The Leisure Hive (TV story): Difference between revisions

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{{real world}}{{Infobox ClassicTV
{{title dab away}}
|image = [[Image: Leisure_title.jpg |250px]]
{{real world}}
|story name = The Leisure Hive
{{ImageLinkTV}}
|series = [[Doctor Who]] -<br/>[[List of Doctor Who television stories|TV Stories]]
{{Infobox Story SMW
|number = [[Season 18]]
|image =Leisure Hive.jpg
|novelisation = Doctor Who and the Leisure Hive
|series =[[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
|season number = Season 18 (Doctor Who 1963)|
|season serial number = 1
|story number = 109
|story number = 109
|doctor = [[Fourth Doctor]]
|doctor = Fourth Doctor
|companions = [[Romana II]], [[K9 Mark II]]
|companions = [[Romana II]]
|enemy = <ul><li>[[Pangol]]</li><li>[[West Lodge|The West Lodge]]</li></ul>
|featuring = [[K9 Mark II|K9]]
|year = <ul><li>[[Brighton Beach]]</li><li>[[Argolis]], sometime between [[2250]] and [[2384]]</li></ul>
|enemy = [[Pangol]]
|writer = [[David Fisher]]
|setting = [[Argolis]], [[2290]]
|writer = David Fisher (writer)
|director = [[Lovett Bickford]]
|director = [[Lovett Bickford]]
|producer = [[John Nathan-Turner]]
|producer = [[John Nathan-Turner]]
|broadcast date = [[30th August]] - [[20th September]] [[1980]]
|epcount = 4
|format = 4 25-minute episodes
|broadcast date = 30 August - 20 September 1980
|production code = [[List of production codes|5N]]
|network = BBC1
|previous story = [[Shada (TV story)|Shada]]
|format = 4x25-minute episodes
|next story = [[Meglos (TV story)|Meglos]]
|serial production code = [[List of production codes|5N]]
}}
|prev = The Horns of Nimon (TV story)
'''''The Leisure Hive''''' was the first [[serial]] [[producer|produced]] by [[John Nathan-Turner]]. It immediately instituted a number of radical new changes to the series.
|next = Meglos (TV story)
|made prev = Shada (TV story)
|made next=State of Decay (TV story)
|thwr = 204
}}{{you may|Leisure Hive|n1=the titular resort}}
'''''The Leisure Hive''''' was the first serial of [[Season 18 (Doctor Who 1963)|season 18]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. It was the first [[serial]] [[producer|produced]] by [[John Nathan-Turner]]. He immediately instituted a number of radical new changes to the series.


For the first time ever, the title sequence failed to depict the [[time vortex]], replacing it instead with a representation of normal space. [[Delia Derbyshire]]'s arrangement of the [[Doctor Who theme|''Doctor Who'' theme]] was likewise completely abandoned. These wholesale alterations to the programme's opening sequence would, with relatively minor adjustments, remain in place until [[season 24]]. At the same time, Nathan-Turner decided to end [[composer]] [[Dudley Simpson]]'s long association with the programme. He opted to allow the [[BBC Radiophonic Workshop]] to handle the [[incidental music]] for ''Hive''.
The title sequence was redone with a 'star-field' motif. [[Delia Derbyshire]]'s arrangement of the [[Doctor Who theme|''Doctor Who'' theme]] was abandoned in favour of a more dynamic, glossy and 'funky' version of it, done by [[Peter Howell]] (also of the [[BBC Radiophonic Workshop]], where Derbyshire worked previously), using synthesisers (particularily the {{w|Yamaha CS-80}} and {{w|ARP Odyssey}} synthesisers, as well as an [http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/ems_vocoder.php EMS] vocoder). These wholesale alterations to the programme's opening sequence would, with relatively minor adjustments, remain in place until [[Season 24 (Doctor Who 1963)|season 24]]. At the same time, Nathan-Turner decided to end composer [[Dudley Simpson]]'s long association with the programme. He chose the Radiophonic Workshop to handle the [[incidental music]] for ''The Leisure Hive''.


''Hive'' also brought a new, much more stylised look for the [[fourth Doctor]]. Like the changes to the opening sequence, those to the Doctor's outfit would persist through Nathan-Turner's era, particularly that of the [[question mark]] motif. Also discarded was the notion that each Doctor had a certain "look", which could alter somewhat, depending on the serial. Instead, ''Hive'' heralded the beginning of the "uniform" approach to costuming the Doctor.
The story also brought a new uniform look for the [[Fourth Doctor]]. His coat and trademark scarf were now coloured burgundy, the latter with purple stripes. The new [[question mark]] motif premiered here on the Doctor's shirt collar and would persist throughout Nathan-Turner's era.


Narratively, ''Hive'' was an unusual story in that it was commissioned directly by the producer rather than the [[script editor]], because [[Christopher H. Bidmead]] was not yet hired. New [[executive producer]] [[Barry Letts]] also had a significant hand in shaping the story's outline.<ref name=Sullivan>[http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/5n.html Shannon Sullivan's take on ''The Leisure Hive'']</ref>
Narratively, ''The Leisure Hive'' was an unusual story in that it was commissioned directly by the producer rather than the [[script editor]], because [[Christopher H. Bidmead]] was not yet hired. New [[executive producer]] [[Barry Letts]], who had previously served as the show's producer during most of the [[Jon Pertwee]] era and during Tom Baker's [[Robot (TV story)|first story]], also had a significant hand in shaping the story's outline.<ref name="Sullivan">[http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/5n.html Shannon Sullivan's take on ''The Leisure Hive'']</ref> Letts's new role as executive producer would only last for the duration of the season, and would be his last contribution to televised ''Doctor Who''.


==Synopsis==
== Synopsis ==
[[Fourth Doctor|The Doctor]] and [[Romana II|Romana]] arrive on [[Argolis]] in search of a peaceful holiday at the famed [[Leisure Hive]], but instead become embroiled in both a takeover scheme by the Argolins' historic enemy the [[Foamasi]] and the machinations of [[Pangol]], the child of the [[Tachyon Recreation Generator|Generator]].
The [[Fourth Doctor]] and [[Romana II]] arrive on [[Argolis]] in search of a peaceful [[holiday]] at the famed [[Leisure Hive]]. Instead they become embroiled in both a takeover scheme by the Argolins' historic enemy the [[Foamasi]] and the machinations of [[Pangol]], child of the [[Tachyon Recreation Generator|Generator]].


==Plot==
== Plot ==
{{section stub}}
=== Part one ===
[[Fourth Doctor|The Doctor]], having failed to pilot the [[the Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] to [[Brighton Pavilion]] (yet again), snores loudly on a deck chair as [[Romana II|Romana]] and [[K9 Mark II|K9]] discuss alternate holiday options. K9 is badly damaged when he runs into the sea attempting to fetch Romana's beach ball.
The [[Fourth Doctor]], having yet again failed to pilot [[the TARDIS]] to [[Brighton Pavilion]] thanks to his attempts to bypass the [[randomiser]], snores loudly on a deck chair as [[Romana II|Romana]] and [[K9]] discuss alternate holiday options. Frustrated, Romana tosses her beach ball into the sea and K9 goes to fetch it, badly damaging him.


Romana convinces the Doctor to go to [[Argolis]], home of the famed [[Leisure Hive]]. Argolis had been nearly annihilated by a brief but devastating war with the [[Foamasi]], but the surviving Argolins have built the domed holiday palace, offering anti-gravity racquetball among other delights.
Romana convinces the Doctor to go to [[Argolis]], home of the famed [[Leisure Hive]]. Argolis had been nearly annihilated by a brief but devastating war with the [[Foamasi]], but the surviving [[Argolin]]s have built the domed holiday palace, offering anti-gravity racquetball among other delights.


However, the Hive has run into financial dire straits. The chief executive, [[Morix]], aging and near death, is pondering a buy-out offer from Earth businessmen [[Brock]] and [[Klout]], but his hotheaded son [[Pangol]] will hear nothing of it. Morix dies and is succeeded by [[Mena]], who herself is aging. Meanwhile, an alien presence has infiltrated the Hive.
However, the Hive has run into financial dire straits. The chief executive, [[Morix]], ageing and near death, is pondering a buy-out offer from [[Earth]] businessmen [[Brock (The Leisure Hive)|Brock]] and [[Klout]], who represent the Foamasi, but his hotheaded son [[Pangol]] will hear nothing of it. Morix dies and is succeeded by [[Mena]], who herself is getting old. Meanwhile, an alien presence has infiltrated the Hive.


The Doctor and Romana arrive and watch a demonstration of the Hive's newest offering, the [[Tachyon Recreation Generator]], but the demonstration goes horribly awry when a volunteer from the crowd is torn apart inside the machine.
The Doctor and Romana arrive and watch a demonstration of the Hive's newest offering, the [[Tachyon Recreation Generator]], but the demonstration goes horribly awry when a volunteer from the crowd is torn apart inside the machine.


When Mena learns of the newcomers' experience with time technology, she asks Romana to assist her staff scientist [[Hardin]] with [[tachyonics]] experiments. They are attempting to use the questionable science to stop and reverse the flow of time. The Argolin race is sterile in the wake of the war with the Foamasi, and rejuvenating themselves is the only way to survive. Romana and Hardin appear to have some success, but the experiment is tampered with. The Doctor explores the Tachyon Recreation Generator, suspecting sabotage. At one point, he appears to be torn limb from limb, but the image onscreen is merely an illusion. When entering later, however, he is aged several hundred years. He and Romana are implicated in the murder of Hardin's assistant [[Stimson]].
The Doctor and Romana realise the recordings of the experiments have been faked. The Doctor explores the Tachyon Recreation Generator, and when an alien turns the machine on, the Doctor appears to be torn limb from limb.


Their investigation reveals Brock and Klout (the murderer) to be disguised Foamasi, members of a dissident group called the [[West Lodge]]. They do not act in the interest of the Foamasi at large, however, the two planets now at peace. A Foamasi investigator takes them away, but their ship is destroyed by Pangol shortly after takeoff.
=== Part two ===
The image onscreen is merely an illusion - the Doctor escaped the generator from the back. He and Romana are taken to Mena by security guards. Meanwhile, staff scientist [[Hardin (The Leisure Hive)|Hardin]] has arrived, and when Mena learns of the newcomers' experience with time technology, she asks Romana to assist him with tachyonics experiments. They are trying to use the questionable science to reverse the flow of time. The Argolin race is sterile after the war with the Foamasi. Rejuvenating themselves is the only way to survive.


Pangol, who is revealed to be a clone created in the Tachyon Recreation Generator, is eager to seize control of the Hive and duplicate himself into a new Argolin army. His efforts are thwarted by the Doctor, who uses the Tachyon field to restore himself to his current age, Mena to a younger age, and Pangol to a baby. The Doctor, however, has to use elements of the [[randomizer]] to stabilize the Tachyon Recreation Generator, and so has more control over his travels.
Mena begins to age quickly, a result of the radioactivity on the planet. Meanwhile, Hardin and his partner, [[Stimson]], discuss their experiments, which have been faked by them. Hardin wants to confess. Stimson plans to get off Argolis. Romana and Hardin appear to have some success, but when they go to tell Mena, the equipment explodes.


==Cast==
Guards find Stimson, who has been murdered, and arrest the Doctor. He stands trial in the boardroom and claims his innocence. Romana and Hardin announce their success, but before it can be used on Mena, Pangol wants to test it on the Doctor. As the experiment proceeds, Romana realises something is wrong, but she is too late to stop the experiment. The Doctor emerges from the machine, aged several hundred years.
*[[Fourth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Tom Baker]]
*[[Romana II|Romana]] - [[Lalla Ward]]
*[[Mena]] - [[Adrienne Corri]]
*[[Morix]] - [[Laurence Payne]]
*[[Brock]] - [[John Collin]]
*[[Pangol]] - [[David Haig]]
*[[Hardin]] - [[Nigel Lambert]]
*[[Vargos (Argolin)|Vargos]] - [[Martin Fisk]]
*Guide - [[Roy Montague]]
*[[Klout]] - [[Ian Talbot]]
*Tannoy Voice - [[Harriet Reynolds]]
*[[Stimson]] - [[David Allister]]
*Generator Voice - [[Clifford Norgate]]
*[[Foamasi]] - [[Andrew Lane]]


==Crew==
=== Part three ===
*[[Assistant Floor Manager]] - [[Val McCrimmon]]
The Doctor and Romana are imprisoned and try to figure out what went wrong with the experiment. Pangol discovers that Hardin's experiments were faked, which Hardin admits to but says he is near to a breakthrough, and wants Romana's help. Mena refuses.
*[[Costumes]] - [[June Hudson]]
*[[Designer]] - [[Tom Yardley-Jones]]
*[[Executive Producer]] - [[Barry Letts]]
*[[Film Cameraman]] - [[Keith Barton]]
*[[Film Editor]] - [[Chris Wimble]]
*[[Incidental Music]] - [[Peter Howell]]
*[[Make-Up]] - [[Dorka Nieradzik]]
*[[Producer]] - [[John Nathan-Turner]]
*[[Production Assistant]] - [[Romey Allison]]
*[[Production Unit Manager]] - [[Angela Smith]]
*[[Script Editor]] - [[Christopher H. Bidmead]]
*[[Special Sounds]] - [[Dick Mills]]
*[[Studio Lighting]] - [[Duncan Brown]]
*[[Studio Sound]] - [[John Howell]]
*[[Theme Arrangement]] - [[Peter Howell]]
*[[Title Music]] - [[Ron Grainer]]
*[[Visual Effects]] - [[Andrew Lazell]]


==References==
Vargos fits the Doctor and Romana with [[limitation collar]]s. They can roam freely around the Leisure Hive, but must stay within the limits programmed into the collars. If they enter a forbidden area or attempt to remove the collars, these will tighten around their necks and strangle them.
===[[:Category:Conflicts|Conflicts]]===
*In [[2250]] [[Argolis]] (led by [[Theron]]) was all but destroyed by 2000 nuclear warheads (in 20 minutes) during a war with the reptilian [[Foamasi]].
*The Argolin survivors, made sterile by the [[radiation]], invented the science of [[tachyonics]] (this happened '40 years ago') and built the [[Leisure Hive]] with its Experiential Grid offering 'variable environments'.


===[[:Category:Planets|Planets]]===
Pangol prevents Mena from signing contracts with the Foamasi. He wants to rebuild Argolis. He is the first Argolin created in the recreation generator and has big plans for the machine.
*K9 lists all known recreational planets for Romana, ending with ''"[[Yegros Alpha]]: speciality, atavistic therapy of primitive asteroids. [[Zaakros]]: galaxy's largest flora collection... [[Zeen 4]]: historical re-enactments."''.
*Argolis is the first of the [[leisure planet]]s.


===[[:Category:Races and species|Races and species]]===
Hardin frees the Doctor and Romana from their collars with a borrowed security key, and they decide to put Romana in the machine. She works on the machine but is confronted by an alien. Pangol sees the Doctor on a monitor and goes to stop him. He programs the machine to age the Doctor, who he thinks is in the machine, another two thousand years.
*There are 'lodges' of Formasi, the [[West Lodge]] is one such group.


===[[:Category:Technology|Technology]]===
The alien, a Foamasi, helps Romana escape. The Foamasi doesn't speak with words but the Doctor can understand him. They go to the boardroom where Pangol reveals his grand plans to Brock - he will raise an Argolin army from the generator. The Foamasi approaches Brock and pulls at his face - revealing that it is a mask and he is a Foamasi.
*[[Theron's helmet]]
*The [[randomiser]] is left on [[Argolis]].


==Story notes==
=== Part four ===
*This story is the debut of the new opening and closing title sequences, complete with 'neon tube' logo, designed by the BBC's [[Sid Sutton]], accompanied by a new [[Peter Howell]]-arranged version of [[Ron Grainer]]'s theme music.
The first Foamasi takes Brock's voice synthesiser and reveals that Brock and Klout (the murderer) are disguised Foamasi, members of a dissident group called the [[West Lodge]]. They do not act in the interest of the Foamasi at large, however. The two planets are now at peace. Pangol is suspicious of the Doctor and the Foamasi, and refuses to let them leave. When the Foamasi ship takes off, it is destroyed by Pangol.
*This is John Nathan-Turner's first story as producer.
*The story had a working title of '''The Argolins'''.
*A new TARDIS exterior prop makes its debut, this time made of fibreglass rather than of wood and, with its stacked roof arrangement, somewhat truer to the design of a genuine police box than the previous version (first seen in ''[[The Masque of Mandragora]]'').
*The Doctor's new outfit (the burgundy colour) also debuts in this story.
*Beginning with this story and continuing for the next several seasons, until ''[[The Five Doctors]]'', each serial will be linked in some way, either through some reference, or directly linked.
*John Leeson returns portraying the voice of K9 having been persuaded by John Nathan-Turner to reprise the role for this season.
*This story features the first use in Doctor Who of the digital Quantel image processing system. Amongst the effects created by the use of this system was a moving shot of the TARDIS materialising on Argolis (whereas the 'roll back and mix' technique by which the materialisation was achieved normally necessitated a completely static shot).
*The contemporary audience failed to redeem the behind-the-scenes difficulties.  Not only did small audiences attend the first episode, but figures ''dropped'' each week. By week three, ''Doctor Who'' did something it hadn't done in 18 years: it fell out of the top 100 programmes for the week in which it was transmitted.
*Production of the serial was extremely challenging. [[Tom Baker]] and [[Lalla Ward]]'s tumultuous off-screen relationship was at a nadir, causing the mood on set to be distinctly chilly. [[Director]] [[Lovett Bickford]]'s management of the shoot was highly incompetent, causing it to go so badly overbudget that John Nathan-Turner was severely reprimanded by his superiors. Bickford would thus never work on ''Doctor Who'' again.<ref name=Sullivan/>


===Ratings===
Pangol plans to start creating his clone army. The Doctor and Romana try to stop him by using the [[randomiser]] from the TARDIS. Pangol enters the machine, wearing the [[Theron's helmet|Helmet of Theron]], and duplicates himself into an army. However, because the Doctor was in the machine at the time, the clones are images of the Doctor, who has been restored to his original age. The clones do not last long, disappearing one by one.
*Part One - 5.9 million viewers
*Part Two - 5.0 million viewers
*Part Three - 5.0 million viewers
*Part Four - 4.5 million viewers


===Myths===
Hardin takes a near-dead Mena to the machine to regenerate her, but Pangol pushes past him. Both Mena and Pangol get into the machine, and both are restored, Mena to a young adult age and Pangol to a baby. The Doctor shuts off the generator.
''to be added''


===Filming locations===
The Foamasi who rescued Romana appears, not having been in the Foamasi ship when it was destroyed. He and Mena begin negotiations for peace. The Doctor and Romana decide to leave, and the Doctor decides to leave the randomiser behind despite the threat of the [[Black Guardian]], as he is tired of not knowing where he's going. With that, the two return to the TARDIS to continue their travels.
*Brighton Beach, Brighton, East Sussex
*[[BBC Television Centre]] (TC1 & TC3), Shepherd's Bush, [[London]]


===Production errors===
== Cast ==
* [[Fourth Doctor|Doctor Who]] - [[Tom Baker]]
* [[Romana II|Romana]] - [[Lalla Ward]]
* Voice of [[K9]] - [[John Leeson]]
* [[Mena]] - [[Adrienne Corri]]
* [[Morix]] - [[Laurence Payne]]
* [[Brock (The Leisure Hive)|Brock]] - [[John Collin]]
* [[Pangol]] - [[David Haig]]
* [[Hardin (The Leisure Hive)|Hardin]] - [[Nigel Lambert]]
* [[Vargos (The Leisure Hive)|Vargos]] - [[Martin Fisk]]
* [[Guide (The Leisure Hive)|Guide]] - [[Roy Montague]]
* [[Klout]] - [[Ian Talbot]]
* Voice of [[Tannoy (The Leisure Hive)|Tannoy]] - [[Harriet Reynolds]]
* [[Stimson]] - [[David Allister]]
* Voice of [[Generator (The Leisure Hive)|Generator]] - [[Clifford Norgate]]
* [[Foamasi]] - [[Andrew Lane]]
 
== Crew ==
* [[Assistant Floor Manager]] - [[Val McCrimmon]]
* [[Costumes]] - [[June Hudson]]
* [[Director's assistant|Director's Assistant]] - [[Carole Bisset]]
* [[Designer (crew)|Designer]] - [[Tom Yardley-Jones]]
* [[Executive Producer]] - [[Barry Letts]]
* [[Film Cameraman]] - [[Keith Barton]]
* [[Film Editor]] - [[Chris Wimble]]
* [[Film sound|Film Sound]] - [[Bill Chesneau]]
* [[Incidental Music]] - [[Peter Howell]]
* [[Make-Up]] - [[Dorka Nieradzik]]
* [[Producer]] - [[John Nathan-Turner]]
* [[Production Assistant]] - [[Romey Allison]]
* [[Production Unit Manager]] - [[Angela Smith]]
* [[Script Editor]] - [[Christopher H. Bidmead]]
* [[Senior cameraman|Senior Cameraman]] - [[Alec Wheal]]
* [[Special Sounds]] - [[Dick Mills]]
* [[Studio Lighting]] - [[Duncan Brown]]
* [[Studio Sound]] - [[John Howell]]
* [[Technical manager|Technical Manager]] - [[Robert Hignett|Bob Hignett]]
* [[Theme Arrangement]] - [[Peter Howell]]
* [[Doctor Who theme|Title Music]] - [[Ron Grainer]]
* [[Videotape editor|Videotape Editor]] - [[Rod Waldron]]
* [[Video effects|Video Effects]] - [[Robin Lobb]]
* [[Vision Mixer]] - [[Paul del Bravo]]
* [[Visual Effects|Visual Effects Designer]] - [[Andrew Lazell]]
 
== Worldbuilding ==
=== Conflicts ===
* In [[2250|2250,]] [[Argolis]] (led by [[Theron]]) was all but destroyed by two thousand nuclear warheads in twenty minutes during a war with the reptilian [[Foamasi]]. Argolis's surface, while beautiful, is deadly to all life.
* The Argolin survivors, made sterile by the [[radiation]] from the war, invented the science of [[tachyonics]] "forty years ago", and built the [[Leisure Hive]] with its Experiential Grid offering variable environments.
 
=== Influence ===
* ''Death in Venice - ''the opening tracking shot was [[John Nathan-Turner]]'s homage to the film.
 
=== Planets ===
* K9 lists all known recreational planets for Romana, ending with "[[Yegros Alpha]]: speciality, atavistic therapy of primitive [[asteroid]]s. [[Zaakros]]: galaxy's largest flora collection. [[Zeen 4]]: historical re-enactments.".
* Argolis is the first of the [[leisure planet]]s.
* Brock (the real one) lists other more successful leisure planets: [[Limnos 4]], and [[Abydos]]; the latter was name-dropped in ''[[The One Doctor (audio story)|The One Doctor]]''.
 
=== Species ===
* There are lodges of Foamasi, the [[West Lodge]] being one such group.
 
=== Technology ===
* [[Theron's helmet]]
* The [[randomiser]] is left on [[Argolis]].
* [[Unreal transfer]] was discovered in [[2386]].
 
== Story notes ==
* This story is the debut of the new opening and closing title sequences, complete with "neon tube" logo, designed by the BBC's [[Sid Sutton]], accompanied by a new [[Peter Howell]]-arranged version of [[Ron Grainer]]'s theme music. The arrangement is notable for being performed in F# minor, whereas all previous arrangements were in the original key of E minor.
* The scene changes with the picture shrinking, leaving the star effect. This only happened once.
* This is [[John Nathan-Turner]]'s first story as producer.
* The story had working titles of ''The Argolins''<ref>http://www.shannonsullivan.com/doctorwho/serials/5n.html</ref> and ''Avalon''.
* A new TARDIS exterior prop makes its debut, this time made of fibreglass rather than of wood and, with its stacked roof arrangement, somewhat truer to the design of a genuine police box than the previous version (first seen in ''[[The Masque of Mandragora (TV story)|The Masque of Mandragora]]'').
* The Doctor's new outfit (burgundy colour) also debuts in this story.
* The ''[[Radio Times]]'' programme listing for part one was accompanied by a black-and-white full-length publicity shot of the Doctor and Romana standing outside the TARDIS on Brighton beach, with the accompanying caption "Voyages through time as the Tardis returns with ''Dr. Who'' and Romana and the first planned trip is a holiday. Tom Baker and Lalla Ward: 6.15". ''(original published text)'' That for part three bore a black-and-white photograph of the aged Doctor sitting next to Romana, each wearing a limitation collar placed on them by Vargos, with the accompanying caption "A grisly accident happens in the Tachyon Recreation Generator when ''Dr. Who'' (Tom Baker) and Romana (Lalla Ward) arrive on Argolis: 5.55". ''(original published text)''
* [[Harriet Reynolds]] (Tannoy Voice) was uncredited on-screen for part two, but credited in ''[[Radio Times]]''.
* [[John Leeson]] returns portraying the voice of K9, having been persuaded by [[John Nathan-Turner]] to reprise the role for this season. By this time, Leeson could provide K9's voice by vocal power alone, and therefore no longer required the vocal modulator he had previously used.
* This story features the first use in ''Doctor Who'' of the digital Quantel image processing system. Amongst the effects created by the use of this system was a moving shot of the TARDIS materialising on Argolis (whereas the roll back and mix technique by which the materialisation was achieved normally necessitated a completely static shot).
* [[ITV]], the commercial TV competitor to the BBC, premiered the American series ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Rogers_in_the_25th_Century_(TV_series) Buck Rogers in the 25th Century]'' directly opposite the first episode of ''The Leisure Hive'', after a high-profile promotional campaign. ITV had never previously attempted to compete with ''Doctor Who'' by scheduling science fiction in that slot before, and its change of policy in 1980 is credited as being a major factor in the significant slump in ratings seen for the early stories in ''<nowiki>Doctor Who'</nowiki>''s eighteenth season. Not only did small audiences watch the first episode of ''The Leisure Hive'', but figures dropped each week. By week three, ''Doctor Who'' did something it hadn't done in eighteen years: it fell out of the top hundred programmes for the week it was transmitted.
* Production of the serial was extremely challenging. [[Tom Baker]] and [[Lalla Ward]]'s tumultuous off-screen relationship was at a nadir, causing the mood on set to be distinctly chilly. [[Director (crew)|Director]] [[Lovett Bickford]]'s management of the shoot caused it to go so badly over budget that [[John Nathan-Turner]] was severely reprimanded by his superiors. Bickford would never work on ''Doctor Who'' again.<ref name="Sullivan" />
* The baby Pangol was played by [[Alys Dyer]], whose mother was production unit manager [[Angela Smith]].
* [[David Fisher]] initially strove to maintain some of the same comedic elements that he had invested under [[Graham Williams]]. He envisaged the story as a pastiche of gangster movies, and even formed the name of the alien Foamasi as an anagram of “mafiosa”. However, more and more of Fisher's humour was winnowed out during the story's development, by which time [[Christopher H. Bidmead|Christopher H Bidmead]] had come aboard as script editor. Fortunately, Fisher had done some research into tachyonics via the ''[[New Scientist]]'', and so he could supply the desired element of hard science.
* The episode was written as a satire of the decline of tourism in the United Kingdom in the 1970s.
* The alien costume used for the Foamasi was later reused in the BBC's ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' as the leader of the G'Gugvuntt.
* The opening shot on Brighton Beach was [[John Nathan-Turner]]'s idea, as he lived nearby. The scene took a day to film.
* [[Siân Phillips]] was offered the role of Mena.
* [[Clive Swift]] was considered for Brock.
* [[Brian Protheroe]] was the original choice for Pangol.
* [[Lalla Ward]] and [[Laurence Payne]] had previously co-starred in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammer_Film_Productions Hammer Horror] film ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_Circus Vampire Circus].''
* [[Lovett Bickford]] developed a reputation for achieving distinctive visuals and was eager to record the story in the style of a feature film, replete with unusual camera angles, single-camera takes and the widespread use of a handheld camera.
* [[Tom Baker]] was unwell following a long flight from [[Australia]], and his mood was further affected by a downturn in his relationship with [[Lalla Ward]]. The pair had decided to end their romantic liaison when shooting ended on [[Season 17 (Doctor Who 1963)|Season Seventeen]]. Now, however, Baker yearned to rekindle their affair, while Ward was content to leave things as they were. As a result, both stars were soon refusing to speak to one another. Baker's attitude was at least moderated by his cordial working relationship with [[John Nathan-Turner]], although he was unenthusiastic about several of the changes introduced by his new producer.
* This was [[David Fisher (writer)|David Fisher]]'s final contribution to the series, partly due to his unhappiness over the efforts of [[John Nathan-Turner]], [[Christopher H. Bidmead]] and [[Lovett Bickford]] to cut a significant amount of Fisher's material which they deemed to be superfluous, in order to augment the pace of each episode. As a consequence, all four instalments were quite short, even with lengthy reprises grafted onto the last three parts.
 
=== Ratings ===
* Part one - 5.9 million viewers
* Part two - 5.0 million viewers
* Part three - 5.0 million viewers
* Part four - 4.5 million viewers
 
=== Filming locations ===
* [[Brighton Beach]], [[Brighton]], East Sussex
* [[BBC Television Centre]] (TC1 & TC3), Shepherd's Bush, [[London]]
 
=== Production errors ===
{{discontinuity}}
{{discontinuity}}
*The wires pulling K9 along the beach are particularly visible in part one.
* The wires pulling K9 along the beach are particularly visible in part one.
*In episode two the top of the sonic screwdriver is nearly bent off.
* In part two, the top of the sonic screwdriver is nearly bent off.
* The shiny silver belts of the [[zero gravity]] squash players were a poor choice of costume accessory for the CSO effect. Because they reflect the colour of the special effects backdrop, they have a tendency to become completely invisible.
* The number of nodules on Morix's horn changes between shots during his death scene.


==Continuity==
== Continuity ==
*The Fomasi reappear in [[EDA]]: ''[[Placebo Effect]]''.
* The Doctor had previously attempted to reach [[Brighton]] with [[Leela]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Horror of Fang Rock (TV story)|Horror of Fang Rock]]'')
* This is not the only time a story is resolved by de-aging the Doctor's antagonist, as happens to Pangol. In [[DW]]: ''[[Boom Town]]'', the [[Slitheen]] [[Margaret Blaine]] is regressed back into an egg by [[the Doctor's TARDIS]].
* The Foamasi reappear in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Placebo Effect (novel)|Placebo Effect]]''.
*The Doctor is also rapidly aged in [[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]''.
* The Doctor is also rapidly aged during his [[Tenth Doctor|tenth incarnation]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums (TV story)|The Sound of Drums]] '')
*The planet [[Midnight (planet)|Midnight]] ([[Midnight (TV story)|DW:&nbsp;''Midnight'']]) is also a Leisure Planet, and its environment is also uninhabitable because of extreme radiation.
* The planet [[Midnight (planet)|Midnight]] is also a leisure planet and its environment is also uninhabitable because of extreme [[radiation]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Midnight (TV story)|Midnight]]'')
*Cellular regeneration (or "de-aging") is performed by [[Richard Lazarus|Professor Lazarus]] in [[The Lazarus Experiment|DW: ''The Lazarus Experiment'']].
* Cellular regeneration (or "de-ageing") is also performed by [[Richard Lazarus|Professor Lazarus]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Lazarus Experiment (TV story)|The Lazarus Experiment]]'')
* The [[Slitheen]] [[Margaret Blaine]] is also de-aged, regressed back into an egg by [[the Doctor's TARDIS]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Boom Town (TV story)|Boom Town]]'')
* The Doctor expressed concern about K9 getting wet in the swamps of the moons of [[Delta Magna]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Power of Kroll (TV story)|The Power of Kroll]]'')
* Argolis is later visited by future [[renegade Time Lord]], [[Epsilon Delta]]. Like the Doctor and Romana, he visited the leisure hive before he met the [[Seventh Doctor]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Dimension Riders (novel)|The Dimension Riders]]'')


==[[Fourth Doctor - Timeline|Timeline]]==
== Home video and audio releases ==
*This story takes place after [[DWM]]: ''[[Party Animals]]''
=== CD Release ===
*This story takes place before [[ST]]: ''[[I Was a Monster!!!]]''
In March 2002, At the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume 3 was released with ''The Leisure Hive'' score in it.


==Home video and audio releases==
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
===DVD releases===
Music-1191.jpg|CD release
</gallery>


Released as ''Doctor Who: The Leisure Hive''.
=== DVD releases ===
This story was released as ''Doctor Who: The Leisure Hive''.


Released:
Released:
*Region 2 [[5th July]] [[2004]]
* Region 2 - [[5 July (releases)|5 July]] [[2004 (releases)|2004]]
::PAL - [[BBC DVD]] BBCDVD1351
::PAL - [[BBC DVD]] BBCDVD1351
*Region 4 [[7th October]] [[2004]]
* Region 4 - [[7 October (releases)|7 October]] 2004
*Region 1 [[7th June]] [[2005]]
* Region 1 - [[7 June (releases)|7 June]] [[2005 (releases)|2005]]
::NTSC - [[Warner Video]] E2217
::NTSC - [[Warner Video]] E2217


Contents:
==== Special Features ====
*[[A New Beginning]] Documentary - A look at the radical changes made to Doctor Who by incoming Producer [[John Nathan-Turner]].
* Commentary by [[Lalla Ward]] ([[Romana II|Romana]]), [[Lovett Bickford]] (Director) and [[Christopher H. Bidmead]] (Script Editor)
*From Avalon to Argolis - [[David Fisher]] and [[Christopher H. Bidmead]] recall the writing of the story.
* ''[[A New Beginning (documentary)|A New Beginning]]''- A look at the radical changes made to ''[[Doctor Who]]'' by incoming producer [[John Nathan-Turner]]
*Leisure Wear - [[June Hudson]] talks about the costumes for the story.
* ''[[From Avalon to Argolis (documentary)|From Avalon to Argolis]]'' - [[David Fisher (writer)|David Fisher]] and Christopher H Bidmead recall the writing of the story
*Synthesizing Starfields - [[Peter Howell]] and [[Sid Sutton]] recall the creation of the new titles sequence and theme arrangement.
* ''[[Synthesizing Starfields: Redesigning the Titles (documentary)|Synthesising Starfields]]'' - Graphic designer [[Sid Sutton]] and composer [[Peter Howell]] recall the creation of the new title sequence and theme music
*[[Blue Peter]] - A look at the exhibition at [[Longleat]].
* ''[[June Hudson's Leisure Wear (documentary)|Leisure Wear]]'' - Costume designer [[June Hudson]] talks about her work
*5.1 Mix
* ''[[Blue Peter (series)|Blue Peter]]'' - A look around the [[Longleat]] ''Doctor Who'' exhibition with John Nathan-Turner
*Music-only Option
* Music-only Option - Listen to Peter Howell's incidental music on an isolated audio track
*Photo Gallery
* Optional Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Mix
*Production Subtitles
* Photo Gallery
*Easter Egg
* Production Subtitles
*Commentary: [[Lalla Ward]], [[Lovett Bickford]], and [[Christopher H. Bidmead]]
* [[Easter Egg]]: Continuity announcements. To access this hidden feature, press left at Episode Selection on the Main Menu to reveal a hidden ''Doctor Who'' logo.
 
Notes:
Notes:
* Editing for DVD release completed by [[Doctor Who Restoration Team]].
* Editing for the DVD release was completed by the [[Doctor Who Restoration Team]].


<gallery>
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
File:The Leisure Hive DVD UK cover.jpg|DVD UK cover
File:The Leisure Hive DVD UK cover.jpg|DVD UK cover
File:The Leisure Hive DVD Australian cover.jpg|DVD Australian cover
File:The Leisure Hive DVD Australian cover.jpg|DVD Australian cover
File:The Leisure Hive DVD US cover.jpg|DVD US cover
File:The Leisure Hive DVD US cover.jpg|DVD US cover
File:Leisurehivenetherlandsdvd.jpg|DVD Netherlands cover
</gallery>
</gallery>


===VHS releases===
=== VHS releases ===
Released as ''Doctor Who: The Leisure Hive''.
Released as ''Doctor Who: The Leisure Hive''.


Released:
Released:
*[[UK]] [[January]] [[1997]]
* [[UK]] January 1997
::PAL - [[BBC Video]] BBCV5821
::PAL - [[BBC Video]] BBCV5821
*[[US]] [[September]] [[1997]]
* [[US]] September 1997
::NTSC - [[Warner Video]] E1135
::NTSC - [[Warner Video]] E1135


<gallery>
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
File:5n-video.jpg|VHS UK cover
File:5n-video.jpg|VHS UK cover
File:The Leisure Hive VHS US cover.jpg
File:The Leisure Hive VHS US cover.jpg|VHS US cover
File:The Leisure Hive VHS Australian cover.jpg|VHS Australian cover
</gallery>
</gallery>


==Novelisation and its audiobook==
== External links ==
[[Image:Leisure Hive novel.jpg|right|75px]]
* {{bbcepguideclassic|leisurehive/|The Leisure Hive}}
: ''Main article: [[Doctor Who and the Leisure Hive]]''
* {{radiotimes|2011-03-13/the-leisure-hive}}
{{dwcast}}
{{dwrefguide|who_5n.htm|The Leisure Hive}}
* {{briefhistory|serials/5n.html|The Leisure Hive}}
* {{locguide|leisurehive|The Leisure Hive}}


* Novelised as ''[[Doctor Who and the Leisure Hive]]'' by [[David Fisher]].
== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}
{{DWTV}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[es:The Leisure Hive]]
[[ru:Улей Отдыха (ТВ история)]]


==External links==
[[Category:Doctor Who (1963) television stories]]
*{{bbcepguideclassic|leisurehive/|The Leisure Hive}}
[[Category:1980 television stories]]
*{{dwrefguide|who_5n.htm|The Leisure Hive}}
*{{briefhistory|serials/5n.html|The Leisure Hive}}
*{{locguide|leisurehive|The Leisure Hive}}
==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}
{{season 18}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leisure Hive}}
[[Category:Fourth Doctor episodes|Leisure Hive, The]]
[[Category:1980 television stories|Leisure Hive, The]]
[[Category:Romana episodes]]
[[Category:Season 18 stories]]
[[Category:Season 18 stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in Brighton|Leisure Hive, The]]
[[Category:Stories set in 2290]]
[[Category:Stories set in Brighton]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1980]]
[[Category:K9 television stories]]
[[Category:Romana II television stories]]
[[Category:Argolin sources]]
[[Category:Television stories set in Mutter's Spiral]]

Latest revision as of 17:13, 10 November 2024

RealWorld.png

You may be looking for the titular resort.

The Leisure Hive was the first serial of season 18 of Doctor Who. It was the first serial produced by John Nathan-Turner. He immediately instituted a number of radical new changes to the series.

The title sequence was redone with a 'star-field' motif. Delia Derbyshire's arrangement of the Doctor Who theme was abandoned in favour of a more dynamic, glossy and 'funky' version of it, done by Peter Howell (also of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, where Derbyshire worked previously), using synthesisers (particularily the Yamaha CS-80 and ARP Odyssey synthesisers, as well as an EMS vocoder). These wholesale alterations to the programme's opening sequence would, with relatively minor adjustments, remain in place until season 24. At the same time, Nathan-Turner decided to end composer Dudley Simpson's long association with the programme. He chose the Radiophonic Workshop to handle the incidental music for The Leisure Hive.

The story also brought a new uniform look for the Fourth Doctor. His coat and trademark scarf were now coloured burgundy, the latter with purple stripes. The new question mark motif premiered here on the Doctor's shirt collar and would persist throughout Nathan-Turner's era.

Narratively, The Leisure Hive was an unusual story in that it was commissioned directly by the producer rather than the script editor, because Christopher H. Bidmead was not yet hired. New executive producer Barry Letts, who had previously served as the show's producer during most of the Jon Pertwee era and during Tom Baker's first story, also had a significant hand in shaping the story's outline.[1] Letts's new role as executive producer would only last for the duration of the season, and would be his last contribution to televised Doctor Who.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Fourth Doctor and Romana II arrive on Argolis in search of a peaceful holiday at the famed Leisure Hive. Instead they become embroiled in both a takeover scheme by the Argolins' historic enemy the Foamasi and the machinations of Pangol, child of the Generator.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

The Fourth Doctor, having yet again failed to pilot the TARDIS to Brighton Pavilion thanks to his attempts to bypass the randomiser, snores loudly on a deck chair as Romana and K9 discuss alternate holiday options. Frustrated, Romana tosses her beach ball into the sea and K9 goes to fetch it, badly damaging him.

Romana convinces the Doctor to go to Argolis, home of the famed Leisure Hive. Argolis had been nearly annihilated by a brief but devastating war with the Foamasi, but the surviving Argolins have built the domed holiday palace, offering anti-gravity racquetball among other delights.

However, the Hive has run into financial dire straits. The chief executive, Morix, ageing and near death, is pondering a buy-out offer from Earth businessmen Brock and Klout, who represent the Foamasi, but his hotheaded son Pangol will hear nothing of it. Morix dies and is succeeded by Mena, who herself is getting old. Meanwhile, an alien presence has infiltrated the Hive.

The Doctor and Romana arrive and watch a demonstration of the Hive's newest offering, the Tachyon Recreation Generator, but the demonstration goes horribly awry when a volunteer from the crowd is torn apart inside the machine.

The Doctor and Romana realise the recordings of the experiments have been faked. The Doctor explores the Tachyon Recreation Generator, and when an alien turns the machine on, the Doctor appears to be torn limb from limb.

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

The image onscreen is merely an illusion - the Doctor escaped the generator from the back. He and Romana are taken to Mena by security guards. Meanwhile, staff scientist Hardin has arrived, and when Mena learns of the newcomers' experience with time technology, she asks Romana to assist him with tachyonics experiments. They are trying to use the questionable science to reverse the flow of time. The Argolin race is sterile after the war with the Foamasi. Rejuvenating themselves is the only way to survive.

Mena begins to age quickly, a result of the radioactivity on the planet. Meanwhile, Hardin and his partner, Stimson, discuss their experiments, which have been faked by them. Hardin wants to confess. Stimson plans to get off Argolis. Romana and Hardin appear to have some success, but when they go to tell Mena, the equipment explodes.

Guards find Stimson, who has been murdered, and arrest the Doctor. He stands trial in the boardroom and claims his innocence. Romana and Hardin announce their success, but before it can be used on Mena, Pangol wants to test it on the Doctor. As the experiment proceeds, Romana realises something is wrong, but she is too late to stop the experiment. The Doctor emerges from the machine, aged several hundred years.

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

The Doctor and Romana are imprisoned and try to figure out what went wrong with the experiment. Pangol discovers that Hardin's experiments were faked, which Hardin admits to but says he is near to a breakthrough, and wants Romana's help. Mena refuses.

Vargos fits the Doctor and Romana with limitation collars. They can roam freely around the Leisure Hive, but must stay within the limits programmed into the collars. If they enter a forbidden area or attempt to remove the collars, these will tighten around their necks and strangle them.

Pangol prevents Mena from signing contracts with the Foamasi. He wants to rebuild Argolis. He is the first Argolin created in the recreation generator and has big plans for the machine.

Hardin frees the Doctor and Romana from their collars with a borrowed security key, and they decide to put Romana in the machine. She works on the machine but is confronted by an alien. Pangol sees the Doctor on a monitor and goes to stop him. He programs the machine to age the Doctor, who he thinks is in the machine, another two thousand years.

The alien, a Foamasi, helps Romana escape. The Foamasi doesn't speak with words but the Doctor can understand him. They go to the boardroom where Pangol reveals his grand plans to Brock - he will raise an Argolin army from the generator. The Foamasi approaches Brock and pulls at his face - revealing that it is a mask and he is a Foamasi.

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

The first Foamasi takes Brock's voice synthesiser and reveals that Brock and Klout (the murderer) are disguised Foamasi, members of a dissident group called the West Lodge. They do not act in the interest of the Foamasi at large, however. The two planets are now at peace. Pangol is suspicious of the Doctor and the Foamasi, and refuses to let them leave. When the Foamasi ship takes off, it is destroyed by Pangol.

Pangol plans to start creating his clone army. The Doctor and Romana try to stop him by using the randomiser from the TARDIS. Pangol enters the machine, wearing the Helmet of Theron, and duplicates himself into an army. However, because the Doctor was in the machine at the time, the clones are images of the Doctor, who has been restored to his original age. The clones do not last long, disappearing one by one.

Hardin takes a near-dead Mena to the machine to regenerate her, but Pangol pushes past him. Both Mena and Pangol get into the machine, and both are restored, Mena to a young adult age and Pangol to a baby. The Doctor shuts off the generator.

The Foamasi who rescued Romana appears, not having been in the Foamasi ship when it was destroyed. He and Mena begin negotiations for peace. The Doctor and Romana decide to leave, and the Doctor decides to leave the randomiser behind despite the threat of the Black Guardian, as he is tired of not knowing where he's going. With that, the two return to the TARDIS to continue their travels.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Conflicts[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • In 2250, Argolis (led by Theron) was all but destroyed by two thousand nuclear warheads in twenty minutes during a war with the reptilian Foamasi. Argolis's surface, while beautiful, is deadly to all life.
  • The Argolin survivors, made sterile by the radiation from the war, invented the science of tachyonics "forty years ago", and built the Leisure Hive with its Experiential Grid offering variable environments.

Influence[[edit] | [edit source]]

Planets[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • K9 lists all known recreational planets for Romana, ending with "Yegros Alpha: speciality, atavistic therapy of primitive asteroids. Zaakros: galaxy's largest flora collection. Zeen 4: historical re-enactments.".
  • Argolis is the first of the leisure planets.
  • Brock (the real one) lists other more successful leisure planets: Limnos 4, and Abydos; the latter was name-dropped in The One Doctor.

Species[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • There are lodges of Foamasi, the West Lodge being one such group.

Technology[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

  • This story is the debut of the new opening and closing title sequences, complete with "neon tube" logo, designed by the BBC's Sid Sutton, accompanied by a new Peter Howell-arranged version of Ron Grainer's theme music. The arrangement is notable for being performed in F# minor, whereas all previous arrangements were in the original key of E minor.
  • The scene changes with the picture shrinking, leaving the star effect. This only happened once.
  • This is John Nathan-Turner's first story as producer.
  • The story had working titles of The Argolins[2] and Avalon.
  • A new TARDIS exterior prop makes its debut, this time made of fibreglass rather than of wood and, with its stacked roof arrangement, somewhat truer to the design of a genuine police box than the previous version (first seen in The Masque of Mandragora).
  • The Doctor's new outfit (burgundy colour) also debuts in this story.
  • The Radio Times programme listing for part one was accompanied by a black-and-white full-length publicity shot of the Doctor and Romana standing outside the TARDIS on Brighton beach, with the accompanying caption "Voyages through time as the Tardis returns with Dr. Who and Romana and the first planned trip is a holiday. Tom Baker and Lalla Ward: 6.15". (original published text) That for part three bore a black-and-white photograph of the aged Doctor sitting next to Romana, each wearing a limitation collar placed on them by Vargos, with the accompanying caption "A grisly accident happens in the Tachyon Recreation Generator when Dr. Who (Tom Baker) and Romana (Lalla Ward) arrive on Argolis: 5.55". (original published text)
  • Harriet Reynolds (Tannoy Voice) was uncredited on-screen for part two, but credited in Radio Times.
  • John Leeson returns portraying the voice of K9, having been persuaded by John Nathan-Turner to reprise the role for this season. By this time, Leeson could provide K9's voice by vocal power alone, and therefore no longer required the vocal modulator he had previously used.
  • This story features the first use in Doctor Who of the digital Quantel image processing system. Amongst the effects created by the use of this system was a moving shot of the TARDIS materialising on Argolis (whereas the roll back and mix technique by which the materialisation was achieved normally necessitated a completely static shot).
  • ITV, the commercial TV competitor to the BBC, premiered the American series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century directly opposite the first episode of The Leisure Hive, after a high-profile promotional campaign. ITV had never previously attempted to compete with Doctor Who by scheduling science fiction in that slot before, and its change of policy in 1980 is credited as being a major factor in the significant slump in ratings seen for the early stories in Doctor Who's eighteenth season. Not only did small audiences watch the first episode of The Leisure Hive, but figures dropped each week. By week three, Doctor Who did something it hadn't done in eighteen years: it fell out of the top hundred programmes for the week it was transmitted.
  • Production of the serial was extremely challenging. Tom Baker and Lalla Ward's tumultuous off-screen relationship was at a nadir, causing the mood on set to be distinctly chilly. Director Lovett Bickford's management of the shoot caused it to go so badly over budget that John Nathan-Turner was severely reprimanded by his superiors. Bickford would never work on Doctor Who again.[1]
  • The baby Pangol was played by Alys Dyer, whose mother was production unit manager Angela Smith.
  • David Fisher initially strove to maintain some of the same comedic elements that he had invested under Graham Williams. He envisaged the story as a pastiche of gangster movies, and even formed the name of the alien Foamasi as an anagram of “mafiosa”. However, more and more of Fisher's humour was winnowed out during the story's development, by which time Christopher H Bidmead had come aboard as script editor. Fortunately, Fisher had done some research into tachyonics via the New Scientist, and so he could supply the desired element of hard science.
  • The episode was written as a satire of the decline of tourism in the United Kingdom in the 1970s.
  • The alien costume used for the Foamasi was later reused in the BBC's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as the leader of the G'Gugvuntt.
  • The opening shot on Brighton Beach was John Nathan-Turner's idea, as he lived nearby. The scene took a day to film.
  • Siân Phillips was offered the role of Mena.
  • Clive Swift was considered for Brock.
  • Brian Protheroe was the original choice for Pangol.
  • Lalla Ward and Laurence Payne had previously co-starred in the Hammer Horror film Vampire Circus.
  • Lovett Bickford developed a reputation for achieving distinctive visuals and was eager to record the story in the style of a feature film, replete with unusual camera angles, single-camera takes and the widespread use of a handheld camera.
  • Tom Baker was unwell following a long flight from Australia, and his mood was further affected by a downturn in his relationship with Lalla Ward. The pair had decided to end their romantic liaison when shooting ended on Season Seventeen. Now, however, Baker yearned to rekindle their affair, while Ward was content to leave things as they were. As a result, both stars were soon refusing to speak to one another. Baker's attitude was at least moderated by his cordial working relationship with John Nathan-Turner, although he was unenthusiastic about several of the changes introduced by his new producer.
  • This was David Fisher's final contribution to the series, partly due to his unhappiness over the efforts of John Nathan-Turner, Christopher H. Bidmead and Lovett Bickford to cut a significant amount of Fisher's material which they deemed to be superfluous, in order to augment the pace of each episode. As a consequence, all four instalments were quite short, even with lengthy reprises grafted onto the last three parts.

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Part one - 5.9 million viewers
  • Part two - 5.0 million viewers
  • Part three - 5.0 million viewers
  • Part four - 4.5 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.
  • The wires pulling K9 along the beach are particularly visible in part one.
  • In part two, the top of the sonic screwdriver is nearly bent off.
  • The shiny silver belts of the zero gravity squash players were a poor choice of costume accessory for the CSO effect. Because they reflect the colour of the special effects backdrop, they have a tendency to become completely invisible.
  • The number of nodules on Morix's horn changes between shots during his death scene.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

CD Release[[edit] | [edit source]]

In March 2002, At the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume 3 was released with The Leisure Hive score in it.

  • CD release

    CD release

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

This story was released as Doctor Who: The Leisure Hive.

Released:

PAL - BBC DVD BBCDVD1351
NTSC - Warner Video E2217

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

Notes:

  • DVD UK cover

    DVD UK cover

  • DVD Australian cover

    DVD Australian cover

  • DVD US cover

    DVD US cover

  • DVD Netherlands cover

    DVD Netherlands cover

VHS releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

Released as Doctor Who: The Leisure Hive.

Released:

  • UK January 1997
PAL - BBC Video BBCV5821
  • US September 1997
NTSC - Warner Video E1135
  • VHS UK cover

    VHS UK cover

  • VHS US cover

    VHS US cover

  • VHS Australian cover

    VHS Australian cover

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

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Shannon Sullivan's take on The Leisure Hive
  2. ↑ http://www.shannonsullivan.com/doctorwho/serials/5n.html
v • e
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