030 - The Power Of The Daleks

Broadcast:

5^th November - 10^th December 1966

Doctor:

Patrick Troughton

Companions:

Polly, Ben

Adversary:

Daleks

Written by:

David Whitaker, Dennis Spooner ¹

Director:

Christopher Barry

Music:

Stock

Script Editor:

Gerry Davis

Producer:

Innes Lloyd

Average Viewers:

7.8m (7.9, 7.8, 7.5, 7.8, 8.0, 7.8)

Summary: The Doctor has a new face, or is he a different person? On the human colony planet Vulcan a spacecraft made of untarnishable metal has been found in mercury swamps and contains some impressive machinery but is this alien technology really as good as the the scientists think or could it be put to bad use by a rebel group?

Among the most wished for missing stories, The Power Of The Daleks must surely rank near the top. It's a cracking story in its own right and has even been remade in recent years, but crucially, it is Patrick Troughton's real début as the Second Doctor. His face may have appeared at the end of The Tenth Planet but it wasn't until the next episode that viewers got to see him in full. The reprise begins at the start of the cross-fade in what we now refer to as the regeneration and thus William Hartnell makes as much of an appearance in this episode as Troughton did in the last (his face also appears in a mirror as the new Doctor examines himself though that was achieved with a photo). All of this, of course, is to remind viewers that the Doctor has changed, but is still the same man...

As The Power Of The Daleks commenced broadcast, 38 African states were demanding that the UK use force against the Rhodesian government and by the end, Prime Minister Harold Wilson and Rhodesian Prime minister Ian Smith began negotiations aboard HMS Tiger in the Mediterranean. In between times, the actor Ronald Reagan was elected Governor of California and would take office in January and would ultimately become the 40th President Of America 14 years later. In the Republic of Ireland, Seán Lemass retired as Taoiseach and was replaced by Jack Lynch. An attempted coup in Togo was crushed by the army and Barbados gained independence, whilst closer to home the Rootes Group launched the Hillman Hunter and unemployment took another rise of 100,000 people and passed the half-million mark.

In the cinemas were the likes of a ballet interpretation of Romeo and Juliet, a Cliff Richard musical Finders Keepers and a Hammer Horror The Witches (not to be mistaken for the Roald Dahl book adaptation of 24 years later!), while on television, a quarter of the British population would be watching the BBC's documentary-style drama "Cathy Come Home" which had a lasting effect on public attitudes to social issues relating to homelessness. The music charts saw the Four Tops complete their run at the top with "Reach Out I'll Be There" followed by two weeks of The Beach Boys "Good Vibrations" and the start of a seven week run for Tom Jones "Green, Green Grass of Home". Unbeknownst to everyone, the Beatles were about to hit 'interesting' times as they began working on their highly acclaimed, multi-award winning concept album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and John Lennon met Yoko Ono...

As for Ben and Polly, they were about to have some life changing experiences of their own as they met two surprising characters... one of whom was their friend the Doctor!

026 - The Savages

Broadcast:

28^th - 18^th June 1966

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Steven, Dodo

Adversary:

Scientists

Written by:

Ian Stuart Black

Director:

Christopher Barry

Music:

Raymond Jones

Script Editor:

Gerry Davis

Producer:

Innes Lloyd

Average Viewers:

4.98m (4.8, 5.6, 5.0, 4.5)

Summary: Some time in the future, an advanced society live inside a perfect city with the ability to revitalise life. Outside the city, however, savage primitives are left to fend for themselves.

It is such a shame that the video for this story is among the missing. It is perhaps not the greatest Doctor Who story, but it is the first commissioned and fully controlled by the Lloyd/Davis team and therefore the first to have an over-all title and episodes simply being called "Part 1" etc. Very quickly, it feels different to pretty much everything that has gone before and with hindsight it is clearly a sign of things to come. They could finally start to sweep away the cobwebs in their attempt to revitalise the show and the final two stories of the season would see each of the companions bow out... and the star lead would soon learn that his position was no longer guaranteed either!

In the news, Fidel Castro declared martial law in Cuba in fear of a U.S. attack, The Nigerian government outlawed all political activity until 1969 (in fact, military rule would effectively prevail until 1998), and a tornado devastated Topeka, Kansas killing 16, injuring hundreds and was the first to cause $100m worth of damage. The US Supreme Court, meanwhile, introduced the 'Miranda Rights' requiring suspects to be informed of their rights before questioning (similar but unrelated legislation would arrive in Britain twelve years later). Closer to home, Guyana gained independence from UK and Éamon de Valera was re-elected as Irish president. Comedy series "Till Death Us Do Part" had it's TV début, while The Rolling Stones' "Paint It, Black" handed the number one spot over to Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night" in the music charts. Finally, cinemas were showing, among other things, A Patch of Blue, The Agony and the Ecstasy, and The Trouble with Angels.

For Doctor Who viewers, the TARDIS had last been seen departing from the Wild West and arriving, according to the Doctor, in a time of great advancement and prosperity... but the scanner screen showed a primitive looking man in animal skins...

012 - The Romans

Broadcast:

16^th January - 6^th February 1965

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Ian, Barbara, Vicki

Adversary:

Roman Slave Traders

Written by:

Dennis Spooner

Director:

Christopher Barry

Music:

Raymond Jones

Script Editor:

David Whitaker / Dennis Spooner¹

Producer:

Verity Lambert

Average Viewers:

11.6m (13, 11.5, 10, 12)

Summary: The TARDIS drops in on ancient Rome and the travellers take a break until they are separated and taken on separate paths that both lead to the Emperor's palace but never quite cross...

Still on a high from The Dalek Invasion Of Earth, Doctor Who was about to take its first knock. Not that viewing numbers were especially bad, they were still in double figures, but they dropped it out of the top ten and barely scraped past 50% in the audience Appreciation Index. It was just a blip in the short term but it wouldn't be long before the numbers (both viewers and AI) would be on a steady decline until Hartnell's departure. Focusing on The Romans, the biggest problem was innovation. Verity Lambert had brought in Dennis Spooner as the new Script Editor to inject some humour. He had written The Reign Of Terror which had gone down well but The Romans was an experiment ahead of its time, stepping too far into the realms of comedy for most viewers and verged on farce in episode three. It was also criticised for being historically inaccurate (though the specifics of the complaints are rather minimal in the context of the show and its production limitations) which isn't good for a show that is supposed to be educational. However, given the path the show would eventually head in and the way we view it today, The Romans actually works quite nicely for the most part.

Back in 1965, moods were perhaps too sombre to appreciate Doctor Who's joviality and former Prime Minister Winston Churchill died during this serial's run with his funeral gathering representatives from 112 countries - the largest such gathering until the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005. Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as U.S. President and the premiers of Northern Ireland and the Republic Of Ireland met for the first time in 43 years. On the day the last episode was broadcast, footballer Sir Stanley Matthews played his last game at the age of 50 and folk-pop singer Donovan made his first appearance on ITV's "Ready, Steady, Go!" while Paul Simon could have been heard on BBC Radio for the first time showcasing songs that would go on to appear on his album "The Paul Simon Song Book". Topping the charts were three classics from Georgie Fame, The Moody Blues, and The Righteous Brothers ("Yeh Yeh", "Go Now" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" respectively) while cinemas were showing My Fair Lady and the second Inspector Clouseau film A Shot In The Dark

The Rescue had ended with the TARDIS materialising on the edge of a cliff and wobbling before dropping off and falling out of shot! How would the travellers get out of this one as The Romans began...?

011 - The Rescue

Broadcast:

2^nd - 9^th January 1965

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Ian, Barbara¹

Adversary:

Didonian Native and Sand Beast

Written by:

David Whitaker

Director:

Christopher Barry

Music:

Tristram Cary²

Script Editor:

Dennis Spooner³

Producer:

Verity Lambert

Average Viewers:

12.5m (12, 13)

Summary: The survivors of a crashed rocket ship are harassed by a native as they await their rescue ship. When the TARDIS arrives, the Doctor recognises the planet but the natives apparent behaviour doesn't match his previous experience there...

Doctor Who started the new year very strongly. The Invasion Of The Daleks had ended 1964 with a strong story and excellent viewing figures but left a companion shaped hole. The Rescue was set to introduce a new character who would fill that hole and although it was only two episodes it packed in a whole range of emotions for the new character and it seems her full range was explored to satisfy any fan concerns. As you can see, both episodes performed very well and the second set a new record that would not be matched for more than ten years. This story saw the start of the second recording block so everyone is very fresh and put in strong performances. It also saw David Whitaker hand over the Story Editor role to Dennis Spooner but naturally left him with nothing to do having written the scripts himself.

In terms of news, T.S. Eliot had just died, Donald Campbell set new world speed record on water at 276.33mph, and the "Worboys Committee" standards for road signs (that determine how signs look today) came into play. On the day the first episode of The Rescue was broadcast, ITV began it's "World of Sport" as a rival to the BBC's "Grandstand", while the BBC themselves introduced "Not Only... But Also..." the following week. Ronnie and Reggie Kray (twins aged 31) were arrested on suspicion of running a protection racket in London and the Beatles continued their five week run at number one with "I Feel Fine" while cinemas were showing comedy "The Yellow Rolls-Royce" and collection of pop music "Pop Gear" (hosted by the then popular DJ but now notorious Jimmy Savile)

One thing to watch out for at the very beginning of the first episode is the sound of the TARDIS landing. For the first time the wheezing, groaning 'engine' noise is heard from outside as the Police Box fades into place. It doesn't end with the thud that would become standard in later years and it was by no means a fixed sound that every director was expected to use but Christopher Barry had set a president that would eventually be a core TARDIS feature

002 - The Daleks

Broadcast:

21^st December 1963 - 1^st February 1964

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Ian, Barbara, Susan

Adversary:

Daleks

Written by:

Terry Nation

Director:

Christopher Barry, Richard Martin

Music:

Tristram Cary

Script Editor:

David Whitaker

Producer:

Verity Lambert

Average Viewers:

8.97m (6.9, 6.4, 8.9, 9.9, 9.9, 10.4, 10.4)

Summary: A petrified forest, pacifist farmers and mutants determined to wipe them out. A post apocalyptic tale where nuclear threat is still a reality. The travellers find themselves stuck on a radiation soaked planet, captured by one faction and determined to help the other.

Doctor Who has gained reasonable interest so far and while the world has come to terms with the loss of JFK the Cold War is very much still weighing it down. As 1963 draws to a close The Beatles are still at No. 1 with "I Want To Hold Your Hand" followed by "Glad All Over" (Dave Clark Five) and "Needles And Pins" (Searchers). At the cinema are It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and The Pink Panther. On television, satirical comedy show That Was the Week That Was came to an end after two years (to avoid any clashes with the coming years general election), and Top Of The Pops was broadcast for the first time and would run for 42 years. Sticking with music television, viewers who stayed with BBC Television after episode 5 of The Daleks would have seen Carole Anne Ford on the panel of Jukebox Jury!

Audiences didn't know it, but they were about to meet the most enduring adversaries the Doctor would ever face. Even as the second episode was broadcast and the Daleks made their first appearance the BBC's Head Of Drama, Sydney Newman, still wasn't convinced - Verity Lambert had assured him that there really was no choice but to use them and their story because nothing else was ready. It wouldn't be long before he graciously admitted to being wrong and the shows future was assured by the huge success of this story...