C02S07 The space museum
Synopsis
The TARDIS lands on the planet Xeros, where a vast museum houses a collecton of relics from the galactic conquests of the mighty Morok Empire. Whilst they are exploring, the Doctor and his companions make a disturbing discovery: their future selves are preserved in the museum as exhibits in a display case!
Now the time travellers face a terrible dilemma: how can they escape their fate, when every decision they make could be taking them a step closer to their doom?
Cover notes
Glyn Jones was unfamiliar with Doctor Who when he was approached by David Whitaker to develop a storyline for the series in 1964. The resulting scripts were inherited by incoming editor Dennis Spooner, who was keen to contrast tone and narrative style from story to story. Spooner felt that The Space Museum, sandwiched as it was between the serious historical adventure The Crusade and Dalek romp The Chase, should be pitched as intellectual science fiction. Consequently, much of the humour was removed from Jones' initial draft, although the story still boasts some unexpected comedic highlights, such as the Doctor emerging from inside a Dalek.
In its opening episode, The Space Museum often feels more like The Twilight Zone than Doctor Who. The idea of the TARDIS 'jumping a time track' to grant the Doctor and his companions a glimpse into their own future is both intriguing and nightmarish, and challenges the idea of history being immutable, as established in earlier stories such as The Aztecs. Although at times it is somewhat hampered by its more traditional plot elements, the story raises thought-provoking questions about predestination and the dilemmas of travelling in the fourth dimension.
Under Dennis Spooner's guidance, Doctor Who was beginning to explore the possibilities of time travel outside the strict boundaries of straightforward 'historical tourism'. As a result, it is not the evil alien oppressors in The Space Museum who prove to be the real enemy, but Time itself...
Cast
| The Doctor | William Hartnell | listed as Dr. Who |
| Ian Chesterton | William Russell | |
| Barbara Wright | Jacqueline Hill | |
| Vicki | Maureen O'Brien | |
| Sita | Peter Sanders | |
| Dako | Peter Craze | |
| Third Xeron | Bill Starkey | ep. 1 |
| Morok guard | Lawrence Dean | |
| Morok guard | Ken Norris | |
| Lobos | Richard Shaw | ep. 2,3,4 |
| Tor | Jeremy Bulloch | ep. 2,3,4 |
| Morok messenger | Salvin Stewart | ep. 2 |
| Morok technician | Peter Diamond | ep. 2 |
| Morok commander | Ivor Salter | ep. 3,4 |
| Morok guard | Salvin Stewart | ep. 3,4 |
| Morok guard | Peter Diamond | ep. 3,4 |
| Morok guard | Billy Cornelius | ep. 3,4 |
| Xeron | Michael Gordon | ep. 3,4 |
| Xeron | Edward Granville | ep. 3,4 |
| Xeron | David Wolliscroft | ep. 3,4 [listed as David Wolliscraft ep. 4] |
| Xeron | Bill Starkey | ep. 3,4 |
| Dalek voice | Peter Hawkins | ep. 4 |
| Dalek operator | Murphy Grumbar | ep. 4 |
Crew
| Written by | Glyn Jones | |
| Story Editor | Dennis Spooner | |
| Fight arranger | Peter Diamond | ep. 3,4 |
| Title music | Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop | |
| Lighting | Howard King | listed final episode only; probably all |
| Sound | Ray Angel | listed final episode only; probably all |
| Costumes supervised by | Daphne Dare | listed final episode only; probably all |
| Make-up supervised by | Sonia Markham | listed final episode only; probably all |
| Designer | Spencer Chapman | |
| Producer | Verity Lambert | |
| Director | Mervyn Pinfield |
DVD Extras
| William Russell Maureen O'Brien Glyn Jones |
commentary track | |
| Defending the Museum [2009] | Robert Shearman (Willliam Hartnell) (Steven Moffat) |
New series Doctor Who writer Robert Shearman provides a personal and robust defence of this often overlooked story. |
| My grandfather, The Doctor [2010] | (Carole Ann Ford) Jessica Carney |
Jessica Carney talks about the career of her grandfather, William Hartnell. |
| A holiday for The Doctor [2009] | Ida Barr (Jacqueline Hill) (William Hartnell) (Verity Lambert) (Carole Ann Ford) (William Russell) (the girls of 'Compact') ("Dr. Kildare') ('Dixon of Dock Green') ('Emergency Ward 10') (Studio D, Lime Grove) (Ealing Studios) (Peter Butterworth) (Frazer Hines) (Deborah Watling) (Patrick Troughton) Richard Martin (Richard McNeff sp?) (Anneke Wills) (Michael Goff) (David Tennant) |
Spoof comedy recollections of 1960s Doctor Who, starring Christopher Green as actress Ida Barr. |
| photo gallery | ||
| Radio Times listings |
Commentary
| serial code : | Q |
| episode count : | 4 |
| initial broadcast date : | 1965-04-24 |
| DVD release date : | |
| DVD SE release date : | |
| BluRay release date : | |
| part of The space museum / The chase boxset | |