 This is this first story first story to feature major location shooting. All previous location shots had been conducted at locations around London, but substantial portions of this story were filmed in Cornwall.
This story was originally filmed as part of the third season bloc. Along with "The Tenth Planet", these stories were held over to Season Four.
All the scenes set upon the sailing ship were filmed on the Bonny Mary, the ship which doubled for the Black Albatross. The vessel, based in Newlyn Harbour, was anchored off Nanjizal Bay in Cornwall.
During filming on this story, William Hartnell made the decision, due to his deteriorating health, to leave the program. Many months' discussion about replacing William Hartnell had finally came to a head, and Producer Innes Lloyd decided not to renew William Hartnell's contract.
In this story it is revealed that The Doctor has heard of the pirate Avery and he knows a little Tarot. He is also seen to have a moral obligation to stay, since his actions may have caused the deaths of the whole village.
Due to the number and complexity of the fight sequences in this story, Director Julia Smith sought the assistance of stuntman Derek Ware. Ware had worked on Doctor Who since "An Unearthly Child", and had recently formed his own stunt agency, called HAVOC. Ware and his HAVOC team would prove to be an integral part of Julia Smith's production, marking the start of a relationship with Doctor Who which would continue well into the Seventies.
On initial airing, this story posted the lowest audience figures, at an average of 4.48 million viewers per episode, since the show had started. It would remain the least-watched story in Doctor Who history for twenty years, until the 1986 The Trial of a Time Lord story "The Mysterious Planet".
All four episodes of this story are considered missing. The audio soundtrack (recorded by a fan) and telesnaps survive, along with less than a minute of Australian censor footage. These Australian censors clips were recovered in 1996 and were released, alsong with amateur on-location film footage made during production at Trethewey Farm, Trethewey, Cornwall, in the Lost in Time DVD box set released in 2004.
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The Firsts:
The first story of Season Four (even though it was recorded as part of Season Three but held back).
The first trip in the TARDIS for new companion Polly played by Anneke Wills.
The first trip in the TARDIS for new companion Ben Jackson played by Michael Craze.
The first Doctor Who story to feature major location shooting. Namely in Cornwall.
The first Doctor Who story to use members of the stunt agency HAVOC.
The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Julia Smith.
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(Position = 121 out of 159)
(Position = 159 out of 200)
(Position = 194 out of 241)
