Season 1, Episode 6 | 4 parts | First broadcast: 23 May – 13 June 1964 | Writer: John Lucarotti | Director: John Crockett
Cast
- William Hartnell as the Doctor
- Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman
- William Russell as Ian Chesterton
- Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright
- Keith Pyott as Autloc
- John Ringham as Tlotoxl
Summary
The TARDIS crew arrive in 15th-century Mexico, where Barbara is mistaken for the reincarnation of the god Yetaxa and is drawn into the court of the Aztecs. Determined to use her position to end the practice of human sacrifice, Barbara clashes with the ambitious high priest Tlotoxl, while the Doctor, trapped in the sealed tomb housing the TARDIS, urgently tries to find a way back before the deception unravels.
Interesting Facts
- This serial is widely regarded as one of the finest and most dramatically ambitious “pure historical” stories of the Hartnell era, anchored by Jacqueline Hill’s performance as Barbara.
- It contains one of the series’ most quoted lines, the Doctor’s warning to Barbara that “you can’t rewrite history, not one line!”
- The Doctor becomes engaged, entirely by accident, to an Aztec woman named Cameca after sharing a ceremonial drink with her, one of the series’ earliest comedic romantic subplots.
- All four episodes survive in the BBC archive.
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