The Masque of Mandragora

Directed by

UK Viewers

8.3 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The Doctor and Sarah arrive in Renaissance Italy unaware that they have brought a deadly alien energy force with them.

Part Two

First aired

Saturday, September 11, 1976

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

9.8 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The Mandragora energy joins forces with the secret Brotherhood of Demnos. Count Federico plots to steal the Dukedom of San Martino from his nephew, Giuliano.

Part Three

First aired

Saturday, September 18, 1976

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

9.2 million

Synopsis

Tempted by the promises of ultimate power offered by Mandragora, Hieronymous plots to eliminate the threat posed by the Doctor and uses an unwitting Sarah as his weapon.

Part Four

First aired

Saturday, September 25, 1976

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

10.6 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

As the leading scholars of the era assemble in the palace for the masque, Mandragora prepares to attack, intent on sending the world into a new dark age.

Characters

Fourth Doctor

Tom Baker

Sarah Jane Smith

Elisabeth Sladen

How to watch The Masque of Mandragora:

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The Collection – Season 14

DVD

The Masque of Mandragora

VHS

The Masque of Mandragora (VHS)

Reviews
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9 reviews

Really fun one! Not super deep or compelling, but a fun one, nonetheless! I don't have much more to say about it.

B. Maybe A.

Azurillkirby

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Review last edited on 19-06-25

This review contains spoilers!

I cannot get over the many ways the writers got court politics completely wrong in this serial. Whilst I understand the scheming power hungry uncle and the noble hearted-but-naive heir is a common trope, largely from hamlet, what this serial (and many other adaptations) gets wrong is the way that these people would have been required to interact with the larger scale of court politics. For example we are supposed to believe that both Frederico and Giuliano gave the doge of Venice (aka the most important guy in Venice at the time) the cold shoulder, and multiple members of the nobility were killed in a party held in their castle, and these actions would hold zero political repercussions. However the story itself is engaging and the visual effects are effective.

kawaii2234

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Review last edited on 16-06-25

The Masque of Mandragora does exactly two noteworthy things: first, when Sarah eats an orange in the most bizarre way possible, and second, when Sarah says the alphabet backwards and gets it wrong (an action which is never commented upon, cementing in the eyes of tardis.wiki the fact that the DW alphabet is different to our own)

Other than that it's just a bit dull

greenLetterT

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Review last edited on 7-06-25

This review contains spoilers!

Season 14 starts with a historical story... and it's... alright.

Bit disappointed that 4's no longer wearing that grey coat - I really like that one! He's also a bit too silly when they are trying to stop Mandragora. I also don't really understand why he just let the creepy monk guys go and kill those people before stopping them - and how he actually stopped them, tbh. This is Sarah's penultimate story, and she's alright. She's a bit screamy and pushed around a bit too much, but it's a nice setup for her departure.

I'm still unsure of who Mandragora was and what they wanted, but the Doctor seemed to think they were a threat - when he wasn't messing about. I don't understand what happened to the Monks either, and how they were involved. I don't really have that much to say about them, because I don't... understand.

I'm a big fan of the Secondary Console Room, and I'm glad that I'm getting around to it now - I love the exterior as well, especially the coloured windows. Really adds some variation into the standard police box. Medieval Earth was used well, and I'm surprised how many stories of the Early Fourth Doctor era are on Earth - I was expecting more sci-fi stuff. Hopefully we can get into that soon. But each setting looked convincing, and I'm impressed with how they sort of spread across different locations in the town. It's also nice that we're in a different country for once instead of England.

The side characters were all great, and you could tell that everyone loved playing their roles, but the Duke was not being a good leader - having a party when there's a big threat just shows poor judgement and a bad evaluation of the situation.

An okay story, but not one I'm keen to rewatch again.

Ryebean

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Review last edited on 3-06-25

My least favourite Tom Baker story so far. It isn't bad, it's just a bit boring. Whenever the Doctor or Sarah aren't on screen it drags. Parts of episodes 1 and 4 were good.

Scottybguud

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Review last edited on 28-05-25