The Masque of Mandragora


The Masque of Mandragora is the first serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 4 to 25 September 1976.
The serial is set in the fictional European duchy of San Martino in the late 15th century. In the serial, the astrologer Hieronymous seeks to summon the power of an intelligence called the Mandragora Helix to rule the Earth.

Plot

During a tour of the TARDIS, the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith are sucked into the Mandragora Helix, a swirl of living energy. While they successfully escape, a fragment of the Helix follows them, bringing them to the 15th century Italian duchy of San Marino. There, Count Frederico and court astrologer Hieronymous covertly kill the former's brother, the Duke, in a bid for power. Hieronymous clashes with Federico's science-minded nephew, Giuliano, who Frederico conspires to kill to prevent his succession to the throne.
Sarah is caught by a pagan cult while the Doctor is apprehended by Federico's forces. The Doctor unsuccessfully tries to warn the duchy of the Helix and is sentenced to death, but escapes. He finds Sarah and rescues her from a sacrifice attempt by the cultists. Their leader is revealed to be Hieronymous, who bargains with the Helix fragment for godlike powers. The Doctor and Sarah are caught by Giuliano's forces; the Doctor befriends Giuliano and deduces that the fragment picked this location due to the cult giving it a ready power base. The trio return to the temple to destroy it; the Doctor is attacked by the fragment, Frederico's guards attack Giuliano, and Sarah is caught by the cult while looking for the Doctor.
The Doctor recovers and saves Giuliano, while Hieronymous hypnotizes Sarah to assassinate the Doctor. She is returned to the Doctor and tries to attack him during a confrontation with Hieronymous, but the Doctor disarms her and breaks the hypnosis. Hieronymous escapes to the temple, where Frederico confronts him; Hieronymous reveals that his body has been absorbed by the fragment, leaving only energy, and kills Frederico before plotting a coup during an oncoming masque. The Doctor convinces Giuliano not to cancel it and returns to the temple, tying wire around the altar and defending himself from Hieronymous' attacks with a breast plate.
The cult breach the palace and attack the masque, killing many, but Hieronymous seemingly appears and demands that the survivors instead be sacrificed. At the temple, the cultists suddenly die and the fragment is expelled from Earth thanks to the Doctor's wire. "Hieronymous" turns out to be the Doctor impersonating him; the real Hieronymous similarly perished during the pair's fight. The Doctor and Sarah part ways with Giuliano, while the Doctor estimates that the Mandragora Helix will attack Earth again around the end of the 20th century.

Production

Working titles for this story included The Catacombs of Death and The Curse of Mandragora. The ultimate name references the masque, entertainment performed by masked players, that later plays a key role in the plot.
Location shooting for the serial was done at the resort of Portmeirion in Wales, better known as the setting for the cult series The Prisoner.

Cast notes

Tim Pigott-Smith previously played Captain Harker in The Claws of Axos. Norman Jones previously played Khrisong in The Abominable Snowmen and Major Baker in Doctor Who and the Silurians. Robert James had previously played Lesterson in The Power of the Daleks.

Themes and analysis

Martin Wiggins, senior lecturer and fellow at the Shakespeare Institute at Stratford-upon-Avon, has compared this story's plot with Hamlet: "It has an inexperienced, intellectual prince, a usurping duke, and a debate about the conflict between science and religion that recalls Hamlet's musings on the nature of the supernatural world."

Broadcast and reception

, Martin Day, and Keith Topping wrote of the serial in The Discontinuity Guide, "One of the few metaphors in Doctor Who history is blurred by the lack of actual scientific understanding that the story exhibits. Looks and sounds great, though." In The Television Companion, David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker reported that viewers had a mixed reaction to the serial, according to the BBC's Audience Research Report, but there had been a majority of "moderate approval". Howe and Walker themselves commended the "very well written and highly intelligent" scripts, the "polished production", and strong cast. In 2010, Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times described the serial as "polished" with "an air of confidence in the writing and performances". He praised the masked ball ending and the costumes and music, and remarked that "perhaps the only feeble note is the representation of the Helix". DVD Talk's Ian Jane gave The Masque of Mandragora three and a half out of five stars, calling it "pretty entertaining stuff". While he felt that "it's a bit predictable and most of the supporting cast is surprisingly poorly defined", he praised Baker and the atmosphere of the serial and wrote that ultimately the good outweighs the bad.

Commercial releases

In print

A novelisation of this serial, written by Philip Hinchcliffe, was published by Target Books in December 1977. A French translation of it was published in 1987. An unabridged reading of the novelisation read by Tim Pigott-Smith was released by BBC Audiobooks in April 2009.

Home media

This story was released on VHS in August 1991, on DVD on 8 February 2010, and as part of the Season 14 Collection on Blu-ray on 4 May 2020. This serial was also released as part of the Doctor Who DVD Files in issue 64 on 15 June 2011.