As in REPTILICUS, primordial ooze unearthed by a drill bit wreaks havoc in DOCTOR WHO’s “Inferno.”
observers. A mysterious substance brought up by the drillhead causes those exposed to it to slowly mutate into violent sub-humans, but the Doctor, serving out an exile on Earth imposed by the Time Lords, is only interested in finding a way to get his TARDIS working so he can continue his travels. An attempt to do so lands him in a parallel universe where everyone he knows has changed for the worse and Stahlman’s project is threatening to bring about the end of the world. The Doctor must find a way to return to his proper universe in order to stop Stahlman before it’s too late and the project is overrun by the werewolf-like Primords. “Inferno” was written by Don Houghton, who would go on to script DRACULA A.D. 1972, THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA, THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES and SHATTER for Hammer. The script had to be extensively reworked to stretch the story to seven parts, one of the ad- ditions being the Doctor’s side-trip to a parallel earth à la JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN (1969), an idea which was an old chestnut even then, but all that really matters is that it works. Series regulars Nicholas Courtney, John Levene
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and Caroline John clearly have fun playing fascist counterparts of their usual selves, although this did create a bit of controversy at the time. The parallel reality also provides an opportunity for genuine suspense, as viewers recognize that this is one time when the Doctor very well could fail to save the Earth (even if it’s not the “right” Earth). Douglas Camfield receives the sole onscreen director’s credit, but he fell ill with a heart condi- tion early in the shooting and was replaced by pro- ducer Barry Letts; Letts followed Camfield’s blueprint for the show and the transition is seam- less, though he states on the commentary track that his work is obviously inferior to what Camfield would have done. The commentary is an informal affair teaming Letts and Courtney with script edi- tor Terrance Dicks, interspersed with comments by John Levene recorded separately for scenes featuring his character, Sgt. Benton. While none of Pertwee’s DOCTOR WHO adven- tures are completely lost, there are 12 episodes which survive only in black-and-white versions. This was the case with “Inferno” until a color NTSC conversion turned up in Canada. The lucky find
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