Doctor Who - The Television Stories

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The Keys of Marinus

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The
Episodes

Audience
Appreciation

Archives

Notes

First and Last

Story Images

Quote of
the Story

Release
Information

In Print

Photo
Gallery

Synopsis

Accepting The Quest

On a remote island of glass surrounded by a sea of acid, there is a machine that can remove evil from the minds of an entire population – the Conscience of Marinus. Fearful of its immense power falling into the wrong hands, its sole guardian has scattered the machine’s operating keys across the planet.

The TARDIS crew arrive to find the island under attack by the evil Voord. Marinus’ last line of defence – and its only hope – is the Conscience machine.

The Doctor and his companions must undertake a deadly quest to recover the Keys of Marinus…

Source: BBC DVD

General Information

Season:	One
Production Code:	E
Story Number:	5
Episode Numbers:	21 - 26
Number of Episodes:	6
Percentage of Episodes Held:	100%
Working Titles:	"Guests of the Guillotine" (episode 2)
Production Dates:	March - October 1964
Broadcast Started:	11 April 1964
Broadcast Finished:	16 May 1964
Colour Status:	B&W
Studio:	Ealing Television Film Studios and Lime Grove (Studio D)
Location:	None

Writer:

Terry Nation

Director:

John Gorrie

Producer:

Verity Lambert

Associate Producer:

Mervyn Pinfield

Story Editor:

David Whitaker

Production Assistants:

David Conroy and Penny Joy

Assistant Floor Manager:

Timothy Combe

Designer:

Raymond P Cusick

Costume Designer:

Daphne Dare

Make-Up Designer:

Jill Summers

Lighting:

Peter Murray

Incidental Music:

Norman Kay

Special Sounds (SFX Editor):

Brian Hodgson

Studio Sounds:

Jack Brummitt and Tony Milton

Title Sequence:

Bernard Lodge

Title Music:

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

Number of Doctors:

The Doctor:

William Hartnell (The First Doctor)

Number of Companions: 3The Companions: Carole Ann Ford (Susan), Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright) and William Russell (Ian Chesterton) Additional Cast: George Colouris (Arbitan), Martin Cort (Voord / Warrior / Ice Soldier / Aydan), Peter Stenson (Voord / Second Judge), Gordon Wales (Voord), Robin Phillips (Altos), Katharine Schofield (Sabetha), Heron Carvic (Voice of Morpho), Edmund Warwick (Darrius), Francis de Wolff (Vasor), Michael Allaby (Ice Soldier / Larn), Alan James (Ice Soldier / First Judge / Guard), Anthony Verner (Ice Soldier), Henley Thomas (Tarron), Raf de la Torre (Senior Judge), Fiona Walker (Kala), Donald Pickering (Eyesen), Stephen Dartnell (Yartek), Dougie Dean (Eprin)Setting: Planet Marinus Villains: The Voord and Yartek

The Episodes

No.	Episodes	Broadcast (UK)	Duration	Viewers (Millions)	In Archive
21	The Sea of Death	11 April 1964	23'20"	9.9	16mm telerecording
22	The Velvet Web	18 April 1964	25'37"	9.4	16mm telerecording
23	The Screaming Jungle	25 April 1964	23'45"	9.9	16mm telerecording
24	The Snows of Terror	02 May 1964	24'54"	10.4	16mm telerecording
25	Sentence of Death	09 May 1964	25'03"	7.9	16mm telerecording
26	The Keys of Marinus	16 May 1964	25'11"	6.9	16mm telerecording

Total Duration

2 Hours 28 Minutes

Audience Appreciation

Average Viewers (Millions)

9.1

Doctor Who Magazine Poll (1998)	63.57% (Position = 105 out of 159)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2009)	59.66% (Position = 160 out of 200)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2014)	61.00% (Position = 192 out of 241)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2023)	Position = 18 out of 29

Archives

All episodes exist as 16mm telerecordings. An Arabic print of "The Sea of Death" is also held.

Notes

Terry Nation wrote this story to replace his earlier tale, "The Red Fort" (set during an Indian mutiny), which was abandoned when the show's plans changed in the wake of its popularity. Because the replacement script had to be written quickly, it was decided to base it around a series of largely self-contained episodes, each with a different setting and cast, to make it easier to write in a short time.

Stephen Dartnell, who played Yartek - the Voord leader, returned to the show a few weeks later where he appeared in "The Sensorites" as the troubled astronaut John.

Fiona Walker, who played Kala, returned to the show as Lady Peinefort in the 1988 Seventh Doctor story "Silver Nemesis".

The Doctor does not appear in either the third or the fourth episodes as William Hartnell was away on holiday during the weeks when these two episodes were recorded. Thus making the first episoded not to include the lead character.

Marinus it seams is a planet with a range of climatic zones (tropical jungles and snowy wastes) and a large population of humanoids who live in various autonomous groups or nations.

Darrius, the friend of Arbitan's whom the travellers meet in "The Screaming Jungle", is never referred to by name in the story's dialogue; his name is given only in the closing credits.

The Voords wear wet-suit costumes, with rubber masks bearing - except in Yartek's case - antennae of various different shapes.

Although the story was previously thought of as complete, it was discovered during the remastering for the DVD release that episodes two and four were slightly edited from the originally broadcast versions; these cuts were reinstated using off-air audio recordings and other visual material.

First and Last

The Firsts:

The first story where The Doctor does not appear in an episode. This being episodes 3 and 4.

The first Doctor Who story to be directed by John Gorrie.

Jill Summers's first involvement in the show as Makeup Artist.

Story Images

Show Text

Ian, The Doctor, Barbara and Susan by the Console

Arbitan

The Voord's Craft

The Doctor with Ian and Susan

Barbara and Susan Can't Believe Their Luck

The Doctor Ian and Susan

A Voord

Ian and Barbara Discover the Truth

Morphoton Brain

An Ice Soldier Comes to Life

Yartek

Susan is Attacked by a Voord

Quote of the Story

'I don't believe that man was made to be controlled by machines.'

The Doctor

Release Information

Format	Title	Release Date (UK)	Code Number	Cover Art	Remarks
VHS	The Keys of Marinus	March 1999	BBCV 6671	Photo-montage	Double cassette release
CD	Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume One - The Early Years 1963-1969	June 2000	WMSF 6023-2		Music and sound effects
DVD	The Keys of Marinus	September 2009	BBCDVD 2616	Photo-montage
CD	The 50th Anniversary Collection	December 2013		Photo-montage	Original Television Soundtracks

In Print

Format	Title	Release Date (UK)	Publisher	Author	Cover Art	Remarks
Novel	Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus	August 1980	Target No. 38	Philip Hinchcliffe	David McAllister	ISBN: 0-426-20125-6
Novel	Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus	1986	Target No. 38	Philip Hinchcliffe	Book: David McAllister Box: Photo	Re-released as part of The Doctor Who* Gift Set* ISBN: 0-426-32410-8
CD	Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus	September 2022	Target No. 38	Philip Hinchcliffe	David McAllister	Audio version of the Target Novel read by Jamie Glover.

Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time)	Issue 5
Doctor Who Weekly	Issue 7 (Released: November 1979)
Doctor Who Magazine - Archive	Issue 142 (Released: November 1988)
Doctor Who Magazine - Archive	Issue 143 (Released: December 1988)
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team	Issue 281 (Released: August 1999)
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team	Issue 282 (Released: September 1999)
Doctor Who Magazine - Archive	Issue 310 (Released: November 2001)
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction	Issue 445 (Released: April 2012)

Photo Gallery

The Doctor and Companions

The First Doctor

Susan

Barbara Wright

Ian Chesterton

On Release

VHS Video Cover

VIDEO

Audio - Volume 1: The Early Years

AUDIO

DVD Cover

VIDEO

The 50th Anniversary Collection Cover

AUDIO

In Print

Target Book Cover

NOVEL

The Doctor Who Gift Set

NOVEL

Target Audio CD Cover

Magazines

Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time): Issue 5

Doctor Who Weekly: Issue 7

Doctor Who Magazine - Archive: Issue 142

Doctor Who Magazine - Archive: Issue 143

Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 281

Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 282

Doctor Who Magazine - Archive: Issue 310

Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction: Issue 445

Who's Who

Who Me

Episodes of the
First Doctor

Season 1

References

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