The HMS Terror on July, 14 1837. Engraving by George Back – Back, G., (1838): Narrative of an expedition in HMS Terror. London: John Murray, p. 404, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
The Franklin Expedition, the Arctic Circle (1845)
Yes, yes, the entire first season of AMC’s The Terror was devoted to this story already. But that doesn’t mean that Doctor Who couldn’t put a different spin on things! As some of you likely already know, two ships set out from England in 1845, the HMS Terror and the HMS Erebus. They were attempting to find a Northwest Passage across the Arctic Circle, but became trapped in the ice and disappeared. Many subsequent rescue and search expeditions were launched, but no one knew what happened to the ships for over 150 years. The wrecks of both were recently discovered – the Erebus in 2014 and the Terror in 2016. What happened to them and what became of their crews remains a mystery.
Historical figures we might meet: Captain Sir John Franklin was a famous explorer in his own right, having served on three successful Arctic expeditions prior to the one on which he disappeared. He’s an interesting figure, and even more so when we consider what likely happened to him and his crew. (Some of the existing evidence indicates that they did not all die quickly, and that everything from lead poisoning to cannibalism may have taken place.)
Potential adventures: Doctor Who often likes to do what is called a “base under siege” story, in which our heroes are trapped or otherwise somehow confined to a single location while they’re menaced by some exterior force or monster. It’s hard to think of a better place for a story like that than ships stuck in a frozen wasteland with few supplies. The AMC series leaned into the idea that there may have been a supernatural force at work against these men, even as they went crazy and started murdering one another. How would Doctor Who explain their disappearance? Would Team TARDIS try – or even manage – to save some of them? That’s possible. After all, history thinks they’re dead already.