10. Salvation
Do you remember The Doctor? Ten-part drama starring Charlie Craggs, with Jodie Whittaker.
Cleo’s been redacted. She finds herself in a weird, empty London full of 9 million ghosts. There’s no Abby to make plans, no Shawna to kick ass. Just Cleo and half an AS level in drama. Oh, and also this weird blue box, with a woman stepping out of it.
Credits:
Cleo Proctor - Charlie Craggs
Abby McPhail - Lois Chimimba
Shawna Thompson - Holly Quin-Ankrah
The Doctor - Jodie Whittaker
Monica Proctor - Sarah Thom
Jordan Proctor - Jacob Hawley
The Floater - Alasdair Beckett-King
Written by Juno Dawson
Produced and Directed by Ella Watts
Executive Producer: James Robinson
Sound Engineer: Paul Clark
Studio Assistant: Jacob Tombling
Sound Design: David Thomas
Additional Sound Design: Arlie Adlington
Original Composition: David Devereux
Production Co-ordinators: Sarah Sharpe and Sarah Nicholls
Recorded at Sonica Studios, Clapham.
A tv Studios Production for tv Sounds.
10. SALVATION
tv SOUNDS STING
1 PODCAST FLASHBACK
CLEO, ABBY and SHAWNA are cracking up. Happier times.
SHAWNA
So basically I heard that all the chemtrails that are in the sky, they have to keep the record on the blue box!
CLEO & ABBY
Oh what!
SHAWNA
There’s something to do with the colour! Otherwise they can’t track em, that’s it! Because -
ABBY
Shawna, you are deranged! Don’t ever change, I love you, but you’re massive weirdo!
SHAWNA
Aw, thanks!
ABBY
What about you Cleo?
CLEO
What about me?
ABBY
Who do you think’s in the Blue Box?
Cleo thinks a moment.
CLEO
Don’t make fun of me, OK? I like the idea that there’s someone out there, up in the sky, looking after us. It makes me feel safe, I dunno.
FX – Slow, happy music reflecting friendship plays.
CREDITS: DR WHO REDACTED - EPISODE TEN, BY JUNO DAWSON.
2 INT. VASTRA’S DEN.
We pick-up from Ep 9.
FX – Dripping water from the sewer.
CLEO
I’m gone. Am I dead?
FX – THE FLOATER breathes raspily.
FLOATER
You live, Earthling.
CLEO
Oh my god, I’ve never been so glad to hear a talking alien baby in my life. I don’t get it, everyone’s gone.
FLOATER
They have gone to the Other Place.
FX – Ghostly voices whisper in the background.
CLEO
What does that mean?
FLOATER
You are the last one left.
The horror of that sinks in.
CLEO
What? Even Vastra? No.
FX - quiet redacted effect.
CLEO (CONT’D)
I see them. Is that my friends?
(Beat)
No! They can’t be gone...
(Beat)
They’re ghosts...
FLOATER
Beware their touch. They are drawn
to you. You reek of home.
FX - the spectre FX.
CLEO (CONT’D)
Don’t touch me!
FX – spectre FX continues.
CLEO (CONT’D)
Abby, Shawna, please...
FLOATER
You are your people’s final hope, earthling.
CLEO
What?
FLOATER
Run, child, run.
FX - Cleo footsteps pounding through the wet sewers and her panting breath. Pounding electronic music suddenly erupts as
CLEO runs away.
CLEO
Oh god, I have got to join a gym.
FX - she gasps for breath as she reaches the ladders. We hear the metallic clang of her climbing.
EXT. LONDON STREET.
FX - London is now a ghost town. We hear the quiet redacted sound.
CLEO
Hello? Where is everyone?
FX - more footsteps. We gradually hear the siren that the UNIT vehicles were sounding to attract the ghosts.
CLEO (CONT’D)
(Calls)
Soldier people?
(To self) What the hell? Where’ve they gone? I can’t be the only one left, that’s insane. I don’t get it.
FX – the siren stops.
CLEO (CONT’D)
I don’t think I want to attract any more ghosts, thanks. (Beat)
Keys in the ignition, rookie mistake. Thanks fellas.
FX - engine starts and Cleo moves the van out.
CLEO (CONT’D)
Now let’s get the hell out of...hell.
EXT. LONDON.
FX - car driving.
CLEO
(To self)
Man, this is so weird. 28 Days Later much.
VASTRA (FLASHBACK)
The Doctor is attracted to catastrophe like a moth to the flame.
Soft piano music plays as CLEO thinks of her friends.
CLEO
Alright. What would Abby do? She’d think of something heroic and selfless and Buffy. Shawna would do the thing the rest of us were scared to do. What would I do? I’d get the first train out of town like a normal person. But what if it’s not just London? What if it’s north of Watford too?
FX – car stops.
CLEO (CONT’D)
I’m gonna be so bored. Nah as if. I’ll go mad. Right. OK then. Do the right thing.
FX – engine starts again. CLEO drives off.
EXT. POWELL ESTATE. DAY
CLEO brings the UNIT truck to a halt.
CLEO
God, I hope this works...
FX - the siren starts again.
CLEO (CONT’D)
Come get your ghost ice-cream!
Cleo slams the door shut and runs.
CLEO (CONT’D)
That better buy me some time.
Distantly, we hear the TARDIS materialize.
CLEO (CONT’D)
Oh god what now..?
EXT. POWELL ESTATE.
FX - The TARDIS materializes - more loudly this time. The door
creaks open.
DOCTOR
Powell Estate, we meet again. It’s been a while. She takes in this eerie new ghost-town.
DOCTOR (CONT’D)
Oh dear. Well that’s unfortunate. It’s worse than I thought...
FX - we hear a bat being struck against a metal post.
CLEO
Oi! You the Doctor?
DOCTOR
Here we go. Welcoming committee...
CLEO
(At a distance)
Um, put your hands up.
(Beat)
You mug.
FX - Cleo’s footsteps coming closer.
CLEO (CONT’D)
I mean it. Don’t move.
DOCTOR
Well that’s even more unfortunate isn’t it? The last person left in London wants to kill me. Figures. Where on earth did you get that bat? This is Peckham, not Pittsburgh!
CLEO
My mum keeps it under her bed for burglars. And I think we had a rounders match with it once. But that’s not the point.
DOCTOR
Come on, put the bat down please. I’m here to help, not fight.
FX – spectre sound effect.
Pause.
CLEO
Help? Sure, Jan. Do you see them terrifying ghost people? That was you. This is all your fault. I know all about you...
DOCTOR
Yeah, I’ve heard your podcast...
CLEO
Babe maybe you think you help. But it seems to me that when you rock up somewhere you leave behind a bunch of bodies. No offense, but you have very chaotic energy.
DOCTOR
Er I didn’t plan this, I swear!
(Beat)
Cleo, you have to believe me. I want to help. That’s what I do.
CLEO
I met Rani Chandra. She said you
were contagious. What did you do?
DOCTOR
I made a terrible mistake.
CLEO
You think?
(Beat)
Look. All I know is the weird alien baby said if you died, this all goes away.
DOCTOR
We don’t know that...
Soft piano music plays as CLEO and the DOCTOR try to understand one another.
CLEO
It’s the best chance we got.
DOCTOR
Go on then. Take you best shot.
CLEO
What?
DOCTOR
I thought you of all people might
be different, but no. Reach for a
weapon; end everything in bloodshed. Such a let down. Never meet your heroes. The two face off.
A pause.
DOCTOR (CONT’D)
At least let me explain. Just FYI, if you did clobber me, I’d only get back up again. Possibly several times, who can say?
DOCTOR (CONT’D)
Come on. I’ve faced off against
many an armed lunatic and I’m not
getting that vibe from you.
(beat)
Please, put down the bat.
Another pause.
CLEO sighs as she changes her mind about the DOCTOR.
CLEO
Ugh! I want chocolate.
DOCTOR
What?
CLEO
This way come on. I’m keeping the bat though. I dunno if I can bop a ghost but I’ll give it go.
FX – they walk to the café.
INT. CAFE. DAY
FX - the siren continues as the Doctor and Cleo enter the
cafe.
DOCTOR
That’s a transdimensional beacon. Did you do that?
CLEO
Nope. That UNIT lot.
DOCTOR
Ah. I see.
CLEO
The oat milk hasn’t gone off.
FX – chairs scraping as Cleo joins the Doctor table.
CLEO (CONT’D)
Alright then, question 1 - where is everyone?
DOCTOR
It’s hard to explain.
CLEO
It’s hard to experience babes, so you
better try.
The Doctor sighs deeply.
DOCTOR
I’ll start at the beginning: My
friends and I took a little trip to the Unmarked Purlieus.
CLEO
The what now?
DOCTOR
An uncharted star system at the very edge of reality. I’d heard rumours of life there, of the most extraordinary singing sunsets...well anyway it was lovely, little bit overrated maybe, you know it’s never as good as the hype is it? But something seems to have followed me back...
CLEO
The virus?
DOCTOR
A psychic virus. There was life out there, and it infected me, got into my psyche. It doesn’t spread through touch or air...it spreads through thought. Anyone I’ve ever known...gone.
(Beat)
And I couldn’t do a thing to stop it.
Mournful piano tune plays into the background as the DOCTOR tells CLEO her story.
DOCTOR (CONT'D)
It’s funny, you know. I’ve faced monsters and madmen and tyrants and robots, but then along comes this teeny-tiny little thing...and I can’t fight it; I can’t reason with it; I can’t talk my way out of it. It just carries on. It grows and spreads because that’s all it does.
(Beat)
I’m powerless. But you have to know, Cleo. I won’t stop until I put this right. There has to be a way to fix this.
CLEO
A psychic virus.
(She sighs and laughs)
For real?
DOCTOR
Look at this.
She rummages in her pocket.
DOCTOR (CONT’D)
What does that say?
CLEO
It says “This paper is psychic”.
(Beat)
What does that even prove?
DOCTOR
I’m not a hundred percent certain, myself. Psychic paper though! Are you not impressed?
CLEO
But where is everyone though? And why is here so bad? Why the Powell estate?
DOCTOR
I had a friend here once. I’ve spent a lot of time on your planet. It makes sense that here would be affected first and worst.
CLEO
You go to other planets?
DOCTOR
Cleo. I think you know I do. I’ve heard your transmissions. I went to Scotland and left Abby a note...but she forgot I sent it.
CLEO
Wait. Abby was right? About everything?
DOCTOR
Oh yes. I’m here to save you! I don’t know why I adore humans so much, but you’re my absolute faves, you really are.
(Beat)
Cleo Proctor: Last of the Londoners.
CLEO
What’s that about? Out of everyone there was only me and Rani who remembered you. Why?
DOCTOR
Rani’s gone too. They all have.
CLEO
What? So why me?
DOCTOR
I don’t know. I can understand why
the virus would affect me differently, but not you.
(Beat)
You grew up on the Powell Estate?
CLEO
Yeah.
DOCTOR
Do you mind? Can I get a little look inside.
CLEO
Get your fingers off my face man, nasty!
DOCTOR
I need to look through your memories to see if there’s some reason why you haven’t been affected.
CLEO
Babe you do not want to go looking
through my mind, trust me.
DOCTOR
Very well. How about this? You look
through my mind. I haven’t always looked like this...
CLEO
Girl, same.
DOCTOR
You might recognize a familiar face...
CLEO
OK....
FX - we hear a mash-up of Doctor’s past, soundbites of all of them, all layered over each other in a chaotic jumble.
CLEO (CONT’D)
They’re all you?
DOCTOR
And then some.
FX - a snippet of the Tenth Doctor.
CLEO
You!
TENTH DOCTOR
Nice to meet you.
DOCTOR
There!
TENTH DOCTOR
I think I just invented the banana daiquiri a couple of centuries early.
CLEO
You were a man!
DOCTOR
Well, technically...actually we really don’t have time to get into all that now.
CLEO
Well I’m not really one to talk am I babe?
DOCTOR
Did we meet?
CLEO
I don’t know...
DOCTOR
Let me see...go deeper...
(Beat)
You grew up here?
CLEO
My whole life.
FX - music suggests falling backwards through time, like Cleo’s in a trance state, regressing.
FX – children playing on the estate.
DOCTOR
Rose.
CLEO
Rose Tyler?
DOCTOR
Yes. How do you know Rose?
CLEO
She was our babysitter. When we was
little, before she done a runner.
DOCTOR
Ah right.
(Pause)
Yes, I knew Rose.
(Beat) Go on.
(Beat)
What happened here, Cleo?
CLEO
I don’t remember.
(Beat)
Nah I can’t.
DOCTOR
Let me look inside...
A pause. She decides to trust her.
CLEO
OK...
DOCTOR
There’s...a psychic barrier in your
mind. Why?
(Beat)
Cleo. There’s something in your past you’ve blocked out. I need you to see. We need to understand.
FX - distant, childlike laughter. Footsteps crunching through the undergrowth.
CLEO
No...
DOCTOR
You’re safe, Cleo. I’ve got you.
FX - the footsteps get louder.
CLEO
OK. We had a den. On the common. We used to play there in the holidays. We had a rope swing and an old settee. It was sick.
(Beat)
It was so good. One day...one day I took my dad. I wanted to show him the den. And that’s when we found it...
DOCTOR
Found what?
CLEO
We found an egg. This huge, red egg. We thought...we thought it was the best thing ever...
(Beat)
Only then...
(Beat)
Only then it started to hatch and...
(beat)
Oh my god...oh my god it was so big...its teeth...
DOCTOR
The Red Hatching. The migration.
CLEO
It was so fast...and the noise.
SFX - distantly, a terrible bird call. Bloodthirsty. A man screaming.
CLEO (CONT’D)
Oh my...Dad. Dad tried to protect me, but...but...
DOCTOR
Cleo...
CLEO
And then you were there...
FX – Sounds of arrows flying from the TENTH DOCTOR’s bow as they save CLEO. The Red Hatching screams then falls.
DOCTOR
You. You were the child I saved.
CLEO
You saved my life.
8 INT. CAFE. DAY
Back to the DOCTOR and CLEO in the present. The time tunnel
music stops.
DOCTOR
(Tender)
I’m so sorry, Cleo. Your father; I was too late. I’m so, so sorry. I tried. I did everything I could, but sometimes...sometimes it’s not enough.
(And then, sadly)
It’s never enough.
Cleo takes a second.
CLEO
It’s OK. It’s not your fault. And
without you, I’d...
(Beat)
Why don’t I remember that?
DOCTOR
(Kindly)
You were only, what? Six? Seven?
CLEO
I remember everything now. That
day...that thing. My dad. Aliens are real.
(Beat)
How the hell did I forget that? My own dad!
DOCTOR
Cleo, the human mind is a powerful
and complex thing. What you experienced that day would traumatize anyone, never mind a little girl.
Comforting piano music plays.
DOCTOR
Here’s my hypothesis: Your mind protected itself from the grief, the loss. It built up walls. You blocked me out so effectively you were psychically immune to the virus.
CLEO
That’s what Vastra said. That our mind could make a shield.
DOCTOR
Exactly. You were trying to protect yourself. And it worked.
CLEO
OK. At least now I know the truth. That’s something.
(Beat)
What are we gonna do about everyone else?
DOCTOR
I’m brewing a plan. A plan is like a teabag, sometimes you need to be in hot water before the magic happens.
CLEO
Could you brew faster please?
DOCTOR
Yes. Let’s get them home. There must be a way.
(Beat)
Come with me!
Piano gets louder and more purposeful then fades into the next scene:
9 EXT. POWELL ESTATE.
FX - spectre sound effect.
DOCTOR
Stay behind me.
(Beat)
FX - Sonic screwdriver.
DOCTOR (CONT’D)
I can only deter them for so long.
FX - Cleo runs to match the Doctor’s stride.
CLEO
Where are we going?
DOCTOR
It’s transmitting to the ghost dimension, right? I think I can use that. I think my chums at UNIT were almost onto something.
CLEO
Stop! You know what? I’m gonna lay
on the floor and scream unless you tell me what’s going on.
DOCTOR
(Sigh)
I need something from my TARDIS, I’ve no time for explanations.
CLEO
Er excuse me?
DOCTOR
Wait here a sec.
FX - TARDIS door creaks open and the Doctor ducks in. Cleo surveys the TARDIS.
CLEO
(To self)
Wow. Blue Box. We finally meet.
(Beat)
Cannot lie; this is pretty cool.
FX - The Doctor crashes out of the TARDIS.
DOCTOR
Got it!
CLEO
You have got to be kidding. What is that?
FX – low tech alien beeping noises
DOCTOR
Part of a Delta Wave Augmenter: a psychic interface. I’m going to talk to the nice ghosts. I can’t reason with a
virus, but I can chat to them. Come on!
Purposeful music as CLEO and the DOCTOR head towards the ghosts.
FX - the spectre noise
CLEO
Watch out. Don’t let them touch you.
The Doctor and Cleo reach the UNIT van. The doors open and the Doctor climbs in.
DOCTOR
OK. This frequency transmits to the alternate dimension. Our patients can hear it.
CLEO
I guess...
DOCTOR
And the patients all forgot me?
CLEO
Yeah.
DOCTOR
So let’s remind them! Maybe I can reach them, I’ll be like a giant, walking, talking vaccine: override the virus in their minds.
CLEO
And that’ll bring them back?
DOCTOR
I don’t know. But a little bit of faith goes a long way I’ve found.
FX - spectre noise grows louder.
CLEO
Doctor, they’re coming. There’s hundreds of them.
DOCTOR
If I do this...
FX - sonic screwdriver.
DOCTOR (CONT’D)
I can transit on the same frequency. Hospital radio!
CLEO
Quickly!
The siren stops. Instead, the Doctor’s voice is now amplified, like she’s speaking through a loudspeaker.
DOCTOR
My name is the Doctor. I mean you no harm. Come to me. I want to help you back over the wall...
The Doctor gets out of the UNIT truck.
Inspiring music starts as the DOCTOR talks directly to the ghosts.
DOCTOR (CONT’D)
I need you to remember me. Some of you knew me, some of you know my legend. This place...is a home from home to me. Now come home too.
The Doctor cries out in pain. The spectre noise intensifies.
CLEO
What’s happening?
DOCTOR
(In pain)
I don’t know. They’re attacking me.
Music intensifies as the DOCTOR cries out in pain.
CLEO
Why aren’t you vanishing?
DOCTOR
It’s like they’re trying to use me as a portal back to this reality...
She howls in pain. We hear ghostly whispers from the other dimension.
CLEO
Oh my god! What do I do?
DOCTOR
Not sure there’s anything you can...they’re pulling me apart...
CLEO
(Frantic)
Tell me what to do!
CLEO (CONT'D)
(Beat)
Doctor?
DOCTOR
No good...I can’t...you have to...
(Beat)
Make them remember.
The Doctor collapses.
CLEO
Doctor...Doctor! What do I do?
Cleo grabs the Delta Wave Augmenter from the Doctor. She runs back to the UNIT truck. The door slams.
CLEO (CONT’D)
Oh god, oh my god. Oh my days.
Cleo fumbles with the tech.
CLEO (CONT’D)
Oh god, how does this thing even work?
(Beat)
Make them remember. Shawna? Abby? Can you hear me? OK, OK, OK. This better work. Take this.
We now hear an old version of the Blue Box Files podcast, echoing out through the loudspeaker -
ABBY (podcast)
Hello there and welcome to this week’s Blue Box Files.
CLEO (podcast)
As regular listeners know, if a random public police box rocks up in your town, you are in for a whole lot of trouble.
ABBY (podcast)
No-one really believes the Royal
Hope landed on the surface of the moon but...
We get a megamix of highlights...
CLEO (to self)
(Quiet)
What are they doing? Can they hear this? What are they doing?
SHAWNA (podcast)
And this was all, of course,
connected to Harriet Jones – I mean who else are we expecting?
ABBY (podcast)
I think the Doctor figure is symbolic of timeless heroism, a cultural need we have for -
CLEO (To self)
It’s not working...they’re coming for me.
(To ghosts)
No! Stop! Please!
(Beat)
NO!
The redaction FX reaches fever pitch and then everything goes very quiet.
10 EXT. THE OTHER PLACE. NIGHT
FX - A cold wind howls.
CLEO
Where on earth..?
(Beat)
Hello?
CLEO (CONT’D)
It’s so cold...what the hell is this place?
(Beat)
I guess it finally got me too.
(Beat)
Doctor? Doctor, where are you? Doctor?
Through the wind, we hear a voice calling her.
MONICA
Cleo!
They run to meet in the middle.
Pause.
CLEO
Oh my god, Mum! Are you OK?
MONICA
I’ve been better.
CLEO
Where are we?
MONICA
It’s the Powell Estate but it’s...dead. Everything’s dead. Nothing can live here, not for long...
MONICA (CONT’D)
Quick. Come inside the flat. It’s
yer brother.
CLEO
Jordan? You found him.
MONICA
I did, but he ain’t doin’ so good.
Love, I need your help.
CLEO
Mum wait! I gotta find the Doctor.
MONICA
We can’t wait for no doctor! It’s
like he’s freezing to death.
(Beat)
I can’t lose him. I can’t lose my baby.
(Beat)
I already lost you.
MONICA (CONT'D)
(Beat)
Look, love, I’ve been meaning to say -
Long piano notes intercut Monica’s speech as she tries to apologise to CLEO.
CLEO
Now isn’t the time.
(Beat)
Please take me to Jordan.
MONICA
Cleo, this might be all the time we
got. Let me say my piece.
CLEO
Mum we do not have (time) -
MONICA
I’m sorry. You know what Proctor women are like because you is one. We’re stubborn as mules, but I shoulda known better. I’m meant to be the grown-up.
(Beat)
I was a bad mum. But I wanna do better now.
CLEO
Jordan needs us.
MONICA
Cleo please! I wanna make things right.
Pause.
CLEO
You threw me out. I was 16 Mum.
MONICA
I was wrong! I was a mess! Your dad
had gone and I...
(Beat)
I didn’t cope.
Another pause.
CLEO
I blamed you for him. I shouldn’t have done that. I should have believed you.
(Beat)
So I guess I’m sorry too.
MONICA
No. You ain’t got nothing to be
sorry for. I made a mess. If I could do it all again, I’d do a lot different.
(Beat)
Look at you now. You done amazing.
FX - footsteps running towards them.
ABBY/SHAWNA
Cleo?!
CLEO
Thank god, you’re OK!
SHAWNA
Yeah we’re fine. For now.
ABBY
Where did you go?
CLEO
I didn’t go anywhere. I’m immune or at least I was.
ABBY
What do you mean?
CLEO
(Ignoring her)
It’s a virus. It’s in our heads. A psychic virus.
She pauses.
Oh my god! I’m so stupid!
SHAWNA
What?
CLEO (CONT’D)
This! It’s all in our heads. It’s a PSYCHIC VIRUS girls. None of this is real. It’s making us see things and think things that don’t really exist. Like the Doctor’s paper! You didn’t go anywhere. You’ve been here the whole time, we just couldn’t see you.
ABBY
Cleo, it’s freezing. People are going to freeze to death.
CLEO
No! No you’re not. You just think you are. It’s psychosomatic...like the episode we did on mass hysteria. You think you’re freezing, so you are!
SHAWNA
Babe. That’s a lot to take in.
CLEO
Trust me please. The Doctor can help us.
Abby. Shawna. The Doctor is real and she’s right here...
(Beat)
Somewhere. We just can’t see her.
MONICA
Cleo, I’ve got to get back to Jordan...
CLEO
Wait. I can figure this out.
FX - The podcast continues to play from before -
SHAWNA (voiceover)
I just don’t believe in aliens
because they’d have made contact by now...
ABBY
Is that us?
CLEO
Focus on that. Listen. Follow it
home. None of this is real girls. What if that’s how we beat this thing? Mind over matter? None of this is real.
MONICA
Babes, you’re fading away.
Don’t...don’t go. Not again. I don’t want to lose you again.
CLEO
I can’t help it...
(beat)
Just keep listening. Follow the sound...
MONICA
You what love? You’re not making
sense.
CLEO
(Fading away)
Listen...none of this is real...
FX - Her words echo on the breeze.
11 EXT. POWELL ESTATE. DAY
FX - the distortion sound once more. We can still hear the podcast in the background.
CLEO
Doctor! Are you OK?
The Doctor groans.
DOCTOR
They left me alone. Another minute or two and...But why did they leave me alone?
CLEO
I figured it out. The virus was psychic right? They didn’t go anywhere. They just thought they did.
DOCTOR
What?! Cleo, you’re a genius!
CLEO
Thanks babes.
DOCTOR
Of course! They’re in a psychic coma.
(She jumps up)
I think it’s time they woke up.
They run back to the van and open the door.
DOCTOR (CONT’D)
Is this signal breaking through?
CLEO
Yep. They can hear everything.
DOCTOR
In that case, let’s TURN IT UP.
FX - sonic screwdriver. The podcast dialogue BOOMS across the Powell Estate for a moment and then goes silent.
DOCTOR (CONT’D)
It’s only transmitting to them now.
(Beat)
If the virus is creating a psychic manifestation, reality should cut through the illusion.
(Beat)
The truth is always more powerful than a lie.
FX – birds tweeting on the estate.
CLEO
What now?
DOCTOR
We wait. Cross your fingers, toes, tentacles...
FX - the distortion effect.
CLEO
Doctor? Can you see them?
DOCTOR
I can...it’s working!
FX - distortion effect.
MONICA
Cleo? Cleo love? Is that you?
CLEO
Mum! It worked!
(Pause) Come here!
The pair embrace. We hear the distortion again.
CLEO
Abs! Oh my god!
ABBY
Cleo no-one likes hearing their voice
played back, please.
We hear Cleo and Abby hug.
CLEO
It worked though, didn’t it!
ABBY
Oh it did! You can hear it for miles.
(Beat)
Who’s this?
CLEO
(Proudly)
Abby MacPhail, meet the Doctor, owner of one blue box.
ABBY
(Gasps)
No. Way.
DOCTOR
Always nice to meet the fans.
FX - the distortion noise and Shawna appears.
SHAWNA
Oh wow. My head! That was mad, like...
The three girls embrace.
DOCTOR
And I take it this is Shawna?
ABBY
What, you listen to our podcast?
DOCTOR
Oh yes. And right now, we need a special episode. I can use the TARDIS to transmit it all over the world. All over all the worlds.
ABBY
What?
DOCTOR
A very simple message: wake up. The
biggest alarm clock ever.
The Redaction FX again.
CLEO
Jordan!
JORDAN
(groggily)
Morning, bum face.
MONICA
My boy!
CLEO
Oh come here! I missed you so much, smelly.
CLEO hugs JORDAN tightly.
JORDAN
I’m fine, I’m fine. Get off.
MONICA
My babies. I’ll never let you out
of my sight ever again. Come ‘ere!
Monica laughs which fades into the next scene:
12 INT. TARDIS. LATER
We hear the familiar console room backing track of the TARDIS.
DOCTOR
And there we go! Message sent, and on loop. Every device in that dimension is guiding them back. The virus seems to be in remission. The spell is broken, the bubble is burst.
(Beat)
Girls? What’s up?
SHAWNA
OK. I was wrong. About everything.
There I said it.
Cleo and Abby laugh.
CLEO
See how easy that was? Three little words Shawna.
SHAWNA
I won’t be making it a habit.
CLEO
Weird looking spaceship though. I
want the future to be silver. Silver everything.
ABBY
Cleo! It’s literally bigger on the inside!
DOCTOR
Thank goodness someone said it.
ABBY
Can we talk about this on the podcast?
DOCTOR
No! Fame is highly overrated. You need big sunglasses, you can’t get the bus. Nightmare.
ABBY
Please?
CLEO
Oh come on, you heard her. She’s keeping it on the DL. She’s
living stealth. We gotta respect that.
DOCTOR
Thank you. To be honest, I don’t know how much of this any of you will remember in the long run…you might still forget certain aspects.
ABBY
(Sadly)
OK.
DOCTOR
Keep it up though, all of you. Your world, more so than ever, is full of powerful liars. You have work to do. Speak truth to power. Always.
SHAWNA
We will. I promise.
SFX - TARDIS alert.
DOCTOR
(To self)
Uh. Ravulox freighter spotted on edge of Andromeda galaxy. I’d better go have a word.
Comforting music starts as CLEO asks the DOCTOR a question.
CLEO
Can, can I come with you?
(Beat)
I’ve only got to give the theatre two week’s notice and Jordan gets his sofa back.
SHAWNA
Cleo?
There’s a poignant silence.
DOCTOR
Cleo. I have work to do. First I need to make sure my friends are OK, and I can’t put you in danger. A lot of very bad people - and things - took advantage of the situation.
CLEO
Like that Ravioli thing that attacked Rani? That was not cute.
DOCTOR
It’s not just them. My friends have been protecting your planet for decades, and they all vanished. Earth was vulnerable.
(Beat)
Moreover, that virus exists everywhere I’ve ever been so...
CLEO
I won’t get in the way. I can help.
ABBY
But what about the podcast?
DOCTOR
Cleo, I think there’s some people here who are looking for you. You can’t outrun your past. Take it from someone who knows...
Thoughtful music builds as the DOCTOR’s words sink in. Then it fades into:
13 INT. PUB. NIGHT
FX - Ambient pub noise - glasses, chatter etc.
MONICA
Well I told her, didn’t I? If you don’t know where you’ve been for two days, Val, how am I supposed to know? What am I, your keeper?
JORDAN
I think there’s something going round, like flu or something? I feel like I’ve been hallucinating, it’s mad. Like I’ve been on one for a few days or something like that.
MONICA
You know what I think it is? 5G. Messin’ with our brains and that. Eh, that can be one for your podcast Cleo.
CLEO
Yeah alright, Mum.
MONICA
Ain’t this nice? Been time since we had a family dinner all together.
CLEO
Well whose fault’s that?
There’s an awkward silence.
JORDAN
Oh my god, the two of you, you always make it so awkward.
MONICA
She’s right, Jordan. She’s right.
(Beat)
You gotta understand, Cleo. You didn’t come with a manual. There weren’t nothing about trans kids on the telly when you was little. I just didn’t know what to do love.
(Beat)
And when your dad vanished, I weren’t in a good place. I’m sorry.
CLEO
I just wish we’d been able to have this conversation back then Mum.
MONICA
I don’t want to lose you again. You’re my girl. Simple as that. Sod what anyone else says. Just sod ‘em.
Poignant pause.
CLEO
Mum. That’s all I ever needed to hear.
Music builds into the next scene:
14 EXT. TRAIN STATION. DAY
We hear a distant train announcement and a train pulling out.
ABBY
It’s starting to go. What it was like in the cold world. It was so real, but now it feels like a nightmare...they’re forgotten by mid-morning.
SHAWNA
Me too. It’s like we were drunk or
something...
(Beat)
Is this your train?
FX – Train pulls into the station.
ABBY
Aye. I’d better get on, go find my seat.
SHAWNA
Well. It’s been fun having you in Sheffield though. Will you come again?
ABBY
Maybe...
(Laughs)
Yeah of course I will! Come here –
They hug warmly.
SHAWNA
Oh you’re not going back to UNIT are you?
ABBY
Oh god no. They want to keep everything secret. I want to do what the Doctor said. I want to reveal the secrets, not keep them.
SHAWNA
Can I kiss you?
ABBY
What?
Romantic music begins to play as they finally admit their more than friends.
SHAWNA
Like just to make sure we’re not still
in that crazy psychic nightmare world?
ABBY
Shawna. You don’t need to make up an excuse to kiss me. You never did.
SHAWNA
What about Craig?
ABBY
I am not the girl that goes out
with Craig anymore. She was somebody else.
It’s time for me to be a new woman and,
well, she’s presently single.
(Beat)
I spoke to him while you were in the shower last night. It was the right thing to do.
SHAWNA
For real?
ABBY
Yeah. So where’s this kiss then?
Romantic music builds then fades suddenly into -
15 PODCAST RECORDING – The Blue Box Files
Catchy and content music plays as the girls record the show.
ABBY
Hello, hello and welcome back to Blue Box
Files. Your one-stop-shop for all things relating to the global Blue Box conspiracy. I’m Abby MacPhail, author of the forthcoming Thinking Outside the Box the definitive text on the history of the theory.
SHAWNA
I’m Shawna Thompson, still cynical, still gay, still the only woman in the IT department.
CLEO
And I’m Cleo Proctor, trans activist and actress.
SHAWNA/ABBY
Actress!
SHAWNA
Yas! When do you start your course?
CLEO
Next Monday. She’s going back to
school! Stage school!
ABBY
Oh pal, I always said you belonged on the
stage! I’m so excited for you!
SHAWNA
Yeah!
CLEO
Aw, thanks guys. I hope I can finish school this time.
They all laugh.
CLEO (CONT’D)
Anyway, what are we all talking about today?
ABBY
As ever, we’re discussing the Guardian Rationale. The ideology of a covert global protector.
CLEO
Girl, speak English! If you’re a new listener, it’s the idea that there’s someone out there looking after us. Someone in a blue box.
SHAWNA
Told you! It’s bonkers...
ABBY
Shawna...
CLEO
Come on, doesn’t it ever feel like there’s someone watching over us? Someone looking out for us? Even when you’re all alone, it’s that feeling inside; like you got a friend out there somewhere.
SHAWNA
Er, no.
CLEO
Well, a little faith goes a long way.
The music reflects new beginnings, getting louder then fading into -
CREDITS Doctor Who Redacted: Episode Ten, By Juno Dawson.Starring: Charlie Craggs, Lois Chimimba, Holly Quin-Ankrah, Jodie Whittaker, Sarah Thom, Jacob Hawley and Alasdair Beckett-King. Directed and produced by Ella Watts.Sound design by David Thomas and Arlie Adlington. Original composition by David Devereux.The music fades into -
16 INT. CLEO’S FLAT. DAY. POST CREDITS.
Cleo enters the living room. JORDAN is present.
CLEO
Er Jordan, why does this flat always smell of your feet?
JORDAN
That’s definitely your feet.
CLEO
Excuse me?
JORDAN
You gonna tell me what ordering then? I thought you were boycotting Amazon?
CLEO
I am. That’s not mine!
JORDAN
It’s literally got your name on it.
CLEO
Wait, what? It’s huge.
JORDAN
(laughs)
Oi oi!
CLEO
Ok shut up, you’re disgusting.
JORDAN
(still laughing)
You gonna open it or what?
CLEO
OK...
We hear tape being pulled off.
CLEO (CONT’D)
There’s a card...
FX – Cleo opens the card -
CLEO (CONT’D)
“Dearest Cleo, I suspect you fearless girls won’t stop looking for the truth, and won’t stop heading into trouble, so here’s something that’ll help...look after him. Love, Madame Vastra.”
Joyful yet playful music begins to build -
JORDAN
Madame Who? What is that another drag queen or something?
CLEO
Pretty much. If you saw her makeup, you’d gag.
JORDAN
Go on then, open the box.
CLEO
OK.
More tape being pulled off, cardboard box being opened.
CLEO
Oh. My. God.
We hear a familiar rasping.
FLOATER
Greetings, Earthlings.
Jordan falls over the sofa.
JORDAN
Woah! You bloody what? What the hell is
that?
CLEO
Jordan. We’ve got a new housemate babe...
END OF SERIES.
The joyful music rises -
CREDITS:
A tv STUDIOS PRODUCTION.
Podcast
-
Doctor Who: Redacted
The return of the audio drama series, set in the worlds of Doctor Who.