PRODUCTION CODE

FF

 

WRITTEN BY

GERRY DAVIS &

ELWYN JONES

 

DIRECTED BY

HUGH DAVID

 

RATINGS

7.1 MILLION

 

WORKING TITLE
CULLODEN

 

RECOMMENDED 

PURCHASE

'THE HIGHLANDERS' AUDIO CD (ISBN 0-563-47755-5) RELEASED IN AUGUST 2000.

 

CLICK TO ENLARGE IN COLOUR

 

BLURB

Scotland, 1745. The Doctor. Ben and Polly arrive in Scotland after the Battle of Culloden and meet a band of Highlanders who are fleeing in defeat. Their Laird is injured and the three offer to help tend his injuries. Polly and Kirsty McLaren, the Laird's daughter, go to fetch some water but whilst they are gone the others are captured by Redcoat troops.

 

Things become worse when the group is taken again - this time by the crooked Solicitor Grey, who is part of the West Indian slave trade. The prisoners, Ben amongst them, are bundled on board the Annabelle where the wicked Captain Trask issues dire threats of drowning.

 

Meanwhile the Doctor is on dry land confusing all and sundry in a variety of disguises. However, his bumbling manner hides a sharp brain...

 

 

BBC ARCHIVE

ALL FOUR EPISODES ARE MISSING.

 

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The Highlanders

17TH DECEMBER 1966 - 7TH JANUARY 1967

(4 EPISODES)

 

 

                                                       

 

 

The Highlanders is a whimsical little serial; weak on historical accuracy, strong on entertainment. The last of the so-called ‘pure’ historicals (at least until 1982’s Black Orchid), this story stands out from its historical predecessors as its villains are not Aztecs, French, or even Saracen Hordes – they’re the forbearers of the series’ intended audience: the British. It certainly takes some getting used to. However, the one thing that Gerry Davis and Elwyn Jones’ four-parter will forever be remembered for is the debut of young Jamie McCrimmon, as played by Frazer Hines. Jamie is not only the definitive second Doctor companion, but truly one of the Doctor Who greats.

 

 

A fast-moving plot sees Ben taken prisoner along with Jamie and the Scottish rebels, Polly on the run with a young Scottish damsel, and the new Doctor gleefully indulging his penchant for disguise. The Highlanders sees the suspicious Doctor Von Wer added to his repertoire, together with a moustachioed English redcoat, and – hilariously - an old washerwoman. However, the serial is not all lighthearted frolics – indeed, its more sober moments rank amongst the series’ grittiest. Episode 3’s cliffhanger is particularly disturbing as Ben, who has been unwittingly sold into slavery, tears up Mr Gray’s ‘contract’ and is ducked into the sea as punishment. Given do-gooding Mary Whitehouse’s well-documented indignation at the drowning sequence in The Deadly Assassin, I really don’t know how this one escaped her ire. From the surviving telesnaps it appears to be far more brutal.

 

 

Interestingly, the Jamie of this story doesn’t bear much semblance to the character we’d grow to know and love. Not only is his accent markedly different, having been pitched closer to the character’s native Highlands than the more audience-friendly diluted brogue that would eventually typify Hines’ portrayal, but the characterisation lacks charisma – this Jamie feels much like any other supporting player, which is, I suppose, what he was originally supposed to be. This is pulled into sharp focus by Anneke Wills’ Polly, who is on stunning form throughout The Highlanders. Whether she’s dressing up as an orange seller, blackmailing soldiers, or even using her feminine wiles to get out of sticky situations, Polly remains strong and sympathetic – the epitome of a female companion.

 

Sadly though, The Highlanders only exists today as four off-air audio recordings (available on CD from the BBC Radio Collection, duly embellished by Frazer Hines’ linking narration) and a collection of telesnaps from John Cura (freely downloadable from the official BBC website). In combining these two elements it’s possible to get a good feel for this production and its charms, and whilst I won’t be crying myself to sleep over its loss, it’s still one that should be lamented.

 

Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2006

 

E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Design

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