Season 04 | EP 1

The Smugglers

Written by Brian Hayles

"The distractions... I really thought I was going to be alone again."

Episode Title Premiere Date
Episode 1 10/09/1966
Episode 2 17/09/1966
Episode 3 24/09/1966
Episode 4 01/10/1966

When the TARDIS lands on a wild and remote stretch of the Cornish coast, its occupants little realise that they have arrived in the 17th Century. The Doctor, Ben and Polly soon discover to their cost that these are far from hospitable times. The local Squire is at the head of a plot to offload contraband, whilst a long-rumoured hoard of stolen treasure has drawn attention to the village church. Inadvertently stumbling upon this web of deception and double-crossing, the time travellers are rapidly propelled into danger. The Doctor's encounter with the ill-fated Joseph Londfoot leaves him with a cryptic clue to the location of Avery's Treasure. But a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, as the fearsome pirate Samuel Pike is only too willing to prove. The Doctor realises that Pike and his bloodthirsty henchmen will stop at nothing — not even the threat of Avery's Curse — to find and seize the ill-gotten hoard. Ben and Polly, meanwhile, must choose their allies with care. It's never certain who can be trusted, and the stakes are suddenly raised as smugglers and pirates go head to head with the local militia. Can the time travellers save an entire village from burning — and still escape to the TARDIS with their lives?

Cast & Crew

The Doctor: William Hartnell

Ben Jackson: Michael Craze

Polly Wright: Anneke Wills

Captain Samuel Pike: Michael Godfrey

Jacob Kewper: David Blake Kelly

Josiah Blake: John Ringham

Cherub: George A. Cooper

Producer: Innes Lloyd

Director: Julia Smith

Scriptwriter: Brian Hayles

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