Season 4, Episode 4 | 4 parts | First broadcast: 17 December 1966 – 7 January 1967 | Writer: Elwyn Jones and Gerry Davis | Director: Hugh David
Cast
- Patrick Troughton as the Doctor
- Anneke Wills as Polly
- Michael Craze as Ben Jackson
- Frazer Hines as Jamie McCrimmon
Summary
The TARDIS arrives in the Scottish Highlands in the immediate aftermath of the 1746 Battle of Culloden, where the Doctor, Ben and Polly find themselves helping a group of fleeing Jacobite clansmen evade capture by ruthless English redcoats and a corrupt slave trader intent on selling prisoners into indentured servitude in the colonies.
Interesting Facts
- This serial introduces piper Jamie McCrimmon, who joins the TARDIS crew at the story’s end and goes on to become one of the longest-serving companions in the show’s history.
- It is the last purely historical Doctor Who story (with no science-fiction element) until 1982’s Black Orchid.
- All four episodes are missing from the BBC archive, with only audio recordings and photographs surviving.
- The Doctor adopts several disguises throughout the story, including an old washerwoman, showcasing Patrick Troughton’s flair for comic characterisation early in his tenure.
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