C12S02 The ark in space
Synopsis
Many thousands of years in the future, Earth becomes uninhabitable. Aboard space station Nerva, the remaining survivors of the human race drift amongst the stars in suspended animation.
The Doctor, Sarah and Harry arrive to find vital systems have been sabotaged. As mankind begins to awake from its enforced deep sleep, the Doctor discovers that they are not alone...
The Wirrn are an insect race that inhabit the cold depths of space. But they too have found the Ark and its sleeping occupants. Can the Doctor prevent the last of the human race from becoming the Wirrn's new source of food...?
Cover notes
You are holding in your hands a bona fide Doctor Who classic. That word gets bandied around a lot in Doctor Who fan circles. Friendships crumble and internet pages melt as the merits of various stories are argued to death. But The Ark in Space is one of the undisputed finest.
After five years of mainly Earth-bound stories featuring Jon Pertwee's Time Lord, the new producer of Doctor Who, Philip Hinchcliffe, decided it was time for the series to travel further afield once more. The Ark in Space launches the Fourth Doctor into space and time for a claustrophobic, tautly-paced adventure that had children scurrying behind the sofa, and Mary Whitehouse reaching for the phone! Tightly scripted by Robert Holmes and boasting a faultless central performance by Tom Baker, this story also features first-class support from the rest of the cast and has long been regarded as a true Doctor Who classic.
Cast
| The Doctor | Tom Baker | listed as Doctor Who |
| Sarah Jane Smith | Elisabeth Sladen | |
| Harry Sullivan | Ian Marter | |
| voice | Gladys Spencer | ep. 1 |
| voice | Peter Tuddenham | ep. 1 |
| Vira | Wendy Williams | ep. 2,3,4 |
| Noah | Kenton Moore | ep. 2,3,4 |
| Libri | Christopher Masters | ep. 2 |
| Rogin | Richardson Morgan | ep. 3,4 |
| Lycett | John Greeg | ep. 3 |
| High Minister's voice | Gladys Spencer | ep. 3 |
| Wirrn operator | Stuart Fell | ep. 3,4 |
| Wirrn operator | Nick Hobbs | ep. 4 |
Crew
| Written by | Robert Holmes | |
| Production Assistant | Marion McDougall | |
| Production Unit Manager | George Gallaccio | |
| Title music | Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop | |
| Title sequence | Bernard Lodge | |
| Incidental music | Dudley Simpson | |
| Special sound | Dick Mills | |
| Visual effects designer | John Friedlander | |
| Visual effects designer | Tony Oxley | |
| Costume designer | Barbara Kidd | |
| Make up | Sylvia James | |
| Lighting | Nigel Wright | |
| Sound | John Lloyd | |
| Designer | Roger Murray-Leach | |
| Producer | Philip Hinchcliffe | |
| Director | Rodney Bennett |
DVD Extras
| Tom Baker Elizabeth Sladen Philip Hinchcliffe |
commentary track | |
| Designing Doctor Who | The designer of The Ark in Space, Roger Murray-Leach, looks back on his contribution to this and other stories, in this specially recorded interview. | |
| News item | Before Tom Baker was seen on-screen as the Fourth Doctor, a BBC local news crew caught up with the Doctor Who team during filming for Revenge of the Cybermen at Wookey Hole. Here, Tom Baker gives a unique insight into how the public might react to his new interpretation of the role. | |
| Model sequences | The original 16mm model film sequences for this story showing the exterior of the Ark, the shuttle taking off, and the Wirrn spacewalking. | |
| CGI feature | The BBC Visual Effects department have remodelled certain shots from this story using cutting edge CGI technology. The story can be viewed with these new effects replacing the original model shots. In addition, a 3-D technical schematic of the Ark itself is included. | |
| BBC1 trailer | The trailer for the original transmission of The Ark in Space Part One | |
| Unused Title Sequence | When Tom Baker took over from Jon Pertwee, a new version of the show's title sequence was needed. Before the eventual sequence was decided on, another version was experimented with but never used. It is incuded here for the first time. | |
| photo gallery | ||
| TARDIS-Cam | The first of six brand-new model sequences from BBCi's TARDIS-cam feature, is included on this disc. |
Special Edition DVD Extras
| A New Frontier | A brand-new documentary cahrting the making of the Ark in Space. | |
| The Ark in Space - Movie version | a 70-minute omnibus created for a repeat screening in 1975. Presented unrestored. | |
| Dr. Forever! - Love & War | An exciting new documentary series focussing on how the programme was kept alive during its 1990-2005 hiatus. This episode focusses on the Virgin/BBC Books novel range, and includes contributions from Russell T Davies, Mark Gatiss, Robert Shearman, Paul Cornell and Gary Russell. | |
| Scene Aroud Six | Recently recovered rare news footage from 1978 featuring Tom Baker in costume, on a promotional visit to Derry and Belfast. | |
| Robot 8mm location film | A brief amateur film shot on location during Tom Baker's first story. | |
BluRay Extras
Commentary
| serial code : | 4C |
| episode count : | 4 |
| initial broadcast date : | 1975-01-23 |
| DVD release date : | |
| DVD SE release date : | |
| BluRay release date : | |