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'It can't be!'
exclaimed Nick. But it was. There in front of him stood the mythical
Toy Lord Father Christmas!
Christmas is a time for fun and cheer but when DOCTOR WHO and his
young companions arrive on the mysterious Christmas world of Tinsel,
they find horror and intrigue. DOCTOR WHO investigates some brutal
murders with the help of an unexpected ally, Rob has to escape the
deadly Mines of Tinsel and Nick falls into the clutches of an old
enemy! But what are the deadly forces that threaten the Spirit of
Christmas on Tinsel? Can Father Christmas reconcile with his new
wife? And will DOCTOR WHO be able to escape the fearsome clutches of
the deadly Christmas Gnomes?
Pre-Production
The script was written over the summer of 2007. The aim was to write
the Christmass-yest Doctor Who story of all time! So it had to be
the planet of Father Christmas, with his Reindeer and Christmas
Gnomes. Everything that Steven remembered from his childhood
Christmases went in, from Transformers to Brussels' Sprouts.
Fitting into this camp environment perfectly were the returning
characters of Vera and Scott from 'Echoes of The Protii'. It adds a
bit of extra frisson to the story and helps build up the PS Audios
mythos to have returning characters. Especially when those returning
characters are a camp old drag act and a slutty young villain!
A lot of the ideas for this were generated while Steven was
wandering around Victoria and Pimlico during his lunch-breaks at
work. He would spend a lot of time pounding the streets wondering
how to make the Gnomes more creepy and what Kestero's motivation.
Hopefully what comes across is that the heart of the story is about
family and friends.
Production
With three people carrying out the production on this story, things
got especially fruity behind the scenes. The production thread ran
to 32 pages. Steve had initial culture shock at the thought of
allowing someone else to edit down the episodes and threw an
enormous strop. This was overcome eventually and harmony returned.
Pip's episode was delivered at absolutely the last minute which
caused some unwarranted tension. Fortunately the episode was
finished on time and sounded fantastic. After the handbags were
thrown and the dust cleared, the finished product was all the better
for it.
This Christmas Special had two different covers! Cover #1 features
the TARDIS outside Tinsel Central and was a specially made model by
Si Hunt."it stood about 0.6m square and was lovingly built after a
series of shopping trips to collect all the knick knacks. Then I
discovered my camera was on the blink, so transported the whole
thing to Clacton where Dad and I spent an evening covering Mum's
kitchen in fake snow and lighting it with table lamps! It was huge
fun though, and my Dad deserves a verbal credit for giving me help
in shooting it."
Cover #2 showed the TARDIS spinning in space by the planet Bauble in
the Constellation of Tinsel and was created by Pip Madeley.
Quote/Unquote
SCOTT: I
was thinking to myself that I could do with a few nice presents
this Christmas, when what should I find under my tree but my
little Nick! And half unwrapped as well. I do hope the Gnomes
have been treating you well.
NICK: To be honest I have a few complaints.
SCOTT: That is a shame. Perhaps you would like to fill me in
over a glass of schloer?
NICK: Whatever it is you’re going to offer me, I’m not
interested.
SCOTT: Oh, I’m sure once you’re warmed up you’ll remember the
chemistry between us.
NICK: I can remember it now! You drugged me!
SCOTT: So spiky! I’ve missed you Nick.
NICK: I’ve been trying to forget you.
~~~~~
GNOME #2: Slaves! Scum! Although it pains me to say it, we’ve
been told to let you have a rest break! So put your tools down
for five minutes. Anyone taking longer than five minutes rest
will be beaten to death… with their own dismembered legs!
~~~~~
FATHER CHRISTMAS: "Ho ho ho! That was a tight one!"
~~~~~
THE DOCTOR: I’m glad you asked me that, Rob. I have a plan that
involves this bucket of treacle, the Gnome hats that are still
lying around, these Brussels Sprouts and - I’m afraid to say it
– cutting off Father Christmas’s beard.
~~~~~
VERA: Doctor! Don’t you bamboozle me with your hi-tech sci-fi
flim-flam again! What do you mean?
Listener Response
"hugely entertaining...and so confidently put together."
(Andrew Curnow)
"The Christmas Gnomes are bloody creepy it must be said! It made me
jump from when Rob was bitten by the Gnome and it went 'Gah!'. The
scariest PS audio villain yet methinks!"
(Martin Penny)
"it sounds wonderful - I had to hold off the urge to laugh aloud in
the office, and it brightened up what's been a busy and stressful
morning!"
(Ashley Culley)
"And there was me thinking I'd just finished my episode. GAH!"
(Episode 1 producer Si Hunt)
"And I thought it was all over! *sobs*"
(Episode 2 producer Steven Alexander)
"I feel like the bloke in the diver's suit who finished the London
Marathon six days late."
(Episode 3 producer Pip Madeley)
Trivia
Father Christmas refers to the Doctor as 'Doctor Who' throughout the
story.
This is the second appearance of Vera and Scott in the PS Audios
range. They previously appeared in 'Echoes of The Protii'.
A final scene where Kestero reports back to his masters was written
but scrapped before recording. Kestero was going to have been
working for the Daleks.
Craig replace Scott as a second grandson for Vera, when the writer
realised that Scott was only pretending to be Vera's grandson in
Echoes of The Protii and that they weren't related at all.
Dave Taylor relished the chance to play Father Christmas, but it
took him a while to work out the character. To this day he can still
recite parts of the 'teaser' included at the end of Magical History
Tour. Ask him about his beard and the Concorde Nebulae.
The role of Vixen was played by a reluctant Jody Monk. This marks
her only appearance to date in a PS Audio.
Simon Hart wrote and produced the 'Making of' Documentary.
The CD release of this PS Audio raised money for Cancer Research.
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org.
"Doctor Who and the Christmas Gnomes" came 2nd out of 5 stories in
an on-line poll of the retrospectively termed "Season 1" stories
conducted in 2008.
Existing Material
All recorded material for this story exists, as do a number of
drafts of the original scripts.
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Episodes
(right click to download or left click to play)
Episode 1 (28.53)
Episode 2 (30.10)
Episode 3 (31.25)
CD Extras (right-right click to download or left click to play)
Making Gnomes Documentary
(40.34) - produced by Si Hart
Doctor Who: Consequences (6'05) - a bonus short adventure produced
by Si Hart, tying up some of the threads from "Magical History Tour"
Click for PS Audios podcast RSS feed
Originally Released
Over 3 weeks from Wednesday 5th December 2007
Cast List and Production Credits
Doctor Who - Paul Monk
Rob - Steve Alexander
Nick - David Tudor
Father Christmas - Dave Taylor
Vera - Simon Hart
Scott - Ant Williams
Rudolph - Tim Hawtin
Kestero - Jonno Simmons
Craig - Pip Madeley
Christmas Gnomes - Ant Cox/Si Hunt/Simon Hart
Comet - Andrew Clancy
Dasher - Ant Cox
Dancer - Ali
Prancer - Ashley Culley
Vixen - Jody Monk
The Fridge - Si Hunt
Written by Steven Alexander
Produced by Si Hunt (Episode 1), Steven Alexander (Episode 2)
and Pip Madeley
(Episode 3)
Covers by Si Hunt and Pip Madeley |