| 124[1] – Snakedance | |||
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| Doctor Who serial | |||
| Cast | |||
Others
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| Production | |||
| Directed by | Fiona Cumming | ||
| Written by | Christopher Bailey | ||
| Script editor | Eric Saward | ||
| Produced by | John Nathan-Turner | ||
| Executive producer(s) | None | ||
| Music by | Peter Howell | ||
| Production code | 6D | ||
| Series | Season 20 | ||
| Running time | 4 episodes, 25 minutes each | ||
| First broadcast | 18 January–26 January 1983 | ||
| Chronology | |||
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| List of episodes (1963–1989) | |||
Snakedance is the second serial of the20th season of the Britishscience fiction television seriesDoctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts onBBC1 from 18 to 26 January 1983.
The serial is set on the planet Manussa 500 years after the serialKinda (1982). In the serial, theMara takes over the bodies of the Doctor's companion Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Lon (Martin Clunes), the ruler's son, while seeking to manifest itself by using a crystal.
The arrival of theTARDIS on Manussa triggers nightmares inTegan, who dreams of a snake-shaped cave mouth. When she and TheFifth Doctor find the cave from her dream, Tegan runs away. Alone and confused, Tegan lapses under the control of theMara once more.
Manussa is in the grip of a festival of celebration of the banishment of the Mara from the civilisation five hundred years earlier. In the absence of the Federator, who rules over the three-planet Federation, his indolent son Lon is to have a major role in the celebration, supported by his mother the Lady Tanha and the archaeologist Ambril. Lon believes the Mara might one day return as prophesied, but Ambril is unconvinced. The young deputy curator Chela is more sympathetic and gives the Doctor a small blue crystal called a Little Mind's Eye, which is used by the Snakedancers, a mystical cult, in their ceremonies to repel the Mara. The Doctor realises the small crystal and its large counterpart, the Great Mind's Eye, can be used as focal points for mental energy and can turn thought into matter. This, he determines, is how the Mara will transfer from Tegan's mind to corporeal existence.
Tegan and Lon visit the cave from Tegan's dream, where Lon notices a wall pattern which could accommodate the Great Mind's Eye. Lon is sent back to the Palace while she causes more havoc and takes control of a showman, Dugdale. Lon tries to persuade Ambril to use the Great Mind's Eye in the ceremony, placing it in a position that will enable the Mara to return.
The Doctor uses the Little Mind's Eye to contact Ambril's predecessor Dojjen, who lives in sandy dunes beyond the city. They venture there and the Doctor communes with Dojjen by opening his mind after being bitten by a poisonous snake. He is told by the wise old snakedancer that the Mara may only be defeated by finding a still point in the mind. All three head back to the city to prevent the ceremony of defeating the Mara using the real Great Mind's Eye. The festivities are now at a peak, with a procession taking place which culminates in a ceremony at the cave. Lon plays the role of his ancestor Federator in rejecting the Mara. After a series of verbal challenges he seizes the real Great Mind's Eye and places it in the appropriate place on the wall. Tegan and Dugdale arrive and she displays the Mara mark on her arm, which is now becoming flesh having fed on the fear in Dugdale's mind. With the crystal in place, the Mara is able to create itself in the cave, becoming a vast and deadly snake. The Doctor arrives in time and refuses to look at the snake or recognise its evil, relying instead on the still place he finds through mental commune with Dojjen via the Little Mind's Eye. This resistance interrupts the manifestation of the Mara and its three slaves are freed while the snake itself dies and rots. The Doctor comforts a distraught Tegan, sure that the Mara has at last been destroyed.
In post-production, episode four of this story overran very badly. As a result, it had to be completely restructured. Originally the door for a third Mara adventure was to be left open, with closing scenes discussing the ultimate fate of the Great Crystal. Furthermore, a sequence in which the Doctor comforts Tegan had to be removed. The scene was reincorporated into the beginning of the subsequent serial,Mawdryn Undead (1983).
Due to industrial action issues and studio shortages at the time of recording, much of the set used for the production had to be recycled from other BBC productions. The set used for the 1982A Song for Europe entertainment show, broadcast in March 1982, formed the main set elements for the Federator's living and working areas.[2]
Brian Miller was the husband ofElisabeth Sladen, who portrayed long-time companionSarah Jane Smith.[3] He later appeared in "Deep Breath" inSeries 8 (2014), as well as playing Harry Sowersby inThe Mad Woman in the Attic (2009), a story ofThe Sarah Jane Adventures, and providing Dalek voices for bothResurrection of the Daleks (1984) andRemembrance of the Daleks (1988).Brian Grellis previously played Sheprah inRevenge of the Cybermen (1975) and Safran inThe Invisible Enemy (1977).
According to the extensive production documentation released from the archive as part of theSeason 20 - The Collection Box Set in September 2023,Sylvia Syms was offered the part of Tanha before Colette O'Neil accepted the role. Syms would later play the role of Mrs. Pritchard in the Season 26 storyGhost Light. Brian Grellis was a late replacement for the part of 'Megaphone Man' after Christopher Farries dropped out of the production for unspecified reasons.[4]
| Episode | Title | Run time | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) [5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Part One" | 24:26 | 18 January 1983 (1983-1-18) | 6.7 |
| 2 | "Part Two" | 24:35 | 19 January 1983 (1983-1-19) | 7.7 |
| 3 | "Part Three" | 24:29 | 25 January 1983 (1983-1-25) | 6.6 |
| 4 | "Part Four" | 24:29 | 26 January 1983 (1983-1-26) | 7.4 |
InDoctor Who: The Episode Guide, Mark Campbell awarded it seven out of ten, describing it as "less experimental thanKinda" but still containing "some good moments", although he concluded that "Martin Clunes and Colette O'Neill are the best things in it".[6] Mark Braxton ofRadio Times awarded it two stars out of five, describing it as "a firm fan favourite" but a "limp sequel toKinda", adding "whereKinda had bravura performances and genuinely unsettling moments, here the coils of plot and subtext hang rather limply". He observed a "lack of genuine jeopardy, pace or thrills", but described the guest cast as "solid" and praised Janet Fielding's performance and Fiona Cumming's direction of the "surreal possession scenes". He ended by stating that it was "competent" and "colourful enough" but found it "a stretch to understand quite whySnakedance is so beloved".[7]
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| Author | Terrance Dicks |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Andrew Skilleter |
| Series | Doctor Who book: Target novelisations |
Release number | 83 |
| Publisher | Target Books |
Publication date | 3 May 1984 |
| ISBN | 0-426-19457-8 |
A novelisation of this serial, written byTerrance Dicks, was published byTarget Books in January 1984. It was the first of two (the other beingEnlightenment) to feature Peter Davison's image in the logo.
Snakedance was released onVHS in December 1994. It was released onDVD on 7 March 2011 along withKinda in a special edition boxset entitled "Mara Tales". This serial was also released as part of theDoctor Who DVD Files in Issue 103 on 12 December 2012. In September 2023, the story was released again in an upgraded format for Blu-ray, being included with the other stories from Season 20 in theDoctor Who - The Collection Box Set.[8]
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| Season 20 |
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