Classic Who Script PDFs

Television
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I’m still quite new to the forum, so forgive me if this isn’t correctly tagged and all that.

This is quite a specific question, but does anyone know where I could find a PDF of “The Twin Dilemma” script? I’ve been able to find various transcripts, but I’m hoping to find the actual script so it will have the correct action lines/stage directions.

I was able to find a good chunk of Classic Who script PDFs on the Internet Archive (in handy collections as well), but The Twin Dilemma doesn’t seem to be among them.
Does a copy online even exist? I’d love some help.

(In any other case though, I fell down a script rabbit hole while looking for this. I will now happily talk about Doctor Who scripts with anyone, as my friends and family don’t seem to share my enthusiasm on the topic. Though, I can’t understand anyone not finding an early draft of Blink anything other then thrilling.)

Thanks!

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2

I don’t know about The Twin Dilemma[1], but the Collection blu-ray sets often have scripts and other production documents included when you insert the discs into a computer or disc drive attached to a computer.

  1. since Season 21 hasn’t been released yet ↩︎

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3

Unfortunately, the main official spot for scripts is pretty much New/Modern Who:

And obviously Chakoteya’s not really what you’re after, though it does have good transcripts of everything.

I have pointed out recently that the first draft of the Pilot is up on the official script page with a lot of cut stuff in it, and looking through the RTD2 era scripts that are up has been interesting with little cut bits…

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4

I’m sorry, I can’t help you with that either. I am interested, though: what are you using the script for? The Twin Dilemma is one of my favorite serials.

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And all the Chakoteya transcripts are also on TARDIS Guide, with typos and errors fixed :wink:

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Oh that’s disappointing, I thought the script library had everything.

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Doesn’t even have all of New Who, unfortunately. Not only is the most recent series not there, while some series are complete, some are incomplete or mostly missing. 10 is missing a few episodes, 7 is missing half, and 1 and 6 are mostly missing.

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The Twin Dilemma has become an inside joke with a friend of mine, as they are new to the show (still working through modern doctor who) and I showed them The Time Dilemma. I always quite liked the episode, but I still got a kick out of showing them an episode widely considered “the worst”. They didn’t much care for it, but found it “so bad, it’s good”, and they came away loving the Sixth Doctor (hurrah).
So essentially the reason I’m after the script is that me and my friend intend to do a dramatic reading of the script from start to finish. We both have theatre experiences so we get a kick out of reading scripts and stuff together.
Thus is why I fell down the script rabbit hole, lol.

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Yeah, I’ve got the DVD, but it doesn’t have it unfortunately. (I’ve misplaced my DVD drive anyway) Here’s hoping the season 21 set comes out in the near future.

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I didn’t know they where on Tardis Guide! This is helpful, as it seems a transcript might be my best option. At least I’ll get the best version of the transcript. Thanks!

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I do love that nearly all modern scripts are made available so easily. Shame they don’t have any of the classics.

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Yeah, it is a shame, but having the unofficial transcripts is still pretty handy.

Reading the scripts is definitely fun, though. RTD’s scripts for his episodes are often pretty interesting to read even when they are what aired, because of the descriptions and direction in there.

There was also a target novelization of it, like a lot of serials.

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13

Ah, you definitely only need the transcript then and not the official one with the directions included. Good to see some other Six fans around; enjoy yourselves!

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I suppose, I’m just particular, lol. I’ll have a little voice in the back of my head wondering “I wonder what the actual scene descriptions looked like”. I’ll obviously make do, but ya can’t blame me for searching high and low.

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Happened upon this blog post about the Twin Dilemma, and thought this bit was interesting:

The writer of The Twin Dilemma was Anthony Steven, a 68-year old veteran of TV writing and one of three writers (along with Johnny Byrne and Terence Dudley) that Nathan-Turner brought across from All Creatures Great and Small. Steven had worked in TV since the 1950s, specialising in historical dramas like The Forsyte Saga and Fanny by Gaslight, but had never really dabbled with science fiction before. Coming to the genre so late in his career probably explains the rather pulpish Flash Gordon nature of the material. The Twin Dilemma was extensively rewritten by script editor Eric Saward, removing an entire plot strand concerning an all-powerful entity from another dimension that is controlling the nominal villain Mestor the Gastropod. This budget-motivated change probably accounts for the generally flat nature of the story’s end.

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