Series 3: The Lowdown

Series 3 of Doctor Who: Darkpaths is just around the corner. The first story, "Village of the Daleks" will begin on Saturday 4th January 2014. It's an ideal jumping on point for new readers, but I'd advise any newcomers to read the previous two series anyway.

But for anyone who wants a quick refresher, here is the story so far, and what to expect from the new series.

The Doctor played by Richard O'Brien.

This Doctor is a future incarnation. Where in the future? Who knows. We never reference the incarnation number or how far on from the Peter Capaldi Doctor he is, but there is another incarnation before this one who is referenced from time to time and, again, he is not Peter Capaldi's incarnation. These stories are set far on from what is on TV at the moment. And the previous Doctor will be seen this series. But who will he be played by...?

We discovered during Series 1 and 2 that the Doctor had suffered a trauma during his previous regeneration. He has now lost the ability to regenerate, the cells inside having undergone a freak accident, causing them to burn out and die. So now the Doctor hangs on to life, but he knows that very soon that life is going to be over, unless he can find a way to re-ignite the regenerative cells.

The Doctor has recently said goodbye to his previous companions, Caroline Parker and Danny Lennon, leaving them to finally live and get on with their own lives. But the next - and possibly final - stage of his this life is about to get underway. And everything changes when he meets school teacher, Alice Stokes.

The Doctor is played by Richard O'Brien, known for his roles in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Crystal Maze and many, many more.

Alice Stokes played by Louise Brealey

Alice is a secondary school teacher in her mid-twenties. She works at the local school in the small village of Little Pebbleford. She's a down to Earth woman, happy with her job and happy with her life.

In her younger days she was responsible for looking after her four sisters and this experienced had led her to seek a career as a school teacher. But this had also had drawbacks. Because she had had to grow up quickly, she hadn't experienced much of an adventurous childhood, so when the Doctor shows up, she jumps at the chance to experience the excitement of life as a time traveller.

Alice is played by Louise Brealey, who people may recognise as Molly Hooper from Sherlock.

The Eyeglass and The General

The Eyeglass is a huge space company, formed from the ashes of the old Torchwood Institute, centuries in the future. The Doctor has encountered them and their agents a number of times during the first and second series, and he is due for one final encounter with them during Series 3.

General Helix (played by Liam Neeson) is the head of the company. Ruthless and efficient, he was a bio-engineered Human being, created by the Time Lords during the Time War. But during the events of the Time War, he lost his battle TARDIS, escaped the War and created the Eyeglass.

The last time the Doctor met associates of the Eyeglass, he defeated their plans. And so now General Helix wants the Doctor captured and brought to him alive, and with his bounty hunter associate, Paragrim, heading up the mission, he might just succeed this time...

Gallifrey and the Time Lords

Although the Time Lords and the Time War get mentioned during our series, we try our best to steer clear of current events with Gallifrey. I think it's safe to assume that a some point in the not-to-distant future, Gallifrey is going to return to our TV screens. Until then, we shan't be going near it. There are reasons why the Doctor doesn't consult the Time Lords with regards to his ill health. This may be addressed in the coming season. If and when Gallifrey returns, we may then start to use it in our stories, but for now we just have to steer well clear of it.

What to expect in Series 3

Series 3 will comprise of 12 stories in total. Each story will have either 4 or 5 parts and each story will be published over the course of a month, culminating at the end of the year with the Series 3 finale.

The stories will see the Doctor take Alice from Little Pebbleford to the ice world of Issenttii. He'll battle deadly reflections and we'll see the Doctor's previous incarnation with his old companion, Ivy Coldstone. He'll do battle with General Helix and the Eyeglass and travel to a mysterious, haunted house which holds a dark secret that the Doctor has tried to keep hidden. Trees will invade Cologne, vampires will crawl from old film reels, and the Doctor and Alice will find them at the very beginning of the Dalek Invasion of Earth. We'll see the familiar face of the Sixth Doctor again, as he teams up with our Doctor. The Master will return and the Doctor will face a final battle, meeting up with a deadly new life-form - The Swych.

And there will also be someone from far, far back in the Doctor's past. Someone who we always knew existed, but who we had never met before...

Christmas Special: The Last Christmas

We last saw Caroline and Danny at the end of the series 2 finale, "Call of the Spirits". The Doctor said a final goodbye to his companions and left them to continue in their (relatively normal) lives. But this is our last visit to those characters and is a short piece set 4 months after they left the Doctor. Merry Christmas everybody.

December 25th, 2012


Caroline sighed and then smiled as she popped the final plate into the dishwasher.

It had been a long, long day. But a wonderful, beautiful day. It had been the best Christmas she had experienced in a long time, and she wasn’t really ready for it to be over.

Three months ago, she and Danny had gathered up enough of their savings and had rented a little house in a quiet little close in the west part of Thornsby.

Danny had gotten a job with an advertising company in Yarathorpe, and Caroline had quit her job at Hypersave to become a full-time stay-at-home Mum.

Being a mum to four-month old William wasn’t her only job, however. She had taken to writing children’s books about a mysterious alien known as Professor Time, who travelled around in his mysterious red telephone box. Well, she thought, she couldn’t exactly use the true details for fear of someone at UNIT or Torchwood stopping them from being published.

Now she was just waiting for the first story, “Professor Time and the Battle Dogs”, to come back from the publishers. All in all, things had taken a turn for the better in her life. She was enjoying life.

Steve bustled into the kitchen, already pulling his coat on and wrapping his scarf around his neck.

“Oh, are you going?” said Caroline, closing up the dishwasher.

“Got to,” smiled Steve. “Mum and Dad are gonna be waiting for me. It took me forever to convince them to let me miss their Christmas dinner.”

Caroline smiled. Somewhere, deep down, there were still feelings for this man, but they had faded now. He was still little Will’s father, and she’d always love him because of that, but the two of them were moving on. Had moved on.

“I’ve kissed Will good night,” said Steve, a hint of sadness in his voice.

“You know you can come over whenever you want,” said Caroline, smiling warmly at him.

“Caroline,” said Steve, his brown eyes and smile making her remember the first time they met, “I still haven’t gotten over you. It’s going to take some time. You and I…well, we went through a lot in such a short space of time.”

“I know,” said Caroline. “I wish it was different.”

“But it’s okay,” smiled Steve. “Our main priority is to make sure William has the best life he can have, and you and Danny - and me - can give that to him.”

Caroline smiled and then gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, smiling again. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” said Caroline, as she watched him make his way out of the kitchen, say his goodbyes to her guests and then head out into the snow beyond.

She made her way back to the living room. Sat around the table, laughing and joking, each with a different beverage were the oddest collection of people you could meet.

On the surface they looked normal enough, but each one had a story to tell.

There was Danny, a lager in hand, now wearing a pair of glasses, who had just finished telling a joke. Then there was Margot and Ben, the two survivors from the Ancestors. They had gotten a flat in the Victoria Mills complex and had gotten part-time jobs, via Caroline, at Hypersave. They weren’t intending on staying there forever, of course, just earning enough to get them back on their feet.

And then there was Catherine and Tony Parker, Caroline’s adopted parents. Tony had recovered from his heart attack and was doing well, and little William had been the one to bring the family back together. There were still underlying regrets between Caroline and her parents, but they had gotten over the worst. They were building bridges finally.

And finally there was Thomas and Rebecca - Caroline’s real parents. They had opted to stay in Thornsby, firstly to assist Caroline in her powers, and secondly to be friends to Ben and Margot, as well as Lilly and Father Ainslie and the rest of the people who had been deposited in this time. Tom and Rebecca had set up a home for the refugee’s, and were helping them to reintegrate back into the world.

Caroline pulled up a chair and sat down.

“So,” said Tom, taking a sip of brandy, “I see Steve’s left.”

“Tom,” said Rebecca, her eyes flashing him a warning.

Caroline smiled. She never knew what to call her real parents. Initially she had wanted to call them Mum and Dad, and had tried it, but the two of them looked younger than her. So she had opted to call them their actual names.

“Tom,” said Caroline, “he is William’s father, but it’s difficult for him. You’ve gotta understand.”

“Hmm,” said Tom, a cheeky smile on his face, “I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“You listen to your father,” said Tony, breaking into a big belly laugh.

“God,” said Tom, “I remember when you looked as young as us,” he said to Tony.

“Cheeky!” said Cath, slapping Tom on the arm.

Everybody laughed.

Only Margot looked a bit glum. “I remember one Christmas,” she said, a sad smile playing on her face, “must have been, ooh, back in 1963, Jayne came back to the crypt with our Christmas dinner - sandwiches.”

Ben nodded, smiling at the memory.

“We never had a lot back then. We were always trying to keep an eye on the Apparites. We never had time to make money and go out there and have a good time.”

“Work, work, work,” said Ben. “Even when I was being a vicar I never got paid for it!”

“The point,” said Margot, sipping on her mineral water, “is that even back in those days, even when it was a nightmare and we were working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Jayne still made sure we had some sort of Christmas.”

Tom and Rebecca smiled.

“She always looked after us,” said Ben.

“To Jayne,” said Caroline, raising her recently made cup of tea.

“To Jayne!” chorused the group, each raising their glasses.




Some time passed. Caroline checked on the sleeping William and, when everyone was gathered around the tree, unwrapping their presents, she made her way back to the kitchen.

It was then that she spotted the man in the garden. Standing amongst the snow, watching from the fence at the back. He wore a long, black coat, blue shirt with a black tie, and a yellow smiley-face badge pinned to his lapel. It was the Doctor.

She took a quick look back at the living room, made sure nobody was watching, and then quickly unlocked the back door.

She slowly walked up the garden path, her feet crunching in the snow. Shivering, she stood in front of the Doctor.

He was leaning on an ornate walking stick and had a black scarf tied around him.

He smiled sadly. “Proper snow this time?”

Caroline nodded. “None of your alien stuff. This is the real deal.”

He smiled.

She flung her arms around him. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” She broke away from him. “What happened? Are you okay?”

The Doctor smiled again. “I just wanted to come and see you one last time.”

“One last time?” Caroline frowned. “You mean…?”

The Doctor nodded slowly. “It’s pretty much the end now.”

Caroline put her hand to her mouth, her eyes flooding with tears.

“Don’t be sad, Caroline,” he said, taking her hands. “I’ve lived my life to the full. I’ve been travelling again.”

“On your own?”

“No,” he said. “I met a young woman - a teacher actually. Alice her name is. She’s from a little in your future.”

“And she understands what’s happening to you?”

He nodded. “She knows.”

“Is she having a good time?” said Caroline.

“She’s having the trip of a lifetime,” said the Doctor. “She’s just in the pub down the road now. Said I’d be back soon.”

“And there really is no way-?”

He cut her off. “I met someone who said they had found a way to save me,” said the Doctor, a dark look playing across his face.

“Then do it,” said Caroline.

“No,” said the Doctor, shaking his head. “The cost would be too high. I’m not willing to go that far to save myself.”

Caroline sighed. “You’re a stubborn git, you know?”

He smiled. “I know.” He nodded towards the house. “Having a party, are we?”

“Kind of. I got the rest of them round for dinner. Everyone’s getting on well. Margot and Ben have a flat and jobs, Tom and Rebecca are caring for the refugee’s. Steve’s - well - Steve’s just Steve. Mum and Dad have made up with me.”

“And you?”

“I’m good. William’s healthy.”

“Any problems with your powers?”

“Had a little accident a couple of months back,” she said sheepishly. “Burnt the shed down. But Tom and Rebecca are helping me. I’ll have it under control soon.”

The Doctor smiled. “Good.” He looked at her curiously. “You know, if you ever got those powers under control, I might be able to take you back to William. William Fieldgate, that is. We never really did find out what happened to him. As long as you were safe with your powers, you could have a life with him. It wouldn’t disrupt the web of time-”

“No,” said Caroline quickly.

“No?”

“No,” she said again. “I’ve thought long and hard about William, and I’ve spent a long time trying to get over him. I’m in a happy place now. William was a wonderful thing that happened to me, but it was just one moment in my life. Something I would never want to spoil. I loved him - still love him - and he loves me.”

“I can find out what happened to him. You never did let me finish reading that bit of info on him.”

Caroline considered for a moment. This was her last chance to really find out. “No,” she said. “As long as he was happy, that’s all I needed to know.”

The Doctor pulled out a tablet from his coat pocket, checked the info on it and then smiled. “He was happy. It says it here in black and white. He led a happy, healthy life.”

She smiled. “I’m glad.”

“And how’s Danny Boy?”

“He’s good. You know, we’re kind of together. Well, as together as two best mates can be. I love him. He loves me. But it’s complicated. I think we’re always going to be together.”

“Marriage?” queried the Doctor.

“God, no!” said Caroline. “It’s just not like that with him and I. I guess you could call us…soul mates. God, that sounds cheesy.”

The Doctor laughed. “Take care of him,” said the Doctor. He suddenly clutched at his chest.

Caroline stepped forward to help him, but he motioned for her to stay back.

“Doctor…”

“I’ll be fine,” he said. “I’ve gotta go pick up Alice from the pub. I need to take her home.”

She flung her arms around him again, hugging him tightly. “Thank you again.”

Just then Danny stepped out of the house. He looked at the Doctor and Caroline in shock.

“Hello there,” smiled the Doctor.

Danny gave a slight wave back at him, not really knowing what to think.

“Right,” said the Doctor, opening the back gate. “I’m off.” He smiled at Caroline. “Have a wonderful life, Miss Parker. And Merry Christmas.”

“Get help. Save yourself,” said Caroline, one last desperate attempt to save her friend. And then she smiled. “Merry Christmas.”

And she watched as he stepped into the dark alleyway behind the house, and slowly closed the gate.

“What was that all about?” said Danny, joining her at her side.

“He just came to say goodbye,” she said, sadly.

Danny put his arm around her. “Come on. Let’s go finish Christmas. There’s a bottle of Bailey’s with my name on it.”


THE END

Doctor Who: Darkpaths, returns on January 4th 2014 with the first story in Series 3 - "Village of the Daleks". Keep checking back for more updates on the upcoming series.

Looking Ahead to Series 3.

So with the conclusion of "Call of the Spirits", brings in the conclusion of one of the story arcs that has spanned since the start of the series.

The story of Caroline, Danny and the Ancestors is now over. But that doesn't mean that Darkpaths is ending. No, we are continuing with series 3, which is due to start in January 2014.

Before we look at what to expect from series 3, I'd just like to take a look back at what I've done so far.

On the whole I'm happy with the series. I think sometimes some of the stories were a little long, but overall I've enjoyed writing them and writing the characters. In fact by the time I'd gotten to the end of "Call of the Spirits", I realised I was going to really miss Caroline and Danny.

One thing I would have done differently would be to have not made the stories so arc-heavy. This is something I'm changing for the next series.

The series will have 12 stories. Each story will be much shorter than anything done before. Each story will also have 4 parts to it. The aim is to start in January and have one part a week, effectively giving us one story a month leading up to next Christmas. The stories will be much more varied, less arc-heavy, but still helping to tie up a few loose plot threads.

What are those plot threads that need tying up? Well, in series 3, we'll see the Doctor finally confronting the might of the Eyeglass and the General. We'll also pay a visit to Ivy Coldstone (first introduced in 'Eye of the Jungle'), and see exactly what she got up to with the Doctor's previous incarnation (but who will he be played by...?) And we have the Master back as well. He's out there somewhere, causing havoc and mischief. And finally there's the Doctor. He will take this painful journey with Alice, his new companion, as he heads towards his possible death.

And so to Alice ("played" by Louise Brealey - Molly Hooper from "Sherlock"). She's a teacher living in a small village called Little Pebbleford. When she meets the Doctor she is eager to experience time, space and adventure, and she's just what the Doctor needs to kick start him again, after travelling with the sometime's reluctant Caroline, and the pre-occupied Danny.

One of the questions I thought I should answer is the revelations about Gallifrey/the Time War in the TV episode "The Day of the Doctor". All in all it shouldn't effect anything we've done so far with the series. Although I've used a couple of things relating to the Time War (The General and the Proto-Time Lords), I've always avoided it as best as I could. There's nothing worse than creating your own storyline and alluding to something from the TV series and then having the rug pulled from under your feet.
And that brings me to Gallifrey. Gallifrey may or may not return in the TV series. Luckily, I haven't references what the Time Lords are up to. It's all left open, so nothing will be affected. The question on why/if the Doctor can travel to Gallifrey to get his regenerating problem "fixed" is something that will be questioned in series 3. It's not just a question of going back to his home planet. It's something else...

There are a number of plot lines or changes to the ongoing plot that changed during the course of the two series. Originally Danny was supposed to have died after the events of "Lockdown". He was going to be fighting off the Apparite inside him and at the end wage out to the water where the ghost escaped and he died. The ghost would have taken part of his personality back into their dimension where at the end of "The Story of the Ancestors" a strange amalgamation of Danny and Adrian would have emerged. I scrapped that story line as I liked Danny and wanted to keep him alive.

Also the Doctor was due to regenerate at the end of series 2. I won't tell you who I lined up to take over from him, but I wanted to continue with him a little longer. And the circumstances in which he regenerated would have been different. After regeneration he wasn't going to return to Thornsby, and Caroline, Danny and the others would have had to accept that the Doctor was dead and gone.

So, here's a run-down on each story (ordering could possibly change).

3.1 Village of the Daleks
The Doctor meets Alice Stokes and they discover a Dalek shuttle buried underneath a school in Little Pebbleford.

3.2 The Tipping Point
The Doctor takes Alice to her first planet - the site of one of the first Human-colonised worlds. But, as the colonists begin their terraforming, the Doctor discovers that the ice-world is not as lifeless as everyone thought.

3.3 Reflections
The Doctor and Alice land in an abandoned American town where deadly reflections crawl out of mirrors.

3.4 The Story of Ivy Coldstone
The Doctor recounts the tale of how he first met Ivy, back when he had a different face...

3.5 The Fall of the Eye
The Doctor is finally captured by the General, whilst Alice escapes to Earth where she is pursued by Eyeglass operatives, and is rescued by an anti-Eyeglass group.

3.6 Number 17
The TARDIS lands at Number 17 Westcliffe Drive - a house that is supposedly haunted. And it's a house that brings back some bad memories for the Doctor.


3.7 The Trees of Cologne
A normal holiday in Cologne, Germany lands the Doctor in the middle of a mystery - the trees are moving in on the city, and people are dropping dead one by one.

3.8 The Curse of Nosferatu
The Doctor and Alice are summoned to an old film library where a copy of the old film "Nosferatu" has been stolen. Stolen by a vampire...

3.9 Before the Dawn
The TARDIS lands the Doctor and Alice in the early days of the Dalek Invasion of Earth, where the Doctor is embroiled with a group of resistance fighters. But how can he help them when he knows he must not interfere?

3.10 War of the Machines
The Doctor meets up with the 6th Doctor as they become caught up in the middle of the war between the Centrix robots.

3.11 Friends & Enemies
Alice receives some disturbing information, the Master reappears, and the Doctor is introduced to the deadly Swych - a lifeform that exists outside of any kind of dimension, time or space.

3.12 The Final Battle
As the Doctor reaches his final days, Ivy and Alice team up to find a cure for him. Meanwhile the Doctor returns to UNIT HQ on Earth where he helps them fight off an old and deadly enemy.


As always, if anyone is interested in writing for Darkpaths, then please get in touch with me.

as we go through December I'll be updating the blog with small snippets of info in the build of to Season 3, including another "Story So Far..." piece and, of course, the cover and blurb for "Village of the Daleks".

Also, keep an eye out as we approach Christmas for a little something extra.

We've also redesigned the blog with a few new touches, new colour-scheme and new logo/banner. There may be little tweaks along the way, and if you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

So, for now, it's goodbye. Keep checking up on us and we'll be ready to go with "Village of the Daleks" (Part 1) on Saturday January 4th 2014.

Have fun!