Trivia and In-Jokes

About the Story:
WHAT WHO HAS BEEN LISA’S HYPERFIXATION FOR ALL OF GODDAMN MAY AND PROBABLY WILL BE FOR THE FORSEEABLE FUCKING FUTURE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE??!!

His name is David Collings. He was in Doctor Who in the 70s and 80s playing characters I just want to give a hug to.

It all started when I logged into Audible and saw that I had, like, 12 or 16 credits to the account (husband pays for it; I am not complaining) so like any good nerd I started searching for folks that AL would’ve been linked to or has affection for – such as Peter Davison, Frazer Hines, John de Lancie – that narrated any books. I was browsing through the Fifth Doctor Target novelizations picking the ones Peter narrated, and I came across the 1983 serial “Mawdryn Undead”, read by David Collings. He was the actor who played Mawdryn, who TV Tropes describes as both an anti-villain and tragic villain. I’ve always felt sorry for the character and just wanted to comfort him and hold his hand.

David Collings plays the “tragic” very well. When he does his weak-and-in-pain acting it hits me right in the heart and I just want to hug him. His character Poul in 1977’s serial “Robots of Death” suffers a mental breakdown and is curled up sobbing on the floor.

And enter AL. Poking me in the head, saying, “Hey guess what? We actually have a platonic I-just-want-to-comfort-him crush on David Collings”. And I was all, “Really? It only took you, what, 30 years or something to figure that out?” And AL’s only response was ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and “Draw me with Mawdryn and Poul now”.

So. I proceeded to buy myself a Blu ray player that could hook into the computer and Tom Baker’s season 3 set that has “Robots of Death” because I thought that the video quality on the Blu ray would be better than that on the BBC iPlayer. Spoiler: it wasn’t. Because of the way it was filmed back then. But whatever. Peter Davison’s season 2 set that includes “Mawdryn Undead” was released on June 4th (which is, ironically, David Collings’ birthday – he passed in 2020 but he would’ve been 84 when this was written in 2024). What the Blu rays have over the iPlayer is the production photos that I can add AL to.

David Collings was also in a TV series called “Midnight is a Place”, which was based off a book. He plays a tutor, Mr. Oakapple, to an orphan boy. There’s a fire in the manor they live in and Mr. Oakapple is caught in the blaze trying to save the master of the house, and when he’s in the hospital his weak-and-injured acting made me feel some kind of way.

And AL decided that she wants to kiss him. Because she loves him in a platonic-not-romantic way. And since he loves her the same, that means they become linked. Which means when they reunite it would have to be after the Doctor dies for real forevermore. I had to relent, and I added Poul to what used to be The Guys, then was The Guys…Plus One, then was The RomParts (Romantic Partners), and now are known as Companions of the Heart (thanks ChatGPT) because there are now two people on that list that are not romantic partners: Doc Brown, and Poul. Doc was linked with familial love, and Poul with platonic.

I will not mention how much I spent on the audio dramas David Collings was a part of between Big Finish downloadables and Magic Bullet Productions CDs.

Oh, and he was also in an old sci-fi series called “Sapphire & Steel” that I found on Amazon Prime but I really only watched his scenes because I just wanted to watch his scenes because I’m selfish like that. I also only watched his scenes as Bob Cratchit in an adaptation of A Christmas Carol called “Scrooge” from 1970 because I really had no interest in anything else in it.

As of this writing I have drawn 14 fanart images with a fifteenth in the works, and written several story scenes with this full AL-And-Poul-Reunion becoming its own story. I clearly have a problem and need help.

Chapter One:
Through the crowds, she saw two-wheeled carts – almost like taxis – being pulled by familiar green robots: The robot-pull buggies were mentioned in the novel “Corpse Marker”.

He was older, certainly, his face gaunter and his eyes haunted: Poul’s face was described as “gaunt” in “Corpse Marker”.

reaching into his jerkin pocket with trembling hands and pulling out a golden feather: Another lift from “Corpse Marker” is Poul’s jerkin, which is defined as a sleeveless jacket.

Everything about Poul’s apartment: Borrowed from “Corpse Marker”. Sensing a theme here?

seven years: According to the TARDIS wiki, “Robots of Death” took place in 2880 and the "Corpse Marker" novel (which is where some of the inspiration came from), took place in 2887. Seemed like a good enough number.

my mind is…clouded: The line is from another David Collings character: Mawdryn from the Doctor Who serial “Mawdryn Undead”. Whose audio narration of the Target novel is what started this hyperfixation btw…

There are days…where I can’t remember my own name: This is a point in “Corpse Marker”. I’m probably going to bring it up in a later chapter.

Kaldor City is a…a robot-dependent civilization. The attack was covered up and only top Company executives and the three survivors know the truth.: Kaldor being the robot-dependent civilization is from “Robots of Death” itself, and the bit about the cover-up is from “Corpse Marker”.

What Poul does every day: Again, taken from “Corpse Marker”.

You did, yes: OK I’ll admit it’s Sir Michael Caine’s voice from Muppet Christmas Carol saying this in my head.

You told us that you’d rather live with people than robots. That you prefer cities.: Poul’s lines from “Robots of Death”.

The bit about D84 going undercover and Poul not being told about the robot’s destruction: More from “Corpse Marker”.

I could be wrong and I wouldn’t want to replace something true with something false.: Now this bit was borrowed from my friend’s “American McGee’s Alice”/Corpse Bride crossover fanfic “Forgetting You”, found here on Ao3.

For a time traveler, I’m not the best at keeping track of the time: Loosely paraphrasing Peri’s line about the Doctor in “The Mysterious Planet”: “For a Time Lord, he’s not very good at keeping time.”

give or take an eon or two: Said by Q in the series finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation “All Good Things…”.

you don’t look a day older: Said by Mr. Filby in the 1960 movie The Time Machine.

This…used to be my office: Non-hesitantly said to Remy by Gusteau when the rat finds the deceased chef’s will.

the thin, plastic sheets that this planet used as paper: I’m not sure what the sheets are but it was shown in “Robots of Death” that it wasn’t paper.

Poul’s poetic description of the weather: Another lift from “Corpse Marker”.

The dossier of the sandminer crew: The ages of Uvanov and Toos were the ages of their actors Russell Hunter and Pamela Salem at the time. Since D84 specifically said they didn’t know what the crew looked like before they came onboard, I wanted the descriptions to be as vague as possible.

the arms and legs are a little long: AL is 5’3” and Poul is 6’0”. In my head, the reason the sleepwear no longer fits him is because he shrunk them in the laundry the first time he tried to do the washing without robot help.

Depression was my only companion: Another line from “Corpse Marker”.

She knew firsthand and from experience that the path to healing was neither easy nor straightforward: AL experienced the Time War with the Doctor, and had to help said Time Lord with their own PTSD.

Chapter Two:
OK this chapter was kind of lovingly ripped off from my friend’s fic pairing Alice from American McGee’s Alice and Victor Van Dort from Corpse Bride. I had to ask ChatGPT for help to reword things so it wasn’t such blatant theft. She has forgiven me.

n-not robots…w-walking dead: Poul’s line taken from “Robots of Death”.

Chapter Three:
Poul checking his traps after waking up: His routine taken from “Corpse Marker”.

six feet: OK I’ll admit I took that specific amount from the social distancing we all had to do during the plague.

Chapter Four:
the problem with microwave food was that it always tasted like microwave food: I heard that on an infomercial once. I think it was for the Food Saver.

the thin, overcooked meat patty: Let’s call it Kaldor’s version of a Salisbury steak.

privacy protection circuits and everything happening on screen, including Poul’s reaction to the robot-style fashion: Taken from “Corpse Marker”.

his narrow back: Description of Poul taken from “Corpse Marker”.

Refreshment arcades; food dispensaries: These were mentioned in “Corpse Marker”. I’m thinking they’re supposed to be café’s and grocery stores, respectively.

it’s never a good idea to go grocery shopping on an empty stomach: AL’s experience is my own.

There were cookies – though here they were called biscuits: A nod to Doctor Who’s British roots.

AL’s cooking abilities: Same as mine.

a probe thermometer guaranteed to ensure all meats would be cooked to safe temperatures: I don’t cook without one. Poul bought her two; I have three.

his muscular, physical form: David Collings was described as “a muscular, physical guy” in the commentary on the “Robots of Death” Blu ray.

Chapter Five:
Uvanov’s news: Taken from “Corpse Marker”.

eight seconds in, hold for three, out for eight: This breathing exercise I heard on a TikTok video and I said in the comments I was going to use it. And the focusing on the different senses came from the TV Tropes page for Inside Out 2.

Chapter Six:
A full, unbroken night’s sleep: Partially a reference to A Christmas Carol, but specifically The Muppet Christmas Carol where Scrooge tells the Ghost of Christmas Past that “A night’s unbroken rest might aid my welfare”.

Who Poul sees in AL’s memories/dreams: Jamie McCrimmon, Doc Brown, and the various incarnations of the Doctor.

AL able to control her dreams: Like me, AL can lucid dream. Though her level of control is more like what I had during my childhood when I could say “Have Luke Skywalker walk through that door” and Luke Skywalker would walk through that door. As I’ve aged I can still take control but my directing is hit or miss.

AL fixing Poul’s collar: Stolen from Sapphire fixing Silver’s collar in Sapphire and Steel.

Chapter Seven:
AL’s taste in tea: Three heaping spoonfuls of sugar and enough half-and-half to turn it white tyvm.

I don’t know if it’s their spirit or just a construct of my subconscious: I dream of people I lost all the time. Just as AL, I don’t know if it’s their spirit or just my subconscious but I like to think they’re making an appearance for a reason.

The techniques to learn lucid dreaming: Came from a Google search.

Chapter Eight:
retention policy: For the files for my own job it’s 7 years, but as the events of “Robots of Death” happened seven years ago and they’ll eventually be going through it, I made the Company’s retention 10 years.

The years this takes place and seven years ago: Taken from the TARDIS wiki.

Chapter Nine:
After Jamie and I used them to search for the Doctor when he was exiled to Earth by the Time Lords: When the Second Doctor was put on trial in “The War Games”, instead of Jamie having his mind erased by the Time Lords, the Doctor asks AL to take him (she can only teleport herself and one other person, and she and Jamie are romantic partners, so unfortunately Zoe had to have the canon event happen) to somewhere safe. The only place AL can safely teleport to without difficulty is her home planet Alnilam. She manages to talk Woodhorn into allowing them to use the Gates to try to find the Doctor, but after many years with no success and Jamie reaching an age where he can’t do the running anymore, they decided to just retire to modern-day Scotland for him to live out his twilight years (and appear in the Remembered TARDIS for their reunion with Zoe for “The Mind Robber”).

Woodhorn. He oversees the Gateways. And he’s…not particularly fond of humans: Woodhorn hates humans because a human hunter killed his brother.

Chapter Ten:
The Storm Mine Eight incident: It wasn’t named as such in “Robots of Death”. That came from ChatGPT.

The flashbacks: To the conversations in “Robots of Death”.

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