Doctor Who
The Savages, Part One
TV Flash files “The Savages, Part One” as hour 119 of 700 in the TV Flash guide — Doctor Who (1963–) on BBC, season 3, episode 38, aired 1966-05-28, 25 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E38: listed hour 119 of 700 in the Doctor Who guide, hour 38 of 45 in season 3. It aired 1966-05-28 (25 min). The listed hour before it is “The O.K. Corral (The Gunfighters, Part Four)” (S03E37). Next is “The Savages, Part Two” (S03E39). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Missing episode The TARDIS has arrived on a far-distant and seemingly idyllic world. Yet the Doctor, Steven and Dodo learn it hides a terrible secret: the apparently civilised Elders maintain their advanced society by draining and transferring to themselves the life-force of the defenceless Savages. Outraged at this exploitation, the Doctor is seemingly helpless to prevent it when some of his own life-force is tapped by the Elders' leader, Jano. In the process, however, Jano also acquires some of the Doctor's attitudes and conscience. Turning against his own people, he enlists the Savages to destroy the Elders' transference laboratory — a task with which the time travellers gladly assist. Steven agrees to remain behind on the planet to become leader of the newly united Elders and Savages.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Savages, Part One sit in the Doctor Who guide?
S03E38 is listed hour 119 of 700 — hour 38 of 45 in season 3, season 3 episode 38.
When did Doctor Who S03E38 air?
The Savages, Part One aired 1966-05-28 and is listed at 25 minutes.
Where should I start with the 1960s serials?
William Hartnell's First Doctor is the origin of the TARDIS-and-companions contract. Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor is the proof that regeneration works. Start at a serial whose surviving episodes interest you; missing-episode gaps are part of the classic-era weather.
In the series
Why this series still plays
A Time Lord, a police box bigger on the inside, and regeneration as infinite franchise life: Doctor Who launched from the BBC in 1963 and never really parked. Early black-and-white serials built the mythology; Hartnell-to-Troughton proved the lead could change without ending the show. The longest experiment in serialized reinvention — woolly, weird, endlessly renewable.
November 23, 1963, is a drop that never really parked. BBC's *Doctor Who* launched a Time Lord and a blue police box bigger on the inside, then treated the lead as renewable inventory. **Regeneration is the window.** Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber, and Donald Wilson were among the early architects. Early black-and-white serials built the mythology; companions, sonic screwdrivers, and cliffhangers became ritual. Rex wants woolly national inheritance. Fine. The business model is recasting without ending the show.
Filed against
- William Hartnell as The First Doctor
William Hartnell’s First Doctor launched Doctor Who from the BBC in 1963 — a Time Lord, a police box bigger on the inside, regeneration as infinite franchise life. Early black-and-white serials built the mythology; Hartnell-to-Troughton…
- Patrick Troughton as The Second Doctor
Patrick Troughton played the Second Doctor on Doctor Who, the 1960s BBC proof that a Time Lord could change faces without ending the franchise. Police box bigger on the inside, regeneration as infinite life, early black-and-white serials…
- Jon Pertwee as The Third Doctor
Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor kept Doctor Who’s police box moving — a Time Lord, a box bigger on the inside, regeneration as infinite franchise life. BBC serials launched in 1963 and never really parked; Hartnell-to-Troughton proved the lead…