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''Galaxy 4'' is the first serial of the third season of the British
science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...
series ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
''. Written by
William Emms William Emms (29 January 1930 – 18 February 1993) was an Australian schoolteacher and occasional screenwriter for British television. Writing In 1965 he wrote the '' Doctor Who'' serial ''Galaxy 4'' and later adapted the script for a Targ ...
and directed by
Derek Martinus Derek Martinus (born Derek Buitenhuis; 4 April 1931 – 27 March 2014)Michael Billington and Toby HadokObituary: Derek Martinus ''The Guardian'', 1 April 2014 was a British television and theatre director. Originally an actor, he directed episode ...
, the serial was broadcast on
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
in four weekly parts from 11 September to 2 October 1965. In the serial, the
First Doctor The First Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor William Hartnell. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time L ...
(
William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the First Doctor, first incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 to 1966. In film, ...
) and his travelling companions
Vicki Vicky, Vicko, Vick, Vickie or Vicki is a feminine given name, often a hypocorism of Victoria. The feminine name Vicky in Greece comes from the name Vasiliki. Women * Family nickname of Victoria, Princess Royal (1840–1901), wife of German ...
(
Maureen O'Brien Maureen O'Brien (born 29 June 1943) is an English actress and author best known for playing the role of Vicki in the BBC science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', although she has appeared in many other television programmes. Early ...
) and
Steven Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
(
Peter Purves Peter John Purves (; born 10 February 1939) is an English television presenter and actor. He played Steven Taylor in ''Doctor Who'' under the First Doctor, a role he continued to play in audio dramas for Big Finish Productions. He later became a ...
) arrive on an arid planet, where they encounter the beautiful but dangerous Drahvins and the hideous but friendly Rills, two crash-landed species in conflict with one another. Both species wish to escape as the planet is set to explode in two dawns, but the Drahvin leader Maaga ( Stephanie Bidmead) only wants her people to make it out alive. Emms, an avid ''Doctor Who'' viewer since its beginning in 1963, was commissioned to write ''Galaxy 4'' by outgoing story editor
Dennis Spooner Dennis Spooner (1 December 1932 – 20 September 1986) was an English television writer and script editor, known primarily for his programmes about fictional spies and his work in children's television in the 1960s. He had long-lasting profess ...
after submitting an unsolicited story idea. His idea was to show two conflicting races—one beautiful and one ugly—and flip convention by making the beautiful race evil. Spooner's successor
Donald Tosh Donald Tosh (16 March 1935 – 3 December 2019) was a BBC screenwriter who contributed to '' Doctor Who'' in 1965. He was the last surviving script editor and writer from the William Hartnell era. Career Before working on ''Doctor Who'' Tosh w ...
handled the bulk of the rewrites. Although
Verity Lambert Verity Ann Lambert (27 November 1935 – 22 November 2007) was an English television and film producer. Lambert began working in television in the 1950s. She began her career as a producer at the BBC by becoming the founding producer of ...
was credited as producer, ''Galaxy 4'' was the first serial to be produced by her successor
John Wiles John Wiles (20 September 1925 – 5 April 1999) was a South African novelist, television writer and producer. He was the second producer of the science fiction series ''Doctor Who'', succeeding Verity Lambert, and credited on four serials between ...
.
Mervyn Pinfield Mervyn Pinfield (28 February 1912 – 20 May 1966) was a British television producer and director who worked for the BBC during the 1950s and 1960s. By the time Pinfield joined the BBC to work in live drama at Alexandra Palace in the early ...
was originally assigned to direct the story, but his failing health shortly into production prevented him from continuing, and he was replaced by Derek Martinus, a new director. ''Galaxy 4'' was the penultimate serial of the show's second recording block, but was pushed to open the third season. Filming took place at the Television Centre in July 1965. ''Galaxy 4'' received high viewership numbers, with an average of 9.9 million viewers across the four episodes; and the third episode became the most-viewed of the third season with 11 million viewers. Contemporary and retrospective reviews were generally positive, with praise for its concept and originality. The videotapes of the serial were
wiped Lost television broadcasts are mostly those early television programs which cannot be accounted for in studio archives (or in personal archives) usually because of deliberate destruction or neglect. Common reasons for loss A significant prop ...
by the BBC in the late 1960s; the third episode was recovered in 2011, but the other three episodes remain
missing Missing or The Missing may refer to: Film * ''Missing'' (1918 film), an American silent drama directed by James Young * ''Missing'' (1982 film), an American historical drama directed by Costa-Gavras * ''Missing'' (2007 film) (''Vermist''), a Bel ...
. ''Galaxy 4'' received print and audiobook adaptations, and was released on VHS and DVD with reconstructions of the missing episodes using
telesnaps Tele-snaps (often known as telesnaps) were off-screen photographs of British television broadcasts, taken and sold commercially by John Cura (born Alberto Giovanni Cura in Clapham, South London, England; 9 April 1902 – 21 April 1969). From 194 ...
and off-air recordings; an animated version of the serial has also been released on DVD and Blu-ray.


Plot

The
First Doctor The First Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor William Hartnell. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time L ...
(
William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the First Doctor, first incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 to 1966. In film, ...
) and his companions
Vicki Vicky, Vicko, Vick, Vickie or Vicki is a feminine given name, often a hypocorism of Victoria. The feminine name Vicky in Greece comes from the name Vasiliki. Women * Family nickname of Victoria, Princess Royal (1840–1901), wife of German ...
(
Maureen O'Brien Maureen O'Brien (born 29 June 1943) is an English actress and author best known for playing the role of Vicki in the BBC science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', although she has appeared in many other television programmes. Early ...
), and Steven Taylor (
Peter Purves Peter John Purves (; born 10 February 1939) is an English television presenter and actor. He played Steven Taylor in ''Doctor Who'' under the First Doctor, a role he continued to play in audio dramas for Big Finish Productions. He later became a ...
) arrive on a silent planet and encounter short, blind, non-humanoid robots, dubbed "Chumblies" by Vicki. Before the trio decide whether the Chumblies are hostile, one of the robots is disabled by an all-female party of
cloned Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical or virtually identical DNA, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction. In the field of biotechnology, c ...
blonde Drahvin warriors from the planet Drahva in the same galaxy as the silent planet, Galaxy 4. The Drahvins are dominated by their cruel leader, Maaga ( Stephanie Bidmead), who treats her simple-minded subordinates with bullying contempt. The Drahvins are at war with the reptilian Rills, the masters of the Chumblies, and both races have crashed spaceships on this planet. According to the Drahvins, the planet will be destroyed in 14 planetary cycles and, with their ship irreparable, Maaga and her warriors seek to capture the Rill ship, which they believe has been made functional again. Maaga describes the Drahvins as the victims of the conflict with the Rills, but the Doctor has witnessed some of the Drahvin aggression and is not convinced. Using the
TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior ap ...
, he calculates the planet will break up in just two days' time. The Doctor tries to keep this new finding from the Drahvins, but Maaga forces the truth from him at the point of a gun. With Steven held as hostage to ensure their co-operation, the Doctor and Vicki are sent by the Drahvins to try to seize control of the Rill ship. The Doctor works out that the
ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous was ...
-breathing Rills (voiced by Robert Cartland) are a very advanced species: when he meets one, he is impressed, particularly by their use of
telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W ...
. The huge and impressive, horned
warthog ''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly cons ...
-like Rill explains that they have offered to take the Drahvins away with them but Maaga has refused, preferring to maintain a state of war. The Doctor tells the Rills of the true life remaining in the planet and promises to help them escape, since the solar energy converters on the Rill craft have not gathered enough power to effect a lift-off. The Doctor and Vicki return to the Drahvin ship to find Steven unconscious after Maaga has tried to kill him by leaving him in a depressurised airlock. They all return to the Rill vessel, where the Doctor successfully develops a power converter linked to the TARDIS, which charges the Rill craft. Maaga leads the Drahvins in a final assault, but the Chumblies defend their ship long enough for it to power up and leave the planet. A Chumbley helps the Doctor, Vicki, and Steven to return to the TARDIS. After they leave, the planet explodes, killing the Drahvins. In the TARDIS, Vicki identifies a planet on the scanner. On the planet, an astronaut ( Barry Jackson) wakes up in an alien jungle, repeating the phrase "I must kill".


Production


Conception and writing

Schoolteacher-turned-screenwriter
William Emms William Emms (29 January 1930 – 18 February 1993) was an Australian schoolteacher and occasional screenwriter for British television. Writing In 1965 he wrote the '' Doctor Who'' serial ''Galaxy 4'' and later adapted the script for a Targ ...
, a science-fiction fan and avid ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' viewer since its beginning in 1963, submitted an unsolicited story idea to producer
Verity Lambert Verity Ann Lambert (27 November 1935 – 22 November 2007) was an English television and film producer. Lambert began working in television in the 1950s. She began her career as a producer at the BBC by becoming the founding producer of ...
and story editor
Dennis Spooner Dennis Spooner (1 December 1932 – 20 September 1986) was an English television writer and script editor, known primarily for his programmes about fictional spies and his work in children's television in the 1960s. He had long-lasting profess ...
in early 1965. His idea was to show two conflicting races—one beautiful and one ugly—and flip convention by making the beautiful race evil. Spooner commissioned Emms to write the serial, then named ''Doctor Who and the Chumblies'' on 1 March 1965, with a script due date set for 15 April. In mid-April, Spooner's successor
Donald Tosh Donald Tosh (16 March 1935 – 3 December 2019) was a BBC screenwriter who contributed to '' Doctor Who'' in 1965. He was the last surviving script editor and writer from the William Hartnell era. Career Before working on ''Doctor Who'' Tosh w ...
began working on ''Doctor Who'', and handled the bulk of the rewrites for Emm's scripts; Spooner departed in mid-May. Emms disliked the amendments, which had included the reduction of four main cast members to three, and replacing the role of Barbara Wright—who had departed in the previous season—with Steven, which he felt made little sense as Steven was a trained astronaut and would not allow himself to become trapped in an airlock. The show's cast were also unhappy with the script; Hartnell and O'Brien felt that the dialogue and behaviour were inconsistent with their characters, and Purves felt that his dialogue was not changed enough from the original script with Barbara. According to Emms, Hartnell's role on the show was threatened if he did not follow the script. ''Galaxy 4'' was the penultimate serial of the show's second recording block, which had begun with the second season's '' The Rescue''; alongside the following episode, "
Mission to the Unknown "Mission to the Unknown" is the second serial of the third season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Written by Terry Nation and directed by Derek Martinus, the single episode was broadcast on BBC1 on 9 October 19 ...
", ''Galaxy 4'' broadcast was pushed to open the show's third season. Although Lambert was credited as producer for ''Galaxy 4'', her successor—
John Wiles John Wiles (20 September 1925 – 5 April 1999) was a South African novelist, television writer and producer. He was the second producer of the science fiction series ''Doctor Who'', succeeding Verity Lambert, and credited on four serials between ...
, who had joined the programme in early June 1965—was effectively responsible for the show during its production.
Mervyn Pinfield Mervyn Pinfield (28 February 1912 – 20 May 1966) was a British television producer and director who worked for the BBC during the 1950s and 1960s. By the time Pinfield joined the BBC to work in live drama at Alexandra Palace in the early ...
—an experienced
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
figure who acted as the show's associate producer from its origins to January 1965—was originally assigned to direct ''Galaxy 4''. Pinfield had most recently directed ''
The Space Museum ''The Space Museum'' is the seventh serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Written by Glyn Jones and directed by Mervyn Pinfield, it was broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 24 Ap ...
'' (1965), but was given a larger budget for ''Galaxy 4''; he was also assigned to direct "Mission to the Unknown", effectively combining the two stories in a single five-week production block. Soon after production commenced, Pinfield's failing health prevented him from continuing. Lambert brought on
Derek Martinus Derek Martinus (born Derek Buitenhuis; 4 April 1931 – 27 March 2014)Michael Billington and Toby HadokObituary: Derek Martinus ''The Guardian'', 1 April 2014 was a British television and theatre director. Originally an actor, he directed episode ...
to replace Pinfield. Martinus had recently completed the BBC's internal directors' course, and had no previous experience leading a television production. Having only seen a few episodes of ''Doctor Who'', Martinus reviewed some of the previous stories with Lambert; he found them disappointing, which shocked Lambert, but stated that he wanted to aim for higher standards. Pinfield was still actively directing as Martinus began, and continued to work alongside him throughout the first week. After Pinfield's departure, Martinus prepared his own camera scripts for the studio production. ''Galaxy 4'' was Pinfield's final work for ''Doctor Who'' and the BBC, though he remained uncredited on the broadcast version; he retired from active television production shortly thereafter.


Casting and characters

The Chumblies were named from the combination of the words "chum" and "friendly". Production designer Richard Hunt created the Chumblies. Four robots were made, each about in height and consisting of three stacked domes made of
fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
. Various stick-like appendages could be attached to the robot between the base and second dome, and these could be moved by the performer inside. A ring of small domes in the shape of rocket engine nozzles surrounded the base of each robot, hiding the casters on which the costume moved as well as imitating the propulsion units of the mechanoid. The four warthog-like Rill costumes were made of grey-green painted fibreglass and
latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...
. The costumes were largely immobile, although the performer inside could move the arms. To simulate the ammonia atmosphere the Rills breathed,
dry ice Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide. It is commonly used for temporary refrigeration as CO2 does not have a liquid state at normal atmospheric pressure and sublimates directly from the solid state to the gas state. It is used primarily a ...
fog was used. Anthony Paul was hired to voice the Rills, but a late scheduling conflict prevented him from doing so; he was replaced by Robert Cartland. The Drahvins were originally named Dravians, and written as a race of male soldiers; during casting, which took place in early June 1965, Lambert suggested that their gender be switched to female, in part as a nod to the emerging
women's liberation movement The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism that emerged in the late 1960s and continued into the 1980s primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which effected great ...
and to better emphasise their attractiveness. Emms concurred with the change. Around this time, the Drahvin leader's name was changed from Gar to Maaga. The Chumbley performers—
Angelo Muscat Angelo Muscat (24 September 1930 – 10 October 1977) was a Maltese-born British character actor. He is primarily recalled for his role as the silent butler in the 1967 television series ''The Prisoner''. Biography Muscat was born on 24 Septe ...
, Jimmy Kaye, and William Shearer—were hired through a company called Lester's Midgets.


Filming

A week of filming took place at
Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...
on 21–25 June 1965, largely focusing on the effects required for the serial, such as the opening of the first episode and conclusion of the fourth. The first day of production was focused on effects and long shots of the Chumblies on the planet. Live action shooting began the following day, requiring the Chumbley operators. A photocall for the Chumblies and Drahvins took place at Ealing on 24 June; this was also Martinus's first day on the programme, when Hartnell, O'Brien, and Purves were released from rehearsals of the third episode of the preceding serial, ''
The Time Meddler ''The Time Meddler'' is the ninth and final serial of the second season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. Written by Dennis Spooner and directed by Douglas Camfield, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in four ...
'' (1965), to film inserts. Martinus had planned for long tracking shots in the first episode to indicate the expanse of the set, but the camera crew convinced him to focus primarily on Hartnell, as viewers were mostly interested in his performance. Hartnell also wanted to offer guidance to Martinus, based on his decades of experience in the industry. The cast had troubles during the rehearsal process for the serial due to transitions within the production staff: Purves was upset following Spooner's departure as he had develop much of Steven's character, and Hartnell's relationship with Wiles began with difficulties; O'Brien helped Hartnell through his struggles with the production, and Purves began developing a friendship with him, inviting him to dinner every fortnight. Weekly recording for the serial began on 9 July 1965 in Studio 4 of the Television Centre; the final episode was recorded on 30 July. To depict the destruction of the planet in the last episode, an exploding planet prop was filmed and then shown in reverse. The serial's final scene with Jackson as astronaut Garvey was filmed alongside the following story, "Mission to the Unknown", on 6 August 1965, and inserted into ''Galaxy 4'' during editing. Recording for the four episodes cost a total of .


Reception


Broadcast and ratings

Episode is missing The serial was broadcast on
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
in four weekly parts from 11 September to 2 October 1965. Viewership was higher than in the previous year, giving a strong start to the new season; it averaged 9.9 million viewers across the four weeks, with the third episode of ''Galaxy 4'' becoming the most-viewed of the show's third season with 11 million viewers, and the last two episodes made the top 20 shows of the week. The
Appreciation Index The Audience Appreciation Index (AI) is an indicator measured from 0 to 100 of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom. Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by the B ...
remained consistent throughout the serial, dropping one point each week, from 56 to 53. The videotapes of the serial were
wiped Lost television broadcasts are mostly those early television programs which cannot be accounted for in studio archives (or in personal archives) usually because of deliberate destruction or neglect. Common reasons for loss A significant prop ...
in the late 1960s: the first, second, and fourth episodes on 17 August 1967, and the third on 31 January 1969;
BBC Enterprises #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
retained the
16 mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educ ...
s until 1977. A short extract from the first episode was used in the 1977 documentary ''
Whose Doctor Who "Whose Doctor Who" (a.k.a. 'Whose Dr. Who') is a 60-minute television documentary, (part of the BBC's ''The Lively Arts'' series) which was first transmitted on Sunday, 3 April 1977, on BBC Two, BBC 2. It was produced and directed by Tony Cash; ...
''; an extended six-minute version of this sequence was kept by Jan Vincent-Rudzki, then-president of the ''Doctor Who'' Appreciation Society, who assisted with the documentary. At the Missing Believed Wiped event on 11 December 2011, it was announced that the third episode had been discovered earlier that year among materials owned by former television engineer Terry Burnett, who had purchased it at a school fete in the 1980s but not realised its significance until speaking to Ralph Montagu, head of heritage at ''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
''; the final shots and closing credits were missing from the episode, and the tapes featured some visual discrepancies that required cleaning.


Critical response

After the broadcast of the second episode, Bill Edmund of ''Television Today'' wrote that the characters were "a little sluggish after their holiday", praising Vicki and Steven's replacement of Ian and Barbara but describing the story as "rather slow". On ''
Junior Points of View ''Points of View'' is a long-running British television series broadcast on BBC One. It started in 1961 and features the letters of viewers offering praise, criticism and observations on BBC television programmes of recent weeks. History ''Poin ...
'', presenter
Muriel Young Muriel Young (19 June 1923 – 24 March 2001) was an English television continuity announcer, presenter and producer. Early life Young was born in 1923 in Bishop Middleham near Sedgefield, County Durham. As a child, she lived with her family i ...
reported that some young viewers had called the programme "dreadfully boring" and "absolutely stupid". The BBC Programme Review Board after the third episode noted that television controller
Huw Wheldon Sir Huw Pyrs Wheldon, (7 May 1916 – 14 March 1986) was a Welsh broadcaster and BBC executive. Early life Wheldon was born on 7 May 1916 in Prestatyn, Flintshire, Wales. He was educated at Friars School, Bangor, at the time an all-boys gra ...
was satisfied with the Chumblies. '' The Listener'' noted that the end of the third episode—the Drahvins locking Steven in an airlock—was "nightmare food and could raise trouble among feminists as well as psychiatrists"; Monica Furlong of the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' recalled the ending after a similar scene occurs in "The Neptune Affair", a 1965 episode of ''
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by MGM Television, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who wo ...
''. Retrospective reviews were positive. In ''
The Discontinuity Guide ''The Discontinuity Guide'' is a 1995 guidebook to the serials of the original run (1963–1989) of the BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. The book was written by Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping and was first published as ''Do ...
'' (1995),
Paul Cornell Paul Douglas Cornell (born 18 July 1967) is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as ''Doctor Who'' fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield. As well as ''Docto ...
, Martin Day, and
Keith Topping Keith Andrew Topping (born 26 October 1963 in Walker, Tyneside) is an author, journalist and broadcaster. He is most well known for his work relating to the BBC Television series ''Doctor Who'' and for writing numerous official and unofficial g ...
felt that the serial "presents an interesting if flawed twist on the traditional bug-eyed monster tale". In ''The Television Companion'' (1998),
David J. Howe David J. Howe is a British writer, journalist, publisher, and media historian. Biography David Howe was born 24 August 1961 and established himself (in the early 1980s) as an authoritative media historian through writing articles for fanzin ...
and Stephen James Walker described the story as "an unfailingly entertaining one", praising its original ideas and high production value. In ''A Critical History of Doctor Who'' (1999),
John Kenneth Muir John Kenneth Muir (born December 3, 1969) is an American literary critic. As of 2022, he has written thirty reference books in the fields of film and television, with a particular focus on the horror and science fiction genres. Biography Bo ...
called the serial "intelligent", largely due to its unique philosophy of making the humanoids "monstrous" and the "ugly" characters friendly. In 2012, ''Radio Times'' reviewer Patrick Mulkern thought that the serial was "by no means a classic" but did have "sparks of originality", particularly in Lambert's changes to the Drahvins and Martinus's dramatic camera angles. In 2021, '' Starburst''s Paul Mount criticised the story's writing and "lifeless performances", though noted that Bidmead "manages to imbue her character with a bit of pseudo-
Shakespearean William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
gravitas".


Commercial releases

A novelisation of this serial, ''Galaxy Four'' by William Emms, was published in hardback in 1985 by W. H. Allen, and in paperback in 1986 by
Target Books Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became wel ...
in 1985 in paper. The serial's complete scripts, alongside some behind-the-scenes information, were published in a book by
Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and co ...
in July 1994, edited by John McElroy. Harlequin Miniatures produced metal models of a Chumbley and Rill in 1998, and a Drahvin in 1999.


Home media

Music and sound effects from the serial were included on '' Doctor Who: 30 Years at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop'' in July 1993, on '' Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume 1: The Early Years 1963–1969'' in May 2000, and on '' Doctor Who: The 50th Anniversary Collection'' in December 2013. The off-air audio recording of the serial was released on a double- CD pack by
BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
in June 2000, narrated by Peter Purves; it was released as a
vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...
by
Demon Records Demon Music Group (DMG) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-issuing recordings as compilations on physical media (CDs and vinyl) via supermarkets and specialist stores. History DM ...
on 13 April 2019, to coincide with
Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
. The existing clip from the first episode of ''Galaxy 4'' was featured in the documentary ''The Missing Years'', released on VHS as part of ''The Ice Warriors Collection'' in November 1998, and on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
as part of '' Lost in Time'' in November 2004. Using off-screen photographs, animation, and audio recordings, an abridged reconstruction of ''Galaxy 4'' was included in the Special Edition DVD release of ''
The Aztecs The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...
'' in March 2013, alongside the full recovered third episode.
BBC Studios BBC Studios is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Worldwide. ...
released an animated version of ''Galaxy 4'' on DVD and
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
on 15 November 2021. The animation is viewable in either black-and-white or colour, and the release includes documentaries on the serial and its recovery, audio commentaries, and remastered versions of the surviving clip and episode. A limited edition
SteelBook Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case ...
version was also available. The animation was created by Big Finish Creative, led by director and producer Chloe Grech, who had previously worked as a line producer on the 2020 animation of ''
Fury from the Deep ''Fury from the Deep'' is the completely missing sixth serial of the fifth season in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which originally aired in six weekly parts from 16 March to 20 April 1968. In this serial, the D ...
'' (1968); she had also co-directed the final episode of ''Fury from the Deep'', which led to her being chosen as director for ''Galaxy 4''. The animation was produced during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, with key production members located around the world: Grech and the post-production team Thaumaturgy in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, executive producers
Gary Russell Gary Russell (born 18 September 1963) is a British freelance writer, producer and former child actor. As a writer, he is best known for his work in connection with the television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs in other media. As an a ...
and Jason Haigh-Ellery in the United Kingdom, executive producer Mark B. Oliver in New York, and the animation team Digitoonz Media & Entertainment in India. Grech cited several
Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...
inspirations for the reconstruction, such as the
Outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...
for the orange and red desert, and the
Waratah Waratah (''Telopea'') is an Australian-endemic genus of five species of large shrubs or small trees, native to the southeastern parts of Australia (New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania). The best-known species in this genus is ''Telopea speci ...
for the planet's red flowers. The animation team took some creative liberties with the space and setup of some locations to represent the original production team's vision if they had not been encumbered by budget restraints. The bright colours of the Rills' ship was inspired by the similar colours of the USS ''Enterprise'''s bridge from ''
Star Trek: The Original Series ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship and its crew. It later acquired the retronym of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' (''TOS'') to distinguis ...
'' The animation was screened at
BFI Southbank BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. His ...
on 7 November 2021. ''Starburst'' reviewer Paul Mount praised the release's special features, but described the animation as "half-hearted" and noted that it was "likely to be left on the shelf to gather dust".


Notes


References


Bibliography

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External links

* {{First Doctor stories, selected=Television 1965 British television episodes Doctor Who missing episodes Doctor Who serials novelised by William Emms First Doctor serials