| rdfs:comment | - Mathew, who was unable to continue in his role due to personal reasons, introduced James to Scott D. Harris, another fan of the show with ideas of his own. Although their preferences and interpretations differed vastly, the pair formed a writing partnership culminating in a reinvigoration for the series. It was initially conceived that this new version of the series would be a replacement for the original two stories, but their friendship with Mathew changed their minds, and it was decided that his incarnation of the Doctor would regenerate at the beginning of the first episode of series one.
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| abstract | - Mathew, who was unable to continue in his role due to personal reasons, introduced James to Scott D. Harris, another fan of the show with ideas of his own. Although their preferences and interpretations differed vastly, the pair formed a writing partnership culminating in a reinvigoration for the series. It was initially conceived that this new version of the series would be a replacement for the original two stories, but their friendship with Mathew changed their minds, and it was decided that his incarnation of the Doctor would regenerate at the beginning of the first episode of series one. Doctor Who had already established itself as a science-fiction mythology that was unafraid to touch upon magic and mysticism without straying from its scientific and historical roots. Scott wanted to take advantage of this fact in order to explore ideas revolving around higher planes, Hermeticism and esoteric tradition. He pitched the opening serial as ‘The Black Paintings’, inspired by his long-standing fascination with the works of Spanish artist Francisco Goya. James agreed, and after deciding to re-title the project ‘El Pinturas Negras’, (later helpfully corrected to Las Pinturas Negras by Mindy Rast-Keenan, the series' announcer) work immediately began. The role of Zacharias was recast, with Caith Donovan filling in for Nick Cochran, who was unavailable at the time. James also cast Jym DeNatale and Julian Bane in the roles of Ricardo Solozano and Mariano Goya respectively. Both actors had previously played different incarnations of the Doctor; Jym for the Doctor Who Audio Dramas, of which James was a devoted fan, and Julian in the fan-film 'Doctor Who: Alternate Empire' and the 'Doctor Who: Legacy' audio series which followed it. The biggest challenge for the fledgling group was the Time Lord himself. Mathew’s portrayal had been that of a gentleman adventurer, and Scott’s original idea had been an eccentric inventor. A number of ideas were discussed, and the result was a bizarre mish-mash of several early incarnations given a younger face. James asked Scott to play the role himself, and although reluctant at first, he eventually agreed and began practising to get into character, which involved long hours of walking around in a costume consisting of a blue and silver wedding suit, black leather coat and Hush Puppies while loudly reciting dialogue to thin air. In his words, “The Doctor wouldn’t care if people looked at him funny.” This new iteration of CP Studios produced two stories in 2013, ‘Las Pinturas Negras’ and The Wooden Planet, which was based on a mock-magazine article written by Arco Chamber as part of a DWAD Short Trips anthology. James read the anthology and contacted Chamber about it. ‘The Wooden Planet’ helped to further mould the uncertain character of the new Doctor, setting a definitive beginning for the character’s development. Shortly after, CP Studios expanded once again to include Anne Lawrence, whom the boys charged with building the official website. Anne, a friend of Scott’s and yet another fan with different ideas on how to approach the series, happily signed up. The three producers each took it upon themselves to manage a different outlet for the series, with Anne webmastering this website, James the podcast, and Scott the YouTube channel. Although the bulk of the writing work remained with the boys at the start, Anne contributed ideas which allowed for a more fun and varied range of stories. Talks began in kind to represent the departed Mathew through a series of comics, short stories, and Companion Chronicles in the style of Big Finish Productions, which would also be used to formally connect the series with that of the adventures of the Doctor as portrayed by Paul McGann. Although the main series was still considered their top priority, the idea was well received by the group as well as their trusted close associates. James also expressed his intent to remake 'The Devils of Gallipoli' and 'Calladra' with new, polished production values. While these stories were at the genesis of the entire project, James has given his opinion of them as, "Good God, they were awful!" The aim of all of us here at CP Studios is to have fun with members of the Doctor Who community. Our stories are sometimes serious and sometimes silly, but we always set out with the goal of collaborating with our fellow fans to have a good time throughout. See you in the future!
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