The Macra Terror (TV story)

"There ar no such thing as Macra!"

- Controllers

The Macra Terror was the seventh story of Season 4 of Doctor Who. It was the first Doctor Who story to feature the lead actor's face in the opening title sequence.

Synopsis
When the Doctor, Polly and Ben visit a human colony that appears to be one big holiday camp, they think they have come across a truly happy place. But a shadowy presence soon makes them realise that the surface contentment is carefully controlled.

The colony's inhabitants have been brainwashed by giant crab-like creatures - the Macra. Insidious propaganda, broadcast by the Controller, forces the humans to mine a gas that is essential for the Macra to survive - but fatal to them.

The colony must be saved - but how? The Doctor and his team are up against it, particularly when Ben falls under the influence of the Macra. Can he be rescued from their evil clutches? Can the gas pumping equipment be destroyed, getting rid of the Macra for good?

Plot
A colony gets attacked by giant crabs. The fearsome Macra...

Cast

 * The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
 * Ben Jackson - Michael Craze
 * Polly - Anneke Wills
 * Jamie McCrimmon - Frazer Hines
 * Pilot - Peter Jeffrey
 * Medok - Terence Lodge
 * Ola - Gertan Klauber
 * Barney - Graham Armitage
 * Questa - Ian Fairbairn
 * Sunaa - Jane Enshawe
 * Chicki - Sandra Bryant & Karol Keyes (Episode 4)
 * Drum Majorette - Maureen Lane
 * Controller - Graham Leaman
 * Alvis - Anthony Gardner
 * Control Voice - Denis Goacher
 * Broadcast and Propaganda Voice - Richard Beale
 * Macra Operator - Robert Jewell
 * Officia - John Harvey
 * Guards - John Caesar, Steve Emerson, Danny Rae
 * Cheerleaders - Roger Jerome, Terry Wright, Ralph Carrigan

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Anne Faggetter
 * Costumes - Daphne Dare, Vanessa Clark
 * Designer - Kenneth Sharp
 * Film Cameraman - Peter Hamilton
 * Film Editor - Eddie Wallstab
 * Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
 * Make-Up - Gillian James, Jeanne Richmond
 * Producer - Innes Lloyd
 * Production Assistant - Chris D'Oyly John
 * Script Editor - Gerry Davis
 * Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
 * Studio Lighting - Frank Cresswell
 * Studio Sound - Hugh Barker, Gordon Mackie
 * Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer

Story Notes

 * This story is the first to use a new title sequence incorporating an image of Patrick Troughton's face, designed by Bernard Lodge and realised by Ben Palmer. The series' theme music was also rearranged slightly at this point by Delia Derbyshire, with assistance from Dick Mills. This arrangement remains in use (with some variations) until 1980.
 * This story had the working titles; The Spidermen, The Spidermen!, The Insect-Men, The Macra.
 * The Macra seen to be in charge in the last episode is white rather than black (a scene for which the sole Macra prop had to be repainted).
 * All four epsiodes are missing, though some clips survive.

Ratings

 * Episode 1 - 8.0 million viewers
 * Episode 2 - 7.9 million viewers
 * Episode 3 - 8.5 million viewers
 * Episode 4 - 8.4 million viewers

Myths

 * The image of the Controller seen on the screen in the Pilot's office was a photograph of story editor Gerry Davis. (It was a photograph of Graham Leaman, who played the Controller.)

Filming Locations

 * Associated Portland Cement Company Quarry, Houghton Road, Dunstable
 * Ealing Television Film Studios, Ealing Green, Ealing
 * Lime Grove Studios (Studio D)

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
to be added

Continuity

 * The Macra returned to Doctor Who 40 years later in DW: Gridlock. To date, this marks the longest interval between appearances by a character or alien race in franchise history.

Timeline

 * This story occurs after The Moonbase
 * This story occurs before The Slave War

DVD, Video and Other Releases

 * The full soundtrack was released with linking naration by Colin Baker

Novelisation

 * Main article: The Macra Terror (novelisation)


 * Novelised as The Macra Terror by Ian Stuart Black in 1987.