The Mind Robber
Encyclopedia
The Mind Robber is a serial in the British
science fiction television series Doctor Who
, which was first broadcast in five weekly parts from September 14 to October 12, 1968. The story is distinguished as a rare trip into nearly pure fantasy and by the establishment of the Void, a realm outside of space and time.
on Dulkis, the Second Doctor
sets off a volcanic eruption. He leaves the TARDIS
, along with his companions, Jamie
and Zoe
, in the way, though, and it gets buried in lava, blowing a fluid link (The Daleks
) in the process. This forces the Doctor to use the emergency unit to take the TARDIS away from danger and indeed out of reality itself.
They land in a white void and as the Doctor fixes the TARDIS, Jamie and Zoe are lured outside and are confronted by white robots. The Doctor gets them back inside but, as they try to return to reality, the TARDIS explodes and the travellers are scattered into nothingness.
They end up in a forest where the trees become letters when seen from above. The Doctor, after facing a series of riddles, finds Jamie, but accidentally changes his face. They are soon reunited with Zoe and then encounter Gulliver
, who gives them away to life-sized toy soldiers. They are taken to the edge of the forest, where a unicorn
charges at them. They manage to turn it into a statue by loudly declaring that ‘it doesn’t exist.’
They continue on and reach a house, where the Doctor brings Jamie back to normal. They discover that the house is the entrance to a labyrinth. Here, while leaving Jamie behind, the Doctor and Zoe encounter the Minotaur
and Medusa
, whom they deal with in the same way as the unicorn.
Jamie, pursued by a soldier, climbs up a rock face with the help of Rapunzel
’s hair and enters a citadel through a window, triggering off an alarm. He hides and finds Gulliver, who cannot see the White Robots who are chasing Jamie.
The Doctor and Zoe exit the labyrinth and encounter the Karkus, a cartoon character from Zoe’s home era. The Doctor accidentally manages to dispel the Karkus' "anti-molecular ray disintegrator" by commenting that no such weapon exists, and the Karkus attacks them. Unfortunately the Doctor can't get rid of the Karkus, because he has never heard of the character before and cannot say for certain that the Karkus is not real. Zoe, however, beats the Karkus into submission with her martial arts skills, and he allies himself with them. He takes them to the citadel, where they find Jamie. Zoe accidentally sets off the alarm again, but the trio do not hide and instead let the robots take them to the main control room.
Here, they meet the Master, a kidnapped Earth writer who underwent the same tests as them when he first arrived. He explains that he is getting old and needs the Doctor to replace him as creative source for the Land of Fiction.
While he is talking, Jamie and Zoe sneak into a library area where they encounter the White Robots again and become trapped in a giant book. The Doctor refuses the Master’s offer and climbs out through a skylight.
The Master hypnotises Jamie and Zoe, gets them to trap the Doctor and links him up to the Master Brain. The two battle, summoning up various fictional characters to fight against one another. The Doctor prevails, releasing Jamie and Zoe who override the Master Brain, causing the White Robots to destroy each other.
The Doctor unplugs the Master from the Brain and they all retreat to a side room. The White Robots destroy the Master Brain, the TARDIS comes back together and normality is restored.
for the next week, it would be three weeks before it was broadcast due to the BBC's coverage of the 1968 Summer Olympics
.
, was published by Target Books
in November 1986.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, which was first broadcast in five weekly parts from September 14 to October 12, 1968. The story is distinguished as a rare trip into nearly pure fantasy and by the establishment of the Void, a realm outside of space and time.
Plot
In defeating the DominatorsThe Dominators
The Dominators is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in five weekly parts from 10 August to 7 September 1968.-Plot:...
on Dulkis, the Second Doctor
Second Doctor
The Second Doctor is the second incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by character actor Patrick Troughton....
sets off a volcanic eruption. He leaves the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
, along with his companions, Jamie
Jamie McCrimmon
James Robert "Jamie" McCrimmon is a fictional character played by Frazer Hines in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A piper of the Clan McLaren who lived in 18th century Scotland, he was a companion of the Second Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1966...
and Zoe
Zoe Heriot
Zoe Heriot , or simply Zoe, is a fictional character played by Wendy Padbury in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
, in the way, though, and it gets buried in lava, blowing a fluid link (The Daleks
The Daleks
The Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts from 21 December 1963 to 1 February 1964...
) in the process. This forces the Doctor to use the emergency unit to take the TARDIS away from danger and indeed out of reality itself.
They land in a white void and as the Doctor fixes the TARDIS, Jamie and Zoe are lured outside and are confronted by white robots. The Doctor gets them back inside but, as they try to return to reality, the TARDIS explodes and the travellers are scattered into nothingness.
They end up in a forest where the trees become letters when seen from above. The Doctor, after facing a series of riddles, finds Jamie, but accidentally changes his face. They are soon reunited with Zoe and then encounter Gulliver
Lemuel Gulliver
Lemuel Gulliver is the protagonist and narrator of Gulliver's Travels, a novel written by Jonathan Swift, first published in 1726.-In Gulliver's Travels:...
, who gives them away to life-sized toy soldiers. They are taken to the edge of the forest, where a unicorn
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard...
charges at them. They manage to turn it into a statue by loudly declaring that ‘it doesn’t exist.’
They continue on and reach a house, where the Doctor brings Jamie back to normal. They discover that the house is the entrance to a labyrinth. Here, while leaving Jamie behind, the Doctor and Zoe encounter the Minotaur
Minotaur
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur , as the Greeks imagined him, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, "part man and part bull"...
and Medusa
Medusa
In Greek mythology Medusa , " guardian, protectress") was a Gorgon, a chthonic monster, and a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. The author Hyginus, interposes a generation and gives Medusa another chthonic pair as parents. Gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone...
, whom they deal with in the same way as the unicorn.
Jamie, pursued by a soldier, climbs up a rock face with the help of Rapunzel
Rapunzel
"Rapunzel" is a German fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. The Grimm Brothers' story is an adaptation of the fairy tale Persinette by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force originally published in 1698...
’s hair and enters a citadel through a window, triggering off an alarm. He hides and finds Gulliver, who cannot see the White Robots who are chasing Jamie.
The Doctor and Zoe exit the labyrinth and encounter the Karkus, a cartoon character from Zoe’s home era. The Doctor accidentally manages to dispel the Karkus' "anti-molecular ray disintegrator" by commenting that no such weapon exists, and the Karkus attacks them. Unfortunately the Doctor can't get rid of the Karkus, because he has never heard of the character before and cannot say for certain that the Karkus is not real. Zoe, however, beats the Karkus into submission with her martial arts skills, and he allies himself with them. He takes them to the citadel, where they find Jamie. Zoe accidentally sets off the alarm again, but the trio do not hide and instead let the robots take them to the main control room.
Here, they meet the Master, a kidnapped Earth writer who underwent the same tests as them when he first arrived. He explains that he is getting old and needs the Doctor to replace him as creative source for the Land of Fiction.
While he is talking, Jamie and Zoe sneak into a library area where they encounter the White Robots again and become trapped in a giant book. The Doctor refuses the Master’s offer and climbs out through a skylight.
The Master hypnotises Jamie and Zoe, gets them to trap the Doctor and links him up to the Master Brain. The two battle, summoning up various fictional characters to fight against one another. The Doctor prevails, releasing Jamie and Zoe who override the Master Brain, causing the White Robots to destroy each other.
The Doctor unplugs the Master from the Brain and they all retreat to a side room. The White Robots destroy the Master Brain, the TARDIS comes back together and normality is restored.
Continuity
- The Master is not the same character as the renegade Time LordTime LordThe Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
known as the MasterMaster (Doctor Who)The Master is a recurring character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is a renegade Time Lord and the archenemy of the Doctor....
. - The Land of Fiction also features in the Virgin New AdventuresVirgin New AdventuresThe Virgin New Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
spin-offDoctor Who spin-offsDoctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of, but related to, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
novels ConundrumConundrum (Doctor Who)Conundrum is an original novel written by Steve Lyons and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Bernice. A prelude to the novel, also penned by Lyons, appeared in Doctor Who Magazine #208...
and Head GamesHead Games (Doctor Who)Head Games is an original novel written by Steve Lyons and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
by Steve Lyons. In Conundrum, it is revealed that the Land of Fiction was created by the Gods of Ragnarok. The novels, like all spin-off media, are of uncertain canonicity. - It features once more in the Big Finish ProductionsBig Finish ProductionsBig Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
audio adventures City of SpiresCity of SpiresCity of Spires is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. -Plot:...
, Night's Black AgentsNight's Black Agents (Doctor Who audio)Night's Black Agents is a Big Finish Productions audiobook based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Continuity:...
, The Wreck of the TitanThe Wreck of the Titan (audio drama)The Wreck of the Titan is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. -Plot:...
, and Legend of the CybermenLegend of the CybermenLegend of the Cybermen is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
, this time featuring the Sixth DoctorSixth DoctorThe Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...
(though the protagonists do not realise this until the very end of Titan). - One of the fictional characters encountered is the minotaurMinotaurIn Greek mythology, the Minotaur , as the Greeks imagined him, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, "part man and part bull"...
of Greek mythologyGreek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
. Variations on this myth were used again in the Third DoctorThird DoctorThe Third Doctor is the third incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee....
serial The Time MonsterThe Time MonsterThe Time Monster is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 20 May to 24 June 1972.- Synopsis :...
and the Fourth DoctorFourth DoctorThe Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
serial The Horns of NimonThe Horns of Nimon-Outside references:The plot of this serial incorporates aspects of the story of Theseus and the Minotaur - a fact the Doctor comments on at the end of the last episode...
. A minotaur-like creature (from a species close to the Nimon) appears in the Eleventh Doctor story The God ComplexThe God Complex"The God Complex" is the eleventh episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC America and Space on 17 September 2011.-Plot summary:...
. - On both occasions before Jamie gets turned into a cut-out, he shouts, "creag an tuirc" Frazer Hines joked on the DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
commentary that this is Scottish GaelicScottish Gaelic languageScottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
for "vodkaVodkaVodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
and tonicTonic waterTonic water is a carbonated soft drink in which quinine is dissolved. Originally used as a prophylactic against malaria, tonic water usually now has a significantly lower quinine content and is consumed for its distinctively bitter taste...
". However, it is actually the motto of the MacLaren Clan of Scotland, meaning "the boar's rock". These are also Jamie's last words in his last regular serial, The War GamesThe War GamesThe War Games is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969. It was the last regular appearance of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor, and of Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines as companions Zoe...
, as he charges an English redcoat on the fields of Scotland.
Production
- Working titles for this story included Man Power, Another World and The Fact of Fiction.
- This serial was originally composed of four episodes, but the preceding serial, The DominatorsThe DominatorsThe Dominators is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in five weekly parts from 10 August to 7 September 1968.-Plot:...
, was reduced from six to five episodes. This resulted in a sparse first episode being written as they had to use the limited budget of the replaced episode. This stretching of the story also resulted in the first four episodes only running between 19 and 22 minutes in length, and Episode 5 being the shortest Doctor Who episode ever at slightly over 18 minutes. - During production, actor Frazer Hines contracted chicken pox and was hurriedly replaced by Hamish Wilson for episode 2. This also meant that a scene had to be quickly written to explain Jamie's sudden change in appearance.
- The white robots that close in on Jamie and Zoe in the void outside the TARDIS had been loaned from a previous use in the British science fiction television series Out of the UnknownOut of the UnknownOut of the Unknown is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Each episode was an independent dramatisation of a separate science fiction short story...
.
Cast notes
- Bernard Horsfall later played a Time LordTime LordThe Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
in The War GamesThe War GamesThe War Games is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969. It was the last regular appearance of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor, and of Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines as companions Zoe...
, Taron in Planet of the DaleksPlanet of the DaleksPlanet of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from April 7 to May 12, 1973.-Synopsis:...
and Chancellor Goth in The Deadly AssassinThe Deadly AssassinThe Deadly Assassin is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 30 October to 20 November 1976...
. He also played Arnold Baynes in the audio play Davros. - Ian Hines, who plays one of the soldiers, is the brother of Frazer Hines.
- Christopher Robbie appeared in Revenge of the CybermenRevenge of the CybermenRevenge of the Cybermen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 19 April to 10 May 1975.-Synopsis:...
, playing the Cyberleader.
Outside references
- Jack Harkaway was the name of a character from a Penny DreadfulPenny DreadfulA penny dreadful was a type of British fiction publication in the 19th century that usually featured lurid serial stories appearing in parts over a number of weeks, each part costing an penny...
called Boys of EnglandBoys of EnglandBoys of England was a British boys' periodical issued weekly from 1866 to 1899, "the leading boys' periodical of the nineteenth century".Boys of England was edited by the publisher and former Chartist Edwin J. Brett. By the 1870s it had a circulation of 250,000, and a mainly working-class readership...
. Harkaway was first introduced in 1871.
Broadcast and reception
Although a caption at the end of Episode 5 advertised The InvasionThe Invasion (Doctor Who)
The Invasion is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in eight weekly parts from 2 November to 21 December 1968...
for the next week, it would be three weeks before it was broadcast due to the BBC's coverage of the 1968 Summer Olympics
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...
.
In print
A novelisation of this serial, written by Peter LingPeter Ling
Peter Ling was a British writer in many media, but best known for his work in television, where he was the co-creator of the soap opera Crossroads....
, was published by Target Books
Target Books
Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...
in November 1986.
VHS and DVD releases
- This serial came out on VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in May 1990. - It was released on Region 2 DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on March 7, 2005, and in North America on September 6, 2005.
External links
- Doctor Who Locations - The Mind Robber