The Mind Robber (TV story)
Synopsis
The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe are trapped in a world of fiction. WIll they be turned into fictional characters?
Plot
To escape from the volcanic eruption on Dulkis, the Doctor uses an emergency unit which moves the TARDIS out of normal time and space. The travellers find themselves in an endless void, where they are menaced by White Robots.
Having regained the safety of the TARDIS, they believe they have escaped - until the ship suddenly explodes apart. They then find themselves in a land of fiction, where they are hunted by life-size clockwork soldiers and encounter characters like Rapunzel and Swift's Lemuel Gulliver.
This domain is presided over by a man known only as the Master - a prolific English writer from 1926 - who in turn is controlled by a Master Brain computer. Now the Master is desperate to escape and wants the Doctor to take his place, while the Master Brain plans to take over the Earth.
The Doctor engages the Master in a battle of wills using a variety of fictional characters. Zoe and Jamie meanwhile succeed in overloading the Master Brain and, in the confusion, the White Robots destroy the computer, finally freeing the Master.
Cast
- Jamie McCrimmon - Hamish Wilson (Episode 3)
- Zoe Heriot - Wendy Padbury
- The Master of the Land - Emrys Jones
- A Stranger / Lemuel Gulliver - Bernard Horsfall
- Karkus - Christopher Robbie
- The Medusa - Sue Pulford
- Redcoat - Philip Ryan
- Princess Rapunzel - Christine Pirie
- D'Artagnan and Sir Lancelot - John Greenwood
- Cyrano - David Cannon
- Blackbeard - Gerry Wain
- Soldiers - Paul Alexander, Ian Hines, Richard Ireson
- Children - Barbara Loft, Sylvestra Le Tozel, Timothy Horton, Christopher Reynolds, David Reynolds, Martin Langley
- Robots - John Atterbury, Ralph Carrigan, Bill Wiesener, Terry Wright
Crew
- Assistant Floor Manager - Edwina Verner
- Costumes - Martin Baugh, Susan Wheal
- Designer - Evan Hercules
- Fight Arranger - B H Barry, John Greenwood
- Film Cameraman - Jimmy Court
- Film Editor - Martyn Day
- Make-Up - Sylvia James
- Producer - Peter Bryant
- Production Assistant - John Lopes
- Script Editor - Derrick Sherwin
- Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
- Studio Lighting - Howard King
- Studio Sound - John Holmes
- Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
- Title Music - Ron Grainer
- Visual Effects - Jack Kine, Bernard Wilkie
References
to be added
Story Notes
- Working titles; Man Power, The Fact of Fiction.
- Hamish Wilson played Jamie in episode 3 due to Frazer Hines' ilness.
Ratings
- Episode 1 - 6.6 million viewers
- Episode 2 - 6.5 million viewers
- Episode 3 - 7.2 million viewers
- Episode 4 - 7.3 million viewers
- Episode 5 - 6.7 million viewers
Myths
to be added
Location Filming
to be added
Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
to be added
Continuity
- The Land of Fiction reappears in Conundrum and Head Games.
DVD, Video and Other Releases
to be added
Target Novelisations
to be added
See Also
to be added
External Links
- Outpost Gallifrey The Mind Robber page
- The Doctor Who Reference Guide detailed synopsis of The Mind Robber
- BBC The Mind Robber page
- A Brief History of Time (Travel) Guide to The Mind Robber
Television
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Next story: The Invasion |
All Media
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Next story: The Invasion |
