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For the HBO American television show, see Real Time with Bill Maher.

Big Finish Productions audio play
Real Time
Series	Doctor Who
Release number	I
Featuring	Sixth Doctor Evelyn Smythe
Writer	Gary Russell
Director	Gary Russell
Producer(s)	Gary Russell Jason Haigh-Ellery
Executive producer(s)	for BBCi:  Martin Trickey  James Goss for BBC Worldwide:  Jacqueline Rayner
Production code	BBCi01
Set between	Project: Twilight and The Sandman
Release date	12 December 2002

Real Time is a webcast based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who which was then subsequently released on CD. It was produced by Big Finish Productions for BBCi, the interactive television service arm of the BBC and was originally webcast on the BBC Doctor Who website from August 2 to September 6, 2002.

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Cast 3 Production background 4 External links

There has been a series of mysterious vanishings on the desert planet Chronos in the 33rd century. Survey teams working for a university seem to have simply vanished amongst the pyramids on the planet. Alongside two other survey teams and an expert on cybernetics, the Doctor and Evelyn learn the deadly truth: that the planet Chronos is being used as a base for one of the Doctor's oldest and deadliest foes — the Cybermen.

• The Doctor — Colin Baker
• Evelyn Smythe — Maggie Stables
• Professor Osborn — Nicholas Briggs
• President — Robert Curbishley
• Doctor Nicola Savage — Jane Goddard
• Fantham — Andrew Hair
• Taylor Renchard — Richard Herring
• Lieutenant Kruger — William Johnston
• Ryan Carey — Stewart Lee
• Hoyer — Alistair Lock
• Administrator David Isherwood — Christopher Scott
• Doctor Reece Goddard — Yee Jee Tso
• Dean — Mark Wright

After the success of the first online webcast story, Death Comes to Time, it was decided that a second would involve the talents of Big Finish Productions, who were already doing a number of audio plays involving members of Doctor Who's original cast. This webcast would involve Colin Baker playing the Sixth Doctor accompanied by Maggie Stables as Dr Evelyn Smythe, his companion in the Big Finish audio plays.

The limited bandwidth allowed by broadcasting across the Internet meant that writer and director Gary Russell approached the story with the edict that it would be shorter than many of the Big Finish plays. He decided that the story would therefore run, more or less, in "real time", with its complete 60-minute running time being exactly how long the Doctor would be involved within the story. The webcast was accompanied by very limited animation based on illustrations by artist Lee Sullivan.

The storyline was left without a definitive conclusion, allowing for a possible sequel to be made at a future date. However, the following webcast was a remake of the uncompleted 1979 serial Shada, written by Douglas Adams. When BBCi decided to take the production of the next webcast, Scream of the Shalka, completely in-house, this led to a brief falling out between Big Finish and BBCi, and any plans for a sequel to Real Time were shelved at that point. This extended to Russell even suggesting that Real Time be considered non-canon as far as the audio plays were concerned.

An extended version was released on CD in December 2002 by Big Finish, minus the illustrations/animation that had been included in the webcast but with the addition of further scenes designed to help the plot along, including an opening scene set inside the TARDIS.

Russell has expressed interest in the possibility of a sequel just to wrap up the loose ends of the plot.^{[citation needed]} However, no plans have been announced and as yet, the story remains unresolved.

• Real Time webcast on the BBC website

v • d • e Sixth Doctor audio dramas
Slipback • The Sirens of Time • Whispers of Terror • The Marian Conspiracy • The Spectre of Lanyon Moor
The Apocalypse Element • The Holy Terror • Bloodtide • Project: Twilight • The One Doctor • The Ratings War
Excelis Rising • The Maltese Penguin • ...ish • Real Time • The Sandman • Jubilee • Doctor Who and the Pirates
Project: Lazarus • Davros • Zagreus • The Wormery • Arrangements for War • Medicinal Purposes
Her Final Flight • The Juggernauts • Catch-1782 • Thicker than Water • Cryptobiosis • Pier Pressure
The Nowhere Place • The Reaping • Year of the Pig • I.D. & Urgent Calls

v • d • e Cybermen audio stories
Third Doctor:	The Blue Tooth
Fifth Doctor:	Spare Parts • The Gathering
Sixth Doctor:	Real Time • The Reaping
Seventh Doctor:	The Harvest
Eighth Doctor:	Sword of Orion • Human Resources
Bernice Summerfield:	Silver Lining • The Crystal of Cantus
Cyberman:	Scorpius • Fear • Conversion • Telos