 "Meglos" was written by writing partners Andrew McCulloch and John Flanagan. This though would be their only contribution to Doctor Who although another story of theirs, "Project Zeta-Sigma", was at one point planned to open Season Nineteen. Following its abandonment, the pair went on to write for programmes such as Robin of Sherwood, Peak Practice and Heartbeat. Andrew McCulloch also continued acting, including an appearance in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.
As with Peter Moffatt, the director for the following story "State of Decay", Producer John Nathan-Turner chose a former colleague (Terence Dudley) on All Creatures Great and Small to direct this story. Terence Dudley’s other credits included Doomwatch and the original Survivors (both of which he also produced), Softly Softly and Secret Army. Terrance Dudley was also a writer, and had been invited to contribute to the show for Season One, although nothing had come of this.
One of Terence Dudley’s friends was director Alvin Rakoff, whose wife, Jacqueline Hill, was eager to resume her acting career after a long absence spent rearing their children. Terence Dudley agreed to cast Jacqueline Hill to play the part of Lexa - the leader of the Deons.
Jacqueline Hill had originally played companion Barbara Wright during the first two years of the show ("An Unearthly Child" in 1963 to "The Chase" in 1964). This marked the only time that a former regular character would later return to Doctor Who playing the part of a new character. By contrast, Peter Purves, Lalla Ward, Colin Baker, Freema Agyeman and Karen Gillan all played guest characters in the show before returning as full-time regulars Steven Taylor, Romana, the Sixth Doctor, Martha Jones and Amy Pond respectively.
In Andrew McCulloch and John Flanagan’s original storyline, Lexa had simply vanished from the action once she had served her purpose within the narrative. However, Script Editor Christopher H. Bidmead suggested her act of self-sacrifice as a more dramatic end for the character.
During the recording of this story Tom Baker had finally begun to slowly recover from the illness which had plagued him since recording began for Season Eighteen.
The part of the Earthling (aka George Morris) was played by Christopher Owen. The name ‘George Morris’ was not given on-screen or in the credits, only in the Target novelisation written by Terrance Dicks.
It has been reported that Bill Fraser agreed to play Gruggar only if he could kick K9 and that his request was granted. Bill Fraser later appeared in the 1981 spin off-story "K9 and Company: A Girl's Best Friend" which stared Elizabeth Sladen reprising her role as Sarah Jane Smith.
This story had a number of working titles but originally this story was to be called "Meglos".
With the obvious exceptions of the 1963 First Doctor story "The Edge of Destruction" and the single episode stories (the 1965 First Doctor story "Mission to the Unknown", the twentieth anniversary special "The Five Doctors" and the 1996 television film "Doctor Who: The Movie") this is the only story in the shows’ original run in which all the credited cast members appear in all the episodes.
Even though Paddy Kingsland is credited for providing the Incidental Music, Peter Howell also composed the music for the cliffhanger ending to the first episode but was uncredited on screen.
As well as K9 experiencing problems with sea water (see "The Leisure Hive") he now needs a battery recharge every two hours.
Meglos occupies a xerophyte (a cactus) initially, but can exist using any lifeform as a host, as a blob, or as a wavelength of light. He can duplicate someone after observing them, but needs a similar host to do it. He has the technology to cause a time loop in a TARDIS when it is in flight.
The Doctor previously faced a villainous doppelganger of himself in the 1967/68 Second Doctor story "The Enemy of the World".
It is revealed that the Tigellans know of the Time Lords and that Time Lords are Time Sensitive enough to be aware of being in a Time loop.
Romana has heard of the screens of Zolpha Thura.
Some of the Gaztak costumes came from a BBC production of Macbeth.
The Gaztaks reappear in the BBC Books’ The Past Doctors Stories novel "Warmonger", written by Terrance Dicks.
The scenes set on the surface of Zolfa-Thura were realised by way of a new effects technique referred to as Scene-Sync – A more advanced version of the ChromaKey (or Colour Separation Overlay (CSO)) technique used on the show throughout the Seventies. This involved two cameras being electronically synchronised to follow identical movements so that they could be made to track in unison and maintain the composite image (created in the usual way), whereas previously CSO shots had almost invariably been static. This allowed cameras on the actors to be moved, while the cameras on the miniature set moved the equivalent scaled amount automatically. This was an untested process at the BBC and so it was offered to Doctor Who for use on this story, free of charge, as a test case. Despite being judged to be a success this was the only time this technique was used on the show.
The sound effect created for the approach of the Fendahl in the 1977 story "Image of the Fendahl" was re-used as background atmosphere for the Tigellan jungle.
The closing theme in the fourth episode was transposed to the lower key of the original theme music.
Errors and anomalies in this story include: In episode one the wires holding the planet up over Zolpha Thura are rather obvious; Grugger is heard to say that he lost 50% of his six man crew on Tigella, but there’s more than three of them when they arrive on Zolpha Thura; In the first episode The Doctor states that he wasn’t allowed to see the dodecahedron on his previous visit, but in the third episode he remembers seeing it; The cactus gloves show Tom Baker’s wrists quite often. When handling the dodecahedron in the Gaztak spacecraft in the third episode, somebody off-screen audibly coughs.
Shortly before this story was broadcast the popular London waxworks museum Madame Tussauds unveiled a display called The Doctor Who Experience to celebrate the debut of the programme’s Season Eighteen. This exhibit included a waxwork of Tom Baker, in costume as the Fourth Doctor. Following the broadcast of "Meglos", this was joined by a statue of The Doctor’s Meglos doppelganger, making Tom Baker the first person to be simultaneously represented with two different waxworks at Madame Tussauds.
A novelisation of this story, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in February 1983. Terrance Dicks names Meglos’ unfortunate human host (as ‘George Morris’) and bookends the novel with his kidnapping and subsequent return to Earth. This novel also answers the question as to why Meglos asked for an Earthling to use as a Host body rather than a (much closer) Tigellan. This was because Meglos considered Earthlings to be more ‘malleable’.
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The Firsts:
Jacqueline Hill's first story playing a character other than former companion Barbara Wright (since leaving the show in 1965).
The first Doctor Who story to be co-written by Andrew McCulloch and John Flanagan.
The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Terence Dudley.
Paddy Kingsland's first involvement in the show providing the incidental music.
The first use in Doctor Who of Scene-Sync - a more advanced version of ChromaKey.
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(Position = 138 out of 159)
(Position = 188 out of 200)
(Position = 231 out of 241)
