| 111[1] – Full Circle | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Doctor Who serial | |||
.jpg) The Doctor andK9 observe the Marshmen emerging from the swamp in the cliffhanger to Part One. The scene was one of many shot atBlack Park,Buckinghamshire.[2] | |||
| Cast | |||
Others
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| Production | |||
| Directed by | Peter Grimwade | ||
| Written by | Andrew Smith | ||
| Script editor | Christopher H. Bidmead | ||
| Produced by | John Nathan-Turner | ||
| Executive producer | Barry Letts | ||
| Music by | Paddy Kingsland | ||
| Production code | 5R | ||
| Series | Season 18 | ||
| Running time | 4 episodes, 25 minutes each | ||
| First broadcast | 25 October 1980 (1980-10-25) | ||
| Last broadcast | 15 November 1980 (1980-11-15) | ||
| Chronology | |||
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| List of episodes (1963–1989) | |||
Full Circle is the third serial of the18th season of the Britishscience fiction television seriesDoctor Who. Written by seventeen year-oldAndrew Smith and directed byPeter Grimwade, the serial was first broadcast in four weekly parts onBBC1 from 25 October to 15 November 1980. The serial sees theFourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and his companionsRomana andK9 inadvertently enter the smaller universe of E-Space, where they land on the lush forest planet Alzarius, during which an event called Mistfall causes amphibious Marshmen to rise from the water and threaten the humanoid Alzarians. The serial is the first regular appearance of the companionAdric (Matthew Waterhouse), a young orphan and mathematical prodigy among the Alzarians.
The outline forFull Circle was devised by Smith, a fan of the show who had previously submittedspec scripts to it. Upon becoming the show'sscript editor and discovering virtually no material for the upcoming season,Christopher H. Bidmead met with Smith and commissioned a script based on his outline. Peter Grimwade, who had experience with the show as a writer and production assistant, was chosen to direct the serial. Multiple effects were designed for the story, including spider props and aquatic costumes for the Marshmen. After three days of location filming atBlack Park inBuckinghamshire, the rest of the serial was filmed in studio at theBBC Television Centre, which was complicated by Tom Baker's on-set behavior.Paddy Kingsland provided the incidental music for the serial, composingleitmotifs for several characters.
The news of Tom Baker's departure from the series led to heightened media attention to the show at the time the serial aired. Despite this,Full Circle aired to relatively low ratings, never exceeding 5.9 million viewers, partially due to competing withBuck Rogers in the 25th Century onITV, but received a decentAppreciation Index score. The serial received mostly positive reviews from contemporary fans. Retrospective reviews have also been positive, with many praising Grimwade's direction and Baker's performance, as well as the design of the Marshmen. Critics have noted the serial's approach to the theory of evolution, the role of science and ritual in the story, and its themes of authority and colonization. The serial was novelised in 1982, and received an audio sequel fromBig Finish Productions titledMistfall.
En route to returnRomana toGallifrey, theTARDIS crew pass through a strange phenomenon and land on what they believe to be Gallifrey. Romana andthe Doctor step outside onto the lush forest planet of Alzarius, home to a small civilisation of humanoids who live around a grounded spaceship, the Starliner, and are ruled by three senior colonists known as the Deciders. Meanwhile, the Outlers, a group of young Alzarians who reject the Starliner, dareAdric, the brother of their leader Varsh, to steal a riverfruit to prove himself. Draith, the highest ranking Decider, and the scientist Dexeter notice the presence of eggs in the fresh riverfruit. Draith believes it is a sign of Mistfall, an event occurring every fifty years due to the planet'sorbit. As the lake water begins to bubble and mist fills the air, Draith orders an evacuation to the Starliner. As the evacuation proceeds, he spots Adric stealing a riverfruit and chases him. Draith eventually slips and is dragged under the lake, telling Adric "we've come full circle."
Adric heads into the forest in panic, finding the TARDIS, where the Doctor and Romana take him in. The Doctor andK9 head outside, where they observe theamphibious Marshmen emerge from the water. The Doctor sends K9 after the Marshmen, who knock off his head with a branch. Meanwhile, Nefred and Garif, the other Deciders, seal the Starliner, and appoint Login, a prominent citizen, to replace Draith. The Doctor, followed by a young Marshchild, sneaks onto the Starliner to search for an image translator for the TARDIS screen, which continues to show Gallifrey. After Decider Nefred calls on the Alzarian citizens to double their long-running work towards returning to Terradon, the origin of the Starliner, the Doctor and the Marshchild are brought to the Deciders. Meanwhile, Adric brings the Outlers to the TARDIS, which begins to shake as the Marshmen carry it to the Outlers' cave to use as a battering ram against the Starliner. The Outlers flee and accidentally dematerialize the TARDIS, leaving Romana at the mercy of spiders hatching from the riverfruit. Romana collapses as the spiders bite her.
The Outlers, including Login's daughter Keara, materialize onto the Starliner. The Doctor and Adric take the TARDIS to rescue Romana, whom they leave in her room. Back on the Starliner, the Doctor is appalled when chief scientist Dexeter starts to performvivisection experiments on the Marshchild, which escapes and kills both Dexeter and itself. The Doctor accuses the Deciders of hiding the fact that the Starliner no longer needs repairs and is ready to depart, to which Nefred responds that nobody knows how to fly it. Meanwhile, a possessed Romana leaves the TARDIS and begins letting hordes of Marshmen through the Starliner's lower decks.
The Doctor, Adric, Varsh, and Keara hide in Dexeter's lab. Meanwhile, Nefred is fatally injured, and tells Login and Garif that they cannot return to Terradon because they have never been there. As Romana breaks into the lab, the Doctor cures her and sends Adric and Varsh to force the Marshmen off the ship with cylinders pureoxygen, which they have discovered is toxic to them. As they do so, Varsh is killed by the Marshmen. The Doctor and the cured Romana examine the cells of the spiders, Marshmen, and Alzarians, and notice their similarity. The Doctor realizes that the Alzarians are not from Terradon, but are rather the descendants of Marshmen who quickly evolved to resemble the original, now-dead Terradonians. He tells Login to pump oxygen into the corridors, which forces the Marshmen outside. Once they are gone, the Doctor shows the two remaining Deciders how to pilot the ship. As the Starliner takes off, the Doctor explains to Romana that they have travelled through a Charged Vacuum Emboidment (CVE) and are now trapped in the smaller universe of E-Space.
The first outline ofFull Circle was devised byAndrew Smith, a seventeen year-old law student and fan of the show. Smith had learned script formatting from the bookThe Making of Doctor Who, which featured paperwork from the production ofRobot (1974-75).[3] His only prior success was in contributing sketches to television and radio programs.[4] He submitted his firstspec script to the show in 1978, at the age of fifteen.[5] The script, entitledThe Secret of Cassius and centring on a spaceship discovering an atmosphere onPluto, was rejected that August byAnthony Read, then the show'sscript editor. Read, however, encouraged Smith to continue submitting scripts.[3] The following April, Read's successor,Douglas Adams, invited Smith to a day of studio recording forThe Creature from the Pit (1979), which inspired him to outline a story under the working titleThe Planet That Slept, which he submitted to the show later that year.[3]
The Planet That Slept centres around a non-aggressive, ostracised Marshchild (nicknamed "Fem" by the regulars) who becomes attached tothe Doctor andRomana.[3] At the end of the story, the female Marshchild sacrifices itself to save the Doctor.[6] In the outline, the Marshmen, whom Smith characterised as "disfigured savages and psychopaths"[3] worshipK9 as a god and attempt to sacrifice Romana to him. The role of the Starliner also differed from the final serial. In Smith's outline, the ship is a freighter that crashes on Alzarius and is boarded by giant spiders as its crew searches for minerals.[6]
In December 1979,[3]Christopher H. Bidmead becameDoctor Who's script editor, aiming to recentre the show around a policy of "education, education, education"[7] and discovered that Adams had left almost no material that could be used for the show'seighteenth season,[3] the sole available script beingThe Leisure Hive byDavid Fisher.[4] Bidmead noticed Smith's outline forThe Planet That Slept and met with him in February, whereupon he found out Smith's age.[3] Smith assumed that Bidmead would simply offer him guidance and was shocked when Bidmead began discussing a script,[6] which he officially commissioned from Smith on 25 February 1980, to be due on 1 April.[8]
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Bidmead and producerJohn Nathan-Turner each hoped to use the serial to introduce new elements to the season. In January, Nathan-Turner, wishing to change the line-up of regulars and replace K9, devised a younger, male companion for the Doctor modeled on the literary characterArtful Dodger. Bidmead named the characterAdric, an anagram of the last name ofPaul Dirac,[6] the physicist who originated the theory ofantimatter.[5] Adric's original backstory as a runaway from a bureaucratic society closely paralleled that of the Doctor.[10][11] In Nathan-Turner's outline for the character, Adric was from a planet called Yerfillag, the Doctor's home planet "Gallifrey" spelled backwards, and would begin traveling with the Doctor after the death of his troublemaker older brother Afrus. The idea was retained by having Alzarius' negative coordinates match those of Gallifrey's in the finished serial.[10] With Adric to be written into the next story, eventually titledState of Decay (1980), Bidmead had Smith incorporate Adric and Afrus intoThe Planet that Slept,[6] and had him given the new writer's guide for the series.[8] The Marschild's role in the original outline was mostly replaced by that of Adric,[5] while Afrus was renamed "Varsh."[6] Bidmead was also interested in connecting a number of serials under a common story arc. Nathan-Turner was initially hesitant, due to production issues onseason 16, which also made use of an overarching story. Eventually, he approved a trilogy of serials in which the Doctor and Romana would be trapped in E-Space (short for 'exo-space"),[12] a universe with negative coordinates.[8] A 12 June memo by Bidmead titledThe Doctor's Adventures in E-Space provided a detailed scientific explanation of how E-Space and the Charged Vacuum Emboidment would function, as well as their effects on the Doctor's travels.[12]
Smith submitted his script for the serial's first episode on March 22. Happy with the script, Bidmead commissioned the script for the next three episodes three days later, which Smith turned in on his deadline of April 25.[13] The first draft of the serial differed in many ways from Smith's original outline. Besides adding the elements of Adric and E-Space, Bidmead and Smith developed the serial's focus on evolution, devising the origin of the Alzarians as Marshmen who had evolved to resemble the long-dead Terradonians. The first draft also added the elements of the Deciders and the hierarchy of Alzarian society.[8] Smith imagined Adric as a runaway whose family had been killed in an accident engineered by Decider Draith, solidifying his anti-authority attitude. He also devised the character's badge for mathematical excellence.[8] The production team removed the giant spiders from the script, prompted by the failure of an effect on an episode ofBlake's 7.[8] Smith replaced them with smallercrab spiders.[13]
Smith's scripts went through four drafts in all.[13] Although initially surprised at Bidmead's changes, Smith characterised the development process as collaborative. He described Bidmead's contribution as growing throughout the serial, with Part One being mostly his own.[4] Nathan-Turner asked Smith to revise his first draft of the final episode, which he felt did not sufficiently involve the Doctor as an active character.[13] The treatment of the Marshchild was also changed from the first draft, in which a character named Omril tortures it.[13] Smith also inserted a continuity reference to 1980'sMeglos upon reading its script.[13] Bidmead and Nathan-Turner encouraged other continuity references toseason 15'sThe Invasion of Time and the season 16'sTheKey To Time arc to develop the Doctor and Romana's approach to their situation. The production team issued rehearsal scripts on 30 May.[14] Nathan-Turner did not like Smith's title for the serial, leading Bidmead to reissue the scripts with the new titleFull Circle on June 19, displeasing Smith.[12] The new title was worked into Decider Draith's last words in Part One to clue the audience in on Alzarius' process of evolution.[12][15] The serial's ending gained a new scene in which the Doctor shows the Deciders how to activate the Starliner, replacing an ending in which Adric is explicitly shown stowing on board the TARDIS as its scanner shows the Marshmen returning to the swamp.[12] On 2 June,Peter Grimwade was chosen to direct the serial. Grimwade was a friend of Nathan-Turner's, and had worked as a production assistant on six prior serials.[10] More recently, he had been hired as a writer for the show on a planned serial calledXeraphin.[14]
Amy Roberts, who had previously worked on the serialImage of the Fendahl (1977), was brought on as costume designer, Francis Needham and Janet Budden, both new to the show, were chosen for make-up and set design respectively. Visual effects were assigned to John Brace, who had worked as effects assistant on various serials for the show.[14] Roberts and Brace each produced a design for the Marshman costumes, which were tested on location by Marshman actor Barney Lawrence on 21 July. Grimwade ultimately selected Roberts' design, eight of which were created for the serial. Although initially imagined as cavemen-like by Smith, Roberts' Marshmen costumes were aquatic in appearance, with latex decorations suggesting seaweed and shells and also functioning as wetsuits. The costume incorporated masks with afibreglass underskull over a rubber skull cap, surgical gloves, and rubber slippers. Two actors passed out from the heat of the Marshmen costumes both in studio and on location.[16] The costumes for the two extras playing swimming Alzarians were changed from thongs to more substantial clothing at Nathan-Turner's request.[2]
The visual effects department, under Brace, developed multiple variants of Marshspider props, including a twelve-inch one with glowing eyes which could pop out of a fruit on a rod, one string puppet for a close-up, and twenty five-inch spiders made of latex, which would move by being pulled across the floor. Three battery-powered spiders that could "walk" through the use of an internal pulley system were also designed; they also featured moving fangs and glowing eyes.[17] The effect of Romana's blue and green veins after being bitten by the spiders would be accomplished byScotchlite make-up which would reflect the colored lights.[18] The effects of Mistfall would be produced on location withdry ice and a wind machine, which the effects team experimented with on the morning of the first shoot day.[2]
Grimwade, inspired by the use ofCSO on the 1977 serialThe Robots of Death, opted to screen model corridors into the background of Starliner interior scenes to increase the illusion of depth.[17] The corridor set was able to be redressed as an entrance hatch and a lower section of the ship through which the Marshmen would enter. The production team obtained permission to use overhead lighting arrays to raise and lower doors and hatches on the Starliner set.[18]
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The character of Adric was first announced in theEvening News on 26 February.[13] The outline for the character had described him as "about 15" and "wiry" with "short, straight black hair."[20] The next month, Nathan-Turner castMatthew Waterhouse in the role. Waterhouse was a former news clerk at theBBC and, like Smith, a longtimeDoctor Who fan.[13][21] Waterhouse was formerly the first correspondent for the fan magazineDoctor Who Weekly,[21] and had once participated in aTV Action competition to design a monster for the show, debuting as an actor in the then-unreleasedTo Serve Them All My Days (1980).[22] AlthoughFull Circle introduces Adric, the first serial Waterhouse filmed wasState of Decay.[13] Waterhouse later stated that he was given the role without much preparation, claiming he had lunch with Nathan-Turner and sent "straight into rehearsals."[23] Waterhouse competed for the role with a friend and fellow fan, Bernard Padden.[21] After three auditions, Padden was disqualified for his strongManchester accent, but was given the role of Outler Tylos, which Grimwade initially wanted to cast actorBilly McColl in.[12]
Nathan-Turner approached film and television actorGeorge Baker in the BBC's Rehearsal Rooms inActon, asking him to play Login, an Alzarian citizen and later Decider whose daughter Keara is among the Outlers. Baker agreed, relating to the part due to his five daughters. Grimwade was responsible for much of the casting. Child performerJune Page andThe Feathered Serpent actor Richard Willis were cast as Keara and Varsh respectively; the two later married.[12]
A number of actors had made previous appearances on the show. James Bree, cast as Decider Nefred, had appeared inThe War Games (1969),[10] whereas Alan Rowe, cast as Decider Garif, had appeared inThe Moonbase (1967),The Time Warrior (1973-74), andHorror of Fang Rock (1977), on which he had worked with Grimwade, who initially wantedJohn Franklyn-Robbins in the role.[12] Because of their matching green costumes, the three Decider actors were nicknamed "the Decider Sisters" on set.[18] Despite hoping to cast Steve Kelly, Grimwade gave performer Barney Lawrence, who had been an extra onState of Decay, the role of the Marshman Leader. He also cast Norman Bacon, also a former extra on the show inThe Sun Makers (1977), as the other main Marshman role, the Marshchild.[12]
The cast first read through the script on 22 July atthe Television Centre. Although Smith had been warned of Tom Baker's harsh reaction to scripts, Baker did not respond as dismissively as he usually did.[16] The three-day16mm location shoot began the next day atBlack Park inBuckinghamshire, on the east side of the lake. The crew kept two local swimmers on standby for the scene featuring the swimming Alzarians and their rescue. Also filmed on the first day were the scenes of Decider Draith's address to the other Alzarians, Draith's conversation with Dexeter, and the attempted theft of riverfruit.[2] Smith visited the location shoot, where he caught a virus and vomited on the costumes.[5][16]
The next day, production shifted primarily to the lake's northern end and saw the filming of Draith's death, as well as the Alzarians walking to the Starliner. Draith's death was accomplished by dragging stuntmanStuart Fell into the lake with a wire pulled byfrogmen.[24] The third and final day of location shooting was mostly conducted in the park's woods, and comprised all the exterior scenes featuring the Marshmen and the regular cast. While filming its scenes in the afternoon, the radio-controlledK9 prop began to have difficulty moving, which controller Nigel Brackley discovered was a result of mud clogging its rubber treads. Grimwade waited until the sun was low in the sky to film the day's final scene of the Marshmen rising up from the swamp. Grimwade recorded two takes; on the second one, the Marshmen actors held weights under the water to prevent them from rising too quickly.[24]
Studio rehearsals began the following Tuesday, 29 July at the Acton Rehearsal Rooms. A number of rewrites took place before the shoot resumed, including the removal of Login's cabin to avoid building another set and a reworking of the Marshchild scenes. On Thursday, 7 August, studio filming began at the Television Centre's Studio 3 with an evening session to record the scenes set in theTARDIS.[25] Close-ups of Romana being possessed were also filmed, during which Lalla Ward's screaming kept distorting the tapes. The next day, the crew filmed scenes set in the Starliner's lower decks, followed by filming on the cave set, which proved longer and more complicated than anticipated.[18] Due to the time constraints, Grimwade postponed the recording of scenes set in the Starliner corridors to the second block of production.[17]
The following Monday, 11 August, rehearsals at Acton began again in preparation for the second shooting block, which began on 21 August, this time in Studio 6.[17] The first evening session began with the scenes set in the Starliner's science unit. The session concluded with two more scenes in the cave, including the spiders attacking Romana. The next day's afternoon saw filming on the Great Book Room set, with model shots of the TARDIS and Starliner recorded that evening.[26] On 23 August, the final day of filming, scenes set in the Starliner boarding area were shot, including Varsh's death and the Marshmen attacking, for which dry ice was used again. Waterhouse drew on his memory of his brother's suicide to play the scene of Varsh's death. The evening session saw the completion of the postponed corridor shots from the first block of filming.[27]
Filming was complicated by Tom Baker's difficult behavior on set.[27] While filming, Nathan-Turner asked Baker to redo a scene in which the Doctor chastises Adric, feeling Baker was acting too pleased. Baker asked Nathan-Turner if he should instead be playingFrancis of Assisi, and began calling Nathan-Turner "the Vatican."[26] Because of his frustration with the K9 prop, Baker carried its head around the studio, barking "woof-woof" during camera rehearsals, prompting Grimwade to intervene. On the final shoot day, Waterhouse, whose relationship with Baker had become particularly strained, responded to Baker's behavior by swearing at him. At one point during the production, Baker, due to his exhaustion and dissatisfaction with Nathan-Turner, first discussed with the producer about leaving the series.[27] During both location and studio filming, a photographer fromView-Master was on set to take photographs that could be viewed with the toy, unsettling some of the actors.[2][18]
The serial was edited from 28 August to 6 September.[28] Several scenes were trimmed from Part Four, which overran,[29] as well as one in Part One.[28] Some shots of the Marshmen and Starliner were played in slow motion. Some of the visual effects were accomplished withQuantel 3000.[28] A few lines, including Draith's dying words, were dubbed over. Grimwade also recorded two announcements playing in the Starliner himself. Last minute edits continued until 12 November.[30]Radiophonic Workshop composerPaddy Kingsland wrote and produced the incidental soundtrack for the serial, having previously composed forState of Decay andMeglos. Kingsland, at Grimwade's suggestion, composedleitmotifs for each character, reusing Adric's fromState of Decay. The soundtrack was realised usingYamaha SY2,Oberheim OB-X, andRoland Jupiter-4 synthesizers in addition to drums.[30] Dick Mills, also of the Workshop, obtained the noises for the Marshmen by recording at a pig farm.[5]
Full Circle is conceptually and thematically concerned with thetheory of evolution.[32] John Toon, in a monograph on the serial, notes that the Doctor's function in the story mirrors that ofCharles Darwin inVictorian Britain by upending the regime of the Deciders, who organize society around ritual and mystery. The serial's approach to evolution, however, owes more to the theory ofJean-Baptiste Lamarck that changes to an individualism during its lifetime would be inherited by its offspring. Lamarck's theory can be seen in the rapid and purposeful adaptation of the Marshmen from water to air.[31]
Graham Sleight writes thatFull Circle questions the difference between primitivism and civilization, and notes that the Alzarians have adopted "vast structures of deception" to deny their closeness to the animalistic Marshmen. As in several other of the show's storylines, this systemic deception is dismantled by scientific inquiry.[33] The Alzarians are initially presented as a colonial people whose base is threatened by the indigenous Marshmen, an example of the fear of post-imperial "reverse colonialism" that was prevalent in many ofDoctor Who's serials of the period, although this is subverted by the reveal that the Alzarians are themselves indigenous.[34] Toon notes a contrast between the treatment of circular history inFull Circle andWarriors' Gate (1981), the final serial of the E-Space trilogy. Whereas the Alzarians appear trapped in a cycle of repeating their history of domination by the ruling class, the Tharils inWarrior's Gate work to undo their past as slavers.[34]
Some critics have noted religious overtones inFull Circle. Fan reviewer Martin Wiggins, writing soon after the serial's initial broadcast, observed parallels between the story and theBook of Exodus, noting that Mistfall mirrorsPassover and that Decider Nefred's death and before the Alzarians reach their final destination of Terradon is reminiscent of the death ofMoses on the way to thePromised Land.[35] During the serial's development, Bidmead compared the ritualistic maintenance of the Starliner to a form ofcargo cult.[36] Although the Alzarians have scientists, the Starliner society is organized around the mystical, "patrician" authority of the Deciders, who cloak the ship's function in mystery. A triangular motif in the Starliner's set design evokes an association with magic, mirroring the mystical presentation of the ship.[36] Although science dispels the mystery of the Starliner and turns it into a tool, scientific inquiry is also shown to be untrustworthy and dangerous through Dexeter's failed operation on the Marshchild and the unreliability of the TARDIS scanner. This is further underlined by the failure ofK9, who is destroyed and repurposed by the Doctor as atotemic mask to scare off the Marshmen.[36]
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Critic John Muir notes thatFull Circle's focus on a society that has forgotten its heritage has its antecedent in theseason 14 serialThe Face of Evil, and revisits thecliché of a world "descended into barbarism."[38]Full Circle's narrative twist is the reverse of the reveal inThe Face of Evil in which a primitive tribe is revealed to be descended from the crew of a spaceship.[32] Muir also notes similarities between the serial and a 1975 episode of the science-fiction seriesSpace: 1999 titled"The Full Circle," in which a group of men and women devolve into primitive cavemen after passing through a mist.[39] The 1983 bookDoctor Who: The Unfolding Text considers bothFull Circle, as a "monster story," and the following serial,State of Decay, examples ofGothic influence in season 18.[40] The concept of primitive aliens evolving to resemble space-faring colonists may have its origin in Gene Wolfe'sThe Fifth Head of Cerberus.[41] Many critics have noted the similarities between the Marshmen's design and first appearance and the filmCreature from the Black Lagoon, the title creature of which also derives its horror from being a "missing link" between humanity and the primitive.[32][37][35] Toon suggests that the interconnectedness of Alzarius may have been inspired by the thesis of the 1979 bookGaia: A New Look at Life on Earth, which Bidmead may have been familiar with.[42]
| Episode | Title | Run time | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) [43] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Part One" | 24:23 | 25 October 1980 (1980-10-25) | 5.9 |
| 2 | "Part Two" | 22:11 | 1 November 1980 (1980-11-01) | 3.7 |
| 3 | "Part Three" | 22:00 | 8 November 1980 (1980-11-08) | 5.9 |
| 4 | "Part Four" | 24:16 | 15 November 1980 (1980-11-15) | 5.5 |
Full Circle was broadcast onBBC1 in four weekly parts from 25 October to 15 November 1980.[44] Although the first episode's viewership saw an uptick from the preceding serial,Meglos, the second's viewership of under four million was one of the lowest in the show's history. The remaining two episodes attracted a larger audience, but remained under six million, outside of the week's top 100. The serial competed for viewers withITV's concurrent broadcast ofBuck Rogers in the 25th Century. The final episode saw a decent Appreciation Index score of 65.[45] The second and third episodes were followed by a promotion for aDoctor Who exhibit atMadame Tussauds.[45]
Two days before the first episode was broadcast, the serial was advertised inRadio Times with an article playing up the youth of Smith and Waterhouse. Another article in theDaily Express also focused on the two teenagers.[46] Waterhouse appeared in several interviews before and during the serial's broadcast, introducing the serial and character onTop of the Pops,BBC Radio Cymru,Playground forBBC Radio 1, andMulti-Colored Swap Shop. The latter two also promoted clips from the serial's first episode.[47][46] The serial's broadcast came amid heavy media attention to the series, as Tom Baker announced his departure from the show the day before the first episodes aired, leading to frenzied speculation on who his replacement would be until the announcement ofPeter Davison's casting on 4 November.[45][46]
The serial was broadcast in the United States in May 1981, also airing as an 83-minutetelevision movie. That summer, the serial was rebroadcast by the BBC from 3 to 6 August, airing one episode an evening from Monday to Thursday, although it did not air on BBC Cymru. The rebroadcast saw low ratings, although the second and fourth episodes exceeded the original viewership.[44] It was bought by New Zealand the same year, and aired in Australia in the spring of 1982. It was screened in Brunei, Canada, Gibraltar, and Swaziland over the next two years before being reissued, after which it was further broadcast in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.UK Gold screened it episode-by-episode in May 1994, and from July screened a compilation form.BBC Prime rebroadcast it in the spring of 2000.[44]
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Full Circle received mostly positive contemporary reviews, and was retrospectively characterized by writerLance Parkin as "beloved" of fans at the time.[50]Doctor Who Monthly, asDoctor Who Magazine was then titled, singled Grimwade's direction out for praise, particularly the scene of the Marshmen rising out of the swamp, and described the serial as "one of the best" in "a very long time."[51] Peter Anghelides, in thefanzineTARDIS, wrote that "all the hopes of an excellent set of stories" in Season 18 were fulfilled byFull Circle, praising the serial's acting and "moving" and "not overly dramatic" death scenes. Martin Wiggins ofArk In Space, another fanzine, criticized the "ostentatious" continuity references.[35] InThe Doctor Who Review, Gary Hopkins praised Tom Baker and Lalla Ward's performances, particularly in the scene after the Marshchild's death. Hopkins also joined in praising Grimwade's direction and the "beautiful" reveal of the Marshmen at the end of Part One, and considered the spider effects generally convincing. In the fanzineFendahl, reviewer Frank Danes considered the spider effects a failure, but said the character of Adric was "interesting."[35]
Retrospective reviews have also been generally positive. In 2004, Lawrence Miles and Tat Wood, writing inAbout Time: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who, criticized the serial's dialogue and "obsessive continuity" in their "prosecution" section, but noted in their "defense" that the serial heralds a return to the series "taking itself seriously again." They singled out the mature drama of the Marshchild's death and Tom Baker's acting for praise, and wrote that the serial 's design, theme, and direction suggest "a universe of layers and textures."[48] Patrick Mulkern, writing a retrospective review inRadio Times, gave the serial five stars, writing that despite some "lackluster" casting, the serial affords Tom Baker "outstanding" material in his speech to the Deciders, and praising Grimwade's direction in the swamp sequences.[49] Lance Parkin consideredFull Circle "a mixed bag," with both "strong monster moments" and "terrible acting."[50] Many critics commended the design of the Marshmen. Miles and Wood applauded the "attention to detail" in their design, favorably comparing their convincing appearance to a nature documentary,[32] while Mulkern applauded them as the "most effective monsters in ages."[49] Graham Sleight, in a book onDoctor Who's monsters, called the cliffhanger to Part One one of the series' best, "beautifully framed and lit" with "judicious use of slow motion."[52] Peter Campbell, writing inDoctor Who: The Episode Guide, rates the serial 8 out of 10, calling it "stylish and confident," although criticizing the "irritating" Outlers and "a confused resolution."[53] In a 2014 poll byDoctor Who Magazine,Full Circle was ranked 143rd out of 241 Doctor Who stories.[10]
 | |
| Author | Andrew Smith |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Andrew Skilleter |
| Series | Doctor Who book: Target novelisations |
Release number | 26 |
| Publisher | Target Books |
Publication date | 16 September 1982 |
| ISBN | 0-426-20150-7 |
Anovelisation of the serial, written by Andrew Smith, was published byTarget Books in September 1982. Smith used the novelisation to expand on several elements of the storyline and setting. Unlike the serial, the novelisation opens with the Starliner crashing on Alzarius. An audiobook of the Target novelisation was released on 29 January 2015 read by Matthew Waterhouse and John Leeson.[54]
Full Circle was released onVHS in October 1997 with the as part of a box set calledThe E-Space Trilogy. TheDVD was released in January 2009 as part of a set of the same name.[54] This serial was also released as part of theDoctor Who DVD Files (issue 85) in April 2012.[55]Paddy Kingsland's incidental music for the serial was released as part of the compilation albumDoctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume 4: Meglos & Full Circle in 2002. Two individual tracks, "K9 on a Mission" and "Summons to Gallifrey" were released onDoctor Who: The 50th Anniversary Collection in 2013. Sound effects for the serial have been released onDoctor Who: 30 Years at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in 1993 andDoctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume 3: The Leisure Hive in 2002.[55] In 2019, the story was released on Blu-ray as part of the Doctor Who Collection Season 18 box set.[54]
In 2015,Big Finish Productions released anaudio sequel to the serial as part ofThe Monthly Adventures range ofDoctor Who audio dramas.[56] The sequel, titledMistfall and written by Smith, sees theFifth Doctor (Peter Davison) and his companions enter E-Space and land on Alzarius 300 years later, where they meet an expedition from New Alzarius, a planet settled by the Starliner inhabitants after the events ofFull Circle.[54] Smith incorporated the concept of an intelligent Marshwoman named Fem from his original outline into the audio.[57]
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