The Abominable Snowmen

Last updated

038 The Abominable Snowmen
Doctor Who serial
Cast
Others
Production
Directed by Gerald Blake
Written by Mervyn Haisman
Henry Lincoln
Script editor Peter Bryant
Produced by Innes Lloyd
Music bynone [lower-alpha 2]
Production codeNN
Series Season 5
Running time6 episodes, 25 minutes each
Episode(s) missing 5 episodes (1, 3–6)
First broadcast30 September 1967 (1967-09-30)
Last broadcast4 November 1967 (1967-11-04)
Chronology
 Preceded by
The Tomb of the Cybermen
Followed by 
The Ice Warriors
List of Doctor Who episodes (1963–1989)

The Abominable Snowmen is the mostly missing second serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who , which originally aired in six weekly parts from 30 September to 4 November 1967.

Contents

In this serial, the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton), Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) and Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling) arrive in Tibet in 1935. The once gentle Yeti have turned savage and besieged a Buddhist monastery, under the orders of a higher being known as The Great Intelligence. After becoming ensnared in its plans, the crew join forces with Professor Edward Travers (Jack Watling) to stop the being and save the planet from conquest. The story is notable for the introduction of the Yeti and The Great Intelligence.

Only one of the six episodes is held in the BBC archives; five remain missing. The story was released in animated form on 5 September 2022. [2]

Plot

The TARDIS lands in Tibet in the Himalayas, where The Second Doctor finds a dead body amid the remains of a campsite. The Doctor arrives at Detsen Monastery, where he meets Professor Edward Travers, who is attempting to find the Yeti. It appears there have been some deaths recently, but the Professor says the Yeti cannot be the culprit because of its shy nature.

Meanwhile, Jamie and Victoria find a cave, in which they discover a chamber containing a pyramid of metal spheres. Suddenly, a Yeti moves the boulder that blocked the cave. They escape and head toward the monastery.

The Doctor has been accused of controlling the Yeti and placed on trial. Jamie and Victoria convince Prof. Travers that the Doctor is no threat. The trio return to the monastery and show the sphere to the Doctor, who turns it over to the monks. Padmasambhava, the master of the monastery, instructs one of the monks, Thonmi, to release the Doctor. Shortly afterward, the Yeti attack the monastery, during which one of them is overpowered and rendered dormant. The Doctor deduces it is a robot, controlled by a missing spherical unit from its chest cavity. Padmasambhava orders all the monks to evacuate.

When the Doctor and Jamie reach the TARDIS, they find it guarded by another Yeti, but the Doctor takes out its control sphere. They head back to the monastery, where the Doctor forges an alliance with Khrisong based on the need to enable the monks to stay at the monastery. Realising the monks will not leave peacefully, Abbot Songsten opens the gates of the monastery to more Yeti.

Victoria realises Padmasambhava is the one commanding the Yeti robots. He wipes her mind of their meeting and summons more Yeti to attack. The Doctor helps Victoria recover from her trance-like state and listens to Travers, who is recovering his senses and explains about the cave and the pyramid. The Doctor pieces together the nature of the threat while Travers recalls that Songsten was in the cave too. It is clear Songsten is the link between the Yeti and the monastery. The Doctor and his friends arrive and overpower Songsten. Songsten is bound and returned to the other monks, and the violence of his manner persuades them that he is the threat to Detsen.

The Doctor, Thonmi, and Jamie destroy the equipment being used to control the robotic Yeti. Left in peace, Padmasambhava dies. With the danger over, the travellers depart. Travers accompanies them up the mountain and his belief in the real Yeti is renewed when he spots one. He charges off to investigate as the TARDIS departs.

Production

EpisodeTitleRun timeOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [3]
Archive [4]
1"Episode One" 24:1530 September 1967 (1967-09-30)6.3Only stills and/or fragments exist
2"Episode Two"23:157 October 1967 (1967-10-07)6.016mm t/r
3"Episode Three" 23:5514 October 1967 (1967-10-14)7.1Only stills and/or fragments exist
4"Episode Four" 24:1121 October 1967 (1967-10-21)7.1Only stills and/or fragments exist
5"Episode Five" 23:5128 October 1967 (1967-10-28)7.2Only stills and/or fragments exist
6"Episode Six" 23:314 November 1967 (1967-11-04)7.4Only stills and/or fragments exist

^† Episode is missing

All episodes except for episode 2 are missing. [5] Brief clips from episode 4 exclusively focusing on the Yeti also exist.

The North Wales mountain pass at Nant Ffrancon doubled as Tibet for the filming of this serial. [6] Filming was done there from 4 to 9 September 1967. [6] According to Jack Watling one of the actors playing the Yeti fell hundreds of feet during filming and was feared dead, but was merely inebriated and fortunately cushioned by the foam rubber inside the costume. [7]

Cast notes

The character of Professor Travers is played by Jack Watling, the father of actress Deborah Watling, who plays Victoria. [7] Norman Jones later played Major Baker in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970) and Hieronymous in The Masque of Mandragora (1976). [8] Ralpachan is played by David Baron, often said to be the playwright Harold Pinter under a stage name. Pinter has since denied this rumour. David Baron was indeed Pinter's name for the purposes of Equity, the British actors' union, but he had relinquished it by the time this serial was produced.

Commercial releases

In print

Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen
Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen.jpg
Author Terrance Dicks
Cover artist Chris Achilleos
Series Doctor Who book:
Target novelisations
Release number
1
Publisher Target Books
Publication date
21 November 1974
ISBN 0-426-10583-4

A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in November 1974.

Audio

The audio soundtrack, along with additional linking narration by Frazer Hines, has been released on MP3 CD, along with The Web of Fear . [9] A collection box entitled "Yeti Attack" contains both Yeti adventures on normal CD. [10]

A vinyl release of the soundtrack, also with the Hines narration, was issued by Demon Records on 27 September 2019. This release has since become rare and difficult to come by. [11]

Video

In 1991, Episode 2 was released on VHS as part of "The Troughton Years". In 2004, that episode, along with a handful of clips gathered from other sources, were digitally restored and released on the Lost in Time DVD.

Animation

On 23 November 2021, it was announced that the story would be released on DVD and Blu-ray, with animations of all six episodes alongside the surviving Episode Two. [12] It was released on 5 September 2022. [2] Earlier that January, press reports emerged claiming that the BBC would no longer pursue animated reconstructions of serials with missing episodes due to BBC America withdrawing funding for the project. [13] Two days after the animated version of The Abominable Snowmen released, animation director Gary Russell confirmed the claims, additionally speculating that the BBC may revitalize the effort to reanimate missing episodes after an indefinite hiatus. Russell noted a preexisting precedent with prior reconstructions, stating that "these things are cyclic." [14]

Notes

  1. Wolfe Morris also supplied the voice of the Great Intelligence, uncredited.
  2. Two stock from the BBC library of recordings of prayers by the Monks of Sakya Set were featured diegetically in episodes 2, 3, 5, and 6, with no other music arranged for the serial. [1]

Related Research Articles

Yeti (<i>Doctor Who</i>)

The Yeti are fictional robots from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. They were originally created by Henry Lincoln and Mervyn Haisman, and first appeared in the 1967 serial The Abominable Snowmen, where they encountered the Second Doctor and his companions Jamie and Victoria.

The Evil of the Daleks is the mostly-missing ninth and final serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967.

The Five Doctors is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced in celebration of the programme's 20th anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago PBS station WTTW and various other PBS member stations on 23 November 1983, the anniversary date. It was transmitted on BBC1 in the United Kingdom two days later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Waterfield</span> UK TV Doctor Who character created 1967

Victoria Waterfield is a fictional character played by Deborah Watling in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A native of Victorian England, she was a companion of the Second Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1967 to 1968. Only two complete serials to feature her exist in the BBC archives. DVDs of her adventures The Evil of the Daleks, The Ice Warriors, The Web of Fear and Fury from the Deep were also released, where official BBC reconstructions complete the missing episodes of those serials.

The Mind Robber is the second serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in five weekly parts from 14 September to 12 October 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Watling</span> English actor (1923–2001)

Jack Stanley Watling was an English actor.

The Power of the Daleks is the completely missing third serial of the fourth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 5 November to 10 December 1966. It is the first full story to feature Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor.

The Moonbase is the half-missing sixth serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 11 February to 4 March 1967.

<i>Doctor Who</i> missing episodes Currently lost episodes of Doctor Who

Several portions of the long-running British science-fiction television programme Doctor Who are no longer held by the BBC. Between 1967 and 1978, the BBC routinely deleted archive programmes for various practical reasons—lack of space, scarcity of materials, and a lack of rebroadcast rights. As a result, 97 of 253 episodes from the programme's first six years are currently missing, primarily from seasons 3, 4 and 5, leaving 26 serials incomplete. Many more were considered lost until recovered from various sources, mostly overseas broadcasters.

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

The Second Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Patrick Troughton. While the Troughton era of Doctor Who is well-remembered by fans and in that era's Doctor Who literature, it is difficult to appraise in full; of his 119 episodes, 53 remain missing.

The Invasion is the partly missing third serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in eight weekly parts from 2 November to 21 December 1968.

The Ice Warriors is the partly missing third serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 11 November to 16 December 1967.

The Macra Terror is the completely missing seventh serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 11 March to 1 April 1967.

The Web of Fear is the partly missing fifth serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast in six weekly parts from 3 February to 9 March 1968.

The Enemy of the World is the fourth serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 23 December 1967 to 27 January 1968.

<i>Fury from the Deep</i> 1968 Doctor Who serial

Fury from the Deep is the completely missing sixth serial of the fifth season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 16 March to 20 April 1968.

<i>Downtime</i> (<i>Doctor Who</i>) 1994 Doctor Who spinoff film

Downtime is a direct-to-video spin-off of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was produced by the independent production company Reeltime Pictures. It is a sequel to the Second Doctor serials The Abominable Snowmen (1967) and The Web of Fear (1968).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Intelligence</span> Fictional character in the TV series Doctor Who

The Great Intelligence is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Although the Great Intelligence has no physical form, it is capable of communicating, both by itself and through possession, with other characters within the series. The Great Intelligence was originally created by Henry Lincoln and Mervyn Haisman and first appeared in the 1967 serial The Abominable Snowmen where it encountered the Second Doctor and his companions Jamie and Victoria. The Great Intelligence tries to form a physical body so as to conquer the Earth, making use of Yeti robots that resemble the cryptozoological creatures. Initially the Great Intelligence used the Yeti robots to scare off curiosity seekers, only later using them as an army. Both the Intelligence and the Yeti returned in its sequel The Web of Fear.

<i>Doctor Who</i> (season 5) Season of television series

The fifth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 2 September 1967 with the first story of season 5 The Tomb of the Cybermen and ended on 1 June 1968 with The Wheel in Space. Only 22 out of 40 episodes are held in the BBC archives; 18 remain missing. As a result, only 2 serials exist entirely. However, The Abominable Snowmen, The Ice Warriors, The Web of Fear, and Fury from the Deep have had their missing episodes reconstructed using animation.

<i>Doctor Who</i> (season 4) 1966/67 season of Doctor Who

The fourth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 10 September 1966 with the First Doctor story The Smugglers and, after a change of lead actor part-way through the series, ended on 1 July 1967 with The Evil of the Daleks. For the first time, the entire main cast changed over the course of a single season.

References

  1. Ainsworth, John, ed. (2016). "The Abominable Snowmen, The Ice Warriors, The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear". Doctor Who: The Complete History. London: Panini Comics, Hachette Partworks. 11 (20): 26–29. ISSN   2057-6048.
  2. 1 2 "The Abominable Snowmen' cover art and special features revealed". Doctor Who. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  3. "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  4. Shaun Lyon; et al. (31 March 2007). "The Abominable Snowmen". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  5. "The Abominable Snowmen ★★★★★".
  6. 1 2 "Doctor Who Locations". Archived from the original on 6 October 2006.
  7. 1 2 northwales Administrator (7 April 2013). "Doctor Who and the missing Yetis of Snowdonia". northwales.
  8. "BBC One - Doctor Who".
  9. Abominable Snowman Audio. ASIN   0563494182.
  10. Attack Radio Collection. ASIN   0563495359.
  11. "The Abominable Snowmen ( Deluxe Edition ) Vinyl LP".
  12. "Missing adventure 'The Abominable Snowmen' to be animated in 2022". wwww.doctorwho.tv. 23 November 2022.
  13. Craig, David. "Doctor Who animations of lost episodes 'cancelled'". Radio Times. Immediate Media Company. p. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  14. Jeffery, Morgan (7 September 2022). "Doctor Who director addresses animations hiatus: "This is it for us"". Radio Times. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 26 September 2022.

Target novelisation