Doctor Who - The Savages

STORY PLACEMENT

THIS STORY TAKES

PLACE BETWEEN THE

THE NOVELS "BUNKER

SOLDIERS" AND "THE

MAN IN THE VELVET

MASK."

PRODUCTION CODE

WRITTEN BY

IAN STUART BLACK

DIRECTED BY

CHRISTOPHER BARRY

RATINGS

4.9 MILLION

WORKING TITLE

THE WHITE SAVAGES

RECOMMENDED

PURCHASE

'THE SAVAGES'

AUDIO CD (ISBN 0-563-

53502-7) RELEASED IN

NOVEMBER 2002.

BLURB

When the TARDIS

materialises on an

alien planet, the

Doctor insists that

he and his

companions have

arrived in the far

future. Steven and

Dodo think otherwise,

however, after they

encounter a band of

cave-dwelling

primitives who are

terrified of

strangers. The

travellers soon

discover that the

planet’s population is

divided into two

castes, and that the

professed idyll of the

Elders – who inhabit

a technologically

advanced city – seems

oddly dependent upon

the unsophisticated

savages.

BBC ARCHIVE

ALL FOUR EPISODES ARE

MISSING.

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The Savages

28TH MAY 1966 - 18TH JUNE 1966

(4 EPISODES)

Missing from the BBC archives and unavailable on audio CD until recently, “The Savages”

is a serial that is often overlooked - a great shame considering that it is probably better than some of season three’s more celebrated stories like “The Celestial Toymaker”.

Ian Stuart Black’s story is notable for three major points. Firstly, it marks Peter Purves’ final appearance as Steven Taylor; the Doctor’s fifth companion deciding to remain behind at the serial’s conclusion to lead the Savages. Having Purves narrate the soundtrack for the CD release seems fitting for Steven’s swansong, and when watched in synch with John Cura’s telesnaps one can really get a good feel for the story.

The second point that “The Savages” is notable for is some very clever writing. In my

opinion, Black succeeds here where Emms failed in “Galaxy 4” at hammering home the ‘moral of the story’ – “it’s what is on the inside that counts” – without being too cheesy or obvious. In fact, much of this story’s appeal is down the uncertain state of affairs on the planet – it takes quite a while for the audience to realise just exactly who the ‘goodies’ and the ‘baddies’ are. For example, in episode one’s (yes; for the first time it is actually called “Episode One”) cliffhanger Dodo screams at the mere sight of a Savage inside the Elders’ city, whereas later in the story we see a female savage, Nanina, actually look after an injured guard that we saw mistreating her earlier in the story, clearly demonstrating which group has the moral high ground. The ending of the story is also a lovely little piece of storytelling; the Doctor impregnating Jano, the leader of the Elders, with his very own conscience and thus using him to free the Savages from the oppression of the Elders. Not only is the ending a clever finale to the serial, but it is also highly amusing to see Frederick Jaeger’s impression of William Hartnell as he plays Jano infused the Doctor’s consciousness. “Hmm…”

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, the aforementioned savage Nanina (Clare Jenkins) is close to naked throughout. Seriously! She makes Leela look over-dressed. In one of the telesnaps (below) you can clearly see her arse cheeks!

Now I am not for a moment suggesting that such a thing marks the difference between an average story and a good one, but hey – every little helps.

In all seriousness though, “The Savages” is a very enjoyable four-parter but its loss is never going to be as mourned as much as the likes of “The Daleks’ Master Plan” and “The Evil of the Daleks” et al. In fact, this serial seems to have no reputation whatsoever and so if, like me, you go into it not expecting much, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

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