1. "Besieged in the Palace, the Doctor
takes a last, desperate gamble.
But are the Brothers of Demnos already
in command" (Radio Times)Copy !req
2. This episode was first shown on
25 September, 1976.Copy !req
3. It was seen by 10.6 million people,
the serial's highest audience.Copy !req
4. During pre-production, they considered
several ways of doing the
"faceless Hieronymous" effect.Copy !req
5. One was front axial projection,
whereby an object appears to "glow"
by reflecting a beam of light
back up its own axis.Copy !req
6. Another was the green-screen process
Colour Separation Overlay,
with the actor wearing
a green stocking mask under the hood.Copy !req
7. This is much simpler: The robe dressing
a blank surface, and a light.Copy !req
8. The Count's body is a dummy.Copy !req
9. The first plan was to show Federico
being incinerated, mixing electronically
from the actor's death throes
to the smoking mannequin.Copy !req
10. There are no Brethren
at the foot of the altar on the right:
They are standing in a horseshoe shape.Copy !req
11. This helped with the cameras'
sight-lines, but leaves a gap
in the helix of power.Copy !req
12. Here it is effortlessly closed
by subtle choreography:Copy !req
13. One brother did a bigger twirl and the
one in front slowed down to meet him.Copy !req
14. Now full of Mandragora energy,
the Brethren no longer
have human bodies.Copy !req
15. It was pointed out in pre-production
that they couldn't do the effect
continuously for all
13 irradiated characters,Copy !req
16. and that's why the Brethren
all wear gloves!Copy !req
17. It was a tough job equipping the dungeon
with suitable implements of torture.Copy !req
18. The cast found it difficult to take
the branding irons seriously.Copy !req
19. One of them had a letter "S" on the end,
which gave them the giggles.Copy !req
20. Could it be that Scarlatti the torturer
liked to monogram his victims?Copy !req
21. If you're looking around for the rack
they ordered, don't bother:
There wasn't one available,Copy !req
22. but the metal-studded torturing wheel
in the background here
was the next worst thing.Copy !req
23. Tom Baker was himself a monk
before he became an actor.Copy !req
24. After leaving school,
he spent six years as a novice of
the Order of Ploërmel in Jersey.Copy !req
25. Before filming, Rodney Bennett
and the technical crew had an
experimental studio session on 28 April.Copy !req
26. It took place in the tiny Studio 4A
at Television Centre, and its purpose
was to test electronic effects.Copy !req
27. The make-up brief specified
a pale complexion for Giuliano,Copy !req
28. and a "stubbly blue chin" for Rossini.Copy !req
29. On 11 and 12 May, while the actors
were resting after the filming, the
rehearsal room at Acton was made ready.Copy !req
30. This entailed sticking lengths of
coloured tape on the floor to "mark up"
where the sets would be in the studio.Copy !req
31. As with all four-part Doctor Who serials
at this time, the studio work was
divided into two blocks
a fortnight apart.Copy !req
32. The first block dealt with
the palace scenes (except for those
set here in the dungeon).Copy !req
33. Rodney Bennett rehearsed with the actors
for nine days, 13 to 22 May
(with the Sundays off).Copy !req
34. The rehearsal period began with a
full read-through of the entire script,Copy !req
35. and ended with two complete runs
of the scenes to be recorded,
one for the technical staff
and one for the producer.Copy !req
36. Then they went into Studio 3 at
Television Centre for the first two-day
recording session on 24-5 May.Copy !req
37. The process began again on 26 May,
with another nine days' rehearsal for
the catacombs, temple, dungeon,
Titan Hall, and TARDIS.Copy !req
38. The second recording session ran
for three days, 6-8 June,
again in Studio 3.Copy !req
39. Most of the cast were released after
the penultimate day: Only the regulars,
Hieronymous, and the High Priest
were needed on 8 June.Copy !req
40. The astronomer Galileo Galilei developed
the telescope in 1609 -
more than a hundred years later.Copy !req
41. The floor of this composite set took
sixteen hours to paint.Copy !req
42. The patterned tiling on the lower wall
was a quicker job:
The scene painters used stencils.Copy !req
43. Let's recap the plot.
Mandragora's objective is to eliminate
human free-thinking by literally
stopping the Renaissance.Copy !req
44. To do this, it has to murder
all the talented people who contributed
to that astonishing burst
of human creativity.Copy !req
45. And that begs a question:Copy !req
46. Who exactly are the precious heads
at the masque?Copy !req
47. During pre-production,
a historically fanciful guest list
of 23 names was compiled.Copy !req
48. Nine of them were artists:
Luca Signorelli (1442-1524),
Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510),
Pietro Perugino (1446-1524),Copy !req
49. Lorenzo di Credi (1459-1537),
Andrea del Sarto (1468-1531),
Michelangelo (1475-1564),Copy !req
50. Francesco Bigi (1482-1525),
Raphael (1483-1520),
and Jacopo Carrucci,
called Pontano (1494-1557).Copy !req
51. There were two architects,
Donato Bramante (1445-1514)
And Antonio da Sangallo (1455-1534),Copy !req
52. and two sculptors,
Andrea della Robbia (1435-1528)
And Bacio Bandinelli (1488-1560).Copy !req
53. Poetry was represented by
Angelo Poliziano (1454-94)
And Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533).Copy !req
54. Machiavelli and Francesco Guicciardini
(1483-1540), listed as "politicians",
were also historians.Copy !req
55. The other politicians on the list
were the Duke's namesake,
Giuliano de' Medici,
and Filippo Strozzi (late 15th century).Copy !req
56. There was a single solitary scholar,
Pietro Bembo (1470-1547),
and one philosopher,
Marsilio Ficino (1433-99).Copy !req
57. Leonardo had also brought along
two of his Florentine friends,
Gian Francesco Rustici
and Antonio Sequi.Copy !req
58. In case you hadn't noticed,
there were only five years
when all these people
were alive simultaneously: 1494-9.Copy !req
59. A distinguished
but rather prescient guest list!Copy !req
60. An astrolabe was an instrument
used by astronomers
from the second century BC,Copy !req
61. until superseded by the sextant
in the seventeenth century.Copy !req
62. It was used to calculate
the altitude and relative position
of the stars and planets.Copy !req
63. The alidade is a rotating bar
used to line up the astrolabe
with a celestial body.Copy !req
64. Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)
Was the Polish astronomer
who discredited
the geocentric system of cosmology.Copy !req
65. The Doctor's holding his goose-quill
the wrong way.Copy !req
66. The nib was cut diagonally rather than
as a point, so the quill would only
write if held at 45 degrees,
not like a modern pen.Copy !req
67. In an early version,
the Doctor does his sums
using Sarah's fingers to count with.Copy !req
68. In the script, the eclipse is
more than half an hour earlier -
8 minutes and 43 seconds after 9 p.m. -
but Tom reversed the figures.Copy !req
69. In the planning stages,
the serial was allocated only
four studio days, not five.Copy !req
70. During pre-production, an extra day
became available: 6 June.Copy !req
71. That made it possible to devote
a whole day, 8 June,
to technically complex effects shots
like the helix energy.Copy !req
72. This was also when they shot the scenes
in the TARDIS, the Titan Hall,
and some ruined temple sequences.Copy !req
73. How apt that Mandragora should be named
after a soporific drug!Copy !req
74. How, when, and how much
the Doctor sleeps was something
Tom Baker thought hard about.Copy !req
75. He decided that a few seconds' shut-eye
would have the same good effects
as a full night's rest
for an ordinary person.Copy !req
76. Plasma is a highly-conductive,
shapeless state of matter
which behaves differently from
a solid, a liquid, or a gas.Copy !req
77. It can form complex structures
(like the helix energy ball),
and is the basic type of matter of which
the stars are made.Copy !req
78. Mechanical wire-drawing was developed in
Germany during the fourteenth century.Copy !req
79. Elaborate masked balls
were a regular feature of
Renaissance court culture
throughout Europe.Copy !req
80. As well as the usual calendar festivals,
like Christmas, they were held to
celebrate special occasions
such as a coronation.Copy !req
81. They had an erotic edge, because
everyone wore masks, so nobody knew
who was dancing with whom.Copy !req
82. What does Hieronymous wear
on his feet?Copy !req
83. One shoe and one carpet slipper
that has been slit open.Copy !req
84. Norman Jones sprained his ankle
during the production
and the slipper eased the agony.Copy !req
85. The script for this episode often
mentions the energy blazing through
the eye slits of Hieronymous's mask.Copy !req
86. A corresponding energy wasn't
always there during recording.Copy !req
87. At one intense moment, there came
a terrible silence and then,
from behind the mask:Copy !req
88. "Oh God, I've dried."Copy !req
89. In the script, it's a chain mail
waistcoat rather than plate armour.Copy !req
90. Sarah always gently mocks the Doctor
when he wears something unusual
for the sake of a little plan.Copy !req
91. When he was swathed in mummy bandages
in 'Pyramids of Mars', for example,
she ribbed him about his "accident".Copy !req
92. In 1415, the French spent the night
before the Battle of Agincourt
carousing and having fun.Copy !req
93. On the first day of rehearsals,
the press were told that
Elisabeth Sladen would be leaving
Doctor Who during the new series.Copy !req
94. She was interviewed the same day
for Radio 1 and the early evening
television magazine Nationwide.Copy !req
95. Nationwide confronted her with
what the researchers thought
were some of her greatest foes:
A Yeti, a Sea Devil and a Dalek.Copy !req
96. This set was delayed
because of an industrial dispute.Copy !req
97. The problem was the demarcation between
scene painters (who slapped on the paint
to measure) and scenic artists
(who did the freehand work).Copy !req
98. The scenery should have been delivered
to Studio 3 at Television Centre
on the morning of 24 May.Copy !req
99. It arrived in the afternoon,Copy !req
100. so recording started several hours late.Copy !req
101. In the script, he refers to the
particles more colloquially as
"cosmic rays".Copy !req
102. In reality, cosmic rays are
sub-atomic particles originating in
space which impinge on
the Earth's atmosphere.Copy !req
103. Dudley Simpson wrote just under
42 minutes' worth of incidental music
for the serial.Copy !req
104. This was recorded in a two-day session
on 8 and 9 July.Copy !req
105. The final sound dub took four days,
one episode per day,
on 12, 13, 21, and 22 July.Copy !req
106. The last editing session took place
on 22 August, six weeks after
production officially wrapped.Copy !req
107. 'The Masque of Mandragora'
was ready to go!Copy !req
108. The Masque of the Red Death also centres
on a gathering of noblemen
at a masked ball.Copy !req
109. A diminutive court jester is a
prominent character in the film,Copy !req
110. and the ducal palace is barricaded
against a feared intruder: The plague.Copy !req
111. A 32-second sequence showing
the Brethren at dusk was scripted
and filmed, but cut.Copy !req
112. Two of them leaned over a rooftop rail
and others lurked outside the palace.Copy !req
113. The tumbling jester was a fairly
late addition, a couple of weeks after
principal casting was complete.Copy !req
114. A contract was duly issued on 29 April,
less than a month
before the studio recording.Copy !req
115. It's Stuart Fell,Copy !req
116. whose fire-eating skills didn't save him
from being burnt by the Helix energy
in the first episode.Copy !req
117. All of the masque music comes from
the collection Tanzmusic
der Renaissance, recorded in 1960
by the Ulsamer Collegium.Copy !req
118. In fact, none of the tracks selected for
the production were composed in Italy
during the high Renaissance.Copy !req
119. You've been listening to a medieval
Italian istampita, 'Istampita Ghaetta',
by an anonymous composer.Copy !req
120. Starting now is the first of two
dance tunes, both of them composed by
Frenchmen in the sixteenth century.Copy !req
121. This one is Pierre Attaignant's
exquisite basse dance, 'La Brosse'.Copy !req
122. The script identifies Sarah's admirer as
a Florentine gallant.Copy !req
123. "The gallant takes her and minces off
with his prize," it continues.Copy !req
124. The dancers are the Nonsuch Company,
a specialist historical dance troupe.Copy !req
125. The company was founded in 1966
by Peggy Dixon (who is dancing
immediately behind Sarah).Copy !req
126. Elisabeth Sladen gives a slight
hesitancy to Sarah's movements,
subtly indicating that
she doesn't know the dance.Copy !req
127. The wire was supplied by
the Visual Effects Department.Copy !req
128. The Nonsuch Dancers came to
the production team's attention
at the end of April,
just before the location filming.Copy !req
129. They had previously made a
public information film for the
Central Office of Information,Copy !req
130. but most of their work was
performed live at events and festivals,
notably at Hatfield House.Copy !req
131. 1976 also saw them established as a
charity promoting public education
in history and the arts.Copy !req
132. The Doctor puns on the name of the
apocalyptic Dutch painter
Hieronymus Bosch (c.1450-1516).Copy !req
133. The "bosh" was scripted,
but Tom Baker brought out the allusion
by adding "Hieronymous" to the line.Copy !req
134. The BBC's plans for the transmission of
'The Masque of Mandragora' changed
radically in the course of production.Copy !req
135. At an early stage, in January, 1976,
the serial was slated for broadcast
between 23 October and 13 November.Copy !req
136. That was seven weeks later than
it was eventually shown.Copy !req
137. Philip Hinchliffe was happy with this:Copy !req
138. It meant launching the 1976-7 series
at a time when there was a good chance
of getting onto the Radio Times cover.Copy !req
139. But the transmission date was
pulled back, first to 18 September,
and finally to 4 September.Copy !req
140. That put Doctor Who up against
much stiffer competition for
the front of the Radio Times,Copy !req
141. because the first week in September was
when the BBC customarily launched
a whole raft of new series.Copy !req
142. It was The Duchess of Duke Street,
first shown later the same
Saturday night,
which won the coveted cover.Copy !req
143. In the script, we see
the earth wire starting to melt:
If the connection is broken,
the bolts of fire will be lethal.Copy !req
144. But Hieronymous seems now to be
a strangely shrunken figure.Copy !req
145. He's all energy,
with no physical body left -
and his energy is starting to run out.Copy !req
146. The music is 'Branle de Champagne'
by Claude Gervaise.Copy !req
147. Most of the actors playing Renaissance
characters are wearing hairpieces,Copy !req
148. but the ones that are supposed to be
real hair look a lot less like wigs
than the ones which belong to
the entertainers' costumes.Copy !req
149. The script makes the passage of time
It's now nearly nine-o'-clock.Copy !req
150. The Masque of the Red Death
also climaxes with the arrival of a
mysterious masked figure
in a similar pose.Copy !req
151. It is Death, come to claim the masquers.Copy !req
152. In the script,
it's Sarah who pulls off the mask.Copy !req
153. The massacre at the masque
was a complicated sequence to record.Copy !req
154. Seven recording breaks were needed to
set up this montage of effects shots.Copy !req
155. This episode was the subject of a report
by the BBC's
Audience Research Department.Copy !req
156. Using the age of 15
as the dividing line,
the research found a 44/56 split between
child and adult viewers.Copy !req
157. In other words, Doctor Who was now
watched by significantly more adults
than children.Copy !req
158. However, not all of those adults
enjoyed it: Some felt the story dragged,
and some called it
"far-fetched and predictable".Copy !req
159. "Is there no other possible plot,"
someone asked,Copy !req
160. "than that the Doctor saves the world
from doom completely unaided?"Copy !req
161. The eclipse was achieved with a model,
a cyclorama and a lighting effect.Copy !req
162. The audience research report found that
most viewers expressed
"moderate approval",
with some reservations.Copy !req
163. They felt that younger viewers
preferred futuristic adventures
to historical ones:Copy !req
164. "For our five- and seven-year-olds
we need Daleks and gadgetry".Copy !req
165. On balance, though, more people enjoyed
the serial's historical dimension
than disliked it.Copy !req
166. Some adult viewers had another point
at issue: They thought the plot was
too hard for children to follow.Copy !req
167. On the other hand, one of them needed
his seven-year-old daughter
to explain it to him!Copy !req
168. Norman Jones dubs the Doctor's mimicry,
but Tom doesn't quite get
his lips in synch.Copy !req
169. After finishing work on this serial on
8 June, the regulars had
a five-day break before the filming
for 'The Hand of Fear'.Copy !req
170. Tom Baker spent one of those days,
12 June, making a publicity appearance
at the Blackpool carnival.Copy !req
171. The salami was a late, unscripted idea.Copy !req
172. There are only two horses here,
even though four were available.
Did poor old Sarah have to walk?Copy !req
173. The horses were hired
from a riding school
in Stroud, Gloucestershire.Copy !req
174. In fact, Leonardo hadn't yet designed
his submarine:
The surviving sketch dates from c.1515.Copy !req
175. This was one of the first sequences
to be shot,
in the early afternoon of 3 May.Copy !req
176. It was rather a chilly day:
You can see the actors' breath.Copy !req
177. These lines were
unscripted improvisations.Copy !req
178. The final scripted line came from
"There is a reason
for everything - even this.
One day, science will explain it all."Copy !req
179. As he looks challengingly up
at the heavens, the camera pulls away,
showing him as "a small figure
standing proudly on his Earth".Copy !req
180. The masquers of Mandragora were:Copy !req
181. Barbara Bermell, Jean Channon,
Martin Clarke, Jill GoldstonCopy !req
182. Martin Grant, Penny Lambirth,
Kevin Moran, Eddie SomerCopy !req
183. Ken Tracey, Sheila Vivian, Neville Ware,
Jess WillardCopy !req
184. Also seen was Derek Chafer (Armourer).Copy !req
185. Uncredited production contributorsCopy !req
186. Linda Graeme (Assistant Floor Manager)Copy !req
187. Gordon Phillipson
(Post-Production Grams)Copy !req
188. Peter Grainger, Dave White
(Senior Cameramen)Copy !req
189. Mervin Bezar, Michael Purcell,
Tessa Spendlove (Dressers)Copy !req
190. Roger Wood, Val Woodford (Props Buyers)Copy !req
191. Production text commentary
by Martin Wiggins
56,523
Now, die. Now!Copy !req
192. Come on, Hieronymous.Copy !req
193. You can do better than that.
Come on, Hieronymous.Copy !req
194. Mandragora, help me!Copy !req
195. Come on!Copy !req
196. - (WHISPERING) No sign of the Doctor?
- Not yet.Copy !req
197. Well, something must
have happened to him.Copy !req
198. Maybe he's here already,
he's wearing his costume.Copy !req
199. No, he'd have let us know.Copy !req
200. Doctor!Copy !req
201. Doctor, what happened?
Where have you been?Copy !req
202. Oh, stop playing the fool
and tell me what happened.Copy !req
203. Doctor?Copy !req
204. It is you?Copy !req
205. Stop! Stop, Brothers.Copy !req
206. The final sacrificeCopy !req
207. must be made in our temple.Copy !req
208. Bring the victims of Mandragora down.Copy !req
209. The Brethren!
We've been tricked, betrayed!Copy !req
210. Silence! Take them below.Copy !req
211. The eclipse!
Look, it's beginning.Copy !req
212. Now Mandragora
swallows the moon.Copy !req
213. Now, as it was written,Copy !req
214. the power of Mandragora
will flood the Earth.Copy !req
215. Mandragora, we, your servants,
welcome you.Copy !req
216. Bestow your power upon usCopy !req
217. that we may rule over
the whole of your dominion.Copy !req
218. - Doctor!
- Well, I thought that was rather clever.Copy !req
219. (IN HIERONYMOUS' VOICE)
A case of energy squared.Copy !req
220. It puts Mandragora back to square one.Copy !req
221. (IN NORMAL VOICE)
Well, don't just stand there.Copy !req
222. I'm in the market for congratulations.Copy !req
223. (IN HIERONYMOUS' VOICE)
I wouldn't even say noCopy !req
224. to a salami sandwich.Copy !req
225. - Goodbye, Giuliano.
- Goodbye, Doctor.Copy !req
226. - This is lovely salami, thank you.
- Oh, it's we who should thank you.Copy !req
227. - Won't you reconsider?
- I'm already committed, sorry.Copy !req
228. There's so much we could learn from you.Copy !req
229. It'll all come in time.
Keep an open mind.Copy !req
230. - That's the secret.
- Goodbye, Giuliano.Copy !req
231. Come on, Sarah.
- Oh! Coming!Copy !req
232. Hey, thanks for inviting me to the ball.
Smashing.Copy !req
233. Well, what did you think of Leonardo?Copy !req
234. - Leonardo... Leonardo who?
- Leonardo da Vinci.Copy !req
235. Oh, that Leonardo.
No, I didn't get to see him.Copy !req
236. - Good thing, too.
- Oh, why?Copy !req
237. Well, his submarine design
wasn't exactly practical, you know.Copy !req
238. Oh, poor Giuliano, he looked so wistful.Copy !req
239. Yes.Copy !req
240. Will he have any more trouble
from Mandragora?Copy !req
241. No, he won't, but the Earth will.Copy !req
242. Their constellation will be in position
to try again about... 500 years.Copy !req
243. 500 years, that takes us to
just about the end of the 20th century.Copy !req
244. That's right.
Now, that was an interesting century.Copy !req
245. - What do you mean, "was"?
- Come on.Copy !req