On
The SS Isle of
The fact that the staff provide certain ‘extra’ services was something that I intended to play on from the start. Penne and Cirena’s concern about it not being a place suitable for Julia were always going to feature. When I wrote the opening scenes, with Chrístõ deadlock sealing the transmit in her room, it was not meant to be a key part of the story. As the plot developed, though, I found that a way down to the basement levels would prove useful.
One detail I am not entirely satisfied with is the man face down in the swimming pool. It IS possible to revive a person who has been in water for quite a long time. The film Abyss has a very detailed scene in which a central character actually drowns and is revived, but that was in extremely cold water and a very different set of circumstances. I think it is probably pushing it a little for that man to have survived. But it was necessary to have somebody awake in order to explain what had happened and to fetch help.
The
lower level, with the water and other recycling was my contribution to
the design of the Isle of Capri. I thought the idea of showing what happens
underneath the pleasure floors and the luxury would be interesting. And
of course, it provided a way of defeating the thieves who had robbed all
the crowned heads and presidents while they were unconscious. The Matrix
of Ay'Ydiwo, of course, appeared in a previous story, Ubaz and Ipotir,
when he suffered from exposure to the sun and had to be cooled down in
the TARDIS shower. His species are reptilian and either extreme of temperature
affects them. So freezing cold water was an perfect non-lethal way to
put Ay'Ydiwon criminals out of action.
The decision to extend Corwen’s lifespan from the original six months to at least ten years meant that I could have stories involving Penne’s now extended family in the future. Although, since I was planning a whole new direction which meant that Chrístõ would not get to meet Penne for several years, those were on the back burner for a while.
