Conception and writing .|alt=Artistic rendition of Noah's Ark
Doctor Who producer
John Wiles conceived of a story set on a spaceship large enough to house forests and require vehicles for traversal—roughly the size of
South London—and developed the idea of an
interstellar ark. After joining the series in May 1965, story editor
Donald Tosh was concerned the idea was too ambitious, comparing it to the work of writer
Arthur C. Clarke. Tosh developed a storyline with
Paul Erickson, whom he formally commissioned for a four-part serial on 27 May; the first two scripts were due on 1 September, followed by the last two on 1 November. The story was pushed further back into
the third season (but retained the same production dates) after restructuring due to the twelve-part serial ''
The Daleks' Master Plan''; it was originally assigned the
production code Y but reallocated X. Erickson delivered the first two scripts on 18 August and 1 September, respectively, under the umbrella title
The Ark. Their length and complexity required rewriting by Tosh; he discussed the scripts with Erickson and Wiles on 7 September, and Erickson made changes the following day. Among the most significant changes was the removal of Katarina, a companion who joined the Doctor during the
Trojan War in
The Myth Makers; Tosh felt the historical character was ill-fitted in futuristic settings, and ''The Daleks' Master Plan
was altered to add her death. Erickson delivered the third and fourth scripts on 30 September and 1 November, and all four revised scripts by 18 November. The Ark'' was retroactively considered the only unaltered story of Wiles and Tosh's working partnership; they had inherited the previous stories from their predecessors, while the following stories were changed by their successors.
The Ark was Wiles's last credited work on
Doctor Who; he sought more active writing and directing work, especially after the extensive production of ''The Daleks' Master Plan
, and his relationship with lead actor William Hartnell had become strained due to their differing ideas about storylines. He resigned in early January 1966 to work freelance; his successor, Innes Lloyd, shadowed Wiles during filming for The Ark''. Tosh accepted Erickson's scripts on 4 January and resigned shortly thereafter, handing over to
Gerry Davis. On 20 January, Erickson's
agent requested that the serial's writer credit be amended to add Lesley Scott, Erickson's then-partner, as co-writer without fee; the scripts' original copyright is attributed solely to Erickson, and in later years he refused to comment on the credit, referring to it as a "personal arrangement". Scott was the first woman to receive a writing credit on
Doctor Who.
Michael Imison was assigned the serial's director. He had known Wiles during their time as story editors, though he was initially reserved about being assigned to
Doctor Who due to his relationship with head of serials
Gerald Savory, who he felt had unassigned him the
BBC2 adaptation of
Buddenbrooks as Savory's wife, actress
Annette Carell, had criticised his directing style. Imison started pre-production on
The Ark on 6 December 1965. He worked with Erickson to revise the scripts, which he had found uninspiring; he never met Scott. Imison wanted the serial to be impressive, creating complex
storyboards and camera scripts; he later said he was likely "deliberately trying to show off". Savings were made on the next serial,
The Celestial Toymaker, to accommodate
The Arks expenses. To save money on an original score, around nine minutes of
Tristram Cary's music from
The Daleks were used, as well as some
stock drum tracks by Robert Famon.
The Ark was Erickson and Imison's only work on
Doctor Who.
Design and costumes The serial's design work was assigned to Barry Newbery—his first science-fiction work for the series. He conceived the Ark in a spherical design in reference to
Albert Einstein's theory of
general relativity; he felt it was appropriate given the spaceship creates its own gravity. The gates in the Refusians' castle had previously been used by Newbery in
The Crusade. He later recalled being unhappy working on the serial due to the busy production; its extensive design work delayed Newbery's work on the upcoming story
The Gunfighters. The invisible Refusian was represented by hidden wires and
stagehands, while the jungle's humidity was represented by
dry ice mist. Many of the jungle's plants were in pots, which were hidden by the camera angles. The statue in the last three episodes was a figurine by sculptor John Friedlander. Based on their
monocular nature, Imison altered and renamed the Monoids, which the scripts named "Reptiles"; he suspected their merchandising potential. Costume designer Daphne Dare created the Ark's costumes in
pastel shades: blue and white for the men, pink and white for women, and red for the Commander. With suggestions by Imison, she designed the Monoid costumes as a
one-piece outfit, with a
zip at the back; the fastener was hidden by the back of the mask.
Yak hair of varying colours was used for the wigs, which hid the actors' faces. Eight costumes were designed by freelance effects team Jack and John Lovell. The eyeballs were created with
ping pong balls; in four of the costumes, the performers could move the eye with their tongues via a
peg. Dare recalled that the costumes were hot and uncomfortable for the actors. The numbers on the creatures' collars were changed between shots to imply a greater population than shown on screen, and editing techniques were used to exaggerate each side's numbers in the fourth episode. Several Monoids were portrayed by
extras, which prevented Imison from giving them specific directions. Dodo's costume in the final scene was the first appearance of a
miniskirt on British television.
Casting and characters (pictured in 2003) portrayed Rhos in
The Ark; he returned to the series in different roles alongside five
Doctors.|alt=Michael Sheard
The Ark is Dodo's first full story as a companion, following her introduction in
The Massacre. Actress
Jackie Lane had worked with Imison on the television series
Compact, and they worked together to develop Dodo's role. Dodo's accent had changed from
The Massacre; Lane struggled speaking with a northern accent, and concerns were raised about a character not speaking good "BBC English". Lane considered Hartnell welcoming and friendly, though occasionally irritable; he found the persistent cast and crew changes difficult. Imison sensed the tension between Hartnell and Wiles.
Michael Sheard was cast as Rhos; he later returned to the series in different roles on five occasions, each alongside a different actor as
the Doctor. During rehearsals, Sheard offended Hartnell by calling him "Billy"; the former had intended it with admiration, but the latter took it as a slight. Brian Wright was cast as Dassuk; he was Imison's friend from
Oxford University, and they had worked together on
Compact and a BBC2 adaptation of
Liza of Lambeth.
Richard Beale's deep voice as the Refusian was used to suggest its size and power; he had also worked with Imison on
Compact, as had
Terence Bayler, who portrayed Yendom. Bayler cut his hand while fighting a Monoid in the third episode.
Eileen Helsby, the sister of Imison's assistant Thelma Helsby, played Venussa. The Monoids' dialogue was performed by
voice actors in the studio—including
Roy Skelton, who later had a long history with
Doctor Who as the voice of the
Cybermen and
Daleks—and processed by the
BBC Radiophonic Workshop's
Brian Hodgson. Imison cast Terence Woodfield as Maharis at Wiles's recommendation, following his role in ''The Daleks' Master Plan''; Maharis's death scene was among his earliest work on
The Ark.
Filming The first production work on
The Ark, on 24 January 1966, was photography at
Ealing Studios of extra David Greneau, who portrayed the miniaturised prisoner in the first episode. Early
35 mm filming took place at Ealing from 31 January to 3 February; a fifth day of filming likely took place on 4 February. Several animals were used for filming in the studio, including a baby
Indian elephant named Monica, trained by
Mary Chipperfield; Monica had been touring the country with a
travelling circus, and was kept in a van outside Imison's home the night before filming as the BBC did not allow the driver to park at the studio. Monica's appearance was Imison's proudest achievement on
The Ark; he filmed her alongside the regular cast to demonstrate that
stock footage had not been used. She was shy and had to be coached towards the actors during filming. Hartnell and Monica got along well, likely due to the peanuts he kept in his pocket. She was extensively in the serial's promotion, with several photographs taken. The vehicles used on the Ark were electric trolleys used by the BBC to transport timber. Rehearsals for the serial started on 14 February. During rehearsals, Davis began an effective working relationship with Hartnell, discovering that he could not be confronted directly but persuaded by reminiscing. Weekly recording began on 18 February in Studio 1 of
Riverside Studios; the jungle set was transferred from Ealing. The first episode was scheduled to overrun by 15 minutes. While filming the second episode, Wiles felt Dodo had not been convincingly upset by the Monoid's death; Lane rebutted by admitting difficulty expressing concern about "a heap of wrinkled rubber". Some overhead shots were achieved using mirrors. Filming of the second and third episodes overran by 15 minutes, incurring additional costs. The final episode was recorded on 11 March. Shortly before filming, Imison was told that his BBC contract was not being renewed, which he attributed to overrunning in recording
The Ark; it was his final television directing work. The episode was
Doctor Whos first to be recorded out of sequence, starting with the closing scene, and correctly assembled during editing. The first episode was budgeted at but cost more than double, while the rest were budgeted at each but cost less; recording cost a total of (). == Reception ==