History Trivia / DoctorWhoS15E1HorrorOfFangRock

** Adelaide and Skinsale were supposed to survive, but this was changed so it would captured more of the vibe of it's inspiration, the poem ''Flannan Isle''.

* CreatorBacklash:
** In the DVDCommentary, Creator/TerranceDicks says he was unhappy about Creator/TomBaker's delivery of the line "Dead, with honour", when telling Leela of Colonel Skinsale's fate. In the final episode, Baker says "Dead with honour", with no pause. In his novelisation of the story, Dicks writes the line as "Dead. With honour", to emphasise what he had intended -- that Skinsale was dead, but after a moment's thought adding that it was "with honour" (even though it wasn't).
** Director Paddy Russell didn't particularly enjoy her experience working on this story, largely because she much preferred Dicks' original script and didn't think much of the hastily-written replacement, but was contractually obligated to still direct the new story. Filming also wasn't a particularly happy experience for her, in part due to constantly clashing with Baker and Creator/LouiseJameson, and also because the facilities at the BBC's Birmingham studios (where they had to move production of the story to, due to scheduling conflicts at the BBC Television Centre) weren't up to scratch. This resulted in her deciding not to direct for the show again.

* InspirationForTheWork: The story was inspired by Wilfred Gibson's 1912 poem ''Flannan Isle'', which was in turn based upon true events which occurred in 1900, when a supply ship discovered that the lighthouse crew on the Flannan Isles in the Outer Hebrides had vanished without a trace. Creator/TerranceDicks also drew on Creator/RayBradbury's 1951 short story "The Fog Horn", about an aquatic dinosaur which has survived in the ocean's depths but is attracted by the call of a lighthouse's fog horn.

** In early drafts of the story, Adelaide and Skinsale survived; however, this was changed to make the story more resonant with the poem ''Flannan Isle''.
* WordOfGod: Though not stated in the televised story, the reason Vince burns Lord Palmerdale's bribe money following his death is because he is concerned that he may be accused of murder should he be found to have the money. This is clarified by Creator/TerranceDicks in both the novel and the DVDCommentary.

----

* On November 22, 1987, an airing of the story on Chicago PBS station WTTW was suddenly hijacked by unknown perpetrators. 90 seconds of Part 1 were replaced by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t32JpruyLZk a pre-recorded clip]] of an unidentifiable man dressed as TV's Series/MaxHeadroom (in a latex mask and brown suit), who uttered various non-sequiturs that largely composed of [[TakeThat jabs at numerous companies]] and [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg Chicago sports announcer Chuck Swirsky]]. He also moaned and [[LaughingMad laughed]] a lot, complained about his hemorrhoids (quoting a Preparation H commercial in the process), [[FlippingTheBird flipped off the viewers]], put on and immediately discarded a glove covered in "blood spots", and ended the broadcast by being spanked by an accomplice (whose face was off-screen) dressed as a French maid. To this day, nobody involved in the event has ever been found, and the whole affair has become one of the most infamous television hijackings in history.

* On November 22, 1987, an airing of the story on Chicago PBS station WTTW was suddenly hijacked by unknown perpetrators. 90 seconds of Part 1 were replaced by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t32JpruyLZk a pre-recorded clip]] of an unidentifiable man dressed as TV's Series/MaxHeadroom (in a latex mask and brown suit), who uttered various non-sequiturs that largely composed of [[TakeThat jabs at numerous companies]] [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Chicago sports announcer Chuck Swirsky]]. He also moaned and [[LaughingMad laughed]] a lot, complained about his hemorrhoids (quoting a Preparation H commercial in the process), [[FlippingTheBird flipped off the viewers]], put on and immediately discarded a glove covered in "blood spots", and ended the broadcast by being spanked by an accomplice (whose face was off-screen) dressed as a French maid. To this day, nobody involved in the event has ever been found, and the whole affair has become one of the most infamous television hijackings in history.

* On November 22, 1987, an airing of the story on Chicago PBS station WTTW was suddenly hijacked by unknown perpetrators. 90 seconds of Part 1 were replaced by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t32JpruyLZk a pre-recorded clip]] of an unidentifiable man dressed as TV's Series/MaxHeadroom (in a latex mask and brown suit), who uttered various non-sequiturs that largely composed of [[TakeThat jabs at numerous companies]] [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Chuck Swirsky]]. He also moaned and [[LaughingMad laughed]] a lot, complained about his hemorrhoids, [[FlippingTheBird flipped off the viewers]], put on and immediately discarded a glove covered in "blood spots", and ended the broadcast by being spanked by an accomplice (whose face was off-screen) dressed as a French maid. To this day, nobody involved in the event has ever been found, and the whole affair has become one of the most infamous television hijackings in history.

* RomanceOnTheSet: Creator/TomBaker began an on-off relationship with Sue Gerrard, who was working as an editor on this serial. He broke it off to marry Lalla Ward, and then, after divorcing Lalla, rekindled his relationship with Sue and married her. They've been married ever since.

** Director Paddy Russell didn't particularly enjoy her experience working on this story, largely because she much preferred Dicks' original script and didn't think much of the hastily-written replacement, but was contractually obligated to still direct the new story. Filming also wasn't a particularly happy experience for her, in part due to constantly clashing with Baker and Louise Jameson, and also because the facilities at the BBC's Birmingham studios (where they had to move production of the story to, due to scheduling conflicts at the BBC Television Centre) weren't up to scratch. This resulted in her deciding not to direct for the show again.

* EnforcedMethodActing: In the scene where Leela slaps Adelaide to stop her screaming, Louise Jameson did indeed slap Annette Woollett quite hard. Jameson stated in the DVDCommentary that Woollett insisted that she not hold anything back when doing the slap.

-->Tom Baker was easy to deal with at first, but the part went to his head completely. By the time I did "Horror of Fang Rock", he was desperately difficult to work with. His input got totally out of hand. His attitude to his fellow actors was extremely difficult, his attitude to his director was extremely difficult, and his attitude to the crew was extremely difficult. For instance, it was always everybody else’s fault, and never Tom’s. His idea was to have that show to himself. He didn’t want an assistant, and he made their lives hell. Louise Jameson went through hell on that show, and that lady is a very good actress. Fortunately, she’s very tough, and she got a lot of support from everyone else. I found her excellent to work with, but Tom hardly spoke to her, and when he did it was usually something nasty.

* WrittenInInfirmity: Louise Jameson hated the contact lenses she had to wear as part of playing Leela and begged the producers to spare her from them. This was accomplished in a nicely symbolic scene in which light from an explosion temporarily blinds her and permanently [[EyeColorChange fries her eyes blue]].

** In the DVDCommentary, Creator/TerranceDicks says he was unhappy about Creator/TomBaker's delivery of the line "Dead, with honour", when telling Leela of Colonel Skinsale's fate. In the episode, Baker says "Dead with honour", with no pause. In his novelisation of the story, Dicks writes the line as "Dead. With honour", to emphasise what he had intended — that Skinsale was dead, but after a moment's thought adding that it was "with honour" (even though it wasn't).

* CreatorBreakdown: While making the serial, Creator/TomBaker was unhappy and angry with the direction the show was going in (partly due to ExecutiveMeddling getting Phillip Hinchcliffe sacked and partly because he didn't like sharing the main character spotlight with anyone else) and reportedly spent much of production bullying his co-stars and making himself unpopular. His performance is severe, broody and temperamental, giving the impression he is losing his mind between the claustrophobia and fear, and all the other actors regard him with visible wariness — lifting an already scary story to NightmareFuel.

* InspirationForTheWork: The story was inspired by Wilfrid Gibson's 1912 poem ''Flannan Isle'', which was in turn based upon true events which occurred in 1900, when a supply ship discovered that the lighthouse crew on the Flannan Isles in the Outer Hebrides had vanished without a trace. Creator/TerranceDicks also drew on Creator/RayBradbury's 1951 short story "The Fog Horn", about an aquatic dinosaur which has survived in the ocean's depths but is attracted by the call of a lighthouse's fog horn.

** Director Paddy Russell didn't particularly enjoy her experience working on this story, largely because she much preferred Terrance Dick's original script and didn't think much of the hastily-written replacement, but was contractually obligated to still direct the new story. Filming also wasn't a particularly happy experience for her, in part due to constantly clashing with Baker and Louise Jameson, and also because the facilities at the BBC's Birmingham studios (where they had to move production of the story to, due to scheduling conflicts at the BBC Television Centre) weren't up to scratch. This resulted in her deciding not to direct for the show again.

* On November 22, 1987, an airing of the story on Chicago PBS station WTTW was suddenly hijacked by unknown perpetrators. 90 seconds of Part 1 were replaced by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t32JpruyLZk a pre-recorded clip]] of an unidentifiable man dressed as TV's Series/MaxHeadroom (in a latex mask and brown suit), who uttered various non-sequiturs that largely composed of [[TakeThat jabs at numerous companies]] [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Chuck Swirsky]]. He also moaned and [[LaughingMad laughed]] a lot, complained about his hemorrhoids, [[FlippingTheBird flipped off the viewers]], put on and immediately discarded a glove covered in "blood spots", and ended the broadcast by being spanked by an accomplice (whose face was off-screen) dressed as a French maid. To this day, nobody involved in the event has ever been found, and the whole affair has become one of the most infamous television hijackings in history.

* RomanceOnTheSet: Creator/TomBaker began an on-off relationship with Sue Jerrard, who was working as an editor on this serial. He broke it off to marry Lalla Ward, and then, after divorcing Lalla, rekindled his relationship with Sue and married her. They've been married ever since.

* On November 22, 1987, an airing of the story on Chicago PBS station WTTW was suddenly hijacked by unknown perpetrators. 90 seconds of Part 1 were replaced by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t32JpruyLZk a pre-recorded clip]] of an unidentifiable man dressed as TV's Series/MaxHeadroom (in a latex mask and brown suit), who uttered various non-sequiturs that largely composed of [[TakeThat jabs at numerous companies]] [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Chuck Swirsky]]. He also moaned and [[LaughingMad laughed]] a lot, complained about his hemorrhoids, [[FlippingTheBird flipped off the viewers]], put on and immediately discarded a glove covered in "blood spots", and ended the broadcast by being spanked by an accomplice (whose face was off-screen) dressed as a French maid. To this day, nobody involved in the event has ever been found, and the whole affair has become one of the most infamous television hijackings in history.

----

** The original script for this production slot was the story that would eventually become "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E4StateOfDecay State of Decay]]" several years later. However, the BBC higher-ups ordered that it be dropped, as they didn't want viewers comparing it to a then-upcoming big budget adaptation of ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', forcing Terrance Dicks to hastily write this story as a replacement.

* CreatorBreakdown: While making the serial, Creator/TomBaker was unhappy and angry with the direction the show was going in (partly due to ExecutiveMeddling getting Phillip Hinchcliffe sacked and partly because he didn't like sharing the main character spotlight with anyone else) and reportedly spent much of production bullying his co-stars and making himself unpopular. His performance is severe, broody and temperamental, giving the impression he is losing his mind between the claustrophobia and fear, and all the other actors regard him with visible wariness - lifting an already scary story to NightmareFuel.

** Alan Rowe (Colonel Skinsale) had previously played Dr. Evans and provided the voice from Space Control in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E6TheMoonbase The Moonbase]]", as well as "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E1TheTimeWarrior Edward of Wessex]]".
** Ralph Watson (Ben) had previously played "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E5TheWebOfFear Captain Knight]]" as well as "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E4TheMonsterOfPeladon Ettis]]".
** Colin Douglas (Reuben/Rutan voice) had previously played "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E4TheEnemyOfTheWorld Donald Bruce]]".

* On November 22, 1987, an airing of the story on Chicago PBS station WTTW was suddenly hijacked by unknown perpetrators. 90 seconds of Part 1 were replaced by a pre-recorded clip of an unidentifiable man dressed as TV's Series/MaxHeadroom (in a latex mask and brown suit), who uttered various non-sequiturs that largely composed of [[TakeThat jabs at numerous companies]] [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Chuck Swirsky]]. He also moaned and [[LaughingMad laughed]] a lot, complained about his hemorrhoids, [[FlippingTheBird flipped off the viewers]], put on and immediately discarded a glove covered in "blood spots", and ended the broadcast by being spanked by an accomplice (whose face was off-screen) dressed as a french maid. To this day, nobody involved in the event has ever been found, and the whole affair has become one of the most infamous television hijackings in history.

* CreatorBacklash: In the DVDCommentary, Creator/TerranceDicks says he was unhappy about Creator/TomBaker's delivery of the line "Dead, with honour", when telling Leela of Colonel Skinsale's fate. In the episode, Baker says "Dead with honour", with no pause. In his novelisation of the story, Dicks writes the line as "Dead. With honour", to emphasise what he had intended — that Skinsale was dead, but after a moment's thought adding that it was "with honour" (even though it wasn't).

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: In the original script, Col. Skinsale's wife Veronica appeared. She was ultimately removed.

** Alan Rowe (Colonel Skinsale) had previously played Dr. Evans and provided the voice from Space Control in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E6TheMoonbase The Moonbase]]", as well as Edward of Wessex in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E1TheTimeWarrior The Time Warrior]]".
** Ralph Watson (Ben) had previously played Captain Knight in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E5TheWebOfFear The Web of Fear]]" as well as Ettis in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E4TheMonsterOfPeladon The Monster of Peladon]]".
** Colin Douglas (Reuben/Rutan voice) had previously played Donald Bruce in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E4TheEnemyOfTheWorld The Enemy of the World]]".

* CreatorBacklash: In the DVD commentary, Creator/TerranceDicks says he was unhappy about Creator/TomBaker's delivery of the line "Dead, with honour", when telling Leela of Colonel Skinsale's fate. In the episode, Baker says "Dead with honour", with no pause. In his novelisation of the story, Dicks writes the line as "Dead. With honour", to emphasise what he had intended — that Skinsale was dead, but after a moment's thought adding that it was "with honour" (even though it wasn't)

* On November 22, 1987, an airing of the story on Chicago PBS station WTTW was suddenly hijacked by unknown perpetrators. 90 seconds of Part 1 were replaced by a pre-recorded clip of an unidentifiable man dressed as TV's Series/MaxHeadroom (in a latex mask and brown suit), who uttered various non-sequiturs that largely composed of [[TakeThat jabs at numerous companies]] [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Chuck Swirsky]]. He also moaned and [[LaughingMad lauged]] a lot, complained about his hemorrhoids, [[FlippingTheBird flipped off the viewers]], put on and immediately discarded a glove covered in "blood spots", and ended the broadcast by being spanked by an accomplice (whose face was off-screen) dressed as a french maid. To this day, nobody involved in the event has ever been found, and the whole affair has become one of the most infamous television hijackings in history.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: The reason Leela's eyes are bleached by the explosion in the lighthouse at the end of part four was more practical than story-based: Louise Jameson hated the brown contacts she had to wear, citing them as irritating and painful. As a result, she stated that she would only stay for Season 15 if she could stop wearing the contacts, causing Terrence Dicks to incorporate a re-write into the script to explain the color change in-universe.

* YouLookFamiliar: Alan Rowe (Colonel Skinsale) had previously played Dr. Evans and provided the voice from Space Control in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS46TheMoonbase The Moonbase]] as well as Edward of Wessex in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E1TheTimeWarrior The Time Warrior]].
** Ralph Watson (Ben) had previously played Captain Knight in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E5TheWebOfFear The Web of Fear]] as well as Ettis in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E4TheMonsterOfPeladon The Monster of Peladon]].
** Colin Douglas (Reuben/Rutan voice) had previously played Donald Bruce in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E4TheEnemyOfTheWorld The Enemy of the World]].

* The reason Leela's eyes are bleached by the explosion in the lighthouse at the end of part four was more practical than story-based: Louise Jameson hated the brown contacts she had to wear, citing them as irritating and painful. As a result, she stated that she would only stay for Season 15 if she could stop wearing the contacts, causing Terrence Dicks to incorporate a re-write into the script to explain the color change in-universe.

* On November 22, 1987, a syndication of the story on WTTW was suddenly hijacked by unknown perpetrators. 90 seconds of Part 1 were replaced by a pre-recorded clip of an unidentifiable man dressed as TV's Series/MaxHeadroom (in a latex mask and brown suit), who uttered various non-sequiturs that largely composed of [[TakeThat jabs at numerous companies]] [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Chuck Swirsky]]. He also moaned and [[LaughingMad lauged]] a lot, complained about his hemorrhoids, [[FlippingTheBird flipped off the viewers]], put on and immediately discarded a glove covered in "blood spots", and ended the broadcast by being spanked by an accomplice (whose face was off-screen) dressed as a french maid. To this day, nobody involved in the event has ever been found, and the whole affair has become one of the most infamous television hijackings in history.
* The reason Leela's eyes are bleached [[spoiler:by the explosion in the lighthouse at the end of part four]] was more practical than story-based: Louise Jameson hated the brown contacts she had to wear, citing them as irritating and painful. As a result, she stated that she would only stay for Season 15 if she could stop wearing the contacts, causing Terrence Dicks to incorporate a re-write into the script to explain the color change in-universe.

* On November 22, 1987, a syndication of the story on WTTW was suddenly hijacked by unknown perpetrators. 90 seconds of Part 1 were replaced by a pre-recorded clip of an unidentifiable man dressed as TV's Max Headroom (in a latex mask and brown suit), who uttered various non-sequitrs that largely composed of [[TakeThat jabs at numerous companies]] [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Chuck Swirsky]]. He also moaned and [[LaughingMad lauged]] a lot, complained about his hemorrhoids, flipped off the viewers, put on and immediately discarded a glove covered in "blood spots", and ended the broadcast by being spanked by an accomplice (whose face was off-screen) dressed as a french maid. To this day, nobody involved in the event has ever been found, and the whole affair has become one of the most infamous television hijackings in history.
* The reason Leela's eyes are bleached [[spoiler: by the explosion in the lighthouse at the end of part four]] was more practical than story-based: Louise Jameson hated the brown contacts she had to wear, citing them as irritating and painful. As a result, she stated that she would only stay for Season 15 if she could stop wearing the contacts, causing Terrence Dicks to incorporate a re-write into the script to explain the color change in-universe.

* On November 22, 1987, a syndication of the story on WTTW was suddenly hijacked by unknown perpetrators. 90 seconds of Part 1 were replaced by a pre-recorded clip of an unidentifiable man dressed as TV's Max Headroom (in a latex mask and brown suit), who uttered various non-sequitrs that largely composed of [[TakeThat jabs at numerous companies]] [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Chuck Swirsky]]. He also moaned and [[LaughingMad lauged]] a lot, complained about his hemorrhoids, flipped off the viewers, put on and immediately discarded a glove covered in "blood spots", and ended the broadcast by being spanked by an accomplice (whose face was off-screen) dressed as a french maid. To this day, nobody involved in the event has ever been found, and the whole affair has become one of the most infamous television hijackings in history.