Dragonfire

] [cite web
url= http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/7g.html
title= Dragonfire
publisher = A Brief History of Time Travel
last = Sullivan
first = Shannon
date = 2007-08-07
accessdate = 2008-08-30]
* Working titles for this story included "Absolute Zero", "The Pyramid's Treasure" and "Pyramid in Space"Brief | id=7g | title=Dragonfire] .
* In one scene, the Doctor distracts a guard by engaging him in a philosophical conversation. One of the guard's lines, about the "semiotic thickness of a performed text", is a quotation from "Doctor Who: The Unfolding Text", a 1983 media studies volume by John Tulloch and Manuel Alvarado. Story editor Andrew Cartmel had suggested that writers read "The Unfolding Text" to familiarise themselves with "Doctor Who" and its history, which inspired Ian Briggs to quote the academic text in his script, in a playful self-reference.
* Features a guest appearance by Patricia Quinn. See also Celebrity appearances in Doctor Who.
* The (literal) cliffhanger at the end of episode 1 — where for no apparent reason the Doctor lowers himself over a guard rail to dangle over an abyss from his umbrella — comes under frequent criticism for its seeming absurdity. As scripted, the Doctor did have a logical motivation for his actions. According to Cartmel in a later interview, the passage leading to the cliff was meant to be a dead end, leaving the Doctor no option but to scale the cliff face. As shot, however, this reasoning became unclear..
* For the impressive effects shot of the death of Kane, a wax bust of the actor's screaming face was made and filmed being melted down to a skull within, this footage being sped up to achieve the effect. Though this is very similar to the melting death of the Nazi Toht in "Raiders of the Lost Ark", for the family audience of "Doctor Who" the colour red was carefully avoided in the bust.

Commercial releases

The story was released on VHS in January 1994.

In print

Doctorwhobook
title=Dragonfire
series=Target novelisations
number=137
featuring=


writer=Ian Briggs
publisher=Target Books
coverartist=Alister Pearson
isbn=0 426 20322 4
set_between=
pages=
date=16 March 1989
preceding=The War Machines
following=Attack of the Cybermen|A novelisation of this serial, written by Ian Briggs, was published by Target Books in March 1989.

References

External links

*BBCCDW|id=dragonfire|title=Dragonfire
*Doctor Who RG | id=who_7g | title=Dragonfire
*OG|7g|Dragonfire
* [http://nzdwfc.tetrap.com/archive/tsv38/sts-dragonfire.html "Script to Screen: Dragonfire", by Jon Preddle ("Time Space Visualiser" issue 38, March 1994)]

Reviews

*OG review | id=7g | title=Dragonfire
*DWRG | id=drag | title=Dragonfire

Target novelisation

* [http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~ecl6nb/OnTarget/1989/dragonfi/89dragon.htm On Target — "Dragonfire"]