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105) CITY OF DEATH

29 September - 20 October 1979

Average Viewing Figure: 14.5M

Plot

In 1979, The Doctor and Romana discover someone is planning to sell duplicate Mona Lisas to conduct time experiments

Cast

Tom Baker (The Doctor), Lalla Ward (Romana), Julian Glover (Count), Catherine Schell (Countess), Tom Chadbon (Duggan)

David Graham (Kerensky), Kevin Flood (Hermann), Peter Halliday (Soldier), Pamela Stirling (Louvre Guide)

Eleanor Bron, John Cleese (Art Gallery Visitors)

​

Uncredited Cast

James Charlton (Artist in Café), Pat Gorman, Peter Kodak, Anthony Powell, Mike Finbar, Robert Jouhier, Christian Foucat (Thugs)

Crew

David Agnew (Director), Dudley Simpson (Incidental Music), Dick Mills (Special Sound), Rosemary Crowson (Production Assistant)

John Nathan-Turner (Production Unit Manager), Jane Wellesley (Director's Assistant), Carol Scott (Assistant Floor Manager)

John Walker (Film Cameraman), Graham Bedwell (Film Recordist), John Gregory (Film Editor), Mike Jefferies (Studio Lighting)

Anthony Philpott (Studio Sound), John Dean (Technical Manager), Alec Wheal (Senior Cameraman)

Ian Scoones (Visual Effects Designer), Dave Jervis (Electronic Effects), Nigel Finnis (Vision Mixer), Rod Waldron (Videotape Editor)

Doreen James (Costume Designer), Jean Steward (Make-Up Artist), Douglas Adams (Script Editor), Richard McManan-Smith (Designer)

Graham Williams (Producer), Michael Hayes (Director)

​

Uncredited Crew

Nick Allder (Lighting Cameraman), Val Woodford (Props Buyer), Sally Bates (Floor Assistant), Ian Tomlin, Martin Ridout (Grams Operator)

Ian Brindle (Film Operations Manager), Sally Woodlee, Margaret Holding, Viv Riley (Make-Up Assistants)

Chris Hetherington (Show Working Supervisor), Sandy Garfield (Design Assistant), Joanne Ball (Graphics), Charlie Lumm (Effects Assistant)

Harry Oakes (Model Set Lighting), John Crossland (Film Sound Assistant), Niall Kennedy (Film Camera Assistant), Michael Powell (Dresser)​

Broadcast

76) THE ARK IN SPACE

Filming Locations

  • Denise Rene Gallery, Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris

  • Place du Petit Pont, Paris

  • Le Notre Dame Brasserie, Place de Petit Pont, Paris

  • Rue de-Vieille-de-Temple, Paris

  • Tour Effiel, Parc du Champs dem Mars, Paris

  • Musee de Louvre, Rue de Rivoli, Paris

  • Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris

  • Rue Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, Paris

  • Rue St Jacques, Paris

  • Rue de Rivoli Boulevard St Michel, Paris

  • Avenue des Champs Elysses, Paris

  • Petit Pont, Paris

  • Place de la Concorde, Paris

  • Jardin des Tulleries, Paris

  • Torcadero Metro, Place de Trocadero, Paris

  • Boissiere Metro, Avenue Kleber, Paris

  • Dupleix Metro, Rue Auguste Bartoldi, Paris

  • Bray Studios

  • Television Centre: Studio 3

  • Television Centre: Studio 6

Deaths

  • Scaroth [killed with a granade]

  • Countess [killed by Scaroth]

  • Kerensky [aged to death]

  • Thug 1 [shot dead by Hermann]

  • Thug 2 [shot dead by Hermann]

Production Days

  • 12 Days between Monday 30 April - Tuesday 5 June 1979

Production Errors

  1. The sketch of Romana changes between outside the cafe (location) and one used inside the cafe (studio)

  2. During part four, Romana used a British three-pin plug to connect Scaroth's time equipment to French mains 

  3. When Duggan smashes through the brick wall, its evident that only the front of the 'bricks' are painted 

  4. During the scene set in 1505, an entire boom microphone can be seen in the background ​

Number of Production Days: 5

Working Titles

  • Curse of the Sephiroth

  • The Gamble with Time

  • The Time of the Sephiroth

Verdict

City of Death may look all fancy and sleek with its extensive Paris shoot, but it is very boring. There are numerous, numerous plot holes, inconsistencies, and errors throughout. The writing is often sloppy than anything serious with too many sequences of The Doctor and Romana walking around and passing famous landmarks. The scenes in question could be cut from the final edit and hardly anything would be lost in the process. The editing is also quite sloppy certain scenes cut away far too quickly and the enjoyable scenes, and there are only a few of them have very little energy overall. The cast is one the worst, Duggen is your typical dumb cop who is always  the butt of jokes, Kerensky is a horrible rip off of Jerry Lewis' Nutty Professor in The Nutty Professor and is your cliched goofy looking, nerdish dork. Julian Glover is good as the Count but his Scaroth performance is utterly underwhelming. Scaroth himself is not a formidable monster just a take on a green cyclops. City of Death is loved by all but its overrated, dated and downright terrible. *​

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