Monday, January 1, 2024

OFF TO SEE THE MADMAN IN A BOX



Just a fun little meme made by somebody else, turning ‘Doctor Who’ into a production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’…..

Seen here are:
  • A Cyberman, one of The Doctor’s greatest enemies
  • Dr. Martha Jones, a Companion of the 10th Incarnation who went on to work for UNIT and later married Mickey Smith
  • One of the scarecrows who were controlled by the “Family of Blood” in 1913
  • Thomas Kinkaide Brannigan, a member of Catkind who was trapped in traffic for years with his human wife and litter of kitlings
So here’s a fanfic story idea….

What if there was a renegade Time Lord, one who might have been driven mad by staring into the Untempered Schism as a Gallifreyan Lad?  Similar to the Celestial Toymaker, he might have taken sadistic delight in torturing his prisoners by forcing them to perform in deadly theatrical productions.  My name for him would be “The Impresario”.

This would be an “UnScene” adventure where the Impresario sought revenge against The Doctor by forcing him and Companions to enact his own adaptation of ‘The Wizard of Oz’.  In order to survive, they have to play out the basic storyline, including singing their dialogue when music is cued up.  (Musical episodes of dramatic TV series were in vogue for a time – among them ‘Psych’, ‘Fringe’ ‘Supernatural’, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’, and ‘One Life To Live’, plus several sitcoms – so why not ‘Doctor Who’*?

Now, two of those pictured here were foes of The Doctor, so they might try to disrupt the Impresario’s scheme in order to ensure the Doctor’s demise.  This is where I now point out that just because Martha is involved, this doesn’t have to be an adventure for the Tenth Incarnation.  This could have taken place during her UNIT tenure or later while working with her husband as a team.  So The Doctor could be any future incarnation.

And I think it would have to be a future incarnation because of the participation of the Cyberman.  What if that was the Brigadier, brought back after death as a Cyberman by Missy?  At least that would guarantee the participation of at least one Cyberman.

As for the Scarecrow, let’s leave it as one of those programmed “soldiers” working for the Family of Blood.  I don’t know why the Impresario would have chosen it – perhaps it was snatched out of its time period by mistake.  Maybe the Impresario meant to grab Tim Latimer but the lad’s premonitions warned him to maneuver into proximity of that scarecrow so that it got scooped up instead.

I like the idea that the Scarecrow would be an adversary out to sabotage the Impresario’s revenge.  It could be how it was dispatched quickly by the Impresario, perhaps by having him ripped apart by winged monkeys.

As for the Doctor… whoever the Incarnation is, I see him/her/they as the musical’s Wizard with the story focused on the friends striving to reach him in order to save him.  (This fanfic story could be considered a “Doctor-Lite” episode, like “Blink” and “Turn Left”.)

I should point out here that there is one Companion who fits into the Oz template and should be included – K-9, playing the role of Toto.  And the Impresario would take on the role of the Wicked Warlock, dressed in black and with green skin.

There should be a flaw in the Impresario’s plot, one which the Companions could exploit.  Maybe the Impresario never foresaw the involvement of Mickey Smith who was scooped up along with his wife.  Maybe he was in disguise throughout the whole journey along the yellow brick road – first as a Munchkin, then as a Winged Monkey, and finally hiding in plain sight under the Impresario’s nose, as one of the Winkie Guards.

When it’s all over and the Impresario defeated, Mickey’s response?  “At least I wasn’t the tin dog!”

Once the Impresario is defeated (“I’m regenerating!”) and The Doctor is rescued, they all enter the TARDIS to go home to their respective time periods.  That’s when The Doctor delivers the final line….

“There’s no place like home!”

So that’s another fanfic idea spurred by a photoshopped meme.

* O'Bservation - Technically, "The Church On Ruby Road" was a musical episode....



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