Pauline Collins 1940 - 2025

Sad to say that it has been announced that Pauline Collins has passed away at the age of 85. 

She first appeared in Doctor Who in The Faceless Ones, where she played the character Samantha Briggs, whose brother had been abducted by the alien Chameleons. 

Producer Innes Lloyd was desperate for her to stay on as the new female companion as Polly was being written out. Collins declined, not wishing to be tied down to an ongoing TV series at this point in her career.

She would go on to international success, most memorably in the film Shirley Valentine, bagging her an Oscar and BAFTA, but also enjoyed a lengthy stint on Upstairs, Downstairs (including a spinoff), and she was part of the cast of Calendar Girls.

She returned to Doctor Who to play Queen Victoria in 2006's Tooth And Claw. A portrait of her in that role appeared in Empress of Mars.

RIP

P is for... Popplewick

The Doctor encountered a Dickensian office clerk named Popplewick in the Fantasy Factory, which was situated within the Time Lord Matrix. The Doctor had entered this domain in search of the Valeyard, who he had just discovered was an evil version of himself.

The front office of the factory was presided over by the officious young Mr Popplewick, and only through him could you have an audience with Mr J J Chambers who was in charge here, and whom the Doctor suspected to be the Valeyard. 

Getting past Popplewick only led to a more senior, and more bureaucratic, clerk - Mr Popplewick Snr, who looked almost identical to the younger man.

Popplewick Snr tried to get the Doctor to sign a document relinquishing all of his future incarnations to Chambers. However, the Doctor recognised the handwriting as his own and realised that Popplewick was the disguised Valeyard.

Played by: Geoffrey Hughes. Appearances: The Ultimate Foe (1986)

• Hughes came to fame playing loveable bin-man Eddie Yeats in Coronation Street from 1973 - 1984, with a brief return in 1987.
• In 1968 he voiced Paul McCartney in the animated Beatles feature The Yellow Submarine.
• A later hugely popular role was that of Onslow, the idle brother-in-law of Hyacinth Bucket, in Keeping Up Appearances.
• Folk music was a passion and he compered the annual Fairport Convention festival on several occasions, and was honorary president of a Morris Dancing troupe.
• In 2009 he was made Deputy Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight where he had made his home, and where he died in 2012.

P is for... Pope, Elton

Elton Pope's first encounter with the Doctor took place when he was just a child. He came downstairs one evening to find his mother dead - killed by an Elemental Shade - and the Doctor standing over her. He had arrived too late to save her. 

As an adult he witnessed the attack by Autons in March of 2005, and the arrival of a rock-like spaceship over London at Christmas 2006.

His childhood memories led Elton onto a path of obsession about the Doctor, and he would later come to join a group of like-minded individuals who met on a regular basis at an old library building in London. The group came to be known as LINDA - London Investigation 'n' Detective Agency.

Over time their obsession with the Doctor diminished as they became good friends and shared their various interests. Elton was a big fan of The Electric Light Orchestra and got his new friends to form a band to play some of their hits. 

Then, one day a man named Victor Kennedy arrived. He too was obsessed with finding the Doctor and argued with them that they had lost their original purpose. He reorganised them along more efficient lines which they followed, even though it was less fun. Elton actually had a second meeting with the Doctor, accompanied by Rose Tyler, in a warehouse by the docks. However, he was so shocked by the encounter that he failed to capitalise on this - much to Kennedy's annoyance.

His attempt to inveigle himself into the company of Jackie Tyler proved more successful as she took a romantic shine to him. However, he decided that he wanted her as a friend but she discovered that he had an ulterior motive in befriending her.

Members of LINDA stopped coming without explanation, leaving only Elton and his girlfriend Ursula Blake left. They discovered that Kennedy was really an alien being which Elton dubbed an Abzorbaloff. He had been absorbing the missing group members and sought to do the same to a Time Lord.

Ursula was absorbed and Elton was on the point of meeting the same fate when the Doctor and Rose intervened. The Doctor was able to partially save Ursula - as a face in a paving stone. (The least said about the nature of their relationship thereafter, the better...).

Played by: Marc Warren. Appearances: Love & Monsters (2006).

• Warren first came to fame in crime drama The Vice, closely followed by the popular con-man series Hustle. More recently he has played the title role in the revamped Van Der Valk.
• In 2015 he took on the role of principal villain in the BBC's The Three Musketeers, after Peter Capaldi left to become the Doctor following its first season.
• At Christmas 2006 he played Count Dracula in a BBC adaptation, co-starring Sophia Myles, Tom Burke and David Suchet.
• Had Jessica Hynes had been unavailable for her cameo as Verity Newman in The End of Time, it was planned that the Doctor would instead have revisited Elton Pope.

P is for... Polyphase Avatron

Robotic pet of the Captain - the nominal ruler of the planet Zanak - the Polyphase Avatron was designed to look like a parrot. When it took to the air it could kill by emitting lethal energy bolts, and the Captain employed it to keep his staff in line and to execute those who failed him. As everyone feared him, the Captain regarded the robot as his only true friend.

The Polyphase Avatron was destroyed following a duel with the Doctor's own robotic companion K-9.

Appearances: The Pirate Planet (1978).

• Douglas Adams simply filled his first ever Doctor Who story with pirate cliches, and one of these was the shoulder-perching parrot which squawks "Pieces of eight" over and over. He originally intended the Polyphase Avatron to speak - saying "Pieces of Silicate".
• The head was based on an ancient Greek war helmet.
• At one point during production the prop went missing, and was found in a bin outside the studio. It was actually placed there by a staff member who it was later discovered stole many items from the TV Centre, intending to pick it up from the bin afterwards.
• The robot fires its energy weapon from a point below the tail, so it looks like it is actually defecating laser bolts...

P is for... Polo, Marco

A Venetian adventurer, encountered by the Doctor and companions Susan, Ian and Barbara, on the desolate Plateau of Pamir near the Himalayan mountains. The Tartar warlord Tegana wished them killed as he feared they may be mountain demons, but Marco intervened to save them. He was escorting Tegana to meet with his employer, the mighty Kublai Khan, to discuss a peace treaty between him and the Tartar ruler Nogai. Also in his caravan was a young girl from Samarkand named Ping-Cho, on her way to an arranged marriage with one of the Khan's elderly courtiers.

Having been in the employ of the Khan for may years now, Marco's only wish was to get back home to Venice. Confronted with the Doctor's magic caravan, which could transport him and his companions without horses or even wheels, he decided that he would make a gift of it to his master - in the hope that this might please him enough to let him go home. He withheld the TARDIS key, initially claiming that Tegana and the soldiers accompanying them still thought them demons and the blue box held their magic.

The Doctor later discovered his true motive for keeping them from the ship. 

Tegana began actively attempting to sabotage the caravan, seeking to kill the party. The Doctor's companions realised this, but Marco stubbornly refused to heed any arguments against him for fear of jeopardising the peace mission.

The Doctor was permitted to stay one night in the TARDIS after Tegana had destroyed their water supply. The extreme heat of the day combined with the cold of the night to cause condensation to form within the ship, providing enough water to get them to a nearby oasis. Initially Marco was furious - thinking that the Doctor had hidden a supply of water in his caravan. He and Ian were able to inform him of how the water had formed.

Marco was later disappointed when Ping-Cho stole the key from him to give to Susan, whom she had befriended.

Having seen many wonders on his travels, Marco still could not bring himself to accept that the TARDIS could travel through time as well as space.

Once the caravan had reached its destination, Marco finally came to accept the warnings that the others had been giving him about Tegana. When the warlord attempted to assassinate the Khan, Marco fought a duel with him and defeated him - though Tegana took his own life rather than face capture.

Realising the disservice he had shown the Doctor, Marco elected to return the TARDIS key to him - but the Khan was philosophical about this and said he could return to Venice soon.

Played by: Mark Eden. Appearances: Marco Polo (1964)

• Marco Polo (1254 - 1324) - was born in Venice and travelled to Cathay with his brother and uncle - Niccolo and Maffeo - in 1269. On his eventual return home after 24 years in the Far East, he found Venice at war with Genoa and was imprisoned by Genoese troops after taking up arms against them. It was whilst in prison that he related his adventures to a fellow captive named Rustichello da Pisa. A professional writer of romances, it is widely believed that he embroidered many of Polo's tales, purely to satisfy a sensation-seeking public.
• Polo was released from prison in 1299 and spent the remainder of his life a wealthy merchant in his home city. He is buried in the church of San Lorenzo.
• Eden is best known for playing the villainous Alan Bradley in Coronation Street - a character who tried to bump off Rita but ended up falling under the wheels of a Blackpool tram.
• He, Darren Nesbitt (Tegana) and Martin Miller (Kublai Khan) all featured in the same episode of The Prisoner together - "It's Your Funeral" - in 1967.
• He returned to the world of Doctor Who in 2013 to play the BBC's Donald Baverstock in the anniversary drama An Adventure in Space and Time. This would be his final TV role. He died, aged 92, in 2021.

DWM Terry Nation Special

 

According to the Cultbox site, the next DWM special edition is dedicated to Dalek and Blake's 7 creator Terry Nation.

It is due out on Thursday 6th November. 

That "Legends" subheading suggests this might be the first of a series. They are running out of more general subjects to cover after all, which the bookazines seem to have taken over.

I have read elsewhere that the next bookazine will be dedicated to UNIT, but nothing confirmed so far.

Episode 182: The Ice Warriors (3)

Synopsis:

Varga has freed his crew members from the ice which has entombed them for thousands of years. He announces to Victoria that he is now ready to bring them back to life...

His sub-commander Zondal is the first to reawaken.

Jamie and Arden prepare to set off on their expedition to discover the nature of the spaceship's engines. The Doctor warns Jamie to be careful of Arden's scientific curiosity and not take chances, whilst Clent insists that their mission must take precedence over rescuing Victoria.

Clent admits to Arden that, as a scientist, he too would have excavated the Warrior and brought it back to the base.

After the pair have gone, Clent tells the Doctor that Penley suffered a breakdown due to the pressures of following the base's regulations, but the Doctor suspects that this wasn't the whole story.

At the plant museum, Storr refuses to believe Penley's story about seeing an alien creature. He also refuses to accept that it was science - in this case medicine - which helped him get over his recent injury. He is stubbornly anti-science, which for him is symbolised by the base.

They hear a noise outside and discover Miss Garrett approaching.

She has come to plead with Penley in person to return to the base to help with the Ioniser. He realises that she is only doing this to help Clent who is under pressure from his superiors to give a full report on what is happening at Britannicus Base.

He values individuality and his personal independence too much to return to Clent's automated and regimented world.

When she realises that he will not come back with her she threatens him with a tranquiliser gun, but Storr intervenes. 

As she leaves he does give her one piece of advice, however - to look into his notes on the "Omega factor".

Intrigued by the aliens, Penley tells Storr that he intends to find out more about them and will go back to the glacier.

Varga, meanwhile, has Zondal excavate a cave around the entrance to their spaceship once it is located, large enough to create a trap for anyone who should try to approach. He decides to keep Victoria prisoner for now, as she may come in useful as bait for his trap.

Clent is becoming frustrated with the Doctor's progress in his ionisation researches as he refuses to use the computer. Miss Garrett arrives back and tells them about the "Omega factor", and the Doctor realises this provides the missing data which he needed. She does not say where she got the information from, but after Clent leaves to check it with the computer the Doctor tells her that he assumes she got it from Penley, and still counts him as a friend.

Arden reports by comm-link from the glacier that he and Jamie have discovered a huge cave hewn into the ice. At the rear is what appears to be a metal door.

Arden begins taking radiation readings. 

An Ice Warrior suddenly emerges from hiding and shoots the two men down.

The ambush has been observed by Penley. After the Warrior returns to the ship he discovers that Arden is dead, but Jamie only badly wounded. He drags the boy away.

Varga is pleased that he kept Victoria as a hostage, and orders Zondal to get their engines into working order as soon as possible. Until then, they remain vulnerable.

The Doctor and Clent become concerned when Arden fails to report in at the agreed time, and does not answer when called.

Miss Garrett confirms that the "Omega factor" equation will make the Ioniser work at full efficiency. However, they cannot use it at full strength as they still do not know what effect it will have on the spaceship's engines.

Storr is unhappy that they will have another mouth to feed as Penley brings Jamie to the plant museum. He has recovered consciousness, but is unable to move.

Victoria has been left unguarded and slips out of the ship. She looks for Jamie but finds him gone, then spots Arden's communicator. She tries to call the base.

She is spotted on a monitor by Zondal who insists she be destroyed before she can warn the humans. He activates the ship's sonic cannon, which silently emerges from the wall beside the doorway.

Victoria gets through to the base and tells the Doctor and Clent of the attack on Jamie and Arden, informing them that the scientist is dead and Jamie missing. Clent's only interest, however, is in the engines.

As they try to ask her questions, she is unaware that the sonic cannon has her in its sights...

Data:

Written by Brian Hayles

Recorded: Saturday 4th November 1967 - Lime Grove Studio D

First broadcast: 5.25pm, Saturday 25th November 1967

Ratings: 7.4 million / AI 51

VFX: Bernard Wilkie with Ron Oates

Designer: Jeremy Davies

Director: Derek Martinus

Additional cast: Roger Jones (Zondal), Sonny Caldinez (Turoc), Michael Attwell (Isbur), Tony Harwood (Rintan)

Critique:

The first draft of this episode differed from the final version mainly in its descriptions of the Ice Warriors and their technology. The Warriors themselves were described as looking the same as Varga but with minor differences to denote his superior rank. Zondal was identical, however, and was described as being particularly belligerent.

The Warriors used a form of SONAR to detect their buried spaceship - their chests lighting up and emitting a pinging sound. Once detected they produced sonic pistols to break down the ice, emitting a sound like a slowed down pneumatic drill. Varga opened the door with his helmet - again emitting a light to activate the entry panel.

Following the filming at Ealing, Derek Martinus had been made aware that the actors in the Warrior costumes felt restricted by the heavy helmets, and he noted that they were not able to move their heads very much. He instructed Martin Baugh to redesign the helmets prior to going in to the studio, concentrating especially on the one Bernard Bresslaw would be wearing as he was being asked to deliver a significant character performance.

Martinus also took this opportunity to ask Bernard Wilkie to have the sonic weapons built into the arm of each costume.

From this episode on, Ron Oates was credited as Wilkie's VFX assistant.

Once again, this episode was recorded entirely in the television studio. Joining the cast were the four actors who would be playing Varga's subordinates. One of these was Sonny Caldinez, whom Martinus had cast as Kemel in his last story as director, The Evil of the Daleks.

Of the Warriors only Varga and Zondal had any dialogue, and this was pre-recorded on the Thursday prior to the studio taping.

Isbur, Turoc and Rintan would retain the larger helmets from Ealing, but modified with jaw pieces. The eyes were also enlarged.

The closing moments of the previous episode were remounted in studio. The Ice Warrior crew were seen standing on pedestals of ice, covered with toffee glass. This dropped from their costumes as they began to move. Toffee glass was also dropped from above to show the ice being blasted by the Warriors' weapons as they excavated their spaceship entrance.

Some of the scenes set in the main computer control room were rewritten to take place in the laboratory which doubled as Clent's office.

Wendy Gifford wore a different costume to the one she had worn the previous two weeks.

Two new sets this week were the small spaceship interior and the larger ice cavern exterior. The spaceship entrance was marked with a metallic panel with circular edges - indicating that the ice had been melted away by the Warriors' guns.

This episode sees the first use of the Ice Warrior sonic disruption technique, when they shoot down Jamie and Arden. This was shot out of sequence due to the lengthy setting up required. 

The camera was pointed at a piece of mirrorlon - a lightweight and flexible reflective plastic material. A studio crewmember then prodded the mirrorlon from the rear, to make the image wobble and distort.

The episode closed with a shot of Victoria on a monitor fed into the spaceship set, which had a triangular crosswire superimposed. This effect would be refined for a later episode.

The sonic cannon was an illuminating plastic drum affair, mounted on a trolley so that it could be pushed out from the ice wall. This had a separate inner barrel section which could be pushed out further from behind.

The day after recording, Sunday 5th November, saw the regulars give up their day off to travel down to the coast at Littlehampton to film sequences for the opening instalment of the next story to go into production - The Enemy of the World.

This episode allows us to get to know Penley and Miss Garrett a little better, in the sequence where she comes to the plant museum to try to talk him into returning to the base. He reaffirms his refusal to relinquish his individuality and speaks of Clent's obsession with rules, regulations and conformity. Whilst Clent sees himself as a scientist - telling Arden that he would also have investigated the figure in the ice - Penley thinks of him more as a politician, worried about his own reputation and how he is perceived by his superiors.

Miss Garrett, whose first name we learn is Jane, initially appears to be asking him as a friend to return with him, but Penley sees through this and knows that her loyalty lies only with Clent and the World Computer. She is just as much a willing part of this regimented world as her leader.

We also get to see the Ice Warriors in greater numbers this week. The previous episode featured only Varga, but we got a good enough idea of the Martian mentality from him. Victoria attempted to get him to work with the humans, but he thought they would either destroy or imprison him. This week we see that he is not an atypical specimen of the race, and Zondal seems to be even more aggressive. Despite there only being five of them, and they are cast adrift from their own time by thousands of years, they still believe that they can conquer the humans - and Victoria once again fails to convince Varga that he ought to co-operate with the scientists. They are a proud and arrogant race.

It is no coincidence that Hayles elected to have the Ice Warriors originate on Mars. The Red Planet is named after the Roman God of War after all...

Trivia:

• The ratings continue to improve week on week, now up 0.7 million on the opening instalment.
• Sonny Caldinez will go on to play Ice Warriors in the three other stories of the classic era which featured them, always wearing the Varga costume made for Bernard Bresslaw.
• Michael Attwell, who was an accomplished newspaper cartoonist as well as an actor, later became a regular on EastEnders, and had one further Doctor Who appearance - as Bates in Attack of the Cybermen.
• Tony Harwood had played Varga in the opening episode due to the unavailability of Bresslaw, and had previously portrayed Yeti and Cybermen. He would play another Ice Warrior in The Seeds of Death, before donning the costume for the last time to appear on a screen at the Doctor's trial in The War Games. His final Doctor Who appearance will be in The Ambassadors of Death.
• This would be Roger Jones' only Doctor Who appearance. He had only worked briefly in television up to this point, and gave it up to concentrate on theatre work soon after.
• Radio Times had yet another brief piece on the series this week, concentrating on guest artist Peter Barkworth: