Production Code: CC
First Transmitted
1 - 10/09/1966 17:50
2 - 17/09/1966 17:55
3 - 24/09/1966 17:50
4 - 01/10/1966 17:50
Plot
The TARDIS arrives on the coast of seventeenth century Cornwall - much to the astonishment of Polly and Ben. Pirates led by Captain Samuel Pike and his henchman Cherub are searching for a hidden treasure, while a smuggling ring masterminded by the local Squire is trying to off-load contraband.
The Doctor is kidnapped by Pike's men after inadvertently learning, from churchwarden Joseph Longfoot (who is subsequently murdered), a cryptic rhyme that holds the key to the treasure's whereabouts.
Although he manages to escape, the Doctor is eventually forced to tell Pike the rhyme's meaning - it refers to names on tombstones in the church crypt - and the treasure is uncovered. At this point, however, the militia arrive, having been summoned by Revenue officer Josiah Blake. A fight ensues in which Pike and many of his men are killed and the rest taken prisoner. The Doctor and his companions meanwhile slip back to the TARDIS.
Episode Endings
On board the pirates' ship, the Black Albatross, Cherub explains to Captain Pike that the captive Doctor has learned of the treasure's whereabouts but refuses to talk. The Captain turns to the Doctor and, exclaiming 'Well, by thunder you'll talk to me, or my name's not Samuel Pike!', crashes his left arm down on the table top; it ends not in a hand but in a metal spike.
Ben leaves Blake struggling to free himself in the crypt and heads for the stairs, determined to find his fellow travellers so that they can escape through the secret passage to the TARDIS. He finds his way blocked by the Squire, accompanied by Cherub and a bound and gagged Polly. The Squire advances on him, pistol raised...
In the crypt, inn-keeper Jacob Kewper warns that the Squire will join him on the gallows if he is to be hanged. From the stairs, Cherub throws a knife at Kewper. It strikes him in the middle of the back and he falls to the ground. Polly screams.
The Doctor tells Polly and Ben that the TARDIS has now brought them to the coldest place on Earth.
Roots
Jamaica Inn.
Treasure Island.
Dr. Syn and Captain Clegg.
Moonfleet.
Dialogue Triumphs
The Doctor : [To Ben and Polly] "How dare you follow me into the TARDIS! The distractions... I really thought I was going to be alone again."
The Doctor : "You are now travelling through time and space."
Ben : "Yes, well, make sure I get back by tea-time!"
The Doctor : [To Polly] "You may know where you are, my dear, but not when! I can foresee oodles of trouble!"
The Doctor : [To Polly] "Superstition is a strange thing, my dear. Sometimes it tells the truth."
Dialogue Disasters
"By the black albatross, I'll keelhaul ye from here to Port Royal!"
Double Entendre
"Let me give him a taste of Thomas Tickler!"
Continuity
The Doctor has heard of the pirate Avery, and knows a little Tarot. He feels a moral obligation to stay, since his actions might have caused the deaths of the whole village. Ben drinks beer. The internal temperature of the TARDIS drops suddenly on landing at the South Pole [the failure of a circuit again (see Marco Polo) or the TARDIS' attempt at a warning].
QV
Location
A Cornish village, 17th century [between 1603 and 1642, or 1660 and 1688, or 1694 onwards: a character says God save the King. Pike mentions the pirate Morgan, who lived between 1635-1688. However, the costumes suggest the 1680s or 90s.
Trivia
The title sequence film is used to represent the space/time vortex as seen on the TARDIS scanner screen in Episode 1, with the story title, writer's credit and episode number captions overlaid in black on the swirling patterns.
The story employs extensive use of film inserts shot on location in Cornwall.
Michael Craze fell through a trapdoor during the making of this story and sustained a minor injury to his arm.
Myth
Pike has a metal hook in place of his right hand. (He has a metal spike in place of his left hand.)
For the fight between smugglers and Revenue men in episode four, so few stuntmen were used that they had to play multiple roles achieved by means of frantic behind-the-scenes costume changes. (Although Terry Walsh, one of those involved, recalls the scene being shot in this way, in fact the ten stuntmen under the direction of fight arranger Derek Ware, of whose HAVOC organisation they were members, played only one role each.)
Goofs
The rhyme given to the Doctor in episode one is there quoted wrongly. The Doctor gets is right in episode three however.
Cast & Crew
Cast
The Doctor - William Hartnell
Ben Jackson - Michael Craze
Polly - Anneke Wills
Blake - John Ringham
Captain Pike - Michael Godfrey
Cherub - George A Cooper
Churchwarden - Terence de Marney
Gaptooth - Jack Bligh
Jacob Kewper - David Blake Kelly
Jamaica - Elroy Josephs
Spaniard - Derek Ware
Squire - Paul Whitsun-Jones
Tom - Mike Lucas
Crew
Director - Julia Smith
The Smugglers