Synopsis:
At Snowcap Base, situated in Antarctica, US General Cutler and his international team of scientists and military are monitoring the Zeus 4 space mission. On board are astronauts Schultz and Williams.
The TARDIS materialises close to the underground base. The Doctor and his companions don appropriate winter outfits and venture outside. They spot a periscope and other objects, indicating that there is a structure beneath the ice.
They are spotted by the duty team via the periscope, and soldiers emerge from a hatch to capture them and usher them inside.
The Sergeant informs them where they are, whilst Private Tito is ordered to notify Cutler. He arrives in the duty room, and angrily demands to know who they are and how they came here.
Unhappy with their answers, he orders that the Sergeant escort them to the observation room which adjoins the main space tracking room. He will deal with them once they have handed over Zeus 4 to the next tracking team.
The Doctor points out a calendar, and Ben and Polly discover that this is December, 1986.
In the tracking room, chief scientist Barclay is alerted to a problem. The space capsule is off course.
Schultz and Williams are instructed to take fresh bearings of their position using Mars as a reference.
The Doctor and his companions are alerted to the commotion next door, and the Doctor quickly writes something on a piece of paper, to be given to the General.
It becomes apparent that the planet which the astronauts thought to be Mars is nothing of the kind. They are being influenced by a new planet which appears to have moved rapidly into the solar system, heading towards the Earth.
Not only has it caused Zeus 4 to go off course, it now seems to be causing a catastrophic power loss.
Cutler and Barclay realise that the capsule has only one chance of survival if it can be brought down on its next orbit.
The Doctor insists on speaking with Cutler, claiming to have information about the new planet. The first images come through, and on a monitor they begin to pick out familiar land masses. It closely resembles an inverted version of the Earth. Barclay is surprised to see that this is exactly what the Doctor predicted in his note.
Asked to explain, he tells them that Earth once had a twin...
A disbelieving Cutler cuts him off, then contacts his boss - Wigner, Secretary General of International Space Command, based in Geneva - to update him on events. Wigner demands to know more about the strangers, so Cutler orders the Sergeant to investigate the blue box on the ice outside the base. He takes Tito and another guard with him.
The capsule continues to lose power, and now the astronauts themselves are feeling drained of energy.
The Doctor tells his companions that they should expect visitors from this new planet...
Finding the strange wooden structure locked, the Sergeant sends Tito back inside to fetch a cutting tool. After he has gone, a group of strange figures emerge out of the blizzard. They raise their arms and strike the men down, killing them instantly.
When Tito returns, he fails to notice that the figure by the box is actually one of the new arrivals, disguised with his colleague's heavy overcoat. Too late he realises the deception, and is also killed by a single blow. Discarding its disguise, the figure reaches down to examine the body. It appears to be robotic in nature. The face is a blank, skull-like mask - but its hands are human...
Data:
Written by Kit Pedler
Recorded: Saturday 17th September 1966 - Riverside Studio 1
First broadcast: 5:50pm, Saturday 8th October 1966
Ratings: 5.5 million / AI 50
Designer: Peter Kindred
Director: Derek Martinus
Guest cast: Robert Beatty (General Cutler), David Dodimead (Barclay), Dudley Jones (Dyson), Alan White (Schultz), Earl Cameron (Williams), John Brandon (Sergeant), Shane Shelton (Tito), Steve Plytas (Wigner)
It's all too common for people to describe The Tenth Planet as the first Cyberman story, and the first regeneration story. That's only true in hindsight, however. The production team were planning on "rejuvenating " the Doctor at the end of the story - they would end up using "renewed" on screen - and at this stage the Cybermen are simply the latest one-off monster, and they bear very little resemblance (physically or temperamentally) with the future versions which we will know as recurring villains, the series' No.2 monsters.
During the making of The Smugglers, William Hartnell had met with Innes Lloyd to discuss his future on the show. The outcome was that the star was to step down, with the role of the Doctor recast. The decision to leave was presented to the public as having been taken by mutual consent, but we know that Hartnell wished to carry on, provided his workload was lessened.
However, plans had been laid months before to replace him due to his struggles with scripts and his irritable attitude towards others - including his last producer. He had often played up his age and health issues to get his own way, but now this was coming back to haunt him.
With the third season out of the way, it was planned that Hartnell would record one final story, at the conclusion to which the new Doctor would be introduced. He would be specially contracted for just the four episodes, just like the guest cast.
The star embarked on his summer holiday, spending some time in Cornwall indulging his passion for sea-angling.
The director of his swansong was to be Derek Martinus, who had managed to forge a good working relationship with him during the making of Galaxy 4. He wrote to Hartnell to give him updates on the story's development - informing him, for instance, about the casting of Robert Beatty as main guest artist, an actor he had already worked with on the 1946 movie Appointment With Crime.
It is clear that efforts were being made to make Hartnell's departure as painless as possible for the actor.
After coming up with the idea of a super-computer dominating London from the Post Office Tower, Kit Pedler had been taken on as the series' scientific adviser by story editor Gerry Davis. He was tasked with coming up with another concept, and this time was invited to author the story himself. Davis would be on hand to assist with turning his scientific concepts into effective TV drama.
Pedler wanted to include two main ideas. The first was a space capsule running into difficulties, inspired by the contemporary developments in the Space Race between NASA and the Russians. The capsule would be based on that of the Gemini missions - now named "Zeus" as NASA was employing names from Greek mythology - and the tracking station control room would resemble that at Cape Kennedy.
The Antarctic setting derived from Pedler's love of sci-fi classic The Thing From Another World (1951).
Pedler's second idea concerned the nature of the visitors to Earth from the planet's twin. (A sister world for Earth had been one of Davis' prompts to prospective writers, having first been mooted by Malcolm Hulke back in 1963 for his unused "Hidden Planet" plot). Pedler originally envisaged these as "Star Monks", but Davis was worried that this might be too close to the Meddling Monk of The Time Meddler.
(One of the things Davis introduced during his tenure was a notice-board outlining the basic plot to every story produced so far, accompanied by a photograph - to ensure that ideas weren't duplicated. He was pleased to see that this was still being used when he visited the production office to discuss his "Genesis of the Cybermen" idea with JNT fifteen years later).
Davis encouraged Pedler to concentrate on his scientific input and less on the drama. One of his fears concerned the dehumanising consequences of spare-part surgery, which he discussed with his wife one afternoon at home in Clapham. What would happen if you took such surgery too far? Would a person become more machine than man, and at what point could you no longer be classed as human? Are you still "you" if everything that made you that person was taken away and replaced?
This took Pedler into the realm of cybernetics - the study of control systems and the way in which information flows within a system. Over time, it has come to be associated specifically with mechanical systems, but could equally apply to any sort of business process / environment.
As the idea of "Cybermen" developed, Pedler wanted to make sure they did not look like stereotypical robots. He initially wanted to break up the humanoid body shape - having the face within the chest, or arms emerging from the hips for instance.
Later descriptions had them looking very like idealised versions of men, all looking very similar, dressed in metallic one-piece costumes. Their cybernetic aspect would be more subtle - just a small metal disc on the temple with a wire disappearing into the hairline. Their forearms would be transparent however, filled with lights and wiring.
We'll discuss the Cyberman design process more fully next time, when they make their full appearance.
Michael Craze and Anneke Wills visited Ealing Film Studio's Stage 3 on Wednesday 31st August to film the opening Antarctic exterior scenes, after the materialisation of the TARDIS.
Their co-star was not present - the Doctor being doubled in the background of shots by Gordon Craig, who had fulfilled a similar role on The Smugglers location work. You'll notice how the Doctor lurks by the TARDIS and doesn't have any dialogue in these scenes. He was given dialogue in the draft scripts, but this was deleted when Hartnell was stood down from the filming to reduce his workload.
It was only at this time that the rumour about the star being replaced was confirmed as far as the companion actors were concerned.
Craze had undergone nasal surgery during the summer, to remove a bone chip. The operation had not gone to plan, with a burst blood vessel causing a dangerous complication. The blizzard was achieved using polystyrene chips being thrown in front of a wind machine - and Craze asked that the production assistant, Edwina Verner, take care and avoid his face in case he inhaled any. However, in the confusion of filming he got a face full anyway. He did not hold this against her, though. He invited her out for a coffee, and they were subsequently married.
Whilst extras played the soldiers in the capture scene on 31st August, Brandon and Shelton were required to be on set on Friday 2nd September to film the cliff-hanger sequences - despite the Sergeant and Tito being almost entirely obscured by their winter weather outfits.
Model filming for all episodes took place on the very first day of filming - Tuesday 30th August.
One of the changes introduced by Innes Lloyd for the new season - the first to fall entirely under his control - was a change to the production schedule. Studio recording would no longer take place on a Friday evening, following a week of rehearsals which had commenced on the Monday. Recording would now take place on a Saturday, with rehearsals commencing on the Tuesday. Mondays would be used for filming on the following story.
William Hartnell was naturally very nervous about his final story.
In rehearsals, he ordered that the popular table-tennis matches be suspended as it was disturbing his concentration.
His physical health was not good, having caught a chest infection during the break as well as coping with the growing effects of his arteriosclerosis.
Publicity for the first studio day concentrated on guest star Robert Beatty and the two astronauts in their space capsule. Some shots of Beatty showed him in formal uniform and tie, which he does not wear on screen at any time.
Shawcraft Models of Uxbridge made the tracking room screen, as well as the binocular viewing unit used by the astronauts. (I'll discuss the spacesuits in a separate post shortly).
A number of Beatty's more memorable quips were actually ad-libbed - such as adding "... nor your hair", when telling the Doctor he doesn't like his face. "The penguins would miss me" was also an ad-lib.
The scripted year 2000 was changed to 1986, and scientist Barclay was renamed Clement David instead of Tom.
Only one recording break was planned for the evening - to move the regulars from the crew room to the observation room, though an unscheduled one was taken after the astronauts experienced growing physical weakness.
Stock footage was used of a Gemini space mission, as well as establishing shots of the Antarctic landscape.
Some of the sound effects from The War Machines are reused.
The caption writer had a bad day. Pedler's first name was given as "Kitt" in the opening titles, whilst Davis became "Davies" on the closing set.
The "Cyberman theme" is heard for the very first time - a library track called Space Adventure: Part 2 by Martin Slavin. It is first heard when Mondas appears on the monitor screen, before being used as backing for the approach and attack by the Cybermen at the conclusion of the episode.
One or two obvious plot issues in this opening instalment. The Doctor and companions, instead of being immediately locked up, are actually moved to an area which provides them with easy access into the critical tracking room.
The increasingly cynical Ben scoffs at the idea that there may shortly be visitors at the South Pole - "Visitors? What, here? Well who do you think's bringing them? Father Christmas on his sledge?" - entirely forgetting that he, Polly and the Doctor are visitors themselves.
The Sergeant seems to intuit the latest crisis with the capsule before it actually happens.
And Polly recognises Malaysia, upside down. Most people would be hard pressed to identify its outline the right way up, but upside down? Especially when you can see the more obvious continental masses of Africa and South America.
Positives include the casting, which reflects Pedler's insistence on a multi-national, multi-ethnic setting. Earl Cameron becomes the first Black actor to be given a substantial role in the series, his peers having previously been consigned to background status in stories such as The Crusade.
The first appearance by the Cybermen - ghostly forms emerging out of a snowstorm, with their dead black eyes - really ought to be even more iconic than their later descent down the steps outside St Paul's.
- The ratings see a considerable upswing, with one million extra viewers on the closing instalment of The Smugglers. The appreciation figure also rises sharply, after languishing in the low 40's for a long time.
- Whilst ABC showed the talent contest show Opportunity Knocks, the rest of the ITV network scheduled professional wrestling opposite the programme.
- Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis used to meet regularly at a fish & chip shop to discuss the development of the story - The Contented Sole in Kensington.
- Anneke Wills became good friends with Pedler, inviting him to dinner with her husband Michael Gough and fellow guest Jonathan Miller - actor, director and satirist.
- The story is given unique opening titles, as name, writer and episode number come up amongst "computer code" lettering - N, XX, D, ZZ, N, XX or variations thereof.
- From this story onwards, the series' official titles font changed to Eurostile. Since 1963 it had been Stephenson Blake Grotesque.
- Tito is seen reading a 1965 issue of DC Comics' Sgt. Rock.
- We see from a calendar that it is December 1986, but aren't told the exact date. I suspect that it is the 1st December. If stuck in an underground base at the South Pole for months at a time, you would be very likely to want to count down the days to getting home again - usually done by drawing a line or X through the date on the calendar. This calendar is untouched, so it may have only just been turned to the new month.
- December is actually a summer month at the South Pole, so the weather really ought to be better. Blizzards are not entirely unknown during this season - as Scott of the Antarctic found to his cost. In his case, the clear season ended earlier than expected.
- The Sergeant played by John Brandon, who had a successful acting career spanning nearly half a century on both sides of the Atlantic, is never given a name - despite being a significant speaking role.
- Pedler featured in the Illustrated London News on the day of broadcast - but in a feature concentrating on his medical work. There was a small prompt to watch that evening's Doctor Who episode included at the close, however.
- The Morning Star, four days later, expressed concern at the prospect of "moronic, trigger-happy Americans" being in charge of a scientific establishment in the near future.
- It was during the Ealing filming, on Thursday 1st September, that Patrick Troughton was announced to the world as the new Doctor. Today we have had whole TV programmes dedicated to Doctor reveals, and all the subsequent handovers were deemed newsworthy - but back in 1966 some newspapers barely mentioned the change...
- Radio Times previewed the new story as usual. The image they used, of a group of Cybermen walking through the snow, is clearly a rehearsal shot (from Episode 3) as you will see that one of them (extreme right) isn't wearing his headpiece.
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