Episode 126: The War Machines (4)

Synopsis:

The War Machine leaves the warehouse as the soldiers retreat, their weapons useless. Everyone runs for cover - apart from the Doctor. He stands his ground as the Machine bears down on him...

It moves to within a few feet of him, then comes to a halt.

The Doctor explains that this is basically a mobile computer, and the attack by the soldiers led to it being activated too soon. It could not have been programmed properly yet.

The army are now able to enter the warehouse and capture Major Green and his men. His mental conditioning broken, he has no memory of recent events. 

The Doctor drops a key which Ben picks up. Distracted by all the activity, he forgets to return it.

News of the incident is soon being reported on TV and radio, with the general public warned that more attacks are expected.

The Doctor is introduced by Sir Charles to his Minister, and informs him of the reason the War Machine failed.

At the Post Office Tower, Professor Brett is in contact with a technician at one of the other construction sites in Battersea. Here Machine No.9 is ready for testing.

Ben is concerned that Polly has not been found at the warehouse. The Doctor has examined the captured Machine and is able to tell Sir Charles and the Minister that there are another eleven War Machines yet to be found, within a 20 - 30 mile radius and all programmed to attack at noon that day.

War Machine No.9 is being put through its paces when it suddenly goes out of control and kills its technician.

It is soon reported that it is loose on the streets, killing and destroying all in its path.

It appears to be heading across the river into West London.

Polly has presented herself at Brett's office for punishment, but the scientist is too busy dealing with this latest malfunction.

The Doctor comes up with a plan to capture the rogue Machine, using a series of electromagnetic fields. Studying a map of the Kensington district, he identifies a place where a trap can be set.

In a cul-de-sac by Cornwall Gardens, three sides of the trap are set up - resembling a boxing ring. Once the War Machine is in position between them, the fourth side will be completed and the power switched on. Ben volunteers to do this.

The plan succeeds, and the Machine is deactivated.

The Doctor announces that he is going to reprogramme it, and send it against WOTAN. It heads for the Post Office Tower - with the Doctor following in a taxi with Sir Charles and the Minister. Realising Polly is there, Ben has gone on ahead to warn her.

He arrives moments before the War Machine and drags her to safety as it fires upon the computer. Professor Krimpton tries to intervene and save WOTAN, but is killed. The computer is wrecked.

When the Doctor and the others arrive, it is to find WOTAN destroyed and Brett unable to remember anything of the last couple of days.

The next day, Ben and Polly hurry to Fitzroy Square to meet the Doctor, whom they see standing next to a Police Box. They inform him that Dodo has recovered and decided to remain in London, which clearly annoys him. Thanking them for the message, he is eager for them to get on their way. 

As they move off, they are suspicious at the way he is lingering by the box then see him open the door and enter. Polly suddenly remembers the key Ben picked up and they go back - despite Ben's worries about missing his transport back to barracks. They unlock the door and enter - and the TARDIS dematerialises seconds later...

Next time: The Smugglers

Data:

Written by Ian Stuart Black

Recorded: Friday 1st July 1966 - Riverside Studio 1

First broadcast: 5:15pm, Saturday 16th July 1966

Ratings: 5.5 million / AI 39

Designer: Raymond London

Director: Michael Ferguson

Additional cast: George Cross (Minister), Kenneth Kendall (Newsreader), Edward Colliver (Technician), John Slavid (Man in Telephone Box), Carl Conway (US Journalist), Dwight Whylie (Radio Announcer)

Critique:

The original storyline would have seen new male companion Rich depart in the TARDIS with the Doctor and Dodo at the conclusion.

Dodo's departure is one of the worst in the history of the programme. She gets ditched halfway through her final story, and it all happens off screen. The Doctor hears about it at the same time as we, the audience, do.

Those actresses who simply failed to return for their next season - Caroline John and Mary Tamm - could be argued to have less satisfying departures. In the case of Liz Shaw, her absence fits the narrative. Time has passed, and she has left UNIT and moved back to academia. Romana I's absence is explained by regeneration. She's a Time Lord, so why not? Well, there really has to be a very good reason for regeneration, and Destiny of the Daleks fails to provide this.

The other famously bad one is Leela's. leaving to get married is a cliché, but narratively acceptable in normal circumstances. But Leela leaves to wed someone she's only just met, and who is hardly of the warrior class, to live in a stultifyingly boring technocratic society. Leaving to go with Nesbin would have just about made better sense.

The cliff-hanger resolution was to have seen the War Machine blow up due to incomplete programming, rather than simply grinding to a halt. This may be why, in the finished version, the Doctor reprogrammes the second War Machine, rather than the one already captured earlier at Covent Garden - in the draft this was destroyed.

The Sir Charles character - Sir Robert - wanted to attack all the mobile computers, which the Doctor had identified as converging on Central London in a circle. He wanted to concentrate on attacking the central computer at the Post Office Tower. Sir Robert was to have kept the military back whilst the Doctor used remote control to send the War Machine to attack WOTAN. Rich had arrived at the Tower earlier to rescue Dodo and been captured by Brett and Krimpton.

In the later camera script, the capture of the Battersea Machine was to have been done in studio. Location footage was to have shown more of the aftermath of the Machine's activities, such as burning motor cars. War Machine No.9 was to have been seen physically tearing WOTAN apart, rather than simply shooting it.

This episode contained a great deal of the location filming which had taken place on Sunday 22nd May (the War Machine on the rampage), and Thursday 26th May (the War Machine capture sequence).

On the first day, scenes were shot on Berners Mews (the couple running away), Maple Street (the arrival of the Machine at the GPO Tower), Charlotte Place (the telephone box scene), and Gresse Street (the Machine knocking through the dustbins).

The high shot of the telephone box attack was achieved by filming from an upper floor of the Duke of York pub.

Most of the publicity shots featuring War machine No.9 were taken during the Thursday location filming in South Kensington. The Machine was pictured with children (see below) and a woman walking a dog.

The main location was Cornwall Gardens and the adjoining Walk. William Hartnell was collected from Bertorelli's restaurant where he was having lunch and taken to the location, after a brief stop at Television Centre for him to get into costume. 

Of the guest cast only William Mervyn (Sir Charles) and Frank Jarvis (Corporal) were required for the scenes of the capture of the War Machine. High shots of the action were obtained from the window of 50F Cornwall gardens, owned by a Mrs Lessing.

The day before the Kensington filming, Wednesday 29th May, Michael Craze provided a vocal recording at Lime Grove Studio R. This was to provide the voice of the police radio car announcement about the War Machine threat.

Joining the cast was Kenneth Kendall who had been a newsreader with the BBC until going freelance in 1961. He had done some acting work and possessed an Equity Card. Kendall had covered a similar role in episodes of Adam Adamant, Mogul and A For Andromeda. He had also presented TV programmes such as Songs of Praise and quiz shows. He would later become even better known for hosting Treasure Hunt with Anneka Rice.

He was recorded on a small news desk set, the material then being shown on a TV in a pub sequence. For another shot of the public listening to broadcast warnings, extras simply stood in front of a photographic blow-up of a radio shop façade.

The same technique was used for the US correspondent, to save on creating a set for one brief scene.

Dwight Whylie was a genuine radio announcer, and his involvement had been requested by Innes Lloyd in early June. He presented the BBC Light programme's Breakfast Special.

Unusually, the episode was recorded out of sequence. First before the cameras were all the War Machine shots, including the opening at Covent Garden and the activation of No.9 at Battersea. It was necessary to swap the numbers during a recording break, as the Covent Garden Machine was No.3.

As well as shots against photographic blow-ups, back projection was also employed - such as when we see the War Machine travelling towards the Tower and the Doctor's group in their following vehicle.

A shot of an empty Great Queen Street in Holborn was also used to illustrate the deserted city.

The final recording break of the evening was to set up the closing scene at the TARDIS.

As far as viewers were concerned, Doctor Who's third season drew to a close with this episode. From a production point of view, however, once again a story from this block was to be held over to launch the next season. As location filming had already taken place for The Smugglers, the BBC was able to show a trailer for the story alongside the announcement that the programme would return in the Autumn.

Season 3 had been a time of great change and experimentation, having seen three producers and two story editors. Peter Purves had provided some consistency in the TARDIS with William Hartnell, but there had been a revolving door of female companion figures - Vicki, Katarina, Sara, Dodo and now Polly. 

The programme had dipped its toe into more fantastical realms with The Celestial Toymaker, but the Daleks had very much dominated, thanks to the 12 week epic The Daleks' Master Plan. We had lots of other strong sci-fi stories, but the writing was on the wall for the Historicals, which were clearly losing popularity as far as the production office was concerned.

Season 4 would continue the experimental trend - including the biggest gamble of them all...

Trivia:

• The ratings see the story end on its highest audience figure, but the appreciation index drops below 40 once again. The AI has fallen by 10 points over the course of the story. With summer's arrival and the start of the 1966 World Cup - hosted by England - you would have expected the viewing figure to fall instead. An action-packed finale would normally see a higher audience score.
• The episode was transmitted earlier than usual as the BBC were broadcasting the Royal Tournament that evening. It took the slot normally occupied by Juke Box Jury.
• The BBC commissioned one of their Audience Research Reports for this episode. Of the 149 respondents, around half claimed to have no interest in the series. The ending was deemed anti-climactic and the War Machines regarded as a poor alternative to the Daleks. One lady thought they looked like something her young sons could have made. Many found the idea of a computer taking people over "preposterous". On the positive side, it was still popular with children and people liked the contemporary setting, which made the story more realistic.
• Two weeks later, the story featured on Junior Points of View which also plugged the second Peter Cushing Dalek movie. The programme was still deemed to be frightening to some children, though one wanted to see the return of the Chumblies - not seen since the very start of the season.
• Television Today on 21st July thought The War Machines "one of the better ones" and highlighted the strong supporting cast. Craze and Wills were also praised as the new companions.
• When you watch this story on DVD or streaming service you might be forgiven for thinking that it's one of those stories which exists in its entirety in the archive. This is not the case, however. Some censor-driven cuts were made and not all of the missing material has never resurfaced. Small sections of other episodes are used to plug the gaps.
• Gerald Taylor is credited only as "Voice of WOTAN" on this episode. In the previous instalments he was simply "WOTAN".
• John Slavid - the man in the telephone box - had previously played an officer in The Massacre.

Episode 125: The War Machines (3)

Synopsis:

Investigating the warehouse at Covent Garden, Ben witnesses the first of the War Machines in operation. He is soon detected, and watches helplessly as it moves towards him...

Ben is surprised to see Polly here - even more so when she locks the doors to prevent him escaping. He notices too late her emotionless expression. 

He is captured by Major Green.

The Doctor argues with Sir Charles about what action should be taken next, the civil servant insisting that C-Day go ahead as planned and anything else should be a matter for the police.

Ben is about to be killed when Polly intervenes, stating that WOTAN has instructed that labour is needed for the completion of the War Machines. Ben is to be put to work.

At the Post Office Tower, Brett and Krimpton finalise WOTAN's plans. The War Machines must be ready to launch a coordinated assault on London at noon the following day. The order for the attack will come from WOTAN itself.

Ben makes an escape attempt whilst everyone is busy. He is spotted by Polly alone, but she is conflicted about what she should do. She fails to stop him, or to alert the others.

He arrives at the home of Sir Charles and tells the Doctor about what he has seen at the warehouse. 

Polly, meanwhile, is questioned by Green, who orders her to report back to WOTAN for punishment.

Sir Charles refuses to believe Ben's story but when the Doctor begins to convince him, he once again decides that the issue should be dealt with by police. He then agrees to telephone his Minister, who elects to call in the army.

The Doctor, Ben and Sir Charles meet an army unit at Covent Garden. They set up a forward base outside the warehouse, and clear the area of civilians. Electronic activity is detected within the building, and Ben warns of a stock of explosives - as well as the War Machine.

Their presence is detected by Green, who puts everyone on alert.

The army move in and attack - only to discover that their weapons are useless. Guns fail to fire, and grenades will not detonate. The Sergeant reports back to his Captain what has happened, and the decision is made to retreat. The War Machine has left the warehouse and moves inexorably towards them.

Everyone dashes for cover - apart from the Doctor.

He stands his ground as the War Machine bears down on him...

Data:

Written by Ian Stuart Black

Recorded: Friday 24th June 1966 - Riverside Studio 1

First broadcast: 5:35pm, Saturday 9th July 1966

Ratings: 5.3 million / AI 44

Designer: Raymond London

Director: Michael Ferguson

Additional cast: John Rolfe (Captain), John Boyd-Brent (Sergeant), Frank Jarvis (Corporal), Robin Dawson (Soldier)

Critique:

Fans always talk about the Quatermass serials when discussing the changes brought in by Derrick Sherwin in the late 1960's. This mainly concerned the contemporary setting, and the Doctor's interactions with the military.

Seen as a new direction for the series, it had actually been pioneered here in the third and fourth episodes of The War Machines.

Nigel Kneale's serials - The Quatermass Experiment (1953), Quatermass II (1955) and Quatermass and the Pit (1958) - saw the scientist hero contest alien threats, joining forces with the army at some point in each. Other British sci-fi movies had seen a similar set-up - even if the threat wasn't necessarily from outer space. These included The Giant Behemoth, X the Unknown, and The Strange World of Planet X. 

American films of the genre had almost always combined scientist and military in neutralising the enemy. (Generally, in British films there is some conflict between the scientist hero and the military. Quatermass especially butts heads with authority figures. This is less so in US movies).

It was therefore inevitable that Doctor Who would tackle a story in a similar vein - especially as Innes Lloyd and Gerry Davis wanted to modernise the series with contemporary companions and more realistic science.

The original storyline for this episode had a somewhat different ending. Instead of the hero shot of the Doctor standing up to the War Machine, he actually told the army that they were helpless against it and should retreat.

Earlier, Rich - as Ben was then named - was put on trial by WOTAN itself, but saved by the hypnotised Dodo. 

Sir Charles telephoning his Minister was a late addition, and the battle sequence was expanded.

The filming for Episode 3 took place at Ealing through the week commencing 23rd May, covering the main warehouse set, with sunken area, and its exterior. The outdoor scenes featuring the soldiers and the War Machine were filmed on the studio backlot.

Film trims exist of these scenes - overhead shots showing Gerald Taylor and his fellow operator hurriedly exiting the War Machine prop from the rear due to the proximity of fire effects.

Michael Craze and Anneke Wills took time out of rehearsals on Thursday 23rd June to pose for publicity shots around Riverside Studios. They were pictured in costume, and efforts were made to make the height difference between the pair less noticeable (Wills was five inches taller than her co-star).

The previous Sunday had seen the three regulars filming location work on The Smugglers in Cornwall.

A small section of the warehouse set was erected at Riverside, and the War Machine prop featured in the TV studio for the first time. The battle sequence had several film inserts which had to be edited in.

One recording break allowed Craze to move from the warehouse set to Sir Charles' study, and another allowed everyone to move to the warehouse exterior set.

The episode closed with the camera moving in for a close-up on Hartnell, with a spotlight trained on him - as it had done with Craze at the cliff-hanger to the previous instalment.

Having spent some time filming with Hartnell, Craze and Wills had come to realise that the star held political views and social attitudes which were quite incompatible with their own. He was also becoming increasingly dispirited by the frequent changes in companion co-stars, nostalgic for the early days when he had a stable group of fellow performers - as well as a stable production team.

Craze and Wills had hoped to develop their characters through discussion between themselves and with Hartnell, but he was uncomfortable with this style of acting - used to simply going off and learning his part in isolation and sticking rigidly to this. Craze in particular found Hartnell difficult to warm to.

Neither co-star was aware of Hartnell's worsening health issues.

Trivia:

• After a noticeable dip last week, the ratings bounce back to the same level as the first episode. The appreciation figure fails to mirror this rise, however, and will drop even further next week.
• This episode had an amended title sequence, with the text flashing up as white on a black background, instead of black on white.
• John Rolfe made a further two appearances in Doctor Who. In The Moonbase he was crewmember Sam Beckett, and he played Fell in The Green Death. He had acted opposite Hartnell on stage in the 1950's, and featured with Patrick Troughton in a BBC adaptation of The Old Curiosity Shop in 1962.
• Future light entertainment star Mike Yarwood, whose comedy impressions became a fixture of the BBC's Saturday evening schedules in the 1970's, was due to feature in this episode as a soldier. However, he was taken ill during the morning of studio recording and a taxi had to be booked to get him to hospital.
• William Hartnell's First Doctor is often depicted wearing his black Astrakhan hat. In reality, he only ever wore this on three occasions, this being one of them. (He wears a white version in The Web Planet due to the visual effects being used). The other two stories to feature this particular headgear just happen to be his very first story, and his last.
• Oliver Arkinstall-Jones' alternative retro movie-style poster for the story:

The Art of... The War Machines

Ian Stuart Black novelised his own story for Target in February 1989. The cover art is courtesy of Alister Pearson and Graham Way. Pearson painted the main images of Doctor, Tower, War Machine and WOTAN, whilst Way added the blue concentric rings which symbolised the computer's hypnotic influence.

Black had WOTAN tap Ian Chesterton's phone line to explain how it came to know so much, by way of explaining some plot holes in the broadcast story. He also stretched the Norse / Wagnerian imagery by having one of the War Machines named as Valk - from Valkyrie, the daughters of Wotan.

In 2016, for convention attendees, Pearson revisited this artwork to add an image of Dodo below Hartnell's head, just to the right of the Tower. The Doctor portrait derives from a publicity image taken during the rehearsals for An Unearthly Child. The artist has excluded the spectacles which Hartnell was wearing in the source photograph. The War Machine comes from the standard publicity shot of the prop on location near the Post Office Tower.

It is used on the photomontage cover for the VHS release, which arrived in June 1997. In the later stages of the VHS releases, the covers had settled on this design of cover.

The Hartnell portrait comes from The Celestial Toymaker, whilst Ben and Polly feature from one of their introductory publicity shots. It and the War Machine photograph feature on the back cover as well.

Unusually, this video came with bonus material. It begins with the June 1966 Blue Peter item, in which Christopher Trace examined War Machine No.9 in studio, and after the final episode we had credits for the restoration of the story, also covered in notes on a fold-out section of the VHS sleeve. We also got to see material trimmed from the film footage - showing the operators hastily vacate the Machine after the battle with the soldiers at Covent Garden, as fire threatens the prop.

The DVD cover was the work of Clayton Hickman, former editor of DWM and who does a lot of photo restoration / colourising these days. Once again we have the standard War Machine publicity image, whilst the Hartnell shot comes once again from An Unearthly Child. Hartnell only wore the black Astrakhan hat in three stories, and that was the only one where close-up publicity shots were taken of him wearing it. 

The other War Machine image derives from press shots taken on the streets of West London, where the prop interacted with children, police officers and dog walkers.

The DVD was released in August 2008 in the UK, with the US version following that November.

Despite the story existing in its entirety in the archives, The War Machines was also released as a soundtrack by BBC Audiobooks. We have the usual garish photomontage cover, with that War Machine photograph employed multiple times. The images of the Doctor, Ben and Polly actually come from a single publicity image taken for Episode One of The Smugglers, of the trio in the TARDIS.

The Post Office Tower is shown at a very odd close-up angle, so you'd hardly register it as the Tower at first glance. And, just in case you didn't know this story's location, we have silhouettes of Big Ben and the dome of St Paul's.

Anneke Wills narrates and provides a bonus interview. It was released in August 2007.

The novelisation was adapted for audiobook treatment, using the Pearson / Way artwork, in March 2019. It's one of those releases where the reader has nothing to do with the actual episodes - in this case Michael Cochrane, who played Lord Cranleigh in Black Orchid, and Redvers Fenn-Cooper in Ghost Light.

Doctor Who Magazine only rarely ever gave a cover over to a single story, unless it was a photographic one. A handful of stories got rather nice artwork covers when the publication got round to covering them in the Archives section. Issue 185 in April 1992 featured The War Machines on its cover.

This was the work of Alister Pearson once again. The Hartnell portrait comes from a publicity shot from The Savages.

If you were paying close attention to the interviews in the recent finale instalment of Doctor Who: Unleashed, you might have seen the above image hanging on the wall of one of the interviewees. It comes from company Hero Collector and can be purchased as an art print. It's done in a distressed pulp-paperback style.

And finally, 2013 saw the release of Sounds From The Inferno on vinyl. This was produced by Hysterion on 7" vinyl for Record Store Day and purports to feature music by John Smith and the Common Men. It is actually music by Johnny Hawksworth, who was responsible for the library tracks used in the Inferno Club scenes in The War Machines. It was limited to only 1000 copies.

Episode 124: The War Machines (2)

Synopsis:

Dodo arrives at the Post Office Tower to join Brett, Krimpton and Major Green. WOTAN announces that "Dr Who is required...".

She is sent off to locate the Doctor and ensure that he is recruited to their cause.

Brett informs the others that WOTAN has decided that the human race has been a failure, and it must take control. Some may be permitted to serve the machines, whilst the rest will be eliminated. London will be the first city to come under WOTAN's control, followed by Washington and Moscow. To aid them, War Machines must be constructed. The telephone system will be used to recruit scientists and technicians who can help with this project, to be carried out at secret locations around the city.

Priority, however, must be given to the recruitment of the Doctor.

At the Inferno Club, the Doctor is conferring with Ben and Polly about the missing Dodo. She then walks in, claiming to have gone off to visit some friends in the area.

Outside, two men wait in the shadows as the Doctor and his friends look for a taxi. Dodo tries to lure him towards the men, but Ben spots a cab which then pulls up in front of them. A tramp gets out. 

After the others have left, he tells Ben that he plans to bed down in one of the Covent Garden warehouses.

The men report back to Brett what has happened.

The warehouse which the tramp has selected turns out not to be as deserted as he thought. It has been selected by WOTAN as location for the construction of one of its War Machines.

Professor Brett has already arrived to supervise this.

The tramp witnesses a completed Machine and is detected by WOTAN. The man attempts to flee but is killed.

The following morning, Polly arrives at Sir Charles' home, claiming that the professor sent her to work here instead of at the Post Office Tower. 

The Doctor spots a newspaper item about the death of the tramp, whose body was found near the nightclub. Sir Charles reports to the Doctor that there has been a spate of resignations by a number of computer experts from his department. He has been unable to contact them.

The Doctor then receives a phone call from Brett.

As he answers, the professor switches the call through to WOTAN.

The Doctor comes under a mental attack, but manages to break free.

Dodo, who has been acting coldly since the previous evening, believes that WOTAN has now taken control of the Doctor. Realising that she is under some form of hypnotic influence, he uses his signet ring and his own hypnotic abilities to overcome her conditioning. She passes out and he explains that she will sleep for some time. 

Sir Charles agrees to send her to his house in the country to recuperate, whilst Polly leaves for the Tower. On arrival, she falls under WOTAN's influence.

Major Green is now at the Covent Garden warehouse, where he is testing the War Machine. A mobile armoured computer, it is armed with toxic gas jets and powerful hammers.

Ben arrives at Sir Charles' home, as he had a lunch appointment with Polly. The Doctor shows him the newspaper article about the tramp's death. He agrees to go back to Covent Garden and look around.

There, he overhears activity coming from the warehouse and sneaks in. Hiding behind some crates, he is soon detected. 

He sees the War Machine bearing down on him...

Data:

Written by Ian Stuart Black

Recorded: Friday 17th June 1966 - Riverside Studio 1

First broadcast: 6:55pm, Saturday 2nd July 1966

Ratings: 4.7 million / AI 45

Designer: Raymond London

Director: Michael Ferguson

Additional cast: Roy Godfrey (Tramp)

Critique:

And so we bid farewell to Jackie Lane, in her final episode as Dodo Chaplet.

Of course, viewers would not have realised this at the time - only that this was to be her final story. That she might be quietly written out, off screen, would not have been known. It will be one of the least satisfying companion departures in the history of the programme...

Innes Lloyd had disliked both of the companions he inherited, thinking they lacked dimension and narrative possibility. They did not provide good audience identification figures, and Lane was deemed to be too old for the teenager she was supposed to be playing. The producer decided that he wanted a more mature female companion, at the same time bringing the series more into the present day.

The initial draft script had Dodo fleeing the home of Sir Charles after the failure to hypnotise the Doctor and going to report this to Brett. The tramp was simply an unnamed Australian.

Dodo was not written out in this first version.

The episode sees the debut of the War Machines themselves. As originally scripted, they were supposed to be more humanoid in shape, with mention of a box-like head and it having glowing eyes.

One of their weapons was going to be a machine-gun. The body was composed of computer panels, on a wheeled base.

The actual War Machine would be a large box-like affair, big enough to have two people operating it from within. These were Gerald Taylor, who was also providing the voice of WOTAN, and Ron Oates of the BBC visual effects department.

It was built by Shawcraft Models of Uxbridge. Only a single Machine would be constructed, made to look more numerous on screen by simply having its identifying number replaced. This would lead to continuity problems, however...

Moving parts included computer tape spools and a revolving radar dish on the top, as well as a light behind a lens which acted as an eye, which could be made to swivel.

A fire extinguisher was employed for a gun, and its huge hammer-like arms could be raised and lowered. 

The size of the prop was also determined by the fact that it would only ever be needed in the TV studio very briefly - it being mainly operated at Ealing and on location on the streets of London.

Filming commenced at Ealing on Monday 23rd May. It made use of the studio's large water tank which was only ever filled when needed. This provided the sunken area in which were seen the "Morok freezing machine" prop - first seen in Doctor Who in The Space Museum. This had its glass dome removed. Also visible is the black circular "Rel Counter", seen in Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150AD.

The only other filming required for this episode took place on Thursday 26th, when Michael Craze was seen walking through Covent Garden. This took place outside the Royal Opera House.

In studio, a big new set was the exterior of the Inferno nightclub and the entrance to the warehouse. This set had to be large enough to allow a London taxi to enter and exit. The vehicle was driven by Michael Rathborne.

Two pieces of stock footage were employed in the episode - a clip of someone welding, taken from a health & safety film about eye protection, and some shots of cargo being handled at an airport. A close-up cutaway shot was introduced to the latter to show boxes with the distinctive "W" logo for WOTAN.

The closing credits were shown over a shot of Craze hiding behind some crates, with a searchlight trained on his face.

This episode exhibits some plotting issues with the story, mainly to do with timescales.

Brett seems to move very rapidly between the warehouse and the Post Office Tower and back again.

The first of the War Machines is built incredibly quickly. WOTAN only announces their construction as the episode opens on the first evening, and the Machine is already operational by the time the tramp enters the warehouse - which is supposed to be later that same night.

We also have crates of War Machine parts at Heathrow Airport, all clearly marked, only a few hours later.

There is also the issue of the tramp. Not only is his death able to make it to the newspaper within hours of being found, but it is on the front page, and with a photograph! Some sort of celebrity tramp? He has obviously just been released from prison, so may well have been well-known for some crime, but the newspaper simply has him an unknown man.

As mentioned above, having the War Machines identified by a removable number caused a continuity problem in this instalment. When first seen, the Machine at the Warehouse is No.9, but then becomes No.3 when the tramp is killed. It is back to being No.9 when it confronts Ben.

According to the script this was supposed to be No.3 throughout.

On completion of her work on this episode, Jackie Lane's contract as Dodo expired. Lloyd wrote to her to thank her for her work and apologised to her for having been "a victim of circumstance" - a reference to the fact that her creators had left the programme soon after her arrival.

Subject to type-casting, she gave up acting to concentrate on an antiques business. Lane also become an actors' agent, specialising in voice work. She had Tom Baker on her books for a time. and also managed Janet Fielding and Nicholas Courtney.

Later living in France for a number of years, she declined to participate in the growing convention circuit and rarely gave interviews about her time on the programme - mainly because she didn't want to repeat herself, rather than due to any hostility towards the show. It came as a great surprise when she appeared on the Afterparty programme, following the 50th Anniversary Special in 2013.

She died in London in June 2021, aged 79.

Trivia:

• After a strong start, the ratings take a dip, as does the appreciation figure. This may have been due to the later start time and the fact that we were well into summer and school holidays now. Opposite this episode were Bonanza and the hugely popular Batman.
• The later broadcast time was due to the BBC's coverage of the Wimbledon tennis tournament.
• One of the warehouse workers is extra Mike Reid. He will be seen much more clearly later in the story as a soldier. He would later become a stand-up comic, act as the grumpy host of children's game show Runaround, and finally find greater fame as Frank Butcher in EastEnders. He had previously featured as an extra in The Myth Makers.
• Also evident is background artist Hugh Cecil. The bald-headed performer - the result of alopecia - had featured as one of the Technix in The Daleks' Master Plan, and would go on to become well known as a regular non-speaking member of the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard platoon in Dad's Army.
• On Monday 20th June Blue Peter had hosted a feature on the story, with one of the War Machines appearing in studio prior to their first appearance in Doctor Who. A clip from the location filming was also screened. The item was presented by Christopher Trace, joined by co-presenter Valerie Singleton at the conclusion. The item can be seen as an extra on the story's DVD release, and it was also included at the beginning of the VHS version. A week later, the series featured homemade Daleks, presented once again by Trace.

• Character notes for Polly claimed that she was the daughter of a doctor from Devon and loved activities like skiing and motorsports. She had previously worked as a model and travel courier, and had three brothers. It was deliberately intended that she be more mature than Dodo and other teenagers like Susan and Vicki. Julie Christie and Marianne Faithful were inspirations. None of this background made it to the screen.
• Ben's notes are mainly about his loyalty and bravery, though they also include his dislike of people using nautical language in a jokey fashion as he doesn't like being made fun of. He also thinks Polly looks down her nose at him due to his Cockney accent, of which he is self-conscious. A little of this comes across in his first encounter with Polly in the first episode.
• One of two retro-style posters created by Oliver Arkinstall-Jones for this story, retitled as the attention-grabbing "WOTAN":

Episode 123: The War Machines (1)

Synopsis:

The TARDIS materialises on the corner of Fitzroy Square in central London. On leaving the ship, the Doctor places an "Out of Order" sign on it - telling Dodo that being in the 20th Century it might be mistaken for a real Police Box.

They notice that the Post Office Tower, still under construction when she left London, is now complete. The Doctor has a sense of some evil power emanating from it.

They make their way there and are soon invited into a room at the top of the Tower. Here, Professor Brett has installed his super-computer WOTAN - Will Operated Thought ANalogue. Brett assumes that the Doctor is a fellow scientist, come to attend his press conference that evening. At this, it will be announced how WOTAN will be linked up with a number of other major computers across the western world, to act as a supervising and co-ordinating mechanism.

They learn of its advanced features and are shocked to discover that it can correctly identify what the acronym "TARDIS" stands for. 

Dodo is befriended by Brett's secretary Polly, who invites her to visit the city's hottest night spot - the Inferno Club at Covent Garden.

The Doctor, meanwhile, will attend the press conference as he is intrigued by WOTAN's abilities. Held at the Royal Scientific Club it is presided over by Sir Charles Summer and attended by Brett's assistant Professor Krimpton. Brett himself is yet to arrive.

He is still at the Tower, complaining to his security head Major Green that he is convinced that there are unauthorised people in the building. He has sensed a presence all day.

As he tries to leave, WOTAN exerts a powerful hypnotic influence over him. 

At the Inferno, owner Kitty asks Polly to help with a downcast young sailor who has been hanging around the bar for the last couple of evenings. His name is Ben Jackson, and he is depressed as his ship is going to the West Indies for six months whilst he has to remain in the UK. When Polly is harassed by an obnoxious young man, Ben steps in and defends her.

At the press event, Sir Charles has informed everyone of the impending C-Day - Computer Day - when WOTAN will link up with the other major devices across Europe and the United States. This will be Monday 16th July. As the conference draws to a close, Brett hurries in and rudely ushers Krimpton out, telling him he needs him urgently at the Tower. 

There, Major Green has also fallen under the computer's hypnotic influence. Once Krimpton arrives, he is also taken over, and together they discuss WOTAN's plans. It has decreed that the human race has failed and needs a new controlling principle, which it will provide. 

Its plan begins with a phone call to Dodo at the Inferno. She is taken over remotely, slipping away from the club as though in a trance. 

Sir Charles, believing the Doctor to be a friend of Brett's, offers to put him up for the night. The Doctor accepts, and sets off for the club to find Dodo.

There, Polly introduces him to Ben and he learns that Dodo has disappeared.

She arrives at the Tower, where WOTAN instructs that the Doctor is required...

Data:

Written by Ian Stuart Black

Recorded: Friday 10th June 1966 - Riverside Studio 1

First broadcast: 5:35pm, Saturday 25th June 1966

Ratings: 5.4 million / AI 49

Designer: Raymond London

Director: Michael Ferguson

Guest cast: William Mervyn (Sir Charles Summer), John Harvey (Prof. Brett), John Cater ( Prof. Krimpton), Alan Curtis (Major Green), Sandra Bryant (Kitty), Ewan Proctor ("Flash"), Ric Felgate (American journalist), Gerald Taylor (Voice of WOTAN).

Critique:

Of course what WOTAN actually states in the closing moments of this episode is that "Doc-tor Who is re-quired...". Earlier production teams had specified that this was not the character's name, but Gerry Davis seems not to have been told that, as "Who" is employed more than once as his name throughout his tenure as Story Editor. This is the most obvious example, but in The Highlanders the Doctor calls himself Dr Von Wer, and his note to Professor Zaroff in The Underwater Menace is signed "Dr W".

One of the reasons Donald Tosh had decided not to remain on the programme when Innes Lloyd took over was the new producer's desire to have a more solid scientific basis to the stories. Tosh wanted the freedom to include historical adventures and those with more of a fantasy bent - like The Celestial Toymaker in its original, more surreal, form.

His replacement as Story Editor was far more in tune with Lloyd's vision, and Gerry Davis actively sought out someone who could act as a sort of uncredited scientific adviser on the show. This would simply be to act as a sounding board, suggesting scientific concepts that might make for good drama. 

A number of people were approached - including The Sky At Night's Patrick Moore, and Dr Alex Comfort (who would become famous for the Joy of Sex book).

Eventually, the scientist who was selected was from the medical world - ophthalmologist Dr Christopher Pedler - known as Kit.

In seeking his adviser, Davis had pointed out the new Post Office Tower which could be seen from his office, and asked for a story idea which might include it.

Knowing that the Tower's main role would be as a telecommunications hub, Pedler came up with the idea of a computer using the telephone network to take over the country.

Davis developed the original story outline, as this adventure was to introduce the new male companion, who at this stage was called Richard - or Rich. At this time, it had not yet been confirmed that Dodo would be leaving the show, so Rich departed in the TARDIS at the conclusion with her and the Doctor.

Rich was to be an Able Seaman with the Royal Navy, physically fit, down to earth and dependable.

With the main computer immobile at the Tower, it was decided that mobile armoured computers would be needed for action sequences. Much of Davis' basic storyline made it into the finished episodes.

The story was then given to writer Pat Dunlop to develop into a full set of scripts - as "Dr Who and the Computers". Whilst still working on a draft of the opening episode, he was asked to help out on the Birmingham-based football themed soap United! (which Davis himself had worked on) and asked to be released.

Ian Stuart Black was already working well with Davis on a story - The Savages - which he and Lloyd liked very much. Most importantly, the story was progressing with little or no intervention being required from Davis, so Black was tasked with taking on the follow-up adventure.

As Black worked on the story, he learned that Dodo was also to be written out of the series, and a new female companion introduced along with Rich. Lloyd claimed that it was too obvious to the viewers that Dodo was not the teenager she was supposed to be, and wanted companions who reflected contemporary London culture. This was the "Swinging Sixties" - the era of "Cool Britannia" - with Britain dominating the global music and fashion scenes. Actors like Michael Caine and Terence Stamp were on the big screen, using their natural accents, and it was finally being accepted that actors need not stick to Received Pronunciation, or BBC English, in their performances. Only a few months before, Jackie Lane had been forced to amend her accent as Dodo.

The new female companion was named Polly Wright in the character outline. This surname had already been used for school-teacher Barbara in 1963, and would never be mentioned in any of Polly's on screen appearances.

Polly was described as well-bred and trendily dressed.

The actress who won the role was Anneke Wills, who was married to Michael Gough at the time. He had enjoyed making The Celestial Toymaker, but was able to warn her about the stresses of making the technically complex show, and of working with its irascible star.

She had first come to prominence in the BBC's 1957 adaptation of The Railway Children.

The role of Ben Jackson, as Rich was renamed, went to Michael Craze. He had been acting from childhood, including stage musicals until his voice broke. An earlier brush with a Sydney Newman sci-fi series had been the juvenile lead role in 1960's Target Luna - a show which evolved into the Pathfinders series. 

His brother Peter had featured in Doctor Who the year before, playing Xeron rebel Dako in The Space Museum. Craze used to watch the series in his theatrical digs between performances. 

The new companions were contracted on 26th May. The press would be asked to hold back publicity for the new regulars until 20th June.

One major change between the draft scripts and production was the idea that people possessed by WOTAN had distinctive hands. They were to have been taken over when compelled to insert their hands into a slot on the machine, leaving them with skeletal marks - resembling an X-Ray. To conceal this, they would all wear gloves. 

Sir Charles was Sir Robert originally, and the US journalist had the surname Pails instead of Stone.

Above: Studio rehearsal for the press conference scenes, with William Hartnell out of costume. Below: the set for the Inferno Club. Note the coffin prop, which isn't clearly seen on screen.

Selected as director on the story was Michael Ferguson, whose connection to the series went back to The Daleks, on which he had been Assistant Floor Manager. It was his hand which had tapped Carole Ann Ford on the shoulder in the jungle, then waved the plunger arm from off camera at Jacqueline Hill at the cliff-hanger to The Dead Planet. Later, he had donned a joke-shop gorilla glove to act as the Dalek claw at the conclusion to The Escape.

The designer allocated the programme was Raymond London, his first Doctor Who.

Production got underway on Friday 20th May with rehearsals at the TA Drill Hall on Bulwer Street for the location filming, which was to be extensive. The same venue would be used for the studio recording rehearsals.

The filming would concentrate around central London - the Bloomsbury / Fitzrovia districts close to the Post Office Tower, and Kensington to the west.

The work commenced on Sunday 22nd May. For this episode, this included the arrival of the TARDIS in Bedford Square (see Trivia below) close to the British Museum. The high angle shot was obtained from the top of the Centre Point building.

The only location scenes for Part One are all filmed without sound, to cut down on the equipment and number of personnel Ferguson needed on location. We see the Doctor and Dodo leave the TARDIS and the approach of a policeman, and later the Doctor is seen outside the Royal Scientific Club, shot at No.41 Bedford Square. A real taxi was hired for the occasion.

Rather than the Police Box as in the story, it was the policeman extra (Peter Stewart) who was mistaken for the real thing by a member of the public, who asked him for directions.

For the opening credits a special animation was filmed. 

The title, writer and episode number appeared on screen in the style of a computer print-out, accompanied by a drum roll and ending with a cymbal clash.

With the location filming being silent, all dialogue scenes around the TARDIS were recorded in studio, with the prop against a photographic blow-up of the square.

The TARDIS had been rebuilt since the filming - leading to a continuity issue. The refurbished box was slightly smaller and had been repainted. The window surrounds were now blue instead of white and the St John's Ambulance badge had been painted over. The lock also moved from the left to the right door.

The windows were now fixed in place, having been hinged at the bottom before, and the prop overall was made slightly shallower.

The reason for the work was to make it easier to set up and dismantle on location, as it was about to be transported to Cornwall for the filming on The Smugglers.

Three recording breaks were planned - one either side of the main Inferno Club sequence to allow Lane and Wills to move sets, and one to bridge Brett's trip from his lab to the press conference. A short sequence against a photo backdrop was used to show him approaching the building, but this was deleted from the final episode.

Library music tracks were used to hold down costs, with much of the club background music coming from composer Johnny Hawksworth.

The sound effect for WOTAN had earlier been used in the BBC sci-fi serial A For Andromeda, and the hypnotic sound effect was a piece of Musique Electronique from Eric Siday.

Michael Craze was pleased that Ben wasn't expected to dance at the club as he had failed to master these skills on a recent movie.

Whilst the computer was voiced by regular extra and monster performer Gerald Taylor, who had operated Daleks amongst other creatures, trainee AFM Margot Hayhoe had to stand within the background unit to manually operate the rotating computer spools.

Ray London had anthropomorphised WOTAN by giving the main prop a stylised human face.

As well as the shot of Brett approaching the Royal Scientific Club, three other cuts were made to the episode prior to transmission. The first was in the Tower computer room where the Professor gave Dodo an example of how WOTAN could prove useful - repairing an onboard computer fault on a V-bomber in mid-flight.

The second was a discussion between Polly and Dodo about the Inferno Club, which is said to be located on Long Acre. Polly states that she is a member. Dodo asks the Doctor's permission to visit the new discotheque and he agrees as she will probably be bored at the press conference - telling her he will meet her later at "this infernal club".

The final cut was in the closing seconds as Dodo was to be seen to leave the computer room to fetch the Doctor.

The episode marks the first significant visit to contemporary Britain, other than brief stopovers in Dalek chase episodes, since Planet of Giants. In his last story, Black wrote the Doctor as though he were a well-known celebrity, even on distant planets in the far future. Here, he is accepted into Brett's top-security lab without question, accesses the press event and is later invited to spend the night at the home of Sir Charles. No doubt the Quatermass serials were being discussed in the Doctor Who production office at this time, and Black may be modelling his Doctor on the head of the British Rocket Group rather than the wandering alien outsider.

We also have the issue of a computer knowing what "TARDIS" stands for, and that its owner is known as "Dr Who". 

Black's novelisation has some of this derive from WOTAN tapping Ian Chesterton's phone. He is now a noted scientist rather than a secondary school teacher.

A more satisfying explanation is the obvious fact that WOTAN can mesmerise and control human minds. Presumably it can read them as well as influence them, so it may well have found the TARDIS definition in Dodo's mind (or the Doctor's when he first sensed its malign presence). Searching for his name in Dodo's mind and finding only a question about his identity may have led to it calling him "Dr Who" as well.

Trivia:

• The ratings pick up considerably (almost one million on the previous week) whilst the appreciation figure remains consistent with The Savages.
• Wotan is another name for Odin, chief of the Norse pantheon. This suggests that Brett may have been influenced subconsciously by the self-aggrandising computer from the outset.
• The audition piece for Polly involved her telephoning the Doctor who was in Dundee, to talk to him about the kidnapping of her Uncle Charles.
• Lloyd asked that Kit Pedler be invited to appear on Late Night Line-Up to promote this serial, but the request was turned down.
• Debbie Watling was another of those who auditioned for the role of Polly.
• The Post Office Tower can't actually be seen from Fitzroy Square. We only discover that this is the location of the TARDIS's arrival from later dialogue by Ben and Polly.
• It is they who also give the date for this story, when it proves to be the same as the closing events of The Faceless Ones. However, there was no Monday 16th July in 1966. It fell on a Saturday that year - broadcast date for the final episode of this story. There was a Monday 16th July in 1973, perhaps suggesting a near-future date was intended.
• The Doctor believes that it is WOTAN which has given him goosebumps, such as whenever the Daleks are near - but we will later find out that they are nearby at this time, a few miles away in Chelsea.
• William Mervyn was the father of the late Michael Pickwoad - the designer who worked on Steven Moffat's Doctor Who from The Snowmen to Twice Upon A Time.
• Sandra Bryant would return to the programme as Chicki in The Macra Terror.
• Ric Felgate, who plays US journalist Roy Stone, was the director's brother-in-law. He was then married to Cynthia Felgate, producer of classic BBC2 children's programme Play School. Felgate would feature in many of Ferguson's productions, including The Seeds of Death and The Ambassadors of Death.
• For this introductory episode, Radio Times dispensed with the usual photograph to present instead a stylised illustration featuring the Post Office Tower with the Doctor and TARDIS at its foot:

Episode 122: The Savages (4)

Synopsis:

Steven and Dodo are assisting the weakened Doctor when they are trapped in a corridor by Captain Edal and scientist Senta, who begin to release a paralysing gas into the area.

Watching on a monitor from the laboratory, Jano hesitates momentarily then, almost unconsciously, operates the control to open the outer door - allowing them to escape. 

Edal is furious, suspecting his leader of treachery. He points out that he rules here, and orders that the strangers be recaptured. When Edal states that he will lead the search party, Jano then insists that he will do this personally.

The suspicious captain follows him out into the wasteland with some guards. 

The Doctor is being taken by Chal and his companions to the Valley of Caves - which is where Jano has predicted they will go.

Finding they are being followed, Steven elects to hold back and cause a diversion to give the others time to get to safety.

In the caves, Nanina continues to protect the captive Exorse from Tor.

Jano has the opportunity to capture Steven, but allows him to escape.

Later, the leader of the Elders brings his men to the Valley. This time Steven has the chance to shoot him - but the Doctor prevents him from doing so. He orders that Jano not be harmed.

The Doctor is rapidly recovering thanks to the pills which they had earlier given to Wylda. He tells Chal and Tor that he intends to end the power which the Elders hold over their people - but won't do so alone. Sensing what has happened, he tells everyone that they may be helped from within the city.

Jano sends Edal and the guards back to the city, stating that he will remain here on guard by himself.

The captain later informs Senta of what has happened, and of Jano's odd behaviour. He warns the rest of the council that they are about to be betrayed.

Jano goes into the caves and is met by the Doctor and his friends. Wanting to know what is happening to him, the Doctor explains that he absorbed his conscience, moral outlook and personality along with his vitality.

As they talk, Exorse breaks free and escapes. He encounters Nanina, who convinces him not to return to the city to betray her, now that he has spent some time with her people.

On returning to the city, he declines to tell Edal and Senta of the meeting between Jano and the Doctor.

Jano leads the strangers back to the city, along with Chal, Tor and Nanina - claiming to have captured them all. Edal has attempted to take over, but finds himself arrested instead.

Left alone in the laboratory with Senta, the Doctor then leads everyone in smashing up the transference machinery.

Edal frees himself when the guards realise what is happening, but they remain locked out of the chamber until it is too late. The power of the Elders is broken.

Chal and Jano agree that their two peoples should integrate and live together in peace - and need someone neutral to lead them through this transition. Both state that they wish Steven to take on this role.

The Doctor reassures his companion that he can shoulder such responsibility.

He and a tearful Dodo bid their friend farewell before heading back to the TARDIS...

Next week: The War Machines

Data:

Written by Ian Stuart Black

Recorded: Friday 3rd June 1966 - Riverside Studio 1

First broadcast: 5:35pm, Saturday 18th June 1966

Ratings: 4.5 million / AI 48

Designer: Stuart Walker

Director: Christopher Barry

Critique:

As mentioned last week, Christopher Barry elected to record the first eight scenes of this episode at the end of the third studio session, on Friday 27th May. This was due to the extensive use of dry ice in the corridor scenes, which would take time to clear and might delay the rest of the evening's recording.

The main set piece of the episode was the destruction of the laboratory, which could only be achieved in one take. A recording break was therefore scheduled so that all the cameras could be positioned correctly to capture all the action. Small flash charges were detonated to add to the effect.

The cast reported that they thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

For the TARDIS dematerialisation, Barry once again used still photos, taken on location - one with the prop and one without, then mixing between the two.

One brief out of order shot was recorded at the end of the evening - a point of view shot of the cave entrance as seen by Dodo and Chal. This would be edited into the completed programme later.

With the end of recording, Peter Purves departed as a regular from Doctor Who. 

By this stage he was quite relieved to go, having grown dissatisfied with the way in which producers, story editors and writers had developed the character of Steven. He particularly missed Dennis Spooner's involvement in the series.

Purves was also aware that, whilst he got on well with Gerry Davis, current producer Innes Lloyd did not regard him highly as an actor. 

He may well have had some doubts about his abilities as he was already discussing the possibility of presenting rather than acting in TV programmes with Barry whilst making this story. He did hope that he would move onto more varied acting roles - only to find himself unemployed for some time.

He had retained the Trilogic Game prop after completing The Celestial Toymaker, and came to regard this as bad luck. Soon after throwing it away, he was given a role in a BBC2 thriller and a couple of episodes of Z-Cars then followed. His career really got back on track in 1967, when his desire to present was granted with a new role co-fronting the children's magazine show Blue Peter. He would remain with the show until 1978.

He returned to the role of Steven for audio adventures, and in 2023 was seen as Steven once more - opposite Maureen O'Brien's Vicki - in a Tales of the TARDIS piece bookending The Time Meddler.

His own story idea did not appear to have been taken up - that on becoming joint ruler of the Elders and Savages, Steven had turned out to be a tyrant.

One thing Purves did regret on his departure from Doctor Who was the end of his working relationship with William Hartnell. He had always got on well with the star, who came to rely heavily on his support. Purves continues to champion Hartnell.

With the loss of his loyal co-star, Hartnell was quite depressed. He had met his new co-stars during location filming on The War Machines, but had failed to bond with them for a variety of reasons - age, political and social outlook, and lifestyle.

More on this next week...

It may not have monsters - other than human ones - and the sets and costumes might look a trifle mundane from the photographic evidence we have, but I suspect that The Savages is one of those often overlooked stories which could well be due a reappraisal. It has interesting things to say about important themes - of race, colonialism, the role of science, and exploitation. It gives us a very good late Hartnell performance - even if he is pretty much absent from the third instalment. The Doctor is very much the moral crusader in this story, and Hartnell is given some wonderful dialogue.

Hopefully a missing episode or two might one day be found - or The Savages will be selected for animation treatment. Some reconstructions exist online (including a new AI enhanced one which looks very exciting...). At the very least, we will eventually get a telesnap / soundtrack version when Season 3 finally appears as a Blu-ray box-set.

Trivia:

• The ratings see a dip of half a million, whilst the appreciation figure remains stable. However, the programme placing in the weekly charts was poor - dropping to 93rd place (previous episodes being 62nd, 50th and 66th).
• The BBC Audience Research Report for this closing episode opened with the words: "At least this particular adventure wasn't one of those boring historical ones...".
• Whilst adults were not impressed, it was noted that children still found the series exciting. Ewen Solon (Chal), Frederick Jaeger (Jano) and Peter Thomas (Edal) were singled out for acting praise.
• Amongst the extras on this story we have Keith Ashley. He will go on to become a regular background performer on Doctor Who, including playing some iconic monsters such as a Zygon and the Krynoid.
• Steven's farewell to the Doctor and Dodo is one of the few surviving clips from this story. It is in the form of 8mm cinefilm footage taken directly from a TV screen by a fan. Brief footage of the lab destruction also exists.
• Whilst 16mm film copies are known to have still been in circulation in 1972, when the New Zealand copy went to Singapore, the original video tapes were wiped back in 1967.
• The Savages ends a run of five consecutive stories which have led, one into the other, through their closing sequences.

Episode 121: The Savages (3)

Synopsis:

The Doctor has been taken to the laboratory where Jano has ordered that his lifeforce be drained.

As the process begins, the Doctor passes out...

Chief scientist Senta continues to argue with Jano about his plan to take on all of the Doctor's drained lifeforce himself, instead of sharing it amongst a group as is the normal practice. The leader points out that if this transference is successful, they can do the same with other time travellers - Steven and Dodo.

They, meanwhile have been taken to a valley lined with caves, and Chal explains that this is where they live. The guards from the city dare not venture into the darkness of the tunnels. Tor reports that the guards are out searching for the newcomers. He argues with Chal about helping them - fearing the guards will come closer because of them. They spot Exorse approaching.

Within the tunnels, Wylda speaks up for Steven and Dodo and Tor leaves. 

Within minutes, he is cornered by Exorse who questions him. He inadvertently gives their location away.

Exorse enters the rock passages and forces Steven, Dodo and Chal further and further into the caverns - until they reach a dead end. Steven has been observing the light-guns of the guards, and has an idea. When they first arrived they had been given gifts by the Elders. Dodo's had been an ornate hand mirror.

As Exorse closes in and opens fire, Steven uses the mirror to reflect the weapon's beam back onto himself, paralysing him. Tor wants to kill him, but he is taken prisoner. However, he is impressed by Steven's actions and now accepts him.

In the transference laboratory, Senta clears the room of assistants and begins the process of feeding the Doctor's lifeforce into Jano.

Steven now wishes the Savages to lead him back to the city. Nanina will look after Exorse. She protects him from Tor, and the guard begins to see that that these people are not so different from his own kind after all.

Chal leads Steven and Dodo to the exit which leads to the laboratory, where he and his people are released after transference. They overpower a guard with Exorse's captured light-gun. Chal remains behind as the Doctor's companions enter the city.

In the lab, Jano has now absorbed the Doctor's lifeforce. Senta is alarmed to hear his leader speak of Steven and Dodo as his friends, and he begins to adopt some of the Doctor's vocal mannerisms.

After the scientist has left, he contemplates smashing the equipment before. He is deeply troubled by some of the ideas running through his mind - ideas which are new to him.

Dodo worries that their progress is too easy. They are unaware that Captain Edal and Senta are observing them on a monitor nearby. When it looks like they are hesitating to advance, Edal orders that the Doctor be released to encourage them to move further along the corridor.

On seeing their friend, Steven and Dodo rush forward to support him. Dazed, he can barely stand.

Edal and Senta now seal the time-travellers into the corridor and begin pumping it full of a paralysing gas...

Data:

Written by Ian Stuart Black

Recorded: Friday 27th May 1966 - Riverside Studio 1

First broadcast: 5:35pm, Saturday 11th June 1966

Ratings: 5 million / AI 48

Designer: Stuart Walker

Director: Christopher Barry

Critique:

The Savages provides a second opportunity in which to have replaced William Hartnell as the Doctor, had they so wished it at the time. It had been a definite plan by Tosh and Wiles to have the Toymaker alter his appearance to allow for a new actor to play the Doctor. Here, the Doctor's personality and moral stance are transferred into Jano, and had they cast the new Doctor in this role then the Doctor's old body could have died but he would have carried on in this new one, very much the same character.

Whether this was ever considered, we do not know.

What this episode does provide is a potential reason for the Doctor's forthcoming regeneration. Already weakened by the effects of the lifeforce-draining machine, the last straw would have been the energy draining effects of Mondas to finally trigger the process. 

It's unlikely this was considered either, but many fans have adopted the idea in retrospect. The first regeneration was the result of cumulative effects - the lifeforce transference, the Cyberman energy drain, combined with simple old age.

Rehearsals commenced on Monday 23rd May, the day after location filming took place on the next story - The War Machines. Hartnell was taken out of rehearsals on Thursday 26th for more filming, as he had very little to do in this episode. He has no real dialogue to memorise as he's comatose for much of the running time.

Instead, the actor spent time coaching Frederick Jaeger in some of his physical and vocal mannerisms, so that he could demonstrate the way in which the Doctor's personality was taking Jano over.

Geoffrey Frederick rejoined the production, Exorse having been absent from Episode 2.

In studio, the main new set was the cave complex inhabited by the Savages. This was decorated with Aztec-style wall paintings. As well as the main cavern, there were a number of rock passages, and the evening's recording breaks were used mainly to reposition rocks to make it look like the passages were more extensive. This set was accessed via steps to the rear.

In the laboratory, Jaeger sat with a large helmet over his head, with the spinning disc hovering above - the prop which was placed over the victims of the process when strapped to the medical gurneys.

The corridor set was designed as T-junction to allow for a variety of camera angles.

The last recording break was to allow the crew to flood the city corridor set with dry ice.

The use of this in large quantities had led Chris Barry to elect to record the first eight scenes of the fourth episode in this studio session - so an extra half hour had been set aside for this, resulting in a 10:15pm finish. 

The reasoning was that had they used a lot of dry ice in the opening part of the session the following week, they would have had trouble clearing it all away before recording the remainder of Episode 4.

Trivia:

• The ratings take a slight dip this week - down just over half a million viewers - though we are now into the summer period. The appreciation figure remains consistent with other instalments of the serial.
• It was around this time that Terry Nation entered into negotiations with the BBC for a stand-alone Dalek serial, through his Lynstead Productions company. He was due to finish working on the adventure series The Baron in the autumn, and hoped that this would begin production then. So confident was he that this would proceed that he had bought the Dalek props which had been used in the Curse of the Daleks stage play which had run in London. He would have rented them to the BBC to use.
• Michael Craze and Anneke Wills signed their contracts to play new companions Ben and Polly in the week that this episode was in rehearsal.