U.N.I.T. On Call (webcast)
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U.N.I.T. On Call was a Doctor Who: Lockdown! webcast released in November 2020, tying in with the tweetalong of TV: Turn Left.
It featured Jon Culshaw voicing Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (licensed from the Haisman Estate) as well as the Third Doctor, and the return of Katy Manning to the part of Jo Grant in a video story. It was also notable for featuring a performance by writer and producer Emily Cook.
Publisher's summary
As COVID-19 continues to threaten the world, one Doctor Who fan makes a special call for help…
Plot
After finishing an episode of Doctor Who, a fan decides to call UNIT, and an operator puts her on hold. After a short while, the operator informs the fan to keep on waiting. Finally, she gets in contact with the Third Doctor. The Doctor asks why the fan is calling, and she responds by saying she's from the future.
The fan tells the Doctor about the toll COVID-19 is having on everyone, and the Doctor consoles her. The Brigadier then enters the conversation, saying that UNIT can handle the situation, but the fan tells him that UNIT has been suspended, and that's why she called. The Brigadier is outraged at the fate of UNIT, and then Jo pleads to the Doctor for him to help.
Cast
- Doctor Who Fan - Emily Cook
- Third Doctor, Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, & Terrance Dicks - Jon Culshaw
- UNIT On Hold Voice-Over - Marisa Clarke
- Jo Grant - Katy Manning
Thanks to The Haisman Estate
Crew
- Written by - Emily Cook and Jon Culshaw
- Produced & Edited by - Emily Cook
- Doctor Who Theme - Ron Grainer & BBC Radiophonic Workshop
References
- The Doctor tells the fan that Corona Virus Disease 2019 will be later known as COVID-19.
- The fan tells the Doctor that the virus is "locking down our countries and our cities, and keeps invading all of our lives".
UNIT
- When the fan asks which year specifically the Doctor is in, he mentions it's "a very difficult decade for UNIT".
- The Doctor was first in the Academy in jiggery pokery.
Music
- "Java" by Bert Kaempfert & His Orchestra is playing as the holding music to U.N.I.T..
Technology
- The fan uses a TV remote to switch off the television.
- The fan uses an iPhone to call UNIT through time was at first met by the automatic voice-over along with on-hold music, eventually getting through to the Third Doctor, The Brigadier and Jo Grant via a 4-way call through time. Eventually, she is met by an unnamed mysterious voice that encourages her further.
- Regarding her phone call from the future, the Doctor notes that he had noticed some "odd signals of interstitial irregularities".
The Doctor Who series
- The Doctor Who fan was watching an episode of Doctor Who.
- The fan ends up watching another older episode of the series.
Food and beverages
- The Doctor Who fan is enjoying a cup of tea (from a TARDIS mug) and some Jammie Dodgers.
Notes
- Emily Cook opened a casting call for the voice of the UNIT receptionist on her Twitter account on 4 November, 2020.[1]
- It's hinted that Emily Cook's character introduced the phrase wibbly wobbly, timey wimey via a ontological paradox.
- Audio from the end of TV: Turn Left can be heard from the Doctor Who fan's television at the start of the webcast along with the 2007 version of the Doctor Who theme. At the end of the webcast the 1963-1966 version plays, transitioning into the credits.
Continuity
- By 2020, UNIT operations have been "suspended". (TV: Resolution)
- The Doctor Who fan tells Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart "I'll explain later" when he asks for details about UNIT's current fate. (TV: The Curse of Fatal Death)
- The Doctor refers to the wine cellar of Sir Reginald Styles. (TV: Day of the Daleks)
