History Recap / DoctorWhoS4E7TheMacraTerror

'''Production code:''' JJ

Written by Ian Stuart Black. This four-episode serial first aired from March 11 to April 1, 1967.

* NoEnding: The animated adaptation removes the scene of the Doctor and co escaping the colony by dancing, so the story ends with Ben asking the Doctor who they’re going to get away.

The Macra make their first and only appearance in the classic canon in this serial. The villains would be long forgotten, if not for their later return in the Tenth Doctor episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E3Gridlock "Gridlock"]].

The one where Jamie dances.

* ArtShift: Whereas all previous animated projects simply took notes from existing footage and stage directions, the animators of this story decided instead to essentially show what it would look like with the comparably higher budget the new series has.[[note]]Some liberties would likely have had to be done anyway, because the camera scripts frequently diverge from the soundtrack, apparently as a result of much of the dialogue being reworked by the actors in rehearsals and the director not following the camera scripts particularly closely[[/note]] A stellar example is with Ben & Polly's first encounter with the Macra; due to the show's limited budget, the one and only Macra prop was only briefly seen, with clever cinematography used to give the illusion of there being multiple Macra in the area at the same time. The one visible Macra drags Polly to the ground, and keeps her pinned there until Ben beats it with a stick. In the animated version, we actually get to ''see'' the multiple Macra, with wide shots to clarify that yes, there are indeed more than one, and the Macra that grabs Polly hoists her into the air by the leg. Ben still whacks it with a stick, though. The animated Macra are also shown walking like conventional crabs rather than shimmying along the ground as the prop does.

"The Macra Terror" is one of most famous "lost" serials; it has achieved legendary status due to the Macra later reappearing in modern ''Doctor Who'' and generations of fans wondering how the devil did ''Doctor Who'' (a show notorious for its low budget) managed to make a story with GIANT CRABS as villains.[[labelnote:The Answer?]]The production staff only had one prop-- the only one they were able to afford-- and the amount of stuff they could do with it was extremely limited.[[/labelnote]]

Written by Ian Stuart Black. This serial first aired March 11-April 1, 1967.

* AdultFear: The story is an allegory for this. Turns out the "happy life" society is set up to brainwash you into thinking-- and enforcing to others-- that you need to toil uselessly for decades in a job that benefits no-one except shadowy horrifying masters, slowly weakening and dying in order to afford the privilege of getting a week at Butlin's, listening to foul electronic pop music, and getting some new clothes and haircuts. [[CrapsaccharineWorld We all know Control is right, and we must obey!!]]

* NoEnding: The animated adaptation removes the scene of the Doctor anc co escaping the colony by dancing, so the story ends with Ben asking the Doctor who they’re going to get away.

* MoralDissonance: A number of fans have pointed out that this story depicts the Doctor collaborating with human colonisers to commit genocide on the indigenous sentient culture, who - whatever they may have done to the interlopers - didn't seem to pose an aggressive threat to the wider universe.
** That said, a few lines in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E3Gridlock Gridlock]]" claim the Macra had a good-sized empire before they devolved into mindless monsters.
** Although it's an odd bit of {{Fanon}} that the Macra were indigenous to the planet in the first place. It's explicitly stated that they need to terraform the planet, changing its atmosphere in order for them to survive there because there wasn't enough gas in it for them when they got there, and the Doctor says that they take over societies like that of the colonists and destroy them from within. It's quite clear they were invaders from somewhere else.

"The Macra Terror" is one of most famous "lost" serials; having only aired a single time before being wiped. In spite of this, it has achieved legendary status due to the Macra later reappearing in modern ''Doctor Who'' and generations of fans wondering how the devil did ''Doctor Who'' (a show notorious for its low budget) managed to make a story with GIANT CRABS as villains.[[labelnote:The Answer?]]The production staff only had one prop-- the only one they were able to afford-- and the amount of stuff they could do with it was extremely limited.[[/labelnote]]

* TitleSequenceReplacement: The first one in the series debuts here. It's also the first to use the Doctor's face. Due to a production error, however, the sequence uses the 1963 version of the title theme throughout this serial rather than the new arrangement composed specifically for use with the new sequence; this error would persist into Episode One of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E8TheFacelessOnes "The Faceless Ones"]] as well, with Episode Two of that serial being the first to use the 1967 arrangement of the title theme (which would continue to be used all the way until 1980).

* ArtShift: Whereas all previous animated projects simply took notes from existing footage and stage directions, the animators of this episode decided instead to essentially show what it would look like with the comparably higher budget the new series has.[[note]]Some liberties would likely have had to be done anyway, because the camera scripts frequently diverge from the soundtrack, apparently as a result of much of the dialogue being reworked by the actors in rehearsals and the director not following the camera scripts particularly closely[[/note]] A stellar example is with Ben & Polly's first encounter with the Macra; due to the show's limited budget, the one and only Macra prop was only briefly seen, with clever cinematography used to give the illusion of there being multiple Macra in the area at the same time. The one visible Macra drags Polly to the ground, and keeps her pinned there until Ben beats it with a stick. In the animated version, we actually get to ''see'' the multiple Macra, with wide shots to clarify that yes, there are indeed more than one, and the Macra that grabs Polly hoists her into the air by the leg. Ben still whacks it with a stick, though. The animated Macra are also shown walking like conventional crabs rather than shimmying along the ground as the prop does.

* TitleSequenceReplacement: The first one in the series debuts here. It's also the first to use the Doctor's face. Due to a production error, however, the sequence uses the 1963 version of the title theme throughout this serial rather than the new arrangement composed specifically for use with the new sequence; this error would persist into episode one of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E8TheFacelessOnes "The Faceless Ones"]] as well, with episode two of that serial being the first to use the 1967 arrangement of the title theme (which would continue to be used all the way until 1980).

* BoyishShortHair: Polly in the animated reconstruction.

* ArtShift: Whereas all previous animated projects simply took notes from existing footage and stage directions, the animators of this episode decided instead to essentially show what it would look like with the comparably higher budget the new series has. A stellar example is with Ben & Polly's first encounter with the Macra; due to the show's limited budget, the one and only Macra prop was only briefly seen, with clever cinematography used to give the illusion of there being multiple Macra in the area at the same time. The one visible Macra drags Polly to the ground, and keeps her pinned there until Ben beats it with a stick. In the animated version, we actually get to ''see'' the multiple Macra, with wide shots to clarify that yes, there are indeed more than one, and the Macra that grabs Polly hoists her into the air by the leg. Ben still whacks it with a stick, though. The animated Macra are also shown walking like conventional crabs rather than shimmying along the ground as the prop does.

"The Macra Terror" is one of most famous "lost" serials; having only aired a single time before being wiped. In spite of this, it has achieved legendary status due to the Macra later reappearing in modern ''Doctor Who'' and generations of fans wondering how the devil did ''Doctor Who'' (a show notorious for its low budget) managed to make a story with GIANT CRABS as villains.[[labelnote:The Answer?]]The production staff only had one prop-- the only one they were able to afford-- and the amount of stuff they could do with it was extremely limited.[[/labelnote]] Luckily, the audio of all four episodes survived and in 2019, it was released as a fully animated reconstruction on DVD. In a change from previous animated episodes, it's the first reconstruction that's not a shot-for-shot recreation. Instead the BBC used the animated format to effectively recreate the serial visually in a manner that the original serial's budget could never have achieved.

"The Macra Terror" is one of most famous "lost" serials; having only aired a single time before being wiped. In spite of this, it has achieved legendary status due to the Macra later reappearing in modern ''Doctor Who'' and generations of fans wondering how the devil did ''Doctor Who'' (a show notorious for its low budget) managed to make a story with GIANT CRABS as villains.[[labelnote:The Answer?]]The production staff only had one prop-- the only one they were able to afford-- and the amount of stuff they could do with it was extremely limited.[[/labelnote]] Luckily, the audio of all four episodes survived and in 2019, it was released as a fully animated reconstruction on DVD. Ironically, it's the first reconstruction that's not a shot-for-shot recreation. Rather than do a shot-by-shot remake, the BBC used the animated format to effectively recreate the serial visually in a manner that the original serial's budget could not have achieved.

* TitleSequenceReplacement: The first one in the series debuts here. It's also the first to use the Doctor's face.

The one with [[WesternAnimation/SouthPark giant crab people]] that was lost forever.

"The Macra Terror" is one of most famous "lost" serials; having only aired a single time before being wiped. In spite of this, it has achieved legendary status due to the Macra later reappearing in modern ''Doctor Who'' and generations of fans wondering how the devil did ''Doctor Who'' (a show notorious for its low budget) managed to make a story with GIANT CRABS as villains. Luckily, the audio of all four episodes survived and in 2019, it was released as a fully animated reconstruction on DVD. Ironically, it's the first reconstruction that's not a shot-for-shot recreation. Rather than do a shot-by-shot remake, the BBC used the animated format to effectively recreate the serial visually in a manner that the original serial's budget could not have achieved.

* AdultFear: The story is an allegory for this. Turns out the 'happy life' society is set up to brainwash you into thinking - and enforcing to others - that you need to toil uselessly for decades in a job that benefits no-one except shadowy horrifying masters, slowly weakening and dying in order to afford the privilege of getting a week at Butlin's, listening to foul electronic pop music, and getting some new clothes and haircuts. [[CrapsaccharineWorld We all know Control is right, and we must obey!!]]
* ArtShift: Whereas all previous animated projects simply took notes from existing footage and stage directions, the animators of this episode decided instead to essentially show what it would look like with the comparably higher budget the new series has.

* MasqueradingAsTheUnseen: The Controller of the colony is only ever seen as a picture on the video screen. Jamie, eventually calls the colony's visible leaders on the fact that they don't know if it's actually the Controller sending out messages.

* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: The quote above.

** Also it's an odd bit of {{Fanon}} that the Macra were indigenous to the planet in the first place. It's not explicitly stated either way, but the fact they needed to terraform the planet, changing its atmosphere in order for them to survive there, suggests very strongly they were invaders from somewhere else. (It still could be they were there before the human colonists, though.)