5.01. Half The World Away Featuring the Doctor and Lizzie Darwin Written by Peter Darwin First published 15.7.17 5.02. Cleo and the Mummy Featuring the Doctor and Lizzie Darwin Written by Peter Darwin. Based on an idea by Sam Baker. First published 22.7.17 5.03. False Hope Featuring the Doctor and Lizzie Darwin Written by Zoe Lance. First published 29.7.17 5.04. Forevermore Featuring the Doctor and Lizzie Darwin Written by Zoe Lance First published 12.8.17 5.05. A Frosty Future Featuring the Doctor and Lizzie Darwin Written by Ryder Smith First published 19.8.17 5.06. The Blood Ties Featuring the Doctor, Lizzie Darwin and Cioné. Written by Peter Darwin First published 26.8.17 5.07. The Memory Graveyard Featuring the Doctor and Lizzie Darwin. Written by Peter Darwin First published 2.9.17 5.08. The Karaoke Killer Featuring the Doctor and Lizzie Darwin Written by Peter Darwin First published 9.9.17 5.09. Start New Game Featuring the Doctor and Lizzie Darwin Written by James Blanchard First published 16.9.17 5.10. Together Alone Featuring the Doctor and Lizzie Darwin Written by Clara Laurinda First published TBC 5.11. The Tick of a Grandfather Clock Featuring the Doctor and Lizzie Darwin Written by Peter Darwin First published TBC 5.12. Fire Forgotten Featuring Lizzie Darwin and the Doctor Written by Peter Darwin First published TBC 5.13. The Bad-Dream Girl Featuring the Doctor, Lizzie Darwin and Cioné. Written by Peter Darwin First published TBC |
“I know how you’re feeling. You’re never alone, though. Not really. If everyone vanished on Earth – there’d always be someone with you.” In a divided town, in a broken country, the life of Lizzie Darwin has been waiting in the wings. It is the same, day in, day out - until a spaceman upsets the balance. In the middle of the night, on a street corner beneath a lamp, Lizzie discovers a blue box. She has always believed in monsters. Now she must come to face them. “I, erm, don’t know. I’ve been with him, what, two days? And I’m in some… basement thing, beneath a pyramid… and the dead are walking, and Cleopatra is upstairs drinking a cup of Earl Grey.” When the Doctor and Lizzie arrive in Ancient Egypt, they quickly come face to face with a Queen. Cleopatra’s life was a mystery to many, but now they have come to uncover them. As they decipher the mysteries behind her, they discover something more, buried deep beneath a great pyramid. The dead have not been dead for long, and instead they are waking up. The mummies are walking. But the Doctor isn’t paying much attention. He’s having dinner with Cleo. “The faces, look at them. Look at each of them. No imperfections at all. They’re perfection incarnate.” For the first time in a very long time, the Doctor doesn’t know where he is. The streets are barren and desolate, Lizzie is missing and the stench of guilt and fear hangs in the air. Accompanied by a local nanny, he sets about trying to unearth the mystery of the silent planet. “After everything I’ve seen, everything I’ve had to give up, every bird or autumn I’ve lost, you expect me to just give up? Let me tell you a story about a man who doesn’t just give up. His name is the Doctor, and that’s me.” Desperately trying to fix the mistakes of a corrupt society, the Doctor and Lizzie find themselves at loggerheads with the locals on how to proceed. Their efforts, their struggles all boil down to the same question: how far are they willing to go for the future preservation of the human race? “Well, in some ways a lot has changed, certainly in a global sense, and there’s the space exploration, but in many ways it’s the same. There are still skyscrapers, and cars, houses, people and so much beauty. Humanity has overcome a lot by this point, and achieved so much, it’s fascinating really.” The TARDIS lands in the future, the 22nd Century, as UNIT is engaged in a large-scale investigation. The Doctor and Lizzie become embroiled in this investigation, as they work to tackle an unknown threat. It lurks in the shadow, and brings a cold breeze with it. The future is endangered, and humanity might just fall. “We need you, Lizzie. All three of us.” London, 2017. The Doctor and Lizzie arrive, chasing a parasitic villain known simply as The Bug. Though the Doctor becomes distracted, when after reuniting with Cioné, he becomes embroiled in a much longer, never-ending mission. All across time, and all across space, the Doctor must travel, determined to succeed in his task. Though, it will not be as easy as it looks, as there is a question waiting for him, one that will conjure up courage and determination in his hearts. The question? “When’s dad home?” “Everything bad in the universe. Every bad memory, every nightmare, every phobia, every rotten day at the office – it’s all here.” The Doctor, with no choice to confront the mistakes he’s made, is trapped, with Lizzie, in a place in the deep, dark emptiness beneath the universe. The memory graveyard is where past lives live, and bad memories fester. They must face it, and escape. A new beginning is dawning, but old memories and bad dreams threaten to tear it apart. “Lower basement – the mosh pit. Believe me, I’ve met the Mosh, huge teeth. Then you’ve got grime, and so on, and so on. Electro, country, folk, and, I know you’re not one for parties, but I’m sure you’ll make an exception, Lizzie Darwin, for floor 80… 80s pop.” The Doctor and Lizzie arrive on the iCruiser, a space cruise liner carrying singers and dancers and music fanatics and critics, from all over the universe. Every day on the iCruiser is one massive party – and floor 80 is no exception, with a constant stream of 80s pop booming throughout the decks. But there has been a murder. Song-title-based killings are taking place all over the deck. The Doctor takes the case – but he is not alone on the ship. A very powerful woman has just arrived on board, and she’s preparing for a party herself. “I’m sorry, Inspector. I truly am. But that thing is not your daughter. It’s not a ghost, or a spectre, or a vengeful spirit. And whether you believe me or not, I have to stop you from doing this.” Tokyo, 1999. Eight children have gone missing in the last three months, and Inspector Kido is at a dead end. The only connection between them is a videogame, a virtual tale of a terrifying Yūrei, taking its vengeance on the children of the town. Kido never believed in ghosts, but when two strangers from the west arrive to take the case, his personal connections challenge his beliefs. Back on the TARDIS, Lizzie discovers the same case, and realises it may just hold the answer to the disappearance of her childhood friend, Meiko. Determined to put his friend’s mind at ease, the Doctor resolves to solve the mystery. The trio embark on a ghost hunt across Tokyo, but as the truth of the Yūrei reveals itself, the bonds holding them together come to breaking point. Can Lizzie abandon her friend? Can Kido defeat his own daughter? And can the Doctor really save the stolen children from the dark? “Don’t listen to him, Lizzie. He’s an impostor. That’s why I locked him out.” Lizzie’s locked inside the TARDIS and the Doctor is locked outside. Nothing will open the TARDIS doors—not its key, not the sonic, not even soothing words from the Doctor and his companion. Is the TARDIS having a temper tantrum or is something else at play here? “As I said… yes. Yes, I think ghosts are real. And… I think we live with them, every single day of our lives.” 1837. In a big old house, lives an old rich man. His butler, Mr Carson, has got a problem. His master is complaining of hauntings. Determined to keep it as quiet as possible, Mr Carson orders two hunters of the paranormal. That’s what they called themselves. One of them was a… Doctor? Within the halls of the manor, in the middle of the night, the Doctor and Elizabeth Darwin will sit and talk, to the sound of a grandfather clock, while they wait for their ghosts to appear. “Hello, Elizabeth. Welcome. Oh, goodness – it is cold out here. I’m sick to death of the rain on this planet. It’s always raining. Always. Give me some sun, any day of the week.” Once upon a time, there lived a wicked witch, and in her tall, dark tower, she cast a spell upon a handsome hero. There he was to be kept, for centuries and millennia, to slowly lose his mind, or to grow so old he could barely move. But he had one hope. A fugitive, somewhere out there, determined to save him. And the witch, with her dogs and her soldiers, chased the fugitive across a barren land, through blood-filled quagmires and over deserts and snows, until one day, they found her. What happened next, nobody knew. Until now. “Here we are. Literally, on the edge of time. It’s like we’re on a cliff, and there’s a landslide. And gradually, it’s all falling away beneath us. Except… there’s nothing. Nowhere to fall, nowhere to land. There’s just stars. Forever.” The fate of the universe now lies in the hands of a woman. Lizzie Darwin stands with the Doctor and Cioné, in an empty and forgotten house, balancing on the edge of time and the universe, as the three of them, the last ones left, must try and work out how to bring back hope, and to bring back light, to the rest of creation. |
Once upon a time, there lived a girl called Lizzie Darwin. She was very sad, and very lonely, and all she wanted to do was see the universe.
Once upon another time, there lived a man called the Doctor. He was old, and very sad, and had lost his best friends. The fifth series of The Eighth Doctor Adventures tells how these two people met, and of the adventures they had throughout time and space. It is the first series to be produced by Peter Darwin, and is guest-written by previous contributors to the series Zoe Lance (Machiavelli and the Empty World/Silver Shadows), James Blanchard (Darksong/ Dancers on a String) and Clara Laurinda (To Kill a Memorite), as well as series newcomer, Ryder Smith. The series is scored by Janine Rivers, as well as other artists. |