The Keys of Marinus (TV story)

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The Keys of Marinus was the fifth story of Season 1, and was the second story to be written by Terry Nation. A "questing" story, it introduced only the second alien menace to be faced by the Doctor and his companions, the Voords.

Summary

The planet Marinus is under threat from the evil Voords. The only hope of stopping them is to recover the keys to a machine known as the Conscience of Marinus, which have been hidden around the planet.

The First Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara are forced to search for the keys, transported round the planet by the elderly Arbitan, Keeper of the Conscience. On their travels they face numerous dangers, eventually recovering all the keys. However, Arbitan has been killed by the evil Yartek, leader of the Voords. Ian fools him by giving him a fake key, and the machine explodes, killing Yartek and putting an end to the Voord threat.

Plot

The Sea of Death

The Velvet Web

The Screaming Jungle The Snows of Terror Sentence of Death The Keys of Marinus |


Cast & Characters

Uncredited Cast


Crew


Notes

  • All episodes exist in 16mm telerecordings.
  • Negative film prints of all epsisodes where recovered from BBC Enterprises in 1978.
  • An Arabic print of The Sea of Death is held by the BBC.
  • Terry Nation wrote this story as a replacement to The Red Fort, a story that was to be set during the Indian Mutiny.
  • William Hartnell does not appear in The Screaming Jungle or The Snows of Terror as the actor was on holiday during the filming of these episodes.
  • This story contains a controversial scene in which it appears that Vasor attempts to rape Barbara.
  • Darrius is never referred to by name but his name appears in the shows credits.
  • Stephen Dartnell was cast as Yartek, the Voord leader. A few weeks later, he appeared in The Sensorites as the troubled astronaut John.


Ratings

  • The Sea of Death - 9.9m viewers
  • The Velvet Web - 9.4m viewers
  • The Screaming Jungle - 9.9m viewers
  • The Snows of Terror - 10.4m viewers
  • Sentence of Death - 7.9m viewers
  • The Keys of Marinus - 6.9m viewers


Myths

  • Yartek's race are known as the Voord. (Although they are referred to as the Voord in some of the dialogue, the term most often used is Voords and this is the name that appears in the closing credits)


Location Filming

This story was filmed at both Lime Grove Studio D, Ealing Television Film Studios


Continuity

  • While in the screaming jungle Susan comments that she has heard the noise before. This was most likely during her visit to the planet Esto which is inhabited by telepathic plants that screech when anyone stands between them and disrupts their communication - The Sensorites.
  • Ian wears the costume he wore in Marco Polo throughout this story.
  • The Doctor claims to have met Pyrrho the founder of scepticism.
  • It is revealled in "No Future" that the The Monk was once an advisor to the Voords.


Discontinuity

  • The radiation counter is on the opposite side of the console to its location in The Daleks (However the TARDIS does seem to move controls around, adding new ones and taking others away)
  • A studio technicians foot can be seen as the Doctor enters the pyramid
  • It is clear that the Voord falling to his death is a cardboard cut-out
  • While walking around the TARDIS forcefield, Susan can be seen walking in front of Ian and into the barrier with no ill effects
  • Despite arriving in Morphoton only seconds before the others Barbara is able to change clothes, meet the city leader, learn the cities history and be generally treated as an honoured guest
  • In epsiode 2 while Susan is sleeping a camera can be seen casting a shadow on her


Quotes

To be added


Story Arcs

None


Similar stories

To be added


References

To be added


More Info


Public Releases

  • DVD Release - This story has not yet been released on DVD
  • Video Release - Released as Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus
UK Release: March 1999 / US Release: July 1999
PAL - BBC Video BBCV6671 (2 tapes)
NTSC - CBS/FOX Video 14263 (2 tapes)
NTSC - Warner Video E1383 (2 tapes)


External Links

BBC Episode Guide Page with video clips

Story synopsis at the Doctor Who Reference Guide

A Brief History of Time Travel

Encylopedia of Fantastic Film and Television

BBC Production Information


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