Quiet on the Set (comic story)

Quiet on the Set was the tenth issue of Prisoners of Time, and featured the Tenth Doctor and his companion Martha Jones.

Publisher's summary
Our yearlong celebration of Doctor Who's 50th anniversary continues! Brilliant! The Tenth Doctor takes the spotlight in this issue of a 12-part epic adventure featuring all 11 incarnations of the Doctor. The Doctor brings Martha Jones to 1950s Los Angeles and the Griffith Observatory to give her a glimpse of Gallifrey, but soon encounters a film crew whose members are mysteriously disappearing!

Plot
The TARDIS, with the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones, has landed at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California in the mid-1950s. The Doctor tells Martha that the observatory was designed and funded by Colonel Griffith J. Griffith, and admires him for his confidence in using the same name twice. The security guard at the door refuses to let them in — the observatory is closed for the night because of "all the hub-bub down on the lawn".

The Doctor and Martha use the psychic paper to pass themselves off as an opto-mechanical technician for the Imperial College London and his "assistant". The guard agrees to keep out of their way for 45 minutes. The Doctor charges up the telescope, and lets Martha take a look. What Martha sees is the last residual image of Gallifrey before the Last Great Time War. Martha says it's beautiful, and thanks the Doctor, knowing it must be hard for him to show her what he'd lost. At that point they hear an alarm - the "hub-bub" that the security guard mentioned.

It turns out that the "hub-bub" is a film shoot. The Doctor quips that the last time he was on a movie set, he told Georges Melies what the Moon was like. The Doctor goes over to the producer to ask how the film's going, but the producer angrily tells him that he has no time for interference. Deke Williams, the stunt manager, tells them not to take it personally — he is under pressure as the movie is four days behind schedule. When the Doctor introduces himself, Deke says "Like a script doctor? The script's not where we're having trouble."

Deke says that the movie being behind schedule is costing the studio a fortune, people are worrying about the movie getting shut down, and crew members are disappearing — not showing up, and not giving notice about quitting either. Deke says "Nobody gives up a paying job in this business." The Doctor glances at some of the robot props and says "Oh, really..." The producer reappears and angrily tells Deke to get the next shot ready. Deke replies that until the actress, Bianca, shows up, her can't show her how to fall off the space buggy. Then the producer notices Martha, and decides she will be the new star. Deke is anxious about recasting this late, and adds that she looks nothing like Bianca. The producer dismisses this, saying Martha is beautiful, and that they can't afford any more delays. Deke asks Martha if she's ever acted before, to which she replies "No, never!" The producer says that the critics will be looking for an "unpretentious outsider" and takes Martha to the wardrobe. The Doctor reassures her that she'll be fine.

to be completed

Characters

 * Tenth Doctor
 * Martha Jones
 * Security guard
 * Producer
 * Deke Williams
 * Adam Mitchell

Continuity

 * The Tenth Doctor mentions that he has met the Dominators before, in a different body. (TV: The Dominators)
 * Martha says that she is acquainted with Shakespeare. (TV: The Shakespeare Code)