The Chase (Doctor Who) - Production

Production

Terry Nation's original title for this story was The Pursuers. There were several changes made from his original proposal in the finished serial. In the original storyline, the TARDIS crew would witness on the visualiser Shakespeare discussing with his wife the possibility of allowing Francis Bacon to use his name on Bacon's plays, as well as a speech by Winston Churchill; Ian and Vicki would see through the sands the vast underground Aridian city; and Ian and Barbara would not return home to Earth at the end of the serial.

Some of the Daleks appearing in this serial were created by Shawcraft Models for the Dr. Who and the Daleks film in 1965. Although the plan had been to refurbish them to resemble the television Daleks, this proved to be impractical, and the three hired Daleks were used only in the background of shots. As The Chase was broadcast before the movie was released, this marks the first appearance of the movie Daleks.

The shots of Ian and Barbara on Earth in the final episode were made during shooting for the next story, The Time Meddler, and were directed by that serial's director, Douglas Camfield.

The clip of The Beatles singing "Ticket to Ride" is from the 15 April 1965 episode of Top of the Pops. In subsequent years the recording of the original performance was junked, along with many complete episodes of Top of the Pops and Doctor Who itself. The Chase avoided the BBC's archive purge, and as a consequence the short extract of "Ticket to Ride" remains the only footage of The Beatles performing on Top of the Pops.