Doctor Who - The Television Stories

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The Claws of Axos

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Synopsis

Humanoid Axons

A mysterious object approaches Earth, alerting The Doctor and UNIT that they face another possible threat from outer space.

Are the gold-skinned aliens who claim to bring great gifts to humanity as peaceful and benevolent as they first appear? And why is Doctor's arch-enemy the Master on board their spaceship...?

Source: BBC DVD

General Information

Season:

Eight

Production Code:

GGG

Story Number:

Episode Numbers:

289 - 292

Number of Episodes:

Percentage of Episodes Held:

100%

Working Titles:

"The Gift", "The Friendly Invasion", "The Axons" and "The Vampire From Space"

Production Dates:

January - February 1971

Broadcast Started:

13 March 1971

Broadcast Finished:

03 April 1971

Colour Status:

Colour and B&W

Studio:

BBC Television Centre (TC3 and TC4)

Location:

Dengemarsh Road (Lydd, Kent), St Martin's Plain Camp (Shorncliffe, Kent), Dungeness Road and Dungeness ‘A’ Nuclear Power Station (Dungeness, Kent).

Writers:

Bob Baker and Dave Martin

Director:

Michael Ferguson

Producer:

Barry Letts

Script Editor:

Terrance Dicks

Editor:

Bob Rymer

Production Assistant:

Marion McDougall

Assistant Floor Manager:

Roselyn Parker

Designer:

Kenneth Sharp

Costume Designer:

Barbara Lane

Make-Up Designers:

Jan Harrison and Rhian Davies

Cameraman:

A A Englander

Lighting:

Ralph Walton

Visual Effects:

John Horton

Incidental Music:

Dudley Simpson

Special Sounds (SFX Editor):

Brian Hodgson

Studio Sounds:

Dave Kitchen

Title Sequence:

Bernard Lodge and Ben Palmer

Title Music:

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

Stunts/Action By:

HAVOC

Number of Doctors:

The Doctor:

Jon Pertwee (The Third Doctor)

Number of Companions:

The Companions:

Nicholas Courtney (The Brigadier), John Levene (Sergeant Benton), Katy Manning (Jo Grant) and Richard Franklin (Captain Mike Yates)

Guest Cast:

Roger Delgado (The Master), Donald Hewlett (Hardiman)

Additional Cast:

Paul Grist (Filer), Peter Bathurst (Chinn), Fernanda Marlowe (Corporal Bell), David Savile (Winser), Derek Ware (Pigbin Josh), Bernard Holley (Axon Man), Michael Walker (1st Radar Operator), David G. March (2nd Radar Operator), Patricia Gordino (Axon Woman), John Hicks (Axon Boy), Debbie Lee London (Axon Girl), Tim Piggott-Smith (Captain Harker), Kenneth Benda (The Minister), Royston Farrell (Technician)

Setting:

Earth (1970s)

Villains:

Axons and The Master

The Episodes

No.	Episodes	Broadcast (UK)	Duration	Viewers (Millions)	In Archive
289	Episode 1	13 March 1971	23'51"	7.3	PAL 2" colour videotape and 16mm B&W telerecording
290	Episode 2	20 March 1971	24'00"	8.0	PAL D3 colour restoration and 16mm B&W telerecording
291	Episode 3	27 March 1971	24'05"	6.4	PAL D3 colour restoration and 16mm B&W telerecording
292	Episode 4	03 April 1971	25'16"	7.8	PAL 2" colour videotape and 16mm B&W telerecording

Total Duration

1 Hour 37 Minutes

Audience Appreciation

Average Viewers (Millions)

7.4

Doctor Who Magazine Poll (1998)	61.66% (Position = 113 out of 159)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2009)	65.61% (Position = 129 out of 200)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2014)	69.65% (Position = 139 out of 241)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2023)	Position = 19 out of 24

Archives

All four episodes exist in colour. Episodes 1 and 4 exist as PAL 2" colour videotapes. Episodes 2 and 3 exist as PAL D3 colour restorations. All four episodes also exist as 16mm black & white telerecordings.

Notes

"The Claws of Axos" is the first story by writing duo Bob Baker and Dave Martin. They who would go on to write many Doctor Who stories throughout the seventies.

One of the working titles for this story was "The Vampire From Space" - which this story went into production as. However, halfway through production it was decided to rename this story to "The Claws of Axos". As a result the opening credit sequences for the first two episodes had to be rerecorded. However, the original title was inadvertently retained on some overseas prints as well as in most of the story's publicity material. The 2005 DVD release contains unused footage and cuts still naming this story as "The Vampire From Space".

This story was originally due to be a six-parter, but the concept of the storyline changed as development progressed resulting in it being reduced to four episodes.

This story marks the first television appearance of Tim Pigott-Smith. He would later play Marco in the 1976 Fourth Doctor story "The Masque of Mandragora".

Bernard Holley had been last seen in Doctor Who in the 1967 Second Doctor story "The Tomb of the Cybermen".

Kenneth Benda was heard as the Minister in a voice-over telephone conversation in episode 2. This was uncredited on screen.

The interior of the TARDIS was seen again after an absence of nearly two years (it was last seen in the final Second Doctor story "The War Games"). This story also includes the debut of the new TARDIS console, designed by Kenneth Sharp. The original had been tinted light green to show up better as white on monochrome videotape, but was no longer suitable now that the show was being broadcast in colour. It had also been badly damaged over its seven years of service.

Also making its debut in this story was UNIT's second mobile HQ.

Both The Doctor and The Master refer to events in this story in the 2007 Tenth Doctor story "The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords". The Master mocks the now-elderly Tenth Doctor by recalling when he stood up to Axons and the Sea Devils and The Doctor later reminds The Master of the Axons and the Daleks while attempting to encourage his old enemy to regenerate after being shot.

This story features the famous shot of Jo Grant's purple knickers.

Location shooting for this story took place at mainly at Dungeness in Kent with the Dungeness ‘A’ Nuclear Power Station serving as the Nuton Power Complex.

Frustratingly, the weather proved highly variable throughout the five-day shooting, ranging from snow at the start of the week, through fog and finally to sunshine on the final day. To explain the inconsistency of shots filmed on various days, but supposedly taking place within minutes of each other, Script Editor Terrance Dicks assigned a new line of dialogue for Corporal Bell to announce about reports of ‘freak weather conditions’ as a result of the Axos arrival.

For reasons unexplained, the opening titles for this story use the Second Doctor's version of the Doctor Who theme music as opposed to the Third Doctor's, as do "Terror of the Autons" and "The Mind of Evil". After this story however, the theme reverts to the Jon Pertwee standard.

A common myth about this story is that the colour-separation overlay (CSO) backgrounds were accidentally omitted in some of the car interior scenes, leaving the blue screen behind the characters. In reality, it has been revealed that the blue is supposed to represent the sky.

"The Claws of Axos" was the last of four stories that Michael Ferguson directed on Doctor Who. He went on to direct episodes of programmes such as Colditz before becoming a producer, with credits including The Sandbaggers, EastEnders and Casualty.

Like many of the early Third Doctor stories a complete colour version of this story was not kept by the BBC. In the early eighties only episodes 1 and 4 were located in the BBC archives. Thankfully 16mm black & white telerecordings had been kept and NTSC syndicated versions had been sent abroad to Canada in 1979. Episodes 1-3 were recovered in 1985 so enabling PAL D3 colour restorations of episodes 2 and 3 to be made. These were released on VHS in 1992. Enhanced restorations were made for the 2005 DVD release.

Even though this is there only television appearance the Axons returned in 2011 in the Big Finish Productions audio story "The Feast of Axos". Bernard Holley, who played both the voice of Axos and the male Axon can also be heard in this audio story which stars Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor.

First and Last

The Firsts:

The first Doctor Who story to be written by Dave Martin and Bob Baker.

Barbara Lane's first involvement in the show as Costume Designer.

The first appearance of the interior of the TARDIS since "The War Games".

The debut of the new TARDIS console, designed by Kenneth Sharp.

The Lasts (Subject to Future Stories):

Director Michael Ferguson's last contribution to the show.

Story Images

Show Text

Humanoid Axons

The Master

Chinn

Inside Axos

Axonite

The Doctor

The Brigadier

Axon Monster

Captain Mike Yates

Sergeant Benton

The Doctor Held Captive

A Humanoid Axon

Quote of the Story

'Obviously the Time Lords have programmed the TARDIS always to return to Earth. It seems that I'm some sort of galactic yo-yo!'

The Doctor

Release Information

Format	Title	Release Date (UK)	Code Number	Cover Art	Remarks
LP	Sounds From... EMS	1972			7" LP from Electronic Music Studios Includes "The Axons Approach" arranged by Dudley Simpson
VHS	The Claws of Axos	May 1992	BBCV 4742	Andrew Skilleter
DVD	The Claws of Axos	April 2005	BBCDVD 1354	Photo-montage
CD	Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume Two - New Beginnings 1970-1980	May 2005	WMSF 6024-2		Music and sound effects
DVD	The Claws of Axos	November 2006	BBCDVD 1354	Photo-montage	Part of "The Third Doctor" box set (BBCDVD 2262) Exclusive to Amazon
DVD	The Claws of Axos	October 2012	BBCDVD 3670	Photo-montage	Special Edition
CD	The 50th Anniversary Collection	December 2013		Photo-montage	Original Television Soundtracks
Blu-Ray	Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 8 (Limited Edition)	March 2021	BBCBD 0506	Lee Binding	Blu-Ray Limited Edition boxed set containing 5 specially restored stories
Blu-Ray	Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 8 (Standard Edition)	November 2022	BBCBD 0564	Lee Binding	Blu-Ray Standard Edition boxed set containing 5 specially restored stories

In Print

Format	Title	Release Date (UK)	Publisher	Author	Cover Art	Remarks
Novel	Doctor Who and the Claws of Axos	April 1974	Target No. 10	Terrance Dicks	Chris Achilleos	ISBN: 0-426-11703-4 (1st Edition Target Cover)
Novel	Doctor Who and the Claws of Axos	August 1978	Target No. 10	Terrance Dicks	John Geary	ISBN: 0-426-11703-4 (2nd Edition Target Cover)
Novel	Doctor Who Classics: The Mind of Evil & The Claws of Axos	March 1989	Star Books	Terrance Dicks	Chris Achilleos	Double story release. ISBN: 0-352-32381-7
CD	The Claws of Axos	June 2016	Target No. 10	Terrance Dicks	Chris Achilleos	Audio version of the Target Novel read by Richard Franklin (Captain Mike Yates).

Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time)	Issue 57
Doctor Who Magazine - Archive	Issue 264 (Released: May 1998)
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team	Issue 326 (Released: February 2003)
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction	Issue 432 (Released: April 2011)
Doctor Who Magazine Special - Archive	1985 Winter Special (Released: 1985)
Doctor Who DVD Files	Volume 97 (Released: September 2012)

Photo Gallery

The Doctor and Companions

The Third Doctor

The Brigadier

Sergeant Benton

Jo Grant

Captain Mike Yates

On Release

Audio LP - Sounds From... EMS Cover

AUDIO

VHS Video Cover

VIDEO

DVD Cover

VIDEO

Audio - Volume 2: New Beginnings

AUDIO

Third Doctor DVD Box Set

VIDEO

Special Edition DVD Cover

VIDEO

The 50th Anniversary Collection Cover

AUDIO

The Collection Season 8 Limited Edition Blu-Ray Cover

VIDEO

The Collection Season 8 Standard Edition Blu-Ray Cover

VIDEO

In Print

Original Target Book Cover

NOVEL

Reprinted Target Book Cover

NOVEL

Doctor Who Classics Cover

NOVEL

Target Audio CD Cover

Magazines

Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time): Issue 57

Doctor Who Magazine - Archive: Issue 264

Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 326

Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction: Issue 432

Doctor Who Magazine Special - Archive: 1985 Winter Special

Doctor Who DVD Files: Volume 97

Who's Who

Who Me

Episodes of the
Third Doctor

Season 8

References

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