In this serial, the Doctor (William Hartnell) and his new travelling companions Ben and Polly (Michael Craze and Anneke Wills) arrive on the coast of seventeenth-century Cornwall – much to the astonishment of Polly and Ben. Pirates led by Captain Samuel Pike (Michael Godfrey) and his henchman Cherub (George A. Cooper) are searching for a hidden treasure, while a smuggling ring masterminded by the local squire Edwards (Paul Whitsun-Jones) is trying to off-load contraband. Although audio recordings, still photographs, and clips of the story exist, no episodes of this serial are known to have survived.
Plot
The First Doctor and his new companions,Ben and Polly, arrive in the TARDIS on the coast of seventeenth century Cornwall. They meet churchwarden Joseph Longfoot, who lives in fear of Captain Avery's crew and imparts a cryptic message he calls "Deadman's secret key". After the time travellers leave, Longfoot is visited by Cherub, Longfoot's former shipmate under Avery on the Black Albatross. Cherub and Captain Samuel Pike, Avery's successor, want to recover Avery's gold. Pike is convinced that Longfoot knows the treasure's whereabouts. Cherub kills Longfoot, who mentioned the three travellers.
The local Squire charges Ben and Polly with the murder of Longfoot, causing them to split up. Ben hides at the church, meeting Josiah Blake, a revenue man tracking the local smugglers. The Doctor is kidnapped by Cherub and taken to the Albatross. Pike forms an alliance with the Squire, who is the organiser of the smuggling ring and offers to cut Pike and his pirates in. They are interrupted by Polly, who has come to implore the Squire to help her find the Doctor.
Pike, Cherub and the Squire capture Polly and Ben, and take them to the church. They attempt to convince Blake that Ben and Polly are the true smugglers. Knowing the truth, Blake pretends to arrest Ben and Polly. The Doctor escapes and meets up with his friends in the churchyard. Blake works out a smuggling drop is due and heads off for more revenue men to break the smuggling ring.
The alliance collapses, as the Squire recognises the pirate's dishonour. Cherub, the Squire and the time travellers set off to find the gold. The Doctor works out Longfoot's hint pertains to graves in the crypt but before he can find the treasure, the other seekers arrive. Cherub wounds the Squire, and forces the Doctor to confess the hint. Cherub concludes that Deadman too is a name in the crypt, but is slain by a vengeful Pike, who now threatens the village. The Doctor bargains with Pike for the lives of the villagers if he shows him the treasure and they find the gold at the intersection of the hinted graves.
As Pike finds the treasure, Blake and an armed patrol arrive. Aided by the injured and repentant Squire, Blake kills Pike, and the pirate force is routed. As the battle ends, the Doctor and his companions slip away to the TARDIS.
Production
All four episodes of this serial are considered missing. Due to the story's unusual amount of violence for the time, it was heavily censored; pieces of Australian censor footage survive, mainly depicting the piratical villains.
Filming
Location shooting for the costal scenes took place in Nanjizal Bay in Cornwall
This was the last story filmed in the third season's production block, although it was held over until the beginning of the fourth season. During filming, the production team realized that William Hartnell's health had deteriorated beyond the point where he could continue to work. Many months' discussion about replacing Hartnell finally came to a head, and Innes Lloyd decided not to renew Hartnell's contract. It is unclear whether Hartnell was contractually obliged to appear in The Tenth Planet or whether he agreed to do so after being informed of Lloyd's decision.[citation needed]
This was the first Doctor Who story to feature major location shooting. In all previous serials, location shots had been conducted at locations around London, but substantial portions of this story were filmed in Cornwall. Locations included Trethewey Farm, Nanjizal Bay, St Grada's Church, Grade and Church Cove.[2][3][4]
On initial airing, this story posted the lowest audience figures since the show began, at an average of 4.48 million viewers per episode. It would remain the least-watched Doctor Who serial for twenty years, until The Trial of a Time Lord: The Mysterious Planet aired in 1986.[citation needed][7]
In 2002, Interzone's Paul Beardsley reviewed the CD release as "an amiable but unremarkable purely historical yarn set in 17th century Cornwall" but remarked "[Anneke Wills]'s very good, and I hope she'll return to do The Underwater Menace."[8]
In a review for the Radio Times, Patrick Mulkern praised the "excellent cast", though noting that the character of Jamaica was "a dodgy caricature that would be inconceivable in modern drama." Mulkern was also impressed by the authentic Cornwall locations, "a terrific bonus that allows the production to breathe."[9]
The soundtrack for the story exists due to fan-made off-air audio recordings from the original 1966 broadcast. These have been released on CD together with linking narration provided by cast member Anneke Wills.[10] Several brief clips cut by Australian censors for violence were recovered in 1996 and were released on the Lost in TimeDVD box set in 2004. Also included in the set is amateur on-location colour film footage made during production at Trethewey Farm, Trethewey, Cornwall.
Notes
↑Character name listed on credits as "Churchwarden".
References
↑Wright, Mark, ed. (2016). "The Savages, The War Machines, The Smugglers and The Tenth Planet". Doctor Who: The Complete History. 8 (27). London: Panini Comics, Hachette Partworks: 98. ISSN2057-6048.
* Story is missing all episodes. † Missing content has been or is due to be reconstructed for commercial release using animation. ‡ Missing content has been or is due to be reconstructed for commercial release using available visual material.
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