Marco Polo (Doctor Who)

004 – Marco Polo
Doctor Who serial
Marco Polo, Susan, the Doctor, and Ian
Cast
Doctor William Hartnell – First Doctor
Companions William Russell – Ian Chesterton Jacqueline Hill – Barbara Wright Carole Ann Ford – Susan Foreman
Guest Mark Eden – Marco Polo Derren Nesbitt – Tegana Zienia Merton – Ping-Cho Martin Miller – Kublai Khan Jimmy Gardner – Chenchu Charles Wade – Malik Philip Voss – Acomat Paul Carson – Ling-Tau Gábor Baraker – Wang-lo Tutte Lemkow – Kuiju Claire Davenport – Empress Leslie Bates – Man at Lop Michael Guest – Mongol Bandit Peter Lawrence – Vizier Basil Tang – Office Foreman
Production
Directed by	Waris Hussein (1–3, 5–7) John Crockett (4)
Written by	John Lucarotti
Script editor	David Whitaker
Produced by	Verity Lambert
Music by	Tristram Cary
Production code	D
Series	Season 1
Running time	7 episodes, 25 minutes each
Episode(s) missing	All 7 episodes
First broadcast	22 February 1964 (1964-02-22)
Last broadcast	4 April 1964 (1964-04-04)
Chronology
← Preceded by The Edge of Destruction Followed by → The Keys of Marinus
List of episodes (1963–1989)

Marco Polo is the fourth serial of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC TV in seven weekly parts from 22 February to 4 April 1964. It was written by John Lucarotti and directed largely by Waris Hussein; John Crockett directed the fourth episode. The story is set in Yuan-era China in the year 1289, where the Doctor (William Hartnell), his granddaughter Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford), and her teachers Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) meet the Italian merchant-explorer Marco Polo (Mark Eden) and Mongolian Emperor Kublai Khan (Martin Miller).

Lucarotti—who had previously written works based on Marco Polo's adventures—was suggested to producers by Doctor Who creator Sydney Newman when the show was early in development. Throughout production, the script was rewritten to make the story more personal to Polo. Barry Newbery, the serial's designer, used several historical books for research of the old designs, taking inspiration from 1900 Korean architecture. The serial premiered with nine million viewers, and maintained audience figures throughout its seven-week run. It received generally positive responses from critics and was sold widely overseas, but was erased by the BBC in 1967; the entire serial is missing as a result. The serial received later print adaptations, and soundtrack releases using the surviving audio.