Doctor Who Club of Australia

[Seamus]

Hello,

I just watched The Ark In Space on DVD and I was wondering if anyone knows whether or not parts of this story have been lost or cut?

I'm sure Noah was about to go into a bit of a speech on what the Wirren were all about when the Doctor and Vira went down to talk to him but a chunk of footage seems to be missing and jump to - or cut to - Noah's weapon falling to the floor at the Doctor's feet, while the door slides shut.

Near the end we are told the Wirren ended up in or on the shuttle (transport ship) and perished thanks to Noah. This seemed brief and didn't seem to flow, or lacked continuity. It is not explained why the Wirren climbed onto the ship - or maybe I wasn't paying attention.

So, was any footage lost or misplaced in this story?

The next story after Ark a Cyberman story that I think uses the Ark again. So the Doctor and his companions thinking they were beaming down to Earth ended up inside the planet of Gold, right?

I was just wondering what became of Vira and the remaining humans?

Thank you,

Seamus.

[Seamus]

It looks like I can answer part of my own question here.

I had another look at the last couple of scenes in part four and it appears the whole Wirrn swarm space walked around the Ark and into the cargo hold of the transport vessel. This appears to have been thanks to Noah and not so much due to the Doctor's efforts.

So it was Noah who saved the day this time around but the Doctor and co. helped.

[Greg]

In terms of your question about the space station appearing again, it did - three stories later in Revenge of the Cybermen. Being a show with Time Travel, it was a very long period earlier than The Ark in Space, so there was nothing more revealed about the survivors of humanity.

The story continuity was The Ark in Space, at the end of which the Doctor, Sarah and Harry transmat down to Earth. What they find is revealed in The Sontaran Experiment, at the end of which they transmat back up to Nerva. However, they are intercepted by the Time Lords and end up on Skaro to carry out a mission in Genesis of the Daleks. Using the time ring provided by the Time Lords, they then travel back to Nerva but end up there 'many thousands of years' earlier, when teh station is a beacon just beginning the events of Revenge of the Cybermen. The Doctor says the Time Lords will be aware of their arriving too early, and will have the TARDIS will drift back in time to reach them, which it does.

[Seamus]

Thanks Greg, I had a look on Outpost Gallifrey and their episode guides. I think this must be one of my favourite periods of Doctor Who.

[Greg]

If you really want to hear what happened after The Ark in Space, a follow-up, authorised by Robert Holmes' estate, was recorded as part of BBV's Audio Adventures in Time and Space audios. It's called Race Memory and is set during the recreation of Earth's biosphere - and the Wirrn's back-up plan.

It is not by the BBC, and so has no official standing in terms of official Doctor Who.

This is apparently out of stock with the manufacturer, but if you check around online you may be able to find it.