When the BBC revealed their newest Doctor Who project, ‘Time Lord Victorious’, fan reaction ranged from excitement to curiosity – the initial cover reveal presented a lot of questions, even for die-hard fans who were taken completely by surprised at the announcement – but now that some time has passed and the BBC has revealed more about what the Time Lord Victorious is, now is the time to discuss what this project tells us about the future of Doctor Who, and what the BBC has planned for not just the series but the brand as a whole.
It is no secret that Doctor Who has been placing more and more emphasis on its periphery expanded media content in recent years, particularly the audio drama production company Big Finish but also BBC Books, Doctor Who comics and other Doctor Who novels. This has some fans worried, as if the BBC plans on taking Doctor Who off air again and relying on the expanded media to buoy the franchise in some kind of self-imposed second Wilderness Years, but the reality of the situation is that Doctor Who expanded media is of a consistent high quality, so there is absolutely no reason why the BBC shouldn’t promote Doctor Who audios, books and plays with as much enthusiasm as it does the mainline TV show, and the recently announced Time Lord Victorious is a perfect example as to why.
Although the initial reveal was vague, details have since been provided to fans through social media posts, and it is now clear that Time Lord Victorious is an umbrella project containing contributions from various contributors of expanded media that will come together to form one cohesive story. The scope of this project is arguably one of the largest Doctor Who productions in history, as there are likely going to be several audios and books related to this story arc as well as some more niche forms of media such as an escape room.
The initial reveal of the first two books in the Time Lord Victorious arc, titled The Night, The Fool and The Dead and All Flesh is Grass, have given us more of an idea of what is to come from this series – a seemingly shattered timeline, cross-over stories between the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Doctors, and a whole new pantheon of impressive Dalek designs. In honour of this momentous occasion, Sacred Icon proudly presents this custom of the black, red and silver Dalek from the cover of All Flesh is Grass, complete with a custom claw arm!
This Dalek was created using a standard remote control Dalek Commander, but with the eyestalk painted red, the base colour replaced with metallic silver and the slats repainted black. The spheres were painted red before being re-painted with black to give the red-rimmed effect seen on the cover of the book. Lastly, the claw was created using a metal pole, hot glue and small bent pieces of metal from the inside of a broken HDMI cable, topped off with black paint. This custom took several coats and is still in a rough condition, but it does the job of illustrating this striking colour scheme.
Needless to say, the Time Lord Victorious presents some interesting opportunities for storytelling in the Doctor Who universe, and if this is a sign of what is to come, fans can expect more stories in the future that are not tied down by canon and are free to explore completely new stories using the Doctor Who mythos, as well as more multi-media projects that involve contributions from various aspects of the Doctor Who expanded media.
Read More
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- Doctor Who – The Best of Big Finish, Part One
- The Asylum Project – Doctor Who Dalek Customs
- Doctor Who – Who Created the Cybermen?
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