#i'm writing dorian gray into it in a heartbeat

[tvmigraine]

How I'd Write a "Doctor Who" series

So I made my Tumblr page in the first place so that I could do two things - the first is to ramble here instead of to friends so that I annoyed them less, the second being to write out story ideas that I've had as a sorta web-diary-blog-thingie.

This is part of that web-diary-blog-thingie.

I really love Doctor Who and I always wanted to write something about them, lockdown and university giving me that opportunity. In this post is my mad ramblings about a story where the Doctor's companion is Dorian Gray.

WHO'S DORIAN GRAY?! "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" was written by Oscar Wilde back in 1890 before a novel-length rerelease in 1891. The story is about a young man who sells his soul for a wish - where he will age, the portrait will in his place. As he continues to live a hedonistic and amoral life, the portrait continues to corrupt further and further.

Pop-culture has changed Dorian, in a way, to accommodate further adaptations. First of all is the repeated image (ha) of Dorian's invulnerability so long as the Portrait remains undamaged, any fatal injury goes to the portrait. The second of this is his immortality, he can continue to live for years on end while his Portrait would continue to age.

WHY DORIAN GRAY?! There are two main inspirations for this. The first inspiration was "The Confessions of Dorian Gray", a Big Finish series produced by Scott Handcock (he's the script editor for RTD2, I'm beyond excited.) It's a great take on the character, And it's really cheap! Seriously, just by the downloads and listen to it, it's half an hour of supernatural goodness.

The second inspiration was recent books published by BBC Children's Books. There's been a big theme in them of Doctor Who crossing over with famous literature - first they did Doctor Who meeting Wizard of Oz, reuniting with Robin Hood and arriving in Camelot. This year they'll be telling Who-versions of Treasure Island and Jason & the Argonauts. Essentially, I'm throwing my own hat into the ring to have these two meet.

It would also make for a unique pairing - often times Dorian, in a modern setting, is portrayed as encountering other supernatural entities through his life while the Doctor encounters aliens every day. It would be a fun dynamic to place a creature in front of them and have the pair bickering over whether the foe is monster or alien.

WHICH DOCTOR THEN?! I don't know yet honestly. There's a few that I think could work but, as I've been writing, I've been using a strange template that first appeared in the Target novelization of "Rose"...

"A tall, bald black woman wielding a flaming sword". That was it. That was essentially all that I was working with, which is good if you want a description for a character in a hurry but a bit more difficult for making a personality. I worked with this the best I could with the idea that this is a new incarnation, "The Rose Doctor", would meet Dorian as their first companion.

What about the Doctors we actually know? Well, I've narrowed it down to the three I'd be most interested in trying.

The Seventh Doctor. Considering that this man, the heart of the Cartmel Masterplan that led to "Lungbarrow", was often suggested to be more than just a Time-Lord, it seemed right to have him placed alongside a man who sold his soul. A man who's often many steps ahead with a plan behind each move, it'd be fun to see how he ultimately uses Dorian in order to get what he wants.

The Eleventh Doctor. In contrast to the Seventh Doctor, I considered this incarnation because I can only imagine them as complete polar opposites to Dorian Gray. Dorian is desperate to cling onto his youth while the Eleventh Doctor is, overwhelmingly, an old man at heart. There's also an easy introduction for the pair, as the Eleventh Doctor exiled himself during "The Snowmen" and could've encountered him.

The Thirteenth Doctor. At the time of writing, she's only just regenerated and we are moving onto the 14th and 15th incarnations next November/December. The Thirteenth doctor doesn't have many gaps in her timeline, so I think it'd be fun to explore what she'd be like with a different Tardis Team. Also, most importantly, I think she'd hate Dorian Gray and that presents an interesting dynamic if the two continue to meet.

What's most important about these two is the dynamic between them - what are they looking for in the other person? Simply, answers.

Dorian Gray is a literary character so how does he exist as a real person? Is he from the Land of Fiction or is he from the real world? The Doctor is a mysterious time traveler that clearly knows more than they let on, so who are they really? What secrets do they keep?

OKAY EPISODES NOW!! Most important thing to note is that the episodes have two numbers. The first number is order of reading for Dorian's life chronologically, while the number on the right is order of reading for the Doctor's. 00:02 - Introduction [1886, London] We start with the early days of Dorian Gray's hedonistic lifestyle, essentially verbatim the events that occurred in the original story. While Dorian is hosting a party, he eventually finds himself in discussion with someone that previously hadn't been invited. This woman is greatly interested in the portrait he recently had made of himself and tries to figure out the secrets behind it...

01:04 - The Death of the Author [1900, Paris] After saying goodbye to his old friend and author, Dorian is surprised to run into the woman from his party many years ago - the Doctor. When these two impossible people meet, a deal is made to continue to check on each other before they leave each other's side. Rumour has it, there's a werewolf loose on the streets of Paris and what are the chances they're both tracking down the Loup-Garoux?

02:06 - Sod of the Somme [1916, The Battle of the Somme] Dorian Gray is participating in the Great War, having gone with friends and lost many along the way. Now, he's trapped in the trenches after fighting off a monster that's killed his fellow men. They don't believe his story about a monster in the dirt, but one person does - a medical officer called Johanna Schmidt. If she can convince everyone to work together, maybe they can all get out alive.

03:03 - A Ballroom at the End of the Universe [1927, Edge of Space] On the edge of the universe, a party is being held. Dorian Gray finds himself invited and can't resist taking a trip into space. The Doctor likewise can't resist the invitation, but she has her own plans. Travel into alternate universes is forbidden after the Time War, but the Doctor needs to find out the origins of Dorian Gray so journeys to the Land of Fiction.

04:01 - The Kennedy Heist [1963, Maryland] On the 22nd of November, the President of the USA was assassinated. For the Doctor, they've gone through this day a few times, but there's always something that's bothered them about it. What happened to JFK's brain? Bigger questions arise when not only does she find Dorian Gray with the brain in a jar, but a man in a battered leather jacket claiming to be the Doctor...

05:05 - To Heal a Broken Heart [1972, London] Attending the first Pride rally to occur in the UK, Dorian Gray's heart is broken and actions becoming reckless. After dragging a drunk Dorian out of the Ballroom, despite their rocky relationship, the Doctor stays on Earth to help him recover and begins to see a new side for the first time.

06:07 - Same As It Ever Was [2000, Fiji] A popular internet hoax is that a hidden planet called "Nibiru" would crash into Earth, coinciding with the end of the Mayan Calendar. Dorian has lived through many of his own "End of the World" scenarios so chooses this time to enjoy a holiday. What he hardly expects is for the world to really end, let alone to wake up at the start of a time loop.

07:08 - Nobody, Everywhere [2012, London] As Dorian builds a life in modern day again, the Doctor returns with a warning. Dorian's eternal life is in danger and he cannot trust anybody. The people that want him go back to his very beginning, they cannot be stopped or reasoned with and they'll stop at nothing to get their hands on him. After being in each other's life for so long, do they have what it takes to stop an enemy without a face?

08:00 - Cancer [2099, Seoul] The Doctor's regeneration gets revealed along with her placement in the timeline. Her regeneration leads her to crash into the streets of Seoul in 2099, where she meets Dorian for the first time and he meets her for the last. As the Doctor battles Regeneration Sickness, Dorian has to work on his own to stop a hacker called "Jocasta" from destroying the biggest business district in South Korea. Is she the biggest danger? Or is there something lurking beneath the surface?

09:09 - Epilogue Now that the Doctor has recovered, it's time for her to travel through time and space. Who's to say she has to do it alone?

Confusing? Here's each story in order.

IS THAT IT?! Pretty much, that's all my current thoughts on the idea plus a short description for each episode. There are definitely more ideas I could vent, but that would involve a serious amount of foresight about where I'm going to take this IF I take this anywhere.

But in case I never elaborate... > Harmony Shoal, "The Flood" Cybermen & Macra. > A Gallifreyan ghost story turned into a cat. > Silurian Time-Lords and "The Nightmare Child". > A "Paradox" Doctor with a red TARDIS.

If you're interested, let me know! I want to know if people would like to read this or if it's just me