A Special Halloween PoemWith Apologies to AEP.The Raving (Bloke) 

Once upon the 80’s dreary, while I watched all weak and

weary,

Over many a quaint and curious vhs of forgotten lore,

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -

Only this, and nothing more.'

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,

`Sir,' said I, `or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;

But the fact is I was watching television when you came rapping,

And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,

That I scarce was sure I heard you' - here I opened wide the door; -

Michael Grade, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before

But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,

And the only word there spoken was the whispered words, `Doctor Who No More!'

This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, ` Doctor Who No More?'

Merely this and nothing more.

 

Much I marvelled this ungainly felow hear discourse so plainly,

Though its answer little meaning - little relevancy bore;

For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being

Ever yet was blessed with seeing Grade at his chamber door -

Man or beast above the head of pertwee above his chamber door,

With such vermance came his word again `Nevermore.'

`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if  BBC director or devil! –

Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here

ashore,

Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -

On this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore -

Is there - is there no hope for my timelord? - tell me - tell me, I

implore!'

Laughed the Controler `Nevermore!'

With just these words he few away.

 

And the BBC, never failing, still is sitting on the rights

evermore, still is plotting scemeing, waiting a man, a  man to rap at my chamber door.

 

And This man, - lets call him Russel- his eyes a

dreaming,  Dreaming of his common myth.

And the New controller will hold promice, dreams of blue lamp-light flashing;

And my soul rises from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Doctor Who – For ever more!

Hardcover: 512 pagesPublisher: BBC Books (25 Sep 2008)Language EnglishISBN-10: 1846075718ISBN-13: 978-1846075711

Product Dimensions:

24.6 x 19 x 4 cm

Synopsis "Writing isn' just a job that stops at

six-thirty...It's a mad, sexy, sad, scary, obsessive, ruthless, joyful,

and utterly, utterly personal thing. There's not the writer and then

me; there's just me. All of my life connects to the writing. All of

it." A unique look into the BBC's most popular family drama, Doctor

Who: The Writer's Tale is a year in the life of the hit television

series, as told by the show's Head Writer and Executive Producer. A

candid and in-depth correspondence between Russell T Davies and

journalist Benjamin Cook, the book explores in detail Russell's work on

Series Four, revealing how he plans the series and works with the

show's writers; where he gets his ideas for plot, character and scene;

how actors are cast and other creative decisions are made; and how he

juggles the demands of Doctor Who with the increasingly successful

Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures spin-offs. Russell's scripts

are discussed as they develop, and Russell and Ben's wide-ranging

discussions bring in experiences from previous series of Doctor Who as

well as other shows Russell has written and created, including Queer As

Folk, Bob and Rose, and The Second Coming.The

reader is given total access to the show as it's created, and the

writing is everything you would expect from Russell T Davies: warm,

witty, insightful, and honest.Fully illustrated with never-before-seen

photos and artwork - including original drawings by Russell himself -

The Writer's Tale is a not only the ultimate Doctor Who book, but a

celebration of great writing and great television.Kingdom of SilverStarring Sylvester McCoyWith Terry Molloy and Neil Roberts (Duration: 120' Approx) CAST: KINGDOM OF SILVER:

Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Neil Roberts (Temeter), Kate Terence

(Sara), Terry Molloy (Magus Riga), James George (Merel), Bunny Reed

(Ardith), Holly King (Etin), Nicholas Briggs (Cybermen)KEEPSAKE:

Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Neil Roberts (Temeter), Kate Terence

(Sara), Terry Molloy (Examiner 2), James George (Corvus), Nicholas

Briggs (Examiner 1) SYNOPSIS - KINGDOM OF SILVER (A Three-Part Story): The

Doctor arrives on Tasak in search of refreshment, armed with nothing

more than a kettle.  But this is a time of crisis for a civilisation

about to enter an industrial age.  Mindful that a devastating

war is only recently over, the wise and revered Magus Riga will do

almost anything to save his people from the follies of the past.  But

the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  And the planet Tasak

is host to ancient powers buried deep and long forgotten.  Can visitors

from another world avert disaster or will their intervention drag this

innocent world into the Orion War? SYNOPSIS - KEEPSAKE (A One-Part Story): Sifting

through the technological junk of Reclaim Platform

Juliet-November-Kilo, the Doctor discovers evidence of a personal

tragedy involving some friends of his.  Where will the story of their

fate lead? AUTHOR: James Swallow DIRECTOR: Ken Bentley and Nicholas Briggs SOUND DESIGN: David Darlington MUSIC: David Darlington COVER ART: Alex Mallinson NUMBER OF DISCS: 2 CDs RECORDED DATE: 8 & 9 May 2008 RELEASE DATE: 15 September 2008 PRODUCTION CODE: 7Z/D ISBN: 978-1-84435-321-7

CHRONOLOGICAL PLACEMENT: This story takes place between the television adventures, Survival and the 1996 TV Movie, and after the Big Finish audio adventure .

Ghost Light

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Ghost Light was the second story of of .

Two stories followed it when broadcast, although it was the last story

of the classic series to be produced. It was the last story filmed at

the BBC studios in London.

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Synopsis

The Doctor brings Ace to Gabriel Chase, an old house that she once

burnt down in her home town of Perivale. The year is 1883 and the house

is presided over by Josiah Samuel Smith, who turns out to be the

evolved form of an alien brought to Earth in a stone spaceship that is

now in the basement. Others present include the explorer Redvers

Fenn-Cooper, who has been driven mad by what he has seen there, and

Nimrod, Smith's Neanderthal manservant.

Smith intends to use Fenn-Cooper's unwitting help in a plot to

kill Queen Victoria and restore the British Empire to its former glory.

His plans are hampered by Control, a female alien whose life-cycle is

in balance with his own. Ace inadvertently causes the release of the

spaceship's true owner - a powerful alien being known as Light.

Light originally came to Earth to compile a catalogue of its

species but, on discovering that his catalogue has now been made

obsolete by evolution, he decides to destroy all life on the planet. He

disintegrates when the Doctor convinces him that evolution is

irresistible and that he himself is constantly changing.

Control has meanwhile evolved into a lady and Smith has

reverted to an earlier, primitive form. They leave in the spaceship,

along with Nimrod and Fenn-Cooper, heading for new adventure.

Plot

Part 1

has been driven mad by

brings to , an old house that she once burnt down in her home town of near . The year is and the house is presided over by the mysterious . It is a most mysterious place, where the serving women brandish guns and the butler is a named . Other occupants include , the daughter of the original owners of the house who have now disappeared, the calculating housekeeper , the explorer , who has seen something which has driven him insane, and the , opponent of the theory of which Smith has done much to spread.

The arrives at Gabriel Chase. It turns out that Ace had visited the house in ,

and had felt an evil presence, and the Doctor's curiosity drives him to

seek the answers. Something is also alive and evolving in the cellar

beneath the house and when Ace investigates she finds two animated and

dangerous husks.

Part 2

turns into a husk

In rescuing Ace, the Doctor releases an evolving creature trapped in the cellar known as .

The party moves to ground level and Control remains trapped in the

cellar for the moment. The cellar is in fact a vast stone spaceship.

The Doctor works his way through the stuffed animals in Gabriel Chase

and eventually finds a human in suspended animation, an ,

who came to the house two years earlier in search of the owners. The

Doctor revives him and together they seek to unlock the mysteries of

Gabriel Chase.

The husks which attacked Ace were the remains of Smith, an

alien who has been evolving into forms approximating a human and

casting off his old husks as an insect would. For his pains Smith

transforms Matthews into an ape and places him in a display case.

The Doctor helps Control release the trapped creature from the cellar, a being known as who takes the form of an angel.

Part 3

wakes up

Thousands of years in the past, an alien spaceship came to

to catalogue all life on the planet. After completing its task and

collecting some samples, which included Nimrod, the leader Light went

into slumber. By

the ship had returned to Earth. While Control remained imprisoned on

the ship to serve as the "control" subject of the scientific

investigation, events transpired such that Smith, the "survey agent",

mutinied against Light, keeping him in hibernation on the ship. Smith

began evolving into the era's dominant life-form - a Victorian

gentleman - and also took over the house. By 1883 Smith managed to lure

and capture the explorer Fenn-Cooper within his den. Utilising

Fenn-Cooper's association with , he plans to get close to her so that he can assassinate her and subsequently take control of the British Empire.

Light is displeased by all the change that has occurred on the

planet while he was asleep. While Light tries to make sense of all the

change, Smith tries to keep his plan intact, but events are moving

beyond his control. Light turns Gwendoline and her missing mother,

revealed to be Mrs. Pritchard, to stone in a bid to stop the speed of

evolution; while Inspector Mackenzie meets a sticky end and is turned

into a primordial soup to serve at dinner. As Control tries to "evolve"

into a Lady, and Ace tries to come to grips with her feelings about the

house, the Doctor himself tries to keep the upper hand in all the

events that have been set in motion. The Doctor finally convinces Light

of the futility of opposing evolution, which causes him to overload and

dissipate into the surrounding house. It was this presence that Ace

sensed and which caused her to burn the house down in 1983. Also,

Control's complete evolution into a Lady derail's Smith's plan as

Fenn-Cooper, having freed himself from Smith's brainwashing, chooses to

side with her instead of him. In the end, with Smith now the new

Control creature imprisoned on the ship, Control, Fenn-Cooper and

Nimrod set off in the alien ship to explore the universe.

Cast

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Reverend -

Mrs -

Inspector -

Crew

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

- ,

-

-

-

-

-

-

Listen past the end credits for spoiler chat!4 Topics!1) Terror of the Verviods2) Ultimate Foe3) Steampunk in Doctor Whoend credits4) Spoiler chat...The Doctor returns to the courtroom after a recess, given to allow him to mourn ’s death, shown in the .

The Doctor begins his defence, showing events from his future on the

galactic liner Hyperion III, a ship taking a supply of rare metals from

Mogar to Earth in the year 2986AD. The Doctor states that many of the

passengers and crew will not survive the journey to Earth, for

"[someone determined to] protect a secret hidden on the space liner...

will become a murderer."’’Continuity

The new companion "Mel" is introduced without the typical "meeting"

story, as this evidence is supposed to take place in the Doctor's

future, after he has already met Mel.Despite references to them having met before, the Doctor has never been shown to meet Commodore Travers on screen before this.

Production

Serial details by episode:

Episode

Broadcast date

Run time

Viewership

(in millions)

"Part Nine"

1 November 1986

24:56

5.2

"Part Ten"

8 November 1986

24:18

4.6

"Part Eleven"

15 November 1986

24:07

5.3

"Part Twelve"

22 November 1986

24:45

5.2

Preproduction

This story segment of Trial was originally supposed to be written by , creator of the cult science fiction series . Hammond's story outline, titled Paradise Five,

was liked by script editor Eric Saward but disliked by producer John

Nathan-Turner, who rejected it and commissioned Pip and Jane Baker to

do the segment instead. Hammond later wrote two episodes of the Doctor Who drama, .

Designed as a typical

set on a space liner, the actual structure of the story (and its bubbly

tone) are reminiscent of the series during Douglas Adams' tenure as

script editor, during season seventeen. In the first episode, Professor

Lasky is briefly seen reading a copy of Christie's .

Production

The Vervoids bear a strong resemblance to the , a common template for alien creatures.[]

Post-production

This serial marked the last time the provided a music score for the series.

As no individual title was used onscreen or on the final scripts for

this story, there has been some confusion over how to refer to the

story. It was initially commissioned with the title of The Ultimate Foe.

However this title was later given to the novelisation of the 13th and

14th parts of the season. Writers Pip and Jane Baker repeatedly

referred to the story as The Vervoids in subsequent

interviews, as have other production team members, but this title does

not appear to exist on any contemporary documentation. When published Pip and Jane Baker's novelisation, it was under the title of Terror of the Vervoids, which is now generally used to refer to the story (see and ).

Commercial releases

In October 1993, this story was released on as part of the three-tape The Trial of a Time Lord set.It is also due for DVD release on September 29th2008,

similarly packaged with the other stories in The Trial of a Time Lord

season. Special Features include: deleted and extended scenes • "The

Making of a Trial of a Time Lord - Part Three - Terror of Vervoids" •

"Now Get Out of That - Doctor Who Cliffhangers" (a 28-minute feature) •

"The Lost Season" (an 11-minute feature) • Saturday Picture Show

archival television footage • photo gallery • and trails and

continuities.

The Ultimate Foe is the generally accepted title for a in the series , which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from to , . It is part of the larger narrative known as , encompassing the whole of the 23rd season. This segment is also cited in some reference works under its working title of Time Incorporated (or Time Inc.). This was the last regular story to feature as the .Continuity

Thanks to the paradoxes of time travel, since Mel is from the

Doctor's future, she has already met him, but from the Doctor's

perspective he is meeting her for the first time. Most

media, including the novelisation by the Bakers, have assumed that the

Doctor, at the end of the trial, takes Mel back to her proper place in

time and eventually travels to her relative past to meet Mel for the

first time from her perspective. That meeting, never seen on screen, is related in the novel by and also in his audio story He Jests at Scars, which provides a semi-sequel to this TV story.

In the new series episode ,

a Magnetron (possibly salvaged during The Time War) is used to move a

number of planets to another spot in the universe. Since then, the

technology appears to have been modified and/or improved as the planets

apparently just teleport rather than being "thrown".

[] The Doctor

This was the last story to feature Colin Baker as the current

Doctor. Baker was fired by the BBC and John Nathan Turner was ordered,

reportedly by ,

to recast the lead part for the following season. Baker was offered the

chance to appear as the Doctor in all four episodes of the first story

of Season 24, but he declined this and the invitation to return for the

traditional sequence in .

Due to Colin Baker's dismissal from the role, it would turn out that the 's last lines on screen were "Carrot juice, carrot juice, carrot juice!" Although The Ultimate Foe was his last regular appearance as the Doctor on screen, the last story that Baker actually recorded was . Baker would reprise the role on stage, in 1989's , and on screen in the 1993 charity special , as well as various audio adventures for .

[] Final appearances

This marked the last appearance to date of the , apart from a brief flashback in "." Coincidentally, (The Keeper of the Matrix) had appeared in (albeit in a different role), which was the first serial to feature the Time Lords.

The Valeyard has not re-appeared in the television series. His sole appearance in the audios has been the (and therefore outside of established continuity) , where Michael Jayston reprises the role. The character has been featured (usually in dream sequences or metaphors) in the and book ranges from Virgin Publishing and the from the BBC, however none of these appearances conclusively reveals his origins. The forthcoming unofficial novel , the late 's final novel completed by his friend Chris McKeon, will see the return of the Valeyard and his origins revealed.

Whereas previously 's had appeared in at least one story per year, it would be another three years before he returned in , the final story of the show's original run.

[] Production

Serial details by episode:

Episode

Broadcast date

Run time

Viewership

(in millions)

"Part Thirteen"

29 November 1986

24:42

4.4

"Part Fourteen"

6 December 1986

29:30

5.6

was originally commissioned to write the two episodes. Unfortunately,

he died from a chronic liver ailment after completing a draft of the

first and left nothing beyond a plot outline of the second. The series

Script Editor

resigned around this time due to disagreements with the producer, John

Nathan-Turner, but agreed to write the final episode based on Holmes'

outline, and also rewrite Holmes' draft to tie the two together, for

which he was credited as Script Editor. The original ending to this

segment (and, indeed, the whole Trial story and possibly the series) would have seen the Doctor and the Valeyard in an inconclusive ,

both (seemingly) plunging into a void to their deaths as an extra

"hook". However, Nathan-Turner felt this was too downbeat and believed

that it was important that the season did not end on an inconclusive

note since it was important after the hiatus to prove the series was

back in business. Saward refused to change the ending and withdrew

permission to use his script very late in the day, by which point the

production team had been assembled and the segment was entering

rehearsals.

John Nathan-Turner commissioned Pip and Jane Baker to write a

replacement final episode. For copyright reasons they could not be told

anything of the content of Saward's script (and there were lawyers

observing all commissioning meetings). The only similarity between the

two is the announcement that the High Council of the Time Lords have

resigned, which was a natural development of the earlier scripts. The

new script ended on an optimistic note, with the Doctor departing for

new adventures.

In keeping with this more optimistic stance, Nathan-Turner decided to amend the script at the last minute to show how had not died as shown in but in fact, became Yrcanos's queen. Her "death" was merely a part of the 's tampering with the , with a shot from the earlier story used to show this. was disappointed to learn how the fate of her character had been changed.

Ultimately, the works of are evident in the story: the fictional landscape in the Matrix resembles Britain, and the character (and name) of Mr. Popplewick are strongly Dickensian. The Doctor also quotes the final two lines of , prompting Mel to chide him: "Never mind the heroics!"

The working title of this story was Time Incorporated. However, this title did not appear in the final scripts or on-screen.

Steampunk is a subgenre of and that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often set in —but with prominent elements of either or , such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of and , or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. Other examples of steampunk contain -style presentations of "the path not taken" of such technology as or ; these frequently are presented in an idealized light, or a presumption of functionality.

Steampunk is often associated with

and shares a similar fanbase and theme of rebellion, but developed as a

separate movement (though both have considerable influence on each

other). Apart from time period and level of technological development,

the main difference between cyberpunk and steampunk is that steampunk

settings usually tend to be less obviously than cyberpunk, or lack dystopian elements entirely.

Various modern utilitarian objects have been

by individual craftpersons into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical

"steampunk" style, and a number of visual and musical artists have been

described as steampunk.

The , , and arrive on a spaceship which is headed for .

On board they meet natives of Earth from various different eras, and

also three Urbankans: Monarch, Persuasion and Enlightenment. What are

the aliens' intentions when they reach Earth?

Plot

The TARDIS materializes on board a vast and advanced alien

spacecraft, observed by a hovering surveillance device which conveys

the arrival of the Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa and Adric to an observing being

that is in control of the vessel. The TARDIS crew become separated and

the Doctor and Tegan reach the bridge of the vessel where the

green-skinned commander introduces himself as Monarch, ruler of

Urbanka, and his associates and fellow Urbankans are the Ministers of

Enlightenment and Persuasion. The leader is intrigued by talk of

current Earth civilisation and reveals their ship is bound for Earth.

Shortly afterward Enlightenment and Persuasion seemingly regenerate

into human form, dressed in garments Tegan designed to demonstrate

contemporary Earth fashions.

The TARDIS crew are reunited as guests aboard the ship and it soon

becomes apparent that there are four distinct human cultures

represented on the vessel by a small group of humans – Ancient Greeks,

the leader of whom is the philosopher Bigon; Chinese Mandarins and

their leader Lin Futu; Princess Villagra and representatives of the

Mayan people; and Kurkutji and his tribesmen, of the very ancient

Australian Aborigine culture. The Urbankans have made periodic visits

to Earth, each time getting speedier in their journeys. This time they

have left their homeworld after erratic solar activity, storing three

billion of their species on slides aboard their craft, and it seems the

current journey is their last and they now wish to settle on Earth,

which they are due to reach in four days time.

The Doctor becomes suspicious of Monarch and soon learns that the

Urbankan does not plan on peaceful co-existence: instead, he has

developed a virus to wipe out humanity, and this will be unleashed

before the Urbankans disembark. He also finds out that the humans

aboard are not descendents of the original abductees, but are the

original people taken from Earth and converted into androids like the

three Urbankans walking around on board. The four leaders of the

peoples have been given additional circuits to help them reason, but

this facility can be taken away, as Bigon learns when he crosses

Monarch once too often. He explained to the Doctor that Monarch

strip-mined and destroyed Urbanka in a quest for minerals to improve

the ship, and now plans to do the same to Earth. Monarch believes that

if he can move the ship faster than the speed of light, he can pilot it

back to the beginning of time and discover himself as God…

Adric, nevertheless, is rather taken with Monarch, and tensions

between him and the Doctor become very strained. It takes the truth to

break the alien’s hold over the boy. The Doctor now sets about

over-throwing Monarch and, with the help of the human androids led by a

restored Bigon, a revolution is put into effect. Enlightenment and

Persuasion are de-circuited, while Monarch himself is exposed to the

deadly toxin and killed. It seems he was a product of the weak “flesh

time” after all, having never, as the Doctor suspected, been fully

converted into an android. The humanoid androids decide to pilot the

vessel to a new home on a new world, while the TARDIS crew departs.

Back in the console room, Nyssa suddenly collapses to the floor in a

dead faint.

Cast notes

Guest stars in this serial include as Monarch and as Lin Futu. See .

Continuity

The

provides an alternative explanation, beyond mere exhaustion, for

Nyssa's collapse at the end of this story. The canonicity of the audio

dramas, however, is unclear.When the Doctor tells Tegan "Who'll believe us? We'll be laughed

at!" when she wants to get to Earth to warn them about Monarch's plan,

he has clearly forgotten the purpose/existence of , the , for which he was unpaid Scientific Advisor (through most of his ). He makes use of his U.N.I.T. connections , however.This is the third occasion of a recurring theme where Adric 'betrays' the Doctor, or else , Nyssa or Tegan, gaining the villains' trust and then later saving them. See , , and, to a lesser degree, and

Goofs

The Doctor describes the as having reached its peak "8000 years ago"; the very earliest Maya settlements began 4000 years ago.The Doctor claims the population of the Earth to be 3 Billion,

where as it was around 4.5 Billion by 1980, being about 3 Billion in

around 1960. Few non-indigenous Australians speak an

(of which around 200 exist) as fluently as Tegan demonstrated with her

conversation with Kurkutji. It is almost certain that the language that

Kurkutji spoke 40,000 years ago would have since evolved into a totally

different language that his people would be using today.

Production

Serial details by episode:

Episode

Broadcast date

Run time

Viewership

(in millions)

"Part One"

18 January 1982

23:36

8.4

"Part Two"

19 January 1982

24:11

8.8

"Part Three"

25 January 1982

24:09

8.8

"Part Four"

26 January 1982

24:53

9.4

The working title for this story was Days Of Wrath.Although was the first story aired which featured Peter Davison as the , this story was the first in the season to be produced.It was originally decided that after Castrovalva, the Doctor

would only have two companions, Adric and Tegan. As a result, the

character of Nyssa was to be written out of the series at the end of

this story. However, Peter Davison strongly opposed this move because

he felt that Nyssa was the companion who was "most suited to his vision

of the Doctor." Given this, producer John Nathan-Turner and the rest of

the production team relented.

In print

book

Four to Doomsday

Series

Release number

77

Writer

Publisher

ISBN

0 426 19334 2

Release date

21 July 1983

Preceded by

Followed by

A novelisation of this serial, written by , was published by in April 1983.

Broadcast, VHS and DVD release

This story was released on in September 2001.

A release has been confirmed for 15th September .

Clockwork Cabaret RSS feed is www.clickcaster.com/channels/clockworkcabaret.xml

Synopsis

Following on from , the Valeyard and the argue about the Doctor’s involvement in those events. The

warns them both to pay due respect to the judicial process. The

Valeyard proceeds to present his second block of evidence - the

Doctor's arrival on the planet Thoros Beta.

The arrives on the planet, where the Doctor shows

a weapon given to him by the "Warlord of Thordon", made on Thoros Beta.

He states that has come to find out how the warlords obtained such

technology. They enter a cave, where Peri is grabbed by a large

monstrous creature, which during a struggle the Doctor shoots with the

gun.

The Valeyard accuses the Doctor of deliberately shooting the monster, but he replies that the weapon went off accidentally.

A figure arrives and accuses the Doctor and Peri of murdering the , despite their protestations that it attacked them first. The figure asks if they are part of 's

group, and the Doctor says that he is. They flee before they can be

identified as imposters, but are quickly faced by another monster, but

it reacts kindly when the Doctor is nice to it. They are forced to flee

further, and as they hide they see three reptilian figures being

carried along by guards, the third of the figures is shown to be their

old enemy .

The Doctor realises that Sil is probably behind the arms sales, and

informs Peri that Thoros Beta is the home world of Sil's race, the .

In Crozier's laboratory, King Yrcanos is being experimented on, and

the Doctor and Peri sneak inside. As the Doctor sabotages some of Kiv's

equipment, Sil arrives in the laboratory. The Doctor is strapped to a

table, and Crozier applies a metal helmet to his head. Crozier states

that the equipment to extract the truth from a suspect, and that

technique could prove fatal. He starts to probe the Doctor's mind, but

Yrcanos awakes and destroys the equipment. Overpowering the guards he

departs the laboratory, followed by a stunned Doctor and Peri. Yrcanos

outlines his plans to attack the Mentors. The Doctor says he would

enjoy that, and then collapses.

The Doctor tells the Inquisitor that he cannot remember these

events. The Valeyard tells him he is in for a surprise if this is true.

Yrcanos, the Doctor and Peri go to where new slaves are brought into

the base. Yrcanos plans to attack the guards and steal their weapons,

but as he sneaks into the room, the Doctor calls out to the guards,

giving him away. Yrcanos, unable to fight the guards, flees. Peri

points a weapon at Sil, and asks the Doctor for help, but he ignores

her. Peri drops the weapon and flees after Yrcanos. Sil asks the Doctor

why he helped the Mentors, and he replies that the odds were on their

side.

The Doctor insists that the footage is not of him, but the Valeyard tells him that the Matrix cannot lie.

Peri comes across Matrona, who allows her to join the Mentors'

servants rather than turn her over to the guards. Covered with a veil,

she enters the Commerce Room with Kiv's medication. The Doctor calls to

her to get him a drink, so she disguises her voice to avoid being

recognised. When she brings him a new drink, the Doctor uncovers her

and denounces her as an enemy to the Mentors.

The Doctor tells the Courtroom that what they are seeing is all

part of his ploy. He says he planned to gain the Mentors' trust so that

he would be allowed to interrogate her alone, giving them a chance to

escape.

Peri is lashed to rocks on the shoreline and the Doctor stands over

her, accusing of being a spy. She asks why he is behaving the way he

is, and the Doctor tells her that Crozier is planning to put Kiv's

brain into his body unless he can help them. Crozier stops the

interegation, saying that they have more effective methods of

extracting the truth from Peri. As they re-enter the complex, Yrcanos

attacks the guard, and threatens to kill the Doctor. However, Peri

smashes the gun from Yrcanos's hands allowing the Doctor to flee. In

Crozier's laboratory, the scientist prepares to transplant Kiv's brain

into a recently deceased Mentor corpse with the help of The Doctor. The

operation proves successful.

Meanwhile, Yrcanos, Peri and Dorf team up with members of the Alphan

resistance. Agreeing to allow Yrcanos to lead them in an attack on the

Mentors, they go to the resistance arms dump, but they are ambushed by

Mentor guards and shot down. However, it is revealed they have merely

been stunned, and they are taken to cells.

In Crozier's laboratory, Lord Kiv is rambling due to the body of the

fisherman influencing his brain. Crozier makes plans to transfer the

brain into another more suitable body, and suggests using Peri. The

Doctor says he would prefer that she is not experimented on, but while

he is trying to find another candidate, Peri is brought to the

laboratory, and strapped to the operating table. Crozier begins to

prepare her for the surgery.

The Doctor goes to Yrcanos's cell and tricks the guard allowing

Yrcanos and Dorf to escape. Together they free the remaining resistance

members. They head towards the control room from where all the slaves

are mentally controlled and succeed in freeing the slaves from mental

control, but Dorf is killed by a passing guard. Lord Kiv is taken to

the laboratory to prepare for the operation. As the Doctor heads

towards the lab, he is summoned by the Time Lords and promptly vanishes.

The Inquisitor tells the Doctor this was the result of an order

from the High Council, because the result of Crozier's experiment would

affect all life in the Universe.

As Yrcanos prepares his attack on the laboratory, the Time Lords

capture him in a time bubble so that his attack is perfectly timed.

When Kiv awakes in Peri's bald body, the time bubble dissipates and

Yrcanos bursts into the laboratory. He is consumed with fury and begins

firing his gun wildly.

The Doctor is shocked by what he has seen. The Inquisitor and

the Valeyard tell him that it was necessary to end Peri's life to

prevent the disastrous consequences of Crozier's experiment. The Doctor

insists that he was fetched out of time for some other reason, and he

is going to find out what.

Continuity

Sil appeared in the previous season in the serial .It's often debated amongst fandom[]

as to what exactly happens during this story. It is stated on screen

that the Valeyard has somehow distorted events, and that the actual

scenes are by and large presented correctly but merely that the

Doctor's performance has been distorted to show him in the worst

possible light to the court. Many such scenes are prevalent throughout

the story, leading fandom to great confusion as it isn't entirely clear

which bits are "real" and which were concocted by the Valeyard. There

are several theories:

That the events seen are the true events, but distorted to show the

Doctor in the worst possible light. For example, his line 'Look out

behind you' is shown on screen as the Doctor giving King Yrcanos away

to some guards, whereas the "true" events might very well have been the

Doctor warning him of an attacker sneaking up ('Look out, behind

you!'). It's all in how the line is pronounced rather than what the line is.That the Doctor was fried by the "Mindwarp" machine, which is why

he exhibits 'out of character' behaviour throughout the story. The

event is shown on screen, but as to whether it really occurred or not

is still an event of great contention.That the Doctor is pretending to have been twisted by the

"Mindwarp" machine, whilst really seeking to find a way to put things

right. In the courtroom the Doctor claims this is the case, though he

is at this stage unable to recall events.

The Doctor meets Peri again in two spin off stories. She features in the novel by . A post-Mindwarp hallucination of Peri appears in the play . The relationship of spin off media to the television series is open to interpretation by the individual.

Production

Serial details by episode:

Episode

Broadcast date

Run time

Viewership

(in millions)

"Part Five"

4 October 1986

24:42

4.8

"Part Six"

11 October 1986

24:45

4.6

"Part Seven"

18 October 1986

24:33

5.1

"Part Eight"

25 October 1986

24:44

5.0

Music

Initially it was intended that the would provide music scores for both this and the following segment of The Trial of a Time Lord; both were assigned to to begin with, although got re-assigned to shortly afterwards. However, fellow Radiophonic Workshop composer

left early in 1986 and was not replaced until the following year,

leaving the other composers backlogged and no-one free to do the

incidental music for Mindwarp. It was suggested that could provide both the music and sound effects, but rejected this idea and instead hired film composer to create the incidental music for this segment. It would be the only time that Hartley worked on the series.

Casting

Trevor Laird returned to Doctor Who in the era as , father of the Doctor's companion . Similarly, Christopher Ryan returned in 2008 as leader General Staal in and .

Commercial releases

In October 1993, this story was released on as part of the three-tape The Trial of a Time Lord set. A DVD release is due on September 29th ,

similarly packaged with the other stories in The Trial of a Time Lord

season. Special Features include: deleted and extended scenes • "The

Making of the Trial of a Time Lord - Part Two - Mindwarp" (a 20-minute

feature) • "Now and Then - On the Trial of a Time Lord" (a 21-minute

feature) • "A Fate Worse Than Death" Feature • Doctor Who Lenny Henry

sketch • BBC archival footage • TV Talkback archival footage • photo gallery • trails and continuities.

In print

book

Mindwarp

Series

Release number

139

Writer

Publisher

Cover artist

ISBN

0 426 20335 6

Release date

15 June 1989

Preceded by

Followed by

A novelisation of this serial, written by , was published by in June 1989 and was the final segment of the Trial arc to be adapted. Martin's novelisation adds a joke ending that gives away the revelation regarding Peri's fate in The Ultimate Foe, suggesting an entirely different outcome for the character (and for Yrcanos) than is suggested in the serial.

ERROR IN THE PODCAST.

FOR WHICH I AM VERY SORRY. JACKIE LANE HAS NOT PASSED AWAY AS IMPLIED IN THIS TPD.

PLEASE FORGIVE ANY PROBLEMS THAT THIS MAY HAVE CAUSED.

A FULL APOLOGY WILL FOLLOW IN THE NEXT TDP

The War Machines is a in the series , which was first broadcast in 4 weekly parts from to , . This serial is the first appearance of and as the and , as well as marking the departure of as . It should not be confused with the story .

//

Plot

Synopsis

When the

lands in London near the Post Office Tower, the Doctor is unsettled by

it. There the Doctor and Dodo meet Professor Brett, the creator of (Will Operating Thought ANalogue), an advanced computer that even knows what TARDIS stands for. On C-Day, WOTAN will be linked to other major computers to take them over, including those of the , and the .

WOTAN begins to have its own agenda and takes control of Professor

Brett through a hypnotic beeping noise. WOTAN's hypnotic influence is

exerted over many humans including Dodo until the Doctor breaks her out

of it. He subsequently arranges for her to be sent to the country house

of Sir Charles Summer, leader of the Royal Scientific Club, who has

come to the aid of the Doctor.

WOTAN uses its hypnotised workforce in a secret warehouse near

to construct an army of War Machines to take over the world. Major

Green, the chief of security at the Post Office Tower, has been

programmed to oversee the construction of the War Machines. He ensures

that any intruders are dealt with and all humans continue working on

the project until they drop. , Professor Brett's secretary, is one such production line convert, though a friend of hers, Royal Navy ,

evades the production line. He seeks out the Doctor, whom he met

through Dodo before her conditioning, and helps flesh out what is known

about the threat of WOTAN and the War Machines.

The Doctor alerts the army to the warehouse production factory, but

their weapons are somehow disabled when they go to confront the War

Machines. He knows WOTAN is behind the plot too, but can do nothing as

humans cannot enter the Tower through the strong hypnotic beams being

emitted. Given scientific and political support, the Doctor manages to

capture a War Machine using an electromagnetic trap. He changes its

programming and then uses it to enter the Post Office Tower and destroy

WOTAN. This ends the threat and immediately releases the human slaves

from the hypnosis.

Ben and Polly, the two ""

young people the Doctor has befriended during the adventure, meet him

at the TARDIS to explain that they visited Dodo, who has revealed that

she has decided to stay in London. The Doctor thanks them and heads

into the Police Box - followed by Ben and Polly, who enter the TARDIS

with the intent to return Dodo's key to the old man. They are then

suddenly whisked off into time and space...

Continuity

Naming issues

WOTAN is pronounced "Votan" – as, it is explained, the Norse god sometimes was. It stands, though, for Will Operating Thought ANalogue, which is indicative of its ability to connect to the human brain.

WOTAN refers to the Doctor as "Doctor Who" – the only time the

character is ever given this name within the series' narrative (though

he is often credited as such in the end titles). While there is nothing

in the series that directly contradicts it, many fans see this as an

error and several theories have tried to account for it, one noting

that WOTAN may have been misinformed, since it also described the

Doctor as "human". WOTAN also manages to discern the meaning of the

acronym TARDIS; how it manages to do so is not explained.

[] Destination Earth

This serial is the first in the series to be completely set on a

contemporary Earth. The previous landings of the TARDIS in the 1960s

were either brief (the sequence from , several landings during , the stop over on in ) or exceptional (,

where the TARDIS crew were shrunk down to the size of insects and could

not fully interact with present day humans). Here, for the first time,

we see the Doctor take a leading role in the protection of the planet,

which becomes a regular theme for the series from here on.

The decision to set more episodes on present-day Earth was taken

because the producers felt that the audience was becoming bored with

the purely historical episodes that had been a major element of the

show to date. As a result, this story marks the beginning of the turn

away from historical stories. The next two historical stories, "The

Smugglers" (which immediately follows "The War Machines") and Season

4's "The Highlanders", were to be the last historical stories until

Season 19's "Black Orchid".

[] Synchronicity

The episode appears to be set on 20 July 1966 - Ben and Polly leave the Doctor in the Second Doctor story set in London on the same date (see the ).

However, the days of the week mentioned in The War Machines mean it

cannot be 1966 if they're the same in Doctor Who continuity as in the

'real' world.

Curiously, at the start of the latter serial, the Doctor comments that he feels the same sensation as he felt when the

were around. While this appears to be intended to equate the War

Machines and WOTAN to the Daleks, it is interesting to note that the

events of the serial are revealed later in the series to happen

contemporaneously with the serial .

The novel by

is set in an alternate reality where the Doctor had not been around to

stop WOTAN. The villain is never referred to by name, only as "the

Machine", and while he was overthrown thousands were left insane by his

mind-control and Britain was reduced to a technologically backward

dictatorship.

A later serial that also foreshadows the internet is , which features a very similar computer villain.

also sees the Doctor encountering another such being (this time having

been linked with his own brain rather than that of a human) and

commenting on how familiar the threat has become.

Production

Serial details by episode:

Episode

Broadcast Date

Run Time (mm:ss)

Viewers (in millions)

Archive

"Episode 1"

25 June 1966

24:01

5.4

16mm t/r

"Episode 2"

2 July 1966

24:00

4.7

16mm t/r

"Episode 3"

9 July 1966

23:58

5.3

16mm t/r

"Episode 4"

16 July 1966

23:11

5.5

16mm t/r

Source: Error: Production Code not specified.

Working titles for this story included The Computers..

The idea for this story came about when

was being interviewed for a position as science advisor to the series.

The producers asked all of the interviewees what would happen if the

recently-built Post Office Tower somehow took over. Pedler suggested

that it would be the work of a rogue computer that communicated with

the outside world by means of the telephone system. The producers liked

this suggestion and not only offered Pedler the job but developed the

idea into a script (one of the few to feature a 'Story Idea by' credit).

Only one War Machine prop was actually constructed; the production

team changed the numbers, to represent the different machines.

The titling style of each episode in this serial differs from the

standard titles of other serials. Instead of a title overlay, after the

"Doctor Who" logo has faded, the screen shifts to a solid background

containing four inversely-coloured rectangles aligned down the

left-hand side (reminiscent to an old-style computer punch card). The

title, one word at a time, scrolls upwards - "THE", "WAR", "MACH",

"INES" - with a final flash displaying the complete title on two lines.

Another flash reveals the writer, the next flash reveals the word

"EPISODE", and the final flash shows the actual episode number. All of

the lettering displayed in this titling sequence is shown in a

retro-computer font. Each of the four episodes' title sequences have

slight variations to them.

Casting

provided the voice of a policeman heard in Episode four.WOTAN received a credit as "And WOTAN" at the end of the first

three episodes, the only time a fictional character was credited as

itself in the series.'s

contract expired midway through production of this story. She does not

appear again after episode two; Dodo's off-screen departure is relayed

to the Doctor by Polly.This is the last era serial, and the only serial featuring and , to exist in its entirety.

Missing episodes

Aside from its soundtrack (recorded off-air by fans), this serial was lost in . The master videotapes for the story were the last of those starring William Hartnell to be junked, surviving until 1974. The 16mm film copies held by

were also the last of their kind to be destroyed, surviving until 1978,

shortly before the junking of material was halted by the intervention

of fan .

In 1978, a collector in Australia provided a copy of episode 2. Later in 1984 copies of all four episodes were returned from .

Episodes 2, 3 and 4 all had cuts to them, but most have been restored

due to a combination of the other copy of episode 2, material used in a

promotional item on the BBC's and censored clips from .

Some of the restored footage did not have its accompanying soundtrack,

and so the missing sound was restored from the off-air recordings.

To date, only episodes 3 and 4, do not exist in their entirety as

was originally intended. Episode 3 is missing a visual brief bit of

dialogue with Krimpton talking. This was replaced in the VHS release

with a combination of a shot of WOTAN with the accompanied dialogue

from the off-air recordings. Episode 3 is also missing around 59

seconds worth of the battle in the warehouse. Episode 4 is missing only

a small amount of material. The first instance occurs with the man in

the telephone box. Part of the continuing closeup of the man talking on

the telephone is missing, but this was compensated on the VHS release

by continuing in audio-only over the top of the beginning of the high

shot of the phone box. There are also two lines of dialogue missing

when Polly reports back to WOTAN. This scene, however, has not been

re-instated for the VHS release as it was felt that there wouldn't be

enough visual material to drop into the gap.

The DVD release will have all of the episodes in their entirety.

Commercial releases

The serial was released on in 1997, with an item from Blue Peter and a (from the first part of the story) as extras. A DVD issue has been announced for August 25th 2008.

Also, in 2007, an audio CD of the serial's soundtrack, with linking

narration by and bonus interview with Anneke Wills, was released.

In print

book

The War Machines

Series

Release number

136

Writer

Publisher

Cover artist

and

ISBN

0 426 20332 1

Release date

16 February 1989

Preceded by

Followed by

A novelisation of this serial, written by , was published by in February 1989.

The Mysterious Planet is a in the series , which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from to , . It is part of the larger narrative known as , encompassing the whole of the 23rd season.Plot

Synopsis

The materialises in a corridor, and the

steps out bewildered and alone. He walks into a room, where it is

revealed that he is being put on trial for conduct unbecoming a Time

Lord. The notes that the Doctor ,

and the Valeyard states that he will argue that the Doctor was shown

too much leniency on that occasion. The Valeyard opens the case by

using the to show the Doctor's involvement on the planet Ravolox.

The Doctor and arrive on Ravolox, which is virtually identical to .

He tells Peri that the official records state that the planet was

devastated by a fireball, but they note that the forest they are

walking through suggests otherwise. They are seen by

and Dibber, who attempt to shoot the Doctor; but he moves off just in

time. Glitz and Dibber discuss their plan to destroy the "L3 robot" by

sabotaging its light conversion system, which has been turned into a by a primitive tribe on the planet.

The Doctor and Peri find an apparently abandoned building and explore it. Peri discovers a sign saying "" — a sign, which means that they are on Earth. Peri begins to mourn for her planet.

The Doctor asks what the relevance of this is, then asks why

Peri is not with him on the station. The Valeyard answers that she is

where the Doctor left her, and states that the Doctor's evident

temporary amnesia - a side-effect of being taken out of time - should

soon pass.

The Doctor goes into the complex alone because Peri is upset, but

she is captured by two masked figures. Meanwhile, Glitz and Dibber are

brought before Katryca, Queen of the tribe. Glitz claims that the totem

attracted the fireball that devastated Ravolox, and asks for it to be

taken down. The Queen tells him that others have asked for the totem to

be dismantled, and none have succeeded. Glitz and Dibber draw out their

guns, but they are overpowered and locked up.

The Doctor finds an underground complex, but is caught. He is

accused of spying, and sentenced to be stoned. The Doctor tries to

block the rocks with his umbrella, but is knocked unconscious.

The Valeyard proposes that the inquiry into the Doctor's

activities should become a full blown trial, with the penalty being the

termination of his life.

Other officials arrive and break up the stoning. The Doctor is still

breathing, but before he can be killed, Merdeen receives a message from

the Immortal stating that he wishes to question the Doctor. The

Immortal, revealed to be a huge humanoid robot, commands its two

assistants to release the service robot.

Peri is brought before Katryca, who informs Peri that as there are

few women, she will need to take many husbands. She is then put in the

same prison as Glitz and Dibber. They tell Peri their plan to destroy

the Robot. They are taken back to Katryca, who tells them that Glitz

will be sacrificed because of his attempt to destroy the great totem.

The Doctor is taken to the Immortal, who introduces itself as

Drathro. He commands that the Doctor work with the two assistants. The

Doctor identifies the problem, and tries to leave in order to fix it,

but Drathro does not allow him to leave, as his instructions were to

maintain an underground system. The Doctor electrifies the robot and

his assistants, and escapes. Drathro sends the service robot to track

down the Doctor. Meanwhile, Peri, Glitz and Dibber overpower the guards

and escape. Dibber remains behind to plant a bomb on the Black Light

converter, whilst they go to the underground complex.

In Marb Station, Merdeen tells Balazar that there has been no fire

for hundreds of years, and that he should leave the complex. They

encounter the Doctor, and Merdeen implores him to help Balazar escape.

Peri, Glitz and Dibber, pursued by tribesmen, find the Doctor, and they

flee into the Marb Station, but are trapped between the tribe and the

service robot. The tribesmen shoot at the service robot and disable it.

The Doctor tries to re-enter the underground complex, but the tribesmen

insist they all return to the village. There, The Doctor is brought

before Katryca, but she is unimpressed with his explanation of the true

nature of the Totem, and puts them all back in the prison cell. Glitz

confirms that the planet is actually Earth.

Drathro reactivates the service robot, and send it to the village.

It breaks into the building with the Doctor, stuns him and takes him

away. The tribesmen disable the service robot, and decide to attack the

Immortal's castle to steal his technology. Peri rescues the Doctor from

the service robot, and they set off to the underground complex to stop

Katryca and disable the black light system. Katryca and tribesmen

arrive at the Castle, where they are confronted by Drathro,. He

electrocutes Katryca, and dismisses the rest of the tribe.

The Doctor enters Drathro's domain, promising to help repair the

black light system. However, he determines it to be beyond repair, and

tells Drathro that he must shut down the Black Light System to prevent

a massive explosion. Drathro refuses to allow that as it would mean its

own destruction. The Doctor pleads with him, saying that the explosion

could destroy the entire universe, but that only makes Drathro

determined to allow what he thinks is a unique event.

Balazar and Peri plead with Merdeen to help them, noting that he

would die if the converter exploded. Glitz and Dibber arrive and follow

them into the Castle through a food chute. Drathro attempts to kill by

turning on the food processing system, but Dibber shoots him through

the wall. Glitz tells Drathro that they have black light on their ship,

and offers to take the robot to the Andromeda Galaxy. Drathro agrees,

and leaves with Glitz and Dibber.

The Doctor realises that the black light system has already begun to

self-destruct, and that all he can do is prevent it starting a chain

reaction. The system explodes, but the blast only destroys the Castle,

and as a result Drathro collapses. The Doctor and Peri leave Merdeen

and Balazar to take the remaining inhabitants to a new life on the

surface.

The Doctor announces to the court that he has saved the

Universe, and starts to present his defence. The Valeyard warns the

Doctor that he has more evidence to come, and that the Court will

demand the Doctor's life at the end.

Continuity

The reason why Earth has become Ravalox, as well as the reasons for the Fireball, are explained in , the final part of the Season.The relationship between the Sixth Doctor and Peri is less abrasive

in this story than in the previous season. Both Colin Baker and Nicola

Bryant wanted to show how travelling together had made their characters

less combative and argumentative. Both this and the changes in their

appearances, particularly Peri's hairstyle and mode of dress suggest a

long gap between this story and their previous on-screen appearance in and allowing for "unseen" adventures in the spin-off media to be placed there.Early in Part One, the Doctor appears to be about to reveal his

surname for the first and only time in the entire series (but see , and further discussion in ).The Inquisitor and the Valeyard reference the events of .The Doctor's claim that he cannot be on trial as

and the Inquisitor's explanation that he had been removed were

reportedly added to the script after Colin Baker noticed the apparent .Recovering from unconsciousness, the Doctor briefly slips back into

the personality of one of his previous selves, allowing Colin Baker to

do an impersonation of . He even uses the phrase, "."In this serial, the First Law of Time refers to the well-documented

Time Lord policy of non-interference, as opposed to specifically

forbidding a Time Lord meeting a past or future incarnation and

therefore interfering with his own history, as stated in earlier

serials.

Production

The details available for each episode of this story are outlined in the table below.

Episode

Broadcast Date

Run Time

Ratings

"Part One"

06 Sep 1986

24'57"

4.9m

"Part Two"

13 Sep 1986

24'44"

4.9m

"Part Three"

20 Sep 1986

24'18"

3.9m

"Part Four"

27 Sep 1986

24'20"

3.7m

Preproduction

In February 1985, the BBC announced that the planned twenty-third season of Doctor Who had been canceled. After vocal protests by the press and Doctor Who fans (including a charity single, ),

the BBC announced that the progamme was merely on "hiatus", and would

return in September 1986. Several stories which had been planned or

commissioned for the original Season 23 were in favour of an overarching "trial" theme, reflecting the fact that the programme itself was on trial at the BBC.

This story was the last complete Doctor Who story written by . Its plot is similar to Holmes' first contribution to Doctor Who, . In both stories, an alien machine subjugates a humanoid civilization and forces its brightest young people into its service.

[] Casting

The actor playing Merdeen, Tom Chadbon, had previously appeared in the 1979 serial .

Production

The opening model shot of the Time Lord Space Station where the

trial is held throughout the season was the most expensive model shot

from the classic series run (costing more than £8,000). The sequence depicts the Time Lord Space Station orbiting in space then dragging the TARDIS inside via the use of a .

From this serial onwards, all location work would be recorded on

Outside Broadcast (OB) tape instead of 16mm film. This practice would

continue until the end of the series. The only footage shot on film for

this episode was the opening special effects shot of the TARDIS. The

had been encouraging the replacement of film cameras with OB cameras

since the early 1980s on the grounds that they were cheaper, and mixed

with studio-shot material better. John Nathan-Turner had actually

wanted to switch to OB shooting as early as 's first season in 1982, but met with resistance from the directors working on the show at the time.

Post-production

was hired to score the music for The Mysterious Planet,

and John Nathan-Turner offered him the chance to rearrange the opening

title music. His new score for the opening theme was the shortest

lived, lasting this season alone (not counting the unused 1973 version

by and ). Some saw it as an improvement on the version, while others criticized it for being "too quiet" or "not scary enough". It has since been used on the majority of the featuring Colin Baker as the .

Commercial releases

In October 1993, this story was released on as part of the three-tape The Trial of a Time Lord set. A DVD release is due in , similarly boxed with the other stories in The Trial of a Time Lord season.

In print

book

The Mysterious Planet

Series

Release number

127

Writer

Publisher

Cover artist

ISBN

0 426 20319 4

Release date

19th November 1987 (Hardback)

21st April 1988 (Paperback)

Preceded by

Followed by

A novelisation of this serial, written by , was published by in November 1987.

External links

at at the at at

Reviews

reviews at reviews at

Target novelisation

The Brain of Morbius is a in the series , which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from to , .

Contents

[]

//

Notes to follow shortly