Extra Time

Roots: The 1966 World Cup. Real-life football players mentioned here include Geoff Hurst, Nobby Stiles, David Beckham, Gary Linekar, Frank Lampard, Bobby Charlton, Jackie Charlton, Alan Ball, and Franz Beckenbauer. There are references to the Beatles, The Who’s “My Generation”, Live Aid, eBay, Sherlock Holmes, CSI, William Hill, the Daily Express, Agatha Christie, Cluedo, Elvis Presley, The X-Factor, Pathé, “God Save the Queen”, Harry Potter, Marlon Brando in The Wild One, James Bond, and YouTube.

Continuity: Vispic leeches are neural parasites or “luck-suckers” that feed on euphoria or joy, killing the victim in the process. They can drain neural energy from a short distance, without any need for physical contact. Their larvae resemble giant maggots. The adults have hammer-headed, hammer-tailed bodies with three pairs of legs, plus a fourth pair of limbs that end in large, crescent-shaped claws. They can change their skin pigmentation to match their surroundings so accurately that they can become virtually invisible. In their larval form, they can spatially displace themselves, cutting dimensional wormholes to travel from planet to planet. The larvae feed by draining neural energy from a host population, providing the energy they need to pupate, and the emerging adults feed on any remaining population. They use a displacement anchor to act as both a beacon and fixing point for the Vispic larvae. It is built around a molecular core of Paratraxium, which is almost indestructible.

The Doctor has an assortment of coins in his pocket, including a 200,000 Drooble Piece. He poses as Mr Lineker from the Fair Organisation Of Football Agency, or FOOFA and claims that Rory is Herr Willhelms of the West German Football Association. Amy poses as “Herr Willhelm’s” interpreter. The Doctor and Amy later use the aliases of Agents Linekar and Beckham from Metropolitan Special Branch and claim to be chasing terrorist Rory “The Wrecker” Williams. The Doctor uses the sonic screwdriver to petrify a rolled-up newspaper so that it becomes as hard as an iron bar. He has a cordless extension lead in the TARDIS.

The only German Amy can remember from her single term of studying it at school are the numbers one to ten. She thinks that Marlon Brando was the most gorgeous male movie star of all time.

Rory buys a pack of World Cup bubblegum. He is a keen collector of Match Attax footballer gamecards. He had a 2010 World Cup vuvuzela, until Amy snapped it in half. He is forced to impersonate Azerbaijani linesman Tofik Bakhramov after the Doctor accidentally knocks him out, and thus awards the game-changing goal that lead to England winning the world cup. He uses a Vinvocci shimmer that the Doctor obtained on Vegas IV to physically disguise himself as Bakhramov (see The End of Time). His only previous experience as a football official was refereeing a match after a friend’s wedding between the bride and groom’s relatives, which ended in a brawl. He meets Alf Ramsey here. He has played FIFA 11 and Football Manager.

Moslovians have three faces.

On Mafooz Minor, different sized pellets of swamp-vole dung are used as currency. 200,000 Drooble Pieces are valid currency on Tartac Beta. The Doctor mentions Zarusian Blubberhogs.

Links: The Doctor notes that he played football whilst standing in for his flatmate (The Lodger). He mentions Raxacocoricofallapatorians.

Location: London, 30th July 1966.

Future History: According to the Doctor, Scotland win the World Cup at some point in the far future and England win a second time.

Unrecorded Adventures: The Doctor took Amy and Rory to the Neutrino Casino on Vegas IV, where he used a Vinvocci shimmer to impersonate Elvis Presley during a competition. The Doctor has encountered Vispics before. The Doctor takes Amy and Rory to the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation on 19th December 1983 to steal the Jules Rimet Trophy.

The Bottom Line: A love-letter to football and Doctor Who at the same time, Extra Time is light-hearted fun. The Vispics aren’t especially memorable monsters, but give the Doctor and Amy something to distract them whilst Rory finds himself making history in the 1966 World Cup.

Discontinuity Guide by Paul Clarke

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