10 Insane Doctor Who Episodes That Went Unmade

By Tom Baker /

9. The One With Samurai Insect Aliens

Nowadays Ben Aaronovitch is best known as the author of the Rivers Of London novels, following a secret division of the London Met police force who deal with supernatural and otherworldly threats. Before all that, though, the author cut his teeth as a scriptwriter on Doctor Who €“ mostly during the dark, later years prior to its cancellation. Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor heralded a final strike for Doctor Who, with the series finally having the long-threatened axe brought down upon its head. The shift to a comical, pantomime approach didn't help. Neither did ignoring legitimately awesome-sounding ideas like Aaronovitch's €œEarth Aid€, about a race of samurai insectoid aliens. The serial would have seen The Doctor meeting the Metatraxi, an extraterrestrial race who live by a strict code of honour and find themselves in a bit of a pickle when they meet the Time Lord €“ they don't believe in fighting unarmed enemies, after all. Reportedly, the story would also have concerned the politics of humanitarian aid. But of course.