Consisting of five further ideas for Doctor Who role-playing games (or simple daydreaming) taking very simple inspiration from the world of cinema. One cherry picked from reader suggestions, the rest not.
I had fun last week putting the TARDIS into various films - and I wasn't alone, check out DWAITAS guru Craig Oxbrow's 5 Horror films to drop the TARDIS into - that I just had to do it again. My 5 SF suggestions last Tuesday felt pretty obvious, so I put a little more thought into my spacetime locations this time around:
The Planet of the Apes. In the Whoniverse's convoluted human timeline, there's got to be room for a far future in which apes have enslaved humanity. The Doctor and companions (or Your Own Time LordTM) will find there a good healthy mix of horse action, trying to convince the apes that they are intelligent beings, and discovering the awful truth they knew all along. It's a planet ripe for revolution, which seems to attract the TARDIS like the floor does buttered bread. And because it's a franchise, you can easily use elements from the other films to squeeze a few more episodes out of it. Cultists worshiping the atom bomb is very Doctor Who already. And then go back in time to the prequel to stop it from ever happening!
Solaris. A strange planet. Scientists on a space station in orbit. Hallucinations and identity theft. A first contact scenario. Existential "hard SF" questions. If that doesn't sound like a Doctor Who script, then you're not looking hard enough. You even have a choice of era/feel. The slow, long Russian version would work in the black & white era (do gamers sometimes simulate these shows, or is everyone doing New Who?), and the Soderbergh/Clooney version can play in your normal game.
The Fifth Element. It's the suggestion by Jeff R. that made so much sense, I was kicking myself for not including it in the first place. The colorful world of The Fifth Element is almost perfect for Doctor Who (I'd remove a few gun fights is all). The Moebius designs. The open satire. A quest that's part archaeology, part fighting an ancient evil, part alien opera singers. It's got a good OTT villain too. And hey, I just want to see a scene in which the Doctor shows his psychic moolti-pass.
Sunshine. The TARDIS lands on a spaceship bound for the sun. And people are mysteriously dying. A perfect blend of hard SF concepts, desperate "Apollo 13"-type crises, and a whodunit that provides an 11th hour climax. Danny Boyle isn't considered a genre director, but he could be. He definitely could be. Heck, I'd probably stick the TARDIS in his non-genre pictures too, like Millions and Slumdog. Maybe not Trainspotting though.
Westworld. What's got silliness (robot amusement park), a history/SF twist (the characters think they're in the Old West, but they're in the future) and YUL BRYNNER AS AN OUT OF CONTROL KILLER ROBOT COWBOY?! Only Westworld, that's what. I've never seen Futureworld or the TV series Beyond Westworld though. Could provide more story fodder if found? Warners says a remake is in the works, so it's time to strike while the iron is fresh!
Time rotors are go! Where are you setting the dial?
I had fun last week putting the TARDIS into various films - and I wasn't alone, check out DWAITAS guru Craig Oxbrow's 5 Horror films to drop the TARDIS into - that I just had to do it again. My 5 SF suggestions last Tuesday felt pretty obvious, so I put a little more thought into my spacetime locations this time around:
The Planet of the Apes. In the Whoniverse's convoluted human timeline, there's got to be room for a far future in which apes have enslaved humanity. The Doctor and companions (or Your Own Time LordTM) will find there a good healthy mix of horse action, trying to convince the apes that they are intelligent beings, and discovering the awful truth they knew all along. It's a planet ripe for revolution, which seems to attract the TARDIS like the floor does buttered bread. And because it's a franchise, you can easily use elements from the other films to squeeze a few more episodes out of it. Cultists worshiping the atom bomb is very Doctor Who already. And then go back in time to the prequel to stop it from ever happening!
Solaris. A strange planet. Scientists on a space station in orbit. Hallucinations and identity theft. A first contact scenario. Existential "hard SF" questions. If that doesn't sound like a Doctor Who script, then you're not looking hard enough. You even have a choice of era/feel. The slow, long Russian version would work in the black & white era (do gamers sometimes simulate these shows, or is everyone doing New Who?), and the Soderbergh/Clooney version can play in your normal game.
The Fifth Element. It's the suggestion by Jeff R. that made so much sense, I was kicking myself for not including it in the first place. The colorful world of The Fifth Element is almost perfect for Doctor Who (I'd remove a few gun fights is all). The Moebius designs. The open satire. A quest that's part archaeology, part fighting an ancient evil, part alien opera singers. It's got a good OTT villain too. And hey, I just want to see a scene in which the Doctor shows his psychic moolti-pass.
Sunshine. The TARDIS lands on a spaceship bound for the sun. And people are mysteriously dying. A perfect blend of hard SF concepts, desperate "Apollo 13"-type crises, and a whodunit that provides an 11th hour climax. Danny Boyle isn't considered a genre director, but he could be. He definitely could be. Heck, I'd probably stick the TARDIS in his non-genre pictures too, like Millions and Slumdog. Maybe not Trainspotting though.
Westworld. What's got silliness (robot amusement park), a history/SF twist (the characters think they're in the Old West, but they're in the future) and YUL BRYNNER AS AN OUT OF CONTROL KILLER ROBOT COWBOY?! Only Westworld, that's what. I've never seen Futureworld or the TV series Beyond Westworld though. Could provide more story fodder if found? Warners says a remake is in the works, so it's time to strike while the iron is fresh!Time rotors are go! Where are you setting the dial?
Comments
And I couldn't resist putting the TARDIS on that beach. I could insert the TARDIS into stuff all day, really.
And if not Apes, then certainly Silurians. They call us Apes after all.
Also, guru? Shucks.
Makes me wonder... aren't the Delos movies ripe for a remake...?
Mitch: Hahaha that sounds like an awesome episode of Doctor Who!
Seems like that would be too much like the episode End Of The World, wouldn't it?
1. War of the Worlds (1953 version): The ending seems very Whovian.
2. Star Wars Episode IV: Don't tell me you've never thought about it. "Right, you lot go find the princess, I've got a tractor beam to disable. Come along, K9-D2!"
3. The Omega Man: except that the Doctor would cure everyone
4. Star Trek First Contact: This actually IS a Doctor Who episode, only with different characters.
5. The Time Machine: The Doctor, the Morlocks and the Eloi!
Maybe too obvious, on second thought... but these are the ones I've always wanted to see the Doctor take care of, myself!
-War of the Worlds, yeah better keep it to the 1953 version, the Tom Cruise one goes way too far on the side of apocalypse
-Star Wars, I've never thought about. Don't tell anyone, but I'm not a big fan.
-Omega Man, but of course.
-First Contact is all Cybermen all the time
-Time Machine, a classic.
-Planet of the Apes (1968) with the 2nd Doctor, Jamie and Victoria!
-Solaris (2002) with the 8th Doctor
-Fifth Element (1997) 8th Doc scores another one
-Sunshine (2007) 10th Doctor and Martha revisit 42!
-Westworld (1973) 3rd Doctor and Jo Grant