the first draft of flatline

Four drafts of Flatline were written before I got the gig to write Mummy On The Orient Express, making this technically the first Doctor Who draft I ever handed in.

I haven't read it in literally years and viewing it now my immediate impression is how gruesome it all is. I'd plainly decided that Doctor Who needed to be utterly terrifying and filled with body horror. The Boneless you'll find in this draft certainly tick both boxes. I absolutely get why I was instructed to dial it all back, but it's quite a thrill to read how terrifying it could have been...

I also decided to mess with the structure. I liked the idea of starting the episode by cutting to the chase, with Rigsy and Co. almost immediately on the run from The Boneless. No slow burn, no gradual realisation, just straight to the meat. They then bump into the Doctor and Clara, who it seems were already in the middle of fighting them. Which is all very fun and dynamic, but in hindsight, that structural trick has already been done, in a fairly iconic episode called Rose...

There's also no tiny Tardis and no Dr Clara. Those ideas both came about as a result of Flatline needing to be a Doctor-lite episode, the story of which you can read about here.

At this stage it’s probably wise to mention that I definitely think some of the aspects in the first draft are a bit too strong for children. So if that covers you maybe stick to the shooting script. Which is also a good place to go if you’d prefer to read something a little closer to what made it to screen.

For the rest of us, brace yourself, strap in and get ready to get flattened...