Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Doctor Who: The Savages cover art

Doctor Who: The Savages

By: Ian Stuart Black
Narrated by: William Hartnell, full cast
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £7.99

Buy Now for £7.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Doctor Who: The Smugglers cover art
Doctor Who and the Web of Fear cover art
Doctor Who: The Third Monsters Collection cover art
Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker cover art
Doctor Who: The Macra Terror cover art
Doctor Who: The War Machines cover art
Doctor Who: Daleks - The Chase cover art
Doctor Who: The Highlanders cover art
The Making of Doctor Who cover art
Doctor Who and the Daleks cover art
Doctor Who cover art
Doctor Who: Marco Polo cover art
Doctor Who: The Underwater Menace cover art
Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus cover art
Doctor Who: The Space Museum cover art
Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet cover art

Summary

William Hartnell stars as the first Doctor in this exclusive recording of a 'lost' television adventure.

When the TARDIS materialises on an alien planet, the Doctor insists that he and his companions have arrived in the far future. Steven and Dodo think otherwise, however, after they encounter a band of cave-dwelling primitives who are terrified of strangers.

The travellers soon discover that the planet's population is divided into two castes, and that the professed idyll of the Elders, who inhabit a technologically advanced city, seems oddly dependent upon the unsophisticated Savages.

Whilst the Elders' leader, Jano, welcomes the Doctor into their society, Dodo stumbles upon a dark secret at the heart of the community. The truth behind the Elders' great knowledge is eventually revealed, and the Doctor sees it as his duty to end a terrible case of exploitation. Yet Jano has plans of his own for the Doctor....With the Doctor's faithful companion Steven discovering that events on this planet will irrevocably shape his destiny, The Savages marks the final appearance in the programme of Peter Purves, who also provides the linking narration for this release.

©2002 BBC Worldwide Ltd (P)2002 BBC Worldwide Ltd

What listeners say about Doctor Who: The Savages

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    25
  • 4 Stars
    24
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    21
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Toward the end if an era

Hartnell's First Doctor is already declining and goes through some mind and body draining experiences. This story foreshadows his regeneration -one if the brilliant ideas behind Doctor Who. Plenty of violent action for Stephen, leading to the end if his time as a companion. Dodo is the classic 60s screaming helpless female companion, and this us her last appearance in a complete TV story. A straightforward plot has the Doctor and companions fighting oppression and exploitation. Well narrated with a fast pace. Viewed as a product if its time it works, but Dodo seems too feeble and helpless to be a companion now.


Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Fun like only the good Doctor can provide.

Complex moral dilemmas, alien civilisations, human drama and political conspiracies - it could only be Doctor Who. This storyline marks the departure of regular companion Stephen who was portrayed by Peter Purves who provides an engrossing narration for this fun little adventure. It's a shame this story was lost but at least the audio survives and this is the best way to enjoy it, in your mp3 player.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Old ones are the best!

Brilliant story and well told. Its great being able to listen to them all. Classic Doctor Who

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Underrated

A generally overlooked lost story from the early years of Doctor Who and one that offers a simple morality play within the confines of the early series remit. Fine if you can accept that a whole planet may be populated by a small populace of nevertheless civilised humans with technological capabilities, and similarly well developed 'savages' on the outside of their city. This also sees the departure of companion Steven Taylor, played by Peter Purves who as usual provides skilled narration which adds dramatic weight to the proceedings of which we cannot witness (visual elements lost as only the soundtrack survives). His departure is a bittersweet one, as whilst he has been offered the chance to lead these peoples to a better united future, one cannot help but feel that it is a bleak outcome for Steven who has witnessed so much in his travels with the Tardis crew. Given that Dodo was to be written out hurriedly in the opening of the following story, one must be thankful that this key companion had such a thought provoking departure. Whilst the story is far enhanced by accompaniment of the Telesnaps archive available on the BBC website (you need to search for them as they are on an archived page and no longer directly linked) it does stand up as a rewarding listen. Perhaps more so due to the theatrical quality of the play. The story also provides good material fro William Hartnell whose Doctor is pivotal to the proceedings. Recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!