294 Colony in Space: Episode Two

EPISODE: Colony in Space: Episode Two
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 294
STORY NUMBER: 058
TRANSMITTED: 17 April 1971
WRITER: Malcolm Hulke
DIRECTOR: Michael Briant
SCRIPT EDITOR: Terrance Dicks
PRODUCER: Barry Letts
FORMAT: VHS: Doctor Who - the Master Tin Set: Colony In Space & The Time Monster but DVD release due on October 3rd
Episode Format: 525 video

The Robot is controlled by Caldwell, from the Interplanetary Mining Corporation, who takes the Doctor back to his ship. Norton incites the Colonists against the primitives. On the way to the ship the Doctor discovers the Tardis gone. Caldwell is appalled to discover that Colonists have been killed but his Captain & second in command Morgan aren't: Morgan claims there was an accident that killed the Leesons. IMC have been assigned the mining rights for the planet, claiming there has been an administration error permitting the Colonists to come. Morgan takes the Doctor back to the colony. On the journey they are attacked by primitives. Winton is showing Norton round the colony. The Colonists are having trouble their power generator. Norton kills the Electrician and sabotages the generator, blaming the primitive helper who he also killed. Morgan has the robot attack the Doctor using fake monster claws......

.... and now the Mining company show up becoming the evil bad guys. Liz, who's not seen this before, got to Norton working for IMC miles before they showed in on the screen. I found it odd when the Doctor & Caldwell were travelling to the IMC Spaceship that the Doctor was driving and not Caldwell's whose vehicle it was. The "Jim'll fix it" line that Mary Ashe uses, in reference to the base electrician fixing the power supply is dire!

Most of the IMC crew are known to us: Bernard Kay plays Caldwell. He was previously Tyler in The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Saladin in The Crusade and Inspector Crossland in The Faceless Ones. Tony Caunter, who was also in The Crusade as Thatcher, appears here as Morgan and later as Jackson in Enlightenment. His best known role is as Roy Evans in Eastenders. John Herrington, appearing in this one episode as Jim Holden the colony electrician, worked with The Crusade's Director Douglas Camfield in another of his productions: he was Rhynmal in The Daleks' Master Plan. Stanley McGeagh, playing the guard Allen in the next episode, returns as Drew in The Sea Devils. Captain Dent is played by Morris Perry who while not having any Who form has a pretty long television career. He has a recurring role as the Flying Squad Commander Det. Chief Supt. Maynon in The Sweeney as well as appearing in The Professionals, Survivors and Midsomer Murders.

One of the most prominant pieces of casting for this story never made it to the screen! Susan Jameson was cast as Morgan, but BBC executives objected to having a leather clad sadistic female villain and Tony Caunter was elevated from a more minor part. Jameson was paid for the work she would have done and, to date, has not appeared in televised Doctor Who though she has done some audio plays with the fourth Doctor Tom Baker.