300 The Dæmons: Episode Two

EPISODE: The Dæmons: Episode Two
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 300
STORY NUMBER: 059
TRANSMITTED: Saturday 29 May 1971
WRITER: "Guy Leopold" (pseudonym for Robert Sloman and Barry Letts)
DIRECTOR: Christopher Barry
SCRIPT EDITOR: Terrance Dicks
PRODUCER: Barry Letts
RATINGS: 8 million viewers
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - The Dæmons
EPISODE FORMAT: 16mm b&w film recording recoloured using 525 off air video

"Look, Miss Hawthorne, I agreed with you from the first about the danger, but now I think you're utterly mistaken. Whatever else you saw it certainly was not the Devil!"

Welcome to the 300th episode of Doctor Who!

Jo has the frozen Doctor taken to the village inn for treatment. Jo calls Mike Yates at Unit, who saw the event on TV, but is cut off. Yates & Benton decide to fly down first thing in the morning in the Brigadier's helicopter. At dawn an Earthquake shakes the village and the local PC, guarding the fig is killed. From the air Benton & Yates spot a line of giant hoof marks. They land on the village green and are taken to the inn by Jo who explains what's been happening. The Brigadier discovers his staff have all gone to Devil's End. Benton rescues Miss Hawthorne from the church where she's been held captive. A sudden heat wave revives the Doctor and creates a barrier round the village. Miss Hawthorne believes she's seen a 30 ft devil, but the Doctor disputes this. When she tells him that the local cult is headed by Mr Magister he realises that it's the Master, Magister being the Latin word for Master. The Brigadier discovers his way into the village blocked by the heat barrier. The Doctor goes to investigate the barrow, and finds the PC's body. Entering the barrow he finds a tiny space ship, reduced in size but is confronted by Bok the Gargoyle.

That was rather fun, enjoyed that. A fabulous performance from Nicholas Courtney who seems to be having a fab time in this episode. First he provides the BBC 3 announcer voice as they struggle to resume contact with the dig:

ANNOUNCER: We seem to have lost all contact with the barrow. We shall, of course, resume transmission as soon as we can. In the meantime, here's some music.

Then, in his usual role as The Brigadier he's talking to UNIT HQ from his bed:

BRIGADIER: The Doctor's gone? Gone where? Well, you should know, Corporal. I want to talk to him. What? Oh, all right then, wake up Miss Grant. I see. And I suppose she didn't leave a number either? I suppose it wouldn't do any good to ask for Captain Yates or Sergeant Benton? MY HELICOPTER? Where to? Devil's End. Yes, yes, I see. Get my car here right away. Yes, and if they do contact you, tell them to stay put.

The original plan here was for a woman's arm to have passed the phone to the brigadier when it rang!

Finally there's a lovely scene towards the end of the episode as Yates recaps over the radio to an incredulous Brigadier what's happened

YATES: And that's about it, sir. Over.
BRIGADIER: I see, Yates. So, the Doctor was frozen stiff at the barrow and was then revived by a freak heat wave. Benton was beaten up by invisible forces and the local white witch claims she's seen the Devil.
YATES: Yes, sir. I know it sounds a bit wild.
BRIGADIER: It does indeed, Yates. Now listen, I'm bringing up some men to investigate this heat barrier. Let me talk to the Doctor. Over.
YATES: I'm afraid you can't, sir. He's gone up to the dig with Jo. Over.
BRIGADIER: I see. Well, Yates, anything further revelations?
YATES: Just one, sir.
BRIGADIER: Well, what is it?
YATES: We've found out who's at the bottom of all this. It's the Master. Over and out.

Making a return to Doctor Who in this episode, as the Baker's Man, is sixties Doctor Who regular: Gerald Taylor. He first appeared in the sixth episode of Doctor Who, The Daleks part 2: The Survivors as a Dalek, a role he repeats in Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Chase, Mission to the Unknown, Dalek Masterplan, Power of the Daleks, Evil of the Daleks and the Dr. Who and the Daleks film. He was in The Web Planet as a Zarbi and The War Machines as a War Machine and the Voice of Wotan. His first on screen appearance as a human was as Damon's Assistant in The Underwater Menace and he can be seen again as the heavily made up as Vega Nexos in Monster of Peladon episode 1. He's also in one of the currently missing Out of the Unknown second season episodes The Naked Sun as a robot.

Playing the village doctor Dr. Reeves is Eric Hillyard.

The Baker's Van and the Brigadier first encounter the heat barrier at the Airfield by Durrells farm now known as Ramsbury Airfield,.

Richard Bignell's Doctor Who On Location says that the Doctor's journey in Bessie during episode 1 is stopped by a fallen tree on The Lane by Oaken Coppice. Mr Bignell's book seems to think they remove the tree at the Airfield, as mentioned above, but I think in daylight it looks more like the location used at night and for the Brigadier's second encounter with the heat barrier which both the book and Doctor Who's On Location page for The Dæmons agree is the lane by Oaken Coppice!

More extras, this time more BBC3 TV Crewmembers. I guess they are those in the studio filmed scenes helping to dig the Doctor out at the barrow. Leslie Bates was in the very first episode of Doctor Who, An Unearthly Child, as the Shadow that falls across the Tardis at the end of the episode. He plays a Tribesman in The Cave of Skulls in the next episode, a Man at Lop in Marco Polo: The Roof of the World, a Mongol Warrior in Marco Polo Five Hundred Eyes and a Mongol Bandit in Rider from Shang-Tu. He's a Guard in The Massacre: Bell of Doom, a Villager at Inn / Pirate in The Smugglers and a 1862 Confederate Soldier in The War Games. He returns as a Lunar Guard in Frontier in Space episode three and a Draconian in Frontier in Space episode five, an Extra in Invasion of the Dinosaurs and an Exxilon in Death to the Daleks. Anthony Case wasn't in the show before or since.

Ron Tingley is on debut and returns as a Naval Base Sailor / Rating in The Sea Devils and a Skybase Guard in The Mutants.

Also on debut is Steve Ismay and he's back as a Guerilla in Day of the Daleks episode three, Stills Cameraman in Day of the Daleks episode four, a Sea Devil in The Sea Devils, Varan's Bodyguard in The Mutants episode one, a Presidential Guard in Frontier in Space, a UNIT Soldier in The Time Warrior, an Army Soldier in Invasion of the Dinosaurs, an Exxilon in Death to the Daleks, a Guard in The Monster of Peladon, a Metabelis 3 Guard in Planet of the Spiders, a Guard in The Deadly Assassin, a Gracht Guard in The Androids of Tara, a Citizen in Full Circle and a Cyberman in Earthshock.

299 The Dæmons: Episode One

EPISODE: The Dæmons: Episode One
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 299
STORY NUMBER: 059
TRANSMITTED: Saturday 22 May 1971
WRITER: "Guy Leopold" (pseudonym for Robert Sloman and Barry Letts)
DIRECTOR: Christopher Barry
SCRIPT EDITOR: Terrance Dicks
PRODUCER: Barry Letts
RATINGS: 9.2 million viewers
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - The Dæmons
EPISODE FORMAT: 16mm b&w film recording recoloured using 525 off air video

"If Professor Horner opens up that barrow, he will bring disaster on us all!"

For many years The Dæmons was touted as the best Pertwee story and probably the best Doctor Who story. It's certainly well loved by those that worked on it with most of those involved speaking very fondly about it. Then it got repeated in 1993, right in the middle of Doctor Who fandom's big re-appraisal of the series and suffered a huge backlash damaging it's reputation, a feeling that persists to this day. So how is it now?

In the village of Devil's End preparations are being made to open a local burial barrow. Local white witch Miss Hawthorne voices her concerns to the new local vicar The Reverend Magister: The Master. Jo is keen to stay up to watch the dig opening the barrow live on television but the Doctor's curiosity is pipped and he & Jo drive to try and stop the dig. In a cavern under the church the Master and a local cult are holding a ceremony to summon something.... The Doctor arrives just as the barrow is penetrated and torrent of cold air comes out freezing him. The Master calls on the name of Azal as the gargoyle in the cavern, Bok, comes to life.

Oh look, it's the Master. Again. This time he's a rationalist, existentialist vicar leading what looks like a black magic cult in a cavern under the church!

There is the casual insinuation that the Master may have had something to do with the disappearance of the previous vicar Cannon Smallwood......

GARVIN: What do you want?
HAWTHORNE: Well, if you must know, I wish to contact the vicar.
GARVIN: Mister Magister's not in at the moment.
HAWTHORNE: Not him. I mean the real vicar.
GARVIN: What would you call Mister Magister then?
HAWTHORNE: I mean Canon Smallwood, our old vicar. The one who left in such mysterious circumstances.
GARVIN: Nothing mysterious about it. Taken ill and had to leave.
HAWTHORNE: Suddenly? In the middle of the night? Without so much as a goodbye to anyone in the village?

There's a lot of little detail to like in this episode: First we get the Doctor playing with Bessie, who is fitted with a new remote control in a sequence filmed at Campbell Aircraft Ltd in Membury Wiltshire. A plane from that firm will later appear in The Planet of the Spiders!

Then we have the off duty life of the UNIT team as the Brigadier gets dressed up for a regimental do while Yates & Benton stay in to watch the rugby, complete with commentary from Bill McLaren!

All this is against a background of black magic and village cults pre-dating The Wicker Man by two years. It's a very un-Doctor who sphere to be wandering into especially taking this episode in isolation and not knowing how the story progresses. I can imagine there may have been some slight unease amongst some viewers at the subject matter this week.

The Dæmons is the only Doctor Who story credited to Guy Leopold: That's because it's actually a pseudonym for Robert Sloman, writer and actor, and his friend Barry Letts, Doctor Who's producer, formed from the first name of Sloman's son and Letts' middle name.

The director of the story is Christopher Barry making his return to the show after a 5 year absence. He'd previously been in charge for The Daleks episodes 1, 2, 4 and 5, The Rescue, The Romans, The Savages and The Power of the Daleks. After this he returns for The Mutants, Robot, The Brain of Morbius and The Creature from the Pit

It's hard to see all the roads that The Doctor & Jo drive down on he way to Devil's End and the dig but fortunately the ones that are at Oaken Coppice turn up in the next episode in the daylight! The one we can see clearly here, where both the hill and signpost are found, is at
Membury Crossroads. The same stretch of road later features in Planet of the Spiders episode 2's infamous chase sequence!

The locations are very much the star of this story, with the village of Aldbourne in Wiltshire serving as the centrepiece which we'll see much more of as the story goes on. The nearby
Four Barrows serves as the dig location:

The events of this episode at least look like they were inspired, at least in part, by a BBC Televised dig at Silbury Hill in Wiltshire, not that far from the locations used in this story. Silbury Hill and it's neighbouring neolithic sites Avebury Stone Circle and West Kennet Long Barrow are well worth a visit: I was taken on a day trip to all three when I was at school in London and have been back since I've lived in Wiltshire.

The main guest role for the story goes to Damaris Hayman, as Miss Hawthorne, who has an acting CV as long as your arm, mainly sitcoms, and is now a regular on the convention circuit.

Christopher Wray plays PC Groom and he's be back next season as Ldg. Seaman Lovell in The Sea Devils.

Don McKillop plays Bert, the Landlord of the Cloven Hoof pub. He appears in Doomwatch as Det. Chief Inspector Logan in Waiting for a Knighthood, one of the three existing third season episodes which you can see on The Doomwatch DVD. He's in Star Maidens as the Sergeant in Hideout, The Professionals as Maclean in Operation Susie and An American Werewolf in London as Inspector Villiers. He's probably best known as Jack, a workmate of Terry & Bob, in 11 episodes of The Likely Lads

Rollo Gamble who plays Winstanley also worked as a director as well as acting. He died two years after this story was made in 1973.

John Joyce plays Mr Magister's Verger Garvin. IMDB believes he had previously been an extra in the Myth Maker episode 2 Small Prophet, Quick Return.He appears in The Professionals as Langton in The Acorn Syndrome, Morons from Outer Space as Chief Inspector Miller and Inspector Morse as Mr. Gray in The Infernal Serpent.

John Holmes plays the ill fated Jim, killed in the churchyard at the start of the episode chasing his spooked dog. He was an animal trainer and worked on Monty Python, Survivors and Doomwatch's Tomorrow, the Rat.

Robin Wentworth plays Prof. Horner. You can see him in House of Cards episode 4 as Sir Humphrey Newlands.

David Simeon David Simeon Alastair Fergus 1 The TV presenter, Alistair Fergus, played by David Simeon who was Private Latimer in Inferno, seems a lot like a parody of a TV Presenter that Monty Python's Michael Palin would have done. The resemblance between the two actors doesn't help either! Simeon has a couple of tangential connections to Monty Python: In Fawlty Towers he appears as Mr. Mackenzie in A Touch of Class and can be seen as the Clerk of Court at the Old Bailey) in A Fish Called Wanda.

James Snell plays the TV producer Harry. He was in Space: 1999 twice as Cousteau in the Space Brain and Stevens in The Seance Spectre, The Sweeney as Johnny Moxom in Hit and Run, The Professionals as the Hitman in Hijack and the third episode of the House of Cards sequel To Play the King as Detective Inspector Hackett.

The BBC cameraman is played by Robin Squire. He'd previously been the show's Assistant Script Editor at the start of the Third Doctor's time and, as a non equity card holder he was pressed into service as an emergency stand in Squire was so good that he was used for all the main Auton appearances as credited as the suspiciously sounding Ivor Orton..... . He returned as a Starliner citizen in Full Circle and later plays a Pharos Project Boffin in Logopolis.

In amongst the BBC crew we have Sonnie Willis who should have started his Doctor Who career as t he RT Technician in 10th Planet but for some reason was replaced! He made his debut playing an Atlantean Guard in The Underwater Menace followed by a Cyberman in the Moonbase and then a Waxworks Visitors/Auton Replica in Spearhead from Space. He returns as a Villager in Green Death and a Time Lord in Deadly Assassin. He can also be seen in Doomwatch as a Man in Hear No Evil and a Prison Officer in Fire and Brimstone.

Patrick Milner is the UNIT Corporal who brings Yates & Benton their sandwiches: he was previously a Foot Soldier in The War Games episode three, a Resistance Man in The War Games episode seven, a German Soldier in The War Games episode eight and a Security Guard in Doctor Who and the Silurians. He'd been in Quatermass and the Pit as a Man in Crowd in The Enchanted, a Journalist in The Wild Hunt and a Sightseer in Hob, The Andromeda Breakthrough as the Policeman at Manor House in Gale Warning, and Doomwatch as the Airport Policeman in By the Pricking of My Thumbs.

There are a lot of Villager extras in this story. A LOT! So please forgive me if I'm briefer than usual with their credits during this story!

All of these are in episodes 1 & 2 and can be found in the pub and/or The Coven - The Doctor Who production file is unclear on this matter. Vic Taylor was a Saxon in The Time Meddler, a Cardinal's Guard in The Massacre, a Worker / Soldier in The War Machines, an English soldier in The Highlanders, an ATC Technician in The Faceless Ones, a Guard in The Enemy of the World, a Technician in Fury from the Deep and a UNIT Soldier in Doctor Who and the Silurians. He returns as a Solonian in The Mutants. David J. Grahame was previously a Parisian Man in The Massacre, a pedestrian in The War Machines and a Control Room Technician in The Ambassadors of Death. He's back as the Old Man in The Mutants, a Chestnut Seller in The Talons of Weng-Chiang and a Coven Member in Image of the Fendahl. Roy Pearce was a Guard in The Massacre, a Soldier in Snow Camouflage / Engineer in The Tenth Planet, a Chameleon in The Faceless Ones, the Cyberman in The War Games episode ten, and an extra in Doctor Who and the Silurians. He's back as a Solos Guard in The Mutants, an Exxilon in Death to the Daleks and a Courtier i/Brother in The Masque of Mandragora Michael Earl was an extra in The Savages Richard Lawrence was a Tracking Room Technician in The Tenth Planet, a Technician in Doctor Who and the Silurians and a Technician in Inferno. Charles Finch was a Cyberman in The Invasion and a UNIT Soldier in Doctor Who and the Silurians. Alan Lenoir makes another appearance as an Ice Warrior in The Monster of Peladon. Jimmy Mac returns in State of Decay as a Peasant

Then we have Ronald Mayer who was also in Quatermass and the Pit as a Journalist in The Wild Hunt and the Dead Photographer in Hob and John Tatham who has been listed under several different names: see John Tatham's Avelyman page and John Tatum on imdb. Tatham, Vic Taylor & David J. Grahame all return for episodes 3 & 4. Finally Lily Harold and Mo Race are the Woman in Cloven Hoof Pub!

298 Colony in Space Episode Six

EPISODE: Colony in Space: Episode Six
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 298
STORY NUMBER: 058
TRANSMITTED: Saturday 15 May 1971
WRITER: Malcolm Hulke
DIRECTOR: Michael Briant
SCRIPT EDITOR: Terrance Dicks
PRODUCER: Barry Letts
RATINGS: 8.7 million viewers
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - Colony In Space
EPISODE FORMAT: 525 video RSC

"Doctor, why don't you come in with me? We're both Time Lords, we're both renegades. We could be masters of the galaxy! Think of it, Doctor, absolute power!"

Caldwell & Morgan free Jo. The Master & the Doctor are taken prisoner by the primitives. Caldwell helps Jo escape from the IMC guards who are forcing the colonists onto the ship. The Master and the Doctor are led into a cell by the priest:

MASTER: Are you the leader of these people? I've come to help you. Why doesn't he answer?
DOCTOR: They don't speak. They're telepathic.
MASTER: No, wait! What is this place?
DOCTOR: Well, it looks like some sort of lumber room. Take a look at this frieze here. I think it might interest you.
MASTER: Yes.
DOCTOR: It's a sort of chronicle of their history, showing that their science has deteriorated into a somewhat primitive religion. MASTER: That's absolutely fascinating. The whole story is here.
DOCTOR: Is it? Well, perhaps you'd be kind enough to explain it to me?
MASTER: Well, this city was once the center of a great civilisation.
DOCTOR: Yes, I had rather gathered that.
MASTER: By genetic engineering, they developed a super-race. That priest we saw must be a remnant of it.
DOCTOR: You deduced all that from these pictures?
MASTER: Well, not exactly. I knew it already. The files of the Time Lords are very comprehensive.
DOCTOR: Oh, so that's more like it. You mean that you stole the information?
MASTER: Well, it seemed an awful pity not to make use of it, you know? But of course that's typical of the High Council of the Time Lords. Know everything, do nothing.
DOCTOR: Tell me, why are you so interested in the history of this planet?
MASTER: Well, this super-race developed a Doomsday Weapon. it was never used.
DOCTOR: Why not? Super-weapons usually are eventually.
MASTER: Who knows? Maybe it was due to a degeneration of the life strain.
DOCTOR: I see. And so the super race became priests of a lunatic religion worshipping machines instead of gods.
MASTER: So it would seem.
DOCTOR: Well, may I remind you that their religion embraces sacrifice, and that we are the destined victims?

DOCTOR: You're going to use this weapon?
MASTER: Not unless it's absolutely necessary. Well, don't you see, Doctor? The very threat of its use could hold the galaxy to ransom.
DOCTOR: I think you've left it a trifle late.

They escape their cell and seek the controls for the weapon. The colonists prepare to leave. Winton sneaks away and knocks out the IMC lookout observing the spaceship launch. While seeking the Doctor, Jo & Caldwell see the colonists spaceship take off and suddenly explode. The Master explains how he will use the Doomsday Weapon:

DOCTOR: Well, where is this super weapon of yours?
MASTER: We're in the heart of it. It stretches for miles all round us. Look, let me try and explain how it works.
MASTER: Look! That, Doctor, is the sun that gives life to the planet Earth that you hold in such affection.
DOCTOR: I do know a little basic astronomy.
MASTER: Then you will know that one day that sun will burn through to its core and explode.
DOCTOR: In about ten thousand million years time, yes.
MASTER: Well, with this weapon, I could make that happen now.
DOCTOR: That's unbelievable!
MASTER: You know the Crab Nebula?
DOCTOR: The cloud of cosmic matter that was once a sun? Of course.
MASTER: That was the result of the super race testing this weapon.

Jo & Caldwell gain entrance to the city seeking the Doctor. The Doctor is appalled by the Master's plan

DOCTOR: So, you intend to hold the universe to ransom.
MASTER: Doctor, why don't you come in with me? We're both Time Lords, we're both renegades. We could be masters of the galaxy! Think of it, Doctor, absolute power! Power for good. Why, you could reign benevolently, you could end wars, suffering, disease. We could save the universe.
DOCTOR: No, absolute power is evil.
MASTER: Consider carefully, Doctor. I'm offering you a half-share in the universe.

MASTER: You must see reason, Doctor.
DOCTOR: No, I will not join you in your absurd dreams of a galactic conquest.
MASTER: Why? Why? Look at this. Look at all those planetary systems, Doctor. We could rule them all!
DOCTOR: What for? What is the point?
MASTER: The point is that one must rule or serve. That's a basic law of life. Why do you hesitate, Doctor? Surely it's not loyalty to the Time Lords, who exiled you on one insignificant planet?
DOCTOR: You'll never understand, will you? I want to see the universe, not rule it.
MASTER: Then I'm very sorry, Doctor.

The Guardian of the City & it's Doomsday Weapon reveals himself to the Doctor & the Master.

MASTER: What is it?
DOCTOR: The ultimate development of life on this planet.
GUARDIAN: Why have you returned? What do you want here?
MASTER: I want to restore this city and this planet to their former glory.
DOCTOR: Don't listen to him, sir.
MASTER: You have here a wonderful weapon. Why, with it you could bring good and peace to every world in the galaxy.
DOCTOR: On the contrary. He'll bring only death and destruction.
MASTER: This planet of yours could be the centre of a mighty empire! The greatest that the cosmos has ever known.
DOCTOR: Tell me, sir, has this weapon of yours ever brought good to your planet?
GUARDIAN: Once the weapon was built, our race began to decay. The radiation from the weapon's power source poisoned the soil of our planet.
DOCTOR: Exactly. The weapon has only brought death, and yet he wants to spread that death throughout the galaxy! Unless you destroy this weapon, sir, he will use it for evil.
MASTER: No! You must be mad! Why, with this, we could control every galaxy in the cosmos! We could be gods!
GUARDIAN: You are not fit to be a god. I sense that if you have control of this weapon, you will bring only unhappiness and destruction to the entire universe.

GUARDIAN: There is a self-destructor mechanism. You will please operate it.
DOCTOR: Not only does justice prevail on your planet, sir, but also infinite compassion.
GUARDIAN: You must leave at once, or you will be destroyed with the city.
DOCTOR: Thank you, sir.

Fleeing the city the Doctor & Master are reunited with Jo & Caldwell allowing them to all escape together before an explosion destroys the weapon & city. They are captured by Morgan and the IMC troops but are freed by the colonists who attack IMC. In the battle the Master escapes to his Tardis leaving the planet. The Doctor tells Winton that now the Doomsday Weapon has been destroyed their crops should grow. Winton explains how only Ashe was on the rocket when it launched, convincing IMC that they had all been killed. Caldwell elects to stay with the colonists. The Tardis has been found allowing the Doctor & Jo to return to Earth mere seconds after they left....

BRIGADIER: Doctor, come back at once!

BRIGADIER: Come on out, Doctor..... Well, that was a short trip. You'll never get that thing working properly. Oh, you were right about that report, I'm afraid. It wasn't the Master after all.
JO: He's talking as if we'd never been away.
DOCTOR: As far as he's concerned, we haven't. The Tardis returned to Earth just a few seconds after it left.
BRIGADIER: What are you two talking about?
DOCTOR: Don't try and explain Jo. He'd never understand.

The last time I watched this story for the Episode a Day Blog my wife Liz watched it with me having not seen it before. She was surprised when their ship blew up exclaiming "they've killed the colonists!" ....

.... followed by just a few minutes later "hang on, they weren't on board were they?".

The fight between Winton and the guard is great though I'm not sure about The Guardian's rave video, with the image of him approaching and receding while overlaid with different colours and effects, that we see as the Doctor activates the self destruct mechanism.

He's not the only Guardian with a rave video that we'll see in Doctor Who - wait till Mawdryn Undead comes along!

We know what happens to Caldwell, as he throws in his lot with the Colonists at the end of the story.

CALDWELL: We've had a reply from Earth. They're sending an Adjudicator.
WINTON: A genuine one, I hope?
CALDWELL: This time, yes.
WINTON: What about you, Caldwell? You're finished with IMC. You can never go back to Earth.
CALDWELL: I don't think I want to.
MARY: You want to stay here?
CALDWELL: Well, if you've a place for an out of work miner, yes.
WINTON: All right, we'd be glad to have you.
CALDWELL: Well, for a start, I can help you with your power

Morgan is leading the group which captures The Doctor, Jo, The Master & Caldwell when they emerge from the city: you see him fall in the firefight, so I think we can assume he was killed in it.

So what happens to Captain Dent, not seen since he dispatches Morgan after Caldwell?

The location work for this story was filmed in Old Baal Claypit in Cornwall.

Wet weather conditions caused some problems on locations but livened up episode six's fight sequence:

Regular stuntman and Pertwee double Terry Walsh plays the guard Rogers who mud wrestles with Nicholas Pennell's Winton.

The robot prop was left outside overnight and unsurprisingly it's plywood & cardboard construction didn't prove to be water proof.

The IMC buggies used during filming were also damaged necessitating a payment to the hire firm they were rented from for their repair.

Jon Pertwee had driven his own car to the location, rather than ride on the coach with the rest of the cast & crew, and parked it in the quarry. The underside had been been caked in the china mud while it was there and driving the car home baked it turning it into china which then had to be carefully stripped away.

I've not seen Colony in Space that often, and when I have I've found it a bit of a slog to watch in one go. The state of the 525 line tapes never helped either: a portion of the sequence of the Doctor & the Master in the control room looked particularly washed out on VHS but looks so so much better on the DVD. Both times I've watched the story to blog about it it worked for me, possibly because I was watching it episodically. The Colonists story wears after the first three episodes and really drags for the last three but those are boosted by the story of the primitives city and the doomsday weapon coming to the fore.

It's interesting that when Colony in Space was novelised by it's original author Malcolm Hulke, the colony aspect is played down by releasing it under the more dramatic title The Doomsday Weapon. To this day it's generally acknowledged to be one of the best Target books and it's a big surprise to me that it's not one of the Target books to be re-issued by the BBC!

Colony in Space was released on video in 2001 as part of The Master Tin Set with The Time Monster. It was released on DVD on October 3rd 2011, just 3 weeks too late for the purposes of me watching it for the original An Episode a Day Blog.

Doctor Who Season 8, containing this story, was released on Blu Ray on March 8th 2021.