Misadventures in Spain: THE TWO DOCTORS

The Second Doctor is taken to Spain so The Sontarans can unlock the secret of time travel. Meanwhile the Si

xth Doctor and Peri also arrive in Spain at the same time. With two Doctors roaming around the place, a cannabilistic chef hungry to taste human flesh, and two Sontarans wandering around the place, what could possibly go wrong?

A bad day to be a Sontaran

Cast

Colin Baker (The Doctor), Patrick Troughton (The Doctor), Nicola Bryant (Peri), Frazer Hines (Jamie)

John Stratton (Shockeye), Jacqueline Pearce (Chessene), Laurence Payne (Dastari), Aimee Delamain (Dona Arana)

James Saxon (Oscar), Carmen Gomez (Anita), Clinton Greyn (Stike), Tim Raynham (Varl)

Nicholas Fawcett (Technician)

UNCREDITED CAST: Laurence Payne (Computer), Fernand Monast (Scientist)

Jay McGrath (Dead Androgum), Peter Moffatt, Jan Wright (Cafe Patrons)

Mercedes Carengie (Woman on Balcony), Nejdet Salih, Michael Eriera (Waiters at Las Cadenas)

Iria Everson, Maria Eldridge, Patrick Edwards, John Holland, Tim Milson, Glynis Simmons

June Easther (Patrons at Las Cadenas), and a number of unknown Spanish extras inc. Lorry Driver

Crew

Robert Holmes (Writer), Ron Grainer (Title Music), Peter Howell (Incidental Music)

Dick Mills, BBC Radiophonic Workshop (Special Sound), Gary Downie (Production Manager)

Sue Anstruther (Production Associate), Patricia O'Leary (Production Assistant)

Ilsa Rowe (Assistant Floor Manager), John Walker (Film Cameraman), Colin March (Film Sound)

Mike Robotham (Film Editor), Steven Drewett (Visual Effects Designer), Dave Chapman (Video Effects)

Jayne Beckett (Vision Mixer), Alan Arbuthnott (Technical Co-ordinator), Alec Wheal (Camera Supervisor)

Hugh Parson (Videotape Editor), Don Babbage (Lighting Director), Keith Bowden (Studio Sound)

Jan Wright (Costume Designer), Catherine Davies (Make-Up Designer), Eric Saward (Script Editor)

Sid Sutton (Title Sequence), Tony Burrough (Designer), John Nathan-Turner (Producer), Peter Moffatt (Director)

Broadcast

EPISODE	DATE	TIME	VIEWING FIGURE	CHART POSITION	APPRECIATION INDEX
1	16/02/1985	5:20-6:05pm	6.6M	92nd	65
2	23/02/1985	5:20-6:05pm	6.0M	90th	62
3	02/03/1985	5:20-6:05pm	6.9M	66th	65

Connections in the Who-Niverse

Laurence Payne was the famous Johnny Ringo for The Gunfighters and the Argolin for one single episode for The Leisure Hive. Clinton Greyn can be seen in the flesh as Ivo for the middle instalment for the E-Space trilogy, State of Decay. Uncredited Fernand Monast can be seen in the backgrounds of both State of Decay and Black Orchid. Extra John Holland was a Gaztak for Meglos and a Sailor on the Shadow for Enlightenment. Extra Tim Milson was one of the work party on the surface of Telos for Attack of the Cybermen. Extra June Easther was later a member for the Happiness Patrol during The Happiness Patrol and was later an Aunt for Remembrance of the Daleks.

Death, the Constant Companion

Shockeye is smothered by the Sixth Doctor with cyanide, as [he] put it, Shockeye got his just desserts. Chessene is killed after the Kartz-Reimer module explodes, she reverts back to her Androgum form before dying. Dastari is murdered by Chessene. Dona Arana is cruelly murdered by Shockeye. Oscar is stabbed to death by Shockeye,

After saving the day hundreds of times, The Doctor enjoys a little fishing. He deserves a rest

after Oscar asked Shockeye to pay his restaurant bill. Stike is killed when his spaceship self-destructs killing him. Varl is killed after being exposed to coronic acid. The Technician is murdered by Chessene supposedly by krylon gas according to some accounts. A Scientist is blasted by a Sontaran possibly Varl. Several other Androgum and several other Space Station Camera personnel are also killed during the Sontaran attack.

Episode Cliffhangers

(1) In the bowels of Space Station Camera, The Doctor attempts to disable the Stations' defence system so it can't attack him and Peri again. As The Doctor carries out his work, Peri is attacked by a humanoid in ragged clothing. A stream of gas hits the Sixth Doctor before he can help, and is render unconscious.

The Second Doctor and Shockeye are a little pally, and hungry. Very hungry. Let's hope there is enough meat in Seville to satisfy their ravenous hunger.

(2) Peri runs away from the Sontaran secret base, but Shockeye is in hot pursuit. Peri tries and falls as Shockeye catches up wit her. Shockeye reaches out to grab hold of Peri.

(3) The Sontarans are dead, and the Androgrum experiement is no more. The Second Doctor and Jamie depart in their TARDIS. The Sixth Doctor and Peri head off on their own way. Peri asks The Doctor if they are going fishing again. To which The Doctor deplies 'no', he states a strict vegetarian diet is in store for both of them

Fun Facts

(1) Special wigs were made for both Jacqueline Pearce and Laurence Payne that were lost in transit. To make him for the lost costume pieces, new wigs were made and fitted to the actors in Spain, and were used for the studio sessions in England. Apparently these lost wigs never turned up and remain missing; (2) The location shoot marked the final time the production office ventured outside the UK for the classic series. The show had gone o France, Holland and Lanzerote in past years for other location shoots; (3) Originally the story was going to be set in New Orleans, with a location shot being carried out in the America State. However, it seems relationships broke down, and the team went to Spain instead; (4) Originally actress Elisabeth Spriggs was going to play Chessene, but it seems she was fired for not attending rehearsals. Jean Marsh was also briefly considered for the part,

Jamie is exhausted and quite rightly so. Over 20 outing in the TARDIS and a whole load of monsters defeat would exhaust anyone

before Jacqueline Pearce was hired; (5) The warts on the Androgum's faces were made from Rice Krispies, this caused some trouble for John Stratoon who played Shockeye, as the sweet snacks attracted insects in the midst of the summer heat; (6) Director Peter Moffat and costume designer Jan Wright appeared as two patrons outside a Spanish cafe during the location shoot; (7) The production team were helped by Mercedes Carnegie who acted as a location liasion and translator. She played the woman on the balcony who threw a flower to Dastari. She also wore the dress that was origianlly designed for Carmen Gomez, who refused to wear it; (8) It was John Nathan-Turner's idea to include the Sontarans in the script. Apparently the producer disliked using old monsters, whilst Robert Holmes liked the opportunity, as he felt his creations had been poorly used in other appearances throughout the show's run; (9) The appearance of the Sontarans changed drastically for the serial as Peter Moffat cast tall actors to play the monsters - deviating away from their short appearances from before

Recording Days

In total 13 production days were required to complete all the location and studio scenes. The production team were present in Seville and the surrouding area in Spain for an extensive seven-day location shoot, between Thursday 9 - Thursday 16 August 1984; they had Monday 13 off. The team used Dehera Boyar, nr Gerena for the Olive Grove and the Hacienda - the house owned by the Dona Arana. The rest of the location shoot saw the team use Rio Guadiamar, nr Gerena for the River Scenes, and many other streets and squares throughout the city of Sevilla. The team were originally meant to use New Orleans but the offer fell through.

The Second Doctor has a wander through Shockeye's kitchen. I hope he's passed his Intergalactic Health Inspections recently.

After the location shoot, the team returned for the studio sessions which were recorded on Thursday and Friday evenings across a five-week period. Studio sessions took place between Thursday 30August and Friday 28 September 1984. Television Centre Studios 1 and 6 were used for the studio scenes.

Verdict

The Second Doctor put under torture. Not nice for his final ever appearance on the show.

A strong story that has great pacing and plotting throughout but suffers from many plot points which do not quite fit together. The whole plot about the Sontarans wanting to unlock the secrets of time travel is fine, but why does Chessene turn The Doctor into an Androgum? Patrick Troughton excels, but why? The Sontarans are squeezed into the sidelines and are never used to their full potential unlike in previous appearances. The series best filming location work, due to the Spanish overseas shoot shines throughout and the sets finally have money spent on them. The acting is some of the most memorable, John Stratton as the psychedelic barbaric hoarse voiced chef, Tim Raynham, and Clinton Greyn as the Sontarans, the former being the better of the two and Colin Baker notably improving apart from another ill-fitted line after killing a villain with poison. The script has some decent attempts at dark humour but is equally full of excruciating clichés including the over eccentric Oscar and his love of theatre and nature, the background music does not help one bit. Let us not get started after he is stabbed with a knife whilst terrible extras look on. The script is strong but suffers from some terrible dialogue, an obviously impending double back-stabber narrative, cheap make-up effects, and a rushed ending which is so desperate to kill all of the villains as quickly as possible. An overall good quality narrative which would have worked better as six twenty-five-minute episodes. ****​