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The Doctor and a Mutant
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 The Time Lords choose The Doctor for a special task - a mission so secret, that neither The Doctor, or his assistant Jo Grant, know the true nature of their assignment.
Far in the future, the planet Solos is claiming independence from Earths vast galactic empire. A huge space station - Skybase - orbits the planet, forming a bridgehead for the empire’s control of Solos, and is commanded by the Marshal, who is determined to retain his power over the planet at any cost.
Solos’s atmosphere is poisonous to humans in the daylight and the Marshal is behind secret experiments to change the planet’s atmosphere into one more similar to that of Earth. But down on the planet, changes are happening amongst the native population. A disease that causes mutation has appeared and is spreading fast.
The Doctor finds himself in a race against time to save Jo’s life, to find a solution to the mutants, to complete the lime Lord’s mission, and, to thwart the Marshal’s plans.
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| | Source: BBC VHS Video | |
| Season: |
Nine
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| Production
Code: |
NNN |
| Story Number: |
63
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| Episode Numbers: | 318 - 323 |
| Number of
Episodes: |
6 | | Percentage of Episodes Held: | 100% | | Working Titles: | "Independence" and "The Emergents" |
| Production
Dates: |
February - March 1972 |
| Broadcast Started: | 08 April 1972 | | Broadcast Finished: | 13 May 1972 |
| Colour Status: |
Colour and B&W |
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Studio: |
BBC Television Centre (TC3, TC4 and TC8) |
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Location: |
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Western Quarry (Northfleet, Kent), Stone House Farm (Frindsbury, Kent) and Chiselhurst Chalk Caves (Chiselhurst, Kent). |
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| Writers: | Bob Baker and Dave Martin | | Director: | Christopher Barry | | Producer: | Barry Letts | | Script Editor: | Terrance Dicks | | Editor: | Dave King | | Production Assistants: | Chris D'Oyly-John and Fiona Cumming | | Assistant Floor Manager: | Sue Hedden | | Designer: | Jeremy Bear | | Costume Designer: | James Acheson | | Make-Up Designer: | Joan Barrett | | Cameraman: | Fred Hamilton | | Lighting: | Frank Cresswell | | Visual Effects: | John Horton | | Fights Arranged By: | Terry Walsh | | Incidental Music: | Tristram Cary | | Special Sounds (SFX Editor): | Dick Mills | | Studio Sounds: | Tony Millier | | Title Sequence: | Bernard Lodge and Ben Palmer | | 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: |
1 | | The Companion: |
| | Guest Cast: |
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Geoffrey Palmer (Administrator) |
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| Additional Cast: |
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Paul Whitsun-Jones (Marshal), Garrick Hagon (Ky), John Hollis (Sondergaard), James Mellor (Varan), Christopher Coll (Stubbs), Rick James (Cotton), Jonathan Sherwood (Varans Son), George Pravda (Jaeger), Sidney Johnson (Old Man), Roy Pearce (Solos Guard), Damon Sanders (Solos Guard), David Arlen (Warrior Guard), Martin Taylor (Skybase Guard), John Scott Martin (Mutt), Peter Howell (Investigator) |
| | Setting: |
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Planet Solos (30th century) |
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Villain: | The Marshal
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| No. |
Episodes |
Broadcast
(UK) |
Duration |
Viewers
(Millions) |
In
Archive |
| 318 | Episode 1 | 08 April 1972 | 24'25" | 9.1 | PAL colour conversion and 16mm B&W telerecording | | 319 | Episode 2 | 15 April 1972 | 24'24" | 7.8 | PAL colour conversion and 16mm B&W telerecording | | 320 | Episode 3 | 22 April 1972 | 24'32" | 7.9 | PAL 2" colour videotape and 16mm B&W telerecording | | 321 | Episode 4 | 29 April 1972 | 24'00" | 7.5 | PAL 2" colour videotape and 16mm B&W telerecording | | 322 | Episode 5 | 06 May 1972 | 24'37" | 7.9 | PAL 2" colour videotape and 16mm B&W telerecording | | 323 | Episode 6 | 13 May 1972 | 23'43" | 6.5 | PAL 2" colour videotape and 16mm B&W telerecording |
| Total Duration |
2 Hours 26 Minutes |
| Average Viewers
(Millions) |
7.8 |
| Doctor Who Magazine Poll (1998) | 55.43%  (Position = 142 out of 159) | | Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2003) | 552 Points (Position = 26 out of 159) | | Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2009) | 54.31%  (Position = 182 out of 200) | | Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2014) | 57.68%  (Position = 213 out of 241) | | Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2023) | Position = 22 out of 24 |
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All six episodes exist in colour. Episodes 1 and 2 as PAL conversions of NTSC 2" colour videotape. Episodes 3 – 6 on PAL 2" colour videotape. Also held are the original 16mm Black and White film telerecordings. |
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