The Myth Makers

020 – The Myth Makers
Doctor Who serial
A production still of the Trojan Horse outside Troy, with the Doctor and Greeks inside[a]
Cast
Doctor William Hartnell – First Doctor
Companions Maureen O'Brien – Vicki Peter Purves – Steven Taylor Adrienne Hill – Katarina
Others Max Adrian – King Priam Cavan Kendall – Achilles Alan Haywood – Hector Barrie Ingham – Paris Frances White – Cassandra James Lynn – Troilus Francis de Wolff – Agamemnon Jack Melford – Menelaus Tutte Lemkow – Cyclops Ivor Salter – Odysseus Jon Luxton – Messenger
Production
Directed by	Michael Leeston-Smith
Written by	Donald Cotton
Script editor	Donald Tosh
Produced by	John Wiles
Music by	Humphrey Searle
Production code	U
Series	Season 3
Running time	4 episodes, 25 minutes each
Episode(s) missing	All episodes
First broadcast	16 October 1965 (1965-10-16)
Last broadcast	6 November 1965 (1965-11-06)
Chronology
← Preceded by "Mission to the Unknown" Followed by → The Daleks' Master Plan
List of episodes (1963–1989)

The Myth Makers is the third serial of the third season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Donald Cotton and directed by Michael Leeston-Smith, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 16 October to 6 November 1965. In the serial, based on Homer's Iliad, the First Doctor (William Hartnell) and his travelling companions Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) and Steven (Peter Purves) land in Troy during the Trojan War. The Doctor is captured by the Greeks and forced to formulate a plan for taking the city, while Steven and Vicki are captured by the Trojans and forced to devise a means of banishing the Greeks; the latter duo meet Katarina (Adrienne Hill), who becomes a companion by the serial's end.

After assuming their positions as story editor and producer in the third season, Donald Tosh and John Wiles wanted to take Doctor Who in new directions, moving towards historical stories and experimenting with humour. Cotton had written several pieces about Greek mythology for BBC Third Programme and elected to make his Doctor Who story about the Trojan Horse. He used several resources to research historical facts. The Myth Makers marked the final appearance of O'Brien as Vicki, a decision made by Wiles during the production break. Hill was cast as new companion Katarina, and made her first appearance in the serial. The Myth Makers was the first serial of the show's third production block. Filming took place at Frensham Ponds from September to October 1965.

The Myth Makers received an average of 8.35 million viewers across the four episodes, a drop from earlier in the season but comparable to the previous year. Contemporary and retrospective reviews were generally positive, with praise for the performances and script, though some viewers were confused by the lack of continuation from the previous episode, "Mission to the Unknown". The videotapes of the serial were wiped by the BBC in the late 1960s, and it remains missing; a complete off-air audio recording of the serial survives, as well as some brief extracts recorded on 8 mm film, which have been released on DVD. The story was novelised by Cotton, and its off-air recording has been used for its release as an audiobook.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).