Saturday 13 January 2018

189 The Enemy of the World: Episode Four

EPISODE: The Enemy of the World: Episode Four
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 189
STORY NUMBER: 040
TRANSMITTED: Saturday 13 January 1968
WRITER: David Whitaker
DIRECTOR: Barry Letts
SCRIPT EDITOR: Peter Bryant
PRODUCER: Innes Lloyd
RATINGS: 7.8 million viewers
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - The Enemy of the World
TELESNAPS: The Enemy of the World: Episode Four

"I think you'll find this interesting."

Salamander decides to return to the research centre. The Doctor & Kent are waiting for Astrid who arrives then contacts them by vidphone, alerting them authorities before she switches to a secure transmission. Denes is dead: shot in the back during the escape attempt. Farrier has followed Astrid: she has come to see Kent with information for him. Farrier has been observed by the guards as well. Farrier tells how she was blackmailed into serving Salamander: she now has evidence that he engineered the schemes that Fedorin was accused of. Kent wants the Doctor to execute Salamander: he refuses. The guards close in on Kent's office but the occupants escape. is killed on the street after the escape. Salamander locks himself in the record room. He accesses a secret lift which takes him to hidden underground chambers. Bruce is angry with the guard outside the room that he can't get access to Salamander. Underground Salamander announces his return to those in the underground shelter. One of the men, Swann, meets with Salamander who claims he has been irradiated and must be decontaminated. He has brought them food back, and reports that it's terrible on the surface. Those in the shelter have been there for five years: they believe there has been a war on the surface which continues to this day. Those in the shelter are creating the natural disasters believing they are striking at those causing the war. Salamander tells them they cannot return to the surface till it's safe to do so. One of the survivors, Swann, wishes to go to the surface but his wife Mary reminds him that of the others that have made the journey only Salamander has returned. The Doctor is being made up to pose as Salamander when someone enters the caravan ...

4y 4z

I think if you'd have offered people the opportunity to get ONE episode of Enemy of the World back there would have been some debate as to which one. Episode one for the location work with the hovercraft and helicopter? Or perhaps episode six for the climax. But episode four had to be a strong contender as no Telesnaps existed for this episode! The BBC website had a rough go using shots from other episodes. Now the episode is returned to the archives we get our first proper look at it. It's the third telesnapless episode to be returned in recent times, since the existence of the telesnaps was discovered, with none existing for either Galaxy Four episode 3: Airlock or The Dalek Masterplan episode 2: The Day of Armageddon. Of all the episodes to reconstruct from scratch, this is one of the easiest: part 1 by comparison would have been a nightmare. All the main cast in this episode are in others. Most of the sets - Kent's office, the caravan, the Research Centre Records room and the shelter - are too. But there's still some surprises in the episode.

It was known that Villier's House in Ealing featured in footage used in Enemy of the World that had been lost. We find out now that the scenes shot here are what the Doctor's group can see when they look out the windows to see the guards coming:

4 Villiers 1 4 Villiers 2

The thing that stands out in that shot is the woman pushing the pram. She bears no relevance to the story and yet it adds something making you realise this all occurring in an populated area. One of the guards in shot is long time Doctor Who extra Pat Gorman. Also there are Arthur McGuire, who'd been a guard in The Massacre episode 4: Bell of Doom and will return in Doctor Who and the Silurians: Episode 3 as a UNIT Soldier, Ken Fraser who's back in The War Games: Episode One as a Sentry and Vic Taylor who had been a Saxon in The Time Meddler 2 & 4 The Meddling Monk & Checkmate, a Cardinal's Guard The Massacre episode 1: War of God, a Worker / Soldier in The War Machines episode 3 and a Soldier in The War Machines episode 4. He'll be back as another UNIT Soldier in Doctor Who and the Silurians episode 3, a Villager in The Dæmons episode one & two and a Coven Member in The Dæmons episodes four & five. He's also got two episodes of Doomwatch to his name as a man in Burial at Sea and a Police Constable in Fire and Brimstone.

The Villiers House location has another Doctor Who claim to fame though: it was the home of BBC Enterprises at the time and for nearly 20 years after. When the BBC vacated the building and it was being cleared out the four missing episodes of the Ice Warriors, One and Four to Six, were found!

Now I have a problem with the lead up to this sequence. Astrid arrives at the office, running as if she's escaped from something like we saw at the end of the last episode. Close behind her is Farriah, who's been following her. Now this seems fine if you think they're round the corner from where they were in the previous episode in the central European zone. But they're not, they're back in Australia! Has Farriah managed to follow Astrid that closely half way round the world without Astrid noticing? Or is David Whitaker hand waving at the geography between episodes and hoping no one would notice? Surely it would make sense for these two to meet in the Central European Zone, travel back together and arrange to meet Giles in Australia when they go there?

There's two main studio settings that the BBC had no pictures of to use in their telesnaps mockup. We can now see for these settings for the first time.

One is the street on which Farriah is killed:

4n flats 4o flats

Well that turns out to easily be one of the worst studio flats seen in the series so far!

As for the other ....

The Enemy of the World has had a three and a bit episode run up but finally during this episode it dives head first off the deep end. Up until now we've had a spy story with a little bit of a hint that Salamander has been causing some natural disasters. Then all off a sudden we've got a hidden underground base complete with survivors sheltering from the after effects of a, presumably nuclear, war who rely on Salamander venturing to the surface for their food. Bwah? Where did that come from? Not even a remote hint of this exists in earlier episode. As plot developments go this one is absolutely barking mad.

Six part, or longer, Doctor Who stories frequently have to do something different at some stage. Changing location is a good one: The first few episodes of the Daleks are in the city while the last deal with the attack. The The first half of Dalek Invasion of Earth is in central London before the action moves to the mines. Marco Polo, Keys of Marinus, The Chase & The Dalek Masterplan all change location most episodes. Evil of the Daleks travels from 60s London to Victorian Canterbury to Skaro. Inferno, famously, has a four episode alternate universe in the middle of it. Other stories introduce new characters or plot elements: The Optera in the Web Planet for example. But the new plot element here just comes from left field completely.

When I originally introduced this episode on FB I said it features "the most bonkers plot twist in Doctor Who". My friend Tim Walker replied

Oh, I don't know - some of the current series' plot twists run it jolly close...
which got me thinking....

Most Nu-Who plot twists have some signposting or make sense afterwards. This one? Completely barking mad!

BRUCE: Are you telling me that no one, no one at all can see Salamander?
GUARD: No one, sir.
BRUCE: Can you communicate with him on closed circuit?
GUARD: I'll try, sir. He's turned off the master switch. Sorry, sir.
BENIK: Here are all the security details. What's the matter now?
BRUCE: It seems that Salamander has locked himself away and can't be got at.
BENIK: So?
BRUCE: Well, suppose the place caught fire?
BENIK: It won't.
BRUCE: Don't be foolish!
BENIK: Look, I can only tell you that when Salamander works in records, as he does from time to time, no one is allowed in.
BRUCE: I could understand if it were a laboratory or a research room of some sort, but a records room? What sort of records have you got in there anyway?
BENIK: What did you want to see him about?
BRUCE: Never mind. I just don't like mysteries. Salamander's far too important to lock himself away like this. Anything might happen. A world emergency. Suppose I had to order you to let me in there?
BENIK: It wouldn't do any good. When the locks are switched over they can only be opened from the inside.
And why can't they see Salamander? Because he's got a secret underground base under the research centre!

4a 4b

What we can finally see here is just how Salamander accesses his underground layer: I wonder immediately why he's mucking about with a capsule that moves from horizontal to vertical before descending when he could of just had a lift put in the shaft.

4c 4d

It's not a bad sequence on screen, very Thunderbirds.

4e 4f

Actually let's think about the capsule for a second: it does appear to go straight down, so it's a reasonable assumption that the shelter is directly under the research establishment at some depth. This isn't as silly as it sounds: Kanowna, where we think the Kanowa research centre is actually located, is a former gold mining town. I could see Salamander taking some of the former mine workings and adapting them to his purpose. But the important thing to note here is that the shelter is under the Research Centre in Kanowa!

As Salamander enters the shelter and we get out first view of it the music playing in the background is Bela Bartok's Adagio from Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. There's a bit of Bartok sprinkled throughout the production, perhaps appropriately because the composer was Hungarian and sections of the story, notably in episodes 2 and 3, are set in Hungary. However this piece is pretty distinctive and stuck in my mind..... because it famously features in the very next Doctor Who story, the Web of Fear! You can read more about Bartok's use in Doctor Who at http://www.millenniumeffect.co.uk/audio/classical.php#bartok.

And if the hidden underground base isn't mad enough then look at this:

SALAMANDER: I remembered on my way back down here that we are near our anniversary again. In a few short weeks, we survivors will have been down in this shelter for exactly five years.
CROWD: Five years.
SALAMANDER: Colin and Mary were just teenagers then. Look at them now. We fed ourselves. But what's more than that, we are fighting back! We are doing something!
CROWD: Yes! Yes!
COLIN: Will we return to the surface, Salamander?
SALAMANDER: Yes, of course we will. This is what I'm striving for. But up there, it's terrible still. The war goes on and on, and you never know when the air is clean or when it's poison.
COLIN: When can we return?
SALAMANDER: We have to fight for a while longer, hmm? Creating natural disasters, monsoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, always in the places where the enemies of truth and freedom gather together.
They've been down there five years and are creating the natural disasters that Salamander has been predicting and taking advantage of! What ????????

The thing is this plot twist has come from nowhere. Really the only element of Salamander's story that's slightly loose from the first few episodes is how he's causing the natural disasters. My money is on the Suncatchers/Sun Store: I've seen enough Bond films to know that Supervillains can't resist using satellites to threaten the world!

Here's Salamander in episode one speaking to the United Zones:

SALAMANDER: The progress, Mister President, of the Sun Conservation establishment at Kanowna, in the Australasian Zone, is, I'm delighted to report, highly satisfactory. But we cannot yet guarantee good summer holidays for all. (laughter) However, we have now in orbit the Mark Seven Sun Catcher, and already we have been able to concentrate the sun's rays into much needed areas.
(Despite what The Doctor Who Transcripts says it is very clearly Kanowna with a second N)

Kent explaining about Salamander to the Doctor:

KENT: He's one of the most popular men on the planet. Many people call him the shopkeeper of the world. The saviour, in fact, some of them.
JAMIE: Well, what's he saved the world from?
ASTRID: Starvation. Too many people, too little food.
KENT: Until Salamander invented his Sun Store. But surely you've heard? You must know?
DOCTOR: Oh yes, well of course, we've heard something.
KENT: The Sun Store collects the rays from the sun and stores them in concentrated form.
Then the Doctor and Kent talking in episode 3:
KENT: I'm certain Salamander's causing the earthquakes, Doctor, and I'm sure your friends Jamie and Victoria will tell you just how bad he really is.
DOCTOR: But why make earthquakes?
KENT: Years ago, Doctor, when one country wanted to invade another it set about attacking the confidence of that country, throwing it into confusion, making it weak. Then it was right for takeover. Now, isn't that exactly what's happening here, only in a different way?
DOCTOR: What you're saying is that Salamander's found a way of harnessing the natural forces of the earth. It's a little difficult to accept. I'm not saying it's impossible, mind you. You say it's coming from the Research Station. Salamander's Research Station, eh?
KENT: That's what I believe, in spite of a number of reasons. He invented the sunstore, a brilliant advance. He found a way of directing conserved energy to areas starved of sun.
So points for remembering what Salamander's doing involves the research centre. But a secret base hidden beneath it and a group of people underground? We don't see Salamander disappearing off for stretches of time, we don't hear about his unexplained absences or days spent labouring in the research room. Nothing until he goes down in the lift. David Whitaker has got to the end of part 3 and gone "oh ****, I've got three more episodes to fill!" and thrown in the first idea that's popped into his head...... And, as we'll see he's not given how he's wrapping this up much thought either.....

This episode doesn't feature Jamie or Victoria: Both actors were on holiday this week. I think this is the first, and only, time that more than one series regular is away for the same episode!

The introduction of the community underground means a new group of actors: Adam Verney, playing Colin, reminds me of another actor but I can't think who and it's been bugging me ever since this episode was returned!. Neither he nor Margret Hickey, Mary, have any significantly recorded TV career to speak of.

4g Colin & Mary 4h Swann

The community's leader is someone who'll become a regular actor for director Barry Letts: Swann is played by Christopher Burgess. He had appeared with Barry Letts, while the later was still acting, in This Man Craig: The Good Chemist during 1966. He'll go on to play Professor Philips, the other scientist Terror of the Autons 1 & 2, and Barnes, one of Lupton's gang, in Planet of the Spiders.

Amoung the shelterers you have Bill Howes who was a Parisian Man in The Massacre episode 1: War of God and also appears as a Man in Doomwatch: The Battery People. Rosina Stewart returns in Doctor Who and the Silurians: Episode 6 and is also in a Doomwatch: she's a woman in Hear No Evil while Francis Batsoni is in the The Mind of Evil: Episode One as General Cheng Teik and John Timberlake is a Kaled Scientist in Genesis of the Daleks. Freddie Wiles doesn't return to Doctor Who but is a man in the Doomwatch episodes Spectre at the Feast and The Battery People. He later had recurring roles in both Dad's Army and Are You Being Served? We've seen Sarah Lisemore already this series as a long shot stand-in for Deborah Watling during the location shoot for episode 1. Her husband was Martin Lisemore who worked as a production assistant on this serial and later became a producer before being killed in a car accident during the production of Murder Most English.

The only reason Andrew Staines, here playing Benik's Sergeant, came to my attention is that I'd read the production subtitles on Planet of Spiders. He was another favourite actor of Barry Letts: indeed 4 of his 6 acting credits on imdb.com are Doctor Who roles with Barry Letts directing: He's the scientist Goodge in Terror of the Autons, Professor Philips assistant who becomes the first victim of the Master's tissue compression eliminator, the Captain in Carnival of Monsters and finally Keaver, another of Lupton's gang, in Planet of the Spiders. While listening to the Who Talk commentary for this episode I was surprised to discover that he is the son of actress Pauline Letts, Barry's sister! (who in turn I'd seen in the BBC version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) Toby Hadoke interviews him for Who's Round 160 where he reveals that his uncle usually used him as a late replacement when someone dropped out. In this particular case the role he was playing had been offered to Terence Donovan, the father of singer and actor Jason Donovan!

So we've got Fraser Hines' brother and Barry Letts' nephew. Any more relatives of the cast and crew in this production? Incredibly, YES, as we'll find out next episode!

4i Sgt 4j guard

Barry Letts will also use actor Bill McGuirk again: here he's the Guard in Corridor but he'll be back as a Policeman in Terror of The Autons only to have his scenes removed!

It's Power Room panel time!

We've seen both of these two before: they were in the Underwater Menace and can be seen in the episode4 telesnaps where they appear either side of the prop known as the Rel Meter!

4l Panel 4m panel

The one on the left can also be seen in several of the Macra Terror episode 3 telesnaps.

No comments:

Post a Comment