Synopsis:
Steven and Dodo have been given another riddle to solve:
"Hunt the key that fits the door,
That leads out on the dancing floor,
Then escape the rhythmic beat,
Or you'll forever tap your feet"
The Toymaker is unfazed by the fact that his teams have been beaten twice by the Doctor's companions. From his dolls house he removes another two figures, whom he identifies as Mrs Wiggs and Sergeant Rugg.
Steven and Dodo pass through the fake TARDIS and down a corridor to emerge in another large chamber, followed by the trio of ballerina dolls.
The room they find themselves in is a huge antique kitchen, cluttered with culinary bric-a-brac. Presiding over this is Mrs Wiggs - a Victorian cook. Her friend, Sergeant Rugg, is a member of the British Army of the Napoleonic era, and claims to have served under Wellington - "the Iron Duke".
Also present is a kitchen boy named Cyril, who spends all of his time sleeping by the oven.
Dodo asks them about the riddle, and Mrs Wiggs claims that the only dancing floor she knows of lies beyond the next door. They find that it is locked.
It soon becomes clear that their new challenge is to hunt for the key - a version of "Hunt the Thimble".
Wiggs and Rugg claim not to know its location either, so whoever finds the key first is the winner.
Everyone scrambles around searching, but eventually one of the cook's pies is dropped on the floor and Dodo finds the key within. She and Steven unlock the door.
The Toymaker enters the kitchen and berates the cook and soldier, warning them not to fail him any further. He orders them to follow the Doctor's companions.
Beyond the door is a chamber with a raised floor, on which stand the three ballerina dolls. Behind them is the TARDIS. Steven is about to step onto the floor when Dodo urges caution - reminding him of the riddle.
When he moves forward, he finds himself dancing with one of the dolls - unable to resist.
He realises that he must force the dance towards the TARDIS in order to reach it. Dodo joins him, and Mrs Wiggs and the Sergeant follow suit to attempt to get to the TARDIS first.
Rugg is about to touch it when he is swept away by his partner, and the Doctor's companions achieve their goal. They dive inside, only to discover that it is another fake cabinet.
Again, Dodo and Steven argue about the nature of their opponents, having recognised the figures from their previous games. She still sees them as intelligent beings, whilst he thinks of them only as soulless creations of the Toymaker.
Behind them, the cook and the soldier dance off into the distance, like emotionless automatons.
The Toymaker disposes of the lifeless dolls and selects what will be the final opponent. He notes that the Doctor has only another 123 moves to go, before the Trilogic Game is completed.
Steven and Dodo have found their next riddle:
"Lady luck will show the way,
Win the game or here you'll stay"
They then meet their new opponent - Cyril, now in the form of a jovial schoolboy. It becomes clear that he loves to play mischievous tricks on people, as he uses a concealed electric buzzer when shaking hands with Steven. To Dodo, however, he appears charming - even giving her a bag of his sweets.
He warns them that he is going to be their toughest foe yet...
Next episode: The Final Test
Written by: Brian Hayles
Recorded: Friday 1st April 1966 - Riverside Studio 1
First broadcast: 5:50pm, Saturday 16th April 1966
Ratings: 9.4 million / AI 44
Designer: John Wood
Director: Bill Sellars
Additional cast: Beryl Braham, Ann Harrison, Delia Lindon (Ballerina Dolls).
Critique:
The game this week is "Hunt the Thimble", played against characters who are designed to mimic those in the "Happy Families" card game. However, there's no soldier character, so Rugg may be based on a child's lead soldier, whilst the game does feature Mrs Bun, the Baker's wife - the probable inspiration for Mrs Wiggs.
One short scene was pre-filmed at Ealing on Wednesday 2nd March. This featured Campbell Singer as Sergeant Rugg, and Carmen Silvera as Mrs Wiggs, dancing against black drapes. This would be used to show them vanishing off into a distant black void. Both wore padded costumes.
For both actors, this would be their final episode of the story.
April 1st is known as "April Fool's Day" - appropriate enough for the recording of an instalment of a story which has featured a literal Fool as well as other tricksters.
William Hartnell remained on holiday, the Doctor continuing to be mute and invisible as he played his game.
The episode made use of a choreographer. This was Norwegian dancer and actor Tutte Lemkow, who had appeared in the series three times prior to this story. The first of these had been playing the eye-patched Kuiju in Marco Polo, followed by Ibrahim in The Crusade and then Cyclops in The Myth Makers. This would be his final association with the programme.
Two pieces of music were provided by Dudley Simpson for the dancing - a waltz for the main action and a jauntier piece for when the dolls are first seen, dancing by themselves.
As mentioned last time, Gerry Davis had intended the final iteration of Cyril to be akin to the Artful Dodger, from Oliver Twist. However, a description of the character as looking like Billy Bunter was taken literally by costume designer Daphne Dare.
Bunter was created by Frank Richards - the pen name of writer Charles Hamilton. He is a rotund schoolboy (from Greyfriars School) who wears thick round glasses. He's obsessed with eating and playing jokes - especially where one gains him the other.
He first appeared in boys' paper The Magnet in 1908, drawn by C.H. Chapman. Gerald Champion, who would later appear as the porter in Shada) played the character on BBC TV between 1952 - 1961.
On screen, Peter Stephens actually claims that, despite being named Cyril in more than one form, his friends call him "Billy".
This line does not feature in the script, so may well have been an ad-lib by the actor - one that would contribute to problems later on...
Two main sets were required for the episode - the cluttered kitchen, full of antique kitchenalia and nursery room furniture, and the spartan ballroom, which comprised a relatively small triangular raised floor. The TARDIS prop had its lamp missing.
Stephens first appeared in studio as the kitchen boy. The script included Steven commenting on how all the Toyroom characters looked like each other.
With Hartnell absent, Michael Gough's Toymaker got to interact with his playthings for the first time. The script stressed how he should be cruel and menacing towards his creatures, whilst always being charming to his "guests".
As the latter part of the episode involved music and actors moving around, it was decided that they should pre-record some of their lines.
The back of the fake TARDIS fell away to reveal a short passage, at the end of which was Cyril. The actor had slipped away for his costume change during the dancing, but was still seen wearing the white cook's cap. He removed this and replaced it with a school cap - completing the Billy Bunter image.
As was the norm now for this story, the end credits began playing over an image of the Trilogic Game.
Shortly after broadcast, the BBC received a complaint from the Frank Richards estate regarding Cyril's closing appearance. Peter Stephens was dressed like Billy Bunter, acted like Billy Bunter, and even said that he gets called "Billy". This was clearly unauthorised use of the character.
The BBC argued that Cyril was merely impersonating a Bunter-like figure.
It was agreed that the BBC would broadcast an apology the following week, as Cyril featured prominently throughout The Final Test.
It comes as a shock to listen to this episode for the very first time, as remarkably little happens. Half the running time is taken up with Rugg and Wiggs squabbling with each other, as everyone rifles the contents of the kitchen. There's no threat whatsoever - just people throwing things about. It sounds - and presumably looked - chaotic.
The latter part of the episode at least has the sinister living dolls, but it really does appear that Davis was struggling to fill the four episodes with sufficient incident.
- The ratings see a huge rise of nearly 1.5 million this week. The appreciation figure, on the other hand, drops to its lowest since the ill-advised Christmas Day episode, The Feast of Steven. It's little wonder when you listen to the episode now.
- The trio of actors playing the ballerinas had featured in the previous episode, but were only credited on this one.
- "Happy Families" was created by the games-maker John Jaques Jr, and made its debut at the Great Exhibition in 1851. It features 11 families, representing different trades and occupations, along with their wives, sons and daughters. Players have to collect sets of all four family members.
- "Hunt the Thimble" is also known as "Hide the Thimble". It is recorded in 1830 in the US, when it was known as "Hot Buttered Beans". The seeker for the hidden item can be told if they are getting closer to their goal, or further away, by the other players saying "hot" or "cold".
- On the day of broadcast, a concerned viewer from London - B Williams - wrote to the Daily Mirror: "The atmosphere of terror, sadism and wickedness of Dr. Who makes it the most psychologically mixed-up show on TV. I shudder to think what its effect is on sensitive children. It should be screened at 10:50pm, not 5:50pm". Definitely written before they had seen this episode, then.
- A few days later, on Thursday 21st April, a young reader sent a letter to Radio Times telling of how they had made their own copy of the Trilogic Game.
No comments:
Post a Comment