The Awakening (TV story)

"Doctor, the Malus!"

- Tegan

Synopsis
The Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough arrive in Little Hodcombe, where the townspeople's' re-enactments of English Civil War battles are causing a dormant entity, the Malus, to re-awaken.

Plot
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Peter Davison
 * Tegan - Janet Fielding
 * Turlough - Mark Strickson
 * Jane Hampden - Polly James
 * Sir George Hutchinson - Denis Lill
 * Colonel Wolsey - Glyn Houston
 * Joseph Willow - Jack Galloway
 * Will Chandler - Keith Jayne
 * Trooper - Christopher Saul
 * Andrew Verney - Frederick Hall

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Marcus D F White
 * Costumes - Jackie Southern
 * Designer - Barry Newbury
 * Film Cameraman - Paul Wheeler
 * Film Editor - M A C Adams
 * Incidental Music - Peter Howell
 * Make-Up - Ann Ailes
 * Producer - John Nathan-Turner
 * Production Assistant - Rosemary Parsons
 * Production Associate - June Collins
 * Script Editor - Eric Saward
 * Special Sounds - Dick Mills
 * Studio Lighting - Peter Catlett
 * Studio Sound - Martin Ridout
 * Theme Arrangement - Peter Howell
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer
 * Visual Effects - Tony Harding

Story Notes

 * This story had the working titles of; War Game, Poltergeist.
 * A scene involving the Doctor's robotic companion, Kamelion, was filmed for this serial but cut before transmission. It would have been the character's first appearance since The King's Demons; ultimately the character would not appear again until Planet of Fire.
 * Will Chandler was considered to be a new companion, but Eric Saward and John Nathan-Turner felt viewers might become tired of him.

Ratings

 * Part One - 7.9 million viewers
 * Part Two - 6.6 million viewers

Myths
to be added

Filming Locations

 * Tarrant Monkton, Dorset
 * Shapwick, Dorset
 * Martin, Hampshire
 * Damer's Farm, Martin Cross, Hampshire
 * St Bartholomew's Church, Shapwick, Dorset
 * Bishops Court Farm, Dorset
 * Martin Down, Martin, Hampshire
 * BBC Television Centre (TC6), Shepherd's Bush, London

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

 * As Tegan notes, the Doctor seems to forget the reason that they went to the town in the first place.
 * Why did the Malus not finish the job it was sent to do back during the real civil war? Why did it become dorment if it had the power to heighten aggressive behaviour and perpetuate the conflict?
 * The entrance to the underground passageway in the church, operates by simply pressing the face of the Malus down. Surely not the best method of concealment for a secret door in the form of a floor slab? Anyone might step on it!

Continuity

 * The Malus, and its companion probe craft hinted at in the dialogue of the story, are reintroduced later in PDA: The Hollow Men and Last of the Gaderene.

Timeline

 * This story occurs after RT: Birth of a Renegade
 * This story occurs before PDA: The King of Terror

DVD and Video Releases
Released on video in episodic format along side Frontios, not yet released on DVD.
 * Editing completed by Doctor Who Restoration Team.

Novelisation

 * Main article: The Awakening (novelisation)


 * Novelised by Eric Pringle in 1985.