Mission to the Unknown
019 – "Mission to the Unknown" | |||
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Cast | |||
Starring
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Production | |||
Directed by | Season 3 | ||
Running time | 25 minutes | ||
Episode(s) missing | 1 episode | ||
First broadcast | 9 October 1965 | ||
Chronology | |||
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"Mission to the Unknown"
After the show's second production block was granted an additional episode, outgoing story editor Dennis Spooner commissioned Nation to write an extra episode as a cutaway to set up The Daleks' Master Plan. Nation wrote the episode while considering a Dalek-focused spin-off; he used film character James Bond as inspiration for Marc Cory. "Mission to the Unknown" was produced by the same team as its predecessor, Galaxy 4, in a five-week period that concluded the show's second production block; the two serials were held back to open the third season. Failing health prevented original director Mervyn Pinfield from continuing, replaced by Martinus. Production took place at the Television Centre in August 1965.
"Mission to the Unknown" received 8.3 million viewers, a drop from the previous serial. Contemporary and retrospective reviews were generally positive, with praise for the script and direction, though some viewers were confused that the following serial did not immediately continue the narrative. The videotapes of the episode were wiped by the BBC in July 1974, and it remains missing with no remaining footage. Usually alongside The Daleks' Master Plan, "Mission to the Unknown" received print and audiobook adaptations, with off-air recordings used to construct the latter. In 2019, director Andrew Ireland and University of Central Lancashire students recreated the episode in live-action, replicating the 1960s production values.
Plot
On the planet Kembel, Marc Cory (
Cory stands guard against the slow-moving Varga plants while Lowery finishes building a rescue beacon. They notice a spaceship flying above them, Cory deducing the Daleks are planning something big. As Lowery was about to record a message, Cory notices something moving in the jungle. Lowery and Cory flee as the Dalek platoon arrives and destroys their ship. In the Dalek base, the representatives from the seven galaxies have gathered in a conference room. The Dalek Supreme assures representative Malpha (Robert Cartland) that the human intruders will be dealt with. Cory is forced to kill Lowery upon discovering he became infected by a Varga plant and records a message, only to be surrounded by the Daleks and exterminated. At the Dalek base, the representatives approve an alliance, agreeing with the Daleks' plan to take over the Solar System.
Production
Conception and writing
In October 1964,
The episode was produced by the same team as its predecessor, Galaxy 4; they were the final to be filmed in the show's second production block, but were held back to open its third season in September.[12] Mervyn Pinfield—an experienced BBC figure who acted as the show's associate producer from its origins to January 1965—was originally assigned to direct both serials,[13] but his failing health prevented him from continuing, and Lambert brought on new director Derek Martinus to direct the five episodes.[14][15] Martinus had recently completed the BBC's internal directors' course and had no previous experience leading a television production. Having only seen a few episodes of Doctor Who, Martinus reviewed some of the previous stories with Lambert; he found them disappointing, which shocked Lambert,[16] but stated that he wanted to aim for higher standards.[14] Though Lambert was credited as producer on "Mission to the Unknown"—the final story for which she was credited[17]—her role had essentially been replaced by John Wiles.[18]
Nation was commissioned to write the episode on 25 February 1965; he delivered the script by 14 May, having been writing for The Saint at the time. He approached the episode as a technical problem, requiring a small cast and self-contained narrative. The success of the Daleks—particularly due to their imminent American debut in the film Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965)—led Nation to consider the viability of a Dalek-focused spin-off. In writing "Mission to the Unknown", he realised such a story would need a hero and wrote Marc Cory as a "space-age Bond", inspired by the recent release of Goldfinger (1964).[12] The episode was originally set on the planet Varga, home of the Varga plants, but this was renamed Kemble (later spelled Kembel) during script revisions for The Daleks' Master Plan.[12] The episode's draft script was titled "Dalek Cutaway", while the rehearsal script received the name "Mission to the Unknown";[18] the names were alternated and combined in internal documentation, and the final title has been the subject of much debate.[8]
Casting and filming
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"Mission to the Unknown" was unique in that it does not feature any of the main cast or the TARDIS[20][21]—the only serial in the show's history not to feature the Doctor at all[21]—a decision made partly to save money on their fees.[12] Despite not appearing in the episode, William Hartnell was still credited for portraying the Doctor, while Maureen O'Brien and Peter Purves received credits in Radio Times as Vicki and Steven Taylor, respectively, but not in the episode itself.[22] Young had previously starred as Kal in the first Doctor Who serial, An Unearthly Child; he was excited to work with Hartnell again but disappointed when he discovered his absence.[15] Cartland had also appeared in Galaxy 4, directed by Martinus. The Dalek voices—provided by regular actors David Graham and Peter Hawkins—were pre-recorded in Lime Grove Studios on 4 August 1965.[15]
The episode was Richard Hunt's first on Doctor Who as set designer; he made the jungle design, while series veteran
Reception
Broadcast and ratings
Episode | Title | Run time | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) | Appreciation Index |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Mission to the Unknown" (missing) | 24:42 | 9 October 1965 | 8.3 | 54 |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9d/Doctor_Who_-_Mission_to_the_Unknown_-_Malpha.jpg/220px-Doctor_Who_-_Mission_to_the_Unknown_-_Malpha.jpg)
The episode was broadcast on
Critical response
Bill Edmund of Television Today described the episode as an "exciting start" to The Daleks' Master Plan.[3] Several viewers were confused by the lack of Daleks in the following serial—The Myth Makers, set during the Trojan War—and some felt that they had become less frightening. Conversely, some felt that the episode's other monsters were too scary.[3] In A Voyage Through 25 Years of Doctor Who (1988), Ian Levine praised the "array of creatures", particularly the design of Malpha.[4] In The Discontinuity Guide (1995), Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping described the episode as "macho, with a sinister atmosphere".[27] In The Television Companion (1998), David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker wrote that the presence of the lead actors was "hardly missed" due to Nation's script and Martinus's direction, praising the tense atmosphere and set designs.[5]
Commercial releases
The story was novelised as part of The Daleks' Master Plan Part I: Mission to the Unknown by
Audio from the episode featured on the first CD of the five-disc soundtrack The Daleks' Master Plan, released by
Recreation
After writing and producing his doctorate thesis about a 1960s-style recreation of the 2006 Doctor Who episode "Tooth and Claw" at Bournemouth University in 2012,[30][31] Andrew Ireland wrote a proposal to recreate "Mission to the Unknown" the following year and brought it to the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), but did not follow up;[31] he specifically chose the episode as it was a self-contained story without any of the main cast.[32] In mid-2018, when asked for an interview about his thesis by Doctor Who Magazine, he revisited the idea.[31] By now an academic and Pro-Vice Chancellor of Digital and Creative Industries at UCLan, he obtained permission for the recreation from the BBC and Nation's estate, writing a passionate email to the latter, who were "very supportive".[33] With a support team at UCLan, Ireland began researching the project around this time.[34]
Production
The recreation was created in about five days in February 2019,
Mandip Gill, a UCLan drama graduate who played Yasmin Khan in Doctor Who from 2018 to 2022, sent a video message of support to the cast and crew alongside Thirteenth Doctor actress Jodie Whittaker.[32] Peter Purves and Edward de Souza visited the set, and the former used his social media platforms to publicise the production.[39] Janette Rawstron, the recreation's lead make-up artist who taught Media Make-Up at the nearby Accrington and Rossendale College, considered Malpha the biggest challenge, as the heat of the lighting caused parts of the make-up to shift around.[25] For the jungle set, Ireland borrowed a technique used in the 1982 Doctor Who serial Kinda, spreading foliage across the studio floor; these were required to be moved to the side for the Daleks to move. Foliage and pot plants were sourced from around the university and from productions like Coronation Street.[36]
Nicholas Briggs portrayed the Daleks in the recreation; he and Ireland met in 2013. Briggs felt the Dalek voices in "Mission to the Unknown" and The Daleks' Master Plan sounded "a bit more like" actors Hawkins and Graham than the Daleks; he adjusted his
Release and reception
External videos | |
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The recreation premiered on the Doctor Who
Notes
- production stills and off-air audio recordings.[2]
- Stock music sourced from a 1956 disc[6]
- ^ The episode's production code changed throughout production: "DC" around April and May 1965, "T/A" in July, and later "T Episode 5".[7]
- ^ Alternatively known as "Dalek Cutaway" or as a combination of the two titles[8]
- ^ The 1983 feature-length anniversary special "The Five Doctors" was produced as a single episode, and later shown in a multi-episode format. Standalone episodes became standard in the show's modern run from 2005 with "Rose".
- ^ As seen in the fourth episode of Galaxy 4[9]
References
- ^ Wright 2017, p. 48.
- ^ a b c d e Wright 2017, p. 57.
- ^ a b c d e Wright 2017, p. 56.
- ^ a b c Howe & Walker 1998, p. 106.
- ^ a b Howe & Walker 1998, pp. 105–106.
- ^ a b c d e f Wright 2017, p. 53.
- ^ Pixley 1998, p. 24.
- ^ a b Wright 2017, pp. 56–57.
- ^ Wright 2017, p. 19.
- ^ Wright 2017, p. 49.
- ^ Wright 2017, pp. 49–50.
- ^ a b c d e Wright 2017, p. 50.
- ^ Wright 2017, p. 24.
- ^ a b Wright 2017, p. 26.
- ^ a b c d Wright 2017, p. 52.
- ^ Walker 1994, p. 12.
- ^ Wright 2017, p. 61.
- ^ a b Wright 2017, p. 51.
- ^ a b c Pixley 1998, p. 25.
- ^ Wright 2017, p. 46.
- ^ a b Muir 1999, p. 116.
- ^ Wright 2017, p. 59.
- ^ Wright 2017, p. 33.
- ^ Howe, Walker & Stammers 1994, p. 206.
- ^ a b Wright 2019a, pp. 12–13.
- ^ a b c d Snares, Josh (10 October 2019). The Making-Of Missing to the Unknown. BBC Studios. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ Cornell, Day & Topping 1995, pp. 44–60.
- ^ a b c Wright 2017, p. 58.
- ^ Dee, Christel (12 January 2019). "The lost Doctor Who adventure 'The Daleks' Master Plan' comes to vinyl". DoctorWho.tv. BBC Studios. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- (PDF) from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ a b c Wright 2019b, p. 16.
- ^ a b c d Wright 2019a, p. 11.
- ^ Wright 2019b, pp. 16–17.
- ^ a b c d Wright 2019b, p. 17.
- ^ Allen, Ben (20 February 2019). "Classic Doctor Who companion Peter Purves helps recreate lost episode Mission to the Unknown". Radio Times. Immediate Media Company. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ a b c Wright 2019a, p. 13.
- ^ a b c Wright 2019a, p. 15.
- ^ "Re-created Lost Doctor Who episode gets YouTube premiere!". BBC. 2 October 2019. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ Wright 2019a, p. 14.
- ^ Wright 2019a, p. 12.
- Tor.com. Macmillan Publishers. 2 October 2019. Archivedfrom the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ Ling, Thomas (2 October 2019). "Doctor Who lost Dalek episode has been recreated and will be released after 54 years". Radio Times. Immediate Media Company. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ Belam, Martin (10 October 2019). "Mission impossible! Lost Doctor Who episode remade for YouTube generation". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- Comicon.com. Archivedfrom the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ Hubbard, Jessica (24 March 2021). "Lost Doctor Who episode recreated by Preston university wins award". Lancashire Evening Post. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-426-20442-8.
- ISBN 978-1-845-83156-1.
- ISBN 978-1-845-83941-3.
- ISBN 978-0-786-40442-1.
- Pixley, Andrew (18 November 1998). Gillatt, Gary (ed.). "The DWM Archive: Mission to the Unknown". ISSN 0957-9818.
- Walker, Stephen James (1994). "Background". In McElroy, John (ed.). Doctor Who: The Scripts. 'Galaxy 4'. London: ISBN 9-781-85286-566-5.
- Wright, Mark, ed. (2017). "Galaxy 4, Mission to the Unknown, The Myth Makers and The Daleks' Master Plan". Doctor Who: The Complete History. 6 (47). London: ISSN 2057-6048.
- Wright, Mark (May 2019a). Hearn, Marcus (ed.). "Into the Unknown". ISSN 0957-9818.
- Wright, Mark (May 2019b). Hearn, Marcus (ed.). "Mission Accomplished". ISSN 0957-9818.
External links
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