Doctor Who - The Television Stories

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The Krotons

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Synopsis

A Kroton

As the TARDIS door opens onto a barren planet, The Doctor steps straight into a struggle to destroy the merciless Krotons, the unseen rulers of the Gond people. Conditioned to obey by teaching machines, the Gonds put up no resistance until, with The Doctor's help, they discover exactly what has been happening to their best students.

Battling against the Krotons' vast scientific knowledge The Doctor and Zoe must stop them turning mental power into pure energy. With a brave band of Gonds and Jamie, prepared to fight to the end, it may be defeat for the Krotons, but ultimately it will be a test of knowledge that only The Doctor can match…

Source: BBC VHS Video

General Information

Season:

Six

Production Code:

Story Number:

Episode Numbers:

228 - 231

Number of Episodes:

Percentage of Episodes Held:

100%

Working Titles:

"The Space-Trap" and "The Space Trap"

Production Dates:

November - December 1968

Broadcast Started:

28 December 1968

Broadcast Finished:

18 January 1969

Colour Status:

B&W

Studio:

Ealing Television Film Studios and Lime Grove (Studio D)

Location:

West of England Quarry and Tank Quarry (Malvern, Worcestershire).

Writer:

Robert Holmes

Director:

David Maloney

Producer:

Peter Bryant

Script Editor:

Terrance Dicks

Editor:

Martyn Day

Production Assistant:

Edwina Verner

Assistant Floor Manager:

David Tilley

Designer:

Raymond London

Costume Designer:

Bobi Bartlett

Make-Up Designer:

Sylvia James

Cameraman:

Alan Jonas

Lighting:

Howard King

Visual Effects:

Bill King and Trading Post

Special Sounds (SFX Editor):

Brian Hodgson

Studio Sounds:

John Holmes

Title Sequence:

Bernard Lodge

Title Music:

Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Arranged by Delia Derbyshire

Number of Doctors:

The Doctor:

Patrick Troughton (The Second Doctor)

Number of Companions:

The Companions:

Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon) and Wendy Padbury (Zoe Heriot)

Guest Cast:

Philip Madoc (Eelek)

Additional Cast:

James Copeland (Selris), Terence Brown (Abu), Madeleine Mills (Vana), Gilbert Wynne (Thara), Richard Ireson (Axus), James Cairncross (Beta), Bronson Shaw (Student), Maurice Selwyn (Custodian), Roy Skelton (Kroton Voice), Patrick Tull (Kroton Voice), Robert LaBassiere (Kroton), Miles Northover (Kroton)

Setting:

Planet Gond

Villain:

Krotons

The Episodes

No.	Episodes	Broadcast (UK)	Duration	Viewers (Millions)	In Archive
228	Episode 1	28 December 1968	23'00"	9.0	16mm and 35mm telerecording
229	Episode 2	04 January 1969	23'03"	8.4	16mm telerecording
230	Episode 3	11 January 1969	21'47"	7.5	16mm telerecording
231	Episode 4	18 January 1969	22'39"	7.1	16mm telerecording

Total Duration

1 Hour 30 Minutes

Audience Appreciation

Average Viewers (Millions)

8.0

Doctor Who Magazine Poll (1998)	55.47% (Position = 141 out of 159)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2009)	57.19% (Position = 166 out of 200)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2014)	58.73% (Position = 207 out of 241)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2023)	Position = 18 out of 21

Archives

All four episodes exist as 16mm telerecordings. A 35mm telerecording of episode one also exists.

Notes

The story is most distinguished for being Robert Holmes’ first contribution to show. He would become one of Doctor Who’s most prolific and influential writer and script editor in the shows history.

"The Krotons" was a quick replacement for another story (Dick Sharples' "The Prison in Space"). "The Krotons" was actually submitted, by Robert Holmes, three years before to the Doctor Who offices as "The Trap". Despite not being rejected Robert Holmes’ script went no further at the time. It was not until Terrance Dicks (at the time an Assistant Script Editor) found the story, in the production office files, that he decided to develop the story, with Robert Holmes, as a personal project in case other scripts fell through. When it was decided not to continue with Dick Sharples script, "Prison in Space", Terrance Dicks was able to present Robert Holmes’ story to his superiors as a ready production.

This story features a guest appearance by popular Welsh actor Philip Madoc as Eelek. In 1966 he appeared in the Amicus Doctor Who film Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD, staring Peter Cushing as Doctor Who. As well as "The Krotons" he appeared in another Second Doctor story "The War Games" and then again in two Fourth Doctor stories: the 1976 "The Brain of Morbius" and the 1979 "The Power of Kroll".

Frazer Hines (who plays the part of companion Jamie McCrimmon) was originally planning to leave the show at this point, and would have departed in "The Prison in Space" being replaced by a new companion. However, upon learning that Patrick Troughton was intending to leave at the end of the year Frazer Hines opted to stay on; this was one of the reasons why "The Prison in Space" was dropped.

Unusually episode one was captured directly on 35mm film rather than videotape.

One of Robert Holmes's final contributions to the show, "The Mysterious Planet", bears a strong resemblance to the plot of this story. In both stories, an alien machine subjugates a humanoid civilisation and forces its brightest young people into its service.

It is revealed that the Krotons have been on the planet for 'thousands of years'. Gond history talks of 'silver men' coming from the sky and bringing 'poisonous rain'. They are crystalline, as is their ship, the Dynatrope. They cannot die, but 'exhaust' if their structure is destroyed.

The TARDIS' Hostile Action Displacement System (HADS) is seen in action, for the first time, when a Kroton attempts to destroy it. It is a version of the relocation device mentioned in "The Mind Robber". The TARDIS moves back to its original location by the end of this story. The assumption seems to be that the TARDIS is not indestructible.

A Kroton warship and its crew later feature prominently in the BBC The Eighth Doctor Stories novel "Alien Bodies" which expands upon the hive mind of the crystalline creatures.

This story was repeated on BBC2 in November 1981 as part of "The Five Faces of Doctor Who" - a series of repeats to bridge the long gap between Season Eighteen and Season Nineteen. At the time it was the only 4 part Patrick Troughton story still held in the BBC archives.

First and Last

The Firsts:

The first Doctor Who story to be written by Robert Holmes.

The first time the TARDIS' Hostile Action Displacement System (HADS) is seen in action

Story Images

Show Text

The Krotons

Taking A Stroll

Investigating The Kroton's Machine

The Doctor and the Metal Snake

A Kroton

A Kroton with a Gun

The TARDIS is Attacked

A Kroton Threatens The Doctor and Zoe

A Scared Zoe and Jamie

Jamie is Attacked

Jamie Strikes Back

A Kroton Disintegrates

Quote of the Story

'Yes. Well Zoe is something of a genius of course. It can be very irritating at times.'

The Doctor

Release Information

Format	Title	Release Date (UK)	Code Number	Cover Art	Remarks
VHS	The Krotons	February 1991	BBCV 4452	Alister Pearson
CD	30 Years at the Radiophonic Workshop	1993	BBC CD 871	Photo-montage	Sound effects
CD	Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume One - The Early Years 1963-1969	June 2000	WMSF 6023-2		Music and sound effects
CD	The Krotons	November 2008		Photo-montage	Narrated by Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon) Double CD Release Includes a bonus interview with Frazer Hines
DVD	The Krotons	July 2012	BBCDVD 3480	Photo-montage
CD	The Krotons	May 2013		Photo-montage	Music score
CD	The 50th Anniversary Collection	December 2013		Photo-montage	Original Television Soundtracks
LP	The Krotons	October 2016		Photo-montage	Music score
CD	Classic TV Adventures - Collection Two	October 2017		Photo-montage	Part of the "Classic TV Adventures Collection Two" Box Set Narrated by Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon)

In Print

Format	Title	Release Date (UK)	Publisher	Author	Cover Art	Remarks
Novel	The Krotons	November 1985	Target No. 99	Terrance Dicks	Andrew Skilleter	ISBN: 0-426-20189-2
Novel	Doctor Who Classics: The Dominators & The Krotons	September 1988	Star Books	Terrance Dicks	Andrew Skilleter	Double story release. ISBN: 0-352-32265-9
Novel	The Krotons	July 1991	Target No. 99	Terrance Dicks	Alister Pearson	Virgin new cover reprint. ISBN: 0-426-20189-2
CD	The Krotons	April 2020	Target No. 99	Terrance Dicks	Andrew Skilleter	Audio version of the Target Novel read by Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon).

Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time)	Issue 47
Doctor Who Monthly - Archive	Issue 58 (Released: November 1981)
Doctor Who Magazine - Archive	Issue 85 (Released: February 1984)
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team	Issue 312 (Released: January 2002)
Doctor Who Magazine - Archive	Issue 318 (Released: June 2002)
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction	Issue 554 (Released: September 2020)

Photo Gallery

The Doctor and Companions

The Second Doctor

Jamie McCrimmon

Zoe Heriot

On Release

VHS Video Cover

VIDEO

Sound Effects CD Cover

AUDIO

Audio - Volume 1: The Early Years

AUDIO

Soundtrack CD Cover

AUDIO

DVD Cover

VIDEO

The Krotons Music CD Cover

AUDIO

The 50th Anniversary Collection Cover

AUDIO

Music LP Cover

AUDIO

Classic TV Adventures Collection Two CD Cover

AUDIO

In Print

Original Target Book Cover

NOVEL

Doctor Who Classics Cover

NOVEL

Reprinted Virgin Book Cover

NOVEL

Target Audio CD Cover

Magazines

Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time): Issue 47

Doctor Who Monthly - Archive: Issue 58

Doctor Who Magazine - Archive: Issue 85

Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 312

Doctor Who Magazine - Archive: Issue 318

Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction: Issue 554

Who's Who

Who Me

Episodes of the
Second Doctor

Season 6

References

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