"Inferno" is the fourth story of the seventh season of Doctor Who.
| Inferno | |
|---|---|
| Season 7 (1970), Episode 19 to Episode 25 | |
| |
| Air date | 9 May - 20 June 1970 |
| Written by | Don Houghton |
| Directed by | Douglas Camfield |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous The Ambassadors of Death |
Next Terror of the Autons |
Summary[]
Episode 1[]
Episode 2[]
Episode 3[]
Episode 4[]
Episode 5[]
Episode 6[]
Episode 7[]
Background information[]
- The script describes Harry Slocum as "a cheerful, friendly man."
- The script describes Professor Eric Stahlman as "an aggressive and domineering man" who is "constantly on the go."
- Sir Keith Gold is the very opposite: "a benign, scholarly person." In the draft, he was named Sir Keith Mulvaney. After casting, he was briefly Sir Keith Rose, before they settled on Gold.
- Stahlman, in the draft, puts Greg Sutton in his place by calling him "Mr Oilman."
- Immediately following the professor's denunciation of him as part of an over-abundance of advisers, the draft has the Doctor offering Stahlman a dose of "Sister Pickersgill's Herbal Tonic Water," which is "especially good for the gripes."
- Don Houghton and Terrance Dicks had a friendly disagreement about what the project should be called. Houghton was very attached to his original idea: "Operation Mole-Bore." Dicks was equally determined not to offer critics a free hit by having the word "bore" in the title. Instead he referred to it provisionally as the "Mo-Hole project," after the real-life project which had been Houghton's inspiration. They compromised on "Project Inferno," but Houghton made sure it was not the project's "official" title, just a technicians' joke.
- The draft also explains that the output pipes funnel the powdered rock and minerals up to laboratories for analysis.
- In the draft, Slocum's victim is a UNIT sentry, attacked just outside the entrance to the main building.
- In earlier versions, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart has been at the project for some time: UNIT has been assigned to handle routine security. The Doctor has been at the project for about a month, at Sir Keith's personal invitation. It is a more formal arrangement than in the final version of the serial: as Sir Keith puts it, "We offer him facilities - in return for his services."
- Greg Sutton is loosely based on Peter Thornton, the oil drilling expert in The Troubleshooters, played by Ray Barrett. The script calls him a "troubleshooter type", "a nuggety, tough-looking, rugged individual", and he is even more patronising to Petra than on screen, calling her "girlie."
- Sir Keith and Harry Slocum both sport the actors' own moustaches, but they are the only real ones to be seen. Like Nicholas Courtney in his portrayal of the Brigadier, Olaf Pooley was a wearer of fake facial hair in his role as the main universe's Eric Stahlman. His beard and moustache, together consisting of two separate pieces, were stuck on with spirit gum.
- The script calls Petra Williams "starchy, but attractive" and "rather austere." This even more apparent in the draft, where she answers the telephone by impersonally giving her surname.
Apocrypha[]
Links and references[]
Cast[]
- Doctor Who - Jon Pertwee
- Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart / Brigade Leader Lethbridge Stewart (parallel space-time continuum) - Nicholas Courtney
- Liz Shaw / Section Leader Elizabeth Shaw (parallel space-time continuum) - Caroline John
- Professor Stahlman / Director Stahlman (parallel space-time continuum) - Olaf Pooley
- Sir Keith Gold - Christopher Benjamin
- Greg Sutton / Greg Sutton (parallel space-time continuum) - Derek Newark
- Petra Williams / Dr. Petra Williams (parallel space-time continuum) - Sheila Dunn
- Sergeant Benton / Platoon Under Leader Benton (parallel space-time continuum) - John Levene
- Private Latimer / Private Latimer (parallel space-time continuum) - David Simeon
- Private Wyatt / Private Wyatt (parallel space-time continuum) - Derek Ware
- Harry Slocum - Walter Randall
- Bromley / Bromley (parallel space-time continuum) - Ian Fairbairn
- RSF Sentry - Roy Scammell
- Patterson - Keith James
- Primords -
- Dave Carter
- Pat Gorman
- Philip Ryan
- Peter Thompson
- Walter Henry
Uncredited performers[]
- Keith Ashley as
- Technician (1-4,7)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-5)
- Barry Ashton as
- Technician (7)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-5)
- Alistair Baine as a technician (7)
- Robert Birmingham as a technician (1-4,7)
- Valerie Bland as
- Technician (1-4)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-4)
- Alan Chuntz as
- RSF soldier (3,5)
- Technician (1)
- UNIT soldier (2,7)
- Norton Clarke as
- Technician (1-4,7)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-5)
- Alan Clements as
- Technician (1-4,7)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-4)
- Les Conrad as a RSF soldier (5)
- Richard Cooper as
- Technician (1-4)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-4)
- Michael Earl as
- Technician (1-4)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-5)
- Ian Elliott as a UNIT soldier (7)
- Marcelle Elliott as
- Technician (3,7)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-5)
- Royston Farrell as a RSF soldier (3-4)
- Ronald Gough as a technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-5)
- Bertie Green as a technician (1-4)
- June Grey as a technician (1-2)
- Jean Harsant as
- Technician (1-4,7)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-4)
- Nick Hobbs as a RSF soldier (3-5)
- Billy Horrigan as
- RSF soldier (3-5)
- UNIT soldier (2)
- Derek Hunt as
- Technician (1-4,7)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-5)
- Colin James as
- Technician (3,7)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-4)
- Jack Kine as the Leader (3 et al) (photograph)
- Richard King as
- Technician (1-4)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-5)
- Sheila Knight as
- Technician (1-4,7)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-5)
- Richard Lawrence as
- Technician (1-4,7)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-5)
- Natalia Lindley as
- Technician (3)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-4)
- Derek Martin as
- RSF soldier (3-5)
- UNIT soldier (2,7)
- Patricia Matthews as
- Technician (1-4,7)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-5)
- Keith Norrish as
- Technician (1-4,7)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-4)
- Sue Patterson as a technician (7)
- Judith Pollard as
- Technician (7)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (5)
- Roy Scammell as
- RSF soldier (3,5)
- UNIT soldier (2)
- Corinne Skinner as a technician (1-4,7)
- Roy Street as
- RSF soldier (3-5)
- UNIT soldier (2)
- Harry Tierney as a technician (1-2)
- Steve Tierney as
- Technician (7)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (5)
- Cy Town as
- Technician (7)
- Technician (parallel space-time continuum) (3-4)
- Terry Walsh as
- RSF soldier (3-5)
- Technician (4)
- UNIT soldier (2,7)
- Unknown performer as 40653 (parallel space-time continuum) (5)
Crew[]
- Written by Don Houghton
- Directed by Douglas Camfield
- Produced by Barry Letts
- Action by HAVOC
- Title Music by Ron Grainer and BBC Radiophonic Workshop
- Visual Effects by Len Hutton
- Costumes - Christine Rawlins
- Make-Up - Marion Richards
- Film Cameraman - Fred Hamilton
- Film Sound - Graham Hare
- Film Editor - Martyn Day
- Studio Lighting - John Green
- Sound - John Staple
- Special Sound - Brian Hodgson and BBC Radiophonic Workshop
- Script Editor - Terrance Dicks
- Designer - Jeremy Davies
References[]
Arabia; asbestos; assistant director; Batman; Bessie; British Army; car; Central Records; chauffeur; civil servant; CO2; cocoa; computer; Defence of the Republic Act 1943; dentist; dictator; dimensional paradox; "Doc"; doctor; drill rig; Earth; earthquake; Eastchester drilling project; Eastchester drilling project (parallel space-time continuum); Edward VII; Elizabeth II; executive director; ferrous concrete; Financial Times; fire extinguisher; Gold, Keith; green substance; gun; Krakatoa; Kuwait; labour camp; La donna è mobile; Leeds; London; mariner; mathematician; medal; medical doctor; Mediterranean; microcircuit; Midlands; Minister of Energy and Power; Ministry of Energy and Power; Ministry of Energy and Resource; North Sea; nuclear power; nuclear reactor; oilman; oil rig; Old Nick; Order of the Bath; parallel space-time continuum; Paris; personal assistant; physics; Primord; professor; radiation suit; Republican Security Forces; rigger; robot; rocket; Royal Artillery; Royal Family; section leader; security officer; sergeant; Shine On, Martian Moons; Slocum, Harry; Smith, John; sonic screwdriver; space-time continuum; Stahlman's gas; steel; Sundra Straits; swagger stick; tea; telephone; typist; United Kingdom; United Nations Intelligence Taskforce; Venusian karate; wrench; zombie