Doctor Who: The Newbies Guide
Classic Series TV Story
Episodes: 5 episodes
First Episode Broadcast: 14th September 1968
Writer: Peter Ling and Derrick Sherwin
Director: David Maloney
Script Editor: Derrick Sherwin
Producer: Peter Bryant
Season: Season 6
Other Guides to this Story
The Mind Robber
This is the second story in Season 6.
Where does this fit?
This follows on immediately from the end of the previous story, The Dominators (Classic Series Season 6).
Story Arcs
This is a standalone story, although it later had a sequel - the New Adventures novel Conundrum
The characters listed below are the series regulars, important recurring characters, and real life historical characters. If a character's appearance is a major spoiler, then their details will be hidden in spoiler tags. In general, recurring characters are not listed here on their first appearance unless they become a series regular during the story, or they are a real life historical character.
Doctor
The second Doctor is short with a beatles moptop. He tends to act the part of a fool and give events a push in the right direction rather than directly taking control. He also plays the recorder.
Companion(s)
Jamie McCrimmon is a scots piper who met the Doctor after the battle of Culluden in The Highlanders (Classic Series Season 4). He is proud of his Scottishness and wears a kilt and carries a dirk (knife). The second Doctor leaves most of his action to Jamie.
Zoe Heriot is a 21st century astrophysicist who met the Doctor in The Wheel in Space (Classic Series Season 5). She has an eidetic memory and vast reasoning ability.
Recurring and Historical Characters
None.
The following stories and other resources are not necessary in order to follow the plot (we've summed up the essential bits for you). But being familiar with them will probably enhance your enjoyment of this story.
Recommended Viewing
The story follows on from the end of The Dominators (Classic Series Season 6), in which the TARDIS is trapped in a lava flow.
Recommended Reading
There are a large number of literary allusions, most importantly to Gulliver's Travels. A very general knowledge of Greek Mythology, and the fairytale of Rapunzel are also useful to understand what's going on.
Recommended Listening
None.
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