The Master wants to initiate intergalactic war, and the Doctor and Jo are his unwilling pawns, in Frontier in Space. Colourized image by Clayton Hickman.
Materialising in the midst of a building galactic conflict between the expanding colonist Earth and the noble Draconian empires, the Doctor and Jo discover that the two wary powers are being manipulated into war by the Master and his blundering Ogron mercenaries, under orders from a third party - the Daleks. Crossing the persistent dangers of a Frontier in Space, the Doctor must rescue Jo from the Master, but not before his dreaded Skaroan enemies have finally revealed themselves...
On a cargo freighter, the Doctor and Jo are arrested as Draconian spies by Earth security.
The Doctor and Jo are brought to the Earth council and observed by the Draconians.
The Draconian ambassador (Peter Birrel).
The dumb but brutal Ogron mercenaries return.
A prison break for Jo and the Doctor.
The Draconians capture the Doctor for further interrogation. Offscreen, the Draconians proved to be Pertwee's favourite alien, the actor loving the mask design and creation..
The Master's prison ship arrives to collect the Doctor from the Moon's prison colony.
Behind you! A great posed publicity image for the story inside the Master's Prison ship.
Future spacecraft docking, and another fine model filming showcase for the BBC visual effects team.
A stronger-willed Jo Grant confers with the Master on his prison ship.
The Daleks reveal themselves on the Ogron planet in a behind the scenes quarry location shot.
The Master and the Daleks plan the final stages of the galactic war.
If any story in the Jon Pertwee era could be considered a lively, colourful and adventurous homage to the American classic Star Trek series, this one surely fits the bill: an overlong but nonetheless glorious tale of space adventure from Malcolm Hulke, with a brilliant one-off (so far) appearance from the intriguing alien Samurai-esque Draconian species and lots of space faring model shots of varying kinds (using refurbished models from the various Gerry Anderson TV21 series) that would have impressed viewers back in 1973, and strong production values in costumes and set design. Roger Delgado delivers a splendid final performance as the Master, having some notable sparring matches with both the Doctor and a more mature and confident Jo Grant, and some hilarious dealings alongside the brutish and mostly incompetent Ogrons. That the story deliberately ends on a lead-in note to Planet of the Daleks proves a great idea, if not quite as well executed as it could have been due to studio filming time constraints.
The multi-talented sculptor John Friedlander with one of his acclaimed and iconic Draconian face masks. Image: Radio Times.
Original Radio Times episodic listings.
Cover art by Phil Bevan.
UK VHS release sleeve art by Colin Howard.
US DVD release cover design by Clayton Hickman.
Adapted Target Book cover art by Chris Achilleos.
Get the Target book BBC AUDIO BOOKS adaptation here:
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