My Idea for a Doctor Who Episode

BBC doesn't accept Doctor Who scripts anymore from the public. If they did, I might have attempted to finish this script to submit it for the Beyond series. Instead, I've posted it here in the hopes y'all enjoy my idea for a Doctor Who episode that'll never get made.

Series: 10th Doctor & Companion Martha Jones

Title: "The Eternal Scholars"

Opening Scene

• The TARDIS lands in the middle of a bustling, canal-lined city that resembles the Hanging Gardens of Babylon mixed with Cambridge.

• The Doctor explains to Martha that this is Planet Arethos, famous for its residents’ exceptionally long lifespans, which means that they keep developing new sports. He's here to show her a university rugby from the future.

• The pair notice a lively, university-gear clad crowd enjoying themselves at a sprawling university campus. Background banners for "family weekend" and "rugby game."

  
  

Act 1: Welcome to College

• Martha learns about the unique societal setup: every resident must attend college again during their second "teenage years" at age 118-122 to stay up-to-date with technology, language, and culture.

• They arrive during Family Weekend.

  • They meet Ben, a young-looking finance bro with a charming demeanor, and assume he’s a student. He introduces them to his husband, Eli, who shares that his "in-laws" are on campus too.' Martha is shocked that the in-laws look very elderly but are the ones in the university gear.

  • The Doctor and Martha find it amusing that these "family members" are overly enthusiastic about college life. Ben and Eli leave to go back to their jobs in the city while their parents, Vivian and Bob continue partying.

  • Ben’s mother, Vivian, a vivacious queen bee of Greek Life, is in a battle for President of the Sorority with a real 18 year old, Nancy.

• A party at a Greek Life fraternity is in full swing. Martha remarks on the bizarre scene of "elderly students" out-partying everyone else.

  
  

Act 2: Uncovering the Truth

• During the frat party, chairs mysteriously move, and skeletal remains are found. Initially dismissed as pranks, Martha, with her medical training, realizes they’re real bones.

• The Doctor and Martha investigate, suspecting something sinister.

  • The duo stumbles upon Professor Astor, a cryptic academic who mutters about the "Eternal Flame," an ancient alien artifact housed in the university’s archive.

  • They learn about a secret society, The Order of the Bone and Stone, consisting of disillusioned professors and students longing for eternal youth.

• Martha discovers while staying over in the sorority house that something is off about a few of the girls, like Nancy, who speak like the older women and have photos of different people in their rooms. Nancy also sometimes almost seems to shimmer.

  
  

Act 3: The Cult’s Plan

• The Order of the Bone and Stone is using the Eternal Flame artifact in a ritual to siphon the life energy of other students to regain their youthful forms.

• The ritual starts going horribly wrong:

  • Vivienne’s best friend, Tasha, a spirited non-monogamous leader of a rival sorority, becomes one of the victims. Her body is drained, leaving only skeletal remains.

    
    

Act 4: Race Against Time

• The Doctor and Martha devise a plan to stop the cult:

  • The Doctor infiltrates the cult’s gathering in the catacombs beneath the university, disguised as a professor.

  • Martha rallies Vivian, Bob, and a group of students to disrupt the ritual above ground by destroying key ritual markers.

• A confrontation ensues as the artifact reaches critical energy. The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to recalibrate the artifact’s energy signature, causing a massive energy burst.

  • During this battle, Professor Astor and Nancy argue with the Doctor as the Professor realizes the Doctor can regenerate and asks why he's stopping everyone else from having these second chances to look different and younger. The Doctor argues that his doesn't harm other people, their way is harmful and unstainable.

    
    

Act 5: Resolution

• The artifact remains are safely neutralized and locked away in a Time Lord stasis cube.

• The university returns to normal, though the surviving cult members are left to face justice.

• Ben and Eli return for the final rugby match where Bob and Vivian don't tell them what happened but do say they love them. Martha reflects on the absurdity of the situation, quipping, "I think I’ll stick to one round of school, thanks."

• The Doctor smiles, wistfully noting the lengths people will go to in pursuit of youth, reminding Martha that time, while fleeting, is also precious.

• As the TARDIS dematerializes, Ben and Eli look on, wondering if their unexpected allies were more than just eccentric visitors.

  
  

Closing Scene

• A canal glimmers under a setting sun as the laughter and music of the elderly students echo across the gardens as a rugby match begins.

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Another idea I have for a Doctor Who episode is an archelogy dig that involves smuggling where they could bring in River Song again.

What would y'all like to see in a new Who episode?