"DEADLY SABBATH": The Alternate Series 6 Episode 3

A New Doctor Who Series 6 Story: "DEADLY SABBATH"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This story, the third in my series which falls between seasons 5 & 6 of the televised series, will feature several celebrity appearances. As the plot revolves around the music business I intend to write some original songs to suppliment the script. ENJOY!

NB: please keep the comments family friendly.

Episode Three: "DEADLY SABBATH"

part 1

It is the run up to Amy's birthday and by way of a present the Doctor takes her and the TARDIS team to a vintage Black Sabbath gig in 1972. Amy has been a fan of the band since watching 'The Osbournes' as a teenager,
"They are one of my guilty pleasures" she exclaims, as they stand among a crowd of beery long-haired youths waiting for the band to appear onstage. Rory is uncomfortable:
"I don't get your liking for this stuff at all. I wanted us to see Coldplay". The Doctor grins:
"Oh come on Rory, give it a chance. This is a classic show by the way, widely regarded as one of their best".
Nick has flatly refused to attend the concert due to his dislike of heavy metal music and is sitting in the TARDIS listening to Puccini. The lights dim and the greasy youths go wild as Ozzy and the band arrive onstage and tear straight into 'Paranoid'. The Doctor dances about inanely and during 'War Pigs' he pulls a rubber bat out of his pocket and throws it onto the stage. Ozzy picks it up and wiggles it, making it look alive, then bites its head off.
"Yay! Urban legend created!" the Doctor shouts, dancing a little jig.

As the show goes on Amy becomes separated from the others due to the surges of the audience and starts to get crushed amid a group of headbanging greasers who stink of sweat and smoke. A hand reaches out and starts to push the frenzied youths out of Amy's way, freeing her from the crush. She sees a youth aged about 19 and of unnerving beauty with long dark hair and piercing brown eyes:
"You ok babe? I'm Jed". Something about the way Jed looks at her makes her feel strangely giddy and submissive.
"I'm ok now thanks to you" Amy replies. Jed puts his arm around her and Amy enters a strange, dreamlike state. She is still concious yet completely stripped of will. Jed leads her to the back of the crowd and out of the back of the concert hall.
"As soon as I saw you, I knew you were one of us. You just don't know it" Jed tells her as they exit the building and enter the street. Amy is unable to reply and feels strangely elated. Jed lifts his palm and reveals the pentacle drawn on it.
"There is a mass tonight at midnight. We will conjure him. You will be initiated and will drink the blood of your bretheren." He leans forward and kisses her.

The CD of "Tosca" has finished and a bored Nick decides to go for a stroll round London. He exits the TARDIS and walks down the damp, dark street towards the concert hall. Then he sees Amy, entwined in the arms of Jed, being passionately kissed. He gives an audiable gasp and Jed turns sharply and sees him. Jed makes a strange hissing sound and turns to Amy:
"I'll be back for you". He strolls off and Amy collapses in an unconscious state. Her eyes have turned into black opels.
The concert has finished and as Nick tries to revive Amy the greasy youths pass by laughing, assuming Amy has smoked too much weed. The Doctor and Rory, having failed to find Amy, are returning to the TARDIS where they assume she'll be. Rory spots her on the pavement and rushes to her.
"What the hell has happened?" he shouts at Nick.
"Er... she just collapsed Rory. Over excitement maybe" Nick tactfully replies. Amy starts to wake up and Nick goes over to the Doctor:
"In reality I just caught her being kissed by some other guy" he whispers to the Doctor.
"Ouch.. tricky" the Doctor replies.
"Whaaaa whaaat happened? Why am I outside? Is the show over?" Amy mutters.
Nick leans over to the Doctor:
"*whispering* She's faking memory loss. A good excuse I suppose".
"I remember dancing with Jed in the concert then waking up here" Amy says.
"Who is Jed?" Rory asks.
"Jed.....Jed rescued me from a crush.... gorgeous eyes...." Amy mumbles.
They get her into the TARDIS and return to 2011.

The next morning, Amy wakes up at 11.30 with a thumping headache and emerges from her room into the console room. The others are already up and the Doctor grins and hands her a coffee:
"Here Pond. You clearly need this." She sips the coffee and nonchalantly flicks through the morning papers that Rory has just fetched. Something makes her stop with a start.
"It... it can't be..." she says, staring at a feature in the culture section of the Guardian. It is all about an up and coming indie band called 'The Happening' . Their lead singer is pictured and has long hair and piercing eyes...
"Its Jed..... but he hasn't aged......" Amy states.....


.................to be continued.

OK folks, here is part two of this dark Doctor Who classic:

"DEADLY SABBATH" Part 2


Amy stares at the picture of Jed and the caption underneith:
"It says that Jed Vacant is the charismatic and reclusive frontman of 'The Happening'. How could he be around in 2011 and still the same age?"
"Perhaps its YOUR Jed's son!" Rory sharply chips in. Amy turns round angrily:
"No it isn't. Its the same guy Rory, everything about him is the same. And he isn't my Jed, stop being jealous. You're the only man in my life." Rory mutters something and ignores her. Meanwhile Nick has also been skimming through the papers and he looks up:
"Hey, never mind all that, what about all this stuff about another singer disappearing?" he says.
"What are you on about?" Amy snaps back.
"This: *reading aloud from the Daily Mail* :
Police are continuing to investigate the disappearance of X Factor winner Wayne Grimwell however it was revealed last night that there are no clear leads. This comes only weeks after teenage pop sensations Sharon and Stacey Brown vanished from their London apartment after returning from a short tour of South America and a month after the disappearance of young Canadian singer Julian Crieber. A spokesman for X Factor supremo Simon Cowell expressed sympathy for Grimwell's mother who was hoping that her son's royalties would help pay off her mortgage."
Its all over the red tops as well, six pages of it in the Sun!"
"Who cares?" Amy replies. However the Doctor is concerned:
"Hush Pond! Nick is right, these disappearances cannot be just coincidences. However you are right as well in that I totally believe you about this Jed character. Could there be a connection I wonder?"
"Don't hush me! However thanks for the vote of confidence" Amy replies.
"So what are we going to do about all of this?" Nick asks. The Doctor frowns:
"I think we need to investigate this from the inside. Inside the music business I mean."
"Er how?" Rory asks.
"We need to become pop stars ourselves!" the Doctor replies, grinning.

A short while later the TARDIS lands in London and the Doctor strides out grinning, followed by a bemused TARDIS team.
"What do you mean become pop stars ourselves? This is daft" Amy shouts after him. The Doctor laughs:
"Just trust me. We need to be able to move in the same circles as these people who are vanishing and also try to find out about this Jed person. Becoming pop artists is the perfect subterfuge."
"So where are we going to now?" Rory asks.
"We're going to pay a visit to my old friend the respected pop impressario Jonathan King. If anyone knows how to turn us into successful artists then he does. I rang ahead and booked us an appointment before we set off."
The Doctor and the team arrive at King's office and are ushered in .
"Hi Doctor, long time no see. What can I do for you?" King says(played by himself), an odd, lopsided grin on his face.
"Jonathan, I want you to turn us into pop stars so that we can investigate these disappearances from the inside. Oh and do you know anything about this Jed Vacant?"
"Jed Vacant is nothing to do with me. I don't produce indie artists and 'The Happening' are completely out of the normal pop loop. However what I can do is turn you lot into a successful mainstream act."
"How? None of us can sing" Amy snaps.
"I do have some musical ability. I play piano, flute and some violin" Nick comments. King smiles at him:
"What a delightful young man. However you will not be playing on any of your records. We will use session musicians. The public don't care about whether you can play or not, what they want is attractive people to drool over. I suggest that you*looking at Amy* be the lead singer. That will appeal to the lads, especially if we shorten that skirt even more."
"But I can't sing!" Amy says.
"The audience won't be listening to your voice, they'll be looking at your inner thighs. I'll write and produce your songs.*looking at the Doctor* you can pretend to play guitar and *looking at Nick* you can pretend to be on bass. *looking at Rory* and you're on drums".
"What shall we call the band?" The Doctor asks. King laughs:
"Something short and memorable. How about, "Bonk"!

A few weeks later and Bonk are number one in the download charts with their first hit, "Baby I Need Your Love Thang". King has secured an appearance by the band on the new late night Channel 4 music show "Even Later" presented by Jonathan Ross and featuring an eclectic mix of both mainstream pop, indie bands and old veteran artists. As they arrive in the TARDIS, Amy is nervous:
"Do we have to do this Doctor?" The Doctor grins:
"Oh come on, enjoy it. You know that 'The Happening' are also on the show. This is your chance to confront Jed Vacant."
They go into the building and the Doctor indulges in smalltalk with Jonathan Ross while veteran rockers Status Quo rehearse in the main studio. Amy becomes even more nervous:
"I need the bathroom" she says. Rory and Nick dance around in their dressing room playing air guitar and air drums while Amy looks for the loos. As she turns a corner she feels a hand on her shoulder. She spins round and stares into the face of Jed Vacant:
"I told you I would come for you" he says.........


..............to be continued.

Such satire Emperor. You do us proud.

OK people: here is part three of this fast-moving contemporary Doctor Who story:

"DEADLY SABBATH" Part 3

The show starts with Status Quo performing their new single and Jonathan Ross turns to the Doctor:
"*whispering* OK you lot are on next. Get weady". As he does so Nick and Rory arrive:
"Where's Amy?" the Doctor asks.
"She went to the bog ages ago" Rory answers, getting behind the drumkit. The Doctor rushes off the set and finds the ladies toilet. There is no one about so he sneaks in.
"Come on Pond, we're on next" he shouts, grinning, but there is no reply. He looks around and sees that the place is empty but for one closed cubicle door. The Doctor bangs on the door:
"Hurry up and finish your dump, we're on!" The door opens and Rihanna flounces out angrily:
"What the ¤¤¤¤ are you doing in here?" she shouts. The Doctor sniffs the air:
"Dear me, someone had a curry earlier" he mutters. Rihanna tries to whack him round the head however he dodges the blow and runs out of the toilet. He heads back to the studio after checking the dressing rooms.
"I can't find her" he says to an exasperated looking Rory and Nick. Jonathan Ross overhears:
"What do you mean you can't find her.Quo are about to finish."
"We'll have to pull out of the show" Nick comments.
"Oh no you don't. That would ¤¤¤¤ up my wunning order. You'll just have to impwovise. *to the Doctor* You'll have to do the vocals" Ross replies.

Status Quo finish and the audience cheer. Jonathan Ross comes back on mike and camera:
"Ok that was the mighty Quo. And now folks we have a new band for you who are currently number one in the download charts. Give it up for....... BONK!"
A technician switches on the musical backing tape which the Doctor has to sing to while they all pretend to play the instruments.

"Baby I Need Your Love Thang"

Baby blue, I wanna be good to you,
Baby blue, I wanna be cool with you,
Yeah babe, lets do it tonight,
Yeah babe lets make it alright,

Baby I need your love thang
All night long I wanna feel it inside,
Movin' in slow, movin' in hard,
Oooh baby I need your love thang.....

The crowd start to get restless and heckling begins:
"Where's Amy?"
"Yeah we want Amy! You're ¤¤¤¤...."

The Doctor grins and leaps about, fiddling with his bow tie:

Baby red, I wanna share your bed,
Baby red, I wanna give you head......

A bottle thrown from the audience hits the Doctor on the head and he falls over. Nick and Rory stop 'playing' but the music carries on:
"They're not playing...."
"¤¤¤¤ing ¤¤¤¤e...."
"Get off...." the audience shout. Jonathan Ross has to restore order:
"Ok folks..that was ehm Bonk. Moving swiftly on we've got a tweat for you now, all the way fwom the states its the Foo Fighters....."
The Doctor, Nick and Rory rush offstage.
"That was awful. Looks like our pop days are over" Rory says. As he does so, their manager Jonathan King, who was in the audience, rushes up:
"That was absolutely superb!" he gushes.
"But we got shouted off the set!" Rory answers. King grins lopsidedly:
"Exactly dear boy. Superb pubicity for the band. No one has ever been shouted off 'Even Later' before. Sales will rocket." Rory frowns:
"Never mind all this, where's Amy?" he shouts. The Doctor looks concerned:
"I fear that she may have joined the ranks of the missing pop stars". Rory starts to panic:
"No I'm not having that. This Jed Vacant must be something to do with this and I'm gonna find him". Rory rushes off to the dressing rooms and starts searching the name labels on the doors. He finds the Happening's room and bursts in. He gasps as he sees the whole room has been draped in black curtains and a makeshift altar created at the end. Sitting on it is an inverted cross , two goblets and a sprig of woodbine. Suddenly he feels a blow to the back of the head and collapses unconsciously to the floor...............

.................to be continued.

Such a remarkably perceptive, and accurate, take on the modern music scene.

The Co=Ordinator wrote:Such a remarkably perceptive, and accurate, take on the modern music scene.

In terms of fan fiction, it literally doesn't get any more distinctive or more distinguished.

In terms of fiction on a more general level, I have nothing I can compare this with.

OK folks, here is the fourth part of this Doctor Who Series 6 episode:

"DEADLY SABBATH" Part 4

The Doctor and Nick are about to go after Rory however a production manager calls them over:
"Hey, where are you lot going? Get back on set. Wossy needs to interview you while 'The Happening' get ready to perform." Jonathan King claps his hands:
"Even more publicity! Go on then, do as the man says...."
The Doctor and Nick go back on set where Jonathan Ross is telling an anecdote about his mate Russell Brand and a swedish call-girl to kill time. He spins round:
"And now folks we have an interview with two members of the up and coming pop sensations Bonk. And you are...*points the mike at the Doctor*"
"Er.. I'm John... John Smith and this here is Nick our bass player".
"John Smith? John Smith *feigned exasperation* rather a dull name for a lead singer isn't it?"
"Well Jonathan Ross is hardly the most exciting name in the world" the Doctor replies. Ross laughs it off.
"So tell me, John Smith, how do Bonk plan to follow up the first single?" The Doctor shrugs and Nick steps in to answer:
"Well we have an album in the pipeline and our manager Mr King has arranged for us to tour......." Ross interupts him by yawning loudly and the audience burst out laughing.
"Very interesting...not. Anyway folks its time for the Happening. And they've promised us a weal treat. Give it up for... the Happening!"

The audience cheer as Jed Vacant and his band of long-haired , leather clad young rockers start to play their song which starts with a 'Stairway to Heaven' style acoustic intro before the heavy riffing kicks in:

"Dark Lord"

The midnight hour is close at hand,
The Samhain fires are burning bright,
Witches dance as swords advance,
And pierce the chilling moonlit night
Amid the mad, entrancing scene
The cup is poured, the demons rise,
The armies march with shields high,
To chants recanted by the wise.

He is coming, he is coming
The Dark Lord will rise to walk the earth......


As he sings the chorus Jed walks of set for a moment and returns with a dazed Rory who is blindfolded with his arms tied. Jed throws hin to the floor:

Death will come to all who wail,
The Dark Lord comes to walk the earth.

Jed pulls out a knife and raises it above Rory. The audience gasp in horror and the Doctor rushes onstage and grabs Jed's hand, knocking the knife out of it. Jed laughs:
"Hey man its a joke, a stunt. The knife isn't real..." Jonathan Ross picks up the knife and presses its blunt, plastic blade which slides into the handle.
"He's wight folks its just a plastic one. Looks like Bonk can't take a joke". The audience boo the Doctor and throw bottles at him. He and Nick help Rory to his feet and they run off set. Jed Vacant laughs.

Off set, Rory is fuming:
" We should get that bastard arrested. What the hell has he done to Amy?" The Doctor frowns:
"We can't prove that he's done anything to her and all we can accuse him of is roughing you up. No we need to be clever about this. Nobody seems to know anything about Jed Vacant or where he actually lives when he's not on the road." As the Doctor speaks, Jonathan King bustles up grinning:
"I think I can help you there. I've someone important I want you guys to meet..." He leads the Doctor, Rory and Nick to the bar where they see to their surprise......


......Ozzy Osbourne! Ozzy has just ordered a mineral water.
"Hey man its ¤¤¤¤ing good to meet you" he says. The Doctor shakes his hand:
"Splendid to meet you too Ozzy. My companion Amy is a major fan".
"Thats ¤¤¤¤ing great man, thats ¤¤¤¤ing great. I hear from Jonathan here that you want to know about Jed Vacant and the Happening. They're ¤¤¤¤ing ¤¤¤¤e man. Not a ¤¤¤¤ing patch on Sabbath and they're stealin' all our old riffs."
"Mr Osbourne, do you know where Jed Vacant lives when he's not on the road?" Nick asks.
"Yeah I ¤¤¤¤in do . He owns a ¤¤¤¤in massive country pile in Cornwall that he bought off Robert Plant. Its ¤¤¤¤ing ¤¤¤¤e man. Sharon wanted us to buy it and I said no way am I livin' in that ¤¤¤¤ing dump *pulling a crumpled bit of paper out of his pocket* here's its address." The Doctor grins and dances around a bit:
"This is great. Its splendid to meet you Mr Osbourne and you may just have saved Amy Pond's life. *To Rory and Nick* I suspect Amy is right now on her way to Cornwall. And thats where we are going.............


............... to be continued.

Can't wait for the next episode.

Coming from a woman with your renowned critical senses, that is praise indeed.