Snakedance (TV story): Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox | {{Infobox ClassicTV| | ||
story name= Snakedance | | story name= Snakedance | | ||
image= [[Image:TeganMara.jpg|250px]]| | image= [[Image:TeganMara.jpg|250px]]| | ||
series=[[Doctor Who]] -<br/>[[TV stories|TV Stories]] | series=[[Doctor Who]] -<br/>[[TV stories|TV Stories]]| | ||
number= 125 | | number=[[Season 20]]| | ||
story number=125| | |||
doctor=[[Fifth Doctor]] | | doctor=[[Fifth Doctor]] | | ||
companions= <ul><li>[[Tegan]]</li><li>[[Nyssa]]</li></ul> | | companions= <ul><li>[[Tegan]]</li><li>[[Nyssa]]</li></ul> | | ||
| Line 21: | Line 22: | ||
==Synopsis== | ==Synopsis== | ||
''to | Tegan falls once more under the influence of the Mara and directs the TARDIS to the planet Manussa. There the Federator's son Lon and his mother Tanha are preparing for a ceremony to celebrate the banishment of the Mara five hundred years earlier. | ||
The Mara takes control of Lon and uses him and Tegan to obtain from Ambril, the Director of Historical Research, the 'great crystal' - the large blue stone that originally brought it into being by focusing energy from the minds of the planet's one-time inhabitants. The Mara now plans to use the crystal during the ceremony to bring about its return to corporeal existence. | |||
The Doctor and Nyssa, aided by Ambril's assistant Chela, locate Ambril's aged predecessor Dojjen, who predicted the Mara's rebirth before wandering off into the wilderness. The Doctor allows himself to be bitten by a snake in order to enter a state of mental commune with Dojjen, who tells him that fear is the only true venom and that in order to defeat the Mara he must find the still point within himself. | |||
The Doctor and his friends then return to the caves where the ceremony is being held. The Doctor, by concentrating his thoughts with the aid of a small replica of the great crystal, is able to find the still point and repel the Mara. | |||
==Plot== | ==Plot== | ||
| Line 61: | Line 68: | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
[[Mara]], | *[[Manussa]] is in the [[Scrampus system]], and is a colony of a [[Federation]] formed by one of Lon's ancestors (part of a network of former Earth colonies). | ||
*The [[Mara]] was created here, and ruled, turning the former [[Manussan empire]] into the [[Sumaran empire]]. | |||
==Story Notes== | ==Story Notes== | ||
* In [[1995]] [[Steven Moffat]] was a participant in a wide-ranging, public discussion about ''Doctor Who'' with [[Andy Lane]], [[David Bishop]] and [[Paul Cornell]]. He ranted about the "crap" nature of the majority of the 1963 version of the show, but called ''Snakedance'' "one I couldn't really fault".<ref>[http://nzdwfc.tetrap.com/archive/tsv43/onediscussion.html "Four Writers, One Discussion"] a record of a conversation held on 17 January 1995. ''Time Space Visualizer'' #43. New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club. March 1995.</ref> He would build upon this opinion in a [[1996]] essay, in which he called ''Snakedance'' and ''[[Kinda]]'' "the two best ''Who'' stories ever".<ref>[http://doctorwhoforum.com/showthread.php?t=194947 Moffat, Steven. "Season 19 Overview".] ''In-Vision'' #62. 1996. Posted to doctorwhoforum.com. Registration required.</ref> | * In [[1995]] [[Steven Moffat]] was a participant in a wide-ranging, public discussion about ''Doctor Who'' with [[Andy Lane]], [[David Bishop]] and [[Paul Cornell]]. He ranted about the "crap" nature of the majority of the 1963 version of the show, but called ''Snakedance'' "one I couldn't really fault".<ref>[http://nzdwfc.tetrap.com/archive/tsv43/onediscussion.html "Four Writers, One Discussion"] a record of a conversation held on 17 January 1995. ''Time Space Visualizer'' #43. New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club. March 1995.</ref> He would build upon this opinion in a [[1996]] essay, in which he called ''Snakedance'' and ''[[Kinda]]'' "the two best ''Who'' stories ever".<ref>[http://doctorwhoforum.com/showthread.php?t=194947 Moffat, Steven. "Season 19 Overview".] ''In-Vision'' #62. 1996. Posted to doctorwhoforum.com. Registration required.</ref> | ||
*[[Brian Miller]], whose wife [[Elisabeth Sladen]] had portrayed the Doctor's companion [[Sarah Jane Smith]], appears as Dugdale. | |||
===Ratings=== | ===Ratings=== | ||
*Part 1 | *Part 1 — 6.7 million viewers | 95th place | [[AI]] 65 | ||
*Part 2 — 7.7 million | 75th place | AI 66 | *Part 2 — 7.7 million viewers | 75th place | AI 66 | ||
*Part 3 — 6.6 million | 98th place | AI 67 | *Part 3 — 6.6 million viewers | 98th place | AI 67 | ||
*Part 4 — 7.4 million | 78th place | AI 67 | *Part 4 — 7.4 million viewers | 78th place | AI 67 | ||
===Myths=== | ===Myths=== | ||
''to be added'' | ''to be added'' | ||
=== | ===Filming Locations=== | ||
' | *[[BBC Television Centre]] ([[List of stories recorded at BBC Television Centre|TC6]]), Shepherd's Bush, [[London]] | ||
===Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors=== | ===Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors=== | ||
| Line 82: | Line 91: | ||
==Continuity== | ==Continuity== | ||
The [[ | *The Mara previously appeared in [[DW]]: ''[[Kinda]]''. | ||
==DVD and Video Releases== | ==DVD and Video Releases== | ||
Revision as of 07:35, 15 September 2008
Snakedance was the second story of Season 20. A sequel to Kinda, it featured the return of the Mara.
Synopsis
Tegan falls once more under the influence of the Mara and directs the TARDIS to the planet Manussa. There the Federator's son Lon and his mother Tanha are preparing for a ceremony to celebrate the banishment of the Mara five hundred years earlier.
The Mara takes control of Lon and uses him and Tegan to obtain from Ambril, the Director of Historical Research, the 'great crystal' - the large blue stone that originally brought it into being by focusing energy from the minds of the planet's one-time inhabitants. The Mara now plans to use the crystal during the ceremony to bring about its return to corporeal existence.
The Doctor and Nyssa, aided by Ambril's assistant Chela, locate Ambril's aged predecessor Dojjen, who predicted the Mara's rebirth before wandering off into the wilderness. The Doctor allows himself to be bitten by a snake in order to enter a state of mental commune with Dojjen, who tells him that fear is the only true venom and that in order to defeat the Mara he must find the still point within himself.
The Doctor and his friends then return to the caves where the ceremony is being held. The Doctor, by concentrating his thoughts with the aid of a small replica of the great crystal, is able to find the still point and repel the Mara.
Plot
to be added
Cast
- The Doctor - Peter Davison
- Tegan - Janet Fielding
- Nyssa - Sarah Sutton
- Lon - Martin Clunes
- Ambril - John Carson
- Tanha - Colette O'Neil
- Chela - Johnathon Morris
- Dojjen - Preston Lockwood
- Dugdale - Brian Miller
- Fortune Teller - Hilary Sesta
- Hawker - George Ballantine
- Puppeteer - Barry Smith
- Megaphone Man - Brian Grellis
Crew
- Assistant Floor Manager - Maggy Campbell
- Costumes - Ken Trew
- Designer - Jan Spoczynski
- Film Cameraman - John Baker
- Film Editor - Alastair Mackay
- Incidental Music - Peter Howell
- Make-Up - Marion Richards
- Producer - John Nathan-Turner
- Production Assistant - Rita Dunn, June Collins
- Production Associate - Angela Smith
- Script Editor - Eric Saward
- Special Sounds - Dick Mills
- Studio Lighting - Henry Barber
- Studio Sound - Martin Ridout
- Theme Arrangement - Peter Howell
- Title Music - Ron Grainer
- Visual Effects - Andrew Lazell
References
- Manussa is in the Scrampus system, and is a colony of a Federation formed by one of Lon's ancestors (part of a network of former Earth colonies).
- The Mara was created here, and ruled, turning the former Manussan empire into the Sumaran empire.
Story Notes
- In 1995 Steven Moffat was a participant in a wide-ranging, public discussion about Doctor Who with Andy Lane, David Bishop and Paul Cornell. He ranted about the "crap" nature of the majority of the 1963 version of the show, but called Snakedance "one I couldn't really fault".[1] He would build upon this opinion in a 1996 essay, in which he called Snakedance and Kinda "the two best Who stories ever".[2]
- Brian Miller, whose wife Elisabeth Sladen had portrayed the Doctor's companion Sarah Jane Smith, appears as Dugdale.
Ratings
- Part 1 — 6.7 million viewers | 95th place | AI 65
- Part 2 — 7.7 million viewers | 75th place | AI 66
- Part 3 — 6.6 million viewers | 98th place | AI 67
- Part 4 — 7.4 million viewers | 78th place | AI 67
Myths
to be added
Filming Locations
- BBC Television Centre (TC6), Shepherd's Bush, London
Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
to be added
Continuity
DVD and Video Releases
to be added
Novelisation
- Main article: Snakedance (novelisation)
- Novelised by Terrance Dicks in 1984.
External Links
- BBC Episode Guide for Snakedance
- Outpost Gallifrey Episode Guide: Snakedance
- Doctor Who Reference Guide: Detailed Synopsis - Snakdedance
- A Brief History of Time (Travel) entry for Snakedance
References
- ↑ "Four Writers, One Discussion" a record of a conversation held on 17 January 1995. Time Space Visualizer #43. New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club. March 1995.
- ↑ Moffat, Steven. "Season 19 Overview". In-Vision #62. 1996. Posted to doctorwhoforum.com. Registration required.
