The Nightmare Fair
Encyclopedia
The Nightmare Fair is a story originally written for the 1986 season of Doctor Who
, but never filmed. A novelisation based on the script was published in 1989 by Target Books
, as the first volume of its Missing Episodes series. The script and novelisation was written by former series producer Graham Williams
, and would have been directed by Matthew Robinson had it gone to air. It is the first novel-length text featuring The Doctor not to be based upon a previously transmitted production, although being a novelization it is not strictly speaking an "original" novel; the first such book appeared in 1991.
An audio play closely based on Williams' script was released in May 2003, with profits going to the charity Sense
. For this adaptation, the Sixth Doctor was played by Steve Hill, and Peri by Jennifer Adams Kelley.
A further audio adaption, by Big Finish
, was released in 2009, adapted by John Ainsworth, featuring Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor.
and his companion Peri
are lured in the TARDIS
to Blackpool
, where they discover something wrong in the local videogame arcade. The Doctor's adversary the Celestial Toymaker
is behind it, and the Doctor and Peri must fight their way through his videogames in order to defeat him.
. Being the first slated for production, Williams script was by far the most advanced at the time of cancellation, with Matthew Robinson (who had helmed Resurrection of the Daleks
and Attack of the Cybermen
in the previous two seasons) pencilled in as director.
, which had been successfully publishing novelisations of Doctor Who stories for many years, saw itself running out of available televised material (although a number of serials remained unadapted, most were off-limits due to licensing problems). While negotiations went forward with the BBC for the publication of new adventures, three of the cancelled scripts were published in book form. The writers of all three were approached, and all were signed to write the novels. The Nightmare Fair required far less additional material than the other two, and in May 1989 it became the first to be published under the Missing Episodes banner. It was the first of 275 releases from different publishers as of 2007 that were not televised or broadcast on radio (the novelisation of the radio story Slipback
had been published in 1986).
The next two books in the series were The Ultimate Evil
by Wally K. Daly
, released in August 1989, and Mission to Magnus
by Philip Martin
, published in July 1990 (the first Doctor Who novel based on non-televised material to be published after the end of the original series).
audio drama based on the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
.
In issue 405 of Doctor Who Magazine
it was announced that audio adaptations of this story and Mission to Magnus were being produced by Big Finish Productions
. In early March 2009, Big Finish announced that the role of the Toymaker was to be played by David Bailie
, who had previously played Dask in the 1977 story The Robots of Death
. The original 1966 Toymaker story starred Michael Gough
, but at the time of audio recording, he had retired from acting.
briefed all the Composers including Jamie Robertson
to give the lost stories season an original but classic "80's Retro" feel.
Jamie used Various Synths for the music soundtrack and sound design including an AKAI AX-80 and a Yamaha SY85.
. This project was instigated after Big Finish stated they would not be producing any stories from the abandoned 1986 season of Doctor Who, a decision the company would later reverse.
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, but never filmed. A novelisation based on the script was published in 1989 by Target Books
Target Books
Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...
, as the first volume of its Missing Episodes series. The script and novelisation was written by former series producer Graham Williams
Graham Williams
Graham Williams was a British television producer and script editor, whose best known work was on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who....
, and would have been directed by Matthew Robinson had it gone to air. It is the first novel-length text featuring The Doctor not to be based upon a previously transmitted production, although being a novelization it is not strictly speaking an "original" novel; the first such book appeared in 1991.
An audio play closely based on Williams' script was released in May 2003, with profits going to the charity Sense
Sense-National Deafblind and Rubella Association
Sense is a national charity in the United Kingdom that supports and campaigns for children and adults who are deafblind.-History:Sense was founded in 1955 as a self-help and support group for the parents of children whose disabilities were neither recognised nor provided for, children born...
. For this adaptation, the Sixth Doctor was played by Steve Hill, and Peri by Jennifer Adams Kelley.
A further audio adaption, by Big Finish
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
, was released in 2009, adapted by John Ainsworth, featuring Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor.
Synopsis
The Sixth DoctorSixth Doctor
The Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...
and his companion Peri
Peri Brown
Peri Brown, full name Perpugilliam Brown, is a fictional character played by Nicola Bryant in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
are lured in the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
to Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
, where they discover something wrong in the local videogame arcade. The Doctor's adversary the Celestial Toymaker
Celestial Toymaker
The Celestial Toymaker is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. He was played by Michael Gough, and featured in the 1966 story The Celestial Toymaker by Brian Hayles.-Character overview:...
is behind it, and the Doctor and Peri must fight their way through his videogames in order to defeat him.
Background
Several stories were in the planning stages for the 23rd Season of Doctor Who, three of which were in the middle of being scripted when the (temporary) cancellation announcement was made. Former series Producer Graham Williams was to have written the season opener, featuring a return of the Celestial Toymaker as seen in the 1966 serialThe Celestial Toymaker
The Celestial Toymaker is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 2 April to 23 April 1966.-Plot:...
. Being the first slated for production, Williams script was by far the most advanced at the time of cancellation, with Matthew Robinson (who had helmed Resurrection of the Daleks
Resurrection of the Daleks
Resurrection of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts between 8 February and 15 February 1984...
and Attack of the Cybermen
Attack of the Cybermen
Attack of the Cybermen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from 5 January to 12 January 1985. It opened Season 22 of the series...
in the previous two seasons) pencilled in as director.
Novelisation
In 1988, Target BooksTarget Books
Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...
, which had been successfully publishing novelisations of Doctor Who stories for many years, saw itself running out of available televised material (although a number of serials remained unadapted, most were off-limits due to licensing problems). While negotiations went forward with the BBC for the publication of new adventures, three of the cancelled scripts were published in book form. The writers of all three were approached, and all were signed to write the novels. The Nightmare Fair required far less additional material than the other two, and in May 1989 it became the first to be published under the Missing Episodes banner. It was the first of 275 releases from different publishers as of 2007 that were not televised or broadcast on radio (the novelisation of the radio story Slipback
Slipback
Slipback is a radio audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced by the BBC and first broadcast in six episodes on BBC Radio 4 from 25 July to 8 August 1985, as part of a children's magazine show called Pirate Radio Four...
had been published in 1986).
The next two books in the series were The Ultimate Evil
The Ultimate Evil
The Ultimate Evil is the second in a series of novelisations, based on a number of cancelled scripts from the 1986 season of Doctor Who. It was written by Wally K. Daly. It was first published by Target Books in 1989 as the second volume of its Missing Episodes series.-Synopsis:The Sixth Doctor's...
by Wally K. Daly
Wally K. Daly
Wally K. Daly is an English writer for television and radio and one time chairman of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain.-Credits:...
, released in August 1989, and Mission to Magnus
Mission to Magnus
Mission to Magnus is a story originally written to be part of the unfilmed 1986 season of Doctor Who. It was written by Philip Martin, who had previously written the television stories Vengeance on Varos and Mindwarp....
by Philip Martin
Philip Martin (screenwriter)
Philip Martin is an English television screenwriter.His early work included regular series such as Z-Cars in the late 1960s/early 70s, but his most famous work is the postmodern television series Gangsters. This was an examination of race seen through an increasingly surreal vision of...
, published in July 1990 (the first Doctor Who novel based on non-televised material to be published after the end of the original series).
Big Finish audio play
The Nightmare Fair is a Big Finish ProductionsBig Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
audio drama based on the long-running British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
.
In issue 405 of Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
it was announced that audio adaptations of this story and Mission to Magnus were being produced by Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
. In early March 2009, Big Finish announced that the role of the Toymaker was to be played by David Bailie
David Bailie
David Bailie is a British actor, known for his performances on stage, television and film. In the '60s and '70s he worked for both the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he was an associate artist. On TV he played "Dask" in the 1977 Doctor Who serial The Robots of Death, and...
, who had previously played Dask in the 1977 story The Robots of Death
The Robots of Death
The Robots of Death is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 29 January to 19 February 1977.-Synopsis:...
. The original 1966 Toymaker story starred Michael Gough
Michael Gough
Michael Gough was an English character actor who appeared in over 150 films. He is perhaps best known to international audiences for his roles in the Hammer Horror films from 1958, and for his recurring role as Alfred Pennyworth in all four movies of the Burton/Schumacher Batman franchise,...
, but at the time of audio recording, he had retired from acting.
Cast
- The DoctorDoctor (Doctor Who)The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
- Colin BakerColin BakerColin Baker is a British actor who is known for playing Paul Merroney in The Brothers from 1974 to 1976 and as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, from 1984 to 1986.- Background:Colin Baker was born in London, but moved north to... - PeriPeri BrownPeri Brown, full name Perpugilliam Brown, is a fictional character played by Nicola Bryant in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
- Nicola BryantNicola Bryant-External links:** at shillpages.com/dw *... - Celestial ToymakerCelestial ToymakerThe Celestial Toymaker is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. He was played by Michael Gough, and featured in the 1966 story The Celestial Toymaker by Brian Hayles.-Character overview:...
- David BailieDavid BailieDavid Bailie is a British actor, known for his performances on stage, television and film. In the '60s and '70s he worked for both the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he was an associate artist. On TV he played "Dask" in the 1977 Doctor Who serial The Robots of Death, and... - Kevin - Matthew Noble
- Stefan - Andrew Fettes
- Woman - Louise Faulkner
- Shardow/Attendant - William Whymper
- Yatsumoto/Truscott/Manager/Man - Toby LongworthToby LongworthToby Longworth is a British actor who has appeared on film, radio and television. He is originally from Somerset, where he attended King Edward's School, Bath...
- Humandroid/Security Man/Geoff/Guard - Duncan WisbeyDuncan WisbeyDuncan Wisbey is an English actor, musician, writer and impressionist. He is often credited as simply Wisbey.-Recordings and Appearances:...
Continuity
- Seven months before this audio was released, Big Finish brought back the Celestial Toymaker in The Magic MousetrapThe Magic MousetrapThe Magic Mousetrap is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
. - In this story, the Doctor marked a reference to City of DeathCity of Death-Pre-production:Writer David Fisher had contributed two scripts to Doctor Whos sixteenth season – The Stones of Blood and The Androids of Tara – and was asked by producer Graham Williams for further story ideas...
character, Duggan.
Production Notes
Doctor who's Audio Series producer David RichardsonDavid Richardson
David John Richardson in Johannesburg played 42 Tests and 122 One Day Internationals for South Africa. He also represented Eastern Province in various domestic competitions....
briefed all the Composers including Jamie Robertson
Jamie Robertson
Jamie Robertson is a film score composer from England.Born in Essex Jamie studied music from a very young age. With a theatrical background from just 10 He grew up knowing his love of music was to aim for film, TV and Radio....
to give the lost stories season an original but classic "80's Retro" feel.
Jamie used Various Synths for the music soundtrack and sound design including an AKAI AX-80 and a Yamaha SY85.
Fan Adaptation
A previous audio adaptation of The Nightmare Fair was released in 2002, an unofficial fan production produced by Robert Dunlop and starring Steve Hill as the Sixth Doctor. Money raised from the project was donated to the charity SenseSense-National Deafblind and Rubella Association
Sense is a national charity in the United Kingdom that supports and campaigns for children and adults who are deafblind.-History:Sense was founded in 1955 as a self-help and support group for the parents of children whose disabilities were neither recognised nor provided for, children born...
. This project was instigated after Big Finish stated they would not be producing any stories from the abandoned 1986 season of Doctor Who, a decision the company would later reverse.