The Visitation (TV story): Difference between revisions

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The Visitation (TV story) (edit)

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Instead, this incidental destruction is indeed the end of the sonic screwdriver in the show's original run.
Instead, this incidental destruction is indeed the end of the sonic screwdriver in the show's original run.


It wasn't the original plan, though. [[Eric Saward]]'s script initially carried an ending scene where the Doctor would simply get a replacement from a room full of the devices in the TARDIS. [[Producer]] [[John Nathan-Turner]] nixed the scene because he actively wanted to get rid of the device, which he thought of as a narrative crutch that writers should be forced to avoid. Accordingly, the sonic didn't come back on television until [[Doctor Who (TV story)|the next story ''not'' produced by JNT]].
This was not the original plan, however. [[Eric Saward]]'s script initially carried an ending scene where the Doctor would simply seek a replacement from a room full of the devices in the TARDIS. [[Producer]] [[John Nathan-Turner]] objected, actively wanting to get rid of the device, which he thought of as a narrative crutch that writers should be forced to avoid. Accordingly, the sonic didn't come back on television until [[Doctor Who (TV story)|the next story ''not'' produced by JNT]].


Narratively, however, the apparent permanency of the sonic's destruction wasn't explained on television until ''[[Time Crash (TV story)|Time Crash]]'', where the [[Tenth Doctor]] implied that the Fifth Doctor failed to replace it simply as a matter of personal choice.
Narratively, however, the apparent permanency of the sonic's destruction wasn't explained on television until ''[[Time Crash (TV story)|Time Crash]]'', where the [[Tenth Doctor]] implied that the Fifth Doctor failed to replace it simply as a matter of personal choice.
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== References ==
== References ==
* Tegan assumes the Terileptil's interest in the TARDIS means that, like [[Monarch (Four to Doomsday)|Monarch]], he wants to "ride in it".
=== Food and drink ===
* Whilst in the TARDIS prior to landing, Tegan talks to Nyssa about her recent possession by the [[Mara]] on [[Deva Loka]].
* Ralph brings the Squire a drink of [[posset]].
* Ralph brings the Squire a drink of [[posset]].


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=== TARDIS ===
=== TARDIS ===
* The TARDIS's [[lateral balance cones]] are "playing up" (probably "temperamental [[solenoid]]s"), foiling the Doctor's attempt to get Tegan back to [[1981]] Heathrow.
* The TARDIS's [[lateral balance cone]]s are "playing up" (probably "temperamental [[solenoid]]s"), foiling the Doctor's attempt to get Tegan back to [[1981]] [[Heathrow]].
* Adric drops his TARDIS [[homing device]] in a fight.
* Adric drops his TARDIS [[homing device]] in a fight.
* When the Doctor is searching for the Terileptils' London base, the scanner shows a "brown and white" [[17th century]] print of [[London]]'s streets.
* When the Doctor is searching for the Terileptils' London base, the scanner shows a "brown and white" [[17th century]] print of [[London]]'s streets.
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* The opening sequence in the TARDIS follows on directly from ''[[Kinda (TV story)|Kinda]]''. Since ''The Visitation'' was filmed before ''Kinda'', [[Peter Davison]] and [[Matthew Waterhouse]] had to act out their characters' responses to the events of ''Kinda'' based solely on the script.
* The opening sequence in the TARDIS follows on directly from ''[[Kinda (TV story)|Kinda]]''. Since ''The Visitation'' was filmed before ''Kinda'', [[Peter Davison]] and [[Matthew Waterhouse]] had to act out their characters' responses to the events of ''Kinda'' based solely on the script.
* ''Radio Times'' credits [[John Savident]] (The Squire) as "Squire John", and [[Michael Melia]] (Terileptil) as "Terileptil Leader".
* ''Radio Times'' credits [[John Savident]] (The Squire) as "Squire John", and [[Michael Melia]] (Terileptil) as "Terileptil Leader".
* The Terileptil mask marks the first use of animatronics in the series.
* The Terileptil masks, produced by freelance firm [[Imagineering]], marks the first use of animatronics in the series.
* [[Eric Saward]] attributes the name 'Terileptil' to the words "territorial reptiles" in ''[[Doctor Who: The Making of a Television Series]]''.
* Eric Saward attributes the name 'Terileptil' to the words "territorial reptiles" in ''[[Doctor Who: The Making of a Television Series]]''.
* One part of the Terileptil's laboratory re-uses a [[Hymetusite]] crystal from ''[[The Horns of Nimon (TV story)|The Horns of Nimon]]''.
* One part of the Terileptil's laboratory re-uses a [[Hymetusite]] crystal from ''[[The Horns of Nimon (TV story)|The Horns of Nimon]]''.
* [[Director]] [[Peter Moffatt]] strongly disliked [[Paddy Kingsland]]'s [[incidental music]] for this serial, saying it was replete with "turgid chords". ([[DCOM]]: ''The Visitation'') However, Kingsland called Moffatt his "favourite director to work with". ([[DOC]]: ''[[Scoring The Visitation]]'')
* [[Director]] [[Peter Moffatt]] strongly disliked [[Paddy Kingsland]]'s [[incidental music]] for this serial, saying it was replete with "turgid chords". ([[DCOM]]: ''The Visitation'') However, Kingsland called Moffatt his "favourite director to work with". ([[DOC]]: ''[[Scoring The Visitation]]'')
* [[Eric Saward]] disliked [[Michael Robbins]]' performance as Richard Mace, largely because he kept changing his lines. Robbins, for his part, is said to have hated working on this story.
* Eric Saward disliked [[Michael Robbins]]' performance as Richard Mace, largely because he kept changing his lines. Robbins, for his part, is said to have hated working on this story.
* [[Peter Davison]] named this serial as a favourite. [[Matthew Waterhouse]] recalled Davison entering the rehearsal room shaking the script with excitement.
* Peter Davison named this serial as a favourite. Matthew Waterhouse recalled Davison entering the rehearsal room shaking the script with excitement.
* The Terileptils, and the pioneering animatronic masks used to bring them to life, were intended to return. Those plans fell through. One mask did end up being reused in modified form on a delegate from [[Posikar]] in ''[[The Trial of a Time Lord]]''.
* The Terileptils, and the pioneering animatronic masks used to bring them to life, were intended to return. Those plans fell through. One mask did end up being reused in modified form on a delegate from [[Posikar]] in ''[[The Trial of a Time Lord]]''.  
* [[Eric Saward]] originally intended for the serial to end with the Doctor claiming a new sonic screwdriver out of a cabinet full of the devices: we could've seen far more of the sonic in the classic series, but [[John Nathan-Turner]] decided that it made things too easy for the Doctor and was a writer's crutch.  
* The story was inspired by the work of a former girlfriend of Saward's, who had been studying the architecture which arose in the wake of the Great Fire of London. She observed that the black rats which carried the plague became virtually extinct within months of the Great Fire, and Saward thought that this would provide an effective science-fiction “hook” for a story about social conditions in mediaeval England.
* The story was inspired by the work of a former girlfriend of [[Eric Saward]]'s, who had been studying the architecture which arose in the wake of the Great Fire of London. She observed that the black rats which carried the plague became virtually extinct within months of the Great Fire, and Saward thought that this would provide an effective science-fiction “hook” for a story about social conditions in mediaeval England.
* [[Ian Bannen]], [[Brian Blessed]], [[John Carson]], [[Ronald Fraser]], [[Donald Houston]], [[William Lucas]], [[Glyn Owen]] and [[Donald Pleasence]] were considered for Richard Mace.
* [[Ian Bannen]], [[Brian Blessed]], [[John Carson]], [[Ronald Fraser]], [[Donald Houston]], [[William Lucas]], [[Glyn Owen]] and [[Donald Pleasence]] were considered for Richard Mace.
* [[Peter Davison]] was late for the first rehearsal because the family cat had taken a live mole into the house and he had to return it safely.
* Peter Davison was late for the first rehearsal because the family cat had taken a live mole into the house and he had to return it safely.
* Filming at Black Park took place on a [[Heathrow Airport]] flight path and the noise of approaching aircraft regularly disrupted recording. An air traffic controller's strike put an end to these disturbances.
* Filming at Black Park took place on a [[Heathrow Airport]] flight path and the noise of approaching aircraft regularly disrupted recording. An air traffic controller's strike put an end to these disturbances.
* [[Peter Davison]] drove himself to the location in his Volkswagen Scirocco.
* Peter Davison drove himself to the location in his Volkswagen Scirocco.


=== Ratings ===
=== Ratings ===
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