Marco Polo (TV story)

Marco Polo was the fourth serial in the first season of Doctor Who. This was the first occasion in which a famous person from history appeared on the show.

This story also saw the TARDIS act as a plot piece rather than something the travellers must return to once they have finished their adventuring.

Marco Polo did a much better job of recreating historical societies than other serials. It showed a mixed-ethnic group rather than a stereotypical collection of one race. This story also saw the first use of a one-off companion in the form off Ping-Cho. Reference is made to real world narcotics when Ping-Cho relates a fairytale that features hashish. Such references don't reappear until The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

Almost uniquely for the 1963 series, this story has a narrator. Mark Eden reads aloud while the map of the travellers' journey is shown.

Although it was the first two Dalek films that eventually made it to film, Marco Polo was the first story to be considered for cinematic treatment. In fact, it was Disney who made the approach.

Marco Polo is perhaps most notable as the earliest and longest Doctor Who story which is completely missing. Its first episode, "The Roof of the World", is the earliest-broadcast episode to be missing.

Synopsis

Arriving in Central Asia in 1289, the Doctor and his companions join the caravan of the famous Venetian explorer Marco Polo as it makes its way from the snowy heights of the Pamir Plateau, across the treacherous Gobi Desert and through the heart of imperial Cathay.

Having witnessed many incredible sights and survived a variety of dangers, they eventually arrive at the mighty Kublai Khan's Summer Palace in Shang-tu, where the Doctor strikes up an extraordinary friendship with the now-aged ruler.

They move on at last to the even more sumptuous Imperial Palace in Peking, where the travellers manage to save the Khan from an assassination attempt by the Mongol warlord Tegana - supposedly on a peace mission - before departing once more in the TARDIS.

Plot

The Roof of the World (1)

Not to be confused with the Big Finish adventure of the same name.

The TARDIS crew have arrived in the snowy wastes of the Plain of Pamir. The ship is damaged and unable to provide light, heat or water. The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan face the prospect of freezing to death as night approaches and the temperature plummet.

Ian and Barbara go out into the tundra to look for fuel but Barbara sees a figure in the snow and they hurry back to the TARDIS. Meanwhile, the Doctor has discovered what is wrong with the TARDIS but is interrupted by Ian and Barbara's return. The creature follows them back and appears at the TARDIS door. The foursome chase after it but are soon surrounded by Mongol soldiers on the verge of killing them for being evil spirits, A Western man, who turns out to be Marco Polo, interrupts them.

Tegana plans to poison Marco Polo.

Polo welcomes the Doctor, who is suffering from altitude sickness, and his companions to his company. He introduces some of his fellow travellers, including Tegana, a Mongol warlord. Tegana is an emissary of peace from the Khan Noghai who has been at war with Kublai Khan. A young Chinese woman named Ping-Cho is also travelling with Polo so she may meet her seventy-five-year old groom in her arranged marriage. Ping-Cho forms a strong friendship with Susan.

The Mongols fear the Doctor is an evil sorcerer who is powerless outside the TARDIS, so Marco Polo forbids him from entering it until their party has made a stop in a town at the edge of the desert. Here, Polo says, the Doctor will be able to fix his vessel.

When the caravan stops at the way station in Lop, Marco Polo tells the Doctor he is requisitioning his "flying caravan" as a prize for the Emperor to attempt to buy his way out of his service.

Meanwhile, the lord Tegana purchases a poison for the caravan's water supply as it ventures into the Gobi Desert.

The Singing Sands (2)

Tegana taunts Marco Polo with water.

The travellers make their way across the Gobi Desert. The Doctor, in a show of petulance, refuses to come out of his tent when they settle for the night, distressing Susan. One night when Ian and Marco Polo are playing chess, Susan vents her frustration that they are stuck on Earth rather than exploring the stars. This spirit for exploring provokes Ping-Cho and Susan to follow Tegana as he walks off into the night. A vicious sandstorm, during which Ping-Cho and Susan are briefly lost, prevents Tegana implementing his plan to poison the gourds. Instead he slices open the gourds during the night, knowing full well that bandits would get the blame.

Marco Polo insists the caravan presses on to the next stop, but the water rations grow lower as the days pass. Finally, Tegana is dispatched to find a fabled oasis. The Mongol finds the oasis easily, but does not return with water to the caravan as promised.

Five Hundred Eyes (3)

Ian explains condensation to Marco Polo.

With the water supply completely exhausted, the situation becomes desperate. The travellers only survive the arid conditions when the Doctor and Susan collect water which condensed on the walls of the TARDIS in the night.

The caravan moves on to the next way-station at Tun-Huang, where stocks are replenished and they meet an incredulous Tegana, who rejoins their caravan. Ping-Cho makes their stay pleasant with the tale of Ala-eddin (Aladdin) and the Hashashin (or assassins).

Tegana slips away during the performance and makes his way to the Cave of Five Hundred Eyes, where he is told by the Mongol agents Malik and Acomat that Noghai is assembling an army and marching toward Karakorum. Tegana tells Acomat, a bandit, to attack the caravan soon and kill Marco Polo and the others. Their plans, however, have been partially overheard by Barbara, who followed Tegana to the cave, though she does not realise the extent of Tegana's involvement. She is found and kept prisoner by Malik while Tegana returns to the caravan, feigning surprise when her disappearance is discovered.

The Doctor deduces that Barbara may be at the cave and heads there, accompanied by Susan and Ping-Cho. Susan cries out in fear when she see a pair of 'painted' eyes moving!

The Wall of Lies (4)

The TARDIS travels to Beijing.

Marco, Ian and Tegana arrive at the cave after being tipped off by Chenchu. Anxious that his plans will be exposed when the search party find Barbara and Malik behind a fake wall in the cave, Tegana kills his ally to cover his tracks.

When the party returns to the caravan, Tegana tries another tactic. He attempts to make Marco suspicious by telling him that Susan has an unhealthy hold over Ping-Cho and that the Doctor has a second key to the TARDIS. This is countered when Barbara states that she was only in danger as she followed Tegana to the cave, but Tegana flatly denies ever having been there before. Marco stamps his authority on the caravan by separating Ping-Cho and Susan, making both of them ever more suspicious of Tegana. At the next way station Tegana's plans are bolstered when he proves to Marco that the Doctor has a second key to the TARDIS by getting Polo to witness the Doctor leaving the ship. Polo seizes the key and tries to go in, but the Doctor warns him that the ship will be destroyed if an unauthorised person enters it. He is taken away and held under guard.

The caravan now catches sight of the Great Wall of China and the journey heads South to Lan-Chow along the banks of the Yellow River. At the next town of Sinju, Tegana meets with the evil Acomat and tells him to attack the caravan two nights later as they journey through the bamboo forest. Everyone is to be killed Acomat goes to wait in the jungle for Tegana's signal to attack.

In an effort to escape from Polo, Ian cuts through the tent and avoids the guard. His plan is to knock the guard out and allow the others to escape; however, when he reaches the front of the tent, he discovers the guard is already dead.

Rider from Shang-Tu (5)

Tegana threatens Susan.

Unwilling to leave Polo and his party to their fate, Ian decides to alert them to the oncoming danger. He wakes Polo, who wakes Tegana, and they begin to arm themselves. Ian decides it would be best to frighten off the attacking bandits by throwing bamboo into the fire to explode noisily. When the bandits attack, Acomat is slain by Tegana as he is on the point of exposing him. The other bandits to flee in fear. In thanks for their help defeating the bandit attack, Marco Polo allows Susan and Ping-Cho to share company once more and permits the others to walk freely again.

The Doctor and his companions have worked out that Tegana is the source of many of the journey's troubles, but cannot make Marco Polo realise how dangerous he is. A new traveller arrives at the caravan, a message rider named Ling-Tau, who has travelled from Shang-Tu (three hundred miles away) in just twenty-four hours. He says this was done by changing horses every three miles. He bears a message commanding the caravan to speed up, so Marco orders that once they reach the city of Cheng-Ting, the travellers shall all take to horseback while the TARDIS and the other belongings are brought on later. As ever, Tegana has another plot at the next way station. He meets an ally called Kuiju and bribes him to try to steal the TARDIS while the convoy is split up and take it to Karakorum, where Noghai's troops are massing.

Ping-Cho knows where Marco has hidden the two keys to the TARDIS and gives one to Susan to help the time travellers escape. Later that night the Doctor and his companions sneak out to return to the TARDIS and escape, but Susan returns to say goodbye to Ping-Cho and is accosted by Tegana.

Mighty Kublai Khan (6)

Ian rescues Ping-Cho.

Ian leaves the TARDIS to convince Tegana to free Susan. Tegana orders the others out of the TARDIS and frees Susan only when the Doctor returns the TARDIS key to Polo. Ian takes the blame on himself for stealing the TARDIS key to save Ping-Cho. As the journey enters its final phases Ian attempts to ingratiate himself to Marco Polo once more by telling him the truth about the TARDIS. Marco does not believe that the TARDIS can move through time and says he knows Ian to be a liar as he has deduced that Ian did not steal the key and that it was Ping-Cho after all. Ping-Cho hears this. Fearing detection, she flees the caravan. On finding her missing, both Tegana and Ian offer to go looking for her. Polo says that Ian should go as when they meet Kublai Khan, Tegana should be there. Ian finds her back at Cheng-Ting, having ridden there alone, which is just as well; while there he uncovers the fact that Kuiju has stolen the TARDIS from the second convoy. Back with Polo, Susan and Barbara confront Polo, saying that they believe Ping-Cho should not marry a man so much her senior. This provokes Polo to send Tegana after Ian to ensure he is not trying to liberate Ping-Cho and make off with the TARDIS. Eventually Polo's party arrive at Kublai Khan's palace. The Doctor initially shows belligerence towards Khan but they soon bond over their great ages and the maladies that ensue from that. Before Khan and the Doctor go off together, Khan tells Polo that soldiers are swelling around their borders, so that it would appear that Tegana's information has been incorrect; Khan awaits the great warrior's return. When Ian and Ping-Cho find the bandit on the road to Karakorum, they force him to admit the truth, but then Tegana arrives and threatens to kill Ping-Cho.

Assassin at Peking (7)

Marco Polo and Tegana cross swords.

The stand-off between Ian and Tegana is broken when Ling Tau and a band of soldiers arrive. They kill Kuiju, but yet again Tegana talks his way out of a tight situation and the entire party agrees to ride on to the imperial palace in Peking. During the stand-off, expecting Ian and Ping-Cho to be killed, Tegana pledges his allegiance to Noghi.

Meanwhile at the capital city, the Khan engages the Doctor in a game of backgammon. The Doctor wins thirty-five elephants, four thousand white stallions, twenty-five tigers, the sacred tooth of the Buddha and the entire commerce of Burma for a year - but wagers all this on the liberation of his TARDIS and loses. The Khan presses Marco for the history of the "magic caravan" and the emissary admits he was wrong to try and obtain the vehicle, but only did it to try and buy his freedom. The Khan is not impressed. He warns Marco that if he does not regain his trust, he will be banished from court.

When Tegana returns to court he further convinces Khan that Polo has been defying the laws of the land by not confiscating the TARDIS and slaying the Doctor and his companions when they tried to steal it back. Ian and Ping-Cho tell Khan that Tegana stated he is working for Noghi and is not sure whether to believe them. He says it must be judged in a matter of the court.

Nevertheless, events take a turn for the better for others. Ping-Cho is spared a loveless marriage when the elderly man she was to marry passes away after drinking an elixir of life. She is content to make eyes at Ling Tau, with whom she has formed an attachment, something that Polo picks up on and encourages.

The Doctor and his companions, now imprisoned, decide someone has to stop Tegana. They believe he is going to kill Khan to create an easy victory for Noghi's army. They attack their guard and break free. They meet Polo and tell him of their theory. Polo immediately runs to the throne room.

Tegana has slain Khan's guards and is moving in for the kill when the Doctor and his allies arrive. Tegana is stopped by a lengthy sword fight with Polo. His mission failed, Tegana takes his own life rather than be killed by Khan's men. In the ensuing melee, Marco Polo gives the Doctor and his party the key to the TARDIS and bids them escape. The "magic caravan" fades away before the eyes of the Khan and his courtiers. As a final act, the Khan forgives Marco Polo and agrees he can return to Venice.

Cast

Crew

References

Games

Kublai Khan refers to backgammon as a card game.

Individuals

Barbara is interested in Buddhist history.
Ian can ride a horse and is an experienced sword fighter.
Susan has travelled to the metal seas of Venus.
The Doctor acquires a walking stick from Kublai Khan which he uses in several subsequent stories.
Marco Polo mentions his father Niccolò Polo and uncle Maffeo Polo.

TARDIS

The TARDIS contains a circuit that, if damaged, deactivates the lights, water supplies and heating. Without this circuit, the external temperature can affect the inside of the TARDIS, allowing condensation to form on the walls.
The Doctor makes himself a new TARDIS key and implies that he made the original as well.

Story notes

This was the first story to feature live animals (the Mongol horses).
This was the first and only television story to feature a narrative and a map tracking the journey of the main characters (although character voice-over narratives have been featured in parts of other stories, such as The Deadly Assassin, Army of Ghosts/Doomsday, The Family of Blood and Forest of the Dead).
Many colour and black and white photographs of this story remain. Along with the soundtrack these were used by Loose Cannon Productions to make a reconstruction of this story. (see external links)
The working title for this story was A Journey to Cathay.
Episode 3 was made under the working title "The Cave of Five Hundred Eyes" and this name even appeared at the end of Episode 2.
This is one of three 1960s Doctor Who stories for which no moving images of the actual production or even the characters in costume survive. Though most missing serials have at least one surviving clip from a 16mm telerecording or a few frames from a 8mm home movie, nothing remains of this, Mission to the Unknown, or The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve.
Somewhat ironically, this serial was sold to more countries than any other serial of the 1960s. At least nineteen different countries purchased it.[1] For it to be completely missing, more copies of this story were likely destroyed than of any other serial.
Although originally planned to be the third story in the series, it was delayed, with its place filled by The Edge of Destruction.
Although telesnaps of this story were made, all of these were lost. However in 2004 telesnaps of episodes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 were found by Derek Handley in the private collection of Waris Hussein, who directed these episodes. These telesnaps were reproduced in Doctor Who Magazine.
Kuiju the mercenary bandit is never named in the story and is only included in closing credits.
As Lance Parkin notes in A History of the Universe, some historians now question the veracity of Marco Polo's accounts, particularly his friendship with Kublai Khan.
John Lucarotti also wrote a Canadian TV series about Marco Polo.
Marco Polo appears to be somewhat obsessed with the notion of a "magical, flying box". When the Eleventh Doctor is erased from history, Polo instead discovers the Pandorica and brings it to the Vatican. (DW: The Big Bang)

Ratings

The Roof of the World - 9.4 million viewers
The Singing Sands - 9.4 million viewers
Five Hundred Eyes - 9.4 million viewers
The Wall of Lies - 9.9 million viewers
Rider From Shang-Tu - 9.4 million viewers
Mighty Kublai Khan - 8.4 million viewers
Assassin at Peking - 10.4 million viewers

Myths

William Hartnell was on holiday during filming of The Singing Sands. (This was not the case although he did only have one line of dialogue).
There have been rumours that a man from Australia had a collection of 8mm off-air recordings but had lost them due to a fire.

Filming locations

Production errors

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.

In early episodes, William Hartnell can often be heard flubbing his lines. Due to budget constraints (among other reasons), there was rarely the chance to do retakes.
At the end of episode 2, the caption claimed that episode 3 would be called The Cave of Five Hundred Eyes.
The name Peking is an anachronism and the city should properly have been referred to as Khan-balik. Furthermore, had the title of episode 7 been "Assassin at Cambuluc", it would have been an accurate nod to the way that Marco Polo was known to have spelled the name of the city.

Continuity

It is later revealed in NA: Birthright that after the Doctor departed, the court of Kublai Khan was visited by Jared Khan, who wished to acquire the TARDIS for the Charrl.
The Fourth Doctor mentions his visit to China, saying he has not been there in four hundred years, in DW: The Talons of Weng-Chiang. If he is referring to this visit and is using the Earth time-scale, he actually had not been there in six hundred years as that story took place in 1889.
Shortly after regenerating, the Second Doctor mentions to his companions Ben and Polly that he had once visited China, and that Marco Polo was a "friend." (DW: The Power of the Daleks)

Timeline

This story occurs after DW: The Edge of Destruction
This story occurs before MA: The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Home video and audio releases

ISBN 0-563-53508-3

There have been only two official releases of this story to the home market, aside from the novelisation. In November 2003 came the BBC Radio Collection edition, featuring re-mastered video and narration by William Russell. Later, 2 entertain produced a thirty minute reconstruction with telesnaps that was a bonus feature on The Beginning DVD.

External links