 "The Masque of Mandragora" was the first story of Season Fourteen and was notable for being the first historical story since the 1966 First Doctor story "The Gunfighters" not to be principally set in Great Britain.
The director chosen for this story was Rodney Bennett, whose last Doctor Who work had been on "The Ark in Space" two seasons earlier.
It was originally planed to record this story overseas. Instead it was shot at the resort of Portmeirion, a Welsh resort village near Penrhyndeudraeth in Gwynedd. Designed by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, Portmeirion boasts architecture inspired by the Mediterranean region. It had already featured in many films and television programmes, most notably as the paranoiac village in Patrick McGoohan's classic 1960s television series, The Prisoner.
Between seasons, the shows’ recording timetable had undergone a new stage of evolution. The two-day blocks which had been habitual for several years gave way to sessions which were variously two and three days in length. Furthermore, although these were held still roughly fortnightly, they would no longer almost universally fall on exactly the same days of the week, as had been in the past.
This story saw the first use of a new TARDIS exterior as it had deteriorated due to wear and tear and had collapsed at the end of production on the previous story "The Seeds of Doom". This new police box would be used regularly until the aborted story "Shada" in 1980.
This story also marks the first appearance of the TARDIS's secondary Console Room, with wood panelling. It was designed by Barry Newbury as the old set was too big and difficult to record in, and the central column and main doors suffered perpetual technical problems. The Jules Verne-inspired wood-panelled look still retained the same overall configuration with the roundels, scanner and console. In addition it includes a shaving mirror, a recorder, the chair (seen in certain First Doctor, Second Doctor and Third Doctor stories) and the Third Doctor's smoking jacket. However, the double doors leading outside the TARDIS were replaced by a dark passageway, and the central column was done away with altogether, much to Director Rodney Bennett's disapproval. To explain the change in the design the script for episode one had to be amended to include The Doctor and Sarah's discovery of the alternative Console Room.
This new set though was not popular and was only used until the end of the season, making its final appearance in "The Robots of Death". Depending on the account of information, the set either warped in storage between seasons, thus becoming unusable, or new producer Graham Williams didn't care for the wooden set. Whichever - the original, futuristic interior was restored for Season Fifteen.
In the Console Room, The Doctor is seen clearing some dust with a frilly white undershirt like those worn by the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith is seen picking up a recorder like the one played by the Second Doctor.
This isn't the first time The Doctor has visited Italy. The TARDIS first landed there in the 1965 First Doctor story "The Romans" and has returned there in the 2008 Tenth Doctor story "The Fires of Pompeii" and the 2010 Eleventh Doctor story "The Vampires of Venice".
Many of the period costumes seen in this story were first used in Renato Castellani's 1954 feature film production of Romeo and Juliet.
The Doctor explains for the first time why he and his companions are able to understand unfamiliar languages. At one point Sarah Jane Smith questions why she can understand Fifteenth Century Italian and The Doctor is heard replying that this is ‘a Time Lord gift I allow you to share’.
In the 2005 story "The End of the World", Rose Tyler asks the Ninth Doctor a similar question and The Doctor tells her that altering her language perception is a function of the TARDIS's telepathic field. In the 2005 Tenth Doctor story "The Christmas Invasion", it is revealed that The Doctor is ‘part of the circuit’ of the TARDIS's telepathic translation gift, and so it does not function while he is in a post-regenerative coma; furthermore, it is extended to various people standing near the TARDIS as well as Rose when he recovers. Furthermore the 2009 story "Planet of the Dead" seems to imply that The Doctor himself does not need the TARDIS for its translational abilities. This amplifies the point in "The Masque of Mandragora" that a companion’s ability to understand other languages is indeed a gift of The Doctor, and the TARDIS merely offers the technology to express that gift.
While staunching the bleeding from Giuliano's wound, The Doctor is heard making a reference to Florence Nightingale.
In the scene where the astrologer uses a telescope, and The Doctor reveals that he does not like it very much, he comments: ‘A pity, in another fifty years we could've used Galileo's’.
The Doctor is heard to say that he was looking forward to meeting Leonardo da Vinci, implying that he either had not met him previously or is just eager to meet up with him again. By the time of the 1979 story "City of Death", it is revealed that The Doctor has already met Leonardo da Vinci.
The rattle The Doctor uses in the first episode returns in The Sarah Jane Adventures story "The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith".
This story’s plot has been compared with Hamlet. Giuliano, like Hamlet, is an intellectual and inexperienced prince opposed by his usurping uncle. The conflict between science and religion in this story also echoes Hamlet's discussions about the nature of the supernatural world.
It is revealed that The Mandragora Helix is one of a number of Helix intelligences, spiralling energy masses that can manipulate energy into matter. The Mandragora Helix appears to be aware of the Time Lords and has previously been in contact with humans.
Interestingly Mandragora is the Latin name of the plant mandrake and is believed in folklore to have magical qualities. This member of the plant genus Mandragora belongs to the nightshades family and is highly poisonous. The plant grows natively in southern and central Europe and in lands around the Mediterranean Sea, as well as on Corsica.
This story saw the first use of a new style of lettering, in a serif font, for the on-screen episode titles.
In The Radio Times Elisabeth Sladen is credited as ‘Sarah Jane’ rather than Sarah Jane Smith.
During the production of this story, Elisabeth Sladen announced her intention to leave the programme.
This story also saw the end of both Rodney Bennett's and Louis Marks' involvement in the programme. Rodney Bennett continued directing, earning credits on programmes such as Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, The Darling Buds of May and Doctor Finlay. Louis Marks continued to work as a script editor and latterly a producer, handling shows like Middlemarch, Play For Today, Northanger Abbey... and The Lost Boys, directed by Rodney Bennett.
The Mandragora Helix showed up again in the various spin-off media. In comic strip "The Mark of Mandragora", published in Doctor Who Magazine (issues 169 - 172), it is defeated by the Seventh Doctor and Ace with the help of UNIT Captain Muriel Frost. The BBC Books’ The Past Doctor Stories novel "The Eleventh Tiger", by David A. McIntee, features an energy helix that is strongly implied to be the same one featured in this story. The Mandragora Helix returned once more in the BBC Books’ The Tenth Doctor Stories novel "Beautiful Chaos" by Gary Russell.
According to the Sarah Jane Smith Audio range from Big Finish Productions, after his encounter with The Doctor and Sarah, Giuliano takes charge of the Brotherhood of Demnos and re-forms them into a group called ‘The Orphans of the Future’. The consequences of this action come to bear in the 2009 Tenth Doctor animated story "Dreamland".
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The Firsts:
The first story of Season Fourteen.
The first appearance of the TARDIS's wood panelled secondary console room, designed by Barry Newbury.
The first time it is revealed that the TARDIS can translate languages so enabling The Doctor and his companions to understand unfamiliar languages.
The first historical story, since the 1966 First Doctor story "The Gunfighters", not to be principally set in Great Britain.
The first use of a new style of lettering, in a serif font, for the on-screen episode titles.
Chris D'Oyly-John's first involvement in the show as Production Unit Manager.
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(Position = 43 out of 159)
(Position = 85 out of 200)
(Position = 104 out of 241)
