Conception and writing

In October 1964, BBC Head of Drama and Doctor Who co-creator Sydney Newman had granted producer Verity Lambert an additional episode in the second production block to compensate for the second season's Planet of Giants—the penultimate serial of the first production block—being cut from four episodes to three. As most stories were generally structured as four or six parts, this extra episode failed to fit the regular schedule.^[10] Outgoing story editor Dennis Spooner commissioned Terry Nation—creator of the Daleks and the writer of the first season's The Daleks (1963–1964) and second season's The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964) and The Chase (1965)—to co-write the third season's The Daleks' Master Plan (1965–1966), and it was decided the extra episode would be used as a cutaway to set up the 12-part story.^[11] By April 1965, Donald Tosh was in the process of replacing Spooner as story editor.^[12]

The episode was produced by the same team as its predecessor, Galaxy 4; they were the final to be filmed in the show's second production block, but were held back to open its third season in September.^[12] Mervyn Pinfield—an experienced BBC figure who acted as the show's associate producer from its origins to January 1965—was originally assigned to direct both serials,^[13] but his failing health prevented him from continuing, and Lambert brought on new director Derek Martinus to direct the five episodes.^[14][15] 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,^[16] but stated that he wanted to aim for higher standards.^[14] Though Lambert was credited as producer on "Mission to the Unknown"—the final story for which she was credited^[17]—her role had essentially been replaced by John Wiles.^[18]

Nation was commissioned to write the episode on 25 February 1965; he delivered the script by 14 May, having been writing for The Saint at the time. He approached the episode as a technical problem, requiring a small cast and self-contained narrative. The success of the Daleks—particularly due to their imminent American debut in the film Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965)—led Nation to consider the viability of a Dalek-focused spin-off. In writing "Mission to the Unknown", he realised such a story would need a hero and wrote Marc Cory as a "space-age Bond", inspired by the recent release of Goldfinger (1964).^[12] The episode was originally set on the planet Varga, home of the Varga plants, but this was renamed Kemble (later spelled Kembel) during script revisions for The Daleks' Master Plan.^[12] The episode's draft script was titled "Dalek Cutaway", while the rehearsal script received the name "Mission to the Unknown";^[18] the names were alternated and combined in internal documentation, and the final title has been the subject of much debate.^[8]

Casting and filming

For the design of the Daleks' conference room, Raymond Cusick was inspired by the Nuremberg rallies.^[6][19]

"Mission to the Unknown" was unique in that it does not feature any of the main cast or the TARDIS^[20][21]—the only serial in the show's history not to feature the Doctor at all^[21]—a decision made partly to save money on their fees.^[12] Despite not appearing in the episode, William Hartnell was still credited for portraying the Doctor, while Maureen O'Brien and Peter Purves received credits in Radio Times as Vicki and Steven Taylor, respectively, but not in the episode itself.^[22] Young had previously starred as Kal in the first Doctor Who serial, An Unearthly Child; he was excited to work with Hartnell again but disappointed when he discovered his absence.^[15] Cartland had also appeared in Galaxy 4, directed by Martinus. The Dalek voices—provided by regular actors David Graham and Peter Hawkins—were pre-recorded in Lime Grove Studios on 4 August 1965.^[15]

The episode was Richard Hunt's first on Doctor Who as set designer; he made the jungle design, while series veteran Raymond Cusick on the rocket and message launcher, made both from stock set elements and by Shawcraft Models. For the Daleks' conference room, Cusick was inspired by the Nuremberg rallies.^[6][19] The episode used stock music composed by Trevor Duncan.^[6] Pre-filming for "Mission to the Unknown" took place on 25 June 1965 at Ealing Studios; the scene in which Garvey mutates into a Varga plant was recorded on 35 mm film. Rehearsals for the episode began on 2 August at the Territorial Army Drill Hall on Uxbridge Road,^[15] and the episode was recorded in Studio TC4 of the Television Centre on 6 August. The final scene of Galaxy 4 was recorded alongside the episode so as to avoid re-hiring Jackson and rebuilding the set;^[6] the scene was later inserted into Galaxy 4 during editing.^[23] Four of the Dalek props from The Chase were used in the episode.^[6] Recording for "Mission to the Unknown" cost £2,440.^[24]

Broadcast and ratings

The design of Malpha received critical praise,^[4] and was considered the biggest challenge of the episode's 2019 recreation.^[25]

The episode was broadcast on BBC1 on 9 October 1965.^[2] Viewership dropped from the preceding serial, while the Appreciation Index remained reasonable at 54.^[2][3] 16 mm film recordings were made available for international sale, but the episode was never sold overseas, and BBC Enterprises withdrew it in 1974. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation considered the recording, but it was rejected by the Film Censorship Board in September 1966 as it was considered to constitute "horror", particularly the masked aliens, Varga mutations, and dialogue about murder.^[3] The original 405-line tape was cleared for wiping in July 1969, and the episode was erased in July 1974. It remains missing; no known footage exists,^[2] though an off-air audio recording was made by fan David Butler.^{[2][26]: 3:20}

Critical response

Bill Edmund of Television Today described the episode as an "exciting start" to The Daleks' Master Plan.^[3] Several viewers were confused by the lack of Daleks in the following serial—The Myth Makers, set during the Trojan War—and some felt that they had become less frightening. Conversely, some felt that the episode's other monsters were too scary.^[3] In A Voyage Through 25 Years of Doctor Who (1988), Ian Levine praised the "array of creatures", particularly the design of Malpha.^[4] In The Discontinuity Guide (1995), Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping described the episode as "macho, with a sinister atmosphere".^[27] In The Television Companion (1998), David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker wrote that the presence of the lead actors was "hardly missed" due to Nation's script and Martinus's direction, praising the tense atmosphere and set designs.^[5]

Production

The recreation was created in about five days in February 2019,^[34][32] and the multi-camera shoot was done in three days from 20 to 23 February.^[35] It was filmed in colour and converted to black-and-white in editing;^[26]: 8:12 the on-set camera monitors also displayed the image in black-and-white.^[36] Ireland, who directed the recreation, used both the original camera script and a newly-formatted one.^[37] He edited the episode by placing it atop the original's audio for the sequences to closely match.^[34] Several teams at UCLan worked in different departments, including costume design, fashion, make-up, and music;^[38] an external subcontractor constructed some of the sets based on the production team's designs.^[34]

Mandip Gill, a UCLan drama graduate who played Yasmin Khan in Doctor Who from 2018 to 2022, sent a video message of support to the cast and crew alongside Thirteenth Doctor actress Jodie Whittaker.^[32] Peter Purves and Edward de Souza visited the set, and the former used his social media platforms to publicise the production.^[39] Janette Rawstron, the recreation's lead make-up artist who taught Media Make-Up at the nearby Accrington and Rossendale College, considered Malpha the biggest challenge, as the heat of the lighting caused parts of the make-up to shift around.^[25] For the jungle set, Ireland borrowed a technique used in the 1982 Doctor Who serial Kinda, spreading foliage across the studio floor; these were required to be moved to the side for the Daleks to move. Foliage and pot plants were sourced from around the university and from productions like Coronation Street.^[36]

Nicholas Briggs portrayed the Daleks in the recreation; he and Ireland met in 2013. Briggs felt the Dalek voices in "Mission to the Unknown" and The Daleks' Master Plan sounded "a bit more like" actors Hawkins and Graham than the Daleks; he adjusted his ring modulator to avoid this, but attempted to recreate the original voices as closely as possible.^[36] James Burgess operated the Daleks and, alongside his father Mike, provided a blue-and-silver Dalek for use.^[37] In the recreation, Marco Simioni played Marc Cory, Dan Gilligan played Lowery,^[32] Jacob Marrison played Garvey,^[37] and Paul Stenton played Malpha.^[40] The Dalek set was used in one scene in the original episode, and later returned for use throughout The Daleks' Master Plan; however, due to the set's complexity and infrequent usage, the recreation uses models instead, with full-size close-ups for shots of the Daleks. The model shots were filmed some weeks after main production.^[26]: 6:44

Release and reception

External videos
"Mission to the Unknown" Recreation
The Making-Of "Mission to the Unknown"

The recreation premiered on the Doctor Who YouTube channel on 9 October 2019 at 5:50 p.m., exactly 54 years after the episode's original broadcast.^[41] A behind-the-scenes documentary about the recreation, created by YouTuber Josh Snares, was released on YouTube.^[26][42] The Guardian's Martin Belam described the recreation as "effective", praising the Varga plants and Dalek death effect, but noted the source material itself was "a bit stilted, stagey and even slapstick at points", calling it "an interesting curiosity rather than a 'must see'".^[43] Erik Amaya of Comicon.com similarly felt the dated techniques "make the 25-minute story feel slower than it actually is" but this was "the whole point of the project", lauding the accuracy of the recreation.^[44] The episode was awarded a Special Jury Prize at the Learning on Screen Awards in 2020.^[45]