The Doctor and Sarah are drawn into the Mandragora Helix, an entity which exists among the stars and which transports the TARDIS to 15th century Italy.The Doctor and Sarah are drawn into the Mandragora Helix, an entity which exists among the stars and which transports the TARDIS to 15th century Italy.The Doctor and Sarah are drawn into the Mandragora Helix, an entity which exists among the stars and which transports the TARDIS to 15th century Italy.
Keith Ashley
- Brother
- (uncredited)
Paul Barton
- Courtier
- (uncredited)
Stuart Fell
- Forking peasant
- (uncredited)
- …
Walter Henry
- Brother
- (uncredited)
Christopher Holmes
- Peasant villager
- (uncredited)
Cavin Janson
- Courtier
- (uncredited)
Penny Lambirth
- Peasant villager
- (uncredited)
Clinton Morris
- Peasant villager
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Louis Marks
- Sydney Newman(uncredited)
- Donald Wilson(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the console room, the Doctor dusts with a frilly white undershirt like those worn by the Third Doctor, and Sarah picks up a recorder like the one played by the Second Doctor.
- GoofsThe scene in which The Doctor escapes on one of the guard's horses, it can be clearly seen that it is not Tom Baker, but a stuntman (Most likely Terry Walsh, who also played the executioner) wearing a wig and similar clothes..
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Secret of the Labyrinth (2010)
Featured review
A Tale from the Golden Age
The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane arrive in the Italian duchy of San Martino, at some time in the late 15th century, and find themselves in a power-struggle straight out of "Hamlet". The old Duke of San Martino has recently died and been succeeded by his son Giuliano, an enlightened young man with a passion for science and learning. Giuliano's uncle, Count Federico, however, is plotting to murder Giuliano and seize the throne for himself, assisted by the court astrologer Hieronymus, who is secretly the leader of the Brethren of Demnos, a sinister pagan cult who practise human sacrifice.
Although Hieronymus pretends loyalty to Federico, he is in fact working for a force even more sinister than the Brethren, the Mandragora Helix. Like the Nestene Consciousness featured in some of the Third Doctor's adventures, the Helix is an incorporeal but malevolent intelligence with ambitions to conquer Planet Earth. Pretending to be their god Demnos, it aims to use Hieronymus and the Brethen to achieve this goal. (Demnos is said to be the Roman god of moonlight and solstice, but he is in fact an invention of the scriptwriters; his name is significantly an anagram of the word "demons").
The serial deals with the age-old theme of the conflict between religion and science, but to avoid controversy in a programme which was intended for family viewing, "religion" is here identified with pagan superstition rather than Christianity. (15th century Italy was a deeply Christian society, but the religion is hardly mentioned). Despite this theme, the scriptwriters are not always well informed about the history of science. Giuliano is familiar with the concept of the telescope, even though the first telescopes were not made until the early 17th century, more than a hundred years after the setting of this story. He also describes the idea of a spherical Earth as a new and controversial one; in fact the sphericity of the Earth had been known to the Ancient Greeks, and by the 15th century no educated person believed it to be flat.
This, however, is nevertheless a pretty good serial. The concept of the Mandragora Helix, and exactly why it wants to rule the Earth, is not always well explained, but apart from that the story is a good one. Tom Baker is on top form, with the Doctor emerging as a sort of action hero, proving that Time Lords are not just intellectuals but can fight, fence and ride a horse as well as any human. Norman Jones as Hieronymus and Jon Laurimore as Federico make an excellent pair of villains, with Gareth Armstrong as the idealistic if naïve young hero Giuliano. The series was sometimes criticised for its ultra-low budgets, but on this occasion the producers seem to have spent a bit more on the attractive costumes and sets- it was filmed in the Italianate Welsh seaside village of Portmeirion, better known as the setting for "The Prisoner"- to create an authentic period atmosphere. "The Masque of Mandragora" confirms my view that the mid-seventies were something of a golden age for "Doctor Who".
Although Hieronymus pretends loyalty to Federico, he is in fact working for a force even more sinister than the Brethren, the Mandragora Helix. Like the Nestene Consciousness featured in some of the Third Doctor's adventures, the Helix is an incorporeal but malevolent intelligence with ambitions to conquer Planet Earth. Pretending to be their god Demnos, it aims to use Hieronymus and the Brethen to achieve this goal. (Demnos is said to be the Roman god of moonlight and solstice, but he is in fact an invention of the scriptwriters; his name is significantly an anagram of the word "demons").
The serial deals with the age-old theme of the conflict between religion and science, but to avoid controversy in a programme which was intended for family viewing, "religion" is here identified with pagan superstition rather than Christianity. (15th century Italy was a deeply Christian society, but the religion is hardly mentioned). Despite this theme, the scriptwriters are not always well informed about the history of science. Giuliano is familiar with the concept of the telescope, even though the first telescopes were not made until the early 17th century, more than a hundred years after the setting of this story. He also describes the idea of a spherical Earth as a new and controversial one; in fact the sphericity of the Earth had been known to the Ancient Greeks, and by the 15th century no educated person believed it to be flat.
This, however, is nevertheless a pretty good serial. The concept of the Mandragora Helix, and exactly why it wants to rule the Earth, is not always well explained, but apart from that the story is a good one. Tom Baker is on top form, with the Doctor emerging as a sort of action hero, proving that Time Lords are not just intellectuals but can fight, fence and ride a horse as well as any human. Norman Jones as Hieronymus and Jon Laurimore as Federico make an excellent pair of villains, with Gareth Armstrong as the idealistic if naïve young hero Giuliano. The series was sometimes criticised for its ultra-low budgets, but on this occasion the producers seem to have spent a bit more on the attractive costumes and sets- it was filmed in the Italianate Welsh seaside village of Portmeirion, better known as the setting for "The Prisoner"- to create an authentic period atmosphere. "The Masque of Mandragora" confirms my view that the mid-seventies were something of a golden age for "Doctor Who".
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- JamesHitchcock
- Apr 4, 2022
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- Portmeirion, Gwynedd, Wales, UK(episode "Masque of Mandragora, The")
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