 "The Curse of Peladon" is the first of two stories that The Doctor visits the planet Peladon. It would later be followed by "The Monster of Peladon" in 1974. This is also the second journey away from Earth for the Third Doctor since his exile by the Time Lords – the first being "Colony in Space".
This story is considered to be an allegory to the United Kingdom’s entry into the European Common Market - a highly topical issue at the time of its original transmission.
Author Brian Hayles previously created the Ice Warriors in the 1967 Second Doctor story "The Ice Warriors". They then returned in "The Seeds of Death" (in both cases they were the antagonists). This is the third of four television stories that they would appear in.
David Troughton, who plays King Peladon, is the son of Patrick Troughton. David Troughton had previously appeared in the Second Doctor stories "The Enemy of the World" and "The War Games". He would also appear in the show again in the 2008 Tenth Doctor story "Midnight".
Geoffrey Toone, who plays Hepesh, previously appeared as Temmosus in the 1965 Amicus Doctor Who film Doctor Who and the Daleks, staring Peter Cushing as Doctor Who.
Sonny Caldinez replaced David Purcell at a late stage as the Ice Warrior called Ssorg.
Longtime extra Stuart Fell provided the body of Alpha Centauri, while Ysanne Churchman provided the voice of the hermaphrodite hexapod; both would return in the sequel story "The Monster of Peladon", along with Alan Bennion and Sonny Caldinez as the Ice Warriors.
The story featured the only on-screen credit for Terry Walsh's short-lived stunt group PROFILE. Terry Walsh had by this point superseded Derek Ware as the show's regular stunt co-ordinator, but would subsequently be credited simply under his own name.
The period of history that both the Peladon stories take place in is not stated on-screen, but the Virgin Books' The New Adventures novel "Legacy" placed them at around the 39th and 40th centuries.
This story is the first time that the Ice Warriors state that they are from Mars.
In this story it is revealed that The Doctor has telepathic empathy with animals and is skilled at spear fighting.
As scripted, the scene where The Doctor soothes Aggedor was to feature The Doctor intoning the Tibetan chant ‘Om mane padme hum’, but it was decided to instead use an expanded version of the Venusian nursery rhyme ‘Kokleda partha mennin klatch aroon aroon aroon, Ablarka sheena teerinatch, aroon araan aroon’ introduced in "The Dæmons" at the end of the previous season. Jon Pertwee sang this to the tune of the Christmas carol "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". The Virgin Books' The Missing Adventures novel "Venusian Lullaby" is named after this song. It would also be featured in the 2008 Christmas special "The Next Doctor".
Amazonia, the real delegate from Earth, is never referred to by name in the actual story. Her name is only given in the closing credits.
The Doctor has re-visited Peladon a further two times: as the Fifth Doctor in the Big Finish Productions audio story "The Bride of Peladon" and then as the Seventh Doctor in the Virgin Books' The New Adventures novel "Legacy" written by Gary Russell. The Big Finish Productions Third Doctor Companion Chronicles story "The Prisoner of Peladon" is told by King Peladon, with David Troughton reprising his role for the first time.
Sadly, like many early Third Doctor stories, the original 625-line master videotapes for this story were wiped around 1975. Thankfully the Black and White 16mm telerecordings had been retained and in 1979 525-line NTSC colour copies were returned to the BBC from Canada. It was found though that the third episode was in a very poor condition. Luckily a copy of a NTSC quad tape was lent to the restoration team by a UK fan enabling all four episodes to be restored.
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The Firsts:
The first of two stories that The Doctor visits the planet Peladon.
The first time that the Ice Warriors state that they are from Mars.
The first appearance (in a major role) of David Troughton (the Son of Patrick Troughton) in the show.
The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Lennie Mayne
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(Position = 66 out of 159)
(Position = 82 out of 200)
