The Space Museum

015 – *The Space Museum*
015 – The Space Museum
Doctor Who serial
	Barbara, the Doctor, Vicki, and Ian on display at the Space Museum. This first episode was praised by critics and its cliffhanger is considered among the show's best.
Cast
	Doctor William Hartnell – First Doctor;
	Companions William Russell – Ian Chesterton; Jacqueline Hill – Barbara Wright; Maureen O'Brien – Vicki;
	Others Richard Shaw – Lobos; Ivor Salter – Morok Commander; Salvin Stewart – Morok Messenger; Peter Diamond – Morok Technician, Morok; Lawrence Dean, Ken Norris, Salvin Stewart, Billy Cornelius – Moroks; Peter Sanders – Sita; Peter Craze – Dako; Jeremy Bulloch – Tor; Bill Starkey – Third Xeron; Michael Gordon, Edward Granville, Bill Starkey, David Wolliscroft – Xerons; Peter Hawkins – Dalek voice; Murphy Grumbar – Dalek Operator;
Production
Directed by	Mervyn Pinfield
Written by	Glyn Jones
Script editor	Dennis Spooner
Produced by	Verity Lambert
Music by	None
Production code	Q
Series	Season 2
Running time	4 episodes, 25 minutes each
First broadcast	24 April 1965
Last broadcast	15 May 1965
Chronology
← Preceded by; The Crusade	Followed by →; The Chase

The Space Museum is the seventh serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Glyn Jones and directed by Mervyn Pinfield, it was broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 24 April to 15 May 1965. In the serial, the First Doctor (William Hartnell) and his travelling companions Ian Chesterton (William Russell), Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill), and Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) arrive in a Space Museum on the planet Xeros, where they seek to change their fate after seeing themselves turned into museum exhibits in the future. They also become entangled in a conflict between the militaristic Moroks who run the museum, and the servile indigenous Xerons who work for them.

Jones was not familiar with the show or science fiction when asked to develop the storyline. Story editor Dennis Spooner edited out much of the humour from the original script as he felt that it was more intellectual; Jones was unhappy with the changes. Pinfield and the production crew hoped that The Space Museum could be made cheaply to offset more expensive serials, using a small cast and limited sets. Pinfield also used stock music recordings for the incidental score. The Space Museum received mixed reviews, with praise directed at its opening episode and the performances of Hartnell and O'Brien, but criticism of the remaining episodes, the formulaic nature of the story, and the performances of the supporting cast. The story was later novelised and released on VHS and DVD.