skip to content

varos

episode guide

previous story | next story

the mutants

story 63 : season 9 : serial NNN : 6 episodes

Producer: Barry Letts
Director: Christopher Barry
Writer: Bob Baker
Writer: Dave Martin
Script Editor: Terrance Dicks
Designer: Jeremy Bear

cast information

Jon Pertwee (Doctor Who); Katy Manning (Jo Grant); Paul Whitsun-Jones (Marshal); Garrick Hagon (Ky); John Hollis (Sondergaard); James Mellor (Varan); Geoffrey Palmer (Administrator); Christopher Coll (Stubbs); Rick James (Cotton); Jonathan Sherwood (Varans Son); George Pravda (Jaeger); Sidney Johnson (Old Man); Roy Pearce (Solos Guard); Damon Sanders (Solos Guard); David Arlen (Warrior Guard); Martin Taylor (Skybase Guard); John Scott Martin (Mutt); Peter Howell (Investigator);

crew information

Sue Hedden (Assistant Floor Manager); James Acheson (Costumes); Terry Walsh (Fight Arranger); Fred Hamilton (Film Cameraman); Dave King (Film Editor); Tristram Cary (Incidental Music); Joan Barrett (Make-Up); Fiona Cumming (Production Assistant); Chris D'Oyly-John (Production Assistant); Dick Mills (Special Sounds); Frank Cresswell (Studio Lighting); Tony Millier (Studio Sound); Ron Grainer (Title Music); John Horton (Visual Effects); Delia Derbyshire (Theme Arrangement);

episode information

  Title First UK Transmission Duration Ratings Archive Status
1 Episode One 8 April 1972 at 17:50 24'25" 9.1mil NTSC 2 inch colour videotape
PAL conversion
16mm b/w telerecording
2 Episode Two 15 April 1972 at 17:50 24'24" 7.8mil NTSC 2 inch colour videotape
PAL conversion
16mm b/w telerecording
3 Episode Three 22 April 1972 at 17:50 24'32" 7.9mil PAL 2 inch colour videotape
16mm b/w telerecording
4 Episode Four 29 April 1972 at 17:50 24'00" 7.5mil PAL 2 inch colour videotape
16mm b/w telerecording
5 Episode Five 6 May 1972 at 17:50 24'37" 7.9mil PAL 2 inch colour videotape
16mm b/w telerecording
6 Episode Six 13 May 1972 at 17:50 23'43" 6.5mil PAL 2 inch colour videotape
16mm b/w telerecording
  1. Episode One
    » Recovered from Canada c.1979
    » Conversion from NTSC 2 inch broadcast tapes
    » Film print recovered from Ents c.1978
  2. Episode Two
    » Recovered from Canada c.1979
    » Conversion from NTSC 2 inch broadcast tapes
    » Film print recovered from Ents c.1978
  3. Episode Three
    » Held by the FVTL when audited in 1978
    » Film print recovered from Ents c.1978
  4. Episode Four
    » Held by the FVTL when audited in 1978
    » Film print recovered from Ents c.1978
  5. Episode Five
    » Held by the FVTL when audited in 1978
    » Film print recovered from Ents c.1978
  6. Episode Six
    » Held by the FVTL when audited in 1978
    » Film print recovered from Ents c.1978

release information

In Print:
Novelised as: Doctor Who and the Mutants
Written by: Terrance Dicks
Number 044 in the Target Doctor Who Library

Versions
1977 Published by Allan Wingate Ltd, UK in hardback
With cover artwork by: Jeff Cummins
29 September 1977 Published by Wyndham Publications, UK in paperback
With cover artwork by: Jeff Cummins
ISBN: 0 426 11690 9
20 November 1979 Published by W. H. Allen, UK in paperback
With cover artwork by: Jeff Cummins
ISBN: 0 426 11690 9

plot synopsis

Armed with a container from the Time Lords, which will only open for one special person, the Doctor and Jo are taken in the TARDIS to a space station orbiting the planet Solos. The planet is meant to have its independence, but the evil Marshal is not willing to give up his control of the natives so easily. The Solonians are going through a bizarre period of mutations, genetically reshaping into giant insects, and the Marshal plans to wipe them out using a bomb to purity the atmosphere. The container turns out to be for the rebel leader, Ky. The Doctor has to stop the Marshal, and allow the mutants to evolve into their next stage of existence....

links to other sites