Scream of the Shalka

Notes

Doctor Who had suspended production in 1989, and aside from charity specials, had only resurfaced as an American-funded television movie in 1996, which did not garner enough ratings to go to a regular series. When Shalka was announced in July, 2003 for planned broadcast in November, the possibiliy of Doctor Who returning to television screens still seemed remote and BBC Worldwide were continuing to shop around for another possible movie deal. As a result, BBCi announced, with BBC approval, that the Doctor appearing in Shalka would be the "official" Ninth Doctor. However, events rapidly overtook this.

Related Topics:
1989 - Television movie - 1996 - July - 2003 - November

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In September, Lorraine Heggessey, the Controller of BBC One managed to persuade BBC Worldwide that as their plans for a Doctor Who film were nowhere near fruition, BBC television should be allowed to make a new series. A deal with Russell T. Davies to produce the new series was quickly struck, and on September 26, the BBC announced that Doctor Who would be returning to BBC One in 2005, produced by BBC Wales.

Related Topics:
September - Lorraine Heggessey - BBC One - Russell T. Davies - September 26 - 2005 - BBC Wales

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As a result, the "official" nature of the Shalka webcast was in doubt from even before it was webcast. After the webcast, in February 2004, plans for sequels were indefinitely shelved. For a period, it was unclear if the new television Doctor would be the Ninth or Tenth Doctor, but this was ultimately settled in April 2004 when in an interview with Doctor Who Magazine, Davies announced that the new television Doctor (played by Christopher Eccleston), would be the Ninth Doctor, relegating the Richard E. Grant Doctor to unofficial status.

Related Topics:
February - 2004 - April - Doctor Who Magazine - Christopher Eccleston - Ninth Doctor

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Grant's incarnation of the Time Lord (often referred to as the "REG Doctor" or the "Shalka Doctor" by fans) has since appeared in an online short story, The Feast of the Stone by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright, although no further stories seem planned.

Related Topics:
Time Lord - Cavan Scott - Mark Wright

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Appearing in a cameo role in the serial was actor and Doctor Who fan, David Tennant, who in April 2005 was announced as the Tenth Doctor in the television series proper. He was not originally cast in the production, but Tennant happened to be recording a radio play in a neighbouring studio, and when he discovered what was being recorded next door managed to convince the director to give him a small role.

Related Topics:
David Tennant - 2005 - Tenth Doctor

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A novelisation of Shalka was published in 2004, the first novelisation of a Doctor Who serial (the 1996 television movie notwithstanding) in nearly a decade (ISBN 0563486198), and the last so far.

Related Topics:
2004 - 1996 television movie

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Although there has been no official announcement from the BBC, the British Board of Film Classification has cleared all six episodes of the serial for release on DVD, possibly in the spring of 2006.

Related Topics:
British Board of Film Classification - 2006

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