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Patrick Troughton
The Mind Robber
Second Doctor Logo


Synopsis


Zoe and Jamie Cling to the TARDIS Console
Zoe and Jamie Cling to the TARDIS Console
 The TARDIS is in the path of molten lava and The Doctor is forced to activate the emergency unit to move it out of the time space dimension and out of reality! When the TARDIS crew land 'nowhere' they stumble into a world where fiction appears as reality and where things exist only when men believe in them. It is a world peopled by White Robots and a race of fictional characters and monsters, by Gulliver and Rapunzel, by D'Artagnan and Sir Lancelot, and worse, by the Unicorn, the Minotaur and the Medusa.

 As they explore the forest of words and the maze in this Land of Fiction new horrors await The Doctor and his companions round each corner will Zoe and Jamie be turned into fictional characters?... Is The Doctor at the mercy of a higher intelligence or force outside time and space as he knows it? Can he outwit the brain that is the source of this terrifying creative power?

Source: BBC VHS Video


General Information

Season: Six
Production Code: UU
Story Number: 45
Episode Numbers:215 - 219
Number of Episodes: 5
Percentage of Episodes Held:100%
Working Titles:"Man Power", "Manpower" and "The Fact of Fiction"
Production Dates: June - July 1968
Broadcast Started: 14 September 1968
Broadcast Finished: 12 October 1968
Colour Status: B&W
Studio: BBC Television Centre Puppet Theatre, Ealing Television Film Studios, Lime Grove (Studio D) & BBC Television Centre (TC3)
Location: Harrison's Rocks (Groombridge, East Sussex) and Kenley Aerodrome (Surrey).
Writers:Peter Ling and Derrick Sherwin (Episode 1, uncredited)
Director:David Maloney
Producer:Peter Bryant
Script Editor:Derrick Sherwin
Editor:Martyn Day
Production Assistant:John Lopes
Assistant Floor Manager:Edwina Verner
Designer:Evan Hercules
Costume Designers:Martin Baugh and Susan Wheal
Make-Up Designer:Sylvia James
Cameraman:Jimmy Court
Lighting:Howard King
Visual Effects:Bernard Wilkie and Jack Kine
Fights Arranged By:BH Barry
Incidental Music:From Stock
Special Sounds (SFX Editor):Brian Hodgson
Studio Sounds:John Holmes
Title Sequence:Bernard Lodge
Title Music:Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Arranged by Delia Derbyshire
Number of Doctors: 1
The Doctor: Patrick Troughton (The Second Doctor)
Number of Companions: 2The Companions: Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon) and Wendy Padbury (Zoe Heriot) Additional Cast: Emrys Jones (The Master of the Land of Fiction), Hamish Wilson (Jamie McCrimmon), John Atterbury (Robot), Ralph Carrigan (Robot), Bill Wiesener (Robot), Terry Wright (Robot), Bernard Horsfall (Gulliver), Barbara Loft (Child), Sylvestra Le Tozel (Child), Timothy Horton (Child), Chistopher Reynolds (Child), David Reynolds (Child), Martin Langley (Child), Paul Alexander (Soldier), Ian Hines (Soldier), Richard Ireson (Soldier), Philip Ryan (Redcoat), Christine Pirie (Princess Rapunzel), Sue Pulford (The Medusa), Christopher Robbie (Karkus), John Greenwood (D Artagnan and Sir Lancelot), David Cannon (Cyrano), Gerry Wain (Blackbeard)Setting: Planet Dulkis, The White Void and The Land of Fiction Villain:The Master of the Land of Fiction

The Episodes

No. Episodes Broadcast
(UK)
Duration Viewers
(Millions)
In Archive
215Episode 114 September 196821'27"6.616mm telerecording
216Episode 221 September 196821'39"6.516mm telerecording
217Episode 328 September 196819'29"7.216mm telerecording
218Episode 405 October 196819'14"7.316mm telerecording
219Episode 512 October 196818'00"6.716mm and 35mm telerecording

Total Duration 1 Hour 40 Minutes


Audience Appreciation

Average Viewers (Millions) 6.9
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (1998)72.22%  (Position = 55 out of 159)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2003)464 Points (Position = 30 out of 159)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2009)74.79% Higher (Position = 60 out of 200)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2014)75.86% Higher (Position = 73 out of 241)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2023) Position = 8 out of 21


Archives


 All five episodes exist as 16mm telerecordings except for episode 5 which also exists as a 35mm telerecording. Telesnaps (off-air camera photographs) from episodes 1-3 of this story exist in the BBC Archives.



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Notes


This story was originally going to be a four-part story. But due the shortening of the previous story, "The Dominators", from six episodes to five an extra episode had to be filled. Script Editor Derrick Sherwin therefore stepped in and wrote a new episode one for "The Mind Robber". The original four episodes, written by Peter Ling, became episodes two to five. Because of a very limited budget Derrick Sherwin composed the script for this new first episode with the intention that the only sets necessary would be the TARDIS Console Room and a white void.

As Derrick Sherwin was Script Editor BBC rules meant that he could not receive a writing credit. Therefore episode one of this story has become only episode in the shows history not to include a writing credit in the opening sequence.

This stretching of this story also resulted in the first four episodes only running between 19 and 22 minutes in length, and episode five only 18 minutes – making it the shortest in Doctor Who.

Even though episodes stopped having individual titles as of the 1966 First Doctor story "The Savages" episode two had the working title "Another World".

Distinguished actress Sylvestra Le Tousel, then acting as Sylvestra Le Tozel, plays one of the children. Also two of the other child actors, Christopher and David Reynolds, had their surnames misspelt in the closing credits of the fifth episode. In episode two it was spelt 'Reynolds' while on the closing credits of episode five it was spelt 'Reynalds'.

Unfortunately, during the week between the taping of the first two instalments Frazer Hines contracted chicken pox and was therefore unavailable for the recording of the second episode. Derrick Sherwin therefore had to quickly rewrite the scripts for episodes two and three to explain Jamie's sudden change in appearance. This was achieved by The Doctor incorrectly putting Jamie's face back together while attempting to solve one of the puzzles. This allowed Hamish Wilson to be cast as the ‘altered’ Jamie during episode two and part of episode three. This is the first time that another actor has had to stand in for a member of the main cast.

During this story Frazer Hines was joined by his cousin, Ian, who played one of the Toy Soldiers.

The Karkus was played by Christopher Robbie, who would return to the show as the Cyberleader in the 1975 Fourth Doctor story "Revenge of the Cybermen".

This story is distinguished as a rare trip into nearly pure fantasy, and a prominent feature of this story is a white ‘void’ outside of time and space that The Doctor describes as ‘nowhere’. The Tenth Doctor gives the same description to the ‘void’ in the 2006 season of the show, and Sarah Jane Smith is brought to a similar place in The Sarah Jane Adventures story "Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?".

The costumes used to portray the White Robots, that close in on Jamie and Zoe Heriot in the void outside the TARDIS in the first episode, had already been used on "The Prophet" - a 1966 episode of the anthology series Out of the Unknown. The only difference was they were repainted, from their original black, to become white onscreen. They were not actually painted white. Three were painted yellow and one was grey. The reason for this was that pure white tended to be too bright for the monochrome cameras in use at the time, causing picture flaring. (for the same reason, the TARDIS control console was painted pale green rather than white).

The Master of the Land of Fiction should not be confused with the renegade Time Lord known as The Master.

Although The Master of the Land of Fiction is never named, it is strongly implied that he is Frank Richards, creator of the popular Billy Bunter character of children's fiction. The Master of the Land of Fiction is heard to state that he wrote the adventures of Captain Jack Harkaway in the Ensign comic; in reality, it was Frank Richards who wrote these stories. (Peter Ling himself had also written for boys' comics).

The Land of Fiction also features in the Virgin Books' The New Adventures spin-off novels "Conundrum" and "Head Games" by Steve Lyons. In "Conundrum", it is revealed that the Land of Fiction was created by the Gods of Ragnarok.

On both occasions before Jamie gets turned into a cut-out, he shouts, ‘Creag an tuire!’ Frazer Hines joked on the DVD commentary that this is Scottish Gaelic for ‘vodka and tonic’. However, it is actually the motto of the MacLaren Clan of Scotland, meaning ‘the boar's rock’. These are also Jamie's last words in his last regular story, "The War Games", as he charges an English redcoat on the fields of Scotland.

The children's sequence is largely drawn from E. Nesbit's "Treasure Seekers".

Cyrano de Bergerac is treated as a fictional character (from Rostand's play), despite being historically real, as is Blackbeard.

The Karkus (a Germanic superhero from the strip cartoons in the 'hourly telepress') is from the year 2000. It is revealed that Zoe is a follower of the Karkus' adventures. The Karkus' anti-molecular ray disintegrator gun is, according to The Doctor, 'scientifically impossible'. It then promptly disappears.

The character Gulliver speaks only lines written for him by Jonathan Swift in Gulliver's Travels.

One of the fictional characters encountered is the minotaur of Greek mythology. Variations on this myth were used again in the 1972 Third Doctor story "The Time Monster" and the 1979/80 Fourth Doctor story "The Horns of Nimon".

The Unicorn scene was recorded at the Kenley Aerodrome in Surrey. Unfortunately, the horse provided had a light brown coat rather than the required white, and so it had to be painted white.

Escaping from Dulkis, the mercury fluid links begin to vaporise. The Doctor is heard to say 'This has happened before' – referring to "The Daleks" and "The Wheel in Space".

Although a caption at the end of episode five stated ‘NEXT WEEK - THE INVASION’, it would be three weeks until the first episode of "The Invasion" was broadcast. This was due to the BBC's coverage of the 1968 Summer Olympics.

In episode one of "The Invasion" it is implied that this adventure was a dream. At the end of "The Mind Robber" the TARDIS is seen to reform and return to ordinary space and the next story starts immediately with no reference to The Master of the Land of Fiction, who was going to be taken home. His non-presence indicates that episodes two to five of this adventure do not take place at all, but is a dream brought on by whatever is outside time and space. Thus, the TARDIS never really broke up.

It has also been suggested that the White Robots and Tin Soldiers are Jamie and Zoe's subconscious representations of the Cybermen and the Quarks (if, as Derrick Sherwin intended, this is a 'dream story'). The Master of the Land of Fiction might therefore be The Doctor's subconscious echo of the Gallifreyan renegade.

Episode five was recorded on 35mm film instead of videotape. The recording of this episode also brought an end to both the production of "The Mind Robber" and the fifth recording block. This story though, along with "The Dominators", was held over to Season Six.

"The Mind Robber" was the only Doctor Who story written by Peter Ling. He subsequently published several novels. Peter Ling died on the 14th September 2006.

This story was repeated on BBC2 in January and February 1992.



First and Last

The Firsts:

 The first Doctor Who story to be written by Peter Ling.

 The first Doctor Who story to be directed by David Maloney.

 The first time that another actor has had to stand in for a member of the main cast.

 The first Doctor Who story to have individual episodes less than the normal 24 or 25 minutes in length.


The Lasts (Subject to Future Stories):

 The last Doctor Who story to be written by Peter Ling.

 Martin Baugh's last involvement in the show as Costume Designer.


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The Plot

WARNING: May Contain SpoilersHide Text
Jamie and Zoe Surrounded by White Robots
Jamie and Zoe Surrounded by White Robots

To escape from the volcanic eruption on Dulkis (see "The Dominators"), The Doctor is forced to act quickly to move the TARDIS away from danger from the lava flow. He therefore uses an emergency unit which moves the TARDIS out of normal time and space. They land in a white void and as The Doctor attempts to fix a blown fluid link, Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot are lured outside only to be confronted by white robots. The Doctor manages to get his travelling companions back inside but, as they try to return to reality, the TARDIS explodes. The Doctor spins away through space while Jamie and Zoe are left clinging to the console as it is engulfed in a swirling mist.

They find themselves in what they are soon to discover is The Land of Fiction - a surreal world where imagination has become reality which is populated with characters out of folklore and literature. At first they are separated from each other and pursued by life-sized clockwork toy soldiers in what appears to be a forest. It soon turns out though they are in a forest of huge words.

The Doctor, after facing a series of riddles, comes across some children – who then run off. He then finds Jamie, but when he is confronted with another puzzle, to replicate Jamie’s face, he gets it wrong. Jamie's face is therefore replaced with the visage of another man.

Zoe and Jamie Cling to the TARDIS Console
Zoe and Jamie Cling to the TARDIS Console

The Doctor and Jamie are then reunited with Zoe. But when they encounter a person, who they realise is Gulliver, he gives them away to a troop of clockwork toy soldiers. They are taken to the edge of the Forest of Words, where a unicorn charges straight at them. However, when they declare that it does not exist, it turns into a statue.

They then discover a large door. On entering Zoe is initially trapped inside a glass jar but is soon freed by The Doctor. The Doctor is also able to bring Jamie back to normal. It is soon realised that they are at the entrance to a labyrinth. Leaving Jamie behind, The Doctor and Zoe enter the labyrinth where they soon encounter the Minotaur - which they manage to deal with in the same way as the unicorn. Exploring a bit further The Doctor and Zoe find themselves facing a statue of Medusa which starts to come to life. The Doctor tells Zoe not to look into its eyes or it will turn them both to stone. Zoe though finds it hard not too but then, with The Doctor desperately telling her to deny its existence, it becomes just a statue again.

The TARDIS Breaks Up
The TARDIS Breaks Up

Jamie, meanwhile, finds himself being pursued by a clockwork soldier. To escape he climbs up a huge rock face, with the help of Rapunzel’s hair, and enters a citadel through a window. However, as soon as he enters the room an alarm is triggered and White Robots appear and start to pursue Jamie.

The Doctor and Zoe finally manage to find the exit to the labyrinth. But as soon as they leave the maze they encounter The Karkus, a cartoon character from Zoe’s home world. The Doctor accidentally manages to dispel The Karkus' ‘anti-molecular ray disintegrator’ by commenting that no such weapon exists. Furious at the loss of his weapon The Karkus attacks The Doctor. Unfortunately for him, because he has never heard of the character before he cannot say for certain that The Karkus is not real, and so has to rely on Zoe to come to his rescue. Zoe is able to beat The Karkus into submission with her martial arts skills.

The Karkus allies himself with The Doctor and Zoe and takes them to the citadel where they are reunited with Jamie, who had managed to escape from the White Robots that had been searching for him. However, shortly after the time travellers are reunited Zoe accidentally sets off the alarm again and the White Robots appear. But instead of trying to escape from them The Doctor instead lets the White Robots capture them. The White Robots then take the time travellers to a main control room.

The Doctor Encounters The Children
The Doctor Encounters The Children

There, they meet The Master, a kidnapped Earth writer who underwent the same tests when he first arrived. He explains that he is getting old and needs The Doctor to replace him as the new creative source for the Land of Fiction. While he is talking, Jamie and Zoe attempt to escape through a library but are caught by the White Robots who force them between the pages of a giant book, which starts to close on them. The Doctor, meanwhile, refuses The Master’s offer and escapes by climbing through a skylight onto the roof. There he meets the children again and discovers a typewriter. On learning that Jamie and Zoe are trapped inside the giant book he uses the typewriter to free them. The Doctor has realised that whatever he types then takes place

However, he is not the only one writing and so The Doctor finds himself caught in a trap created by The Master. With The Doctor finally under his control The Master links him up to the Master Brain where the two of them summon up various fictional characters to fight against one another. With The Master distracted Jamie and Zoe succeed in overloading the Master Brain freeing The Doctor. The Doctor then unplugs The Master from the Master Brain. The White Robots try to stop him but instead they destroy the Master Brain. With the Master Brain destroyed a mist suddenly appears and envelops them. Normality is then restored and the TARDIS comes back together in space.

 
Jamie?
Jamie?
Zoe Trapped in the Glass Jar
Zoe Trapped in the Glass Jar
The Unicorn
The Unicorn
Zoe Fights The Karkus
Zoe Fights The Karkus
 
Rapunzel
Rapunzel
The Doctor Meets Rapunzel and The Karkus
The Doctor Meets Rapunzel and The Karkus
The Master (of the Land of Fiction)
The Master (of the Land of Fiction)
The Doctor
The Doctor




Quote of the Story


 'We're nowhere. It's as simple as that.'

The Doctor



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Release Information

FormatTitleRelease Date (UK)Code NumberCover ArtRemarks
Video
VHS
The Mind RobberMay 1990BBCV 4352Alister Pearson
Audio
CD
Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume One - The Early Years 1963-1969June 2000WMSF 6023-2Music and sound effects
Video
DVD
The Mind RobberMarch 2005BBCDVD 1358Photo-montage
Audio
CD
The 50th Anniversary CollectionDecember 2013Photo-montageOriginal Television Soundtracks


In Print

FormatTitleRelease Date (UK)PublisherAuthorCover ArtRemarks
Novel
Novel
The Mind RobberApril 1987Target No. 115Peter LingDavid McAllisterISBN: 0-426-20286-4
Novel
Novel
The Mind Robber1990Target No. 115Peter LingAlister PearsonVirgin new cover reprint.
ISBN: 0-426-20286-4
CD
CD
The Mind RobberAugust 2009Target No. 115Peter LingDavid McAllisterAudio version of the Target novel read by Derek Jacobi.
Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time)Issue 45
Doctor Who WeeklyIssue 43 (Released: August 1980)
Doctor Who Magazine - ArchiveIssue 124 (Released: May 1987)
Doctor Who Magazine - After ImageIssue 185 (Released: April 1992)
Doctor Who Magazine - ArchiveIssue 245 (Released: November 1996)
Doctor Who Magazine - Time TeamIssue 309 (Released: October 2001)
Doctor Who Magazine - Time TeamIssue 311 (Released: December 2001)
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of FictionIssue 404 (Released: February 2009)
Doctor Who DVD FilesVolume 84 (Released: March 2012)

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Photo Gallery


The Doctor and Companions

 
Patrick Troughton
The Second Doctor

   

Frazer Hines
Jamie McCrimmon
 
Wendy Padbury
Zoe Heriot
   




On Release

VHS Video Cover
VHS Video Cover

BBC
VIDEO
Audio - Volume 1: The Early Years
Audio - Volume 1: The Early Years

BBC
AUDIO
DVD Cover
DVD Cover

BBC
VIDEO
The 50th Anniversary Collection Cover
The 50th Anniversary Collection Cover

BBC
AUDIO
   



In Print

Original Target Book Cover
Original Target Book Cover

Target
NOVEL
Reprinted Virgin Book Cover
Reprinted Virgin Book Cover

Virgin
NOVEL
Target Audio CD Cover
Target Audio CD Cover

BBC
CD
   


Magazines

Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time): Issue 45
Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time): Issue 45

CMS
Doctor Who Weekly: Issue 43
Doctor Who Weekly: Issue 43

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - Archive: Issue 124
Doctor Who Magazine - Archive: Issue 124

Marvel Comics
   
Doctor Who Magazine - After Image: Issue 185
Doctor Who Magazine - After Image: Issue 185

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - Archive: Issue 245
Doctor Who Magazine - Archive: Issue 245

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 309
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 309

Marvel Comics
   
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 311
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 311

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction: Issue 404
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction: Issue 404

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who DVD Files: Volume 84
Doctor Who DVD Files: Volume 84

GE Fabbri
   

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