Line #45 Recap/DoctorWho1985JFIGSAFixWithSontarans


1	%% NOTE: This should go without saying, but DO NOT ADD ANYTHING ABOUT THE SCANDALS INVOLVING JIMMY SAVILE. Nothing has been claimed or proven to have occurred during the production of this mini-episode, and even if proof of anything did surface it would almost certainly be off-mission for this wiki.
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3	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/A_Fix_with_Sontarans_1120.jpg]]
4	[[caption-width-right:300:"Finally, someone else with fine dress sense! [[OverlyLongGag Our coats: are they not awesome?]]"]]
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6	->''Dear Jim,\
7	I like Dr. Who very much because I have got Creator/ColinBaker's Doctor Who suit made by my Nan and a tent TARDIS. [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor Please could I see Colin Baker and go inside the TARDIS.]]''
8	-->''Yours sincerely Gareth Jenkins (Age 8)''
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10	JustForFun/{{The\|OneWith}} [[BannedEpisode banned one]]. Until it received a GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion omitting the material that got it banned 37 years later.
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12	For the uninitiated, there was a show in Britain where children essentially wrote in to popular BBC presenter Creator/JimmySavile (inventor of the throwback station and, after his death, revealed to be a prolific sexual predator) to have their wishes fulfilled, no matter what they were. A set of children were chosen each week to somehow have this come true, and the result was known as ''Jim'll Fix It''. One such child sent in the above letter.
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14	Ladies and gentlemen, "A Fix with Sontarans", written by Creator/EricSaward.
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16	-----
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18	The story begins with The Sixth Doctor bumbling around the TARDIS, desperately fiddling with the center console while he mumbles things. With a flash, former companion Tegan Jovanka (having [[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E4ResurrectionOfTheDaleks left The Doctor]] earlier) is somehow now on the TARDIS. Throwing aside most problems with the Doctor having regenerated again (handy, as Tegan [[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E7Logopolis saw this happen before]]), the Doctor quickly announces that Sontarans have invaded his TARDIS somehow and are going to blow it up with a bomb. (This special was broadcast during [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E4TheTwoDoctors The Two Doctors]]' transmission period, which explains why the Sontarans also appear here.) And that he needs help, [[JerkAss but he didn't mean for her to show up]]. While arguing with Tegan some more, The Doctor accidentally smacks the same controls again and summons the mighty, the powerful...
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20	...approximately 8-year-old Gareth Jenkins, dressed in a smaller version of the 6th Doctor's outfit. Gareth quickly agrees to help set a trap for the Sontarans, and Tegan is asked to help out by... [[YouGetMeCoffee getting Gareth a box to stand on]]. The Doctor and Gareth then press a lot of buttons, mostly consisting of the Doctor saying lines and Gareth repeating them exactly back as he does the action. Within seconds, the Sontarans storm the control room of the TARDIS... and are shocked to hear that this child is ''the'' Gareth Jenkins.
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22	Yes, apparently, Gareth Jenkins will foil a Sontaran plot to take over the Earth in the distant future of 2001, and they decide to kill him now to change that. Of course, they don't, as Gareth springs the trap-- a steam jet that makes the Sontarans puke green blood and [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath melt horrifically]].
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24	Host Jimmy Savile then shows up and awards Gareth a meson gun and a "Jim Fixed It For Me" badge while [[BreakingTheFourthWall smashing the fourth wall into bits]].
25	----
26	...well, that last sentence was what happened back during the mini-episode's original broadcast in 1985. The mini-episode was formerly included as a special feature on the DVD release of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E4TheTwoDoctors The Two Doctors]]". However, at some point circa 2014, [[http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2014/09/two-doctors-revised-release.html it was quietly removed from subsequent Region 2 copies]] and other DVD prints onwards in response to the issues with Savile being brought to light.
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28	A GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion of the mini-episode was released on the Season 22 Blu-Ray box set in 2022, replacing the ending scene featuring Savile with a new ending divorcing it from ''Jim'll Fix It'' entirely and keeping the fourth wall intact:
29	----
30	Yes, apparently, Gareth Jenkins will foil a Sontaran plot to take over the Earth in the distant future of 2001, and they decide to kill him now to change that. Of course, they don't, as Gareth springs the trap-- a steam jet that makes the Sontarans puke green blood and [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath melt horrifically]].
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32	A Sontaran fleet then shows up outside the TARDIS in retaliation. The Doctor muses that this battle is only the beginning...
33	----
34	!!This mini-episode provides examples of:
35	* EightiesHair: Forget about the Sontarans; the most terrifying thing (well... second most terrifying thing in its original cut) in this episode is [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DaQPs_TX0AAH-ZW?format=jpg&name=900x900 Janet Fielding's hair]]. It may be the Eightiest haircut in all of ''Doctor Who'', and that's saying something.
36	* ArtifactTitle: The name "A Fix With Sontarans" tied this episode into ''Jim'll Fix It'', as it was originally produced as a segment for that show, complete with Jimmy Savile appearing at the end. The recut removes Savile entirely, but the name wasn't changed.
37	* AscendedFanboy: The whole point of this thing. Much like Creator/JakeLloyd, Gareth would go on to become the object of scorn for hundreds of fanboys everywhere, making this one of the more infamous episodes of ''Doctor Who'' ever recorded (even before the Savile scandal broke).
38	** Though it's worth mentioning that unlike the Jake Lloyd example, you'd be hard pressed to find anything negative regarding Gareth Jenkins (both the actor and the character) nowadays (''because'' of the Savile scandal), and as this was only a non-canon charity minisode as opposed to [[Film/ThePhantomMenace a canon prequel]], the ramifications for the Doctor Who series wasn't as severe (unlike Star Wars).
39	** Additionally this was Gareth Jenkins' (the actor) only role, and he is now working as the head of campaigns for the charity ''Save the Children'', meaning his career and personal life didn't go down the drain, ''unlike'' Jake Lloyd.
40	* {{BFG}}: The meson gun.
41	* BolivianArmyEnding: The Blu-Ray GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion ends with a Sontaran fleet about to invade the TARDIS. Of course, the fact that this is a 2022 edit of a 1985 episode of a television series still running in 2022 makes the fates of the Doctor and the TARDIS a tad less ambiguous. This being Gareth Jenkins's only appearance, on the other hand, leaves his survival in doubt...
42	* CanonDiscontinuity: Later writers of Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse novels for the franchise tried to pass the original Savile version of the episode as a nightmare suffered by the Doctor. Which again becomes ''extremely'' creepy in hindsight. The events were also evidently ignored when Tegan returned to the series [[Recap/DoctorWho2022CENThePowerOfTheDoctor in 2022]], with no mention of her meeting with Six.
43	* FauxHorrific: Saward's original ''intent'' in having The Doctor and Tegan be utterly horrified and disgusted when Jimmy Savile shows up.
44	* GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion: Received one in 2022 for the Season 22 Blu-ray box set, replacing Savile's appearance with a new ending done through a CGI shot and a newly recorded line from Colin Baker.
45	* IKissYourHand: Jimmy Savile does this to Creator/JanetFielding. Thanks to the revelations about Savile's sex crimes, the gesture seems a lot more creepy now. Colin even noticeably winces when this happens.
46	* ImMelting: The fate of the Sontarans.
47	* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Sontarans' motive for trying to kill Jenkins.
48	* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Those ''are'' Sontarans.
49	* TeethClenchedTeamwork: The Sixth Doctor drops all pretence of civility whenever he turns around to face Tegan. One wonders why she didn't snap back as much as with Five... Although, upon her arrival in the TARDIS, Tegan chews him out royally, and Six actually seems ''frightened'' of a companion for once.
50	* TemporarySubstitute: Creator/NicolaBryant was on holiday at the time, so they got Creator/JanetFielding to reprise her role as Tegan instead.
51	* {{Tuckerization}}: The Sontaran leader is Group Marshal [[Creator/JohnNathanTurner Nathan]]. His subordinate, who is not named on-camera, was referred to as "[[Creator/JohnNathanTurner Turner]]" in the script.
52	* TwoOfYourEarthMinutes: The Sontaran leader tells Gareth that "in the year you would call 2001" he will lead the Earth's defence against a Sontaran invasion.
53	* {{Unperson}}: The revised version eliminates every trace of Jimmy Savile, for very understandable reasons.
54	* WishFulfilment: Gareth Jenkins gets to realise his dream of meeting The Doctor in the TARDIS.

Context Recap / DoctorWho1985JFIGSAFixWithSontarans