Trenchcoat Canon Guide - Season 29 (Trenchcoat Ninth Aspect)

Trenchcoat Canon Guide - Season 29

Eighth Doctor

Season 29

Edward Peel-Smith took to the role like a fish to water, establishing himself as the Doctor in the eyes of fans and viewers alike. His clothes may have been unorthodoxly conservative, but his mannerisms and his innocence made him unquestionably alien.

But as the show entered its thirtieth anniversary, nothing else was settled. There was no companion and no co-production deal. The BBC decided to settle the co-production question once and for all, making the twenty-ninth season a test bed. The season’s length would be extended by six episodes to twenty-six, and fourteen of these would be produced by the three front-running bidders. David Maloney remained as the caretaker producer of the remaining twelve episodes. To oversee the activities of four separate production teams, the BBC hired Terrance Dicks as the season’s executive producer.

Then there was the question of the companion. It was David Maloney’s job to cast her, and he realized that with her development out of his hands for fourteen of the season’s twenty-six episodes, he needed a character that was distinctive and strongly drawn from the start. It had been a long time since a character from an earlier time period had travelled aboard the TARDIS, so David Maloney decided upon a teenaged girl orphaned during the French Revolution. In the hands of a strong actress, she could sail through these difficult waters, establishing herself without the help of a managed writing staff.

After auditioning a number of candidates, David Maloney and Edward Peel-Smith settled upon Welsh actress Sara Griffiths. She had appeared in Doctor Who before, as the potential companion Ray in Delta and the Bannermen; she had a talent for accents and she and Edward also showed a good chemistry on the audition floor. Edward decided the matter before David, demanding that she be signed on before David had even said a word. David would go on to say that this prejudiced contract negotiations considerably.

The Great Fear (5400 words) by James Bow

The Doctor arrives in 1789 Paris to help a friend who tried to stop the French Revolution.

This story, the pilot episode of the Trenchcoat series serves to introduce the companion, Fayette Calonne. She is orphaned by the violence of the outset of the French Revolution; feeling responsible for her father’s death, the Doctor takes her on board the TARDIS. The two find they have a common bond: each had a loved one killed in similar revolutions that forced each one to flee. Upon discovery of this, the Doctor and Fayette decide to adopt each other as father and daughter.

Nottingham (9750 words) by James Bow

The Master is back, but his plans to conquer the universe disappeared when he decided to retire. He still intends to kill the Doctor, though.

Another very early story in the Trenchcoat series, this one features the only appearance by the Master so far. He is now a very old man. Many firmly believe the Master’s decision to “retire” was too out of character, however. In acknowledgment of this, it can be said that the Master may yet return, but the next time is sure to be the last (yeah, right).

London Fog (10750 words) by James Bow

More than just housebreakers, purse snatchers and other criminals are shrouded by the Super Fog of London, December 1952. With the help of Fayette and Professor Travers, the Doctor must discover who landed a spaceship in the Thames that Sunday night.

This story contains a strong environmental theme and introduces a new set of aliens. It is based around a true smog disaster that killed 4000 Londoners in one weekend.

Story on a Train (18000 words) by James Bow

Though it may be 1989, rest and relaxation are not the Doctor’s destination when he and Fayette board a train for a trip across the American midwest.

This story spoofs the action-adventure-train movies, particularly those examples in James Bond, as well as The Silver Streak. This story features the first appearance of F.B.I. agents Sue Novak and Ryan Parnel (although Sue is not named until their next appearance, Syndicate), later companions of the Doctor. This is also Trenchcoat’s first mention of UNIT, and look for an interesting CIA “rational” explanation for the many faces the Doctor has carried.

The Abbey by the Sea (23500 words) by James Bow

The TARDIS lands near Morland Abbey, a lonely mansion out on the Yorkshire Moors of 1851, and the Doctor and Fayette quickly get caught up in the mysteries of the haunted house. However, their investigations quickly find a more mundane, though far more sinister explanation for the strange events of the place.

The first story to feature the Daleks, The Abbey by the Sea kicks off a running plot that develops throughout the rest of the Trenchcoat series.

Showdown (12500 words) by James Bow

The Valeyard returns to fight the Doctor one last time in a nightmare world of the Valeyard’s, and the Doctor’s creation.

Although the concept of a Doctor-Valeyard battle within the Matrix has been done before and would seem mundane, Showdown remains the most controversial story of the Trenchcoat series for the revelations it sets down as part of its “canon”, the least of which being the explanation of the Valeyard’s creation. Plot strands link this story up with The Great Fear.