With the announcement of the recovery of the complete six part Series 5 serial, The Enemy of the World, the BBC has released a trailer for the story. Although not yet for sale on iTunes Australia, the story is available for download on iTunes UK and USA. The Enemy of the World is for the first complete Troughton era Doctor Who serial to be recovered since The Tomb of the Cybermen was unearthed in Hong Kong in 1992.
With the announcement of the recovery of five episodes of the six part Series 5 serial, The Web of Fear, the BBC has released a trailer for the story. Although not yet for sale on iTunes Australia, the story is available for download on iTunes UK and USA. A reconstruction of the still missing episode three has also been released.
On Day 50 of The Doctor Who Mind Robber’s Countdown to Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary we published our list of the Ten Most Wanted Missing Episodes. Not all episodes are as highly sought after as others and unfortunately there are a limited number that many fans have little or no desire to see returned. Our list of those sad and sorry stories that pine for some respect is provided in broadcast order only.
1. Galaxy 4 – Season 3
The first broadcast of our least wanted missing stories is the Season 3 opener, Galaxy 4. Until November 2011 none of the story’s four episodes were held in the BBC Archives. Upon episode three’s discovery, a reconstruction of the serial was produced and included as an extra in The Aztecs Special Edition. The recovered episode was included in the reconstruction.
The villains of Galaxy 4 were the Drahvins
Although the resident monsters of the serial, the Rill and the Chumblies, are generally well regarded the story is nonetheless frequently discounted by fans. In The Discontinuity Guide (1995) Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping’s “Bottom Line” was that “Galaxy 4 presents an interesting if flawed twist on the traditional bug-eyed monster tale”.
A Chumbly with four Rills in the background
Arguably it is most probably the presence of the chief villains, the Drahvins, which is the cause of most distain for Galaxy 4. Personally I found the concept of a female dominated, anti-male race of aliens absolutely enthralling. It’s for that reason that I rated the serial so highly in my own marathon watch. Below is an example of one of the recent anti-Galaxy 4 tweets. The diversity of Doctor Who fandom is one of its greatest strengths.
2. The Celestial Toymaker – Season 3
Prior to the recovery and release of episode four The Celestial Toymaker was held in reasonably high regard. In Peter Haining’s 1983 coffee table book, Doctor Who A Celebration, Jeremy Bentham waxed lyrical about it.
The success of this story lies in the way if visualises a child’s nightmare – the secret world of toys from the nursery coming to life, harmless games that insidiously graduate into something far more sinister, smiling, happy faces concealing deadly menace. In short it was a perfect fairy-tale of the kind told by the brothers Grimm – a multi-level fantasy appealing to young and old alike, but strangely being more disturbing to adults than to children.
Peter Haining, Doctor Who A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (W. H Allen, London, 1983)
The widespread availability of episode 4, firstly on the 1991 VHS release and then on 2004’s DVD, Lost in Time, quickly lead to the story’s reputation diminishing. In Mark Campell’s widely read basic guide, Doctor Who The Complete Series Guide, he gives the serial only 4 out of 10. His verdict is as follows:
A weird, and at times plodding, excursion into pure fantasy (some might say whimsy). Not as interesting as its reputation might suggest.
Mark Campbell’s Doctor Who The Complete Series Guide (Constable & Robertson Ltd, London, 2010)
My own marathon review of The Celestial Toymaker was rather more positive. In introducing the story I stated:
I found the story engaging and fascinating. The concept of a world of make believe in which the characters are compelled to participate in childish games in order to retrieve the TARDIS is both sinister and surreal. That I’m a great fan of the Second Doctor’s The Mind Robber probably evidences my idiosyncratic tendencies. Both serials have a similar edge about them.
Dodo, Steven and Cyril the nasty “schoolboy” in The Celestial Toymaker
3. The Underwater Menace – Season 4
Another poor and lowly regarded story is The Underwater Menace. Episode 3 is included on Lost in Time, and although episode 2 was recovered in November 2011 it has yet to be released on DVD. You have to wonder what that omission says about both the popularity and the quality of the serial. The Discontinuity Guide displayed its distain for the serial in its bottom line summary:
‘I could feed you to my pet octopus – yes? … I, too, have a sense of humour!’ At least Joe Orton got a kick out of watching Frazer Hines in episode four of this story.
Paul Cornell, Martin Day & Keith Toppiing, The Discontinuity Guide (Doctor Who Books, London, 1995)
To find out more about the Joe Orton/Doctor Who connection I suggest you read this blog post.
In my marathon review of The Underwater Menace I successfully found some merit in the story and ended my article by stating, “ The Underwater Menace is a fun romp and nowhere near as bad as its reputation. Watch it with an eye for the ridiculous and you won’t be disappointed”.
A rare colour photo of the Fish People of The Underwater Menace
4. The Wheel in Space – Season 5
As the lovely Wendy Padbury’s debut story, one would have thought that The Wheel in Space would be a fine contender in the list of the most sought after missing episodes. Moreover, the story features the Cybermen and is the last of a long and continuous run of missing Series 5 stories. That’s enough to make anyone celebrate. Not so for the authors of The Discontinuity Guide who again panned the story:
Dull, lifeless and so derivative of other base-under-siege stories that it isn’t really a story in its own right. Despite the detailed Wheel setting, the galloping lack of scientific credibility is annoying, and the Cybermen are so bland and ordinary that they could have been any other monster. Generic speed-written tosh.
As a great fan of the companion Zoe I nonetheless enjoyed The Wheel in Space. There can never be too much Zoe.
Jamie is initially reticent to accept Zoe as a member of the TARDIS Crew in The Wheel in Space
5. The Space Pirates – Season 6
Coming in at 195 in the 2009 Doctor Who Magazine Mighty 200, The Space Pirates has the unfortunate reputation as the least popular Patrick Troughton era Doctor Who serial. It is also the last story that is missing from the BBC Archives. Being totally bereft of any telesnaps, and having a muddy and almost inaudible fan saved soundtrack, Loose Cannon’s reconstruction of The Space Pirates does not make for very engaging viewing. So bad was it that I had great difficulty reviewing the story. I was, however, impressed by Madelaine Issigri’s fabulous metal hair and Zoe’s hotpants! The only episode held in the BBC Archives has been released on the Lost in Time DVD.
Madelaine Issigri had the most fabulous metal wig in The Space Pirates
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
Accordingly to Deborah Watling’s official website both she and Frazer Hines will be helping to launch the newly recovered Doctor Who episodes this Thursday between 3.30 and 7.00 p.m. No details have been provided of the location for the press conference/screening. Watling’s intended appearance might suggest that the rumours concerning the return of The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear may indeed be true.
Watling played the Second Doctor’s companion Victoria Waterfield from the Season 4 finale, The Evil of the Daleks in May 1967 until the penultimate Season 5 story, Fury From the Deep, in April 1968.
Hines was the Doctor’s companion Jamie, a Highland Scot from 1746 Culloden. Hines appeared from Patrick Troughton’s second adventure, The Highlanders in December 1966 until his final story, The War Games, in June 1969. Hines reprised his role of Jamie in the 1983 special The Five Doctors and again in the Season 22 story The Two Doctors. Appearing in 116 episodes of Doctor Who, Hines holds the record for the companion with the most Doctor Who episode appearances.
Deborah Watling as Victoria and Frazer Hines as Jamie in The Abominable Snowmen (1967)
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
It’s almost time to break open the champagne. The BBC News and Entertainment website has published an article by Lizo Mzimba, Entertainment correspondent, BBC News confirming the recovery of an unspecified number of missing Doctor Who episodes. BBC Worldwide is expected to confirm the find at a press screening in London later this week.
The Doctor, Ben and Polly in the Second Doctor’s first adventure, The Power of the Daleks
More news will be provided as it comes to hand.
Get ready to party!
Vivien Fleming
10. Undercover in a Paris Prison – Reign of Terror
9. The reincarnation of Yetaxa – The Aztecs
8. Caesar’s Plans Go Up in Smoke – The Romans
7. Possessed Susan Attacks Barbara – The Edge of Destruction
6. Get me Geneva Quick – The Tenth Planet
5. Doc Holliday – The Gunfighters
4. The Search for Susan – An Unearthly Child
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfvH_bbSqd4
3. Ian and Barbara Leave the Doctor – The Chase
2. Goodbye Susan – The Dalek Invasion of Earth
1. The First Doctor’s Regeneration – The Tenth Planet
HONOURABLE MENTION
A fan made compilation of the best of The Web Planet
Vivien Fleming
As previously reported in the Doctor Who MInd Robber. the UK tabloid the Mirror yesterday alleged that the BBC would announce the recovery of missing Doctor Who episodes on Tuesday. The Mirror’s claim appeared to be substantiated by an article in The Radio Times which indicated that two lost serials, likely to be from the Troughton era, would be released digitally on Wednesday.
A November 1963 Radio Times cover announcing the launch of the new series Doctor Who
Fans hopes for an early resolution of the long standing missing episode rumours where dashed last night when the Mirror reported that the press conference had been postponed until the end of the week. A BBC Insider is quoted as saying
“With all the excitement in the last few days about the lost episodes we are really keen to get the information out, but there are a few delays.
“We want everything to be ready and for this announcement to excite fans so they will have to wait a few days longer.
“They have been waiting nearly 50 years for this, so a couple of days shouldn’t make any difference.”
Almost simultaneously with the Mirror’s announcement of the delay, The Radio Times amended its online article concerning the digital release of missing episodes. It now ways that the missing episodes will be available for sale to the public this week.
Respected UK newspaper The Guardian has also weighed into the rumours and published an article today which claims that a BBC press conference will be held on Thursday.
Yeti in the tunnels of the London Underground in the lost Troughton era serial The Web of Fear
The mounting tension among fans about the impending announcement is so great that at least one online Doctor Who forum has closed its Missing Episodes thread and curtailed all discussion of the issue until an official announcement by the BBC.
The latest rumours suggest that the two missing serials recovered, and due for release, are two Season Five stories, Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear. The serials are consecutive stories and among the most sought after by fans. In our The 10 Most Wanted Missing Episodes article published on October 4 we listed the Enemy of the World as number 6 and The Web of Fear as number 5.
Patrick Troughton as Salamander in the lost Season Five serial The Enemy of the World
In the meantime, general fan consensus seems to be that the Mirror’s claim of the recovery of over 100 missing episodes from Ethiopia is at best an exaggeration, and at worst an outright lie. The Mirror’s claims were reported on the UK’s SkyNews channel and also in the press worldwide, including Australia’s news.com.au. There are now, however, very few sceptics remaining with the vast majority of vocal fans believing that at least some episodes have been recovered.
Further information will be published as it comes to hand.
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
UPDATE:
Details here.
Yesterday The Doctor Who Mind Robber reported an article in Sunday’s Mirror newspaper alleging the recovery of over 100 missing Doctor Who episodes from Ethiopia. As hoped, the reporting of these rumours in the mainstream media appears to have precipitated some movement on the BBC’s part. The Radio Times is today reporting that two stories, both believed to be from the Troughton era, have been digitally remastered and will be available for purchase on-line from sources such as iTunes on Wednesday. The BBC has yet to confirm or deny the claims in The Radio Times.
A 1964 Radio Times cover featuring the Doctor Who serial Marco Polo
The Doctor Who Mind Robber understands that there is a small Missing Believed Wiped function on Tuesday and that the recovery of some missing episodes could be announced then. Missing Believed Wiped is an annual event run by the British Film Institute which showcases recently discovered missing films.
The Mirror has published a further story in which they claim that BBC Worldwide has called a press conference and screening for Tuesday evening. The Mirror reports a BBC source as saying,
“There will be big news this Tuesday regarding lost Doctor Who episodes.
It is great that in the show’s 50th year, fans will now be able to look back with classic episodes as well as looking to the future with the new film-length episode in November.
For some fans watching their lost episodes will be like going back in time.”
The BBC Worldwide logo
Further details will be published as they come to hand.
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
One of the most frustrating aspects of 21st Century Doctor Who is the almost complete absence of cliff hangers. Very few stories have extended beyond one episode. In a clear nod to William Hartnell era stories, the Series 7 story The Crimson Horror ended with a direct lead-in to the next story, Nightmare in Silver. Arriving back in present-day London, the companion Clara meets with the children she babysits, Angie and Artie, who blackmail her into taking them on her next adventure in the TARDIS.
Clara is blackmailed by Angie and Artie at the conclusion of The Crimson Horror (2013)
In celebration of the great cliff hangers of Classic Series Doctor Who this article will briefly examine the Top 10 Cliff Hangers of the Sixties. So as not to reinvent the wheel, The Doctor Who Mind Robber has directly quoted the episode ending summaries from David J Howe and Stephen James Walker’s seminal book The Television Companion. No copyright infringement is intended.
David J Howe & Stephen James Walker’s The Television Companion was published in 2003 by Telos Publishing
10. Fury From the Deep – Episode 3
“Maggie Harris and Robson, both infected by the weed creature, meet on the beach. The former tells the latter that he will obey his instructions. Then she turns and walks straight out into the sea, eventually becoming completely submerged beneath the waves”.
The horror of this cliff hanger is the apparent suicide of Maggie Harris, the wife of one of the base employees. It is not until several episodes later that it becomes evident that Mrs Harris is still alive. Incidentally, Fury From the Deep is one of the few Doctor Who serials in which no one dies.
Unfortunately all episodes of Fury From the Deep have been lost, however the soundtrack, telesnaps and Loose Cannon’s excellent reconstruction brilliantly convey the horror.
In the cliff hanger to episode three Maggie Harris walks into the water, as if to commit suicide
9. An Unearthly Child – Episode 1
“The TARDIS arrives on a Palaeolithic landscape, over which falls the shadow of a man”.
This is the cliff hanger to the very first episode of Doctor Who and it’s the first time that the television viewers see the TARDIS materialize. The ominous shadow of a man in the barren landscape is both frightening and unexpected.
The ominous shadow of a man approaches the TARDIS in the cliff hanger to An Unearthly Child
8. The Mind Robber – Episode 1
“The TARDIS is in flight, the travellers having apparently escaped from the void. A low, throbbing hum is heard which grows in intensity until it is unbearable. Suddenly the TARDIS explodes. The Doctor spins away through space while Jamie and Zoe are left clinging to the console as it is engulfed in swirling mist.”
The end of the first episode of The Mind Robber is absolutely brilliant. This is the first time in Doctor Who that the TARDIS explodes and the crew is left floating perilously in space. The image of Zoe clinging onto the TARDIS console has become iconic for all the wrong reasons. Her tight sparkly cat suit clings to her body as the camera focuses on her bottom.
Wendy Padbury in the scene for which, unfortunately, she is perhaps best known
7. The Massacre – Episode 3
“The Abbot of Amboise lies dead in the gutter, a crowd of angry Catholics gathering around his body. When Steven protests that the Huguenots were not responsible, Roger Colbert incites the crowd against him. Steven flees for his life through the Paris streets …”
The Massacre sees William Hartnell play two roles – the Doctor and the evil Abbot of Amboise. Both characters are absolutely identical in appearance however the audience and companion Steven are unaware if the Doctor is masquerading as the Abbot, or if the Doctor and the Abbot are two different people. It’s for that reason that this cliff hanger is so powerful as it is not clear if it is the Doctor or the real Abbot who is dead.
The Massacre is another of the serials which unfortunately has all episodes missing. As discussed in Fury From the Deep, this does not distract from the potency of the ending.
Steven with the body of the Abbot of Amboise
6. The Tenth Planet – Episode 4
“The Doctor returns to the TARDIS, closely followed by Ben and Polly. The ship’s controls move of their own accord and the Doctor collapses to the floor. His companions enter and, before their astonished eyes, the Doctor’s face transforms into that of a younger man”.
This episode ending is of course Doctor Who’s first regeneration. The First Doctor, William Hartnell, collapses and with exceptional special effects for the era, his face is transformed into that of the Second Doctor, Patrick Troughton. The audience must wait until the next episode to see all of the new Doctor’s body and to experience his personality. There was no precedent for a change of the lead character in such a manner, and the audience was left stunned as they anticipated the new Doctor’s personality and physical appearance.
Episode 4 of The Tenth Planet has been lost however an amateur film was taken of a television screen during the broadcast of the episode. The episode has also been recently animated and will be released on DVD next month.
5. The Dalek Invasion of Earth – Episode 1 and Episode 6
“The Doctor and Ian, menaced by a group of Robomen, prepare to escape by diving into the Thames. As they turn, they see rising slowly from the water the familiar shape of a Dalek.” (Episode 1)
“The TARDIS dematerialises and, comforted by David, Susan moves away. Her TARDIS key lies discarded on the ground, with an image of a starscape superimposed …” (Episode 6)
The cliff hanger of episode 1 derives its force from both the iconic background of the Thames River and the emergence of Doctor Who’s first return monsters, the Daleks. Having been so well received in their first story, the return of the Daleks was eagerly anticipated by fans. As was the common practise in early Doctor Who stories, the monsters rarely appeared on-screen until the end of the serial’s first episode.
The episode six ending marked the first departure of a companion in Doctor Who. Just prior to the episode’s end the Doctor gave an impassioned oration to his grand-daughter Susan whom he was effectively deserting on the 21st Century Earth.
A submerged Dalek emerging from the Thames River
Susan talks to the Doctor through the TARDIS’s PA system
4. Planet of Giants – Episode 2
“After cleaning Farrow’s blood from the patio stones outside, Smithers goes into the laboratory to wash his hands, unaware that the Doctor and Susan are hiding in the water outlet from the sink. As a helpless Ian and Barbara watch, he fills the sink with water, washes, and then pulls out the plug”.
The brilliance of the episode 2 cliff hanger of Planet of the Giants is that it successfully made the mundane frightening. Watching a plug pulled from a sink and water cascading down a drain would ordinarily be exciting as watching the kettle boil. Our heroes, however, have been shrunk to less than an inch in height and are as vulnerable as an ant is to the heavy boot of a human. The companions Ian and Barbara, together with the audience, are left paralysed with fear at the imminent drowning of the Doctor and Susan.
The Doctor and Susan before descending into the sink drain
3. The Daleks – Episode 1
“Exploring their apparently deserted city, Barbara encounters one of the Daleks and is menaced by its telescopic sucker arm.”
As outlined in The Dalek Invasion of Earth, it was standard practice in early Doctor Who for the monsters not to emerge until the cliff hanger of the first episode. This absolutely iconic ending sees Barbara pinned to a wall in fear as a Dalek’s sucker arm menaces her. The audience has not yet seen the rest of the Dalek’s body however the expression on Barbara’s face paints a picture of a horrifying spectacle.
Barbara is pinned against the wall in fear during the Daleks’ first appearance in Doctor Who on 21st December 1963
2. The War Games – Episode 1 and Episode 10
“In the First World War zone the Doctor has been found guilty of spying against the English forces and is tied up before a firing squad. Captain Ransom brings his men to order, tells them to present arms and opens his mouth to give the order to fire. A shot rings out and the Doctor grimaces” (Episode 1)
“A still protesting Doctor spins away through a dark void to begin his sentence of exile on Earth with a new appearance. His face is shrouded in shadow …” (Episode 10)
By the time the first episode of The War Games was broadcast Patrick Troughton’s decision to leave the role of the Doctor had been made public. Whilst history had shown that the Doctor always escaped serious harm, the audience could not be certain that his luck hadn’t finally ended. Perhaps he would be killed by the firing squad and regeneration was imminent?
Episode 10 is perhaps my all-time favourite as so many mysteries about the Doctor’s past are answered. His forced regeneration at the episode’s end is chilling but perhaps not as sad as Jamie and Zoe’s departure earlier in the episode. The monochrome era of Doctor Who was at an end and things would never be the same again.
The Doctor grimaces as a shot rings out
1. The Invasion – Episode 6
“The Cybermen emerge from the sewers and march through the streets of London as the invasion begins.”
The Cybermen’s emergence from the sewers of London and their march down the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral is justifiably iconic. By placing the monsters in an easily recognizable London landscape genuine fear would have been instilled in the audience. Although the Daleks had visited tourist spots such as Westminster Bridge in The Dalek Invasion of Earth, the Cybermen were in current day London. This wasn’t one of the Daleks’ futuristic tales but rather a genuine invasion in our own time. As Jon Pertwee said, there’s a “Yeti on the Loo in Tooting Bec”.
Arguably the most iconic cliff hanger in classic series Doctor Who. The Cybermen on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral
TOMORROW – DAY 47 – The 10 Greatest Billy Fluffs
YESTERDAY – DAY 49 – The 10 Least Remembered Monsters of the Sixties
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
10. The Mechonoids – The Chase
Written by the Daleks’ creator, Terry Nation, the Mechonoids appeared in the penultimate serial of Season 2, The Chase. Together with the farewell of companions Ian and Barbara, The Chase was the first attempt by Terry Nation to create a rival to the Daleks’ popularity. The Mechonoids were created to protect humans on the planet Mechanus however ultimately no humans colonized the planet. The Daleks battled the Mechonoids during this story. Not unlike many early Doctor Who monsters, the Mechonoids were large, cumbersome and totally unsuited for most of their tasks.
The Chase was the Mechonoids only television appearance on Doctor Who, although they did appear in comics and had several items of merchandise produced.
A mechonoid with two Daleks in The Chase
9. The Macra – The Macra Terror
Although revived in the Series 3 episode Gridlock, the providence of the Macra would probably have been lost on most New Series Doctor Who fans. With all four episodes of The Macra Terror lost, it is of little surprise that the Macra have long faded from memory. Giant crab like creatures, they inhabited underground tunnels and were reliant upon toxic gases to breath.
Thanks for the vigilance of the Australian Censorship Board, several censored clips from The Macra Terror have survived. A 15 second clip of a Macra grabbing Polly and another 7 second clip of Ben and Polly watching an approaching Macra, have survived from Episode Two. A two second clip of the Controller being attacked by a Macra survives from Episode Three.
A publicity shot of the Controller and Macra taken prior to filming
8. The Krotons – The Krotons
Robert Holmes’ first serial for Doctor Who produced yet another one-off monster, the Krotons. In my review of The Krotons I described these monsters thus:
“ Yet another attempt at a Dalek replacement, the Krotons were a poor substitute. With arms that looked like the robot’s from Lost in Space, the Krotons were disabled by their strange and inflexible metal hands. Possessed of a rather cool spinning head, the poor Krotons were not so lucky with that part of their costume below the waist. A rubber skirt was merely tacked on to disguise the operators’ legs”.
The Krotons spoke with South African accents
7. The Quarks – The Dominators
Created by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln, the writers of the two Yeti stories The Abominable Snowmen and The Web of Fear, the Quarks of The Dominators were nowhere near successful as Haisman and Lincoln’s first monsters. The Quarks were less than convincing monsters and were ostensibly a box with legs, two pieces of wood for arms, and a quite fancy round head. The creatures were so small that school children were hired as operators.
Haisman and Lincoln believed that they’d created “the next big thing” and as a consequence a dispute between the writers and the BBC ensued. The writers’ sought exclusive rights for the marketing of the Quarks however unbeknownst to them, the BBC had already sold the comic rights to the Quarks. An injunction against the airing of The Krotons was threatened, although legal action was not forthcoming. The Dominators was the last Doctor Who serial that Haisman and Lincoln worked on. Although never again appearing on TV, the Quarks had a short career as comic book characters.
The Quarks were less than convincing as monsters
6. The Fish People – The Underwater Menace
Of The Underwater Menace’s four episodes, two are held in the BBC Archives and only one has been released on the Lost in Time compilation DVD. Another of the Troughton era serials that is generally held in low regard by fandom, The Underwater Menace featured Fish People. These strange creatures were once humans but had been operated on to enable them to breath underwater. These surgically modified humans, who now had gills, flippers and scales, were slaves to the Atlaneans. Polly narrowly escaped being transformed into a Fish Person.
The Fish People’s costumes included many sequins and they spent much of their time engaged in synchronised swimming. The rest of the time they collected a constant supply of fresh plankton which was required by the Atlaneans who were bereft of refrigeration. Alas, the plankton of The Underwater Menace were not as cute as the SpongeBob SquarePants character.
A rare colour photo of the Fish People
5. WOTAN – The War Machines
Making its first and only appearance in the Season Three finale, The War Machines, WOTAN was the world’s most sophisticated computer. Pre-empting the internet, WOTAN was designed to link together all of the world’s computers. Located on the top floor of the newly opened Post Office Tower in London, WOTAN was a malignant machine which sought world domination. WOTAN evidenced the fear of many that the newfangled room-sized computers would usurp humans.
Although not the world’s largest computer, WOTAN is the most intelligent
4. The Rill – Galaxy 4
Although technically a monster, the Rill of Galaxy 4 were actually benign creatures who had long been the victims of a campaign of aggression by the Drahvins, a race of aggressive females. Enormous and obscenely ugly green creatures, the Rill can only breathe ammonia. In a tale with the well worn moral of “you can’t judge a book by its cover”, the beautiful blonde Drahvins are the evil and the ugly Rill are the good.
A Chumbley with four Rills in the background
3. The Menoptra and The Zarbi – The Web Planet
Hailed by some fans as a masterpiece, the First Doctor adventure The Web Planet also has a sizeable number of critics. I was so bored and uninspired by the painfully slow six part serial that I was unable to gather the enthusiasm to write a review. Instead I posted a fan made YouTube clip which although only three minutes in duration, was immeasurably better than the 150 minute serial. Is it any wonder that the Menoptra and the Zarbi are forgotten Doctor Who monsters?
Creatures of The Web Planet
2. The Sensorites – The Sensorites
The penultimate story of Season One, The Sensorites was Doctor Who’s first attempt to create a monster to rival the Daleks. The Sensorites, who are near neighbours to the New Series monsters, the Ood, are a strange race of creatures who communicate by telepathy. With unusually shaped bald heads, the Sensorites have a fine head of hair growing onwards and upwards from their chins. Like the Ood, the Sensorites are nameless and genderless and have a tube which hangs from their bodies. The cord is not the external brain of the Ood, however, but rather a stethoscope to facilitate their communication by telepathy.
A Sensorite using telepathy.
1. The Monoids – The Ark
Surely the worst designed of all Sixties Doctor Who monsters, the Monoids were originally the servants of the Guardians. In my review of The Ark I described the Monoids in this way:
“.. .a peculiar mute race whose most distinctive feature is their one eye. This single eye is in their mouths, or at least what would’ve been their mouths if they had human anatomy. These eyes are actually painted ping pong balls which the actors held in place with their mouths. Now that’s ingenious small budget special effects for you! On the top of their heads is a long Beatles style mop top wig, whilst the rest of their bodies are clothed in green ill fitting garb. They have webbed hands and feet and move slowly”.
A lowly regarded serial, The Ark is nonetheless a stunningly directed four part story which is always met by sighs of relief by marathon watchers. After five lost serials in succession, including the 12 part The Daleks’ Master Plan, watching The Ark on DVD is almost like winning the lottery!
A Monoid complete with voice box
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
TOMORROW – DAY 48 – The Top 10 Cliff Hangers of the Sixties
YESTERDAY – DAY 50 – The 10 Most Wanted Missing Episodes
You can’t help but love the Voord, the “next big thing” that were never seen again on Doctor Who. The Keys of Marinus.
Some of the delegates in attendance in The Daleks’ Master Plan
A Chumbley with the Drahvins in Galaxy 4
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
The Doctor Who Mind Robber 