
Part of Series
In the far future a group of humans is living an idyllic existence on a distant planet. Their colony is run like a gigantic holiday camp and nothing seems to trouble their carefree existence. When one of them claims that the colony is being invaded by hideous monsters, no one takes him seriously. But the Doctor's suspicions are immediately aroused. What is the terrible menace that lurks at the heart of this apparent paradise? Why are the colonists unaware of the danger that lies before their very eyes? And what is the Macra Terror?
Author

Ian Stuart Black was a novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Both his 1959 novel In the Wake of a Stranger and his 1962 novel about the Cyprus emergency The High Bright Sun were made into films, Black writing the screenplays in each case. He also wrote scripts for several British television programmes from the 1950s to the 1970s, including The Invisible Man and Sir Francis Drake (for which he was also story editor), as well as Danger Man (on which he served as associate producer) and Star Maidens. In addition, he wrote three stories for Doctor Who in 1965 and 1966. These stories were The Savages and The War Machines (with Kit Pedler and Pat Dunlop) for William Hartnell's Doctor; and The Macra Terror for Patrick Troughton. He novelised all three stories for Target Books. His final credit was for a half-hour supernatural drama called House of Glass, which was made by Television South in 1991. He was the father of actress Isobel Black.