Monday, February 24All That Matters

Doctor Who: clip from the serial “The Celestial Toymaker” (1966)

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  • This is a clip from the only surviving episode, although everything exists in audio and a CD release with narration is available.

    This episode also contains the use of the N-word in a nursery rhyme, which Peter Purves (Stephen) talks over.

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    There was a plan for the Toymaker to return in Season 23 in a story called “The Nightmare Fair” set in Blackpool. However, the show went on an 18-month hiatus, partly due to concerns about the level of violence and a personal dislike by BBC1 controller Michael Grade.

    The ending of “Revelation of the Daleks” that ended Season 22 was supposed to the Doctor saying he and Peri were going to Blackpool, but with the hiatus, the last word was cut and replaced with a freeze-frame.

    In the end, Season 23 was greenlit with only a 14×25″ order instead of a 13×45″ one like Season 22 (the only 45 minutes an episode one of the classic era). Having only half the running time resulted in “The Nightmare Fair” and the other five serials axed at pre-production stage. “The Trial of a Time Lord” replaced it.

    However, “The Nightmare Fair” would get a Target novelisation *and* a Big Finish audio adaptation; as did some of the other Season 23 planned tales.

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