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Drahvins and the Chumblies
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 The Rills tell The Doctor that the dried-up planet is about to die. Back in the control room of the TARDIS, he discovers they are right, but things are worse than they thought. There is only one day of life left - one day to escape.
When the TARDIS lands on an arid planet, it seems as though the whole place is desolate and lifeless. But then The Doctor, Steven and Vicki discover two crashed spaceships: one contains the Drahyins, a race of stunning beauty, the other contains the hideous Rills. However, as the team soon find out, appearances can be deceptive. It emerges that the beauty of the Drahvins hides a colony of mindless clones who are controlled by the cruel, powerful matriarch Maaga, whereas the ugly Rills are friendly and intelligent explorers.
With the Drahvins’ ship damaged beyond repair, can the Rills get off the planet before the evil Maaga hijacks their craft in her own effort to escape?
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| | Source: BBC Audio | |
| Season: |
Three
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| Production
Code: |
T |
| Story Number: |
18
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| Episode Numbers: | 82 - 85 |
| Number of
Episodes: |
4 | | Number of Incomplete/Missing Episodes: | 3 | | Percentage of Episodes Held: | 25% | | Alternative Titles: | "Galaxy Four" | | Working Titles: | "The Chumblies" |
| Production
Dates: |
June - July 1965 |
| Broadcast Started: | 11 September 1965 | | Broadcast Finished: | 02 October 1965 |
| Colour Status: |
B&W |
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Studio: |
Ealing Television Film Studios and BBC Television Centre (TC3 and TC4) |
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Location: |
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| Writer: | William Emms | | Director: | Derek Martinus | | Producer: | Verity Lambert | | Story Editor: | Donald Tosh | | Production Assistant: | Angela Gordon | | Assistant Floor Managers: | Marjorie Yorke and Sue Willis | | Designer: | Richard Hunt | | Costume Designer: | Daphne Dare | | Make-Up Designer: | Sonia Markham | | Lighting: | Derek Hobday and Ralph Walton | | Incidental Music: | From Stock | | Special Sounds (SFX Editor): | Brian Hodgson | | Studio Sounds: | George Prince | | Title Sequence: | Bernard Lodge | | Title Music: | Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Arranged by Delia Derbyshire |
| Number of
Doctors: |
1 | | The Doctor: |
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| Number of
Companions: |
2 | | The Companions: |
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| Additional Cast: |
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Stephanie Bidmead (Maaga), Marina Martin (Drahvin One), Susanna Carroll (Drahvin Two), Lyn Ashley (Drahvin Three), Jimmy Kaye (Chumblie), William Shearer (Chumblie), Angelo Muscat (Chumblie), Pepi Poupée (Chumblie), Tommy Reynolds (Chumblie), Robert Cartland (Rill Voice), Barry Jackson (Garvey) |
| | Setting: |
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Villain: | Drahvins
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| No. |
Episodes |
Broadcast
(UK) |
Duration |
Viewers
(Millions) |
In
Archive |
| 82 | Four Hundred Dawns | 11 September 1965 | 22'21" | 9.0 | Missing | | 83 | Trap of Steel | 18 September 1965 | 24'51" | 9.5 | Missing | | 84 | Air Lock | 25 September 1965 | 24'19" | 11.3 | 16mm telerecording | | 85 | The Exploding Planet | 02 October 1965 | 24'47" | 9.9 | Missing |
| Total Duration |
1 Hour 36 Minutes |
| Average Viewers
(Millions) |
9.9 |
| Doctor Who Magazine Poll (1998) | 58.16%  (Position = 130 out of 159) | | Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2009) | 55.51%  (Position = 172 out of 200) | | Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2014) | 57.98%  (Position = 210 out of 241) | | Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2023) | Position = 26 out of 29 |
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Only episode 3 exists as a 16mm telerecording. Also a very limited number of photographic images exist. About 6 minutes of footage exists from "Four Hundred Dawns". Including a clip used on the BBC program The Lively Arts, a film print of a telerecording held by a fan and portions of an 8mm home movie reel shot off a television set. |
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