The Aztecs (TV story)

The Aztecs was the sixth story of Season 1 of Doctor Who. It was the first story to address the issue of altering the course of history.

Synopsis
The arrival of the TARDIS in 15th century Mexico leads the crew to encounter the doomed Aztec people, a mixture of high culture and brutal savagery side by side; and matters are further complicated when Barbara is mistaken for a god and the First Doctor becomes engaged to be married...

The Temple of Evil (1)
The TARDIS crew arrive in Mexico in the Fifteenth Century in the inner sanctum of an Aztec tomb. Barbara and Susan leave the TARDIS first and begin to explore the tomb. Barbara, whose specialist knowledge is on the Aztecs, finds a bracelet on the floor and absent-mindedly puts it on. Susan finds a door in the wall and Barbara goes through it. Susan goes back to the TARDIS for the others. Barbara is met by a man who fetches warriors, thinking she is a trespasser. When the warriors come for her however, he sees the bracelet on Barbara's wrist and his opinion changes.

When the Doctor and Ian go through the trap door, they find Barbara gone. Even more worrisome, the door closes behind them and refuses to open. The Doctor states that it would have been built to allow the Gods out but no one in. Soon the man that accosted Barbara returns and introduces himself as Autloc, the High Priest of knowledge, and says that Yetaxa seeks an audience with them. The travellers go to meet this deity. On their way they are introduced to High Priest of Sacrifice Tlotoxl, a gruesome figure. When the travellers are taken to Yetaxa they are surprised to see that it is Barbara. Once they are alone, she explains that as she was wearing Yetaxa's bracelet when she was captured, the Aztecs believe her to be a reincarnation of the deceased High Priest, and therefore a god.

Barbara demands of the Aztecs that the Doctor and Ian be given free run of the civilisation. Although they agree, Tlotoxl has other ideas of his own. He convinces Autloc that Ian should be the leader of their army, something that Ian begrudgingly agrees to. While Ian goes to meet Ixta, his rival for command, the Doctor is taken to The Garden of Peace. Here he meets Cameca, a local sage and philosopher, of whom he becomes quickly very fond. However, this does not stop him from smooth-talking her into a meeting with the son of the designer of the temple in order to find a way of retrieving his TARDIS from the centre of the tomb.

Ian meets up with the Doctor again and states that in order to prove himself to Autloc and Ixta he needs to hold down a sacrifice to the god of rain in order to put an end to a drought. Ian is reluctant but the Doctor says that he has to do this in order to not blow their cover. The Doctor goes to Barbara to inform her of this and Barbara outright refuses to allow this to happen. She states that if she stops human sacrifices the Aztecs will not become extinct and will live on as a better civilisation. The Doctor refuses to let her do this, telling her that she cannot change history. Barbara remains obdurate. Just before the sacrifice takes place Barbara puts a stop to it. Both Ixta and the sacrifice are outraged. The sacrifice, furious that he has not had the chance to prove himself, throws himself from the top of the tomb. The rains soon come. Triumphant, Tlotoxl says that this proves that sacrifices are necessary. Barbara denies this, and says that sacrifices shall no longer be practiced. This infuriates Tlotoxl who vows that he will unmask Barbara as the fraud that she is.

The Warriors of Death (2)
The Doctor berates Barbara for allowing Tlotoxl to suspect that she is not the real God. However he soon brightens up when he recounts to her his encounter with Cameca and the possibility that he could learn more about the construction of the tomb. Meanwhile Ian and Ixta are practicing for their showdown. Ian gets short-tempered by Ixta's boasting and states that he could kill Ixta with just his thumb. He soon proves this by applying his thumb to a pressure point at the back of Ixta's neck that renders him unconscious. Tlotoxl enters to this sight and is shocked to see that Ian is gaining the upper hand over his favoured candidate. Autloc states that as Ian has disarmed Ixta that he is the rightful Commander of the Aztec army. Desperate to prevent this from happening, Tlotoxl convinces the next human sacrifice (whose last days are spent in total control of those around them) to order that another, more equal contest be held. This is agreed to. Tlotoxl offers Ixta untold riches if Ian is killed in their battle.

Meanwhile in the Garden of Peace, the Doctor and Cameca share stories and flirt. He manages to convince Cameca that he should meet the son of the designer of the tomb by saying that he is only called the Doctor because he is "a scientist, an engineer. I'm a builder of things." When Cameca leaves to ask the son it is clear to see that the Doctor is smitten by her. Tlotoxl goes to visit Barbara and warns her that he is begining to get more people to believe that she is not the real Yetaxa and that Autloc is going to question her later and until then she is confined to the tomb. As way of teasing her he tells her of the fight that is to take place between Ian and Ixta. This clearly distresses her.

Ixta himself is elsewhere in the city practicing for his fight. Cameca comes to visit him and tells him that the "Older Servant of Yetaxa" wishes to see him. Realising that the Doctor doesn't know his name or his rivalry with Ian he will meet him and try to destroy the travellers from the inside. All this time Susan has been receiving tutorship from Autloc and Tonila on how to be a good wife; whilst succesful in some ways she is struggling to keep up with some of the more antiquated views of a woman's role in society.

Ixta goes to the Garden of Peace to meet the Doctor. He states that he would love to help the Doctor by showing him some drawings that his father made of the tomb, but he is to be in a fight that evening and he must do well. He asks the Doctor whether he has any ideas as to how he could get the upper hand on his opponent. The Doctor goes to a plant that he has been studying and draws a pin through it. Presenting it to Ixta, he states that one scratch from this needle will render his opponent weak and unable to fight anywhere near his true capability. Ixta accepts this gratefully and says that he will meet the Doctor there the following day.

At the tomb Autloc is questioning Barbara on why she deemed it so important to stop the sacrifice. She states that she prophecies the downfall of the Aztec civilisation with such barbaric acts of butchery. This clearly affects Autloc. Later the Doctor goes to visit Barbara, who immediately tells him that he should not be there as she is supposed to be in isolation whilst she is being questioned. However the Doctor has enough time to recount his encounter with Ixta, only for his pride to be spoilt by Barbara who informs him that Ian is the very adversary that the Doctor has aided Ixta against. As the Doctor leaves the tomb he is arrested by Tlotoxl for talking to Barbara. Barbara demands that the fight between Ian and Ixta will not go ahead. However Tlotoxl insists that this is something that cannot be quibbled about.

The fight between Ian and Ixta begins and Ian is clearly in charge until Ixta scratches him with the needle. As he begins to flag, Ixta begins to strangle Ian. Tlotoxl bays for Ian's death whilst Autloc states that Yetaxa forbids human sacrifice. Barbara tries to break up the fight. Tlotoxl says she should not have left the tomb but then states that if she is truly Yetaxa she would be able to break up the fight herself. An unsure Barbara begins to approach the pair of men.

The Bride of Sacrifice (3)
Barbara responds to this demand of Tlotoxl's by unsheathing his knife and holding it to Tlotoxl's neck, saying that if the fight continues she shall kill Tlotoxl. Tlotoxl reluctantly stops the fight. Back at the tomb Barbara further tries to convince Autloc that the ritual of sacrifice is one that will soon see the end of the Aztec civilisation and she seeks his support in stopping the coming sacrifice.

Tlotoxl goes to find the Doctor in the Garden of Peace to enquire why he gave Ixta the needle that would weaken Ian. The Doctor states that he didn't know who Ixta was fighting and that he did it in order to get the plans of the tomb. He goes on to convince Tlotoxl that the only way for him to prove if Yetaxa is real is by also finding his way into the centre of the tomb in order to see if the body remains. Back at the scene of the fight Ixta awakes Ian and tells him what has happened. He is more amiable with Ian now as he is assured that, come the next fight. he can beat him. Tlotoxl comes to Ixta and asks him to see the plans that he promised the Doctor. Ixta informs him that there never were such plans and that he was just using the information that Cameca gave him to get the draft from the Doctor. As Ian and Ixta leave Ian overhears Tlotoxl trying to convince Tonila that the only way to prove if Yetaxa is a God is by poisoning her. If she dies she is a fake, if she lives she is a God and poision will not affect her. Tonila seems convinced by this argument.

In the Garden of Peace Autloc is questioning Cameca on why she has been so happy of late. Cameca confides with him that she is in love with the Doctor and that she intends to get him to drink cocoa with her (which is an Aztec way of getting someone to ask you to marry them.) Cameca spills the cocoa beans she is holding in front of the Doctor, and her plan works when he asks her to join him in a cup of cocoa. Meanwhile Ian has sneaked into the tomb to talk to Barbara, to warn her that her plans are going wrong, Not only is Tlotoxl plotting against her but her plans to save the Aztec nation are futile. Whereas she has previously thought that all Aztecs were like Autloc and that Tlotoxl is a bad apple, the actual case is that it is Autloc who is the exceptional man. This conversation is interrupted by Tlotoxl and Tonila who come and present Barbara with some wine under the guise of friendship. Ian, who has hidden behind a column when the men came in, gestures to her not to drink it. Barbara asks Tlotoxl to drink it before she does. When he refuses Barbara shouts at Tonila to leave and then confides to Tlotoxl that she is indeed a fake but that if he tells anyone she will get the Aztecs to destroy him.

Back at the Garden of Peace the Doctor and Cameca are sharing their cocoa when Cameca states that she is happy that they are getting married. The Doctor is visibly shocked by this. Meanwhile Autloc and Tonila are talking about Susan's impressive progress as their student, however they do recount the headlong ideals she holds about marriage. Tlotoxl overhears this and decides to use this against Barbara in order to unmask her as a fraud to the rest of the civilisation. Again he enlists Tonila to help him.

Later that day, during Susan's studying, Tonila brings the next human sacrifice to her. The sacrifice demands that Susan marry him. She refuses. Tonila jumps on this show of defiance and says that Susan must be punished for such a breach of society's conventions. Back in the Garden of Peace Cameca shows the Doctor a brooch that belonged to Ixta's Father (with whom she was once in love.) She states that it was found in the Garden of Peace from whence he went missing years ago.

Tlotoxl and Tonila go to the tomb of Yetaxa and tell Barbara that someone has being defying Aztec conventions and that according to their law she should be punished. Barbara reluctantly agrees to this, anxious not to further blow her cover. Whilst this is happening the Doctor goes to Ian and shows him the brooch that belonged to Ixta's father, who he suspects had escaped somewhere into the tomb, and tells Ian he plans to find out if there is a secret entrance anywhere. Ian says he'll meet him at the Garden of Peace that night. The Doctor also tells Ian about his proposal - something Ian finds most amusing.

Autloc goes to see Barbara and says that he plans to stand with her in her objections to sacrifice. This pleases Barbara, but her joy is short lived when he informs her that the person to be punished is Susan. Barbara says that both the sacrifice and the punishment have to be stopped. However, Autloc is unsure, asking Barbara whether she would sacrifice the civilisation for one girl.

Later that night Ian sneaks out of his dormitory to meet the Doctor. However, he is followed by Ixta. When they get to the Garden of Peace, the Doctor has discovered that one of the panels in the wall can slide. Ian slides this away and goes in - leaving the Doctor behind, saying it might be too dangerous. Whilst Ian is exploring the passage, Ixta shows himself. Feigning ignorance that he saw Ian go in, he informs the Doctor that the stone must be put back as it forms part of a dam; unless the stone is replaced the garden will be flooded. He does this, much to the Doctor's discomfort, just as the water begins to puddle around Ian's feet.

The Day of Darkness (4)
As the water rises, Ian finds a loose slab above his head which he moves aside. As he crawls through a vast underground network of tunnels, he eventually finds his way back into Yetaxa's tomb and the TARDIS. Here he uses a rope tied to an ornament on the inside of the door and opens it, bringing the other end of the rope with him in order to leave some purchase to open the door again later. As Ian comes out of the tomb Barbara seems shocked to see her friend. As she questions him as to how he got there they hear someone coming and Ian hides. Luckily it is the Doctor panicking, thinking that Ian has been killed. Ian reveals himself and shows the Doctor his plan for getting back into the tomb. Ian decides to go and liberate Susan from the warriors so that they may leave. Meanwhile Tlotoxl is congratulating Ixta on his murder of Ian and tells him that he must guard Susan. Susan is brought in to him. Ixta tells Susan that he killed Ian; however, Ian, approaching him from behind, knocks him out and escapes with Susan.

When Ian and Susan return to the tomb, the foursome try to open the door but the rope breaks. Meanwhile, Ixta has regained conciousness and an irate Tlotoxl is berating him for his loss of Susan. Worried that Autloc will take Ian's seeming resurrection as yet another sign of Yetaxa's powers, Tlotoxl has Ixta frame Ian by using Ian's club to knock Autloc unconscious and put the blame on the travellers.

In order to gain access to the tomb Ian decides to go through the hatch in the Garden of Peace again. He takes Susan with him to watch for others. When they get there they find Autloc unconscious on the floor. Ian finds the club and realises he's being set up, however it is too late and Ian is arrested. As Autloc gains consciousness he proclaims Yetaxa a false goddess.

With his plan falling into place Tlotoxl plans with Tonila a way of getting rid of Barbara. He plans to lock her away in a room during the eclipse so that those around them think that she vanished. Meanwhile in the Garden of Peace the Doctor is making a pulley in order to open the door. Cameca says she will do anything for the Doctor in order for Ian to be saved. He says that the only thing that might help is by Autloc going to talk to Barbara.

This meeting is brought to bear and Barbara convinces Autloc that it wasn't Ian. However he says that the situation is out of his hands. After his meeting with Barbara, he goes to the Garden of Peace, and in a state of confusion and doubting his own faiths he gives Cameca his badge of honour, symbolising his position as High Priest of Knowledge. He asks her to give it to Susan's guard and use it as a bargaining chip in order to liberate Susan. Autloc then leaves to go into the wilderness.

As the Doctor and Susan put the finishing touches on the pulley system, Tlotoxl comes to Barbara to tell her that the sacrifice is preparing itself outside. Tlotoxl also tells her that Autloc has abandoned her and that there shall be no hope for her friends. Meanwhile Autloc's plan to free Susan works even better than he could imagine as, while Cameca shows the guard the badge, Ian uses the distraction to knock him out. Susan escapes with Cameca and Ian takes the guard's head dress and escapes in that disguise.

Tlotoxl lays out his plan to Tonila and says that if it works Tonila will take over from Autloc as the High Priest of Knowledge. Back at the tomb Susan is reunited with her grandfather and Barbara. The Doctor thanks Cameca and they take their goodbyes of one another. Cameca gives the Doctor a seal to remember her by.

Tonila finds the guard unconscious and a furious Tlotoxl orders Tonila to kill him. Tlotoxl rushes off to ensure that the travellers do not disrupt the sacrifice. As the sacrifice begins, Tlotoxl, blinded by rage, tries to kill Barbara. Ian stops him and Ixta and he fight. Eventually Ian kills Ixta by throwing him off the top of the tomb.

By this time the door has been opened and the travellers escape through it. Tlotoxl watches them go and then performs the sacrifice. Hearing all this a desolate Barbara asks what the point of travelling through time and space is if they can't change anything. The Doctor reassures her that even if she hadn't changed a civilisation, she changed Autloc's life and made him see the truth. Barbara goes back into the TARDIS. The Doctor goes to leave Cameca's seal behind but turns back to pick it up again.

Later in the TARDIS the Doctor looks bemused and tells his companions that half of his controls are telling him the TARDIS is stationary and the other half that it's moving. Ian wonders if they have landed on something; a worried looking Barbara asks if they could have landed in something.

Cast

 * The Doctor - William Hartnell
 * Ian Chesterton - William Russell
 * Barbara Wright - Jacqueline Hill
 * Susan Foreman - Carole Ann Ford
 * Autloc - Keith Pyott
 * Tlotoxl - John Ringham
 * Ixta - Ian Cullen
 * Cameca - Margot Van der Burgh
 * First Victim - Tom Booth
 * Aztec Captain - David Anderson
 * Tonila - Walter Randall
 * Perfect Victim - André Boulay
 * Aztec Warriors (all uncredited) - Brian Baker, John Beavis, James Duval, James Fitzgerald, Andrew Jacks, Alan Viccars
 * Aztec Citizens (all uncredited) - Eileen Brady, Lionel Gadsen, Alicepuss Greenwood, John Whore, Bill Raynor, Stella Wilkinson
 * Double for Ian (uncredited) - David Anderson
 * Double for Ixta (uncredited) - Billy Cornelius

Crew

 * Writer - John Lucarotti
 * Director - John Crockett
 * Producer - Verity Lambert
 * Script Editor - David Whitaker
 * Designer - Barry Newbury
 * Assistant Floor Manager - Ken Howard
 * Associate Producer - Mervyn Pinfield
 * Costumes - Daphne Dare, Tony Pearce
 * Fight Arranger - David Anderson
 * Fight Arranger - Derek Ware
 * Incidental Music - Richard Rodney Bennett
 * Incidental Music Conductor - Marcus Dods
 * Make-Up - Jill Summers
 * Production Assistant - Ron Craddock
 * Special Sound - Brian Hodgson
 * Studio Lighting - Howard King
 * Studio Sound - Jack Brummitt
 * Studio Sound - John Staple
 * Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer

Story notes

 * All episodes exist in 16mm telerecordings.
 * David Anderson (Aztec Captain) is credited as Warrior Captain in Radio Times for The Temple of Evil. As fight arranger, Anderson is billed on-screen for The Day of Darkness only, but also arranged fights on The Warriors of Death, and is credited in Radio Times for both episodes.
 * Negative film prints of all episodes were recovered from BBC Enterprises in 1978.
 * John Lucarotti spent a lot of time researching the real Aztecs before writing this story.
 * Carole Ann Ford was on holiday during the filming of episodes 2 and 3 and appeared only in pre-taped film sequences which were shot during rehearsals for episode 5 of the preceding story, The Keys of Marinus.
 * The credits at the end of episode 3 had to be re-filmed as they were not acceptable for broadcast.
 * This is one of the stories selected to be shown as part of BSB's Doctor Who Weekend in September 1990.

Ratings

 * The Temple of Evil - 7.4 million viewers
 * The Warriors of Death - 7.4 million viewers
 * The Bride of Sacrifice - 7.9 million viewers
 * The Day of Darkness - 7.4 million viewers

Myths

 * The costumes used by the Aztecs covered more of their body than was the case in reality so as not to offend 1960s standards of decency (The costumes used had been researched before filming and were accurate reflections of those worn by the real Aztecs.).

Filming locations

 * Ealing Television Film Studios
 * Lime Grove Studios (Studio D)

Production errors

 * During the fight sequences in episode 4 it is clear that doubles are being used for William Russell and Ian Cullen. The edge of the set is also seen on the right.
 * There was apparently no consensus as to the pronunciation of Tlotoxl's name given the varied pronunciations given by various cast members.

Continuity

 * One of the few examples of the Doctor being involved in a romantic relationship. Other examples include BFA: Loups-Garoux, BFA: The One Doctor, DW: Doctor Who, ST: The Queen of Eros, EDA: Casualties of War, Sam Jones especially in EDA: Seeing I, DW: Human Nature / The Family of Blood and DW: The Parting of the Ways.
 * The Doctor tells Barbara that, "You can't rewrite history! Not one line!" Although the nature of Time and its laws has never been fully explained, numerous later episodes would further explore them, showing that some fixed points of time are absolute, and others are indeed changeable. The Time Lords (including the Doctor) give clear indication of their position that they and they alone understand how to properly "rewrite history". In NA: Timewyrm: Exodus it is suggested that only Time Lords or other very powerful individuals can change the course of history. By contrast, EDA: Interference - Book Two suggests that any individual can change the course of history, including the Doctor, but he has chosen not to do so. In Interference, he actually influences events to allow Sam to change the course of history.

Timeline

 * This story occurs after DW: The Keys of Marinus
 * This story occurs before ST: The Mother Road

DVD releases
Released as Doctor Who: The Aztecs.

Released:
 * Region 2 21st October 2002


 * PAL Region 2 - BBCDVD1099


 * Region 4 2nd December 2002
 * Region 1 3rd March 2003


 * NTSC - Warner Video E1719

Contents:
 * Remembering The Aztecs - Interviews with John Ringham, Walter Randall, and Ian Cullen.
 * Designing The Aztecs - An interview with set designer Barry Newbery.
 * Restoring The Aztecs - A look at the digital remastering process for the DVD.
 * Blue Peter - The Story of Cortez and Montezuma (UK tx: 21st September 1970).
 * Making Cocoa - An animated guide to making cocoa the Aztec way.
 * Arabic soundtrack - The final episode includes an option to view it in Arabic.
 * TARDIS-Cam #3
 * Photo Gallery
 * Production Note Subtitles
 * Easter Egg (BBC Enterprises Globe)
 * Commentary: Verity Lambert, William Russell, and Carole Ann Ford

Rear Credits:
 * Starring William Hartnell with William Russell, Jacqueline Hill and Carole Ann Ford
 * Written by John Lucarotti
 * Produced by Verity Lambert
 * Directed by John Crockett
 * Incidental Music by Richard Rodney Bennett

Notes:
 * Editing for DVD release completed by Doctor Who Restoration Team.

VHS releases
Released as Doctor Who: The Aztecs. This was originally going to be a Woolworths exclusive release, but at the last minute the company decided on a colour release instead (The Twin Dilemma).

Released:
 * UK November 1992


 * PAL - BBC Video BBCV4743


 * US May 1994


 * NTSC - CBS/FOX Video 8100
 * NTSC - Warner Video E1257

Notes: The 'Next Episode' caption has been removed from Episode 4.

Novelisation and its audiobook

 * Main article: The Aztecs (novelisation)


 * This story was published as Doctor Who: The Aztecs, published by Target Books in September of 1984, ISBN 0-426-19588-4. The story was written by John Lucarotti, based on his script. It was number 88 in the series of 156 Doctor Who novels published by Target.
 * No audiobook of the novelisation has yet been released as of 2010.