Creative Consultant

 

Creative Consultant was an odd show. It followed the life and times (or mostly the house) of one Creative Consultant. The house seemed to have a lot of guests, mostly from BBC shows that never seemed to be there on the same days as him, which was odd as it seemed CC was always home. CC was played by Nathan Fillion, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Mischa Collins, or any number of guest stars, depending on how the day was going. In the event it wasn't one of those people it was a man in black outfits but then usually the camera was first person. It wasn't as though the face was a complete mystery, but rather that it wasn't important. Not as important as the work, and the time and space location of the house.

It was one of the locations for the portal to Paradise, which allowed certain people through to a time after the Event, but even though they tried to bring the CC up to the second floor where the portal was, it was never open if they did.

In the early days of this happening, the parent characters went through the portal and found themselves to be in an almost identical house in New Zealand, in a kind of Grey Paradise where portals to Full Paradise were much more plentiful and organized.

Still the CC was unable to leave the house, so the nurses brought in earlier were set to move in full time as well as other guests from other times and dimensions. The show became more popular when it was found that it was a resurrection point for some of the more famous people in the standard timeline. They could look up themselves on the Internet (now unlimited and fast) and route their own path into Paradise so they don't get mobbed.

BBC and WT both set up cameras so that they were officially there and a minor miracle had the cameras backdated to June 4 2021 and already tonnes of back footage to comb through for the lead up to the remaining story.

A proper copy of the Hard Drive was made in Late October 2021 when the family was all out of town and in preparation for the new actresses on November 1.

There was a certain amount of debate as to whether they were meant to be as-is actresses or if they were part of the Quantum Leap plot of Doctor Time and the whole R+J arc of that show, or if they were simply briefed by the various players ahead of time.

It made for compelling viewing and the tagline "Here I am, Jehovah, the God of all mankind. Is there anything too wonderful for me?- was often shown online when something improbably occurred, like seeing a character's thoughts in real time or some picture in picture thing breaking the 4th wall and talking to the audience, or having dream cubes appear in people's houses when they are mentioned on the TV. It was all very fascinating.

So they watched and learned and learned to find answers for each question posed, just as they were told to by the BBC when they asked the questions. Some of the ideas that came out of these people that were interviewed and asked were interesting. The show was called Supernatural Investigation. It started with the show running on September 24st, 2026.

The shows continued in this way for over ten years.

And at the end of the Season One season one episode, CC and the family went away for Christmas, to visit his father's grave, and stayed in a small apartment in Auckland until it reopened for another season the following year.

On December 27th the new girls were hired and everyone moved to their new flats.

CC, who had always lived alone, now had company.

He didn’t mind that he was lonely. He wasn’t lonely for himself. That was okay. His mother was fine with being alone with him. She was used to it after all these years. His father on the other hand, was not used to it at all.

That night CC got a call from the BBC. They needed to talk about his career choices, and what would happen if they were not successful. CC accepted the offer.

They met on the next Monday. CC was not nervous. Not at all. His nerves could never get the better of him anyway.

The interview was not hard. All CC knew about acting was what he had been taught, but he knew that he loved acting. What he didn' know is how he would do. How well he'd do.

"I don't know yet," CC admitted "but whatever happens will happen. It's what I've come to expect."

His interviewer nodded. "What do you expect will happen?" she asked.

CC sighed. "I'm afraid I won' really know till after I've done my job," he confessed "it may sound corny, but I'll probably need someone else at the end. To help me finish the job."

"You don't believe in your abilities?" the interviewer asked.

CC shook his head. "Not in that way," he said.

"But you're an actor." the interviewer pointed out.

CC shrugged. "No. Just an actor," he corrected. "I don't think I could act convincingly enough to pull off being anyone in particular. But I'll play my role until my death." he assured her.

The interviewer frowned. "Don't be silly," she insisted "we know you can be convincing. You can be very convincing CC."

CC smiled. “Thank you,” he replied.

The interview ended then and CC went home thinking about the interview. It seemed as though things had changed between them. And CC liked that.

Over the next few weeks the interviews continued. Sometimes CC and the interviewer sat together watching the show while they talked, sometimes CC and the interviewer worked separately. Sometimes CC spoke and sometimes he didn't, the interviewer asked questions. Most days the interviewer worked during the morning, CC took the rest of the day off. The interviews became easier and easier as time passed. CC began to realize that the questions were actually questions that his interviewer wanted answered. There were no demands from the producer for answers, only questions. CC enjoyed this aspect of working for the show. The conversations with his interviewer were becoming less formal now, more friendly than professional. CC had become accustomed to his interviewer as a friend. A good friend.

One Sunday in May, CC woke up early on Sunday morning. He got up and washed quickly, and put on some clothes before walking down to the kitchen. CC made coffee. And that was the first hint that this CC and the real one weren't the same one. Viewers who had gone through the old script fragments knew that it was a Ianto charater, and not the original CC. The legs being healed should have been shown on screen and even if they were going to go that as a flashback, there was no reason for CC to suddenly like coffee.

This CC was wearing a jumper, a red jumper with white letters on its sleeve that read, 'I AM THE CHEAPEST FISH IN LONDON', and CC couldn't tell whether this meant that this CC was a cheapskate or if CC knew the joke.

CC was confused. This CC didn' seem as if CC had known the answer to any of the questions and CC couldn't remember answering any of them.

The breakfast turned out to be awkward. CC was quiet throughout the meal, looking at his plate but not really eating much.

After they ate CC left quickly and drove to the office. This CC was off to make the WT Missing Piece cards and not be the part of some TV show, unless it was to show the internal workings of the WT Art department. Ianto CC as he had quickly been dubbed, had a lot in common with a character before called JW. Or the CC that 'lived' in the DV Hall.

Cable, as he was introduced, was a very pleasant and likable man; smart and witty and easily understood. He made CC feel as though CC knew him fairly well from somewhere, and CC was pleased to learn that his name was John Smith.

John Smith. It sounded familiar somehow.

John Smith

If you can't get a Dr Who reference that obvious you should proabably stop reading now.

If you have a Dr Who reference you should probably shut up now.

Chapter 5 - Part III

"The future's not decided yet," CC announced to the entire room. He was in the office in late Saturday afternoon, sitting down for his lunch break. It was lunchtime, and the news anchor at BBC World News was interviewing people about the show's upcoming run.

It was not long before a reporter interrupted. Her questions were vague, but CC knew exactly what she was asking.

"Did the BBC decide what they are going to do about the future of the show?" she inquired.

CC laughed. "They did," he assured her "the show is a very different story from the one we know now, because we live in a future where the future has already happened and the present hasn't. So it is possible we will still see the show. We aren' sure of it. It is not yet decided whether we're doing the series again or not. There's talk among the viewers right now about whether we're continuing."

That last comment was met with laughter around the office.

CC looked around at the laughter.

"Yeah...that's right," he agreed "and some of us aren't sure we want to continue because some of us don't want to see our families again. I'm not one of those, so..." CC paused, and let his words hang.

The audience laughed, and then the newswoman asked if she could quote him directly.

"Well...no," CC said with a grin "I wouldn't want to spoil the fun. Let's give them a chance to read the questions that you have been sent."

The question asked was one that CC had been dreading since the beginning of the broadcast and had hoped was a hoax. "Are you saying that you think that what happened to the show is real?" he heard the journalist ask as CC stood up and prepared to leave.

CC sighed.

"Oh, you know what? No...I'm not saying that at all," CC answered as he walked out of the room. "It's all a work in progress. Our lives, our future, our past. Yes even our past. It might not seem like it to people but.." Nathan interrupted them "You viewers might want to look outside in 4..3...2..1..." Flashbulbs went off at the main viewing parties and everyone turned around back to the show to see their faces on the screen.

CC Smiled.

He couldn't wait to start filming.

The show was coming along slowly. It was difficult to film every day in the same place in the same location, especially when there were a lot of changes to take care of in the new world. The studio needed to adapt a number of scenes, and many times they had to run things all the way up the chain of command to see if something was possible.