Frontier in Space

All together now... "It's only a model!"

That's a serious control console they've got there. Daft uniforms with big round sleeves. Future fashions, eh?

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke Not so daft - they cushion the seat belts. You have to buy them separately now! The future has these details sorted

A couple of space dudes wonder if there'll be a war, and complain of dragons stealing their flour..

The little chat between the two crew sets the scene straight away whilst also grounding a sense of reality.

50dw50@50dw50 i have always been disappointed by the lack of flashing lights in technology now in 70's Who they promised so much glitter!


They're almost involved in a traffic accident. No tractors around this time.

The TARDIS always likes to land in a good cargo hold.

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke What is that gap above the sign on the TARDIS prop? Can't be helpful in the vacuum of space 

"Only you could have a traffic accident in space!"  

A wibbly noise later and the ship Jo sees changes shape. Something's up...

The Doctor pretends he can figure out when and where they are from the position of the stars. What a bullshitter!

The wibbly noise gives the spacemen tinnitus...

...and they see the altered ship too; now they think it's a "dragon" ship! 

That spaceman just saw the Doctor turn into a lizard man...

Isaac Dakin@IWhittakerDakin The crewmember sees Pertwee as a Draconian. That's how everyone saw Pertwee!

...and now Jo's seeing Drashigs!

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke That 'dragon' mask is really badly finished and fitted. 

This doesn't bode well....That noise seems to get everyone high! They're seeing all kinds!

Michael Bater@GreenLeftie The Spaceman & Jo shouldn't of eaten those Mushrooms

Now the Draconians are on the space phone making threats.

The spacemen think that Jo and the Doctor are ideal hostages...

Meanwhile, around about the same time, in a galaxy not that far away...

A female President of Earth! "Ooh, it must be the future on account of that would *never* happen now!" etc.

Big glittery collars are in, in the future.

Even the General's got one.

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke This 'Your Highness' Draconian looks fabulous! I take it back 

Yes, the Draconian prince is brilliant. Great design, costume and make up. Great performance too.

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke Never really noticed before, but those shoulder things on the Dracs is the same texture as their skin. Are they meant to be part of them?

50dw50@50dw50 never been sure, the comic artist on wargames thought so 

downthetubes@johnfreeman_dtb  Draconians were great

"Your General is insolent!" 

Apparently Gen. Williams caused a previous war with the Draconians. 

Michael Bater@GreenLeftie  They should use the word 'insolent,' in Who more it's almost as cool as 'Excellent!'

"The path you are treading leads only to war!" 

The Doctor and Jo are locked up! Okay, let's keep score, that's 1. 

"Are they mad or am I?" Bit of both, Jo, bit of both. 

The 1st cell scene allows the Doctor to sketch in a bit of background on the Draconians for us. 

The Doctor explains that "dragon" is "a rather unflattering nickname" for Draconians. Or "racist" in real money. 

Bek Hobbes@Greebobek  Like when they call the Sontarans 'potato-heads'.

50dw50@50dw50  on the topic of racist, what do we think of the Ogrons?

Always thought of the Ogrons as gorillas, like the Judoon are Rhinos etc. rather than portraying a racial type.

50dw50@50dw50 me too if honest but a section of fandom seem determined to be offended by them

Tim@parks8472 Some people are never happy unless they have something to be offended by

Basil Fawlty's doctor is a newsreader. Don't mention the (space) war!

It's not Draconians attacking - it's the Ogrons! What a bizarrely terrible reveal from the director.

50dw50@50dw50 if i remember Letts was not very happy with the productions direction

"I'm reversing the polarity of my ultrasonic screwdriver's power source..." Ultrasonic now. Get him.

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke "How very embarrassing" , very funny.

The spacemen want them to have words with the "dragons"...

...but of course, it's really the Ogrons.

News of the "attack" reaches Earth.

And the Ogrons lock them back up! That's 2.  

Yes, Jo, the Ogrons want to nick a load of flour. They just loving baking cakes you see!

"Last time we met the Ogrons they were working for the Daleks..." Doctor Who dismisses the idea. Silly Doctor.

That was a nice bit of misdirection when the Doctor went on about the Ogrons being mercenaries & that they're "not necessarily" working for the Daleks. So when they *seem* to be working for someone else you've forgotten all about the Daleks.

The Ogrons have vanished, and taken the TARDIS and the flour with them, so as to stitch up the Draconians.

An Earth Empire Police ship arrives. Bet that goes well...

Some, er... interesting pictures the crew have up on the flight deck there...

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke Didn't see those... What were they?

Let's just say they must have put an idea in Katy Manning's head, and helped to while away the lonely space nights!  

The Space Cops grill the crew, but they point the finger at the Doctor and Jo. 

"They're traitors!" I think the Ogrons attacking would have made for a better cliffhanger (if a shorter episode).

"Look at the size of that recap!" "Yes, that is a big one!"

And now they're locked up again! 3. 

These 1st 3 times are really just the same instance of being locked up though, with 2 aborted escapes, and it's all about building the society around them, and setting up the mystery of the Ogrons and Draconians. This time it shows the jobsworth nature and intransigence of the law keepers of this society.

Isaac Dakin@IWhittakerDakin A lot of telling and less showing isn't there?

As the story develops and the opposing sides lock them up,it demonstrates the closed and entrenched thinking as well as the dystopian nightmare of being caught in the machinery, rights ignored and no fair process. Functionally it allows for much sketching of the universe we're in, without busting the budget.

The characters we meet along the way, even the ship's crew and the security guard, build the reality with the way they talk about futuristic gubbins in a naturalistic & banal way, grounding the details of how this world works.

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke I want space battles!! 

Jason McLaughlin@jangomac72 It's bizarre that Frontier In Space is so plodding when Day Of The Daleks was so good. I know Paul Bernard blamed the script but I disagree, Malcolm Hulke always produced gripping stories. Always puzzled me why he stopped contributing after Pertwee left, presume Hinchcliffe & Holmes weren't fans?? 

Partly that but he was also royally pissed off by the publicity for "Invasion" (Of The Dinosaurs) wrecking the surprise & he swore off Who. 

James Cooray Smith@thejimsmith He seems to have stopped writing tv entirely in c74. Books only. He only lived another 5 years. 

The General is keen to handle the "enhanced interrogations" himself.

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke What's a perishing panda? They all are, aren't they :(

Locked up on Earth now! 4.

They ran out of Mind Probes!

The Draconians think the flour pot men are just in the pay of General Williams...

...so la prez calls for a Doctor.

"Madam, I can assure you I've never been employed by any body!"
"What about UNIT?"
"Apart from UNIT."

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke Love how the Dr stands denying being a Draconian spy, whilst being dressed as a parody of them! 

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke All together "No! Not ... The mind probe!" 

A horrible concrete jungle of a multi-storey car park is the future of Earth.

James Cooray Smith@thejimsmith It's the BFI! 

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke and that awful scratchy music. Ow!

Bek Hobbes@Greebobek So pretty much like modern Earth?

Heh. Yeah.

Michael Bater@GreenLeftie They rename Earth Milton Keynes 

So a quick chat with la prez then back in the cells. 5.

"Yes, well, I think we'll sit here for a while after all."

Wonderful stuff from the Draconians.  

The Draconians are not just monsters they're proper people, and as such really interesting.

50dw50@50dw50 the Draconian's are wonderful creations, its a pity they never returned 

Isaac Dakin@IWhittakerDakin They were part of the Pandorica alliance in 'The Pandorica Opens' 

50dw50@50dw50 hiding behind a pillar!


Isaac Dakin@IWhittakerDakin Why were they helping the alliance? Didn't they remember he's a noble of Draconia?

They might have remembered but even so they'd been convinced he would destroy the whole universe.

"I must not detain you longer. No doubt you have duties to attend to."

The Draconian ambassador tricks the prez into moving the prisoners...

Aren't you a little short for an Earth trooper?

Prison break!

The Doctor's been abducted by the Draconians!

The General wants to break off diplomatic relations...

...while la Prez takes another crack at Jo.

The Draconian's put the Doctor in the comfy chair of death.

"There is a plot, yes!"

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke do only royal Draconians have perky shoulders. The guards look a little er, limp.

atruedrwhofan@atruedrwhofan such a shame. I do love them and they were Jon's favourites. 

50dw50@50dw50 and no action figure! 

Michael Bater@GreenLeftie Would love to see PC go up aginst them, or work with them 

The Draconian embassy is a great little location.

Now Pertwee's escaped from the Draconians, only to be recaptured by the Earth forces. 

50dw50@50dw50 they are in a cell AGAIN! 

5.5 I reckon as Jo never left that time. 

And now the Ogrons are back! (Pretending to be Draconians again). 

Which means it must be cliffhanger time! 

"You, come!" Down, boy! 

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke Why bother with the mind-altering sound if you're going to slaughter everyone?? No witnesses anyway! 

Love the way the president gets a massage whilst having her briefing. Jim Hacker never had this.

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke You couldn't see under the table ;)

So in a move that renders the previous cliffhanger a waste of time, the Ogrons are overcome and the Doctor and Jo are recaptured.

At least the Ogrons can console themselves that it was stil a bit of shit-stirring making the humans believe the Draconians were attacking, I guess.

The time has come for extreme measures! Like triple vodkas! Yard of ale glasses! That's extreme!

"We used to be friends once. I know what's happened has changed all that..." a masterclass from Mac Hulke there.

"I prefer to put my faith in the Mind Probe! And my hope in the soul gouger. And my charity in the chi teaser."

This is far more interesting than Colony In Space, anyway. Nuts to your "dull", I love this story.

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke The Mind Probe operator was at the opera, on-call

50dw50@50dw50 Dr Who has an ashtray on his forehead 

Pertwee's blown up the Mind Probe...

...and Jo's changed into a Judo outfit for no particular reason.

Michael Bater@GreenLeftie No NOT THE MIND PROBE!

Now General Williams will have to go scrapping in the Black Friday sales for a new one!

The president says she'll double any offer the Draconians had made. I'd just wangle some millions out of her then make some nonsense up.

If you think about it, had the Doctor had some psychic paper, this story would just be episode 6.

Pertwee's sentenced to wearing blue pyjamas on the moon.

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke Lunar Penal Colony - would that be yet another prison?? 

50dw50@50dw50 Dr Who has been imprisoned on the great space egg 

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke And his "Draconian friends can't reach him"? Don't they pass the moon to reach Earth? 

"Now that's stealing, you know."

"That's what I'm in for. Got a trouble maker, have we?"

"That's what *I'm* in for!"

The Governor seems to be some sort of clueless toff that just lets his muscle, Cross, run the place for him.

The Doctor's made connections with some inmates who are in the "Peace Party". Good old Mac Hulke...

The Doctor and Jo have failed their DBS checks.

Send in the Spanish Ambassador, I mean the Comissioner from Sirius IV!

It's the Master! Woo hoo!

Now the story can really start!

I suppose the lunar penal colony is 7 for lockings-up, but it's really just a transfer from the last place.

The Master plays his false credentials to gain custody of Jo and the Doctor.

I love the scope of this, the TARDIS is missing and now Jo and the Doctor aren't even on the same planet.

For the 1st time this story, someone's prepared to listen to - and believe - the Doctor.

But of course it's only fellow political prisoners, members of the peace party.

Jo has a visitor...

"To coin a phrase, I've come to take you away from all this." 

"My employers" eh? Are we supposed to be thinking the Master's working for the Draconians?

50dw50@50dw50 my money is on the Krotons

Lovely little bits of prison politics with Dale and Cross, but naturally enough there's a DOUBLE-cross here...

The Professor dumps Patel in favour of taking the Doctor back to Earth. Harsh.

50dw50@50dw50 i hope they do not go outside the prison they will be eaten by the spider germs

As Doc'n'Prof prepare to escape... 

...they realize the Oxygen tanks are empty! 

"They're pumping out the air!" CLIFFHANGER!

50dw50@50dw50 it cant be, where's the Ogron?

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke No air? Panic! (this must be before he learnt the trick he used with Sarah in Zygons) 

Yes! I was just thinking that!

Saved by the Master! 

"You! I might have guessed!" Well, you didn't.

"Another prisoner must have done it - you know, one that had it in for them, like."

Delgado turns it on and bosses the governor.

"I seem to be quite the master criminal, don't I!"

Paul Cooke@paulpcookeThe Dr is miffed that The Master won't let him watch The Clangers in his cell 

Locked up again, of course (8), but we are in episode 4 now. So averaging twice an episode.

50dw50@50dw50 the Master has had time to change

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke Doesnt he always? >gives a flourish<

Planet Skaro@planetskaro There is only one Master!

Isaac Dakin@IWhittakerDakin Delgado: Still the best Master!


"In reminiscent mood, are we, Doctor? Poor Miss Grant, you have my deepest sympathies!" 

Love Delgado reading War of the Worlds. It's a nice reflection of this when McCoy reads the Time Machine in the TV Movie.

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke What is it with Time Lords? When you see them reading, it's always HG Wells 

The Doctor's sawn through the lock with his wire string file...

Jo's blathering goes on and on and on...

...so the Master understandably reaches for the mute button.

Pertwee's had time for a change of space suit, a shower and a shave, watched a bit of news, read the paper and Jo's still rambling.

And now a bit of space suit jeopardy for good measure.

The Master makes a course correction... 

Pertwee feels the (G) Force. 

"Thank you, Miss Grant, we'll let you know!" (It's a "no", based on that rambling performance!)

The Doctor makes it back inside, with the help of a few wires.

Doctor on the bridge!

The Master threatens to press a button and kill Jo in what seems like a cliffhanger but isn't.

The Draconians come to arrest them all because the ship has drifted into their space.

So now all 3 of them are locked up by the Draconians! 

But the Ogrons are on their way!

An Ogron! Cliffhanger, I guess!

Isaac Dakin@IWhittakerDakin Did the production team think that when we see the ogrons it automatically calls for a cliffhanger?

50dw50@50dw50 that one seemed even more random!

I feel like a modern take on this story would involve more CGI-heavy space battles and end up like the last few seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, particularly the Season 5 two-parter "In Purgatory's Shadow/By Inferno's Light".

Genuinely think people misunderstand the purpose of all the early capture and escape, and overlook all the stuff going on around them all the while when they accuse this story of "padding" - I grant you that episodes 1 and 2 are possibly one episode's worth stretched out over two, but look at the onion layer structure we get:

Each episode of this expands a new aspect of this universe; 1. Piracy/Trade/Brink of War 2. Police/Embassies 3. Prison - & the Master! Episode 4, with the space walk is the only real "padding" that doesn't reveal anything new, but it's the showcase for Delgado. Episode 5 reveals the Draconian civilisation and Episode 6 is the showdown. Long does not automatically equal padding.

It's slightly odd the Master quoting an Earth poet, but Delgado's such a loveable rogue.

And now we've made it all the way to Draconia! Truly an epic story in scale.

Lovely little details of Draconian history, society and customs.

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke Is the Emperor going to change into a Zygon? (I've only just recognised the actor's voice)

We're finally getting somewhere now because the Draconian Emperor is willing to listen.

The Master stalls with some guff about being a hippy at heart...

...but Jo recognises the wibbly noise of an Ogron hypno-attack. 

The Draconians fend them off with a little help from the Doctor's Venusian Aikido...

...but the Ogrons have rescued the Master, even if they have left one of their own behind.

Delgado's impatience with the Ogrons is enjoyable stuff.

"The Ogrons have got the finest defence mechanism of all. Stupidity. They haven't got a mind for you to probe!"

 50dw50@50dw50 they missed the opportunity to show us their prison system, how did they miss that?

For once, the Doctor and Jo aren't locked up, but the Ogron is. 

Just to reinforce that they're supposed to be space gorillas, the Ogron eats a banana without peeling it.

Delgado gives it a bit of cockernee pole-ees speak to blag the Doctor into slowing down.

Then bungs a missile at him. He won't like that up him!

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke Ah, the Star Trek bouncy seat acting

The Ogron breaks free and heads for the bridge, but the Doctor and the Prince are able to over power him, while Jo goes to the hold to see if the guard's alright. 

The Ogrons fancy a takeaway Jo... 

The Master chuckles from the safety of the Ogron ship, and winds up Jo for the hell of it. 

The Earth forces pull the Doctor over. "Honestly officer, I've only had a few light ales." 

They're soon back at chez Prez on Earth. 

General Williams realizes he made a terrible mistake all those years ago, and his mistake had led them here... 

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke The Babylon 5 twist! The weight of all those deaths doesn't seem to trouble him overly.

Yeah, bit shit that it's taken them 20 years to realise the mix-up over how the war started.

We've got momentum now; even General Williams is about to be convinced. Psychic paper would've short-circuited this.

The Master takes Jo to his base on the Ogron planet of Qu'aree...

It's a nice bit of character development that Jo has conditioned herself to resist the Master's hypnotism with nursery rhymes. Explains a lot.

The so-called Master is going to have to resort to a piece of technology to sort Jo out...

Although she's subjected to a rogue's gallery of Pertwee era monsters... 

...Jo's even strong enough to resist the Master's wibbly machine. 

He congratulates her...

...and has her locked up again!

It's only a matter of time now till all out war breaks out...

Oh look, a warmongering evangelical American type. Original.

Now the General, the Prince and the Doctor all team up like some sort of Space Avengers. Or Guardians of the Galaxy, if you will.

La Prez is Fury, or Nova Prime, more like.

Jo's going to dig her way out of that cell (9) with a spoon. Might take a while. Where's McCoy when you need him?

We don't really need another space walk; okay, *now* it's padding.

50dw50@50dw50  Dr Who is wearing an orange space suit, i wonder if that will catch on?

"How's it going Doctor?"

"You've had some right cowboys in here...

"Jo was scripted to lie flat on her back and wiggle under the bars," say the production subtitles. I'm obviously going to the wrong bars.

Michael Bater@GreenLeftie What a night that was! You should of seen the Brig! 

Jo's on the radio. Careful, Jo, most 70s DJs are getting a knock on the door from Operation Yewtree now.

Love that Pertwee rumbles the homing beacon is too convenient. He knows Jo's not *that* clever.

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke Clever enough to outsmart the Master twice in this story. Beauty and brains. Yum! 

Michael Bater@GreenLeftie Thought it was a Dalek Master Plan? (Sorry) 

No it's the Master's Dalek Plan!  

So back to the cells for Jo (10) but to be fair that bit of capture & escape was part of the Master's plan.

At "only" 10 incarcerations, the average has now dropped to less than twice an episode.

The Monster is bloody awful. What the hell were they thinking.

50dw50@50dw50 i have always found the Pertwee era so disappointing because i had read the books first and they were so good 

Isaac Dakin@IWhittakerDakin yeah in the novelisation of this story apparently the ogron monster's a T-Rex. In this story I dunno what it is.

50dw50@50dw50 an evil space duvet 

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke A space-hopper, well known scourge of the 70s  

A spaceship descends...

The Doctor's having a funny turn.

Wonderful scene.

In pre-internet spoiler days the Daleks turning up must have been colossal.

The extras are dispensed with...

The Dalek voices are crap, though.

The Master asks to rule over Earth. You'll have your chance eventually, sunshine.

They're now off to their base to prepare the army of the Daleks... More on that later...

Naturally, the Daleks bung them back in the cells (11).

Pertwee's Dalek voice is at least as good as Michael Wisher's one a couple of scenes back. 

Which is to say it's crap.

"Do not fail the Daleks indeed! Stupid tin boxes!" Delgado on top.

The Doctor scatters the Ogrons with the hypno-device...

In the ensuing chaos, a quick laser blast and the Doctor's had a crack on the head and Delgado's gone forever... :-(

Sending a message to the Time-Lords! Wow!

*THAT'S* how epic this has got!!

Simon Pittman@LibraryPlayer I always like Time Lords when they are an unseen, powerful race, like in Time of the Doctor. Rare glimpses are good though. You know, Nigel Farage and the Master have never been seen in the same room. You don't think...? ;-)

Farage doesn't have an ounce of the Master's wit or intelligence, though!

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke it is reminiscent of how Who was when it started, no 'ends' to stories, they all just rolled on

Yes, good point. This one & Planet deliberately planned as an echo of the Daleks Masterplan - a 12 parter in 2 halves.

50dw50@50dw50 RIP Delgado

Paul Cooke@paulpcooke Such a non-descript ending, for both the story and for Delgado :(

Jason McLaughlin@jangomac72 Such an ignoble end for Delgado's incarnation, such a tragedy he never got the send off he wanted

James Cooray Smith@thejimsmith If they repeated the Pertwee era, they could move The Time Monster up to between Planet of the Daleks & The Green Death.

True; pleading with Kronos & living to fight another day not a million miles from ideas sketched for The Final Game

James Cooray Smith@thejimsmith The very end of The End of Time seems like a use of the very vague notion of The Final Game.

Yes, agreed, you get the actual 'sacrifice' in that.

James Cooray Smith@thejimsmith And for the briefest moment the Master is properly heroic.

For me the real shame was that we never got the Master's final scene from the novelisation, actually...

TTFN! K.

Coming Next... Planet of the Daleks

Matt Badham@TaamBaham Ooh, Planet of the Daleks or, as I like to think of it, Terry Nation's Glam Rock, Greatest Hits of the Daleks!!!