Hubbry Logo
Shada (Doctor Who)Shada (Doctor Who)Main
Open search
Shada (Doctor Who)
Community hub
Shada (Doctor Who)
logo
7 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Shada (Doctor Who)
Shada (Doctor Who)
Shada (Doctor Who)
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia

108.5[1] – Shada
Doctor Who serial
Cast
Others
Production
Directed by
Written byDouglas Adams
Script editorDouglas Adams
Produced by
Music by
Production code5M
SeriesSeason 17
Running time
First broadcast19 July 2018 (2018-07-19) (USA)[a]
Chronology
← Preceded by
The Horns of Nimon 		Followed by →
The Leisure Hive
List of episodes (1963–1989)

Shada is a story from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by the series' script editor Douglas Adams, it was intended as the final serial of the 1979–80 season (season 17) but was never originally completed, owing to strike action at the BBC during studio recording.

The BBC released a completed version of Shada in 2017, with missing dialogue newly recorded by the original cast, using the same audio equipment employed in the initial shoot, and animated by the team that undertook the reconstruction of the 1966 serial The Power of the Daleks.[2][3] This version was released on DVD and Blu-ray in 2017, and broadcast on American television in 2018.

A new version with enhanced animation and split into six episodes was released on 20 December 2021, as part of a Season 17 Blu-ray boxset.[4][5]

Previous attempts to present the story include a narrated reconstruction for BBC Video; a re-imagined audio play by Big Finish Productions, also offered with basic Flash imagery on BBCi and the BBC's Doctor Who website; and a novelisation by Gareth Roberts, based on the latest shooting scripts, with the author's own additions.[6]

Synopsis

[edit]

The Fourth Doctor answers a distress signal from Professor Chronotis, a Time Lord posing as a professor at St Cedd's College, Cambridge who lent a Gallifreyan tome to his student Chris Parsons. The Doctor retrieves the book while Chronotis dies after his mind is extracted by the sphere of a mad scientist named Skagra, living long enough to warn Romana, K9, and Parsons of them and Shada. The Doctor locates Skagra's cloaked spacecraft, only for his companions to be captured while Skagra has his sphere extract the Doctor's mind to decode the book before taking Romana in the TARDIS to his carrier ship and Krarg creations. But the Doctor survives his ordeal with his mind intact and has the ship's computer release Chris and K9 and take them to a space station Skagra previously occupied. The group finds Skagra's discarded colleagues and learn he is after a Time Lord named Salyavin.

Back on Earth, Clare Keightley accidentally revives Chronotis whose chambers are revealed as a TARDIS, the Professor explaining the book is a key to the prison planet Shada where Salyavin is held. Chronotis and Clare repair the TARDIS to reach Skagra's carrier, saving the Doctor and Chris after Skagra decodes the book and reveals his intent to absorb Salyavin's mind and use its telepathy to unite all life into a single Universal Mind.

The group reaches Shada as Skagra releases the prisoners, and Chronotis is revealed as Salyavin with Skagra extracting his mind and turning the prisoners and Chris into his thralls. Reminded that the Universal Mind contains a copy of his brain, the Doctor builds a telepathy helmet to wrest control from Skagra while the Krarg are destroyed. Skagra ends up a prisoner in his own ship while the Doctor returns the restored prisoners to Shada and parts ways with Chronotis, musing over Chronotis' exploits being exaggerated while expecting a similar treatment within two centuries.

Production

[edit]

Originally, writer Douglas Adams presented a wholly different idea for the season's six-part finale, involving the Doctor's retirement from adventuring. Facing resistance from producer Graham Williams, Adams chose to avoid work on a replacement, under the expectation that time pressures would eventually force the producer's hand and allow his idea to be used. Ultimately, however, Williams forced Adams to conceive a new story as a last-minute replacement, which became Shada.

Under the original remit, Williams intended the story as a discussion about the death penalty, specifically how a civilisation like the Time Lords would deal with the issue and treat its prisoners.[citation needed]

As composed by Adams, the story was scheduled to span six 25-minute episodes. Location filming in Cambridge and the first of three studio sessions at BBC Television Centre were completed as scheduled;[6] however, when the scheduled second studio block was due to start, it fell foul of a long-running technicians' dispute at the BBC.[7] The strike was over by the onset of rehearsals for the third recording session, but ultimately the studio time was redirected to other higher-priority Christmas programming, leaving the serial incomplete.[8] It is estimated that only 50% of the story was filmed.[6]

Following the departure of Williams from the role of producer, attempts were made by new producer John Nathan-Turner to remount the story; Nathan-Turner intended to resume filming in October 1980, for broadcast in two fifty-minute episodes over Christmas 1980. However, he was not able to secure the required studio space.[9]

After the production halt, Adams expressed a low opinion of the script and was content to let it remain obscure, turning down offers to adapt the story in various forms. He once claimed that when he had signed the contract allowing the script's 1992 release (accompanying the serial's VHS reconstruction), it had been amongst a pile of papers sent over by his agent, and that he was unaware of what he was agreeing to.[10]

In 1983, footage from Shada was used in "The Five Doctors", the 20th Anniversary special. Tom Baker, the fourth actor to play the Doctor, had declined to appear in the special, and the plot was reworked to explain the events in the scenes.[7]

Cast notes

[edit]

Denis Carey was subsequently cast as the eponymous Keeper in Tom Baker's penultimate story, The Keeper of Traken (1981), and also appeared as the Borad's avatar in Timelash (1985).

Reconstruction

[edit]

1992 VHS reconstruction

[edit]

A decade after the serial's abandonment, John Nathan-Turner set out to complete the story, in a fashion, by commissioning new effects shots and a score, and having Tom Baker record linking material to cover the missing scenes. The resulting shortened episodes (of between 14 and 22 minutes each) received a 111-minute VHS release in 1992. In its UK edition, the VHS was accompanied by a facsimile of a version of Douglas Adams's script.[6] The release was discontinued in the UK in 1996.

This VHS reconstruction, the 2003 BBCi/Big Finish adaptation, and the 1994 documentary More Than Thirty Years in the TARDIS,[11] were re-released together on DVD on 7 January 2013 as The Legacy Collection (UK) or simply Shada (North America).

2017 animated restoration

[edit]

On 24 November 2017, an effort to complete the serial officially, using newly recorded dialogue from the original cast (using the serial's original recording engineer and audio equipment), and new animated footage to complete the missing segments, was released as a digital download; DVD and Blu-ray releases followed on 4 December that year, in Region 2.[12] The new sequences were animated by the same team that undertook the 2016 animated edition of the 1966 serial The Power of the Daleks,[2] including director Charles Norton, with lead character art by Martin Geraghty, character shading by Adrian Salmon, props by Mike Collins, and background art by Daryl Joyce.[13]

A two-disc Region 1 DVD release was originally set to be made available on 9 January 2018; this was later postponed in the US and Canada to 4 September that year.[14][15] The serial was released on 10 January 2018 in Region 4.[16]

The final completed version received its US debut broadcast on 19 July 2018, on BBC America, with guide data giving the episode title as "The Lost Episode" rather than "Shada".[17]

2021 animated restoration

[edit]

Season 17 of Doctor Who was released on Blu-ray on 20 December 2021 as part of the Collection series, including a new version of Shada with enhanced animation. Whereas the 2017 version was only available in omnibus form, the new version was presented in the form of six separate episodes.[4][5]

EpisodeTitleRun time
[1992 Version]		Run time
[2021 Version]		Planned airdate
1"Part One"24:3425:2519 January 1980 (1980-01-19)
2"Part Two"17:5625:0926 January 1980 (1980-01-26)
3"Part Three"17:2924:522 February 1980 (1980-02-02)
4"Part Four"17:4326:009 February 1980 (1980-02-09)
5"Part Five"14:1125:0516 February 1980 (1980-02-16)
6"Part Six"17:4325:0723 February 1980 (1980-02-23)

Other adaptations

[edit]
Shada
Album cover
Big Finish Productions audio drama
SeriesDoctor Who
Release no.II
Featuring
Written byDouglas Adams, Gary Russell
Directed byGary Russell
Produced byGary Russell
Production codeII
Length150
Release dateDecember 2003

Big Finish audio play and web animation (2003)

[edit]

In 2003, the BBC commissioned Big Finish Productions to remake Shada as an audio play which was then webcast[6][18] in six episodic segments, accompanied by limited Flash animation, on the BBC website using illustrations provided by comic strip artist Lee Sullivan.[19] The play stars Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor and Lalla Ward as Romana. The audio play was also broadcast on digital radio station BBC7, on 10 December 2005 (as a 2½-hour omnibus), and was repeated in six parts as the opening story to the Eighth Doctor's summer season, which began on 16 July 2006.

The webcast version (originally broadcast via BBCi's "Red Button") remains available from the BBC Doctor Who "classic series" website[citation needed] and an expanded audio-only version is available for purchase on CD from Big Finish. This expanded version was the one broadcast on BBC7.

Production

[edit]

Tom Baker was originally approached to reprise the role of the Doctor, but declined. The Eighth Doctor was then substituted and the story reworked accordingly.

Portions of the Big Finish version were reworked by Gary Russell to make the story fit into Doctor Who continuity. This included a new introduction, and a new explanation for the Fourth Doctor and Romana being "taken out of time" during the events of "The Five Doctors": the Eighth Doctor has come to collect Romana and K9 because he has begun to have a feeling that there was something they should have done at that time.[citation needed]

When Skagra is investigating the Doctor, clips from three other Big Finish productions can be heard, exclusively on the CD version – The Fires of Vulcan, The Marian Conspiracy and Phantasmagoria. The original serial was to have used clips from The Pirate Planet (1978), The Power of Kroll (1978–79), The Creature from the Pit (1979), The Androids of Tara (1978), Destiny of the Daleks (1979), and City of Death (1979).[citation needed]

Outside references

[edit]

In Episode 2 of the webcast version, when Chris is in his lab showing Clare the book, a vending machine-like object in the background is labelled "Nutrimat", a reference to a similar device in Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Two other references are a sequence where Skagra steals a Ford Prefect and when images of Hitchhiker's Guide characters appear as inmates on Shada itself. The character Professor Chronotis would later be re-used for Adams's novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, though lacking any elements related to Doctor Who.[20][21]

Ian Levine animated version (2011)

[edit]

In 2010, Ian Levine funded an unofficial project to complete the original Shada story using animation and the original voice actors, minus Tom Baker and David Brierley, to complete the parts of the story that were never filmed. John Leeson replaced Brierley as the voice of K9, and Paul Jones (voice actor and commercial radio producer)[22] replaced Tom Baker as the Doctor.[6] The completed story was finished in late 2011 and announced by Levine, via his Twitter account, on 8 September 2011.[6][23] J. R. Southall, writer for the science fiction magazine Starburst, reviewed the completed version at Levine's invitation and scored it 10 out of 10 in an article published on 15 September 2011.[24] The completed Levine version appeared on torrent sites over two years later, on 12 October 2013.

In print

[edit]

Novelisation and audio book (2012)

[edit]

Elements of the story were reused by Adams for his novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, in particular the character of Professor Chronotis who possesses a time machine. Adams did not allow Shada, or any of his other Doctor Who stories, to be novelised by Target Books. It is, therefore, one of only five serials from the 1963–1989 series not to be novelised by Target – along with Adams' other stories The Pirate Planet and City of Death, plus Eric Saward's two Dalek stories (Resurrection of the Daleks and Revelation of the Daleks).

Key Information

A six-part adaptation of the story by Jonathan V. Way appeared in issues 13–18 of Cosmic Masque, the Doctor Who Appreciation Society's fiction magazine. Adams granted permission for the adaptation on condition that it was never published in collected form.[25]

BBC Books published a novelisation of this serial on 15 March 2012, written by Gareth Roberts. Roberts drew on the latest versions of the scripts available, as well as adding new material of his own to "fix" what he viewed as various plotholes and unanswered questions.[26] Nicholas Pegg, in his review of the book for Doctor Who Magazine, heartily praised it, calling it a "successful duet".[27]

Audio book

[edit]

AudioGo released an unabridged audiobook of Roberts' novelization on 15 March 2012. Narrated by Lalla Ward, with John Leeson voicing K9, it runs 11 hours and 30 minutes. It was made available for download or on 10 CDs (CD ISBN 978-1-4458-6763-2, Download ISBN 9781445867656).[28] Vanessa Bishop reviewed it favourably for Doctor Who Magazine, singling out Simon E. Power's sound design for special praise.[29]

Reviews

[edit]

Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping gave the serial (at the time in the form of the 1992 VHS reconstruction) a mixed review in The Discontinuity Guide (1995), saying;

'I dunno, nowadays they'll publish anything.' Infamous because it was never completed, it was for a long time stated that Shada would have been the highlight of the seventeenth season. What was filmed doesn't quite encourage such optimism. It's a very cheap looking story, and there are lashings of bad puns and dull comedy, including three takes on the 'One lump or two?/Sugar?' joke. Against that, the basic plot is interesting – almost justifying its six episodes, which is rare – and the Cambridge scenes, though stilted, are well executed. It's hugely flawed, but it's a shame that this one was clobbered by a strike and The Creature from the Pit wasn't.[30]

Patrick Mulkern reviewed the 2017 partially reconstructed version for Radio Times, and thought that despite "pockets of magic to enjoy", it was a "sprawling but far-from-epic serial". He felt that the humour was repetitive and fell flat, and that the action was pedestrian. Mulkern recommended the novelisation by Gareth Roberts as a superior alternative.[31]

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]

Bibliography

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Shada (Doctor Who)

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Shada is a six-part serial written by Douglas Adams for the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, intended as the final story of the seventeenth season in 1979, starring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, Lalla Ward as Romana II, and John Leeson voicing K9. Production began with location filming in Cambridge but was abandoned midway due to an technicians' strike at the BBC, leaving studio sessions unrecorded and the serial incomplete. Adams, serving as the series' script editor at the time, crafted the story around a criminal Time Lord seeking ancient knowledge at the titular lost planet prison, blending elements of academia, criminal pursuit, and cosmic peril. The serial's unfinished status conferred upon it a legendary aura among fans, prompting multiple reconstruction efforts over decades. In 1980, producer screened existing footage with linking narration by at fan conventions, while a 1992 release incorporated and further narration. A 2003 BBCi adapted it as an animated production featuring voicing the , accompanied by a Big Finish audio version. The most comprehensive completion arrived in 2017, when released a version reconstructing missing scenes via , supplemented by new narration and interviews, available on DVD and Blu-ray. Additionally, Roberts novelized the script in 2013, with an audiobook narrated by . These adaptations underscore Shada's enduring appeal, rooted in Adams' signature wit and the programme's tradition of salvaging incomplete narratives through innovative media.

Original Production

Script Development

Douglas Adams, the script editor for Doctor Who's seventeenth season, undertook the writing of Shada amid a production shortfall, as no suitable scripts were available to conclude the season following the abandonment of other proposals. Initially, Adams proposed a two-part story in which the Doctor attempted retirement but was repeatedly drawn back into adventures; producer Graham Williams rejected this as overly satirical and requested expansion into a full six-part serial. Adams then reoriented the narrative around exiles and criminal elements, drawing inspiration from his experiences at Cambridge University, his , including eccentric professors who influenced the character of Professor Chronotis. Work on the script commenced in late June 1979, with formal commissioning requested on July 18 and granted on August 15, though Adams had begun drafting earlier amid his concurrent commitments to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The provisional title was Sunburst, later changed to Shada by late August to reflect the story's ancient Time Lord prison planet. Scripts remained in flux during pre-production; director Pennant Roberts arrived in August 1979 to find revisions ongoing, including adjustments to streamline a small cast for budget constraints and to address head of series Graeme MacDonald's August 2 critique that the plot felt underdeveloped for six episodes. Further refinements occurred in September 1979, such as reversing an early draft where Chronotis died in the second episode— a change Adams made due to his attachment to the character—and heavy rewriting of dialogue, particularly Tom Baker's lines, with alterations like renaming a location from "Chris" to "Bristol". Adams ultimately received sole writing credit, despite collaborative input from Williams, after comedian John Lloyd, initially approached, declined the assignment owing to Adams' overloaded schedule. The process reflected Adams' rushed style, later described by him as a "last-minute panic" to fill the seasonal gap, though he incorporated thematic elements like capital punishment in advanced societies.

Casting and Principal Filming

portrayed the , with playing his companion Romana II. provided the voice for the robot dog K9. Supporting roles included Denis Carey as the retired Professor Chronotis, as the antagonist Skagra, Daniel Hill as university student Chris Parsons, Victoria Burgoyne as fellow student Clare Keightley, and as Chronotis's servant Wilkin. Principal location filming occurred from 15 to 19 October 1979 in , primarily around . Scenes captured included the Doctor and Romana punting on the River Cam, street sequences in , the death of a in , Skagra's ship landing in a field, and exteriors at Emmanuel College standing in for St Cedd's College. The initial studio sessions took place from 3 to 5 November 1979 at BBC Television Centre Studio 3 in , and BBC Television Film Studios in . These recorded key interiors such as the , Professor Chronotis's cluttered study, dilapidated sections of the , and the brig aboard Skagra's ship, under the direction of Pennant Roberts.

Technical Filming and Cancellation

Location filming for Shada commenced on October 15, 1979, in , capturing key exterior sequences such as the Doctor and Romana punting on the River Cam near , Skagra's ship landing in , and scenes at Emmanuel College serving as St Cedd's College. A night shoot scheduled for October 18 was cancelled amid early signs of industrial unrest, with technicians recalling the lighting chargehand on October 16 over union demarcation disputes. Model effects work, including shots for Skagra's ship and related visuals, was filmed on October 22, 1979, at Film Studios in , . The production then moved to , with the first block held November 3–5, 1979, at Centre Studio 3 in , where interiors for Professor Chronotis' study, the Think Tank, Skagra's ship brig, and additional model sequences were completed using for spaceship environments. Subsequent studio sessions planned for November 19–20 at TC6 and December 1–3 at TC3, along with further effects filming on November 15–16, were derailed by an intensifying technicians' dispute that locked Television Centre on November 19 and enforced an overtime ban from November 6. The conflict, rooted in rigid union protocols over tasks like prop movement—exemplified by debates over handling items such as the Play School clock—prevented scheduling of the effects-heavy remaining footage, including more CSO integration for the criminal's sphere and time corridor sequences. On December 10, 1979, BBC management formally abandoned Shada owing to these disruptions, which precluded completion before the holiday broadcast window, substituting The Horns of Nimon as Season 17's finale. Producer Graham Williams advocated resumption, but new producer John Nathan-Turner rejected revival efforts in April–June 1980, prioritizing studio allocation for incoming seasons amid ongoing resource constraints.

Storyline

Plot Summary

The receives a telepathic distress signal while aboard the and, accompanied by Romana II and K9, travels to contemporary to visit his old acquaintance Professor Chronotis, a retired masquerading as a fellow at the fictional St Cedd's College. Chronotis possesses the Ancient and Worshipful Law of Gallifrey, a forbidden tome stolen from the ' archives that encodes the coordinates to Shada, a covert prison planet housing the universe's most perilous criminals whose minds have been extracted and stored there to neutralize threats. Chronotis requests the Doctor's assistance in discreetly returning the book to Gallifrey, but two graduate students, Chris Parsons and Clare Keightley, inadvertently borrow it from his TARDIS-like rooms, where its pages mysteriously rearrange to evade casual reading. Skagra, an egocentric alien with advanced including a portable that drains and , arrives on intent on seizing the to locate Shada and harness its imprisoned intellects for his scheme to dominate the by replicas of his mind into every being via his ship. Skagra's minions— including autonomous robotic and a hulking Krarg servant created through —interrogate and fatally overwhelm Chronotis, though the professor manages a final warning to Romana about the peril of Shada before succumbing. The Doctor and Romana pursue leads amid campus chaos, with Chris briefly accessing the secrets before Skagra's forces eliminate him, while Clare flees with the tome; Skagra captures Romana and K9, blanking their minds with his , but the Doctor orchestrates a rescue aboard Skagra's vessel, revealing the villain's plan to exploit Shada's time-locked prisoners, particularly the telepathic genius Salyavin, to perfect domination. The antagonists converge on Shada, a facility enveloped in a quasar-like energy field accessible only via precise temporal coordinates, where Skagra deploys a time scoop to materialize the planet and commence extracting the collective criminal minds into his for assimilation. The Doctor, ensnared and subjected to mind extraction himself, sees his transferred into K9's frame, enabling a subversive ; Romana and Clare infiltrate Skagra's operations, restoring K9's functions, while the Doctor's disembodied mind rallies Salyavin's residual influence against the invader. Overloading the with conflicting intellects, the heroes thwart Skagra's conquest— the ship implodes, consigning the villain to oblivion and resealing Shada— before the Doctor reintegrates his mind, departing with his companions as the fades back into temporal stasis.

Key Themes and Elements

Central to Shada is the concept of Shada itself, a concealed prison planet designed to incarcerate the universe's most dangerous criminals through cryogenic suspension and isolation in a time-locked extradimensional bubble, underscoring themes of and the long-term safeguarding of cosmic order against intellectual and existential threats. The narrative revolves around a forbidden Gallifreyan tome housing the coordinates to this facility, which represents accumulated of unparalleled peril, as its exposure risks unleashing capable of universal domination. This artifact drives the antagonist Skagra's scheme, a self-evolved from a distant future who employs a portable mind-extraction sphere to assimilate intellects, pursuing total to impose a homogenized order on all life forms—a motif illustrating the of unchecked ambition and the ethical perils of reducing to extractable . Recurring elements include mind projection and transference, exemplified by the escaped prisoner Salyavin (disguised as Professor Chronotis), who evades physical incarceration via psychic relocation to Earth, highlighting the limitations of material prisons against transcendent intellects and the causal risks of incomplete containment systems. Skagra's crystalline Krarg servants, mindless enforcers programmed for absolute obedience, serve as a counterpoint, embodying dehumanized utility in service of a singular vision, while human protagonists like student Chris Parsons inadvertently entangle mundane academia with interstellar intrigue, blending everyday intellectual curiosity with high-stakes cosmic consequences. The story's integration of Cambridge University as a setting juxtaposes scholarly pursuits with Time Lord esoterica, evoking motifs of hidden histories infiltrating the ordinary and the inherent dangers of probing ancient, restricted lore without contextual wisdom. Douglas Adams' script infuses these elements with satirical humor, particularly in the absurdities of academic and criminal logistics—such as Chronotis's cluttered disguised as a cluttered flat—critiquing rigid hierarchies and the folly of over-reliance on for control, as seen in failed extractions and malfunctions that underscore causal unpredictability in complex systems. Redemption arcs, like Salyavin's ultimate sacrifice, introduce themes of for past "mind crimes," suggesting that even profound threats can yield to voluntary restraint when confronted with greater goods, though the resolution emphasizes empirical vigilance over idealistic forgiveness.

Reconstructions and Official Releases

1992 VHS Reconstruction

The 1992 VHS reconstruction assembled the extant footage from Shada's 1979 production—including 16mm location filming in and incomplete studio segments—into a continuous narrative, with gaps filled by on-camera linking narration from as the . Baker recorded this material on 4 February 1992 at the in , delivering it in character but out of costume to summarize unfilmed scenes and advance the plot. The effort, overseen by producer , aimed to salvage the abandoned serial for release without additional or animation. Edited into six abbreviated episodes of 14 to 22 minutes each, the total runtime measured 111 minutes, preserving the original directorial intent under Pennant Roberts while relying on Baker's narration for continuity. Video issued the tape on 6 July in the United Kingdom, housed in a double-cassette box alongside a companion paperback reprinting ' script with annotations. A U.S. edition followed in October , marking the first commercial presentation of the story in any visual format. This version emphasized the raw, unfinished quality of the surviving elements, including added sound effects and music to enhance the incomplete sequences.

2003 Webcast and Audio Adaptation

In 2003, the BBC commissioned Big Finish Productions to produce a new adaptation of Shada, resulting in both a webcast animated serial and an accompanying audio release. Adapted by Gary Russell from Douglas Adams' original script, the production shifted the narrative to feature the Eighth Doctor completing the unfinished adventure originally intended for the Fourth Doctor. The webcast utilized simple flash animation synchronized with newly recorded audio, emphasizing the story's elements of time travel, ancient Gallifreyan knowledge, and the villain Skagra's quest for the dangerous book Shada. The webcast starred as the , reprising her role as Romana II, and voicing K9. Supporting cast included as Professor Chronotis, as Skagra, and as Chris Parsons, with additional voices for characters like Wilkin () and the Ship (Melissa Wilson). Directed by , the six-episode serial premiered on the BBCi website on 2 May 2003, with weekly installments concluding on 6 June 2003. This format allowed online accessibility, marking an early digital experiment for content. The audio adaptation, extracted and extended from the webcast, was released by Big Finish on in December 2003 as a two-disc set. This version focused solely on the dialogue and , providing a standalone listening experience without visuals, and included enhancements to the script for narrative flow. The production highlighted Adams' humorous script while integrating Eighth Doctor-era continuity, such as references to prior adventures. Rights restrictions later limited digital downloads, preserving its status as a exclusive.

2017 Animated Reconstruction

The 2017 animated reconstruction of Shada combined approximately of surviving live-action footage from the original production with newly created to complete the six-part serial as a 90-minute . Directed by Charles Norton, the project retained the original script by and featured re-recorded dialogue for animated sequences, with voice sessions held on 9 and 13 July 2017. Original cast members (), (Romana II), (Skagra), and Daniel Hill (Chris Parsons) provided the new audio, preserving their performances while updating for clarity; surviving audio was reused where possible. Production emphasized cost-effective 2D to fill gaps caused by the 1979 cancellation, completed within a five-month timeline after securing Baker's involvement. The animation style matched the era's aesthetic, using dramatic lighting and shadows to integrate seamlessly with live footage, though limited budget resulted in stylized rather than photorealistic motion. Behind-the-scenes material, including studio sessions, was incorporated into bonus features, with presenter providing linking narration. The reconstruction premiered digitally and on on 24 November 2017 in regions including and the , with a in some markets and a U.S. broadcast on on 19 July 2018. Available in standard DVD/Blu-ray and a steelbook edition, it included extras such as model effects tests and effects comparisons, highlighting technical advancements over prior reconstructions. Reception praised the faithful completion of Adams's story, with the blend of media described as effective despite constraints, earning a 7.2/10 average on from over 900 user ratings. Critics noted the production's success in delivering a cohesive viewing experience for an unfinished classic, though some highlighted the 's pacing as stretched for six episodes.

2021 Enhanced Animation Release

The 2021 enhanced animation release of Shada formed part of Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 17 Blu-ray box set, issued on 20 December 2021 by . This edition restructured the animated reconstruction into a traditional six-episode format, aligning with the serial's original intended broadcast structure for Season 17, and incorporated newly enhanced animation for the unfilmed segments originally abandoned in due to . The enhancements retained the 2017 animation's core use of surviving live-action footage combined with computer-generated sequences voiced by the original cast—including as the , as Romana II, and David Brierley as K9—but introduced refinements such as improved visual integration, including dynamic shadows that move interactively with characters rather than remaining static overlays. Key updates in the 2021 version addressed pacing issues from the prior omnibus edit by trimming repetitive elements and redistributing scenes across episodes, resulting in runtime adjustments that better emulate 1980s Doctor Who episode lengths of approximately 25 minutes each. Additional audio content from 1979-1980 recordings was integrated via B-roll footage and off-screen actor placements for previously unvisualized lines, enhancing narrative flow without new performances. The release also bundled supplementary materials, including the 1992 VHS reconstruction and 2003 webcast adaptation featuring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor, positioning it as a comprehensive archival presentation of the story's various completions. Subsequent to the Blu-ray, the six-part enhanced version became streamable on , catalogued as episodes of Season 17, broadening access beyond physical media. Produced by , this iteration emphasized fidelity to ' script while leveraging modern animation techniques to approximate the unproduced studio elements, such as interiors on the planet Shada and the sphere ship's sequences. No alterations were made to the live-action location footage from Cambridge University, preserving the 1979 authenticity.

Additional Adaptations

The official print novelisation of Shada was authored by Gareth Roberts, adapting and completing the unfinished television script originally written by . Published by on 15 March 2012 as a edition with 416 pages, it carries the ISBN 978-1-84990-328-8. Roberts drew upon the most recent available drafts of Adams' script, incorporating additional material to resolve narrative gaps arising from the 1979 production halt due to . In constructing the prose version, Roberts expanded on key elements such as the Skagra's motivations and the ancient criminal Salyavin's backstory, while maintaining fidelity to Adams' humorous tone and the serial's University setting involving the , Romana II, and K9. The novel includes scenes that were scripted but unfilmed, providing a cohesive conclusion to the story's plot centered on the pursuit of a dangerous book containing cosmic knowledge. Unlike audio or animated adaptations, this version emphasizes descriptive narrative depth, allowing for internal monologues and atmospheric details absent in visual formats. Roberts' selection as adaptor stemmed from his prior experience writing Doctor Who novels and his appreciation for Adams' work, ensuring the novelisation aligned with the original vision while addressing unresolved elements. The book received an audiobook release narrated by Lalla Ward, who portrayed Romana, further bridging it to the televised legacy. This publication marked the first official prose adaptation of Shada, distinguishing it from earlier unofficial fan efforts.

Unofficial and Fan Versions

In the early 1980s, fans produced informal reconstructions of Shada to experience the incomplete story, including a 1983 version assembled by , Richard Landen, James Russell, and using surviving footage supplemented by still images and basic animations derived from production photographs. This effort circulated privately among enthusiasts, relying on multi-generation audio copies and visual approximations to bridge gaps left by the original production's abandonment due to in 1979. A more ambitious unofficial project emerged in 2010 when personally funded and oversaw an animated reconstruction, aiming to complete the serial with new animation for unfilmed scenes while incorporating original cast recordings where available, such as Tom Baker's performance as the . Directed by Levine, this version premiered privately in 2011 and was later reviewed positively for its fidelity to Douglas Adams' script, though it remained unauthorized by the and circulated through fan channels rather than official release. Levine's involvement stemmed from his longstanding advocacy for reconstructing unfinished material, predating similar official efforts. Fan novelisations also addressed the gap in accessible Shada content; Paul Scoones penned a Target Books-style adaptation titled Doctor Who and Shada, first circulated in 1991 through fan networks and later reissued as an e-book in 2006 with revisions for accuracy to Adams' . This text expanded on the story's plot involving the prison Shada and the villain Skagra, drawing from script drafts and production notes unavailable in broadcast form. Such works reflected dedicated fan scholarship, filling voids until commercial publications in the . Later fan edits, such as a "complete serial" fanedit on platforms like Fanedit.org, combined elements from Levine's animation, official audio, and 2017 BBC reconstruction to create hybrid versions tailored to individual preferences, though these garnered niche discussion rather than widespread adoption. These unofficial endeavors underscore persistent interest in preserving Adams' vision amid production setbacks, often prioritizing completeness over status.

Reception and Analysis

Critical Reception

Upon its abandonment in 1979 due to a technicians' strike, Shada's script drew mixed assessments, with writer himself expressing dissatisfaction and deeming it mediocre compared to his prior work like . Critics have echoed this, noting the story's reliance on familiar tropes such as an alien villain seeking ultimate knowledge via a hidden planet, which lacks the inventive spark of Adams' stronger efforts, though its university setting and intellectual pursuits add a cerebral layer. The 1992 VHS reconstruction, featuring Tom Baker's narration for unfilmed segments, received praise for Baker's engaging delivery that paced the incomplete footage effectively, but was critiqued for the inherent gaps preventing full immersion, rendering it more a curiosity than a cohesive episode. The 2003 webcast version, blending live-action with Flash animation and audio from Big Finish, earned favorable reviews for preserving Adams' whimsical dialogue and character dynamics between the Fourth Doctor and Romana, scoring 4 out of 5 in one analysis for its accessibility despite modest production values. The 2017 animated reconstruction garnered broader acclaim, with its cel-shaded style lauded for expressive character models and restraint in avoiding overly ambitious effects, allowing the humor and plot—centered on the villain Skagra's sphere-induced mind control—to shine through and Lalla Ward's archival performances augmented by new recordings. Aggregated user ratings on stood at 7.2/10 from over 900 reviews, highlighting the story's fun elements and faithful completion after 38 years. Detractors noted occasional stilted animation and uneven humor pacing, yet it was generally viewed as a worthwhile addition to the era, bolstered by Adams' name despite not rivaling his peak contributions.

Fan Perspectives and Debates

Fans have long debated the canonical status of Shada, given its incomplete production in 1979 due to industrial action, with some arguing it merits inclusion in the Doctor Who timeline for its partial filming and integration into Time Lord mythology, such as the prison planet Shada and the criminal Salyavin. Opponents contend it lacks legitimacy as it was never fully broadcast or completed, viewing the 1992 VHS release—supplemented by Tom Baker's narration—as mere merchandise rather than a proper episode, thereby excluding it from official continuity except for brief clips reused in The Five Doctors (1983). This divide reflects broader fandom tensions over unfinished stories, where partial production does not equate to transmission, though many fans informally accept it as part of the Fourth Doctor's era. Preferences among reconstructions vary, with the 2003 BBC webcast adaptation—featuring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor—often praised for its audio fidelity to Douglas Adams' script and innovative online format marking the franchise's 40th anniversary, despite rudimentary animation. In contrast, the 2017 animated reconstruction garnered enthusiasm for reuniting the original cast, including Baker's newly recorded dialogue, and its cohesive presentation with period-appropriate scoring, though some critiqued earlier versions like the 1992 VHS for mismatched music by Keff McCulloch. Fans frequently weigh these against Adams' own assessment of the script as "rather thin—a mediocre four-parter stretched over six," as he confided to Doctor Who Magazine, fueling discussions on whether adaptations elevate or dilute the original intent. Debates also center on Shada's hyped reputation as a "lost classic" attributable to Adams' involvement following the acclaimed (1979), with enthusiasts lauding its wit and university setting as superior to some transmitted serials, yet acknowledging self-indulgent elements and the gap between idealized script and realized forms. This polarization underscores a tendency to romanticize unproduced material, contrasting empirical assessments of its flaws—such as underdeveloped villains—with causal appreciation for Adams' humorous contributions to the series.

Strengths and Criticisms

Shada's script demonstrates ' characteristic wit through clever in-jokes, humorous dialogue, and inventive concepts like a sphere containing the captured minds of a criminal species and a prison accessed via an ancient book. Its narrative escalates effectively across six episodes, incorporating rich mythology—such as the stagnant bureaucracy of Gallifrey—and character moments like the retired Professor Chronotis' earthly domesticity, which tie into themes from earlier serials like . Reviewers have highlighted these elements as providing pockets of engaging drama and intellectual appeal, particularly in the Cambridge University setting that grounds the in relatable academia. Criticisms of the story center on its structural weaknesses, with Adams himself dismissing it as underdeveloped: "I didn’t particularly like it. It was rather thin – at most a mediocre four-parter stretched over six parts," according to his comments in Doctor Who Magazine. The plot has been faulted for pacing issues, including repetitive sequences focused on mundane details like tea preparation and a second half that flags with underdeveloped romantic subplots and a rushed resolution prioritizing monsters over sustained tension. The antagonist Skagra lacks the nuanced charisma of villains in Adams' superior , coming across as a generic megalomaniac whose motivations—universal domination via mind control—fail to elevate the sprawling serial to epic proportions, resulting in lethargic action and an overreliance on frivolity at the expense of compelling stakes.

Legacy and Impact

Influence on Doctor Who Canon

Shada's incomplete production in 1979 prevented its immediate integration into the televised canon, resulting in no direct narrative continuity from its events in subsequent broadcast episodes. The story's core elements, including the eponymous prison planet—a extradimensional facility for detaining the universe's most perilous minds—and the ancient criminal Salyavin (alias Professor Chronotis), remained confined to script and partial footage until later official adaptations. These concepts did not contradict established lore, allowing their adoption in non-televised media without requiring retcons. Official releases have retroactively affirmed Shada's place within the franchise's mythology. The 1992 edition, featuring Tom Baker's linking narration to bridge unfilmed segments, and the 2003 interactive webcast with as the , presented the narrative as a valid adventure displaced by external factors like actor reluctance and . The 2017 fully animated reconstruction, incorporating newly recorded by Baker on December 20, 2016, further canonized the serial by completing its production to broadcast standards, enabling seamless inclusion in collections alongside aired stories. This version aired excerpts during the 2018 and was commercially released on December 26, 2017, treating the events as having occurred between (broadcast October 27–November 17, 1979) and (broadcast August 5–26, 1980). In the , Shada's innovations influenced depictions of judiciary systems and renegade exiles. The prison planet Shada, conceptualized as a forgotten Gallifreyan outpost housing entities like Salyavin—imprisoned circa 50,000 BC for mind-control abilities—recurred in ' audio ranges, such as The Adventures, where its implications for history were explored without televised precedent. Similarly, antagonist Skagra's sphere technology for mind extraction echoed later motifs of psychic weaponry in novels like the series, though direct callbacks remain absent from the 2005 revival onward. ' script thus contributed foundational lore on fallibility and interstellar threats, shaping fan and licenced interpretations of Gallifreyan society amid the franchise's fluid continuity model, where producer statements affirm broad inclusivity absent explicit contradictions.

Douglas Adams' Role and Broader Cultural Significance

Douglas Adams served as script editor for the seventeenth season of Doctor Who in 1979, during which he penned the script for Shada as the intended season finale. This marked his sole original full-length script for the televised series, distinct from his earlier contributions like The Pirate Planet and the co-authored City of Death. Intended to feature the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker), Romana II (Lalla Ward), and K9, the story's production halted after partial filming in late 1979 due to a technicians' strike and Baker's tonsillitis, leaving approximately three-quarters of the footage incomplete. Adams' involvement reflected the experimental tone of producer Graham Williams' era, blending cerebral science fiction with comedic elements drawn from his experiences at Cambridge University, where much of the narrative unfolds. The unfinished status of Shada elevated it to a mythic position within Doctor Who lore, underscoring Adams' nascent reputation as a capable of infusing the series with and philosophical —traits that would define his later , The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Unlike fully realized episodes, Shada's partial remnants, including raw footage and audio reconstructions narrated by in 2003 and animated versions in 2017 and 2021, preserved Adams' vision amid production turmoil, allowing fans to engage with his unpolished draft. This persistence highlights how external disruptions, rather than creative flaws, immortalized the serial, contrasting with Adams' dissatisfaction; he reportedly donated royalties from some releases to , viewing them as deviations from his intent. Culturally, Shada exemplifies Adams' bridge between Doctor Who's serialized adventures and broader , exploring themes of criminal , mind extraction, and existential threats in a manner resonant with his atheistic and disdain for dogmatic order. Its legacy extends Adams' influence beyond television, inspiring novelisations (e.g., Gareth Roberts' 2012 completion) and fan reconstructions that affirm his role in elevating the show's intellectual humor during a transitional period. By embodying the fragility of collaborative media production, Shada serves as a cautionary artifact of British television constraints, while its repeated revivals underscore enduring demand for Adams' blend of whimsy and rigor, cementing his pre-Hitchhiker's contributions to genre storytelling.

References

  1. https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/time-after-time-a-history-of-shada-from-the-essential-doctor-who
  2. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-41556134
  3. https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-shada-451
  4. https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/the-whographica-guide-to-classic-doctor-who-story-shada
  5. http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/5m.html
  6. https://doctorwho.org.nz/archive/tsv26/shada.html
  7. https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-guide/doctor-who-shada-a-lost-classic/
  8. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7689226/fullcredits/
  9. https://mubi.com/en/films/doctor-who-shada/cast
  10. https://www.pagefillers.com/dwrg/shad.htm
  11. http://goingthroughdoctorwho.blogspot.com/2016/06/shada-na-review.html
  12. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0292492/
  13. http://www.warpedfactor.com/2025/04/365-days-of-doctor-who-rewatching-shada.html
  14. https://lostmediawiki.com/Shada_%28found_unfinished_Doctor_Who_serial%3B_1979%29
  15. https://www.timelash.com/tardis/display.php?788
  16. https://broadwcast.org/index.php/Shada
  17. https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/webcasts/shada/
  18. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2934952/
  19. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2934952/fullcredits/
  20. https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Shada_%28TV_story%29
  21. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7689226/
  22. https://whospecialfeatures.fandom.com/wiki/Shada_%282017_Animated_Edition%29
  23. https://www.blogtorwho.com/first-look-shada-animated/
  24. https://whobackwhen.com/blog/worth-it-shada-standard-steelbook/
  25. https://letterboxd.com/film/doctor-who-shada-2017/
  26. https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/doctor-who-shada/
  27. https://letterboxd.com/man_out_of_time/film/doctor-who-shada-2017/
  28. https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/season-17-announced-as-the-next-instalment-in-the-collection-blu-ray-range
  29. https://www.amazon.com/DW-THE-COLLECTION-SEASON-17/dp/B0CPT837HY
  30. https://www.endofthelane.co.uk/Shada-Blog-2.html
  31. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/DoctorWhoS17E6Shada
  32. https://www.reddit.com/r/gallifrey/comments/yp2yiu/shada_animation_2017_v_2021/
  33. https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/121-doctor-who/discuss/656788df3d7454010be19483
  34. https://www.wired.com/2012/07/doctor-who-shada/
  35. https://tardis.wiki/wiki/Shada_%28novelisation%29
  36. https://hibernatorslibrary.com/2015/11/28/shada-by-douglas-adams-and-gareth-roberts/
  37. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13541612-doctor-who
  38. https://www.timelash.com/tardis/display.php?2496
  39. https://louisedennis.livejournal.com/301347.html
  40. https://doctorwho.org.nz/archive/shada/novelisingshada.html
  41. http://mrstu.blogspot.com/2013/12/ian-levines-shada-review.html
  42. https://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/doctor-who-and-the-shada-man/
  43. https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/doctor-who-shada-review/
  44. https://fanedit.org/forums/threads/doctor-who-shada-the-complete-serial.16770/
  45. https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/tom-baker-returns-in-shada-but-is-this-lost-doctor-who-still-a-plodder/
  46. https://www.reddit.com/r/gallifrey/comments/1bw4ufj/picking_up_the_pieces_shada_review/
  47. https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1924079.html
  48. https://them0vieblog.com/2013/02/14/doctor-who-shada-2003-review/
  49. https://thoroughlymodernreviewer.com/2018/03/16/a-tale-of-three-shadas-doctor-who-shada-review/
  50. https://hoganreviews.co.uk/2017/12/06/dw-shada-2017-version-review/
  51. https://thetimescales.com/Story/story.php?audioid=1078
  52. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/doctor_who_shada
  53. https://doctorwho.org.nz/archive/tsv32/shadadebate.html
  54. https://www.whoniverse.net/features/canon
  55. https://wearecult.rocks/shada-40
  56. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5J3Tcx2tWt09CqHWM1y8wzn/eight-of-the-funniest-detectives
  57. https://guide.doctorwhonews.net/person.php?name=DouglasAdams
  58. https://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Who-Shada-Adventure-Douglas/dp/0425259986
  59. https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/features/bulletins/bulletin_090922_01
  60. https://bradlinder.net/2013/03/shada-the-douglas-adams-script-for-doctor-who-finally-feels-complete.html
Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.