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(A Snowy Pass in a bleak mountainous range. BARBARA and SUSAN are outside the
TARDIS; SUSAN is kneeling down on her hands and knees in the snow, looking at a large
footprint.)
(IAN emerges from the TARDIS, and kneels next to SUSAN as they examine the footprint.)
IAN: Well, it could be a perfectly ordinary footprint, Susan, and the Sun's melted the edges
and made it look a bit bigger.
SUSAN: Oh.
DOCTOR: Yes... Oh, a little bit out of breath. Oh, that's quite understandable. After all, we're
several thousand feet above sea level.
(The DOCTOR is prepared to take credit, even if he does not know where they are.)
DOCTOR: Well, I directed the ship towards Earth and it looks as though I've been
successful!
IAN: Barbara, I wonder... do you think it could be the Earth? If it were, where do you think
we could be? In the Alps?
IAN: The roof of the world? I wonder... If only... Ha! Well... the Doctor isn't very reliable,
you know. Mustn't count on it.
DOCTOR: Oh, dear, dear, dear, dear! We're always in trouble! Isn't this extraordinary - it
follows us everywhere!
DOCTOR: All the lights in the ship have gone out! The whole circuit has burned itself to a
cinder, and added to that it affected the water - we haven't got any!
IAN: Well, the water's no bother, Doctor. I mean, we've got snow...plenty of it... but how
about the heating?
DOCTOR: Serious!... Are you telling? - there's no need for you to tell me that, really!
DOCTOR: Fuel? Now where on earth do you expect to find fuel here, hmm?
DOCTOR: You stay with me, child. You might be able to help me.
SUSAN: OK.
DOCTOR: Now, Susan, go into the ship and fetch me the 2-L-O, will you? You know what it
is. Even if I do find the fault, I don't suppose I shall be able to repair it before it gets dark, and
then we shall all freeze to death!
2. EXTERIOR MOUNTAINS
(Further down the mountain, IAN and BARBARA are still struggling through the blizzard.
BARBARA is exhausted.)
IAN: Come on, Barbara! We haven't found anything yet. We must find something!
IAN: Alright.
(IAN moves on into the blizzard, leaving BARBARA to herself for a moment.)
(Suddenly, she sees a dark figure through the snow and cries out.)
BARBARA: I... there was... there was an animal or something! Just standing there staring at
me!
(She points in the direction she had seen the figure. IAN looks and, apparently seeing nothing
unusual, shrugs his shoulders.)
(The DOCTOR and SUSAN are examining a broken piece of equipment from the TARDIS.)
SUSAN: Can you mend it, Grandfather, or have you got to make a new one?
DOCTOR: I'm afraid it's going to need a new one, dear... and it's going to take me days! Oh
well... I don't know, really... I always seem to...
IAN: Just as you predicted, Doctor, nothing but snow and ice
DOCTOR: Yes.
DOCTOR: Yes, yes, yes, but it's going to take such a long time...and time we don't have!
Now the only chance is to try and get down to a lower a-altitude and, er... er... you know...
before it gets cold... and we...
BARBARA: Doctor... there are strange things on the mountain. I- I saw one of them!
IAN: To tell you the truth, I thought it was made by a fur boot.
(Off in the distance, SUSAN sees what appears to be a brightly coloured wagon, quickly
travelling away from them.)
SUSAN: Look!
(SUSAN attempts to help the DOCTOR along as they hurry after the wagon.)
4. MOUNTAINS
(The travellers quickly reach a pass in the mountains which obscures the view in any
direction. The wagon has disappeared from view.)
(They have very little time to ponder before they suddenly find themselves surrounded by
Mongol SOLDIERS.)
(Sensing they are in great danger, he tries to communicate with the SOLDIERS)
(SUSAN and BARBARA make anxious noises, as the apparent leader of the group, TEGANA,
steps forward.)
TEGANA: Hear me, Mongols... in these parts live evil spirits, who take our likeness to
deceive us and then lead us to our deaths. Let us therefore destroy these evil spirits before
they destroy us!
EUROPEAN: Stop!
(The SOLDIERS prepare to kill the four travellers, but are interrupted by a EUROPEAN
man, who suddenly arrives on the scene.)
(The SOLDIERS back off at the mention of this name. The EUROPEAN looks at the
DOCTOR, then turns to IAN.)
5. INTERIOR, A TENT
(Some time later, the EUROPEAN leads the travellers into his tent, where a young girl is
cooking some food.)
(The DOCTOR does so, and PING-CHO brings him some soup.)
BARBARA: He was a great Mongol leader, who conquered all of Asia. He had a European in
his service... He was a Venetian and his name...
EUROPEAN: (Referring to the soup) I'm afraid the... err... the liquid is not too warm, but the
cold here is so intense, it even robs a flame of its heat.
IAN: (Correcting the EUROPEAN) The cold can't affect the heat of the flame, sir. The liquid
boils at a lower temperature, because there's so little air up here.
IAN: Well, the lack of it... just as the lack of it is responsible for the Doctor's mountain
sickness.
DOCTOR: Oh we're... we're travellers... yes. Th-that's my grandchild, Susan, and that's Miss
Wright, and that's Charlton.
POLO: My companions are the Lady Ping-Cho and the Warlord Tegana. We travel to Shang
Tu.
POLO: Well, you must all be very tired. Ping-Cho, you will share your quarters with...?
SUSAN: Susan.
POLO: Susan. I will sleep here with the others, and Lady...?
POLO: I am rather curious to know why you were wandering around the mountainside at
night, but questions can wait until morning.
DOCTOR: Oh, there-there-there were two, young man, that I would like to ask.
DOCTOR: Er... what year is this and where are we, hmm?
POLO: How long have you been travelling? It is Twelve Hundred and Eighty Nine and this is
the Plain of Pamir, known to those who travel to Cathay as The Roof of the World.
(Later that night, SUSAN and PING-CHO lie awake in their tent, restless.)
SUSAN: No.
SUSAN: Well, I've had... many homes... in many places. What about you?
SUSAN: Well, I thought Ms...Messr. Marco said that you were going to Shang Tu. Are you
on holiday?
PING-CHO: No... Kublai Khan's summer palace is in Shang Tu...I am going there to be
married.
SUSAN: Well, so am I!
PING-CHO: Do you marry at our age in your land? Here it is the custom.
PING-CHO: My what?
SUSAN: What!?!
PING-CHO: The marriage has been arranged by my family. I know only two things about
him.
(SUSAN gasps.)
TEGANA: They are evil spirits... sorcerers... magicians! Tomorrow, if we live until then, you
may see that I speak the truth.
POLO: I think the Sun's rays will dispel the shadows from your mind, Tegana.
TEGANA: Is that what you believe! Listen, the carriage they travel in has no wheels! It just
stands there like a warlord's tomb on one end! And another thing... it is not large enough to
carry four people.
TEGANA: I say it is not... and yet, I saw all four walk from it! Upon my sword, I swear it to
you!
(Time passes, and IAN and BARBARA join POLO and TEGANA by the fire. POLO addresses
IAN as they arrive,)
TEGANA: (To POLO) Did I not say they that they were evil spirits?
POLO: Well, at the Khan's court in Peking, I have seen Buddhist monks make cups of wine
fly through the air unaided and offer themselves to the Great Khan's lips. I do not understand
it, but I have seen it!
BARBARA: Yes.
BARBARA: The Doctor has it, and you wouldn't let him come up here.
POLO: Oh yes, he has the mountain sickness. Have you the power to make it fly?
POLO: What?
POLO: Well, we'll make a sledge and take it down the pass... then we shall see!
9. POLO'S TENT
(Meanwhile, in the tent, PING-CHO is cooking breakfast, when the DOCTOR enters.)
PING-CHO: I wish to serve, my lord, although, among Messr. Marco's retinue, there is a man
who calls himself a cook.
PING-CHO: (shocked) Oh no, my lord!...The Warlord Tegana is a special emissary from the
camp of the great Mongol Lord Khan Noghai, who has been at war with Kublai Khan.
PING-CHO: The war is over, my lord. Noghai has sued for peace and Tegana travels to
Kublai's court to discuss the armistice plans...
DOCTOR: (laughing) Yes... oh well... yes... well... For an emissary of peace, he has rather
bloodthirsty habits, doesn't he?
SUSAN: Messr. Marco has ordered a sledge to be made. He's going to bring the TARDIS
down here.
DOCTOR: Oh indeed? That's charming of you... very charming of you! It won't take me very
long to repair... a day or two... but I assure you that I shall not hold up your journey any
longer than is necessary.
POLO: I'm afraid we can't stay here... one crosses the Plain of Pamir as quickly as possible.
However, we will be spending a few days at Lop.
POLO: It's a town on the edge of the Gobi Desert, beyond Kashgar and Yarkand.
DOCTOR: I see, and you will be taking us along with you, including the TARDIS?
POLO: Doctor, I once transported an entire army and its equipment from... ah, Cathay to
India... all without loss.
POLO: The Mongol bearers still half believe that you are evil spirits. They also believe that
outside your caravan, you are harmless. However, should any of you attempt to enter, there
would be trouble.
DOCTOR: Hmm...I see. You saved our lives, Messr. Marco... and the least we can do is to
respect your wishes. No one will enter the TARDIS until we reach Lop.
POLO: Good.
10. MAP
(The caravan sets out on the journey to Lop, with the TARDIS in tow. The screen shows a
map of the route, with POLO's voice providing narration.)
POLO: (oov) Success... my plan has worked! The strangers and their unusual caravan
accompany me to Lop. Our route takes us across the Roof of the World, down to the Kashgar
Valley and southeast to Tarkand. Here, we join the Old Silk Road, along which the commerce
and culture of a thousand years has travelled to and from Cathay. I wonder what the strangers'
reaction will be when I tell them what I propose to do?
(POLO's caravan arrives at the way station in the busy town of Lop, where they are greeted
by YENG, the proprietor.)
POLO: My caravan is large, Yeng, so I shall need plenty of food and water before venturing
out into the Gobi Desert.
(YENG goes off to make the necessary preparations for the caravan's stay.)
(Later, the travellers are relaxing in the comfort of their new lodgings at the way-station.)
SUSAN: Well... it's... um... it means wonderful! It's a verb we often use on Earth.
(Sensing that SUSAN is not thinking about what she says, the DOCTOR quickly changes the
subject.)
DOCTOR: Oh, Messr Marco... these way-stations... do you have many of these in Cathay?
POLO: Yes, the Khan has them dotted at regular intervals throughout his domain. Those who
work in his service and wear the Khan's gold seal have the right to demand anything they
may require: provisions, horses, shelter.
DOCTOR: Hmm.
(SUSAN is impressed with the seal POLO has produced, and wants to look closer.)
POLO: Of course.
DOCTOR: Yes?
DOCTOR: Oh, excellent, excellent! Yes... well, if you'll pardon me, I have a lot of work to
do and...
13. COURTYARD
(The DOCTOR makes to enter the TARDIS, but he is stopped by two of the MONGOL
SOLDIERS, who prevent him from entering. He returns to confront POLO in irritation at this
turn of events.)
DOCTOR: I don't wish to sit down... I want you to call your guards off!
DOCTOR: No!
POLO: My home is Venice... I left there with my father and my uncle to come to Cathay in
Twelve Seventy-One. The journey to Peking took us three and a half years. When I arrived at
the Khan's court, I was twenty-one. I was an alert young man, good at languages, and willing
to learn. The Khan liked me.
POLO: It was, as you say, Twelve Seventy-Seven. Since then, I have travelled to every
corner of his domain and beyond it. Two years ago, my father, my uncle and I asked the
Khan for permission to go home. He refused. I think we had all served him too well.
DOCTOR: Well, I really don't see what this has to do with my repairing the TARDIS!
POLO: Doctor, I have not seen my home for eighteen years. I want to go back!
POLO: I intend to! But this time, I shall offer him a gift so magnificent that he will not be
able to refuse me.
(Still thinking his plan reasonable, POLO attempts to allay the DOCTOR's fears)
POLO: You do me an injustice, Doctor! I will not leave you stranded in Cathay, just as I did
not let you die on the mountain. No, you will come with me to Venice and make another one
there!
POLO: Surely, for a man who possesses a flying caravan, all things are possible?
IAN: No! We need special metals, materials... things that don't exist in Venice! I'm afraid you
don't understand all the problems involved.
POLO: Well, travel home by ship! We trade with every port in the world. It may take you
longer, but you'll get there eventually!
DOCTOR: Eventually? He doesn't know what he's talking about. The man's a lunatic! Ho!
POLO: No, Doctor... desperate. There are many men who are jealous of the Polo influence at
court, and the Khan suffers from an affliction for which there is no cure.
BARBARA: But you do see Venice again, Marco, I know you do!
IAN: What makes you so sure that the Doctor's caravan is a suitable present? The Doctor is
the only one who can fly it!
POLO: I told you about the Buddhist monks... they will discover its secret!
A caravan that flies... do you imagine what this will mean to the Khan? It will make him the
most powerful ruler the world has ever known; stronger than Hannibal... mightier than
Alexander the Great!
(POLO has had enough of the debate, and defiantly ends it.)
POLO: I refuse to listen to any more. My mind is made up! Your caravan goes with me to
Kublai Khan!
(The DOCTOR laughs all the louder, while BARBARA tries to calm him down.)
DOCTOR: (Practically rolling about on the floor) I haven't the faintest idea! Oh, ho, ho,
ho...!
15. OUTSIDE LOP
(Outside the city walls, a meeting is taking place between a mysterious TARTAR MAN and
TEGANA. The MAN gives TEGANA a container of some sort.)
TEGANA: I will use it well... on all but the first of Marco Polo's water gourds, for tomorrow,
the caravan sets out to cross the Gobi Desert. Now, you will follow us and on the third night,
I will walk back to you...then we're gonna ride back here to Lop, wait for two days and then...
return to the caravan to collect the thing of magic that will bring the mighty Kublai Khan to
his knees!
Dr. Who
WILLIAM HARTNELL
Ian Chesterton
WILLIAM RUSSELL
Barbara Wright
JACQUELINE HILL
Susan
CAROLE ANN FORD
Marco Polo
MARK EDEN
Tegana
DERREN NESBITT
Ping-Cho
ZIENIA MERTON
Tartar Man
LESLIE BATES
Yeng
O. IKEDA
Title Music by
RON GRAINER and
the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Incidental Music by
TRISTRAM CARY
Story Editor
DAVID WHITAKER
Designer
BARRY NEWBERRY
Associate Producer
MERVYN PINFIELD
Producer
VERITY LAMBERT
Directed by
WARIS HUSSEIN
Transcribed by
PHILIP JAMES FAIRWEATHER
MARK ILES
ANDREW CLONINGER
Corrections by
JULIAN HAYLOCK
MAL