Doctor Who: After Travels - 2021

Doctor Who: After Travels would’ve been the third canonical spin-off series for Doctor Who after ‘Earth Defence’ and ‘Olympus’, it would’ve been created by Pete McTighe. After taking over as showrunner, Chris Chibnall saw that a significant portion of Doctor Who's younger audience had left, and the show had begun to explore darker themes. Chibnall realised he needed to take action because children make up the foundation audience for Doctor Who.

Subsequently, he concluded that it would be a good idea to create an animated cartoon series that would focus on past companions after they had departed the TARDIS. The actors could simply be brought back to record the programme in a recording studio.

Pete McTighe was appointed as the showrunner, from that point it was up to him to create the show and what would happen in every season. Due to the show being for children on a children’s television channel, McTighe made ground rules for the show which basically meant stuff like sex references and people dying would be excluded from the show entirely.

The run time for the show would be 25 minutes so stories could have a faster pace, a combination of 2D and 3D animation was used in the animation. Alternative View Studios created all of the character animation, which was 2D layered over 3D sets, but the backdrops and external space shots were all animated in 3D.

The Promise

By Pete McTighe

This story sees the return of Ace, we see Ace runs ‘A Charitable Earth’ and she’s working on a few things but then she hears a tapping and she looks at the door and sees a familiar silhouette behind the door and a question mark handle knocking on the door. She exclaims "Wicked". The Seventh Doctor walks in and the two friends hug, he asks if she wants to join him for another adventure and she says yes, she grabs her trademark jacket and they both enter the TARDIS.

The story would see the Seventh Doctor and Ace land on a planet where an expedition team try to find ‘The Emerald Beacon’ but the Daleks are also looking for it, the story would involve the Seventh Doctor and Ace stopping the Daleks. The end of the story would see Ace and the Seventh Doctor talk about their friendship and all the adventures they had and we would see them make up after the two friends left on civil terms.

Maggot Control

By Pete McTighe

This story sees the return of Jo Jones and Cliff, the story would see the two help UNIT with the Giant Maggots from ‘The Green Death’, the story would also see the return of Benton and Yates as they were in Doctor Who around the time Jo was so McTighe decided to bring them back as-well and the story was quite good because of this.

After So Many Years

By Phil Ford

For this story, it was decided to bring back two companions from the First Doctor era and it was decided to bring back Steven and Vicki. The story would see the two friends wake up on a spaceship where they’ve been held in suspended animation chambers, we learn Steven is a king and Vicki is a grandmother and farmer, the story was notable as both companions would have to defeat the main threat on their own with the main threat being a Qikvel, at the end of the episode they talk about their adventures and then wonder how they’re going to get home and the TARDIS materialises, the doors open and a bright light beams out the doors as we see Steven and Vicki’s faces light up and they both say “Doctor!” and we hear the First Doctor’s chuckle.

The Cyber Castle

By Chris Chibnall

This story sees Tegan Jovanka being teleported into a castle due to the detection of Artron Energy, she wanders around the castle for a while and is reunited with Nyssa and they both hug. It turns out the Cybermen are behind this and they want to try and lure the Doctor to the castle. We then see Tegan and Nyssa being chased around the castle and then the Fifth Doctor arrives, they have a quick reunion and during this the Fifth Doctor says they look a lot different (they got old) and Tegan basically says that he’s surprised he remembers and the Fifth Doctor says he never forgot about them, Tegan then asks what she thinks about when she sees the Cybermen and the Doctor mentions Adric, he then says Braveheart and the trio go to stop the Cybermen which they do and all three leave in the TARDIS.

The Warrior Queen

By Pete McTighe

This story saw the return of Peri and the Sixth Doctor, the story saw Peri, who is now the Warrior Queen, and is trying to stop the Sontarans invading Krontep. The Sixth Doctor arrives during this and he helps her stop the Sontarans.

Waiting

By Pete McTighe

This story sees the return of Leela and Romana II, in this we see Romana and Leela’s lives on Gallifrey and stopping the Master, played by Terrance Hardiman, they end up stopping him after he tries to destroy the Matrix and at the end of the episode Leela and Romana talk about their adventures with the Fourth Doctor and they both say that their still waiting for him to come back.

Reactions to the show was generally positive with it being popular with children's audiences, due to this the show was commissioned for two more seasons set to air in 2022 and 2023.