abstract
| - The Hand of Fear was originally intended for the 1976 six-part slot that was taken by The Seeds of Doom. It was inspired by the 1946 film The Beast with Five Fingers. (DCOM: The Hand of Fear) There were several versions of the script. One saw the hand as an advance guard preparing the way for an alien army. Another fixed upon two "Omegans" - representing the "hawk and "dove" - working against humanity. There were plans for the Brigadier and Harry Sullivan to appear, with the former, much like in early drafts of Pyramids of Mars, bowing out from Who in a blaze of glory. However, script editor Robert Holmes took issue with its complexity and commissioned another script to be the final story of Season 13, should this remain unresolved. Finally, in October 1975, The Hand of Fear was officially delayed and The Seeds of Doom was produced in its place. After Elizabeth Sladen told the production team she wanted to leave early in the next season, Douglas Camfield was commissioned to write The Lost Legion, which would see Sarah killed at its conclusion. However, Holmes was unhappy with the script and, in a turn of fate, decided that The Hand of Fear might have to be used as a replacement. With UNIT and degenerating-humans removed from the plot, Bob Baker and Dave Martin produced a more linear story. Camfield fell behind on his own script and was discounted. Baker and Martin left the writing of Sarah's farewell scene to Holmes. Director Lennie Mayne made his final contribution to Doctor Who with The Hand of Fear. After finishing production on the serial and an episode of Softly, Softly: Taskforce, he was drowned after a wave swept him overboard in the English Channel. Permission to film at Oldbury Nuclear Power Station was obtained before the script was completed, so central was it to the story. Bob Baker found the staff very accommodating on his initial visit, such was their enthusiasm for the project. The radiation provided health and safety concerns, with geiger counter checks being performed on the cast and crew and Radiological Clearance Certificates having to be issued before any object could leave the premises. (DCOM/INFO: The Hand of Fear)
|