Sunday 22 April 2018

D is for... Dill, Morton


A young man from Alabama who was visiting the Empire State Building in New York in 1966 when it saw the landing of the TARDIS, followed soon after by the arrival of a pursuing Dalek time machine. Morton was on his own when the TARDIS materialised. Seeing four people emerge from the ship, he assumed them to be making a movie - having seen lots of people come out of a small space in Keystone Kop films. He was about to take a photograph when the TARDIS dematerialised, but it was quickly followed by the landing of the Dalek craft. Again, he assumed this must be part of a movie, and he found the Daleks' appearance hilarious. He managed to miss another photo opportunity as they departed. When the rest of his tour party came back to join him, they found him trying to find a concealed trap door. Fearing he had gone mad, the tour guide was worried he might jump from the building and went to fetch help.

Played by: Peter Purves. Appearances: The Chase (1965).

  • Morton appears in the third episode only - Flight Through Eternity
  • Purves had previously auditioned to be a Menoptra for director Richard Martin but had been unsuccessful. Martin took note of him, though, and cast him as Morton. The production team were looking for someone to play the new male companion, astronaut Steven Taylor - to be introduced at the end of The Chase. Martin and producer Verity Lambert were impressed with Purves and so offered him the more substantial second role over a drink in "Studio 3" - the nickname for the pub close to Riverside Studios.

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