UK, 22 February 1964-4 April 1964 7 episodes, 25m each
videotape, black and white, 4:3
mono, English
Previous Serial: Doctor Who: The Edge of Destruction (1964)
Next Serial: Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus (1964)
Series: Doctor Who (1963-1989) – series 1, episodes 14-20
A British science fiction television serial directed by Waris Hussein and John Crockett from a script by John Lucarotti. It was the fourth serial of the first series of Doctor Who and was the first of the show's purely historical stories (i.e., a story set in Earth's past with the only science fiction elements being the usually unremarked upon alien origin of The Doctor and the regular cast of characters' arrival and departure in the TARDIS). All seven episodes were wiped by the BBC and have yet to be recovered.
Plot Summary
The Doctor and his companions join Marco Polo on his historic journey across the Gobi Desert to Cathay. The Doctor befriends Kublai Khan at Shang-tu and help to save him from an assassination attempt by the Mongol warlord Tegana in Peking.
Credits
* = uncredited
Crew
Directors: Waris Hussein, John Crockett
© [not given on screen]
BBC TV
Producer: Verity Lambert
Associate Producer: Mervyn Pinfield
Script: John Lucarotti
Story Editor: David Whitaker
Studio Lighting: John Treays, Howard King
Film Editors: John House, Elmer Davies, Richard Barclay
Title Music: Ron Grainer with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Title Music Arranged by: Delia Derbyshire *
Incidental Music: Tristram Cary
Incidental Music Performed by: The Eddie Walker Ensemble *
Studio Sound: Jack Brummitt, Hugh Barker, Derek Miller-Timmins
Special Sound: Brian Hodgson
Costumes: Daphne Dare
Make Up: Ann Ferriggi
Designer: Barry Newbery
Production Assistants: Douglas Camfield, Penny Joy
Assistant Floor Manager: Catherine Childs
Dance Coach: Zohra Segal *
Sword Fight Arranger: Derek Ware
Cast
The Roof of the World
William Hartnell (Dr Who)
Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman)
William Russell (Ian Chesterton)
Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright)
Mark Eden (Marco Polo)
Derren Nesbitt (Tegana)
Zienia Merton (Ping-Cho)
Leslie Bates (man at Lop)
The Singing Sands
William Hartnell (Dr Who)
Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman)
William Russell (Ian Chesterton)
Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright)
Mark Eden (Marco Polo)
Derren Nesbitt (Tegana)
Zienia Merton (Ping-Cho)
Five Hundred Eyes
William Hartnell (Dr Who)
Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman)
William Russell (Ian Chesterton)
Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright)
Mark Eden (Marco Polo)
Derren Nesbitt (Tegana)
Zienia Merton (Ping-Cho)
Jimmy Gardner (Chenchu)
Charles Wade (Malik)
Philip Voss (Acomat)
The Wall of Lies
William Hartnell (Dr Who)
Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman)
William Russell (Ian Chesterton)
Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright)
Mark Eden (Marco Polo)
Derren Nesbitt (Tegana)
Zienia Merton (Ping-Cho)
Jimmy Gardner (Chenchu)
Philip Voss (Acomat)
Rider from Shang-tu
William Hartnell (Dr Who)
Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman)
William Russell (Ian Chesterton)
Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright)
Mark Eden (Marco Polo)
Derren Nesbitt (Tegana)
Zienia Merton (Ping-Cho)
Philip Voss (Acomat)
Michael Guest (Mongol bandit)
Paul Carson (Ling-Tau)
Gabor Baraker (Wang-lo)
Tutte Lemkow (Kuiju)
Mighty Kublai Khan
William Hartnell (Dr Who)
Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman)
William Russell (Ian Chesterton)
Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright)
Mark Eden (Marco Polo)
Derren Nesbitt (Tegana)
Zienia Merton (Ping-Cho)
Gabor Baraker (Wang-lo)
Tutte Lemkow (Kuiju)
Peter Lawrence (Vizier)
Basil Tang (office foreman)
Assassin at Peking
William Hartnell (Dr Who)
Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman)
William Russell (Ian Chesterton)
Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright)
Mark Eden (Marco Polo)
Derren Nesbitt (Tegana)
Zienia Merton (Ping-Cho)
Paul Carson (Ling-Tau)
Tutte Lemkow (Kuiju)
Peter Lawrence (Vizier)
Claire Davenport (Empress)
Basil Tang [office foreman] *
Episodes
1. The Roof of the World (22 February 1964)
2. The Singing Sands (29 February 1964)
3. Five Hundred Eyes (7 March 1964)
4. The Wall of Lies (14 March 1964)
5. Rider from Shang-Tu (21 March 1964)
6. Mighty Kublai Khan (28 March 1964)
7. Assassin at Peking (4 April 1964)
Alternative Titles
Doctor Who and Kublai Khan
A Journey to Cathay – working title
References
Periodicals
- Oracle vol.2 no.2 (November 1978) – review (by John Peel)
Books
- Doctor Who: An Adventure in Time and Space (1980) – review (by John Peel)
- Doctor Who Programme Guide pp.21-22 – credits, synopsis (by Jean-Marc Lofficier)
- Doctor Who: The Complete History Volume 2 by John Ainsworth (ed.) pp.36-83 – illustrated production notes
- Doctor Who: The Discontinuity Guide pp.15-17 – credits, trivia, review (by Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping)
- Doctor Who: The Handbook: The First Doctor pp.65-68 – credits, synopsis, review (by David J. Howe, Mark Stammers, Stephen James Walker)
- Doctor Who: The Television Companion pp.18-21 – credits, synopsis, review (by David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker)
