Doctor Who 10x9

1. "The TARDIS materialises inside a spaceship which is under attack by hostile aliens...

2. "But why do the ship's crew see Jo and the Doctor as part of the attacking force?" (Radio Times)

3. This episode was first shown on 24 February, 1973 and was seen by 9.1 million viewers.

4. The script calls this "a stubby, plain, workmanlike vessel, old and battered, the equivalent of a tramp steamer".

5. The flight deck is likewise "workmanlike", with simple instruments and a girlie pin-up stuck to one of the bulkheads.

6. The space pilots are described as "tough, laconic" men doing a routine job.

7. The actors were directed to think of their characters in terms of "a couple of long-distance lorry drivers".

8. The aim with this opening sequence was to develop a sense of the everyday routine of life in the future.

9. There are a few things that were relatively new-fangled in 1973, but have become commonplace.

10. From 1968, the law required that all British cars should be fitted with seat belts, but not everyone used them.

11. From 1971, government public information films encouraged drivers and passengers to belt up:

12. "Clunk click".

13. The time was scripted as 22.17, but the actor adjusted it to match the digital clock in front of him.

14. This moment was parodied in an episode of The Goodies shown on 8 December,1973.

15. At first, scriptwriter Malcolm Hulke planned to start from the opposite point of view.

16. The first scene in his original storyline takes place inside the TARDIS.

17. The Doctor and Jo are travelling through the space-time continuum,

18. when the TARDIS is struck by sudden turbulence.

19. On the scanner, they see a huge spaceship bearing down: It too is in the time vortex, and about to hit them!

20. The Doctor struggles to avert the collision, "but from outside, we see the TARDIS and the spaceship merge into one another."

21. The spaceship emerges from the space-time continuum with the TARDIS inside it.

22. The TARDIS control room set was very large and it wasn't economical to put it up for just a single scene,

23. so that opening sequence in the TARDIS had to be dropped.

24. This dialogue was unscripted, worked out by the actors in rehearsal.

25. This is the second serial in a row in which the Doctor and Jo have arrived in the hold of a cargo ship.

26. At the start of 'Carnival of Monsters', they encountered a cargo of live chickens, apparently crossing the Indian Ocean.

27. Spaceships were central to the imaginative genesis of this serial.

28. In 1971, the BBC acquired a large stock of models from Gerry Anderson's defunct production company, Century 21.

29. The Doctor Who production team saw an opportunity to mount a low-cost space spectacular.

30. Malcolm Hulke was asked to develop a "hardware" storyline with a strong emphasis on sequences of spaceships in flight.

31. Doctor Who's modest budget usually kept such costly effects sequences to a minimum,

32. but by drawing heavily on "spaceships and space-exploration vehicles in the Thunderbird store", producer Barry Letts hoped

33. that he would only need to pay for the filming, not the models that were being filmed.

34. As far as possible, studio scenes like this were recorded in real time, so it was vital

35. to arrange the sets so that the cameras could see everything.

36. When we cut to the next shot, remember this one and think about where the camera must be.

37. It's an "impossible" camera angle.

38. The close-ups of Hardy were recorded after the master shot and cut in later.

39. This ship aside (from UFO), 'Frontier in Space' is not noted for "guest appearances" by Gerry Anderson's Thunderbird craft.

40. The Head of Visual Effects, Jack Kine, sent Barry Letts an unambiguous memo on 17 April, 1972:

41. "NONE of the Thunderbird models can be used in any Doctor Who.

42. "Only models designed and made by Visual Effects specifically for your production would be used on screen."

43. The Anderson models were just too well-known, he argued: He only kept them to cannibalise their dressing.

44. Once dismantled, the "carcasses" were simply discarded.

45. "Doctor Who warms to his subject," says the script.

46. The practicalities of space travel were still a matter of topical interest in the early 1970s.

47. In the autumn of 1972, when this serial was recorded, the American space programme was still a going concern.

48. The last manned moon mission, Apollo 17, flew in December, 1972, roughly halfway between recording and transmission.

49. The image is blurred with Vaseline.

50. The vaseline was smeared on a transparent surface in front of the camera lens.

51. The Doctor and Jo encountered the carnivorous Drashigs in 'Carnival of Monsters'.

52. This scene was written to open close on Stewart's eyes, with the electronic sound chirping in the background.

53. Then we cut to a point-of-view shot showing the Draconian ship, now filling the screen.

54. This would make it obvious that the ship seen docking here is not the same one Hardy is watching on the flight deck.

55. In other words, the script asks the camerawork to emphasise the characters' distorted perception.

56. Look at the digital clock to Stewart's right.

57. It was showing 22.09 earlier, but now we seem to have gone back in time.

58. The episode was mostly recorded in story order, but the clock was wrongly reset between shots.

59. In the script, Jo is still sobbing with fright, while the Doctor watches Hardy "with almost scientific interest".

60. The viewer screens were an afterthought: Hulke originally imagined the cargo ship as equipped only with sound radio.

61. Hulke often drew on contemporary world politics as a source of inspiration for his Doctor Who scripts.

62. He developed this serial's initial situation from the epidemic of aircraft hijackings in the early 1970s.

63. Eight planes had been seized by terrorists in the three years before Hulke began writing his scripts.

64. The earliest idea was that the alien enemy was hijacking the Earth ships, not just stealing their cargos.

65. The presidential palace is really the parliament building in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, which was built in the late 1950s.

66. The Draconian Prince, says the script, "is a young warrior, proud and a little arrogant, like all Draconians."

67. The President, meanwhile, is "an attractive woman in her forties.

68. "A strong personality, but still warm and feminine."

69. A female head of state was a rarity in 1973,

70. but again 'Frontier in Space' shows a future in which the unusual has become commonplace.

71. The script emphasises that the President's gender should simply be taken for granted:

72. "Nothing 'Women's Lib' about her: That battle was won long ago and she is not the first woman President."

73. Briefed for spaceships and inspired by hijackings, Hulke also wanted a diplomatic aspect to the scenario.

74. The formal partitioning of space served to create a situation with a stronger potential for dramatic conflict.

75. He drew on 'Balance of Terror', an episode of Star Trek which had its first British repeat on 1 March, 1972.

76. In 'Balance of Terror', two space empires are separated by a "Neutral Zone".

77. The episode begins with an attack on a Federation outpost, apparently by the Romulan Empire.

78. The Neutral Zone, like the Earth-Draconian frontier, was established after a war.

79. Hulke adopted that bit of the idea relatively late in the process of story development,

80. to give some definition to the character of General Williams, who doesn't feature in the storyline.

81. The storyline simply describes how the expanding empires agreed a frontier

82. "to separate their two spheres of interest".

83. It hasn't been an entirely harmonious coexistence:

84. "There has always been a fair amount of privateering, poaching, and hi-jacking of mineral-laden spaceships."

85. Hulke was thinking of the Cold War relationship between the Soviet Union and the NATO powers in the West:

86. Two contiguous power blocs with markedly different cultures and political systems.

87. Hulke himself was a Communist.

88. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he believed that East and West could coexist peacefully.

89. So he developed the conflict between Earth and Draconia in terms of mutual misunderstanding, culture clash, and fear:

90. There is no genuine cause for war, just a dangerous mistrust which can be exploited by warmongers on both sides.

91. The BBC's senior management discussed this episode at a programme review meeting on 28 February, 1973.

92. Doctor Who was popular with most BBC executives at this time,

93. so the thrust of the discussion was simply to welcome "a good start to another good story".

94. The Doctor and Jo visited the planet Solos in 'The Mutants' the year before.

95. Hulke's scenario also draws on his own treatment of Earth's colonial future in an earlier serial, 'Colony in Space' (1971).

96. There was one dissentient voice at the 28 February review meeting: The Head of Children's Programmes, Monica Sims.

97. She had long believed that Doctor Who was too frightening for younger viewers.

98. Apropos of nothing in the episode itself, she pointed out that The Sunday Times had recently published a survey

99. criticising the amount of violence in programmes that were seen by children, such as Doctor Who, she suggested.

100. Paul Fox, the Controller of BBC One, wasn't having any of that.

101. He understood that the survey results had been slanted by the way the questions had been asked.

102. The next scene was scripted to open with the pilots listening to the Draconian voice on their radio.

103. "If you surrender your cargo," it promises, "you will be unharmed."

104. The line was deleted to avoid repetition: The "Draconians" issue the same warning later in the scene.

105. Stewart - the younger, more senior, less worried spaceman - is played by James Culliford (1927-2002).

106. He had more than twenty years' experience as an actor, including Shakespearian roles at the Old Vic (1957).

107. He had a season on Broadway in the winter of 1958-9, and broke into television on his return to Britain.

108. He appeared in such notable series as The Champions (1968), Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1970), and Elizabeth R (1971).

109. His big-screen credits include the film versions of The Entertainer (1960) And Quatermass and the Pit (1967).

110. 'Frontier in Space' was to be his last professional acting job.

111. Soon afterwards, he suffered a stroke which put an end to his career, though he lived for another 30 years.

112. The BBC didn't employ another black newsreader until 1981.

113. This one is played by Louis Mahoney, who made later Doctor Who appearances in 'Planet of Evil' (1975) And 'Blink' (2007).

114. In 1973, the "family allowance" was a weekly government payment to mothers of more than one child.

115. That joke slightly overshadows the one about two "totally enclosed" cities being "opened",

116. but Malcolm Hulke's wry phrasing reflects his bleak view of life in the technological future, cut off from the natural world.

117. It's another piece of conceptual continuity with his previous "future Earth" serial, 'Colony in Space'.

118. "The President switches off in disgust," says the script.

119. "Or someone leaked the story," is her scripted reply.

120. This line was unscripted, worked out in rehearsal.

121. The beam is the reflection of a light shone down the edge of a sheet of Perspex. (Note the shadow on the right.)

122. A pre-cut hole in the door was filled with paraffin wax and melted from behind using a blow-torch.

123. "So where's the battle cruiser that's coming to rescue us?" Asks Hardy in the script.

124. "We're still a long way out," replies Stewart.

125. Jon Pertwee's Doctor was always "reversing the polarity"

126. The actor liked the phrase, because it saved him having to learn a new screed of technobabble every time.

127. In the next shot, note the reflection in the cell door of something moving in the studio.

128. Look at the top left corner.

129. That was part of the studio lighting rig in shot.

130. In the storyline, the Doctor and Jo don't show themselves until after the alien raiding party has been repulsed.

131. So, in that early version, the ship's crew are thinking entirely rationally about the newcomers and how they got on board.

132. The door "dissolves in a cloud of smoke" in the script.

133. This episode was so heavily tightened up in pre-production that material written for Part 2 had to be tacked onto the end.

134. Notice here the musical crescendo and dramatic close-ups that mark out a typical Doctor Who cliffhanger.

135. And roll end credits!

136. In the script, the President is dictating an official statement into "a futuristic dictaphone".

137. The conception of 'Frontier in Space' began with its ending: Everything else was designed to lead up to that.

138. In early 1972, the Doctor Who production team committed themselves to a Dalek serial to be written by Terry Nation.

139. Script editor Terrance Dicks wanted to capture viewers' attention as early as possible,

140. by running another serial which would serve as a lead-in to the Dalek adventure.

141. He thought of that first serial, which became 'Frontier in Space', as giving the Doctor a problem to solve,

142. which turns out to be only part of an even larger, and far more alarming problem, the focus of the Dalek serial.

143. Dicks had learned this method of story construction from his friend and mentor, Malcolm Hulke,

144. and that may be one reason why Hulke was drafted in to write the "lead-in" serial.

145. So Hulke was briefed to write a "whodunnit": The serial had to end by revealing that the Daleks are behind everything.

146. 'Frontier in Space' was made in the autumn of 1972, after a two-month summer break for Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning.

147. But there has been no similar break for the Doctor and Jo.

148. They are still wearing their costumes from 'Carnival of Monsters', which was recorded in June.

149. Strange as it may seem, one thing to keep an eye on in 'Frontier in Space' is Jo's knees.

150. But you won't find out why until the next episode!

151. The return of the Ogrons was another element stipulated in Malcolm Hulke's brief for the serial.

152. Regular Doctor Who viewers would have remembered them, like Jo, from the 1972 serial, 'Day of the Daleks'.

153. The production team wanted to establish a clear link to the Daleks, despite the Doctor's misdirection here.

154. Hulke had hoped to keep viewers' first sight of the Ogrons back until slightly later in the episode.

155. In the script, the creatures were wearing protective face masks as they cut through the door with the thermic lance.

156. In the storyline, moreover, the Doctor doesn't know about the Ogrons until a much later stage, in what became Episode Five.

157. In most other respects, the storyline is structurally very close to the version that ended up on screen.

158. The door hasn't been repaired, of course: It's an entirely new door, set in place of the old one during a recording break.

159. The complexities of recording some of the effects live in the studio

160. meant that this episode overran its scheduled two hours of recording time by 17 minutes.

161. Overruns were frowned upon at the BBC, because they resulted in hefty overtime payments for actors and crew.

162. 1970s production files are full of apologetic memos from producers, explaining to executives what went wrong this time!

163. Note the metal crates under the chairs, which bring the seats high enough for the pilots to work at the control desk.

164. Twentieth-century radios could either transmit signals or receive them, but could not do both at the same time.

165. That's why the Doctor keeps flicking the switch: He's changing from "transmit" to "receive" and back.

166. "Over", said every time you finished speaking, was the recognised cue for the other operator to switch radio functions.

167. 'Frontier in Space' was an early assignment for costume designer Barbara Kidd.

168. Her design concept for the human characters was to evoke the feel of a living comic strip.

169. She contributed frocks to another eight Doctor Who serials, ending with 'Kinda' (1982).

170. Her other work included Blake's 7 (1979), The Cleopatras (1983), The Young Ones (1984), and Little Dorrit (2008).

171. In 'Balance of Terror', the crew of the USS Enterprise are likewise concerned that there might be Romulan spies aboard.

172. Uncredited production contributors

173. Tommy Dawson (Technical Manager)

174. Mike Turner (Vision Mixer)

175. Christopher Moss (Floor Assistant)

176. Sarah Newman (Production Secretary) 6:56,767 —> 00:16:59,235 - Now, try and be logical, man. - They're coming through!

177. - Ogrons! Back to the TARDIS, Jo. Back!

178. Doctor! Doctor!

179. Distress signals have been received

180. from another Earth cargo ship,

181. reporting an attack by a Draconian battle cruiser.

182. Rescue ships are now on their way.

183. There have been anti-Draconian riots in Tokyo and Belgrade,

184. and the Draconian Consulate in Helsinki has been burnt to the ground.

185. In Los Angeles, demonstrators burnt an effigy of you.

186. Yes?

187. They have just found the cargo ship, Madam President,

188. - but it is not responding to signals. - And the Draconians?

189. There is no sign of any Draconian ships, sir.

190. - They are about to board... now. - Thank you.

191. We shall soon know what really happened.

192. If there's anyone alive to tell them.

193. JO: (SOFTLY) Doctor?

194. - Jo? - JO: Doctor!

195. - Jo? - JO: Doctor, I'm over here.

196. All right, Jo, what are you doing in there?

197. Oh, Doctor, thank goodness, you're all right.

198. I thought they'd killed you.

199. Come on, come and sit down.

200. Must have been some kind of neuronic stun gun.

201. I wonder why they didn't kill me? What exactly happened, Jo?

202. Well, they took the cargo, threw me in here and...

203. - Doctor? - Hmm?

204. - They also took the TARDIS. - Oh...

205. Oh, we're stranded. What are we going to do?

206. Well, try and get the TARDIS back, of course.

207. Why should the Ogrons attack this ship?

208. - To steal the cargo. - No. No, there's more to it than that.

209. That... That sound that you heard,

210. it's all too sophisticated for the Ogrons.

211. - Well, they're gone now. - Yeah, the question is, where?

212. Hey, Doctor, last time we met the Ogrons

213. they were working for the Daleks, right?

214. - Well, you don't suppose that that... - No, no, not necessarily.

215. No, the Ogrons are mercenaries.

216. Other life forms use them to do their dirty work.

217. Come on, Jo, let's go and find the crew.

218. Take a look at that one.

219. Well, they're both stunned, just as I was.

220. That's funny. The Ogrons have repaired the airlock door.

221. Well, that was nice of them.

222. Well, if they hadn't, we'd have both been done for.

223. All the air would have escaped when the ships unlocked.

224. Why should they go to all that trouble?

225. Well, maybe they've got kind hearts. There's good in everyone you know, Jo.

226. Earth battle cruiser to Earth cargo ship number C982.

227. We are now approaching you. Do you read me?

228. - Look after them, will you? - Right.

229. Do you read me?

230. Earth battle cruiser to Earth cargo ship number C982.

231. We are now approaching you. Do you read me? Over.

232. Earth battle cruiser to Earth cargo ship number C982.

233. We are now approaching you. Do you read me? Do you read me?

234. Prepare to be boarded. Repeat, prepare to be boarded.

235. Do you read me? Over.

236. Hello battle cruiser, battle cruiser, this is the cargo ship. Over.

237. What is your situation?

238. The ship has been attacked and the cargo stolen. Over.

239. Do you have casualties?

240. Yes, the crew are stunned, but otherwise they're unharmed. Over.

241. We shall lock on. Five seconds from now.

242. It's all right, Jo. We're being rescued.

243. - What happened? - Well, don't worry, old chap.

244. You'll be all right now. I think...

245. Draconians! They're boarding!

246. - Stewart? Who are you? - Passengers.

247. I see. Having a fancy dress party? What happened?

248. - Dragons attacked us. - Did they get the cargo?

249. - I don't know. - Yes, they took everything.

250. Including some rather valuable property of mine.

251. - Well, tough luck. - Oh, thank you very much.

252. - Dragons... They attacked us. - Yes, we know.

253. You say you're passengers. Isn't that a little unusual on a cargo ship?

254. Well, we're here, aren't we?

255. Where did you pick these two up?

256. I don't know. I can't seem to remember...

257. Pull yourself together! How did they get on board?

258. Stowaways... That's it, they were stowaways.

259. - They were sending messages. - That's right.

260. They were helping the Dragons. They're traitors!