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the silurians

story 52 : season 7 : serial BBB : 7 episodes

Producer: Barry Letts
Director: Timothy Combe
Writer: Malcolm Hulke
Script Editor: Terrance Dicks
Designer: Barry Newbery

cast information

Jon Pertwee (Doctor Who); Caroline John (Liz Shaw); Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart); Fulton Mackay (Dr. Quinn); Norman Jones (Major Baker); Peter Miles (Dr. Lawrence); Thomasine Heiner (Miss Dawson); Ian Cunningham (Dr. Meredith); Roy Branigan (Roberts); John Newman (Spencer); Bill Matthews (Davis); Paul Darrow (Captain Hawkins); Nancie Jackson (Doris Squire); Gordon Richardson (Squire); Pat Gorman (Silurian); Paul Barton (Silurian); Simon Cain (Silurian); John Churchill (Silurian); Dave Carter (Silurian); Peter Halliday (Silurian Voices); Geoffrey Palmer (Masters); Richard Steele (Sergeant Hart); Ian Talbot (Travis); Dave Carter (Old Silurian); Nigel Johns (Young Silurian); Harry Swift (Private Robins); Pat Gorman (Silurian Scientist); Alan Mason (Corporal Nutting); Derek Pollitt (Private Wright); Brendan Barry (Hospital Doctor);

crew information

Sue Hedden (Assistant Floor Manager); Christine Rawlins (Costumes); Fred Hamilton (Film Cameraman); Bill Huthbert (Film Editor); Carey Blyton (Incidental Music); Marion Richards (Make-Up); Teresa Wright (Make-Up); Chris D'Oyly-John (Production Assistant); Brian Hodgson (Special Sounds); Ralph Walton (Studio Lighting); John Staple (Studio Sound); Ron Grainer (Title Music); Jim Ward (Visual Effects); Delia Derbyshire (Theme Arrangement);

episode information

  Title First UK Transmission Duration Ratings Archive Status
1 Episode 1 31 January 1970 at 17:15 24'15" 8.8mil 16mm b/w telerecording
NTSC U-Matic (colour)
PAL D3 colour restoration
2 Episode 2 7 February 1970 at 17:15 23'08" 7.3mil 16mm b/w telerecording
NTSC U-Matic (colour)
PAL D3 colour restoration
3 Episode 3 14 February 1970 at 17:15 23'16" 7.5mil 16mm b/w telerecording
NTSC U-Matic (colour)
PAL D3 colour restoration
4 Episode 4 21 February 1970 at 17:15 25'00" 8.2mil 16mm b/w telerecording
NTSC U-Matic (colour)
PAL D3 colour restoration
5 Episode 5 28 February 1970 at 17:15 23'58" 7.5mil 16mm b/w telerecording
NTSC U-Matic (colour)
PAL D3 colour restoration
6 Episode 6 7 March 1970 at 17:15 24'15" 7.2mil 16mm b/w telerecording
NTSC U-Matic (colour)
PAL D3 colour restoration
7 Episode 7 14 March 1970 at 17:15 22'55" 7.5mil 16mm b/w telerecording
NTSC U-Matic (colour)
PAL D3 colour restoration
  1. Episode 1
    » Film print recovered from Ents c.1978
    » Copy of Domestic USA recording (from omnibus)
    » New tape made using the telerecording and NTSC colour source
  2. Episode 2
    » Film print recovered from Ents c.1978
    » Copy of Domestic USA recording (from omnibus)
    » New tape made using the telerecording and NTSC colour source
  3. Episode 3
    » Film print recovered from Ents c.1978
    » Copy of Domestic USA recording (from omnibus)
    » New tape made using the telerecording and NTSC colour source
  4. Episode 4
    » Film print recovered from Ents c.1978
    » Copy of Domestic USA recording (from omnibus)
    » New tape made using the telerecording and NTSC colour source
  5. Episode 5
    » Film print recovered from Ents c.1978
    » Copy of Domestic USA recording (from omnibus)
    » New tape made using the telerecording and NTSC colour source
  6. Episode 6
    » Film print recovered from Ents c.1978
    » Copy of Domestic USA recording (from omnibus)
    » New tape made using the telerecording and NTSC colour source
  7. Episode 7
    » Film print recovered from Ents c.1978
    » Copy of Domestic USA recording (from omnibus)
    » New tape made using the telerecording and NTSC colour source
    » Telerecording also contains trailer for The Ambassadors of Death at end

release information

In Print:
Novelised as: Doctor Who and the Cave-Monsters
Written by: Malcolm Hulke
Number 009 in the Target Doctor Who Library

Versions
1974 Published by Allan Wingate Ltd, UK in hardback
With cover artwork by: Chris Achilleos
1974 Published by Unieboek B.V. Bussum, The Netherlands in paperback
Translated into Dutch by J J Van Der Hulst-Brander
With cover artwork by: Chris Achilleos
ISBN: 9 026 98106 6
17 January 1974 Published by Universal-Tandem, UK in paperback
With cover artwork by: Chris Achilleos
ISBN: 0 426 10292 4
1976 Published by Tandem, UK in paperback
With cover artwork by: Chris Achilleos
ISBN: 0 426 11471 X
1976 Published by Weilin + Göös, Finland in hardback
Translated into Finnish by
1978 Published by W. H. Allen, UK in paperback
With cover artwork by: Chris Achilleos
ISBN: 0 426 11471 X
31 May 1980 Published by Hayakawa Bunko Publishing, Japan in paperback
Translated into Japanese by Yukio Sekiguchi
With cover artwork by: Michiaki Sato
1983 Published by Editorial Presença, Portugal in paperback
Translated into Portugese by Eduardo Nogueira & Conceição Jardim
With cover artwork by: Rui Ligeiro
20 August 1992 Published by Virgin Publishing Ltd, UK in paperback
With cover artwork by: Alister Pearson
ISBN: 0 426 20382 8

plot synopsis

At a power station on Wenley Moor, energy from the generators is being siphoned off, with the help of Doctor Quinn, into the Silurian base deep in the rocks below, where the creatures are slowly being revived. They were the original dominant race on earth, but went into hibernation when they saw a satellite heading towards their world, thinking it would land and cause mass destruction. The satellite became the moon, and their machines never woke them. The Doctor makes con-tact and one of the older creatures is keen for their race to live in peace with the humans, but a younger Silurian and a Silurian scientist plot against this and release a lethal plague to rid the planet of what they see as an intruding race. The Doctor has to find a cure and bring peace to the situation, but the Brigadier has other plans for the fate of the reptiles

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