The Macra Terror (TV story)

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
to be added

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
 * Sunnaa - 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
to be added

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
to be added

Location Filming
to be added

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
to be added

Continuity

 * The Macra appear in Gridlock.

DVD, Video and Other Releases
to be added

Target Novelisations
to be added