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TARDIS Guide

Overview

First aired

Saturday, February 22, 1964

Production Code

D

Written by

John Lucarotti

Runtime

175 minutes

Time Travel

Past

Location (Potential Spoilers!)

Asia, China, Gobi Desert

Synopsis

Arriving in Central Asia in 1289, the Doctor and his companions join the caravan of the famous Venetian explorer Marco Polo as it makes its way from the snowy heights of the Pamir Plateau, across the treacherous Gobi Desert and through the heart of imperial Cathay.

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7 Episodes

The Roof of the World  Missing

First aired

Saturday, February 22, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

John Lucarotti

Directed by

Waris Hussein

UK Viewers

9.4 million

Appreciation Index

63

Synopsis

The TARDIS experiences a total power failure and is stranded in the Himalayas in the 13th century. The travellers are forced to join the caravan of the famous explorer, Marco Polo, in order to survive -- but Polo, fascinated by their claims that the TARDIS can fly through the air, seizes it on behalf of Kublai Khan in the hope that presenting the Khan with such a fabulous gift will convince him to let Polo return home to Venice. The travellers are forced to accompany Polo on his long trek across Asia to the Khan's court, but their many attempts to reclaim their property are foiled -- not just by Polo, but by the war lord Tegana, who is apparently on a mission of peace but has entirely different plans for dealing with Kublai Khan...


The Singing Sands  Missing

First aired

Saturday, February 29, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

John Lucarotti

Directed by

Waris Hussein

UK Viewers

9.4 million

Appreciation Index

62

Synopsis

Tegana sabotages the party's water bags, leaving them in dire need of fresh supplies.


Five Hundred Eyes  Missing

First aired

Saturday, March 7, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

John Lucarotti

Directed by

Waris Hussein

UK Viewers

9.4 million

Appreciation Index

62

Synopsis

The Doctor and Susan are able to supply Marco with condensation that has formed inside the TARDIS, saving the group from dying of thirst. When the group are reunited with Tegana, the travellers begin to suspect he is up to something.


The Wall of Lies  Missing

First aired

Saturday, March 14, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

John Lucarotti

Directed by

John Crockett

UK Viewers

9.9 million

Appreciation Index

60

Synopsis

The Doctor's group manage to rescue Barbara from the Mongols but once more Marco remains unaware of Tegana's involvement.


Rider from Shang-Tu  Missing

First aired

Saturday, March 21, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

John Lucarotti

Directed by

Waris Hussein

UK Viewers

9.4 million

Appreciation Index

59

Synopsis

The Doctor and his friends elect to warn Marco of Acomat's attack even though it means losing their chance to gain access to the TARDIS.


Mighty Kublai Khan  Missing

First aired

Saturday, March 28, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

John Lucarotti

Directed by

Waris Hussein

UK Viewers

8.4 million

Appreciation Index

59

Synopsis

The Doctor, Ian and Barbara are forced to surrender to Tegana and Marco, leaving both of them the opportunity to gain possession of the TARDIS.


Assassin at Peking  Missing

First aired

Saturday, April 4, 1964

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

John Lucarotti

Directed by

Waris Hussein

UK Viewers

10.4 million

Appreciation Index

59

Synopsis

Tegana finally makes his move to assassinate the Khan, giving the Doctor and his friends an opportunity to thwart his plans and regain the TARDIS.



Characters

How to watch Marco Polo:

Reviews

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11 reviews

This review contains spoilers!

Unlike any other televised Story, this is the one I read before I listened and “watched” the Telesnaps Recon. I must say as a huge pure historical enjoyer, this one just works. It definitely helped to have read the Target to know the Storybeats. There is a lot to love here, going by the Pictures, we still have from it, the Costumes were just excellent. I liked the Friendship Susan had, and she certainly gets a lot more to do than she had in the previous two Serials. Unlike a Serial like the Massacre, I think this one would benefit from some nice Visuals, be it a recovery from the Episodes itself (Please.) or just a wonderful Animation (which is unlikely as of now, but you can dream).

Admittedly at times some Story can be quite frustrating, like the whole stubborn Marco Bit, where he refuses to give the Doctor his Key again, while fun for a while, it gets a bit tiring. Same with the Fact that most of the Crew doesn’t show any mistrust about Tegana.

Overall, a splendid proper outing for a full pure historical serial. One of my favorites of Season 1.

(I also slightly prefer the Target instead of the Recon)


“A caravan that flies !”

 

Il n’en reste que quelques fragments d’images perdues et figées et pourtant c’est toujours plein de vie.

Lucarotti raconte ici la douleur de l’exil et le partage, et Marco Polo est donc avant tout un puissant récit d’émancipation. Mais en plus c’est cette lutte pour l’émancipation qui unit chaque personnage. 

Ils viennent en effet des confins d’Asie, d’Angleterre, de Venise, ou même du fin fond de l’espace. Pourtant ils sont tous prisonniers de systèmes complexes, et ils se battent et vivent pour s’en libérer ! 

Alors en attendant, ils partagent quelques instants au coin d’un feu et rêvent des étoiles. 

Mais bientôt ils devront tous reprendre la route.   


(I watched the second Loose Cannon reconstruction.)


There are two major things dragging Marco Polo down and that's the racism and the fact that it really didn't need to be seven parts long. The events of this serial happen over a fairly long time period, making each episode almost its own separate little story on the same theme, but unfortunately that theme is ""Let's get to the TARDIS and get out of here!", "Oh no! Marco Polo isn't letting us get to the TARDIS!"" repeated multiple times


This review contains spoilers!

Marco Polo : 9.6/10 - just finished Marco Polo. Fantastic story! I think that Marco Polo and Tegana are two of the most well written characters in the shows history. I loved the anti-hero vibes that Marco Polo gave off and the looming threat of Tegana was fun watching through the whole story. There were some segments that dragged on and I think Barbara could have been used better but in total, its an amazing story. The sets were also something that impressed me. They were really well made for the time and it seemed like there was so many of them. The yellowface is pretty obvious but it was normal for the time so im not gonna rant on about it that much. 


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Statistics

AVG. Rating337 members
3.54 / 5

Trakt.tv

AVG. Rating843 votes
3.45 / 5

The Time Scales

AVG. Rating181 votes
4.20 / 5

Member Statistics

Watched

603

Favourited

47

Reviewed

11

Saved

2

Skipped

2

Owned

8

Quotes

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POLO [OC]: Success. My plan has worked. The strangers and their unusual caravan accompany me to Lop. Our route takes us across the Roof of the World, down to the Kashgar Valley and southeast to Tarkand. Here we join the Old Silk Road, along which the commerce and culture of a thousand years has travelled to and from Cathay. I wonder what the strangers' reaction will be when I tell them what I propose to do?

Transcript Needs checking

(Transcriber's note - this story only exists now as an audio recording)

Episode One - The Roof Of The World

[Snowfield]

(There's a large footprint in the snow)

SUSAN: Must've been made by a giant. What do you make of this?
IAN: Well, it could be a perfectly ordinary footprint, Susan, and the sun's melted the edges and made it look a bit bigger.
SUSAN: Oh.


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