The Doctor Who story ‘Inferno’ was voted the most popular Third Doctor adventure in the 60th anniversary poll. But what is it about this classic adventure that makes it so special?
‘Inferno’ came during a time of change for Doctor Who. Barry Letts had been rather hastily ushered in as producer, and was still finding his feet when this story went into production, having been commissioned by the new script editor Terrance Dicks.
Candidly, neither Letts nor Dicks thought that a seven part Doctor Who story was a good idea. This was a purely budgetary decision that the BBC had taken; they wanted the Doctor to have longer adventures in order to limit the need for hiring new actors and building new sets. It was all to do with money. But from a story-telling point of view, it was far from ideal. The six and seven part Doctor Who stories were not overly gripping and tended to tread a lot of water.
And in fact, this was almost the case with this particular Doctor Who story – at least in the early stages. The writer Don Houghton had pitched the idea of a drilling project that encountered something sinister below the Earth’s crust, having been inspired by a news story he’d read about the Americans who had been attempting a similar thing on the ocean bed, only to stop mysteriously and abandon the project. When Houghton enquired with the US directly, wanting to find out why the drilling had been stopped, they refused to speak to him, telling him that the information was classified.
So there was a strong idea underpinning this Doctor Who story, but it became clear after the first few scripts that it wasn’t going to stretch to seven episodes. There was also a slight lack of jeopardy; if the drilling stopped before anything bad really happened, where was the drama? And could such a Doctor Who story really be told effectively over the course of three hours?
It was Terrance Dicks who suggested the idea of the parallel world. In ‘Inferno,’ the Doctor would experience a malfunction with the TARDIS console, and be propelled into a world that was almost identical to the one that he’d come from, with a few differences. The biggest of these would be the drilling; the Inferno project would be far more advanced on the parallel planet, and the Doctor would see the consequences of penetrating the Earth’s crust, and witness the complete destruction of the planet. The world would literally end in this Doctor Who story.
And it’s this plot point that raises the stakes in ‘Inferno.’ The Doctor fails to save the parallel world, but now he has a clear mission: he must stop the drilling in the ‘real’ world before they penetrate the Earth’s crust and unleash forces that will destroy the planet.
And whilst Don Houghton gladly went along with these changes, the production team still felt that there was something missing. They thought it needed a traditional monster to raise the stakes yet higher, and the Primords were born. These were zombie-like creatures who were once real people – personnel from the drilling project. They touched a mysterious green goo that had been seeping out of the drill shaft, and it turned them into hairy, toothy, growly beast-people, dependent on heat. And like any good zombie, they could change their victims with just one touch.
It doesn’t take long for the Inferno project to be completely overrun, leaving the Doctor to fight a dying world, a deranged scientist, a deranged Brigadier, and a whole army of Primords – simultaneously. Say what you like about ‘Inferno,’ it’s not dull.
And that’s one of the things that makes this Doctor Who story all-the-more impressive. Despite its seven episode length, it goes against the grain of other overly-long Doctor Who adventures by maintaining its momentum, carrying the viewer rapidly down the river without ever treading water, as it were. Yes, it’s long; you’ll need a good three hours if you’re going to devour this story in one sitting. And whilst the Season Seven box set comes with a 90 minute omnibus edition, this is one Doctor Who story that you’ll really want to watch in its entirety. It’s excellent.
Of course, there is no ‘secret sauce’ to making a gripping Doctor Who story. Sometimes, things just work out; all the right people come together at the right time to make something wonderful, and ‘Inferno’ is one of those moments. The writing is excellent. The directing is excellent. The acting is first class. Everyone plays their part with conviction, and it all feels frighteningly real. It’s hard to believe that it’s all taking place in the comfort of TV Centre; there’s smoke, steam, earthquakes, the actors are bathed in sweat… “Listen to that!” the Doctor yells, as the ground trembles beneath them. “That’s the sound of this planet screaming out its rage!” It’s chilling.
‘Inferno’ also highlights how good a Doctor Who story can be when it simply focuses on weaving a good yarn. It’s obvious that the writer and script editor worked hard within the restrictions they’d been given to make the episodes work. And Douglas Camfield, the director, planned his filming schedule to within an inch of its life, with almost militaristic efficiency (despite being hospitalised during the story.) And the actors owned it and made it real. There is never a sense that these are simply performers acting out a script; this is the real deal. The world is ending. They’re all going to die. No fuss. No gimmicks.
So if you’ve never seen this Doctor Who story before and fancy being frightened out of your wits, then ‘Inferno’ is the adventure for you. There has (probably) never been a bleaker episode of classic Doctor Who, and indeed this may be the bleakest Doctor Who story of all time. It’s certainly one of the best scripted, and best realised. And now we can enjoy it in shiny high definition in the Season Seven box set, and it’s never looked better.
What do you love most about ‘Inferno’? And why do you think it was voted the most popular Third Doctor story? Let us know in the comments below.
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