Tom Baker Bookazine

Fans of Tom Baker, which is pretty much all of us, have a wonderful Christmas present from Radio Times. Available to download for free, as of today, is a 64 page collection of archive interviews and profiles from the magazine's archive, lavishly illustrated with exclusive photographs. Of particular delight are the B&W studio shots from Tom's Doctor Who days.

Daleks- The Ultimate Guide

DWM have been producing a new range of bookazines since the 60th Anniversary. They have a uniform format and design - smaller than A4, with blue text on a white background for their covers, and coming in a cardboard slipcase. They are substantial volumes, with 224 glossy colour pages.

We had a long wait for the second release - "Into The Vortex" - which had a lengthy gap between publishing date and appearances in shops. However, this was quickly followed up with another release which I mentioned a few weeks back- "Daleks - The Ultimate Guide".

This volume runs through each Dalek story from The Daleks in 1963/4 to Eve of the Daleks in 2022, giving each a four page spread. 

The first page gives some background information about the making of the story, whilst the second features a full page CG image of a Dalek from that particular story - either the basic model or one unique to that particular adventure.

The other two pages outline the development of the creatures over time in narrative terms, highlighting how each story has added to their mythos.

The accompanying photographs are a mix of publicity stills and telesnaps.

The two 1960's Dalek movies have a couple of pages each to themselves, one of which is a big CG image (the Red Dalek from the first, and the Black Dalek from the second).

Stories in which Daleks cameo - from The Space Museum to Flux - get a smaller box-out to themselves.

In between each story feature we have a Dalek-related documentary item, of 2 - 4 pages, depending on the subject. Everything is covered from the spin-off items like toys, comics, audios, novels, action figures / figurines, comic strips and annuals to behind the scenes material - actors who have portrayed Davros, Dalek voice artistes, or how different directors have handled the props over the years. Naturally we have items on Terry Nation and Ray Cusick, and the Mechonoids get a feature to themselves as well. There are a few miscellaneous features as well, such as the story of how one particular movie prop was recently refurbished, or an item on the new CGI VFX on the recent Season 25 Blu-ray special edition of Remembrance of the Daleks.

Hopefully we will see more of them in the coming months. Obvious candidates for a bookazine include the subjects already covered by the previous range which began to appear from the 50th Anniversary onwards (Cybermen, Companions etc).

Sadly, it looks like the "Chronicles" range has been discontinued (perhaps due to a lack of Nu-Who, whereas these new publications can cover the full 60-odd years and therefore please fans of either era).

You may find it hard to spot these in the shops, but they can be ordered directly from Panini or an online retailer. 

I would highly recommend.

Season 7 Boxset Confirmed

The set is now confirmed. The Matthew Sweet interview is with John Levene.

4 new documentaries - one on the science of the day and how it influenced these four stories; one on Malcolm Hulke; one on Nicholas Courtney; and another on the new Earth-based format.

One of the Behind the Sofa panels features Caroline John's husband, Geoffrey Beavers, and their daughter.

Presumably the two docs on the Spearhead Blu-ray are also included. One was about Pertwee, and the other about Caroline.

There are also two omnibus versions included: The Silurians and Inferno.

The Collection - Season Seven

This turned up on an online retailer site, then quickly disappeared - but not before people had downloaded the image. Announcements for the Blu-ray boxsets usually come out on Thursdays, so expect the official news, including the various bonus materials, later this week...

Inspirations: Hide

Hide is, basically, Nu-Who's attempt at a haunted house story. All the trappings of a good ghost story are present:

• the setting is a big old rambling house,
• it's night-time,
• there's a storm in full blast, with rain, thunder and lightning,
• the house is empty but for only a couple of people,
• despite the late 20th Century setting, much of the house has no electricity so people have to wander about in the dark with candles,
• there's a weird cold spot,
• a figure is fleetingly glimpsed scuttling about in the darkened corridors,
• another is a white shape with a skull-like countenance,
• someone holds another's hand - only to discover that it was not that of their companion...

The Doctor has come specifically because he has heard of the "Caliburn Ghast" - an archaic word for an evil spirit, and presumably where we get "ghastly" from.

We get to see the Ghast, and it looks like a ghost. It is white, has what looks like a screaming, skull-like visage, and is only glimpsed in flashes of lightning.

It turns out that, unlike most ghosts, this one doesn't mind having its photograph taken, and the scientist who has purchased the house in order to investigate the haunting, has many images of it, from different parts of the house.

Apparently the works of authors Susan Hill and Shirley Jackson were major inspirations. The former is the writer behind The Woman in Black (1983) which was subsequently adapted for TV by Nigel Kneale (more of him shortly), then made into a movie by Hammer. The latter wrote The Haunting of Hill House (1959) which was filmed in 1963, retitled simply as The Haunting.

Susan Hill also wrote the ghost story The Small Hand in 2010.

The last time the Doctor and his companion went ghost hunting in a big old house was in Day of the Daleks, and this story has other links with the Pertwee era. The setting is 1974 - year of the Third Doctor's final season, and the Doctor produces a blue Metebelis crystal. How this relates to the ones we saw in The Planet of the Spiders (1974 again) isn't explained. They all seemed to get blown to bits when the Great One popped her (8) clogs.

This being Doctor Who, our hero knows that this is nothing to do with the supernatural so there has to be some sort of sci-fi explanation to events. He dons the orangey-red spacesuit he took from Sanctuary Base 6 back in The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit and travels to the site of the house through the entirety of Earth's history, taking pictures as he goes. Sure enough, the ghast is present throughout and it turns out it's all to do with a bubble universe and time travel.

The episode actually shifts from being a ghost story to a romance. Not only do we have the relationship between the scientist - Prof Alec Palmer - and his helper, Emma Grayling (whose role in events has parallels with the psychic Theodora in The Haunting) but we also have two crooked-looking aliens who have been accidentally separated.

Palmer was originally going to Professor Bernard Quatermass, created by Kneale. The Manx writer often bemoaned the fact that for years Doctor Who had "borrowed" his ideas, and the Pertwee era isn't short of material that is ever so slightly close to the Quatermass serials.

Another inspiration for Hide is clearly Kneale's The Stone Tape, in the way that the ghast is inextricably anchored to the site of Caliburn House - even before it was built, and long after it was demolished.

Links between Doctor Who and Quatermass were hinted at in Remembrance of the Daleks, with reference to the British Rocket Group and "Bernard".

The Clara story arc is continued with the TARDIS taking a dislike to her and locking her out. This will be built on in the mini-episode in which she can never find her bedroom, and encounters multiple versions of herself, lost every night - all the work of the ship.

Next time: a Jules Verne-inspired title accompanies an effort to improve on the final two episodes of The Invasion of Time...

Episode 144: The Highlanders (4)

Synopsis:

Aboard the Annabelle, Solicitor Grey watches on as Trask has Ben tied up and dropped into the murky waters of the harbour...

When the rope is pulled up there is no sign of Ben, and everyone assumes he has drowned. However, he surfaces on the other side of the ship and makes his way to the quayside. Unfortunately, he is immediately confronted by a wounded Redcoat soldier, sporting a thick black moustache.

This proves to be the Doctor in another disguise. He is loading a rowing boat with weapons.

On the ship, Grey and Trask discuss their plan for the vessel to sail the next morning. Grey has ensured that his transportation scheme is legal as he has signed contracts.

Willy Mackay is upset that his own crew have all signed, whilst he, Colin McLaren and Jamie fear that they will be disposed of once out of sight of land.

Ben has been taken to the barn behind the inn where he is reunited with Polly and Kirsty. A plan is agreed amongst them. Ben will take the Doctor out to the Annabelle where he will cause a diversion. He will then pick up the women and return to the ship to distribute the weapons through a porthole into the cargo hold.

The Doctor assumes his German accent once again when he is brought before Grey. He produces the gold ring which Kirsty was carrying - the one given to McLaren by Bonnie Prince Charlie himself. He then begins bartering for the information as to where the fugitive Pretender is, claiming that he was taken captive after the recent battle but is hiding his true identity.

Kirsty is able to get the attention of her father, and she and Polly begin passing guns to him and Jamie.

The Doctor reveals that Jamie is the prisoner they are looking for, and when Trask rushes down to the hold to seize him he is attacked. The Scots prisoners begin fighting with Trask and his men, the struggle spilling out onto the deck.

Trask is knocked over the side into the sea, and soon Mackay has regained control of his ship. 

It is quickly agreed that he will set sail for France, taking Colin and the other prisoners to safety there.

The Doctor will hold on to Grey as a hostage to allow them  to get back to the TARDIS. Perkins, his clerk, decides to take the opportunity to free himself of his bullying master and asks to remain on the ship, acting as an interpreter for when they get to France.

The ship sets sail, disappearing into the fog which will aid their escape. Polly regrets not having said farewell to Jamie - only for the young piper to suddenly appear. He will escort them to the TARDIS.

Grey manages to escape. At the Sea Eagle Polly spots Lieutenant Ffinch, who is with his Colonel. The Doctor produces the Pretender's gold ring and claims to know where he is, so Colonel Attwood orders Ffinch to accompany the Doctor - inadvertently providing them with safe passage back to the TARDIS.

When they arrive at the old cottage where they first met Jamie and the others, they are confronted by Grey, who tries to have them arrested. He is in turn accused of being responsible for illegal slave transportation. When he tries to produce the signed contracts, he discovers that they have vanished - victims of the Doctor's sleight of hand. Ffinch has the crooked solicitor arrested.

The Doctor and his friends, meanwhile, slip off to the TARDIS.

Concerned that Jamie sacrificed his chance of freedom in France to help them, and now faces a life on the run after they have gone, the Doctor invites him to join them on their travels - so long as he teaches him how to play the bagpipes...

Next week: The Underwater Menace

Data:

Written by: Gerry Davis & Elwyn Jones

Recorded: Saturday 24th December 1966 - Riverside Studio 1

First broadcast: 5:50pm, Saturday 7th January 1966

Ratings: 7.3 million / AI 47

Designer: Geoffrey Kirkland

Director: Hugh David

Additional cast: Guy Middleton (Colonel Attwood)

Critique:

The Highlanders is the final story in the long run of "Historical" adventures which began with a visit to the Stone Age in the very first story. (Some will argue that this ought to be Black Orchid, but I'd argue that the Davison story is less a Historical and more a literary genre piece - the country house murder mystery beloved of Agatha Christie and her ilk. The '20's setting is quite irrelevant - it could just have easily been set in the 1950's or in the present day).

The Historical stories had been an important part of the programme's educational remit from the outset, and it is notable that they alternated regularly with the futuristic ones for much of the first two years. We also have the Coal Hill schoolteachers representing History (Barbara) as well as Science (Ian). 

The early success of the Daleks obviously led to a re-engineering of the programme as a Sci-Fi adventure series, though it took some time for this to work through, with the Historicals appearing less frequently.

In many ways these adventures in the past had proven the more experimental ones - despite the fact that the inclusion of real events would normally restrict the story-telling. Donald Cotton and Dennis Spooner saw them as an opportunity to do some comedy - usually of the blackest sort  as it was often followed by mass slaughter. Donald Tosh, meanwhile, took the opportunity to cover more obscure historical events, such as the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

Latterly, Gerry Davis had been concentrating on historical fiction as the backdrop to the non-Sci-Fi adventures. Both The Smugglers and The Highlanders look to the works of Robert Louis Stevenson, as well as the likes of Sir Walter Scott and Russell Thorndike. The historical period is key to the stories, but no real life historical figures are necessary to tell them.

The Historicals were certainly a good thing for production budgets, as the BBC had all the sets, props and costumes readily to hand for any chosen period - so why were they discontinued?

Feedback from the audience was certainly a factor. Radio Times did get the letters from people claiming that the more fantastical science fiction episodes weren't for them, but more came in claiming that the stories set in history were boring and could they have more Daleks, please.

One criticism is that the Historicals looked cheap. Despite all that knowledge and the visual trappings, Doctor Who's trips into the past could not compete with the big drama productions set in the same eras.

The prestigious TV adaptations of Dickens, Scott or Stevenson showed up the limitations of the Doctor Who versions. 

Ironically, the axe fell on these stories just as the programme was escaping the studio and getting out and about on location more regularly - going as far afield as Cornwall for The Smugglers. 

Another factor is the personalities of the people making the series. Davis seems to have been happy to have carried on the history-based stories, but it is clear that Innes Lloyd was less happy with them. He would become involved in some hugely popular and - that word again - prestigious adaptations of classic novels, so perhaps it was that sense of cheapness which annoyed him.

The Gunfighters has to take some of the blame. It used to be argued that it got the lowest ever viewing figures and this is why the Historicals were scrapped, but we now know that it was the audience appreciation figures - how much people actually enjoyed it - that were the problem. 

Patrick Troughton made his views clear in issue 78 of Doctor Who Monthly: "I didn't like going back in time. They weren't my favourite ones".

Lloyd and Davis had been especially happy with The Tenth Planet, from both a narrative and production point of view, and decided that this would act as a template for the series  moving forward.

The Highlanders is also best known for the introduction of Jamie, played by Frazer Hines, as a companion. The more you tell a misremembered story, the more that this version of events becomes fact in your head. I saw Hines being interviewed just last year, and he was still repeating the story of how he was asked to stay on due to the positive public response to Jamie. If you've been paying attention to the synopses to these Episodes posts you will have noticed that Jamie does very little in the story beyond the opening instalment. He would have figured more prominently in this final episode, whether he was going to be kept on or not. The dates don't add up either. Hines and the regulars were recalled to Frensham Ponds in Surrey to film a revised ending to the episode before  the first one had been broadcast. 

If there is any one reason for Hines being made a regular on the series, it's the relationship between Patrick Troughton and Shaun Sutton - Lloyd's boss. Liking Hines anyway, and hearing good things about him from Troughton as well, Sutton surely then advised the producer and script editor to take him on. There certainly isn't any narrative reason to take on a third companion, so soon after a new actor has taken on the lead role. We will see that his arrival wasn't prepared for in any way, as Hines is either rationed some of Michael Craze's lines, or side-lined entirely in the plot, such as when bedridden for two-thirds of The Moonbase.

The original departure scene was filmed on Monday 14th November at Frensham, alongside all of the material for Episode One, plus the cliff-hanger resolution at the start of the second instalment. It was at the end of the filming week when Hines got the call from Lloyd enquiring if he would be interested in staying on. Troughton, Craze and Anneke Wills lost out on a day off to join Hines back at the location on Monday 21st November to film the revised scene, where Jamie now enters the TARDIS.

The following Monday a writer's guide was issued for the new character, which categorically states that Jamie should be seen as the "Young Hero" of any story. His superstition and belief in the supernatural, as a means to accept alien concepts, was stressed, as was his lack of knowledge of modern inventions.

Only a year before, a new companion - Katarina - had been hastily written out because of the very things which were being put across as positive character traits for Jamie.

Joining the cast for rehearsals on Tuesday 20th December was actor Guy Middleton, who had been a big star either side of the war, tending to play the sort of dodgy charmer roles which Terry-Thomas would soon make his own. A couple of films of his which are repeated on TV often are the supernatural drama The Halfway House (1944) and the comedy Laughter In Paradise (1951).

He's underused here, with a single scene and only a couple of lines.

A couple of amendments were made to the script late in the day, some to reflect the change of plans for Jamie. Ben fights a duel with Trask, whereas the villain had originally only fought with Jamie. Another scene set in a boathouse with the regulars in hiding was added when the episode was found to be under-running.

The sequence in the barn as the rescue plan is made saw a number of ad-libs from the cast. Referring to his new disguise, Hannah Gordon's Kirsty told the Doctor that he had made a good granny, whilst he had reprised his "I would like a hat like that" line, after seeing Ben cover his face with a Tam O'Shanter bonnet.

The fight scenes on the deck of the Annabelle were all recorded in studio, under the supervision of Peter Diamond. At one point he accidentally struck Hines on the forehead, leaving a small scar at the eyebrow.

I'm sure viewers at the time were satisfied with the conclusion to the main plotline, but in hindsight there are a couple of worries. Trask is simply knocked overboard, and we've no way of knowing if he simply swam ashore and ran off. It is a fact that sailors in times past did not learn to swim, and drowning was the biggest cause of death for them, but something more conclusive might have satisfied better for Trask.

Likewise Grey. His only crime has actually been to try to profit by his official job as Commissioner for dealing with the Jacobites, so is he really going to suffer too harshly for being found out? He might simply get a slap on the wrist, but nothing more serious. We do know that a number of Jacobites were transported to the West Indies to work in the plantations though, not being African, were generally given roles like supervisor or overseer to perform.

The cast and crew joined a Christmas party after recording, and would then have a week's holiday before assembling for rehearsals on The Underwater Menace. Troughton was already concerned about the punishing schedule of the programme. However, having lost a week at the beginning of his tenure whilst his character was still being developed - which reduced the time between recording and broadcast to a fortnight - this festive holiday would see the series going out on Saturday evening just one week after production. 

Trivia:

• The Historicals end with reasonable ratings - more than 7 million and 66th place in the Top 100 programmes for the week. The appreciation figure hasn't moved more than a single point between first and last episode, making this one of the most consistently enjoyed stories of the classic era.
• Wednesday 21st December saw Craze and Wills step out of rehearsals to make a guest appearance on children's variety series Crackerjack. This week they were staging a panto based on Alice in Wonderland, and host Leslie Crowther and his regular sidekick Peter Glaze dressed as the Second and First Doctors to sing Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys. Glaze had featured as the City Administrator in The Sensorites, and it is widely believed that Brian Wilson was influenced by the original Doctor Who theme when he lived in London for a time.
• The Scotsman newspaper reviewed the serial on 9th January, highlighting how, stylistically, it had resembled Culloden - the acclaimed drama-documentary filmed by Peter Watkins and shown in December 1964. Script editor and director would have been pleased as this had been one of their inspirations.
• Radio Times published a letter from a viewer who felt that the story had presented events as too much of an England v. Scotland conflict. This isn't actually all that evident on screen. Yes, some Scots are presented as victims who have to be helped by the Doctor and his companions, emerging, like Jamie, as heroic figures - but the villainous Grey is also a Scot.
• The Highlanders is believed to be the earliest victim of the great archive purge, as far as its studio video tapes are concerned. These were wiped less than a month after recording. 16mm film copies had been made for overseas sales. Hong Kong, Singapore, Uganda and Zambia all bought the story at the end of the decade. Copies were known to exist in 1974, after which it disappears.
• All that remains of the story now are some very brief clips courtesy of the Australian censors, plus a film offcut of the TARDIS location scene - which features Production Assistant (and future director) Fiona Cumming announcing the take number. This last item is held by a private collector but can be seen on the Lost in Time DVD set, along with the censor clips.

The Savages Animated

The Savages will be the next missing adventure to be animated. Release date according to online retailers, in the UK at least, is March 24th.

This is one that has no surviving episodes, and there aren't even any decent clips, and early fandom dismissed it due to its lack of monsters. Let's see if a positive re-evaluation takes place, though no doubt many will take issue with the very basic animation style we've come to expect from the official releases.

What's Wrong With... Terminus

Apparently we aren't supposed to call him the Black Guardian anymore - he's the one of Darkness and Chaos as opposed to Light and Order.

Whatever he's called, he doesn't seem to have a clear plan for the Doctor, other that to destroy him. Last time, he seemed content just for Turlough to bash his brains in with a rock, but then he wants the Doctor to suffer before he's destroyed. 

Turlough must surely realise that the Doctor is one of the good guys, and that the Guardian is a figure of pure evil - so why does he trust him to rescue him when the TARDIS breaks up. Destroying a thing you are travelling in whilst still on it is surely going to make the boy think twice about going ahead with the sabotage.

Why is Turlough given Adric's bedroom when the TARDIS must have loads of empty ones? Why is Tegan so blasé about her dead friend's belongings being disposed of by someone she doesn't like?

Going back to last time again, I asked what was going on in the Doctor's mind regarding Turlough. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, we could say that he knows exactly that there's some mystery to solve with him, and his actions are suspicious. But if that is the case, why would he leave him alone in the console room for so long? The alternative is that the Doctor is a bit of a gullible idiot to be taken in by him. He's ignoring the opinions of his companions as well. Tegan is warning against Turlough every five minutes, and even Nyssa - the one whose opinion he values the most - is only reserving judgement for the time-being.

It's very confusing what is going on with the Lazars. The Vanir don't seem to know about the transport ship, so how do they think the Lazars get there? Olvir says the illness is incurable, but we're told that lots of people do return cured - or at least think they've been cured.

Nyssa thinks that the company won't retaliate as people are scared of the disease - yet there is a known cure. And what's to stop the company retaliating without putting soldiers on Terminus. They could simply blow it up and write it off for tax purposes, or send in robots. We've seen that they have such things at this time in this region of space.

Are the Vanir - supposed warriors - really going to stick around and act as nurses once they get a source of synthetic hydromel?

Lazar's Disease is clearly based on leprosy, so the programme was quite rightly criticised for depicting this as teatime entertainment and demonstrated ignorance of the subject.

The writer / script editor haven't structured this story very well - despite the reported interventions of the latter in the writing process. Tegan and Turlough - who's the new companion, remember - have nothing to do for much of the story, and have to be parked in an airduct for a significant part of the running time.

Whilst there Turlough is ordered to press a few buttons. How can doing this, on a converted space-liner docked with Terminus, cause the engines on the station to overload? How can they possibly be connected? The way this is edited is a little confusing.

The engines are shut down, but surely the danger still remains? What's to stop a malfunction occurring five minutes after the Doctor leaves? We ought to have seen the Doctor fix things so that there would be no possible danger of such an event happening again. Why not shift the station somewhere that it can't do much damage?

We're told how the universe was created by an earlier accident, but how can some exploding fuel possibly create a universe-destroying event under Terminus' current circumstances? The conditions are totally  different now.

When the company which runs Terminus took over, did no-one bother to have a look round and notice a giant dead astronaut in one of the control rooms? Did they not think of fixing the engines themselves, or were they happy to have a money-making business blow up at any minute?

Actually, where exactly is the money-making opportunity in this set-up?

Kari and Olvir are set up as highly trained pirates, but Olvir comes on a mission with a gun whose power pack runs out after a single shot.

And who ever thought that the Garm was an acceptable costume to be seen clearly on screen, rather hidden in shadows with only glowing eyes showing, as the writer intended?

O is for... Optera

A race of subterranean creatures encountered by the Doctor's companion Ian Chesterton on the planet Vortis. He and a Menoptra friend named Vrestin stumbled into their domain after falling down a crevasse, where they were captured by the grub-like creatures. They feared the world above, having lived below ground for generations, and they were going to sacrifice their captives by throwing them into a pit of fire. However, Vrestin recognised their origins. They had once been like her, but had retreated underground in the past and devolved into their present form - losing the power of flight and developing extra limbs for burrowing. They also made use of broken stalactites and stalagmites as tools and weapons.

They still recalled their former existence by making the Menoptra their gods, and when Vrestin spread her wings they recognised her as one of these.

Their leader Hetra explained that the acid pools used by the Animus to feed its Carsenome would leak down into their world, endangering them. When Ian and Vrestin explained that they sought to destroy the creature which they called "Pwodarauk", they agreed to help - taking them to a cavern directly below the Carsenome from which they could launch and attack. On the way, they encountered an acid leak, and one of their number - Nemini - sacrificed herself to block it by pushing her body into the crevice.

After the Animus had been destroyed, the Optera were encouraged to return to the surface, where future generations might have the power of flight once more.

Played by: Ian Thompson (Hetra), Barbara Joss (Nemini). Appearances: The Web Planet (1965).

• Thompson had previously appeared as the Aridian Malsan in The Chase, also directed by Richard Martin.
• Joss had featured in the same Dalek story, as Maureen O'Brien's double on the location filming for the Aridius scenes.
• The Optera did not feature in Bill Strutton's original scripts. They were created by Martin and story editor Dennis Spooner as they felt that the latter half of the story lacked incident.

O is for... Ood

The Ood originate on a world known as the Ood-Sphere, which lies in the same region of space as the Sense-Sphere, home to the Sensorites. The two species may well be related, both having some telepathic abilities.

In appearance they were bipedal, with large domes heads and a mass of facial tendrils covering the lower part of the face. From this emerges a white plastic globe - an artificial device which allows them to speak, lighting up as it does so. They speak in a calm, level voice. Like the Sensorites, they are all physically identical.

The Doctor first encountered them when the TARDIS materialised in Sanctuary Base 6, which had been constructed on a hostile planet in perpetual orbit on the edge of a Black Hole. The Ood were being used as servitors for the human crew stationed there - come to investigate a power source located deep within the planet. Their telepathic field was continually monitored.

Buried there was an ancient evil known as "The Beast" which exploited that telepathic field. It was able to possess them and turn them against their human masters - utilising their speech globes to kill by electrocution. Their eyes glowed red when taken over. The Ood could be stunned with a psychic shock, though only for a short time.

The Beast planned to use the creatures to scare the humans into fleeing the planet - carrying it with them as it had possessed the body of one of the crewmen.

The Ood were left trapped in the base as the planet fell into the Black Hole.

The Doctor regretted not being able to save the Ood, and some time later the TARDIS brought him and Donna Noble to the Ood-Sphere itself. There they learned that the Ood were basically a slave race, exploited by humans. Many years before, Earth explorers had visited the planet and found its inhabitants to be a benign but extremely docile people. Natural-born Ood had a second, hind, brain, which they held in their hands. This made them particularly vulnerable and trusting, and a man named Halpen discovered that they acted as a form of gestalt, their society organised through its mental link with a gigantic brain which was located in an ice cavern beside their settlement. With this isolated from them, the Ood would be leaderless and malleable - the perfect slave race. Halpen had the great brain sealed up in a subterranean bunker and ringed with an electromagnetic field, which cut its telepathic link with the Ood.

The Doctor and Donna had arrived on the Ood-Sphere during a period in which Ood across Earth's empire were beginning to turn on their owners - using their communications spheres as weapons. The condition was known as "Red Eye", as the affected Ood's eyes turned bright red. 

 

Ood Operations was now being run by Halpen's descendant Klineman. He was constantly tended by an Ood servant designated "Sigma". A growing number of people were coming to the realisation that the creatures were being exploited as slaves, and a militant group calling themselves the Friends of the Ood decided to do something about this. Working on the Ood-Sphere was a Dr Ryder, who was supposed to be helping find a cure to the Red Eye illness. He was actually a member of the militant group and had secretly been reducing the strength of the electromagnetic field - enough for the giant brain to make a link with the Ood but not enough to be noticed by Halpen's people. When he found out, Halpen killed him. A full-scale revolt broke out. Ood Sigma had been providing Halpen with a hair tonic, but this was laced with Ood genetic material - and the ruthless businessman who had exploited the creatures for so long was suddenly transformed into one himself.

Ood Operations was closed down and the Ood were permitted to return home from across the empire. Before they left, Ood Sigma appeared to foretell the futures which lay in store for both the Doctor and Donna.

The Doctor later attempted to alter the course of history by saving the life of a significant figure who was supposed to die. However, Time corrected itself and she died by her own hand instead, and the Doctor was then confronted by an image of Ood Sigma - which he took to be a sign that his current incarnation was soon to die. He wilfully avoided responding to the vision, which he knew to be a mental projection channelled back through time. By the time he returned to the Ood-Sphere, he realised his error in delaying as the Ood had been trying to warn him about the return of the Master and a threat to Time itself. The Doctor had known that something was wrong when he saw how advanced the Ood civilisation had become in just 100 years, as well as Sigma's ability to mentally project himself through time. Sigma took him to a cave system in which the Ood Elder showed him a vision of the Master's movements back in 2009. This Elder had a larger, brain-like cranium and wore a distinctive white robe.

After defeating the Master and preventing the Time Lord President Rassilon from destroying Time to escape the Time War, Sigma appeared once more to the Doctor - on the Powell Estate on New Year's Eve 2004 - to signify that it was time for him to regenerate.

In his next incarnation, the Doctor met an Ood known as Nephew, which acted as a servant to an entity called House - which inhabited the inside of a planetoid in a bubble universe. House fed on the energy of TARDISes, and used Nephew to assist with the transfer of their matrices - the sentient part of them - into short-lived biological shells. Later, when House hijacked the Doctor's TARDIS to enter the prime universe in search of other TARDISes to feast on, he sent Nephew to kill Amy and Rory who were trapped onboard. Whilst possessed by House, Nephew's eyes glowed a sickly green. Nephew was destroyed when the Doctor landed a makeshift TARDIS on the spot where he was standing.

After Amy and Rory had stopped travelling with the Doctor on a full-time basis, they awoke one morning to discover an Ood in their home. They had been visited the night before by the Doctor, who had been taking this Ood home after rescuing it from the Androvax Conflict. However, it had managed to leave the TARDIS. The couple found it extremely willing to help around the house whilst they endeavoured to get the Doctor back to collect it. Both enjoyed its help but were concerned that they were exploiting its subservient nature. The Doctor did turn up eventually and took it home to the Ood-Sphere. 

On another occasion, the Eleventh Doctor had taken Albert Einstein on a trip in the TARDIS, and the scientist had temporarily been transformed into an Ood.

When the Doctor, in their thirteenth incarnation, was captured by Weeping Angels who were working for the shadowy Gallifreyan organisation known as the Division, she found herself in a huge space station which was slowly passing through a void between two universes. The only beings on board were Tecteun - the Doctor's foster parent and leader of the Division - and her Ood servant. Tecteun was busily destroying the universe with the anti-matter force called the Flux, and the Doctor was able to get this Ood on her side when she pointed out to it that all of its own kind would perish due to the Flux. It then helped her escape.

Ood are widely travelled creatures, and have also been seen in a variety of locations, such as the Maldovarium trading post.

Played by: Paul Kasey (Sigma), Simon Carew (Division Ood), Ruari Mears (Ood Elder). 

Voiced by: Silas Carson, Brian Cox (Ood Elder).

Principal appearances: The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit (2006), Planet of the Ood (2008), The End of Time (2009), Pond Life (2012), Survivors of the Flux, The Vanquishers (2021).

• Ood have appeared as background characters in a number of episodes, including The Magician's Apprentice and Face The Raven. Ood Sigma first appears as a projection to the Tenth Doctor at the conclusion of The Waters of Mars.
• Images of them have been seen in The God Complex and Time Heist amongst others.
• The creatures' very first appearance was in the Tardisode short for the eighth episode of Series 2.
• Russell T Davies originally intended The Impossible Planet to include Slitheen as the base's servitors, but then decided on creating a new alien instead.
• They were inspired by the Sensorites, which is why he later had their planets in the same region of space. Identical in dress and appearance, they have large domed heads, are partially telepathic, and the Ood have tendrils where the Sensorites have beards.
• Davies regretted killing the Ood at the end of The Satan Pit, and of not exploring their subservient nature, so decided on a sequel which could look into this more fully.
• Einstein - played by Nickolas Grace - is turned into an Ood in a piece called Death is the Only Answer, which was the winning entry in a writing competition for schools, organised by Doctor Who Confidential.

Episode 143: The Highlanders (3)

Synopsis:

As they are rowed out to the Annabelle, Ben, Jamie and McLaren see a corpse being dumped overboard - and Trask threatens that this is the only way out for them...

The prisoners are forced below decks to a cramped hold where there are already several other captives. McLaren recognises one of them - a man named Willy MacKay. He is the true master of the Annabelle, but his ship has been stolen from him by Trask, his treacherous First Mate. MacKay had been smuggling guns for the Jacobites when captured by Government forces, and Trask had switched sides to avoid arrest.

He is initially suspicious of Ben, being English, but the others vouch for him. It is Ben who works out that they are going to be sold as slave labour.

Polly and Kirsty approach Inverness, where they decide to pose as orange sellers. They seek out Lt. Ffinch to help them, and find him at the Sea Eagle Inn. His sergeant suspects the women are the ones they were hunting the day before, but Ffinch is easily blackmailed by them and he insists they are old friends. 

They are being observed by an old woman, sitting at a nearby table.

Solicitor Grey is on the Annabelle addressing the prisoners. He informs them that they will all be pardoned if they sign a contract, offering them transportation to the West Indies and work on the plantations there for a period of seven years. The alternative is that they will be hanged as rebels.

MacKay warns everyone that he has witnessed conditions on these plantations, and warns them not to sign.

He refuses to do so, as do Ben, Jamie and McLaren.

Ben then asks to read the contract before he thinks of signing one. When Grey hands them to him, he tears them up. Trask orders him taken away and chained up.

Polly sees Grey's clerk Perkins and starts toying with him to gain information about her friends.

The old woman joins them, offering to play cards. Polly discovers that this is the disguised Doctor.

Grey arrives, but fails to recognise the Doctor. He leaves with Polly and Kirsty, instructing Perkins not to set foot outside the inn for the next ten minutes or he will shoot him dead.

The Doctor takes the women to a nearby barn, where he reveals that his pistol wasn't loaded. As an old woman he has been able to move about and gather information from the Redcoats, and tells them that their friends are being held on the ship. Polly suggests a plan to rescue them, but the Doctor thinks that they should capture the whole ship instead, then they could get everyone to safety in France.

They will need weapons, and Kirsty knows that the Redcoats will sell anything for a little money.

Whilst Polly wants immediate action, the Doctor then falls asleep.

Grey returns to the Annabelle with new copies of the contracts. He decides with Trask that Ben should be made an example of, to discourage the others from refusing to sign. 

The Doctor, Polly and Kirsty have managed to scrape together a few weapons, but hardly enough for their plan to seize the ship. Polly then discovers that Kirsty has been concealing a gold ring which they could have sold. She did not want to part with it as it belonged to Bonnie Prince Charlie, who had presented it to her father. The Doctor convinces her that it should be used to help save the Prince's supporters.

In the harbour, Ben is brought up on deck and has a rope tied around his waist. He is hauled up into the air, then dropped down into the murky waters of the dock...

Data:

Written by Gerry Davis & Elwyn Jones

Recorded: Saturday 17th December 1966 - Riverside Studio 1

First broadcast: 5:50pm, Saturday 31st December 1966

Ratings: 7.4 million / AI 46

Designer: Geoffrey Kirkland

Director: Hugh David

Additional cast: Andrew Downie (Willy MacKay)

Critique:

The Highlanders is about as comedic as the Troughton era gets. (Some might think the next story the funniest - but that's more unintentionally funny). The Romans is often singled out for its humour, but not this fellow historical. Like the Hartnell story, the humour is very much juxtaposed against some terribly grim goings-on. The past was a dark and dangerous place.

The humour mainly comes from the star. After this story, the Troughton Doctor will be rapidly toned down. The Doctor is dressed as a little old woman for the entire episode, and seems to act erratically and impulsively. He once again runs rings around Perkins, but when Polly wants some action he simply yawns and falls asleep.

A comedy sequence in the inn, with the Doctor as the old woman, was cut late in the day, so the humour could have been even more overt. This scene would have entailed the Doctor trying to save his beer as he is being pushed around by some Redcoats and getting cross-eyed and dizzy, only to end with him knocking their head together.

Michael Elwyn continues to play Algernon Ffinch as a stereotypical upper class twit, having rings run round him by Polly and Kirsty.

Considering that she is often perceived as a typical screaming companion, it should be noted how proactive Polly is in this story. She takes the lead straight away her friends have been captured, arguing with Kirsty over her apparent helplessness.

It is Polly who spurs her to action and comes up with ideas such as blackmailing Ffinch and posing as orange sellers.

With this, Polly is recalling that famous 17th Century figure Nell Gwyn (1650 - 1689). A popular actress of the Restoration stage, she was best remembered as a mistress of King Charles II and is mentioned in the diaries of Samuel Pepys. Before her fame she had sold oranges at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane.

Ben is also given plenty to do, on the eve of his character being side-lined by the arrival of Jamie. He tricks Grey into handing over the signed contracts which he then destroys, and later pays the price for this with a decent action sequence - more rigging-hanging than cliff-hanging.

Ben's tearing up of the contract was inspired by a similar scene in Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped.

Filming took place at Ealing on Wednesday 16th November, to record the cliff-hanger - Michael Craze not being required for the recording of the fifth instalment of The Power of the Daleks. Of the guest cast only Dallas Cavell and David Garth were needed.

Fight Arranger and stuntman Peter Diamond doubled for Craze in the climactic scene where Ben is lowered into the water, having also been the dead body dropped into the harbour at the cliff-hanger of the previous episode.

Rehearsals were cut short for the regulars as they had to do location filming on the next story - The Underwater Menace - in Dorset. This had also entailed them having to give up their day off.

Craze and Hines then missed a further day due to other filming at Ealing.

The opening titles for this episode were played over a shot of bubbles rising, as the reprise from the previous instalment was reduced significantly.

Both recording breaks involved Anneke Wills and Hannah Gordon - the first to allow them to change into their orange seller costumes, and the other to allow them to move, with Troughton, from the inn set to the barn one.

Wills suffered a fluff when she got Ffinch's name wrong. His full name was supposed to be given as 'Algernon Thomas Alfred Ffinch', but Wills got the Algernon and Alfred mixed up.

When Polly says that his disguise suits him, the Doctor replies by calling her a "saucy girl". This was an ad-lib by Troughton.

The closing titles mirrored the opening ones - played over a shot of bubbles rising to the surface.

Trivia:

• The ratings actually increase by around half a million viewers - no doubt due to the New Year's Eve timeslot. The appreciation figure remains stable. It varies by only a single point over the course of the entire story.
• The old woman named Mollie, seen in Episode 2, was supposed to feature in this episode as well, serving in the inn, but her role was given instead to an extra as it didn't require a dialogue part.
• Willy MacKay was originally going to be played by Russell Hunter. However, he had to withdraw late in the day when veteran actor Duncan Macrae fell ill and could not appear in a pantomime version of Treasure Island in Edinburgh. Hunter was called upon to take over, and so MacKay was recast with Downie taking the role. Hunter would eventually appear in Doctor Who a decade later, playing Uvanov in The Robots of Death.
• Downie would later feature in the film Soft Top, Hard Shoulder (1993) - written by and starring Peter Capaldi.

The Art of... The Highlanders

The Highlanders was novelised in 1984, with the hardback released in August and the paperback following in November. The artist is Nick Spender. He stated in an interview that he took a long time getting Frazer Hines' likeness just right, and also got a couple of friends to pose in Highland outfits and pretend to fight for the background figures. The image of Alexander McLaren is based on William Dysart. It was extremely unusual at this time in the run of novelisations for artists to be permitted to use actors' likenesses.

Spender based the TARDIS on a photo from The Masque of Mandragora - the same one he used on the cover for Doctor Who - The Aztecs.

The book has never reissued with a new cover.

The soundtrack was released in 2000 with the usual photomontage cover featuring some of the cast. The Troughton image derives from a publicity photo session for the following story. Jamie is seen only side on, so a much better image really ought to have been chosen. Not sure why they didn't just use the whole image of the Doctor and companions being threatened by Jamie and Alexander. Young McLaren is quite prominent on the cover, despite being killed off half way through the first episode.

Hines provided the linking narration.

The novelisation was released in audiobook format in April 2012, using Spender's artwork. The larger, squarer format allows us to see another Redcoat on the right.

This time the reader is Anneke Wills.

The soundtrack was recently re-released on translucent red and blue vinyl - in June 2024. Demon Records have opted to concentrate on the Battle of Culloden for an exciting, attention-grabbing cover - even though the conflict is over when we join the story and nothing is actually seen (or heard) of it. Misleading, but I doubt very much if any non-fans ever buy these releases.

The inner sleeves have Radio Times-style listings for the episodes printed on them.

Finally, with no animated DVD / Blu-ray release on the horizon, the movie database site has provided its own colour montage to illustrate this story. The three key guest artists, plus Jamie, are featured along with Troughton larking about with the Jacobite bonnet.

The story is one which many fans would like to see animated, but there are some obstacles. If you've seen what they do with the Doctor's checked trousers, then you'd realise that tartan would be very difficult to depict. The story also has a large number of sets and speaking characters - plus it's a historical - which might all work against it being an obvious choice for animation.

Story 298: Eve of the Daleks

In which the Doctor attempts to reboot the TARDIS, in order to overcome the damage caused by exposure to the Flux.

She plans to take Dan and Yaz on holiday whilst this takes place, as it will not be safe to remain inside the ship. However, instead of an exotic location they find themselves in the basement of a storage facility on the outskirts of Manchester. 

It is New Year's Eve, 2021, and the manager of the facility, Sarah, has been let down yet again by her colleague. There is only a single customer - Nick - who turns up at this time every year. He puts into storage items left behind from his many failed relationships.

The Doctor detects a temporal signal on an upper floor. Nick has just exited his unit when he is confronted by a Dalek, which exterminates him.

The Doctor and her companions arrive too late, and the Dalek has already gone down to the reception area where it kills Sarah. When the TARDIS trio arrive, they learn that the Daleks have upgraded weaponry. All three are exterminated...

It is New Year's Eve, 2021, and Sarah has found herself having to work the late shift at her storage facility  as her colleague has failed to turn up yet again. She has a single customer - Nick, who always comes tonight to drop off items left behind from his failed relationships.

The TARDIS materialises in the basement...

Time has jumped backwards, and the Doctor and her companions are aware that something has happened - a sense of deja vu. Then they recall finding Nick's body and rush to his unit.

He and Sarah have also registered that time has somehow slipped backwards, and Nick has left his floor before the Dalek turns up.

At reception, he discovers that the building is sealed by a forcefield. The Dalek appears and exterminates him.

Sarah has gone to an upper level to see if there is anything that might be used as a weapon in her colleague's unit.

The Dalek finds and kills her. It exterminates the Doctor and her companions once again, after pointing out that there has been a time malfunction which has reset the last few minutes.

The cycle begins again, though the Doctor spots that the clock has gone back by one minute less. They may be able to exploit the fact that they are aware of the time slippage but have slightly shorter each time in which to formulate a plan to break out of the loop. She is aware that the Daleks will be thinking along the same lines, however.

When next the five are exterminated, the Dalek reveals that the damaged TARDIS is the cause of this time slippage.

As each loop comes round, the Doctor and her companions, with Sarah and Nick come up with possible plans to avoid the Dalek and to arm themselves against it. At one point Dan pretends to be a customer, mistaking the Dalek for a robot employee, just to divert it from the Doctor's actions. This works for only a short period.

Sarah learns that Nick's regular visits are due to him having a crush on her. He thinks he has avoided the Dalek - only to be killed by a second one. The Daleks have adapted by increasing their numbers...

The Doctor discovers a hoard of potential weapons - fireworks. One of the Daleks tells her that they have despatched this death squad to kill her for her role in the destruction of their fleet by the Flux. She points out that she merely made use of the Sontaran scheme - but they kill her anyway.

Several more attempts are made to survive the trap, which all end with the extermination of the TARDIS crew and their new friends.

When the Doctor and her companions are next killed, they know that they will have to act in the next cycle, as after that time will have sorted itself and anything which takes place will be permanent.

They lure the Daleks down to the basement where the fireworks have been stored, bolstered by various highly flammable materials. The Doctor then uses her Sonic to give false life readings, so that the Daleks will think they are gathered there. They are instead about to flee through a gap in the forcefield.

The home-made bomb is detonated and the Daleks are destroyed as the entire building blows up.

Not far away, the blast is witnessed by Karl Wright - the young man who had been hunted by T'zim Sha a few years ago. He thinks it is all part of the New Year celebrations. Sarah and Nick decide to go travelling together, whilst the Doctor retrieves the rebooted TARDIS. She is now aware that Yaz has feelings for her...

Eve of the Daleks was written by Chris Chibnall, and was first broadcast on 1st January 2022. It is the first of a trip of Specials which will culminate in him and Jodie Whittaker leaving the series.

For a festive special it is very small scale, and that is all down to it being filmed at the tail end of the Covid pandemic, when the various restrictions had merely been loosened, but not dropped.

There are only two guest artists in studio / location, with a third appearing only on video calls. The setting also lends itself to a controllable environment.

Neither Russell T Davies nor Steven Moffat had looked to the Daleks for their festive specials except for the odd cameo - saving them for their standard series stories. RTD had argued that you cant's have Daleks without many deaths - and this wasn't the sort of thing families wanted on Christmas night. Even Terry Nation had delivered an entirely Dalek-free episode for The Feast of Steven, the Christmas instalment of the otherwise bloodthirsty The Daleks' Master Plan.

Chibnall clearly saw mass death and destruction at New Year as being more acceptable, as he delivered Dalek stories for all but one of his specials.

It's not as if any of the deaths actually matter in this year's story, as time keeps resetting and everyone survives anyway, and his earlier specials had often included a healthy dose of humour to lighten the mood.

The main inspiration is obvious. Dan even mutters something about Groundhog Day at one point, to describe their situation.

This hugely popular 1993 comedy, starring Bill Murray, sees a cynical TV weatherman stuck in a temporal loop, reliving each day as he visits a town which celebrates the titular event. It's not a pure time loop, as he gets the chance to change his ways, Scrooge-like, over the course of his experiences. If A Christmas Carol was one of its inspirations, then it also counts here. In the case of Eve of the Daleks, it is the relationship between Sarah and Nick - initially antagonistic on her part, with unspoken / unrequited love on his - which is the focus.

This is mirrored by the relationship between the Doctor and Yaz - the former seemingly oblivious to her companion's feelings, and Yaz in a similar situation to Nick. 

As a full length story it rather drags, thanks to its repetitive nature. It would have made a far more exciting half hour. The set-up is interesting, and the way in which the situation is resolved is interesting - but there's just too much of the same thing in between.

Another problem I have is the whole notion that Sarah would be working on New Year's Eve in that sort of setting. I've had a quick Google and there isn't a single one near me that is open 24/7, let alone on a major holiday.

Moffat's timey-wimey stories were blessed with invention, but this just doesn't have much.

That small guest cast comprises Irish comic actor Aisling Bea as Sarah. She's appeared in a few movies, but is better known for her appearances on comedy TV shows or stand-up.

Nick is Adjani Salmon, who is actually better known for his writing and directing. He wrote and starred in the BAFTA nominated Dreaming While Black. This began life as a webcast before being picked up by BBC Three.

In a cameo role, seen only on video calls, is Pauline McLynn, playing Mary - Sarah's mother. McLynn will forever be known as tea-pushing Mrs Doyle in C4's Father Ted.

One further cameo is the appearance at the climax of Jonny Dixon, playing Karl once again - the young man from The Woman Who Fell To Earth.

Overall, an okay story which seems popular with many fans, though I found it a little dull due to the aforementioned repetition. A few less time-loops would have suited me better.

Things you might like to know:

• This special was supposed to be a lot bigger and spectacular, linked very closely to the previous two Dalek festive stories - Resolution and Revolution of the Daleks - to form a proper "Reconnaissance Dalek Trilogy". Covid led to a radical rethink, shrinking the story down to what we see here.
• The subsequent Sea Devil story hadn't been planned when Chibnall first wrote this, and he had the ending link directly to The Power of the Doctor's opening scene.
• There is an in-joke when the Dalek tells Dan: "I am not Nick" - as Nick Briggs is, of course, providing their voices as usual.
• Another Nick - Pegg - is inside one of the Daleks. He had fallen foul of the series, and DWM, after leaving a very rude message aimed at both the magazine and the BBC in the crossword he compiled for the mag.
• Chibnall claimed this episode took only two weeks to write. Kinda shows, I'm afraid.
• The opening credits don't appear until 9m 10s in, which is a record for the programme.

Episode 142: The Highlanders (2)

Synopsis:

Polly has fallen into a concealed pit. As she scrabbles to climb out, a hand reaches down towards her - clutching a dagger...

The hand belongs to Kirsty, who thought that a Redcoat might have fallen into the animal trap. In trying to pull Polly out, she falls in herself. They hear the approach of some soldiers, commanded by Lt Ffinch. He berates his men for allowing two women to escape and sends them off to search further. Noting that he is alone, Polly and Kirsty lure him towards the trap, and he also tumbles in.

They tie him up and rob him.

The Doctor and Ben, meanwhile, have been transported to Inverness, where they have been locked in a dank dungeon with many Jacobite captives, including Jamie and his Laird.

As the Doctor dresses McLaren's wounds, he notices an embroidered cloth hidden under his coat. This proves to be Prince Charles Edward Stuart's personal standard - given to the old man by the Prince himself during the recent battle.

The Doctor realises he can use this as a means to escape. He claims to have information about an assassination attempt on the Duke of Cumberland. He is removed from the dungeon to speak with someone in authority.

Polly and Kirsty will use Ffinch's money to get themselves to Inverness, and they also take some personal belongings of the lieutenant - including a lock of hair - with which to blackmail him should he try to interfere with them.  His commanding officer - Colonel Atwood - would be interested to know how he had been overpowered and robbed by a couple of girls.

Solicitor Grey and his clerk Perkins meet with a sea captain named Trask, with whom they are arranging the illegal transportation of Jacobite prisoners to slavery in the West Indies.

Grey is told of the Doctor's claim, remembering him as the Hanoverian medical man he had met earlier.

Having sensed his greed, the Doctor produces the Stuart standard to show how close he was to the Prince, and therefore party to his plans. He then suggests that he and Grey collaborate to capture the fugitive and split the £30,000 reward money between them.

He then tricks the solicitor into thinking that he might have something medically wrong with him - and takes the opportunity to tie him up and shove him in a closet.

When Perkins is called in, he does something similar to overpower him - allowing him to make his escape.

Ffinch is eventually helped out of the trap by his sergeant - who also blackmails him to keep quiet about how he had found him. Ffinch must provide drinks for the company, but having lost his money he defers this until they get back to Inverness.

Perkins warns Trask of the Doctor's escape and Grey is freed. The Doctor hides in the scullery of the Sea Eagle Inn. A woman named Mollie works here, cooking and washing laundry.

Still believing that the Doctor is closely linked to Bonnie Prince Charlie, Trask decides to question Ben, Jamie and McLaren. They are to be transferred with some other prisoners to his ship - the Annabelle. This is moored near the dock where the Inn is located.

The Doctor has borrowed clothing from the scullery, and is now disguised as an old woman to avoid capture.

As they are rowed out to the Annabelle, the captives see a canvas-wrapped corpse being dropped over the side into the sea. Trask warns that this is the only way any of them will ever get off his ship...

Data:

Written by: Gerry Davis & Elwyn Jones

Recorded: Saturday 10th December 1966 - Riverside Studio 1

First broadcast: 5:50pm, Saturday 24th December 1966

Ratings: 6.8 million / AI 46

Designer: Geoffrey Kirkland

Director: Hugh David

Additional cast: Dallas Cavell (Trask), Barbara Bruce (Mollie)

Critique:

The draft script originally specified that the plantations where the captives would be sent to were in Barbados and Jamaica. Gerry Davis named Trask's ship the Annabelle after reading how slave ships often had pleasant sounding names despite their horrific function.

The Doctor's bamboozling of Grey and, especially Perkins, in this episode is regarded as one of the highlights of the early Troughton era, and very much shows what the production team intended to do with the new Doctor's character. 

He has already impersonated someone to get into Grey's presence, but once there he rapidly overpowers him - first verbally and then physically. When Perkins arrives, he makes him think that Grey's frantic knocking is all in his own head and, when the poor clerk claims not to have a headache, the Doctor gives him one by banging his head on the table. It's all rather violent stuff - but played very much for laughs.

The Doctor does threaten someone with a pistol - but it is made clear that he would never actually use it.

Once he has escaped, the Doctor then takes to stealing clothes to create disguises. In this case an old washer-woman. He'll continue to adopt this disguise next week, before swapping it for another.

The Doctor also acts impulsively - something which will be totally dropped once this incarnation becomes the first of the quiet manipulators. He says things just for fun, which might annoy or even threaten their lives - like when he shouts "Down with King George!" in the dungeon, just to hear the echo.

The tone of the episode fluctuates wildly, but then you remember that this went out in the early evening of Christmas Eve.

Cast as Captain Jebb Trask was Dallas Cavell, who had featured in the series on two previous occasions - first as the roadworks overseer in The Reign of Terror, then as the convict Bors in The Daleks' Master Plan. He had just come out of hospital, following a hernia operation when he began filming at Ealing. He elects to play Trask like Long John Silver. (The last word of the episode is his "Arr!..").

Barbara Bruce, playing Mollie, had been an extra on The Chase.

The day before recording, a brand new opening titles sequence had been recorded at Television Centre TC2, which featured the Doctor's face for the first time. This would not be used straight away, however.

As scripted, Kirsty was to have threatened Ffinch in the animal trap with her knife, but as she now had his captured pistol it was decided to change the dialogue to reflect this. Some gruesome dialogue from Grey was also dropped, when he threatened to flay "Dr Von Wer" should he be wasting his time.

Of the two recording breaks, one was used to allow Troughton to change into his old woman disguise, and the other allowed Craze, Hines and Donald Bissett (McLaren) to move from the dungeon set.

It is a great pity that Geoffrey Kirkland did not do more Doctor Who, as we can see from the telesnaps that he managed to design some highly effective sets for this episode, including the use of water. 

Filming of the dockside scenes had taken place at Ealing on Friday 11th and Wednesday 16th November.

The Riverside sets are either indoors - a dungeon, Grey's office or the wash-house / scullery - or they are external but at night and in the fog, so atmospherically lit and filmed.

This is a story which would definitely be even more highly regarded if it could be seen as well as heard.

Two scenes were cut from the episode before broadcast. The first was in the dungeon, where the Doctor suggested that Jamie play a tune to cheer up the prisoners. Wishing he had his full pipes, the boy played a tune on his chanter, which the Doctor then tried to copy on his recorder.

The second sequence came at the end of the episode in the wash-house, where Mollie was unhappy with the Redcoats searching her scullery as the Doctor hid. After the soldiers had gone, she turned to see the Doctor's clothes hanging on her washing line.

Trivia:

• The ratings remain stable compared with the opening instalment, though the episode dropped from 67th to 89th most watched programme for the week, despite only having 0.1 million fewer viewers. No doubt this was due to all the additional / unique festive programming.
• At one point Ffinch threatens his men with 500 lashes apiece should they fail to capture the fugitive women. Anyone flogged thus would be dead long before they reached the first 100, and Gerry Davis took the opportunity to amend this dialogue when it came to the novelisation.
• A few synopses of this episode claim that a bound prisoner is dropped into the sea to drown, and another even claims that Ben and Jamie witness a keel-hauling. However, the telesnaps clearly show that it is a shrouded corpse which is dropped overboard at the cliff-hanger:

• Reveille published a full page piece on the stars of Doctor Who for the week 22 - 28th December. This included new boy Frazer Hines.