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Dojjen Serial 6D:
Snakedance

Starring: Peter Davison (The Fifth Doctor), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka).

Plot
The Mara once again takes control of Tegan's mind and compels her to direct the TARDIS to Manussa, seat of its once-mighty empire. Generations earlier, the Mara was driven off Manussa with the use of the Great Crystal, a device which enhances its users' mental abilities. Now, the Mara intends to use the Crystal to return to power. It is up to the Doctor to unearth the terrible origins of the Mara, and seek out the one man who can show him how to defeat the Mara in psychic combat.

Production
As Christopher Bailey's first Doctor Who serial, Kinda, was wrapping up production in August 1981, the writer and script editor Eric Saward were already beginning discussions about a possible sequel for the next season. Working closely with Saward, Bailey drafted an outline for a new story called Snakedance (sometimes referred to as Snake Dance), which was commissioned on November 9th. Because Snakedance was intended as a purely studio-bound serial, it was decided to record it first, even though it was scheduled as the second adventure of Season Twenty. This would enable the Doctor Who production team to avoid filming outdoors during the meteorologically capricious months of March and April.

The director assigned to Serial 6D was Fiona Cumming, who had worked on Castrovalva the previous year. Amongst the cast Cumming assembled was Brian Miller, playing the showman Dugdale; Miller was the husband of Elisabeth Sladen, who played companion Sarah Jane Smith in the mid-Seventies.

A couple of weeks prior to the start of production on Snakedance, on March 18th, 1982, series star Peter Davison was asked to film what he believed was a promotional trailer for Australian television. In fact, this was a ruse concocted by producer John Nathan-Turner. In reality, when Davison arrived on location, he was surprised to find Matthew Waterhouse, Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding already there in full costume -- and even more surprised to discover they were accompanied by Eamonn Andrews, host of the popular This Is Your Life. (Davison's Earthshock co-star Beryl Reid also appeared later in the tribute.) This marked the second time a Doctor Who star had been featured on This Is Your Life, the other being Jon Pertwee in 1971. Davison's episode aired a week later on March 25th.

With no need for location filmwork, recording for Snakedance and for Season Twenty started on Monday, April 12th. This was the first of two three-day blocks, the other taking place a fortnight later beginning on April 26th. In Season Nineteen, Nathan-Turner had intentionally outfitted his stars in recurring costumes (Waterhouse's Alzarian garb, Sutton's "fairy dress", Fielding's stewardess outfit) in an effort to both reduce costs and increase the series' marketability. This had proved an unpopular decision amongst viewers, however, and Nathan-Turner relented for Season Twenty, allowing both Fielding and Sutton to vary their wardrobe.

Although the making of Snakedance proceeded smoothly, in post-production episode four was found to be overrunning badly. As a result, it had to be completely restructured, with closing scenes in which the fate of the Great Crystal is discussed (leaving the door open for a third Mara adventure) suffering as a result. Further, a sequence in which the Doctor comforts Tegan was removed, to be reprised in the subsequent serial, Mawdryn Undead.

Saward was happy with Snakedance and again quickly requested that Bailey devise another story idea. This was May Time (later renamed Manwatch), submitted on August 24th. It would ultimately be abandoned however, and a 1983 storyline of Bailey's, called Children's Seth, similarly came to nothing. As a result, Snakedance was Bailey's final broadcast work for both Doctor Who and television in general, as the writer returned to a career in academia.

Details
Original Transmission Details
Episode Date Time Duration Viewers Audience App.
1 18th January 1983 6.50pm 24'26" 6.7m (95th) 65%
2 19th January 1983 6.47pm 24'35" 7.7m (75th) 66%
3 25th January 1983 6.50pm 24'29" 6.6m (98th) 67%
4 26th January 1983 6.44pm 24'29" 7.4m (78th) 67%

Principal Crew
Producer John Nathan-Turner
Script Editor Eric Saward
Writer Christopher Bailey
Director Fiona Cumming
Designer Jan Spoczynski
Costume Ken Trew
Incidental Music Peter Howell

Principal Guest Cast: John Carson (Ambril), Martin Clunes (Lon), Preston Lockwood (Dojjen), Brian Miller (Dugdale), Jonathon Morris (Chela), Collette O'Neil (Tanha).

Novelisation: Snakedance by Terrance Dicks (book 83), January 1984; cover by Andrew Skilleter.

Video Release: Snakedance, episodic format, December 1994; PAL (BBC Video cat.# 5433) and NTSC (Warners cat.# E1339) formats available; cover by Colin Howard.

Rankings: 64th (67.71%, Doctor Who Dynamic Rankings website, 22nd June 1999); 85th (67.22%, DWM 1997 Annual Survey).

Sources

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