Doctor Who: The Crusade (TV Soundtrack)

David Whitaker

Aug 2012 · BBC Digital Audio · Narrated by Full Cast and William Hartnell

About this audiobook

'History must take its course...' The TARDIS materialises in the middle of a holy war between King Richard the Lionheart and the Saracen leader, Saladin, in 12th Century Palestine. As the Doctor, Vicki, Ian and Barbara explore their surroundings, they are suddenly caught up in a Saracen ambush - and Barbara is kidnapped. For the time travellers, intrigue and espionage ensue as they once again become involved in living history. A newly-knighted 'Sir Ian of Jaffa' makes haste to find and rescue Barbara, whilst the Doctor finds it difficult to stay out of trouble in the court of the King... This classic adventure, only two episodes of which survive in the BBC film archive, stars William Hartnell as the Doctor, William Russell as Ian, Jacqueline Hill as Barbara, and Maureen O'Brien as Vicki. Amongst the guest cast are Julian Glover as Richard, with Jean Marsh as his sister Joanna.

About the author

ABOUT THE PROGRAMME: The Crusade formed part of Doctor Who's second season on television. It was produced at a time when the programme's original formula (alternating science fiction adventures with those set in Earth's history) was still being closely adhered to. Richard the Lionheart's adventures in the Holy Land were deemed to be of sufficient educational merit for the Saturday teatime viewing audience, and so a script was commissioned from David Whitaker. As the show's original story editor, Whitaker was well versed in Doctor Who's format. Although he had stepped down from the post of editor in late 1964, he had recently written the introductory story for Vicki (following Susan's departure in The Dalek Invasion of Earth) and was more than comfortable writing for the Doctor, Ian and Barbara. This was Douglas Camfield's second directing job for Doctor Who. Filming for some scenes took place at the Ealing Film Studios during February 1965, and this was then followed by video recording at the BBC Riverside Studios in West London. The four episodes were recorded on consecutive Fridays in March. Julian Glover would return to Doctor Who as Count Scarlioni in the 1979 serial City of Death, whilst Jean Marsh would make two return visits: in 1965 she played Sara Kingdom in The Daleks' Master Plan, and in 1989 she portrayed the wicked Morgaine in Battlefield. Composer Dudley Simpson here provides his second musical score for the series (the first being the season opener, Planet of Giants). By the end of the decade, he would be an almost permanent fixture on the programme, scoring most episodes until the show's relaunch under John Nathan-Turner in 1980. Along with The Daleks and The Web Planet, this was one of the first Doctor Who television serials to be novelised. As Doctor Who and the Crusaders, by David Whitaker, it was published in hardback by Frederick Muller Ltd in 1965, and then as a Target Books paperback in 1973. The final scene of this story sees the TARDIS travellers caught in a new kind of extreme circumstance. As was the custom at this time, this cliffhanger segued into 'next week's adventure', Episode One of The Space Museum.