Frontier in Space

Last updated

067 –Frontier in Space
Doctor Who serial
Cast
Others
Production
Directed by Paul Bernard
Written by Malcolm Hulke
Script editor Terrance Dicks
Produced by Barry Letts
Executive producer(s)None
Music by Dudley Simpson
Production codeQQQ
Series Season 10
Running time6 episodes, 25 minutes each
First broadcast24 February 1973 (1973-02-24)
Last broadcast31 March 1973 (1973-03-31)
Chronology
← Preceded by
Carnival of Monsters 		Followed by →
Planet of the Daleks
List of episodes (1963–1989)

Frontier in Space is the third serial of the tenth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who . The serial was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 24 February to 31 March 1973. It was the last serial to feature Roger Delgado as the Master.

Contents

The serial is set on the Earth, the Moon, Draconia, and the home planet of the Ogrons in the 26th century. In the serial, the Daleks employ the Master to provoke a war between the human and Draconian galactic empires.

Plot

The Third Doctor and Jo arrive on an Earth cargo ship in the 26th century after a near hyperspace collision. In this time the Empire of Earth is on the verge of war with the Draconian Empire, after cargo ships on both sides claim that the other side is raiding said cargo ships. After a piercing noise in the air the crew of the cargo ship are indeed attacked, but while the crew envisions the Draconian forces, they are actually being attacked by the Ogrons who were previously under the employ of the Daleks. They gut the ship of all cargo and steal the TARDIS.

The Doctor and Jo are blamed by the crew of the cargo ship, and are taken into custody. They undergo Interrogation through the mind probe and various escape and rescue attempts by the Draconians at first and then The Ogrons themselves, that all fail. Soon afterwards the Doctor is sent to a prison on Earths Moon without Jo.

Diplomatic relations break down and the Draconian Ambassador is ordered back to Draconia to report to his father The Emperor. Meanwhile a representative of an earth dominion arrives to take Jo into custody with a full criminal record for her and The Doctor, this officer of the law is actually the Master who is the one behind the Ogron attacks with a device that amplifies the fear centers of the mind.

After an unsuccessful attempt by himself to escape the Moon Prison The Doctor is also transffered to the "custody" of The Master who intends to escort The Doctor and Jo to the Ogron planet, but before this is accomplished they are intercepted by a real Draconian ship that diverts their course to Draconia and their Emperor, where the Masters plot has been exposed due to a failed attempt by the Ogrons to rescue the Master and The Doctor. An Ogron is left behind.

With the assistance of the Draconian Ambassador they intend to reveal the Ogron to the President of Earth to reveal the Truth, but The Master intercepts them, rescues the Ogron, and abducts Jo after an Earth ship arrests The Doctor and the Ambassador. Brought before the President of Earth who is not disposed to the idea of an all out war, they along with one General Williams who is responsible for a previous conflict regrettably decides to mount an expedition to the Ogron planet.

Resisting the control of The Master through hypnosis and the fear device, Jo sends a distress signal that The Doctor and the expedition follow to the Ogron Planet. It is revealed that The Ogrons along with The Master are under the employ of The Daleks who are pushing for the war between the two empires before launching an invasion force they've been preparing. The Doctor helps General Willams and the Draconian Ambassador escape the Orgon Planet to inform their respective empires of the Truth.

Jo leads The Doctor to where The Master has kept The TARDIS, but he holds them at gunpoint along with The Ogrons, The Doctor uses the fear device and a dangerous clash of guns between The Master and Ogrons allows them to escape, though The Doctor is injured in the scuffle.

The Doctor, barely conscious, asks Jo to help him into the TARDIS. He staggers over to the console, de-materialising the ship then using the telepathic circuits, sends a message to the Time Lords, in an effort to follow the Daleks.

Production

The titles for Frontier in Space were prepared, alongside the previous serial, Carnival of Monsters , with a new arrangement of the theme music performed by Paddy Kingsland on a synthesiser. Known as the "Delaware" arrangement (the BBC Radiophonic Workshop was based on Delaware Road in west London), it proved unpopular with BBC executives, so the original Delia Derbyshire theme was restored, although an early edit of episode 5 still contains the "Delaware" music and was used for the VHS release. This early edit of episode 5 with the Delaware theme featured a longer reprise at the beginning of the episode compared to the broadcast version of episode 5.

The 3 Daleks which appear in the final episode were the same props which had been used in Day of the Daleks. [1]

The final sequence in the Master's headquarters was intended to contain the giant Ogron-eating monster, but director Paul Bernard did not like the costume and omitted it, leaving the scene with just frightened Ogrons running away from something unseen. Producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks felt the sequence lacked impact and a new ending was filmed in the TARDIS as part of the first production block of the following story, Planet of the Daleks . Frontier in Space was Paul Bernard's last Doctor Who work.

Jon Pertwee considered the Draconians to be his favourite monster as the rubber and latex masks used allowed the actors playing them to employ a full range of facial expressions. [2] Recalling the production of this story he noted that filming near the Hayward Gallery at the South Bank was made difficult due to a number of "homeless people and drunks" lying around the area. According to Pertwee, Paul Bernard asked the stuntmen and actors who were on location in costume as Ogrons to ask these people to move to allow filming to proceed. [3]

When the wiping of episodes ended in 1978 it was discovered that episodes 1, 2, 3 & 6 had only survived as black and white telerecordings for overseas sales. In 1983, PAL copies were returned from ABC Television in Australia. [4]

Cast notes

This would be the last appearance of Roger Delgado as the Master, his final scene being the confusion outside the TARDIS with his shooting the Doctor, perhaps accidentally, then disappearing with the panicking Ogrons. Roger Delgado was killed in a car crash in Turkey less than three months after this episode's UK broadcast. [5]

John Woodnutt had previously played Hibbert in Spearhead from Space (1970) and would later play the dual roles of Broton and the Duke of Forgill in Terror of the Zygons (1975) as well as Seron in The Keeper of Traken (1981). Luan Peters had previously appeared in The Macra Terror (1967) under her stage name Karol Keyes. Caroline Hunt previously appeared in The Reign of Terror (1964). Louis Mahoney later appeared as Ponti in Planet of Evil (1975) and as Billy Shipton in Blink (2007).

Harold Goldblatt had previously appeared with Jon Pertwee in a 1938 radio production in Belfast entitled Lillibullero, which was one of Pertwee's earliest radio performances. [3]

Broadcast and reception

EpisodeTitleRun timeOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)  [6] 		Archive  [7]
1"Episode One"23:2724 February 1973 (1973-02-24)9.1PAL 2" colour videotape
2"Episode Two"24:103 March 1973 (1973-03-03)7.8PAL 2" colour videotape
3"Episode Three"24:0010 March 1973 (1973-03-10)7.5PAL 2" colour videotape
4"Episode Four"23:3517 March 1973 (1973-03-17)7.1PAL 2" colour videotape
5"Episode Five"23:5724 March 1973 (1973-03-24)7.7PAL 2" colour videotape
6"Episode Six"24:4431 March 1973 (1973-03-31)8.9PAL 2" colour videotape

According to the BBC's Audience Research Report, Frontier in Space was well received by viewers at the time of broadcast. [8] Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping wrote of the serial in The Discontinuity Guide (1995), "Worthy, very well directed and designed to the hilt with a solid costuming policy for both empires. However, it's obviously padded in parts." [9] In The Television Companion (1998), David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker stated that the story worked "brilliantly", with the production design "[putting] the whole thing on a suitably grand scale". [8]

In 2010, Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times awarded it four stars out of five and recalled that it was "surprising and exciting" on first viewing, though in retrospect it seemed to be "a lumbering wannabe-epic with screeds of padding, duff cliffhangers and endless scenes of the Doctor and Jo banged up". He praised the Draconians and Ogrons, but felt that "the fact that the heroes spend perhaps two-thirds of the story locked up is tiresome and cannot be overlooked". [10] DVD Talk's John Sinnott noted that the story was "talky" and had a lot of padding, but that it got "much better" when the Master was revealed. [11] In the book Doctor Who: The Episode Guide, Mark Campbell awarded it four out of ten, describing it as "an overlong and uninteresting space opera—a genre Doctor Who has never done well. Delgado's exit is particularly badly handled." [12]

Peter Capaldi, who played the Twelfth Doctor, has said it is one of his favourite serials of the classic seasons. [13]

Commercial releases

In print

Doctor Who and the Space War
Doctor Who and the Space War.jpg
Author Malcolm Hulke
Cover artist Chris Achilleos [14]
Series Doctor Who book:
Target novelisations
Release number
57
Publisher Target Books
Publication date
23 September 1976
ISBN 0-426-11033-1

A novelisation of this serial, written by Malcolm Hulke, was published by Target Books in September 1976 under the title Doctor Who and the Space War. This was the last time Target would give a novelisation a substantially different title than that of the serial on which it was based. The novel abandons the cliffhanger ending of the televised program and has the Doctor simply leaving the Master on the Ogron world to pursue the Daleks. An unabridged reading of the novelisation by actor Geoffrey Beevers was released on CD in February 2008 by BBC Audiobooks.

Home media

The story was released on VHS in August 1995. Episode 5 uses the "Delaware" music mentioned above. The final episode of this story was also issued on The Pertwee Years VHS release, along with the final episodes of both Inferno (1970) and The Dæmons (1971). The serial was released on DVD on 5 October 2009 as part of the box set "Dalek War", alongside Planet of the Daleks. [15] It was released on Blu-ray as part of "The Collection - Season 10" boxed set in July 2019.

Notes

  1. 1 2 A caption slide from the end credits of Episode One was reused accidentally for Episode Two. This resulted in Lawrence Davison (Draconian First Secretary) and Timothy Craven (Cell Guard) not being credited on-screen, though they were billed in Radio Times, and Louis Mahoney (Newscaster) and Roy Pattison (Draconian Space Pilot) – both of whom appeared only in Episode One – being repeated.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Delgado</span> British actor (1918–1973)

Roger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado Torres Castillo Roberto was a British actor. He played many roles on television, radio and in films, and had "a long history of playing minor villains" before becoming best known as the first actor to play the Master in Doctor Who (1971–73).

Planet of the Daleks is the fourth serial of the tenth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 7 April to 12 May 1973. It was the first Dalek story to be written by their creator Terry Nation since 1965’s The Daleks' Master Plan.

The War Games is the seventh and final serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969.

Terror of the Autons is the first serial of the eighth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 2 to 23 January 1971.

Day of the Daleks is the first serial of the ninth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 1 to 22 January 1972. It was the first of four Third Doctor serials to feature the Daleks, which returned to the series for the first time since The Evil of the Daleks (1967).

The Curse of Peladon is the second serial of the ninth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 29 January to 19 February 1972.

The Time Warrior is the first serial of the 11th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 15 December 1973 to 5 January 1974. The serial introduced Elisabeth Sladen as new companion Sarah Jane Smith. It also marked the debut of the Sontaran race. The serial also introduces the name of the Doctor's home planet, Gallifrey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Doctor</span> Fictional character from Doctor Who

The Third Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who travels in time and space in the TARDIS, frequently with companions. At the end of life, the Doctor regenerates. Consequently, both the physical appearance and personality of the Doctor changes. Preceded in regeneration by the Second Doctor, he is followed by the Fourth Doctor.

Planet of the Spiders is the fifth and final serial of the 11th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 4 May to 8 June 1974. It was Jon Pertwee's final regular appearance as the Third Doctor, the last regular appearance of Mike Yates, and marks the first, uncredited appearance of Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. This serial introduces the term "regenerate" to explain the Doctor's transformation into another appearance. It also contains the first mention in the series of future companion Harry Sullivan.

Carnival of Monsters is the second serial of the tenth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 27 January to 17 February 1973.

Resurrection of the Daleks is the fourth serial of the 21st season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on BBC1 between 8 February and 15 February 1984. The serial was intended to be transmitted as four 23-minute episodes but a late scheduling change by the BBC meant that it was transmitted as two episodes of 46 minutes; reruns restored it to its intended format.

Terror of the Zygons is the first serial of the thirteenth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 30 August to 20 September 1975. The serial was written by Robert Banks Stewart and directed by Douglas Camfield.

The Claws of Axos is the third serial of the eighth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 13 March to 3 April 1971.

<i>The Ark</i> (<i>Doctor Who</i>) 1966 Doctor Who serial

The Ark is the sixth serial of the third season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 to 26 March 1966.

Death to the Daleks is the third serial of the 11th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 23 February to 16 March 1974.

Colony in Space is the fourth serial of the eighth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 10 April to 15 May 1971.

The Time Monster is the fifth and final serial of the ninth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 20 May to 24 June 1972.

<i>Slipback</i> 1985 Doctor Who radio play

Slipback is a radio audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced by the BBC and first broadcast in six episodes on BBC Radio 4 from 25 July to 8 August 1985, as part of a children's magazine show called Pirate Radio Four. It was later released on cassette and CD, most recently by BBC Audio and free with the 27 April 2010 edition of The Daily Telegraph newspaper via WHSmith.

<i>The Paradise of Death</i> 1993 Doctor Who radio play

The Paradise of Death is a 5-part BBC radio drama, based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and starring Jon Pertwee as the Doctor.

<i>Doctor Who</i> season 10 Season of television series

The tenth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 30 December 1972 with the tenth anniversary special The Three Doctors, and ended with Katy Manning's final serial The Green Death. This is the Third Doctor's fourth series, as well as fourth for producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks.

References

  1. ↑ "BBC One - Doctor Who, Season 10, Frontier in Space - the Fourth Dimension".
  2. ↑ Pertwee, Jon; Howe, David J. (1996). I am the Doctor:Jon Pertwee's Final Memoir. London: Doctor Who Books, Virgin Publishing Ltd. pp. 81 & 97. ISBN   1-85227-621-5.
  3. 1 2 Pertwee, Jon; Howe, David J. (1996). I am the Doctor:Jon Pertwee's Final Memoir. London: Doctor Who Books, Virgin Publishing Ltd. p. 98. ISBN   1-85227-621-5.
  4. ↑ "The Destruction of Time: Timeline".
  5. ↑ "Frontier in Space ★★★★".
  6. ↑ "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  7. ↑ Lyon, Shaun; et al. (31 March 2007). "Frontier in Space". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 12 December 2004. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  8. 1 2 Howe, David J & Walker, Stephen James (1998). Doctor Who: The Television Companion (1st ed.). London: BBC Books. ISBN   978-0-563-40588-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)[ permanent dead link ]
  9. ↑ Cornell, Paul; Day, Martin; Topping, Keith (1995). "Frontier in Space". The Discontinuity Guide . London: Virgin Books. ISBN   0-426-20442-5.
  10. ↑ Mulkern, Patrick (28 January 2010). "Doctor Who: Frontier in Space". Radio Times . Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  11. ↑ Sinnott, John (23 February 2010). "Doctor Who Dalek War: Frontier in Space & Planet of the Daleks". DVD Talk . Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  12. ↑ Campbell, Mark (2010). Doctor Who: The Episode Guide (4th ed.). Pocket Essentials. ISBN   978-1842433485 . Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  13. ↑ "Peter Capaldi reveals his 10 favourite 'Doctor Who' eps to watch on a rainy day - Page 2 of 3". 26 July 2015.
  14. ↑ "Chris Achilléos | the Space War".[ permanent dead link ]
  15. ↑ "BBC One - Doctor Who, Season 10, Frontier in Space - the Fourth Dimension".

Target novelisation

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.