The Enemy of the World (TV story)

The Enemy of the World was the fourth story of Season 5 of Doctor Who. It saw Patrick Troughton play both the lead protagonist and antagonist. It was the only story of that season which did not follow the "base under siege" monster format.

Before 2013, all but episode three of the serial were missing from the BBC archives. However, in October of that year, it was announced that episodes one, two, four, five and six (together with four previously lost instalments and a higher quality copy of the only existing episode from The Web of Fear) had been located in a relay station in Jos, Nigeria, and it therefore became complete. , the story is available for download on iTunes and was released on DVD in Region 2 on 25 November 2013.

Synopsis
On Earth in 2018, the Doctor and his companions are enmeshed in a deadly web of intrigue thanks to his uncanny resemblance to the scientist/politician Salamander. He is hailed as the "shopkeeper of the world" for his efforts to relieve global famine, but why do his rivals keep disappearing? How can he predict so many natural disasters? The Doctor must expose Salamander's schemes before he takes over the world.

Episode 1
The TARDIS arrives on an Australian beach, Cape Arid, where the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria's seaside frolicking is observed by three men in a hovercraft. They are incredulous at the Doctor's presence; could it be "him?" They call their boss, Astrid Ferrier, who disbelievers their story and urges them to wait while she contacts the main base. Nonetheless the trio resolves that they'll have no better opportunity and ready their guns. Astrid contacts her commander, Giles Kent, and reports the men's observation. It can't be him, Kent exclaims, it's impossible. He orders her to go and stop the men from harming the Doctor.

The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria watch as the hovercraft approaches, see the armed men and realise they're in danger. They begin to run as the men shoot at them from the hovercraft. They hide behind some dunes and the men are forced to split up in order to find them. The Doctor and his colleagues try and escape but soon run into one of the men. Jamie knocks him out. The men see the approach of a mini-helicopter and identify it as Astrid's. In their efforts to elude the gunmen, the Doctor and his colleagues end up in the same clearing that Astrid landed her helicopter in. She beckons them inside. Once inside the Doctor sees Astrid's pilots licence and sees it is valid until the end of 2018. Astrid informs them that the men have punctured the fuel tank and that the helicopter could explode at any minute.

Below, the men board their hovercraft and pursue the helicopter.

Astrid lands her helicopter at her private residence. It has been revealed that she has been shit and the Doctor tends her wounds. She explains her men have mistaken him for their sworn enemy, Salamander, a man she claims is bent on becoming global dictator. She wants to take advantage of the Doctor's apparently serendipitous arrival and urges them to go with her to meet Giles Kent, who will explain everything. The Doctor, dubious at becoming a pawn in some political machination, declines. The three armed men close in. Astrid encourages the Doctor and his colleagues to hide in a back room as she hides behind the sofa. Astrid tangles with one man to allow the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria to escape. The attacker is accidentally shot dead by his fellows as they try to kill Astrid. The men shoot at the fleeing bunch but realise they stand a better chance in the helicopter. As soon as the helicopter is airborne it explodes.

At his office, Giles Kent looks at the Doctor in fascination – his resemblance to Salamander is uncanny. The Doctor explains they've been out of touch with world events lately ("On ice," he says, referring to their previous adventures in Tibet and in Earth's icy future). Kent plays a video-wire of Salamander's latest address to the United Zone General Assembly meeting. Salamander, despite a Mexican accent and swarthy complexion, is indeed a doppelganger for the Doctor. He announces highly satisfactory results from sun conservation tests in the Australasian Zone with sun-catching orbital satellites, resulting in a restoration of the Canada and Ukraine's corn and flour production which had been devastated by natural disasters two years earlier. The Doctor is confused as to why they are intent on stopping Salamander when his intentions appear to be so good. Kent explains that underneath his guise as a public benefactor he has been ruthlessly solidifying his power base. Several high-ranking political figures have died under mysterious circumstances and replaced by Salamander loyalists. Kent himself was Deputy Security Leader for North Africa and Europe before being sacked for beginning to suspect too much. Kent was forced into seclusion and his place was taken by a man named Donald Bruce who has since risen to World Security Chief. With Bruce in place, Salamander is virtually untouchable. Kent's only remaining high-ranking ally is Alexander Denes, Controller of the Central Europe Zone. Kent urges the Doctor to pose as Salamander and infiltrate his research station at Kanowa to find proof of Salamander's ambitions. The Doctor is dubious, but attempts the accent, with limited success. Kent receives a phone call stating that Bruce has cordoned off the area and is approaching. Kent warns the Doctor that if he is found he will be killed due to his similarity to Salamander. The Doctor correctly surmises that Kent tipped Bruce off to test the similarity. The Doctor is given no choice but to imitate the dictator. Astrid shouts at Kent for endangering them. Bruce enters, a heavy-set, imperious and intimidating man. His armed men are investigating the dead man in Astrid's house, as well as the wrecked helicopter. He explains that Astrid was being watched and that as well as Jamie and Victoria a man was present. Astrid refuses to explain who the man was and Bruce motions to his guards to search the building. As they open the door to the back room "Salamander" emerges demanding that a dumbfounded Kent explain his presence.

Episode 2
Bruce is dumbfounded by Salamander's presence in Australia, when he is supposed to be in a closed-door conference at the Central European Zone, and certainly not with Kent, a man he had denounced. As security chief, he ought to have been told. "Salamander" refuses to explain his presence, saying he will deal with Kent his own way. Bruce is sceptical of Kent's explanation that the dead man in Astrid's house was trying to protect her from his treasonous colleagues but "Salamander" over rules him and dismisses him. Giles congratulates the Doctor and assumes he is fully on board now but the Doctor still is not fully convinced that one side or the other is good or evil. He asks his companions; Jamie says they have to help but Victoria is unsure. The Doctor agrees to pose as Salamander at the Kanowa Research Centre. Astrid, Jamie and Victoria, using travel passes provided by Denes, the leader of the Central European Zone, are to travel to Salamander's headquarters in the Central European Zone via rocket and put into place a plan that Astrid has been forming for some time.

Bruce checks in with Benik, Salamander's deputy, to confirm he left for the Central European Zone. As far as Benik knows, he did and left strict orders not to be disturbed. His attempt to contact Salamander there goes unanswered. Bruce informs him that he thinks Salamander is in Australia; Bennick is dubious.

The real Salamander is meeting with Denes and another man by the name of Fedorin and is trying to persuade them that his scientific study confirms that a range of dormant Hungarian volcanoes will erupt soon with cataclysmic results. Denes is dubious at Salamander's suspiciously precise predictions; his own scientists have made no such forecasts. This act of defiance annoys Salamander. Denes leaves but Salamander asks Fedorin to stay.

Jamie, Victoria and Astrid have arrived in the Central European Zone and Astrid has set Jamie up with ID to get passed the main guards. Jamie heads off. Astrid contacts Giles in Australia and tells him that all is going to plan. She also explains that she is to meet Denes later.

Fedorin is nervous about his meeting with Salamander. He gets chatting to a servant of Salamander's, by the name of Fariah. Salamander appears and orders a guard who approaches Fedorin, gun raised. As he does Jamie leaps from an unseen point, knocks the guard out and points the gun at Salamander, ordering them all to back up. Jamie grabs Salamander's security device and throws it over the balcony. As he does Astrid triggers an explosion outside. Two guards enter and approach Jamie but Salamander calls them off. Jamie explains that there was a plot on Salamander's life and that he tried to inform the guards on the gate but they wouldn't listen. Impressed, Salamander offers Jamie a job. Jamie says he would like to but is only visiting with his girlfriend and wouldn't want to leave her. Fariah says there is a job going in the kitchen. Jamie agrees and is allowed to go and get his "girlfriend."

Fedorin mysteriously asks what the word 'brehau' means. Salamander says it is Mexican for sorcerer.

Jamie returns to the meeting spot and tells Victoria and Astrid that the plan has worked. Astrid disappears as Fariah comes to collect Jamie and Victoria and take them into the base.

Later that day Denes meets Astrid under a jetty. Astrid wants Denes to stall Salamander while she puts her plan in place. They hear feet above them. Denes stops Astrid from shooting them on sight.

Salamander shows Fedorin an official file of lies, scandal and libel he has concocted about him. Fedorin is very worried but Salamander refers to it as insurance. Salamander offers Fedorin the job as leader of the Central European Zone if he promises to share the power with Salamander. Fedorin asks what is to happen to Denes and Salamander explains he is to be killed. Fedorin says he can't do that but Salamander reminds him of the file. The conversation is interrupted by the eruption of the volcanoes. Salamander is overjoyed at the fact that his predictions have come true, despite the widespread destruction he is witnessing below. Bruce enters worried about reports he heard of an attempt on Salamander's life. Salamander placates him. Denes bursts in, horrified at the destruction. Salamander accuses him of ignoring his warnings and letting thousands die. Denes is certain that somehow Salamander engineered this disaster. Salamander coolly denounces Denes as a traitor and orders Bruce arrest him. Denes implores Fedorin to back him up but Salamander states that Fedorin will be chief witness against him. Fedorin cannot bring himself to look at Denes

Episode 3
Bruce is dumbfounded by Salamander's presence in Australia, when he is supposed to be in a closed-door conference at the Central European Zone, and certainly not with Kent, a man he had denounced. As security chief, he ought to have been told. "Salamander" refuses to explain his presence, saying he will deal with Kent his own way. Bruce is sceptical of Kent's explanation that the dead man in Astrid's house was trying to protect her from his treasonous colleagues but "Salamander" over rules him and dismisses him. Giles congratulates the Doctor and assumes he is fully on board now but the Doctor still is not fully convinced that one side or the other is good or evil. He asks his companions; Jamie says they have to help but Victoria is unsure. The Doctor agrees to pose as Salamander at the Kanowa Research Centre. Astrid, Jamie and Victoria, using travel passes provided by Denes, the leader of the Central European Zone, are to travel to Salamander's headquarters in the Central European Zone via rocket and put into place a plan that Astrid has been forming for some time. Bruce checks in with Benik, Salamander's deputy, to confirm he left for the Central European Zone. As far as Benik knows, he did and left strict orders not to be disturbed. His attempt to contact Salamander there goes unanswered. Bruce informs him that he thinks Salamander is in Australia; Bennick is dubious.

The real Salamander is meeting with Denes and another man by the name of Fedorin and is trying to persuade them that his scientific study confirms that a range of dormant Hungarian volcanoes will erupt soon with cataclysmic results. Denes is dubious at Salamander's suspiciously precise predictions; his own scientists have made no such forecasts. This act of defiance annoys Salamander. Denes leaves but Salamander asks Fedorin to stay.

Jamie, Victoria and Astrid have arrived in the Central European Zone and Astrid has set Jamie up with ID to get passed the main guards. Jamie heads off. Astrid contacts Giles in Australia and tells him that all is going to plan. She also explains that she is to meet Denes later.

Fedorin is nervous about his meeting with Salamander. He gets chatting to a servant of Salamander's, by the name of Fariah. Salamander appears and orders a guard who approaches Fedorin, gun raised. As he does Jamie leaps from an unseen point, knocks the guard out and points the gun at Salamander, ordering them all to back up. Jamie grabs Salamander's security device and throws it over the balcony. As he does Astrid triggers an explosion outside. Two guards enter and approach Jamie but Salamander calls them off. Jamie explains that there was a plot on Salamander's life and that he tried to inform the guards on the gate but they wouldn't listen. Impressed, Salamander offers Jamie a job. Jamie says he would like to but is only visiting with his girlfriend and wouldn't want to leave her. Fariah says there is a job going in the kitchen. Jamie agrees and is allowed to go and get his "girlfriend." Fedorin mysteriously asks what the word 'brehau' means. Salamander says it is Mexican for sorcerer.

Jamie returns to the meeting spot and tells Victoria and Astrid that the plan has worked. Astrid disappears as Fariah comes to collect Jamie and Victoria and take them into the base.

Later that day Denes meets Astrid under a jetty. Astrid wants Denes to stall Salamander while she puts her plan in place. They hear feet above them. Denes stops Astrid from shooting them on sight.

Salamander shows Fedorin an official file of lies, scandal and libel he has concocted about him. Fedorin is very worried but Salamander refers to it as insurance. Salamander offers Fedorin the job as leader of the Central European Zone if he promises to share the power with Salamander. Fedorin asks what is to happen to Denes and Salamander explains he is to be killed. Fedorin says he can't do that but Salamander reminds him of the file. The conversation is interrupted by the eruption of the volcanoes. Salamander is overjoyed at the fact that his predictions have come true, despite the widespread destruction he is witnessing below. Bruce enters worried about reports he heard of an attempt on Salamander's life. Salamander placates him. Denes bursts in, horrified at the destruction. Salamander accuses him of ignoring his warnings and letting thousands die. Denes is certain that somehow Salamander engineered this disaster. Salamander coolly denounces Denes as a traitor and orders Bruce arrest him. Denes implores Fedorin to back him up but Salamander states that Fedorin will be chief witness against him. Fedorin cannot bring himself to look at Denes

Episode 4
Giles is waiting for contact from Astrid and is panicked by the lack of contact. She eventually contacts and Giles tells her to scramble her messages to ensure that no one is listening in.

Benik is, indeed, listening in and frustrated by the scrambling. He sends his guards out to trace Astrid. He is informed that Salamander is returning to Australia.

Astrid explains she has returned to Australia safely and is back at Giles' office. She explains that Denes has been killed. She is interrupted by a figure at the door. It is Fariah. Astrid is sceptical thinking she has been sent by Salamander but she claims she hates him and wants him dead.

The guards report to Benik that Astrid and Fariah have been seen together. Benik orders Giles' office surrounded.

The Doctor and Giles have joined Astrid and Fariah. The Doctor is concerned about Jamie and Victoria but Fariah says they have been brought back to Australia by Salamander. The Doctor mistrusts Fariah but she says she has spent her whole life being controlled and blackmailed by Salamander. The Doctor asks if she has any proof. She says she has nothing to prove that she has been blackmailed but has the information he was using to blackmail Fedorin.

Meanwhile, downstairs Benik has surrounded the place.

Kent and the Doctor look over the evidence, but the Doctor claims it's not enough to prove Salamander is evil. However, knowing Jamie and Victoria are prisoners, the Doctor's impersonating Salamander is their only hope. Giles says that when he gets close to Salamander the Doctor must kill him. The Doctor objects to this but Giles says he will withdraw support in finding Jamie and Victoria. Fariah's presence, they hope, will help convince people of his identity. Fariah notices that the place has been surrounded.

Benik orders his men to shoot any of the party on sight.

The Doctor and his friends soon realise their is no escape other than the ventilation shaft. Benik is at the door. Astrid orders they all go down the shaft whist she stalls Benik and his men. One of the guards enters through the window. He and Astrid grapple and, on the sound of a gunshot, Benik enters. The only person there is the prostrate guard. He assumes they have all gone down through the ventilation shaft and rushes out to the street. Astrid has been hiding under a desk the whole time.

As Fariah tries to escape she is shot by one of the guards. Benik tries to extract information from her but she refuses. She dies. Benik regains Salamander's file from her.

Salamander and Bruce lose their mind at Benik for his heavy handed way of dealing with the situation. Salamander is more concerned by his lookalike. Benik returns the file to Salamander. Left alone, Salamander locks himself inside the Records Room. Once he's sure he's alone, he opens a secret panel in the wall, revealing a small elevator capsule which he climbs into and descends.

Bruce tries to contact Salamander. When he discovers he can't he is infuriated at the way that Salamander is running things.

Salamander has descended to a vast underground complex on his return he explains over tannoy that he has returned. A couple, Colin and Mary, discuss how colin is going to demand from Salamander that he return to the surface. He goes to meet Salamander who explains that the radiation on the surface is killing him but he has found a store of food. It becomes clear he has convinced them a nuclear war has devastated the surface, and their efforts to create natural disasters are helping them turn the tide against, in Salamander's words, "the enemies of truth and freedom". The research team have been down there for five years. They cannot return until the radiation levels on the surface fall to safe levels. They hail Salamander as their hero, risking life and limb to bring them food. Colin is the lone dissenter demanding to return to the surface. Salamander feigns radiation sickness and leaves.

Back at the caravan, Kent and Astrid prepare the Doctor to infiltrate the station while awaiting the return of Fariah. The door opens and a figure emerges.

Episode 5
Bruce demands to know why the Doctor is posing as Salamander. Astrid overpowers and disarms Bruce's guard, but Bruce calmly notes there are more outside. The Doctor refuses to resort to violence, handing the guard's gun back to Bruce as a sign of good faith. Bruce agrees to escort the Doctor into the station, provided Kent and Astrid stay behind.

In the underground complex, Salamander unloads the supplies from the surface. One scientist, Colin, is desperate to get to the surface to see for himself what is happening. Meanwhile Swann, their leader, finds a scrap of newspaper inside a crate bearing the headline HOLIDAY LINER SINKS: MANY FEARED LOST. This appears to indicate that surface life is normal, and Swann angrily demands an explanation. Salamander claims that yes, the war is over, but the survivors are deformed in mind and body and deserve to die. Their efforts to destroy these mutants are necessary for a new start. Swann insists on seeing for himself. Eventually Salamander agrees to take him to the surface. Colin is distraught at the thought of not going.

Jamie and Victoria, drugged for their trip back to Kenowa, wake, much to Benik's delight. He anticipates sadistically interrogating them. However, Salamander enters with Bruce and orders him out. Victoria and Jamie confront Salamander with his crimes, particularly the murder of Fedorin and Denes, which apalls Bruce. Victoria lashes out at Salamander, who reveals he's actually the Doctor, come to rescue them. Bruce is still not convinced to turn against Salamander, but enough doubt is planted that he agrees to investigate.

Astrid and Kent resolve to sneak into the base to take matters into their own hands. They overpower the guard and escape. As Astrid hides in a field near a cave entrance, she finds Swann, brutally assaulted and left for dead by Salamander.

Episode 6
Swann tells Astrid of the people underground. He begs her to help free them, then succumbs to his injuries. Astrid reaches the band of scientists and convinces them they've been fooled by Salamander for all these years and that he killed their leader Swann. Colin is the first to believe her and accompanies Mary and Astrid in the small lift for its journey to the surface.

When they reach the Records Room, they meet the Doctor, disguised as Salamander, and Kent; the former has fooled the latter into thinking he is the real dictator and, thus, revealed his true plans in the process. Colin and Mary denounce Kent as the person who took them all below ground in the first place. It seems Kent and Salamander were allies all along, and the Doctor reveals he had been slow to support Kent all this time, suspecting — correctly — that he merely wanted Salamander's power for himself. Kent flees into the caves.

Bruce asserts his authority and takes over the Research Centre, arresting Benik; The Doctor contacts Bruce and tells him of the situation. The two felons meet, and Kent is mortally wounded in the exchange. But before he dies, he sets off hidden explosives in an attempt to destroy the caves and the research center. The Doctor, Bruce, Astrid, Colin and Mary are shaken by the explosion but manage to escape the research center before the roof finally caves in. A television monitor reveals that the scientists in the shelter also appear to have survived, much to Astrid's delight. Astrid and Bruce vow to dig them out and return them to the surface. Salamander's fate is unknown.

Jamie and Victoria wait nervously near the TARDIS. When the Doctor finally arrives, still disguised as Salamander and clearly wounded and dazed, his behavior is puzzling; he orders Jamie to pilot the TARDIS for him — something which neither he nor Victoria were ever allowed to do. Then the real Doctor stands at the doorway of the TARDIS, mocking Salamander's impersonation of him. A desperate Salamander grabs the controls, trying to remember the button Jamie had started to touch, but the Doctor pulls him off the console. A brief scuffle ensues, in which both the Doctor and Jamie are dispatched to the floor by the dictator, who then finds and hurriedly presses the dematerialization switch. But Salamander does this while the doors are still open, creating a vacuum that sucks him out into the space-time vortex while the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria hang on for dear life.

Cast

 * Dr. Who/Ramón Salamander - Patrick Troughton
 * Jamie McCrimmon - Frazer Hines
 * Victoria Waterfield - Deborah Watling
 * Giles Kent - Bill Kerr
 * Astrid - Mary Peach
 * Denes - George Pravda
 * Donald Bruce - Colin Douglas
 * Fedorin - David Nettheim
 * Benik - Milton Johns
 * Anton - Henry Stamper
 * Curly - Simon Cain
 * Rod - Rhys McConnochie
 * Fariah - Carmen Munroe
 * Griffin - Reg Lye
 * Swann - Christopher Burgess
 * Colin - Adam Verney
 * Mary - Margaret Hickey
 * Sergeant to Benik - Andrew Staines
 * Fighting Guard - Bob Anderson
 * Guard Captains - Gordon Faith, Elliott Cairnes
 * Guard in Caravan - Dibbs Mather
 * Guard in Corridor - William McGuirk
 * Guard on Denes - Bill Lyons

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Edwina Verner
 * Costumes - Martin Baugh
 * Designer - Christopher Pemsel
 * Film Cameraman - Fred Hamilton
 * Film Editor - Philip Barnikel
 * Make-Up - Sylvia James
 * Producer - Innes Lloyd
 * Production Assistant - Martin Lisemore
 * Script Editor - Peter Bryant
 * Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
 * Studio Lighting - Howard King
 * Studio Sound - Tony Millier
 * Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer

Story notes

 * The end of this story leads into the beginning of The Web of Fear.
 * Patrick Troughton is credited as 'Dr. Who/Salamander' for episodes two to six. He also appears as Salamander in a 35mm black & white film sequence in episode one, but is credited only as 'Dr. Who'. Radio Times credits 'Patrick Troughton as Dr. Who and Salamander' for episodes two to six, while the actual cast lists – which credit the characters in order of appearance – bill Patrick Troughton only as 'Dr. Who' for episodes one and six, and as both 'Dr. Who' and 'Salamander' (separate billings) for episodes two to five.
 * This marks the second time that a doppelganger of the Doctor has been featured (giving the lead actor a dual role), following William Hartnell's double performance as the First Doctor and the Abbot of Amboise in The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve.
 * Patrick Troughton's son David appears as an extra in episodes five and six.
 * Neither Deborah Watling nor Frazer Hines appear in episode four, as they were on holiday the week it was recorded.
 * This is the final story overseen by producer Innes Lloyd.
 * This story marked the first use of 625 line PAL videotape in Doctor Who, as opposed to the old 405-line standard. For many years, incorrect production paperwork led to the belief that this began with episode three, until analysis of the recovered episodes from Nigeria found otherwise.
 * A black and white shot of Mary Peach (Astrid) standing next to Astrid's helicopter accompanied the Radio Times programme listing for episode one, along with a synopsis, bearing the title Who's Who, which read as follows: "TONIGHT'S new adventure of Dr. Who finds the crew of the Tardis landing on a beach and coming under fire from a hovercraft — only to be rescued by a helicopter piloted by a girl, Astrid (Mary Peach). She takes them to her leader, who explains that the Doctor is the exact double of a would-be World Dictator. Into the fray goes the Doctor, or is it Salamander, or is it the Doctor pretending to be Salamander...?"
 * Radio Times in certain regions for the week of transmission of episode two featured a small article entitled Who Sets the Fashion?, which looked at future fashion as seen in Doctor Who and focused on the costumes worn by Mary Peach (Astrid) and Bill Kerr (Giles Kent), which gave the year in which the story was set as 2017.
 * The Radio Times programme listing for episode three was accompanied by a black and white head-and-shoulders shot of Frazer Hines, with the accompanying caption "Frazer Hines plays Jamie in The Enemy of the World. The third part of this Dr. Who adventure is at 5.25".
 * For the week of transmission of episode five, Doctor Who featured — in full colour for the first time — on the front cover of Radio Times (cover dated: 20-26 January 1968): a head-and-shoulders shot of Patrick Troughton as the Doctor examining a control panel, which was taken from the previous story, The Ice Warriors. This was used to introduce a two-page colour behind-the-scenes article in the centre pages entitled The Monstrous World of Doctor Who, written by Gay Search, which opened with the following introductory paragraph: "Daleks, Cybermen, Yetis, Ice Warriors — familiar monsters guaranteed to chill the blood of anyone over the age of ten. But where do they come from? Who dreams them up? How are they made? How do they work? We sent Gay Search to find out..." In addition to the origins of the aforementioned monsters, the article not only looked at the creation of the seaweed monster from the forthcoming story Fury from the Deep but also looked at the roles of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and the BBC's Visual Effects Department in bringing the Doctor's enemies to life — as well as featuring a brief interview with the Head of the BBC's Visual Effects Department, Jack Kine.
 * On its original broadcast, episode six of The Enemy of the World ended with a trailer promoting the next story, The Web of Fear. The trailer featured specially shot footage of the Doctor in the London Underground talking to the audience about the impending return of the Yeti in the next story, before fleeing at the sound of distant shooting. Although episode six has now been returned to the BBC Archives, this unique trailer remains lost; although it survives on audio, so the trailer is included on the BBC Audio release of the story.
 * Episode four is the only episode of the story for which no tele-snap record exists; it is unknown as to why this episode was not covered. (There is the possibility that John Cura was either ill or on holiday at the time of broadcast.)
 * Images of Troughton as Salamander have often been used to illustrate the Second Doctor in books and magazines, even though technically the images are not actually of the Doctor (although the fact the Doctor impersonates Salamander complicates matters). These images are easy to spot due to the fact Salamander (or Doctor-as-Salamander) wears his hair parted and has a ruddier complexion than the Doctor.
 * Episode six is notable for its sudden ending, which omits any resolution with regards to whether the people trapped underground are ever rescued.
 * The novelisation of this story, published in 1981, is set in 2030, not 2018.
 * Episodes one, two and four to six were revealed to have been returned to the BBC in October 2013.
 * Both this story and the previous adventure, The Ice Warriors (TV story), have as their premise food shortages caused by overpopulation; in this case, Salamander is exploiting the need for farms to produce multiple crops in a season to amass power.
 * To date, this is the only televised story to take place in Australia.

Ratings

 * Episode 1 - 6.8 million viewers
 * Episode 2 - 7.6 million viewers
 * Episode 3 - 7.1 million viewers
 * Episode 4 - 7.8 million viewers
 * Episode 5 - 6.9 million viewers
 * Episode 6 - 8.3 million viewers

Myths

 * The reason Patrick Troughton was cast as Salamander was because they could not afford another actor. (Untrue; it was scripted he play both roles.)

Filming locations

 * Climping Beach in Littlehampton, West Sussex
 * Villiers House and Walpole Park, Ealing
 * Ealing Television Film Studios, Ealing Green, Ealing
 * Lime Grove Studios (Studio D), Lime Grove, London

Production errors

 * The inspection plate in the cockpit of Astrid's helicopter has the first word on its heading AUSTRALASION ZONE misspelt. The correct spelling is "Australasian".
 * The police box's instruction plate that normally appears on the left-hand side of the TARDIS doors has been placed on the right-hand side by mistake.
 * When Giles Kent is shot in episode six,he stumbles down the cave corridor. As he does so,Kent falls against the rocky wall and the wall wobbles slightly.

Continuity

 * Jamie equates the Sun Store with the ioniser. (TV: The Ice Warriors)
 * Salamander survived in the vortex. (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet

Home video and audio releases

 * Until October 2013, only episode three of the story existed in the BBC Archives. It was released on the Troughton Years video. Episode three was also released in digitally re-mastered form on the Lost in Time DVD.
 * Editing of the surviving episode's DVD release was completed by the Doctor Who Restoration Team.
 * A DVD was released on 25 November 2013 in the UK. Unlike previous Doctor Who DVDs, this release contained no commentaries, information text or other special features, merely the restored episodes and a "Coming Next" trailer for The Web of Fear. It was also released in a limited edition slipcase that came with a t-shirt which was available from the BBC.Shop UK. A Region 1 DVD version was released on May 20th, 2014.