Farewell Great Macedon (unproduced TV story): Difference between revisions

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+{{title dab away}}
 {{real world}}
-[[Image:FarewellGreatMacedon.jpg|thumb|right|2009 publication of the teleplay.]]
+{{unprod}}
-: ''For the book collecting this script and other material, see [[Farewell Great Macedon (book)]].''
+{{Infobox Story
+|adapted into    = Farewell, Great Macedon (audio story)
+|image           =
+|series          = [[Season 27]]
+|season number   =
+|story number    =
+|doctor          = First Doctor
+|companions      = [[Susan Foreman|Susan]], [[Ian Chesterton|Ian]], [[Barbara Wright|Barbara]]
+|featuring       = [[Alexander the Great]]
+|enemy           =
+|setting         = [[Babylon]]
+|writer          = [[Moris Farhi]]
+|director        =
+|producer        =
+|broadcast date  =
+|format          = Unproduced TV story
+|production code =
+}}{{dab page|Farewell Great Macedon}}
+{{Big toc}}
+'''''Farewell Great Macedon''''' was an unproduced six-episode [[First Doctor]] serial by [[Moris Farhi]] which was commissioned by [[David Whitaker]] for the first season of ''Doctor Who'' in 1964.
-'''Farewell Great Macedon''' is an unproduced six-episode [[First Doctor]] serial by [[Moris Farhi]] which was commissioned by [[David Whitaker]] for the first season of ''Doctor Who'' in [[1964]].
+The story featured the Doctor, [[Ian Chesterton|Ian]], [[Barbara Wright|Barbara]] and [[Susan Foreman|Susan]] encountering [[Alexander the Great]] in [[Babylon]]. Work stopped on the scripts when Farhi felt that the [[script editor|story editor]] was asking for too many changes that would have compromised the historical accuracy of the scripts. The script was later adapted for audio by [[Nigel Robinson]] and [[Farewell, Great Macedon (audio story)|then produced]] for [[Big Finish Productions]].
-The story would have featured the Doctor and his companions encountering [[Alexander the Great]].
+== Episode titles ==
-The story was never produced, but in August 2009 the publisher [[Nothing at the End of the Lane (publisher)|Nothing at the End of the Lane]] published the script for the first time, in an omnibus collection also entitled ''[[Farewell Great Macedon (book)|Farewell Great Macedon]]''. It was the first time since the script for ''[[The Masters of Luxor]]'' was published by [[Titan Books]] in 1992 that a lost First Doctor script had been released in this way.
-==Plot summary==
-From the official website:
-"When the [[Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] arrives outside the gates of [[Babylon]] the Doctor and his friends find themselves in the presence of Alexander the Great. But there is treachery at work as generals plot to overthrow the king and his men. When the travellers stand accused the Doctor and [[Ian Chesterton|Ian]] must face trials while still trying to uncover the real murderers."
-==Episode titles==
 As was the norm in the early seasons, each individual episode would have carried a separate title, with no overall title given on screen for the serial. According to Farhi's script, the individual episodes would have carried these titles:
 # The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
-# The Wrath of the Greatest Grecian of Them All!<br>(Farhi also suggests an alternate title: O, Son! My Son!)
+# The Wrath of the Greatest Grecian of Them All! (Farhi also suggests an alternate title: O, Son! My Son!)
 # A Man Must Die
 # The World Lies Dead at Your Feet
@@ Line 24: / Line 35: @@
 # Farewell, Great Macedon!
-Note: the punctuation present in the episode 6 title is not present in the actual title of the script.
+Note: the punctuation present in the episode 6 title is not present in the actual title of the [[serial]].
-==Story notes==
+== Major characters ==
-* Farhi also wrote a single-episode script for the series entitled ''[[The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance]]'', which is also included in the ''Farewell Great Macedon'' (it's unclear whether it was ever intended for broadcast, however). He was also commissioned by [[Graham Williams]] to write a [[Fourth Doctor]] teleplay, ''The Divided'', in 1977, but this unfilmed script no longer exists.
+* [[First Doctor|The Doctor]]
-* Farhi also wrote an unproduced script for ''[[wikipedia:The Prisoner|The Prisoner]]'' which was published in the mid-2000s.
+* [[Ian Chesterton]]
+* [[Barbara Wright]]
+* [[Susan Foreman]]
+* [[Alexander the Great]]
+* [[Hephaestion|Hephaeston]]
+* [[Calanus]]
+* [[Cleitus]]
+* [[Ptolemy Lagus|Ptolemy]]
+* [[Roxane]]
+* [[Seleucus]]
+* [[Antipater (Farewell, Great Macedon)|Antipater]]
+* [[Iollas]]
+* [[Glaucias]]
-==Continuity==
+== Story notes ==
-As the script was never produced, it's impossible to tell if it can be considered part of continuity, especially as it contains numerous character elements not retained in the televised series. However, in [[DW]]: ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]'' the recently regenerated [[Fourth Doctor]] does reference once meeting Alexander the Great.
+* According to the article "So Near, So Farhi" in the ''Farewell Great Macedon'' omnibus, after the script was rejected for ''Doctor Who'' in 1964, Farhi submitted them to the BBC as a potential springboard to a series on Alexander the Great. This idea was rejected. In 1966, Farhi resubmitted the scripts to new ''Doctor Who'' script editor [[Donald Tosh]], but was once again turned down.
+* Prior to being formally engaged for this story, Farhi also wrote a single-episode {{w|spec script}} for the series — over the well-documented protests of [[David Whitaker]] — entitled ''[[The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance (TV story)|The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance]]''. He was also commissioned by [[Graham Williams]] to write a [[Fourth Doctor]] teleplay, ''The Divided'', in 1977, but this unfilmed script no longer exists.
-==Upcoming Audio Production==
+== Continuity ==
-It has been reported that Big Finish will be producing an enhanced audiobook of this story for release in 2010.  It will star [[William Russell]] and [[Carole Ann Ford]].  <ref>[http://popculturezoo.com/archives/4737 Big Finish Productions Discovers More ‘Doctor Who Lost Stories’]</ref>
+As there is a difference between the published script and the [[Big Finish Productions]] adaptation, this is a story, like every novelised ''Doctor Who'' or ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures|Sarah Jane]]'' story, in which the individual fan must decide whether to accept the print or the performed version of the story.
-==See also==
+There is also the question of when this adventure occurred within Susan's personal timeline. Some fan chronologists have tried to assert that ''The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance'' should be placed after ''Macedon''.<ref>[http://drwhoguide.com/who.htm#1ST The ''Doctor Who'' Reference Guide's list of First Doctor stories], which puts ''Macedon'' ahead of ''Fragrance'' without explanation.</ref> However, as ''Fragrance'' was written before ''Macedon'' — and flatly rejected by Whitaker — neither script references the other in any way, leaving one free to choose any order. Moreover, neither script references any other ''Doctor Who'' script, so chronological placement can only logically occur between ''[[The Reign of Terror (TV story)|The Reign of Terror]]'' and ''[[Planet of Giants (TV story)|Planet of Giants]]'', because these are the only two stories featuring [[Susan Foreman|Susan]] which have no narrative connection.
-* [[The Masters of Luxor]]
-* [[The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance]]
-==References==
+The [[Big Finish Productions]] audio adaptation of ''[[The Masters of Luxor (audio story)|The Masters of Luxor]]'' establishes that ''The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance'' takes place before ''Farewell Great Macedon'', as it mentions the events of both, but is explicitly set immediately after ''Farewell Great Macedon''.
+In ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]'', the recently regenerated [[Fourth Doctor]] does reference once meeting Alexander the Great, though he gives no details to really confirm the plot details of ''Macedon''.
+== Footnotes ==
 {{reflist}}
-==External links==
+== External links ==
-* [http://www.nothing-lane.co.uk/scriptbook.php Official website]
+* [http://www.shannonsullivan.com/doctorwho/lost/lost1.html#Macedon Shannon Sullivan - Overview of Farewell Great Macedon]
+{{Unproduced stories}}
-{{prose stub}}
+[[Category:Unproduced Doctor Who TV stories]]
-[[Category:Unproduced Doctor Who stories]]