Entertainment
 

The Dominators

From TARDIS Index File, the free Doctor Who reference.

The Dominators was the first story of Season 6 of Doctor Who.

The Dominators
Series: Doctor Who - TV Stories
Season Number: Season 6
Story Number: 44
Doctor: Second Doctor
Companions: Jamie McCrimmon
Zoe Heriot
Enemy:
Setting: Dulkis
Writer: Norman Ashby
Director: Morris Barry
Producer: Peter Bryant
Broadcast: 10th August - 7th September 1968
Format: 5 25-minute Episodes
Prod. Code: TT
Previous Story: The Wheel in Space
Following Story: The Mind Robber

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

When two rogue Dominators and their robotic servant Quarks land on the peaceful planet Dulkis, planning to drop a radioactive seed into the planet's core of the planet to refuel their spaceship, the Doctor, Jamie & Zoe must attempt to inspire the non-aggressive Dulcians to resist.

[edit] Plot

[edit] Cast

[edit] Crew

[edit] References

  • The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver as a cutting device.
  • Zoe mentions both the Daleks and the Cybermen, hoping that neither will be present on Dulkis.
  • The Doctor has been to Dulkis before.

[edit] Story Notes

  • This story had the working title of; The Beautiful People
  • Originally a six-part story, The Dominators was edited at the script stage down to five episodes by script editor Derrick Sherwin.
  • The write is credited as Norman Ashby; this was a pseudonym for Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln. Script editor Derek Sherwin also made a significant input to the writing of Episode 5.
  • Episode 3 was not identified by any caption.
  • Chris Jeffries doubles for Patrick Troughton in all location-shot scenes featuring the Doctor.

[edit] Ratings

  • Episode 1 - 6.1 million viewers
  • Episode 2 - 5.9 million viewers
  • Episode 3 - 5.4 million viewers
  • Episode 4 - 7.5 million viewers
  • Episode 5 - 5.9 million viewers

[edit] Myths

  • The location scenes of this story were shot on colour film as a test exercise. (They weren't. Despite persistent rumours to the contrary, the BBC did no colour filming or recording on any of the sixties Doctor Who stories.)

[edit] Filming Locations

[edit] Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

  • Episode three has no 'episode three' caption.
  • The rubble over a hatch in episode four vanishes.
  • The zip at the back of Zoe's skirt causes her problems on numerous occasions, being open in episodes two, three and five.
  • There is an obvious close up of Troughton's location double in episode five.
  • What happened to the rest of the Dominator's fleet at the end of the story? With Rago & Toba's mission being so vital to the war-effort wouldn't they have sent another expedition to detonate a seed capsule, or at the very least investigate what happened with a view to retaliation? They decide to cut their losses and move on to another planet, concluding that the Dulkians are more aggressive and harder to control than they originally thought.

[edit] Continuity

  • The end of this story leads into The Mind Robber
  • Quarks frequently appeared in the run of the Second Doctor in TV Comic, beginning on the very day that Episode 4 of this serial initially aired. Notably, they were the proximate cause for the departure of John and Gillian from the TARDIS. The Second Doctor judged the Quarks too dangerous for John and Gillian, and enrolled them in Zebedee University rather than subjecting them to an encounter with the robots. (TVC: Invasion of the Quarks)
The implication of the comic seems to be that Quarks are more powerful than Trods, Daleks, or Cybermen, since John and Gillian had encountered these species on various occasions.
  • Of the six TVC stories in which Jamie appeared, the Quarks were the enemy in four. Indeed, Quarks were the dominant recurring enemy of the comic Second Doctor's era. However, the Dominators, portrayed as the "masters" of the Quarks in this serial, never appeared in TVC.

[edit] DVD, Video and Other Releases

Released on Video in episodic format. Not yet released on DVD

[edit] Novelisation

Main article: The Dominators (novelisation)

[edit] External Links

Season 6
The Dominators  • The Mind Robber  • The Invasion • The Krotons  • The Seeds of Death  • The Space Pirates  • The War Games