The Daleks' Masterplan

Starring William Hartnell
Episodes 1-12
(Mission to the Unknown Included)
1965
320 minutes
5 CD's





 

Production Notes
Doctor Who
William Hartnell

Steven Taylor
Peter Purves

Katarina
Adrienne Hill

Sara Kingdom
Jean Marsh
Written by
Terry Nation & Dennis Spooner

Directed by
Douglas Camfield

Produced by
John Wiles
Original Airdate
Nov 13, 1965 - Jan 29, 1966

UK Release Date
October 2001

BBC Radio Collection
ISBN 0563535008




Cover Blurb

The Daleks threaten to destroy the fabric of time itself in this exclusive recording of an epic 'lost' adventure, starring William Hartnell with linking narration by Peter Purves.

'We at this table pledge our allegiance to the Dalek cause.  Our armies will reduce the galaxies to ashes, their people to dust.  And Earth we will conquer first!

In their quest to gain control of the Solar System, the Daleks have taken possession of the Time Destructor, a weapon which threatens the safely of all who stand in their way.  They have formed an alliance with the Outer Galaxies, all of them bent on destroying the human race, and called a council of delegates to their base on the planet Kembel.  In their midst is none other than Mavic Chen, treacherous Guardian of the Solar System.

When the Doctor learns the extent of the Daleks' plan, he steals the taranium core which powers the weapon- without it their conquest cannot begin.  Together with two agents of the 41st Century's Space Security Service, the TARDIS crew is pursued across volcanoes and deserts, through jungles and futuristic cities, and to London, Egypt and even Hollywood.  As the Daleks close in and the stakes become progressively higher, allies and enemies are won and lost.  Shockingly, not all of the Doctor's companions will escape with their lives...

Also included in this release is "Mission to the Unknown," a single episode 'teaser' which sets the scene for the incredible twelve-part adventure.

 

 

 


Additional Notes

  • The Daleks' Masterplan is the second longest story ever done weighing in at 12 episodes.  Only the Colin Baker story "Trial of a Timelord" has more episodes (14 total).
     
  • In January 2004, the second episode from this classic epic was recovered by the BBC.  This episode, along with the other two existing ones (episodes 5 and 10) and other existing clips are included on the missing episode DVD release Lost in Time.
  • Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart) makes his first appearance in Doctor Who as the space agent Bret Vyon.
  • Two companions come and go in this story.  Katarina (who joined at the very end of the previous story, "The Myth Makers" dies in episode 4, and Sara Kingdom (played by Jean Marsh), who dies at the end of episode 12.
  • The Meddling Monk, first seen in the previous season's "The Time Meddler" makes a brief appearance around episode 9 and 10.
  • The notorious episode 7, called The Feast of Steven, is a total departure from the Dalek storyline.  Realizing that this episode would air on Christmas day, the production staff created this silly fluff of an episode which ended with the Doctor looking at the TV audience and wishing them a Merry Christmas. 

  • As a bonus, the one episode teaser, "Mission to the Unknown" is included with this set.  It is the only episode in the history of the series to be Doctorless and companionless.

  • Another unexpected treat was the inclusion of several files on the "Mission to the Unknown" disc.  When inserted into your computer's CD-ROM it will read several files including the linking scripts (in .PDF format), mp3's of all 12 episodes of "The Daleks' Masterplan" and "Mission to the Unknown" WITHOUT narration, as well as two clips showing examples of both before and after restoration work.  A nice little addition!  One unexpected "hiccup" is that two of the restoration files have been mislabeled as .PDF's.  The files can still be opened by a CD player application.

  • The audio recording of this story was done separately by David Butler, David Holman, Richard Landen, Graham Strong and Allen Wilson using home audio equipment. 

  • Mark Ayres, of the Doctor Who Restoration Team, did extensive work on this audio release by digitally remastering these recordings.  A detailed account of his work on this story can be found HERE on the RT's Website.

 

 

 

 

 

MP3-CD Audio Release

 

  • An additional release of this story occurred recently.  This time the story is in mp3 (compressed audio) format.  Due to the compressed nature of the files, many more episodes can be included on a single disc. 
     

  • These files can be accessed on most CD/DVD players as well as on computers.  Computer operating systems treat these discs as data CD's and can be played with any mp3 player loaded onto that computer.
     

  • All 12 episodes from this story are included on a single disc (not the 5 discs used for the standard audio CD version).
     

  • These mp3 releases are marketed at a significantly reduced price compared to their standard audio CD counterparts.