The Highlanders was the fourth story of Season 4 of Doctor Who. The story was the last of the 'pure historical' genre of Doctor Who television stories which had been a regular feature of the show since its inception. It also marked the first appearance of Frazer Hines as companion Jamie McCrimmon.
Synopsis
The time travellers arrive in Scotland just after battle of Culloden. The Doctor gains the trust of a small band of fleeing Jacobites by offering to tend their wounded Laird, Colin McLaren; but while Polly and the Laird's daughter, Kirsty, are away fetching water, he and the others are all captured by Redcoat troops under the command of Lieutenant Algernon Ffinch.
Grey, a crooked solicitor who sells prisoners for transportation to slavery in the West Indies, then secures the group into his custody. Polly and Kirsty blackmail Ffinch into helping, and the Doctor eventually wins the day by smuggling arms to the Highlanders, who are being held on board a stolen ship, the Annabelle.
Grey and the ship's unscrupulous captain, Trask, are overpowered and the vessel returned to its rightful owner, MacKay, who agrees to take the rebels to safety in France.
The Doctor, Polly and Ben return to the TARDIS, where they are joined on their travels by the young piper Jamie McCrimmon.
Plot
Episode 1
Members of the clan McLaren, with piper Jamie McCrimmon, are fleeing the battlefield at Culloden Moor in 1746. The Laird, Colin McLaren, is wounded, and son Alexander and daughter Kirsty are helping him.
The TARDIS arrives nearby, and as Ben and Polly emerge with the Doctor, they must dodge an incoming cannonball. The Doctor wants to leave, but Ben has gone to look around, and Polly insists they follow him. Meanwhile, the party of Scots have taken refuge in a ruined cottage. They spot the Doctor, Ben and Polly outside, as they examine a "spiked" cannon. The Doctor spots a Highland bonnet on the ground, tries it on, then casts it to the ground. The Scots come out to surround them, Alexander forcing the Doctor to pick up the hat. They force them inside the cottage.
The Doctor realises that the hat belongs to Prince Charles Edward, "Bonnie Prince Charlie." The Jacobites intend to show no mercy, like the Redcoats showed to them, but when Kirsty hears that one of them is a doctor, she begs that they live long enough to treat her father. With them distracted, Ben steals a gun, and the Doctor forces them to disarm. The Doctor tends to the Laird, sends Kirsty and Polly to fetch water, and tells Ben to put down the gun when the Highlanders give their word not to harm them. Ben throws down the gun on the table, but it discharges. This draws the attention of a half-dozen Redcoats nearby. Lieutenant ffinch and his men decide to surround the cottage, but when Alexander emerges, attempting to draw them off, he is shot and killed.
Upon the arrival of the Redcoats, The Doctor undertakes the guise of a German, Doktor Von Wer, and speaks with a heavy accent. ffinch is unmoved at Ben's insistence that they are prisoners of war, saying rebels are not treated as such, and orders them to be hanged.
Solicitor Grey and his clerk Perkins are watching the battle nearby, and lamenting the needless killing of the rebel troops as a "waste of manpower." In his role under his Majesty's Commissioner of Prisons, Grey intends to profit from this rebellion by selling prisoners as slaves in the West Indies. After cruelly remonstrating Perkins for serving him corked wine, the two move off to try and "save" some of the Scots.
Polly and Kirsty return and try to cause a diversion by throwing stones at the soldiers, and ffinch and two soldiers follow them after hearing from his Sergeant that the Prince may be trying to escape disguised as a woman. The Sergeant tries to hang the prisoners even with the Officer away, but is stopped by the arrival of Grey and Perkins. Grey bribes the Sergeant, and the men are released into his charge to be sent to Inverness. Grey initially rejects the Doctor and orders him hanged, but "Von Wer" quotes a point of law that convinces Grey to take him with, with the Laird under the Doktor's care.
Kirsty hides Polly and herself in a cave used by her family. Polly searches for valuables they can sell, so they can bribe guards; she realizes their friends will be put in gaol. She spots a gold ring worn by Kirsty, but Kirsty won't allow it to be sold as it belongs to her father and she was entrusted with it. Polly is annoyed and frustrated with her, and goes off on her own. With light fading, she walks down a path until she falls into an animal pit. As she struggles to get out of the trap, she's confronted by someone above, holding a dagger.
Episode 2
It is Kirsty. As Kirsty tries to help Polly out, she herself also falls in. Polly climbs on top of Kirsty and tries to get out, but spots Ffinch and his men searching. ffinch decides to stay there and send his men back for his horse. Polly and Kirsty draw him towards the trap until he falls in and the women take him prisoner.
At Inverness, the men are thrown into a dank, water-logged cell. The Doctor tends to the Laird, feeling he will recover, but must use a bit of trickery to convince his 18th-century friends that he knows what he's doing. He discovers that the Laird is wearing (and protecting) the Prince's standard, and the Doctor takes charge of it, saying both that Colin won't avoid the gallows with that found on him, and that it's very nice and warm. He incites the prisoners to sing a rebel dirge, then uses his German persona to convince the guard to let him out with news of a plot to kill the Duke of Cumberland. Ben is pleased, but worries about how high the water level rises in their cell.
Kirsty and Polly have taken 20 guineas from ffinch, and discovering his credentials, threaten to blackmail him with his identity disc should they get the chance, in case they need an ally. Near the water, at the inn the Sea Eagle, Grey orders Captain Trask and his men to begin loading their cargo, the prisoners, aboard ship. The Doktor is brought before Grey, where he admits that his real reason to see Grey was to show him the Prince's standard, and split the reward for the Prince's capture between them. Suddenly the Doktor throws the flag over Grey, disarms him, and locks him bound and gagged in a closet. Upon the arrival of Perkins, the Doktor tricks him into believing he is ill, and prescribes rest at the Solicitor's desk for at least an hour, assuring him that the knocking and moaning noises he's hearing is only in his mind.
ffinch is delighted when the Sergeant finally arrives, but is enraged when the Sergeant exploits the situation, so ffinch offers money—before realizing the women took it all. He promises payment upon their return to Inverness. Trask returns to find Perkins and release Grey. The Doctor, meanwhile, has hidden himself in the Sea Eagle's scullery dressed as an old crone. Trask then loads Jamie, Ben, and the Laird aboard a rowboat, to be taken to his ship, the Annabelle. The Doctor distracts one of the guards with food, allowing the Doctor access to the trap door through which the prisoners were herded.
As the prisoners watch, Trask orders a bound man to be thrown off the side and allowed to drown; that's the only way they'll ever get off the Annabelle.
Episode 3
Ben, Jamie and the Laird are shoved into the hold of the Annabelle. Ben is threatened by a rebel prisoner, but Colin vouches for him. The man, Mackay, recognizes the McLarens, and says he is the true captain of the Annabelle, having been betrayed by Trask. Ben works out that they are to become slave labour.
Polly and Kirsty are hiding in a barn near Inverness. They intend to become orange-sellers, to get themselves nearer the soldiers. ffinch arrives at the Sea Eagle's dining room, exhausted and humiliated. The Doctor is there, still disguised. Polly and Kirsty are brought by the Sergeant to see the Lieutenant, wading through the roving hands of the soldiers. The Sergeant suspects these are the women they were chasing, but ffinch is forced to confirm they are simply "old friends." The Sergeant dismisses his soldiers, allowing the three to speak freely. ffinch reluctantly tells the women about Grey, and when Perkins enters ffinch directs him to them. The Doctor is unable to alert his friends to his presence.
Solicitor Grey addresses the prisoners, announcing they have three choices: one, become witnesses—or traitors; two, be hanged if they don't wish to turn King's evidence; three, sign seven-year contracts to become plantation workers in the West Indies. Mackay warns the others against signing, saying they will not survive seven years. The others eventually come forward to sign, while Ben, Jamie, McLaren and Mackay hold back. Ben suddenly jumps forward and asks to sign. Under the guise of "reading it first," he tears up the contracts. Trask breaks out his whip, sending Ben to the ground, and Grey orders Ben clapped in irons as he goes off to have new contracts drawn up.
Polly and Kirsty are being "entertained" by Perkins while waiting for Grey to appear. They grow uneasy and try to leave, but Perkins threatens them and they stay as Perkins offers a game of whist. An old woman interposes herself as their fourth, and reveals herself to be the Doctor, Grey's pistol in his hand. As the game starts, Grey arrives to witness this strange scene. He impatiently calls Perkins away, and leaves. The Doctor insists that "we girls" leave first, while Perkins must wait for ten minutes or experience more symptoms of his "illness."
Back at the barn, Polly wants to make a plan, but the Doctor wants to sleep. Polly drags an idea out of him: they use the money they've stolen to buy weapons (from the British soldiers) and smuggle them aboard the Annabelle. Meanwhile, Grey and Perkins return to the Annabelle with fresh contracts. Grey orders Trask to ensure that all prisoners sign the contracts, so he is to treat them mercifully until they arrive safely in Barbados. Regarding Ben, he orders a ducking, and for him to be brought on deck.
The women return to the barn, having had little luck acquiring weapons, but the Doctor returns with a wheelbarrow full of swords, muskets, and pistols. The Doctor spots the ring on Kirsty's hand, and recognizes it as the Prince's; Kirsty confirms that her father saved the Prince's life. She is finally willing to part with it, and the Doctor intends to use it, to save her father's life, as "bait for a very greedy man." That night, Ben, completely bound, is tossed overboard the Annabelle.
Episode 4
Trask pulls up the rope, but Ben is no longer attached to it. Ben emerges from the water on the other side of the boat, and tries to swim through the freezing water to the shore. Exhausted, he make it to shore, only to find a musket pointed at him. Fortunately, the Redcoat at the other end of it is the Doctor. He takes Ben to safety. Grey tells Trask to set sail tomorrow with his cargo.
Ben tells his friends about his escape, and they put their plan in action: The Doctor will return to the ship, taken in a rowboat by Ben, and while the Doctor distracts Grey and the crew, Ben delivers the weapons to the prisoners in the hold. Polly and Kirsty insist on going along, so the Doctor gives Ben a different job to do. Meanwhile, Mackay laments at their brothers playing into Grey's hands, and Colin longs to see his daughter Kirsty one more time.
Preparing to go ashore, Grey is surprised when Trask enters with Doktor Von Wer in his grasp. The Doktor presents the Prince's ring, and claims he got it from the Prince himself, who is at this moment in prison. The Doktor attempts to strike a deal for the information. Polly and Kirsty row out and find access to the hold, and Kirsty secretly contacts her father and delivers the arms to him. Meanwhile, Grey agrees to the Doktor's demands, and the Doktor claims the Prince is in the hold of the ship! He claims the piper, Jamie, is the Prince.
They all go to the hold to see for themselves as the prisoners sleep. They quietly make their way through, and the Doktor eventually points out Jamie, at the far end. Suddenly, Colin McLaren lets out a battle cry, all the prisoners are instantly up, and the fight begins. Most sailors are quickly taken, but Mackay and Trask fight. Jamie leads the others out to deal with the crew. Both men are wounded, but Trask escapes from Mackay, out of the hold. Up top, the fight continues: Ben confronts Trask and is almost killed, but Jamie saves him. Jamie fights Trask until Trask is forced over the side into the water.
Mackay takes command of the ship, and bids his new crewmen to make ready to leave. Kirsty is reunited with her father, and the Doctor and Ben are reunited with Polly. Perkins begs to be allowed to accompany the Scots to France, while Grey is taken ashore as a hostage. The three time-travelers alight immediately on their next daunting task: evade the Redcoats while trying to return to the TARDIS. After getting a signal from the ship, they are surprised when Jamie finds them; he wanted to stay, and figures he can help them with their journey back.
The group has taken charge of Grey, but they must hide as Redcoats come snooping along the quayside. When Grey is able to cry out, the Doctor, Ben and Jamie must fight the Redcoats; they win, but Grey escapes. They realize they'll have to find another "ally" to help them. They head to the Sea Eagle where they find Lieutenant ffinch. The Doctor must use the ruse of the Prince's ring to extract ffinch from a Colonel, with whom ffinch has been drafted to play whist. Polly produces ffinch's identity disc to ensure his cooperation.
The next morning they arrive back at the cottage where they were captured, with Lieutenant ffinch now on their side, having heard the tale of Solicitor Grey. Suddenly they are surrounded by Redcoats led by Grey, who congratulates ffinch on having captured the rebels. As Grey threatens them, ffinch silences him. Grey argues that he has done nothing wrong; since the prisoners signed contracts, it is perfectly legal. He reaches for the contracts in his coat pocket, but they are gone! ffinch has Grey arrested, gagged, and marched to Inverness prison. The Doctor produces the contracts in his pocket.
The Doctor, Ben and Polly head to the TARDIS, and Jamie decides to go with them, with the aim of teaching the Doctor how to play the bagpipes.
Cast
- The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
- Ben Jackson - Michael Craze
- Polly - Anneke Wills
- Jamie McCrimmon - Frazer Hines
- Alexander McLaren - William Dysart
- The Laird - Donald Bisset
- Kirsty McLaren - Hannah Gordon
- Lieutenant Algernon ffinch - Michael Elwyn
- Sergeant - Peter Welch
- Grey - David Garth
- Perkins - Sydney Arnold
- Sentry - Tom Bowman
- Trask - Dallas Cavell
- Mollie - Barbara Bruce
- Willie Mackay - Andrew Downie
- Sailor - Peter Diamond
- Colonel Attwood - Guy Middleton
Crew
- Assistant Floor Manager - Nicholas John
- Costumes - Sandra Reid
- Designer - Geoffrey Kirkland
- Fight Arranger - Peter Diamond
- Make-Up - Gillian James
- Producer - Innes Lloyd
- Production Assistant - Fiona Cumming
- Script Editor - Gerry Davis
- Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
- Studio Lighting - George Summers, Ken MacGregor
- Studio Sound - Larry Goodson
- Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
- Title Music - Ron Grainer
References
- The Highlanders are fighting for Prince Charles Edward, aka Bonnie Prince Charlie, while the Redcoats fight for King George II.
- Grey wonders what price his slaves will fetch in Jamaica or Barbados.
- The prison is at Inverness.
- Polly brings up Nell Gwyn in reference to her and Kirsty posing as orange-sellers.
- Ben credits Houdini with his successful escape.
Story notes
- This story had the working title of Culloden. (REF: The Second Doctor Handbook)
- The next "pure historical" serial, Black Orchid, would not be broadcast until 1982. However, Highlanders is the last historical to use events from real history, as Orchid is entirely fictional.
- Although commissioned to write the story, Elwyn Jones in fact carried out no work on it. The scripts were written by story editor, Gerry Davis. Unlike other cases in which the story/script editor substantively wrote (or rewrote) scripts, however, Davis actually did get on-screen credit for it. As evidenced by contemporaneous documents available on the BBC's official website, Jones and Davis were in fact jointly credited.
Ratings
- Episode 1 - 6.7 million viewers
- Episode 2 - 6.8 million viewers
- Episode 3 - 7.4 million viewers
- Episode 4 - 7.3 million viewers
Myths
- It was decided to keep Jamie on as companion due to a positive audience reaction. (The decision was made well before the transmission of the story.)
Filming locations
- Frensham Ponds, Frensham, Surrey
- Ealing Television Film Studios
- Riverside Studio 1, Hammersmith, London
Production errors
- The Jacobite rebellion is erroneously presented as an Anglo-Scottish conflict, rather than an attempt to restore the Stuart dynasty to the British throne.
- In Episode 2, Polly reads ffinch's name as Algernon Thomas Alfred ffinch; but in Episode 3 she taunts him as "Alfred Algernon Thomas..."
Continuity
- Polly is pleased that she doesn't have to dress up in boys' clothes, like she had to in her last adventure in the past (The Smugglers).
Timeline
- This story occurs after: ST: The Feast
- This story occurs before DW: The Underwater Menace
Home video and audio releases
DVD release
No complete episodes from this story survive. Existing "censor" clips from Episode 1 were released on the Lost in Time boxset.
Audio release
- Released by the BBC Radio Collection in August 2000, narrated by Frazer Hines.
- Re-released as part of the the Adventures in History box set released in August 2003 (with same content).
Novelisation and its audiobook
- Main article: The Highlanders (novelisation)
See also
to be added