The Space War (unproduced TV story)

The Space War, also known as The Furies was written by Ian Stuart Black for Season 8. It was commissioned on 9 November 1969, but was dropped in October 1970 after complaints that the show was becoming too dark for family viewing.

The story would have centred around Jo. The Doctor would have seemingly been killed in a bombing run at the start of the story, after the TARDIS lands in a warzone. Jo would have been rescued by an all-female squadron of pilots called the Furies, who take her in and train her as one of them. Over the course of the story, she would learn that the war the Furies were fighting in was a lie conjured by the War Council to facilitate their ascension to power.

Jo would have led the Furies in a final battle against the War Council, who it would turn out were being led by the Master. This final battle would have tragically resulted in the death of all of the Furies, whilst Jo would have narrowly escaped in the TARDIS with the Doctor, who had been held prisoner by the Master since the bombing run.