DWM Chronicles Return?

Just when it looked like DWM had discontinued the "Chronicles" publications, which take an in depth look at one particular year in the history of Doctor Who, they announce in the latest issue that 13th February sees the publication of the next edition. This one covers 1970 and Season 7 - Jon Pertwee's first year in the role and Caroline John's year as companion, as well as the arrival of Barry Letts as producer.

Presumably this ties in with the imminent release of Season 7 on Blu-ray.

This is the second consecutive Chronicle covering the Pertwee era, and we've had a very long wait since the 1971 one.

Blog update

Apologies for the shortage of posts this week but between work and flat hunting I've had little time of late. A move will get rid of a lengthy commute, which will give me more time in the evenings to annoy you with my musings. Next up will be a look at the Art of The Moonbase, followed by the regular Sunday episode post.

Thank you for your patience.

Inspirations: The Crimson Horror

It helps to know what interests Mark Gatiss when considering the inspirations behind this story. 

He loves Dickens, and Victoriana in general. He loves horror movies - especially the old Universal Monsters and Hammer Horrors. He loves classic supernatural fiction, of the likes of M R James, Bram Stoker and E F Benson. He loves the Gothic. He loves Sherlock Holmes. And he's a big Pertwee era fan.

In recent years he has been the instigator of the annual "A Ghost Story for Christmas" strand on the BBC. He has presented a pair of documentaries for BBC Four on the horror movie genre - a general one and a specifically European one. He has presented another BBC Four documentary on Dracula.

He adapted Dickens' A Christmas Carol for the stage a couple of years ago, in which he played the part of Jacob Marley's ghost.

He and Steven Moffat sang the praises of the Third Doctor era in a special documentary for one of the Collection Blu-ray sets.

And of course his very first contribution to the series was 2005's The Unquiet Dead, which was inspired by a lot of the above.

Why the mention of the Pertwee era? Think about another story set in a small industrial community, in which people turn up dead with their skin a bright shade of a colour it most certainly ought not to be...

Gatiss toyed with the idea of calling this "The Red Death", in tribute to The Green Death (and possibly as a nod to Poe, Vincent Price and Roger Corman).

It's this which then led to the final title of The Crimson Horror - the word "Horror" having often been used to describe a particularly lurid and bloodthirsty event by the popular press. Newspapers in 1888 had referred to the "Whitechapel Horror" in relation to the Jack the Ripper killings. The Penny Dreadfuls - cheap mass produced books which generally dealt with shocking material - knew that the word on the cover would attract readers of a more morbid fascination.

In The Wedding of River Song Gatiss had played, under a pseudonym, the character of Gantok. The alias he used was Rondo Haxton - a tribute to the actor Rondo Hatton who appeared in a Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes film as the "Hoxton Creeper". Hatton featured in a couple of horror films as well, in one of which he reprised the "Creeper". Madam Vastra, of the Paternoster Gang, is a consulting detective akin to Sherlock Holmes - the subject of Gatiss & Moffat's big TV hit.

Gatiss also toyed with the idea of making this Celebrity Historical by having the Doctor meet Arthur Conan Doyle. He had studied medicine and qualified as an ophthalmic surgeon - which led to the idea of people seeing the image of the last thing they saw on the eye. This is known as an optogram. It's generally regarded as folk myth though a 19th Century scientist discovered that there is a chemical in the eye which can act like developing solution used by photographers. The Doctor had talked about this in The Ark in Space.

The Holmes story The Adventure of the Gold Pince-Nez mentions "the repulsive tale of the red leech" - one of those unwritten tales, like the Giant rat of Sumatra.

The ghoulish mortuary attendant is clearly based on the one played by Roy Hudd in The Blood Beast Terror (1968). It's the film Peter Cushing once described as his worst, and features Doctor Who alumni Wanda Ventham and Kevin Stoney amongst its cast.

The way Matt Smith plays the "rouged" Doctor, and the friendship which forms between him and Ada is surely inspired by the Frankenstein Monster. You'll recall that he makes friends with a blind hermit, and she even calls the Doctor her "monster".

We ought to repeat the "Red Death" thing, as The Masque of the Red Death is regarded as the best of the Vincent Price / Roger Corman AIP horrors, based (loosely) on one of Edgar Allen Poe's most famous works.

Gatiss' interests overlap so much with those of Robert Holmes (dark deeds in Victorian times, based on horror films / book). It's noticeable that the two most (only?) popular Gatiss Doctor Who stories are the ones which delve into these genres. The rest, for me, are pretty poor. 

(If you come back, Mark, stick to Holmesian territory - be it Sherlock or Robert...).

An earlier idea Gatiss had for a story was titled "Mother's Ruin" - a nickname for gin, which used to be drunk like water in Georgian and early Victorian times (because it was cheap and usually healthier than the water supply). There were riots when taxes were increased and prices rose. Hogarth produced a famous engraving called "Gin Alley", which showed many of the hazards of drunkenness amongst the lower classes, like a woman dropping her baby and hardly noticing.

This led to thoughts of the Victorian Temperance Movement, which was to manifest itself in Mrs Gillyflower's moral crusade.

The Salvation Army, founded by William Booth in July 1865, would appear to be another influence here.

(It should be noted that the hymn - Jerusalem - sung in the episode at the gathering is anachronistic. That musical arrangement of Blake's words came later).

Getting Dame Diana Rigg and her daughter Rachel Stirling together to play Gillyflower mere et fille arose from Gatiss acting in a play with the former Avenger.

It should be noted that, once again, Jenny is presented in a very Emma Peel manner when it comes to a fight.

Mr Sweet was named after Gatiss' friend Matthew Sweet - he of the excellent in-depth interviews on the Blu-ray sets.

The model village "Sweetville" was inspired by Saltaire, near Bradford in Yorkshire. This was founded in 1851 by industrialist Titus Salt - and salt just happens to be what Mrs Gillyflower feeds to her parasite friend.

One of the best jokes in modern Doctor Who is the little boy by the name of Thomas Thomas giving precise directions to Strax - Tom-Tom being a GPS sat-nav system. I laughed.

The Doctor mentions once having to get a gobby Australian to Heathrow Airport - a reference to Tegan Jovanka. At one point he says "Brave heart, Clara".

Finally, Clara gets home to find that the kids have managed to find lots of photographs of her from earlier stories. That's definitely one for the "What's Wrong With..." post for this story.

Next time: If you thought that Gareth Roberts was the author of the worst ever Cyberman story, think again. Neil Gaiman (if we're still allowed to mention him) proves that he is just as capable of writing garbage as the next person...

Episode 150: The Moonbase (2)

Synopsis:

A delirious Jamie is confronted by a tall robotic figure which he believes to be the 'Phantom Piper' of his clan's legends...

The Cyberman considers him for a moment then moves to another bed and picks up its occupant - carrying him into the storeroom. Polly arrives back just in time to see it vanish through the door, and lets out a scream.

The Doctor and Ben arrive seconds later, with Hobson and a couple of technicians. She describes what she saw, stating that she believes the figure to have been a Cyberman.

The storeroom is empty.

Hobson sends his men - Sam and Jules - to search for the missing patient then questions Polly further. Ben reminds her that the Cybermen were all wiped out when Mondas was destroyed, and Hobson explains that everyone knows that there used to be Cybermen, but they no longer exist.

He then points out that all of their problems seem to have started around the time that the Doctor and his friends turned up on the Moon.

The Doctor offers to help investigate the mystery illness, and Hobson gives him 24 hours to provide results or depart - whether Jamie is recovered or not.

The Doctor then begins his investigation, asking his companions to start collecting samples from all over the base.

In the control room, the technicians are struggling to keep a hurricane in check. Their equipment simply isn't co-ordinating. The head of Weather Control on Earth, Rinberg, radios to complain. He refuses to allow Hobson to shut down the Gravitron so that a thorough check can be made on all its components.

Hobson orders that everything be checked, short of shutting the device down.

As everyone runs around, the Doctor slips in and begins removing items for study, trying to keep out of the way - not always successfully.

Ben leaves Polly alone in the sickbay when he goes to ask Hobson for some medical supplies. The Cyberman reappears and stuns her with an electric shock before approaching Jamie. Seeing that he is delirious, it stuns him as well then abducts another comatose patient.

The Doctor arrives seconds later, as Polly revives. 

Once again the storeroom is empty, but Benoit has been alerted to another brief pressure drop in the protective dome.

The fault with the Gravitron is finally traced to an antenna out on the lunar surface. Technicians Jules and Franz are sent outside to inspect it. Hobson is now positive that the Doctor and his companions sabotaged it before they came into the base, and he sets off to confront them - just as Ben arrives to inform him another patient has disappeared. 

In the sickbay, the Doctor bluffs that he is close to finding a solution to the illness to buy them extra time. Polly makes some coffee and shares it with Hobson and his technicians in the corridor outside.

The Doctor witnesses first-hand one of the men falling ill, and the answer suddenly presents itself. The stricken man had taken sugar in his coffee. Not everyone does - hence the seemingly random manner in which the illness strikes.

Examining a sample of sugar he detects the presence of a neurotropic virus. He tells Hobson that this is artificial in nature. The Cybermen are on the Moon.

Outside, Franz and Jules are studying the antenna when they are attacked by Cybermen and clubbed down.

The Doctor has a sudden thought, and demands to know if the sickbay was searched. Hobson tells him that it wasn't, as there was always someone in here. A quick count reveals one extra patient, and so the Doctor begins to usher everyone out of the room. 

A blanket is thrown aside to reveal a Cyberman, who climbs down from the bed and aims its weapon at them...

Data:

Written by: Kit Pedler

Recorded: Saturday 11th February 1967 - Riverside Studio 1

First broadcast: 5:50pm, Saturday 18th February 1967

Ratings: 8.9 million / AI 49

Designer: Colin Shaw

Director: Morris Barry

Additional cast: Denis McCarthy (Voice of Controller Rinberg), Barry Ashton (Franz), John (Arnold Chazen), John Wills & Peter Greene (Cybermen)

Critique:

As we mentioned last time, the Cybermen might have proven successful on their debut, but there were definite issues with the costumes. You can see on the DVD the clear sticky tape holding the handles onto the helmet, and the chest unit was clumsy and heavy. Having a plastic suit over a cloth one led to overheating problems for the performers under studio lights. It was also extremely difficult to cut holes in the jersey material to make the face without it tearing apart. The manner in which the Cybermen had spoken had been unique and very creepy, but relied on the actor and voice artist synchronising perfectly, which didn't always happen. There was a general feeling that the costumes looked cumbersome, with a thrown-together, homemade feel.

Knowing that the creatures were going to be used again, and likely in more than one story, Innes Lloyd requested a redesign to make the costumes more robotic. Costume Designer Sandra Reid came up with three alternative designs which were then presented to Lloyd and Morris Barry, who would be directing the story. The one which Reid herself favoured, and which remained closest in concept to the original Mondasian version, is the one which was selected. The main elements she wished to retain were the chest unit, hydraulic supports for the limbs and skull-like features. The helmet was reduced to a more compact form - meaning that the distinctive "handlebars" either side of the head were retained.

The main body of the costume was a silver vinyl jumpsuit, which had its opening at the rear. Three-fingered hands were incorporated into the suit, rather than using separate gloves. Reid's team had great difficulty making these outfits due to the thickness of the vinyl, and we would later see that the seams could be prone to tearing.

On the feet were army surplus boots, retaining their laces and spray-painted silver. The chest unit was greatly reduced in size and weight, whilst still retaining its accordion-like shape. These were constructed from aluminium and had internal lights fitted. A new weapon, consisting of a small rod with a light at the tip, was also produced, and this could be clipped onto the base of the chest unit.

For the hydraulic limb supports, thick ridged piping - normally used on vacuum cleaners - was added along the arms and legs, with practice golf-balls attached at the joints. Smaller piping was used at the top and bottom of the chest unit.

These units, and the new Cyberman helmets, were subcontracted to Jack and John Lovell - father and son freelance prop builders.

They were designed specifically to have a skull-like appearance, and the head-lamp of the first design was now incorporated into the more compact helmet. The handlebars were of clear perspex, and silver tape was added around eyes and mouth. The helmets, made of fibreglass, were cast in two halves - front and back - and attached with small hooks. A small light was installed in the lamp.

A total of 11 costumes were produced for the story.

Filming for this episode included lunar surface scenes. The attack on Franz and Jules by a pair of Cybermen was filmed at Ealing on Wednesday 18th January. One of the Cybermen - John Wills - also acted under the name John Maxim and as such was credited when he played the Frankenstein Monster in 1965's The Chase.

Another shot showed the technicians' empty spacesuits lying on the ground.

Into the studio, and it was Wills who played the lone Cyberman seen in this episode. 

The instalment opened with a shot of Frazer Hines struggling to get up. Recording breaks were required for setting up the electric spark effect, superimposed over shots of the Cyberman pointing at Hines and at Anneke Wills.

Franz and Jules (Victor Pemberton) are seen leaving the base via an airlock. This was a conical two-level set. After checking each other's suits they mount a pair of ladders, and exit onto the Moon's surface through separate doors.

Another recording break allowed Arnold Chazen to be made up with the virus black lines.

Stock footage from a 1963 BBC school's science programme was used when the Doctor studies the virus under a microscope. 

Closing credits run over a shot of the Cyberman after it rises from the sickbay bed. It should be noted that the bed wobbles a great deal as Wills climbs off it. In a real sickbay setting these would be much more stable or even fixed to the floor.

Following issues the previous week, the desks for the control areas had now been finished with surface detail.

This episode was never lost. It was always retained in the BBC's Film & Videotape Library and has been available for fans to watch, over and over again, ever since its inclusion on the 1992 VHS release Cybermen: The Early Years.

As such, some of its scenes and dialogue have become (in)famous. Whenever a quote is sought which sums up the Second Doctor, they invariably opt for the "dark corners" speech. 

Ben asks why they do not just leave the Moon, since Hobson and company have made it clear they aren't welcome.

The Doctor responds: "Because there is evil here, and we must stay".

Asked to elaborate, the Doctor tells his companions:

"Evil is what I meant. There are some corners of the Universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things which act against everything that we believe in. They must be fought...".

The First Doctor had been first and foremost the scientist and explorer, often eager to slip back to the TARDIS at the first sign of danger. This attitude relaxed considerably once his granddaughter Susan no longer travelled with him, and he was more likely to stick around to challenge injustice - not having her to worry about.

In this episode, the Doctor makes it explicit that fighting the monsters is very much part of his role. He is still an adventurer, but now seems to be travelling more with purpose. This will become explicit during his trial by the Time Lords at the close of his tenure in the TARDIS.

One scene from Episode 2 is also held up as an example of the early series' sexism. It's the scene in which the Doctor asks Polly to make some coffee, whilst he does the important scientific stuff. It's hard to argue against this, but it needs to be looked at in context. 

Anneke Wills specifically set out to have Polly a "screamer" - a more feminine companion far removed from the Sara Kingdom / Avengers mould. It's therefore perfectly in keeping with her character to be content to help out with the odd domestic chore. The Doctor is extremely busy trying to find the cure for a deadly disease, and he's about to be thrown off the Moon with this vital work unfinished. He needs to buy some time, and needs a diversion, and he's only got Polly to help him do this. Deflecting people's attention with food and drink is something people would certainly do under these circumstances.

He asks her to make the coffee in an almost resigned fashion, as he's at a loss what to do next. He certainly doesn't order her to do anything, or give the impression that this is all he thinks' she's fit for.

And let's not forget that it is her coffee-making which directly leads to the solution to the problem.

There's some more overt sexism in the next episode, so we'll return to this subject again. (It'll be with us in relation to companions until the late 1980's).

Coincidentally, Ann Lawrence - the TV critic of the Morning Star - whilst praising the overall quality of the story, wished for a lot less screaming from Anneke Wills: "Her screams all all too predictable".

One other scene discussed by fans is the Doctor's mention of his medical background. He tells Polly that he studied Medicine at Glasgow University under Lister in 1888. Not only does this contradict the First Doctor's assertion that he is not a medical doctor but his story doesn't add up.

Joseph Lister (1827 - 1912) was a pioneer of antiseptic surgery and preventative healthcare. After graduating in London he was encouraged to spend time working in Scotland - at Edinburgh specifically. Surgeons in England were regarded as little more than the manual labourers of medicine, and a role not fit for gentlemen, whereas it was highly regarded in Scotland. The country led the way in the study of surgical techniques. Lister remained in Edinburgh from 1853 - 1860, then transferred over to Glasgow. He was there from 1860 - 1869, before returning to Edinburgh until 1877. Thereafter, he moved back to London.

The Doctor is clearly incorrect in his remembrance of events. Either he has got his dates wrong or the venue, as Lister wasn't even in Scotland in 1888. It ought to be noted that the Doctor has trouble recalling his time at University. Asked if he is a medical doctor he replies:

"Yes, I think I was once, Polly. I think I took a degree once in Glasgow. 1888 I think. Lister...".

That's three 'think's'. Anyone devising a timeline for the Doctor should be very wary of fixing this event in his chronology.

One final issue with this episode we should note is the source of the virus. If a workplace was struck down by a mystery illness, food and drink would have been amongst the very first things you would have examined. Even with their medic, Dr Evans, incapacitated on day one, it is really surprising that Hobson and Benoit did not check the sugar supply - or why it took so long (and another man's potential death) for the Doctor to realise the source. You would certainly look at a foodstuff before an item of footwear in the search for an apparently infectious disease.

Trivia:

• The ratings see a huge upswing in audience numbers of almost a million additional viewers. These were the best ratings in over a year. Competition on the ITV network included the still-popular Batman series, dated comedy Just Jimmy, and future guest star Ken Dodd's Doddy's Magic Box.
• As with his The Tenth Planet scripts, Pedler gave some of the Cybermen monosyllabic names in his drafts. The lead Cybermen in this story was called "Kron".
• The Lovells' first involvement with Doctor Who came with supplying weaponry for Marco Polo, after which they provided the masks for the Voord in The Keys of Marinus. Other creatures they were responsible for, prior to The Moonbase, were the Fungoids and Mire Beasts in The Chase, the Rills in Galaxy 4, and Monoids in The Ark, before tackling parts of the Mondasian Cybermen.
• The draft script had Hobson claim that the Cybermen were destroyed "centuries ago", which would not fit the final televised date. We know that The Tenth Planet was set in December 1986, so The Moonbase couldn't possibly be set in 2070 if they hadn't changed this.
• Arnold Chazen is the father of actress Debbie Chazen, who would later appear in the series herself when she played Foon in Voyage of the Damned.
• The Daleks were still around. One featured on Blue Peter on the 16th February edition, in an item about trick photography.
• The two Cyberman costume images above are my own, taken at the DWAS Moonbase event at Riverside in August 2023. It is a refurbished costume which featured in the actual production, whether at Riverside Studios or only at Ealing is not recorded.

What's Wrong With... The King's Demons

As with Time-Flight, we have to ask why the Master is wearing a disguise when he can't possibly know that anyone who might recognise him is going to turn up.

No-one in 1215 England knows him, so why such an elaborate disguise - holographic mask and silly accent? All he had to do was put on a suitable period costume and he could have dispensed with the rest.

Why use this mask technology, when good old rubber ones have worked well enough in the past?

Ainley's attempt at a French accent is not always easy to understand. One can't help but be reminded of the French knights in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

When the Doctor himself draws attention to the "small time villainy" of the Master then you know you're in trouble. It wasn't that long ago that he was blackmailing the entire universe, and in his earlier guise he was working alongside Daleks and making deals with the Devil.

Interfering with Magna Carta ("Did she die in vain?!") wouldn't necessarily lead to anything which the Master could exploit and benefit from.

Why bother with Kamelion at all? It doesn't have a personality of its own, so the Master would have to be in constant control over it to achieve anything with it. Why not simply take on the role himself and cut out the middle (robot) man?

He's an accomplished hypnotist, so why not just hypnotise the real King John and get him to do what he wants? At some point he's going to have to deal with the real one anyway.

The Doctor challenges Sir Gilles to a duel. The scene plays as if he's then shocked to discover that this is the disguised Master - which means that the Doctor deliberately provoked mortal combat with someone.

Sir Ranulf switches allegiance far too easily. He simply accepts whatever anyone tells him - even if it's someone who he was happy to see executed 20 minutes ago. He changes his opinion of the Doctor four times, and this is only two episodes long.

The Iron Maiden is totally anachronistic. You'll see it has a ruff around its "face" - meaning that this design could only have originated in the Elizabethan or Jacobean eras.

Finally, why was Kamelion taken onto the TARDIS at the conclusion of the story? The producer and script editor already knew that the prop did not work properly and it was causing serious delays in studio, so why did they persist with it? If they knew they weren't going to use it, and didn't want it left with the Master, then why not simply have it destroyed at the conclusion?

It can look like anyone, so if they were going to take it forward then they could have got anyone in to play Kamelion, using just a static head and shoulders shot of the prop to show it transforming into the actor.

Worlds of Wonder Exhibition: Next Stop USA

The excellent Worlds of Wonder Exhibition, previously in Liverpool and Edinburgh, and currently in New Zealand, is heading for the United States next - to the San Diego ComicCon Museum to be exact. It will open there in March 2025. Since I visited it in Edinburgh, 60th Anniversary and Series 14 items have been added.

Story 300: The Power of the Doctor

In which the Doctor picks up a distress signal emanating from a spacecraft resembling a terrestrial bullet-train... 

The TARDIS is unable to materialise within the craft so it must hover above and the Doctor, Yaz and Dan must abseil down, wearing spacesuits. They come under attack by Cybermen, who have invaded the craft in search of a particular item of cargo. They are led by CyberMasters, previously created by the Master. Dan is almost killed when his visor cracks. The cargo proves to be what appears to be a small child, but the Doctor identifies it as a powerful sentient energy source known as a Qurunx. The Cybermen seize their prize and teleport away. Dan announces that he is leaving the TARDIS, having come so close to death. The Doctor takes him back to Liverpool, then she is confronted by a holographic message from a renegade Dalek. It claims to have turned its back on its own kind as they are a corruption of their original Kaled origins, and it warns of a plot to destroy the human race.

She then seeks out the Qurunx and traces the Cybermen to the year 1916. She is surprised to see that a new planet has appeared in close orbit to Earth. 

The TARDIS lands on this moon-like planetoid, and they discover that it has been artificially enhanced by the Cybermen. nearby is another TARDIS, also looking like a Police Box, which is connected to the planet - as is the Qurunx. It has been harnessed as a power source.

In St Petersburg, Russia, in 1916, the Master is posing as Rasputin. He hypnotises the Tsar's family into leaving the Winter Palace in his care.

On the CyberMoon, the Doctor and Yaz come under attack by Cybermen and CyberMasters and are forced to flee. Back in the TARDIS, they receive a summons from Kate Stewart of UNIT.

Arriving at UNIT's new central London HQ, the Doctor is reunited with former companions Tegan Jovanka and Ace. Ace had been investigating a number of paintings which had been altered to feature the Master's image, in his Rasputin guise, whilst Tegan had received a cryptic message from the Doctor's former self - a tiny Cyberman model.

Kate explains that a number of geophysicists have vanished, all experts in volcanoes. They trace the Master to a conference in Naples. The Doctor and Yaz travel there by TARDIS. He has killed the missing experts but is easily captured and brought to London where he is locked up.

meanwhile, a spaceship crashlands on the CyberMoon. Its pilot is the Doctor's friend Vinder, who had been tracking the Qurunx. He sees the Police Box nearby and assumes it is the Doctor's.

The Doctor then goes to meet the renegade Dalek - intrigued by what might link them with both the Master and the Cybermen.

The rendezvous proves to be a tunnel beneath an active volcano in Bolivia, South America. As the Doctor meets her contact, Yaz discovers that there are many Daleks close by, operating massive machinery.

At UNIT HQ Ace discovers that it was the Master who sent Tegan the tiny Cyberman figure. It is really a miniaturised Passenger form. It grows to full size and a cloned Ashad emerges with an army of Cybermen. He frees the Master as Ace, Tegan and UNIT battle the Cybermen.

In the volcano, the Doctor discovers that she has walked into a trap. The Daleks had allowed the renegade to bring her here so that they could capture her. The renegade is destroyed and she is ensnared within its empty casing before being transported to the Winter Palace in 1916.

There she learns that the "Rasputin" Master intends to carry out a forced regeneration, using the power of the CyberMoon. He will become her.

Ace plans to escape from UNIT HQ by jumping from the roof of the building using a parachute. Tegan heads for the basement, whilst Kate is captured by Ashad, who intends on converting her and the surviving UNIT personnel. Tegan is to self-destruct the building, with the Cybermen contained within.

The Master-Doctor forces Yaz to become his companion as he steals the TARDIS. He will wreak havoc across the universe in the Doctor's name - starting with halting an interplanetary war by destroying both worlds. He has donned an outfit which is a mash-up of some of the Doctor's earlier styles.

The comatose Doctor finds herself in a bizarre dreamscape which is crumbling away, and she is confronted by images of some of her former incarnations. The landscape is crumbling away, indicative of her mind being slowly compressed by the forced regeneration. Soon her old self will be gone, subsumed by the new Master-Doctor personality. She must fight to preserve this.

Holographic representations of the Doctor have been triggered by the TARDIS. One is seen by Yaz whilst Tegan sees it in the form of the Fifth Doctor.

Yaz takes the TARDIS to the CyberMoon where she rescues Vinder. They then rescue Ace after Ashad destroys her parachute. She lands safely in the ship.

Yaz then drops Ace off at the Bolivian volcano, to put a stop to the Dalek drilling operations. The Master has been working jointly with them and the Cybermen on a scheme to trigger all of the planet's volcanos simultaneously, wiping out all life on Earth - the "Master's Dalek Plan".

Ace meets a Holo-Doctor in the form of the Seventh Doctor, before encountering Graham O'Brien in the tunnels. He had been investigating Dalek activity.

Together they set about sabotaging the drilling operations.

Yaz arrives at the Winter Palace with Vinder and another Holo-Doctor, in the form of the "Fugitive" Doctor. Together they overpower the Master-Doctor and force him back into the forced regeneration mechanism after killing the CyberMasters. Harnessing the energy of their subsequent regenerations, they are able to reverse the process.

Kate and Tegan are able to escape UNIT before seconds before the building implodes, destroying the Cybermen. They are collected by the TARDIS, and the Doctor has her assembled friends assist her in freezing the volcanoes which have already erupted.

She then takes Vinder to the CyberMoon and repairs his spaceship so that he can head home.

She then sets about freeing the Qurunx but is attacked by the dying Master. The energy of the energy being lashes out uncontrollably and strikes the Doctor, fatally wounding her. As the Qurunx breaks free, the planetoid begins to break up.

The Doctor and Yaz make one final journey together, whilst Graham sets up a support group in London. He is joined by Kate, Ace and Tegan, as well as Dan, Jo Jones, Melanie Bush, and Ian Chesterton. The group exists so that they can share their experiences of travelling or working with the Doctor, when others would refuse to believe their stories.

The Doctor takes Yaz home after their trip, as she wishes to be alone when the time comes to regenerate.

This takes place on an isolated rocky promontory. The Doctor is shocked when, instead of an entirely new body and personality, they find themself once more in the form of their tenth incarnation...

The Power of the Doctor was written by Chris Chibnall, and first broadcast on Sunday 23rd October 2022.

It was written especially to mark the centenary of the BBC, and marked the final contributions to the series (to date) of Chibnall as chief writer / showrunner, and Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor.

It also sees the end of Yazmin Khan as a companion, Mandip Gill having been the only actor to portray a companion character for the entire run of a particular Doctor. (Frazer Hines had appeared in all but one of Patrick Troughton's stories).

Also bowing out, for now at least, are Sacha Dhawan as the Master, Bradley Walsh as Graham and John Bishop as Dan.

Another event of significance is the return of David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor - the first time a lead actor has returned to the role other than for multi-Doctor stories.

Nods to the past include cameo appearances by David Bradley as the First Doctor, Peter Davison as the Fifth, Colin Baker as the Sixth, Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh, Paul McGann as the Eighth and Jo Martin as the Fugitive Doctor. Whilst the earlier four don Time Lord robes, McGann wears an outfit related to his Big Finish outings.

Martin features in a Winter Palace scene in holo-form, whilst the others feature in the mindscape when the Doctor undergoes her forced regeneration. Davison and McCoy also get to interact with their former companions in holographic form.

We also have the Master-Doctor's costume, which is an amalgam of previous Doctor's outfits.

As well as Janet Fielding and Sophie Aldred reprising Tegan and Ace, the support group scene features Katy Manning, Bonnie Langford and the late William Russell. The latter's appearance earned him a world record for the longest gap between appearances by an actor in the same role. Bonnie would shortly be lined up to return to the series as a member of UNIT, whilst Manning had recorded material in character as Jo for the Third Doctor Blu-ray box-sets.

Sadly Russell was suffering from dementia and John Bishop spent the day looking after him. This was his final acting role.

Earlier in the story we saw Jacob Anderson as Vinder, and Patrick O'Kane returns as a clone of Ashad.

With so many returning characters and actors, there isn't actually any room for guest artists.

Appearing only briefly we have Richard Dempsey and Anna Andresen as Nicholas and Alexandra - a reminder of one of Tom Baker's most prominent roles. He played Rasputin in the 1971 movie Nicholas and Alexandra - and the Master takes on this role here.

Tom was invited to cameo, but proved unavailable. It's previously been claimed by him that he felt he wasn't properly looked after when he played the Curator for the 50th.

At one point the Master dances to the 1978 Boney-M song Rasputin - just for the fun of it.

The official word was that Chibnall had left the series under his own volition - having only agreed to three years in charge, and he had agreed with Whittaker that they should depart together.

The only problem with this is that no-one believes it.

Whittaker no doubt did only commit to three years, and she wanted to have a child and do other work, including a return to theatre. She was already pregnant during filming.

The idea that Chibnall - a life-long fan of the series - would turn down the chance to recast the Doctor with another actor, or miss out on the opportunity to run the show for its 60th Anniversary, is hard to believe. he only contributed two full (shorter) series during his tenure, with one longer season-long story. That he might have run out of ideas is another thing not to be believed.

Ratings were declining and fans and critics alike were unhappy with his time on the show, and it's my belief that this was taken note of by the BBC. The impression is that RTD was already lined up and was brought back specifically to save the show.

Chibnall later said he did not know at the time who would replace him, or even if the show was going to continue.

For his final throw of the dice, Chibnall seems to have thrown in a lot if of ideas / imagery he may have brought to a further series. A lot of what happens here seems superfluous to the plot, and you wonder why it was included. For instance, the whole Rasputin / Winter Palace thing. There's absolutely no point to any of this, other than to add some colour and to allow the whole Boney-M homage. Is the Master merely impersonating Rasputin (and where, then, is the real one?) or is Chibnall saying that Rasputin was the Master (despite him being a historical figure whose life and death are well-documented)?

Vinder's inclusion is also unnecessary, so presumably just there to squeeze in someone from Flux (and if so, why not the more distinctive - and popular - Karvanista?). Is this another hangover from John Barrowman's cancellation? Poor Dan gets dropped 10 minutes in - a disappointing end to a character who was shaping up to be the new Graham.

The story has a running time to fill, and you want it to be epic as its' the BBC's hundredth birthday, and there's a regeneration - but perhaps there's just too much crammed in.

Overall, it looks great but is overstuffed. A simplified storyline might have made a better impression. Sadly, the things people will remember most about it are the things which had nothing to do with Chibnall - the Doctor and companions cameos and the return of David Tennant...

Things you might like to know:

• We aren't told at this point how Mel happens to be back on contemporary Earth, having last been seen flying through space with Sabalom Glitz in what appeared to be the far future.
• This is the very first occasion that Mel's surname is actually confirmed on screen.
• There's an empty chair at the support group, which many fans thought to be a little tribute to Lis Sladen. However, it was actually intended for Anneke Wills, reprising Polly, but she pulled out at the last minute when she heard it was only a cameo.
• "The Master's Dalek Plan" is obviously an in-joke on The Daleks' Master Plan - the 12 part epic from 1965-66. Big Finish had beaten Chibnall to it by three years.
• The Dalek drilling operation closely resembles a DWM comic strip in which UNIT fought Quarks and Dominators in a similar set-up - "The Fires Down Below" in Issue 64.
• Ace gets to smash up a Dalek with her baseball bat - just as she did in Remembrance of the Daleks.
• Ace now runs the A Compassionate Earth charity - as established in The Sarah Jane Adventures and again in the Season 24 Blu-ray trailer. These trailers endeavour to be canon.
• The circumstances of her departure from the TARDIS have never been mentioned on screen, but we hear in this story that there was some unspecified schism between her and the Doctor.
• This is the third time that the Master has tried to steal the Doctor's body - the first being in The Keeper of Traken and the second in the 1996 Movie.
• The Master has so far featured in the final televised stories of the Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Tenth and now the Thirteenth Doctors, as well as a cameo in the Fifth's. They were also in what was originally to have been the Twelfth's, until Moffat was forced to write another Christmas Special, and both the Master and Missy were indirectly responsible for that regeneration. (And if you want to believe the recent colourised The War Games then he was in the Second's last story as well).
• The Master's TARDIS is said to be a Type 75.
• At one point the Master-Doctor plays The Skye Boat Song on the Second Doctor's recorder - as Troughton had done in The Web of Fear.
• The regeneration location is Lulworth Cove in Dorset, where The Curse of Fenric was filmed. The owners were not at all happy as they feared fans would want to visit the spot, despite it being extremely dangerous and situated on the protected Jurassic Coast. Of course the actual filming of the regeneration took place in two different Cardiff studios 6 months apart, under different directors.
• Chibnall had originally hoped to have Doctors Ten through Twelve for the mindscape scene, but thought that they might be brought back by his replacement and so went for surviving Classic Series Doctors. Capaldi had ruled out any return for the foreseeable future anyway, and RTD already had plans for Tennant.
• RTD did not want the Doctor to be seen in Whittaker's outfit as he didn't want to mock drag culture.
• Tennant came up with the "I know these teeth" line himself.

Episode 149: The Moonbase (1)

Synopsis:

The TARDIS is lurching wildly out of control. When the Doctor finally manages to stabilise it and they land, he claims that they have successfully arrived where he said they would be - the planet Mars. However, Ben has seen images of the lunar surface and this closely resembles these. The Doctor is forced to admit that they are on the Moon. When he wants to move on, his companions insist on taking a look around. They don spacesuits and venture outside. Polly thinks she sees a light appear briefly on the horizon, but it has vanished by the time the others look. 

They have just missed the arrival nearby of a saucer-shaped craft.

As his companions begin to leap about in the low gravity environment, the Doctor warns against tearing their suits. Jamie jumps over a low rise and fails to reappear. When the others go to investigate they discover that they are close to a lunar base. They see two of its space-suited crew carrying an unconscious Jamie into the structure, and the Doctor realises that he must have slammed into the base's protective dome and knocked himself out.

They follow inside.

In the main control area, chief scientist Hobson and his deputy Benoit face an emergency situation. The base houses a device called the Gravitron, which manipulates meteorological systems on the Earth to control the weather. As they monitor a typhoon in the Pacific, one of the technicians collapses. He is not the first to fall ill to this disease, and their medic Dr Evans was one of the first victims.

They are expecting a relief medic on the next rocket shuttle and, when the Doctor and his companions are brought in, Hobson at first thinks that this has arrived early.

Polly is permitted to go and see Jamie whilst Ben and the Doctor are questioned. They learn that this is the year 2070, and are told about the Gravitron and its functions. The Doctor realises that it was this which caused the TARDIS to go out of control.

As well as the breakout of a strange illness, the device has been acting erratically and the technicians have been unable to trace any fault. At the same time, brief pressure drops have been recorded in the dome which covers the base.

Weather Control on Earth calls to complain about a hurricane which is out of control. Technician Nils, who handles the communications, reports to Hobson that their radio conversation is being monitored by another party, not very far away.

The Doctor goes to see Jamie and Polly tells him that he has been hallucinating about the "Phantom Piper" which haunts his clan - said to appear before a McCrimmon dies. 

Dr Evans is also delirious, talking of "the silver hand". He then dies.

The Doctor is concerned about the illness, which does not behave like a conventional disease...

Ben has offered to help out due to the staff shortage, and is sent to the stores to assist a technician named Ralph. He has discovered that bags of sugar have been tampered with. Shortly after Ben arrives, Ralph is attacked by a shadowy figure and disappears. Ben returns to the control room to report this.

The Doctor joins him there to report Evans' death, and intent on offering his help to Hobson until a new doctor arrives as he is terribly worried about what is going on here.

Polly has stepped out of the sickbay for a moment, and on her return she catches a glimpse of a tall figure passing into a storeroom. Her scream alerts Hobson and her friends as they approach. They discover that Evans' body has disappeared. Word comes through that yet another person has collapsed at the controls of the Gravitron and everyone rushes back to the control room, leaving Polly alone. 

She goes to fetch water for Jamie and, as soon as she leaves the room, a tall robotic figure appears and approaches the young Scot. 

He is convinced that this is the Phantom Piper, come to take him away, but it is actually a Cyberman...

Data:

Written by Kit Pedler

Recorded: Saturday 4th February 1967 - Riverside Studio 1

First broadcast: 5:50pm, Saturday 11th February 1967

Ratings: 8.1 million / AI 50

Designer: Colin Shaw

Director: Morris Barry

Guest cast: Patrick Barr (Hobson), Andre Maranne (Benoit), Michael Wolf (Nils), John Rolfe (Sam), Mark Heath (Ralph), Alan Rowe (Dr Evans / Voice of Weather Control), Sonnie Willis (Cyberman)

Critique:

Producer Innes Lloyd and Story Editor Gerry Davis had been very impressed with The Tenth Planet, both in terms of the story structure and its new monsters - the Cybermen.

Davis had enjoyed working with Dr Kit Pedler, even if he had been called upon to step in and complete the story when Pedler fell ill.

Aware also that Terry Nation was making moves to spin the Daleks off into their own series (plus the fact that they cost more money to use due to Nation's deal with the BBC), Lloyd was keen to develop a replacement and the Cybermen promised to finally provide a viable alternative.

One problem, however, was the design of the creatures - something which had led to delays during filming due to their fragility and complexity, as well as seeing performers faint under the heat of the studio lights.

Sandra Reid was tasked with coming up with a new, simplified, design which would be much more practical. As they don't feature very much at all in this opening episode, we'll wait until next time to discuss the changes.

As far as story structure is concerned, The Tenth Planet had delivered the first of what would become known as the base-under-siege format - a small group of people (preferably an international mix) stranded in some remote location with the monsters trying to break in.

One of the budget-friendly practicalities which this offered was the saving on sets. Stories such as this could have one large central set where most of the action could take place, with the need to provide only the odd cheap corridor or small side room where necessary. Ealing or location filming could provide the hostile environment in which the base was situated - be it Antarctica for Snowcap Base or the lunar surface for the Moonbase.

As soon as Pedler had recovered from his ill health, he had written to Davis to say that he had some other ideas for the new Doctor. 

In October 1966 discussions got underway for a new Cyberman adventure, and with the Cold War Space Race at its height, Lloyd asked for a story set on the Moon.

With Frazer Hines being a relatively late addition to the regular cast, Davis asked Pedler to have Jamie be absent for much of the story, intending to slot him in later during the story-editing stage.

Pedler titled his story "The Return of the Cybermen", and it was he who came up with the notion of the Gravitron weather control system as the main purpose of the Moonbase - which he referred to as the "Moonport". 

The device was described as a tall cylindrical probe, at the centre of a doughnut-shaped unit. This was separated from the main control room by a glass partition, and those working in the Gravitron room would have to wear special headgear against a constant humming vibration. This differs from the finished programme where the Gravitron sits off to the side of the control area, but not partitioned off, and it is a secondary control room which is sealed off and requires staff to wear padded headgear.

The spacesuits worn by the Doctor and his companions were to be numbered 1 - 4. The Moonbase crew would also have numbered name badges, and originally the crew complement was to be 15, but this was raised to 19. The crew would have their number on their spacesuits as well as their shirts, suggesting that all of their clothing was similarly marked. In the end they would wear tabards over T-shirts, other than Hobson.

Much of Pedler's description was taken up by new designer Colin Shaw (his only work on the show) such as the very basic cantilevered beds in the sickbay with their single quilted covering. Patients were to have had a circular unit attached to their chests, with cables running to a medical unit beside the bed.

In early January 1967 a significant move took place behind the scenes of Doctor Who - an indicator of things to come. 

Lloyd had been looking to move on from the series, and Davis had been asked to consider replacing him. He had been assigned an assistant story editor - Peter Bryant. Bryant was known to the general public from his acting days, when he had been one of the Grove family in Britain's first ever soap opera. He had turned his back on acting and was now working as a script editor on BBC Radio.

Davis declined the Producer role and, when Lloyd went on holiday just as The Moonbase entered production, Bryant was given the opportunity to act as his stand-in.

Filming got underway on Tuesday 17th January at Ealing Studios. The regular cast were taken out of rehearsals for the third episode of The Underwater Menace to film all of their lunar surface scenes, covering the first episode and their departure at the close of Episode Four.

The cast wore quilted spacesuits with large transparent helmets, which tended to steam up very quickly.

Only Anneke Wills was obliged to wear kirby wires so that she could be filmed suspended as she jumped in the low gravity atmosphere. For the others, the cameras were over-cranked to make their movements appear slower. This filming was captured by a BBC photographer.

Only two other cast members were required at Ealing for this episode's lunar scenes - Victor Pemberton (playing Jules) and Barry Ashton (as Franz) who were filmed carrying the injured Jamie. They were called back for pick-up shots on Thursday 19th.

The large Moonbase model was constructed by Shawcraft Models of Uxbridge. It was set up in the same studio as the live action and filmed using false perspective to make it look like it stood in the distance as the TARDIS crew looked at it, standing in the foreground.

A quarter-size TARDIS model was also employed for filming.

The next day a photographer took images of extra Derek Calder. These photos would be used to show the black lines starting to cover his face and hand as he fell victim to the illness in this episode. BBC graphic designer Peter Netley added the lines. The hand shot would double for other infected characters in other episodes. Calder had to return to the studio on Thursday 19th for further photographs to be taken.

Model filming took place on Friday 20th January - the day in which images of the new Cybermen appeared in the press.

This included the arrival and departure of the TARDIS, establishing shots of the Moonbase, and sequences featuring the landing of the Cyberman saucers.

Shortly after filming had ended, Sandra Reid fell ill and missed the studio recording for the The Moonbase. She was replaced for Episodes 1 and 2 by Mary Woods.

Joining the cast for rehearsals on January 31st was main guest artist Patrick Barr, playing Hobson. He had worked with William Hartnell in his 'quota quickie' days, and had starred opposite Frazer Hines on stage. (Barr had played Hines' father, and on being reunited he introduced himself with "Hello dad!"). The actor knew Anneke Wills very well as he was a good friend of her husband Michael Gough.

The other principal guest was Andre Maranne, playing Benoit, who pretty much cornered the market in Frenchmen on British screens. He was born in France but of dual British-French nationality. He is best known for his role as Sergeant Chevalier, in the Pink Panther movies. Another role of note is as chef Andre, in the classic "Gourmet Night" instalment of Fawlty Towers.

It was realised that Benoit and Pemberton's technician had the same first name - Jules. As Pemberton had already filmed scenes at Ealing it was Benoit who had to have a change of name, becoming instead 'Roger'. However, his name badge had the initial "J" on it - which is the reason why Benoit wears a little neckerchief to conceal this. It was for practical reasons, rather than national stereotyping.

Morris Barry, who had been a producer with the BBC as well as a director, had discussions with Troughton about the comedy elements of his performance as the Doctor. He wanted to drop the overt clowning without losing the humour all together. In interviews he would later recall how Troughton's trousers were slowly adjusted without the star noticing. 

Interviews with the regular cast always mention how Barry - a very regimented man - conducted rehearsals using a music stand and baton.

Publicity photographs concentrated on the regulars and guest cast on the Moonbase control room set, with a single image being captured of the Cyberman played by Sonnie Willis menacing Mark Heath as Ralph - this despite the fact that we never get to see the Cyberman in this sequence on screen.

As was his custom, Troughton wandered about the set to familiarise himself with it. He had just moved away from the large Gravitron prop, built by Shawcraft, when it collapsed just where he had been standing. It had to be rapidly repaired and reset.

Another problem concerned the desks in the control room. When the BBC crew went to collect them they discovered that the contractor had been ill and they were unfinished. Once installed in the studio they had to have their detail finished with whatever came to hand - photocopied images from magazines and strips of coloured tape. Once the episode had been recorded, the desks were sent back to be finished properly for the second episode.

The opening TARDIS scene saw a much smaller set as it would only be seen very briefly. The walls were actually photographic blow-ups. The opening credits ran over a shot of Hines holding onto the console.

The first recording break came when they cut to the photographs of Calder's nervous system being attacked by the illness. The extra was made up with black lines on hands and face during this break. The Cyberman saucer was a photo-caption, taken during the Ealing filming.

The Doctor was supposed to be seen to refer to his 500 Year Diary, but this was cut when they realised that Troughton would be wearing his spacesuit for the scene.

With little to do in this episode, Alan Rowe was able to provide the radio voice of Weather Control.

A second recording break was used to set up the sequence where Ralph is zapped by a Cyberman - with an electric spark generator being superimposed over the action. Closing credits were shown over a close-up of the new Cyberman before a fade to black.

To save on costs, Barry preferred to use stock music and looked to some cues from The Tenth Planet for the Cybermen.

As well as the publicity photographs, including the Cybermen pictured in and around Ealing Studios. Lloyd wanted a television advert - one which made use of the lunar landscape filming. This was shown immediately after broadcast of the final episode of The Underwater Menace.

As well as featuring in the Radio Times preview (see below), Pedler was profiled by The Observer on Sunday 5th February.

He also appeared on Late Night Line-Up on BBC 2 on the night of broadcast.

The lunar surface scenes were singled out for praise at the BBC's weekly programme review meeting on Wednesday 15th February.

I will declare it now that The Moonbase is one of my own personal favourite stories, so I'm very biased in its favour. That's not to say that I won't point out issues - such as Dr Evans' talk of a silver hand which seems to be going somewhere but doesn't. We'll later find out that he's been poisoned via a foodstuff, so shouldn't have ever encountered a Cyberman in person. He is also the first to be abducted from the sickbay, so - unless one of the Cybermen has been popping in there for no real reason - he shouldn't have seen one here either.

Reasons for liking this story are its length - four episodes being my own ideal; the best iteration of the Cybermen; and a favourite Doctor. Great guest cast, only a single poor visual effect (saucers on wires); and I've always liked the tense, claustrophobic atmosphere of the base-under-siege format.

Trivia:

• The ratings for the return of the Cybermen begin healthily enough - one million more viewers than had tuned in for the conclusion of the previous story. The appreciation figure also manages to rise out of the 40's.
• The episode uses sound effects created for The Keys of Marinus - including the pulsing morphotising effect for the appearance of the black lines as well as Morpho background sounds for the sickbay.
• One of the Cyberman saucers will appear in another Morris Barry story, when it is seen attached to a wall above the doorway of the war museum in The Dominators.
• For Season 5, Victor Pemberton will briefly become assistant then full-time Story Editor on the series, before contributing the scripts for Fury From The Deep. He knew Peter Bryant through their radio script-writing connections, and had previously worked with Morris Barry as an extra on another production.
• John Rolfe (technician Sam Beckett) will return to the series to play Mr Fell in The Green Death. He had previously featured as the army captain in The War Machines.
• Alan Rowe will go on to appear in The Time Warrior (as Sir Edward), Horror of Fang Rock (Lord Skinsale) and Full Circle (Decider Garif). He was the partner of actor Geoffrey Bayldon, who played Organon in The Creature from the Pit, and who had been approached to play the Doctor in 1963.
• Radio Times was content to reveal that the Cybermen were back, as the press had already covered the filming at Ealing in mid January. The item is accompanied by a composite photograph, with Cybermen superimposed over a shot from the lunar surface filming.

Inspirations: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

Steven Moffat wanted the longest ever story title, and the story could be any old rubbish as it didn't really matter.

Alternatively... 

The interior of the TARDIS had hardly been touched since the series was revived apart from the odd bit of dialogue about swimming pools and wardrobes. The Christmas Invasion had shown the Tenth Doctor selecting his new outfit - but it was clearly recorded on the usual standing console room set.

Apart from bland corridors and a handful of rooms (Zero Room, Power Room, bedroom / sleeping areas, boot room...), the classic iteration of the series hadn't shown much either.

That was apart from The Invasion of Time - but that had proven to be a major disappointment.

Action in this 1978 story moved inside the ship for much of the final 40 minutes, and many of these scenes were scheduled for the studio. However, industrial action meant the loss of studio time and, to save the story from outright scrapping, they were shifted to location - external filming being unaffected by the strike action.

The location chosen was a decommissioned mental hospital in Surrey - so the TARDIS appears to have lots of corridors designed along the lines of the old Victorian institutions. We did actually get to see the swimming pool for a change - filmed at a business property in Hammersmith.

All that brickwork, and the all too obvious location filming, disappointed everyone who saw it.

This was one of the things Moffat wanted to redress when it came to the 50th Anniversary year, though he opted not to write the story himself. That dubious pleasure went to Stephen Thompson, who had previously written the underwhelming Curse of the Black Spot. (Quite how you can write a boring pirate story, no-one knows). Thompson was working with Moffat and Gatiss on Sherlock.

His own idea for a submission was actually a prequel to Robots of Death, delving into Taren Capel's childhood.

His first idea once he'd accepted Moffat's brief was that the TARDIS would collide and meld with another space / time machine - creating a set of weird, surreal interfaces. The pilot of the other vessel was actually wanting to steal the TARDIS. The second idea was a collision with a school trip in space, and the TARDIS would be overrun by teenagers - so this could have been an awful lot worse.

Luckily Moffat hated the idea.

The ship being captured by a salvage team who only could only see the value of its components was Thompson's third idea.

The story title obviously derives from Jules Verne's 1864 novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth, most memorably adapted for cinema in 1959 with James Mason and Pat Boone.

It was Moffat who suggested the image of the TARDIS engines exploding but frozen in mid-blast, after seeing Rebecca Horn's art installation "Concert for Anarchy" at the Tate. This involved an exploding piano.

Matt Smith suggested that the Doctor's bedroom be shown for the very first time, but this wasn't picked up.

References to old stories abound.

Components which the salvagers detect include dynomorphic generators (Time-Flight), a beam synthesiser (The Curse of Peladon) and a conceptual geometer (The Horns of Nimon).

The Doctor threatens to self-destruct the TARDIS, as he previously did in Attack of the Cybermen - though he claimed he'd made the self-destruct up in Victory of the Daleks.

Some more recent props such as the Doctor's cot and some model TARDISes made by Amelia Pond are seen as Clara wanders about the ship.

An astronomical observatory is seen, which has a telescope very similar to the one from Torchwood House (Tooth and Claw).

The Cloister Bell sounds (first heard in Logopolis). This story had also first mentioned the architectural configuration system. Once simply a function of the console, it's now a big tree-like thing.

We get to see the Eye of Harmony - initially something only to be found on Gallifrey (The Deadly Assassin) but then apparently a feature of all TARDISes (The Movie).

We hear snatches of speech in the library - some of Timothy Dalton's dialogue lifted from The End of Time Part 1.

As for the Series 7 story arcs, Clara sees a book entitled "The History of the Time War," which features the Doctor - presumably named. And the Doctor finally confronts her about her true nature.

Time gets reset, however, so both these things get forgotten.

Next time: The Flask of the Red Death...

Christopher Benjamin 1934 - 2025

Sad to report the passing of actor Christopher Benjamin today, at the age of 90. He appeared in Doctor Who on three memorable occasions. The first was as Sir Keith Gold in Inferno, and the last was as Sir Hugh in The Unicorn and the Wasp, but by far and away his most famous role came between these - as Henry Gordon Jago, the manager of the Palace Theatre, in The Talons of Weng-Chiang. This was a fan favourite role which he returned to many times on audio. There had even been thoughts of a spin-off series featuring Jago and his friend Professor Litefoot on TV back in 1977.

RIP

What's Wrong With... Enlightenment

Right from the start of what is known as the Black Guardian Trilogy we've asked the question: why does the Black Guardian feel the need to hide his involvement in these events? He has elected to rely on a useless schoolboy to destroy the powerful Time Lord who already has a record of defeating him, when he might have been far more successful doing the job himself.

(Here, it turns out that he didn't really need Turlough anyway, and his real plan was to unleash the Eternal known as Wrack upon the Universe).

Now, just 8 episodes later, we discover that not only does the White Guardian know what's going on anyway, he even knows exactly where the Black Guardian is headed, and he's going to be there waiting for him.

If the White Guardian is the equal of the Black, why does he have to draw energy from the TARDIS to communicate with the Doctor? He ought to be able to come and go as easily as his opposite number.

The TARDIS crew initially think that they have arrived on an Edwardian sailing ship, but no-one bothers to look out of a porthole to see what's outside. They don't even ask the sailors where they are.

But whilst Tegan and Turlough might think they're off the English coast, the Doctor was given co-ordinates and so should know that they aren't on Earth, yet he doesn't act like it.

Striker claims that the Eternals must follow the customs of the ships they are using, which seems to be part of a general "fair play" policy. If they care so much about playing the game, why have ships from different historical periods, when nautical technology changes over time?

If they want a level playing field, shouldn't they all be using the same design of vessel?

The Doctor states that the red gemstones which Wrack uses as focus points for her powers have to be of a certain size to work - but then claims that when smashed it multiplies their effectiveness.

And when he smashes the one Tegan inadvertently brought back he leaves several sizeable pieces behind, which ought to have at least blown a hole in the ship. 

Why didn't he just bundle up the rug?

There are forcefields surrounding the decks, which presumably protect the sailors who are sent aloft to the rigging - which means that the sails are within the forcefield. How then can they capture solar winds?

What good was a trireme if the ships are powered by solar winds?

If Striker can hide the TARDIS in the Doctor's mind, surely Wrack should have been able to work out Turlough's true motives.

And if they can read minds, how could the Doctor and Turlough have successfully attacked her and her and Mansell? Did they not see it coming?

Disappointingly, the villains are defeated off screen, and we never get to see how the Doctor did it. Did he physically assault them? Doesn't sound at all like the Fifth Doctor.

The alternative is that puny Turlough physically trounced two awesomely powerful Eternals all on his own, which doesn't sound right either...