Doctor Who 14x3

Directed by Rodney Bennett

Jon Laurimore as Count Federico • Antony Carrick as Captain Rossini • Gareth Armstrong as Giuliano • Tim Pigott-Smith as Marco • Norman Jones as Hieronymous

Tempted by the promises of ultimate power offered by Mandragora, Hieronymous plots to eliminate the threat posed by the Doctor and uses an unwitting Sarah as his weapon.

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1. "Torture and death await the Doctor as the Powers of Darkness envelop Earth." (Radio Times)

2. This episode was first shown on 18 September, 1976.

3. It was seen by 9.2 million people, more than a half a million fewer than the week before.

4. In case you hadn't noticed, this serial introduced a stylish new serif typeface for the opening title captions.

5. The 1976 press release called this serial "a swashbuckling tale of strange sorcery and evil intrigue in fifteenth-century Italy".

6. Barry Newbery originally intended to do the Pepper's Ghost trick the other way round,

7. with the restored temple as physical scenery and the ruined version painted on gauze.

8. The practical advantage was that the gauzes could simply have been removed once the helix energy had done its work.

9. The practical disadvantage? The "ruined" scenery was cheaper.

10. Newbery's preliminary design sketch for the pristine temple was based on the Pantheon in Rome,

11. using a photograph which he found in J. C. Stobart's book, The Grandeur that was Rome (1912).

12. The stunt team amounted to seven men.

13. With no pockets in their costumes, they had nowhere to keep their cigarettes.

14. Or rather, nowhere obvious. For they were wearing codpieces...

15. When we come back to the fight, watch for the stunt soldier (Bronco McLaughlin) losing his helmet.

16. It was unplanned, but they'd already done two failed takes and had to move on.

17. When you can't see the Doctor's face, he's being doubled by Roy Street.

18. The stunt Giuliano is Paddy Ryan.

19. The Doctor was scripted to kill three soldiers, telling them, "I assure you this is hurting you more than it is me."

20. See if you can spot the Brethren's modern footwear when they hitch up their habits.

21. The cross-jumping brother parries too early.

22. The entrance is dressed with black drapes.

23. This scene was a late addition.

24. Sarah was a lot further away in the first draft, spirited away by the column of light at the altar.

25. She materialises in the Titan Hall from the first episode, and is menaced by a flashing eye and giant billowing shapes.

26. The sequence was cut at an early pre-production meeting.

27. Cleopatra, the last Queen of Egypt, reigned from 47 to 30 BC.

28. Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) Cared for wounded soldiers during the Crimean War.

29. The historical references were late additions, written in just six days before the scene was recorded.

30. Let's take a look at the masks of 'Mandragora'.

31. The featured players (Hieronymous and the High Priest) Have fully-fashioned masks with a definite metallic sheen to them.

32. Now compare the cruder, less detailed masks worn by the extras in the background.

33. Naturally, costume designer James Acheson spent his budget where it would show the most.

34. The scripted scene ends with Sarah crying out, "You're crazy, all of you, crazy!"

35. Gian Galeazzo Sforza had ruled as Duke of Milan since 1476.

36. He was reputedly poisoned by his uncle, who became Duke in 1494 - which is rather like Federico's own plans for Giuliano.

37. "Fox-faced" isn't a bad description of Agostino Barbarigo, the Doge of Venice from 1486 until 1501.

38. Giovanni Bellini's portrait shows him with a pointy nose, sly eyes, and a bushy white beard.

39. This was written as a night scene, with Federico referring here to the work that must be done before dawn.

40. The end of the scene was cut. Rossini warns the Count that Giuliano will have to be murdered stealthily:

41. There are too many high-profile visitors to San Martino. But Federico retorts, "Do I need your pig-brained counsel?"

42. Now Giuliano can be openly deposed:

43. "The Prince of a Christian state mixing with the followers of Demnos. Taking part in their filthy black rites!

44. "The Holy Father himself will kiss my hand for cleansing the state of San Martino."

45. In the script, the Doctor admits that he personally is afraid, but Tom Baker opted for more ambiguous words.

46. Yeast was used to make the liquid bubble.

47. "The Prince" was the Renaissance term for the head of state (and also the title of Machiavelli's 1512 manual of statecraft).

48. Barry Newbery was later praised for the authentic period detail he brought to the sets and props for this serial.

49. For instance, most of Hieronymous' chemistry set is made of wood rather than metal (with some obvious exceptions).

50. That's one reason why there's no real flame on the bench!

51. The set was designed with reference to several Renaissance paintings of scholars' cells.

52. One problem was the bookshelf, which you'll see (just) in the shadows to the right of the door.

53. There was no reference for a shelf, so it was based on a balcony!

54. The sloped desk by the window was specially made for the set.

55. The bed curtain, made of Genoese velvet, was hired from Old Times Furnishing in Putney.

56. At the time he was writing 'The Masque of Mandragora', Louis Marks was also producing Orde Wingate,

57. a trilogy of plays dramatising the career of a controversial British Second World War commander.

58. His drafts, like most Doctor Who scripts, arrived a little later than the deadline of 29 February, 1976.

59. The first two episodes were delivered by 18 March, the third by 24 March, and the last by 13 April.

60. This meant that scripting overlapped heavily with pre-production.

61. When the production team first approached Portmeirion in February,

62. they were unable to commit to a booking because no scripts had yet been completed.

63. The final episode arrived roughly three weeks before the location shoot in May.

64. The pearl-eyed skull bodkin was made by the Visual Effects Department.

65. Effects designer lan Scoones, nicknamed "Scoonalini", often used skull motifs in his work.

66. This episode was re-edited after the original cut was viewed by the BBC's Director of Television Programmes, Alasdair Milne.

67. Milne was in censorship mode at the time, having recently banned the Dennis Potter play Brimstone and Treacle.

68. He seems to have objected to a line which followed here, but is no longer in the final cut:

69. "I want the Duke's head here - tonight! I want to spit in his sightless eyeballs!"

70. Even without that choice morsel, one press reviewer commented on the "splendidly florid script".

71. At least some of this quality is attributable to Robert Holmes, who undertook final revisions to the script.

72. Captain Rossini's red and white tabard was originally made for Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet.

73. James Acheson had hoped to acquire more than just the one item from the Zeffirelli wardrobe.

74. The Italian Renaissance setting was a nightmare for his department.

75. Authentic period costumes were not available for rent in Britain, and would be expensive to make.

76. Acheson heard that the costumes from Zeffirelli's film were available from a hire firm in Rome.

77. So he flew to Italy.

78. On inspection, it turned out that the frocks on offer were indeed from a Romeo and Juliet film,

79. but it was the one directed by Renato Castellani in 1954, and the outfits were showing their age.

80. In the event, Acheson just didn't have the time to track down the precise costumes he wanted, so he chose the best on offer.

81. Other than Rossini, none of the principal characters in 'The Masque of Mandragora' wear costumes from either film.

82. The frocks flew into London on 21 April, in five cartons weighing 184 kilograms.

83. The costume brief for Sarah called for a "long frock with Italian overtones".

84. This bit was reworked in rehearsal: Elisabeth Sladen added the unscripted implication

85. that Sarah asked for the Doctor's hand in order to ply the poisoned needle, only for Giuliano to step in and unwittingly save him.

86. That Latin quotation, "Solvitur ambulando", is usually taken to mean, less literally, that the solution is simple, but slow.

87. It is often ascribed to the patristic theologian St Augustine of Hippo, but nobody has ever managed to find it in his writings!

88. A quip frequently made during production suggested that Marco was not Giuliano's right-hand man.

89. On the contrary, he was "the Prince's left leg".

90. There are no guards in the script. The resulting business with the torch was also added in rehearsal.

91. Dennis Channon was a little slow on the lighting console there: The studio lights should have dimmed as the torch went out.

92. This serial had been thought about for months when the first production decision was taken, just before Christmas 1975.

93. On 22 December, Rodney Bennett was contracted to direct it.

94. He was hired for a production period of 17 weeks, from 15 March to 9 July.

95. On 16 February, the production was booked into BBC rehearsal rooms at Acton.

96. When pre-production formally began on 15 March, one of the first tasks was to close the deal with Portmeirion.

97. The location was booked on 17 March,

98. and, seven days later, production assistant Thea Murray made the long trek there to discuss the arrangements.

99. Hinchcliffe and Bennett went there for a full recce on 6-7 April.

100. The Portmeirion management had one request which they couldn't grant.

101. Hinchcliffe approached his BBC superiors, but was told that on no account could the village have an on-screen credit.

102. A teacup with tea leaves, is more commonly used for divination than a chamber pot.

103. A short film sequence was scripted to follow this scene.

104. It is dusk. The Brethren are standing like motionless sentries in the empty streets and silhouetted above the rooftops.

105. The casting process was delayed by two weeks.

106. This was because Rodney Bennett was calculating the best logistics for shooting the studio scenes.

107. Should he record them in story order or set by set?

108. The decision affected the casting because some characters might only appear in certain sets, or certain episodes,

109. which meant that some actors might not be needed for all the studio sessions.

110. Bennett chose set order, and casting got under way at the end of March.

111. For all its magnificent decorated architecture, the wall outside the door is really nothing but a scenic flat.

112. The torturer shares his name with the composer Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757).

113. It's not entirely a coincidence that the Count's henchman is called Rossini:

114. Goachino Rossini (1792-1868) was the composer of The Barber of Seville and 38 other operas.

115. At first, the character was nameless, just "the Captain": It was when writing this episode that Louis Marks christened him.

116. The cast picked up on the joke in rehearsal, and much fun was had nicknaming the other anonymous characters.

117. The High Priest, for example, became Vivaldi, after Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), composer of The Four Seasons.

118. These are the first and last of the principal roles to be cast, Rossini on 7 April and Federico eight days later.

119. In the interim, actors were contracted to play Giuliano and Marco (8 April),

120. the speaking Brother (9 April), Hieronymous (12 April), and the High Priest (13 April).

121. Hieronymous was considered the principal guest star role.

122. The High Priest and Federico were deemed the next most substantial parts.

123. Rossini was a solid jobbing actor's role, and younger, less exposed men were needed for the Prince and Marco.

124. So Tim Pigott-Smith (born 1946) Landed the part of Marco.

125. He too had recently worked with Rodney Bennett in North and South, playing a fugitive naval mutineer.

126. He had a lot of sleepless nights during the making of this serial.

127. He'd just had a baby son, and he was the parent responsible for the nocturnal feed.

128. Some squeamish viewers complained to the BBC that the "torture scenes" in this episode were unduly graphic.

129. In fact, there are no on-screen torture All we see are the results of torture (or of fatherhood).

130. Likewise, no spittle is actually expectorated here.

131. It was primarily Jon Laurimore's reaction that "sold" the moment.

132. Another question that needed to be decided in pre-production concerned the TARDIS.

133. First, there was the problem of the police box. Building a new one would add 130 man-hours and £100 to the design budget.

134. Then there was the new control room, with labour estimated at 400 man-hours. (The cost of the materials is not recorded.)

135. Without the TARDIS, the design allocation was 2,345 man-hours and £6,600 for sets, props, external labour, and departmental overheads.

136. So making a new TARDIS, inside and out, inflated the design costs by a factor of about 23%.

137. Could the old police box be repaired? Could they use the existing control room set?

138. As late as mid-April, a month into pre-production, those options hadn't been ruled out: It could have been the old TARDIS.

139. Before making his exit, Hieronymous was scripted to throw a ladle of boiling liquid from the cauldron into a soldier's face.

140. The actors had their costume and wig fittings in the second half of April,

141. ready for the start of production on 3 May, the first day's shooting at Portmeirion.

142. In the script, Federico has a watch set on the visitors' chambers,

143. in case Hieronymous tries to take sanctuary there and leave San Martino in the retinue of some other prince.

144. There's padding on the inside of the Doctor's manacles, partly to stop them chafing

145. and partly to ensure that Tom Baker's hands don't slip out by accident!

146. On Sunday 2 May, the film unit made the journey of roughly 250 miles from London to North Wales.

147. They had to bring their props with them, including large items like the city portcullis (and indeed the new TARDIS).

148. It was a six-hour journey in two legs, by train to Bangor, and then by coach to Portmeirion.

149. During the next four days, Monday to Thursday, they shot the 753 feet of film used in the finished serial.

150. At the end of each day, the rushes were sent back to the BBC by rail from Bangor.

151. The unit occupied 40 single rooms spread across the Portmeirion hotel and village.

152. Production unit manager Christopher D'Oyly John designated his room, in Cliff House, as the venue for parties.

153. He wasn't desperate for a social life, just keen to save on the budget:

154. By restricting the roistering, he ensured that the production would only have to pay for the damage to one room!

155. This was scripted as a mighty flash of lightning downwards through the beam, whereupon Hieronymous "turns vivid colours".

156. The smoke was piped through concealed tubes in the actors' sleeves.

157. In the script, we also see their feet smoke as they receive the energy.

158. This is the High Priest: You can tell from his mask, if not by his seniority or his walk.

159. The output of a spark generator was added by Colour Separation Overlay.

160. The location scenes aimed to convey the sense of a well-populated community in San Martino.

161. Between them, the ten extras, seven stuntmen, and stunt arranger Terry Walsh played 47 different parts.

162. One extra, Cy Town, had no fewer than five roles in three days: Servant, Drummer, Traveller, Pikeman, and Brother.

163. To enable everyone to keep track of themselves, the film diary had a day-by-day section entitled 'Who do you do? '

164. Their work done, the unit travelled back to London on the Friday, 7 May, with a few days off before rehearsals began.

165. Captain Rossini is played by Anthony Carrick.

166. He is a gaunt actor, more often seen clean-shaven, who commonly played figures of petty authority,

167. such as a Gestapo officer in Colditz (1973) and senior detectives in The Lotus Eaters (1973) And Public Eye (1975).

168. In the script, the Brethren chant their way through this ceremony with mounting hysteria.

169. There are 13 Brethren, plus the High Priest and Hieronymous.

170. It may not be entirely a coincidence that a black magic coven has 13 members.

171. So why did James Acheson need to provide them with 16 black robes?

172. Because they're not always played by the same extras!

173. Five of the studio extras were also Brethren on location,

174. but another three robes were needed for the stunt Brethren who abduct Sarah and fight the Doctor in Part One.

175. "One senses that there is no person at all there,"says the script,"just a power source in the shape of a man."

176. The studio Brethren were:

177. Keith Ashley, Pat Gorman, Walter Henry, Christopher Holmes

178. Clinton Morris, James Muir, Keith Norrish, Roy Pearce, Dennis Plenty

179. Clive Rogers, Terry Sartain, Cy Town, Leslie Weekes

180. The stunt team included:

181. Tex Fuller, Billy Horrigan, Peter Pocock

182. Uncredited production contributors

183. Don Slater (Grams Operator) Jim Burge (Floor Assistant)

184. Alf Trustrum, Jack Wells (Armourers)

185. Suzanne Jansen, Vivian Riley, Christine Wheeler (Make-Up Assistants)

186. Grace Bryan-Brown, Shelagh Lawson (Design Draughtswomen)

187. Nansi Davies (Artists' Bookings)

188. Hazel Marriott (Director's Assistant)

189. - Unchain him. - Don't trust him, my lord.

190. I don't have to trust him.

191. Keep these three here as hostages.

192. If I'm not back within the hour, you know what to do.

193. I'll take two of your best men.

194. Whatever you do, Count, don't go near him.

195. Do I need your advice?

196. When I give the signal, seize him.

197. Hieronymous!

198. You traitor!