Doctor Who: The Cancelled Years | Season 33 (1996)

For five years, Doctor Who had been flying strong under the tenure of Richard Griffiths’ Eighth Doctor. Following on from the show's darkest hour, Griffiths was able to turn the show into a success, making it a valuable IP for the BBC. Behind the scenes, the show had undertaken radical changes, with it now being produced by independent company, Carnival Films, & the series format being changed to a more contemporary 45 minute a pop runtime.

But now, the Eighth Doctor’s time had reached an end and a new chapter in the mythos was about to begin with the Ninth Doctor…

DOCTOR WHO: SEASON 33 - 1996

Season 33 of Doctor Who would've starred Hugh Bonneville as the Ninth Doctor, along with Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield, Robert Bathurst as Chris Hector & Beverley Cressman as new companion Abigail Norwood. It would also see Stephen Garwood acting as Producer & Colin Brake as Script Editor.

Season 33 would see the debut of the new Ninth Doctor, played by Hugh Bonneville. Garwood & Brake wished for the new Ninth Doctor to be a complete opposite to Griffiths' Eighth Doctor - someone younger, more energetic & a bit whimsical. Originally, Garwood wanted a well known actor to play the role in order to entice new viewers to the show. However, after being sold on Bonneville's audition, and despite being a relatively unknown actor at the time, it was agreed that he was the right fit for the character.

The new Doctor's outfit would be an Edwardian inspired outfit. It would consist of a dark brown coat & trousers, with a dark red waistcoat with pocket watch, a dark red cravat, white shirt & black shoes.

A new title sequence was commissioned for the new season, along with a new logo & new title music. Still wishing to emulate the likes of Star Trek, this title sequence would retain the ‘space travel’ aesthetic whilst showing off Earth & glowing nebulas in space. For the first time since the original title sequence, the Doctor's face would not appear in the titles. Instead, we would have the main cast credited on screen. For the new theme music arrangement, regular composer, Gavin Greenaway, was given the task. His take on the theme was a lot more synth heavy than previous themes & offered a slower pace to accompany the new titles.

It was during production of Season 33 that both Lisa Bowerman & Robert Bathurst would be stepping down from the roles of Bernice & Chris. Originally, Garwood planned to introduce the new companion in episode 1 of Season 34. However, it was during production of the final story of Season 33 that Brake, who was also leaving at the end of the season, suggested turning a character in the story, a detective named Abigail Norwood, into the companion. And, after speaking to the actress cast in the role of Abigail, Beverley Cressman, the ending to the story was changed to have Abigail join the Doctor on his adventures.

Season 33 would air between the 6th of July, 1996, and the 21st of September, 1996. It would consist of 12 episodes across 7 stories, with two single-parters & two 2-parters, and would go out weekly on Saturday Night.

THE LIVING LIGHT
Written by: Paul Cornell
Directed by: Stuart McDonald
Parts: 2

The story sees the TARDIS crash landing in Little Caldwell, where Isaac takes in Bernice & Chris, along with the new Doctor, who’s currently dealing with post-regeneration after effects. We initially see Bernice, Chris & Isaac helping the Doctor stabilize & help him find himself. All three of them were aware of regeneration to certain degrees, yet Bernice, and more-so Chris, are finding it hard to adjust to this new Doctor. We also see Bernice, Chris & The Pyramid dealing with a potential alien invasion.

The Pyramid has received signals from unknown alien life forms nearby, as well as reports concerning dead people coming back to life. Realising that there may be a potential threat to the Earth at play, and with the Doctor not fully-formed yet, the trio take it upon themselves to find out about these body snatching aliens.

They find that the bodies of the dead are being possessed by a race known as the Lampsi, who explain that they originated from Earth. They explain that they used to be a humanoid-like race & co-existed with the Silurians. However, when Earth came under threat from destruction by a meteor, the Lampsi were able to abandon their bodies & evolve into creatures of light. They then left Earth, never to return, as they believed it & the Silurians to be destroyed. Now they have discovered that the Earth did indeed survive & wish to return back to their home planet. However, as their original forms rotted away centuries ago & can no longer de-evolve, they can now only communicate in solid forms using the bodies of the dead. The Lampsi mean no harm to the humans & simply wish to live in peace on their planet of origin.

Bernice, Chris & Isaac are somewhat reluctant to trust the Lampsi, but they go along with their story for the time being. However, relationships begin to collapse when an angry group of humans begin attacking the Lampsi with rocks & heavy items, calling them immoral & all sorts. This begins to escalate the situation, with factions in both races that hate the other race beginning to emerge.

The story then sees the Doctor, who has fully-recovered by this point & has picked out his new outfit, attempting to negotiate peace between the Humans & Lampsi, attempting to make a case for coexistence & hearing valid points from both races. The negotiations appear to be moving smoothly, when the ceasefire is broken by a rising faction of Rogue Lampsi, who believe the humans to be a lower form of evolution compared to the Lampsi, comparing them to dung beetles. This then causes a human faction to emerge, who see the Lampsi as unnatural & pure evil, who wage war against the Lampsi.

Eventually, the ceasefire is restored when the Doctor disables every weapon & uses an EMP-like device to expel the Lampsi from their host bodies. Realising that peace between the two races is currently impossible & would likely result in a full-blown nuclear war, the Doctor arranges to have the Lampsi taken to a new planet, where they’ll be given the means to grow artificial bodies & build a new society. However, he tells both humans & Lampsi that they one day hope that the two races can share the planet together, so he tells the Lampsi that they will try again in 1000 years or so, when humans are more accepting.

The story then ends with the Lampsi being teleported away to a new planet by the Doctor. The Doctor then thanks Bernice, Chris & Issac for helping him through his regeneration, as well as personally thanking Issac for the clothes (his new costume being sourced from Isaac’s wardrobe). The Doctor, Bernice & Chris then wave goodbye to Isaac as they return to the TARDIS.

TOY SOLDIERS
Written by: Paul Leonard
Directed by: Renny Rye
Parts: 2

The story sees the Doctor, Bernice & Chris investigating strange reports of children being kidnapped across Europe in 1919, with the only clue being a toy bear each child owned. Eventually, after some deep investigation, they track the children down to a planet named Q'ell.

It turns out that the children are being kidnapped by a machine named the Recruiter. We learn that the recruiter was a machine created by a race named the Q'ell (who yes, DO share the same name as their planet) to help them in their battles against their enemies, the Ceracai. However, the machine got damaged & forced the war to continue, with it justifying that warfare acted as a spur to technological prowess. It also began kidnapping children from across the universe & conditioned them into soldiers.

Eventually the Doctor is able to stop the Recruiter by reprogramming it to end the war between the Ceracai & the Q'ell, as well as returning the children back to normal & sending them back home.

THE TAKER OF LIFE
Written by: Kate Orman
Directed by: Sandy Johnson

The story sees the Doctor, Bernice & Chris arriving on Basalt II, a small colony world, where they see the people of the planet living in peace & harmony. Through some conversations with the locals, they find that the people of Basalt II worship a god named the God of Heat who takes the form of a giant Phoenix & lives within the core of the planet. The Doctor initially believes this God to be just a myth however he discovers that the God of Heat is actually a real entity who controls the entire planet.

We learn that for nearly a thousand years, the God of Heat has offered the planet enough food, water & supplies all year round. However in return for all of this, he demands a yearly sacrifice. The Doctor, naturally appalled by this, decides to investigate & eventually concludes that the God of Heat isn't a real God but a giant parasite known as a Vortworm that feeds off the yearly sacrifices.

The story then sees the Doctor, Bernice & Chris attempting to convince the planet that their God is fake & trying to find some form of evidence that proves him Guilty. Initially, however, the Doctor & his companions aren’t believed, and the Vortworm uses his status to trick the people into believing the strangers to be the servants of Baphomet, who is Basalt II’s form of the Devil. However, the Doctor is able to start winning around the population when the Doctor uses a device to expose the Vortworm in its real form: a twisted, bubbling, flaming shape of fire.

With the Vortworm exposed as a “simple parasite”, it burns in rage & attempts to destroy the planet by merging with the planet's core & turning the world into a fiery hell. However, the Doctor, along with the leaders of Basalt II, are able to defeat the Vortworm by  filling the planet with water & Basalt Fish, which merges with the Vortworm & turns it into stone. However, without realising, the Doctor has inadvertently caused the death of everyone on Basalt II - as without the Vortworm, the planet begins to drop in temperature, which kills everyone but the Doctor, Bernice & Chris.

FOREST OF THE DEAD
Written by: Steven Moffat
Directed by: Brian Farnham
Parts: 2

The story sees the Doctor, Bernice & Chris arriving on a library planet - simply known as The Library. To their confusion, they discover the planet to be completely empty. After some exploring, they discover a team of archaeologists representing the Felman Lux Corporation, led by Strackman Lux. They explain that they were sent to investigate the planet, which had been sealed off a century prior with the message "4022 saved. No survivors."

As the group begin to explore the library, they realise that there is something living within the shadows, which the Doctor identifies as the Vashta Nerada - literally meaning 'the shadows that melt the flesh'. The group soon begin to be attacked by the Vashta, with 2 of the expeditioners having their flesh eaten & left as skeletons in their spacesuits. The Vashta, now trapped within the suits, then begin using their bodies to follow after the cast.

Realising that his companions are in danger, the Doctor teleports Bernice back to the safety of the TARDIS with the Library's teleporters, although Chris refuses to go. However, Bernice fails to make it safely back to the TARDIS, and so her consciousness is "saved" to the planet's Data Core hard drive by a system named CAL, which the Doctor & Chris soon discover when they find an interface machine with Bernice's face on it, constantly repeating that Bernice is safe & has left the library.

We then see Bernice - seemingly alive but in a hospital on Earth, where a strange man named Dr Moon, who easily convinced her that the library was just a dream & she is a patient of his. We then see time progressing, which seems to be led by Bernice's thoughts. We see flashes of her life over what appears to be several years, as she meets a man with a stammer named Lee, goes on a date with him, gets married & has two kids with him.

Back in the library, we see the Doctor's group fleeing from the approaching Vashta Nerada. He manages to communicate with the Vashta Nerada, where he learns that the library was their forest; their home - until the Library was built over it. The Doctor then realises that the 4022 two people being "saved" literally meant they had been teleported and saved into the data core - and the same has been done with Donna.

Meanwhile, in Bernice's sequence, we see her being watched by a strange hooded figure, who wishes to speak to Bernice the following day. Bernice goes along to meet her, where they reveal themselves to be what remains of one of the archaeologists from the library - Miss Evangelista, whose consciousness was copied when she was killed. She tries to warn Bernice that she's in a simulation of sorts, showing her that her children are just simulants & nothing makes sense when you really look & think - but Bernice refuses to believe her.

Suddenly, a warning is emitted in the library - the core is going into meltdown. With little time to save the people in the core, the Doctor orders Strackman to take him to the core. We then see Bernice trying to take care of her children, slowly questioning whether she is in reality or not. She then attempts to tuck them in for the night, when they vanish in the blink of an eye - leaving Bernice in hysterics.

The Doctor is taken down into the core of the planet to the computer, where CAL is being stored, where it's revealed that CAL is actually a child named Charlotte Abigail Lux - Strackman's Grandfather's youngest Daughter. Throughout the episode, we would've seen brief clips of this child in a living room in a normal life. She believes the Library to be a place in her head & receives therapy from Doctor Moon, who eventually reveals that The Library is real. She then eventually starts seeing both The Library & Bernice's life on the TV.

Strackman explains to the Doctor that CAL was dying of an incurable disease, so her father made an imaginary world for her to live in - and every book ever written for her to enjoy. He also gave her a "Doctor Moon" to watch over her, but the stress of having so many minds integrated into her own, as well as learning the truth about her dream through Bernice & Evangelista's conversation, has caused her to overload - resulting in the core going into meltdown.

Realising the computer needed more memory, the Doctor devised a plan to connect his mind to it and intimidated the swarm of Vashta Nerada into giving him a single day to save the people in the core. However, believing that it should be CALs own blood that saves her, Strackman chooses to sacrifice himself to boost the Library's memory, thus enabling it to return the people who had been saved in the core, including Bernice.

The story ends with Bernice searching around for Lee in the Library, but being unable to find him. We also see the Doctor looking around the Library, before he finds an old book standing on a grand lectern. He looks at the cover of the book & reads the title: DOCTOR WHO. He thinks to himself for a moment, before ultimately deciding that he doesn't like spoilers.

THE LONG GAME
Written by: Russell T. Davies
Directed by: Sandy Johnson

The story sees the Doctor taking Bernice & Chris to the Space Station ‘Satellite Five’ in the year 200,000 - the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire - to see the human race at its height. However, the Doctor realises that something is wrong with human history & Satellite Five. Technology appears to be primitive for the year 200,000, every floor is boiling hot & the human race is less accepting of alien races.

The story would see the Doctor investigating into Satellite Five with help from a journalist named  . Cathica tells the Doctor about how Satellite Five acts as a news broadcast for the people on Earth, as well as control over Satellite Five takes place on Floor 500 - a floor where the walls are apparently made out of gold & how no one ever returns from Floor 500. Believing that whatever has caused history to be wrong originates from Floor 500, the Doctor & his companions decided to travel to Floor 500 to investigate. There, they find a control room, where they find frozen corpses operating the controls, as well as a mysterious man named The Editor who promptly captures the Doctor & companions. The Doctor initially believes The Editor to be the main villain, but the Editor reveals himself to be a humble servant, before directing their attention to the ceiling. The Doctor & companions look up & see a giant, fleshy creature on the ceiling.

It turns out that Satellite Five, and also Earth, is being controlled by a creature known as the Jagrafess. The Editor tells the Doctor that the Jagrafess has been manipulating the Empire by controlling the news; changing the human race’s social, economic and technological growth and making it more insular and xenophobic - meaning the human race has been reduced to slavery without realising it. The Doctor also discovers that the reason every floor, bar Floor 500, which is ice cold, is incredibly warm is because the Jagrafess needs cold air to survive, so it channels all the warm air to the lower levels. The Editor then threatens to kill Bernice unless the Doctor reveals who he & his companions are, which he's forced to do. After searching through Earth's history & learning more about who the Doctor is, the Jagrafess begins to form a new plan: to steal the TARDIS & manipulate all of human history in its favour.

Eventually however, the Jagrafess is defeated when Cathica, who spied & overheard everything the Editor told the Doctor, channels all the heat in Satellite Five to Floor 500, which allows the Doctor & companions to escape, as well as causing the Jagrafess to overheat & explode, which also kills The Editor.

NATURAL EXISTENCE
Written by: Marc Platt
Directed by: Andrew Grieve
Parts: 2

The story sees the Doctor taking Bernice to visit her father in Little Caldwell. We see Bernice spending time with her father & helping him run The Pyramid for a while, where she gets more acquainted & familiar with the team.

Meanwhile, the Doctor & Chris decide to have a stroll around the area, as they wait for Bernice. However, the two of them are quickly thrown into danger, when Chris is ambushed & attacked by a deranged woman with plant roots growing out of her skin. The Doctor rescues Chris & uses hypnosis to calm the woman. The Doctor questions why she attacked Chris, to which she explains that she had no choice - that a thing within her is in control. The Doctor then questions the plant roots growing out of her, asking who did this to her. She explains that she was told she would be cured by the great Mother. The Doctor asks who this great Mother is, however he fails to get an answer as the woman begins to struggle to breathe - before falling dead.

The Doctor & Chris return to The Pyramid, where they learn more about this Great Mother from the team. They learn that they’re in charge of a new research facility named Natural Existence, which claims to be able to kill off cancer cells & other medical illnesses using plant matter. Sensing that something is wrong about this Natural Existence company, the Doctor & his companions decide to investigate.

The story then sees the Doctor & co gaining access to the Natural Existence by gaining employmentship as scientists in order to learn more about the company & this Great Mother. After some snooping, they discover an off-limit wing within the facility, where they discover strange looking Doctors injecting patients with a strange, green substance. The subjects begin to twitch & scream in pain as their skin begins to turn green & roots & other plant matter begins to spout out of their body.

Further investigation leads them to discover that this Great Mother is planning on creating a new form of life known as a Flora - a half human, half plant hybrid, using the people in the facility as guinea pigs. They find confidential documents, which detail plans on how the Flora can infect & turn any humanoid life into Flora & how they will eventually become the dominant life on the planet. After some snooping, Bernice & Isaac find themselves being caught & captured by the strange Doctors, who take them to the Great Mother herself, who is revealed to be none other than the Rani.

The story then sees the Doctor working with Chris & The Pyramid to try & stop the Rani & her Flora from taking over the Earth, as well as rescuing Bernice & Isaac before the Rani can experiment on them. The group eventually make their way into the Natural Existence Facilities, where they’re able to rescue Bernice in time. Unfortunately however, they’re unable to save Isaac, who’s injected with the green substance, which slowly begins to turn him into a Flora.

Eventually, the Doctor is able to stop the Flora uprising by creating a sort-of weed killer, which either kills or completely weakens every Flora in the facility. With her plans foiled, the Rani attempts to escape in her TARDIS. The Doctor chases after her, but can’t keep up with her. The Rani turns round a corner, where she’s suddenly captured by the still infected Isaac, who proceeds to bite into her hand - infecting her with the Flora virus. The Rani then pulls out a staser & shoots Isaac to the ground, before dashing into her TARDIS & dematerialising.

The Doctor, Bernice, Chris & the Pyramid team surround Isaacs’ body, as he begins to die. He looks at Bernice & tells her that he’s proud of her. Bernice & Isaac say their final goodbyes, before Isaac shuts his eyes & falls dead, leaving Bernice in tears.

The story ends a few days later, after a funeral is held for Isaac. The Doctor asks Bernice & Chris if they’re ready to go. Chris says he guesses, but Bernice, after a minute pause, tells the Doctor that she isn’t coming. She says that with her fathers death, there’s no one to run The Pyramid now. She says that she’s choosing to stay on Earth in order to run The Pyramid in her father’s honour. The Doctor hugs Bernice & wishes her good luck, before returning to the TARDIS. Chris makes his farewells to Bernice, saying that he’ll truly miss her. Bernice gives him a quick kiss on the cheek before she says goodbye to Chris, the two hug one final time, before Chris returns to the TARDIS.

THE BROKEN CLOCK
Written by: Colin Brake
Directed by: John Henderson
Parts: 2

The story begins with the Doctor & Chris in the year 2985 to witness a peace treaty being signed between the humans & the Lampsi, after the two races finally settled their differences from Episode 1. However, the peace conference is suddenly broken up when the Lampsi leader is assassinated by a human Sniper on Live TV. Panic & chaos ensues across the Earth, with war breaking out left, right & centre. However, the Doctor tells Chris that this is wrong - everything. Today should’ve marked the dawn of a new age of Peace, not War. Something or someone has changed history.

Realising that this must link back to the assassin, the Doctor & Chris realise they need to tra
ck him down. They soon meet with a detective named Abigail Norwood to try & track down the assassin. However, Abigail finds there is no known record of this man. Eventually, the trio are able to locate & apprehend the assassin.

Abigail then downloads his mind into a futuristic machine which lets her read the minds of people who are trying to hide a criminal act, where the trio discover that this man, named Miles, is somehow from the year 2025. The Doctor then finds that Miles has a strange, primitive time travel device around his arm, causing him to conclude that somehow, this man from the 2020s gained the ability to time travel. Realising the potential danger to the timeline he may have caused, the Doctor concludes that they must find out where & when he’s been to & stop him before he can destroy time itself. However, before he can do so, the Doctor uses the time device to travel back in time in order to stop Miles from killing the Lampsi leader. He disables his sniper, locks him out of his time travel device & sends him back to his time of origin, before returning to the present.

The Doctor & Chris then return to the TARDIS, where the Doctor plugs the time device into the TARDIS console in order to find out where & when has been effected. However, unbeknownst to the Doctor & Chris, Abigail has accidentally stowed away with them. The Doctor apologises to Abigail & says he'll return her home as soon as history is saved.

After analysing the device, he discovers that Chris has also travelled to America in 1967. There, they find themselves near NASA &, after some investigating, they find Miles under disguise as a NASA engineer. The Doctor then discovers the day's date: the 27th of January, and realises that Miles is attempting to stop the Apollo 1 disaster: a fire that broke out in the cabin during a launch simulation which caused the death of all 3 Astronauts. Miles quickly & successfully makes the necessary repairs in order to stop the disaster. However, when Miles leaves & teleports into the future, the Doctor is forced to quickly undo his repairs to the Apollo 1 craft, meaning the fire still happens - an action which the Doctor isn’t proud of.

The trio then return to the TARDIS, where the Doctor attempts to return Abigail home. However, this plan is cancelled as the TARDIS has found out where & how Miles originally obtained time travel. Arriving in 2025, they find that Miles was a member of an organisation named Broken Clock. The Doctor discovers that Broken Clock is selling time travel to the rich & wealthy. They simply equip a travel device around your arm, set a destination on a keypad & a Gateway opens up. You then step through the gateway & end up in your destination. & you return to the present using a time device on your wrist.

Realising that Broken Clock needs to be burnt to the ground, the Doctor, Chris & Abigail sneak into the organisation's main building to try & shut down their source of time travel before any more damage can be done to the timelines. The Doctor force returns everyone in history wearing a time device to the present & tries to shut the main reactor down. However, he accidentally sets it to overload & a giant gateway opens up on the time vortex, which begins  to suck everything & anyone nearby, sending them to anywhere & anywhen in Time.

The Doctor, Chris & Abigail work together to try & fully shut down the gateway. However, the force becomes too strong & it pulls Chris in. The Doctor grabs him by the arm, but is slowly losing his grip. The Doctor ends up losing his grip & begins to be pulled through too. Then suddenly, Abigail snatches the Doctor by the arm. Time’s running out. Soon, Abigail will also lose her grip. She tells the Doctor that she can’t hold on forever.

The Doctor tells Chris that he is sorry… but doesn’t think he can save him. Chris tells the Doctor that he knows & that he’ll be fine - just save the world. The Doctor says goodbye to Chris, and Chris replies with “goodbye, Doctor… give my regards to Bernice”. He then nods his head in respect, before the Doctor is forced to let go & watches Chris fall into the Time Vortex.

Abigail then pulls the Doctor back up, where they continue to shut down the gateway. Eventually, the Gateway is shut down & the Time Vortex is closed. The Doctor thanks Abigail for the support, before she states that she’s sorry about Chris. The Doctor responds saying that it wasn’t her fault & that at the very least, he’s alive out there - somewhere.

The story ends with the Doctor & Abigail onboard the TARDIS, where the Doctor says he’ll get her back to her rightful time. Then he turns to her and says “orrrr…. We could take the scenic route; take in some new worlds, maybe find Chris along the way?” Abigail says that the Scenic route sounds nice, before the Doctor says “OK! Scenic route it is then”, before he presses a few buttons, pulls a few switches & sets the TARDIS into flight.

CONCLUSION

Season 33 proved to be better received than Season 32. Many people took to the new Doctor & thought that Bonneville was a good pick for the role. Many were also sad to see both Bernice & Chris go but were also intrigued to see what Abigail will be like as a full-time companion. It was agreed that it felt like the writers had properly figured out the new 45 minute format after last season's mixed results. Viewing figures & ratings for the stories also remained fairly positive, which proved to the BBC & Carnival that this new era was indeed going to work.