129 The Smugglers: Part Three

EPISODE: The Smugglers: Part Three
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 129
STORY NUMBER: 028
TRANSMITTED: 24 September 1966
WRITER: Brian Hayles
DIRECTOR: Julia Smith
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: CD: Doctor Who: The Smugglers
TELESNAPS: The Smugglers: Part Three

Blake is released and takes Ben & Polly into custody, only to release them after the Squire & Pike depart. Blake suspects the Squire in the smuggling ring and trusts Ben & Polly over him. The Doctor pretends to tell Kewper's fortune with playing cards and when their guard Jamaica wants his fortune likewise told, Kewper knocks him out and escapes with the Doctor. The returning Pike is outraged at Jamaica and kills him. Pike has decided to steal the village smugglers' stash as well as finding Avery's gold. The Doctor meets Blake, Ben & Polly and tells Blake what Pike is planning. Blake leaves to fetch men to confront The Squire & The Pirates. The Doctor, Ben & Polly return to the church to hunt for Avery's gold, Polly providing a vital clue from the tombstones outside which lead them to the crypt where they find where Ringwood, Smallbeer and Gurney, the names from Longfoot's riddle, are laid to rest. The Doctor thinks there should be a fourth name, but further investigation is halted by the arrival of The Squire and Kewper, the latter of which is murdered by Cherub who has been following them. A shot rings out....

Another decent episode here which turns the cogs of the plot and moves it towards a confrontation in the final episode.

The Smugglers is a major step forward for the series location work as it's the first time a location outside of the London area is used. From the 19th-23rd of June 1966 cast and crew filmed in Cornwall, involving several nights away from home. During that time some colour 8mm film was shot at the Trethewey Farm location and this can be found, along with some material kindly hacked out by the Australian sensors, on the Doctor Who - Lost In Time DVD.

The Smugglers is the first Doctor Who directing job for Julia Smith. An extensive career in television led to her directing many shows, including several soap operas, and being one of the creative forces behind the development of East Enders & Eldorado. She'll be back later this season in charge of The Underwater Menace.

128 The Smugglers: Part Two

EPISODE: The Smugglers: Part Two
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 128
STORY NUMBER: 028
TRANSMITTED: 17 September 1966
WRITER: Brian Hayles
DIRECTOR: Julia Smith
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: CD: Doctor Who: The Smugglers
TELESNAPS: The Smugglers: Part Two

The Doctor is questioned by Pike. Pike reveals that he and his ship mate Cherub, who kidnapped the Doctor and killed Longfoot, were in a crew with Longfoot serving Captain Avery. Longfoot stole Avery's gold which Pike feels is his. The jailed Ben & Polly play on stable boy Tom's superstitious nature to escape. Innkeeper Kewper rows out to the Black Albatross to discuss business with Pike: He, Longfoot and the Squire are part of the village smuggling ring. Pike & Cherub go ashore to discuss business with the squire, leaving The Doctor & Kewper guarded by the crewman Jamaica. Ben & Polly have sough shelter in the church and are attempting to piece together Longfoot's murder when they catch a figure coming out of a tunnel in the crypt. They capture him and Polly goes to see the Squire to tell him they've caught the murderer. The man tells Ben he's Josiah Blake, a revenue officer, having emerged from a tunnel that leads from the Crypt to the sea shore which Ben then investigates, wanting a way back to the Tardis. Pike & Cherub visit the Squire but while they are there Polly arrives. Polly recognises Cherub as the Doctor's kidnapper and is bound & gagged. The Squire, Pike & Cherub go to the crypt and arrive as Ben returns from the tunnel....

Yup, enjoyed this episode too. Very good.

I've not long ago watched The Mutants on it's DVD release so I immediately recognised the voice of Paul Whitsun-Jones, who plays the obese Squire. Whitsun-Jones made a career out of playing fat men, at one stage (according to Katy Manning on the Mutants commentary) refusing Doctor's advice to loose weight because his livelihood depended on it! If you've not guessed yet, he'll be back for The Mutants where he plays The Marshall. Returning in this episode, as Revenue Office Josiah Blake, is John Ringham who we previously saw in the Axtecs as Tlotoxl and will later see in the Third Doctor tale Colony In Space. As his IMDB entry shows he's been a guest star in practically everything ever to be shown on television.

127 The Smugglers: Part One

EPISODE: The Smugglers: Part One
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 127
STORY NUMBER: 028
TRANSMITTED: 10 September 1966
WRITER: Brian Hayles
DIRECTOR: Julia Smith
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: CD: Doctor Who: The Smugglers
TELESNAPS: The Smugglers: Part One

When I was growing up The Smugglers had a bad reputation. It was one of the last Hartnells to be novelised and although I bought the CD I never listened to it till my "make sure I've heard/seen every Doctor Who story" session last year. So here we go on CD, as we'll be for most of the rest of the next two seasons of the show.

The Tardis dematerialises from Fitzroy Square. The Doctor doesn't realise that Ben and Polly are aboard until it's too late: they've come to return Dodo's key. Ben's keen to get away quick so he can return to barracks and is disbelieving when the Doctor explains that the Tardis travels in time and space not knowing where it will land. They materialise and can see caves on the scanner. Ben is very surprised when the Doctor opens the doors and he finds himself in a cave at the sea shore. Dismissing their move in space he decides to make for the nearest railway station with Polly, despite the Doctor's protests about them moving in time as well. They go to a local church where they meet worried church warden Joseph Longfoot who initially threatens them with a gun. When the Doctor enquires he says he's afraid of the friends of a man called Avery who he had dealings with before he turned to God. The Doctor resets his dislocated finer for him and in thanks Longfoot entrusts him with a riddle

"This is Deadman's secret key, Ringwood, Smallwood, Gurney."

The Doctor and his friends leave for a nearby inn and saying they know Longfoot the suspicious Landlord, Jacob Kewper, admits them and gives them lodgings. He sends his stable boy Tom to the Church Warden with a message that a delivery is coming but Tom finds Longfoot's body, murdered by the pirate Cherub who has visited him demanding the location of Avery's Gold. Tom rushes back to tell Kewper and is then sent to summon the squire. While Tom's away Cherub arrives at the Inn with some help, and having previously observed the Doctor talking with Longfoot he has him Kidnapped. Ben is knocked out in the struggle and on waking he and Polly can't give a satisfactory account of themselves so are arrested by the squire. The Doctor is taken by boat to the ship The Black Albatross where he meets Captain Pike who tries to intimidate the Doctor by plunging the metal spike that he wears, in the place of a missing hand, into the wooden tabletop.

That's great stuff that. I love the opening scene. Whether planned by Davies & Lloyd or not the new companions first sight of the Tardis and the usual questions that produces fall at the start of a story that itself falls at the start of a new season, Doctor Who's fourth. So we start the season by getting an effective introduction and refresher on Doctor Who, the Tardis and why the Doctor knows not where and when he's going. We also get the Doctor saying he was looking forward to being by himself. Then when we get to our location the circumstances only serve to reinforce Ben's view point that they can't have travelled in time. Meanwhile Polly's sixties clothing make her appear to the locals as a boy avoiding any awkward questions. Getting down to the business of the story itself we find a lot of stereotypical roles here, but it's all competently enough done leading to an entertaining first episode.

This is Brian Hayles second script for the series. His first, through little fault of his own, had to be rewritten more than once and he gets a second chance here. He obviously did something right because he's invited back again for the next season.

During Doctor who's summer break 2 events occurred that are worth mentioning: On 6th August it was announced that William Hartnell would be leaving Doctor Who. Then two days before this episode aired, on the 08th September 1966, the first Star Trek episode, The Man Trap, aired in the USA.

126 The War Machines: Part Four

EPISODE: The War Machines: Part Four
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 126
STORY NUMBER: 027
TRANSMITTED: 16 July 1966
WRITER: Ian Stuart Black & Kit Pedler
DIRECTOR: Michael Ferguson
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who: The War Machines

Something a little different today, I'm joined by two guest commentators. Well I say today but I don't think it's any secret that I've got a tinsy bit ahead with my viewing, so it's actually the evening of March 3rd that I'm writing this. With me are my wife, Liz, and a friend from university, Matthew Peacock Phd. Liz met me when she read my profile on an online Christian Dating Agency, spotted I watched Doctor Who and emailed me to ask if Tom Baker was my favourite Doctor. Matthew meanwhile was at RHBNC with me (see The Savages) and has sat through many an episode of Doctor Who with me, including an "all fourteen episodes of Trial of a Timelord in the same day" marathon. That's seven hours of both our lives we won't see again in a curry. Matthew had nothing to do with the 1991 Kingswood Boog fire. Thankfully our food is of far better quality tonight: We've had a curry! I had a Chicken Tikka Dansak, Liz a Chicken Korma and Matt a Lamb Tapelli. The other two have never seen the War Machines before so while they catch up I follow Dan Hall's Twitter feed to find out which new stories are being announced on DVD today.

So what do you think of it so far:

Liz is enjoying this, it may change her opinion on B&W stories. Matthew on the other hand.....

On come the titles....

Liz: That really looks like a bum crack at the beginning

Gonna be a long 25 minutes folks....

Black background on the special War Machines captions this week as the Machine rolls out into the street.

Matt: Those Machines are terrifying if you have ocd as it knocks your neatly stacked boxes over! Couldn't you just hit it with something?

The Doctor brings the machine under his control.... Um what happened there? <>>checks internet<<> apparently the War Machine stops because it wasn't completely programmed yet! Cut to a news broadcast in a pub and it's Kenneth Kendall! Real life person in Doctor Who as himself! Other War machines are activated in London.

Matt: Isn't that the same one?

Yes it is, they only built one prop. The Doctor analyses the captured machine and works out there might be 11 others in London, we then see War Machine Nine being voice tested.

Liz: Knock over boxes

War Machine 9 fires it's gun.

Matt: that was rude

Major Green is brought for questioning by the army but doesn't remember anything.

Matt: Can't they just de-hypnotise him? Make him back to normal.

I think he's in shock and genuinely doesn't remember. A War Machine is reported on the loose by the public. Radio announcements are made ordering them to stay indoors. Ben meanwhile is worrying about Polly. Matt & Liz however are still busy having a laugh at the War Machines expense:

Matt: No Bicycle can stand against him. It can push over medium sized objects!

The Doctor wants to paralyse the system of the second machine. Polly arrives at the Post Office tower to see WOTAN, saying she allowed a prisoner to escape. It's arranged that roads will be close to herd the War Machine into a trap with generating cables to form an electric field.

Matt meanwhile is still not happy with the manner of Dodo's leaving in episode 2!

Oooh, guess who we've just seen as a soldier? It's future comedian and star of Runaround & Eastenders Mike Reid! He's not the last Landlord of the Queen Vic to appear in the series as we'll see. And there's a few more walk ons/extras in the show that have gone on to bigger and better to come as well.

The Doctor traps the War Machine and deactivates it. He then reprograms the machine to attach WOTAN in the Post Office tower. Ben, still worried about Polly, dashes off ahead of the machine as it travels to the tower.

Matt loves the back projection behind the War Machine and says it reminds him of Sir Digby Chicken Cesaer, but with a robot.

Ben sneaks in to tower and rescues a struggling Polly, who's still under Wotan's control. The War Machine arrives and tries to destroy WOTAN, who is defended by Krimpton and Brett.

Much giggling here from Matt: "Don't grab his rod" he yells at Krimpton. Ooops, too late, he's dead.

Is that a very brief first appearance by the piece of music "Space Adventure" by Martin Slavin I hear then? It'll be back shortly. Brett is released from WOTAN's control.

The Doctor waits outside the Tardis for Dodo. Ben & Polly arrive bringing word from Dodo that she's feeling better and staying in London. They make their farewells with the Doctor going into Tardis. However Ben & Polly remember they have Dodo's key and using it to unlock the door they follow him inside to return it just as the Tardis dematerialises....

Matt: Here's her key, I've got her wallet too, that's what Bender would do!

Both of my guests seem to enjoy the story, and Liz is willing to watch more Black & White Doctor Who with me. I tell her the next one I've got on Video is Tenth Planet and she collapses in a pile of giggles. She's tried to watch Tenth Planet before. She and I have contrasting opinions on it, especially on the monster's voices!

After the big battle in the previous episode, this one is a little bit of an anti climax, but it does involve the Doctor flexing his brain muscles to save the day. Lots of good location filming again in this episode, a feature of the whole story. It's one of my favourite Hartnell tales, but at it's heart it's not really a typical Hartnell story (is there one?) and feels almost like a template for a Pertwee story in more ways than one. We'll come back to which my fave Hartnell story is in eight episodes time when we finish his reign. not just for completeness sake but because one of the two remaining stories is another serious contender for my favourite First Doctor tale, and if anything I've been looking forward to tackling that one more than this.

I noted at the top of the story we were watching on DVD, and indeed we have been for the whole story. Sadly this is the last surviving complete Hartnell/First Doctor story and indeed the last complete Doctor Who story existing for some time. No complete story remains from Season Four, though as we shall see it looks like the BBC did try to retain one only to have the crucial final episode go walkabout. The next complete story on film is The Tomb of The Cybermen at the start of Season Five, which in turn is the only complete story from that season, and that was only recovered in 1992 after a near twenty year absence from the BBC archives. Following that the next story we have every episode of is The Dominators at the start of series SIX and from there on things get a lot better.

The War Machines was novelised in 1989 by Ian Stuart Black. It was released on video in June 1997, with some unfortunate duplication problems. Despite being complete a Soundtrack CD, with narration by Anneke Wills was issued in 2007 with Doctor Who: The War Machines DVD following on 25th August 2008. The DVD is £6.47 at Amazon at the time of writing so there's really no excuse to own the last complete Hartnell story. There's two stories to go, and they form the start of Doctor Who's fourth season.

125 The War Machines: Part Three

EPISODE: The War Machines: Part Three
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 125
STORY NUMBER: 027
TRANSMITTED: 09 July 1966
WRITER: Ian Stuart Black & Kit Pedler
DIRECTOR: Michael Ferguson
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who: The War Machines

Green comes over to the War Machine which allows Ben to escape. He encounters the controlled Polly while leaving and she locks him in and he is seized. He is brought to the War Machine.... The Doctor is wondering what has happened to Ben but Sir Charles is worried about C-Day being delayed. Polly gives Green orders from WOTAN and Ben is spared to be put to work for WOTAN. The workers are being worked into the ground in time for the deadline which Polly informs Ben is tomorrow at noon. Explosives and armaments are being collected at the warehouse. Ben escapes, leaving the weakening Polly behind and seeks out the Doctor, telling him of what he has found. Polly is questioned about her part in Ben's escape and it becomes obvious her conditioning is failing. The Doctor deduces that there may be other machines and thinks they should attack WOTAN. Sir Charles arranges for the army to raid the warehouse in Covent Garden. The army sends a patrol to enter the warehouse and they are attacked by the War Machine and some of the workers. Their weapons are jammed by the War Machine. Suffering losses they retreat taking the battle into the street outside and exposing the threat to the onlooking Sir Charles & The Doctor. The War Machine advances down the street and as everyone else flees The Doctor stands still ready to confront the enemy.

Although this episode is a little Hartnell light - he spends the first half sitting around in Sir Charles' house and then doesn't turn up till near the end of the incursion into the warehouse, it's still a cracker with Ben getting a chance to shine. Then the army show up and if you hadn't thought you were watching a Jon Pertwee story before now you certainly feel it as the soldiers wade into the warehouse. All we need is an "ACTION BY HAVOK" caption and the authentic Pertwee feel would be complete.

With Episode 2 already in the BBC's hands the search was on for the remaining episodes. In 1984 all four episodes of The War Machines, along with all four episodes of The Time Meddler (one of which was already in the BBC's hands) and all six episodes of The Web Planet (all six of which the BBC had) were found in Nigeria. A diplomatic incident (see The Time Meddler Episode 1: The Watcher) prevented their return to the BBC until 1985, where the War Machines episodes were found to have small cuts, matching those made by the New Zealand censors. Over the years much of this material has been discovered either in the material cut & retained by the Australian censors or, in one case, in an edition of Blue Peter covering the War Machines. See here, here and here on the now sadly defunct Restoration Team Website for details.

The War Machines features the most extensive location filming undertaken by Doctor Who so far around the centre of London. See The Doctor Who Locations Guide: The War Machines for details. This work adds a very authentic look to the program, and it's odd to see Hartnell outside so much. The one location they would like to have filmed at they couldn't: The Post Office Tower at the time came under the auspices of the Official Secrets Act which prevented filming there. Doctor Who: The War Machines DVD features an extensive Now & Then location filming piece showing you the locations in the episode and what they look like now.

124 The War Machines: Part Two

EPISODE: The War Machines: Part Two
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 124
STORY NUMBER: 027
TRANSMITTED: 02 July 1966
WRITER: Ian Stuart Black & Kit Pedler
DIRECTOR: Michael Ferguson
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who: The War Machines

Brett gives Krimpton and Green their orders. London will be the first capital to be taken over: War Machines must be built. People are needed to build machines, they will be contacted by phone and brought under WOTAN's control. WOTAN's top priority is to bring Doctor Who under his control. Dodo returns just as the nightclub is shutting up. The Doctor & Dodo are going to see Charles Summer. Two figures lie in wait for the Doctor in an alley, but Ben summons him a Taxi. Polly arranges to see Ben for lunch tomorrow. Ben talks to a tramp who goes to sleep in an alleyway. Nearby construction of the War Machines has commenced in a warehouse. The tramp enters the warehouse to find somewhere warm to sleep. He is detected as an intruder and hunted down by the workers. The next morning his death is reported in the paper that the Doctor reads at Summers' house. Sir Charles is worried by some sudden resignations and vanishings amongst his staff. Polly arrives, having been sent by Brett to cover for Sir Charles' ill secretary. Dodo suggests they go to talk to Professor Brett. The Doctor phones him causing WOTAN to try to take him under it's control. Hah, fabulous bir of Pertweesque gurning here from Hartnell. Dodo speaks to him assuming he's now under control, but he has resisted and she has given herself away. The Doctor breaks Dodo's conditioning using his hypnotic powers and ring. Sir Charles arranges for her to be taken to his house in the country for his wife to look after her. Dodo has said something about strategic points in London which has pricked the Doctor's interest. All over London we see supplies and people being moved as the first War Machines are activated. The War Machines weaponry is tested on one of the controlled subjects. WOTAN wishes to know where Doctor Who is, and Brett suggests Dodo has failed in her task. Polly enters WOTAN's room. Later Ben comes to see the Doctor worried that she hasn't turned up for their lunch date. Doctor gets Ben to look round where they saw the Tramp to see if anything odd is going on. He finds his way to the warehouse and observes a War Machine being tested. The War Machine detects and corners Ben against a wall of boxes....

Brilliant again. It's just superb watching the Doctor with normal people. The controlled Dodo is great, and Jackie Lane puts in a great performance. It's a shame she's had to wait till her last two episodes for something to get her teeth into. Then all of a sudden she's gone. Off she goes to Sir Charles Summer's house to recover halfway through the story and we never see her again! Possibly the worst send off for any companion (but see Liz Shaw for a real competitor!) At just Seventeen episodes she's one of the shortest lived companions (Katarina was only in five and Sara Kingdom in nine) Even Bonnie Langford's Mel is in twenty episodes! You could argue that The War Machines are something of a Dalek rip-off. Notably their main weapon is a fire extinguisher like gas dispenser which is very similar to that used by the Movie Daleks. I think they're great, not so futuristic as to be out of place, but at just the right level of technology to look advanced in a sixties story. Note the similarity between the front of the War Machine and the design of WOTAN's central console.

At the time of Ian Levine's visits to the BBC archives in the late 70s all four episodes of the War Machines were missing from the BBC archives. Episode 2 was returned from Australia having been acquired by a fan there. ABC television records in Australia indicate that this particular film print was destroyed: it's continued existence is something of a mystery and makes people wonder if any other "destroyed" episodes are lying in private hands like this one was.

Two new companion characters are introduced in this story: Polly (Wright, although that's never stated on screen) is Brett's secretary evidently designed buy the production team to be a with it girl about time and a slightly older figure than most of the female companions seen so far. Ben Jackson on the other hand stick out like a sore thumb in the nightclub, almost as bad as the Doctor does. You get the feeling from what Kitty, the bar woman, says that he might have spotted Polly a few days ago and has been coming back ever since to try to meet her. They are the most obvious couple to be associated with the Doctor since Ian & Barbara. Both of the actors in question have family connections to the series: Anneke Wills then Husband, Michael Gough, appeared as the Celestial Toymaker while Michael Craze's brother Peter was a Morok rebel in The Space Museum. I know, you've tried your best to forget, I have too.

Major Green is played by Alan Curtis, who for many years was the announcer at Lords Cricket Ground. I thought that this had earned him the honour of being the second Doctor Who cast member to get his obituary in Wisden, so was rather surprised that when I went to look up his date of death, in order to trace which almanac his obit was in, I discovered that he was still with us. The identity of the first Who actor to get into Wisden may come as a bit of a surprise!

Behind the scenes the story is a debut for director Michael Ferguson. He'll be back three more times as the director of The Seeds of Death, The Ambassadors of Death and The Claws of Axos. He went on to be a producer on both The Bill, at the height of it's popularity, and Eastenders, where he was responsible for introducing the Mitchell brothers to the show.

123 The War Machines: Part One

EPISODE: The War Machines: Part One
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 123
STORY NUMBER: 027
TRANSMITTED: 25 June 1966
WRITER: Ian Stuart Black & Kit Pedler
DIRECTOR: Michael Ferguson
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who: The War Machines

We're back on DVD! When I started writing this Blog there were two Hartnell stories I was really looking forward to doing. This is the first of them.

Straight from the off this is different. Instead of the usual captions over the pictures we've got some groovy computer like serial name graphics after the titles followed by a lovely tracking shot of London, taken from the top of Centre Point Tower in central London located over Tottenham Court Road Tube station. If you're a science fiction fan you'll have been there because most of London's comic and science fiction book shops are located in it's vicinity. The tracking shot's a great little touch as it's reminiscent of the shot used in An Unearthly Child when the Tardis leaves London. We pan down to Bedford Square where the Tardis materialises. The Doctor hangs an "Out of Order" sign on the Tardis to prevent Policemen trying to gain entry. They go to The Post Office Tower, like Centerpoint newly completed in 1966 when this story is filmed & set, where the Doctor feels an alien presence, similar to the pricking sensation he gets when Daleks are near (and has never mentioned before!) The Doctor & Dodo are taken to Professor Brett by Major Green (does the Doctor already know Green? Or did he bluff his way into the Post Office Tower?) and are shown Brett's new computer WOTAN which will be announced at a press conference later that day. The Doctor & Dodo test WOTAN, who tells Dodo via teleprinter what the word TARDIS means. While in the room with WOTAN Dodo starts to feel a little odd and can hear an odd electronic buzzing noise. Brett's secretary Polly looks after her and takes her to the Inferno nightclub. Bar lady Kitty introduces Polly to sailor Ben Jackson. He's miserable because his hip has sailed for the West Indies leaving him behind on a shore posting. Ben saves Polly from a man in the club giving her hustle. Doctor takes a taxi to the Scientific club for the press conference announcing C-day, when all computers will be linked to WOTAN via telephone. The Doctor is worried by some of the things he's hearing. Sir Charles Summer, giving the press conference, is concerned that Professor Brett has not arrived. He is still in the office at the Post Office Tower with WOTAN. Brett tells Major Green that he thinks he's being watched. When Green leaves Brett hears a hypnotic electric tone and falls under the control of an unseen force. In the club Dodo has headache again and feels she can hear a high pitched hum. Brett arrives at the Press conference speaking very stiffly and demands to speak with his colleague Professor Krimpton. Green, checking on the security for WOTAN, hears the same hypnotic tone and falls under the same influence as Brett. He calls Dodo at the Inferno Club and she too is hypnotised. Brett brings Krimpton to WOTAN who explains that he now serves WOTAN who is going to take over the world. Green enters and Krimpton, after resisting, falls under the influence revealed to be coming from WOTAN. Ben & Polly realise Dodo is missing as the Doctor arrives at the Nightclub. Brett explains a special human brain is needed to serve WOTAN. Dodo enters and WOTAN explains that DOCTOR WHO IS REQUIRED - BRING HIM HERE!

Wow. That was fantastic stuff. We've spent three years worth of episodes wandering time and the universe with the Doctor and finally, as we near the end of the Hartnell era, do we come back to the London of now for a prolonged visit. We've had one story set in contemporary England, but the Tardis crew were miniaturised for that, and a couple of brief visits during The Dalek Masterplan & The Massacre. We've dealt with a menace in London before, but that was two hundred years into the future. Here in 1960's London, the Doctor slots straight in, making you wonder if he spent some time meeting people during his previous stay in 1963, prior to An Unearthly Child, and also making you think how long was he here for then? Certainly long enough to register his Granddaughter at the local school. Yet it look so odd and alien to see Hartnell wandering round London, emphasised by the scene where he enters the Inferno Club, descending the stairs becaped with everyone in the club looking about a third of Hartnell's age and being mistaken for "that disc jockey", presumably Jimmy Savile. The threat isn't made 100% obvious till the closing moments of the episode when WOTAN speaks for the first time giving some suspense to proceedings.

I've repeatedly said that producer Innes Lloyd and script editor Gerry Davies were saddled with several stories which began life under the previous regime. This is the first story 100% down to them. An early decision was to set more stories on contemporary Earth. Wanting to ground the series more in reality and scientific fact they tried to recruit a scientific advisor for the show. The man they settled on was Doctor Christopher "Kit" Peddler of the University of London. One of the questions Davies asked his candidates was "What would happen if the Post Office Tower took over?", the Tower being newly completed and in the news. Peddler came up with the idea of the computer in the tower controlling Robotic agents, and the concept of it being linked to other computers by Telephone. Wiklipedia's History of the Internet confirms work was in progress at the time into connecting computers by telephone making this aspect of the story reflect contemporary cutting edge research and predating the Terminator's Skynet by Eighteen years. At the time of writing no computer connected to the internet has yet attempted to take over the world.

122 The Savages: Part 4

EPISODE: The Savages: Part 4
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 122
STORY NUMBER: 026
TRANSMITTED: 18 June 1966
WRITER: Ian Stuart Black
DIRECTOR: Christopher Barry
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: CD: Doctor Who: The Lost TV Episodes Collection: (1965-1966) No. 2
TELESNAPS: http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/photonovels/savages/four/contactsheet.shtml

The Doctor, Steven & Dodo are trapped in the gas filled corridor by the guards who demand the light guns back. Jano observes from the control room. A door opens allowing them to escape. Edal believes Jano has freed them. Jano decides to lead the patrol pursuing them. Chal finds the travellers and helps Dodo & the Doctor to safety in the caves while Steven stays behind to hold the guards off and engages Edal & Jano with the light gun. Back at the caves Tor wishes to kill Exorse but Nanina defends him as Chal, the Doctor and Dodo arrive, followed by Steven who is pursued by the guards. Given a clear shot Jano refuses to take it. The give the Doctor the medicine they gave the Savage earlier, and he tells them not to harm Jano. The Doctor vows to destroy the Elder's laboratory and equipment. Edal returns to the city and tells Senta that Jano has been left behind and they think he has betrayed them. Jano enters the caves and speaks to the Doctor. The Doctor explains that he has acquired a conscience due to his exposure to the Doctor's life force. Exorse escapes the caves and runs towards the city but Nanina runs after him to persuade him not to give them up. Senta reveals what Jano has done and Edal assumes command. Exorse arrives back at the city but denies having seen Jano. The Savages and Time Travellers arrive at the city seemingly herded by Jano. Jano is angry to find his place usurped and has Edal arrested. Jano and the Savages destroy the transference equipment. Edal enters with guards, attempts to kill Jano but is shot down with Steven. Jano and Chal realise they need a new leader to mediate between them: they ask Steven to stay and fill this role and he accepts bidding farewell to Dodo and the Doctor. The Doctor tells Steven how proud of him he is, as he leaves for the Elders council chamber and The Doctor & Dodo for the Tardis.

The Savages: Commonly known as "The one where Steven leaves". But there's much more to it than that with the almost vampiric existence of the elders and something genuinely nasty happening to one of the regulars. With this and the climax of Dalek Masterplan you can see where the series gets it's reputation for being scary from. You kind of get the feeling as well that the Doctor almost knew what would happen to Jago before he drained the Doctor's life force, which reminds you of some of the stuff seen later. Good stuff.

This is the second time this season the Doctor has been subjected to a major trauma: he was exposed to the Time Destructor in Dalek Masterplan and then has his life force drained here. It's almost as if the program is setting up what is to come in a few stories time.

And yes, it's the last story with Steven, who is probably my favourite Hartnell companion. As we've recounted earlier Peter Purves was unemployed for some while after leaving Doctor Who. He blamed his bad luck on holding onto the Trilogic game prop from The Celestial Toymaker. The week after he binned it, he got the Blue Peter gig which changed his life. With the production team having changed already this season this departure marks the start of significant changes in front of the camera.

This story marks another important last: It's the last alien planet the first Doctor is seen to visit. His three remaining stories are set on Earth. Hartnell's been to (deep breath) Skaro, Marinus, The Sensesphere, Dodo, Vortis, Xeros, Aridus, Mechanus, Galaxy 4's unnamed planet, Kembel, (Stroud, Stonehouse, Gloucester, Cheltnham Spa.... sorry, I can't help giggling when I hear the planet name Kembel and I didn't get to use that joke when talking about Dalek Masterplan), Desperus, Mira, Tigus, Refusis 2, The Toymaker's Domain and finally the unnamed world of the Elders & Savages. The only planet other than Earth he's visited more than once is Kembel which he materialises on at the start of Masterplan, leaves and returns by Spaceship, leaves in the Tardis and then returns after several other stops. Bet you can't guess which is the first planet, other than Earth, that he visits in two separate stories? And which the first planet, other than Earth & Kembel, that the Tardis takes him to twice? (Yes the Tardis took him to the ark twice in the same story but that's no planet) Oddly the first story in which the Tardis returns the Doctor to another planet is immediately followed by another story where he returns to another planet he's visited before. No prizes on offer but if you can identify the planets and stories in question reply bellow or on Facebook!

The Savages was novelised by it's author during the 1980s. The video is completely missing bar a few fragments of 8mm film footage taken by pointing a camera at a television, though a complete set of telesnaps exist as does the soundtrack which has been released individualy (how much ????) and as part of Doctor Who: The Lost TV Episodes Collection: (1965-1966) No. 2.

121 The Savages: Part Three

EPISODE: The Savages: Part Three
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 121
STORY NUMBER: 026
TRANSMITTED: 11 June 1966
WRITER: Ian Stuart Black
DIRECTOR: Christopher Barry
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: CD: Doctor Who: The Lost TV Episodes Collection: (1965-1966) No. 2
TELESNAPS: The Savages: Part Three

The Savages shelter Steven & Dodo in their caves. Jano proposes to absorb all the lifeforce drained from the Doctor himself. Edal & Exorse follow them to the caves. Steven uses a mirror to reflect the ray from the light gun capturing Exorse. The drained unconscious Doctor is taken to the guest apartments as his energy is transferred to Jano. Tor attacks the captured Exorse but is stopped by Nanina. Chal takes Steven & Dodo to the city, where they overcome the guard and enter the city. Jano recovers after the process but seems to have taken on some of the Doctor's personality and mannerisms. Left alone he tries to destroy the transference equipment before Jano's true personality reasserts control. Steven & Dodo's progress is monitored by guard Edal & scientist Senta. They use the drained and disorientated Doctor to bait a trap. They find the Doctor but are trapped in a corridor and gassed.

Cracking episode that. The possessed Jano is a superb Hartnell impersonation from Frederick Jaeger, making the first of his three Doctor Who appearances here.

Doctor Who & quarries is a bit of a cliché and while this isn't the first time ones been used in Doctor Who, see Dalek Invasion of Earth where the quarry *is* a quarry, this story marks the first time a quarry is used as an alien landscape. One of the locations used is Callow Hill Sandpit. Now returned to it's natural state, this location, which is just North of the railway line between Virginia Water & Egham is the closest location to Royal Holloway College, University of London, where I was at University when it was Royal Holloway & Bedford New College. So hello to any RHBNC graduates and especially the IFIS members reading. Royal Holloway itself has been used as a film location many times cropping up on MacGuyver, Midsomer Murders and QI. It would have hosted the 1993 Doctor Who 30th Anniversary Special, The Dark Dimension, which was sadly cancelled.

120 The Savages: Part Two

EPISODE: The Savages: Part Two
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 120
STORY NUMBER: 026
TRANSMITTED: 04 June 1966
WRITER: Ian Stuart Black
DIRECTOR: Christopher Barry
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: CD: Doctor Who: The Lost TV Episodes Collection: (1965-1966) No. 2
TELESNAPS: The Savages: Part Two

The Savage doesn't want to hurt Dodo but moves on outside where he's found by other Savages. Dodo is seized by the scientist who believe she's here for the transference process that Nanina has undergone, but before she can be subjected to it she's rescued by Captain Edal. Nanina has been overexposed to the process and the scientists make a note on her files. Going to the Tardis on the pretext of fetching his notes on Time Travel the Doctor finds the injured Savage Dodo saw earlier: He has worked out the Elders are draining the life energy from the Savages. He's taken back to the city by Edal while Steven & Dodo fall into the hands of the Savages who tell them what is happening. They are afraid to oppose the Elders due to their light guns. Jano and the Doctor argue about what the Elders are doing. The Doctor vows to oppose the elders so Jano sends him to the scientists who subject him to the transference process to drain his life force.

I don't think you had to be a genius to see that it was the Savages who were the source of the energy the Elders were using. This episode merely confirms it, but having the process used on the Doctor is one of the more horrifying things the program has done so far.

Ian Stuart Black was an experienced television script writer who went and volunteered to write for Doctor Who. Apparently his children refused to believe he was a proper television writer until he had written for the program. He approached John Wiles and Donald Tosh who asked him for a storyline. In the meantime Wiles & Tosh resigned but the incoming team of Innes Lloyd and Gerry Davies were impressed enough with what Black delivered to consider scrapping the Gunfighters to get the Savages, then known as The White Savages, produced sooner.

119 The Savages: Part One

EPISODE: The Savages: Part One
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 119
STORY NUMBER: 026
TRANSMITTED: 28 May 1966
WRITER: Ian Stuart Black
DIRECTOR: Christopher Barry
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: CD: Doctor Who: The Lost TV Episodes Collection: (1965-1966) No. 2
TELESNAPS: The Savages: Part One

The Doctor believes they have arrived in the distant future in an age of peace and prosperity. Exploring & taking readings, the Doctor is being watched by a couple of men dressed in animal skins. A similar man stalks Dodo while Steven seeks the Doctor. The savages watching the Doctor, Chal & Tor, are scared of him and don't know whether to approach but then the Doctor is met by a couple of soldiers, Captain Edal and Exorse. Their elders have been expecting the Doctor, but don't expect him to be carrying a weapon. He corrects them saying

"This is my reacting vibrator"

and at that point I wet myself laughing. The Doctor is taken to the city. Several Savages chase Steven & Dodo, but are beaten off by the soldiers from the city who escort Dodo & Steven to the city. The Doctor is introduced to Jano, the lead elder, who says he is honoured to meet the Doctor giving him and his newly arrived companions gifts. Edal and Exorse are outside on patrol. Exorse captures a savage Nanina whom Chal offers himself in exchange for, but Exorse takes the girl away. The Doctor enquires of the Elders and discovers they have found a way to tap into life's vital force and absorb the energy themselves. Steven & Dodo are given a tour of the city by young people Avon & Flower, but their guides do not want to talk about the Savages. Nanina is brought into the city but Dodo sees her and tries to follow. Nanina is taken to the chief scientist Senta. He has been working on a weak and disorientated male Savage who is taken away for release, while Nanina is strapped down and taken into a laboratory. Dodo slips away from the tour but is confronted by a Savage in the corridors.

Not bad at all, apart from that one unintentionally hilarious line. This feels a very different show from the Gunfighters, much more adult and serious. Already you're getting a hint that something is rotten at the heart of the city and given clues as to how the Elders acquire their energy. It helps that this is easily the cleanest of the soundtrack recordings that I've heard so far.

I notice that with this story the BBC has Telesnaps available on their website, so I'll be linking to them where possible.

The Savages is the first story with an overall title and episode numbers onscreen, a move originated by new producer Innes Lloyd. It's also the point where the production codes for the stories go round the clock for the first time: Each story had a letter code, A, B, C etc. The Gunfighters was story Z so The Savages becomes story AA. Letters I and O were ignored due to confusion with the numbers 1 & 0, and Mission to the Unknown developed under code T/A, in the same production block as series T with the same crew. Yeah this bit is really sad I know.

118 The Gunfighters Part 4: The O.K. Corral

EPISODE: The Gunfighters Part 4: The O.K. Corral
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 118
STORY NUMBER: 025
TRANSMITTED: 21 May 1966
WRITER: Donald Cotton
DIRECTOR: Rex Tucker
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: VHS: Doctor Who - The First Doctor: The Sensorites, The Time Meddler & The Gunfighters

Oooh, no recap, straight into the action. Virgil Earp arrives as Wyatt, Bat & The Doctor are in the saloon investigating the murder. Meanwhile the Pa Clanton has arrived and isn't happy at events that have transpired between his sons and the Earps. Warren Earp, shot by the Clantons, dies in the arms of brothers. Virgil goes to challenge the Clantons to a gunfight. Ringo arranges for the Clantons to face up against the Earps while he sneaks behind and kills them. Holliday arrives in Tombstone, having been brought there at Gunpoint by Dodo. Holliday agrees to assist the Earps when he learns that they're holding Kate. Masterson deputises the Doctor and asks him to talk to the Clantons and avoid the gunfight. Pa Clanton won't listen to him, and Ringo & the Clanton boys ride into town to face the Earps in the gunfight at The O.K. Corral. Dodo is seized by Ringo, but her escape allows Holliday to gun him down. One by one the Clanton brothers are gunned down by the Earps and Holliday. The time travellers leave in the Tardis, landing on a new planet. As they leave to explore a strange figure is seen on the Tardis scanner.

I wouldn't describe myself as a big western fan, despite having watched enough Champion the Wonder Horse when I was younger. However this story really worked for me leading up to a fabulous gun battle climax recorded on film. However apparently Rex Tucker wasn't happy with the episode as transmitted which had been recut and insisted his name be taken off it. The gunfight as shown isn't 100% accurate - see Wikipedia's article on Doctor Who: The Gunfighters and the real Gunfight at the O.K. Corral for details.

With this episode we bid a farewell to individual episode titles: New producer Innes Lloyd decided he's like an overall story title instead. Some of the individual episode titles haven't always been appropriate or even good, but a bit of me will miss them and their passing is a milestone of which there are several at around this time in the series history.

The serial was novelised in 1985 by it's author Donald Cotton. It was released on video as part of the William Hartnell boxset with The Sensorites & Time Meddler and has a soundtrack release with narration by Peter Purves and a compilation of the Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon. The Gunfighters is due to be released on DVD in 2011 in the Earthstory boxset with The Awakening. Why I don't know as that seems a ridiculous pairing and to my mind the Awakening would be much better paired with the following story, Frontios, also due this year. No details on the special features but I hope they get Shane Rimmer & David Graham in for the commentary.

117 The Gunfighters Part 3: Johnny Ringo

EPISODE: The Gunfighters Part 3: Johnny Ringo
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 117
STORY NUMBER: 025
TRANSMITTED: 14 May 1966
WRITER: Donald Cotton
DIRECTOR: Rex Tucker
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: VHS: Doctor Who - The First Doctor: The Sensorites, The Time Meddler & The Gunfighters

Earp saves Steven and arrests Phin Clanton, which enrages the remaining two Clantons who send for gunslinger Johnny Ringo. The Doctor & Steven find that Dodo has left with Holliday & Kate. Ringo arrives and kills Charlie the barman. Dodo demands Holliday take her back to Tombstone. Steven says he's looking for Holliday and rides off with Ringo. Earp, anticipating more trouble, is trying to summon his brothers to Tombstone. The Doctor reports Charlie's murder to Earp, who leaves with him and Batt Masterson to investigate. Ringo & Steven have found Kate but not located Dodo & Holliday. The Clantons break Phin out of jail, shooting the younger Warren Earp in the process.

I've spent years thinking this story was rubbish, it's not, is such great fun and I'm loving it! Historically inaccurate, maybe, but still good fun. However it went down like a lead balloon at the time achieving low viewing figures and audience ratings. It's said that this, and difficulties during the production, were a major factor in Innes Lloyd deciding to kill off the historical story later on in the year.

Johnny Ringo is played by Laurence Payne, who'll be back many years later as Morix in The Leisure Hive, and Dastari in The Two Doctors. Doc Holliday is played by Anthony Jacobs. He brought his young son Matthew along to the set during recording. Matthew Jacobs would go on to write the 1996 Paul McGann Doctor Who TV Movie.

116 The Gunfighters Part 2: Don't Shoot the Pianist

EPISODE: The Gunfighters Part 2: Don't Shoot the Pianist
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 116
STORY NUMBER: 025
TRANSMITTED: 07 May 1966
WRITER: Donald Cotton
DIRECTOR: Rex Tucker
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: VHS: Doctor Who - The First Doctor: The Sensorites, The Time Meddler & The Gunfighters

Doc Holliday's girlfriend Kate distracts the gunmen allowing the Doctor to enter safely. He tries to convince them he's not Holliday but they don't believe him. Kate shoots at them, making them believe it was "Doc Holliday". Local lawmen Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson arrest the Doctor and put him in jail. Steven wants to break the Doctor out of jail: the Clantons initially agree to help wanting their revenge on him. Dodo meanwhile is playing cards with Kate & Holliday. Steven comes to rescue the Doctor but the Doctor won't go along with the plan and turns the gun Steven's bought him over to Earp. The Clanton's change their plan, rouse a mob and capture Steven. Holliday shoots Seth Harper while trying to leave the saloon with Kate & Dodo. The Clantons bring the bound Steven to the jail demanding the Doctor's release to them or they'll lynch Steven in his place.

You know what, I'm really enjoying this. It might be a bit of fun that certain Doctor Who fans hate but it's a bit of fun that's amusing me. The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon, used instead of incidental music in this serial is getting rather annoying. But listen closely to the lyrics: It's summarising and narrating the story.

The director of this story is Rex Tucker, who was initially attached to Doctor Who as a producer before Verity Lambert was brought in. He initially hoped that his daughter Jane would sing "The Ballad of The Last Chance Saloon", but reportedly her voice lacked presence so Lynda Barron, later to find fame in sitcoms and appear as Captain Wrack in Enlightenment, was hired to sing instead. Jane Tucker does appear as an extra in this serial, I've never definitively spotted her but I'd guess she's seen in the crowd scenes in this episode and the next. Jane Tucker is the Jane of Rod, Jane & Freddy, previously Rod, Jane and Matthew. if you want to find out who Matthew is, and he is someone you'll have heard of, then come back for the Daemons.

115 The Gunfighters Part 1: A Holiday for the Doctor

EPISODE: The Gunfighters Part 1: A Holiday for the Doctor
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 115
STORY NUMBER: 025
TRANSMITTED: 30 April 1966
WRITER: Donald Cotton
DIRECTOR: Rex Tucker
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: VHS: Doctor Who - The First Doctor: The Sensorites, The Time Meddler & The Gunfighters

The Tardis arrives in Tombstone Arizona with the Doctor seeking a dentist. Found by the sheriff, Wyatt Earp, the Doctor passes them off as a group of travelling players. He finds Doc Holliday, newly arrived in town and recently set up shop, who's being pursued by Seth Harper and the three Clayton brothers who want revenge for Doc Holliday killing their brother. Harper,who has never seen Holliday before, mistakes the Doctor for him and lures him to the Saloon where they've forced Dodo to play piano and Steven to sing for them. The Doctor unwittingly wanders towards the gunmen lying in wait inside the saloon.

Another historical comedy story, from the pen of Donald Cotton who wrote the Myth Makers. I watch the episode and smile, my only opinion being that it's just a bit of fun with a case of mistaken identity for the Doctor. Nice play of words in the title and used on the episode, the Doctor thinking he's having a Holiday of sorts while the person talking to him thinks he's Doc Holliday.

Charlie the Barman is, at last, an in front of the camera appearance for David Graham who has voiced many of the Daleks before now. Curiously the cast also features Shane Rimmer, as Seth Harper. Both Graham and Rimmer will later find fame in Thunderbirds as Brains and Scott Tracy respectively. You;ll have seen Shane Rimmer in front of the camera in many other places including UFO, Space 1999, The Spy Who Loved Me, Superman II and Batman Begins. I was completely submerged in Batman and loving it, then up pops Shane Rimmer as the monorail controller! Liz had Superman II on recently and even over a crying four year old I recognised that voice!

We're back on Video for this and the next three episodes which is something of a disappointment because I know a spruced up DVD version is due later this year, inexplicably paired with the Awakening. So I thought we'd have a look at which Doctor Who stories are left on video not yet released on DVD:

First Doctor - William Hartnell

The Sensorites
The Reign of Terror
Planet of Giants - we've seen these three already.
Gunfighters - scheduled for 2011, paired with the Awakening
Tenth Planet

Second Doctor - Patrick Troughton

The Ice Warriors
The Krotons

Third Doctor - Jon Pertwee

Ambasadors of Death - was scheduled for 2011 but delayed due to restoration issues
Terror of the Autons - will be released 09/05/2011 paired with a new version of Spearhead from Space
Mind of Evil
Colony in Space
Day of the Daleks - scheduled for 2011, but probably not in time for me to watch it :-(
Invasion of the Dinosaurs
Death to the Daleks
Planet of the Spiders - will be released 18/04/2011

Fourth Doctor - Tom Baker

Terror of the Zygons
The Android Invasion
Face of Evil
The Sunmakers - scheduled for 2011, was paired with Ambasadors of Death
Nightmare of Eden
Shada

Fifth Doctor - Peter Davison

The Awakening - scheduled for 2011, paired with the Gunfighters
Frontios - will be released 30/05/2011

Seventh Doctor - Sylvester McCoy

Paradise Towers - scheduled for 2011
Dragonfire
The Happiness Patrol
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy

114 The Celestial Toymaker Part 4: The Final Test

EPISODE: The Celestial Toymaker Part 4: The Final Test
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 114
STORY NUMBER: 024
TRANSMITTED: 23 April 1966
WRITER: Brian Hayles
DIRECTOR: Bill Sellars
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - Lost In Time

We're back on DVD and with the trusty Doctor Who - Lost In Time set for the final episode of this story, and indeed it's our last use of Lost in Time for the Hartnell era.

Dodo & Steven play schoolboy Cyril at a version of hopscotch involving numbered stepping stones surrounded by an electrified floor. Cyril's cheating results in they being penalised and he winning the game. However Cyril slips from a stone celebrating and is killed. The Doctor reaches the penultimate move in his game and is poised to win becoming visible again. He goes to leave with Steven & Dodo but the Tardis is immobilised by the Toymaker who won't let them leave until the Doctor completes the game. However the Doctor knows that completing the game and defeating the Toymaker will destroy the Toymaker's realm. A chance remark from Steven about not being able to talk their way out of the situation gives The Doctor the solution: he impersonated the Toymaker's voice and orders the Trilogic game to advance to the final move. Celebrating with a packet of sweets Dodo obtained from Cyril, The Doctor hurts a tooth.

A game of two halves this episode: The hopscotch game works well and the Trilogic Game interludes work much better on screen than on sound, both of which make me wonder how much better the preceding three episodes might have worked with their pictures. After that the episode sags a bit as the travellers try to find out why they can't leave.

Episode four is the only episode of the Celestial Toymaker, returned from the ABC in Sydney. It's believed it was a copy sold to the ABC, passed to TVS in Singapore and the returned to the ABC by accident who put it into storage, forgot about it, found it and returned it to the BBC in early 1984. It was released on the Hartnell Years VHS tape along with the Pilot episode and The Crusade part 3, and on DVD as part of Doctor Who - Lost In Time. All four episodes have had their soundtrack released with narration by Peter Purves. Doctor Who: the Celestial Toymaker was released in April 2001 and has recently been re-released as part of Doctor Who: The Lost TV Episodes Collection: (1965-1966) No. 2

Incredibly the run of five episodes from here through the four episodes of the Gunfighters is the most number of consecutive episodes present in the BBC archives from Seasons 3, 4 or 5 of the program! Season 4 has a three episode run, the first three episodes of Tenth Planet, the only consecutive episodes from that season existing, while season 5 has a four episode run, the entirety of the Tomb of the Cybermen, and a three episode run, the last three episodes of the Ice Warriors, plus the final episode, Wheel in Space, marks the starts of an Eleven episode run into Season 6 through The Dominators & The Mind Robber. Season Six contains 14 consecutive episodes: The last four of the Invasion, The four episode Krotons and six episode Seeds of Death. For completeness I should mention the ten consecutive episodes of the War Games at the end Season 6, but that marks the point from which all episodes of Doctor Who are known to exist, and the question then becomes what format do we hold them in and are they in colour........ but we'll talk about that much later.

113 The Celestial Toymaker Part 3: The Dancing Floor

EPISODE: The Celestial Toymaker Part 3: The Dancing Floor
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 113
STORY NUMBER: 024
TRANSMITTED: 16 April 1966
WRITER: Brian Hayles
DIRECTOR: Bill Sellars
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: CD: Doctor Who: The Lost TV Episodes Collection: (1965-1966) No. 2

Steven & Dodo find themselves in the kitchen of Mrs Wiggs, who's arguing with Sergeant Rugg while Cyril the kitchen bot, who as the Knave slept on the sidelines of the clash with the King & Queen in the last episode, dozes in the kitchen. Dodo & Steven need to hunt the key, which they eventually find hidden in one of Mrs Rugg's pies. Alas the Tardis at the end of this game is a fake too. They then proceed to a dance floor where they are forced to dance with the dolls against Sgt Rugg & Mrs Wiggs but Steven swaps partners to unite with Dodo and the both jump off the Dance floor by another Tardis.... which is again fake. They then meet Cyril, now dressed as a schoolboy who says they can call him Billy. He will be their opponent in the next game.

Worked a bit better for me again this episode. I'm feeling the absence of Hartnell somewhat, especially after the Doctor is missing from Dalek Masterplan 11 and most of the Massacre. I know the invisible Doctor's game with the Toymaker is meant to be adding tension and a time limit to what Steven & Dodo are doing but it isn't for me. Peter Purves says this is one of his favourite stories, along with the Massacre, both of which feature Steven working away from the Doctor for a period of time. It should be noted that the schoolboy Cyril seems to resemble Billy Bunter, and the comment he makes would make it seem that that was the intention, but the copyright holders for that character complained and a voice over announcement was made denying any connection between the characters

The main guest character for this series, the Celestial Toymaker himself, is played by noted actor Michael Gough, who you may know as Alfred from the 80s and 90s Batman movies. He's got one return to Doctor Who, as Hedin in Arc of Infinity, and may well have reprised the role of the Toymaker in The Nightmare Fair if the planned 23rd season of Doctor Who hadn't been cancelled during 1985. At the time he was married to the actress Anneke Wills, who we'll be seeing in a few weeks time.

112 The Celestial Toymaker Part 2: Hall of Dolls

EPISODE: The Celestial Toymaker Part 2: Hall of Dolls
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 112
STORY NUMBER: 024
TRANSMITTED: 09 April 1966
WRITER: Brian Hayles
DIRECTOR: Bill Sellars
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: CD: Doctor Who: The Lost TV Episodes Collection: (1965-1966) No. 2

Steven & Dodo are forced into a new game by the Toymaker. Attempting to help them, the invisible Doctor is silenced too by the Toymaker who advances the Doctor's own game and thus depriving his companions of time. Faced with a set of seven chairs the companions have to find which one is safe by using dolls. However they're playing against a King & Queen from a pack of cards who cheat sacrificing their Jack to test a chair while the Knave sleeps through the experience. Three dolls remain after Steven & Dodo complete the task and the dolls follow them out of the room.

This episode was a little easier to follow than the previous one and made more sense to me. Still very odd.

The King & Queen characters in this are played by the same actors that were the clowns in the previous episodes. Both these characters, and Sgt Rugg/Mrs Wiggs in the next episode were brought in to replace the characters that Gerald Savory objected to the use of. It should be noted that the schoolboy Cyril introduced in this episode seems to resemble Billy Bunter and indeed the copyright holders for that character complained.

Clara Clown, The Queen & Mrs Wiggs are played by Carmen Silvera, later to find fame as Edith Artois in Allo, Allo.

111 The Celestial Toymaker Part 1: The Celestial Toyroom

EPISODE: The Celestial Toymaker Part 1: The Celestial Toyroom
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 111
STORY NUMBER: 024
TRANSMITTED: 02 April 1966
WRITER: Brian Hayles
DIRECTOR: Bill Sellars
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
FORMAT: CD: Doctor Who: The Lost TV Episodes Collection

The Tardis is in the domain of the Celestial Toymaker, a Mandarin like figure. He has compelled the crew to play his games to regain the Tardis. Steven & Dodo are forced into playing against the Toymaker's clown dolls which he has brought to life, whilst the invisible Doctor plays the Trilogic Game. Steven and Dodo win their round of Blind Man's Bluff discovering the clowns are cheating, but the Tardis they find at the end of the game is a fake.

Welcome to one of *the* oddest Doctor Who stories ever. It just sounds odd to my ear, maybe the visuals would help. Conceived as a way of pushing the boundaries of the show the story was redrafted by fist Donald Tosh and then Gerry Davis leaving it unrecognisable from what was already written. Included had been George & Margaret, characters from the play of the same name written by Gerald Savory, then head of serials at the BBC, in an attempt to flatter him. He objected and forced the final rewrite to remove them! However actors has already been cast in these roles so they needed to be utilised for these first three episodes....

The Doctor is playing the Trilogic game, based on The Towers Of Hanoi. Counters of decreasing size from top to bottom are arranged on the first post. The object is to move all the counters to the third post. Only one counter can be moved at a time. No counter can sit on one smaller than itself.

The solution for 1 counter is trivial:
Move counter 1 from Tower 1 to Tower 3. One Move.

For two counters you move:
Counter 1 from Tower 1 to Tower 2
Counter 2 from Tower 1 to Tower 3
Counter 1 from Tower 2 to Tower 3. Three moves.

For three counters you move:
Counter 1 from Tower 1 to Tower 3
Counter 2 from Tower 1 to Tower 2
Counter 1 from Tower 3 to Tower 2
Counter 3 from Tower 1 to Tower 3
Counter 1 from Tower 2 to Tower 1
Counter 2 from Tower 2 to Tower 3
Counter 1 from Tower 1 to Tower 3. Seven moves.

In fact the minimum number of moves is always one less than Two to the power of the number of counters. For 1 counter it's 2 minus 1, for two counters it's two squared minus 1, for three it's 2 cubed minus 1..... 1023, the number of moves the Doctor has, seems to indicate that he's playing with ten counters: 2 to the power of 10 is 1024. Take one away you get 1023. Yes I studied it in college as part of my Maths & Computer Science degree. It's used to teach recursion and other programming concepts.... which reminds me of the dictionary definitions:

Repetition: See Iteration

Iteration: See Repetition

Recursion: See Recursion

Well I thought they were funny. Peter Purves kept the Trilogic game after filming. Believing it was bringing him bad luck preventing him from finding work he threw it away and was the next week offered the Blue Peter job.

One of the other concepts in the story, the invisible Doctor, was meant to serve as a means to replace Hartnell with another actor. John Wiles and Hartnell never got on as several people testify, notably Peter Purves in The Ark DVD commentary. However Wiles' BBC bosses (the aforementioned Gerald Savory and his superior Sydney Newman) refused, that function of the plot had to be dropped and that was a contribution to Wiles' departure from the series. In fact this episode marks the production debut of Innes Lloyd, who inherited his first few stories from Wiles. His first decisions can be seen in The Savages episode 1, where the individual story episode titles disappear in favour of story titles, but the War Machines is a much better picture of what he was really after creatively.

So who wrote the original version? Debut author Brian Hayles. His efforts, despite later alterations, were obviously thought to be good enough as he was asked back to write the historical story The Smugglers shortly after. The next year he'd be back again with a much more memorable creation: The Ice Warriors.

110 The Ark Part 4: The Bomb

EPISODE: The Ark Part 4: The Bomb
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 110
STORY NUMBER: 023
TRANSMITTED: 26 March 1966
WRITER: Paul Erickson & Lesley Scott
DIRECTOR: Michael Imison
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: John Wiles
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - The Ark

The loss of the launcher causes dissent in the Monoid ranks, led by 4 who opposes 1's rule. The Monoids leave the Ark for Refusis taking with them their own shrunken race. Finding the wreckage of the capsule causes a battle to erupt between the two Monoid factions. The Refusian travels back to the Ark in one of the Launchers and when the Doctor learns that the bomb is in the statue he uses his great powers to throw the statue off the ship out of the airlock. 4's forces win the battle and return to the Ark with the Doctor & Dodo. The Refusian welcomes both Monoids and Humans to his planet but only if they can live together in peace. The Tardis crew leave, but shortly after the Doctor vanishes from the console room...

Once again the episode hasn't really grabbed me but my appreciation for the technical aspects knows no grounds. Knowing the limitations of how Doctor Who was made in the sixties this episode is a wonder being recorded out of scene order and then assembled in the editing suite featuring a pitched battle shot on film and several effects shots of the launcher travelling. Seriously, watch this with the production subtitles on, you'll be amazed at what they managed and appreciate the effort even if the story doesn't do it for you. what's more amazing is that Michael Imison was no longer required as a director by th BBC after masterminding this story: his superiors handed him notice terminating his directorial contract as the final episode went before the cameras. Given the technical accomplishments here that's criminal.

We've been on DVD for our first complete story this season, but next episode we're back to Audio. In fact from here on in Hartnell's reign there's almost an odd exists/missing pattern to the stories:

The Ark: Exists
Celestial Toymaker: Missing (bar part 4)
The Gunfighters: Exists
The Savages: Missing
The War Machines: Exists
The Smugglers: Missing
The Tenth Planet: Exists (bar, annoyingly, part 4)

Officially producer John Wiles departs as of the end of this episode, but with the departed Donald Tosh his influence will be felt for a while yet. Lurking in the background of the production staff of this series are a couple of names that will be familiar later on: Chris D'Oyly-John, the AFM, will be a production assistant and production unit manager on many forthcoming Doctor Who stories while Production Assistant David Maloney, who has already served on The Rescue & The Romans, will return many times as a director.

109 The Ark Part 3: The Return

EPISODE: The Ark Part 3: The Return
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 109
STORY NUMBER: 023
TRANSMITTED: 19 March 1966
WRITER: Paul Erickson & Lesley Scott
DIRECTOR: Michael Imison
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: John Wiles
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - The Ark

The Monoids have taken over the Ark, enslaving the Guardians who were left weakened by the virus, and creating a technology to allow them to speak. Steven is imprisoned in the security kitchen and put to work while The Doctor & Dodo are sent with Monoid 2 and a Guardian on the landing party to Refusis.The Doctor & Dodo are befriended by an invisible but powerful Refusian who inhabits a castle that was built for the expected human visitors. Monoid 2 flees the castle, kills the Guardian and is killed when the landing pod explodes. Meanwhile the Monoids plan to abandon the humans on the Ark and then destroy it using a bomb built into the statue.

While the story is little pedestrian in places this episode, watching it with the production subtitles on makes me realise what a technical achievement these episodes are with lots of clever camerawork, effects & model sequences.

Last episode we had one of who's most frequent Guest Stars appear for the first time. Here we get the first appearance of arguable Doctor Who's best, certainly most prolific, voice artist: Roy Skelton makes his debut as some of the Monoid voices. He'll be back in a short while for The Tenth Planet, providing probably the best version of the Cybermen voices, which is a role he repeats in Wheel in Space. He provides voices during The Ice Warriors (Computer voice) & The Krotons (Kroton voices), appears in front of camera in Colony in Space (as Norton), Planet of the Daleks (briefly as Wester who he also supplies the voice for), in The Green Death (as James - a role taken on in an emergency as we'll see later) and under make-up in The Android Invasion (as Chedaki) and The Hand of Fear (as King Rokon). His most famous Who role is a recurring one voicing the Daleks in (deep breath) The Evil of the Daleks, Planet of the Daleks, Genesis of the Daleks, Destiny of the Daleks, The Five Doctors, Revelation of the Daleks & Remembrance of the Daleks plus the Children in Need special The Curse of Fatal Death. But beating even that for fame, he's the voice of Zippy & George in Rainbow, which he demonstrates to great effect on the Doctor Who - The Cybermen - The Early Years Video.

108 The Ark Part 2: The Plague

EPISODE: The Ark Part 2: The Plague
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 108
STORY NUMBER: 023
TRANSMITTED: 12 March 1966
WRITER: Paul Erickson & Lesley Scott
DIRECTOR: Michael Imison
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: John Wiles
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - The Ark

The Tardis crew are imprisoned while Steven represents them at their trial where he pleads for the Doctor to be allowed to investigate before Steven succumbs to it as well. The Guardians are ready to execute them before their ailing commander intervenes. The Doctor comes up with a treatment and synthesises a vaccine. The Tardis crew watch the Earth destroyed and then leave, rematerialising on exactly the same spot to find the Guardians gone and the statue completed but sporting the head of a Monoid.

Most of this episode is a little pedestrian with the trial and treatment scenes confined to th main body of the Ark, but we get the Jungle back in the closing minutes. The very end of the episode is superb, subverting form by having the Tardis return to where it's left when you think the story is over.

Ladies and Gentlemen, on Doctor Who debut in this episode: Mr Michael Sheard. Famous to people of my age as teacher Mr Bronson in Grange Hill he's a frequent Doctor Who guest artist appearing here as Rhos, one of the Ark's medics, and then in The Mind of Evil (as Dr. Roland Summers), Pyramids of Mars (as Laurence Scarman), The Invisible Enemy (as Lowe), Castrovalva (as Mergrave) and finally, with more than a little bit of an in-joke, in Remembrance of the Daleks as the Headmaster. If you don't know who from any of these then you'll have seen him as Admiral Ozzel in the Empire Strikes Back and Hitler in Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade, one of five times that he plays the Nazi dictator.

107 The Ark Part 1: The Steel Sky

EPISODE: The Ark Part 1: The Steel Sky
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 107
STORY NUMBER: 023
TRANSMITTED: 05 March 1966
WRITER: Paul Erickson & Lesley Scott
DIRECTOR: Michael Imison
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: John Wiles
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - The Ark

A brand new DVD of the Ark awaits me: It's been a while since I saw this story so I'm approaching it almost new.

The Tardis lands in a jungle containing animals from many areas of Earth. Dodo, who has a cold, thinks they are in Whipsnade Zoo until the Doctor points out the steel roof and they meet the one eyes shaggy haired reptiles the Monoids. The mute Monoids serve the Guardians, humans who have left a doomed Earth behind that will shortly be destroyed by the sun. The Ark they are travelling in journeys to the far off planet of Refusis. The rest of the population of the Earth is stored in a shrunken state on the ship as are any Guardian punished for neglect of their duties. Although most are welcoming, showing the travellers the massive statue being constructed by hand during their 700 year voyage, some of the Guardians are hostile, and this increases when first the Monoids and then the humans are affected by a fever. They have caught Dodo's cold and as the cold virus was eradicated on Earth centuries ago they have no defence. When a Monoid dies from the fever and the expedition's commander is taken ill the travellers are imprisoned.

That wasn't bad at all. Fantastic jungle set, decent monsters, behaving very differently to most we've seen in Doctor who and some cracking concepts: the jungle in a spaceship, Earth to be destroyed by the sun and the shrunken populace being transported to a new planet. The scale of the Ark is emphasised by the large main set complete with an electric car moving round it.

This is only the second time the Tardis has landed in a Space vehicle (1964's The Sensorites is the first) but it will become a staple of the series. Troughton does it in Wheel in Space & The Space Pirates, Pertwee in The Mutants (recently released on DVD) and Frontier in Space, Tom Baker in Ark In Space, The Invisible Enemy, Underworld, Nightmare of Eden and would have done in Shada. Peter Davison visits Spaceships via the Tardis in Four to Doomsday, Mawdryn Undead, Terminus & Enlightenment, Colin Baker does it in the Terror of the Vervoids section of Trial of a Timelord leaving McCoy & McGann as the only original Doctors not to visit a space vehicle using the Tardis.

106 The Massacre Part 4: Bell of Doom

EPISODE: The Massacre Part 4: Bell of Doom
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 106
STORY NUMBER: 022
TRANSMITTED: 26 February 1966
WRITER: John Lucarotti
DIRECTOR: Paddy Russell
SCRIPT EDITOR: Gerry Davis
PRODUCER: John Wiles
FORMAT: CD: Doctor Who: The Lost TV Episodes Collection: (1965-1966) No. 2

Steven returns to Preslin's shop and meets Anne there. They spend the next day searching for the Tardis key and are stunned when the Doctor turns up, unwilling to say where he's been or what he's been doing. The Doctor learns the year & date, and knowing what's to come sends Anne away while he & Steven return to the Tardis. As they leave anti-Huguenot violence erupts as the Massacre begins. Steven is angry with the Doctor for abandoning Anne to near certain death and walks out on the Doctor the next time the Tardis lands, as it happens on Wimbledon common. The Doctor reflects on events and his friend's departure:

"Steven... Even after all this time, he cannot understand. I dare not change the course of history. Well, at least I taught him to take some precautions; he did remember to look at the scanner before he opened the doors. And now, they're all gone. All gone. None of them could understand. Not even my little Susan. Or Vicki. And as for Barbara and Chatterton - Chesterton - they were all too impatient to get back to their own time. And now, Steven. Perhaps I should go home. Back to my own planet. But I can't... I can't..."

However at that moment a young girl charges into the Tardis, mistaking it for a real Police Box, seeking help. She is closely followed by a returning Steven who warns the Doctor of approaching Policemen, causing the Doctor to dematerialise the Tardis with the stranger aboard. She is Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet, an orphan who lives with a great aunt who will not miss her. She reminds the Doctor of his much missed granddaughter Susan. Steven is startled by the surname and Dodo reveals she had a French Grandfather leaving Steven to wonder if Anne survived after all....

Much better episode this one, a real sense of doom about it followed by some fabulous scenes in the Tardis. So where was the Doctor and what was he doing? Was he actually the Abbot in disguise? People have pointed out that it's difficult for Dodo to be Anne's descendant if they have the same surname but there's several solutions including a descendant of hers (with her married name) marrying into the Chaplet name and Anne producing a child out of wedlock - is she pregnant at the time of the Massacre and uses the chaos afterwards to pretend she had a husband who has been killed? I'm not sorry to see the Massacre go: It didn't do it for me, except for the final episode, and this is a similar impression to the one I got when I listened to the story for the first time about six months ago.

The historical setting for this story is somewhat obscure thus making this serial more educational than many Doctor Who stories. The St Bartholomew's Day Massacre is an actual event and was triggered by the wedding of Henry III of Navarre and Margaret of Valois, who are mentioned in the story, and the assassination of Admiral Gaspard de Coligny who appears in the story as do Charles IX of France and Catherine de Medici. Other characters, including Preslin who's scientific achievements are so highly praised by the Doctor, I am unable to find any record of.

Donald Tosh, outgoing Script Editor, supposedly performed extensive rewrites on John Lucarotti's final script for the series and now he's off staff he's credited for the work. Lucarotti would write a draft for Ark in Space for Tom Baker's Doctor but the majority of the work for that story was done, and credited to, then script editor Robert Holmes. Lucarotti would return to the world of Doctor Who in the 80s when he novelised all three of his script, with the adaptation of this story becoming a version closer to what was written before Tosh changed it. Donald Tosh did some writing work after leaving Doctor Who, but then went to work for English Heritage. As of me writing this he is the sole surviving Hartnell era script editor, and he & Glyn Jones are the only surviving Hartnell authors.

So out goes Donald Tosh. In comes Gerry Davis! Huzzah! Already experienced through working on Coronation Street & United, Davis is a key appointment in taking the show forward. The next three, possibly four, stories (The Ark, The Celestial Toyroom, The Gunfighters & The Savages) were all dreamed up under the Tosh/Wills regime so if you want to see what the Davis vision of the show looks like then come back for The War Machines.

We also, although only briefly at the end, welcome Jackie Lane as new companion Dodo. She arrives courtesy of some location film work at Windmill road in Wimbledon. According to the book Doctor Who: Companions by David J. Howe and Mark Stammers, this sequence would have included a cameo appearance by former companions Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright. The scene — which was scheduled to be filmed but was cancelled — had Ian and Barbara witnessing the dematerialisation of the TARDIS after Dodo enters. A nice touch, but perhaps the availability of William Russell and Jacqueline Hill put paid to it.

This story was novelised in the 1980s, was the first of the BBC Missing Collection releases in 1999 (which is long out of print and trading for a penny or two) was part of the Adventure in History boxset (again again long out of print) and has recently been reissued as part of Doctor Who: The Lost TV Episodes Collection: (1965-1966) No. 2 which is selling on Amazon for cheaper than the original CD!

105 The Massacre Part 3: Priest of Death

EPISODE: The Massacre Part 3: Priest of Death
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 105
STORY NUMBER: 022
TRANSMITTED: 19 February 1966
WRITER: John Lucarotti
DIRECTOR: Paddy Russell
SCRIPT EDITOR: Donald Tosh
PRODUCER: John Wiles
FORMAT: CD: Doctor Who: The Lost TV Episodes Collection: (1965-1966) No. 2

If you've read the Blog on the last two episodes you'll know I've been struggling with the characters in this one, telling them apart and identifying who they work for. So in the interests of trying to get a better understanding of the story I'll try and sort the cast into allegiances:

Admiral de Coligny - prominent protestant Huguenot who's got a group of them staying in his house. He supports the protestant Dutch, nicknamed the Sea Beggars, in their war with Catholic Spain so has become known as the Sea Beggar.

Abbot of Amboise - prominent Catholic persecuting Huguenots
Simon Duval - Catholic agent of the Abbot
Roger Colbert - Catholic secretary to the Abbot. I can recognise him cos he's played by
Marshal Tavannes - apparently he was in the second episode but I have no memory of him. He tells Simon Duval that something will happen to the Sea Beggar, which Steven overhears

Charles Preslin - Huguenot apothecary who's being persecuted for his religious and scientific beliefs. Has disappeared with the Doctor.
Nicholas & Gaston - Huguenot drinkers in the tavern that befriend Steven
Anne Chaplet - Huguenot servant girl who while working for the Abbot overheard a plot to kill Huguenots and assassinate Prince Henri of Navarre.

Landlord - allows Huguenot drinkers in the tavern but reports to Simon Duval.

Right got that straight. Now I A) have to recognise them in the sound recording and B) hope no new characters are introduced.

Steven wants to seek the Doctor at the Abbot's house and disguises himself. In the Louvre, the Queen Mother, the King, the Marshal, the Admiral, and Charles de Teligny discuss allying themselves to the Dutch but conversation turns to protestant Huguenot persecution. Steven meets the Abbot bringing Anne with him as Marshal Tavannes arrives. Waiting outside they overhear the conversation discussing killing the Sea Beggar and leave to speak to Nicholas just before they are recognised by Roger Colbert. Admiral de Coligny is shot and wounded on his way home from the meeting. Nicholas and Steven take the wounded Admiral home, while the Catholic conspirators blame the Abbot for things going wrong. The Huguenots believe that the Abbot is behind the assassination but Steven denies it believing him to be the Doctor. However word arrives that the Abbot has been killed. The Queen Mother incites the King to believe his life is under threat from the Huguenots. Steven returns to the Abbot's house to see if the body is the Doctor. The crowds believe the Huguenots are responsible and are demanding blood. When Steven arrived Roger Colbert identifies him as the killer forcing him to flee.

Right that made a bit more sense now I'm sure who everyone is. However as a story it's still not doing much for me: Steven spends lots of the time running around confused.

This story is packed with guest artists who are famous for other rolls. Andre Morrel (Marshal Tavannes) was the third Professor Bernard Quatermass in Quatermass & The Pit. The BBC original is available on DVD and well worth watching. We've then got a whole bunch of people associated with Time Lord roles: Leonard Sachs (Admiral de Coligny), famous as the compère in The Good Old Days, later played Borusa in Arc of Infinity. Michael Bilton (Teligny), who's had a long television career, later played Collins in Pyramids of Mars and a Time Lord in The Deadly Assassin which also featured Erik Chitty (Charles Preslin) as Coordinator Engin. Christopher Tranchell (Roger Colbert) later played Jenkins in The Faceless Ones and Commander Andred in The Invasion of Time. He's most famous as a Play School presenter, a role also played by fellow guest artist Eric Thompson who to the best of my knowledge hasn't played a Time Lord of any description. He's the Husband of Phyllidia Law and father of Emma & Sophie Thompson, but is most famous to people of my generation as being the narrator (and English language writer) of The Magic Roundabout.

As a note this is the last episode to credit Donald Tosh with being script editor. He's done extensive rewrites on this story but BBC rules have prevented him from taking an on screen credit. Most of the remaining stories this season are commissioned under his reign so his influence is felt for a while yet. War Machines is the first story to be 100% developed by the new producer & script editor team.