Mawdryn Undead (TV story): Difference between revisions

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{{Quote|The Doctor and the TARDIS - well, how could I forget?|Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart}}
{{title dab away}}
{{Infobox ClassicTV|
{{real world}}
story name= Mawdryn Undead|
{{ImageLinkTV}}
image=[[Image:Mawdryn Undead.jpg|250px]]|
{{Infobox Story SMW
series=[[Doctor Who]] -<br/>[[List of Doctor Who television stories|TV Stories]]|
|image                 = FiveBrigOverShoulder.jpg
number= [[Season 20]]|
|novelisation          = Mawdryn Undead (novelisation)
story number=126|
|series                 = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
doctor=[[Fifth Doctor]] |
|season number         = Season 20 (Doctor Who 1963)|
companions= <ul><li>[[Nyssa]]</li><li>[[Tegan]]</li><li>[[Turlough]] (joins)</li><li>[[Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]]</li></ul>|
|season serial number  = 3
enemy= <ul><li>[[Black Guardian]]</li><li>[[Mawdryn]]</li><li>[[Turlough]]</li></ul> |
|story number           = 125
year= <ul><li>[[Mawdryn]]'s ship; [[1983]]</li><li>[[Brendon Public School]]; [[1983]]</li><li>[[Brendon Public School]]; [[1977]]</li>|
|doctor                 = Fifth Doctor
writer= [[Peter Grimwade]] |
|companions             = [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]], [[Nyssa]]
director= [[Peter Moffatt]] |
|featuring              = Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart{{!}}The Brigadier
producer= [[John Nathan-Turner]] |
|featuring2            = Vislor Turlough
broadcast date= [[1st February]] - [[9th February]] [[1983]] |
|enemy                 = [[Mawdryn]], the [[Black Guardian]], [[Mutant (Mawdryn Undead)|Mutants]]
format= 4 25-minute episodes |
|setting                = [[Mawdryn's ship]], [[1983]]<br />[[Brendon Public School]], [[1977]] and [[1983]]
production code= [[List of production codes|6F]] |
|writer                 = Peter Grimwade
previous story= [[Snakedance]] |
|director               = [[Peter Moffatt]]
next story= [[Terminus (TV story)|Terminus]] }}
|producer               = [[John Nathan-Turner]]
|epcount                = 4
|broadcast date         = 1 February - 9 February 1983
|network                = BBC1
|format                 = 4x25-minute episodes
|serial production code = [[List of production codes|6F]]
|prev                  = Snakedance (TV story)
|next                  = Terminus (TV story)
|made prev              = Arc of Infinity (TV story)
|made next             = Terminus (TV story)
|clip                  = An offer from the Black Guardian - Doctor Who - Mawdryn Undead - BBC
|thwr = 209
}}
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the third serial of [[Season 20 (Doctor Who 1963)|season 20]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. It saw the return of [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|the Brigadier]], and was the first story in the "[[Black Guardian]] trilogy". It also marked the first appearance of [[Vislor Turlough]] as both a companion and a villain.


Due to its use of very specific date, such as placing the Brigadier's [[retirement]] during [[1976]], this story attempted to address the so-called [[UNIT dating controversy]]. However, in so doing, it became a major part of that very controversy.


==Synopsis==
== Synopsis ==
A [[warp ellipse]] draws the [[the Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] off course. The [[Fifth Doctor]]'s [[companion]]s are separated from him not in [[space]], but in [[time]], and he has to deal with a treacherous schoolboy named [[Turlough]]. But why does the Doctor's old friend [[the Brigadier]] not remember him at all?
A [[warp ellipse]] draws [[the Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] off course. The [[Fifth Doctor]]'s [[companion]]s are separated from him not in [[space]], but in [[time]], and he has to deal with a treacherous schoolboy named [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]]. But why does the Doctor's old friend, [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|the Brigadier]], not remember him at all?


==Plot==
== Plot ==
=== Part one ===
In [[1983]], the former [[UNIT]] [[Brigadier]] [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]] teaches mathematics at [[Brendon Public School]] for Boys. A mischievous student, [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]], convinces his classmate [[Hippo Ibbotson|Ibbotson]] to join him in a joyride in the Brigadier's priceless antique [[car]], which they accidentally veer off the road and [[Car crash|crash]]. While unconscious, Turlough is contacted by the sinister [[Black Guardian]]. The Black Guardian knows Turlough is actually from another planet. He offers Turlough transportation off [[Earth]] if he will kill the Guardian's greatest enemy: the Doctor.


==== Part One ====
At the same time, the [[Fifth Doctor]], [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]] and [[Nyssa]] have problems of their own. As Tegan attempts to get reassurance from the Doctor that she is free from the [[Mara]], [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] is caught in a [[warp ellipse]] and materialises on board [[Mawdryn's ship|an apparently empty starliner]] locked in a perpetual orbit in [[time]] and [[space]]. Turlough, on the Black Guardian's instructions, transports himself onto the liner by means of a [[transmat]] capsule and encounters the TARDIS crew. The Doctor travels to Earth via transmat, taking Turlough with him, to get rid of the transmat interference trapping the TARDIS on the liner. The source of the interference is not far from the school grounds. As the Doctor is sorting out the device, Turlough, responding to the Black Guardian's exhortations, picks up a large rock and prepares to bring it down on the back of the Doctor's head...


=== Part two ===
[[File:Mawdryn regenerating.jpg|thumb|"The Doctor" [[regenerating]].]]
The interference device explodes, knocking [[the Doctor]] backwards and forcing the rock out of [[Turlough]]'s hands. [[The Doctor's TARDIS|The TARDIS]] materialises nearby, but vanishes shortly after, seemingly leaving the Doctor stranded. The Doctor meets [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|the Brigadier]] at the school, but is puzzled when his old comrade-in-arms does not remember him. He eventually works around the apparent gap in the Brigadier's memory by mentioning [[Jo Grant]], [[Liz Shaw]] and other past adventures. To the Doctor's surprise, the Brigadier claims to remember Tegan, having met her shortly before his nervous breakdown in [[1977]]. The Doctor realises that the TARDIS hasn't disappeared; the destruction of the device knocked the TARDIS off a time track and sent it back six years.


In 1977, [[Tegan]] and [[Nyssa]] encounter the [[transmat]] capsule. Inside is an [[alien]]-looking [[humanoid]] whom they initially believe is the Doctor, horribly injured; they bring the figure back to the TARDIS and make him comfortable on the control room floor with blankets and the burgundy greatcoat worn by [[Fourth Doctor|the previous Doctor]]. Tegan goes to the school for help, where she meets the younger Brigadier, who accompanies her back to the TARDIS, where Nyssa tells them "the Doctor" is regenerating. The three enter the TARDIS control room. The figure, who is a scientist called [[Mawdryn]], now wearing the Doctor's coat, turns to face them. The top of his skull is missing, revealing his pulsing brain. Nyssa screams in horror.


It is 1983 and in England at Brendon Public School. Turlough, a red-haired teenager with an air of smug superiority, convinces the reluctant Ibbotson to take their math teacher's classic Humber car for a spin. Much to Ibbotson's horror, Turlough continues on beyond school property -- and is forced off the road by an oncoming car. Turlough is flung from the Humber and awakens to find himself floating above his unconscious body as school officials gather at the scene of the accident. A dark figure appears to Turlough and offers him the chance to leave Earth and return to his real home -- but only if Turlough kills the evil entity known as the Doctor. Turlough is hesitant to commit murder -- but as he begins to return to consciousness and the opportunity slips through his fingers, he agrees to do so. He awakens to find Dr Runciman tending to him, while his math teacher -- Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, the former Brigadier of British UNIT -- angrily studies the wreck of his car.
=== Part three ===
[[File:Black Guardian on Mawdryn's ship.jpg|thumb|"''There is nothing to fear. Reach out your hand.''"]]
Under the pretence of being [[the Doctor]], suffering a failed regeneration, [[Mawdryn]] convinces the others to bring [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] to the ship, claiming it has restorative capabilities. Meanwhile, the Doctor, [[Turlough]] and the present-day [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier]] use a TARDIS homing device on the damaged [[transmat]] to bring themselves to the ship, splitting up soon after to search for [[Tegan]] and [[Nyssa]]. Under the Black Guardian's instruction, Turlough opens a secret room, revealing several humanoids suffering from the same malady as Mawdryn. Mawdryn fools the present-day Brigadier into using a stolen [[Time Lord]] device to stabilise his condition. Finding the TARDIS, the Doctor reunites with Tegan and Nyssa. When he learns there are two Brigadiers aboard, he has to try to keep them apart lest the resulting energy discharge prove catastrophic.


In the TARDIS console room, Tegan is still recovering from the trauma of her possession by the Mara, and wants to return to Earth to rest in familiar surroundings. Instead, the TARDIS drifts into a warp ellipse and nearly collides with a spaceship travelling through the ellipse -- a fixed orbit through time and space. The Doctor is able to materialise on board the ship, which appears to be an opulent but deserted passenger liner. Exploring further, he and his companions find a transmat bay with an empty space where the capsule should be. According to the controls, someone left the ship six years ago... and went to Earth.
The Doctor and Nyssa meet with the present-day Brigadier and Mawdryn. Mawdryn reveals that he and his his fellow scientist tried to steal the secret of regeneration from the Time Lords, but caused perpetual mutations, leaving them practically immortal but in horrible agony. Tegan is chased into the room by [[Mutant (Mawdryn Undead)|Mawdryn's mutated crewmates]]. The mutants take their places in the regeneration room and Mawdryn pleads with the Doctor to help them die by giving them his [[regeneration energy]]. The Doctor refuses, explaining to Tegan that if he did so it would mean the end of him as a Time Lord...


Brendon's Headmaster discusses the situation with Lethbridge-Stewart, and is reluctant to take any severe disciplinary action against Turlough -- an orphan whose affairs are dealt with by a very strange solicitor in London. Turlough is recovering in the school hospital, where he finds a crystal cube in his jacket; when he touches the cube it begins to glow and he is able to communicate with his new alien partner. Ibbotson arrives, and Turlough assures him that he'll take all the blame -- though in fact he's already told the Headmaster that he only went along to keep Ibbotson out of trouble. Turlough leaves hospital without waiting to be dismissed, and Ibbotson follows him to the obelisk on the hill above the school. There, Turlough follows the instructions placed in his mind, and presses the base of a stone urn -- releasing a camouflage screen around a transmat capsule. Ibbotson watches in shock as Turlough enters the capsule, which promptly disappears. Ibbotson flees back to the school and babbles everything to Lethbridge-Stewart, who is frankly sceptical; after all, a solid object just can't dematerialise...
=== Part four ===
[[File:Black Guardian on the TARDIS screen.jpg|thumb|left|"''They are harmless, except to the Doctor.''"]]
[[The Doctor]] explains that he can only regenerate twelve times, and that, as he has already done so four times, helping the mutants die would consume all eight of his remaining regenerations. Although Mawdryn proclaims that the only thing they desire is their deaths rather than the Doctor's 'murder,' the Doctor refuses, unwilling to sacrifice his remaining lives to save them from their own mistake.


Turlough emerges from the transmat capsule aboard the alien ship, which he hopes to use to return home; but his new partner won't release him from his contract so easily. Before he can go home, he must fulfil his side of the bargain and kill the Doctor. Meanwhile, the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa return to the TARDIS but find that they are unable to dematerialise again. The Doctor soon determines that the transmat capsule has returned -- and that a signal being sent to it from a control box on Earth is interfering with the TARDIS. He returns to check the transmat controls and confirms that the capsule has just arrived from Earth, 1983. But what has it been doing there for the past six years?
Under the [[Black Guardian]]'s orders, [[Turlough]] locates the [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier]] of [[1977]] and locks him in a side room to keep the two Brigadiers from touching.


The Doctor and his companions return to the TARDIS to find Turlough inside, fiddling with the controls. He claims he simply wandered into the capsule out of curiosity, and although Tegan is suspicious of him, the Doctor seems to take his story at face value. The Doctor intends to take the capsule back to Earth and programmes the TARDIS to follow him once the transmat signal has cut out. Turlough accompanies the Doctor, while Nyssa and Tegan remain in the TARDIS. Once back on Earth, the Doctor soon locates the malfunctioning signal box hidden beneath the stone urn; but as he removes it from its hiding place and begins disassembling it, Turlough -- goaded on by the voice of his partner, the Black Guardian -- finds a large rock and prepares to smash in the unsuspecting Doctor's skull...
Trying to leave in [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]], the Doctor discovers that [[Tegan]] and [[Nyssa]] have been infected by the same malady as [[Mawdryn]] and his compatriots. Attempted time travel accelerates their conditions and reversing out of the warp ellipse only regresses Tegan and Nyssa into children. The only cure, it seems, is to do what Mawdryn demands; the Doctor must give up his remaining regenerations. Meanwhile, the past Brigadier escapes the room and encounters Mawdryn and his crew. Fearing the time imbalance, they send him into the transmat. Unbeknownst to them, the transmat cannot make the trip while the TARDIS is on the vessel and the capsule returns to its station seconds later.
...


==== Part Two ====
[[File:Mawdryn's ship explodes.jpg|thumb|[[Mawdryn's ship]] explodes.]]
The Doctor is knocked backward by a small explosion, forcing the rock out of Turlough's hands. Unfortunately, when the TARDIS tries to materialise on Earth, it vanishes. The Doctor meets the Brigadier at the Brendon school, but is puzzled when his old comrade-in-arms does not remember their time together at first. When the Doctor says he has to find Tegan and his TARDIS, the Brigadier remembers meeting her in [[1977]]. The Doctor realises that the TARDIS is right there - just six years earlier - and tries to get the Brigadier to remember the events that led to his nervous breakdown in 1977.
Hooking himself up to Mawdryn's apparatus, the Doctor is about to sacrifice himself when the two Brigadiers meet and touch hands, causing a discharge of temporal energy at precisely the right instant to act as a substitute power source. Tegan and Nyssa are cured, [[Mutant (Mawdryn Undead)|the alien scientists]] end their undead existence and the Doctor remains a Time Lord. The younger Brigadier, however, will not remember his time with the Doctor until they meet again in 1983. The Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan deliver the 1977 and 1983 versions of the Brigadier back to their respective times. Turlough is in the TARDIS control room when they return. He asks if he can join them and the Doctor comments that he already has. In space, Mawdryn's ship self-destructs.


In 1977, Tegan and Nyssa encounter the transmat capsule, but inside is an [[alien]]-looking [[human]]oid whom they initially believe is the Doctor, horribly injured. Meeting the younger Brigadier, they bring him and the alien back to the starliner. Tegan, Nyssa and the Brigadier enter the TARDIS control room. The alien, who is a scientist called Mawdryn, now wearing the Doctor's old coat, turns to face them. The top of his skull is missing, revealing his pulsing brain. Nyssa screams in horror.
== Cast ==
* [[Fifth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Peter Davison]]
* [[Tegan Jovanka]] - [[Janet Fielding]]
* [[Nyssa]] - [[Sarah Sutton]]
* [[Vislor Turlough]] – [[Mark Strickson]]
* [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart]] – [[Nicholas Courtney]]
* The [[Black Guardian]] – [[Valentine Dyall]]
* [[Sellick|Headmaster]] – [[Angus MacKay]]
* [[Hippo Ibbotson|Ibbotson]] - [[Stephen Garlick]]
* [[Runciman|Dr Runciman]] - [[Roger Hammond]]
* [[Matron (Mawdryn Undead)|Matron]] - [[Sheila Gill]]
* [[Mawdryn]] – [[David Collings]]
* [[Mutant (Mawdryn Undead)|Mutants]] – [[Peter Walmsley]], [[Brian Darnley]]


==== Part Three ====
=== Uncredited cast ===
As [[Mawdryn]] explains to Nyssa, Tegan and the Brigadier what is happening, they only succeeded in trapping themselves in a cycle of perpetual mutation and regeneration and now long for death. When the Doctor finds out that there are two Brigadiers aboard, he has to try to keep the two apart lest the resulting energy discharge prove catastrophic.
* Young Nyssa – [[Lucy Baker]]
* Young Tegan – [[Sian Pattenden]]


Trying to leave in the TARDIS, the Doctor discovers that Tegan and Nyssa have been infected by the same malady as Mawdryn and his compatriots. The only cure, it seems, is to do what Mawdryn demands: the Doctor must give up the energy from his remaining regenerations. The mutants take their places in the regeneration room and Mawdryn pleads with the Doctor to help them die by giving them his energy. The Doctor refuses, explaining to Tegan that if he did so it would mean the end of him as a Time Lord...
== Crew ==
* [[Assistant Floor Manager]] - [[Ian Tootle]]
* [[Costumes]] - [[Amy Roberts]]
* [[Costumes]] - [[Richard Croft]]
* [[Designer (crew)|Designer]] - [[Stephen Scott]]
* [[Film Cameraman]] - [[Godfrey Johnson]]
* [[Film Editor]] - [[Chris Woolley]]
* [[Film sound|Film Sound]] - [[Ron Brown]]
* [[Incidental Music]] - [[Paddy Kingsland]]
* [[Make-Up]] - [[Carolyn Perry]], [[Sheelagh Wells]]
* [[Production Assistant]] - [[Valerie Letley]]
* [[Production Associate]] - [[June Collins]]
* [[Production Manager]] - [[Ann Aronsohn]]
* [[Senior cameraman|Senior Cameraman]] - [[Robin Barnes]]
* [[Studio Lighting]] - [[Don Babbage]]
* [[Studio Sound]] - [[Martin Ridout]]
* [[Special Sounds]] - [[Dick Mills]]
* [[Technical manager|Technical Manager]] - [[Alan Arbuthnott]]
* [[Doctor Who theme|Title Music]] - [[Ron Grainer]] and the [[BBC Radiophonic Workshop]]
* [[Title Sequence]] - [[Sid Sutton]]
* [[Theme arrangement]] - [[Peter Howell]]
* [[Vision Mixer]] - [[Carol Johnson]]
* [[Video effects|Video Effects]] - [[Robin Lobb]]
* [[Videotape editor|Videotape Editor]] - [[Rod Waldron]]
* [[Visual effects|Visual Effects Designer]] - [[Stuart Brisdon]]
* [[Writer]] - [[Peter Grimwade]]
* [[Script Editor]] - [[Eric Saward]]
* [[Director (crew)|Director]] - [[Peter Moffatt]]
* [[Producer]] - [[John Nathan-Turner]]


==== Part Four ====
== Worldbuilding ==
Hooking himself up to Mawdryn's apparatus, the Doctor is about to sacrifice himself when the two Brigadiers meet and touch hands, causing a discharge of temporal energy at precisely the right instant. Tegan and Nyssa are cured, the alien scientists succeed in ending their undead existence, and the Doctor remains a Time Lord. The younger Brigadier, however, will not remember his time with the Doctor until they meet again in 1983. The Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan deliver the 1983 version of the Brigadier back home. Turlough is in the TARDIS control room when they return. He asks if he can join them, and the Doctor comments that he already has. In space, Mawdryn's ship self-destructs.
=== Anatomy and physiology ===
* Tegan, Nyssa, and the Brigadier refer to having seen the Doctor [[regenerate]].


==Cast==
=== Cultural references from the real world ===
*[[Fifth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Peter Davison]]
* In 1977, the [[Elizabeth II|Queen]]'s [[Silver jubilee]] is to be celebrated.
*[[Tegan Jovanka]] - [[Janet Fielding]]
*[[Nyssa]] - [[Sarah Sutton]]
*[[Turlough]] – [[Mark Strickson]]
*[[Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]] – [[Nicholas Courtney]]
*[[Black Guardian | The Black Guardian]] – [[Valentine Dyall]]
*Headmaster – [[Angus MacKay]]
*[[Ibbotson]] -  [[Stephen Garlick]]
*[[Runciman | Dr Runciman]] - [[Roger Hammond]]
*Matron - [[Sheila Gill]]
*[[Mawdryn]] – [[David Collings]]
*[[Mutant]]s - [[Peter Walmsley]], [[Brian Darnley]]


==Crew==
=== Individuals ===
*[[Studio Lighting]] - [[Don Babbage]]
* The Doctor mentions several people and things to try to jog the Brigadier's memory, including [[Harry Sullivan]], [[Jo Grant]], [[Sarah Jane Smith]], [[Liz Shaw]], [[Robot Yeti|Yeti]] and [[UNIT]].
*[[Visual Effects]] - [[Stuart Brisdon]]
* [[John Benton|Sergeant Benton]] left the army in the [[1970s]] and is now a used car salesman.
*[[Production Associate]] - [[June Collins]]
* [[Harry Sullivan]] went to work with NATO on a top-secret project in [[Porton Down]].
*[[Costumes]] - [[Richard Croft]]
* The Brigadier teaches A-level [[mathematics]].
*[[Title Music]] - [[Ron Grainer]] and the [[BBC Radiophonic Workshop]]
* [[Powell (Mawdryn Undead)|Powell]] is a student at Brendon Public School.
*[[Theme arrangement]] - [[Peter Howell]]  
* [[Solicitor (Mawdryn Undead)|An eccentric solicitor]] is responsible for Turlough.
*[[Film Cameraman]] - [[Godfrey Johnson]]
*[[Incidental Music]] - [[Paddy Kingsland]]
*[[Production Assistant]] - [[Valerie Letley]]
*[[Special Sounds]] - [[Dick Mills]]
*[[Make-Up]] - [[Carolyn Perry]], [[Sheelagh Wells]]  
*[[Studio Sound]] - [[Martin Ridout]]  
*[[Costumes]] - [[Amy Roberts]]
*[[Designer]] - [[Stephen Scott]]
*[[Assistant Floor Manager]] - [[Ian Tootle]]
*[[Film Editor]] - [[Chris Woolley]]  
*[[Writer]] - [[Peter Grimwade]]  
*[[Script Editor]] - [[Eric Saward]]  
*[[Director]] - [[Peter Moffatt]]  
*[[Producer]] - [[John Nathan-Turner]]  


==References==
=== Species ===
*The Doctor cites the [[Blinovitch Limitation Effect]].
* Tegan is still wondering if she'll be free of the [[Mara]].
*Tegan is still wondering if she'll be free of the [[Mara]].
* During the series of flashbacks the Brigadier sees the [[First Doctor]], the [[Second Doctor]], the [[Third Doctor]], the [[Fourth Doctor]], a [[Robot Yeti|Yeti]], a [[Cyberman]], an [[Axon]], a [[Dalek]], the [[K1|K1 Robot]] and a [[Zygon]].
*The Doctor lists off several people to try to jog the Brigadier's memory including: [[Harry Sullivan]], [[Jo Grant]], [[Sarah Jane Smith]], [[Liz Shaw]], [[Robot Yeti|Yeti]] and [[UNIT]].
*[[John Benton|Sergeant Benton]] left the army in the 1970s and is now a used car salesman.
*[[Harry Sullivan]] went to work with NATO on a project in [[Porton Down]].
*During the series of flashbacks the Brigadier sees; The [[First Doctor]], [[Second Doctor]], [[Third Doctor]], [[Fourth Doctor]], a [[Robot Yeti|Yeti]], a [[Cyberman]], an [[Axon]], a [[Dalek]], [[K1|K1 Robot]] and a [[Zygon]].
*Tegan knows a lot about [[transmat]]s, probably from her experiences in [[MA]]: ''[[Cold Fusion]]''.
*Tegan and Nyssa refer to seeing the Doctor [[regenerate]].
*The [[Zero Room]] is mentioned.
*Mawdryn stole a [[metamorphic symbiosis regenerator]], used by [[Time Lord]]s in cases of acute [[regenerative crisis]], but it induced a perpetual, deathless [[mutation]].
*The Doctor talks about reversing the polarity of the [[neutron flow]] a catchphrase of the [[Third Doctor]].


==Story Notes==
=== TARDIS ===
*Every story during [[Season 20]] had the Doctor face an enemy from each of his past incarnations. For this trilogy, the enemy was the [[Black Guardian]], who last faced the [[Fourth Doctor|fourth incarnation]] of the Doctor at the conclusion of the [[Key to Time]] saga in [[1979]].
* The [[Zero Room]] is mentioned.
*[[David Collings]], who played Mawdryn, also appeared in the [[Tom Baker|Fourth Doctor]] stories [[DW]]: ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]'' as [[Vorus]] and [[DW]]: ''[[The Robots of Death]]'' as [[Poul]], and would himself play an alternate Doctor in [[Big Finish Productions]]' [[Doctor Who Unbound]] audio drama, ''[[Full Fathom Five]]''.
*The original intent of the production team was for the character of [[Ian Chesterton]], one of the original regulars from the series' first two seasons from [[1963]]-[[1965|65]], to return for a guest appearance in this story, hence the school setting as Chesterton was a science teacher. However, actor [[William Russell]] proved to be unavailable. Some consideration was given to using instead the character of [[Harry Sullivan]], who was a regular in the programme for a season in the mid-[[1970s]], before the return of Lethbridge-Stewart was eventually decided upon.
*''Radio Times'' credits Nicholas Courtney as '''Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart''' in the combined cast for Parts One/Two, and as '''Brigadier''' in the combined cast for Parts Three/Four. All on-screen credits read '''The Brigadier'''.
*Former producer [[Graham Williams]], the creator of the Guardians, did not know about their return in this season and learned about it only years later during an on-stage interview at a ''Doctor Who'' convention.
*Originally the slot that this story occupies would have been given to the long-delayed "[[Song of the Space Whale]]" (or "Space Whale"), in which Turlough would have been one of a group of colonists, however this was once again cancelled and this story took its place.
*Peter Grimwade's previous story, [[DW]]:  ''[[Time-Flight]]'', also takes place in two different times.


===Ratings===
=== Technology ===
*Part 1 - 6.5 million viewers
* Mawdryn and [[Mutant (Mawdryn Undead)|his followers]] stole a [[metamorphic symbiosis regenerator]], used by [[Time Lord]]s in cases of acute [[regenerative]] crisis, but it induced a perpetual, deathless [[mutation]].
*Part 2 - 7.5 million viewers
*Part 3 - 7.4 million viewers
*Part 4 - 7.7 million viewers


===Myths===
=== Theories and concepts ===
''to be added''
* The Doctor cites the [[Blinovitch Limitation Effect]].
* The two Brigadiers short out the [[time differential]] between themselves.
* The Doctor talks about reversing the polarity of the neutron flow, a catchphrase of his [[Third Doctor|third incarnation]].
* Mawdryn's spacecraft is caught in a [[warp ellipse]].


===Filming Locations===
=== Transport technology ===
*Trent Park campus of Middlesex Polytechnic, Cockfosters, Hertfordshire
* Tegan knows a great deal about [[transmat]]s.
*[[BBC Television Centre]] ([[List of stories recorded at BBC Television Centre|Studio 6]]), Shepherd's Bush, [[London]]
* Mawdryn and his people make use of [[transmat capsule]]s.
* Tegan compares the spacecraft to the ships ''[[RMS Queen Mary|Queen Mary]]'', about its luxury and ''[[Mary Celeste]]'', about its desolation.
* The Brigadier's car is a blue [[1929]] Humber 16/50 open tourer, Imperial model.


===Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors===
=== UNIT ===
*Mawdryn Undead has the unfortunate distinction of contributing to one of the biggest and most widely discussed contradictions in the ''Doctor Who'' universe: the "[[UNIT dating controversy]]".
* The Brigadier, oblivious of the Doctor, asks him if he had signed an [[Official Secrets Act]] to keep secret his involvement with [[UNIT]].
*The Brigadier states that he has seen the Doctor regenerate twice. In fact, he has only seen him regenerate once, in [[DW]]:  ''[[Planet of the Spiders]]'' The former might refer to [[ST]]: ''[[The Touch of the Nurazh]]'' or his thoughts on that the Third Doctor had changed back to the Second in [[DW]]: ''[[The Three Doctors]]''. ''Alternatively, he might simply have chosen his words poorly and been referring to his knowledge of the Doctor's regeneration from Second to Third, even though he did not physically witness it. Also, his actual words are that he has 'seen <u>it</u> twice' which could just as easily refer to the after effects of regeneration (amnesia, disorientation, etc) and not the process itself.''
*With a whole cosmos to choose from, couldn't the Black Guardian have selected a more reliable assassin to deal with the Doctor than Turlough? ''He is limited to picking someone who will come in contact with the Doctor, having no power to directly influence what happens within the universe. Turlough is the most likely candidate of who he has to choose from.''
*If Mawdryn and his associates really wanted to die, couldn't they simply have rigged the engines of their ship to explode (as we see happen at the end of the story). The explosion would surely have been enough to scatter their molecules across space, making further regeneration impossible. The same would, after all, certainly kill a Time Lord. ''Their journey was in part meant to be a punishment. The engines might have been designed to be tamper-resistant.''


==Continuity==
== Story notes ==
*The "Black Guardian Trilogy" continues in the story [[DW]]: ''[[Terminus (TV story)|Terminus]]''.
* Every story during [[Season 20 (Doctor Who 1963)|Season 20]] included a story element from the Doctor's past. For this four-part story, one such element was the [[Black Guardian]], who last faced the [[fourth incarnation]] of the Doctor at the conclusion of the [[Key to Time]] saga in 1979. Another, of course, was the Brigadier.
*[[Fourth Doctor|The Doctor]] last encountered the [[Black Guardian]] in [[DW]]: ''[[The Armageddon Factor]]'', in which he also hinted that what he thought was the [[White Guardian]] in [[DW]]: ''[[The Ribos Operation]]'' may have been the Black Guardian posing as his counterpart.
* The original intent of the production team was for the character of [[Ian Chesterton]], one of the original regulars from the series' first two seasons from 1963-65, to return for a guest appearance in this story, hence the school setting; Chesterton was a science teacher. However, actor [[William Russell]] proved to be unavailable due to a stage commitment. Some consideration was given to using [[Harry Sullivan]], who was a regular in the programme for a season in the mid-1970s, before the return of Lethbridge-Stewart was eventually decided upon.{{Fact}}
*At the story's opening, Tegan is still unsure if she is finally free of the Mara, a reference to the previous story, [[DW]]: ''[[Snakedance]]''.
* The ''[[Radio Times]]'' programme listing for part one was accompanied by a black-and-white photograph of the Doctor seated in the Brigadier's school quarters with the accompanying caption "More time travel problems for the Doctor (Peter Davison) result in a reunion with old 'friends': 6.50". ''(original published text)''
*Mawdryn Undead also makes the first explicit statement in the series that the current Doctor is the fifth incarnation.
* ''Radio Times'' credits [[Nicholas Courtney]] as "Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart" in the combined cast for parts one/two, and as "Brigadier" in the combined cast for parts three/four. All on-screen credits read "The Brigadier".
*Another example of Time Lord technology being used to create perpetual regeneration was seen in [[DW]]: ''[[Underworld]]''.
* During the scene in part four where the Doctor's companions are regressed to children, the young Nyssa and Tegan were played by [[Lucy Baker]] and [[Sian Pattenden]] respectively — both of whom were uncredited on-screen and in ''Radio Times'' despite having the respective dialogue "It's no good, Doctor!" and "Stop! Stop!"
*Turlough's origins are finally explained in [[DW]]: ''[[Planet of Fire]]''.
* Former producer [[Graham Williams]], the creator of the Guardians, did not know about their return in this season and learned about it only years later during an on-stage interview at a ''Doctor Who'' convention.{{Fact}}
*Mawdryn finds in the TARDIS and wears the red coat worn by the [[Fourth Doctor]].
* Originally the slot that this story occupies was to have been given to the long-delayed "[[The Song of Megaptera|The Song of the Space Whale]]" (or ''Space Whale''), in which Turlough would have been one of a group of colonists. However, this was again cancelled and this story took its place. Since it would now serve to introduce Turlough rather than include him as an established character, his role was merged with one of the schoolboys.{{Fact}}
*There are a series of flashbacks as the Brigadier remembers including:
* [[Peter Grimwade]]'s previous story, ''[[Time-Flight (TV story)|Time-Flight]]'', also takes place in two different time zones.
:*[[DW]]: ''[[The Web of Fear]]'': a [[Robot Yeti|Yeti]],  
* Grimwade based the public school setting on his own upbringing. He was an alumnus of Truro School, an all-boys private establishment in Cornwall and he "knew the background of a dreadful minor public school very well".{{Fact}}
:*[[DW]]: ''[[The Invasion]]'': a [[Cyberman]] and the [[Second Doctor]],
* The script suggests that the Doctor takes Turlough on because he misses [[Adric]].
:*[[DW]]: ''[[Spearhead from Space]]'': [[Third Doctor]],  
* Nicholas Courtney later revealed that he was baffled by the script.{{Fact}}
:*[[DW]]: ''[[The Claws of Axos]]'': an [[Axon]],  
* Turlough's headmaster was originally called Mr Sellick.{{Fact}}
:*[[DW]]: ''[[Day of the Daleks]]'': a [[Dalek]],
* [[Ian Levine]] pointed out that setting part of the story in 1977 would now break with the continuity of the Brigadier's original serials, but was overruled.{{Fact}}
:*[[DW]]: ''[[The Three Doctors]]'': seeing the interior of [[the Doctor's TARDIS]] and the [[First Doctor]],
* [[Peter Davison]] thought there were an awful lot of holes in the plot and was amazed that the audience didn't notice. He claimed that it taught him a lesson about plots in general.{{Fact}}
:*[[DW]]: ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]'': the [[K1]] Robot,
* [[Mark Strickson]] claimed that the communication crystal was attached to a car battery to make it bright enough to be seen on camera and each scene with it had to be fourteen seconds long otherwise it got too hot to hold.{{Fact}}
:*[[DW]]: ''[[Terror of the Zygons]]'': a [[Zygon]] and the [[Fourth Doctor]].
* Peter Davison and Nicholas Courtney previously appeared in the ''[[All Creatures Great and Small]]'' episode "Matters of Life and Death".
* Peter Grimwade originally wanted the events of the story to take place several centuries apart, but he was encouraged to bring them closer together so that one character could be present in both time periods.{{Fact}}
* The title was derived from the [[Wales|Welsh]] words ''marw'' (“dead”) and ''dyn'' (“man”).{{Fact}}
* [[David Collings]] was cast as Mawdryn due to his resemblance to [[Peter Davison]].{{Fact}}
* Peter Grimwade included the flashback scene based on the success of similar scenes in ''[[Logopolis (TV story)|Logopolis]]'' and ''[[Earthshock (TV story)|Earthshock]],'' both of which he directed.{{Fact}}
* Make-up designer [[Sheelagh Wells]] had been disappointed with the way Mawdryn's brain protuberance blended with his skin and so, during the intervening fortnight, costume designer [[Amy Roberts]] hid the join by adding a metal headband to the mutants' outfits.{{Fact}}


==Timeline==
=== Ratings ===
*This story occurs after [[MA]]: ''[[Goth Opera]]''
* Part one - 6.5 million viewers
*This story occurs before [[DW]]: ''[[Terminus (TV story)|Terminus]]''
* Part two - 7.5 million viewers
* Part three - 7.4 million viewers
* Part four - 7.7 million viewers


==DVD, Video and Other Releases==
=== Filming locations ===
This story along with [[DW]]: ''[[Terminus (TV story)]]'' and [[DW]]: ''[[Enlightenment (TV story)]]'' was released in [[The Black Guardian Trilogy]] Boxset on 10th August 2009 in the UK.
* Trent Park campus of Middlesex Polytechnic, Cockfosters, Enfield, Greater London
* [[BBC Television Centre]] ([[List of stories recorded at BBC Television Centre|Studio 6]]), Shepherd's Bush, [[London]]


This story was released on VHS in November 1992.
=== Production errors ===
{{discontinuity}}
* In the scene in which Turlough crashes the Brigadier's car, when he closes in on the other car, the next shot shows the car on the other side of the road, then the next shot shows the car on the right side of the road.
* In the same scene, both sides of the road are covered in thick bush, but as the car is about to crash, an open gate suddenly appears.
* While both aspects of the Brigadier are walking the same stretch of corridor in Mawdryn's ship, a split-screen effect is used to have them both present, then faded out so that one of them can cross the full length of the set. Unfortunately, the fade is obvious in the finished programme as one half of the scene clearly shifts in tone.


==Novelisation==
=== Myths ===
[[Image:Mawdryn Undead novel.jpg|right|75px]]
* The flashback montage when the Brigadier recovers his memory commits a continuity error by including a [[Krynoid]], an enemy the Brigadier never encountered. ''The montage actually depicts an [[Axos|Axon]], which the Brigadier ''did'' encounter. This confusion is likely the result of the first-stage Krynoid re-using an Axon costume that was sprayed green, and the montage using a sepia tint which makes the Axon look darker and more like a Krynoid''.
: ''Main article: [[Mawdryn Undead (novelisation)]]''


* Novelised by [[Peter Grimwade]] in [[1984]].
== Continuity ==
* The Black Guardian swore revenge on the Doctor during his [[fourth incarnation]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Armageddon Factor (TV story)|The Armageddon Factor]]'')
** He continues to use Turlough in pursuit of this revenge. ([[TV]]: ''[[Terminus (TV story)|Terminus]]'', ''[[Enlightenment (TV story)|Enlightenment]]'')
* Tegan is still unsure if she is finally free of the Mara. ([[TV]]: ''[[Kinda (TV story)|Kinda]]'', ''[[Snakedance (TV story)|Snakedance]]'')
* It is explicitly stated that the Doctor is currently in his fifth incarnation.
* Another example of Time Lord technology being used to create perpetual regeneration was used by the [[Minyan]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[Underworld (TV story)|Underworld]]'')
* Turlough's origins are finally explained in his final adventure aboard the TARDIS. ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of Fire (TV story)|Planet of Fire]]'')
* When Nyssa and Tegan are caring for a decrepit Mawdryn, he is given the red greatcoat that the Doctor wore near the end of his fourth incarnation ([[TV]]: ''[[The Leisure Hive (TV story)|The Leisure Hive]]'' through [[TV]]: ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]''); Mawdryn later proceeds to wear this coat for some time.
* The Doctor says, "If I reverse the polarity of the neutron flow...", as sometimes said by the [[Third Doctor]].
* When remembering his time with the Doctor, the older Brigadier recalls:
** a [[Robot Yeti|Yeti]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Web of Fear (TV story)|The Web of Fear]]'')
** a [[Cyberman]] and the [[Second Doctor]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion (TV story)|The Invasion]]'')
** the [[Third Doctor]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Spearhead from Space (TV story)|Spearhead from Space]]'')
** a [[Silurian]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Silurians (TV story)|Doctor Who and the Silurians]]'')
** an [[Axon]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Claws of Axos (TV story)|The Claws of Axos]]'')
** a [[Dalek]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Day of the Daleks (TV story)|Day of the Daleks]]'')
** {{Delgado}} ([[TV]]: ''[[Terror of the Autons (TV story)|Terror of the Autons]]'')
** witnessing the Doctor's third regeneration ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Spiders (TV story)|Planet of the Spiders]])''
** seeing the interior of [[the Doctor's TARDIS]] and the [[First Doctor]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Three Doctors (TV story)|The Three Doctors]]'')
** the [[K1]] robot ([[TV]]: ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]'')
** a [[Zygon]] and the [[Fourth Doctor]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Terror of the Zygons (TV story)|Terror of the Zygons]]'')
* When [[Tegan]] is suspicious about [[Turlough]], saying that "Humans just don't walk into transmat capsules", [[Nyssa]] then disproves her by saying "Like you did, walking into the TARDIS on the [[Barnet Bypass]]?" ([[TV]]: ''[[Logopolis (TV story)|Logopolis]]'')
* Tegan mentions the ''[[Mary Celeste]]''. The [[First Doctor]] had a hand in its mysterious fate. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Chase (TV story)|The Chase]]'')
* Tegan also mentions the ''[[RMS Queen Mary|Queen Mary]]''. The Doctor landed aboard during his [[Fourth Doctor|fourth incarnation]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Ghost Ship (novel)|Ghost Ship]]'')
* Nyssa wishes that the previously-jettisoned [[Zero Room]] was still in the TARDIS. ([[TV]]: ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]'')
* The TARDIS's [[homing device]] is used again. ([[TV]]: ''[[Full Circle (TV story)|Full Circle]]'', ''[[The Keeper of Traken (TV story)|The Keeper of Traken]]'')
* [[Charlie Gibbs]] was another of Turlough's classmates. However, Turlough did not learn until [[2013]] that Gibbs was also from Trion and that his family supported the opposing faction in the [[civil war]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Eldrad Must Die! (audio story)|Eldrad Must Die!]]'')
* In his [[1996]] book ''[[Who Killed Kennedy (novel)|Who Killed Kennedy]]'', the journalist [[James Stevens]] described Brendon Public School as "a minor public school for boys." ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Who Killed Kennedy (novel)|Who Killed Kennedy]]'')
* Turlough enjoyed studying [[history]] while at Brendon Public School. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Phantasmagoria (audio story)|Phantasmagoria]]'') However, he hated [[William Shakespeare]]'s works. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Emerald Tiger (audio story)|The Emerald Tiger]]'')
* As a Time Lord, the Doctor can only [[regenerate]] twelve times. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Deadly Assassin (TV story)|The Deadly Assassin]]'')
* When the Brigadier is being returned to 1983, he notes that the Doctor's "been making some changes around here". Similarly, the [[Second Doctor]] previously critiqued his immediate successor's choice of interior decorating, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Three Doctors (TV story)|The Three Doctors]]'') and the [[Fifth Doctor]] disliked the [[Tenth Doctor]]'s "desktop theme". ([[TV]]: ''[[Time Crash (TV story)|Time Crash]]'') The Tenth Doctor himself expressed an immediate dislike to [[Eleventh Doctor|his successor]]'s TARDIS interior design. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'')


==See Also==
== Home video and audio releases ==
''to be added''
=== DVD releases ===
This story was released as ''Doctor Who: Mawdryn Undead''.


==External Links==
Released:
*{{bbcepguideclassic|mawdrynundead/|Mawdryn Undead}}
* [[10 August (releases)|10 August]] [[2009 (releases)|2009]] - Region 2
*{{dwrefguide|who_6f.htm|Mawdryn Undead}}
* [[5 November (releases)|5 November]] 2009 - Region 4
*{{briefhistory|serials/6f.html|Mawdryn Undead}}
* [[3 November (releases)|3 November]] 2009 - Region 1
*{{locguide|mawdrynundead|Mawdryn Undead}}


{{season 20}}
==== Special Features: ====
* Commentary by [[Peter Davison]] ([[Fifth Doctor|the Doctor]]), [[Mark Strickson]] ([[Turlough]]), [[Nicholas Courtney]] ([[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|The Brigadier]]), and Script Editor [[Eric Saward]].
* ''[[Who Wants to Live Forever? (documentary)|Who Wants to Live Forever?]]'' - Cast and crew look back at the making of this story
* ''[[Liberty Hall (home video)|Liberty Hall]]'' - A new drama in which a journalist travels to Brendon School to interview Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
* Deleted and Extended Scenes
* Film Trims - Taken from the location filming, including clapperboards and cast and crew setting up and performing various scenes
* Out-takes
* New CGI effects - The option to watch the story with many of the original video effects sequences replaced by new CGI
* Continuity - Original BBC-1 continuity announcements
* Studio floorplans (DVD-ROM - PC/Mac)
* CGI Storyboards (DVD-ROM - PC/Mac)
* ''[[Radio Times]]'' Listings (DVD-ROM - PC/Mac)
* Isolated Music Score
* Production Information Subtitles
* Photo Gallery
* Coming Soon Trailer - ''[[The Twin Dilemma (TV story)|The Twin Dilemma]]''
* Easter Eggs:
** TARDIS Information File. To access this hidden feature, press left at Deleted and Extended Scenes on the Special Features menu to reveal a hidden ''Doctor Who'' logo.
** ​Studio floorplans. To access this hidden feature, press left at Set Photo Gallery on the Special Features menu to reveal a hidden ''Doctor Who'' logo.
 
Notes:
* Editing for the DVD release was completed by the [[Doctor Who Restoration Team]].
* It is available only in ''The Black Guardian Trilogy'' box set.
 
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true" widths="150">
Mawdryn undead region4.jpg|R4 DVD cover
Mawdryn_undead_us_dvd.jpg|R1 DVD cover
Bbcdvd-mawdrynundead.jpg|Region 2 DVD cover
</gallery>
 
==== Box set ====
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
Bbcdvd87-us.jpg|Region 1 cover
</gallery>
 
=== Video releases ===
This story was released on VHS in November 1992 in the UK markets, 1993 in Australian markets and 1994 in US markets.
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true" widths="180">
File:Mawdryn Undead VHS UK cover.jpg|VHS UK cover
File:Mawdryn Undead VHS Australian cover.jpg|VHS Australian cover
File:Mawdryn Undead VHS US cover.jpg|VHS US cover
</gallery>
 
== External links ==
* {{bbcepguideclassic|mawdrynundead/|Mawdryn Undead}}
* {{radiotimes|2012-01-24/mawdryn-undead}}
{{dwcast}}
{{dwrefguide|who_6f.htm|Mawdryn Undead}}
* {{briefhistory|serials/6f.html|Mawdryn Undead}}
* {{locguide|mawdrynundead|Mawdryn Undead}}
{{DWTV}}
{{Regeneration stories}}
{{Regeneration stories}}
{{Black Guardian stories}}
{{UNIT stories}}
{{UNIT stories}}
[[Category:Fifth Doctor episodes]]
{{TitleSort}}
[[Category:1983 television stories]]
[[de:126 - Mawdryn Undead]]
[[es:Mawdryn Undead]]
[[fr:Mawdryn Undead (TV)]]
[[ru:Мертвец Модрин]]
 
[[Category:Doctor Who (1963) television stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1977]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1977]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1983]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1983]]
[[Category:Stories set in England]]
[[Category:Stories set in England]]
[[Category:Black Guardian trilogy]]
[[Category:Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart television stories]]
[[Category:Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart episodes]]
[[Category:Regeneration television stories]]
[[Category:Season 20 stories]]
[[Category:Four part serials]]
[[Category:The Doctors and Monsters, Aliens, Robot stories]]

Latest revision as of 20:09, 3 November 2024

RealWorld.png

Mawdryn Undead was the third serial of season 20 of Doctor Who. It saw the return of the Brigadier, and was the first story in the "Black Guardian trilogy". It also marked the first appearance of Vislor Turlough as both a companion and a villain.

Due to its use of very specific date, such as placing the Brigadier's retirement during 1976, this story attempted to address the so-called UNIT dating controversy. However, in so doing, it became a major part of that very controversy.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

A warp ellipse draws the TARDIS off course. The Fifth Doctor's companions are separated from him not in space, but in time, and he has to deal with a treacherous schoolboy named Turlough. But why does the Doctor's old friend, the Brigadier, not remember him at all?

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Part one[[edit] | [edit source]]

In 1983, the former UNIT Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart teaches mathematics at Brendon Public School for Boys. A mischievous student, Turlough, convinces his classmate Ibbotson to join him in a joyride in the Brigadier's priceless antique car, which they accidentally veer off the road and crash. While unconscious, Turlough is contacted by the sinister Black Guardian. The Black Guardian knows Turlough is actually from another planet. He offers Turlough transportation off Earth if he will kill the Guardian's greatest enemy: the Doctor.

At the same time, the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa have problems of their own. As Tegan attempts to get reassurance from the Doctor that she is free from the Mara, the TARDIS is caught in a warp ellipse and materialises on board an apparently empty starliner locked in a perpetual orbit in time and space. Turlough, on the Black Guardian's instructions, transports himself onto the liner by means of a transmat capsule and encounters the TARDIS crew. The Doctor travels to Earth via transmat, taking Turlough with him, to get rid of the transmat interference trapping the TARDIS on the liner. The source of the interference is not far from the school grounds. As the Doctor is sorting out the device, Turlough, responding to the Black Guardian's exhortations, picks up a large rock and prepares to bring it down on the back of the Doctor's head...

Part two[[edit] | [edit source]]

"The Doctor" regenerating.

The interference device explodes, knocking the Doctor backwards and forcing the rock out of Turlough's hands. The TARDIS materialises nearby, but vanishes shortly after, seemingly leaving the Doctor stranded. The Doctor meets the Brigadier at the school, but is puzzled when his old comrade-in-arms does not remember him. He eventually works around the apparent gap in the Brigadier's memory by mentioning Jo Grant, Liz Shaw and other past adventures. To the Doctor's surprise, the Brigadier claims to remember Tegan, having met her shortly before his nervous breakdown in 1977. The Doctor realises that the TARDIS hasn't disappeared; the destruction of the device knocked the TARDIS off a time track and sent it back six years.

In 1977, Tegan and Nyssa encounter the transmat capsule. Inside is an alien-looking humanoid whom they initially believe is the Doctor, horribly injured; they bring the figure back to the TARDIS and make him comfortable on the control room floor with blankets and the burgundy greatcoat worn by the previous Doctor. Tegan goes to the school for help, where she meets the younger Brigadier, who accompanies her back to the TARDIS, where Nyssa tells them "the Doctor" is regenerating. The three enter the TARDIS control room. The figure, who is a scientist called Mawdryn, now wearing the Doctor's coat, turns to face them. The top of his skull is missing, revealing his pulsing brain. Nyssa screams in horror.

Part three[[edit] | [edit source]]

"There is nothing to fear. Reach out your hand."

Under the pretence of being the Doctor, suffering a failed regeneration, Mawdryn convinces the others to bring the TARDIS to the ship, claiming it has restorative capabilities. Meanwhile, the Doctor, Turlough and the present-day Brigadier use a TARDIS homing device on the damaged transmat to bring themselves to the ship, splitting up soon after to search for Tegan and Nyssa. Under the Black Guardian's instruction, Turlough opens a secret room, revealing several humanoids suffering from the same malady as Mawdryn. Mawdryn fools the present-day Brigadier into using a stolen Time Lord device to stabilise his condition. Finding the TARDIS, the Doctor reunites with Tegan and Nyssa. When he learns there are two Brigadiers aboard, he has to try to keep them apart lest the resulting energy discharge prove catastrophic.

The Doctor and Nyssa meet with the present-day Brigadier and Mawdryn. Mawdryn reveals that he and his his fellow scientist tried to steal the secret of regeneration from the Time Lords, but caused perpetual mutations, leaving them practically immortal but in horrible agony. Tegan is chased into the room by Mawdryn's mutated crewmates. The mutants take their places in the regeneration room and Mawdryn pleads with the Doctor to help them die by giving them his regeneration energy. The Doctor refuses, explaining to Tegan that if he did so it would mean the end of him as a Time Lord...

Part four[[edit] | [edit source]]

"They are harmless, except to the Doctor."

The Doctor explains that he can only regenerate twelve times, and that, as he has already done so four times, helping the mutants die would consume all eight of his remaining regenerations. Although Mawdryn proclaims that the only thing they desire is their deaths rather than the Doctor's 'murder,' the Doctor refuses, unwilling to sacrifice his remaining lives to save them from their own mistake.

Under the Black Guardian's orders, Turlough locates the Brigadier of 1977 and locks him in a side room to keep the two Brigadiers from touching.

Trying to leave in the TARDIS, the Doctor discovers that Tegan and Nyssa have been infected by the same malady as Mawdryn and his compatriots. Attempted time travel accelerates their conditions and reversing out of the warp ellipse only regresses Tegan and Nyssa into children. The only cure, it seems, is to do what Mawdryn demands; the Doctor must give up his remaining regenerations. Meanwhile, the past Brigadier escapes the room and encounters Mawdryn and his crew. Fearing the time imbalance, they send him into the transmat. Unbeknownst to them, the transmat cannot make the trip while the TARDIS is on the vessel and the capsule returns to its station seconds later.

Mawdryn's ship explodes.

Hooking himself up to Mawdryn's apparatus, the Doctor is about to sacrifice himself when the two Brigadiers meet and touch hands, causing a discharge of temporal energy at precisely the right instant to act as a substitute power source. Tegan and Nyssa are cured, the alien scientists end their undead existence and the Doctor remains a Time Lord. The younger Brigadier, however, will not remember his time with the Doctor until they meet again in 1983. The Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan deliver the 1977 and 1983 versions of the Brigadier back to their respective times. Turlough is in the TARDIS control room when they return. He asks if he can join them and the Doctor comments that he already has. In space, Mawdryn's ship self-destructs.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Uncredited cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Anatomy and physiology[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Tegan, Nyssa, and the Brigadier refer to having seen the Doctor regenerate.

Cultural references from the real world[[edit] | [edit source]]

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

Species[[edit] | [edit source]]

TARDIS[[edit] | [edit source]]

Technology[[edit] | [edit source]]

Theories and concepts[[edit] | [edit source]]

Transport technology[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Tegan knows a great deal about transmats.
  • Mawdryn and his people make use of transmat capsules.
  • Tegan compares the spacecraft to the ships Queen Mary, about its luxury and Mary Celeste, about its desolation.
  • The Brigadier's car is a blue 1929 Humber 16/50 open tourer, Imperial model.

UNIT[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Brigadier, oblivious of the Doctor, asks him if he had signed an Official Secrets Act to keep secret his involvement with UNIT.

Story notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Every story during Season 20 included a story element from the Doctor's past. For this four-part story, one such element was the Black Guardian, who last faced the fourth incarnation of the Doctor at the conclusion of the Key to Time saga in 1979. Another, of course, was the Brigadier.
  • The original intent of the production team was for the character of Ian Chesterton, one of the original regulars from the series' first two seasons from 1963-65, to return for a guest appearance in this story, hence the school setting; Chesterton was a science teacher. However, actor William Russell proved to be unavailable due to a stage commitment. Some consideration was given to using Harry Sullivan, who was a regular in the programme for a season in the mid-1970s, before the return of Lethbridge-Stewart was eventually decided upon.[source needed]
  • The Radio Times programme listing for part one was accompanied by a black-and-white photograph of the Doctor seated in the Brigadier's school quarters with the accompanying caption "More time travel problems for the Doctor (Peter Davison) result in a reunion with old 'friends': 6.50". (original published text)
  • Radio Times credits Nicholas Courtney as "Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart" in the combined cast for parts one/two, and as "Brigadier" in the combined cast for parts three/four. All on-screen credits read "The Brigadier".
  • During the scene in part four where the Doctor's companions are regressed to children, the young Nyssa and Tegan were played by Lucy Baker and Sian Pattenden respectively — both of whom were uncredited on-screen and in Radio Times despite having the respective dialogue "It's no good, Doctor!" and "Stop! Stop!"
  • Former producer Graham Williams, the creator of the Guardians, did not know about their return in this season and learned about it only years later during an on-stage interview at a Doctor Who convention.[source needed]
  • Originally the slot that this story occupies was to have been given to the long-delayed "The Song of the Space Whale" (or Space Whale), in which Turlough would have been one of a group of colonists. However, this was again cancelled and this story took its place. Since it would now serve to introduce Turlough rather than include him as an established character, his role was merged with one of the schoolboys.[source needed]
  • Peter Grimwade's previous story, Time-Flight, also takes place in two different time zones.
  • Grimwade based the public school setting on his own upbringing. He was an alumnus of Truro School, an all-boys private establishment in Cornwall and he "knew the background of a dreadful minor public school very well".[source needed]
  • The script suggests that the Doctor takes Turlough on because he misses Adric.
  • Nicholas Courtney later revealed that he was baffled by the script.[source needed]
  • Turlough's headmaster was originally called Mr Sellick.[source needed]
  • Ian Levine pointed out that setting part of the story in 1977 would now break with the continuity of the Brigadier's original serials, but was overruled.[source needed]
  • Peter Davison thought there were an awful lot of holes in the plot and was amazed that the audience didn't notice. He claimed that it taught him a lesson about plots in general.[source needed]
  • Mark Strickson claimed that the communication crystal was attached to a car battery to make it bright enough to be seen on camera and each scene with it had to be fourteen seconds long otherwise it got too hot to hold.[source needed]
  • Peter Davison and Nicholas Courtney previously appeared in the All Creatures Great and Small episode "Matters of Life and Death".
  • Peter Grimwade originally wanted the events of the story to take place several centuries apart, but he was encouraged to bring them closer together so that one character could be present in both time periods.[source needed]
  • The title was derived from the Welsh words marw (“dead”) and dyn (“man”).[source needed]
  • David Collings was cast as Mawdryn due to his resemblance to Peter Davison.[source needed]
  • Peter Grimwade included the flashback scene based on the success of similar scenes in Logopolis and Earthshock, both of which he directed.[source needed]
  • Make-up designer Sheelagh Wells had been disappointed with the way Mawdryn's brain protuberance blended with his skin and so, during the intervening fortnight, costume designer Amy Roberts hid the join by adding a metal headband to the mutants' outfits.[source needed]

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Part one - 6.5 million viewers
  • Part two - 7.5 million viewers
  • Part three - 7.4 million viewers
  • Part four - 7.7 million viewers

Filming locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

Production errors[[edit] | [edit source]]

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.
  • In the scene in which Turlough crashes the Brigadier's car, when he closes in on the other car, the next shot shows the car on the other side of the road, then the next shot shows the car on the right side of the road.
  • In the same scene, both sides of the road are covered in thick bush, but as the car is about to crash, an open gate suddenly appears.
  • While both aspects of the Brigadier are walking the same stretch of corridor in Mawdryn's ship, a split-screen effect is used to have them both present, then faded out so that one of them can cross the full length of the set. Unfortunately, the fade is obvious in the finished programme as one half of the scene clearly shifts in tone.

Myths[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The flashback montage when the Brigadier recovers his memory commits a continuity error by including a Krynoid, an enemy the Brigadier never encountered. The montage actually depicts an Axon, which the Brigadier did encounter. This confusion is likely the result of the first-stage Krynoid re-using an Axon costume that was sprayed green, and the montage using a sepia tint which makes the Axon look darker and more like a Krynoid.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

Home video and audio releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

DVD releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

This story was released as Doctor Who: Mawdryn Undead.

Released:

Special Features:[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Commentary by Peter Davison (the Doctor), Mark Strickson (Turlough), Nicholas Courtney (The Brigadier), and Script Editor Eric Saward.
  • Who Wants to Live Forever? - Cast and crew look back at the making of this story
  • Liberty Hall - A new drama in which a journalist travels to Brendon School to interview Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
  • Deleted and Extended Scenes
  • Film Trims - Taken from the location filming, including clapperboards and cast and crew setting up and performing various scenes
  • Out-takes
  • New CGI effects - The option to watch the story with many of the original video effects sequences replaced by new CGI
  • Continuity - Original BBC-1 continuity announcements
  • Studio floorplans (DVD-ROM - PC/Mac)
  • CGI Storyboards (DVD-ROM - PC/Mac)
  • Radio Times Listings (DVD-ROM - PC/Mac)
  • Isolated Music Score
  • Production Information Subtitles
  • Photo Gallery
  • Coming Soon Trailer - The Twin Dilemma
  • Easter Eggs:
    • TARDIS Information File. To access this hidden feature, press left at Deleted and Extended Scenes on the Special Features menu to reveal a hidden Doctor Who logo.
    • ​Studio floorplans. To access this hidden feature, press left at Set Photo Gallery on the Special Features menu to reveal a hidden Doctor Who logo.

Notes:

  • Editing for the DVD release was completed by the Doctor Who Restoration Team.
  • It is available only in The Black Guardian Trilogy box set.
  • R4 DVD cover

    R4 DVD cover

  • R1 DVD cover

    R1 DVD cover

  • Region 2 DVD cover

    Region 2 DVD cover

Box set[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Region 1 cover

    Region 1 cover

Video releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

This story was released on VHS in November 1992 in the UK markets, 1993 in Australian markets and 1994 in US markets.

  • VHS UK cover

    VHS UK cover

  • VHS Australian cover

    VHS Australian cover

  • VHS US cover

    VHS US cover

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

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