IT’S A SIN
Russell T Davies offers an alternative take on a classic Doctor Who story in his new drama It’s A Sin
Sir Russell T of Davies returns to Doctor Who and the Daleks. Well, kinda sorta, anyway. You’ll see.
RUSSELL T DAVIES HAS returned to Doctor Who! And he’s brought the Daleks back! Except it’s in an alternative universe and it’s one scene in a much bigger, unmissable story.
“He plays an actor in it and I had such fun with all his different jobs over the years,” Davies explains as to how pop star Olly Alexander came to be battling Skaro’s finest in Channel 4’s new drama It’s A Sin.
“The lead character’s called Ritchie Tozer, he’s a young man going to university in London in episode one. He comes out of the closet – it’s a classic coming out story. So you look around going, ‘Who’s a young, gay, out star?’ There aren’t many people who fit that category – Olly does. I knew he’d done acting but you literally think, like Kylie on Doctor Who, that it’ll never happen. He wouldn’t be free, he’s not going to be interested… It was possibly the subject matter, because he’s very politically aware. I think he’s good enough to say it’s a story that needs telling.”
That story is of the AIDS pandemic of the 1980s, a tale that Davies has finally tackled by celebrating life and love alongside the sadness of loss. And, of course, his passion for Doctor Who – mirroring the appearance of K-9 in 1999’s Queer As Folk. Except this time, there’s a whole spaceship airlock set.
It’s episode four, set in March 1988, that sees Alexander – as Tozer – recording a familiar scene, in a familiar costume, on a familiar set.
“Remember – if they get through, we lose the crystal,” he shouts to his fellow troopers, brandishing a large gun. “And if we lose that, it’s the end of the world.” The Daleks burst through the airlock of the spaceship Lusitania and the soldiers – led by Tozer’s Trooper Linden – try to hold them back… But it’s not “Resurrection Of The Daleks”; in this universe, it’s a two-part Sylvester Mccoy story…
“It’s called ‘Regression Of The Daleks’, in my mind,” Davies smiles. “It’s a strange one because it’s obviously dressed like ‘Resurrection Of The Daleks’. And yet actually it’s taking place in Sylvester Mccoy’s years. So it could never have happened; basically, it’s a great big mishmash. Indeed, those Daleks have never been seen on screen. They’re kind of silver and black but not ‘Death To The Daleks’ silver, but that’s because they were the only Daleks we could get hold of.
“I wanted all-grey ones, just exactly like ‘Resurrection Of The Daleks’ – but we could only get one grey one and those two silver and black ones, which are fan-made. But then I quite like it – the Daleks are always slightly different in every story. So they’re different in
this story. They only appeared like this with Ritchie Tozer in a parallel universe.” Did he get to reminisce about his Who showrunner days on set? “As ever, schedules change and suddenly we’re doing the Daleks on a different day and I was needed somewhere else. So whenever it’s fun, you can guarantee the writer doesn’t get to be there! Why didn’t I go and see that? Because my friends were there, Barnaby Edwards and Nick Pegg, who were our faithful Dalek operators for all those years. And there was a third operator who I didn’t know but in between lockdown stopped me in the streets in Soho and said, ‘Hello, it’s me, I’m your third Dalek operator!’” he laughs.
Aside from being written by Davies and featuring his faithful Dalek friends, it’s produced by fellow Who-veteran Phil Collinson and directed by Peter Hoar, who helmed 2011’s “A Good Man Goes To War”.
Has it made Davies want to return to sci-fi? “Not particularly, love, to be honest,” he roars with laughter. “I don’t understand it all these days. Literally. Chris Chibnall talks me through how they do their effects and the edits. The post production is like, ‘Oh my God’. It’s like the way I moved off from soap operas years ago, I don’t know how they make them. When I watch them making six episodes a week, I couldn’t begin to imagine how it happens any more. I’m getting old, darling, and the world is steamrolling on!”
Olly Alexander has recently mentioned wanting to act in something where he has magical powers… “Well, that might change my mind actually. If I could think of an ‘Olly with magical powers’ show, that’d be good.”
With rumours that Jodie Whittaker is about to depart Doctor Who, what about Olly Alexander as the Doctor?
“Oh stop it! This’ll just be all the headlines. You just want SFX headlines everywhere.” He rolls his eyes and gives us what we want. “Yes, Olly would make a marvellous Doctor Who.” He gives a withering look. “You tart! You enormous tart! The trouble this causes! They’ll be banging his door, his agent will be saying, ‘What have you done now…?’ On your own head be it.”
But will we ever discover the fate of Trooper Linden and the Crystal of Orr? Maybe that’s one for Big Finish. DS
It’s A Sin is on Channel 4, Fridays and on All 4.
We could only get one grey Dalek and those two silver and black ones, made by fans”
SET TWO CENTURIES BEFORE
The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: The High Republic takes place during a time when both the Galactic Republic and the Jedi are at their height.
It’s composed of a series of independent but interconnected comics and novels, including Cavan Scott and Ario Anindito’s Marvel monthly Star Wars: The High Republic, Charles Soule’s novel Light Of The Jedi, and Daniel Jose Older and Harvey Tolibao’s all-ages comics series for IDW, Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures.
“This is a period that has never really been explored, either in the modern Star Wars canon or the old Expanded Universe,” says
Scott. “This is an era where the Jedi have been living through a period of extended peace, which has affected the way that they operate. In fact, it’s affected the galaxy as a whole, as the Republic is going through something of a creative and technological renaissance. It’s a period of hope and optimism, but a storm is brewing on the horizon.”
“The best thing about working in the High Republic is that we don’t know what happens,” continues Soule. “Because the era is 200 years before Episode I, you get the best of both worlds. You can reference technology, institutions, planets and even some characters or families existing fans might be familiar with, but you can do hugely new things with them.”
“We’ve been bolstered by all the amazing work that’s already happened in the Star Wars universe but also not overly bogged down by knowing where things will go,” adds Older. “It’s two centuries before anything we’ve seen, which allows us plenty of room to play but enough closeness to give a sense of familiarity and make sure that some favourite characters are still around.”
Master Yoda is obviously the best ever and writing him has been so much fun
Indeed, Yoda is an integral part of The High Republic Adventures, as a group of his young Padawan charges are forced to confront a new adversary, the Nihil. “Master Yoda is obviously the best ever and writing him has been so much fun,” says Older. “It’s great to explore what he was like in his journeyman years, out in the world with the young folks, having adventures and living his best Yoda life!”
It’s fair to say that Adventures’ main characters Zeen and Krix are no fans of the Jedi. “They believe the Force should never be used,” continues Older. “The problem is, Zeen is Force-sensitive and has been keeping it a secret from everyone, including Krix, who is her best friend. We’ll follow their complicated paths throughout the saga, which will bring us to the upper echelons of Nihil leadership and deep within the Padawan cohort.
“Master Torban Buck is joining the Padawans for this leg of their journey. I can’t say too much about him, but he’s one of my favourite new Jedi, and is inspired by some of the street lore from my days as a paramedic in New York City.”
With Older noting that “there’s some extended fallout from the Great Disaster in Light Of The Jedi,” Adventures highlights different aspects of the devastating events that Soule chronicles in his novel. “When we begin, the galaxy is stable and at peace, and the Republic is full of optimism, with the Chancellor, a wise, ambitious woman named Lina Soh, planning great works from the Core to the Outer Rim that will help strengthen the Republic and help all its citizens,” says Soule.
“And then, something happens… All across the Outer Rim, objects emerge from hyperspace, moving at terrifying speeds. Some are in the path of inhabited systems, and can do extreme damage. It’s impossible to predict where they will appear next, and the Jedi and the Republic have to do everything they can to stop them. These objects first emerge, in large numbers, in a system called Hetzal, and it’s during that event – which becomes known as The Great Disaster – that Light Of The Jedi begins. The causes of that cataclysm, and how the Jedi and Republic react, form the novel’s story, and kick off the larger story we’re telling with the High Republic.”
Meanwhile, trainee Jedi Knight Keeve Trennis finds herself out of her element when she has to save some innocents from imminent death in the Marvel series. “She’s young, talented and yet so unsure about her abilities, especially when she has to stand shoulder-toshoulder with masters who have years of experience,” teases Scott.
“Usually, she’d be able to rely on her teacher Sskeer, but he is strangely preoccupied as the series begins. So Keeve and the Jedi of the [space station] Starlight Beacon find themselves uncovering a threat no one expected along the galactic frontier – a species of dark-siders that were dormant for thousands of years, but have now woken up hungry.” SJ
Star Wars: The High Republic #1 and Light Of The Jedi are out now. Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures #1 is due on 21 February.