Doctor Who: Carnival of Monsters (1973)

Country of Origin: UK
Dates of Original Broadcast: 27 January 1973-17 February 1973
Number of Episodes: 4
Average Episode Running Times: 25m
Format:
Colour Format: colour
Sound: mono

DIRECTION

Director: Barry Letts

PRODUCTION
Production Company: BBC TV
Producer: Barry Letts

SCRIPT
Script: Robert Holmes
Story Editor: Terrance Dicks

PHOTOGRAPHY
Studio Lighting: Clive Thomas
Film Camera: Peter Hamilton

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Film Editor: Peter Evans

MUSIC
Title Music: Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Title Music Arranged By: Delia Derbyshire
Incidental Music: Dudley Simpson

SOUND
Studio Sound: Gordon Mackie
Special Sounds: Brian Hodgson

COSTUMES AND MAKE-UP
Make Up: Angela Seyfang
Costumes: James Acheson

VISUAL EFFECTS
Visual Effects: John Horton

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Designer: Roger Liminton

OTHER CREW
Production Assistant: Chros D'Oyly-John
Assistant Floor Manager: Karilyn Collier

LOCATIONS
Locations: Howe Farm, Tillingham Marches, England, UK; Cawoods Quarry, Asheldham, England, UK; RFA Robert Dundas, Naval Dockyard, Chatham, Kent, England, UK

CAST

Episode 1
Jon Pertwee (The Doctor)
Katy Manning (Jo Grant)
Tenniel Evans (Major Daly)
Ian Marter (John Andrews)
Jenny McKraken(Claire Daly)
Leslie Dwyer (Vorg)
Cheryl Hall (Shirna)
Peter Halliday (Pletrac)
Michael Wisher (Kalik)
Terence Lodge (Orum)

Episode 2
Jon Pertwee (The Doctor)
Katy Manning (Jo Grant)
Tenniel Evans (Major Daly)
Ian Marter (John Andrews)
Jenny McKraken(Claire Daly)
Leslie Dwyer (Vorg)
Cheryl Hall (Shirna)
Peter Halliday (Pletrac)
Michael Wisher (Kalik)
Terence Lodge (Orum)

Episode 3
Jon Pertwee (The Doctor)
Katy Manning (Jo Grant)
Tenniel Evans (Major Daly)
Ian Marter (John Andrews)
Jenny McKraken(Claire Daly)
Leslie Dwyer (Vorg)
Cheryl Hall (Shirna)
Peter Halliday (Pletrac)
Michael Wisher (Kalik)
Terence Lodge (Orum)
Andrew Staines (Captain)

Episode 4
Jon Pertwee (The Doctor)
Katy Manning (Jo Grant)
Tenniel Evans (Major Daly)
Ian Marter (John Andrews)
Jenny McKraken(Claire Daly)
Leslie Dwyer (Vorg)
Cheryl Hall (Shirna)
Peter Halliday (Pletrac)
Michael Wisher (Kalik)
Terence Lodge (Orum)

PLOT SUMMARY

The Doctor and Jo arrive on a cruise ship in the Indian ocean in 1926 that appears to be trapped in a time loop. In fact they're inside a Miniscope, a peepshow of miniature lifeforms captured from around the galaxy and put on show by entertainer Vorg and Shirna. But a planned political uprising on the planet Inter Minor accidentally releases monsters from the Miniscope, the Drashigs, while Jo is trapped inside the machine which is about to malfunction...

The terrible monster puppets notwithstanding, this is one of the highlights of the Pertwee era. The opening scenes aboard the SS Bernice keep the audience guessing nicely, the political subterfuge is well-handled and there are some typically Holmesian banter between the various double-acts that make up the cast. After all those stories set on Earth, this was just the sort of brash, fantastical tale that the series needed.

UK
Television Distributor: BBC
Video Distributor: BBC Video (BBCV 5556)
DVD Distributor: BBC Video (BBCDVD 1098)

1972
May
30: UK - location filming begins

June
2: UK - location filming ends
19: UK - studio filming
20: UK - studio filming

July
3: UK - studio filming
4: UK - studio filming

1973
January
27: UK - episode 1 television broadcast (on BBC1)

February
3: UK - episode 2 television broadcast (on BBC1)
10: UK - episode 3 television broadcast (on BBC1)
17: UK - episode 4 television broadcast (on BBC1)

1981
November
16: UK - episode 1 television broadcast (on BBC1)
17: UK - episode 2 television broadcast (on BBC1)
18: UK - episode 3 television broadcast (on BBC1)
19: UK - episode 4 television broadcast (on BBC1)

1995
March
6: UK - video release (BBC Video (BBCV 5556))

2002
March
31: UK - omnibus edition television broadcast (on UK Gold)

July
15: UK - DVD release (BBC Video (BBCDVD 1098))

Peepshow - working title

MAGAZINES

Oracle vol 3 no.11/12 (Christmas 1981) (UK)
review (by Gary Russell)

TARDIS vol.6 no.5 (January 1982) (UK)
review (by Ian K. McLachlan)

TSV no.44 (June 1995) (UK)
review (by Paul Scoones)

A Voyage Through 25 Years of Doctor Who December 1988 (UK)
review (by Julian Knott)

BOOKS

Doctor Who Television Companion pp.238-241
credits, synopsis, review (by David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker)

Doctor Who: The Handbook: The Third Doctor pp.121-125
credits, synopsis, review (by David J. Howe, Mark Stammers, Stephen James Walker)

KEYWORDS

aliens, time travel, monsters

Last Updated: 7 September, 2009