Doctor Who: 10 Things You Never Knew About Series 4 Of NuWho

6. Mark Gatiss' Had a Nazi Story That Was Cancelled

Mark Gatiss had penned scripts for the first two series by this point, as well as appearing in an episode of the third, so it wasn't surprising to hear that he had a story planned for the fourth series. The Natural History Museum is being invaded by Nazis... and monsters. The crew hoped to be able to shoot on-location for a few scenes, but most of the action would have taken place in booby-trapped corridors and an Indiana Jones style chambers beneath the museum. Gatiss had already finished the first draft of his script when prep for Series 4 was going on and by the time of the breakdown it was competing with James Moran's The Fires of Pompeii for the third episode spot (it was later swapped around with Planet of the Ood). However, Russell T Davies was worried that NuWho was redoing World War II too soon after Steven Moffat's 2005 story The Empty Child, which was considered a fan favourite. Ultimately, Davies opted for the Pompeii story, which involved shooting in Rome and featured the first incidental appearances of two actors who would become stars of the Whoniverse under Moffat's reign. Of course, Gatiss eventually got to write his WW2 story in the subsequent series, Victory of the Daleks. Though the episode was clearly an excuse to have Daleks in camouflage paint offering tea, nobody can fault the historical accuracy of the piece, space-faring spitfires notwithstanding. Gatiss went to great lengths to research Churchill and his War Rooms, as well as the language and aesthetic of the era, and brought them all to life wonderfully in the script. Moffat would then write another a WW2 story of his own the following year, so clearly he didn't think it was too soon.