The Smugglers

Starring William Hartnell
Episodes 1-4
1966
100 minutes
2 CD's

 


 

 

Production Notes
Doctor Who
William Hartnell

Ben Jackson
Michael Craze

Polly Lopez
Anneke Wills

Written by
Brian Hayles

Directed by
Julia Smith

Produced by
Innes Lloyd
Original Airdate
Sept 10 - Oct 1, 1966

UK Release Date
May 2002

BBC Radio Collection
ISBN
0563535040




Cover Blurb

William Hartnell stars as the first Doctor in this exclusive recording of a 'lost' television adventure, with linking narration by Anneke Wills.

"Nobody who crosses Pike lives to tell the tale!"

When the TARDIS lands on a wild and remote stretch of the Cornish coast, its occupants little realize that they have arrived in the 17th century. The Doctor, Ben and Polly soon discover to their cost that these are far from hospitable times.

The local Squire is at the head of a plot to offload contraband, whilst a long-rumored hoard of stolen treasure has drawn attention to the village church. Inadvertently stumbling upon this web of deception and double-crossing, the time travelers are rapidly propelled into danger.

The Doctor's encounter with the ill-fated Joseph Longfoot leaves him with a cryptic clue to the location of Avery's Treasure. But a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, as the fearsome pirate Samuel Pike is only too willing to prove. The Doctor realizes that Pike and his bloodthirsty henchmen will stop at nothing - not even the threat of Avery's Curse - to find and seize the ill-gotten hoard.

Ben and Polly, meanwhile, must choose their allies with care. It's never certain who can be trusted, and the stakes are suddenly raised as smugglers and pirates go head to head with the local militia. Can the time travelers save an entire village from burning - and still escape to the TARDIS with their lives?

 

 


Additional Notes
  • The Smugglers is (in my opinion) quite an underrated classic historical adventure.
  • Only a handful of short clips exist from this story.  Most were created from cuts made by Australian censors at the time of transmission.  The censors kept the excised clips which were discovered in 1996.
  • More footage exists from someone on location with their film camera.  This footage includes several scenes that were being shot for this story.  The clips are in color and have no sound.
  • This is the first story of the 4th season of Doctor Who.
  • The Smugglers begins immediately from the end of the previous story "The War Machines" with Ben and Polly entering the TARDIS as it takes off.
  • Anneke Wills (Polly) is doing the narration for this release.
     
  • The audio recording of this story was done separately by Graham Strong and David Holman using their own home audio equipment.