August 27, 2020
With the imminent launch of the huge multi-platform Doctor Who story Time Lord Victorious right around the corner, we spoke to producer James Goss all about the project and asked him some of your burning questions!
Explore all of the Time Lord Victorious stories at the official site here.
What is Time Lord Victorious?
It's like a Doctor Who festival – with lots of different stuff happening all around you. Just pick what you fancy – audio, books, comics or digital - have an amazing time exploring that adventure and then maybe it'll lead you onto something else.
The actual story is really simple – it’s set within the Dark Times at the start of the universe and follows the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Doctors as they defend their home planet from a terrible race. Everything springs from that.
Where did the idea of it come from?
The idea came from the fans! The project was initially developed by Cameron McEwan who conducted a lot of research via a BBC audience panel and pulled together effectively a massive menu of things that fans would like to see explored in a story told in several different methods – some of this was popular monsters, some of it was about previous Doctors that fans would like to see united, some of it was to do with eras of the show that fans were interested in hearing more about.
And now seemed a perfect moment to do it – opening up a whole hidden chapter of Doctor Who. The Dark Times is a great bit of Doctor Who history to visit – we've met lots of ancient races from this period (from the Great Vampires to the Racnoss) but we've never been there. And now's the time to find out why.
How does Time Lord Victorious work?
Welcome to the Dark Times – the whole universe is yours to explore. You don't have to start in a specific place or consume it in a certain order – honestly, pick what appeals to you, and go from there. Every story, every strand of Time Lord Victorious has a beginning, middle and an end so you can pick up a book and enjoy that on its own, or you might find clues and points of interest there that lead you to another product.
The Doctor Who licensees have built a massive experience for you to wander round with over 30 fantastic things to grab your attention, so it's up to you to decide what to take in. There's maybe a comic over there that catches your eye or an audio drama that you just want to listen to while you're waiting for the next book to come out.
Do I need to experience every story to understand it all?
Absolutely not. It's been designed so that if you just explore one bit of it, you'll have a great time and understand the story fully.
There are lots of individual stories that take place within Time Lord Victorious and you don't have to consume them in a specific order. As you move about exploring the various strands, you'll get a feel for the bigger picture and how it all links together naturally.
Each story has some nuggets and links to other stories – but you won't feel any the less if you miss them.
Where should I start?
There will be an official guide to Time Lord Victorious in the Doctor Who newsletter at the start of September with the various paths through the story, so you can follow events in the order they occur to your favourite characters.
The various paths all lead towards the second BBC Book (“All Flesh is Grass” by Una McCormack) – but even that's been designed so that, if that's the only thing you read, it's actually quite standalone (but hopefully will leave you dying to find out more).
So is everything announced? What a huge project!
There's still more to be announced and more that we're working on. The various licensees have been fantastic in coming up with new things to explore and there are masses of treats still to be announced.
The best thing you can do is to subscribe to the Doctor Who newsletter to keep up with what's being announced as they’ll have lots of exclusive bits including hints and free fiction during the run of the project.
You'll also learn a lot about the Archive of Islos – shortly before it's too late…
Explore all of the Time Lord Victorious stories at the official site here.
