On Unusable Ideas

It happens to every writer. They get an idea, a really cool idea, an idea that consumes their world for days on end…

Only it’s an idea that they can’t possibly use.

There’s an idea, an idea that’s been nagging at me for months. I can’t use it. For that matter, no one can. The licensing on it would be a nightmare.

The idea is very simple.

The TARDIS lands in Duckburg.

Yes, it’s a Doctor Who/Uncle Scrooge crossover. 🙂

In a way, it’s Don Rosa’s fault. I met him at a convention a year and a half ago, and he was selling a print that was Lord of the Rings meets the Ducks. Then, I got him to autograph a copy of The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck (the ultimate Christmas present for my brother; Rosa even inscribed a Christmas greeting), and I’d never read it, but I glanced at it from time to time.

Scrooge, having all these historical adventures…

Well, the way my mind works, the idea struck.

In Duckburg, the historical Duckburg of Barks and Rosa, not the modern Duckburg, there’s a peculiar wheezing, grinding sound. The TARDIS materializes, the Doctor and his companion step out, and…

They’re surrounded by anthropomorphic animals.

The companion I can imagine working best? Donna, of all people, though the concept predates her. I can picture her saying, “Ducks. They’re ducks. Ducks that talk. Ducks.” And her lip curls just so, and there’s an air of insane disbelief hanging on her every word, and it’s just perfect.

But the story itself?

The TARDIS has pierced the dimensional barrier before. Only this time it brought it to a universe of ducks and other things. A universe of Time Ducks. A universe of UNIT, led by the bulldog Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

There’s a terrible experiment at work. One of Scrooge’s rivals, the Earth-Duck equivalent of Tobias Vaughn, wants to gain control of the Number One Dime. To do so, he’s made a bargain with the Cyberducks, and together they have developed a dimensional transporter.

But something goes horribly wrong.

It pulls the TARDIS into the Earth-Duck dimension.

And the Doctor must work together with Scrooge and an exiled Time Duck (whom we know as Professor Ludwig von Drake) to stop the damage to the fabric of space-time. Already things are coming through Mathmagicland. Who knows how much time the universe has?

Can the Doctor, his companion, von Drake, Uncle Scrooge, Donald, and the nephews Huey, Dewey, Phooey, and Louie save two universes? And will Uncle Scrooge turn any sort of profit out of this?

It would be a fantastic story. Tons of fun, and I can picture it now.

But, it will never ever happen. :/

That’s my dream. That’s my untold tale. The Doctor and Uncle Scrooge.

Published by Allyn

A writer, editor, journalist, sometimes coder, occasional historian, and all-around scholar, Allyn Gibson is the writer for Diamond Comic Distributors' monthly PREVIEWS catalog, used by comic book shops and throughout the comics industry, and the editor for its monthly order forms. In his over ten years in the industry, Allyn has interviewed comics creators and pop culture celebrities, covered conventions, analyzed industry revenue trends, and written copy for comics, toys, and other pop culture merchandise. Allyn is also known for his short fiction (including the Star Trek story "Make-Believe,"the Doctor Who short story "The Spindle of Necessity," and the ReDeus story "The Ginger Kid"). Allyn has been blogging regularly with WordPress since 2004.

4 thoughts on “On Unusable Ideas

  1. Ah, the site’s back!

    Ever read the Eighth Doctor novel The Crooked World? *Brilliant*. It’s basically a Doctor Who / Looney Toons / Scooby Doo crossover, except without the messy copyright. Fantastic stuff, worth tracking down…

  2. I thought Crooked World was a ton of fun, especially when poor Fitz was trying to get it on with the frisky ‘toon. 🙂

    And you caught me in the middle of uploading the new files for 2.7, which explains why things were broken temporarily.

  3. Wow. I have no idea how to react to that. As you know, I haven’t ever looked too deeply into the Dr. Who lore, although I do greatly enjoy what I have seen…

    Um… points for thinking outside the box, dredging up long-dead memories of my childhood, and… eh… well…

    If it sounds like I think it’s a bad idea, rest assured, I think it’s actually a fantastically good one, I’m just kind of in shock at the moment… you made imagining fun today, Allyn. Yaaay!

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