Serial T · Classic Series
Episodes 82 85:
Galaxy 4
When the TARDIS lands on a barren world, the three companions emerge to
find a robot that Vicki nicknames a Chumbley. They are rescued from the
Chumbley by the beautiful Drahvins; their leader, Maaga, explains that
the robot serves their hideous enemies, the Rills. The Drahvins and the
Rills were engaged in a battle in space when they both crashlanded on
this planet -- a planet that is on the verge of exploding. But even as
the Drahvins start using increasingly strong-arm tactics to get the time
travellers to help them, the Doctor discovers that the planet's doom is
not days away... but mere hours.
Around the time that Dennis Spooner became Doctor Who's story
editor, at the end of October 1964, he met with writer William Emms, who
had been watching Doctor Who since its debut in 1963. Emms
developed a storyline premised on a reversal of expectations, in which
grotesque aliens turned out to be benign while attractive aliens were
revealed as malevolent. This parable about the dangers of judging by
physical appearance was commissioned on March 1st, 1965. It became known
as “The Chumblies”, from the name Emms coined for the
narrative's endearing robots -- a portmanteau of “chum” and
“friendly”. Ironically, Emms' serial would be in development
just as Spooner was preparing to depart Doctor Who, to be
replaced by Donald Tosh.
Initially, the villains of “The Chumblies” were the male
Dravians, who were then renamed Drahvins. It was producer Verity
Lambert who suggested that the central plot twist would be more
effective if all of the Drahvins were women. The Drahvin leader was
called Gar for much of the serial's development, but the character was
renamed Maaga at a late stage.
Replacing Ian and Barbara with Steven presented a
challenge for Donald Tosh
“The Chumblies” was originally written for the companion
team of Ian, Barbara and Vicki. However, by the start of April it was
known that Ian and Barbara would soon be written out of Doctor
Who, to be replaced with a single character: Steven Taylor. This
presented Tosh with a challenge in reconfiguring Emms' scripts. Steven
largely assumed Barbara's role, meaning that he would sometimes behave
in an uncharacteristic fashion, such as by letting the Drahvins trap him
in an airlock despite his background as an astronaut. Emms felt that his
serial suffered as a result of these changes.
As production began in June 1965, Emms' adventure was renamed Galaxy
4. By this time, Lambert had largely stepped back from her duties as
Doctor Who's producer, with the transition to John Wiles
virtually complete. The director allocated to Galaxy 4 was Mervyn
Pinfield, who had served as the programme's associate producer during
its first year, and who had recently directed The
Space Museum. It was planned that Galaxy 4 and the
subsequent one-episode serial, Mission To The
Unknown, would be made as though they formed a single,
five-part serial, with the same crew handling both.
Five days of filming on Galaxy 4 and Mission To The Unknown took place at the BBC
Television Film Studios in Ealing, London from June 22nd. For Emms'
serial, this chiefly concerned material on the planet's surface.
Unfortunately, as work progressed, Pinfield fell badly ill and it
became clear that he would be unable to fulfil his duties. At the time,
junior director Derek Martinus was a candidate to make The Myth Makers, the opening serial of the
third production block; instead, he accepted Lambert's offer to
substitute for the ailing Pinfield. Martinus took over the Ealing
schedule on June 24th, working with Pinfield for the remainder of the
week.
Meanwhile, trouble was brewing for the new production team of John Wiles
and Donald Tosh. William Hartnell, Maureen O'Brien and Peter Purves all
disliked Emms' scripts, with Purves particularly frustrated that his
nascent character was being undermined by playing a role in the serial
originally intended for a very different companion. Matters became so
heated that Wiles threatened to fire Hartnell if he did not follow the
script. He also began formulating plans to replace O'Brien when her
contract expired at the end of The Myth
Makers.
With Martinus now in sole possession of the director's chair, recording
for Galaxy 4 started at BBC Television Centre on July 9th; each
installment would be recorded on consecutive Fridays as normal, with the
first three episodes taped in Studio 4 and the last in Studio 3.
Unusually, it was decided that the final scene of The Exploding
Planet -- the cliffhanger into Mission To The
Unknown -- would be made as part of that serial's single
recording day on August 6th, to avoid having to erect an extra set and
hire actor Barry Jackson (who played Garvey) a week early. With the bulk
of Galaxy 4 completed on July 30th, Hartnell, O'Brien and Purves
wrapped up their work on Doctor Who for more than a month.
Because Mission To The Unknown was designed
to feature none of the regular cast, the series stars would not be
reunited in the studio until the start of the third production block in
September.
On September 11th, part one of Galaxy
4 got Doctor Who's third season
under way
On September 11th, part one of Galaxy 4 got Doctor Who's
third season under way, returning to the same timeslot it had occupied
for the latter part of Season Two: after Juke Box Jury, and
before a news update and then The Dick Van Dyke Show. During the
six Saturdays since The Time Meddler had
capped Season Two, its place in the schedules had primarily been filled
by compilations of old Laurel and Hardy short films. Beginning with
episode two, however, the news and weather were brought forward to
follow Juke Box Jury, meaning that Doctor Who would now
air ten minutes later, at 5.50pm. Then, on October 2nd, the conclusion
of Galaxy 4 led directly into the premiere of Dixon Of Dock
Green's twelfth season.
Although Galaxy 4 was not a popular story with the stars of
Doctor Who, it appears to have had a somewhat different reception
amongst the production team. On October 14th, John Wiles inquired with
the BBC Copyright Department about the ownership of rights to the
Drahvins. But while this suggests that he may have been contemplating a
sequel to Galaxy 4, no such story ever came to be.
- Doctor Who Magazine #299, 10th January 2001, “Archive:
Galaxy 4” by Andrew Pixley, Panini Publishing Ltd.
- Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition #7, 12th May 2004,
“I'm Into Something Good” by Andrew Pixley, Panini
Publishing Ltd.
- Doctor Who: The Complete History #6, 2017, “Story 18:
Galaxy 4”, edited by Mark Wright, Hachette Partworks Ltd.
- Doctor Who: The Handbook: The First Doctor by David J Howe,
Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker (1994), Virgin Publishing.
- Doctor Who: The Sixties by David J Howe, Mark Stammers and
Stephen James Walker (1992), Virgin Publishing.
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Original Transmission
|
|
1: Four Hundred Dawns |
Date |
11th Sep 1965 |
Time |
5.41pm |
Duration |
22'21" |
Viewers (more) |
9.0m (23rd) |
Appreciation |
56% |
2: Trap Of Steel |
Date |
18th Sep 1965 |
Time |
5.50pm |
Duration |
24'51" |
Viewers (more) |
9.5m (22nd) |
Appreciation |
55% |
3: Air Lock |
Date |
25th Sep 1965 |
Time |
5.52pm |
Duration |
24'19" |
Viewers (more) |
11.3m (13th) |
Appreciation |
54% |
4: The Exploding Planet |
Date |
2nd Oct 1965 |
Time |
5.50pm |
Duration |
24'47" |
Viewers (more) |
9.9m (20th) |
Appreciation |
53% |
Cast
Dr Who |
William Hartnell (bio) |
Vicki |
Maureen O'Brien (bio) |
Steven |
Peter Purves (bio) |
Maaga |
Stephanie Bidmead |
Drahvin One |
Marina Martin |
Drahvin Two |
Susanna Carroll |
Drahvin Three |
Lyn Ashley |
Chumbley Operators |
Jimmy Kaye |
William Shearer |
Angelo Muscat |
Pepi Poupee |
Tommy Reynolds |
Rill voice |
Robert Cartland |
Garvey |
Barry Jackson |
Crew
Written by |
William Emms (bio) |
Directed by |
Derek Martinus (bio) |
Mervyn Pinfield (bio)
(uncredited) |
|
Title music by |
Ron Grainer and |
the BBC Radiophonic Workshop |
Costumes supervised by |
Daphne Dare |
Make-up supervised by |
Sonia Markham |
Lighting |
Ralph Walton |
Derek Hobday |
Sound |
George Prince |
Story Editor |
Donald Tosh (bio) |
Designer |
Richard Hunt |
Producer |
Verity Lambert (bio) |
Archive Holdings
Episodes Missing |
Episodes 1, 2, 4 |
Clips Extant |
Episode 1 (6'03" in 2 clips) |
Telesnaps Surviving |
None |
Working Titles
Whole Story |
The Chumblies |
|