The Myth Makers (TV story)
- You may be looking for the interview series or the comic story.
The Myth Makers was the third story of Season 3 of Doctor Who. This story saw the last appearance of Maureen O'Brien as companion Vicki and the introduction of new companion Katarina, played by Adrienne Hill.
Synopsis
When the TARDIS arrives on the plains of Asia Minor not far from the besieged city of Troy, the Doctor is hailed by Achilles as the mighty god Zeus and taken to the Greek camp. He meets Agamemnon and Odysseus. Forced to admit he is a mere mortal - albeit a traveller in space and time - he is given two days to devise a scheme to capture Troy.
Steven and Vicki, meanwhile, have been taken prisoner by the Trojans. Vicki, believed to possess supernatural powers, is given two days to banish the Greeks to prove she is not a spy.
Having initially dismissed the famous wooden horse as a fiction of Homer's, the Doctor is finally driven to 'invent' it himself, giving the Greeks the means to defeat the Trojans.
In the climactic battle Steven is wounded by a sword-thrust to his shoulder and Katarina, handmaiden to the Trojan prophetess Cassandra, helps the Doctor to get him back to the TARDIS.
Vicki meanwhile, having adopted the guise of Cressida, elects to remain behind on Earth with the Trojan prince Troilus, with whom she has fallen in love.
Plot
Temple of Secrets (1)
Outside Troy the Greek warrior Achilles slays the Trojan Hector. The arrival of the TARDIS disturbs Hector's concentration. The Doctor emerges. Achilles believes him Zeus and insists he come to the Greek encampment. They meet Odysseus, who accompanies them. When they arrive, Agamemnon insists the Doctor help him against the Trojans and will not let him depart until he has done so. Odysseus is more sceptical, calling the Doctor a Trojan spy.
The Doctor’s companions Vicki and Steven have watched him being led away. Vicki's ankle is still injured (from Galaxy Four)), so Steven ventures out alone to help the Doctor. He is spotted heading for the Trojan camp by Cyclops, Odysseus' mute servant. Odysseus soon catches Steven and takes him to the camp as well, where he must pretend not to know the Doctor to maintain his guise as Zeus. The Doctor persuades the Greeks to spare Steven until the morning, when he can be sacrificed at "Zeus's" "temple." Moments later Cyclops returns to the camp and through sign language communicates that Zeus’ temple (the TARDIS) has disappeared.
Small Prophet, Quick Return (2)
The next morning, the Doctor and Steven go to the plains with the Greeks to find the TARDIS has disappeared. The Doctor confesses that Steven and he are friends and not gods. Odysseus decides to let them live, but demands their powers be used to destroy the Trojans within two days or they will be killed. Steven privately suggests the Doctor use the Trojan Horse.
The TARDIS has been taken into the city of Troy and presented to King Priam by his son Paris, but Priam is more interested in revenge for Hector's death. The blue box is denounced by the prophetess Cassandral she has dreamt the Greeks will leave a gift on the plain which will contain soldiers to attack the Trojans. She demands the TARDIS be burnt. Before it can be set alight, Vicki emerges and is taken as a sign from the gods. The King and Paris are enchanted by her and the King names her Cressida. This enrages Cassandra, who believes Vicki a rival prophet.
Priam sends Paris out on the plains to avenge Hector. Paris calls for Achilles. Steven persuades the Greeks to send him instead, hoping he can get captured and taken to Troy to search for Vicki. Adopting the name Diomede, Steven engages Achilles in battle. Paris takes him as a prisoner back to the city. When he arrives, Vicki greets him with his real name. This is taken by Cassandra as a sign they are both spies. She calls for soldiers to kill them.
Death of a Spy (3)
Paris intervenes to save Steven and Vicki, but unless Vicki helps Priam end the war, he warns, she will die. Steven and Vicki are taken to cells to prompt her into prophecy. Whilst there, Steven tells Vicki the Doctor has a similar deadline. Cyclops appears and is given a message for the Doctor, asking him to delay an attack for two days so they are not killed. The next visitor is Priam’s youngest, Troilus, who forms a romantic attachment to “Cressida.” Vicki is equally attracted and seems successful in persuading him to try to get them released. When Troilus departs, it seems Vicki has fallen for him, contemplating staying behind. Elsewhere, Cyclops is slain before he can pass on his message.
The Doctor has come under such pressure to help the Greeks that he proposes the wooden horse to Odysseus. The construction will be left outside Troy and filled with Greeks, who hope the horse will be taken within the city, allowing them to attack. Agamemnon approves the plan, but Odysseus forces the Doctor to join him inside the horse for its fateful journey. The Greeks build the horse. Soon the gift is placed on the plains. It is spotted by Paris. The Trojans drag it inside their city.
The Trojans respond to the seeming disappearance of the Greek army by rejoicing. Priam has Vicki released. Steven is kept in prison because of Troilus’ jealousy. When Vicki reaches the court, she learns from Paris that the wooden horse has been found on the plains and is being brought into the city. The gates of the city are open and the horse is now within.
Horse of Destruction (4)
The Trojans dismiss Cassandra’s prophecies, but in the melee Vicki slips away and rescues Steven from the dungeons. They head for the square, where a vast crowd has assembled to greet the giant wooden horse. They worry about what will happen when the Greeks emerge. Cassandra’s handmaiden, Katarina, arrives to find Vicki for her mistress. This prompts Vicki to leave Steven in a hiding place (his escape having been noticed) while she mingles with the newly arrived royal party. She heads for the palace, where she meets Troilus. She tries to persuade him to flee with her from the city by telling him Diomede is on the plain. He agrees to venture outside.
Night falls again. Under the cover of darkness, the Greek navy returns to the Trojan coast, while the Doctor, Odysseus and the Greek soldiers exit the horse. The city is soon taken. Priam, Paris and Cassandra are the prisoners of Odysseus. The two men are slain and Cassandra is kept alive as a prize for Agamemnon himself. She is taken away in bondage, prophesying Odysseus won't see home for another ten years and death for his people. Out on the plain Troilus finds Achilles and slays him, though he is wounded.
The Doctor finds Vicki in the carnage. They hide in the TARDIS while Katarina, who has been trailing Vicki, obliges the Doctor by searching for Steven. She finds him in battle with a Trojan soldier and is badly wounded, but helps him return to the Doctor’s "blue temple". When Katarina and Steven reach it, the Doctor and Vicki seem very tense. Odysseus arrives and the Doctor takes the opportunity to dematerialise the TARDIS with Steven and Katarina on board. Vicki, however, has slipped away with his blessing. She journeys onto the plains where she finds Troilus. They declare their love. Moments later, Troilus’ cousin Aeneas arrives with reinforcements and helps them escape.
Aboard the TARDIS, the Doctor explains Vicki has gone. He is very concerned that Steven’s wound is infected and the situation is getting worse. Katarina, however, believes they have already died and are en route to the afterlife. The Doctor knows they need the right medication to save Steven and hopes their next landing will provide it.
Cast
- The Doctor — William Hartnell
- Vicki Pallister/Cressida — Maureen O'Brien
- Steven Taylor — Peter Purves
- Katarina — Adrienne Hill
- Achilles — Cavan Kendall
- Hector — Alan Haywood
- Odysseus — Ivor Salter
- Agamemnon — Francis De Wolff
- Menelaus — Jack Melford
- Cyclops — Tutte Lemkow
- Priam — Max Adrian
- Paris — Barrie Ingham
- Cassandra — Frances White
- Messenger — Jon Luxton
- Troilus — James Lynn
- This serial had a sizeable cast of background characters, extras, and stunt doubles that did not receive on-screen credit.
Crew
- Writer - Donald Cotton
- Director - Michael Leeston-Smith
- Producer - John Wiles
- Assistant Floor Manager - Dawn Robertson
- Costumes - Daphne Dare
- Costumes - Tony Pearce
- Designer - John Wood
- Fight Arranger - Derek Ware
- Film Cameraman - Peter Hamilton
- Film Editor - Caroline Shields
- Incidental Music - Humphrey Searle
- Make-Up - Elizabeth Blattner
- Make-Up - Sonia Markham
- Production Assistant - David Maloney
- Production Assistant - Richard Brooks
- Script Editor - Donald Tosh
- Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
- Studio Lighting - Ralph Walton
- Studio Sound - Dave Kitchen
- Studio Sound - Bryan Forgham
- Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
- Title Music - Ron Grainer
References
- Vicki implies in this story that she is sixteen years old.
- The TARDIS is light enough to be carried by Paris and his men.
Story notes
- This is the final story featuring Vicki.
- This is the first story featuring Katarina.
- The working titles for this story included The Mythmakers, The Trojans, and The Trojan War. Working episode titles included "Zeus ex Machina" (episode 1) and "Is There a Doctor in the Horse?" (episode 3).
- All four episodes of this story have been lost, but some limited material from episodes 1, 2 and 4 exists as 8mm home movie clips, shot by filming a television set during the original transmission.
- This is also one of the least documented stories, with only very limited material (film/photographic) existing.
- William Hartnell was struck and injured by a camera during the filming of the first episode and sustained a bruise to the shoulder.
- William Hartnell suffered a bereavement while working on the story: the death of his aunt Bessie, who had looked after him during his troubled childhood. Unfortunately, the tight recording schedules prevented Hartnell from taking time off to attend her funeral.
- In the 1980s, Reeltime Pictures launched a series of home video releases featuring interviews with the cast and crew of Doctor Who. This long-running series of tapes (which later included the first independently-produced Doctor Who spin-offs) was entitled Myth Makers after this story.
- Francis De Wolff (Agamemnon) previously played Vasor in DW: The Keys of Marinus.
- Barrie Ingham (Paris) previously played Alydon in Dr. Who and the Daleks.
Influences
- Homer's Iliad and Odyssey
- Virgil's Aeneid
- Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde
- Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida
- The plays of Euripides
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Ratings
- Temple of Secrets - 8.3 million viewers
- Small Prophet, Quick Return - 8.1 million viewers
- Death of a Spy - 8.7 million viewers
- Horse of Destruction - 8.3 million viewers
Myths
- William Hartnell refused to appear in scenes with Max Adrian as he was Jewish and gay. (This is not true and it is only coincidental that the two do not appear in any scenes together)
- Frances White, who played Cassandra, was not credited for this story. (She did in fact appear in the credits for her episodes but was not listed in Radio Times. Although it has been claimed that this was at her own request, White has since denied this in an interview for Loose Cannon Productions. Her omission from the programme listings was actually an oversight on the part of Radio Times.)
Filming locations
- Frensham Little Pond, Surrey
- Ham Polo Club, Middlesex - Model shot filming
Production errors
to be added
Continuity
- The Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard encounter Vicki in ST: Apocrypha Bipedium. Vicki, unfamiliar with regeneration, assumed that he was a younger version of the First Doctor.
- The story continues directly on from DW: Galaxy 4 with Vicki still having a twisted ankle.
Timeline
For the the First Doctor
- The Myth Makers occurs after ST: The Power Supply
- The Myth Makers occurs before ST: Scribbles in Chalk
For Vicki
- The Myth Makers occurs after ST: The Power Supply
- The Myth Makers occurs before ST: Apocrypha Bipedium
Home video and audio releases
- Only eleven short clips from episodes 1, 2 and 4 are known to exist. They are from a reel of 8mm film shot off a TV screen.
- The original audio of this story exists and was released as The Myth Makers on 2 CDs, with linking material provided by Peter Purves in January 2001.
- This audio has also been released as part of the Adventures in History CD Set in August 2003.
- A photovideo reconstruction of this story has been produced by Loose Cannon Productions.
Novelisation and its audiobook
- Main article: The Myth Makers (novelisation)
- This story was novelised as The Myth Makers by Donald Cotton in 1985.
See also
External links
- The Myth Makers at the BBC's official site
- The Myth Makers at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- The Myth Makers at Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel)
- The Myth Makers at The Locations Guide
- The Myth Makers transcript
