When the TARDIS materialises on board, the Doctor and his friends are greeted with suspicion which soon turns to open hostility when Dodo inadvertantly infects the Ark's crew with a long-forgotten virus.

It is an accident which will have a terrible effect on mankind, an effect which will last for seven hundred years ...
 

It is ten million years in the future and the Earth is about to plunge into the Sun. A gigantic Space Ark has been launched to take the last of humanity to a new life on the planet Refusis. Accompanying the humans on the journey are the Monoids, strange reptillian creatures from an alien world.

When the TARDIS materializes on board, the Doctor and his friends are greeted with suspicion which soon turns to open hostility when Dodo inadvertantly infects the Ark's crew with a long-forgotten virus.

It is an accident that will have a terrible effect on mankind, and effect that will last for seven hundred years ...

First broadcast in 1966 and featuring William Hartnell in the role of the Doctor, The Ark was written by Paul Erikson and Lesley Scott.
 

Materialising in what appears to be a jungle on Earth, the Doctor, Steven amd Dodo soon realise that things are not what they seem: a colossal life chamber in a craft that has embarked on the most important expedition in the history of mankind...

It is ten million years in the future, and the Earth is soon to be engulfed by the Sun in a catastrophic explosion. A giant space ark has been launched, taking the last humans to a new life on the distant planet of Refusis, and serving the Guardians of Earth are the Monoids, mute reptillian aliens.

But the Ark's mission of deliverance is threatened by the arrival of the time travellers: Dodo inadvertantly passes her cold to the Guardians - to them, it is a long-forgotten virus against which they have no defence. It is not long before people start to die and the TARDIS crew are on trial for their own lives...

This thoughtful and intelligent stroy was made during William Hartnell's thrid and final year as the Doctor.

produced by John Wiles
Directed by Michael Imison
Black and White
Duration: 99 minutes approx.
The quality of the material reflects the age of the original broadcast.