History Trivia / DoctorWhoS7E3TheAmbassadorsOfDeath

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** Creator/DavidWhitaker shopped around the script (then called ''The Invaders from Mars'') last season. When the main trio of Creator/PatrickTroughton, Creator/FrazerHines, and Creator/WendyPadbury left at the end of the sixth season, it was rewritten to provide for the show’s new style.

** Creator/DavidWhitaker named this as his least favourite of the stories he wrote, possibly because he ended up writing very little of it (most of it was actually written by Creator/MalcolmHulke, who went uncredited for contractual reasons). This turned out to be Whitaker's final contribution to the series.
** Creator/TerranceDicks clearly didn't think too highly of the story:

* CreatorCouple: Creator/CarolineJohn's husband Geoffrey Beevers (who would [[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E6TheKeeperOfTraken later]] appear on the show as an incarnation of the Master) played Private Johnson.
* DistancedFromCurrentEvents: The production text revealed that Reegan and his gang were originally Irish, but it was changed after UsefulNotes/TheTroubles started: "All in all, it might not have been the best moment to show Irish hoodlums planning to deploy a powerful new weapon."
* ThrowItIn: Benton’s two brief cameos here were added in after Inferno was rewritten to bring the character back.

** Creator/DavidWhitaker originally pitched the script for the previous season, consequently focusing on the Second Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe. This iteration was set far into the future and didn't include UNIT. When Creator/PatrickTroughton, Creator/FrazerHines, and Creator/WendyPadbury left at the end of the sixth season, it was rewritten to fit the consequential revamp. Whitaker proved unavailable for rewrites, so the task was collaboratively taken up by Trevor Ray, Creator/TerranceDicks, and Creator/MalcolmHulke, all of whom went uncredited for contractual reasons (though Ray and Hulke would be credited on the DVD release). Ray handled the first episode, while Dicks and Hulke took on the rest, with Hulke doing the majority of the work.
** The second and third episodes originally featured an army character named Lieutenant Pollard.
** Professor Heldorf was initially a German scientist named Kuhn.

** Ronald Allen (Ralph Cornish) had appeared the previous season as one of the eponymous antagonists in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E1TheDominators "The Dominators"]].
** Creator/CyrilShaps (Lennox) had previously played John Viner in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E1TheTombOfTheCybermen "The Tomb of The Cybermen"]].
** John Abineri (Carrington) had previously appeared as Van Lutyens in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E6FuryFromTheDeep "Fury From The Deep"]].
** William Dysart (Reegan) had previously played Alexander [=McLaren=] in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E4TheHighlanders "The Highlanders"]].

** Cyril Shaps (Lennox) had previously played John Viner in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E1TheTombOfTheCybermen "The Tomb of The Cybermen"]].

** Creator/DavidWhitaker originally pitched the script for the previous season, thus the story was initially developed to feature the Second Doctor, Jamie [=McCrimmon=] and Zoe Heriot. As such, it was set well into the future, and did not include UNIT. When all three actors left the programme at the end of the sixth season, it was rewritten to fit the consequential revamp.

** David Whitaker named this as his least favourite of the stories he wrote, possibly because he ended up writing very little of it (most of it was actually written by Creator/MalcolmHulke, who went uncredited for contractual reasons). This turned out to be Whitaker's final contribution to the series.

** David Whitaker originally pitched the script for the previous season, thus the story was initially developed to feature the Second Doctor, Jamie [=McCrimmon=] and Zoe Heriot. As such, it was set well into the future, and did not include UNIT. When all three actors left the programme at the end of the sixth season, it was rewritten to fit the consequential revamp.

--->One of the situations I inherited [as ''Doctor Who'' script editor] was "Ambassadors of Death" and the ongoing tangle with that. David Whitaker...had gone through four or five drafts and you come to a stage where you write so much it just gets worse. What was happening was that the need for the script was very urgent and I stormed into [producers] Peter [Bryant] and Derrick [Sherwin] and said, "Look, we've got five drafts of this. David's fed up with it, he doesn't know what to do. What we need to do is pay David in full and Mac [Hulke] and I will finish." And that's basically what we did. I made sure that David got a full script fee for all his episodes because he had been buggered about by the establishment and Mac and I took the bare bones of his story and almost did a "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E7TheWarGames War Games]]"—wrote new scripts very quickly—and it shows. It had its moments though.

* CreatorCouple: Caroline John's husband Geoffrey Beevers (who would [[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E6TheKeeperOfTraken later]] appear on the show as an incarnation of the Master) played Private Johnson.

-->One of the situations I inherited [as ''Doctor Who'' script editor] was "Ambassadors of Death" and the ongoing tangle with that. David Whitaker...had gone through four or five drafts and you come to a stage where you write so much it just gets worse. What was happening was that the need for the script was very urgent and I stormed into [producers] Peter [Bryant] and Derrick [Sherwin] and said, "Look, we've got five drafts of this. David's fed up with it, he doesn't know what to do. What we need to do is pay David in full and Mac [Hulke] and I will finish." And that's basically what we did. I made sure that David got a full script fee for all his episodes because he had been buggered about by the establishment and Mac and I took the bare bones of his story and almost did a "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E7TheWarGames War Games]]"—wrote new scripts very quickly—and it shows. It had its moments though.

* CreatorBacklash: David Whitaker named this as his least favourite of the stories he wrote, possibly because he ended up writing very little of it (most of it was actually written by Creator/MalcolmHulke, who went uncredited for contractual reasons). This turned out to be Whitaker's final contribution to the series.

* DistancedFromCurrentEvents: The human villains were originally Irish, until someone pointed out that UsefulNotes/TheTroubles were going on.

* RealLifeRelative: Caroline John's husband Geoffrey Beevers (who would [[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E6TheKeeperOfTraken later]] appear on the show as an incarnation of the Master) played Private Johnson.

** The human villains were originally Irish, until someone pointed out that UsefulNotes/TheTroubles were going on.

** Cyril Shaps (Lennox) had previously played [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E1TheTombOfTheCybermen John Viner]].

** William Dysart (Reegan) had previously played Alexander McLaren in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E4TheHighlanders "The Highlanders"]].

** A number of stunt performers are particularly clearly seen to die multiple times in the course of this story as soldiers or {{Mooks}}, sometimes in the same episode. In later stories they would get better at disguising the stunt performers, or at least not showing close-ups of their faces.

* CreatorBacklash: David Whitaker named this as his least favourite of the stories he wrote, possibly because he ended up writing very little of it. This turned out to be his final contribution to the series.

* RealLifeRelative: Caroline John's husband Geoffrey Beavers (who would [[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E6TheKeeperOfTraken later]] appear on the show as an incarnation of the Master) played Private Johnson.

** Ronald Allen (Ralph Cornish) had appeared the previous season as one of the eponymous antagonists in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E1TheDominators The Dominators]].

** Cyril Shaps (Lennox) had previously played [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E1TheTombOfTheCybermen John Viner]].

** The human villains were originally Irish, until someone pointed out that TheTroubles were going on.

* RaceLift: Professor Heldorf was initially a German scientist named Kuhn.
** The human villains were originally Irish, until someone pointed out that TheTroubles were going on.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: David Whitaker originally pitched the script for the previous season, thus the story was initially developed to feature the Second Doctor, Jamie [=McCrimmon=] and Zoe Heriot. As such, it was set well into the future, and did not include UNIT. When all three actors left the programme at the end of the sixth season, it was rewritten to fit the consequential revamp.

* YouLookFamiliar: Ronald Allen (Ralph Cornish) had appeared the previous season as one of the eponymous antagonists in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E1TheDominators The Dominators]].

** Cyril Shaps (Lennox) had previously played John Viner in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E1TheTombOfTheCybermen The Tomb of the Cybermen]].

* RealLifeRelative: Caroline John's husband Geoffrey Beavers (who would [[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E6TheKeeperOfTraken later]] appear on the show as an incarnation of The Master) played Private Johnson.

* RealLifeRelative: Caroline John's husband Geoffrey Beavers played Private Johnson.

** A number of stunt performers are particularly clearly seen to die multiple times in the course of this story as soldiers or {{Mooks}], sometimes in the same episode. In later stories they would get better at disguising the stunt performers, or at least not showing close-ups of their faces.

* YouLookFamiliar: Ronald Allen (Ralph Cornish) had appeared the previous season as one of the eponymous antagonists in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E1TheDominators The Dominators]].

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: David Whitaker originally pitched the script for the previous season, thus the story was initially developed to feature the Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot. As such, it was set well into the future, and did not include UNIT. When all three actors left the programme at the end of the sixth season, it was rewritten to fit the consequential revamp.

* YouLookFamiliar: Ronald Allen (Ralph Cornish) had appeared the previous season as one of the eponymous antagonists in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E1TheDominators The Dominators]].