The BBC Doctor Who Facebook page has created a digital invitation to the 50th Anniversary Special, The Day of the Doctor, which allows you to put your name and face into the opening titles. You can then share it with all your friends. Access to the invitation generator can be found here.
In the meantime you can check out the Doctor Who Mind Robber’s invitation here.
Vivien Fleming
The Radio Times is a weekly radio and television programme guide which has been published in the UK since 1923. Owned and published in house by the BBC until 2011, the publication is now owned by Immediate Media Company. Prior to the deregulation of British television listings in 1991 the Radio Times only carried listings for BBC radio and television programmes. Since then the magazine has comprehensively listed programmes on all networks.
The first article published by the Radio Times on Doctor Who on 21 November 1963 discussed the exciting new adventure series starring William Hartnell
Doctor Who has been represented in more Radio Times covers than any other programme, with 29 issues featuring Who on its cover. Today the Doctor Who Mind Robber will review the five best Doctor Who Radio Times covers of the Sixties.
5. Marco Polo
The Radio Times cover for the missing Doctor Who serial Marco Polo in February 1964
The return of the Daleks was worth a Radio Times Cover story when the Second Doctor’s first serial, The Power of the Daleks, was broadcast in November 1966.
The Cybermen soon found themselves on the Cover of Radio Times in this feature about The Tomb of the Cybermen in September 1967
2. The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Daleks appeared in their second Doctor Who serial in November 1964. The Dalek Invasion of Earth featured in this cover
A rare colour cover for 1960s Radio Times with Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor in The Enemy of the World in January 1968.
As a comparison with the current era, here’s a September 2012 cover of the Radio Times featuring the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory. The Daleks are still a major draw card.
A September 2012 Radio Times cover for the premier Series 7 episode, The Asylum of the Daleks
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
Doctor Who’s long history of non-human villains has its genesis in the show’s second ever serial, The Daleks. Choosing the Top 5 is relatively easy given the extraordinarily high attrition rate of monsters considered to be “the next big thing”. Starting with Terry Nation’s The Sensorites, and ending with Robert Homes’ The Krotons, the Sixties were littered with the carcases of monsters that never quite made the grade. The Dominator’s Quarks, The Underwater Menace’s benevolent Fish People, The Macra Terror’s Macra, The War Machines’ WOTAN and War Machines, Galaxy 4’s Rill, The Chase’s Mechonoids, and The Web Planet’s Zarbi and Menoptra are but a few examples.
One of the less successful monsters of the Sixties, the Fish People from The Underwater Menace
In essence, any 1960s monster that scored a repeat story in that decade has made The Doctor Who Mind Robber’s list of the Greatest Monsters of the Sixties. All have been revived in New Series Doctor Who, with the exception of the Yeti. Please see Day 49 of our countdown for the Ten Least Remembered Monsters of the Sixties.
5. The Great Intelligence – The Abominable Snowmen and The Web of Fear
When Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart asked the Doctor in The Web of Fear what the Great Intelligence was he responded by saying, “Well, I wish I could give you a precise answer. Perhaps the best way to describe it is a sort of formless, shapeless thing floating around in space like a cloud of mist, only with a mind and will”.
The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria first encountered the Great Intelligence at the Det-Sen monastery in 1935 Tibet (The Abominable Snowmen). Having possessed the body of the monastery’s Master, Padmasambhava, this otherwise disembodied sentient being permitted its host to live up to 300 years. The Intelligence forced Padmasambhava to build him an army of robot Yeti, the construction of which took over 200 years. The Yeti were controlled by small hand-made pyramids. The Intelligence’s plans to take over the mountain on which the monastery stood were thwarted when the Doctor, Edward Travers and the companions destroyed the pyramids. Padmasambhava finally found the peace he so desired when his body passed away and the Intelligence again became a sentient being without a parasitic body.
The Abominable Snowmen’s Padmasambhava was possessed by the Great Intelligence
The Doctor and his companions again met the Intelligence when they found themselves in the London Underground 40 years later. In The Web of Fear their old friend Professor Travis had inadvertently facilitated the reactivation of the Yeti. The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria teamed up with members of the British Army to thwart the Intelligence’s plans for domination. The Intelligence used the body of the deceased Staff Sergeant Arnold and even Professor Travers for a short time. The Intelligence sought to possess the Doctor’s body and to drain his mind with a conversion headset. Unbeknownst to his companions, the Doctor had already reversed the settings so that it was the Intelligence’s mind, rather than his own, that would be drained. Jamie, however, smashed the control spheres prior to the Doctor sapping the Intelligence’s mind. Although still alive, the Intelligence vanished and was never again seen by the Second Doctor.
Staff Sergeant Arnold was possessed by the Great Intelligence in The Web of Fear
4. The Yeti – The Abominable Snowmen and The Web of Fear
Although briefly seen in the 20th Anniversary Special, The Five Doctors, the Yeti have only been the central players of two serials, The Abominable Snowmen and The Web of Fear. Robotic servants of the Great Intelligence, the first Yeti were manufactured by Padmasambhava at the Intelligence’s command. Rather pear shaped and cuddly, the Mark 1 Yeti were not as threatening in appearance as their Mark 2 counterparts which had claws capable of holding web-guns and were more streamlined. Exactly who assisted the Intelligence in the production of the Mark 2 Yeti of The Web of Fear has never revealed.
The Doctor and a Yeti in The Web of Fear
3. The Ice Warriors –The Ice Warriors and The Seeds of Death
The Ice Warriors are natives of the planet Mars. Large reptilian humanoids, the Ice Warriors can stand up to 7 feet in height. The Doctor and his companions first came upon the Ice Warriors at the Brittanicus Base where they had been frozen in ice for over 5,000 years. Defeated when their space craft exploded the Ice Warriors were next encountered on the Moon in The Seeds of Death. Their attempts at obtaining control of the Earth were foiled when the Doctor discovered that their seed pods were ruined by water. The Doctor then sent their space craft into an orbit around the sun.
The Doctor used his genius in an attempt to thwart death in The Seeds of Death
When the Ice Warriors were next met by the Doctor in 1972’s The Curse of Peladon they were members of the Galactic Foundation and had renounced violence. They became allies with the Doctor and remained so in a subsequent Third Doctor adventure, The Monster of Peladon (1974). In 2013’s Cold War the Ice Warriors’ pacifism was a long forgotten.
Pertwee era Ice Warriors
2. The Cybermen – The Tenth Planet, The Moonbase, The Tomb of the Cybermen, The Wheel in Space and The Invasion.
The Cybermen made their Doctor Who debut in William Hartnell’s last serial, The Tenth Planet. Very much humanoid in appearance, the Mark 1 Cybermen were possessed of a sing-song voice. Their faces were covered only with a stocking and they still retained their human hands. Unlike their successors, the first Cybermen initially did not seek to destroy the human race but rather hoped to convince them to join their “utopian” existence.
A Mark 1 Cyberman in The Tenth Planet
With the success of their first television appearance the Cybermen were quickly co-opted as rivals to the Dalek’s mantle of favourite Doctor Who monster. Each story in which they appeared saw their costumes modified, with the most substantial change occurring to the Mark 2 model. Gone were the stockinged faces and in their place were robotic heads. The five digits of their human hands were replaced by three fingered gloved hands.
The Cybermen emerge from their icy tombs in this iconic image from The Tomb of the Cybermen
The Cybermen were the subject of two particularly iconic images of Sixties Who. Even the tackiness of breaking through new-fangled cling wrap was insufficient to dampen the effectiveness of the Cybermen’s emergence from their icy tombs in The Tomb of the Cybermen. Their appearance on, and march down, the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral in The Invasion was arguably the greatest cliff hanger of the era. Still images of the event have become part of popular culture.
Perhaps the most iconic cliff hanger in classic series Doctor Who. The Cybermen on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral in The Invasion
1. The Daleks – The Daleks, The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Space Museum (cameo), The Chase, Mission to the Unknown, The Daleks’ Master Plan, The Power of the Daleks and The Evil of the Daleks
Only a brave person would nominate anything other than the Daleks as their favourite 1960s monsters. Appearing in just the second Doctor Who serial, it was arguably the Daleks that saved the show from a mere 13 week run. In a stroke of genius the Terry Nation created and Ray Cusick designed mutants immediately captured the imagination of the British public. Dalekmania was in full swing and within 18 months the Daleks would appear in the first of two colour, theatrically released movies.
Barbara is pinned against the wall in fear during the Daleks’ first appearance in Doctor Who on 21st December 1963
The Daleks featured in seven Sixties serials and appeared as a cameo in another. The 12 piece extravaganza The Daleks’ Master Plan is one of the most sought after missing serials. Only 3 episodes are held in the BBC Archives. Among other missing episodes is Mission to the Unknown, the only one part 1960s serial which also has the distinction of featuring none of the regular cast. Arguably the most missed of all Dalek serials is the Second Doctor’s first story, The Power of the Daleks. It, together with another missing story, The Evil of the Daleks, is highly revered in fandom. It can only be hoped that at least some of these missing episodes are some day recovered.
The 12 part The Dalek’s Master Plan is one of the most sought after missing Doctor Who serials
HONOURABLE MENTION
The Chumblies – Galaxy 4
Although the Chumblies were never reprised they were the most adorable Doctor Who monsters ever. Despite the Doctor, Steven and Vicki being initially frightened by them it soon became apparent that they were benign and worked for the good and just with the Rill. The Chumblies are top of my list of Sixties monsters that I’d most like to see revived.
A Chumbley with the Drahvins in Galaxy 4
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
Doctor Who Online is reporting that the much anticipated trailer for the 50th Anniversary Special, The Day of the Doctor, may be screened on BBC One on Saturday evening. Originally shown exclusively at the San Diego Comic-Con in July, fans have been disgruntled that the trailer has yet to be aired in the UK. Other sources are suggesting that the trailer will be shown before Atlantis.
UPDATE
The BBC has released a Press Release indicating that a Trailer will be shown prior to Atlantis tonight, however it will not contain any actual footage from the 50th Anniversary special. More details are available here.
Vivien Fleming
On Day 41 of our 50th Anniversary Countdown The Doctor Who Mind Robber examines some 1960’s companions that could or should have been. The would-be companions are listed in broadcast order only.
1. Bret Vyon – The Daleks’ Master Plan
There are some fans who may posit that Bret Vyon, the Space Security Agent from The Daleks’ Master Plan, has already been accorded companion status. This is somewhat of a minority view, however. Nicholas Courtney’s first Doctor Who role saw his character travel through time and space with the Doctor and his companions but he was somewhat of an interloper. His first meeting with the Doctor involved a threat of violence and he forced his way into the TARDIS uninvited. It took some time for a degree of trust to be established between the parties.
In any event Vyon was killed at the hands of his own sister, Sara Kingdom. Thank goodness he was or we would never have had the iconic Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Well at least not the Brigadier as played by Nicholas Courtney.
Nicholas Courtney played Bret Vyon in The Daleks’ Master Plan
2. Anne Chaplet – The Massacre
Anne Chaplet was a French servant girl who the Doctor and Steven met in Paris during The Massacre. At the time Steven was the First Doctor’s sole companion, with this serial being the only one in the monochrome era of Doctor Who to feature just a single travelling companion. Vicki had left in the final episode of The Myth Makers and had been replaced by Katarina for episodes one to four of The Daleks’ Master Plan. Sara Kingdom then accompanied the Doctor and Steven until her death in episode 12 of that serial. Proceeding directly on from the DMP, The Massacre is one of a long series of sadly missing episodes.
Anne Chaplet – the Huguenot servant girl that the Doctor refused to save in The Massacre
As the Doctor disappeared for the majority of episodes of The Massacre, only to be replaced by his evil double Abbot Amboise, Anne had very little contact with him. Anne’s relationship with Steven, however, was strong and they immediately clicked. He was understandably devastated and angry when the Doctor refused to allow Anne to accompany them in the TARDIS when they left Paris in episode four.
STEVEN: Surely there was something we could have done?
DOCTOR: No, nothing. Nothing. In any case, I cannot change the course of history, you know that. The massacre continued for several days in Paris and then spread itself to other parts of France. Oh, what a senseless waste. What a terrible page of the past.
STEVEN: Did they all die?
DOCTOR: Yes, most of them. About ten thousand in Paris alone.
STEVEN: The Admiral?
DOCTOR: Yes.
STEVEN: Nicholas? You had to leave Anne Chaplet there to die.
DOCTOR: Anne Chaplet?
STEVEN: The girl! The girl who was with me! If you’d brought her with us she needn’t have died. But no, you had to leave her there to be slaughtered.
DOCTOR: Well, it is possible of course she didn’t die, and I was right to leave her.
STEVEN: Possible? Look, how possible? That girl was already hunted by the Catholic guards. If they killed ten thousand how did they spare her? You don’t know do you” You can’t say for certain that you weren’t responsible for that’s girl’s death.
DOCTOR: I was not responsible.
STEVEN: Oh, no. You just sent her back to her aunt’s house where the guards were waiting to catch her. I tell you this much, Doctor, wherever this machine of yours lands next I’ m getting off. If you have so little regard for human life then I want no part of it.
DOCTOR: We’ve landed. Your mind is made up?
STEVEN: Goodbye.
Steven, Anne and Huguenots in The Massacre
No sooner had Steven left the ship than Dodo Chaplet mysteriously entered and Steven returned. Upon learning Dodo’s surname Steven was intrigued. Could she perhaps be a descendant of Anne’s? Logically, however, with would have been highly unlikely in a patriarchal society in which women were routinely given their father’s surnames.
3. Samantha Briggs – The Faceless Ones
Pauline Collins’ first appearance in Doctor Who was in the 1967 serial The Faceless Ones as the Liverpudlian Samantha Briggs. Investigating the disappearance of her brother on a Chameleon Tours flight to Rome, Sam met up with The Doctor and his companions. Although born in Liverpool, Collins’ Liverpudlian accent in the story has been the cause of much mirth over the years. A possible romantic match for Jamie, the relationship between the two characters never progressed beyond a kiss.
As Polly and Ben were leaving Doctor Who at the end of The Faceless Ones Collins was offered the job as a full-time companion. Perhaps wisely, given the lack of success of many companions post Who, Collins declined and went on to obtain an OBE, win a BAFTA for Best Film Actress, and be nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. She is best known for her role in the movie Shirley Valentine. In 2006 Collins appeared in the Doctor Who episode Tooth and Claw as Queen Victoria.
Jamie gets a kiss from Samantha in The Faceless Ones
4. Thonmi – The Abominable Snowmen
A young monk at the Det-Sen Monastery during the Doctor and his companions’ jaunt to Tibet in 1935 (The Abominable Snowmen), Thonmi would have been an intriguing companion. Having quickly established a rapport with Victoria, this young man could have brought an element of spirituality to the Second Doctor’s tenure. I couldn’t help but wonder what Thonmi’s reaction would have been to the Doctor’s trance like communication with the Time Lords in The War Games. Although the producers of Doctor Who experienced difficulties with Katarina during her mere 4 episode companionship, the subsequent success of both Jamie and Victoria as historical companions showed that the juxtaposition of time could work very well.
The Doctor and the young monk, Thonmi in The Abominable Snowmen
5. Astrid – The Enemy of the World
Sassy, sexy and a product of James Bond obsessed 1960’s Britain, Astrid would have made a perfect companion for the Doctor. Capable and organized, Astrid had the capacity to provide a strong female lead character to Doctor Who. At the time that Mary Peach filmed her role in The Enemy of the World she was also auditioning for Diana Rigg’s replacement in The Avengers. Although unsuccessful in obtaining The Avengers’ role, you could readily see her playing another Mrs Emma Peel. How wonderful that the recovery and release of The Enemy of the World has allowed us to see another five episodes of Ms Peach’s work!
Mary Peach as Astrid in The Enemy of the World
6. Anne Travers – The Web of Fear
Anne Travers was another product of the Second Wave of Feminism. Intelligent and university educated, Anne was the daughter of Professor Travers whom the Doctor first met in Tibet during The Abominable Snowmen tale. So successful was Ms Traver’s career in science that she was working in the United States when called upon to provide assistance to her father.
Ms Traver’s was a scientific equal to the Doctor and ably worked alongside him during the 20 minute countdown thrust upon them by the Great Intelligence in The Web of Fear. Like Isobel, she brilliantly turned the tables on any male who sought to denigrate her. Her comeback to Knight in Episode 1 was just brilliant:
KNIGHT: What’s a girl like you doing in a job like this?
ANNE: Well, when I was a little girl I thought I’d like to be a scientist, so I became a scientist.
KNIGHT: Just like that?
ANNE: Just like that.
That Isobel and Anne shared a feminist outlook is not surprising given that Isobel was originally intended to be the reprisal of Anne in The Invasion. Circumstances meant that neither Professor Travers nor his daughter was reprised in The Invasion but in their places were substituted Professor Watkins and his niece Isobel. The Travers were nonetheless mentioned in The Invasion.
7. Isobel – The Invasion
I waxed lyrical about Isobel in my review of The Invasion notwithstanding Rob Shearman’s rather scathing critique of her in Running Through Corridors. A forthright young woman, not dissimilar to the former companion Polly, Isobel was intelligent, capable and a great friend to Zoe. The girls’ glee at Zoe blowing up the International Electromatics automated answering machine was infectious. Just imagine the other hijinks they could have got up to. Isobel represented the growing second wave of feminism and did not retreat from her criticisms of patriarchy. She successfully imparted a glint of this onto Zoe.
Isobel and Zoe in The Invasion
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
This gallery contains 46 photos.
The latest Doctor Who Pop Up Shop to materialize is in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley. Open for a short time only, the Shop is located at Shop 13A, 23 James Street Fortitude Valley. Opening hours are Monday to Friday 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., Saturday from 9.00 a.m to 5.00 p.m. and Sunday from 11.00 a.m. to 4.00 […]
BBC Worldwide has today announced that a Doctor Who Pop-Up Shop will open in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley this Saturday, 8 October, at 9.00 a.m. To celebrate its opening fans are encouraged to attend in costume, with a small prize to be awarded for the first 20 fans arriving in cosplay.
Doctor Who fans in cosplay outside of a Doctor Who Pop-Up Shop
BBC Worldwide is promising that the shop will stock a large array of Doctor Who merchandise not currently available in Australian stores including the Who Home Range and women’s apparel from the American designers Her Universe. A limited number of the silver collectable coins, pressed by the Perth Mint, will also be available for sale. These 1oz silver proof coins are currently listed as unavailable on the Perth Mint website, where their retail price is listed as $115.00.
Together with the usual range of BBC Doctor Who merchandise, the shop will also have a TARDIS and a K-9. For further details you can read BBC Worldwide’s press release here.
A Doctor Who Pop-Up Shop
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
Following the closure of a prominent Doctor Who forum’s Missing Episodes Thread fans have been experiencing massive withdrawal symptoms. The end of the week cannot come soon enough!
Source for the cartoon of Patrick Troughton is Murray Ewing – http://www.murrayewing.co.uk/mewsings/2011/04/. No copyright infringement intended.
Meme text by The Doctor Who Mind Robber.
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
I just found this on Twitter and couldn’t resist sharing it. No copyright infringement is intended.
Source: pic.twitter.com/r7dff4H2Wq
The Doctor Who Mind Robber has previously reported on a series of rumours concerning the return of hitherto missing Doctor Who episodes. At the time of writing 106 episodes are believed missing from the BBC Archives. All monochrome, the lost episodes span the tenures of the First and Second Doctors and date from 1964 to 1969. The earliest missing episode is William Hartnell’s fourth serial, Marco Polo, whilst the last is Patrick Troughton’s penultimate story, The Space Pirates. Colour prints of several of the Third Doctor’s episodes have not been recovered, however black and white copies exist and have been colourized. The final Jon Pertwee serial to receive the miraculous colour treatment was The Mind of Evil, which was released in June 2013.
The colourized Mind of Evil was released in June 2013
An article published today in the UK tabloid, the Mirror, alleges that over 100 missing Doctor Who episodes have been recovered by dedicated fans in Ethiopia. Supposedly retrieved from the Ethiopian Television and Radio Agency, the source for this rumour is one Stuart Kelly, who is described as a Doctor Who expert. Mr Kelly is said to have announced the find at the Wigtown Book Festival in Scotland last week.
Like all previous rumours, Mr Kelly’s announcement is not from a first hand source. Kelly relies on the hearsay of a third party. The Mirror reports him as saying, “I was told by a friend that the episodes have been found in Ethiopia. The BBC is negotiating to get them back right now. I really can’t say any more than that.”
Marco Polo (1964) is the earliest missing Doctor Who serial
Moreover, the Mirror has made no attempt to corroborate the story with either the third party or the BBC. In June the blog Bleeding Cool reported on rumours of over 90 episodes being recovered. Upon approaching the BBC, Philip Fleming, Head of Communications, Brands, Content & Digital, BBC Worldwide issued Bleeding Cool the following statement:
There are always rumours and speculation about Doctor Who missing episodes being discovered, however we cannot confirm any new finds.
Tonight on Twitter Doctor Who Restoration Team member Paul Vanezis responded to the Mirror article and stated, “I would love it to be true. But it isn’t.” This denial is less than definitive, however. Whilst the recovery of over 100 episodes from Ethiopia may be untrue, Vanezis is far from denying that all rumours are false. The BBC’s announcement in June could be similarly met with scepticism. Whilst not confirming any finds, the BBC certainly didn’t deny any either.
The Space Pirates (1969) is the last missing Doctor Who story
Well known Doctor Who uberfan Ian Levine has today Tweeted about the Mirror’s article and a subsequent report on the UK’s SkyNews on Sunday morning. Levine said, “Maybe the Mirror news story, and the Sky News Video Report, might just force the BBC’s hand into FINALLY making an announcement this week…” Levine’s comments are sure to be echoed by many fans who are becoming increasingly frustrated by the prolonged rumours.
Doctor Who uberfan Ian Levine
Interestingly, Sodere: Ethopian Social Media Network which has over 90,000 Facebook likes, republished the Mirror’s article today. Make of that as you will.
In the meantime, you can read The Doctor Who Mind Robber’s previous Missing Episode stories here, here, here, and here. You might also like to view our 50th Anniversary Countdown post, The 10 Most Wanted Missing Episodes. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
For further developments please see Radio Times Reports Digital Release of Two Missing Episodes This Week.
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
The Doctor Who Mind Robber 