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.

028 - The Smugglers

Broadcast:

10^th Septembers - 1^st October 1966

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Ben, Polly

Adversary:

Pirates and Smugglers

Written by:

Brian Hayles

Director:

Julia Smith

Music:

None

Script Editor:

Gerry Davis

Producer:

Innes Lloyd

Average Viewers:

4.48m (4.3, 4.9, 4.2, 4.5)

Summary: Two travellers from the swinging sixties find themselves in Cornwall but can't believe its the 17th century. When they get caught up with smugglers and missing treasures they start to believe.

The start of Doctor Who's fourth series was not a happy one. Modern practice is for a series opener to be strong and worthy of big promotion to draw attention and herald the return of the show, but in the 1960s it was common for serials to be held over from the end of the previous recording block. In production terms, The Smugglers was the last serial made for series 3 before everyone took a break. Michael Craze and Anneke Wills were still fresh as this was only their second story as Ben and Polly (and their first as full-on companions) but for the regular production staff it was the end of a long and turbulent year that had seen a change of Script Editor and two changes of Producer with the difficult ramifications of such hand-overs. William Hartnell in particular was unhappy and unwell and is largely written out of this story as the Doctor seems to get side-lined while Ben and Polly take much of the lead. Consequently, viewing figures were at an all-time low

027 - The War Machines

Broadcast:

25^th June - 16^th July 1966

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Dodo, Polly, Ben

Adversary:

Sentient Computer, Robots/Machines

Written by:

Ian Stuart Black, Kit Pedler¹

Director:

Michael Ferguson

Music:

None

Script Editor:

Gerry Davis

Producer:

Innes Lloyd

Average Viewers:

5.23m (5.4, 4.7, 5.3, 5.5)

Summary: The newly opened communications hub in the Post Office Tower is taken over by its intelligent computer. Rather than joining the world's chief computers together to better human existence, it decides the world would be better off without us and issues instructions for war machines to be built.

The third season of Doctor Who was about to come to an end and the Lloyd/Davis broom was in full sweep. Not only was the companion change-over about to be completed but the adventure itself was something new. Since the Doctor left 1960s Earth in the very first episode he had only returned on three brief occasions plus one adventure that prevented any kind of normal interaction (Planet Of Giants saw the TARDIS crew reduced to the size of insects for the entire story, while The Chase, The Daleks' Master Plan, and The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve all featured 'passing through' moments)... The War Machines would be the first time a full story involved a contemporary setting with full scale threats and it was hoped that such stories could replace the less popular historicals.

In the news, an anti Vietnam war demonstration outside the US Embassy in London turned violent resulting in 31 of the 4000 protesters being arrested. France withdrew it's armed forces from NATO's integrated military command, the Warsaw Pact agreed to support North Vietnam and British Prime Minister Harold Wilson flew to Moscow to attempt (but ultimately fail) to negotiate peace. In Africa, Malawi became a republic two years after gaining independence from the UK and Zambia threatened to leave the commonwealth over the situation in Rhodesia. Closer to home, Princess Beatrice (Queen Victoria's granddaughter) died, Barclays introduced the Barclay Card as the first British credit card, and the FIFA World Cup got under way in England with 'World Cup Willie' being the first World Cup mascot.

In terms of entertainments, cinemas were showing the likes of The Moving Target, The Wrong Box, and The Glass Bottom Boat while the music charts were topped by "Paperback Writer" (The Beatles) and "Sunny Afternoon" (The Kinks)

Doctor Who itself was about to get some swinging beats as well with the Doctor's companions getting acquainted in a hip new nightclub called Inferno (which, coincidentally, has its own resonance considering other Doctor Who episode titles - the final episode of The Romans 18 months prior and the Third Doctor story Inferno 4 years later)

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...

025 - The Gunfighters

Broadcast:

30^th April - 21^st May 1966

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Steven, Dodo

Adversary:

The Clanton Brothers

Written by:

Donald Cotton

Director:

Rex Tucker

Music:

Tristram Cary

Script Editor:

Gerry Davis

Producer:

Innes Lloyd

Average Viewers:

6.25m (6.5, 6.6, 6.2, 5.7)

Summary: Arriving in the Wild West, the Doctor finds himself mistaken for Doc Holliday and becomes the target of the Clanton Brothers' revenge. It's time for the gunfight at the O.K. Corral...

The Gunfighters represents some interesting points in Doctor Who's history. It is the last commissioned by the team of Wiles and Tosh, and therefore the last that Lloyd and Davis had to wrangle to fit their own style. Related to this is the fact that it is the last story to feature individual episode titles. As an historical adventure focusing on specific events, it is the first to contain serious misrepresentation of the facts (aside from the travellers' presence of course) and the last to focus on real events. It infamously received the lowest Audience Appreciation Index (though later figures were calculated differently and may not be comparable), the final episode in particular which also had one of the lowest number of viewers. On a brighter note, Anthony Jabobs who plays Doc Holliday, is the father of Matthew Jacobs who visited him on set and went on to write the TV Movie (where the Doctor returns to America and dons a Wyatt Earp costume!)

Around the world at the time, various political and military struggles continued. US troops in America reached a quarter million, while tens of thousands picketed the White House in protest. Mao Zedong issued the 'May 16 Notice' beginning the Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic Of China and intending to enforce communism by removing capitalist, traditional and cultural elements from Chinese society. It would last ten years and cripple the country politically, economically and socially.

In the UK, the Moors Murders trial ended with Ian Brady being found guilty of three murders, each carrying a life sentence, while Myra Hindley was found guilty of two murders and an accessory to the third. It would be almost twenty years before they were officially connected with their other two victims. A two month strike began by seamen, Liverpool won the First Division title while Everton won the FA Cup by scoring three goals in the last 16 minutes to overcome Sheffield Wednesday's 2-0 lead.

Musically, The Beach Boys released their "Pet Sounds" album, Bob Dylan released "Blonde On Blonde" and the British charts were topped by Manfred Mann's "Pretty Flamingo" and the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black". Meanwhile cinemas were showing Elvis Presley's Frankie And Johnny, Othello which featuring future Master actor Derek Jacobi, and most fittingly Westerns Ride Beyond Vengeance and Gunpoint. But how would the Doctor, Seven and Dodo cope when faced by pistol swinging, Stetson wearing, liquor swigging cowboys on a tight TV budget...?

024 - The Celestial Toymaker

Broadcast:

2^nd - 23^rd April 1966

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Steven, Dodo

Adversary:

Celestial Toymaker

Written by:

Brian Hayles (Extensively rewritten by Donald Tosh)

Director:

Bill Sellars

Music:

Dudley Simpson

Script Editor:

Gerry Davis

Producer:

Innes Lloyd

Average Viewers:

8.3m (8.0, 8.0, 9.4, 7.8)

Summary: Trapped by the Celestial Toymaker, the travellers must play his games to win their freedom, but will he play fairly?

Continuing Doctor Who's transition, The Celestial Toymaker was the first under new producer Innes Lloyd and with Gerry Davis he wanted to refresh the show and take it in new and exciting directions. However, due to the show's almost constant production they would first have to get past stories inherited from John Wiles and Donald Tosh. The credit for The Celestial Toymaker is given to Brian Hayles but his original draft fell short of what Wiles and Tosh had wanted and was therefore rewritten (with the agreement that Tosh would receive the main credit while Hayles would receive a "From an idea by" credit - this would have been possible because Tosh knew he would no longer be Script Editor when it was transmitted). However, Lloyd wasn't happy with it when he took over and chose to have further rewrites carried out by Davis, including an idea to write out and replace William Hartnell. Unsurprisingly, Donald Tosh was unhappy with the new scripts and refused to have his name associated with it so the credit fell back to Brian Hayles despite bearing very little relation to his work!

While children were watching Steven and Dodo playing the Celestial Toymaker's twisted games, their parents were following political developments as Prime Minister Harold Wilson bolstered his fragile and unworkable majority by winning a snap election with an extra 91 seats. In Russia, Leonid Brezhnev became General Secretary of the Soviet Union, as well as Leader of the Communist Party of the U.S.S.R. while the Soviet space probe Luna 10 became the first man-made object to enter orbit around the moon. Back in the UK, Barry Butler, captain of Norwich City F.C. was killed in a car accident, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley finally went on trial and Hoverlloyd inaugurate the first Cross-Channel hovercraft service. The music charts were topped by "Somebody Help Me" (The Spencer Davis Group) and "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (Dusty Springfield), while cinemas were showing the likes of Battle of the Bulge, The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery (the fourth in the series) and The Ugly Dachshund.

When viewers had last seen the Doctor at the end of The Ark he was fading out and had become invisible so they would have been eager to find out what was going on...

023 - The Ark

Broadcast:

5^th - 26^th March 1966

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Steven, Dodo

Adversary:

Monoids

Written by:

Paul Erickson, Lesley Scott¹

Director:

Michael Imison

Music:

Stock, Tristram Cary²

Script Editor:

Gerry Davis

Producer:

John Wiles

Average Viewers:

6.48m (5.5, 6.9, 6.2, 7.3)

Summary: When the TARDIS lands on an ark ship carrying the last of Earth's inhabitants, Dodo's cold puts them all at risk of being as extinct as her namesake. Just convincing her to use a handkerchief is not enough for the Doctor to save all humanity!

The Ark is something of a transitional story. It is the first fully script edited by Gerry Davis, the last produced by John Wiles, the first full adventure for new companion Dodo (who's accent goes through a change of its own!) and the first turn around in viewing figures since The Daleks' Master Plan was approaching its climax (though just like with that occasion it wouldn't last). Greater changes were also around the corner as the incoming producer would make sweeping changes to the cast so really this was just the start of a transitional period.

In the news, the British Government had just announced plans to decimalise the pound (though not for 5 years) and the BBC announced plans to start broadcasting in colour (BBC 2 would be the first in July 67). John Lennon made his infamous "more popular than Jesus" comment (though it would be five months before it caused controversy when it received its American publication), Austria won Eurovision (the UK entry came 9th), US manned craft Gemini 8 made the first space docking and Soviet probe Venera 3 reached Venus (but failed to land successfully). The Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen from an exhibition and found in a garden by a dog named Pickles a week later, the top half of Nelson's Pillar in Dublin was blown up by former IRA volunteers and the Irish Army engineers caused greater damage and disruption when they blew up the remaining stump to clear the unrepairable ruins. Two plane crashes in Japan took 188 lives in two days - the first crash when trying to land in Tokyo at night with poor visibility, the second hit turbulence over Mount Fuji shortly after taking off from Tokyo. Finally, there were protests in America (against the Vietnam War), Indonesia (against communism), and South Vietnam (against government policies)

Cinema releases during this story included The Reptile, Born Free, and Our Man Flint, and the music charts were still topped by Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" until The Walker Brothers began their own four week run with "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore". Oh, and influential and career launching satirical comedy show "The Frost Report" started.

022 - The Massacre Of St Bartholomew's Eve

Broadcast:

5^th - 26^th February 1966

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Steven

Adversary:

French Catholics

Written by:

John Lucarotti, Donald Tosh

Director:

Paddy Russell

Music:

Stock

Script Editor:

Donald Tosh, Gerry Davis

Producer:

John Wiles

Average Viewers:

6.43m (8, 6, 5.9, 5.8)

Summary: Steven finds himself in a vulnerable position at a very dangerous and pivotal time in French history with shocks and surprises throughout.

Love them or hate them, historical stories were a standard part of Doctor Who's early years. Love them or hate them, 'Doctor light' stories have been a part of the revived show (though limited to one per series and only for a few years). The point is, love it or hate it The Massacre Of St Bartholomew's Eve is both of these things rolled into one. It is intriguing and dull at the same time, unless you know about 16th century France, but as a lesson aid it draws you into the period atmosphere ready to listen to and understand what your teacher is telling you, or embark on your own research.

The story title gives you a jumping off point for understanding or researching the setting. On the eve of St Bartholomew's day 1572 (the night of August 23rd) French Catholics assassinated a number of prominent Huguenots in Paris and general Catholic mob violence followed with several thousand deaths. A rather poignant coincidence saw about 2000 civilian villagers massacred in Tây Vinh and Gò Dài (Vietnam) during the broadcast of this story.

Lighter news included the Soviet spacecraft Luna 9 making the first controlled landing on the Moon and Australia moving to decimal currency and introducing their Dollar. Topping the music charts were The Overlanders' "Michelle" and Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", while cinemas had such films as Never Too Late, Bunny Lake Is Missing, and by another similar coincidence The Great Sioux Massacre.

Since this story is completely missing from the archives, it is unclear how each of the writers and story editors were credited and various memories are conflicting. It is unlikely that Donald Tosh would have been allowed to receive credit for both writing and editing the story and it is presumed that he only has credit (or at least copyright, based on surviving documentation) for writing due to extensive rewrites of John Lucarotti's work and Lucarotti's alleged displeasure at them. Gerry Davis was the in-coming Story Editor and may simply have shadowed Tosh and received the credit because Tosh could not... So if the story itself doesn't leave you confused or bemused then the story behind it probably will!

021 - The Daleks' Master Plan

Broadcast:

13^th November 1965 - 29^th January 1966

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Steven

Adversary:

Daleks

Written by:

Terry Nation, Dennis Spooner

Director:

Douglas Camfield

Music:

Tristram Cary

Script Editor:

Donald Tosh

Producer:

John Wiles

Average Viewers:

9.36m (9.1, 9.8, 10.3, 9.5, 9.9, 9.1, 7.9, 9.6, 9.2, 9.5, 9.8, 8.6)

Summary: The Daleks have formed an alliance and are intent on controlling the galaxy but they will have to catch the Doctor first!

The Daleks were big business in the UK. Fans were aching for more and boy were they about to get it! Unfortunately, international interest was not so hot and this epic twelve part story may have been too much for them to chew over, especially with its mature story elements (including what could be called the first and second companion deaths - more on that later) and consequently it became the only story never broadcast overseas (along with its prelude Mission To The Unknown). This all means that while it is among the most desired missing stories it is also among the least likely to be recovered, although viewing copies were sent to Australia so there is a tantalising thread of chance that they are still out there. Hope was renewed as recently as 2004 when a third episode was recovered but episode 7 "The Feast Of Steven" was regarded as a Christmas special, bore very little relevance to the story and was excluded from the international sales package so no viewing copy was ever made. Subsequently, when its video recording was among the first scheduled to be wiped in August 67 it was almost certainly lost forever.

While the Daleks were set on conquering the galaxy, the news was full of conflicts on Earth... The white-minority government of Ian Smith unilaterally declared de facto independence of Rhodesia leading to trade embargoes and the breakdown of diplomatic relations and the Monday after the final episode was broadcast the UK ceased all trade. Central African Republic, Upper Volta (later Burkina Faso) and Nigeria all suffered political troubles and Tanzania and Guinea severed diplomatic relations with the UK. Meanwhile on the other side of the world things were seriously hotting up in Vietnam as the first major engagement between regular US and North Vietnamese forces began, tens of thousands of protesters picketted the White House, the Pentagon advised President Johnson that his planned actions required four times as many soldiers and Philippines President-elect announced he would also send troops.

In lighter news, Craig Breedlove set a new land speed record (600.601 mph), The Soviet Union launched the Venera 3 space probe which would go on to become the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet (Venus), NASA's Gemini 6 and 7 performed the first space craft rendezvous (this should have been a docking mission but Gemini 6's intended target vehicle failed on launch so Gemini 7 became its replacement and docking was not possible). In Moscow the "glasnost meeting" became the first demonstration for civil rights in the Soviet Union - ignored by Soviet press but picked up by Western media, it became an annual event.

Back in the UK, the Death Penalty was suspended (and permanently abolished in 1969), The Race Relations Act became the first legislation to address racial discrimination, and the 70 mph speed limit was introduced. More importantly for Doctor Who, Mary Whitehouse founded the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association which would go on to criticise the show and thus proved some of its best publicity!

On television, "Camberwick Green" and "Jackanory" both débuted while cinemas were showing the likes of The Cincinnati Kid, Thunderball, and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold featuring Claire Bloom (who would go on to appear as The Woman voting against Rassilon's plans to free the Time Lords in The End Of Time) and the music charts were again dominated by the Beatles, this time with double A "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out"

020 - The Myth Makers

Broadcast:

16^th October - 6^th November 1965

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Vicki, Steven

Adversary:

Greeks, Trojans

Written by:

Donald Cotton

Director:

Michael Leeston-Smith

Music:

Humphrey Searle

Script Editor:

Donald Tosh

Producer:

John Wiles

Average Viewers:

8.35m (8.3, 8.1, 8.7, 8.3)

Summary: The TARDIS lands outside Troy near the end of the Greek siege. The travellers become separated and captured by different sides of the war as spies. Their freedoms are only assured if they can bring down the opposition, effectively pitting them against each other!

If Mission To The Unknown had shocked viewers by not featuring the regular cast, then The Myth Makers would shock them by leaving that story unresolved. Instead of seeing Daleks turning their attention to 3000 AD Earth, the episode opens with a sword fight around 300 BC (both dates are approximations) until the TARDIS interior is finally seen after two and a half minutes. The Doctor and Vicki are still looking at the scanner screen as they had been two weeks earlier and we are reminded that Vicki has a sore ankle... exactly as if no time has past since we last saw them. So have the Daleks built a new time machine and we will see them bringing their allies to ancient times for an easy victory?

Also shocking audiences at the time was news that a girl's body had been found on Saddleworth Moor, identified as 10 year old Lesley Ann Downey who hadn't been seen for nearly ten months. Myra Hindley and Ian Brady are suspected having already been charged with the murder of Edward Evans the previous week. Within another week they were remanded in custody and the body of 12 year old John Kilbride was also found, having gone missing the afternoon of Doctor Who's first episode nearly tree years earlier.

In international news, political unrest was rapidly growing in Rhodesia with both UN and African nations requesting British action to avoid rebellion and unilateral declaration of independence, followed by a Soviet offer of support for African countries should such an outcome occur. By the end of The Myth Makers, martial law had been declared but would prove ineffective within a further week. Meanwhile, Pope Paul VI made an announcement that Jews are not collectively responsible for the killing of Christ, and Corgi released a James Bond model of the Aston Martin DB5 as featured in Goldfinger the year before (it would gone on to be their most successful model ever). "The Magic Roundabout" and "Call My Bluff" had their TV débuts to entertain kids and adults while Ken Dodd continued to dominate the music charts with "Tears" before finally giving way to The Rolling Stones as "Get Off of My Cloud" began its own domination before the final episode of The Myth Makers aired. Finally, cinemas were showing films such as The Great Race, Marriage on the Rocks and Crack in the World which featured a hint at a later Doctor Who classic theme - drilling too far into the Earth and threatening the whole of humanity!

So how would the Greeks and Trojans react to the arrival of the TARDIS...? And how would new producer John Wiles's first story fair?

019 - Mission To The Unknown

Broadcast:

9^th October 1965

Doctor:

(William Hartnell did not feature)

Companions:

(Vicki, Steven did not feature)

Adversary:

Daleks, Varga

Written by:

Terry Nation

Director:

Derek Martinus

Music:

Stock

Script Editor:

Donald Tosh

Producer:

Verity Lambert

Average Viewers:

8.3m (single episode)

Summary: A rocket ship is stranded on a dark and fearful planet as mutant plants and Daleks close in. There is a grand plot afoot.

In the 1960s, television was a very different thing from today. Although Doctor Who was popular, nobody was making great lists of the stories or counting the adventures. Once an episode was broadcast nobody expected to ever see it again. Sometimes an episode would end in a way that expected you to watch the next to see what happened and sometimes there would be a sense of closure and you'd watch next week because you liked the show and knew things would go off in a new direction. Doctor Who stories generally fed into each other and although you knew when a new adventure started, there was no over-all title, just individual episode names. This all leads to an awkward pimple in lists and data sheets that would be drawn up in later years as fans (and BBC staff) started talking about the various adventures, because Mission To The Unknown doesn't fit neatly anywhere. Technically, it isn't an isolated story by itself, but it is surrounded by two unrelated adventures. In production terms it could be referred to as Galaxy 4 episode 5 because it has the same crew and was part of the same block, but it is an unrelated story with a different writer. But since it doesn't feature the Doctor or either of his companions it could be left out of adventure lists entirely... but it is a prelude to a later story and could perhaps be referred to as The Daleks' Master Plan episode 1, or if you prefer to count that story as 12 consecutive episodes starting 5 weeks after this one perhaps this is episode 0!

But as I said at the start, none of those concerns existed in 1965 when it was first broadcast. All viewers were aware of was that last week's episode concluded an adventure and the travellers wondered what was happening on the planet that now appeared on the scanner screen... In the news this week, more tragic deaths as first 150 train passengers died in South Africa then 209 fishermen from seven boats died in a typhoon. The Moors Murders finally came to an end as Ian Brady was arrested for the murder of Edward Evans, though police were still unaware of the previous killings. In lighter news Post Office Tower opened and would appear in Doctor Who 8 months later. Ken Dodd was still at number one with "Tears" while cinemas had the likes of What's New Pussycat and the not-quite-a-Carry-On film The Big Job featuring Wanda Ventham who would appear in The Faceless Ones (1967), Image Of The Fendahl (1977), and Time And The Rani (1987).

But the kids were excitedly expecting a new Dalek adventure...

018 - Galaxy 4

Broadcast:

11^th September - 2^nd October 1965

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Vicki, Steven

Adversary:

Drahvin, Rill, Chumblies

Written by:

William Emms

Director:

Derek Martinus, Mervyn Pinfield

Music:

Stock

Script Editor:

Donald Tosh

Producer:

Verity Lambert

Average Viewers:

9.93m (9, 9.5, 11.3, 9.9)

Summary: Two stranded spaceships are at war but urgently need to escape a doomed planet. The Doctor's arrival gives both sides hope but can he help save everyone in time?

Galaxy 4 has an interesting place in the Doctor Who virtual archive. It is the earliest story to have just one episode remaining (but of course Marco Polo is missing completely and The Reign Of Terror has two of its four missing), it is the first story of the third season (but was produced within the second season's recording block) and Story Edited by Donald Tosh (but he was also credited on The Time Meddler although little work was required because it was written by the outgoing Story Editor), it is also the last serial to be produced by Verity Lambert (but the 'Dalek Cutaway' episode Mission To The Unknown was truly her last episode, acting as a teaser episode for The Daleks' Master Plan), and its viewing figures increased with each episode rather than gently dropping off (not the first story to achieve this but the first since The Daleks). The missing first episode has nearly 6 minutes in tact thanks to the excerpt being considered for inclusion in Whose Dr. Who in 1977 (only 30 seconds were actually used but the rest of the clip was rescued by a production advisor) making it the largest remaining clip from an otherwise missing episode! It also has the dubious honour of containing the Chumblies as quite comical but sincere creatures (actually, they are robots) that are both adorable and pathetic... which sums up my general feeling for the whole adventure!

In the six weeks that Doctor Who had been off air, both the Maldives and Singapore became independent; America stepped up aggression in Vietnam with their first major ground battle and fighting flared between Pakistan and India while China announced it would reinforce its troops on the Indian border but a week later protested against Indian provocations in the area! Three natural disasters took over 300 lives - 90 by a Swiss avalanche, 76 by Hurricane "Billion Dollar Betsy" in New Orleans (the last major hurricane there until Katrina 40 years later), and the majority by a volcano in the Philippines. A further 34 lives were lost during race riots in Los Angeles, while 66 former SS personnel received life sentences at the Auschwitz trial. In the UK, cigarette advertising was banned on TV (though pipe tobacco and cigars continued until 1991), Elizabeth Lane became the first female High Court judge and Peter Watkins's drama-documentary The War Game due to be broadcast as part of BBC1's 'The Wednesday Play' was pulled following government pressure, concerned about its traumatically honest portrayal of nuclear strike aftermath - It would go on to receive a cinematic release, earning it an Academy Award in 1966 and was finally broadcast in 1985 (presumably thanks to the previous year's TV movie Threads which was essentially the same idea)

In the cinemas were two 'intelligent chimp' movies Bikini Beach and The Monkey's Uncle as well as a number of war films and westerns while future Doctor Who companion Bernard Cribbins could be seen in You Must Be Joking (along with many other British greats) and of course Peter Cushing was the Doctor himself in Dr. Who And The Daleks. The Beatles performed the world's first stadium concert at Shea Stadium, met Elvis Presley and released their second film Help! accompanied by an album and single which spend three weeks at number one. Other songs topping the charts were "I Got You Babe" (Sonny & Cher), "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (The Rolling Stones), "Make It Easy on Yourself" (The Walker Brothers) and Ken Dodd started an impressive five week run with "Tears". Meanwhile Bob Dylan shocked many fans by 'going electric' at the Newport Folk Festival.

Television also saw some classics born in the shape of "Tom & Jerry" and "Thunderbirds"... All this excitement and all Doctor Who had to offer its television viewers was the weak Galaxy 4. But let's take a closer look and understand why I say that...

017 - The Time Meddler

Broadcast:

3^rd - 24^th July 1965

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Vicki, Steven

Adversary:

Meddling Monk

Written by:

Dennis Spooner

Director:

Douglas Camfield

Music:

Stock, Charles Botterill

Script Editor:

Donald Tosh

Producer:

Verity Lambert

Average Viewers:

8.43m (8.9, 8.8, 7.7, 8.3)

Summary: England in 1066 has a well established place in most British citizens' knowledge and it is not a place for gramophones and electric toasters so something is clearly wrong! The Doctor must discover what is going on before he can set things right and there is only one possible cause... could it be that he is not the only time traveller there?

Although loved by those involved and often picked as their favourites, the historical stories had never gone down particularly well with viewers who would rather skip on to the next science fantasy of the future and preferably see the Daleks again. It had been a tradition and indeed a stated intention to alternate between historical fact and science fantasy to balance entertainment and education but times were changing. The Romans had quite successfully added humour into the mix and The Time Meddler was about to throw fantasy into a history story a well... with a mixed reception, but setting up a whole world of possibilities for the series as producer Very Lambert released the reins.

Science fact was taking a more prominent role on television as well with "Tomorrow's World" beginning on BBC1 during The Time Meddler run and Mariner 4 became the first spacecraft to bring us pictures of Mars as it made a fly-by. In more Earthly news, the Mont Blanc tunnel was inaugurated, Ronald Biggs (Great Train Robber) escaped from Wandsworth Prison and US aircraft were attacked and one shot down over Vietnam for the first time. Meanwhile The Beatles received a record five Ivor Novello Awards and former Boxing champ Freddie Mills was found shot on the day episode 4 was broadcast - he was declared dead the following day and while exact motives remain uncertain, the verdict was suicide.

As Summer rolled out there was plenty of choice in the cinemas including British film Rotten to the Core, The Art of Love, and Tickle Me starring Elvis Presley who also topped the music charts with "Crying in the Chapel" - swapping back and forth with The Hollies's "I'm Alive" and ultimately replaced by The Byrds "Mr. Tambourine Man". Against that background, Doctor Who was about to conclude its second series but William Hartnell still managed to get a week off!

016 - The Chase

Broadcast:

22^nd May - 26^th June 1965

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Ian, Barbara, Vicki

Adversary:

Daleks

Written by:

Terry Nation

Director:

Richard Martin

Music:

Dudley Simpson

Script Editor:

Dennis Spooner

Producer:

Verity Lambert

Average Viewers:

9.42m (10, 9.5, 9, 9.5, 9, 9.5)

Summary: The Daleks pursue the TARDIS and the Doctor in particular across time and space through desert, sea and jungle. Arriving on contemporary Earth provides a tempting opportunity for Barbara and Ian while a haunted house might be ideal for facing the Daleks head on...

As promised and teased, the Daleks were back for a third encounter with the Doctor. The public loved them and BBC heads wanted more of them but their creator, writer Terry Nation was not so keen and felt he had done all he could with them so The Chase was partly devised by its Director and Story Editor. Sadly some of Nations ideas and visual descriptions were rejected as either too intense or unachievable and the resulting rewrite (by Martin and Spooner) falls a little short and is a little muddled like The Space Museum before it. However, it does bring some interesting flavours to the show and hints at a world created from nothing but fear as well as mixing future alien threats with a historical context. Doctor Who was at a turning point. It was about to lose the last of the original companions, Dennis Spooner left as Story Editor after just 6 stories and producer Verity Lambert was preparing things for her departure as well...

In the news at the time were a bloodless coup in Algeria, Australian troops joined the Vietnam War and Muhammad Ali knocked out Sonny Liston with the "Phantom Punch". West Ham became the second British team to win a European trophy, the British Government announced plans to introduce blood alcohol limits in the fight against drink-driving and two mining incidents barely a week apart took over 500 lives (274 in India and 237 in Japan).

Cinemas were showing the usual mix of horror and humour: Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, The Knack ...and How to Get It, When Strangers Meet and The Skull featuring Peter Cushing. The music charts were topped by "Where Are You Now (My Love)" (Jackie Trent), "Long Live Love" (Sandie Shaw), "Crying in the Chapel" (Elvis Presley), and "I'm Alive" (The Hollies). It was a good month for The Beatles as they were about to appear on Doctor Who and receive MBEs from the Queen - the first popular entertainers to do so, which ruffled a few feathers - though the two were not exactly related!

015 - The Space Museum

Broadcast:

24^th April - 15^th May 1965

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Ian, Barbara, Vicki

Adversary:

Moroks and Time

Written by:

Glyn Jones

Director:

Mervyn Pinfield

Music:

Stock

Script Editor:

Dennis Spooner

Producer:

Verity Lambert

Average Viewers:

9.2m (10.5, 9.3, 8.5, 8.5)

Summary: When time seems to be misbehaving, the travellers make some shocking discoveries in a giant space museum and find themselves in the middle of another revolution as they try to change their own fate and make it out safely.

If The Crusade is a reminder of how lucky we are to have some great serials surviving in good quality when most episodes were supposed to have been destroyed, then The Space Museum is a reminder of how arbitrary the chance of survival was. It is unfair to class it as a bad serial, but it was the first to truly be made on the cheap. The Crusade that came before and especially the six part The Chase that would follow, were necessarily expensive to produce and the money had to come from somewhere. Unfortunately for Glyn Jones it was his story that would suffer that loss and he is present on the DVD commentary to defend his story with numerous pointers as to where the good bits and relevant plot points were taken out. New series writer Robert Shearman is also on hand with a more reflective defence that presents it as a knowing self parody. Personally, I see it as a cracking first episode that shows great potential with immense intrigue and mystery but is followed by an airy and underachieving triplet of episodes. I like it and it's easy to watch but there is a great sense of a missed opportunity and rushed production with loose ends that are never quite tied up.

Although revolution had been a fairly dominant part of background news for some time, as noted in previous reviews, it is perhaps ironic that during this particular revolution story there was relative calm and the news feels a little empty like the episodes of The Space Museum. Manchester United and Liverpool won the Football League First Division and FA Cup respectively, West Germany and Israel establish diplomatic relations and the Pennine Way was officially opened, stretching 267 miles north from the Peak District to just beyond the Scottish border. Meanwhile on the other side of the Atlantic Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were starting work on their now classic "Satisfaction" in a Florida hotel room and the US Hot 100 listed 9 British acts in its top 10. The British chards were topped by Cliff Richard "The Minute You're Gone", The Beatles "Ticket to Ride" and Roger Miller "King of the Road". Cinemas were showing She co staring Peter Cushing and Bernard Cribbins, and the controversial The Party's Over which was banned within its first week (having already been delayed by three years trying to get passed the censors). Daleks were alo in the air at this time. Peter Cushing was filming the first movie and TV audiences were being teased about an imminent return of the Doctor's arch rivals to the show... but not just yet. In fact episode three was even delayed but not by the Daleks - The BBC were broadcasting the 20th anniversary of VE-Day which finished 20 minutes later than expected.

014 - The Crusade

Broadcast:

27^th March - 17^th April 1965

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Ian, Barbara, Vicki

Adversary:

El Akir - A rogue Saracen

Written by:

David Whitaker

Director:

Douglas Camfield

Music:

Dudley Simpson

Script Editor:

Dennis Spooner

Producer:

Verity Lambert

Average Viewers:

9.38m (10.5, 8.5, 9.0, 9.5)

Summary: The travellers find themselves in 12th century Palestine and get caught in the crossfire of the Third Crusade. Barbara is captured by a Saracen so the rest try to ally themselves with Richard The Lionheart to save her.

Doctor Who was on its first period of decline and despite modern opinions being favourable The Crusade would be the least welcomed serial for twelve months (based on average Audience Appreciation figures). The appreciation index average dropped below 50% for the first time and viewing figures went below 10m for the first time since Planet Of Giants at the start of the series - though they were still higher than the bulk of the previous series. The boost provided by the return of the Daleks had subsided and the show was set to remain at its current level for the rest of the year until part way through the third series. The Crusade was a solid history piece with the TARDIS and its passengers laid on top. With few exceptions, David Whitaker wrote both the Christians and Muslims fairly and the only sense of enemy for the viewer comes from the fact that Barbara is taken early on. This coupled with the audio-only presentation of episodes 2 and 4 on the "Lost In Time" DVD set made for quite a dull first viewing 10 years go but the Loose Canon reconstruction breathed some life back into it...

Viewers watching the original broadcast would have done so with the knowledge that NASA had launched their first 2 man orbiter, the Intelsat "Early Bird" became the first commercial communications satellite (though it wouldn't come into service for a couple more months) and protests of the time included a third civil rights march to Alabama with a crowd of 3200 growing to 25,00 over a four day period and the same number of students protested against the Vietnam War. The pop charts handed the Number One spot over from The Rolling Stones to Unit 4 + 2 with "Concrete and Clay" and then Cliff Richard's "The Minute You're Gone". Cinemas were screening The Sound of Music, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Masquerade, while Morcombe And Wise were The Intelligence Men. Anyone wanting to stay in on Wednesdays could now tune in to antiques gameshow "Going For A Song" which started the week after episode one...

013 - The Web Planet

Broadcast:

13^th February - 20^th March 1965

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Ian, Barbara, Vicki

Adversary:

Zarbi

Written by:

Bill Strutton

Director:

Richard Martin

Music:

Stock

Script Editor:

Dennis Spooner

Producer:

Verity Lambert

Average Viewers:

12.5m (13.5, 12.5, 12.5, 13, 12, 11.5)

Summary: The travellers get caught up in a battle between species on a planet where evolution has favoured the insect world. To save themselves they must help the invading resistance forces.

By coincidence, ahead of watching The Web Planet I read a discussion about least favourite Doctor Who serials and was surprised how often it was mentioned. I could see that it might be disliked because of the experimental lens effect on exterior shots but I couldn't remember anything else that could garner such a response, though I did have a nagging apprehension about it that I couldn't place. It is clearly a story that divides fans as its viewing figures were still very good (the first episode set a new record that wouldn't be matched for ten years) but the Appreciation Index started at 56%, higher than the previous serial, but decreased each week ending on a poor 42% - the lowest ever recorded. The DVD production subtitles quotes a lot from the audience reaction research and it is clear once again that the show was ahead of its time. There will always be people who moan about the little things but it was evident that the audience just didn't understand the story and found it confusing or hard to follow. One BBC executive only saw the fifth episode and complained that it felt like he needed to have watched all the episodes to understand it... which is surely the point of a six part serialised adventure!

The news of the time again reminds us that society was at a turning point with major civil rights marches taking place and leading to violent clashes in Alabama. Controversial activist Malcolm X was assassinated, 3500 US Marines became the first active American troops in Vietnam, while Gambia was given independence from the UK. On the lighter side of things, Canada's new flag was inaugurated, Goldie the golden eagle escaped from London Zoo for 12 days, and Luxembourg won the Eurovision Song Contest (beating Great Britain by just 6 points). There was cause for cheers when Alexey Leonov became the first man to walk in space, but sadness at the deaths of Nat King Cole and Stan Laurel. In the charts, The Kinks had their second number one with "Tired Of Waiting For You" followed by the year's biggest seller "I'll Never Find Another You" by The Seekers. Tom Jones's debut single "It's Not Unusual" went to number one and the Rolling Stones had their third chart topper with "The Last Time" (which it wasn't!) In the cinemas were Lord Tom, Dr. Terror's House Of Horrors starring Peter Cushing and Roy Castle who would shortly appear in the first Dalek movie, and Kiss Me, Stupid.

When we left the Doctor at the end of The Romans, the TARDIS had materialised unexpectedly and was instantly being dragged down by some kind of force...

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

010 - The Dalek Invasion Of Earth

Broadcast:

21^st November - 26^th December 1964

Doctor:

William Hartnell

Companions:

Ian, Barbara, Susan

Adversary:

Daleks

Written by:

Terry Nation

Director:

Richard Martin

Music:

Francis Chagrin

Script Editor:

David Whitaker

Producer:

Verity Lambert

Average Viewers:

11.9m (11.4, 12.4, 11.9, 11.9, 11.4, 12.4)

Summary: In the year 2164, the Daleks have invaded Earth (England) wiping out much of the population with a plague and converted suitable survivors into Roboman slaves. As they dig to the Earth's core only a small resistance group and the TARDIS travellers stand in their way.

This was it, the big rematch that cemented Doctor Who as a continuing success that could run for many years. The Daleks had ensured the show's initial success a year earlier and allowed production to continue to the full intended series when it was the second serial broadcast. Now it was the dastardly dustbins time to return in the second series, again in the second serial slot, and really work their magic. This kind of 'sequel' was practically unheard of at the time but their initial success let the production team know that they were onto a winner and The Dalek Invasion Of Earth was soon lined up for commission. What followed became known as Dalekmania, like Beatlemania before it the country would be swept away with enthusiasm, merchandise and a couple of films. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Although The Dalek Invasion Of Earth spanned six weeks, there is very little news to report in setting the scene. Kenya became a republic exactly a year after gaining independence from the UK and the Beatles earned their second Christmas number one with "I Feel Fine". Other number ones included The Supremes "Baby Love" and The Rolling Stones "Little Red Rooster" (But not The Go-Go's "I'm Gonna Spend My Christmas With A Dalek" which failed to chart!) In the cinemas were two contrasting films Black Sabbath and Mary Poppins. Two events that are worth noting but of which the public would not have been aware are the abduction and murder of 10 year old Lesley Ann Downey - the fourth moors murders victim (the second having been 12 year old John Kilbride, rather poignantly for Doctor Who fans, in the early evening of 23 November 1963) Police began their search on 26th December but it would be another year before the perpetrators were identified. Something else that would have its own impact but a delayed awareness, and strangely relevant to The Dalek Invasion Of Earth was the first flight of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, a secret aeroplane built for stealth and speed with unusual triangular wings, it would lead to reports of UFO sightings in America and feed the belief that aliens were out there and on their way!

Meanwhile, in Doctor Who, they were already here...