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The Aztecs (Doctor Who)

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006 - The Aztecs
Doctor Who serial
Barbara is mistaken for reincarnation of the god Yetaxa
Doctor	William Hartnell (First Doctor)
Companions	Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman)
	Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright)
	William Russell (Ian Chesterton)
Writer	John Lucarotti
Director	John Crockett
Script editor	David Whitaker
Producer	Verity Lambert Mervyn Pinfield (associate producer)
Executive producer(s)	None
Production code	F
Series	Season 1
Length	4 episodes, 25 mins each
Originally broadcast	May 23–June 13, 1964
Chronology
← Preceded by	Followed by →
The Keys of Marinus	The Sensorites
IMDb profile

The Aztecs is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in 4 weekly parts from May 23 to June 13, 1964.

1 Synopsis
2 Plot
3 Cast
4 Continuity
5 Production
6 In print
7 Broadcast, VHS and DVD release
8 External links
- 8.1 Reviews
- 8.2 Target novelisation

Synopsis

The arrival of the TARDIS in 15th century Mexico leads the crew to encounter the doomed Aztec people, a mixture of high culture and brutal savagery side by side; and matters are further complicated when Barbara is mistaken for a god and the First Doctor becomes engaged to be married...

Plot

The TARDIS crew arrive in Mexico in the 15th Century. With the TARDIS trapped in a tomb, Barbara is mistaken for a reincarnation of the ancient high priest Yetaxa, and assumes his guise and identity. In her new position of power Barbara sees her chance to bring an end to human sacrifice. She sees the good side of Aztec culture manifested in Autloc, the High priest of knowledge, and the gruesome side embodied in 'the local butcher' High Priest Tlotoxl. As somewhat of an expert on this period, she sees how advanced their culture really is and believes that if sacrifice were abolished, they would be spared destruction at the hands of the Spanish. The Doctor's warnings that she cannot change history fall on deaf ears. The bloodthirsty Tlotoxl begins to suspect Barbara is not Yetaxa returned, especially because she is trying to ban human sacrifice. He sets a series of elaborate traps for her and her companions. For example, Ian has been compelled into the military and fights the strongest warrior, Ixta, to prove his ability to command the Aztec forces. Thus Ixta develops a grudge against Ian and is used by Tlotoxl to try and prove Barbara is not Yetaxa. The Doctor unwittingly tells Ixta how to defeat Ian in combat using a drugging agent, and this battle nearly ends in the Doctor witnessing his friend's death. When this fails to be conclusive, Tlotoxl convinces the priest Tonila to make a poison for Barbara; the death of Barbara following consumption of the poison would prove she is not immortal and therefore not a god. Barbara refuses to drink the poison and tells Tlotoxl that she is not Yetaxa but warns him not to tell the people. He now knows the truth - but must find a way to unmask the false goddess. Susan and the Doctor have meanwhile both become involved in marriage-making scenarios. She has transgressed Aztec law and has been promised to the Perfect Victim, who has been scheduled for sacrifice by Tlotoxl on the day of the next eclipse; while the Doctor, who knows little of Aztec customs, has become engaged to an Aztec woman named Cameca after they shared a cup of cocoa. Cameca is a kind lady and helps the Doctor and Ian find a way to re-enter the tomb by a secret entrance, despite realising this will help her beloved leave her. Ian braves a treacherous tunnel to re-enter the tomb by a secret door and soon tells his friends that they can flee. Despite her efforts Barbara realises she cannot change an entire culture, although she does succeed in changing the views of one man, Autloc, although this comes at a high price to Autloc, who exiles himself. He helps her become reunited with her friends before departing to meditate in the desert on what remains of his faith. In a pitched battle to gain access to the tomb door, Ian kills Ixta in a fight to the death to protect the TARDIS crew. The Doctor and his companions leave knowing that despite their intervention history will take its pre-destined course. As they depart Tlotoxl is very much in control and sacrifices the Perfect Victim to end the naturally occurring eclipse.

Cast

Dr. Who — William Hartnell
Ian Chesterton — William Russell
Barbara Wright — Jacqueline Hill
Susan Foreman — Carole Ann Ford
Autloc — Keith Pyott
Tlotoxl — John Ringham
Ixta — Ian Cullen
Cameca — Margot van der Burgh
First Victim — Tom Booth
Aztec Captain — David Anderson
Tonila — Walter Randall
Perfect Victim — André Boulay

Continuity

The Doctor tells Barbara "You can't rewrite history! Not one line!" It is unclear if this means it is impossible to alter established history or that it is an ethical principle. By contrast, the Time Lords break their stated policy of non-intervention and explicitly charge the Doctor with changing history in Genesis of the Daleks, and in "The Unquiet Dead" the Doctor tells Rose that history is always in flux and it can change "just like that" – possibly because the Time Lords are by then gone from the universe (in "Father's Day" he says of a time disturbance that his people would have stopped it).
This serial is often cited as one of the earliest hints of a romantic side to the Doctor's character, with supporters arguing that although there were solid plot reasons for the Doctor to court Cameca, as performed there appears to be real attraction between the two characters. At one point Cameca presents the Doctor with a brooch as a token; at the end of the story the Doctor, as the last to board the TARDIS, puts it down briefly then on second thought retrieves it.

Production

The four episodes of the serial had individual titles. They were, respectively, "The Temple of Evil", "The Warriors of Death", "The Bride of Sacrifice" and "The Day of Darkness".
Carole Ann Ford took a two-week holiday in the middle of filming for this story; as a result, she appeared only in pre-filmed inserts in Episodes 2 and 3.
This is one of the classic "educational" historical stories that were discontinued later in the show's history.
The incidental music for this story was by classical composer Sir Richard Rodney Bennett.

In print

Doctor Who book

The Aztecs
Series	Target novelisations
Release number	88
Writer	John Lucarotti
Publisher	Target Books
Cover artist	Nick Spender
ISBN	0 426 19588 4
Release date	20 September 1984
Preceded by	Warriors of the Deep
Followed by	Inferno

A novelisation of this serial, written by John Lucarotti, was published by Target Books in June 1984. The novelisation dates the story to the year 1507. Barbara dates the death of the original Yetaxa at around 1430, so the serial must take place after that, but otherwise mentions no specific date. Whereas in the televised story Ixta is the son of the architect, in the book he is the grandson.

Broadcast, VHS and DVD release

This story was released on VHS in 1992.
This story was released on DVD in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2002. It was the first Doctor Who DVD release to use the VidFIRE process across the whole production.