The Ark (Doctor Who)

''The Ark'' is the sixth serial of the third season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 to 26 March 1966.

The serial is set at least ten million years in the future. In the first two episodes the time traveller the First Doctor (William Hartnell) and his travelling companions Steven Taylor (Peter Purves) and Dodo Chaplet ( Jackie Lane) arrive on a generation ship, which Dodo names "the Ark". The Doctor searches for a cure for a fever that has spread across the human and Monoid races on board the ship, who have no immunity to it. The last two episodes are set 700 years later, and involve the Doctor, Steven and Dodo working with the Refusian race to stop the Monoids from wiping out the last of humanity with a bomb. The story constitutes Dodo's first journey as a companion to the Doctor.

Plot

At least ten million years in the future, the TARDIS materialises on a vast spacecraft with its own miniature zoo and arboretum. The First Doctor and Steven and their new companion Dodo Chaplet discover that the Earth is about to be destroyed by the expansion of the Sun, and that the spacecraft is fleeing the Earth with the last remnants of humanity – stored in their millions in miniaturised form – human civilisation, and various flora and fauna. The ship has begun a 700-year voyage to an Earth-like planet called Refusis II. Dodo likens the ship to Noah's Ark. The ship is commanded by human Guardians, while menial work is undertaken by a race of mute, one-eyed non-humans called Monoids. As an amusement during the journey, a gigantic statue of a human being is being carved by hand.

Dodo shows symptoms of the cold, and as the disease spreads though the ship, it becomes apparent that the humans and Monoids have no natural immunity, with fatal results for the ship's population. The Ark's Commander succumbs to the cold and collapses, and the Deputy Commander Zentos assumes control. The TARDIS crew are accused of deliberately infecting the ship's inhabitants, and after a trial, Zentos orders their execution. The ailing Commander intervenes, and allows the Doctor access to medical equipment to devise a cure. The Doctor recreates a cold vaccine from the membranes of animals on the craft, and administers it to Steven, the Commander, and the others who have been infected, who all recover. Their work done, the trio observe the destruction of Earth on the long-range scanner before the Doctor leads them back to the TARDIS.

Unexpectedly, the TARDIS rematerialises back on the Ark. The travellers see that the giant statue has been completed, but in the form of a Monoid, and realise that they have arrived 700 years later at the end of the Ark's voyage. They discover that the Monoids have taken control of the ship, enabled by electronic voice communicators, while the human descendants, genetically weakened by the cold virus, are now slaves. Steven tries unsuccessfully to lead a revolt against the Monoids.

As the Ark arrives at its destination, the Monoid leader assembles a landing party to Refusis II with the Doctor, Dodo and a human, Yendom. They discover a large building amid the vegetation, occupied by the Refusians, giant beings rendered invisible by solar flares. The Monoids plan to colonise Refusis II exclusively with their own race, and to abandon the human slaves on the Ark. The Monoids have concealed a large bomb within the giant statue which will be detonated after the colonisation is complete. After landing on the planet, a faction of Monoids, uncertain of the viability of Refusis, begin a revolt. Steven leads the humans in an escape from the Ark, and they travel to the planet in landing pods, where they discover the Monoids engaged in a civil war. Amid the confusion, the Doctor, Dodo and a Refusian return to the Ark in a pod, where the giant Refusian uses its strength to remove the statue and jettison it from the ship before the bomb explodes. The Refusians agree to share their planet with the colonists, but demand that the humans and Monoids agree to live in peace with one another.

The Doctor and his companions depart. In the TARDIS control room, the Doctor suddenly becomes invisible, and declares that they are under attack.

Production

Writing

The concept of an interstellar ark ship was devised by producer John Wiles, and script editor Donald Tosh collaborated with Paul Erickson, the programme's new screenwriter. Erickson's wife, Lesley Scott, is credited as a co-writer, although she does not appear to have done any actual work on the scripts. Erickson requested that she be given a credit, but her name appears on no other related documents. A Lesley Scott was credited as a contributor to the ''Dr. Who Annuals'' published by World Distributors/World International, but it is not clear whether this is the same person.

External references

The serial's title comes from an explicit reference in "The Steel Sky", in which Dodo Chaplet remarks that the spaceship carrying Earth's animals and humans to safety is similar to the Biblical narrative of Noah's Ark. In "The Return", one of the human descendants, Venussa, states that the Ark name has persisted after Dodo's first mention 700 years earlier.

Filming

Filming for ''The Ark'' took place in January and February 1966 at the BBC's Ealing Studios with a number of zoo animals. Further studio recording took place in February and March 1966 at Riverside Studios in London. The Monoids were played by actors, each holding a ping-pong ball in his mouth to represent the alien's single eye. The upper portion of the actor's face was hidden by a wig.

Cast notes

Roy Spencer (Manyak) later played Frank Harris in ''Fury from the Deep'' (1968). Terence Bayler (Yendom) later played Major Barrington in ''The War Games'' (1969). Australian actor Bill Hunter played one of the Guardians; however, he remained uncredited.

Richard Beale, who provided the disembodied voice of the invisible Refusian, later played Bat Masterson in '' The Gunfighters'' (1966).

Michael Sheard, who played the medical technician Rhos, made the first of six appearances in ''Doctor Who''; he subsequently appeared in '' The Mind of Evil'' (1971) with Jon Pertwee, ''Pyramids of Mars'' (1975) and '' The Invisible Enemy'' (1977) with Tom Baker, '' Castrovalva'' (1982) with Peter Davison and '' Remembrance of the Daleks'' (1988) with Sylvester McCoy.

Broadcast and reception

Critical reception

Reviewing the serial in 2009, Patrick Mulkern of ''Radio Times'' stated, "The concept is fine, especially with the time-lapse cliffhanger to episode two ... Otherwise the plot is lacking in dramatic incident and there are often tracts of extreme tedium." He felt that the Guardians did not have enough time to develop and called the Monoids "somewhat ludicrous", though he did praise the direction, music, and effects. DVD Talk's John Sinnott gave the serial three and a half out of four stars, writing that the first half was "slow" but became interesting when the TARDIS crew returned. Arnold T. Blumberg of IGN rated the serial an eight out of ten, highlighting the "snappy and exciting" pace and the "surprisingly top-notch" production values, aside from the Monoids. '' SFX'' reviewer Ian Berriman rated it three out of five stars, describing it as "quaint" with the Monoids being "laughable" villains. However, he did note the ambition of the story, that it was faster-paced than others at the time, and the "positively epic" sets. Brian J. Robb of ''Dreamwatch'' praised the direction but wrote that the "ambitious story that fails miserably thanks to the less-than-stellar Monoids". Charlie Jane Anders of io9 listed the cliffhanger of "The Plague"—in which the TARDIS crew leave and return in the future—as one of the greatest ''Doctor Who'' cliffhangers in a 2010 article.

Reflecting on the apocalyptic themes of ''The Ark'', Andrew Crome links the complexities of human-Monoid integration with contemporary debates around the Race Relations Act 1965, and notes that, while the Doctor accepts the servitude of the Monoids without challenge, he is keen to encourage revolt to free the humans. Crome also compares ''The Ark'' with the 1975 ''Doctor Who'' serial, ''The Ark in Space'', remarking that the references to the Biblical Noah are more pronounced in the later serial.

Commercial releases

In print

A novelisation of this serial, written by Paul Erickson, was published by Target Books in October 1986.

Home media

This story was released on VHS, in 1998. It was later released on CD with linking narration by Peter Purves. The CD also includes an interview with Peter about this story and his time on ''Doctor Who''. This CD is available as an audio book on the iTunes Store.

''The Ark'' was released on DVD on 14 February 2011 in region 2, and on 8 March 2011 in region 1.

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

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Target novelisation

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ark, The
Doctor Who serials novelised by Paul Erickson (screenwriter)
First Doctor serials
1966 British television episodes
Works about the future