215: Time Flight
Doctor : 5th (Peter Davison)
Companions : Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding) Nyssa (Sarah Sutton)
Series : 19
Originally Transmitted: 22nd - 30th March 1982
We've gone back in time to late 1981 ,back to the Doctor Who production office to listen in on a conversation between Doctor Who's producer at the time John Nathan Turner and script editor Eric Saward on the planning of the series finale of Series 19.
...
JNT: Well everything seems to be going well, People like Peter Davison as the Doctor, the viewing figures have gone up, we just bought back the Cybermen and killed a companion. What we need now is a really spectacular ending for this series.
ES: Did you have anything in mind?
JNT: Concorde
ES: Concorde?
JNT: Yes we'll have a story that's about Concorde being hijacked by aliens and taken back in time 140 million years to prehistoric Earth.
ES: OK, and how much money do we have left to do this with.
JNT: Nothing
ES? Nothing?
JNT: Yeah it's all gone, We've blown the lot.
ES: So how are we going to do this?
JNT: Well we could film them all running up & around Heathrow Airport, maybe outside and on the roof as well. That'll fill an episode or two.
ES: And when are we going to do this
JNT: How about in February during the middle of an ice storm?
ES: Hmmm OK, and so are British Airways on board with this?
JNT: Oh yeah, they totally love the idea. It's free advertising for them.
ES: So we can film on board the aircraft?
JNT: Well not exactly, but they say we can film around it outside on the runway. We'll just mock up a cargo hold in the studio, stick the Tardis in it sideways and have the Doctor travel with it like that.
ES: OK then so how are we going to film Concorde on prehistoric Earth and how are we going to get it to the location?
JNT: Location?
ES: I assume we're going to some chalk quarry for the prehistoric Earth scenes?
JNT: No we'll just stick a few rocks and bushes in a brightly lit studio like we normally do, nobody will be able to tell the difference.
ES: OK and what about Concorde?
JNT: Well for main shots we'll just stick a great big aircraft undercarriage in the middle of the studio & have all the action revolve around that, for the long shots we can buy a model Concorde while we're at Heathrow. I think the budget will stretch to that.
ES: So these aliens, what's the deal with them?
JNT: Plasmatons, they're like humanoid blobs of energy psychokinetic field. They attack people with bubbles
ES: Bubbles?
JNT: Yeah it'll look great, They're not the main villain though.
ES: No? Is it Wendy O Williams?
JNT: You're thinking of The Plasmatics
ES: Oh, sorry
JNT: No, the main villain is Kalid. We'll give him a middle eastern sounding name. Trust me in 20 years time western Europe be petrified of other people with arab sounding names.
ES: Right, OK. Who's this Kalid guy?
JNT: This is the genius bit
ES: It is?
JNT: He's The Master.....
ES: The Master?????
JNT: In disguise
ES: In disguise?
JNT: Yes
ES: Why?
JNT: It'll be a big surprise to the audience
ES: But why is he in disguise when he's on an uninhabited planet with nobody around?
JNT: That doesn't matter, think of the ratings
ES: So I assume The Doctor defeats the Master, how do they get back to the present day.
JNT: Well the Doctor takes them back guiding Concorde with the Tardis
ES: How are we going to do that?
JNT: We'll get some stock footage of it taking off from British Airways, cut off the lower half of the film so you can't see the runway and superimpose our studio set over it instead.
ES: What about the birds flying in the background, they didn't have birds on prehistoric Earth.
JNT: F*ck the birds, not my problem. Anyway think you can find someone to write all that up
ES: Um OK, I'll see who's available
JNT: Great, this is going to be awesome. Anyway I'l leave that with you I have more important things to do like appear at a convention in Los Angeles this weekend & I have a pantomime with Sue Pollard & Bobby Davro to organise in Milton Keynes. Any problems phone my secretary I'm sure she'll be able to get hold of me for you in a couple of weeks, see ya.
ES: Bye then