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Nimrod (Doctor Who)
Encyclopedia
Nimrod is a character in the Big Finish Productions
audio plays Project: Twilight
, Project: Lazarus
and Project: Destiny
written by Cavan Scott
and Mark Wright, which are based on the British
science fiction television series Doctor Who
. He is an original character and does not appear in the television series, and should not be confused with the character of the same name from the serial Ghost Light
(1989). The canonicity
of the audio dramas, like other Doctor Who spin-off
media, is unclear.
Nimrod works for the Forge
, a top-secret organization responsible for experimenting with extraterrestrial material. During World War I
Dr William Abberton was responsible for genetic experiments on vampire
DNA
— the so-called Project: Twilight — creating a hybrid race to act as super-soldiers. However, when the hybrids escaped, Abberton was mortally injured, only saving himself by injecting himself with the Twilight Virus, turning himself into a hybrid as well. He took the code name Nimrod, after the legendary hunter king
, and hunted down the survivors of his vampire experiments. Over the years, he endured genetic alterations to stabilize his condition, even getting several cybernetic implants
. Years later, he replaced Colonel Crichton as Deputy Director of the Forge.
He first met the Sixth Doctor
and Evelyn Smythe
in 1999, while tracking down the last of the vampires to a casino called Dusk. Evelyn befriended a girl who worked there called Cassie. Cassie had left her son Tommy with his grandmother up North while Cassie tried to earn a good living in London. But the vampires turned her into one of their own and she was the only one of them to escape when Nimrod destroyed the Dusk. He eventually found her in Norway
, where the Doctor had left her while he tried to create a cure. He brainwashed her and made her his replacement field agent, Artemis.
He then began work on Project: Lazarus, a plan to create clones of the Doctor to discover the secrets of Time Lord
regeneration
. Once the Doctor had created a cure for the Twilight Virus, he and Evelyn returned to administer it to Cassie a few years later. But Nimrod captured the Doctor, took samples from his body and murdered Cassie before she could be cured. After the Doctor escaped, Nimrod started work on the cloning process, and succeeded in creating multiple identical versions of the Sixth Doctor. He clinically murdered many of them, but they all failed to regenerate. They were each short lived, but he kept them as a sort of pet, one at a time, dressing them like the real Doctor and tricking them into being his Scientific Adviser. After a few years of this, the Seventh Doctor
arrived at the Forge and revealed the truth to his clone. Enraged by this, the replica Doctor destroyed the Forge. Nimrod escaped, but he believed it was the real Doctor that obliterated the facility.
Although their building was gone, the Forge continued. They re-branded themselves as the public face of alien encounters. Even Nimrod became a public figure, now calling himself Sir William Abberton. But in 2026 a deadly alien mutagen escaped from the Forge, forcing most of London to be evacuated. The Seventh Doctor arrived in the middle of this emergency, but he was younger than the version that saw the destruction of the Forge two decades previously. With the Doctor were his companions Ace
and Hex
. Nimrod already knew that Hex was Cassie's son, now a grown man. He played on Hex's doubts and fears and confusion to drive a wedge between him and the Doctor. He even convinced Hex to resurrect the remains of his mother, but she returned as a monstrous zombie. However, her instincts were retained and she quickly turned on Nimrod and killed him. Meanwhile, the Forge was overthrown and Project: Destiny was implemented. Nimrod and the Forge were destroyed.
The Short Trips: Defining Patterns
book contains the short story Twilight's End. The new Forge skyscraper was the most scientifically advanced building in the world, but it was hardwired to the remains of Nimrod, kept in a sealed vault deep below the property. The Seventh Doctor arrives, leaving a syringe containing the Twilight Cure, giving Nimrod the choice to use it.
Nimrod is an unethical scientist who does not suffer fools gladly. He is cruel and sadistic, as seen in his treatment of the Huldan alien creature and of the Doctor clones he created during Project: Lazarus. He is bald and has almost completely colourless skin and lips, while his eyes are a vibrant blue. His cybernetic implants allow him to link to Oracle, the Forge's supercomputer, and also keep track of the vital signs of other Forge personnel in the vicinity. His weapon of choice is a specially designed crossbow.
Nimrod is played by British actor Stephen Chance. A novel, Project: Valhalla, by Scott and Wright, featuring Nimrod and the Forge, was published in December 2005. Also in 2005, a webcomic
called The Forge: Project Longinus began serialisation, written by Scott and Wright and illustrated by Bryan Coyle.
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
audio plays Project: Twilight
Project Twilight
Project: Twilight is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
, Project: Lazarus
Project Lazarus
Project: Lazarus is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is a sequel to Project: Twilight and a predecessor to Project: Destiny.-Plot:...
and Project: Destiny
Project Destiny (Doctor Who audio)
Project: Destiny is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is a sequel to Project: Twilight and Project: Lazarus.-Plot:...
written by Cavan Scott
Cavan Scott
Cavan Scott is a freelance author, journalist and editor best known for his work on a variety of spin-offs from the BBC Television series Doctor Who...
and Mark Wright, which are based on the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. He is an original character and does not appear in the television series, and should not be confused with the character of the same name from the serial Ghost Light
Ghost Light (Doctor Who)
-Pre-production:Working titles for this story included The Bestiary and Life-Cycle. As revealed in the production notes for the DVD release, the story was renamed Das Haus der tausend Schrecken upon translation into German.The story evolved out of an earlier, rejected script entitled Lungbarrow...
(1989). The canonicity
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
of the audio dramas, like other Doctor Who spin-off
Doctor Who spin-offs
Doctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of, but related to, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
media, is unclear.
Nimrod works for the Forge
Forge (Doctor Who)
The Forge is a fictional black operations organisation from the Big Finish Productions audio plays based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
, a top-secret organization responsible for experimenting with extraterrestrial material. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Dr William Abberton was responsible for genetic experiments on vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
— the so-called Project: Twilight — creating a hybrid race to act as super-soldiers. However, when the hybrids escaped, Abberton was mortally injured, only saving himself by injecting himself with the Twilight Virus, turning himself into a hybrid as well. He took the code name Nimrod, after the legendary hunter king
Nimrod (king)
Nimrod is, according to the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, the son of Cush and great-grandson of Noah and the king of Shinar. He is depicted in the Tanakh as a man of power in the earth, and a mighty hunter. Extra-Biblical traditions associating him with the Tower of Babel led to his...
, and hunted down the survivors of his vampire experiments. Over the years, he endured genetic alterations to stabilize his condition, even getting several cybernetic implants
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
. Years later, he replaced Colonel Crichton as Deputy Director of the Forge.
He first met the Sixth Doctor
Sixth Doctor
The Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...
and Evelyn Smythe
Evelyn Smythe
Dr. Evelyn Smythe is a fictional character played by Maggie Stables in a series of audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A professor of history from the 20th century with a fondness for chocolate, she is a...
in 1999, while tracking down the last of the vampires to a casino called Dusk. Evelyn befriended a girl who worked there called Cassie. Cassie had left her son Tommy with his grandmother up North while Cassie tried to earn a good living in London. But the vampires turned her into one of their own and she was the only one of them to escape when Nimrod destroyed the Dusk. He eventually found her in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, where the Doctor had left her while he tried to create a cure. He brainwashed her and made her his replacement field agent, Artemis.
He then began work on Project: Lazarus, a plan to create clones of the Doctor to discover the secrets of Time Lord
Time Lord
The Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
regeneration
Regeneration (Doctor Who)
Regeneration, in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, is a biological ability exhibited by Time Lords, a race of fictional humanoids originating on the planet Gallifrey. This process allows a Time Lord who is old or mortally wounded to undergo a transformation into a new...
. Once the Doctor had created a cure for the Twilight Virus, he and Evelyn returned to administer it to Cassie a few years later. But Nimrod captured the Doctor, took samples from his body and murdered Cassie before she could be cured. After the Doctor escaped, Nimrod started work on the cloning process, and succeeded in creating multiple identical versions of the Sixth Doctor. He clinically murdered many of them, but they all failed to regenerate. They were each short lived, but he kept them as a sort of pet, one at a time, dressing them like the real Doctor and tricking them into being his Scientific Adviser. After a few years of this, the Seventh Doctor
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
arrived at the Forge and revealed the truth to his clone. Enraged by this, the replica Doctor destroyed the Forge. Nimrod escaped, but he believed it was the real Doctor that obliterated the facility.
Although their building was gone, the Forge continued. They re-branded themselves as the public face of alien encounters. Even Nimrod became a public figure, now calling himself Sir William Abberton. But in 2026 a deadly alien mutagen escaped from the Forge, forcing most of London to be evacuated. The Seventh Doctor arrived in the middle of this emergency, but he was younger than the version that saw the destruction of the Forge two decades previously. With the Doctor were his companions Ace
Ace (Doctor Who)
Dorothy Gale McShane, better known by her nickname Ace, is a fictional character played by Sophie Aldred in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
and Hex
Hex (Doctor Who)
Thomas Hector Schofield, nicknamed Hex, is a fictional character played by Philip Olivier in a series of audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A staff nurse working for St. Gart's Hospital in London in the year...
. Nimrod already knew that Hex was Cassie's son, now a grown man. He played on Hex's doubts and fears and confusion to drive a wedge between him and the Doctor. He even convinced Hex to resurrect the remains of his mother, but she returned as a monstrous zombie. However, her instincts were retained and she quickly turned on Nimrod and killed him. Meanwhile, the Forge was overthrown and Project: Destiny was implemented. Nimrod and the Forge were destroyed.
The Short Trips: Defining Patterns
Short Trips: Defining Patterns
Short Trips: Defining Patterns is a Big Finish original anthology edited by Ian Farrington and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
book contains the short story Twilight's End. The new Forge skyscraper was the most scientifically advanced building in the world, but it was hardwired to the remains of Nimrod, kept in a sealed vault deep below the property. The Seventh Doctor arrives, leaving a syringe containing the Twilight Cure, giving Nimrod the choice to use it.
Nimrod is an unethical scientist who does not suffer fools gladly. He is cruel and sadistic, as seen in his treatment of the Huldan alien creature and of the Doctor clones he created during Project: Lazarus. He is bald and has almost completely colourless skin and lips, while his eyes are a vibrant blue. His cybernetic implants allow him to link to Oracle, the Forge's supercomputer, and also keep track of the vital signs of other Forge personnel in the vicinity. His weapon of choice is a specially designed crossbow.
Nimrod is played by British actor Stephen Chance. A novel, Project: Valhalla, by Scott and Wright, featuring Nimrod and the Forge, was published in December 2005. Also in 2005, a webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
called The Forge: Project Longinus began serialisation, written by Scott and Wright and illustrated by Bryan Coyle.