Doctor Who: Shada (never broadcast)

Date(s) of Broadcast: never broadcast
Number of Episodes: 6
Average Episode Running Times: 25 mins
Format: colour
Sound: mono

PRODUCTION
Production Company: BBC
Production: Graham Williams
Production Unit Manager: John Nathan-Turner

SCRIPT
Script: Douglas Adams
Story Editors: Douglas Adams

DIRECTION
Director: Pennant Roberts

MUSIC
Title Music: Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Title Music Arranger: Delia Derbyshire

SOUND
Special Sound: Dick Mills

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up: Kim Burns
Costumes: Rupert Jarvis

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Designer: Victor Meredith

MISCELLANEOUS
Production Assistants: Olivia Bazalgette, Ralph Wilton
Assistant Floor Manager: Val McCrimmon

LOCATIONS
Locations: Cambridge, UK

CAST
Tom Baker (The Doctor)
Lalla Ward (Romana)
Denis Carey (Professor Chronotis (Salyavin))
Christopher Neame (Skagra)
Daniel Hill (Chris Parsons)
Victoria Burgoyne (Clare Keightley)
Shirley Dixon (Ship)
Gerald Campion (Wilkin)
Derek Pollitt (Caldera)
David Strong (passenger)
St Johns Choristers (themselves)
James Coombs (voice of the Krargs)
John Hallett (police constable)
Harry Fielder, Lionel Sansby, James Muir, Derek Suthern, Reg Woods (Krargs)

PLOT SUMMARY

The Doctor and Romana visit Time Lord Professor Chronotis who left Gallifrey and now lives a life of academia at St Cedd's College, Cambridge. Meanwhile, scientist Skagra is trying to find a book, The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey, a repository of Time Lord knowledge that Chronotis has in his library and he tries to steal Chronitis' mind to determine its location. But it's been borrowed by one of Chronitis' students, Chris Parsons, unaware that it's actually the key to the ancient Time Lord prison planet of Shada. Skagra intends to free one of the inmates, Salyavin, who posseses tremendous psychic powers.

It's difficult - and indeed unfair - to critique something that was never finished but on the basis of what was eventually released on video, the scrapped Shada looks like it might have been a worthy end to season seventeen and a fitting goodbye from Douglas Adams. Various attempts were made to remount the show until it was turned into a six part BBCi webcast in 2003.

UK
Video Distributor: BBC Video

Sunburst - working title

BOOKS

Doctor Who: The Television Companion pp.377-378
credits, synopsis, review (by David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker)

KEYWORDS

aliens, time travel

Last Updated: 1 January, 2009