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| The name is often misspelled as "Mechanoid", including in the credits for episode 5. (The error was corrected in the episode 6 credits.) The misspelled "Mechanoid" was also used extensively in merchandising and in print, including the ''TV Century 21'' comics and 1965 annual ''The Dalek World''.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=108}} | The name is often misspelled as "Mechanoid", including in the credits for episode 5. (The error was corrected in the episode 6 credits.) The misspelled "Mechanoid" was also used extensively in merchandising and in print, including the ''TV Century 21'' comics and 1965 annual ''The Dalek World''.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=108}} | ||
| ==Design== | |||
| Since the producers hoped that the Mechonoids would catch on as a new fad, they decided to invest a considerable percentage of the budget in the Mechonoids' construction.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=74}} Designer Raymond Cusick was inspired by American architect ]'s geodesic designs, with the surface decorated with a pattern of interlocking triangles. The roughly spherical casings were made primarily of fiberglass, in two parts.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=82}} Three Mechonoid props were produced by Shawcraft Engineering, the company that also produced the Dalek props, costing the production £812.{{sfn|Howe|2013|loc=The Chase}} They took two weeks to build.<ref name=Helm>{{cite book |last1=Helm |first1=Jonathan |editor1-last=Hearn |editor1-first=Marcus |title=Doctor Who Chronicles: 1965 |date=February 2021 |publisher=Panini Magazines |page=40 |chapter=Special Effects}}</ref> | |||
| The Mechonoids have no recognizable faces, just a complex of antennae at the top. They have two long pincer arms that extend from the middle of the geodesic structure. They are equipped with gun discs, and one of the three props had a working flame-thrower, for their battle with the Daleks. | |||
| Each Mechonoid was large enough to fit two people inside during filming: an operator and a special-effects technician. The operator could move the prop around with their feet, extend an aerial, and move the arms and the gun disc. The technician would operate the flame-thrower. Lights on the prop lit up when the robot spoke. According to ''Doctor Who: The Complete History'', "For one shot, of a Mechonoid destroyed by a Dalek, a special pre-cut upper dome was rigged to collapse on cue, with smoke emitted from dummy mechanics inside the casting."{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=82}} | |||
| The operators hired by director ] had previously worked with him on serials featuring the Daleks or the Zarbi (from the 1965 story '']'').{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=87}} Murphy Grumbar operated Mechonoids seen in episodes 5 and 6, joined by Jack Pitt and ] in episode 6.{{sfn|Ainsworth|2016|p=112}} | |||
| The electronically-treated Mechonoid voice performed by ] was grating and difficult to understand. The robots' dialogue was written in a pastiche of computer code; for example, the Mechonoid's first line of dialogue in episode 5 is, "Eight hundred - Thirty - Mechonoid - English - Input - Enter".{{sfn|Howe|2013|loc=The Chase}} | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 20:01, 24 June 2024
Mechonoids (sometimes spelled "Mechanoids") are fictional robots who appear in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, in episodes 5 and 6 of the 1965 serial "The Chase". They were conceived by writer Terry Nation, designed by Raymond Cusick, and built by Shawcraft Engineering.
In the story, the Mechonoids are robots sent to the planet Mechanus to prepare for an Earth colony. The colonists never arrived, but the self-repairing robots built and maintained a city. When the First Doctor and his companions arrive on Mechanus, they struggle to communicate with the robots. A team of time-travelling Daleks appears, pursuing the Doctor and his friends, and the Mechonoids defend their city in a ferocious battle. Both the Daleks and the Mechonoids are destroyed in the fight, allowing the Doctor and his companions to escape.
Intended as an enemy of the series' most popular monsters, the Daleks, it was hoped that the Mechonoids would prove equally crowd-pleasing, appearing in further stories and selling merchandise, as the Daleks had. Unfortunately, the bulky Mechonoid props proved burdensome in the studio, and the producers quickly decided that there would be no return for the creatures. Several toy Mechonoids were offered for sale, but could not compete with the best-selling Daleks. The Mechonoids were included in comic book stories as enemies of the Daleks in 1965 and 1966, and they have appeared sparingly in later spin-off Doctor Who material.
Creation
Scriptwriter Terry Nation introduced the robots in The Chase Episode 5, "The Death of Doctor Who". He originally called the creatures Mechons (pronounced Meck-ons), and the first draft of his script described them:
"It is a mechanical robot that moves on the same principle as the Daleks... legless. is shaped like a large spinning top. Slightly convex at the top... Imagine a capstan with a pronounced top. Sprouting... antennae... there are a number of flashing discs built into the surface of the Mechon... voice might be produced in the same way as the voice in the recording of Sparky's Magic Piano."
In Episode 6, "The Planet of Decision", Nation envisioned the Mechons keeping the travellers in a human zoo, along with a stranded astronaut who arrived five years earlier and was captured by the robots. The cell is described as being furnished as an Earth dwelling from four hundred years ago.
After receiving Nation's draft, producer Verity Lambert wrote to Nation asking for a change to the Mechons' backstory, as the current draft was too similar to an unproduced story, "The Masters of Luxor", and may have presented copyright problems. She suggested that instead of the Mechons establishing a human zoo, "they could be programmed to imprison any new arrivals who lack knowledge of the decoding system used by the expected colonists."
The robots' name was changed from Mechon to Mechonoid during the production period, so that they would not be confused with a villain named the Mekon, who appears in Dan Dare comics. However, there is a reference to "Mechons" in the finished program, because the name was changed after the pre-recorded Dalek dialogue was taped.
The name is often misspelled as "Mechanoid", including in the credits for episode 5. (The error was corrected in the episode 6 credits.) The misspelled "Mechanoid" was also used extensively in merchandising and in print, including the TV Century 21 comics and 1965 annual The Dalek World.
Design
Since the producers hoped that the Mechonoids would catch on as a new fad, they decided to invest a considerable percentage of the budget in the Mechonoids' construction. Designer Raymond Cusick was inspired by American architect Richard Buckminster Fuller's geodesic designs, with the surface decorated with a pattern of interlocking triangles. The roughly spherical casings were made primarily of fiberglass, in two parts. Three Mechonoid props were produced by Shawcraft Engineering, the company that also produced the Dalek props, costing the production £812. They took two weeks to build.
The Mechonoids have no recognizable faces, just a complex of antennae at the top. They have two long pincer arms that extend from the middle of the geodesic structure. They are equipped with gun discs, and one of the three props had a working flame-thrower, for their battle with the Daleks.
Each Mechonoid was large enough to fit two people inside during filming: an operator and a special-effects technician. The operator could move the prop around with their feet, extend an aerial, and move the arms and the gun disc. The technician would operate the flame-thrower. Lights on the prop lit up when the robot spoke. According to Doctor Who: The Complete History, "For one shot, of a Mechonoid destroyed by a Dalek, a special pre-cut upper dome was rigged to collapse on cue, with smoke emitted from dummy mechanics inside the casting."
The operators hired by director Richard Martin had previously worked with him on serials featuring the Daleks or the Zarbi (from the 1965 story The Web Planet). Murphy Grumbar operated Mechonoids seen in episodes 5 and 6, joined by Jack Pitt and John Scott Martin in episode 6.
The electronically-treated Mechonoid voice performed by David Graham was grating and difficult to understand. The robots' dialogue was written in a pastiche of computer code; for example, the Mechonoid's first line of dialogue in episode 5 is, "Eight hundred - Thirty - Mechonoid - English - Input - Enter".
References
- ^ Ainsworth 2016, p. 82.
- Brunt 2024, 1965, 23 February.
- Brunt 2024, 1965, 25 February.
- ^ Ainsworth 2016, p. 74.
- Ainsworth 2016, p. 108.
- ^ Howe 2013, The Chase. sfn error: no target: CITEREFHowe2013 (help)
- Helm, Jonathan (February 2021). "Special Effects". In Hearn, Marcus (ed.). Doctor Who Chronicles: 1965. Panini Magazines. p. 40.
- Ainsworth 2016, p. 87.
- Ainsworth 2016, p. 112.
Bibliography
- Ainsworth, John, ed. (2016). "The Crusade, The Space Museum, The Chase and The Time Meddler". Doctor Who: The Complete History (5). London: Panini Comics, Hachette Partworks. ISSN 2057-6048.
- Barnes, Alan (9 Jan 2008). "The Fact of Fiction: The Chase". Doctor Who Magazine (390).
- Brunt, David (2024). The Doctor Who Production Diary: The Hartnell Years. Telos Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84583-222-3.</ref>
- Howe, David J.; Walker, Stephen James (2013). "The Chase". The Television Companion: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Doctor Who. Telos Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84583-156-1.
- Sandifer, Elizabeth (2018). "Anybody Remotely Interesting Is Mad (The Chase)". TARDIS Eruditorum: An Unofficial Critical History of Doctor Who, Volume One. Eruditorum Press. ISBN 978-1720823933.
- Wood, Tat; Miles, Lawrence (2006). About Time: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who: 1963-1966, Seasons 1 to 3. Mad Norwegian Press. ISBN 0-9759446-0-6.