Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} by Eddie Robson Doctor Who: Situation Vacant by Eddie Robson. THIS STORY TAKES. PLACE BETWEEN THE. BIG FINISH AUDIOS "AN EARTHLY CHILD" AND "NEVERMORE." EDDIE ROBSON. DIRECTED BY. NICHOLAS BRIGGS. RECOMMENDED. BIG FINISH 8TH DOCTOR. CD#4.02 (ISBN 1-8443. 5-476-4) RELEASED IN. TRAVELLER IN TIME. AND SPACE seeks. male or female. companion with. sense of humour. for adventures. in the Fourth and. Fifth Dimensions. No experience. No time wasters, no space wasters. Whilst the debut of an audio-exclusive companion is now a far more regular occ- urrence than it once was, it�s still always a cause for tremendous excitement, particularly when the listener doesn�t actually know who the new companion is going to turn out to be. Situation Vacant takes the inspired approach of presenting the listener with four aspirant assistants for the Doctor, each played by an actor or actress of the same sort of calibre as outgoing foil Sheridan Smith, and each vying for the role of �companion with good sense. of humour for adventures in the Fourth and Fifth Dimensions�. No time (or space) wasters please� I understand that this conceit was the brainchild of Big Finish founder Jason Haigh-Ellery, who drunkenly posited the idea of doing what he called �Companion Idol� � four different companions in four different episodes, with Big Finish subscribers voting to decide which character would stay on for the season. This impractical idea was then developed by script editor Alan Barnes and writer Eddie Robson, culminating in an exceedingly enjoyable yarn that is as much a pastiche of the typical Doctor Who �companion introduction� story as it is The Apprentice and reality television in general. Before listening to Situation Vacant , I was very excited by the prospect of hearing four great talents creating four potential companions. Being an aficionado of comedy shows such as That Mitchell and Webb Look and Saxondale , I�m a huge fan of James Bachman; I even saw him live a couple of years ago as part of The Two Faces of Mitchell and Webb tour and found him every bit as impressive as the eponymous double act. But the other options were all almost as appealing � Joe Thomas, star of both The Inbetweeners and Big Finish�s own Castle of Fear ; Niky Wardley of The Catherine Tate Show fame; and young movie actress Shelley Conn, whose credits include a performance alongside incumbent Doctor Matt Smith in 2007�s Party Animals. However, within just a few minutes of being introduced to the companion hopefuls, it seemed patently clear that none of them were going to measure up to the Doctor�s standards. Hugh Bainbridge (Bachman), Theo Lawson (Thomas), Juliet Walsh (Wardley) and Asha Qureshi (Conn) were clearly not characters of the same ilk as Charlotte Pollard, or even C�rizz. They were seemingly four unsympathetic, aggressively ambitious and fundamentally flawed individuals - Apprentice candidates, basically; Robson had just toned down some of their more offensive traits in order to make them a little more realistic. The cast clearly had enormous fun with Robson�s razor-sharp script. For me, Bachman�s Bainbridge was the standout character � a well- meaning but dense toff of the Harry Biscuit variety. Bachman�s embellishments really set his performance apart from that of the other three, whether it was through incongruously shouting �GET IN!� (instead of the scripted �jolly good�) or quietly empathising with an alien who�d just pulled his back in a scuffle. �King of Geeks� Theo Lawson was harder to like, but almost as compelling. To say that Thomas is playing an outwardly nerdish character, he does so with a lot of spite - I love that it was his character�s selfish hacking that caused the current global recession! �Tough cookie� Juliet Walsh, meanwhile, appeared to be the archetypal Apprentice contestant. It�s a testament to both Robson�s writing and Wardley�s performance that Walsh seemed almost too perfect a caricature; too trite a fa�ade. Of the four candidates, only Asha Qureshi�s resum� stood out as being even remotely companion-worthy. With stock phrases such as �no-nonsense� and �capable� adorning her liner notes pr�cis, the smart money was on this young firebrand to win the dream job of traveller in time and space. Of course, it didn�t take long for the competitors� veneers to slowly crack and the Doctor to see each of them for what they truly were. One of the things that I like most about Robson�s Doctor Who work is its zeitgeist, and with Paul McGann�s Doctor demonstrably � doing an Alan Sugar �, Situation Vacant is certainly of the moment. Eight may not get to say �you�re fired�, but McGann clearly relishes the chance to play his Doctor with a harder edge; to toy with the applicants� hopes and dreams as he verbally lambastes one, only to then eliminate another. He�s Doctorish when it matters though, and surprisingly tender at the end, making Situation Vacant one of McGann�s most extraordinary performances in quite a while. Robson�s plot is inevitably very. comic, but as the Doctor takes. pains to points out, the events. unfolding are real and they are. serious. Indeed, the spate of. deaths in the first episode are. the listener�s first clue that all. isn�t as it seems � even those. willing to entertain the barmy. notion that the Doctor would. �recruit� companions in such. a convoluted way must have. realised that he wouldn�t allow. people to die just so that he could test a few rookies� mettle. As the narrative progresses, Robson then raises a number of intriguing questions that I suspect will linger right to the. death: who is the mysterious time traveller who set up these auditions? And did he or she. end up recruiting anyone? And if so, to what end�? Much to my surprise though, Robson did answer one question that I�d convinced myself he wouldn�t � who the new companion is going to be. I won�t spoil the revelation for those yet. to listen to the production, but suffice it to say that Situation Vacant �s ending is as clever, as poignant and � most importantly - as promising as one would expect from the writer who brought us the likes of Human Resources and Worldwide Web. Ultimately, I found the whole Situation Vacant experience thoroughly enjoyable. Big Finish might pretend it isn�t a gimmick � i.e. an ingenious or novel device, scheme, or stratagem, esp. one designed to attract attention or increase appeal � but it certainly feels like one to me, and that�s nothing to be bashful about. Situation Vacant is a riotous two-part romp, yes, but it�s much more than that too. Situation Vacant is a n event , and one that I believe will be long remembered. Copyright � E.G. Wolverson 2010. E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. The Big Finish website states that this story takes place �some time after the events of Death in Blackpool .� This fits with the Doctor �s comments about his last travelling companion (i.e. Lucie) having �set the bar high� and being off enjoying travels of her own (in Europe), and allows some room for the events of An Earthly Child (which must take place prior to Relative Dimensions ). We have therefore placed Situation Vacant, and the stories that follow it, after An Earthly Child . Unless otherwise stated, all images on this site are copyrighted to the BBC and are used solely for promotional purposes. Doctor Who: Situation Vacant by Eddie Robson. Released July 2010. With the fourth series of The Eighth Doctor Adventures technically beginning with December’s melancholy but incredibly impactful ‘Death in Blackpool’ that saw Lucie Miller depart the TARDIS, the new direction and its process of beginning to explore the ramifications of that action begins with Eddie Robson’s ‘Situation Vacant.’ With a new companion introduced through wholly unconventional means and hints at story arcs yet to come, this unique and more light-hearted affair fills the role of de facto season premiere perfectly. The apparent notion of the Doctor holding interviews and setting tasks for a pool of diverse people applying to be his assistant is a great one, and though the truth of the situation is far from as simple as that, the story has great fun running with this premise as the distinctly unqualified individuals try to solve a case of disappearances before confronting a collection of robots endangering the world. It’s clear that the Doctor is just as in the dark as his eager protégés, but having him slowly whittle down the competition as individuals fail to act by and live up to his ideals is a strong component that directly but unobtrusively pays homage to many current reality television contests. Paul McGann is effortlessly able to add dramatic weight to what ends up being a rather comedic affair, but it’s by necessity the strong casting of the four applicants that really makes this story so successful. James Bachman as Hugh, Shelley Conn as Asha, Joe Thomas as Theo, and Niky Wardley as Juliet all deliver engrossing performances, and it’s a testament to both the script and the actors that all four could realistically be seen as companion material beneath their obvious shortcomings. Of course, as Asher and Theo cause more panic and put themselves in the wrong position and as Theo and Juliet knock an alien unconscious who they wrongfully assume has been following them, those shortcomings do become rather glaring in the Doctor’s eyes. Yet ‘Situation Vacant’ is also very much a story of what lies beneath the surface, and this particular pool of applicants certainly holds plenty of surprises. The fact that Asher is in fact named Lantice and has been stranded on Earth for fifteen years, needing to kill the Doctor to secure her safe passage offworld, is an intriguing enough start that the Doctor quickly sidesteps through his innate kindness. However, Theo’s true nature quickly steps forth as he tries to turn the situation to his advantage and take control of all of the world’s computers to put himself in charge and eradicate his past misdoings in the process, a scheme his overzealousness makes short-lived. Juliet then turns out to be an actress named Tamsin Drew who is down on her luck, and she begs the Doctor for a second opportunity after revealing her true self following the Doctor’s selection of Hugh. When Tamsin gets firsthand experience of traveling with the Doctor as Hugh reveals himself to be a vampire intent on taking the Doctor’s genetic signature in order to control the TARDIS and decides that that is better than the endless process of applying for jobs she doesn’t want, though, she quietly earns her place alongside the TARDIS with plenty of room for further character exploration and development given the rather abrupt transition from Juliet to Tamsin shown here. ‘Situation Vacant’ makes it perfectly clear by its end that the Doctor is not responsible for any of these events, setting up an arc that is sure to be followed through as this run of stories continues. Though the sound design and music here are sometimes just a bit too superfluous, the direction and performances are superb, creating a quirky but nonetheless important story due to the introduction of the enigma that is Tamsin Drew. Starring: Paul McGann RRP: £10.99 (CD), £8.99 (download) ISBN: 978 1 84435 476 4 Available 31 July 2010. “ Traveller in time and space seeks male or female companion with good sense of humour for adventures in the Fourth and Fifth Dimensions. No experience necessary. No time wasters, no space wasters please.” Following the departure of Lucie Miller, it’s time for the Doctor to seek out a new fellow traveller - but can he really be holding auditions for the post? Who will make the grade and land one of the most sought-after opportunities in the universe. CAUTION: CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS. The ingenious premise of Situation Vacant is “ Doctor Who does The Apprentice ”. Finding himself alone once again, the Doctor (Paul McGann) appears to be doing an Alan Sugar, trying out potential new assistants by setting challenges for them. All of the four applicants, including Mitchell and Webb ’s James Bachman as Hugh Bainbridge (doing his best Tom Baker stare on the front cover), are convincing as possible companion material. Hugh is of the amiable, bumbling Harry Sullivan / Rory Williams type, whereas the others, the geeky Theo Lawson (Joe Thomas), the helpful Asha Qureshi (Shelley Conn) and the driven Juliet Walsh (Niky Wardley) are pushier in their own individual ways. Like numerous contenders on another reality show, Big Brother , over the years, each of them has something to hide: one’s an actress, while the other three have darker secrets. As on Big Brother and The Apprentice , the applicants seldom work well in a team, and tend to fail miserably at their allotted tasks, to great comic effect. Writer Eddie Robson sends up the artificial nature of companion introduction stories. As he explains in his sleeve note, you can usually see a new assistant coming a mile away, as they tend to stand out from the rest of the cast list as a protagonist with potential to be a series regular. Like contestants on The X Factor and other talent shows of that ilk, they need this opportunity because of some personal tragedy or dissatisfaction with their lot in life, ranging from mere boredom (in the case of Zoe, Turlough, Peri, Ace and Rose) to the recent death of a relative (Sara, Victoria, Adric and Tegan) or even the destruction of one’s home planet (Nyssa). A few, like Jo and Romana, are actively recruited and placed with the Doctor by his “superiors”, whether he likes it or not. Ironically, it’s the laid-back hotel receptionist Rachel (Joanna Kanska, who co-starred with Peter Davison in A Very Peculiar Practice ) who stands out as the most suitable individual to join the Doctor aboard the TARDIS, remaining unfazed by any of the strange goings-on around her. However, she’s quite happy with her current job, thank you very much. She is, if you like, the Samantha Briggs of Situation Vacant : not intended as a regular character, but (like Jamie, K-9, Nyssa and Donna) demonstrating great potential to be one, though ultimately she doesn’t take up the offer. Doctor Who: Situation Vacant by Eddie Robson. > What are you working on at the moment? I've been working on another episode of the CBeebies show Sarah & Duck, I'm writing a new Young Adult novel which isn't sci-fi or fantasy for a change, I'm writing a screenplay and pitching lots of stuff to TV and radio. It's been a quiet start to the year so I'm putting as many projects into motion as I can and hoping some of them come off. > I’ve read a blog where you talk about having the urge to write from being 12 or 13. Can you remember what particularly inspired you? And what has kept you writing for the last 25 years? I think it was just a task in English at school which went particularly well - I wrote a story about the First World War, all very My First Story About Real Human Suffering - and my teacher got me to read it out and said "When Edward is a famous writer you'll all be able to say you knew him" which of course didn't endear me to my classmates at all, but I remember thinking yes, that IS what I want to do. And it's still what I want to do, so that keeps me going. I love doing it - yes some days it's a grind, but I actually do enjoy the process, it's not some necessary evil I have to go through to attain the state of Having Written. That said, fear of failure drives me a lot. That's how I get all my spec stuff done. And I always feel like I haven't achieved much, really, and hope the best is ahead of me. > In the same interview you mention you saw yourself more as a ‘drama’ writer than a ‘comedy’ writer. What’s the distinction between them? Jokes. A comedy has to be funny, and I often find it hard to develop new comedy ideas because it's hard to tell if a character or situation will be funny until you've written it, whereas in a drama you can tell whether it has a chance of working by sketching it out. That's what I find, anyway. It's possibly just the way I think that causes those problems for me: I can't start from character, it never works. I start from a scene, or a situation, or a high concept, and then work out who I see in it. Which I think is better suited to drama. But I do love writing funny lines. > Some of your earliest credits are on Big Finish's range, and you stuck with Benny even after you were stacking up Doctor Who writing credits. What is it about her that keeps you keen? I've always found her easy to identify with. Her insecurities ring very true, and you can give her funny lines all day long. Plus, her job generates stories very well. I like stories about long-dead things returning. > You went on to produce the Benny range in the late 2000s. How did the experience of production compare to writing? Would you ever be tempted to make the switch on a permanent basis, say to become a BBC Radio producer? No. It'd take me away from writing, and I'm too old to make that switch anyway - most BBC producers have been doing it since their 20s, and I'm 37 now. The tiny experience of producing Bernice isn't preparation for what's expected there. I'm glad I did it, because I appreciate the difficulty of managing even a very small production, but I have no ambitions to move into that area permanently. > Most people will associate you with scriptwriting, particularly of [BBC Radio 4 sitcom] Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully. However, you’ve also written or co-written several factual books and a lot of short stories. How easy is it to switch between those different styles of writing? I don't find it that hard. Thing is, you imagine that when you're writing professionally you'll be able to focus on one project until it's finished, but that never happens. I'm always doing several different things. Sometimes those will all be scripts, sometimes some will be prose, some will be non- fiction. I find it helpful to switch between things, it keeps you fresh. Writing is never really easy, and if it is it's probably a sign it's going badly and you just haven't noticed. but switching between projects, I don't find particularly more difficult than switching from reading a book to watching TV. > One of my favourite non-fiction Doctor Who books is Who’s Next, which is a kind of Discontinuity Guide for Generation Y. I particularly love its unwillingness to toe any kind of critical line, including the ‘new’ 1990s fan consensus of Good and Bad Stories. What ‘sacred cows’ did you enjoy slaughtering? I tended not to cover those ones, but I'm glad we put the boot into The Brain Of Morbius a bit, which I don't think is really that good. Planet Of Evil , too. That season is held in high regard but has some terrible wobbles. We weren't that kind to season five, either, especially the beloved Fury From The Deep . I wish I'd been harsher on The Ice Warriors , which is really dreadful. > In 2005 you wrote your first Doctor Who audio, Memory Lane . You’ve got 20-odd years of Doctor Who fandom, plus a whole load of critical opinions in your head from writing Who’s Next – did any of that feed in to the play? It can't not feed in, but I'm really not sure how. I know I like Doctor Who best when it's a bit abstract and weird - my favourites are things like Enlightenment and The Mind Robber - and that definitely fed into Memory Lane . Imagery is important in Doctor Who, and that doesn't change on audio, you just approach it differently. > You went on to write another half-dozen Paul McGann audios. Were you more interested in the Eighth Doctor than the others? Not especially more than the others, it's just that when Memory Lane worked OK, they got me back in for more. I'm told Paul liked it, which helped. And then they started doing the BBC7 series, so there was suddenly a need for more material. > A lot of writers have talked about picking over the TV Movie for ‘clues’ on his character. What preparation did you do? How much did your knowledge of eight years of Eighth Doctor books influence how you approached him? They did influence me a bit, in how they reacted against the Seventh Doctor being so Machiavellian. Their Eighth Doctor was more spontaneous, and I ran with that. > The Eighth Doctor and Lucie plays are still, in my mind, the single best range Big Finish has done: the first range that really took on the lessons of the revived TV series. You played a huge part in that, writing two of the four ‘season finales’, and introducing Tamsin. What are your views on the series now? What are you particularly pleased by? Thanks, I'm glad you liked them. I do think they worked well. They made absolutely the right casting choice - at that point, Sheridan was still largely known for Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps, and though she was brilliant in that, she had a lot more in her, as we've all seen since. I saw her play Hedda Gabler at the Old Vic and she was amazing. She can do anything, and that's very valuable in Doctor Who, where the tone can shift very quickly. And I love the character. She's Alan Barnes' creation, but I was pleased to contribute some of the details. I came up with her surname! She was always fun to write, and became more so after we heard Sheridan's performance. > I think Situation Vacant is a perfect story: one of the most brilliant ways to introduce a companion. How much did you know about Tamsin before you started writing it, and how much developed during the writing of the play? A lot was worked out in advance, and of course what we see in the play is not what she's really like, it's a front she's putting up for the interview. The brief was quite specific, though it was left up to me to work out how the Doctor got involved in it all! In fact, the best bit that developed in the writing was the really capable hotel receptionist, who lurks around looking like ideal companion material, then doesn't join in the end. > You haven’t written for McGann since. Is that a conscious decision? Now you’ve seen where he’s heading, in The Night of the Doctor, how might you approach the character today? It's not a conscious decision - BF ask me to pitch for the slots, so they'll offer a TARDIS team and I'll come up with something. Now, it's interesting - we know where he's going, and the is looming. Paul plays him brilliantly as a man standing against an unstoppable tide, trying to help but not really get involved. I really like that aspect of him. > More recently, you’ve also written several Davison plays including The Secret History . I think it has one of the great Doctor Who scenes, where the villain tempts the Doctor to save a man’s life with anachronistic drugs. How does writing for Davison differ from writing for McGann? Would that scene have played out differently? And how might you do it for Colin? Or David Warner’s Unbound Doctor? I'm not sure to what extent I write them differently. The Doctor doesn't change that much, I think. Peter's Doctor is more questioning, Paul's is perhaps more flippant - but both would have the same moral sense, ultimately. That was the challenge of The Secret History , really - find something Hartnell's Doctor would do differently! > I also remember you having a slight obsession with The Beatles, which must have played into Fanfare for the Common Men a fun job. You’ve also taken that interest into your first novel, Tomorrow Never Knows. I’m reading it at the moment, and even the first scene, with the talking trolley, made me laugh out loud. Going back to your old distinction between ‘comedy’ and ’drama’ writing, I feel that your plays and books are a blend of both. Do you now feel like you’ve squared that circle? I think they've always overlapped. I was very influenced by dramas in the '90s that were funny, and sitcoms that didn't just hit the reset button every week. I always try to put humour in things. I suppose I divide these things because it's just easier to come up with a decent drama idea and then put some jokes in it, than it is to prove to someone that the thing you're pitching will definitely be funny. But it all overlaps. And it's always overlapped in Doctor Who. It's known for being scary and it's known for being funny. You need a bit of both. Thanks to Eddie for his time. You can follow him on Twitter here. Doctor Who review: Situation Vacant (Eighth Doctor audio) In Situation Vacant, the Eighth Doctor meets four potential new companions. As they’re put through several tests, only one of them will travel with him. But which one? First, we had the incredibly depressing departure of Lucie Miller in Death in Blackpool. Then, we had the hugely emotional reunion of An Earthly Child . So it’s refreshing that, as the fourth season of the Eighth Doctor Adventures truly begins, we get something much more light-hearted. Situation Vacant feels, in many ways, just like the kind of light-hearted opening story you’d expect in Doctor Who , at least in the New Series. Particularly a new companion’s introduction. At the same time, however, it did something the New Series simply couldn’t do. Namely, tell the story of what happens when a companion is selected by an audition process. An audition process that comes across as very similar to the one seen in The Apprentice . More from Winter is Coming. It’s a brilliant idea, and as previously mentioned, it’s something that the New Series couldn’t get away with. After all, because of how huge Doctor Who is in the UK, and how locations would be constantly photographed by journalists eager for a scoop, hiding a role as major as a companion would be difficult. Perhaps impossible, even. However, in Big Finish’s case, it’s much easier, due to both much less scrutiny by comparison, and the fact that everything’s recorded in studio, away from prying eyes. Four different potential companions. Still, telling the story of the Eighth Doctor selecting his companions through auditions is both a very modern and a very bonkers idea. Who could they get to write such a story? Of course, it had to be Eddie Robson. What’s really enjoyable about Situation Vacant is how Robson takes this idea and fleshes it out into a really clever and funny story. There are a lot of twists and turns with this one. It also helps that the plot is once again neatly split into two. Not just in episodes, but also in how its written. Just as there’s multiple tasks for the candidates to solve in The Apprentice , the same is true for the potential companions in Situation Vacant . Speaking of which, all of the potential companions of the story are perfectly written and cast. All of them come across believably as someone who could travel with the Doctor. And all of them stand out in their own way, too. There’s Hugh Bainbridge, an awkward and slightly timid man who still wants to prove himself. Juliet Walsh is a dynamic go-getter who knows how to handle herself. (Or at least, tries to.) Theo Lawson is an intelligent young man, but also comes across as stubborn, even overly-confidant, at times. And finally, there’s Asha Qureshi. In many ways, she almost seems to have the perfect companion template: young, intelligent and eager for adventure. But is she all that she appears to be? All of these characters are portrayed really well, and all come across as interesting potential companions. It’s a great cast that helps to sell the already brilliantly written story even better. The Eighth Doctor meets four potential companions in Doctor Who: Situation Vacant. (Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Image obtained from: bigfinish.com.) A different side to the Doctor. As for the Doctor himself, it’s fascinating to hear a very different side to his character. The Doctor has never done something like this. When a new companion arrives, it’s a matter of blind luck and getting to know them at the right time. So putting him in a situation where he actually has to pick out one of several possible companions allows him to be more honest and upfront about what he wants. He knows what he’s looking for, especially after someone as brilliant as Lucie. He also knows what he’s definitely not looking for. As a result, when someone does mess up their chances, he isn’t afraid of explaining why, then and there. This isn’t a side you get to hear of the Doctor often, certainly not with this particular Doctor. So it’s nice to get to explore that side of his character, especially in such a unique situation. Situation Vacant is a really satisfying way to begin this season. It’s light-hearted, funny, and wonderfully clever. In addition to that, however, it also sets up a clear arc for the season. There are a few questions at the end that the Doctor wants to have answers to. But those can wait. In the meantime, it’s time for new adventures for the Doctor and his brand new companion! Have you listened to Situation Vacant ? Did you like the gimmick of four potential companions competing for the position? Do you think the TV series should introduce a new companion in this way? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.