033 - The Moonbase

Broadcast:

11^th February - 4^th March 1967

Doctor:

Patrick Troughton

Companions:

Ben, Polly, Jamie

Adversary:

Cybermen

Written by:

Kit Pedler, Gerry Davis¹

Director:

Morris Barry

Music:

Stock

Script Editor:

Gerry Davis

Producer:

Innes Lloyd

Average Viewers:

8.33m (8.1, 8.9, 8.2, 8.1)

Summary: A mysterious plague is decimating the staff of a weather controlling station on the Moon and the afflicted start to disappear when unexpected guests arrive. Can the Doctor find the cure, prove his innocence and fend off an attack on the base?

As with the previous story, The Moonbase was written before Jamie was added to the list of travellers and had to be adjusted to include him. The easiest option was to knock him out and make him a victim of the mysterious illness. Frazer Hines felt like his character was being sidelined, but it gave him a gentle easing into the series and allowed for some heritage to be added (his clan's "phantom piper") as well as making him the centre of viewers concerns...

In the news, 197 pages of Leonardo da Vinci's workings were discovered in Spain, Jim Garrison claimed that the Kennedy assassination had been planned as part of a conspiracy in New Orleans and that he would solve the case, and Britain launched HMS Renown, its second nuclear armed submarine. Jamaica had a new Prime Minister, Trinidad and Tobago became the first Commonwealth nation to join the Organization of American States and the Soviet Union announced it had sent troops to the Chinese boarder. The Soviets also carried out nuclear tests in Kazakhstan and forbade satellite states from having diplomatic relations with West German (nearly a month after Romania established just that). In slightly lighter news, the home of Rolling Stone Keith Richards was raided by police ultimately resulting in him, Mick Jagger and art dealer Robert Fraser being charged with possession of drugs; Queens Park Rangers won the first League Cup to feature a single-match final, becoming the first 3rd Division team to win; the first North Sea gas was pumped ashore and the Queen Elizabeth Hall opened in London.

Cinemas at the time of broadcast were showing films such as Funeral in Berlin, Just Like a Woman and The Taming of the Shrew while the music charts saw The Monkees complete their four weeks at the top with "I'm a Believer" followed by Petula Clark's "This Is My Song" and then Engelbert Humperdinck began a six week run with "Release Me".

Meanwhile, the TARDIS is careering out of control as the Doctor tries to visit Mars...

029 - The Tenth Planet

Broadcast:

8^th - 29^th October 1966

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Ben, Polly

Adversary:

Cybermen

Written by:

Kit Pedler, Gerry Davis¹

Director:

Derek Martinus

Music:

Stock Only

Script Editor:

Gerry Davis

Producer:

Innes Lloyd

Average Viewers:

6.75m (5.5, 6.4, 7.6, 7.5)

Summary: A mysterious new planet appears in the sky and is draining power from space craft orbiting Earth. Cybernetically enhanced men arrive on Earth wanting to take over as their planet is doomed, But the Doctor may be too ill to help either planet...

The Tenth Planet is an important and ground-breaking serial in many ways. It was the first produced in the fourth production block (The Smugglers was the first broadcast story of season four but had been held over from the end of the previous block), the last to feature William Hartnell as the lead and therefore the first to feature a regeneration. It was also the first real change in story style as Lloyd and Davis swung the show away from fanciful wonder and towards scientifically grounded drama. It introduced the Cybermen and the 'isolated base under siege' format that would be re-used for years to come, as well as a strongly international cast of characters working together. Sadly, the final episode is missing from the archives but thanks to a 10th anniversary feature on Blue Peter, the actual regeneration moment does survive, though it is very tightly clipped. A few other short clips exist thanks to off-air recordings and they provide a tantalisingly ropey glimpse at the build up. For the DVD however, the whole episode has been lovingly recreated as animation, though the lipsynch is somewhat questionable.

Running practically in parallel with The Tenth Planet was a four-part serial called "Talking to a Stranger" which would go on to be acclaimed as one of the finest British television dramas of the 1960s. Meanwhile, unemployment went up by 100,000 on the previous month (a rise of about 30%), the Montreal metro system was inaugurated and the United States made LSD illegal, even shutting down controlled studies. France and the Soviet Union signed a cooperation treaty for nuclear research, Basutoland gained independence, was renamed Lesotho and along with Botswana joined the UN two weeks later. Dominating the news however, must have been a catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip in the Welsh village of Aberfan which killing 116 children and 28 adults when the slurry engukfed a school. It was caused by an excessive build up of water and the previous disregard by the Nation Coal Board of warnings that the site was unsuitable for tipping. This lead to the creation of legislation regarding mine and quarry tips which had hitherto been unregulated.

In the cinemas were such films as The Chase, Fantastic Voyage, and the Elvis film Spinout while Jim reeves completed his five week run at the top of the music charts with "Distant Drums" and the Four Tops began their three week run with "Reach Out I'll Be There"

Oh and the current Prime Minister David Cameron was born.