The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) would have met a cat-like race in 1978 were it not for budgetary restrictions. Writer David Weir planned a six parter expanding the mythos behind the Time Lord's home planet of Gallifrey, giving us a look at a native species with feline tendencies and an Asian-influenced culture. All that's really known about the script is that a sequence was supposed to take place in a Roman-style arena packed with whiskery faces. An eerie location for the Doctor indeed, but one that unfortunately never came to pass. While producer Graham Williams set the hairball rolling, Anthony Read (script editor) and Gerald Blake (director) vetoed the story as overambitious. The proper title was Killers of the Dark, though it turned into The Killer Cats of Geng Singh after Williams misremembered it at a convention. As far as knock-on effects go, this was worse than a thousand Time Wars, as Williams and Read bashed out The Invasion of Time to plug the gap at the end of Season 15. Instead of delving into the Doctor's civilization, the viewer experienced a different kind of horror altogether. The Panopticon was menaced by sheets of Bacofoil which turned out to be Sontarans acting like the Mitchell Brothers on valium. Cat fans and everyone else lost out!
I am a journalist and comedian who enjoys American movies of the 70s, Amicus horror compendiums, Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Naomi Watts and sitting down. My short fiction has been published as part of the Iris Wildthyme range from Obverse Books.
