Saturday 5 March 2022

On This Day... 5th March


Dodo's first trip in the TARDIS led to a strange jungle, high above which was The Steel Sky. This was the first episode of The Ark, today in 1966.
In 1977 The Talons of Weng-Chiang moved on to its second instalment.
Finally, Nerys Hughes guest starred as Gwen Cooper's future mother-in-law in the Torchwood episode Something Borrowed, in 2008. Hughes had previously appeared opposite Peter Davison in Kinda.


Today we remember the actor Philip Madoc. He made four appearances in Doctor Who over the years. The first was in The Krotons, when he played the treacherous Eelek. The director David Maloney quickly brought him back at the end of the same season to portray the War Lord in The War Games.
He then appeared in his best known role - that of the mad scientist Mehendri Solon in The Brain of Morbius. His final role was a bit of a disappointment. He was asked to take part in The Power of Kroll at a late stage after another actor dropped out. Madoc accepted, believing he was being offered the main villain part of Thawn. Instead he got the rather bland character Fenner.
Another connection with the programme was his appearance as the black-marketeer Brockley in Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150AD - the second Peter Cushing / Dalek movie from Aaru.
Madoc passed away on this date in 2012, aged 77.


A couple of birthdays of note today are those of James Moran (writer of The Fires of Pompeii and several Torchwood episodes) who is 50, and Matt Lucas (Capaldi era companion Nardole) who turns 48.

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