[singlepic id=396 w=320 h=235 float=left]
Author Michael Seely, who is working on a biography of Kit Pedler, has unearthed a draft script for the final episode of the William Hartnell era, The Tenth Planet. The story is significant because it introduces the concept of regeneration, the Doctor being able to completely change his appearance, and marks the introduction of one of the Doctor’s most memorable and enduring adversaries – the Cybermen.
The newly discovered draft script is intriguing because it was written before the decision to write out the lead actor.
Michael Seely, said:
I found this script and two more from ‘The Moonbase’ (known then as ‘The Return Of The Cybermen’) among a very large collection of Kit’s papers which one of his children had kept in their attic,” explains Seely. “As I looked through it, I realised it was the first draft [script editor and co-writer] Gerry Davis prepared when Kit fell ill in June 1966.
The structure is more or less the same, though a lot of the dialogue is different. Some things were cut, especially involving the Cybermen. For example, the Cybermen planned to convert [companion] Polly and the Doctor into Cybermen towards the end of the story, and kept them prisoner in what they described as a waiting room. The most eye-catching difference is what didn’t happen at the end of the episode.
Pedler’s script was written in June 1966 and rehearsals for the story commenced on September 14th, indicating Hartnell’s decision to leave the programme was made quite late in the day. In fact Hartnell’s wife wrote in her diary that he told her he would be leaving the show on July 16th.
Other documents have also come to light including five original storylines for Doomwatch, a series Pedler co-created with Gerry Davis, along with ideas for other TV shows, two unrecorded radio plays, and various unfinished books and short stories.