Galaxy 4

For the communications satellite, see Galaxy IV. For the Android smartphone, see Samsung Galaxy S4.

018 – Galaxy 4
Doctor Who serial
The Drahvins are depicted as beautiful but ultimately cruel, in contrast to the unattractive but friendly Rills.[1] They were originally male, but rewritten as female due to the emerging women's liberation movement.[2][3]
Cast
Others
Production
Directed byDerek Martinus[a]
Written byWilliam Emms
Script editorDonald Tosh
Produced byVerity Lambert
Music byNone[b]
Production codeT
SeriesSeason 3
Running time4 episodes, 25 minutes each
Episode(s) missing3 episodes (1, 2, 4)[c]
First broadcast11 September 1965 (1965-09-11)
Last broadcast2 October 1965 (1965-10-02)
Chronology
← Preceded by
The Time Meddler 		Followed by →
"Mission to the Unknown"
List of episodes (1963–1989)

Galaxy 4‍[d] is the first serial of the third season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by William Emms and directed by Derek Martinus,[a] the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 11 September to 2 October 1965. In the serial, the First Doctor (William Hartnell) and his travelling companions Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) and Steven (Peter Purves) arrive on an arid planet, where they encounter the beautiful but dangerous Drahvins and the hideous but friendly Rills, two crash-landed species in conflict with one another. Both species wish to escape as the planet is set to explode in two dawns, but the Drahvin leader Maaga (Stephanie Bidmead) wants only her people to make it out alive.

Emms, an avid Doctor Who viewer since its beginning, was commissioned to write Galaxy 4 by outgoing story editor Dennis Spooner after submitting an unsolicited story idea: show two conflicting races—one beautiful and one ugly—and flip convention by making the beautiful race evil. Spooner's successor Donald Tosh handled the bulk of the rewrites. Although Verity Lambert was credited as producer, Galaxy 4 was the first serial to be produced by her successor John Wiles. Mervyn Pinfield was originally assigned to direct the story but his failing health shortly into production prevented him from continuing, and he was replaced by Derek Martinus, a new director. Galaxy 4 was the penultimate serial of the show's second recording block but was pushed to open the third season. Filming took place at the Television Centre in July 1965.

Galaxy 4 received high viewership numbers, with an average of 9.9 million viewers across the four episodes; and the third episode became the most-viewed of the third season with 11 million viewers. Contemporary and retrospective reviews were generally positive, with praise for its concept and originality. The videotapes of the serial were wiped by the BBC in the late 1960s; the third episode was recovered in 2011, but the other three episodes remain missing. Galaxy 4 received print and audiobook adaptations, and was released on VHS and DVD with reconstructions of the missing episodes using telesnaps and off-air recordings; an animated version of the serial has also been released on DVD and Blu-ray.

  1. ^ Wright 2017, pp. 20–21.
  2. ^ Wright 2017, p. 21.
  3. ^ Walker 1994, p. 11.
  4. ^ Walker 1994, p. 12.
  5. ^ Wright 2017, p. 27.
  6. ^ Wright 2017, pp. 28–31, 33.
  7. ^ Wright 2017, pp. 28–30.
  8. ^ Wright 2017, p. 30.
  9. ^ Wright 2017, p. 33.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Finding was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Wright 2017, p. 40.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bleeding Cool Animation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Guardian Lost was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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