UU. The Mind Robber

  • Script Editor: Derrick Sherwin;
  • Writers: Derrick Sherwin (1 - uncredited) and Peter Ling (2-5);
  • Produced by: Peter Bryant;
  • Director: David Maloney;
  • Designer: Evan Hercules;
  • Incidental Music: Stock;
  • Fight Arranger: BH Barry (4) and John Greenwood (5);

Programme Description

To escape the volcanic eruptions on the planet Dulkis the Doctor moves the TARDIS out of normal space/time. The TARDIS materialises inside a white void, although each of the TARDIS crew sees their own home on the scanner. The illusions are designed to get each of the crew outside the TARDIS - and they work.

The Doctor manages to find both Jamie and Zoe and get them back inside the TARDIS. On take-off, the TARDIS seems to explode, and the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe find themselves in a land of fiction.

The world in which they have landed can be quite savage, using a variety of tricks in order to trap the Doctor. Zoe is trapped inside a glass jar, and Jamie has a change of face after the Doctor gets it wrong. Along with all this they have to escape from clockwork soldiers.

The Doctor eventually finds the Master (no apparent relation to the Time Lord Master), who is a writer from 1926. The Master controls the world via the Master Brain computer, and whatever he writes becomes true. The Master Brain wants to use the Doctor; it comes to a battle of wits, which the Doctor wins, and the Master is freed.

Regular Cast

  • Jamie McCrimmon: Frazer Hines;
  • Zoe Heriot: Wendy Padbury;

Guest Cast

  • The Master: Emrys Jones;
  • Robots: (all 1,4,5) John Atterbury, Ralph Carrigan, Bill Wiesner, Terry Wright;
  • Lemuel Gulliver: Bernard Horsfall (2-5 - credited as "A Stranger" for 2);
  • Jamie McCrimmon: Hamish Wilson (2-3);
  • Clockwork Soldiers: (all 2,3,5) Paul Alexander, Ian Hines, Richard Ireson;
  • Children: (all 2,5) Timothy Horton, Martin Langley, Sylvestre Le Touzel, Barbara Loft, Christopher Reynolds, David Reynolds;
  • Princess Rapunzel: Christine Pirie (3,5);
  • The Medusa: Sue Pulford (4-5);
  • The Karkus: Christopher Robbie (4-5);
  • D'Artagnan and Sir Lancelot: John Greenwood (5);
  • Cyrano De Begerac: David Cannon;
  • Blackbeard: Gerry Wain (5);

  • UNCREDITED CAST:
  • Redcoat: Philip Ryan (2-3);
  • Minotaur: Richard Ireson (2-3);

Transmissions

ChannelEpisodeTitleDateViewersPosition
BBC 1 215 Episode 1 Sat 14 Sep 1968 1417:20 - 17:40 6.6M 55th
BBC 1 216 Episode 2 Sat 21 Sep 1968 2117:20 - 17:40 6.5M 54th
BBC 1 217 Episode 3 Sat 28 Sep 1968 2817:20 - 17:40 7.2M 45th
BBC 1 218 Episode 4 Sat 5 Oct 1968 517:20 - 17:40 7.3M 44th
BBC 1 219 Episode 5 Sat 12 Oct 1968 1217:20 - 17:40 6.7M 54th

Repeat Transmissions

ChannelTitleDateViewersPosition
BBC 2 Episode 1 Fri 31 Jan 1992 18:50 - 19:10 2.67M 16th
BBC 2 Episode 2 Fri 7 Feb 1992 18:50 - 19:10 2.64M 20th
BBC 2 Episode 31 Fri 14 Feb 1992 19:40 - 20:00 1.50M
BBC 2 Episode 41 Fri 21 Feb 1992 19:40 - 20:00 1.50M
BBC 2 Episode 5 Fri 28 Feb 1992 18:50 - 19:10 3.46M 14th

1: Outside the top 30

Locations

  • Harrison Rocks, Groombridge, Kent;
  • Croydon Airfield;

Studios

  • Television Centre Studio 3;
  • Live Grove Studio D;
  • Ealing Television Film Studios;

Bloopers and Mistakes

This programme has no bloopers or mistakes. It's probably not perfect, just that they haven't been found or pointed out yet

Notes and Trivia

Originally a four part story, Derrick Sherwin added an episode when The Dominators was reduced from six to five episodes. As a result Episode 1 has no writer credit.

Due to Frazer Hines becoming ill Hamish Wilson took over the part of Jamie for parts of Episodes 2 and 3.

Working Titles

Manpower
The Fact of Fiction
Web Hosting by Pipe Ten Contact Nigel Ellis

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