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TARDIS Guide

Overview

First aired

Saturday, April 8, 1972

Production Code

NNN

Written by

Bob Baker, Dave Martin

Directed by

Christopher Barry

Runtime

150 minutes

Time Travel

Future

Story Arc (Potential Spoilers!)

Exile on Earth

Inventory (Potential Spoilers!)

Sonic Screwdriver

Location (Potential Spoilers!)

Solos

Synopsis

The Time Lords send the Doctor and Jo on a mission to deliver a sealed message pod to an unknown party aboard a Skybase orbiting the planet Solos in the 30th century. They are caught quickly in a power struggle between the cruel Marshal of Solos and the young Solonian Ky over the future of Solos — a future that hinges on the contents of the message.

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6 Episodes

Episode One

First aired

Saturday, April 8, 1972

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Bob Baker Dave Martin

Directed by

Christopher Barry

UK Viewers

9.1 million

Synopsis

The Doctor and Jo arrive on the planet Solos, on a assignment by the Time Lords, where they learn that the native Solonians are mutating into ant-like mutant creatures...


Episode Two

First aired

Saturday, April 15, 1972

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Bob Baker Dave Martin

Directed by

Christopher Barry

UK Viewers

7.8 million

Synopsis

Ky transports himself and Jo down to Solos and the Marshal only agrees to help her if the Doctor assists Professor Jaeger in altering Solos' atmosphere.


Episode Three

First aired

Saturday, April 22, 1972

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Bob Baker Dave Martin

Directed by

Christopher Barry

UK Viewers

7.9 million

Synopsis

The Doctor and Varan travel down to Solos to search for Jo and Ky but the Marshal orders his men to pursue them.


Episode Four

First aired

Saturday, April 29, 1972

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Bob Baker Dave Martin

Directed by

Christopher Barry

UK Viewers

7.5 million

Synopsis

The Doctor and his friends are led to safety by Professor Sondergaard, who tries to help the Doctor translate the tablets.


Episode Five

First aired

Saturday, May 6, 1972

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Bob Baker Dave Martin

Directed by

Christopher Barry

UK Viewers

7.9 million

Synopsis

The Marshal's premature use of Jaeger's experiment is threatening to destroy Solos' atmosphere and the Doctor returns to Skybase to try and correct the damage.


Episode Six

First aired

Saturday, May 13, 1972

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Bob Baker Dave Martin

Directed by

Christopher Barry

UK Viewers

6.5 million

Synopsis

The Doctor is forced to help the Marshal cover up his actions with the Investigator but Jo and the others attempt to escape to expose him.



Characters

How to watch The Mutants:

Reviews

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12 reviews

An honestly engaging story about the environment and a warning about power hungry people who will even commit genocide to reach their goals.


ErickSoares3

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This review contains spoilers!

turns out the warriors and the mutants are two parts in the cycle of some real f**ked up periodic cicadas. also the doctor is back in his purple lined cape and crimson velvet jacket. it's quite a look


kawaii2234

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This is a serial that by all accounts, it has a lot of what I love about Doctor Who and this era in particular.  Yet, The Mutants is one of those serials with a lot of elements that just don’t click.  It’s a serial with a handful of supporting cast performances that just do not work, Rick James being generally the worst (his delivery is almost entirely stilted).  The cast generally feels almost entirely miscast: Paul Whitson-Jones as the Marshal is the one supporting cast member that I think works well, Garrick Hagen is trying but the material for his character Ky really does dry up in the back half of the serial, and both George Pravda and John Hollis are competing with each other for most ridiculous accent (Pravda wins).

Bob Baker and Dave Martin also genuinely struggle, perhaps the most, with the pacing of a six part serial.  The Mutants has enough material for six but the script struggles with getting from plot point to plot point.  Structuring the inciting incident of the Doctor having to deliver a message for the Time Lords always keeps him as an outsider even though he supports the people of Solos in overcoming their oppressive, apartheid overlords.  Doing active commentary on South Africa during apartheid is also bold and actually quite good for what it’s doing, it’s just keeping the Doctor in the story naturally that doesn’t work (pulling the trick from Colony in Space and The Curse of Peladon would have worked much better).  The costumes of the story are brilliant, especially the futuristic designs, same with the general sets and the Mutants themselves.  Christopher Barry as a director also excels at the psychedelic sequences and making the sets feel both futuristic and the location feel like an alien planet.  I’d like this a lot more if there were just some minor changes to the structure and keeping the Doctor not feel like an observer who could easily leave whenever he wanted to.


Newt5996

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I actually really liked this one! A very cohesive plot for a six-episode serial, with some biting political commentary.

A+.


Azurillkirby

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Another one where the time lords send the doctor on a mission. Apart from Peladon, this doctor on another planet aren't very good stories so far. Just like Colony, this one is a bit boring but has a few ok scenes.


Scottybguud

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Statistics

AVG. Rating445 members
2.91 / 5

Member Statistics

Watched

844

Favourited

25

Reviewed

12

Saved

6

Skipped

2

Quotes

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JAEGER: Earth is fighting for its survival. The side-effects are of no importance!

DOCTOR: Genocide is a side-effect? You ought to write a paper on that, Professor.

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Transcript Needs checking

Episode One

[Solos]

(An old man dressed in rags and with a huge grey beard is making his way through the scrubby vegetation, half hidden by the mist. He is out of breath and frightened.)

MARSHAL [OC]: Over here! Move in! Path! He's heading to the path! This way! Over here!

(A slightly portly man in black uniform with silver trim, helmet and breathing mask is carrying a device which is bleeping. He rips off the mask and shouts.)


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