C14S01 The masque of Mandragora
Synopsis
After an encounter with the deadly Mandragora Helix, the Doctor and Sarah Jane land in 15th Century San Martino. In the midst of danger, secrecy and intrigue, they witness the flowering of the Italian Renaissance.
As the masque to celebrate the accession of the new Duke approaches, the Doctor realises that a third visitor has arrived with him in the TARDIS. It is a force with the power to wipe out human civilisation forever. The Doctor has brought it to Earth - and only the Doctor can stop it...
Cover notes
It's surprising that the Doctor didn't visit the Italian Renaissance until his fourth incarnation. The triumph of scientific reason over superstition and ignorance made fifteenth-century Italy a natuarl setting for a Doctor Who story.
The Masque of Mandragora opened the 1976 series of Doctor Who. Writer Louis Marks had contributed scripts to the series since William Hartnell's time as the Doctor. His richly-textured script for Mandragora expertly blended historical fact with plot elements from sources including William Shakespear's Hamlet and Edga Allan Poe's Masque of the Red Death.
The attention to detail that characterised the script was reflected on screen. The Welsh village of Portmeirion, famous for its use in The Prisoner, provided a rich backdrop for location filming.
Production design was also striking in this story. Designer Barry Newbery undertook the first major re-working of the TARDIS control room since Doctor Who began. Perhaps its introduction reflected a general mood of confidence in the production team at the time. With strong scripts, exceptional visuals and a phenomenally popular star, the opening story of the 1976-1977 series saw Doctor Who at the height of its own renaissance. September 1976 was an auspicious month indeed.
Cast
| The Doctor | Tom Baker | listed as Doctor Who |
| Sarah Jane Smith | Elisabeth Sladen | |
| Harry Sullivan | Ian Marter | |
Crew
| Written by | Louis Marks | |
| Written by | ||
| Production Unit Manager | ||
| Production Assistant | ||
| Title music | Ron Grainer and BBC Radiophonic Workshop | |
| Title sequence | Bernard Lodge | |
| Incidental music | Dudley Simpson | |
| Special sound | Dick Mills | |
| Visual effects designer | ||
| Visual effects designer | ||
| Costume designer | ||
| Make-up | ||
| Studio Lighting | ||
| Studio Sound | ||
| Fight arranger | ||
| Film Cameraman | ||
| Film Sound | ||
| Film Editor | ||
| Script Editor | Robert Holmes | |
| Designer | ||
| Designer | ||
| Producer | Philip Hinchcliffe | |
| Director | Rodney Bennett |
DVD Extras
| Tom Baker Gareth Armstrong Philip Hinchcliffe Chris D'Oyly-John |
commentary track | |
| The Secret of the Labyrinth | Cast and crew return to Portmeirion to look back at the making of The Masque of Mandragora. | |
| Bigger on the Inside [2009] | A look at the history and design of the TARDIS. | |
| Now and Then | A visit to Sir Clough Williams-Ellis's remarkable village of Portmeirion, the backdrop the The Masque of Mandragora. How has it changed over the years? | |
| Beneath the Masque of The Masque of Mandragora | When the cock crows three times before dawn and twelve hens lay addled eggs, Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman will be commissioned to make a DVD documentary about The Masque of Mandragora. All they require is a colourful imagination and a glib tougue. | |
| Trails and Continuity | BBC1 trailers and continuitu announcements from the original 1976 transmission. | |
| photo gallery | ||
| Radio Times listings |
Special Edition DVD Extras
BluRay Extras
Loose Canon Extras
Commentary
| serial code : | |
| episode count : | 4 |
| initial broadcast date : | 1976-09-04 |
| DVD release date : | |
| DVD SE release date : | |
| BluRay release date : | |
| part of the x boxset | |