[AkibaSilver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TokuKnight89

I have to ask... James "War Criminal" Goss!?

Did I include that line as bait to let me tell this story? Of course.

James Goss is a long-running associate of the show, working on a lot of expanded universe content, including Big Finish, the books, masterminding the Time Lord Victorious multimedia deal you might've seen a few years back, and most importantly for this story, running a bunch of tie-in websites to the show in 2005. This included a website for fictional organisation UNIT, which had been in the show since the 60's, explicitly calling it the "UNITED NATIONS Intelligence Taskforce". There was a little disclaimer at the bottom of the page saying how the website was for a totally fictional show, but it was easily missed.

To the Doctor Who Production Office's door one day arrives a letter, claiming to be from the UN, asking them to modify the website to make it clearer its not associated with the actual UN. Everyone had a good laugh at the obvious prank, and it got forgotten about. Until the next one showed up, highlighing the bit of the Geneva Conventions governing the use of UN symbols and threatening legal action. James Goss, webmaster at the time, phoned up showrunner RTD, slightly terrified of being deported to the Hague, and they quickly changed the website and even the name of the organisation. From their next appearance in Series 4, just to be safe, they were renamed the "UNIFIED Intellgence Taskforce". It's a nothing-change, and the show still makes allusions to them being a UN Organisation, but there's now much less chance of any webmasters being accused of violating Geneva Conventions.

(It's also funny because of his twitter threads detailing how he's been dragged into Turkish courts due to owning a listed building or something? Goss has an interesting life.)