Doctor Who 18x21

1. "What is the cloud over Traken? Where is the Tardis? What is the sinister evil in the Grove?" (Radio Times)

2. This episode was first shown on 31 January 1981.

3. It was seen by 7.6 million people.

4. This is "a scintillating starfield", according to the script.

5. It was added in post-production: The screen was blank when the episode was recorded.

6. The Doctor was summoned to Gallifrey in the second serial of the 1980-1 series. (This is the sixth.)

7. In the interim he's been diverted into an alien universe, lost a companion (Romana), and picked up Adric.

8. "Anyone can talk sense" was Tom Baker's unscripted contribution.

9. It may not be obvious, but we're in the middle of what later became known as a "story arc".

10. Script editor Christopher Bidmead disliked the arbitrary way that one Doctor Who serial was followed by another,

11. so he conceived a sequence of adventures, each self-contained enough for the casual viewer,

12. but each initiating or developing elements of an overarching storyline

13. which finally comes together in the last serial, 'Logopolis'.

14. The next shot mixes three elements with a double application of the electronic CSO process, which "keys out" colours.

15. The model Tardis was shot against a green screen, the planets against blue; a starfield shot replaces the two backgrounds.

16. Dialogue was cut here. In the script, the Doctor is preoccupied with the hat stand.

17. "You're the mathematician, Adric," he says. "Why does this thing always wobble?"

18. He's perturbed by the fact that he keeps on putting books under the legs, "round and round", and never seems to get it stable.

19. Adric, meanwhile, is perturbed by the fact that he can't get a response out of the controls.

20. The script calls for an "almost mummified" being:

21. "The shrivelled figure of a benign old man".

22. He's played by the Irish actor Denis Carey (1909-86),

23. who had toured with the Pilgrim Players during World War 2

24. and was the artistic director of the Bristol Old Vic in the early 1950s.

25. He'd narrowly missed appearing in Doctor Who the year before, as a Time Lord turned Cambridge don,

26. but the serial in question, 'Shada', was aborted after a strike cancelled two-thirds of the scheduled studio sessions.

27. As a matter of policy, the BBC avoided giving actors different roles in consecutive series of the same drama,

28. so it was the abandonment of 'Shada' that made it possible to cast Carey as the Keeper.

29. Adric comes from exo-space (or E-space), a pocket universe outside our own.

30. The allusion to it here was Tom Baker's unscripted contribution.

31. Johnny Byrne (born 1935) was asked to take over as script editor of Doctor Who at the start of the 1980-1 series.

32. Producer John Nathan-Turner knew him as the author of twelve episodes of All Creatures Great and Small (1978-80).

33. Byrne refused the offer because he didn't want to work in London,

34. but he agreed to write a serial, and began discussions to that end in the spring of 1980.

35. "But usually..." continues the Keeper in the script before tailing off.

36. In the earliest version of the serial, the planet is visited by a wandering spirit called Mogen.

37. Before the time of the Keepers, the Trakens regarded such spirits with superstitious awe.

38. The final script describes the Melkur as "a fearsome-looking being of brutish power".

39. It gives off an "electronic sheen", which fades as it is petrified into immobility.

40. Later in the serial, the Melkur's devices emit the same luminance.

41. In the script, the Keeper adds that the Fosters "may perhaps regret the interruption to their gardening".

42. The villain of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion (1977) also clogs up the world with weeds,

43. and his name is Melkor.

44. The purpose of Mogen's visit to Traken was to exploit the instability

45. arising from the declining powers of the Keeper.

46. Byrne created Mogen (also called the Avatar), hoping that he might become a recurring character in Doctor Who.

47. He wasn't interested in writing the kind of "nuts and bolts" science fiction that predominated in this series of Doctor Who.

48. Instead, he wanted to write something in the romantic "sword and sorcery" genre of fantasy fiction.

49. At the earliest stage of development, the main narrative focus was on a power struggle among the Traken nobility.

50. Byrne first imagined Traken as a Samurai kingdom, with two opposing court factions, the Greys and the Blacks.

51. For centuries the Keeper has kept them in balance, but his death leaves them vying for control.

52. The conflict between the Greys and Blacks was based around the science-religion axis.

53. The Blacks were warrior monks under Zorca the Inquisitor-General,

54. who eventually changed gender and became Kassia.

55. The Greys were liberal scientists led by Hellas, who developed into Tremas.

56. Tremas' slurring his words was Anthony Ainley's unscripted contribution.

57. Though Byrne began by envisaging Traken in terms of Japanese iconography,

58. the final script described the setting as "a striking combination of the medieval and the futuristic".

59. Director John Black, however, picked up on the dialogue's Shakespearian resonances,

60. and fused them with his own liking for the work of the designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928).

61. He briefed the designers, Tony Burrough (sets) and Amy Roberts (costumes), to combine Elizabethan and Art Nouveau elements.

62. One particular model he mentioned was the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt (1862-1918).

63. Klimt's work influenced the strong use of gold in the sets and costumes.

64. Burrough also drew inspiration from the Spanish architect Antonio GaudÍ (1852-1926),

65. whose work is noted for its fluidity of line and use of organic, curving shapes rather than hard angles.

66. It took a long make-up session to turn Denis Carey into the Keeper.

67. His fingernails were made of fragile resin, and he couldn't pick anything up or even feed himself while wearing them.

68. The turnip headpiece was made of foam rubber and latex.

69. The script specifies that peach and apricot trees grow in the grove.

70. As the story developed in Johnny Byrne's imagination, the Trakens became more likeable people.

71. The figure of Mogen literally solidified, from a disembodied spirit into the Melkur statue.

72. Only one element remained constant throughout: The Keeper.

73. At the heart of the concept was the Keeper's impending death, which fused together two elements of inspiration.

74. One was millenarianism, the religious belief which predicts

75. an apocalyptic transformation of the world after a thousand years of history.

76. This caused immense disruption in Europe as the tenth century moved towards its final year, 1000 AD:

77. Outbreaks of superstitious mania and mass hysteria arising from the belief that the world was about to end.

78. In the first version, the change of Keepers was more firmly fixed to a thousand-year cycle.

79. Byrne was also inspired by a news bulletin about a country in turmoil as it anticipated the death of its leader.

80. The sequence you've been watching was devised by Bidmead as a way of compressing exposition covering several years.

81. His model was Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol (1843),

82. in which the ghosts of Christmas show Scrooge visions of his past, present, and future in the course of three nights.

83. Studio recording was disrupted by an unwelcome noise

84. emitted by the chronically faulty Tardis console.

85. On the first take, the dry, autumnal leaves on the floor rustled under the characters' skirts, and had to be swept out of the way.

86. There was another problem underfoot, too.

87. When the cast and crew arrived in the studio, the painted floor was still wet,

88. and they had to wait 35 minutes for it to dry before they could start work.

89. Johnny Byrne outlined his story concept to Christopher Bidmead at a preliminary meeting in the spring.

90. He was formally commissioned to write the scripts on 18 July 1980, with a target delivery date of 7 August.

91. As was usual in the television industry, he didn't quite meet the deadline.

92. The atmosphere in the neglected grove is "still and sinister", says the script.

93. The moon is simply a light projected onto the rear cyclorama.

94. In earlier drafts, it was left open whether this was the first time the Melkur had spoken to Kassia.

95. The script calls for "an empty whisper, a mere rustle".

96. Matthew Waterhouse tried to develop a rapport between Adric and the Doctor, based on the rebellious past they have in common.

97. Unbidden by the script, Tom Baker mispronounces the planet's name for the sake of a pun.

98. Johnny Byrne actively tried to make Adric an interesting and useful character, which pleased Matthew.

99. In the script, Adric protests that the book has no index.

100. "Life doesn't have an index," retorts the Doctor.

101. The script describes Seron as "an austere, ascetic-looking consul",

102. and Luvic as "jovial".

103. The role of Luvic was originally rather underwritten, but gained more substance in rehearsal.

104. The director and actor made him interject more often into the others' conversations,

105. and he also took over a few lines of dialogue that had been written for his fellow consuls, mainly Katura.

106. In the script, "collections of weapons, rich in variety, hang on every wall surface" in the Traken court.

107. "They are decorations, with no other utility in this peaceful society."

108. Johnny Byrne delivered his scripts during August (on 14, 19, 25, and 29 August, to be precise).

109. He then left for a holiday in Greece, giving Bidmead carte blanche to make amendments, if he deemed it necessary.

110. It was. By coincidence, some elements overlapped with ideas already used in 'Meglos', recorded earlier that summer.

111. That serial also featured a planet divided between religious and scientific factions. Bidmead began rewriting...

112. This conversation needed a retake.

113. The first time round, the actors whispered so conspiratorially that the studio mikes failed to pick up their lines.

114. There was one thing above all that Christopher Bidmead wanted to instil in Doctor Who during his tenure:

115. A respect for scientific methodology.

116. The stories were to deal with the solution of problems by the application of authentic science,

117. and were to take place on planets with a firmly established culture, economy, and history.

118. With this in mind, he set about revising Johnny Byrne's draft of 'The Keeper of Traken',

119. paying particular attention to developing the characterisation and plot construction.

120. "Both are overcome by a sense of foreboding that produces a momentary silence in the Tardis," says the script.

121. "Ever hear of Capability Brown?" He adds in the script.

122. "Capability" Brown (1716-83) was a landscape gardener who designed the grounds of more than 75 English country houses.

123. Most of the actors' contracts were issued between 7 and 9 October.

124. John Black reasoned that the five consuls needed strong casting to give them individuality.

125. He aimed very high for Kassia, who was considered one of the two principal guest star parts.

126. A short-list of twelve actresses was proposed,

127. which included several members of the Royal Shakespeare Company, two Avengers ladies,

128. a future Member of Parliament and two future Dames (not the pantomime variety).

129. Two actors had to drop out, so replacements were found for Seron and Katura.

130. Both the original actors, Philip Locke and Mary Morris, later played leading roles in the 1982 series of Doctor Who.

131. The design of the Melkur statue was based on a bronze, 'Unique Forms of Continuity in Space' (1913),

132. by the Italian futurist sculptor, Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916).

133. The original can be seen in the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

134. "Must be the fresh air," replies the Doctor in the script.

135. "Well, cooped up in the Tardis - bound to have an effect."

136. He sends Adric back to the Tardis to read more time logs,

137. until he finds he can't move the heavy grove gates by himself, and Adric eagerly rushes to help him.

138. One way in which director and actor tried to add some personality to poor, marginalised Luvic

139. was by giving him a stammer. They worked away at it all through the first block of rehearsals,

140. but when the producer heard it at the end of the rehearsals, he didn't like it,

141. so the actor had to relearn all his lines, stammer-free.

142. This shot was recorded the day after the next one, leading to some continuity confusion in the first day's camera rehearsals.

143. Tom Baker forgot he was meant to be having trouble with the gate, and sailed straight through it.

144. Matthew Waterhouse reminded him, and they re-rehearsed.

145. Tom was ill on the studio day in question, 5 November 1980.

146. After the production wrapped, John Black wrote:

147. "I cannot think of another show in which the sets drew more favourable comments - and deservedly, for they were outstanding."

148. Tony Burrough has since done distinguished work in the cinema,

149. notably on the lan McKellen version of Richard III (1995), A Knight's Tale (2001), and Hotel Rwanda (2004).

150. He made the Melkur statue from pieces of moulded plastic and polystyrene which fitted together like body armour.

151. In the first version of the serial, the Doctor and Adric are attacked by members of the Black faction

152. because they have unwittingly trespassed in the sacred precincts of the court.

153. They are rescued by Hellas and his daughter Nyssa, but Hellas is still legally obliged to imprison them.

154. At the very earliest planning stages, when there was only a production slot and no hint of a script,

155. a period was allocated for pre-filming this serial's exterior sequences.

156. This proved unnecessary: Traken would be a world wholly created in the studio, inside and out.

157. The upshot was that the cast had less chance than usual to bond into a company.

158. Going away to film is usually when actors get comfortable working together,

159. but on 'The Keeper of Traken' they had to do it in the first nine days of rehearsal.

160. In the script, the Doctor replies, "At last - something we can agree about."

161. The Melkur's face is "leprous with lichen", says the script.

162. "They are lying," asserts Kassia in the script.

163. "Does she mean us?" Adric asks the Doctor.

164. "Probably got us mixed up with someone else," says the Doctor.

165. "Funny," says the Doctor in the script. "I could have sworn we brought the Tardis."

166. The last Foster to leave tries to shut the gate behind him in the script, but it jams half-open.

167. The Melkur turns his head to look after them.

168. In a moment we'll be seeing a Melkur on the move.

169. See if you can spot the wire trailing behind him, to power his glowing eyes.

170. The eyes were the only contribution to the Melkur required from the visual effects designer, Peter Logan.

171. In camera rehearsals, the Melkur cut a less than menacing figure in his blue tracksuit.

172. Graham Cole was in costume only for the recording itself.

173. Peter Logan based the consular rings on an Art Nouveau vase.

174. All the consuls must be present, the Doctor later explains,

175. as a "security arrangement" to prevent the Keeper from being summoned inappropriately.

176. The doors open "like the wings of a beetle," says the script.

177. In the first draft, Zorca uses forbidden occult practices to conjure up the spirit of Mogen.

178. Sensing that the Doctor is a threat, Mogen induces Zorca to put him on trial.

179. A court of inquisition is convened, and the Doctor and Adric are condemned to death.

180. The script calls for "the faintest hoarse chuckle" from the Melkur here.

181. Also seen in this episode were:

182. Joy Burnett, Colin Cook, David Enyon, Mary Eveleigh (Trakens)

183. Jill Goldston, Anne Higgins, Margaret Leggett (Trakens)

184. Mary Rennie, John Tucker, Steve Whyment (Trakens)

185. Maurice Connor, Donald Groves, Ralph Morse (Fosters)

186. Fred Redford, Doug Roe, Tony Snell, Barry Summerford (Fosters)

187. Uncredited production contributors included:

188. Laura Gilbert (Floor Assistant)

189. Andrew Hunter (Grams Operator)

190. Sallie Jaye, Vanessa Poulton (Make-Up Assistants)

191. Chick Hetherington (Show Working Supervisor)

192. Jane Clement (Design Assistant)

193. Jane Judge (Production Secretary) 18:42,679 Consul Seron.

194. If the majority are agreed, then I'll concur, of course.

195. Open the door.

196. Consuls, the cause of the evil. We have found them.

197. - So, who are you? - I wondered when you were going to ask.

198. You know, I hate to say this sort of thing, but Traken hospitality isn't what it used to be.

199. He's called the Doctor and I'm Adric.

200. It's probably the usual misunderstanding. We keep running into this sort of thing.

201. - Actually, we were invited here this time. - It is true.

202. - Invited? - Yes, to pitch in, help out, that sort of thing.

203. Who asked you here?

204. Well, excuse my name dropping, but the Keeper, actually.

205. - You've had contact with the Keeper? - In a manner of speaking, yes.

206. I don't follow this at all.

207. The Keeper said one would come amongst us to help Trakens.

208. Could you be this one, Doctor?

209. Well, unless he's in the habit of soliciting help, yes.

210. Sacred law decrees that the Keeper has contact only through his consuls.

211. You say, Doctor, that you arrived here in some kind of craft?

212. - Yes. - And landed in the grove?

213. Yes, we thought we'd walk the rest of the way, you know, fresh air and stretch the legs.

214. - Then your craft should still be there? - Yes.

215. Proctor Neman, send some of your brothers to confirm this.

216. Certainly, Consul.

217. But if they are indeed known to the Keeper,

218. can we risk such a grave injustice, Kassia?

219. They can't be known to the Keeper or we would have been informed.

220. - I don't understand what's going on. Consul Tremas.

221. Nothing's there?

222. The Fosters have searched the grove for the stranger's craft.

223. - And you have found it? - There is no craft. The grove is empty.

224. Does anyone doubt now?

225. It seems they have indeed been lying to us.

226. Look, why don't we summon up the Keeper or something?

227. - We are about to do so. - Yes. We will summon the Keeper.

228. Keeper of Traken, by unanimous consent, your consul summons you.

229. Keeper, we have strangers among us who claim they are known to you.

230. And dare to say they were summoned here to Traken at your request.

231. Bring the strangers forward.

232. Sorry to trouble you, Keeper, but we do seem to have a problem here.

233. - Please tell them who we are, will you? - Evil!

234. The sanctum is invaded.

235. Keeper, tell us.

236. Consuls, we are invaded.

237. Evil! Infinite evil.