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Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans | |
|---|---|
| Writer | Terrance Dicks |
| Director | Kevin Davies |
| Producer | Mark Ayres Kevin Davies |
| Executive producer(s) | Gary Leigh |
| Length | 1 episode, 70 mins. |
| Transmission date | 1995 |
Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans is a film spin-off of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was released direct-to-video in 1995 and was produced by the independent production company Dreamwatch Media, a division of Dreamwatch magazine. Initially available only through mail order and specialty shops, it was subsequently released to retail by Reeltime Pictures in 1997. It features two races of aliens, the Sontarans (first introduced in the Third Doctor serial The Time Warrior, and appearing in several subsequent stories) and the Rutans (who were first mentioned in The Time Warrior, and appeared in the Fourth Doctor serial Horror of Fang Rock). The Sontarans and Rutans were licensed from the estate of their creator Robert Holmes, although the appearance of the Sontarans had to be modified to avoid legal complications with the BBC, which owned the design of the creatures.
Due to licensing restrictions, the character of the Doctor does not actually appear, nor do any other characters from the series. However several actors from the Doctor Who series do appear in different roles, including Carole Ann Ford, Sophie Aldred and Michael Wisher. Also starring in this production are Blake's 7 alumni Jan Chappell and Brian Croucher.
Contents |
When a state-of-the-art racing yacht is attacked by a group of aliens during its shakedown cruise, it is up to the captain of the yacht and her crew to prevent an alien invasion.
- The video was shot entirely on location aboard the Second World War-era Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Belfast, permanently moored at Symon's Wharf on the River Thames since 1971.
- The unlicensed nature of the Dreamwatch production meant that they could not even refer to the character of the Doctor by name, hence one character's remembrance of a man who "Called himself the Professor, or the Dentist, or something..."
- Although the longstanding war between the Sontarans and the Rutan Host was frequently mentioned in Doctor Who, this video marks the only occasion in which the two opposing species appear on screen together.
- The initial idea for Shakedown came from producers Kevin Davies and Mark Ayres. They would produce, on behalf of Dreamwatch Media, a low-budget film for direct-to-video sale featuring some alien monsters from the BBCtv series Doctor Who and a cast drawn from Who and its stablemate Blake's 7.[1]
Other creator-authorized Doctor Who spin-offs include:
| Doctor Who book | |
 |
|
| Shakedown | |
|---|---|
| Series | Virgin New Adventures |
| Release number | 45 |
| Featuring | Seventh Doctor Benny, Chris, Roz |
| Writer | Terrance Dicks |
| Publisher | Virgin Books |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-426-20459-X |
| Release date | December 1995 |
| Preceded by | The Also People |
| Followed by | Just War |
In December 1995 a novelisation of this film, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Virgin Publishing as part of their New Adventures line; the title was shortened to Shakedown. It expands greatly on the original story and features many differences in plot, most notably the inclusion of the Seventh Doctor and his companions since, unlike Reeltime, Virgin had the rights to use the character. However, rather than drastically altering the events of the video, Dicks novelised the Doctor-less events of the script in the middle section of the book, with the new plot of the novel taking place around it. It also forms a sequel to the Virgin Missing Adventures novel Lords of the Storm by David A. McIntee.
This is the final Doctor Who-related novelisation to date by the prolific Terrance Dicks, who had been writing the books since 1973. Dicks has, however, continued to produce various original Doctor Who novels not based on scripted material.
Like all Doctor Who spin-off media, its canonicity in relation to the television series is unclear.
- Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans at the Internet Movie Database
- Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- Shakedown reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide
- Shakedown reviews at Outpost Gallifrey
- Shakedown reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide
| Sontaran television stories | |
|---|---|
| Third Doctor: | The Time Warrior |
| Fourth Doctor: | The Sontaran Experiment • The Invasion of Time |
| Sixth Doctor: | The Two Doctors |
| Other: | Shakedown • A Fix with Sontarans |
| See also: | Rutan Host |