While the Doctor plans a holiday to Metebelis Three, Jo and the Brigadier are intrigued by a mysterious death at a coal mine in Llanfairfach, which is being blamed on local company Global Chemicals.
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1. "A new oil refinery is to open
in a small South Wales village.
Good news - or is it?
2. "Deep in an abandoned coal mine
something strange lurks,
and a man dies mysteriously.
3. "UNIT investigates, but needs help
from the Doctor -
but on a distant alien planet, he
has problems of his own." (Radio Times)
4. This opening shot is a piece
of stock footage of a coal mine.
5. The mine used for the filming
has two sets of winding gear
above the mine shafts -
the other is just behind the sign.
6. This scene mimics the brief speech
that was given by British Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain in 1938.
7. In September of that year,
Chamberlain attended a conference
in Munich with the heads
of Germany, Italy and France
8. to decide the future
of Czechoslovakia's Sudentenland,
an area of the country
largely inhabited by Germans.
9. During the conference,
Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler
signed an agreement,
10. which stated the German leader's desire
never to go to war with Britain again.
11. When Chamberlain returned to England,
he brandished the signed document,
12. and later that same day,
outside 10, Downing Street,
he proudly proclaimed that they
had achieved "Peace in our time".
13. Just eleven months later,
Hitler's Germany invaded Poland
and Britain declared war.
14. Bert the miner is played
by John Scott Martin (1929-2009).
15. He had appeared many times
in Doctor Who,
but was usually unseen, playing
one of the programme's many monsters.
16. In his time, he was
a multitude of Daleks, as well as
a Zarbi, a Mechonoid, a Mutt, a Gell
Guard, and the Nucleus of the Swarm!
17. By the late 1960s, the coal industry
was in gradual decline
and pits were starting
to be closed down.
18. This coincided with the first large
discovery of oil in the Ekofisk region
of the North Sea in December 1969,
19. and by the 1970s,
the energy pattern of the British Isles
was indeed changing.
20. Most of the men seen in the crowd
are local Welsh actors
engaged through the Joan Bale Agency
in Cardiff.
21. They were paid the grand sum
of £7.50 each
(around £75 at modern values).
22. On his death in 1895,
the chemist, engineer and inventor,
Alfred Nobel instructed in his will
23. that his fortune should be used
to create a series of five prizes
for those who confer
the "greatest benefit on mankind".
24. The awards were first made in 1901
in the categories of Physics,
Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine,
Literature, and Peace.
25. In 1969, a sixth and final category
was added to the list of prizes -
that of Economic Sciences.
26. It's never explained in which category
Professor Jones won his award.
27. The script refers to him
as "a brilliant, if wayward,
bio-chemist",
28. so perhaps he won his Nobel Prize
for chemistry, physiology
or perhaps even for his peace work.
29. Director Michael E. Briant
had originally planned to open
the story with a shot of a train
roaring through the countryside.
30. The train is pulling a long line
of cylindrical chemical goods trucks,
all bearing the Global Chemicals logo.
31. Jo's rather muffled mouth-full question
to the Doctor was scripted as:
32. "Deblobblesion ushket?"
33. The Time Lords sentenced the Doctor
to exile on Earth
at the end of 'The War Games' (1969)
34. And removed the knowledge
about the TARDIS's
dematerialisation codes from his mind.
35. At the end of 'The Three Doctors'
(1972-3), the Time Lords
revoked their sentence
36. and the Doctor was free
to travel in time and space once more.
37. The newspaper Jo is reading
appears to be a copy of the Daily Mail.
38. Although we never see it,
a special newspaper article
was printed up,
which Jo partially reads in this scene.
39. This was produced
by Wing Commander Garby,
who ran West London Offset Company.
40. The four-paragraph article was headlined
"Government Go-Ahead for Global".
41. It reported that Global Chemicals
had been given full planning permission
and a grant running into the millions
42. to build their new oil refinery
in Llanfairfach utilising
their new method for cracking crude oil.
43. The article quotes Professor Jones
as saying that the refinery
would cause further massive pollution
44. "in an area which has been
consistently desecrated by the horrors
of modern technology since the days
of the Industrial Revolution".
45. Jo partially quotes the newspaper's
comment that "common sense
has triumphed at last"
46. and that "the futile protests
of Professor Jones and his crackpots
have been rightly ignored
47. "by a Government which has
the true interests of the people
in this area at heart".
48. Half of this scene was removed
during the editing of the episode.
49. After Cliff comments that Hughes
has only been dead for an hour,
the scripted scene continues
50. with Elgin entering the Engine Room,
telling them
that the police are on their way.
51. "What about his auntie?" says Evans.
"He lived with her.
She'll have to be told."
52. Elgin protests, saying that the police
will deal with it, but Evans refuses:
"No, I'll do it.
The personal touch would be better."
53. "No... I'd rather you didn't,"
replied Elgin. "Why not?" asks Cliff.
54. "We don't want anyone to know yet
how he died," says Elgin mysteriously.
55. "Who's we?" demands Cliff,
and Elgin answers,
"The company. The authorities."
56. "Damn nerve," says Evans.
"Listen boyo, you can tell all those
chinless wonders who work up there
what to do, but you can't tell me."
57. A security guard stops Evans
at the door.
"I'm afraid I must insist," says Elgin.
58. "You see?" says Cliff pointedly.
"Do you think they'll ever let you live
the way you want to?"
59. The Brigadier's comment about Jo helping
Professor Jones in his "noble fight
against the windmills"
60. is an allusion to Miguel de Cervantes's
picaresque novel, Don Quixote (1605).
61. In the book, Don Quixote
asks his neighbour, Sancho Panza
to join him on his adventurous quest
62. and early on, Quixote spots
what he believes to be
"thirty or forty hulking giants"
in the distance.
63. Preparing to battle
the powerful "giants", Sancho informs
him that they are just windmills,
but his words fall on deaf ears.
64. The incident of Don Quixote's attack
on the windmills became a byword
for pointless endeavour.
65. This part of the scene gives
an early indication that Jo Grant
will soon be parting company
with the Doctor
66. as she finds herself falling in love
with Clifford Jones
(despite, as yet,
never having seen his photograph).
67. As we see in this scene and indeed
throughout the course of the story,
68. Jo begins to make her own choices
and starts to move away
from the Doctor's influence,
69. eventually deciding that
she can live without it
and move on with her life.
70. In the script,
Jo isn't quite so reflective.
71. She hurries to pick up her suitcase
and rushes for the door
when the Doctor stops her.
72. Jo quickly says goodbye
and then quickly
"goes in a whirl of happiness".
73. This was the first scene shot
for 'The Green Death',
filmed on the morning
of Monday 12 March 1973.
74. The location was the small village
of Deri in South Wales,
75. situated very close
to the Ogilvie Colliery
used for the exterior mine sequences.
76. The milkman is played
by Cardiff-born actor,
Ray Handy (1929-87).
77. At the end of the scene,
Handy mutters an ad-libbed retort
under his breath,
78. but none of the Welsh speakers we asked
could quite make out what he's saying!
79. The location used
for the Wholeweal community
was Troed-y-rhiw Jestyn,
80. a hillside farm situated
next to the Ogilvie Colliery.
81. The production team insisted
that the Brigadier should be seen
to drive a "very expensive sports car",
82. so he was given a 1964 Mercedes 230 SL,
which was hired at a cost of £60 per day
83. It, along with the majority
of the vehicles in this story,
were locally hired
from U-Haul in Cardiff.
84. The Metebelis Three scenes
were all filmed just off the road
leading to the entrance to the colliery
85. in a small quarry
where the explosives
used for mining purposes
were kept under lock and key.
86. In fact, the farm used
in the previous scene is situated
just above the walls of the quarry.
87. Under normal conditions,
a day's filming on location
would finish at 5.30 p.m.
88. However, to simulate
Metebelis's dusk setting,
89. the scenes were all shot
between 4 and 7 p.m.
90. As Pertwee played the Doctor
being uncharacteristically frightened
at some largely unseen horrors
91. found himself being watched
by crowds of children
who had just finished school
for the day.
92. The "Room for Living" and "Toadstools,
Professors, etc." signs
were scripted as "beautifully designed",
93. whereas the "Watch It" sign
was meant to be "crudely done
in big, black, forthright letters".
94. Jo's first encounter with Cliff strongly
mirrors her original introductory scene
in 'Terror of the Autons' (1971).
95. At the beginning of that story,
when she meets the Doctor
for the very first time,
96. Jo manages to damage three months
of delicate work
on the TARDIS's
dematerialisation circuit.
97. However, as the script points out,
"Jo can hardly be blamed this time.
98. "The place is so chaotic
that her near disaster
with a flask bubbling
over a Bunsen is understandable."
99. Cliff here alludes to a song
composed in 1942,
which was eventually recorded
as Nancy (with the Laughing Face).
100. It was written by Jimmy van Heusen
and comedian Phil Silvers
as a birthday song
to van Heusen's wife, Bessie,
101. but when they sang it
at the birthday party of Frank Sinatra's
young daughter, they changed
the lyrics to her name - Nancy.
102. Reportedly, Sinatra cried thinking
they had written the song
for his daughter - and they weren't
brave enough to correct him!
103. Frank Sinatra recorded the song
as Nancy (with the Laughing Face)
In August 1945.
104. Okay, there's some fairly major
script deviations coming up
over the next few minutes.
105. Between this scene and the following one
on Metebelis Three
106. should have been
the introductory meeting
between the Brigadier,
Stevens and Elgin.
107. Stevens forcefully emphasises
to the Brigadier
that security is their main concern.
108. "We've had enough trouble
with the cranks down the road.
If this got into the papers..."
109. Elgin reminds Stevens
that the government
has already served a D-Notice,
but the Brigadier is confused.
110. "I don't quite understand.
This accident down the mine.
Nothing to do with you, surely?"
111. Stevens replies that
"this whole valley is our concern now".
112. The Brigadier asks what caused
the miner's death and Elgin replies
that they're hoping
the autopsy will tell them.
113. When Elgin mentions that the Minister
had told them that
"some sort of scientist chappie"
would also be coming,
114. the Brigadier replies, "The Doctor?
He decided it was time
to take a little holiday..."
115. The action then cuts to the sequence
of the Doctor fleeing
from the thundering hoofbeats.
116. This scene was originally meant
to come much later in the episode.
(We'll mention it again
when the time comes.)
117. In the sequence it replaced,
Jo explains to Cliff her decision
to join the Wholeweal community.
118. "So, of course, I thought at once,
well, I must go and lend a paw.
Like join in the protest and help put a
spanner in Global Chemical's ointment."
119. "All cranks gratefully received,"
says Cliff, but Jo queries
his assessment of her -
"I'm not a crank, am I?"
120. "Look, love," he replies.
"The world's gone wrong.
Every night millions of people
got to sleep hungry.
121. "And those of us
who do have enough food are starved
of everything else
a man needs to live like a man.
122. "We're trying to find out how to live -
an alternative that's a real one -
and alternative technology if you like.
123. "We want to be human beings again -
not robot slaves of the machine
124. "or 'the balance of payments'
or whatever.
125. "We don't know it all, not yet,
but what we do know
is that Global Chemicals' way
is wrong, wrong, wrong.
126. "And because we try to stop them,
we're called cranks! Cranks!"
127. Finally understanding, Jo replies,
"So, I'm a crank.
Where do I throw the first spanner?"
128. Immediately following the deleted scene
was a slightly longer version
of this one.
129. Stevens begins, "... and even now,
if that madman Jones is allowed
to make political capital out of
the death of this confounded miner..."
130. Elgin gives a forced cough
to break Stevens's flow.
"Poor fellow..." he concludes.
131. The Brigadier asks what Hughes
was doing down the mine
and is told that he was performing
the monthly inspection.
132. To keep costs down, the giant talons
were reused from Visual Effects stock.
133. It was also considered,
though not scripted, that
"any ex-Who monsters"
might be seen in long shot.
134. Metebelis Three had first been mentioned
three stories earlier
in 'Carnival of Monsters':
135. The Doctor programmed
the planet's coordinates
into the TARDIS,
136. but unexpectedly landed
in the cargo hold of the SS Bernice
in the Indian Ocean.
137. The planet will later play
a central role in Jon Pertwee's
final story as the Doctor,
'Planet of the Spiders'.
138. So will the blue crystals
that we saw the Doctor looking at
with wonderment a few minutes earlier.
139. Many ideas for the Wholeweal community
appear to have derived from an article
140. in the New Scientist magazine,
published on 11 January 1973
just as this story was being scripted.
141. The article, 'Alternative technology -
politics and yogurt? ', reported
on a group called BRAD -
Biotechnic Research and Development.
142. BRAD had set up a commune
for four families at a hillside farm
in Wales who would use
and develop alternative technology,
143. such as a heat pump that would extract
warmth from the river,
which would eventually
be powered by a windmill.
144. The opening lines of this scene
were also lost in editing.
145. Following on from Elgin's statement,
Cliff begins by saying,
"And that's the biggest lie of the lot."
146. "How do you know?" asks Jo.
"Inventions like this don't just
come out of the blue," replies Cliff,
which leads into the scene as broadcast.
147. When crude oil is refined,
the hydrocarbon molecules
are separated
into fractions of similar size.
148. These fractions include fuels,
such as petrol and diesel,
lubricants and raw materials
for chemical synthesis.
149. Some of those small molecules
can join together to make longer ones
in the polymerisation process
mentioned by the Professor.
150. For example, small molecules of ethane
join together to make poly(ethane),
commonly known as polythene.
151. This is how plastics are made,
hence Cliff's worried comment
about it being like
152. "a thick sludge you can't break down
in any way - like a liquid plastic".
153. Stevens is played
by the well-recognised
actor Jerome Willis (born 1928).
154. At this time,
Willis had a semi-regular part
as a detective chief superintendent
in Z- Cars.
155. He had appeared in such series
as The Avengers (1963, 1966, 1968),
Freewheelers (1971)
And Doomwatch (1972).
156. He later went on to play
long-running roles
in Within These Walls (1974-8)
And The Sandbaggers (1978-80)
157. And in Gerry Anderson's
high-budget series
Space Precinct (1994-5).
158. His work with the Royal Shakespeare
Company included two productions
of The Tempest fifty years apart:
159. In the 1952 production,
he played a mariner,
and in 2002
the virtuous councillor Gonzalo.
160. An initial consideration was to fix
the speedometer in Bessie
to read 100 mph at the 30 mph point
for this scene.
161. This is where Jo was originally
supposed to learn
that she'd been talking
to Professor Jones all along.
162. As scripted, that scene also involved
Mitzi McKenzie as Nancy,
163. but although she was booked
for the episode, she wasn't available
for the recording, for reasons unknown.
164. This meant that the laboratory scenes
had to be reworked at the last minute.
165. Originally, the scene began,
as it did in the version you saw
six minutes ago,
with Cliff talking about the fungus.
166. It was scripted as being
Fistulina Hepatica,
otherwise known as the Beefsteak fungus
or the Ox Tongue,
167. but in the final scene, this was changed
to the imaginary Saliota Orbis,
168. possibly because they used
common button mushrooms for the scene
rather than a bracket fungus.
169. Some of the script alterations
were simple rewordings of the lines,
such as when Cliff
says of the community,
170. "I could never have got it off the
ground without the Nobel Prize money"
(rather than the scripted "It could
never have got off the ground...").
171. So Jo still doesn't know it's him,
and naively asks
what the Professor is like.
Cliff obliges with a character sketch:
172. "I've been wondering for years.
Sometimes I can't
stand the sight of him."
But Jo retorts, "Why ever not?"
173. "He can be pretty repulsive at times,
you know," replies Cliff.
"Spouts a lot of
'love thy neighbour' guff,
174. "and doesn't even notice the people
under his feet. He bites his
fingernails - he's apt to make a sort of
slurping noise when he's eating -
175. "and sometimes he just forgets
to take a bath."
Shocked, Jo begins
a forceful defence of her hero,
176. insisting to her unknown interlocutor
that Clifford Jones is kind, generous
and "about the most human human
alive today!"
177. Then Nancy enters,
announcing that lunch is ready.
178. Cliff introduces Jo, telling Nancy,
"Careful, she bites."
179. "Take no notice of that one, love,"
says Nancy. "You're very welcome,
as I told you over the phone."
180. "Oh! You're 'Mum'," says Jo,
and Nancy replies,
"And quite a job it is,
with the likes of him around!"
181. Nancy asks Cliff if he's coming to lunch
or whether he will eat
in the laboratory,
but he ignores her.
182. "Cliff! I'm talking to you!" says Nancy,
and Jo suddenly realises
who she's been talking to all along.
183. "Your obedient servant, ma'am,"
says Cliff.
184. Filled with rage, Jo storms out
of the laboratory.
"Shut that blasted door!" shouts Cliff.
185. Jo's infuriated exit
was later tacked onto the end
of the previous laboratory scene
186. to lead into the sequence
of her walking over to the mine.
187. Watch the bottom right of the screen
as Dai gets his cue!
188. Notice that there are two turnings
at the top of the road on the right.
189. The first leads directly
into the Metebelis quarry,
whilst the second bears off at the top
to the Wholeweal farm location.
190. As scripted, Hinks appeared
at the end of the last scene:
191. Through a window, we see him
"slip up to the machinery
and do something furtive and sinister".
192. None of that explains
how he managed to get to the mine
and sabotage the winding gear
so quickly,
193. given that he received his orders
from Stevens after the Brigadier
had already left for the colliery!
194. Remember that we said that
Mitzi McKenzie's was originally
due to appear as Nancy in this episode?
195. She must have dropped out
very close to production,
as her name is still retained
in the closing credits,
196. as you'll notice in a few moments' time!
197. Also appearing in this episode were:
198. David Braddick, John Jeffries,
Wayne Warlow, Roger Mundy,
Laurie Boyton (Villagers)
199. Frank Darroch, Mansel Wilks,
Rendle Morris, Gordon Cecil,
Michael Cunningham (Villagers)
200. Sonny Willis, Reg Cranfield (Villagers)
201. Vincent Gardener,
Geoffrey Morgan (Male Wholewealers)