In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who, the creative team behind DWO's hit YouTube series, Doctor Who Online Adventures, and in concert with Children In Need, Doctor Who Online and Anglia Ruskin present an astounding brand new hour-long, full cast audio drama – 'One Fine Time Lord'!
Listen to the Trailer:
The Story:
“History Will Be Written”
Gallifrey: The Ancient Times.
Long ago, Time Lord society honoured its oldest surviving member, the last of the ‘great’ Lords of Time.
One man had sought to bring about peace across the planet by uniting the houses at war and introducing a ‘non-interference’ policy, thus ushering in a new era of harmony. His name - Lord Archeron.
But with his life’s work “almost complete” he strikes up a partnership with a young boy who marvels at this man’s legacy and an uneasy friendship ensues with the mighty sage.
Soon however, the ancient Time Lord will reveal his true ambition for the people of Gallifrey and the boy must make the ultimate decision. The price for peace across the planet might be higher than anyone expected...
Join the most powerful story in Time Lord history.
Behind The Scenes:
The story was written and directed by former BBC Director and current series producer of Doctor Who Online Adventures, Brendan Sheppard:
“I wrote this political thriller script over a very long period of time and knew it would be a great idea for an audio drama, I never imagined the sheer amount of people that would get on board to make it happen though especially in a production that is a spin off to the hit TV series. I’d like to thank my wonderful producers, fantastic cast and Doctor Who Online all of whom dedicated their time and expertise (for free) to make this production happen and I can’t wait for you to hear it!”
Kim Mai-Bates was charged with Producing the piece:
“As a producer your job is to ensure that everything runs smoothly from start to finish; without the support of the cast and crew this wouldn't have been as successful. However the most challenging part was choosing the cast; we had some great talent audition for us and I want to thank those people for taking the time to audition. I’ve had the immense pleasure of working with the wonderful cast we decided upon.
Working as a producer on One Fine Time Lord was a different and exciting experience for me. Being on the audition panel, rehearsal and the studio recording was mind-blowing as the cast and crew had passion and such energy. I’ve come away with a real life experience that has made me want to pursue a career in producing. Christopher Whitehead (The Son) is the youngest member of our cast. He made quite an impression with me when he insisted that giving him an audition would be worth it; I’m happy to say that it was worth it, thoroughly impressed. Despite his age, he has a well developed set of skills; one to watch out for. An absolute joy to work with.
When Iain Dootson (Lord Archeron) entered the audition room I instantly got a positive vibe from him. He won me over with his ability to adapt himself to the situations we put him in. We tested him and he passed with flying colours.
Brendan’s (The Writer/Director) child-like energy and excitement about Doctor Who and this project set the tone for the rest of us. Sometimes I had to rein Brendan back in because his enthusiasm for Doctor Who and the script was distracting him from his director duties; this made the production a lot of fun to work on though. Brendan’s vision was clear and focused which made this production run smoothly; his support was very much appreciated.
Producing One Fine Time Lord has been one of the highlights of my career. The cast and crew were incredible to work with. It was an absolute joy to be a part of this production. Not one to miss!”
Kim helped assemble a terrific cast and crew through a lengthy audition process that took place in Anglia Ruskin University during July. Actors from all over the UK and Ireland came to audition and a huge cast was put together from the outstanding talent.
Executive Producer David Clouter a former BBC Radio 4 producer was on hand to lead the project:
“I grew up hiding behind the sofa while William Hartnell was chased by Daleks. Nobody had any idea that fifty years later we would be celebrating the anniversary of one of the UK's best loved programmes. It has been a real privilege and a pleasure to play a small part in that celebration. The auditions are something that I'll remember for a long time dozens of potential actors travelled from all over the UK to take part.
Over the course of a weekend, it soon became clear that the bar was set very high. After the last of our hopefuls had departed, the final selection process took far longer than we had anticipated. But having arrived at a unanimous decision, as the recording unfolded it was incredibly rewarding to see the way in which the whole cast and crew threw themselves into the p!roduction with such enthusiasm and dedication.”
M. Justin Parsons a leading script editor based in the US was invited to work as the project’s script editor:
"Brendan Sheppard presented me with an exciting and fascinating script to edit in One Fine Time Lord which gives us brand new insights into the culture and history of the Time Lords of Gallifrey. The main challenge, however, involved presenting a story within a realm audiences know and love - Doctor Who - yet without the main characters they would expect to be involved. In fact, we had to introduce an entire new cast and do this in such a way that these characters were compelling in their own right.
The beauty of Doctor Who and its incredible fifty year journey is that (over time) the programme has defined its main character and his people so vividly that the backdrop of Gallifrey was all that we needed to proceed. We realised it wasn't necessary to establish where these characters were or how they might interact with one another. The Time Lords are so well known that the very mention of their name conjures up all the images and knowledge one requires to fully connect with this stunning adventure.
The template, as it were, was already set and Brendan has done Doctor Who proud with an engaging tale that builds perfectly upon what the past fifty years have established. It has been my pleasure to edit this wonderful story and take part in honouring the 50th Anniversary of a truly outstanding science-fiction phenomenon."
Iain Dootson was chosen from hundreds of hopefuls to play the lead character of Lord Archeron, last of the great Time Lords:
"As a longstanding (sometimes sitting) Doctor Who fan, from frankly fearful watching behind the sofa in the Seventies to enjoying from a comfier armchair with the more recent Tennants of the title role I was excited and intrigued by the chance to take part in this story. I applied forthwith and when the Producer, Kim Bates, kindly notified me of an audition slot I was very pleased and set off to Cambridge on a bright sunshiny day to Anglia Ruskin. This university happens to be the alma mater of a mate of mine (and fellow Whovian) who unfortunately couldn't make it to the auditions but he was with me to share the excitement when I got the call to say that I'd not only got a part but I was to play the significant role of Lord Archeron.
A return to the equally sunny location in June led to an auspicious start... A welcome and good luck live link from Colin Baker. The ensuing three days recording were enjoyable, relaxed, professional and fun from the word go. Brendan Sheppard steered an extensive cast expertly and with good humour from the read-through onwards. The "tecchies" were great and to sit in the sound booth and hear some of the brill-sounding takes was very cool. And all this for a good cause!! (In addition to kudos and pride in being a part of the Doctor Who world) I wonder what that boy behind the sofa would say if he knew then what was in store years later?....Geronimo or Allons-y perhaps?!"
The Show:
The show will be raising money for Children in Need and will be an exclusive free to download production.
Sebastian J. Brook from Doctor Who Online explains:
“At DWO we’re always looking for new features to provide our 35,000+ daily visitors with, and when Brendan told me of his plans for ‘One Fine Time Lord’, it was clear that this was going to be a real treat for Doctor Who fans worldwide. What better way to celebrate the 50th Anniversary than with a brand new audio story made for fans, by fans - and the greatest part is it’s all for Children In Need”
Want to attend the FREE Premiere event?
If you would like tickets to attend the premiere event being held at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge on the 14th of November email us for tickets. Tickets are EXTREMELY limited, drinks and refreshments will be provided after the event at The Bakers public house in Cambridge. As we are expecting a large amount of ticket requests but have very limited spaces, please state how many you would like for the event and all requests will go into a lottery, (you are limited to a maximum request of 2 per person).
To order your tickets please email: onefinetimelordtickets@gmail.com Put OFTL TICKETS in the subject section of the email.
The event is FREE to attend. Donations to Children In Need can be made during the evening or via the official BBC Children in Need website, or by calling 03457 332233.
+ Donate to Children In Need: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008dk4b
+ DWO Adventures Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/dwoadventures
[Source: Doctor Who Online]
