Due to the reincarnational nature of its main character, Doctor Who has had numerous phases during its long run, with each actor portraying The Doctor giving the series a unique vibe. That’s just the sort of thing that an upcoming fan film titled Dr Who Meets The Scorpion seeks to capitalize on, as it pays tribute to the classic ’70s and ’80s series.
The above trailer, released back in March, certainly looks to capture the vibe of those decades, right down to the cheesy-looking sets. (Indeed, the relatively low-budget look of “classic” Doctor Who is almost certainly a boon for similarly low-budget fan productions.) As for the film’s plot, it finds The Doctor and his young companion Jennie caught up in a nefarious alien plot — that may or may not involve Daleks — as a result of their investigation into the mysterious Scorpion company.
In a recent interview, Phillip Roy — the film’s director, writer, producer, production designer, prop maker, and lead actor — goes into great detail about his love for classic Doctor Who (“I’ve been a Doctor Who fan since I was 3 watching Jon Pertwee”), the film’s production design, the pros of filming in Cardiff, and even the copyright issues surrounding fan productions like his:
There are literally hundreds of Dr Who fan films out there on YouTube. As well as Star Trek, Star Wars, James Bonds fan films. As long as you don’t try to make money out of something like Doctor Who that belongs to the BBC there has never been a problem. If you put it out on YouTube for free purely for the enjoyment of the fans then I don’t think the BBC is concerned. I’m not trying to compete with the BBC series and wouldn’t want to. How could we on our tiny budget?
Filming on Dr Who Meets The Scorpion is almost done, though no release date has been set. In the meantime, a crowdfunding campaign has been launched to help cover the film’s production costs.