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The Keys of Marinus: Difference between revisions

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{{Use British English|date=February 2015}}
{{Infobox Doctor Who episode|
| number = 005
| image = [[File:Keys of Marinus.jpg|250px]]
|image=[[File:Keys of Marinus.jpg|250px]]<!-- FAIR USE of The Keys of Marinus.jpg: see image description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:The Keys of Marinus.jpg for rationale -->
| caption = A Voord attempts to capture a terrified Susan.
| serial_name = The Keys of Marinus
| show = DW
| type = serial
| doctor = [[William Hartnell]] ([[First Doctor]])
| companion = [[Carole Ann Ford]] ([[Susan Foreman]])
| companion2 = [[Jacqueline Hill]] ([[Barbara Wright (Doctor Who)|Barbara Wright]])
| companion3 = [[William Russell (actor)|William Russell]] ([[Ian Chesterton]])
| guests =
* [[George Coulouris]] — Arbitan
* Martin Cort — Voord / Warrior / Ice Soldier / Aydan
Line 18:
* Gordon Wales — Voord
* [[Robin Phillips]] — Altos
* KatherineKatharine Schofield — Sabetha
* [[Heron Carvic]] — Voice of Morpho
* [[Edmund Warwick]] — Darrius
Line 30:
* [[Donald Pickering]] — Eyesen
* [[Stephen Dartnell]] — Yartek
* Dougie Dean — Eprin (uncredited){{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=123}}
| writer = [[Terry Nation]]
| director = [[John Gorrie (director)|John Gorrie]]
| script_editor = [[David Whitaker (screenwriter)|David Whitaker]]
| producer = {{Unbulleted list|[[Verity Lambert]]<br>|[[Mervyn Pinfield]] (associate producer)}}
| composer = [[Norman Kay (composer)|Norman Kay]]
|executive_producer=None
| production_code = E
|composer=[[Norman Kay (composer)|Norman Kay]]
| series = [[Doctor Who (season 1)|Season 1]]
|production_code=E
| length = 6 episodes, 25 minutes each
|series=[[Doctor Who (season 1)|Season 1]]
| started = 11 April 1964
|length=6 episodes, 25 minutes each
|started ended =11 April16 May 1964
| preceding = ''[[Marco Polo (Doctor Who)|Marco Polo]]''
|ended=16 May 1964
|preceding following = ''[[MarcoThe PoloAztecs (Doctor Who)|MarcoThe PoloAztecs]]''
|following=''[[The Aztecs (Doctor Who)|The Aztecs]]''
|}}
'''''The Keys of Marinus''''' is the fifth serial in the British [[science fiction television]] series ''[[Doctor Who]]'', which was first broadcast on [[BBC1]] in 6six weekly parts from 11 April to 16 May 1964. TheWritten by [[Terry Nation]] and directed by [[John Gorrie]], the serial takes on an unusuala "questmini-adventures" format, wherein eachwhich episodethe is[[First itsDoctor]] own([[William mini-adventureHartnell]]), inhis pursuitgranddaughter [[Susan Foreman]] ([[Carole Ann Ford]]), and her teachers [[Ian Chesterton]] ([[William Russell (actor)|William Russell]]) and [[Barbara Wright (Doctor Who)|Barbara Wright]] ([[Jacqueline Hill]]) search for five keys to restore the Conscience of Marinus, a largercomputer which maintains law and order. The group travel to a city, a jungle, and an icy wasteland in search of the goalkeys.
 
''The Keys of Marinus'' was written to replace a different script which was deemed problematic. When commissioned to write the script, Nation was intrigued by the idea of the TARDIS crew searching for pieces of a puzzle; he and script editor [[David Whitaker (screenwriter)|David Whitaker]] decided to base the serial around a series of "mini-adventures", each with a different setting and cast. Incidental music was composed by [[Norman Kay (composer)|Norman Kay]], while [[Raymond Cusick]], Daphne Dare and Jill Summers worked as designers. The serial premiered with nine million viewers, maintaining audience figures for several weeks before seeing a significant drop from the fifth episode. Response for the serial was mixed, and it received several print adaptations and home media releases.
==Plot==
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{{Plot|date=September 2015}}
}}
On a small island with a glass beach, surrounded by an acid sea, on the planet Marinus stands a tower with many secret entrances. Within the tower is Arbitan, Keeper of the Conscience of Marinus, a vast computer developed two millennia earlier as a vast justice machine which kept law and order across the entire planet. For seven hundred years, the Conscience was absolute, radiating its power across the planet Marinus, and eliminating all thought of evil. But then a man named Yartek, whose followers were called [[Voord]], worked out how to resist its impulses allowing them to rob, cheat and kill.
 
When [[Doctor (Doctor Who)|the Doctor]] and his companions arrive on the island, they are brought into the tower to an audience with Arbitan, who explains that the society of Marinus is in danger. Several submersibles containing Voord, humanoid creatures protected by amphibian-like black rubber wet suits, have washed up on the beach. Inspired by Yartek, the Voord are seeking to enter the tower and take control of the Conscience.
 
Arbitan explains that the Conscience has now been upgraded sufficiently to control the Voord again, but needs to be activated. Years earlier Arbitan had prevented the Conscience from falling into Voord control by separating the five Keys needed to regulate it. The five keys are in different locations - one is in Arbitan's possession, but the other four are scattered over Marinus. The keys can only be found by following directions pre-set into travel dials, watch-like devices with the power to transport the wearer across the planet to the correct locations. Arbitan asks that the Doctor and his friends help him fend off the Voord by gathering the keys together. Others have tried to accomplish this task - even Arbitan's own daughter - but none have returned to the tower.
 
The Doctor refuses Arbitan's request, but is unable to access the [[TARDIS]] due to a force field Arbitan places around the ship. And so the Doctor and his companions are coerced into aiding Arbitan. As the four teleport away from the tower using the travel dials, Arbitan is attacked and stabbed to death by a Voord that has secretly gained access to the tower.
 
The first location visited by the travellers is the City of Morphoton. The seemingly advanced and pacifist inhabitants impress the travellers with the luxuries, advances and aesthetics of the city. But all is not as it seems. Barbara is the first to realize the truth when a hypnotic disc intended to make her mind receptive to the hypnotic pulses slips off her forehead, causing her to realise that Morphoton is actually a place of dirt and squalor rather than beauty and luxury. Unknown to the Doctor and crew, Morphoton is governed by four brain creatures with hideous eyes on stalks who, having outgrown their bodies, live in large bell jars and communicate through their life-support machines. The Brains of Morphoton use hypnosis to control the human population, and the entire City is subjugated to their will.
 
Once the Brains realize Barbara has seen the truth and is thus impervious to their hypnotic control, they order that she be killed. Barbara escapes and hides in the city, there making contact with the slave girl Sabetha, who has been blamed for Barbara's awakening and sentenced to death. Barbara deduces Sabetha is Arbitan’s missing daughter, and sees Sabetha wears one of the Keys about her neck. Barbara helps break Sabetha's conditioning, and together they escape and destroy the jars and equipment protecting the Brains. With their life-support ruined, the Brains die, and all the human subjects of the city are freed. Another slave called Altos remembers he too was sent to Morphoton by Arbitan, and he and Sabetha decide to join the Doctor and his friends on their quest. The six now split up, with the Doctor going ahead to find the final key in the City of Millennius, while the others attempt to find the second key in the next destination.
 
== Plot ==
The next location for the five searchers is a dangerous screaming jungle, which has a particularly debilitating effect on the telepathic Susan. In the jungle is an ancient temple overgrown with plants. Much of the flora is hostile and the travellers are relieved to find the next Key so easily, propped on the top of a statue in the temple. However, this "Key" is a decoy and, when touched, activates ancient machinery that causes the statue to move. Indeed, the whole location - jungle and temple - is a place of danger and traps. When Barbara is caught in the statue mechanism and disappears into the temple, Sabetha argues she may have possibly used her travel dial to move on to the next location. Sabetha compares the "Key" Barbara found with her original and realizes the easily found Key is actually a fake. While Ian remains at the temple to search for the real Key, Altos, Sabetha and Susan go to the next location to search for Barbara.
[[The Doctor (Doctor Who)|The Doctor]], his granddaughter [[Susan Foreman]], and her teachers [[Ian Chesterton]] and [[Barbara Wright]] arrive on a small island on the planet Marinus, where Arbitan, Keeper of the Conscience of Marinus—a vast computer developed as a vast justice machine which kept law and order across the entire planet—explains that the society of Marinus is in danger, as the [[Voord]], humanoid creatures protected by amphibian-like black rubber wet suits, are seeking to enter the tower to take control of the Conscience. To control the Voord, the Conscience requires five keys, and Arbitan asks the Doctor and his friends to gather the keys. Unable to access the [[TARDIS]], they are coerced into aiding Arbitan. As they teleport to the City of Morphoton, Arbitan is stabbed to death by a Voord that has gained access to the tower.
 
In Morphoton, the crew are impressed by the luxuries of the city; however, Barbara soon realises that they have been hypnotised, and that Morphoton is actually a place of dirt and squalor. The creatures who govern Morphoton order Barbara's death, but Barbara escapes and hides in the city, where she makes contact with the slave girl Sabetha, who has been blamed for Barbara's awakening and sentenced to death. Barbara notices one of the keys around her neck. They escape and destroy the creatures, freeing the subjects of the city. Another slave, Altos, remembers that he was also sent by Arbitan, and he and Sabetha join the Doctor and his crew on their quest. While the Doctor continues to the City of Mellennius, the others search in a dangerous screaming jungle. After triggering a trap, Barbara is lost in an ancient temple in the jungle; while Ian remains at the temple to search for the key, Sabetha and Susan continue to the next location.
Ian activates the statue mechanism and is also taken into the temple, where he finds Barbara again. Hiding in the temple is an aged and dying scientist, Darrius, whom Ian saves from an attack by a creeping vine. Very weak, the old man explains the traps of the temple are to fool the Voord, and that he too is a friend of Arbitan. Before dying, Darrius tells Ian and Barbara the Key is hidden in "D-E-3-O-2." The plants, mutated by a growth accelerator built by Darrius, become more and more aggressive. The two friends only just manage to retrieve the Key from an experiment jar before the vegetation overruns the temple.
 
Ian finds Barbara in the temple, where they discover an aged scientist, Darrius, who reveals the location of the next key before dying; Ian and Barbara retrieve the key and teleport to an icy wasteland. They meet the duplicitous trapper Vasor, who steals their keys. Ian and Altos confront Vasor and force him to take them to the ice caves, where they find Sabetha and Susan with mechanised Ice Soldiers, and discover the next key frozen in a block of ice. As they flee, Vasor takes Susan hostage, but an Ice Soldier kills him and the group escapes. At the next location, Ian is accused of the murder of Eprin, a friend of Altos. At Ian's trial, the Doctor returns and postpones the trial while he gathers evidence. Susan is kidnapped as a hostage to persuade the Doctor to stop investigating. The kidnapper has persuaded the judges to find Ian guilty; however, Susan is found bound and gagged, and the plot is uncovered. The Doctor uncovers the final key, hidden in the murder weapon, and Ian is freed.
Ian and Barbara now teleport to an icy wasteland where they meet the duplicitous trapper Vasor, who steals their Keys and sends Ian back into the wastelands where he hopes Ian will be eaten by packs of wolves. In the wastes Ian finds Altos, bound and abandoned, and works out Vasor is to blame. Ian and Altos return to the trapper’s hut and confront him, forcing the wicked man to reveal the stolen Keys in his possession and to take them to the ice caves where he had earlier abandoned Sabetha and Susan. The two girls have meanwhile searched the icy caves themselves and uncovered mechanized Ice Soldiers. The travellers are soon reunited and find the next Key frozen in a block of ice. Their act in removing it revives the Ice Soldiers, who begin a vicious rampage. They flee back to the trappers' cottage and retrieve their stolen dials, getting ready to escape. Vasor takes Susan hostage and demands that they stay. An Ice Soldier stabs him down from behind and they escape.
 
The travellers return to Arbitan's island, where Altos and Sabetha have been held prisoner by Yartek—Arbitan's killer—and the four keys have been seized. The Doctor frees Altos and Sabetha and unmasks the Voord. Ian gives Yartek a false key found in the screaming jungle; when Yartek places the key in the Conscience, the machine explodes and he is killed along with the occupying Voord. The Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara flee the tower with Altos and Sabetha before the growing blaze overtakes the ancient structure.
When the travellers reach the next location Ian finds himself accused of the murder of Eprin, a friend of Altos, who had discovered the Key shortly before his death. The Key has now disappeared and Ian is accused of theft and Eprin’s murder. The punishment will be death if he is found guilty before the court of Millennius. The other travellers are reunited in advance of Ian’s trial, at which the Doctor takes on the role of defence counsel. He succeeds in postponing the trial for two days while he gathers evidence and uses this time to work out what really happened to Eprin. He works out that the relief guard, Aydan, is implicated in the murder, but Aydan too is murdered during the course of the trial before he can reveal the truth of the plot. Things take a turn for the worse when Susan is kidnapped and used as a hostage to try and persuade the Doctor not to investigate the crimes any further. The kidnapper is Kala, Aydan’s widow, who is in league with Eyesen, the Court Prosecutor, who has succeeded in persuading the Three Judges of Millennium to find Ian guilty of Eprin’s murder. Luckily, the others find Susan bound and gagged in Kala's house before Kala can kill her, like she did to her own husband, and the plot is uncovered. Tarron, the Chief Investigator of the City, is now also persuaded of Kala’s guilt but they must still uncover her accomplice to prove Ian did not kill Eprin. The Doctor helps unmask Eyesen and uncover the last Key, which had been hidden in the murder weapon, and Ian is freed.
 
== Production ==
The travellers now return to Arbitan’s island using their travel dials. Altos and Sabetha have travelled ahead with all but the last Key in their possession. They do not know the old Keeper is dead and that Yartek is now in charge, clothed in Arbitan’s robes to maintain the ruse. Yartek has seized the first four Keys and holds Altos and Sabetha prisoner while he awaits the fifth and final one. When the Doctor and his three friends arrive they soon realize that the Voord have taken control of the tower and the Conscience. The Doctor frees Sabetha and Altos and then unmasks the Voord. Ian too has played his part, and given Yartek the false key from the Screaming Jungle. When Yartek places the false Key in the Conscience, the machine explodes and he is killed along with the occupying Voord. The Doctor and his friends flee the tower with Altos and Sabetha before the growing blaze overtakes the ancient structure.
=== Conception and writing ===
''The Keys of Marinus'' was written to replace a different script, ''Dr Who and the Hidden Planet'' by [[Malcolm Hulke]], which was deemed problematic and required rewrites. The production team approached [[Terry Nation]], writer of the second serial ''[[The Daleks]]'', to write the serial. Nation had been due to write the ''[[Doctor Who]]''{{'}}s eighth serial, ''The Red Fort'', but had focused on other projects in the interim.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=94}} Due to the quick turnaround required for the script, Nation and script editor [[David Whitaker (screenwriter)|David Whitaker]] decided to base the serial around a series of "mini-adventures", each with a different setting and cast; Nation was intrigued by the idea of the TARDIS crew searching for parts of a puzzle.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=96}} As the first two episodes were written with mostly interior sets, Nation wanted to tell a story more "out in the open", setting the third episode in a jungle to allow the designer an opportunity for different settings. Whitaker suggested a cold snow-scape setting for the fourth episode to contrast with the hot jungle.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=97}} Nation used many existing words for location and character names in the story: Marinus originated from the Latin word ''marinus'', meaning "of the sea"; Morphoton is based on [[Morpheus]], the Greek god of dreams; Millennius came from the term ''[[millennium]]'', for a thousand years; and Arbitan is based on the Latin word ''Arbiter'', meaning a judge.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=99}} Producer [[Verity Lambert]] selected [[John Gorrie]] as the serial's director; while Gorrie was unhappy with the quality of the scripts, he agreed to direct the episodes to advance his career.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|pp=97–98}}
 
=== Characters and casting ===
==Production==
The tank-top worn by Susan in the serial was knitted by [[Carole Ann Ford]]'s mother.<ref name="audio commentary">{{cite AV media |last1=Cusick |first=Raymond |authorlink1=Raymond Cusick |last2=Ford |first2=Carole Ann |authorlink2=Carole Ann Ford |last3=Gorrie |first3=John |authorlink3=John Gorrie |last4=Russell |first4=William |authorlink4=William Russell |date=21 September 2009 |title=Audio Commentary for The Keys of Marinus |medium=DVD |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |location=''The Keys of Marinus'' DVD }}</ref> Ford was displeased with the portrayal of Susan in the serial, as she felt that she was written like a child,{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=108}} describing her character as "pathetic".<ref name="audio commentary"/> By mid-March 1964, the serial's guest cast had been finalised. Veteran actor [[George Coulouris]] was cast in the role of Arbitan; Gorrie immediately thought of Colouris for the role while reading the script, and was delighted when he accepted the part, describing Colouris as his "hero".{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|pp=104–105}} [[Francis de Wolff]] was selected to play Vasor, while [[Donald Pickering]] played Eyesen. Gorrie cast Henley Thomas as Tarron; the two were old friends who had previously worked together. [[Robin Phillips]], who was also friends with Gorrie, was cast as Altos; Gorrie felt that Phillips' handsome looks fit the role of Altos accurately. Similarly, he wanted the character of Sabetha to resemble a princess, and selected former drama student Katharine Schofield. Gorrie was impressed by the sinister voice of [[Heron Carvic]], casting him as the Voice of Morpho, and the role of Kala was given to [[Fiona Walker]], who had written to Gorrie for a role. For the role of the Voord, among other villains, three young actors, who were friends of Gorrie, were cast: Martin Cort, Peter Stenson, and Gordon Webster.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=105}}
This story was written to replace a different script, ''The Hidden Planet'', which was deemed problematic. Because the replacement script had to be written quickly, it was decided to base it around a series of largely self-contained episodes, each with a different setting and cast, to make it easier to write in a short time.
 
=== Music and design ===
Model filming for ''The Keys of Marinus'' commenced in March 1964 at [[Ealing Studios]], with the rest of the studio recording done in March and April at [[Lime Grove Studios]].<ref name="Radio Times"/> The tank-top Susan wears was knitted by Carole Ann Ford's mother.<ref name="audio commentary">{{cite video|people=[[Raymond Cusick|Cusick, Raymond]], [[Carole Ann Ford]], [[John Gorrie (director)|John Gorrie]], [[William Russell (actor)|William Russell]]|date=21 September 2009|title=Audio Commentary for The Keys of Marinus |medium=DVD |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |location=''The Keys of Marinus'' DVD }}</ref> Ford has expressed displeasure with the portrayal of Susan in the serial, calling her character "pathetic".<ref name="audio commentary"/>
[[Norman Kay (composer)|Norman Kay]], who had scored the show's [[An Unearthly Child|first serial]], composed the incidental music for ''The Keys of Marinus''. The score, performed by seven musicians, was recorded in Maida Vale Studio on 7 March 1964; several standard instruments were used, including a clarinet, bass clarinet, double bass, guitar, flute, harp, piccolo, trumpet and percussion.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=98}} Nineteen new sound effects were recorded for the serial by Brian Hodgson of the [[BBC Radiophonic Workshop]], including the sounds of the Conscience of Marinus and the clocks in Millennius.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=105}} [[Raymond Cusick]], Daphne Dare and Jill Summers were commissioned as the designers for the serial.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=98}} Dare based the design of the Voord on a rubber wetsuit, while the heads were created using vulcanised rubber by prop builders Jack and John Lovell.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=109}} The submersible props and the Conscience machine were designed by Shawcraft Models.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|pp=109–110}} Cusick used leftover fibreglass to complete the design of the Conscience machine, as the budget was running low.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=110}} The moving vegetation in the third episode was constructed by Design and Display Ltd. Jablite [[polystyrene]] was used to stimulate snow in the third and fourth episodes.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=113}}
 
===Cast notesFilming ===
Model filming for ''The Keys of Marinus'' commenced in March 1964 at [[Ealing Studios]]. For the shots of the wolves in the fourth episode, the BBC purchased 14 feet of film from the 1957 Russian thriller ''Seryy razboynik'' (''The Grey Robber'') from distributor Sovexport. Rehearsals for the first episode took place from 16–19 March,{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=107}} and weekly recording for the serial began on 20 March in [[Lime Grove Studios]].{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=115}} Gorrie found the recording days difficult, due to the complexity of the show and the small size of the studio. [[William Hartnell]] was absent from the recording of the third and fourth episodes, as he was on holiday.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=108}} Ford recalled that the cast could "have a few more giggles" during rehearsals, as Hartnell's tendency to forget lines was time-consuming.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=112}} During Ford's holiday in mid-April, she pre-recorded her scenes for the serial.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=108}} The final episode was recorded on 24 April 1964.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=107}} The first episode was edited on 23 March. While most episodes were edited within three hours in an evening, the second serial required two evenings, on 31 March and 2 April 1964.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=116}}
The Doctor himself does not appear in episodes three and four of this story, due to William Hartnell having been on holiday.<ref name="fourth dimension">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00kjv4l/features/the-keys-of-marinus-the-fourth-dimension|title=The Fourth Dimension: The Keys of Marinus|publisher=BBC|accessdate=23 November 2012}}</ref> Stephen Dartnell was cast as Yartek, leader of the alien Voord. A few weeks later, he appeared in ''[[The Sensorites]]'' as the troubled astronaut John. Fiona Walker, who played Kala, later appeared as Lady Peinforte in ''[[Silver Nemesis]]''. Francis de Wolff later played Agamemnon in ''[[The Myth Makers]]''. Donald Pickering later played Captain Blade in ''[[The Faceless Ones]]'' and Beyus in ''[[Time and the Rani]]''. Edmund Warwick later played a robot duplicate of the Doctor in ''[[The Chase (Doctor Who)|The Chase]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/chase/detail.shtml |title=The Chase |publisher=BBC |accessdate=4 February 2012}}</ref>
 
== Reception ==
==Broadcast and reception==
=== Broadcast and ratings ===
{{Episode table
|background =
|series = 6 |title = 20 | aux1=6 | airdate = 10 | viewers = 6 | aux4 = 166 | country = UK
|seriesT = Episode
|aux1T = Run time
|aux4T = Archive[[Appreciation Index]]
|aux4R = <ref name="ArchiveStatus" />
|viewersR = <ref name="AllRatings" />
|episodes =
{{Episode list/sublist|The Keys of Marinus
Line 98 ⟶ 86:
|Viewers = 9.9
|Aux1 = 23:20
|Aux4 = 16mm t/r62
|LineColor =
}}
Line 108 ⟶ 96:
|Viewers = 9.4
|Aux1 = 25:37
|Aux4 = 16mm t/r60
|LineColor =
}}
Line 115 ⟶ 103:
|Title = The Screaming Jungle
|RTitle =
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1964|4|25|df=y}}
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1964|4|25|df=y}}<ref>Following the debut of [[BBC Two|BBC2]], "The Screaming Jungle" was the first ''Doctor Who'' episode to be shown on [[BBC One|BBC1]] (the previous episodes had been screened on BBC Television, the channel's previous name). See the ''Radio Times'' review by Patrick Mulkern already cited.</ref>
|Viewers = 9.9
|Aux1 = 23:45
|Aux4 = 16mm t/r61
|LineColor =
}}
Line 128 ⟶ 116:
|Viewers = 10.4
|Aux1 = 24:54
|Aux4 = 16mm t/r60
|LineColor =
}}
Line 138 ⟶ 126:
|Viewers = 7.9
|Aux1 = 25:03
|Aux4 = 16mm t/r61
|LineColor =
}}
Line 148 ⟶ 136:
|Viewers = 6.9
|Aux1 = 25:11
|Aux4 = 16mm t/r63
|LineColor =
}}
}}
In retrospective reviews, ''The Keys of Marinus'' received generally unfavorable reception. ''[[Radio Times]]'' reviewer Patrick Mulkern wrote in 2008 that "standards slip appreciably" after the four preceding serials in terms of "ambitious but slapdash" script quality and the below-par sets and supporting characters.<ref name="Radio Times">{{cite web|first=Patrick|last=Mulkern|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/blog/2008-10-05/doctor-who-the-keys-of-marinus|title=Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus|work=[[Radio Times]]|date=5 October 2008|accessdate=23 November 2012}}</ref> [[DVD Talk]]'s J. Doyle Wallis gave the serial a rating of two and a half stars out of five, feeling that the weakness was attributed to the Doctor's absence (deeming the two episodes Hartnell was absent for as the weakest of the serial), the lack of a main antagonist that would thread the episodes together, the "lacking and disparate" world of Marinus and the "ramshackle" execution of the concept.<ref name="DVD Talk">{{cite web|first=J Doyle|last=Wallis|url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/39972/doctor-who-the-keys-of-marinus/|title=Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus|publisher=[[DVD Talk]]|date=25 February 2010|accessdate=23 November 2012}}</ref> Arnold T. Blumberg of [[IGN]] gave ''The Keys of Marinus'' a score of 4 out of 10, describing it as "a clichéd premise ... handled poorly and with no spark at all apart from Hartnell's late-hour rally". He cited the poor production quality and the "hodge-podge" leaps to various locations on Marinus which were "boring if not inept".<ref name="IGN">{{cite web|first=Arnold T.|last=Blumberg|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/01/19/doctor-who-the-keys-of-marinus-dvd-review|title=Doctor Who - The Keys of Marinus DVD Review|publisher=[[IGN]]|date=19 January 2010|accessdate=23 November 2012}}</ref>
 
The first episode was broadcast on [[BBC One|BBC TV]] on 11 April 1964, and was watched by 9.9 million viewers, maintaining the audience from previous weeks. The following episode dropped to 9.4 million viewers, while the third returned to 9.9 million.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=120}} The third episode became the first ''Doctor Who'' episode to be transmitted on BBC1, following its renaming from BBC TV due to the launch of [[BBC2]].{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=119}} The fourth episode was the serial's most-watched, with 10.4 million viewers, followed by a significant drop for the fifth and sixth episodes, with 7.9 million and 6.9 million viewers, respectively;{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=120}} from the fifth episode, the show's broadcast time returned to its original slot of 5:15pm. The drop in viewers for the sixth episode was attributed to the absence of ''[[Juke Box Jury]]''—the programme that followed ''Doctor Who''—which was replaced by the film ''Where Coco Lives''.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=119}} The [[Appreciation Index]] was an average of 61 for the six episodes, ranging from 60 to 63.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=120}}
However, the story and its structure was met with some positive reception. [[Graham Kibble-White]] in ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' derided Susan's character for "devolving into a bit of a shrill" but was generally positive towards the episodic story structure and the timing of Hartnell's holiday. Despite this, he wrote that the scripts of the final two episodes "never truly engages with the tenets of courtroom drama".<ref name="DWM review">{{cite journal|first=Graham|last=Kibble-White|title=DVD review: The Keys of Marinus|url=http://whoreview.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/the-keys-of-marinus/|journal=[[Doctor Who Magazine]]|publisher=[[Panini Comics]]|location=[[Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent]]|issue=414|date=11 November 2009}}</ref> A Den of Geek felt that the different locations structure "works incredibly well" by keeping the momentum and making each episode "fresh".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.denofgeek.com/dvd-bluray/8249/doctor-who-the-keys-of-marinus-dvd-review|title=Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus DVD Review|publisher=Den of Geek|date=31 August 2009|accessdate=23 November 2012}}</ref>
 
=== Critical response ===
==Commercial Releases==
The serial received mixed reviews. Bob Leeson of the ''[[Morning Star (British newspaper)|Daily Worker]]'' felt that the fifth episode of the serial was the show's low point, noting that the introduction of a trial scene represented a rushed script.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=119}} In a retrospective review, Patrick Mulkern of ''[[Radio Times]]'' wrote that "standards slip appreciably" after the four preceding serials in terms of "ambitious but slapdash" script quality, as well as the below-par sets and supporting characters.<ref name="Radio Times Review"/> [[DVD Talk]]'s J. Doyle Wallis attributed the serial's weakness was attributed to the Doctor's absence, the lack of a main antagonist that would thread the episodes together, the "lacking and disparate" world of Marinus, and the "ramshackle" execution of the concept.<ref name="DVD Talk Review"/> Arnold T. Blumberg of [[IGN]] described the episode as "a clichéd premise ... handled poorly and with no spark at all apart from Hartnell's late-hour rally". He cited the poor production quality and the "hodge-podge" leaps to various locations on Marinus which were "boring if not inept".<ref name="IGN Review"/> However, the story and its structure was met with some positive reception. [[Graham Kibble-White]] in ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' derided Susan's character for "devolving into a bit of a shrill" but was generally positive towards the episodic story structure and the timing of Hartnell's holiday. Despite this, he wrote that the final two episodes "never truly engages with the tenets of courtroom drama".<ref name="DWM Review"/> Elliot Thorpe of [[Den of Geek]] felt that the episodic story structure "works incredibly well" by keeping the momentum and making each episode "fresh".<ref name="Den of Geek Review"/>
 
== Commercial releases ==
===In print===
{{Infobox book
|name = Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus
|image = Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus.jpg
|image_size = 150
|caption =
|author = [[Philip Hinchcliffe]]
Line 172 ⟶ 161:
|isbn= 0-426-20125-6
}}
A novelisation of this serial, written by [[Philip Hinchcliffe]], was published by [[Target Books]] in August 1980, with artwork by David McAllister. The paperback version of the book was also included in ''The Doctor Who Gift Set'' in 1986.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=121}} The serial was released on [[VHS]] in March 1999, and on [[DVD]] in September 2009; the latter included several special features, including audio commentary and a documentary on the sets featured in the serial.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=122}} While remastering the serial for the DVD release, it was discovered that the second and fourth episodes had been slightly edited; off-air soundtracks recorded by David Holman were used to restore the cuts.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=120}} Sound effects from the serial, under the title "Sleeping Machine", were included on ''[[Doctor Who: The 50th Anniversary Collection]]'', originally released on CD in December 2013.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=122}}
A novelisation of this serial, written by [[Philip Hinchcliffe]], was published by [[Target Books]] in 1980. This is the only one of Hinchcliffe's three novelisations that did not come from his own period working on the programme.
 
==References==
The artwork on the novelisation had originally been prepared for an aborted adaptation of ''[[The Edge of Destruction]]''. Incoming Doctor Who producer [[John Nathan-Turner]] was unhappy with the grey colour of the TARDIS and the red colour of the light on top. Although he requested that the artwork be amended appropriately, his suggestions were not acted upon.
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
 
<!-- Reviews -->
===Home media===
<ref name="Den of Geek Review">{{cite web |url=http://www.denofgeek.com/dvd-bluray/8249/doctor-who-the-keys-of-marinus-dvd-review |title=Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus DVD Review |last=Thorpe |first=Elliot |work=Den of Geek |publisher=[[Dennis Publishing]] |date=31 August 2009 |accessdate=1 March 2018 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6xaQvUBlG |archivedate=1 March 2018 |deadurl=no }}</ref>
[[File:The Keys Of Marinus UK DVD Cover.jpg|thumb|left|upright|UK DVD front cover]]
The story was released in episodic form on [[VHS]] in March 1999.<ref>{{cite web|first=Steve|last=Roberts|url=http://www.purpleville.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/rtwebsite/marinus.htm|title=The Keys of Marinus|publisher=[[Doctor Who Restoration Team]]|date=18 January 1999|accessdate=2 December 2012}}</ref>
 
<ref name="DVD Talk Review">{{cite web |url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/39972/doctor-who-the-keys-of-marinus/ |title=Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus |last=Wallis |first=J. Doyle |publisher=[[DVD Talk]] |date=25 February 2010 |accessdate=1 March 2018 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6xaQb129g |archivedate=1 March 2018 |deadurl=no }}</ref>
It was also released on DVD on 21 September 2009. Although the story was previously thought of as complete, it was discovered during remastering for the DVD release that episodes two and four were slightly edited from the originally broadcast versions. These cuts were reinstated using off-air audio recordings and other visual material.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.purpleville.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/rtwebsite/KeysOfMarinusDVD.htm |title=The Keys of Marinus - DVD |publisher=[[Doctor Who Restoration Team]] |date=2009-07-10 |accessdate=2010-07-15}}</ref>
 
<ref name="DWM Review">{{cite journal |last=Kibble-White |first=Graham |authorlink=Graham Kibble-White |title=DVD review: The Keys of Marinus |journal=[[Doctor Who Magazine]] |publisher=[[Panini Comics]] |location=[[Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent]] |issue=414 |date=11 November 2009 }}</ref>
{{clear}}
 
<ref name="IGN Review">{{cite web |url=http://ign.com/articles/2010/01/19/doctor-who-the-keys-of-marinus-dvd-review |title=Doctor Who - The Keys of Marinus DVD Review |last=Blumberg |first=Arnold T. |work=[[IGN]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |date=19 January 2010 |accessdate=1 March 2018 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6xaQmQzxW |archivedate=1 March 2018 |deadurl=no }}</ref>
==References==
 
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="ArchiveStatusRadio Times Review">{{cite web |url= http://gallifreyonewww.radiotimes.com/episode.php?id=enews/2008-10-04/the-keys-of-marinus/ |title= The Keys of Marinus |publisherlast=Mulkern |first=Patrick Outpost|work=[[Radio GallifreyTimes]] |author publisher=[[Immediate Media ShaunCompany]] Lyon|date =4 2007-03-31October 2008 |accessdate =1 March 2018 2008-08-30|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080803220212/http://www.gallifreyonewebcitation.comorg/episode.php?id6xaQWPPXr |archivedate=e1 <!--March Bot retrieved archive -->2018 |archivedate deadurl=no 2008-08-03|display-authors=etal}} </ref>
<ref name="AllRatings">{{cite web|title=Ratings Guide |url=http://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php?detail=ratings&type=date |website=Doctor Who News |accessdate=28 May 2017}}</ref>
}}
 
== Bibliography ==
==External links==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite journal |editor-last=Ainsworth |editor-first=John |year=2016 |title=Inside the Spaceship, Marco Polo, The Keys of Marinus and The Aztecs |journal=Doctor Who: The Complete History |publisher=[[Panini Comics]], [[Hachette Book Group|Hachette Partworks]] |volume=2 |issue=32 |ref=harv }}
{{refend}}
 
== External links ==
{{wikiquote|First Doctor}}
*{{BBCCDW | id=keysofmarinus | title=The Keys of Marinus}}
Line 196 ⟶ 189:
*{{Doctor Who RG | id=who_e | title=The Keys of Marinus}}
{{TardisIndexFile}}
 
===Reviews===
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930152453/http://www.gallifreyone.com/review.php?id=e ''The Keys of Marinus''] reviews at [[Outpost Gallifrey]]
*{{DWRG | id=keys | title=The Keys of Marinus}}
 
===Target novelisation===
* {{DWRG | id=keysnov | title=Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus}}
*{{Isfdb title|id=10614|title=Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus}}
*[http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~ecl6nb/OnTarget/1980/keys/80keys.htm On Target — ''Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus'']
 
{{Doctor Who episodes|C1}}