Disney Time (TV story)

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Disney Time was a BBC One holiday programme produced by the Walt Disney Company and the BBC, in which clips from both new releases and re-releases of various animated and live-action Disney films were linked by new footage from celebrities. The 25 August 1975 edition of the series was presented, arguably, not by Tom Baker, but by the Fourth Doctor as played by Tom Baker. The show started with the Doctor arriving in the TARDIS outside a Disney theatre, presenting several Disney clips from the past and future, before leaving again to go to the aid of the Brigadier.

The episode was filmed at London's Odeon, St Martin's Lane theatre, which closed in 1997[1]. On 20 July 1975, this location reopened as the "Permanent Home of Disney Movies", changing its name to the Disney theatre, as it began showings of classic films such as 1955's Lady and the Tramp year-round.[2][3][4] The special was recorded there on the 3 August 1975 and despite tying into TV: Terror of the Zygons, was filmed during the production of TV: The Android Invasion.[5][6]

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Fourth Doctor, frolicking in London's Disney Odeon Cinema, tells a series of stories which introduce clips from various Disney films.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

In a scene from the The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Mickey Mouse uses his master's magic hat to force a broom to carry buckets of water for him. The Disney Time title card appears, and as the music continues...

The TARDIS materialises outside the Disney theatre in London. The Fourth Doctor emerges and asks a passer-by if he knows Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse or Goofy. After some prompting, the man recalls that those are all "Disney toons". The Doctor then explains that, as he was passing by the planet Mars in the TARDIS, he realised he hadn't seen Mickey and the gang in a long time. He cites this as the reason for his arrival in London, "just in time for Clock Cleaners".

In a clip from the Mickey Mouse short Clock Cleaners, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy attempt to clean a large clock. Donald is thrown around by the clocks interiors springs and gears. Goofy cleans the inside of a bell as it is knocked on the hour, knocking him to the ground.

After the cartoon concludes, the Doctor observes passers-by and muses that it would be "fun" to have a friend who was invisible to all but oneself. Even more fun, if it could be a pirate, or even... Blackbeard's ghost!

In a clip from the film Blackbeard's Ghost, Steve Walker is haunted by Blackbeard, as the two drive around in Steve's car. Blackbeard is terrified by the "craft" they cruise in, and becomes convinced it is powered by an animal under the hood. He attempts to take control of the wheel, shoving the pedal to the floor, causing the car to veer out of control. As the car drives through several yards and front porches, causing countless destruction, it nearly runs over a police officer, who gives pursuit. The officer finds a bottle of rum dropped by the (still invisible) Blackbeard, and incorrectly deduces that Walker has been drinking. Blackbeard tries to take back his rum, leading to a three-man hustle over the bottle that ends with it broken. Blackbeard intends to kill the officer with his sword over this, but Walker talks him out of it. Instead, Blackbeard takes the officer's notepad and pencil and begins destroying both mid-air. Blackbeard takes the officer's gun, shooting six rounds into Walker's car, barely missing both Walker and the officer. Blackbeard steals the officer's motorcycle, driving it around before crashing it into a tree. Walker offers his wrists up to the officer, who puts handcuffs on him.

The Doctor now sits behind the ticket booth, impersonating a collector. A girl walks to the counter and asks for two tickets, and the Doctor gives them to her free of charge, noting that he isn't entirely without influence. Turning back to the audience, the Doctor recounts that there was once a little bot named Mowgli, and he was lost in a jungle. One day, he met a cobra snake called Kaa...

In a scene from The Jungle Book, Kaa sings to Mowgli the song "Trust in Me", as he attempts to convince Mowlgi to trust him. As Mowgli is hypnotised and falls asleep in Kaa's coils, Kaa is visited by Shere Khan, who is searching for Mowlgi and suspects Kaa has him. Kaa convinces Shere Khan that he doesn't have Mowgli, and Shere Khan leaves. As Moowgli wakes up, he sees Kaa is planning to eat him. As Kaa's deception is revealed, he tells Mowgli that he can't trust anyone...
The Doctor notes that real animals are not much like animated ones, introducing a clip from the documentary The African Lion.

Walking in front of a mural depicting Disney's Robin Hood, the Doctor admits that real wolves, tigers and snakes are "rather different" than what is shown in Disney's fantasy. He asks the viewer if they've seen The Vanishing Prairie, Bear Country, and Living Desert. He suggests they take at another film, The African Lion.

In a clip from The African Lion, the documentary's narrator describes the lives and actions of several hippopotamuses. As a group of hippos hunt, a crocodile joins them.

The Doctor recounts that there was once a gang called the Apple Dumpling Gang. In it were three orphan children, who found a gold mine, and inside it the biggest gold nugget in the history of gold mining. They boys had to keep the gold in the bank, as everyone wanted it, especially Amos and Theodore (the Hashknife gang). Theodore and Amos devised a plan to steal the nugget. The plan was foolproof, and nothing could go wrong, or so they thought...

In a scene from The Apple Dumpling Gang, Theodore Ogelvie plans to tie a rope around himself. Once he does, he instructs Amos Tucker to use their mule Clarice to lift the rope up. However, Amos sends the rope up too soon, getting it caught around Theodore's head. They restart, but Clarice sits on the ground and refuses to pull the rope. Suddenly, the three orphans appear, and Theodore covers the rope around his torso. As the children talk to him, Theodore appears to float up the side of the bank, and Clarice finally runs away. The next morning, the Sheriff discovered Theodore and Amos tied up inside the bank, hanging from the ceiling in a confused state.

The Doctor states that in the world of fantasy, anything can happen. Beds can fly, fishes can sing and dance, and humans can talk underwater. If the audience think this is far-fetched, he says they haven't seen Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

In a scene from Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Mr. Codfish meets several humans, and welcomes them to Naboombu lagoon. Miss Prince wants to go up to find the Island of Naboombu, but Mr. Browne encourages her to appreciate the beauty of the atmosphere, singing "The Beautiful Briny". The pair eventually begin to dance, and win an undersea dancing competition.

The Doctor then announces that Disney is making a new film, entitled Return of the Big Cat, set to come out at Christmas. No-one has seen it yet, but the Doctor is able to show a preview of it.

In a scene from Return of the Big Cat, a group of men go out hunting for a cougar that has been stalking their town. After a failed day of hunting, they suspect it has gone into hibernation. Elsewhere, the cougar nearly attacks a child before it is scared away...

The Doctor begins a new story, of two children who are gifted with supernatural powers. Two villains capture the children to exploit their gifts. The villains build them a house and buy them all the toys and ice cream they could ever want. But are the children deceived?

In a scene from Escape to Witch Mountain, Tia and Tony discuss their powers and how they are different. Tony uses a musical harmonica to bring a marionette puppet to life. As his song goes on, the rest of the puppets in the room spring to life, and Tia dances with them. Unknowingly to the pair, they are secretly being watched by two old men.
Later, Tia lays in bed, shocked by a vision. She tells Tony that Mr. Bolt will never let them leave, and they have to escape. Tony resists the belief in her vision, but admits that she's right.

The Doctor, now in the theatre's auditorium, muses on the life of dogs — pointing out that they don't talk and rarely sing — before reminding his audience that all of this is null and void to Disney, at least as far as their film Lady and the Tramp is concerned.

In a scene from Lady and the Tramp, Lady is checked into a dog pound. There, the other dogs are ecstatic to see such a high-class animal at the kennel. The dog Peg comes to her defence. Lady has a licence tag on her collar, which gives her higher status in the human world and "freedom." The other dogs offhandedly mention "the Tramp," a womanizing stray who continues to evade being captured. Peg sings "He's a Tramp".
The Doctor finishes the presentation, rushing off in the TARDIS to help the Brigadier.

The camera then cuts to the Doctor, alone in the auditorium as the screening concludes. Suddenly, a hand rises from between the rows, holding a piece of paper. After reading this, the Doctor explains that it is a message from the Brigadier, who is "in trouble again", and needs his help. The Doctor hurriedly returns to the TARDIS, telling his audience, "And it's time to say goodbye to all of you. But I'll be seeing you again very soon. Next Saturday, in fact. Goodbye!" He enters the TARDIS, which dematerialises.

Over the credits as the TARDIS vanishes, "He's a Tramp" plays once more.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

A promotional image of the Doctor and Mickey Mouse, printed alongside the Radio Times programme listing.

Uncredited cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Archive recordings[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

"It's from the Brigadier. He's in trouble again."
  • The ending of the programme, where the Doctor receives a message from the Brigadier about some urgent business, was meant to tie-in with Terror of the Zygon, which started broadcasting just a few days after the broadcast of this special. Indeed, the Doctor and his companions begin that story hurrying to the Brigadier because of a message he sent them during TV: Revenge of the Cybermen.
  • The episode include clips from the real-life films Clock Cleaners, Blackbeard's Ghost, The Jungle Book, African Lion, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Return of the Big Cat, Escape to Witch Mountain and Lady and the Tramp.
  • The Radio Times programme listing for Disney Time read as follows: "Fantasy, adventure and comedy are all included in our summer holiday look at Walt Disney films. Introduced by Tom Baker from the Disney Odeon, St. Martin's Lane / Including Jungle Book; The Apple Dumpling Gang; Lady and the Tramp; Bedknobs and Broomsticks; Blackbeard's Ghost; Clock Cleaners and Escape to Witch Mountain". (original published text) This was accompanied by a black-and-white publicity photograph of the Doctor standing next to a large plastic model of Mickey Mouse, with the accompanying caption "Who's your friend, Mickey? Who? Dr. Who? Of course that's who: 5.15". (original published text)
  • Some newspapers listed this special as being presented "by Tom Baker as Dr. Who."
  • Clips from this programme were later reused in TV: UNIT Recruiting Film.
  • Interestingly, two years earlier, previous editions of the Disney Time programmed had been hosted by Roy Castle (Ian Chesterton in Dr. Who and the Daleks) and Jon Pertwee (the Third Doctor), though not as their Doctor Who characters; Castle returned in 1976, followed in short order by Bernard Cribbins (Tom Campbell in Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. and, later, Wilfred Mott in Series 4).
  • The theatre at which this segment was filmed at is clearly showing Lady and the Tramp, explaining why the Doctor watches it in the theatre at the end. According to newspaper archives, this theatre began showing this film on 20 July 1975. Presuming that this entire special wasn't filmed on opening day, this means that Disney Time must have been filmed after production had begun on TV: The Android Invasion, and likely specifically between 26 July and 10 August 1975.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor receives a note from the Brigadier asking for his help, not unlike the summons he received from his TARDIS aboard the Nerva Beacon. (TV: Revenge of the Cybermen) As he leaves to answer the Brigadier's call for help, the Doctor promises his audience he will see them "next Saturday". (TV: Terror of the Zygon)

Home media releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The end sequence, of the Doctor receiving the Brigadier's message and returning to the TARDIS where he says goodbye to his audience, was released on the 1999 VHS episodic release of Terror of the Zygons, and also appeared as an Easter egg on the DVD release.

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/2509
  2. ↑ https://www.newspapers.com/image/795149875/?terms=%22Odeon%22%20%22Disney%22%20%22Lady%20and%20the%20Tramp%22&match=1
  3. ↑ https://www.newspapers.com/image/925707686/?terms=%22Odeon%22%20%22St%20Martin%27s%20Lane%22&match=1
  4. ↑ https://www.newspapers.com/image/721831947/?terms=%22Odeon%22%20%22St%20Martin%27s%20Lane%22&match=1
  5. ↑ http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/diary/y1975.html#Jun
  6. ↑ https://twitter.com/claytonhickman/status/1021466428539645953
  7. ↑ While Mickey has dialogue in the original short, this material was cut for this special. The only audio that remains is Mickey whistling, and it is uncertain if this was Walt Disney. Disney did famously record Mickey's whistling in Steamboat Willie, so it is possible.
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