The Krotons

] [cite web
url= http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_2w.htm
title= PAGENAME
publisher = Doctor Who Reference Guide
author =
date =
accessdate = 2008-08-31] [cite web
url= http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/ww.html
title= PAGENAME
publisher = A Brief History of Time Travel
last = Sullivan
first = Shannon
date = 2008-06-23
accessdate = 2008-08-31] Working titles for this story included "The Trap" and "The Space Trap".

This is the first "Doctor Who" story to be written by Robert Holmes, who would prove to be one of the series' greatest contributors right up until his death in 1986.

Holmes had originally submitted "The Trap" to the BBC as a stand-alone science-fiction serial in 1965. Head of Serials Shaun Sutton rejected the serial as being not the kind of thing the BBC was interested in making at the time, but suggested the writer pitch it to the "Doctor Who" production office as an idea for that series. Holmes did so, and although story editor Donald Tosh was interested, the scripts went no further at the time.

Some years later, assistant script editor Terrance Dicks found the story in the production office files when clearing a backlog, and decided to develop it with Holmes as a personal project, in case other scripts fell through. When the latter event occurred, Dicks was able to present the serial to his superiors as a ready production. Director David Maloney agreed the serial was viable, and it went before the cameras very quickly as an emergency replacement. According to Frazer Hines in an interview on the CD of "The Invasion", the episode that was replaced later evolved into "The Worm That Turned" on The Two Ronnies

One of Holmes's final contributions to the series, "The Mysterious Planet", bears a strong resemblance to the plot of this story. In both stories, an alien machine subjugates a humanoid civilisation and forces its brightest young people into its service.

Features a guest appearance by Philip Madoc, who would appear in a completely different role further on in the season in "The War Games". See also Celebrity appearances in Doctor Who.

Broadcast and reception

In 1981, the story was the only four-part Patrick Troughton adventure known to be in existence and so represented his era in "The Five Faces of Doctor Who" series of repeats on BBC2.

In the Christmas Eve 2005 episode of sketch show "Dead Ringers", the Krotons are made fun of. In the sketch, several incarnations of the Doctor have gotten together to celebrate Christmas, after the punch is spiked by the Fourth Doctor (Jon Culshaw) the Seventh (Kevin Connelly) chases the Second (Mark Perry) around the room with a piece of tinfoil saying "Wooooo! I'm a Kroton! I'm a Kroton!". In the same sketch it is suggested that the rest of the Second Doctor's enemies were also made from tinfoil.

Doctorwhobook
title=The Krotons
series=Target novelisations
number=99
featuring=


writer=Terrance Dicks
publisher=Target Books
coverartist=Andrew Skilleter
isbn=0 426 20189 2
set_between=
pages=
date=14 November 1985
preceding=The Invasion
following=The Two Doctors|

Commercial releases

Episode One of "The Krotons" exists as both a 16 mm film print and a 35 mm telerecording negative. Clips taken from a VidFIREd transfer of the high quality 35 mm negative can be seen in the restoration documentary on the DVD release of "The Aztecs" and as part of the 40th Anniversary music video on "Doctor Who" DVDs released in 2003.

This story was released on VHS In February 1991; its soundtrack is scheduled for a CD release in November 2008.

Along with a few other selected serials of the Second and Third Doctor's runs, this serial has been recently offered for sale on iTunes.

In print

A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in June 1985.

References

External links

*BBCCDW|id=krotons|title=The Krotons
*Brief |id=ww | title=The Krotons
*Doctor Who RG | id=who_2w | title=The Krotons
* [http://www.doctorwholocations.net/stories/krotons Doctor Who Locations] - The Krotons

Reviews

*OG review | id=ww | title=The Krotons
*DWRG | id=krot | title=The Krotons
* [http://www.mania.com/member-reviews/0/234.html The Krotons] at [http://www.mania.com Mania.com]

Target novelisation

* [http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~ecl6nb/OnTarget/1985/krotons/85kroton.htm On Target — "The Krotons"]