The Rescue (TV story)
- Not to be confused with the concluding episode of The Daleks or a similarly entitled short story featuring the Rani.
The Rescue was the third story of Season 2 of Doctor Who. Maureen O'Brien joined the cast as Vicki in this story, making it the first story to have a new companion join since the start of the programme.
This story saw the first use of a prologue, opening not with the main characters, but with Vicki. The Rescue also saw the first use of the word "materialised", in reference to the TARDIS. The Doctor claims that he's been to Dido before. This is the first time he had done this, except for Earth.
It was originally envisaged that an actor who was to play Jenny from The Dalek Invasion of Earth should join at the end of that story. However, when that actor didn't, in the end, play Jenny, the idea was abandoned and a new companion was drafted. Many names were suggested such as Valerie, Millie, Tanni and Lukki before Vicki was chosen. Her character was designed to contrast with the responsible figures of Ian and Barbara.
The Rescue had higher viewing figures than any previous serials and it continued to hold this title for many years after. Desperate Measures made the top ten most watched programs list for 1965. This was notable for being higher than the preceding Dalek story.
Summary
The Doctor, Ian and Barbara arrive on the planet Dido where a crashed ship is terrorised by the monster Koquillion, but things are not what they seem...
Plot
The Powerful Enemy (1)
The crew of the TARDIS are still missing Susan Foreman when they land on an unnamed planet, which the Doctor later recognises as Dido, a world he has visited before. The trio soon encounter two survivors of a space crash, Vicki and Bennett, who are awaiting a rescue ship in three days time. Vicki is also in fear of Koquillion, a bipedal inhabitant of Dido who is stalking the area and encounters the time travellers, attacking Barbara. Vicki finds her injured and rescues her from Koquillion, and they share reminiscences. Vicki’s father was amongst those who died when the most of the survivors of the crash were lured to their deaths by the natives of Dido.
Desperate Measures (2)
Vicki is evidently very lonely, having befriended "Sandy", an indigenous Sand Beast for company. However, Barbara mistakes the Sand Beast for a threat and kills it. They have just entered the ship, argueing, when Ian and the Doctor arrive. After talking to Vicki, The Doctor begins to suspect things are not as they seem – especially when he finds things in Bennett’s room. He follows Bennett through a trap door in the floor of his cabin and reaches a temple carved from rock where he unmasks Koquillion as Bennett. He reveals he killed a crew member on board the ship and was arrested, but the ship crashed before the crime could be radioed back to Earth. By killing the other crew in an explosion – and with Vicki asleep and unaware of the situation – he covered his original crime. The Koquillion alias has been used to keep Vicki in check until the rescue ship was due. At this point two silent Didonians arrive and force Bennett to his death over a ledge. With nothing left for her on Dido, Vicki is welcomed aboard the TARDIS. The Didonians smash the radio in the crashed ship; the Doctor guesses that they don't intend to let the rescue ship land. With that they take off.
Cast & Characters
- The Doctor - William Hartnell
- Ian Chesterton - William Russell
- Barbara Wright - Jacqueline Hill
- Vicki - Maureen O'Brien
- Bennett / Koquillion - Ray Barrett
- Space Captain - Tom Sheridan
- Sand Beast/Sandy - Tom Sheridan (uncredited)
- Inhabitant of Dido - John Stuart (uncredited)
- Inhabitant of Dido - Colin Hughes (uncredited)
Crew
- Writer - David Whitaker
- Director - Christopher Barry
- Producer - Verity Lambert
- Script Editor - Dennis Spooner
- Designer - Raymond Cusick
- Assistant Floor Manager - Valerie Wilkins
- Associate Producer - Mervyn Pinfield
- Costumes - Daphne Dare
- Film Cameraman - Dick Bush
- Film Editor - Jim Latham
- Incidental Music - Tristram Cary
- Make-Up - Sonia Markham
- Production Assistant - David Maloney
- Special Sound - Brian Hodgson
- Studio Lighting - Howard King
- Studio Sound - Richard Chubb
- Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
- Title Music - Ron Grainer
References
Planets
- The Doctor tells Ian and Barbara about a previous visit to the planet Dido.
- Vicki left Earth for the planet Astra in 2493.
- Vicki's mother had recently died and her father was about to start a new job on Astra.
Races and species
- Ian mentions he would rather face the Daleks than Koquillion any day.
TARDIS
- The Doctor instructs Barbara to use Number 4 Switch to open the doors.
- The TARDIS is furnished with an Eames Lounge Chair, where the Doctor is napping during the landing.
Story notes
- This is the first episode featuring Vicki. She was the first regular character to be added since the original cast (Barbara, Ian, Susan, and the Doctor).
- The Doctor, perhaps because he missed his recently-departed grand-daughter, asked Vicki to come with him and the others, thus making her the first companion that the Doctor was seen to willingly invite to travel in the TARDIS. Being invited to travel with him would later become an important hallmark of the Doctor's companions.
- All episodes exist in 16mm telerecordings.
- Negative film prints of both episodes exist and were recovered by the BBC in 1978.
- Telesnaps of this story are held by private collectors.
- The story was originally known as Doctor Who and Tanni. It was originally intended that the new companion would be named Tanni. Other names previously thought up for Vicki were: Valerie, Millie and Lukki. The name Tanni was still in use when the following story, The Romans was written.
- Vicki's last name is not revealed in this story, nor is it ever mentioned on screen in any future stories. This places Vicki in the select company of Polly, Mel and Ace as Earth companions whose last names are never revealed on screen. Spin-off media have given Vicki the last name Pallister.
- Koquillion was originally credited as Sydney Wilson (a combination of Sydney Newman and Donald Wilson) to hide his true identity.
- This story leads directly into The Romans.
- Desperate Measures was the first episode of Doctor Who to make the UK's top 10 most watched programs list.
- The 1973 Radio Times 10th anniversary special called the story The Powerful Enemy as it titled all the early stories by the title of the first episode. Some subsequent listings repeated this, as did the story's broadcast on some American PBS stations.
- During the scene in which Jacqueline Hill fired a gun at Vicki's pet she was injured suffering shock and a sore face. This was caused when the explosion connected to the wooden gun went off with more force than expected.
- "The Rescue" is also the original broadcast title of episode 7 of The Daleks.
- Tom Sheridan, who played the Space Captain heard but not seen in this story, was also inside the Sand Monster costume.
- "The Powerful Enemy" boasts the first occasion on which a sound effect is laid over footage of the TARDIS re-materializing. Prior to this, exterior shots of the TARDIS landing had implied that the ship appeared soundlessly in a new environment. Although the precise sound of "re-materialization" — with its distinctive, final "thud" — would not be finalized until The Three Doctors, this was the start of a sometimes important convention about the TARDIS. People on the outside can hear it coming and going. Without this innovation, the teaser from DW: The Christmas Invasion, for example — in which Jackie and Mickey respond solely to the sound of the TARDIS — wouldn't have been possible. (In terms of continuity, it's possible that the TARDIS can be programmed to materialize silently if desired, something suggested as recently as DW: The Impossible Astronaut.) It is revealed in the same episode that this sound comes from leaving the emergency brake on, suggesting the Doctor may have neglected to release it when leaving Susan on Earth in the previous story, and forgotten to do so ever since.
Ratings
- The Powerful Enemy - 12.0 million viewers
- Desperate Measures - 13.0 million viewers
Myths
- The inhabitants of Dido are known as Didonians. (There is no evidence provided in the episode to support this.)
- Vicki is from the planet Dido. This error has been mentioned in numerous places, but the story establishes that she is from Earth.
Filming locations
- Model filming took place at Ealing Television Film Studios.
- Studio filming took place at Riverside Studio 1, Hammersmith, London.
Production errors
- There is no back in the TARDIS prop used and consequently the cave wall is visible behind. It is not cave wall but some silvery reflective crumpled material which is also visible inside the police box prop in episode 4 of 'The Space Museum'.
- In episode 2 a stage hand can be seen behind Vicki's pet.
- When Barbara fires at Vicki's pet, the firework can be seen to fall off the gun.
- During the first episode, One of the TARDIS windows on the front falls inwards and is leaning in for the rest of the episode and the next.
Continuity
- Reference is made to Susan's departure DW: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, and at one point the Doctor calls for Susan, momentarily forgetting that she has gone. This is the first time, but far from the last, that the Doctor will summon the names of past companions in error.
- The Doctor, Ian and Barbara talk about how they met in An Unearthly Child.
- The crew discuss their previous problems with caves which occured during An Unearthly Child, The Daleks, Marco Polo and The Keys of Marinus.
Timeline
- This story takes place after ST: A Long Night
- This story takes place before PDA: Byzantium!
Home video and audio releases
Video releases
Released as Doctor Who: The Rescue/The Romans
- The next episode caption has been removed from episode 2
- Released as a double tape with The Romans
- UK Release: September 1994 / US Release: March 1996
- PAL - BBC Video BBCV5378 (2 tapes)
- NTSC - Warner Video E1313 (2 tapes)
- NTSC - CBS/FOX Video 8338 (2 tapes)
DVD releases
This story was released on DVD alongside The Romans in February 2009 (UK) and July 2009 (North America). For the release, the episodes have been reprocessed via computer to restore the original videotaped look of the production. The next episode caption has been restored to episode 2.
Contents:
- Mounting the Rescue - production featurette.
- Photo Gallery
- Production Notes
- PDF content: Raymond Cusick's original design drawings, Radio Times listings.
- Audio Commentary by actor William Russell (Ian Chesterton), director Christopher Barry, and designer Raymond Cusick, moderated by Toby Hadoke.
- For additional extras on this DVD set, see The Romans.
Rear Credits:
- Starring William Hartnell, Jacqueline Hill and Maureen O'Brien
- Written by David Whitaker
- Produced by Verity Lambert
- Directed by Christopher Barry
- Incidental Music by Tristram Cary
Notes:
- Editing for DVD release completed by Doctor Who Restoration Team.
- The Rescue DVD.jpg
Region 2 Cover
The Rescue/The Romans Region 2 box set
- The Rescue.jpg
Novelisation and its audiobook
- Main article: The Rescue (novelisation)
- Novelised as The Rescue in 1988 by Ian Marter, and published posthumously, almost two years after the author's death.
External links
- The Rescue at the BBC's official site
- The Rescue at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- The Rescue at Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel)
- Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television - The Rescue
- BBC Production Information for The Rescue (PDF)
