Serial 6H: Enlightenment Working Title: The Enlighteners. Starring: Peter Davison (The Fifth Doctor), Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka), Mark Strickson (Vizlor Turlough).

Plot

Under the failing influence of the White Guardian, the TARDIS materialises on what appears to be an Edwardian racing yacht. It is soon revealed to be a cleverly disguised spacecraft, competing in an enormous interplanetary race. The competitors are Eternals, immortal beings incapable of imagination or creative thought, while the crew are mortals, upon whose minds the Eternals draw. The prize in the race is Enlightenment, offered up by the Black and White Guardians. One of the Eternals, the vicious Captain Wrack, is in league with the Black Guardian, however, and will stop at nothing to win the race.

Production

Barbara Clegg was a veteran scriptwriter for BBC Radio, but her television experience was limited when she was invited to submit ideas for Doctor Who in 1981. Despite this, Clegg devised a storyline entitled The Enlighteners, whose first episode was commissioned on October 22nd. Script editor Eric Saward subsequently decided to use Clegg's adventure as the concluding part of the trilogy he and producer John Nathan-Turner had devised, which saw the return of the Black Guardian and the introduction of new companion Turlough. Consequently, Saward performed a number of revisions to Clegg's scripts, including the insertion of the Black and White Guardians in place of her Enlighteners. Saward also wrapped up the ongoing Turlough subplot; although it had been thought that the character might not continue beyond this story, Saward and Nathan-Turner agreed that he should be retained as a regular companion. Given the nature of his modifications, Saward elected to rename the serial Enlightenment.

The director assigned to Serial 6H was Fiona Cumming, who had just completed work on Snakedance. Production got under way with the recording of film inserts on November 3rd, 1982. Studio sessions had been booked for Enlightenment for the 16th, 17th and 30th of November and the 1st and 2nd of December. Trouble was brewing with the BBC's electricians union, however, which had already resulted in the loss of a full studio day for the preceding serial, Terminus. With the BBC more concerned with getting their Christmas programming ready for the holidays, the next to get bumped was the entirety of Enlightenment.

It appeared for some time that the whole second half of Season Twenty -- Enlightenment, The King's Demons, and Saward's own Dalek adventure (variously called The Return or Warhead) -- would have to be shelved. With the resolution of the labour strife in mid-December, however, it finally became possible to place Enlightenment back on the recording schedule. Ultimately, it was decided to shoot the serial during the slot originally intended for Saward's story, which would be held back until Season Twenty-One. Upon learning of The Return's postponement, assigned director Peter Grimwade treated his team to lunch. Nathan-Turner was irritated to learn that he was not on the guest list -- although in fact Grimwade had intended to invite the producer out to supper. The relationship between Nathan-Turner and both Grimwade and Saward thereafter began to deteriorate.

The delay in making Enlightenment did mean that two of the guest cast could no longer participate, and new performers would have to be found. As a result, Cumming selected Keith Barron to replace Peter Sallis as Striker, and pop singer Leee John was brought in to play Mansell, a role originally intended for David Rhule. Minor crew changes were also necessary.

Studio recording finally got started with a two-day block from January 17th, 1983, and concluded with a three-day session beginning on the 30th. Valentine Dyall made his final appearance as the Black Guardian, and was joined by Cyril Luckham as the White Guardian, the role he originated in The Ribos Operation in 1978. Enlightenment would mark the final Doctor Who appearance for both actors, although Dyall did play Slarn in the BBC Radio 4 serial Slipback, made shortly before his death in 1985. Luckham passed away on February 8th, 1989.

Details

Original Transmission Details

Episode	Date	Time	Duration	Viewers	Audience App.
1	1st March 1983	6.55pm	24'12"	6.6m (89th)	67%
2	2nd March 1983	6.46pm	24'23"	7.2m (76th)	65%
3	8th March 1983	6.55pm	24'38"	6.2m (99th)	68%
4	9th March 1983	6.46pm	24'34"	7.3m (68th)	70%

Principal Crew

Producer	John Nathan-Turner
Script Editor	Eric Saward
Writer	Barbara Clegg
Director	Fiona Cumming
Designer	Colin Green
Costume	Dinah Collin
Incidental Music	Malcolm Clarke

Principal Guest Cast: Keith Barron (Striker), Lynda Barron (Wrack), Christopher Brown (Marriner), Tony Caunter (Jackson), Valentine Dyall (The Black Guardian), Leee John (Mansell), Cyril Luckham (The White Guardian).

Novelisation: Enlightenment by Barbara Clegg, February 1984 (book 85); cover by Andrew Skilleter.

Video Release: Enlightenment, episodic format, March 1993; PAL (BBC Video cat.# 4891) and NTSC (Warners cat.# E1268); cover by Andrew Skilleter.

Rankings: 44th (70.25%, Doctor Who Dynamic Rankings website, 22nd June 1999); 59th (71.16%, DWM 1997 Annual Survey).

Sources

• Doctor Who: The Handbook: The Fifth Doctor by David J Howe and Stephen James Walker (1995), Virgin Publishing, ISBN 0 426 20458 9.
• Doctor Who: The Eighties by David J Howe, Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker (1996), Virgin Publishing, ISBN 1 85227 680 0.
• Doctor Who Magazine #186, 13th May 1992, Archive: Enlightenment by Andrew Pixley, Marvel Comics UK Ltd.

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