Delta and the Bannermen (TV story)

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Synopsis

In a Welsh holiday camp, the Doctor and Mel protect the Chimeron queen Delta and her newly-hatched princess from the pursuit of Gavrok and the evil Bannermen.

Plot

On the planet of the Chimerons, the population has been wiped out by the brutal Bannermen, led by Gavrok. The last survivor is the Queen, Delta, who escapes in a Bannerman spaceship with an unhatched Chimeron egg. Gavrok and the Bannermen pursue.

The Doctor and Mel arrive at intergalactic toll port G715, where the Tollmaster informs them that by being the 10,000,000,000th customer, they've won a trip to Disneyland in the year 1959, with an intergalactic travel company Nostalgia Tours. They join a party of Navarinos, who undergo a transformation to look human. Mel joins them on their vessel, a rickety bus fitted with warp engines, but the dubious Doctor elects to follow in his TARDIS. Delta lands nearby and slips on board. The bus collides with an orbiting satellite, and plummets toward Earth. The Doctor envelops them in a gravitational field so they land safely; not in Disneyland, but in a holiday camp in Wales (Shangri-La). Burton, the camp leader, greets them warmly, mistaking them for a scheduled party. Burton enlists his camp mechanic, Billy, and his adoring assistant Ray to assist the Doctor and busdriver Murray in repairs. Gavrok and the Bannermen, however, are in hot pursuit. A bounty hunter named Keillor has infiltrated the tourists, spotted Delta, and contacted Gavrok with their location.

That night the campers enjoy a dance, with Billy leading his band. Ray, however, is heartbroken when he dedicates a song not to her, but to Delta, with whom he has fallen in love despite her green skin. The Doctor finds Ray crying in a linen room and comforts her, but they are confronted by Keillor. He recognizes the Doctor, and raises his gun...

Once Gavrok has pinpointed the location of the camp, they no longer need Keillor and dispatch him with an ionic pulse. Mel and Delta watch as the egg hatches. Billy discovers that his new girlfriend is an alien, as well as mother of a rapidly growing newborn.

The next morning, Billy and Delta slip away with the baby for a motorcycle tour of the countryside while the Doctor informs the rest of the party of the oncoming Bannermen. Mel and Murray complete the repairs of the bus. Mel stays behind to wait for the Doctor as the others board, but the Bannermen arrive and destroy the bus, killing the entire tour group. Mel convinces Gavrok -- at first -- that Delta was aboard. The Doctor and Ray catch up with Billy, Delta & the young princess, and they find shelter with a kindly beekeeper Goronwy. As the Bannermen close in, the princess repels them with a high-pitched shriek, which also causes Goronwy's bees to assist and attack.

With the help of Billy's amplified speakers (and some extra jiggery-pokery by the Doctor), the young princess's shrieks subdue the remaining Bannermen, and Gavrok is killed by a trap he set for the Doctor. Billy has been secretly eating some of the Chimeron food supply, which is transforming him into a Chimeron. He elects to leave with Delta and the princess, but Ray's heartbreak is eased when he leaves his beloved Vincent motorcycle with her.

Cast

Crew

References

Sputnik

  • The Navarinos are squat, wrinkly purple creatures who can shapechange and time travel.
  • Chimeron males and infants are green. They've been nearly wiped out by the Bannermen in some undisclosed conflict.
  • The bus lands outside the Shangri-La holiday camp, Wales near Llandrudnod Wells, 1959.
  • The Doctor uses a sonic cone, which he says will destroy everyone, but doesn't.

Story Notes

  • Working title for this story was: The Flight Of The Chimeron and Flight of the Chimeron.
  • The Doctor's question mark umbrella makes its first appearance.
  • Sylvester McCoy can be seen wearing his glasses - normally removed before recording - in some long shots of him riding a motor bike.
  • Keillor, the alien bounty hunter, is never referred to by name in the story's dialogue; his name is given only in the closing credits.
  • At the time the episode was produced, Bonnie Langford was considering leaving the series midway through the season, and so the young girl Ray was intended to be her replacement. Langford ultimately chose to stay for the complete season, and the idea of having Ray join the TARDIS crew was dropped; elements of the character, however, later inspired the creation of Ace, who ultimately became Mel's replacement at the end of the series. Coincidentally, Sophie Aldred aditioned for the role of Ray but she did not get it but got the part of Ace instead.
  • This was the first 3-episode story (in the traditional 25-minute episode format) since Planet of Giants in 1964; each of McCoy's seasons would have serials of this length.
  • This was the first and only classic-series story to be extensively produced in Wales; when the series returned in 2005, it would be primarily produced in Wales. As noted below, the revived series even used some of the same locations as this story.

Music

The story's setting in the late-1950s resulted in a number of vintage songs from the era being heard or performed (though all had to be rerecorded by series composer Keff McCulloch and the Lorells. The songs heard in the serial are: "Rock Around the Clock", "Singing the Blues", "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", "Mr. Sandman", "Goodnight, Sweetheart", "That'll Be the Day", "Only You", "Lollipop", "Who's Sorry Now?", and "Happy Days Are Here Again".

Ratings

  • Part 1 - 5.3 million viewers
  • Part 2 - 5.1 million viewers
  • Part 3 - 5.4 million viewers

Myths

to be added

Filming Locations

  • Springwell Quarry, Springwell Lane, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire
  • Majestic Holiday Camp on Barry Island, South Glamorgan, Wales (The camp no longer exists, but Barry Island would be the filming location for parts of the 2005 episodes The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances.)
  • Pyscodlyn Mawr Reservoir, Hensol Forest, Welsh St Donats, South Glamorgan
  • Sutton Farm, Fort Road, Penarth, South Glamorgan
  • Coed Y Wallas, Castle Upon Alun, Mid Glamorgan
  • British Tissues Hangar (Now known as Georgia Pacific GB Ltd), Llandow Trading Estate, Llandow, South Glamorgan
  • BBC Television Centre (TC3), Shepherd's Bush, London

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

  • In some of the motorcycle riding scenes, Sylvester McCoy can been seen wearing his glasses. This could just be the Seventh Doctor wearing glasses simply because he feels, like the 5th and 10th Doctors, they make him look clever.

Continuity

Timeline

DVD and Video Releases

  • Delta and the Bannerman will be released on the 22nd of June 2009.

Special features include

  • Stripped for Action - The Story of Doctor Who Comics.
  • Wales Today
  • But First This
  • Hugh and Us
  • Clown Court
  • Photo Gallery

Novelisation

Delta and the Bannermen novel.jpg
Main article: Delta and the Bannermen (novelisation)


External Links


Template:Season 24

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