SHAKESPEARE

Synopsis

British science fiction television serial. The Doctor and Romana are on holiday in Paris in 1979 when they sense that someone is tampering with time. He, Romana and a private detective named Duggan are then ‘invited’ to the chateau home of Count Scarlioni, where they find hidden in the cellar six versions of Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’. In the fourth and final episode The Doctor, after having been caught by an armed man in the chateau, asks a maid to summon the Count for him. The Doctor takes a moment to compare the thug to a little boy he knew who never said a word when he didn’t need to - he goes on to say that this was Shakespeare. They enter the study and the Countess opens a secret door in the wall, revealing a cabinet in which lies the original manuscript of Hamlet which has been missing for centuries. The Doctor recognises the handwriting of ‘to take arms against a sea of troubles’ - it’s his own: his friend William sprained his wrist writing too many sonnets (the Doctor tried to warn him...). The Doctor finds a mixed metaphor in the text which he warned Shakespeare about but he took no heed. The Countess thinks the Doctor must be quite mad; he replies that nobody is perfect. He then explains about how her husband acquired the copy of Hamlet.

Series

Doctor Who

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Television

Technical information

Colour / Sound

Transmission details

20 Oct 1979 at 16:15 (Channel: BBC1)

Duration

25 mins

Credits

Director

Michael Hayes

Producer

Graham Williams

Writer

David Agnew

Cast

Catherine Schell	Countess Scarlioni
Eleanor Bron	Art gallery visitor
John Cleese	Art gallery visitor
Julian Glover	Count Scarlioni
Lalla Ward	Romana
Tom Baker	Doctor Who
Tom Chadbon	Duggan

Additional Details

Production type

Television and Radio Drama

Plays

Hamlet

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Time Travel; Science fiction (television)

Notes

Notes

Detailed Wikipedia entry for the serial at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Death

General

The story is set in Paris, and was the first Doctor Who serial to feature footage filmed on location outside the United Kingdom. Eleanor Bron and John Cleese make cameo appearances as art lovers.

Writing credit David Agnew is the pseudonym of co-writers Douglas Adams and Graham Williams.

History

Season 17

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Distributor (Sale)

Name

Retail outlets