Season 3, Episode 2 | 4 parts | First broadcast: 16 October – 6 November 1965 | Writer: Donald Cotton | Director: Michael Leeston-Smith
Cast
- William Hartnell as the Doctor
- Maureen O’Brien as Vicki
- Peter Purves as Steven Taylor
- Francis de Wolff as Agamemnon
- Max Adrian as Priam
Summary
The TARDIS lands outside the walls of Troy in the tenth year of the Trojan War, where the Doctor is mistaken for the god Zeus and swept into the courts of both the besieging Greeks and the besieged Trojans. Pressed by Odysseus to help end the stalemate, the Doctor reluctantly conceives the plan for the Wooden Horse, while Vicki falls for a Trojan prince and Steven is wounded and left behind.
Interesting Facts
- This serial marks the departure of companion Vicki, who chooses to stay behind in ancient Troy under a new name, Cressida, becoming the first companion to remain in the past.
- It is played largely as a witty historical comedy, with writer Donald Cotton drawing heavily on the tone of classical satire rather than straight tragedy.
- No episodes of this serial are known to survive in the BBC archive; it exists today only through audio recordings, photographs, and a novelisation.
- It introduces Katarina, a handmaiden who becomes a brief, tragic companion in the immediately following story.
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