Season 6, Episode 3 | 8 parts | First broadcast: 2 November – 21 December 1968 | Writer: Derrick Sherwin (from a story by Kit Pedler) | Director: Douglas Camfield
Cast
- Patrick Troughton as the Doctor
- Frazer Hines as Jamie McCrimmon
- Wendy Padbury as Zoe Heriot
- Kevin Stoney as Tobias Vaughn
- Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
Summary
Investigating the disappearance of a scientist, the Doctor and his companions uncover a plot by ruthless industrialist Tobias Vaughn of International Electromatics, who is secretly in league with the Cybermen to invade Earth. As the scale of the conspiracy becomes clear, the Doctor joins forces with his old ally Lethbridge-Stewart, now a Brigadier and head of the newly formed international taskforce UNIT, to repel the invasion.
Interesting Facts
- This serial marks the first appearance of UNIT (originally the “United Nations Intelligence Taskforce”), which would become a central institution of the series for years to come.
- It reintroduces Nicholas Courtney’s character, now promoted from Colonel to Brigadier, setting up his role as a recurring mainstay of the Jon Pertwee era.
- Episodes 1 and 4 are missing from the BBC archive and have been recreated with animation; the rest of the serial survives complete.
- At eight episodes, it is the longest Second Doctor serial after The Evil of the Daleks, allowing an unusually expansive blend of espionage thriller and alien invasion story.
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