Doctor Who Time Lord Victorious had to beat the odds not to get cancelled
Producing an epic sci-fi story during a pandemic is no easy task.
The producer of upcoming Doctor Who crossover event Time Lord Victorious has said he thought the project would have been cancelled as the coronavirus pandemic gripped the world.
The ambitious new storyline features the Eighth, Ninth and 10th iterations of The Doctor, as they attempt to defend the universe from a frightening race of aliens.
The saga will unfold across several platforms, including audio, comic books, novels, immersive theatre and even escape rooms, although some of these have been easier to adapt to a post-coronavirus world than others.
At the Time Lord Victorious panel at Comic-Con@Home, producer James Goss revealed how work on the project was affected by the pandemic and the ingenious methods used to keep it afloat.
"I was trapped in Turkey for a week and by the time I got back, the world had ended," he recalled. “I was convinced [Time Lord Victorious] was gonna be over.”
Fortunately for fans, the experimental narrative has been able to push on, although naturally the escape room and theatre elements have faced the most complications, given they are reliant on people meeting for public gatherings.
Goss continued: “Titan [Comics] has just got on and done their stuff because it’s almost business as usual. Big Finish were recording with the Doctor using his son’s garage band equipment in his garden shed.
"The immersive theatre project has been finding ways in which they can reopen safely and still have a full immersive theatre experience. The escape room is looking at how social bubbles could work, so they can reopen safely."
"The books are just so epic and extraordinary — the great thing about books is that you can write a book without actually needing to be in an office."
Overall, Time Lord Victorious is taking shape against all odds, an accomplishment for which Goss credits the partners involved, who have displayed real commitment to keeping it on track.
"The thing that keeps on happening whenever I have a meeting about [Victorious] is not just how exciting it is, but how lucky we are — because I genuinely thought the project would’ve been cancelled.
"But because the licensees have all gone at every single stage, ‘Don’t worry, there’s a way through, we’ve found a way of carrying on...’ It’s amazing."
Doctor Who: Time Lord Victorious will begin rolling out across various formats in September 2020, continuing over 12 weeks until January 2021.
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