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The Aztecs (TV story)

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Revision as of 20:39, 27 February 2022 by 90.255.142.144 (talk)
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The Aztecs was the sixth serial of season 1 of Doctor Who. It was the first story to address the issue of altering the course of history and the first to involve a romantic subplot concerning the Doctor.

"The Warriors of Death" was the first episode of the programme recorded at BBC Television Centre, following a pitched battle on the part of Verity Lambert and several allies for better studio accommodations. The move to Television Centre was brief since the production team had to return to Lime Grove Studios by the end of the serial. (DWM 266)

Synopsis

The arrival of the TARDIS in 15th century Mexico leads the crew to encounter the doomed Aztec people, a mixture of high culture and brutal savagery. Matters are further complicated when Barbara is mistaken for a god and the Doctor becomes engaged to be married.

Plot

The Temple of Evil (1)

The TARDIS crew arrive in Mexico in the 15th century in the inner sanctum of an Aztec tomb. Barbara and Susan leave the TARDIS first and begin to explore the crypt. Barbara, whose specialist knowledge is on the Aztecs, finds a bracelet and absentmindedly puts it on. Susan finds a door in the wall, which Barbara goes through. Susan goes back to the TARDIS for the others. Barbara is met by a man who, thinking she is a trespasser, fetches warriors. When the warriors come for her, however, he sees the bracelet on Barbara's wrist and his opinion changes.

When the First Doctor and Ian go through the trap door, they find Barbara gone. Even more worrisome, once all of them are through, the door closes behind them and refuses to open. The Doctor says that it would have been built to allow the gods out, but not allow grave robbers in. Soon the man that accosted Barbara returns and introduces himself as Autloc, the High Priest of Knowledge, and says that Yetaxa seeks an audience with them. The travellers go to meet this deity. On their way they encounter the High Priest of Sacrifice, Tlotoxl. When the travellers are taken to Yetaxa they are surprised to see that it is Barbara. Once they are alone, she explains that as she was wearing Yetaxa's bracelet when she was captured, the Aztecs believe her to be a reincarnation of the deceased high priest, and therefore a god.

Barbara demands the Aztecs give the Doctor and Ian free run of the civilisation. Although they agree, Tlotoxl has ideas of his own. He convinces Autloc that Ian should be the leader of their army, to which Ian begrudgingly agrees. While Ian goes to meet Ixta, his rival for command, the Doctor is taken to the Garden of Peace. Here he meets Cameca, a local sage and philosopher, of whom he quickly becomes very fond. This does not stop him from smooth-talking her into a meeting with the son of the designer of the temple Topau, to find a way of retrieving his TARDIS from the centre of the tomb.

Ian meets up with the Doctor again and tells him that in order to prove himself to Autloc and Ixta, he needs to escort the person to be sacrificed to the god of rain to put an end to a drought. Ian is reluctant, but the Doctor says that he has to do this to not blow their cover. The Doctor tells Barbara of this, and Barbara refuses to allow it. She believes that if she stops human sacrifices, the Aztecs will not become extinct and will live on as a better civilisation. The Doctor tells her that she cannot change history. Barbara remains obdurate. Just before the sacrifice takes place, Barbara puts a stop to it. Both Ixta and the first victim are outraged. The sacrifice, furious that he has not had the chance to prove himself, is encouraged by Tlotoxl to throw himself from the top of the tomb, which he does. The rains soon come. Triumphant, Tlotoxl says that this proves that sacrifices are necessary. Barbara denies this and says that sacrifices shall no longer be practised. This infuriates Tlotoxl, who vows that he will unmask Barbara as the fraud that she is.

The Warriors of Death (2)

The Doctor berates Barbara for interfering. Tlotoxl now suspects that she is not a real god, and Susan has been taken to a seminary after her outburst. However, the Doctor soon brightens up when he recounts to Barbara his encounter with Cameca and the chance he could learn more about the construction of the tomb. Meanwhile, Ian and Ixta are practising for their showdown. Ian is irritated by Ixta's boasting and states that he could kill Ixta with just his thumb. He soon proves this by applying his thumb to a pressure point at the back of Ixta's neck that renders him unconscious. Tlotoxl enters to this sight and is shocked to see that Ian is gaining the upper hand over his favoured candidate. Autloc says that as Ian has disarmed Ixta, he is the rightful commander of the Aztec army. Desperate to prevent this, Tlotoxl convinces the next human sacrifice, the Perfect Victim, whose last days are spent in total control of those around him, to order that another, more equal contest be held. This is agreed to. Tlotoxl offers Ixta untold riches if Ian is killed in their battle.

Meanwhile, in the Garden of Peace, the Doctor and Cameca share stories and flirt. He convinces her he should meet the son of the tomb's designer by saying that he is only called the Doctor because he is "a scientist, an engineer. I'm a builder of things." When Cameca leaves to ask the son, it is clear that the Doctor is smitten by her. Tlotoxl visits Barbara and warns her that he is getting more people to believe that she is not the real Yetaxa. He begins to question her on knowledge of their ways, but she counters that such should be done by the High Priest of Knowledge. He says that Autloc will question her later. Until then she is confined to the tomb. To tease her, he tells her of the fight that is to take place between Ian and Ixta. This clearly distresses her.

Ixta is elsewhere, practising for his fight. Cameca visits him and tells him the "older servant of Yetaxa" wishes to see him. Realising the Doctor doesn't know his name or his rivalry with Ian, he will meet him and try to destroy the travellers from within. All this time Susan has been receiving tutoring from Autloc and Tonila on how to be a good wife; whilst successful in learning the knowledge, she struggles with some of the more antiquated views of a woman's role in this society.

Ixta goes to the Garden of Peace to meet the Doctor. He says he would love to show the Doctor some drawings that his father made of the tomb, but he is to be in a fight that evening and he must do well. If he loses, he will be dishonoured and not allowed to speak with anyone for days. The Doctor suggests that they can help each other. The Doctor goes to a plant he has been studying and draws a pin through it. Presenting it to Ixta, he states that one scratch from this needle will render his opponent weak and unable to fight anywhere near his true capability. Ixta accepts this gratefully and says that he will meet the Doctor there the following day.

 
The Doctor extracts poison from a plant to help Ixta defeat his foe.

At the tomb, Autloc questions Barbara on why she deems it so important to stop the sacrifice. She claims to prophesy the downfall of the Aztec civilisation with such barbaric acts of butchery. This affects Autloc. She asks Autloc to see to it that the fight between Ian and Ixta remains a non-fatal one, as it was intended to be. Later the Doctor goes to visit Barbara, who immediately tells him he should not be there. She is supposed to be in isolation whilst she is being questioned. However, the Doctor has enough time to recount his encounter with Ixta, only for his pride to be spoilt when Barbara informs him that Ian is the adversary against whom the Doctor has aided Ixta. As the Doctor leaves the tomb, he is arrested by Tlotoxl for talking to Barbara. Barbara demands that the fight between Ian and Ixta not go ahead, but Tlotoxl insists that this is something that cannot be quibbled about.

The fight between Ian and Ixta begins. Ian is clearly winning until Ixta scratches him with the needle. As he flags, Ixta strangles Ian. Tlotoxl bays for Ian's death whilst Autloc says that Yetaxa forbids human sacrifice. Barbara tries to break up the fight. Tlotoxl says she should not have left the tomb but then states that if she is truly Yetaxa she would be able to stop the fight herself. An unsure Barbara approaches the pair of men.

The Bride of Sacrifice (3)

Barbara responds to Tlotoxl's demand by unsheathing his knife and holding it to Tlotoxl's neck, saying that if the fight continues she shall kill Tlotoxl. Tlotoxl reluctantly stops the fight. Back at the tomb, Barbara further tries to convince Autloc that the ritual of sacrifice is one that will soon see the end of the Aztec civilisation. She seeks his support in stopping the coming sacrifice.

 
Tlotoxl conspires with Ixta.

Tlotoxl finds the Doctor in the Garden of Peace to ask why he gave Ixta the needle that would weaken Ian. The Doctor says that he didn't know whom Ixta was fighting and that he did it to get the plans of the tomb. He convinces Tlotoxl that the only way for him to prove if Yetaxa is real is by also finding his way into the centre of the tomb. Back at the scene of the fight, Ixta wakes Ian and tells him what has happened. He is more amiable with Ian now, assured that come the next fight, he can beat him. Tlotoxl asks Ixta if he can see the plans that he promised the Doctor. Ixta informs him there never were such plans. He was using the information that Cameca gave him to get the draft from the Doctor. As Ian and Ixta leave, Ian overhears Tlotoxl trying to convince Tonila that the only way to prove Yetaxa a god is by poisoning her. If she dies she is a fake, but if she lives she is a god, as poison would not affect her. Tonila seems convinced by this argument.

In the Garden of Peace, Autloc asks Cameca why she has been so happy of late. Cameca confides in him that she is in love with the Doctor and intends to get him to drink cocoa with her, an Aztec symbol of committing to marry someone. Cameca spills the cocoa beans she is holding in front of the Doctor. Unaware of the symbolism, he asks her to join him in a cup of cocoa. Meanwhile, Ian sneaks into the tomb to warn Barbara that Tlotoxl is plotting against her and her plans to save the Aztec nation are futile. She had earlier thought that all Aztecs were like Autloc and that Tlotoxl was a bad apple. In reality, he tells her, it is Autloc who is the exceptional man, while the rest of the society feels as Tlotoxl does. This conversation is interrupted by Tlotoxl and Tonila, who present Barbara with wine in the guise of friendship. Ian, who has hidden behind a column when the men came in, gestures to her not to drink it. Barbara asks Tlotoxl to drink first. When he refuses, Barbara denounces it as poison and throws the cup to the ground. She shouts at Tonila to leave and then confides to Tlotoxl that she is indeed a fake, but that if he tells anyone she will get the Aztecs to destroy him.

At the Garden of Peace, the Doctor and Cameca are sharing their cocoa when Cameca says that she is happy they are getting married. The Doctor is shocked. Meanwhile, Autloc and Tonila are talking about Susan's impressive progress as their student, but they recount the headstrong ideals she holds about a woman choosing whom she wishes to marry. Tlotoxl overhears them and decides to use this against Barbara in order to unmask her as a fraud to the rest of civilisation. Again he enlists Tonila to help him.

Later that day, during Susan's studying, Tonila brings the Perfect Victim to her, who demands that Susan marry him. She refuses. Tonila jumps on this defiance and says that Susan must be punished for such a breach of conventions. Back in the Garden of Peace, Cameca shows the Doctor a brooch that belonged to Ixta's father, with whom she was once in love. She says that it was found in the Garden of Peace, from whence he went missing years ago.

Tlotoxl and Tonila tell Barbara that someone has been defying conventions. According to the law, she must be punished. Barbara reluctantly agrees, anxious not to further blow her cover. Whilst this is happening, the Doctor goes to Ian to show him the brooch that belonged to Ixta's father, who he suspects had escaped into the tomb. He plans to find out if there is a secret entrance anywhere. Ian says he'll meet him at the Garden of Peace that night. The Doctor also tells Ian about his "fiancée", which Ian finds most amusing.

Autloc goes to see Barbara and says that he plans to stand with her in her objections to sacrifice. This pleases Barbara, but her joy is short-lived when he informs her that the person to be punished is Susan. Barbara says that both the sacrifice and the punishment have to be stopped. Autloc is unsure, asking Barbara whether she would sacrifice the civilisation to spare one girl pain.

Later that night, Ian sneaks out of his dormitory to meet the Doctor. He is followed by Ixta. When they get to the Garden of Peace, the Doctor has discovered that one of the panels in the wall can slide. Ian slides it away and goes in. He leaves the Doctor behind, saying it might be too dangerous. Whilst Ian explores the passage, Ixta shows himself. Feigning ignorance that he saw Ian go in, he tells the Doctor that the stone must be put back. It forms part of a dam. Unless the stone is replaced the garden will be flooded. He does this, much to the Doctor's discomfort, as inside the water begins to puddle around Ian's feet.

The Day of Darkness (4)

As the water rises, Ian finds a loose slab over his head which he moves aside. He crawls through tunnels and finds his way back to Yetaxa's tomb and the TARDIS. He ties a rope to an ornament on the door and opens it, bringing the other end of the rope with him to leave some purchase to open the door later. Barbara is shocked to see him as he exits the tomb. As she questions him as to how he got there, they hear someone coming. Ian hides. It is the Doctor, worried that Ian has been killed. Ian reveals himself and shows the Doctor his plan for getting back into the tomb. Ian decides to free Susan from the warriors so they may leave. Meanwhile, Tlotoxl is congratulating Ixta on his murder of Ian and tells him that he must guard Susan. Susan is brought in to him. Ixta tells Susan that he killed Ian; Ian, approaching him from behind, knocks him out and escapes with Susan.

When Ian and Susan return to the tomb, the foursome try to open the door but the rope breaks. Meanwhile, Ixta has regained consciousness and an irate Tlotoxl berates him for his loss of Susan. Worried that Autloc will take Ian's seeming resurrection as yet another sign of Yetaxa's powers, Tlotoxl has Ixta frame Ian by using Ian's club to knock Autloc unconscious and put the blame on the travellers.

To gain access to the tomb again, Ian returns to the hatch in the Garden of Peace. He takes Susan with him to watch for others. When they get there, they find Autloc unconscious on the ground. Ian finds the club and realises he's being set up, but it is too late. Ian is arrested. As Autloc regains consciousness, he proclaims Yetaxa a false goddess.

 
The eclipse.

With his plan falling into place, Tlotoxl plans with Tonila a way of getting rid of Barbara. He will lock her away in a room during the eclipse so that those around them think that she vanished. Meanwhile, in the Garden of Peace, the Doctor is making a pulley to open the door. Cameca says she will do anything for the Doctor for Ian to be saved. He says that the only thing that might help is Autloc going to talk to Barbara.

Barbara convinces Autloc that it wasn't Ian who attacked him. However, he says that the situation is out of his hands. He can find a way to free Susan, but not Ian. After his talk with Barbara, he goes to the Garden of Peace. He is in a state of confusion and doubt of his faith. He gives Cameca his badge of honour, symbolising his position as High Priest of Knowledge, his house, and all his possessions. He asks her to give it to Susan's guard as a bribe to liberate Susan. Autloc leaves to go into the wilderness.

As the Doctor and Susan put the finishing touches on the pulley system, Tlotoxl tells Barbara that the sacrifice is preparing outside. Tlotoxl also tells her that Autloc has left forever and that there is no hope for her friends. Meanwhile, Autloc's plan to free Susan works better than expected. While Cameca shows the guard the badge, Ian uses the distraction to knock him out. Susan escapes with Cameca and Ian takes the guard's headdress as a disguise.

Tlotoxl lays out his plan to Tonila. He says that if it works, Tonila will take over from Autloc as the High Priest of Knowledge. Back at the tomb, Susan is reunited with her grandfather and Barbara. The Doctor thanks Cameca and they say their goodbyes to one another. Cameca gives the Doctor a seal to remember her by.

Tonila finds the guard unconscious and a furious Tlotoxl orders Tonila to kill him. Tlotoxl rushes off to ensure that the travellers do not disrupt the sacrifice. As the sacrifice begins, Tlotoxl, blinded by rage, tries to kill Barbara. Ian stops him, and they fight. Ian kills Ixta by throwing him off the top of the tomb during the fight.

By this time, the door has been opened and the travellers escape through it. Tlotoxl watches them go and then performs the sacrifice. Hearing all this, a desolate Barbara asks what the point of travelling through time and space is if they can't change anything. The Doctor reassures her that even if she hadn't changed a civilisation, she changed Autloc's life and made him see the truth. Barbara goes back into the TARDIS. The Doctor is about to leave Cameca's seal behind but turns back to pick it up again.

Later in the TARDIS the Doctor looks bemused and tells his companions that half of his controls are telling him the TARDIS is stationary and the other half say that it's moving. Ian wonders if they have landed on something; a worried looking Barbara asks if they could have landed in something.

Cast

Uncredited cast

Crew

Uncredited crew

References

  • Ian is a trained fighter.
  • The Doctor and Cameca drink cocoa.

Story notes

  • Tlotoxl is one of the few Doctor Who villains who never receives any sort of comeuppance. This serves to highlight the themes of the story, that history must not be tampered with, and that it will take its course with or without us. This would be developed throughout the DWU, culminating in The Waters of Mars, among other stories.

Conflicting accounts

  • There are conflicting accounts within the Doctor Who universe on the exact date this story takes place. Of course, it's clear that it takes place sometime after 1430, the year Tetaxa is said to have died.
  • There was also a real-life eclipse on 8 August 1496, much like the one depicted in "The Day of Darkness". The path of totality strechted across much of Mexico.

Pre-production

  • This is currently the only Doctor Who story written by John Lucarotti that exists in the BBC Archives, as his other two serials, Marco Polo and The Massacre, are both missing all of their episodes and neither one has a single frame of surviving footage, existing only in soundtrack form.
  • Having lived in Mexico, John Lucarotti was fascinated by the Aztec civilisation. He described them as "a highly civilised and cultured race", and was particularly fascinated by their obsession with human sacrifice. He wrote the scripts on his yacht in Majorca.
  • John Lucarotti spent a lot of time researching the real Aztecs before writing this story. He used Aztec-sounding names for the characters; for example, the character Ixta was derived from the Aztec city Ixtapalapa.
  • John Crockett was assigned to direct the serial due to his knowledge of history, having previously worked on the fourth episode of Marco Polo.
  • Designer Barry Newbery found the serial difficult for research, due to the limited information on the Aztecs at the time. Researching using books provided by the BBC, he designed the tomb door based on the "comic book" style of Aztec design. He had also watched a documentary about Aztec archaeology on ITV and was concerned that a larger studio would be required for production.
  • Costume designer Daphne Dare used artistic license with her costumes in the serial, since male Aztecs usually only wore brief loincloths and cloaks, while women were often topless.

Production

  • All episodes exist in 16mm telerecordings.
  • Negative film prints of all episodes were recovered from BBC Enterprises in 1978.
  • Carole Ann Ford was on holiday during the filming of "The Warriors of Death" and "The Bride of Sacrifice" and appeared only in pre-taped film sequences which were shot during rehearsals for "Sentence of Death", the fifth episode of the preceding six-part story, The Keys of Marinus.
  • Ian Cullen recalled that William Hartnell "wasn't the friendliest person, but he was trying to remember all those lines".
  • John Ringham was an old colleague of John Crockett. His direction was "make all the children in the country hate you".
  • John Crockett's secretary June McMullen suggested Walter Randall for the role of Tonila, having met him at a party.
  • Verity Lambert required Walter Randall to shave his face for his role.
  • Martial arts expert David Anderson, who had previously appeared in Marco Polo, was cast as the Captain of the Guard. He also arranged the fight between Ian and Ixta for the second episode, and acted as William Russell's stunt double in the final episode.
    • He is credited as "Warrior Captain" in Radio Times for "The Temple of Evil". As fight arranger, Anderson is billed on-screen for "The Day of Darkness" only, but also arranged fights on "The Warriors of Death" and is credited in Radio Times for both episodes: the actual credits in the programme listings read "Fight arranged by David Anderson" for "The Warriors of Death"; and "Fights arranged by David Anderson and Derek Ware" for "The Day of Darkness".
  • Upon discovering that some of the scenery had been broken up since the recording of the first episode, John Crockett quickly rearranged parts from other sets, as well as some plants, to build the set.
  • The closing roller caption at the end of "The Bride of Sacrifice" had to be re-filmed as it was considered too erratically printed and thus not acceptable for broadcast.

Merchandise

  • An action figure of Tlotoxl was released by Harlequin Miniatures in 1999.

Influences

  • Richard III (John Ringham's performance)
  • Rudyard Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King
  • The Royal Hunt of the Sun
  • Herodotus (the story of the grave-robber architect who built himself a secret entrance)

Popularity

 
Steven Moffat introduces the program on BBC America.

Ratings

  • "The Temple of Evil" - 7.4 million viewers
  • "The Warriors of Death" - 7.4 million viewers
  • "The Bride of Sacrifice" - 7.9 million viewers
  • "The Day of Darkness" - 7.4 million viewers

Myths

  • The costumes used by the Aztecs covered more of their body than was the case in reality so as not to offend 1960s standards of decency. (The costumes used had been researched before filming and were accurate reflections of those worn by the real Aztecs.)

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.
  • William Hartnell oversteps his mark during the first scene in the temple's main chamber after Barbara is deemed to be the spirit of Yetaxa. He delivers his subsequent dialogue with almost all of his face obscured by Barbara's headdress.
  • The cameras used to film this story were incapable of zooming — instead they had to be physically moved closer to their subject. This is apparent when the camera "zooms in" on Tlotoxl during the sacrifice scene and the camera lurches violently after hitting a piece of the scenery. This is also apparent when the camera lurches violently after hitting a piece of the scenery as it "zooms in" on Autloc following Ian's arrest in the garden.
  • Ian Cullen (Ixta) flubs a line during "The Day of Darkness".
  • At one point during the fight between Ian and Ixta, the edge of the set can be seen on the right of the screen, revealing the supports holding the backcloth.
  • There was apparently no consensus as to the pronunciation of Tlotoxl's name given the varied pronunciations given by various cast members.
  • In "The Day of Darkness", there is a sudden cut as Ian and Susan leave for the garden, going straight to the First Doctor and Barbara talking to each other, even though it is implied the shot originally went on without the cut intended to take place. Since the surviving copy of this episode is the original telerecording negative, this was most likely an editing mistake with the original master tape.

Continuity

Home media releases

DVD releases

This story was released as Doctor Who: The Aztecs.

Released:

PAL Region 2 - BBCDVD1099
NTSC - Warner Video E1719

Contents:

Rear Credits:

Notes:

  • Region 2 DVD cover

  • Region 1 DVD cover

  • The Aztecs Region 4 DVD

 

As with most serials released on DVD pre-2006, The Aztecs was chosen for a special edition release. It was coupled with the rediscovered third episode of Galaxy 4, "Air Lock", and an abridged telesnap reconstruction of said story. It was released on 11 March 2013.

It was also released as issue 122 of Doctor Who DVD Files.

Digital releases

This story is available:

  • in iTunes stores (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, UK and US) as part of the Doctor Who: The Classic Series collection Doctor Who: The Best of The First Doctor, which additionally includes the stories An Unearthly Child and The Dalek Invasion of Earth;
  • in non-continental iTunes stores (Australia, Canada, UK and US) as a stand-alone season of Doctor Who: The Classic Series;
  • on Amazon Video (UK) as Season 6 of Doctor Who (Classic) series;
  • on Amazon Video (US) as part of Season 1 of Doctor Who: The 50th Anniversary Collection;
  • for streaming through BritBox (US) as part of Season 1 of Classic Doctor Who.

  • The Aztecs iTunes cover

  • Best of First Doctor collection iTunes cover

VHS releases

This story was released as Doctor Who: The Aztecs, and was originally going to be available exclusively from the high street retail chain Woolworths to tie-in with a special promotion. However, at the last minute, Woolworths decided on The Twin Dilemma instead — feeling that a colour Doctor Who story would sell better than one in black-and-white.

Released:

PAL - BBC Video BBCV4743
NTSC - CBS/FOX Video 8100
NTSC - Warner Video E1257

Note: The "Next Episode" caption had been removed from "The Day of Darkness", while a slight cut has also been made to the episode during the scene of Ian in the flooded tunnel beneath the Tomb of Yetaxa, possibly due to film damage.

  • UK PAL VHS cover

  • AUS PAL VHS cover

  • US NTSC VHS cover

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 INFO: "The Day of Darkness"
  2. ↑ INFO: "The Forest of Fear"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 BBC Official Site
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