A Bluffer’s Guide to Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
“We’ll play endless games,” says the Toymaker. It feels that way.
Describe The Celestial Toymaker in six words:
Play games: You lose? You die!
This is… the one where they have to play killer games.
Episodes: 111–114 out of 869 (as of 1 January, 2022)
Broadcast: 2 April — 23 April, 1966
Any Behind-the-Scenes Gossip?
Outgoing producer John Wiles and William Hartnell had a frosty relationship since the beginning. Hartnell was suffering from ill-health which made him a difficult person to work with in the studio during high pressure ‘as-live’ shooting.
It just so happened that when Hartnell’s contract was last renewed, it would last up to “Serial Y”.
So when, Brian Hayles’ script of The Celestial Toymaker found its way to script editor Donald Tosh’s hands, the two of them had a plan. The story featured a strong magical quality which, they reasoned, meant that as a consequence of this adventure, the Doctor could be recast.
The new BBC Head of Serials was Gerald Savory (the one who had bad blood with Michael Imison, director of The Ark) had written a play in 1937 called George and Margaret. A central tension in the play is that it’s set during a dinner party and ends just as the eponymous George and Margaret arrive. Tosh, as he was working with Hayles on the script, thought it would be a flattering conceit to Savory if George and Margaret appeared as characters in The Celestial Toymaker. As such, they were written in and even cast.
Ah, the best laid schemes of Wiles and Tosh. Neither of these plans were approved. Hartnell’s contract was renewed and Savory (probably after reading the script) revoked his permission to use George and Margaret. These factors, along with others (often the exhaustion caused by the mammoth Daleks’ Master Plan is cited, although I doubt that one 12-part story would have been less challenging if it had been three 4-part stories) led to Wiles and Tosh resigning from the series.
As such, The Celestial Toymaker was inherited by new producer Innes Lloyd and script editor Gerry Davis who hastily worked to get the show made, with director Bill Sellars, including creating new roles for the actors originally cast as George and Margaret.
What Happens?
The TARDIS lands in the world of the Toymaker. Steven and Dodo are forced to play with clowns, dolls and playing cards that have been brought to life.
Meanwhile, the Toymaker turns the Doctor invisible and mute (thereby allowing Hartnell to take a holiday). The Doctor has to play the Trilogic Game: “a game for the mind… Difficult for the practiced mind. Dangerous for the mind that has become old, lazy, or weak”. (It’s Towers of Hanoi — click the link to play)
Anyway, both of these plot threads end at the same time and the Doctor, Steven and Dodo get to the TARDIS. However, the Toymaker reminds the Doctor that there’s still one final move of the Trilogic Game to make. If the Doctor make it, however, the Toymaker’s world will cease to exist including everything in it: such as the Doctor and friends.
The Doctor impersonates the Toymaker’s voice (flawlessly) and the game obeys the voice allowing the Doctor to escape in the TARDIS seconds before the Toymaker’s world is destroyed.
Observations: What To Say:
This is a story well-liked by the old guard of fandom. For ages, it was considered the best story ever. It’s important to note, that this reputation had all to do with people’s memories. At the time of this positive review in A Celebration — which was the first reference guide fans had of the show — hardly anyone had actually seen it. This is important to understand. If you argue about this story as anything other than a work of genius, you’ll likely be attacked.
Observations: Don’t Say:
The first 11 minutes are good: spooky, full of images, brimming with potential. Then the Doctor plays Towers of Hanoi and Steven and Dodo do an obstacle course. Then we have basically the same thing for the next 75 minutes.
Is that really William Hartnell’s voice in Ep 2? His absence is really felt in Ep 3. Even before I watched reconstructions of the first three, his sudden re-appearance in Ep 4 always felt like a big deal. And I get why now: it’s life and energy being returned to the program.
Imagine this as a recon in the style of Marco Polo on The Beginning Boxset? What could you cut? Actually, no. What would you keep?
Showing the riddles at the end of the episode is neat. Except, they’re rubbish riddles.
Can of Worms: Don’t Mention the Racism!
So, the Toymaker is dressed in a mandarin costume. He forces to the Doctor to play Towers of Hanoi which has East Asian connotations. Also, the word “celestial” was slang for Chinese. It’s not hard to equate this character with a Yellow Peril stereotype.
But in case you were in any doubt, Gerry Davis and Alison Bingeman revisited this story in 1986 to write the novelisation. Here are some choice excerpts from the Toymaker’s introductory scene (page 16)
The Toymaker is Chinese.
And let’s not even start on the scene where the King says: “Eeny, meeny, miney, mo / Catch a [N-word] by its toe.”
Between You and Me:
Don’t bother with this one. Not even the novelisation, which in Davis’ foreword promises the return of cut material, as if it is restoring the story to its original vision, yet delivers very little change.
A reconstruction in the style of Galaxy 4 from The Aztecs: Special Edition is all that is needed. Which means this will probably be animated in a few years.
Recommended / Further Reading: