Inspirations - The Awakening

The Awakening is the only story written by Eric Pringle, though he did submit others which were never developed. It is the last of the old-style two part stories of the Classic Era. (Future two-parters will be in the 45 minute per episode format, so technically run like old school four-parters).
At the time he was commissioned, Pringle had as his agent one Peter Bryant - best known to Doctor Who fans as the one-time producer of the show for much of Patrick Troughton's tenure in the role. He was also responsible, with Derrick Sherwin who succeeded him, for casting Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor. Working titles for this story were "War Game", which might have been a bit confusing due its similarity to Troughton's last adventure, and "Poltergeist", which isn't really terribly relevant to the finished episodes.
A trick is missed at the beginning of this story, as we might have been led to believe that it was going to be a Historical, set at the time of the English Civil Wars. The BBC had experience of this period thanks to the drama series By The Sword Divided, which was running at the same time as this story (it ran over two series from 1983 - 85). It told the story of a fictional family which becomes divided amongst itself as some follow the Parliamentarian cause, whilst others stay faithful to the Royalist one. This is probably based on the memoirs of the Verney Family of Middle Claydon. The father, Sir Edmund, was a staunch Royalist, but his eldest son Ralph was a Parliamentarian, whilst his second son was also a Royalist.
I mentioned Civil Wars (plural) above, and that's because there were three of them.
The First Civil War ran between 1642 to 1646, culminating in the capture of King Charles by Scots Covenanters. His refusal to negotiate and give any ground led to the Second Civil War, which comprised various Royalist attacks on the Parliamentarians. It ran through 1648, but as there was no co-ordination between the various attackers, each was defeated separately, and in January 1649 Charles was executed in London. The Third Civil War took place in 1651, when Charles II attempted to win back the throne. Failure led him to self-imposed exile until after the death of Cromwell.
The battle fought at Little Hodcombe took place in 1643, so right in the middle of the First Civil War.
As we've said, The Awakening might have allowed us to think that we were watching a story set in the 17th Century, but we have already seen the school teacher, Jane Hampden in modern costume, and we see 20th Century objects such as red telephone boxes and telegraph poles.
It then looks as if this might be some sort of time-slip story, with people from the past being brought forward to the present. There is a bit of that in the story, but that's not the main thing going on. What is really going on is a historical re-enactment.

Every weekend during the better weather months, thousands of people get dressed up and head for the countryside for the weekend to indulge in some historical re-enactment activity. They cover all sorts of time periods, but the English Civil Wars is one of the most popular. Best known group are the Sealed Knot Society, who specialise in this period, and re-enact the famous battles such as Naseby and Marston Moor (no mention of Little Hodcombe on their website though). Other groups of re-enacters include the Ermine Street Guard, who live the life of Roman soldiers, all the way up to those who prefer the Second World War era. The latter have courted controversy by some dressing as Nazis, which many naturally see as offensive. Re-enacters try to indulge their passion in their everyday lives as well, not just when they gather for big events.
In The Awakening, the local squire, Sir George Hutchinson, is taken over psychically by a malevolent alien entity known as the Malus (which is, of course, the Latin word for evil).
Many of the characters are named after real people from the Civil War era. Hutchinson comes from the Puritan Colonel John Hutchinson (1615 - 1664) who fought on the Parliamentarian side. Hampden gets her name from another Parliamentarian - John Hampden (1595 - 1643). A cousin of Oliver Cromwell, he died from wounds received at the Battle of Chalgrove Field. Tegan's grandfather, Andrew Verney, derives his name from the family mentioned above.

As Sir George becomes more obsessed with his war games, and the Malus exerts its influence further, it is decided that Tegan will play the part of the May Queen. Apparently this tradition goes back to ancient pagan tree worship, and might be derived from the Roman Goddess of Springtime - Maia. There are also links to Robin Hood's Maid Marian. Written records of a May Queen, or Lady of the May go back to the 16th Century. Traditionally the May Queen was a girl who dressed in white to signal her purity. (What does that say about Tegan?). The idea that the May Queen was put to death as a sacrifice at the end of the May Day festivities, popular in Folk Horror tradition, does not have any historical basis. The odd thing about her inclusion in this story is that the battle was supposed to have been fought in July of 1643, not in May.
Of course an earlier Doctor Who story was set around May Day in a supposedly quiet English hamlet tainted by an ancient, long buried evil, and involved someone who was going to be burnt at the stake - The Daemons. Many have noted the similarity of the conclusions to both stories - with the local church being the setting for the reappearance of the evil, we see the building destroyed. As The Daemons owed much to the work of Nigel Kneale, especially Quatermass and the Pit, we need to acknowledge his influence here as well. Another of his screenplays should also be mentioned - The Stone Tape - as we here see phantoms from the past appearing in the present day, and the idea that the past itself can be "recorded" in the fabric of a place.
Next time: the TARDIS goes further into the future than it's ever gone before. The Doctor is worried the Time Lords will find out, but doesn't yet realise the gravity of the situation he's in...