C10S02 Carnival of monsters
Synopsis
Freed from his exile on Earth, the Doctor and Jo arrive in 1926 on board the SS Bernice, a small cargo ship peacefully crossing the Indian Ocean.
As events take a dangerous and unexpected twist, it seems that their fate lies millions of miles away from Earth in the hands of a travelling showman named Vorg and his assistant, Shirna, who have just arrived on the planet Inter Minor to entertain the populous with an amazing machine - an intergalactic peepshow called the MiniScope. As Vorg's show begins, alien worlds and strange creatures are conjured up from the Scope for the watching officials of Inter Minor...
On board the SS Bernice, the journey is suddenly interrupted by the appearance of a Plesiosaur - a dinosaur that died out over 130 million years ago. The Doctor and Jo soon realise that things are not quite what they seem, but can they convince their fellow passengers of the danger they are in? Or will they all be made to suffer in the name of 'entertainment'...?
Cover notes
Carnival of Monsters is one of those quaint little stories that Doctor Who does so well. Set in a microcosm of its own devising, the story deals not with space battles and world domination, but with politics and ethics.
In the context of the series' history, the story marks the end of the Third Doctor's exile on Earth and his return to a life of intergalactic adventure, with this first outing in the TARDIS reminding us that his navigation skills were always less than accomplished. After nearly three years of mainly Earth-bound stories, Carnival of Monsters is like a breath of fresh air, invigorating the series with style, flair and wit; tossing out most of the elements which characterised the early Pertwee era (UNIT, Earth under attack, the Master) and getting back to basics: placing the Doctor and Jo at the heart of a strange and dangerous mystery.
Although not as blatant as his later tax parody The Sun Makers, Robert Holmes pokes fun at television and its viewers with post-modern zeal. In a playful and cleverly crafted script, the lurid Lurman entertainers are juxtaposed with the desaturated stuffiness of Inter Minor and 1920s manners aboard the SS Bernice. The design work is similarly superb, in particular the period detail of the ship and the interiors of the MiniScope, and the Drashigs are ferocious enough to convince they would do some real damage if they managed to escape from the machine.
Often overlooked between the tenth birthday indugences of The Three Doctors and the space operatics of Frontier in Space, Carnival of Monsters is fast, fresh and feels surprisingly modern. One of Robert Holmes' finest scripts, crammed full of endearing characters and enhanced by fine performances from the regulars and guest cast alike. It's little wonder that this story was chosen to represent the Third Doctor's era in 1981, when BBC2 screend its Five Faces of Doctor Who season, this story is a comic highlight of Season 10.
Cast
| The Doctor | Jon Pertwee | listed as Dr. Who |
| Jo Grant | Katy Manning | |
| Major Daly | Tenniel Evans | |
| John Andrews | Ian Marter | |
| Claire Daly | Jenny McCracken | |
| Vorg | Leslie Dwyer | |
| Shirna | Cheryl Hall | |
| Pletrac | Peter Halliday | |
| Kalik | Michael Wisher | |
| Orum | Terence Lodge | |
| Captain | Andrew Staines | ep. 3 |
Crew
| Written by | Robert Holmes | |
| Title music | Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop | |
| Incidental music | Dudley Simpson | |
| Special sound | Brian Hodgson | |
| Film Cameraman | Peter Hamilton | ep. 2,3 |
| Film Sound | Derek Medus | ep. 2,3 |
| Film Editor | Peter Evans | ep. 2,3 |
| Visual effects design | John Horton | |
| Costume designer | James Acheson | |
| Make-up | Angela Seyfang | |
| Lighting | Clive Thomas | |
| Sound | Gordon Mackie | |
| Script Editor | Terrance Dicks | |
| Designer | Roger Liminton | |
| Producer | Barry Letts | not credited |
| Director | Barry Letts |
DVD Extras
| Katy Manning Barry Letts |
commentary track [2000] | |
| Extended and deleted scenes | Additional material from an earlier version of episode two which was mistakenly screened in Australia in the mid 1970s. | |
| Behind the scenes - 'Looking In' [1972-11-07] | Looking In was originally broadcast as part of the BBC's 50th Anniversary celebrations. The programme contained a section looking at the making of Carnival of Monsters, and this segment is included on this DVD. | |
| Model sequences | The original 16mm visual effects test film sequences for this story are included, showing the Drashig puppets and model spacecraft. | |
| Using CSO | Colour Separation Overlay was a new technique at the BBC in the 1970s. In this short internal training film, Barry Letts demonstrates the process. | |
| Alternative theme music - the Delaware version | For the programme's tenth anniversary, a new version of the theme music was composed by the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop for use with the existing title sequence. Although it was eventually decided not to use this music for broadcast, the early versions of episode two of Carnival of Monsters did have the music added. Included are the full opening and closing credits of that early version of the episode. | |
| Trailer - The Five Faces of Doctor Who | When BBC2 decided to broadcast a season of repeats of old Doctor Who stories in 1981, Carnival of Monsters was chosen to represent the Third Doctor's era. Included is the full trailer for this repeat season, which also features the stories An Unearthly Child, The Krotons, The Three Doctors and Logopolis. | |
| Alternative episode four ending | For the 1981 repeat, producer/director Barry Letts requested that 44 seconds of material be cut from the end of the final episode, due to Peter Halliday's bald-cap slipping in some shots. This shortened 'director's preferred' ending is included here. | |
| TARDIS-Cam No. 2 | To tie in with the new 'TARDIS-Cam' feature from BBCi, another of the specially-shot short sequences - each showing the TARDIS in unique locations - in cinculded on this disc. | |
| photo gallery |
Special Edition DVD Extras
| Peter Halliday Cheryl Hall Jenny McCracken Brian Hodgson |
commentary track [2010] | |
| Destroy All Monsters! | A look back at the making of the story Carnival of Monsters. | |
| On Target with Ian Marter | Ian Marter appeared as Andrews in this story before playing companion Harry Sullivan. He was also a writer, and novelised many Doctor Who adventures for Target Books. | |
| The A-Z of Gadgets and Gizmos | A tounge in cheek look at gadgets and gizmos in Doctor Who over the years. Narrated by Paul Jones. | |
| Mary Celeste | A trio of maritime experts discuss the disappearance of real ships, including the most famous maritime mystery of all time, the Mary Celeste. | |
| Title sequence | (easter egg) Clean version of the Third Doctor title sequence. | |
| Radio Times listings |
Commentary
| serial code : | PPP |
| episode count : | 4 |
| initial broadcast date : | 1973-01-27 |
| DVD release date : | 2000 |
| DVD SE release date : | 2010 |
| BluRay release date : | |
| part of The Third Doctor Collection boxset | |
| Special Edition part of the Revisitations 2 boxset | |