passion Animation Studios

Head of Passion Experience - Katie Grayson
Executive Producer - Pierre-Arthur Goulet
Producer - Matt Saxton
Producer - Rick Bland
Production Assistant - Rita Oliveira
Story development - Hunter Andrews

Visual and Interactive Development by Passion Paris

Pre-Production Manager - Emmanuelle Pianko
Interactive Development - Thibault Samson
Character Development - Gwenn Germain, Jules Rigole
Visual look Development - Anaïs Marmonier

Developed for VR by Innerspace

Animation by Kombbo @ Passion Paris

Motion Capture by Mocaplab

References

The Doctor

The Doctor mentions her binary vascular system.

Species

Volta is an Engarian who is also a bomb.

Story notes

The description at the bottom of the end credits reads, "This work benefited from the French Tax Rebate for International Production." The "French Tax Rebate for International Production" is a refund on taxes in France, when the tax liability is less than the taxes paid for production of something for international releases.

Adaptation changes

The TARDIS escapes with the auto-pilot instead of the Player steering it.
No attempts to calm Volta with toys are made while the Doctor repairs the console.

Footnotes