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Serial 6V: Vengeance On Varos
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| Plot |
| Production |
Eventually, it became clear that the serial -- retitled Planet Of Fear in early 1983 -- would be held over until Season Twenty-Two. Because of the change in Doctor Who's format, Martin was asked to reformat his scripts once again, changing them from four twenty-five minute episodes to two forty-five minute installments. When it was noted that the serial's title was very similar to the Season Twenty-One tale Planet Of Fire, Martin rechristened it Vengeance On Varos. Meanwhile, it was Saward's suggestion that Martin amplify the role of Arak and Etta, who had no lines in Martin's original conception. Further rewrites were requested from the writer in early 1984, when Saward and producer John Nathan-Turner decided that Martin did not have an acceptable grasp on the characters of the Sixth Doctor and Peri. These changes made only reluctantly by Martin, who was beginning to grow weary of Vengeance On Varos's long gestation period.
In the end, it was due to continued problems with another long-developing set of scripts -- Song Of The Space Whale by Pat Mills -- that Varos earned its spot in the schedule. Song, which had first been offered to the Doctor Who production office in 1980, had been planned as the second story of Season Twenty-Two, but Saward and Mills finally concluded that the differences between them were too great and the serial was abandoned (although it was not officially rejected until July 1985). It was decided that Varos would fill the resulting void.
The director originally planned to helm Serial 6V was Michael Owen Morris, who had worked on The Awakening a year earlier. When the decision was made to drop Song Of The Space Whale, however, Morris moved on to an episode of Tenko. His replacement was Ron Jones, who had most recently directed Frontios the previous season. Jones' biggest casting requirement was an actor to play the diminutive Sil. Martin had originally envisioned the character as floating in a tank of water, but it was felt that this would be too difficult to realise and the scripts were revised such that Sil would actually sit on a platform above his water tank. Nonetheless, a performer of unusual proportions would be needed for the role, and so Jones auditioned several dwarves and midgets. Ultimately, he settled on Nabil Shaban, an actor who had suffered from the brittle bone disease osteogenesis imperfecta all his life and had badly underdeveloped legs as a result. Also amongst Jones' cast was Jason Connery, the son of famed actor Sean Connery, as Jondar.
Varos was an entirely studio-based serial, requiring two three-day studio sessions. The first began on Wednesday, July 18th; amongst the scenes recorded on this day was the sequence in which two Varos guards fall into a vat of acid. This segment ended up necessitating several takes, and although Jones was satisfied with the final result, he was aware that it had been taped in such a way as to make it appear that the Doctor was directly responsible for the men's demise. In fact, Martin had scripted this as an essentially comedic routine and was dismayed by the manner in which it was portrayed onscreen. This sentiment was compounded by the fact that most of the cuts to the finished episodes consisted of his more humorous material, making Varos a much darker story than he had intended. Recording for Vengeance On Varos concluded with the second studio block, starting on Tuesday, July 31st.
| Details |
| Episode | Date | Time | Duration | Viewers | Audience App. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19th January 1985 | 5.22pm | 44'42" | 7.2m (110th) | 63% |
| 2 | 26th January 1985 | 5.21pm | 44'43" | 7.0m (108th) | 65% |
| Producer | John Nathan-Turner |
| Script Editor | Eric Saward |
| Writer | Philip Martin |
| Director | Ron Jones |
| Designer | Tony Snoaden |
| Costume | Anne Hardinge |
| Incidental Music | Jonathan Gibbs |
Principal Guest Cast: Geraldine Alexander (Areta), Nicholas Chagrin (Quillam), Forbes Collins (The Chief), Jason Connery (Jondar), Martin Jarvis (The Governor), Sheila Reid (Etta), Nabil Shaban (Sil), Keith Skinner (Rondel), Owen Teale (Maldak), Stephen Yardley (Arak).
Novelisation: Vengeance On Varos by Philip Martin (book 106), January 1988; covers by David McAllister, Alister Pearson (1993).
Video Release: Vengeance On Varos, episodic format, May 1993; PAL (BBC Video cat.# 4962) and NTSC (Warners cat.# E1274) formats available; cover by Andrew Skilleter.
DVD Release: Vengeance On Varos, episodic format, October 2001; Region 2/4 (BBCDVD cat.# 1044) and Region 1 (Warners cat.# E1718) formats available; photomontage cover (the Region 2/4 and Region 1 covers differ, however). Extras include commentary by Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant and Nabil Shaban, original BBC1 trailers, ten minutes of deleted and extended scenes, continuity announcements, a photo gallery, outtakes and bloopers, and production information subtitles.
Other: Released as a talking book, Vengeance On Varos, with narration by Colin Baker.
Rankings: 66th (67.49%, Doctor Who Dynamic Rankings website, 22nd June 1999); 72nd (69.51%, DWM 1997 Annual Survey).
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