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Man-at-Desk Productions was originally created by Jed Rhodes in 2011 for Fan-Films that he was making during his time at University. These Fan-films have yet to be released to the public.
In 2013, after the Lungbarrow Brothers episode Dark Impulses Matthew Mills (who played the The Mth Doctor) wanted to continue playing the Doctor in his own series. Jed Rhodes also wanted to continue as Lungbarrow Brothers regular run was coming to a close. This led to reviving the name and channel of Man-at-Desk Productions and the two began working on the series.
Both Jed Rhodes and Matthew Mills are based in Hull with the two (to date) having released three episodes of the series. One episode is a prequel to the series which has two “proper” episodes.
Format[]
The series follows the adventures of the Mth Doctor from the beginning of his incarnation, right from his regeneration from The Noir Doctor. All episodes are in chronological order though we sometimes don’t know how long it has been for the Mth Doctor in between episodes.Most episodes are written by Mills with Rhodes directing them, though Rhodes does occasionally write episodes for Mills' run.
Formation[]
As stated before, the Man-at-Desk channel itself was going to be used for a Doctor Who Fan-film series in 2011 but the episodes that were filmed were never finished. In late 2012/ early 2013 Mills popped in Rhodes’ life. The exact story is that he overheard Rhodes talking about Doctor Who while at a cosplay meet in Leeds and joined in with the discussion, the two have been very good friends since. The two began working on Fan-films together when Rhodes was in need of a Doctor for the, then upcoming, episode “Dark Impulses”. Mills offered to help and afterwards decided that he wanted to continue Mth story, starting with how it began. Rhodes also wanted to continue the Nth Doctor’s story as Lungbarrow Brother’s run was nearing its end.
Episodes[]
The Last Stand[]
Cast[]
The Noir Doctor: Matthew Young.
Brigadier: Terry Tognola
The Mth Doctor: Matthew Mills
Monitor 6: Cary Paths
Story and Production[]
Series 1, Episode 0 The Noir Doctor is out to find whoever took U.N.I.T out of existence. Armed with anger and his Sonic Screwdriver, he will stop at nothing to bring his friends back. It will be his final fight for justice.
“The Last Stand” was originally apart of the 1st episode but as the sequence went on for the length of the actually episode, Mills and Rhodes decided that this would make a good prequel to the series, thus naming it episode 0. Something to note is the fact that the episode is mostly in black and white, this was suggested by Matthew Young since it would fit his Doctor’s style. Rhodes agreed with this and added that it would help with the fact that the camera they had at the time was less than good.
Episode 0 is the only episode not to use the theme that Rhodes composed for the opening. This was done to fit with the black and white style. Filming itself took a day and bit to complete. The majority of the episode was filming in the original day of shooting, taking place at Mills’s place of work at the time. The monitor that was used as “Monitor 6” was already there, the Sega Saturn that is a part of it was brought in by Mills from home. The scenes with Brigadier on the phone were filmed on a separate day (along with his parts for episodes 1 and 2) with a different, better quality, camera. The final shot of Mth walking out of the building was also done on a different day with that camera, this took only a few minutes. The decision to fade into colour was done to emphasise the overall more cheery nature of Mth compared to his predecessor.
When it came time to credit the villain of the episode, Mills wasn’t sure who to put it as. Mills joked that he should simply but it as “Monitor 6: A Sega Saturn” and Rhodes suggested putting under a fake name. In Lungbarrow Brothers Rhodes and Treasure had created the name “Terry Gold” as a combination of the two’s names (Rhodes middle name is Terrace), so it was decided to use that method again. “Cary” came from the act of carrying a satchel and “Paths” came from something similar to a Road, thus the name Cary Paths was created for Monitor 6 (and future villains).
The story idea behind “The Last Stand” actually came from what Mills thought Mth overall arc should be and what Mth predecessor would have been like. He believed that Noir would have been led to regenerate to save U.N.I.T so Mth would be more protective of them. Noir was devised as almost a complete opposite of Mth, having total confidence in himself and his abilities while being more aggressive. Eventually, the idea of Monitor 6 and the “Timeline Intervention Society” took shape with Mills putting together the antagonist on the day of filming using pieces of technology that he had spare, both at work and what he owned, and a Sega Saturn with a monitor. When released on May 13th, 2014, the episode had a prototype of the ident which actually had a transition from a live action logo to the still image the two kept for later. At the time of release the two had actually filmed parts of episode 1 (mainly the Brigadier scenes) and all of episode 2 so decided to use a combination of the two as a sort of series trailer.
The First Step[]
Cast[]
The Doctor: Matthew Mills.
Brigadier Johnson-Smyth: Terry Tognola.
Private Robert Malcolm: Mark Dorvic
Story and Production[]
Series 1, Episode 1 The “first” episode picks up where “The Last Stand” left us, with a newly regenerated Doctor meeting up with Brigadier Johnson-Smyth. He’s been called in for a new mission and given a shiny recruit to help him. He’ll need quite a bit of help to stop a “Living Shadow” from claiming any more victims.
All of Brigadier’s scenes, as mentioned before, were filmed in one day which left only the outside scenes to film. On the day of filming the scenes in the office, the pair realised that they had forgotten the jacket and so quickly made an in universe explanation for it. This is why The Doctor says “Thanks for taking my coat by the way”. Originally, Robert Malcolm (who was Malcolm Yates in an early draft) was to appear in the office scene but neither Rhodes nor Mills knew anyone that was free to film that day.
Before they began to film the forest scenes for the episode, Mills approached Mark about wanting to be in Doctor Who. Since Mark was also a huge fan of the show he said yes and became the Mth Doctor’s companion for “The First Step” as well as for his run. Dorvic actually owned a few prop guns and a decent U.N.I.T style outfit so they were able to begin filming rather quickly. The first scene that they meet was actually scripted to be inside but the decision was made to have them meet as the Doctor was walking out of the building instead.
Lungbarrow Brothers fans may notice that the outfit that Mth ends up selecting at the end is not the outfit he is seen to wear in “Dark Impulses”, this ties back into the arc that Mills had in mind Mth and how his outfit would evolve through it. “The First Step”, released on August 6th, 2014, was the first time both the new ident and Mth opening theme were used in the run. Episode 1 is also the first episode to have all the “key players” in the same episode.
Hollow Hearts[]
Cast[]
The Doctor: Matthew Mills
Brigadier Johnson-Smyth: Terry Tognola
“The Husk”: Cary Paths.
Story and Production[]
Series 1, Episode 2 The Doctor, while investigating missing children, comes across an otherworldly version on the area. His encounter with a creature known as “The Husk” will raise questions that even he struggles to answer.
Mills wanted an episode that he described as “The Doctor in Silent Hill” which would help with the Doctor’s arc. The majority of filming was done in a location near Mills’s old house which was set to be demolished. This proved quite useful for an abandoned area where the Husk would be. The mask for the Husk was decorated with symbols that were meant to gives us insight into the Doctor’s mind. The trailer for “Hollow Hearts” in “The First Step” was different in terms of formatting to other trailers. Mills said that he wanted the trailer to accurately reflect the tone of the episode so Rhodes composed a very short piece for Mills to use while editing the trailer.
The actual creation of the Husk for the episode came from a change in the script. Originally, the Husk was going to take the form of the Brigadier and taunt the Doctor in that form before disappearing. It would then appear to the Brigadier, who had come to find the Doctor, as the Doctor and taunt him which result in the husk being shot by the Brigadier. When they realised that Tognola would not be free for filming that day they changed the script to have it as a dark reflection of the Doctor instead. This changed proved to be for the better, both in terms of dialogue and as a subtle reference to Mth first appearance in Dark Impulses.
As well as the normal compositions of music that Rhodes provided, Hollow Hearts used music created by Rhodes using the “Novation Launchpad” program he had found. This was a huge help as it gave Hollow Hearts a creepier tone and set the Husk’s realm apart from the Brigadier scenes which did use traditional Rhodes music.
Hollow Hearts became a favourite of Mills’s as he considers the Husk to be his signature creature and loved the performance of the Husk in general. It was the first full episode to have the Doctor in his own outfit and show off his new screwdriver. When released on December 30th 2014, the reaction was positive. People found the episode creepy with a family member of Mills’s slightly upset that the Doctor didn't manage to find the girl.
Run[]
Cast[]
The Doctor: Matthew Mills
Private Robert Malcolm: Mark Dorvic
“The Creature”: Cary Paths.
Story and Production[]
Series 1, Episode 3
The Doctor is running through his life in the woods, being chased by a creature who is in turn being controlled by a mysterious figure. Soon Private Malcolm in there to help the Doctor by attempting to shoot it. Normal bullets have no effect however and the creature.
The was the first episode of the Man-At-Desks run to be written by Jed Rhodes and kicks off the character arc for the Mth Doctor. Private Malcolm makes his return and, in this way, confirms that he is the companion character to the Mth Doctor. Rhodes' goal was to create an episode that could be written in an hour and filmed in an afternoon which is most likely why the woods were used as a setting considering how close they are to Rhodes' house.
Twisting Corridors[]
Cast:
The Doctor: Jed T.E Rhodes
The Husk: Cary Paths.
Story and Production Seriers 2, Episode 1
During a flashback of current Nth, we see the his first adventure as he is still recovering from post regeneration stress. He wonders into an unlocked house which seems to have been abandoned in a hurry. Unaware of the full danger yet, Nth changes into more familiar clothes (almost choosing his "Cold Hearted Observers" outfit before quickly getting rid of it, recognising it from his Xth incarnation). He comes face to face with the Husk and ends up in a repeating corridor until he defeats the Hush by pure force of will. In present day, Nth goes back to the house to confront the Husk and ask it a few questions.
The first episode of the production to star the Nth Doctor of Lungbarrow Brothers, Matthew insisted that he wrote the episode to try and test his metal on a different Doctor just as Jed had with his. Roughly ten minutes of the opening however was unscripted as Jed wanted to show the character not in his right mind yet. The Husk returns and is cemented as Matthew's (and thereby Man-at-desk's) signature creature. This episode was originally going to utilise the forest for a lot longer, however the weather was against them on the day of filming, causing some edits in the script. A rement of this footage can still be seen in the episode as an illusion. For this episode they filmed using Jed's home at the time using some of his daughter's toys to show it was a family home.
Similar to Run being "Doctor Who: Silent Hill", Matthew invisioned the episode to be "Doctor Who: P.T".
Creature Within[]
Cast[]
The Doctor: Matthew Mills.
Violet Valentine: Hayley Mills
Story and Production[]
Series 2, Episode 2 While on a mission to capture a deadly Calimark Ripper from an unspecified forest, the Doctor's containment device begins to beep, telling the Doctor that it will release the creature soon. He goes back to UNIT HQ and meets Violet Valentine while on a search for the Ripper.
During the filming/editing process of the Nth Doctor special, Matthew met and got engaged to Hayley Mills. She expressed an interest in being a companion to his Doctor and Matthew liked the idea of his Doctor having two very different companions from UNIT. He intended the Creature Within episode to be more evidence that the Mth Doctor was growing more comfortable calling UNIT his makeshift home when he wasn't travelling the galaxy.
The location that they used for UNIT has been the same since the first episode (that being a theatre building on the Hull University campus). Matthew comments that this helps give a grounded feel to their version of UNIT.
Waiting Game[]
Cast:
The Doctor: Jed T.E Rhodes
Figure: Matthew Mills
Story and Production: Series 2, Episode 3
The Doctor is trapped in a cell he cannot escape, spending a long time talking to himseLF, waiting for the right moment to get out.
A rather simple plot compared to the others, this episode is considered the most fun by Matthew Mills to edit. Originally, the footage was intended to be apart of the "Mark of the One" special, a multiDoctor event much like Dark Impulses (see Lungbarrow Brothers) was for the 55th. Not being satisfied with it, and wanting more Nth episodes sooner, Jed asked for the episode to be retooled for a standalone episode. This resulted in simply cutting out some end footage that revealed the mark of the One. Utilising the audio department of Hull University, the pair filmed the entirety of the segment in an afternoon, Matthew even sneaking in his lucky Legoman as a gag.
Faded Reflections[]
Cast:
The Doctor: Matthew Mills
Future Doctor: Matthew Mills
Robert Malcolm: Mark Dovic
Story and Production: Series 2, Episode 4.
While attempting to find a piece to fix a malfunctioning bomb, a future version of the Doctor and his robotic companion arrive to help.
This episode marks the last physical appearance of the UNIT HQ (though it was later the setting for "Convergence" in audio form) due to Mills leaving University shortly after filming. This is the first episode to show a more subdued version of the Mth Doctor, almost missing his old habits.
The Thousand Deaths of the Doctor[]
Cast:
The Doctor: Matthew Mills
Emma Hesseltine: Susan Rhodes
Story and Production
Series 2, Episode 5
In the series 2 finale, the Doctor is caught in a loop, endlessly being killed by a strange figure. Only one person can stop it.
In terms of shooting schedule, due to the nature of the time loop, the filming for this was the least chronological, with MAD Productions filming each version of the scene before moving on to the next. A final shot was also filmed for the series 3 opener.
The Arrival[]
Cast:
The Doctor: Matthew Mills
Emma Hessletine: Susan Rhodes
Story and Production Series 3, Episode 1
In this series opening. The Doctor comes across Emma, someone who seems to know more about him than she should. A glimpse into the future? Hardly the first time.
Through Fire and Water[]
Cast:
The Doctor: Jed T.E Rhodes
Story and Production Series 3, Episode 2
The Doctor is still in search of any clue as to where Emma is. Is search brings him to a world under the shadow of war
Comparisons[]
Cast:
The Doctor: Jed T.E Rhodes The Doctor: Matthew Mills
Story and Production
Both Doctors appear at the scene of the crime in their own realities, hoping to find a clue that would lead them to the other timeline.
Digression[]
Cast:
The Doctor: Jed T.E Rhodes
Story and Production:
The Doctor still searches for answers for his lost friend.
Cast:
The Doctor: Jed T. E. Rhodes
Emma: Sue Rhodes
Story and Production:
The Doctor and Emma finally reunite in the face of a Calimark Ripper
Marking the end of the "Lost Emma" arc, this storyline was originally meant to have more episodes apart of it including a fully episode with the Nth and Mth Doctor filming. Due to personal reasons and scheduling this was changed to an audio epilogue the next episode.
Cast:
The Nth Doctor: Jed T. E Rhodes
The Mth Doctor: Matthew Mills
Vivi: Hayley Mills
Emma: Sue Rhodes
Future Episodes[]
With the release of the audio "Convergence" as well as "The Nth Doctor Adventures Teaser Trailer" it is clear that the series will contInue on. Mills has stated his series will continue solely in audio format while Rhodes will be a mixture of classic style episodes and audios.