CLASSIC IMAGE: THE MONDAS VISITATION!

In the trackless snow wilderness of the Antarctic, the chilling visages of a Cybermen squad, newly arrived from the Earth's twin planet of Mondas. makes another attempt to infiltrate the nearby human Snowcap base in a terrific and atmospheric image from the most important Doctor Who story since the show's launch three years earlier-time: The Tenth Planet, the final adventure for William Hartnell's tenure as the enigmatic time traveller, but also the memorable debut of one of the series most popular and enduring villains after the dreaded Daleks - the emotionless Cybermen!

It was a pleasure, after such a long time, to recently re-read Gerry Davis's Target novelisation of The Tenth Planet from the mid-seventies, and I was intrigued by how many important storytelling changes he brought to it in comparison to the original 1966 TV version.

Superlative front and back cover art by Chris Achilleos for the Target adaptation.

Here are a few of those memorable differences and a few other interesting titbits...

The story is set not in the 1986 televised version but in 2000, with Mars having been visited by humanity, as well as the Moon.

Ben and Polly come from the seventies, around 1974/75 (the time Gerry Davies wrote the novelisation) rather than 1966, and the time of their onscreen introductory story, The War Machines.. This is confirmed as the Snowbase-confined Ben plays a reel of film from the Roger Moore starring James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun, then the most recent film in the series playing in cinemas.

Out of action for the TV events of Episode Three (due to William Hartnell being ill), the events of that hurriedly rewritten episode are not affected in novel form, as the Doctor is present throughout its events to deliver key dialogue ultimately delivered on screen by Polly.

Key Cybermen would have names as listed in the end credits of the TV story (a practice that Gerry Davis had also done with his earlier published The Cybermen adaptation of The Moonbase, though that onscreen TV adventure would not give them names).

A black helmeted Cyberleader appears with the second invasion of the Snowcap base - perhaps Davis at the time of writing the adaptation had been influenced by the appearance of a similar figure in the then TV version of Tom Baker's Revenge of the Cybermen, which would itself be rewritten from Davis's original concept and script commission in 1974.

The Cybermen's attacking home planet of Mondas isn't destroyed as in the TV version but ultimately breaks up whilst heading back out into the solar system.

The Doctor's aging and lead-up to the regeneration is handed well in the book, better than the mostly tacked-on ending to the tale onscreen, with the companions (notably Ben) witnessing his growing state of frailness during three previous uneventful TARDIS landings prior to their arrival in the Antarctic. Ultimately, the Doctor regenerates not with the help of the TARDIS, after handling the instruments and collapsing to the floor in an eerie and magical TV sequence, but rather by regenerating through the use of a special sleeping compressor in the ship's control room, which has never been mentioned before or since in the novels I've read, nor mentioned in the TV series. In the novel, the Doctor's new face is revealed to the shocked Ben and Polly from a folding cover over the compressor's couch. If anyone out there knows why Davis made such an important change here, please get in touch...

Get hold of the unabridged BBC AUDIO BOOKS adaptation of The Tenth Planet here:

Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet: 1st Doctor Novelisation (Audio Download): Gerry Davis, Nicholas Briggs, Anneke Wills, Nicholas Briggs, BBC Audio: Amazon.co.uk: Books

THE ("WICKED!") MILADY!

An adventure in time, not space, but surely one that would have seen Ace settle down (of sorts) to enjoy (and likely criticize at the same time!) the splendour and majesty entitled to being a proper 'lady' of ye olde world times, in this case Dorothee of Paris in 1887, as eventually revealed by the character's creator Ian Briggs in his novelisation of The Curse of Fenric. And, let's face it, she likely had a spare can of un-ladylike 'nitro nine' up her lengthy skirts in case of emergencies! 

A lovely posed portrait session of actress Sophie Aldred used as the basis for a character painting discovered by Ace and the Doctor within Windsor castle, in a brief deleted scene from the series landmark 25th Anniversary season story, Silver Nemesis!

NECROS ROCKIN'!

Making the many suspended animated victims of the funereal world of Necros wish they could escape their cryo coffins, the on-air 'talents' of the resident 'DJ' would also manage to attract unwanted attention from the notorious Great Healer himself, and not in a good way, during the course of events within the dark comedy Revelation of the Daleks.

An actor long before establishing his credential as a comedian, with a prior notable role in the Russian-set murder thriller Gorky Park, Alexei Sayle would go on to make a fine contribution to the Doctor Who universe with his bizarre but no less effective casting.

CELEBRATING FORTY YEARS OF SEASON TWENTY: 'ARC OF INFINITY'

The nostalgia factor begins for the Twentieth Anniversary season with Arc of Infinity. Lovely Target cover reprint art by Alister Pearson.

A mysterious foe emergent from an equally mysterious and powerful region of space linked to anti-matter, followed by the attempted temporal bonding of said foe with our unwilling Time Lord hero, resulting in the Doctor's own race desperately ready to eliminate him so as to stop the building threat from possibly destroying the known matter universe. This is the intriguing start to the Twentieth Anniversary Season's opening tale, Arc of Infinity. Yet how does all this ominous danger link in to the beautiful city of Amsterdam of Earth, concurrent with the return of the Doctor's former companion and 'mouth on legs', Tegan Jovanka?

Lots of mystery, threat and intrigue for the Fifth Doctor, though Johnny Byrne's script is another variation of sorts on his acclaimed prior work on The Keeper of Traken, albeit with a different Time Lord enemy and the setting relocated to the citadel corridors and chambers of Gallifrey. Still, it's nonetheless great to see the return of the Time Lords with their worried high council (including a lovely series return from Michael Gough), unseen for five years, as well as the surprise revenge/continuing pathos of the renegade Omega, in completely different visual form and manner compared to his first appearance in 1973, with a fine performance from Ian Collier that's less shouty than the previous 1973 performance by Stephen Thorne but still effectively balancing genius with bitter anger.

 

A radical new look for Tegan and one of several new costumes (finally!) for Nyssa during the start to Season Twenty, as captured in this lovely location press image taken on location in Amsterdam.

A Daily Express article promoting the then upcoming Amsterdam-set story.

Original Radio Times listings page for Part One. Image: via Graeme Wood Collection.

Images: Radio Times.

Beyond the nostalgia of Gallifrey, there's fun locales and chasing around in picturesque Amsterdam, backed up by sprightly direction from an improving Ron Jones; Tegan is back to her normal self by the end of the story, once more reunited with Nyssa and The Doctor (though the latter two actually did make a fine pairing without her at the story's start), and Colin Baker is all lovably snarly and superior as Commander Maxil of the Gallifreyan Guard. Though Baker proved a fine casting choice (still well known for his villainous role in The Brothers), the recent behind the scenes revelation that the Maxil role had been prior offered, but turned down, by one Mister Pierce (pre-007) Brosnan was interesting -  he would surely have made an intriguing dark-haired, handsome young adversary counterpoint to/against the equally dashing, fair-haired younger Doctor...

'The Renegade' revealed - the return of the former Gallifreyan stellar engineer, Omega, as realised in this great commercial art piece from 1983 by Andrew Skilleter.

Omega's servant, the chicken-esque Ergon, protects the underground crypt in Amsterdam now housing Omega's TARDIS.

Welcome back to Gallifrey!

The Doctor surrounded by an 'Incident' (?) of Time Lords with his shock return to Gallifrey.

Gallifreyan security- Commander Maxil (Colin Baker) and The Castellan (Paul Jerricho).

The traitor revealed!

The Doctor discovers the conspiratorial truth about his old friend Councillor Hedin (Michael Gough).

In his own TARDIS, Omega's transference procedure begins...

"The bond is not complete..."

A new but recognisable face for Omega, and a fine showcase for Peter Davison to do some 'evil' acting.

The In-Vision issue for the story. Art by Phil Bevan.

Memorable VHS cover release art by Pete Wallbank.

US DVD release sleeve art.

Get the Target Books audio adaptation here:

Doctor Who: Arc of Infinity: 5th Doctor Novelisation (Audio Download): Terrance Dicks, Geoffrey Beevers, BBC Audio: Amazon.co.uk: Books

THE FENDAHL NIGHTMARE!

Specially posed image of Tom Baker and Wanda Ventham on set.

Their all-consuming power long thought perished, the evil Fendahl species has been playing the long game in manipulating the human race to their own ends, newly reactivated from by the talents of Dr. Fendalman and his team of scientists, in the Quatermass-esque story that was the final fling to the darker side Robert Holmes script editing phase of the Tom Baker era: The Image of the Fendahl, a superb story and one that was sadly the last for then regular contributor Chris Boucher, who'd go on to work as script editor on another terrific BBC sci-fi entry, Blake's 7.

I was sorry to hear of Mister Boucher's recent passing- another great writing talent lost to the world, and one of the Classic Series finest contributors. 

STONE COLD TERROR WITH 'THE DAEMONS'!

In the first ten years or so of its long period in publication, the UK's TV Zone magazine (written and edited by a myriad team of long-time Who/Cult TV lovers) often showcased a superb selection of rare classic cover images devoted to our favourite show, but by far this one, taken during location filming of the all-time classic The Daemons, was surely one of their finest, as well as being one of the finest of that era's posed publicity shots. It was presumably taken for use in Polystyle publications superb and colourful titles like Countdown and/or TV Action, of which superfan Andrew Beech has many of the posed/behind the scenes images originally taken for them back in the early seventies...

Here are a couple of other shots from the BBC that are similar.

DOCTOR IN DISGUISE! THE DELIGHTFUL EARLY EPISODES OF PATRICK TROUGHTON'S INCARNATION...

Atlantean intrigue for Polly and the groovy shades wearing Doctor in The Underwater Menace.

Being the first of the new Doctors to follow in the footsteps of the late, great William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton's at-first insecurities in the role were obviously understandable, though his marvellous performance in the role as the Time Lord's second incarnation would ultimately be established by the time of his battle against the Cybermen at The Moonbase. But between that and his opening classic story, The Power of the Daleks, Troughton's early performances incorporated much great potential for, and mining of, comedic interludes, as the actor's experimentation continued on what worked and what didn't in his challenging role, working in tandem alongside the programme's behind the scenes makers. 

So much of that first year of Troughton's is lost and gone forever to us, but thank god John Cura's unique 'telesnaps' (and other important concurrent imagery) still exist to provide some consolation to fans, capturing this intriguing evolutionary time in the series with its mercurial and almost pixie-like new/old hero, of which viewers were at first uncertain as to what to make of this 'rejuvenated' soul, what with his wearing an outlandish stovepipe hat, talking to himself in a secondary/different person tense, regularly playing the recorder, and inhabiting various disguises...

Swapping his stovepipe for a Tam O'Shanter in the opening to The Highlanders.

As seen in the TV version.

Up to mischief as 'The German Doctor' Doctor von Wer in The Highlanders part Episode Two. 

The Doctor becomes ' The German Doctor' for a bizarre interrogation of the evil Solicitor Grey's henchman Perkins in The Highlanders Episode Two. 

At the Sea Eagle establishment in Inverness, the Doctor is in disguise as a washer woman in the early stages of The Highlanders Episode Three.

The 'German Doctor' holds a gun on the once more troubled Perkins in The Highlanders Episode Three.

Still wearing his unique stovepipe hat under his disguise in the same episode, a tired Doctor, watched by Kirsty (Hannah Gordon) and Polly, must take a nap before planning his next move.

Troughton the marvellous character actor comes out once again, with the Doctor's disguise as a wounded red coat soldier meeting with companion Ben in the final part of The Highlanders.

The Doctor's hat gets a special opening shot all to itself! Perhaps signifying its last appearance in the series?

The stovepipe hat, in a revised shorter form, makes its final appearance in The Underwater Menace. 

A brilliant character trademark for Troughton's Doctor, playing the fool to gain access to vital information from his enemies and sabotage a vital component to save Polly.

Polly and the gang have fun in the TARDIS at the closing moments of the story.

TREASURE HUNTING OF OLD (AND NEW) WITH 'THE SMUGGLERS'

John Cura telesnap via BBC STUDIOS.

Time is running out for girl-disguised-as-boy Polly, as the evil smuggler Cherub is keen to kill the Doctor's companion unless the time traveller can work out the final riddle clues revealing the location of desperately sought buried treasure, during the tense and action-led conclusion to Brian Hayles' under-appreciated lost tale, and the penultimate adventure for a physically more weary looking William Hartnell: The Smugglers...

Lost no more, perhaps, as seen in the animated restoration sense, that is...

Doctor Who revamps classic black & white episodes for 60th anniversary | Radio Times

Doctor Who classic The Smugglers gets colour revamp - first look | Radio Times