The Keys of Marinus

even though, for example, The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances are two separate episode titles.

We had separate episode titles for the first two or three years of the classic series as well, and we grouped them together as serials, so I think it's perfectly fine to have two-parters and three-parters if they were assembled, commissioned, written as such, to consider them in exactly the same way as we would The Keys of Marinus or something like that, Luke.

I think I did speak to you first of all, and I was like, uh two partners one story because otherwise

i'm a little bit um i'm a little bit screwed

I do think it is really extremely good.

So we obviously did The Keys of Marinus a couple of weeks ago.

Mm-hmm.

And I love The Keys of Marinus.

Mm.

Like, I just think The Keys of Marinus is awesome.

[laughs]

And it's got Fiona Walker in it, obviously, and she's magnificent.

[laughs]

So even at that early stage, David Whitaker and Terry Nation were discussing bringing the Daleks back, but decided to do The Keys of Marinus instead with the multiple locations-

Yeah

... as a way to write something quickly that didn't need a huge overarching plot.

Write some episodes

... write some episodes, yes.

And he does it by having consecutive subplots in The Keys of Marinus that-

Yeah

And quite unexpectedly perhaps, it's with a rollicking quest narrative that takes us through a number of exotic and cheaply realized locales before turning into an exciting detective story set in space New York and featuring a young Fiona Walker.

Is it everything we could have wanted and more? Let's find out as we discuss The Keys of Marinus.

[upbeat music]

Now, confession time.

Who called it The Keys of Marinus when you were reading the novelization when you were 12?

Of course I did.

Yes, I did.

Not a bad thing.

Moratorium on keys.

Yeah, the keys of Marinus.

Yeah, yes.

But the other one, being the planet Karn.

But specifically on the stories, I'm going to get this up now.

uh the stories i'm going to watch because i want to make sure if you have calls specifically for those episodes you send them in and the episodes i'll be watching are well i'm going to try and look into marco polo because that's not got any episodes but there's like telesnaps people have been telling me about the edge of destruction sorry that comes first edge destruction marco polo and the keys of marinus they're the three i'm planning to look into I doubt I'll get any further than that, but maybe I will.

We'll see.

If you want to talk about the Aztecs too, feel free, but maybe don't, just to be safe.

So yeah, Edge of Destruction, Marco Polo, and the Keys of Marinus.

If you have any calls specific to those episodes, send them in now, irrespective of the fact that I've not put the call out yet.

Get them coming in.