Researches for a forthcoming biography of a ‘60s Doctor Who writer have turned up an intriguing curio: a draft script of William Hartnell’s final episode which doesn’t end with the Doctor regenerating.

William Hartnell’s Doctor bowed out in October 1966 with the four-part adventure “The Tenth Planet”, a story which not only introduced the concept that the Doctor could change his appearance, but also saw the first appearance of the Cybermen.

Now author Michael Seely, who’s working on a biography of the story’s co-author, Dr Kit Pedler, has unearthed draft scripts of all four episodes which predate the decision to write out William Hartnell.

“I found these scripts and two more from ‘The Moonbase’ (known then as ‘The Return Of The Cybermen’) among a very large collection of Kit’s papers which one of his children had kept in their attic,” explains Seely. “As I looked through it, I realised it was the first draft [script editor and co-writer] Gerry Davis prepared when Kit fell ill in June 1966."

"The structure is more or less the same, though a lot of the dialogue is different. Some things were cut, especially involving the Cybermen. For example, the Cybermen planned to convert [companion] Polly and the Doctor into Cybermen towards the end of the story, and kept them prisoner in what they described as a waiting room. The most eye-catching difference is what didn’t happen at the end of the episode.”

The fact that this script was written in June 1966 and rehearsals for the story began on 14 September only underlines that the actor’s departure was decided upon rather late in the day (Hartnell’s wife’s diary records that he told her on 16 July 1966).

“Gerry Davis and [producer] Innes Lloyd were always very diplomatic and tactful in their interviews,” says Seely. “Both died in 1991, long before ‘warts and all’ interviews became the norm. We know that William Hartnell was being persuaded to give up the role he loved over the summer of 1966, and that they were sounding out replacements. He only decided to leave in the middle of July, the month after this draft was written.”

The cache of Pedler’s papers also includes five original storylines for Doomwatch, the 1970-1972 eco-thriller TV series he co-created with Gerry Davis - including several that were never made - as well as proposals for further TV shows, a couple of never-recorded radio plays, and various unfinished books and short stories.

+  The Quest For Pedler by Michael Seely is due for release in Early 2014. Visit www.miwk.com for more details.

[Source: SFX]

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 141: The Tenth Planet, Episode Four

Dear diary,

Of all the Doctor Who episodes missing from the BBC's archive, The Tenth Planet Episode Four probably has the most mythical status. It's the one in which William Hartnell changes into Patrick Troughton, of course, but it's also one of those odd ones where we can't very easily trace when the tape went missing. There's no definitive record of its destruction, just the fact that it stopped being around after a certain point.

As I've said, I've never watched The Tenth Planet, so I've never known how justified the status of this episode was. It has to be said that - regeneration aside - there's not a lot in here to make it really stand out from any other episode of the programme around this time. It's quite good, don't get me wrong, but there's nothing all that amazing about it until the final few minutes.

I've always been aware of the resolution to the story - that Mondas ultimately absorbs too much of Earth's power and blows itself up. That's really not the important thing about the story, though. This is often talked about as the very first 'Base Under Siege' tale (something that will be cropping up a lot more in the next four months of this blog!), and that really is the best way to describe it. The appearance of Mondas in the skies, the absorption of power, the Cybermen landing globally, all of that takes second place to the crew of the Snowcap base, and watching them fight off wave after wave of attackers.

It's nice that the Z-Bomb which has been so important since around Episode Two is used as a vital part of keeping our Mondasian friends at bay in this final episode, and I'm sure that the sight of a Cyberman creasing up in pain as he enters the radiation room would have been fantastic. The tele snaps unfortunately miss the shot of his demise (though we do get a great close up of the creature's face), but everything around it looks great.

I really have been won over to the design of the Cybermen throughout this tale, and the shots of them that we do have hear continue to make them look fantastic. There's the one moment when a Cyberman on the radio from Geneva seems to be singing all his lines, but I think I can just about overlook that. Finally, I understand why everyone is always so full of praise for them! On the one had, I'm now quite sorry that they only appear in this one story, but on the other, it gives them a certain charm. They're what William Hartnell's Cybermen looked like.

Now obviously, the thing that gets the most attention in this episode is always going to be the transformation between the First and Second Doctors. I've seen the actual change hundreds of times over the years, but this is the first time that I've ever watched the events leading up to it. The whole thing is played as being very sinister - the Doctor's cryptic mumbling is especially unnerving. 'It's all over,' he slurs, 'that's what you said. But it isn't. It's far from being all over!'. It really is an odd sequence, and no attempt is made to have this as a comforting change over between the two actors. The entire thing is played as a new kind of threat, and worthy of a cliffhanger because it's scary, not simply because it's what we'd now call a 'regeneration'.

I'm really pleased that the change is filtered in right from the start of this story, with the Doctor commenting early on that his body seems to be wearing a bit thin. It makes it all the more rewarding when you know what's coming, and saves it from just being something bolted on to the end of the story. I'll be offering up more general thoughts about William Hartnell's tenure in my 'overview' post (which you should find just above this one in the Doctor Who Online news feed), but I'll say here that I genuinely am sorry to see him go.

7/10 

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 140: The Tenth Planet, Episode Three

Dear diary,

Regular readers will know that it’s not just 1960s Doctor Who that I’ve got an interest in, but television from that period in general. Anything from the resumption of broadcasts after the Second World War up to about the end of the 60s is the era of television that takes up the most space on my DVD shelves. Either side of the pond will do me: I’m just as happy to sit down in front of an episode of I Love Lucy or The Honeymooners as I am anything made on these shores.

But the best thing about British TV in this era – for a Doctor Who fan, at least – is spotting those actors that you know from the TARDIS turning up in other things. The Avengers is great for this. Nicholas Courtney turns up in the episode Propellant 23, broadcast just over a year before the start of Doctor Who. While the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan were busy convincing the Thals to take a stand and invade the Dalek city, current companion Anneke Wills was playing the part of Jane Wentworth, dressed as a pussy cat, in the episode Dressed to Kill.

Just a few episodes later and, oh look, it’s Barry Letts’ turn to take a role in the programme. We’ll be hearing more about Letts cropping up in this diary a few months from now. Letts’ Doctor, Jon Pertwee, turns up in the programme in 1967, and the final season in 1969 contains an episode starring both Roger Delgado and Kate O’Mara. It’s a Rani and Master team-up, 16 years early! Even Peter Cushing stars in the episode Return of the Cybernauts! In some parallel world, that’s the title of a Doctor Who episode starring Cushing as human inventor Dr. Who, after his series of movies transferred to TV.

It’s not just Doctor Who actors that turn up in the programme, of course, and it’s just as great when the likes of John Le Mesurier or Penelope Keith are a part of the cast, but there’s a special kind of thrill in seeing these actors you know so well from the world of Doctor Who appearing in something else, usually long before they arrive in our favourite sci-fi show.

Occasionally, as I’ve been watching through this marathon, I’ve taken a bit of a detour in my own time, to watch other programmes from the same week. I’ve dipped in to all-sorts as I’ve gone along, but I don’t tend to mention them here on the blog because, well, you’re here on Doctor Who Online to read about Doctor Who. You’re probably not all that interested in my thoughts on an episode of Coronation Street from mid-1964.

Today, though, I’ve got to mention my detour. A couple of nights ago, having finished up my entry for The Tenth Planet, Episode One, I sat and watched an episode of Adam Adamant Lives! broadcast 8th October 1966 (the Thursday between Tenth Planet One and Two). It’s important because in a small role at the start of the episode, we’ve got TV character actor Patrick Troughton. It’s interesting to see him here, so close to taking on the part of the Doctor. The filming dates aren’t as close together as the broadcast ones are (the episode, D For Destruction, was filmed early September, so about six weeks or so before work began for him on Who), but I think I’m right in saying that this will have been one of the last things broadcast starring him before the regeneration occurred.

I’ve been holding off on watching this episode for a while, now, because I was keen to see it in context of my Doctor Who marathon, and I was hoping I’d have a lot of interesting stuff to say about his performance, and the way it ties in with his time in the TARDIS. As it is, though, he only appears for the first five minutes or so, before disappearing from the rest of the story (though a main character for the remainder is played by Ian Cuthbertson, another alumni of The Avengers, and who will be turning up in Doctor Who about a year from now in my marathon for a role in The Ribos Operation).

The other problem comes from the fact that, having spent the last five months making my way through the First Doctor era of the programme, trying to pin-point the way Troughton plays the part seems impossible! I’m going to be keeping it in mind, though, and hopefully I’ll be able to raise some interesting points about the performances in a few days time, once Troughton has actually taken over.

What was more startling to me, though, watching this episode last night, is how similar Polly Wright is to the character of Georgina Jones in Adam Adamant Lives!. Georgina is the equivalent of the companion in that series, and can only be describes as being ‘fab’. Visually, there’s a striking resemblance between the pair, and she even wears a similar hat in this episode to the one Polly was sporting at the end of The War Machines.

Polly’s first appearance in Doctor Who came just two days after the first episode of Adam Adamant Lives! had appeared on screen back in June – I think it certainly says something about the feel of 1966. Polly and Georgina are both trendy young girls, who find excitement getting caught up in adventure. At this point, Polly (and Ben) are just along for the ride, though they're both growing to enjoy life with the Doctor.

I did wonder what this episode would feel like, being without the Doctor and the first story to really feature the 'Base Under Siege' format, I thought it may end up just being a bit of a runaround, with little actually happening. That's why I've saved my thoughts on the Adam Adamant Lives! episode for today - I figurers there was plenty to talk about for yesterday's episode without chucking all that in.

As it happens, though, there's lots and lots I could talk about from today anyway! I'll skim over much of it quickly, to focus on just one point. So, in brief: The Cybermen look fantastic as they move slowly through the blizzard. The 'massacre' of them by their own weapons is also quite effective. I'm absolutely converted to these Cybermen, now. They're lovely. It's nice to see the first use of a ventilation shaft in the series as a way of transporting a companion from 'A' to 'B', even though it's massive! At one point, Barclay announces that he'd never be able to fit through the ventilation shaft. You'd fit a fully-grown Krynoid down that!

The thing that really strikes me, though, is the addition of General Cutler's son to the story. He was introduced late in yesterday's episode, and to begin with I was a little weary of it. In some ways, it felt like the story was trying to have its cake and eat it - you get the shock of 'Zues IV' being blown up, but then they can carry on with the 'we have to get the spaceship back down to Earth' story, because they've sent another one up. As it happens, though, this part of the story becomes one of the most interesting now. It's not often in Doctor Who, at least at this stage in its life, that we see something like this happen. A justification for the base's commander to be behaving so ruthlessly. Here, though, it adds a whole other layer to the idea, and when Cutler throws Ben over the railings, having found him tampering with the rocket, it's all the more believable, because of his personal stake in the situation. It's really great to see this being added, and I'm hoping that there's more like it to come in the future.

7/10 

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 139: The Tenth Planet, Episode Two

Dear diary,

When people talk about the Cybermen - and, more specifically, about the designs of the Cybermen - the versions seen here in The Tenth Planet always seem to crop up. They appear quite high on the list of 'favourite designs' among many of my friends who are fans of the show. When this design cropped up on the cover of The Silver Turk (one of the Big Finish Eighth Doctor audios) a few years ago, people were falling over themselves with excitement.

Maybe it's because I'm used to everyone banging on about how great this version is that I've never really been able to see it myself. They look pretty good, I guess, but I've just never had that kind of love that other fans seem to hold for these ones. It's perhaps telling that in my Cardiff flat, the Cyberman action figure I keep on display is one from Earthshock (for some reason, beside a Cybermat from Revenge…), and I've got a version from Tomb in a box here somewhere, too. The Tenth Planet figure is in a box way back home in Norwich. That toy, much like this design of Cyberman, is considered 'one of the best', but again, I've never really got it.

It probably didn't help, then, that while I was watching this episode, I had Ellie with me. She wasn't actually paying all that much attention to Doctor Who - to tell the truth, she was the other side of the flat, doing a puzzle - but she was in the room all the same. I'd banged on while we had dinner about why the episode I was watching tonight was a very important one, but I think she was trying to block out most of it. She wasn't able to ignore it, though, when the first Cyberman began to speak. I won't repeat what was said (this is a well-mannered website!), but suffice to say she wasn't impressed with either the design or the voice.

As I watched on, wondering why people always pointed to these as their favourite Cyber-design, I started to really be swayed by the tone of the voices, and the way that the eyes look actually dead when the Cybermen have their mouths open. I found myself starting to find them quite menacing, and the way that they're shot as the enter the base (the way Hartnell follows their legs as they move along a platform is gorgeous) started to really stoke a chord with me. Just as I was starting to realise all the things people love about them, Ellie piped up again. 'Actually,' she announced, 'they sound better like this. It's more enjoyable to listen to'. Hah! Didn't want to watch Doctor Who, but can't help listening along anyway. I must be doing something right.

By the end of the episode, I was completely sold. The reason people love the Tenth Planet Cybermen so much is that, in the actual episodes, they really are fantastic. I'm really hoping that tomorrow I'll find myself falling even further in love with them, but yeah, suffice to say that they've won me over pretty darn quick.

The first (proper) appearance of the Cybermen isn't the most important thing about today's episode, though. At least not by the standards of this marathon. William Hartnell doesn't appear in tomorrow's edition, because he was too unwell to take part. Episode Four of the story doesn't exist in the archives (save for a few brief clips and - mercifully - the actual regeneration itself), which means that I'll be listening to the narrated soundtrack of that one to round out the story… and the First Doctor's era. That means that today is the last time that I get to see William Hartnell take part in a full episode.

(He'll turn up as a cameo in The Three Doctors later in the year, but this is his last proper appearance for me. I'll discuss more about his time in full after Episode Four, in a special 'First Doctor Overview' post, so I'm not going to be getting all nostalgic for his time here and now. All the same, I couldn't let this moment pass without saying something.)

It's a good job, then, that he gets a pretty good part to sink his teeth into here. The Doctor is on fine form, ordering around members of the base, taking quiet satisfaction when he's proved right and no one has believed him, and giving one of the more famous speeches from his era. 'The emotions! Love! Pride! Hate! Fear! Have you no emotions, sir?' is one of those First Doctor moments that fans just know. It's up there with the whole 'One day, I shall come back' speech, and quite rightly so.

8/10 

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 138: The Tenth Planet, Episode One

Dear diary,

RIght then! Here we are! The Tenth Planet! Arguably one of the most important stories in the entire, 50-year history of Doctor Who. Not only is it responsible for the introduction of the Cybermen - who, I'd argue, are one of the most recognisable monsters from the programme, up there with the Daleks - but also the first story to change from one incarnation of the Doctor into another. Without this story, the history of the show could have gone very differently.

And you know what? I've never seen it. Thinking about it now, I'm not quite sure why I've never seen it. I've owned the VHS for almost a decade now, but when I came to watch it today, I had to actually unwrap the tape. That felt novel. It's been a good few years since I've had to unwrap the plastic on a VHS tape. Im sure there's been several occasions over the years where I've sat down with the intention to watch it, but for one reason or another, I've simply never made it through to even starting on the story.

Still, for me here and now on the 138th day of this marathon, it's a good thing that I've never seen the story before. It feels strange to be so far through that I'm almost out of William Hartnell-era Doctor Who, and I'm glad that the last Hartnell story I'll see is the last Hartnell story. It would have been a shame to go out on The Smugglers or something.

So, another story and another new way of doing the titles. Here, they appear on screen following a jumble of letters. It's another attempt to be futuristic and represent computers, as in The War Machines, but here the title and the letters are overlaid to shots of technical equipment, and follow on from a shot of a rocket taking off. It's a different setting to open in, but it works.

More and more lately (since the early part of Season Three) tracking shots that end with the TARDIS materialising have become fairly common. That's not a complaint - they're always done well, and it looks fantastic appearing into the snow-swept landscape on show here. It's also nicely led in following discussion of looking out through the periscope of the base. It's a shame that the inside of the TARDIS isn't really looking up to much at the moment. The doors are the most noticeably damaged bit, with the backs of the top roundels sitting lower than they should, leaving a very obvious gap on the set. It's very noticeable in some shots from The Smugglers of the Doctor and his companions in the ship, and it's a shame to see the same is true of the actual episodes themselves.

Stepping outside, the snow effect really works for the most part. It's at its best during some close-up shots of the regulars, where the thickness of it really does help to sell the effect. It probably helps that because I'm watching on a VHS, with less of a polish that the DVD will have later this year, things are looking a bit rough round the edges - some of the less-well-realised parts of the snow are probably covered up a little.

Elsewhere, many of the effects on show come across as looking a bit like a 1950s B-movie. When the Doctor and friends crowd round a screen and watch as the mysterious Tenth Planet approaches (and just how fast is it spinning? Malaysia comes around twice in about a minute!) it looks pretty hokey. A shame, because I'd have loved this to be the stand-out shot from the episode. In many ways, it feels like a step backward, and I imagine I'd be more forgiving of the effect had it occurred back in Season One. Coming now, though, after stories like The Ark have pulled off better effects as if they were child's play, it's disappointing.

I'll discuss the Cybermen properly tomorrow, once they've fully arrived in the story, but I can't go by without mentioning today's cliffhanger. It's one of those moments that most fans of the series have seen in one shape or another, as the silver giant turns around, pulls off the cloak and kills a couple of guards. It's a striking moment, and easily becomes the best part of the episode. There's a great, lingering close-up on the Cyberman's face, really making sure that the image has bled into your brain for the next week, while you wait to find out what on Earth it is…

6/10 

BBC Books have sent DWO the covers and details for the forthcoming Classic Series, Doctor Who Target reprints.

Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet

Written by: Gerry Davis - Introduction by: Tom MacRae

The TARDIS brings the Doctor and his friends to a space tracking base in the Antarctic - and straight into trouble.  A space mission is going badly wrong, and a new planet has appeared in the sky.

Mondas, ancient fabled twin planet of Earth has returned. Soon its inhabitants arrive. But while they used to be just like the humans of Earth, now they are very different.   Devoid of emotions, their bodies replaced with plastic and steel, the Cybermen are here.

Humanity needs all the help it can get, but the one man who seems to know what's going on is terminally ill. As the Cybermen take over, the Doctor is dying...

This novel is based on the final story to feature the First Doctor, which was originally broadcast from 8 to 29 October 1966.  This was the first Doctor Who story to feature the Cybermen. Featuring the First Doctor in his very last adventure as played by William Hartnell, and his companions Ben and Polly.

Doctor Who and the Ice Warriors

Written by: Brian Hayles - Introduction by: Mark Gatiss

The world is in the grip of a second Ice Age. Despite a coordinated global effort, the glaciers still advance.  But they are not the only threat to the planet.

Buried deep in the ice, scientists at Britannicus Base have discovered an ancient warrior. But this is no simple archaeological find.  What they have found is the commander of a spaceship that crashed into the glacier thousands of years ago.  Thawed from the ice, and knowing their home planet Mars is now a dead world, the Ice Warriors decide to make Earth their own...

Can the Doctor and his friends overcome the warlike Martians and halt the advance of the glaciers?

This novel is based on a Doctor Who story which was originally broadcast from 11 November to 16 December 1967. This was the first Doctor Who story to feature the Ice Warriors. Featuring the Second Doctor as played by Patrick Troughton, and his companions Jamie and Victoria.

Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks

Written By: Terrance Dicks - Introduction by: Gary Russell

UNIT is called in when an important diplomat is attacked in his own home - by a man who then vanishes into thin air.  The Doctor and Jo spend a night in the 'haunted' house and meet the attackers - who have time-jumped back from the 22nd century in the hope of changing history.

Travelling forward in time, the Doctor and Jo find themselves trapped in a future world where humans are slaves and the Daleks have already invaded.  Using their ape-like servants to Ogrons to maintain order, the Daleks are now the masters of Earth.

As the Doctor desperately works to discover what has happened to put history off-track, the Daleks plan a time-jump attack on the 20th century.

This novel is based on a Doctor Who story which was originally broadcast from 1 to 22 January 1972. Featuring the Third Doctor as played by Jon Pertwee, with his companion Jo Grant and the UNIT organisation commanded by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

Doctor Who: The Three Doctors

Written by: Terrance Dicks - Introduction by: Alastair Reynolds

A mysterious black hole is draining away power from the Universe. Even the Time Lords are threatened.  The Doctor is also in trouble.  Creatures from the black hole besiege UNIT Headquarters. The only person who can help the Doctor is... himself. 

The Time Lords bring together the first three incarnations of the Doctor to discover the truth about the black hole and stop the energy drain. 

The Doctors and their companions travel through the black hole itself, into a universe of anti-matter.  Here they meet one of the very first Time Lords - Omega, who gave his race the power to travel through time.  Trapped for aeons in the black hole, he now plans to escape - whatever the cost. 

This novel is based on a Doctor Who story which was originally broadcast from 30 December 1972 to 20 January 1973. Featuring the first three Doctors as played by William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee, together with Jo Grant and the UNIT organisation commanded by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

Doctor Who and the Ark in Space

Written by: Ian Marter - Introduction by: Steven Moffat

The survivors of a devastated future Earth lie in suspended animation on a great satellite.  When Earth is safe again, they will awaken. But when the Doctor, Sarah and Harry arrive on the Terra Nova, they find the systems have failed and the humans never woke.

The Wirrrn Queen has infiltrated the satellite, and laid her eggs inside one of the sleepers.  As the first of the humans wake, they face an attack by the emerging Wirrrn.

But not everyone is what they seem, and the only way the Doctor can discover the truth is by joining with the dead mind of the Wirrrn Queen.  The price of failure is the Doctor's death, and the end of humanity.

This novel is based on a Doctor Who story which was originally broadcast from 25 January to 15 February 1975. Featuring the Fourth Doctor as played by Tom Baker, and his companions Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan.

Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster

Written by: Terrance Dicks - Introduction by: Michael Moorcock

Centuries ago, a Zygon spaceship crash landed in Loch Ness.  Now, with their home planet destroyed, the alien creatures plan to take over Earth.  Their most powerful weapon is a huge armoured dinosaur-like creature of terrifying power that they brought to earth as an embryo - the Loch Ness Monster. 

The Doctor, Sarah and Harry soon discover that the Zygons have another weapon. They can assume the identity of any human they capture.  Who knows which of their friends might really be a Zygon?

UNIT faces one of its toughest battles as Broton, Warlord of the Zygons, puts his plan into action and the Loch Ness Monster attacks.

This novel is based on a Doctor Who story which was originally broadcast from 30 August to 20 September 1975. Featuring the Fourth Doctor as played by Tom Baker, with his companions Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan and the UNIT organisation commanded by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

+  The books are released on 10th May 2012, priced £4.99 each.

+  Compare Prices for this product on CompareTheDalek.com!

[Source: BBC Books]