373 The Monster of Peladon Part Four

EPISODE: The Monster of Peladon: Part Four
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 373
STORY NUMBER: 073
TRANSMITTED: Saturday 13 April 1974
WRITER: Brian Hayles
DIRECTOR: Lennie Mayne
SCRIPT EDITOR: Terrance Dicks
PRODUCER: Barry Letts
RATINGS: 7.2 million viewers
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - Peladon Tales: Curse of Peladon & Monster of Peladon
EPISODE FORMAT: 625 video

"You forget, Doctor, I am your judge, your jury and executioner too. Perhaps."

The Ice Warrior commander Azaxyr arrives and declares martial law. He threatens to kill the miners if they do not work and takes hostages to force them. Ettis leads his miners into the citadel. They storm the throne room but all bar Ettis are killed by the Ice Warriors. The Doctor is sent to negotiate with Gebek to persuade the miners back to work. Sarah is convinced she saw Azaxyr's lieutenant Sskel in the refinery before the Ice Warriors were meant to have landed making them suspicious of the Ice Warriors. Alpha Centauri finds their communications jammed while the miners are persuaded to pretend to cooperate while the Doctor deals with the Martian troops. Locked in the communications room the Doctor increases the heat in the mines to incapacitate the Ice Warriors. The miners rebel against the Martians. The Doctor goes to stop the unhinged Ettis from firing the sonic lance to destroy the citadel. Azaxyr sets the sonic lance to self destruct remotely when activated causing an explosion when Ettis attempts to fire it.

Ah that's better, the arrival of the Ice Warriors instantly adds a spark to proceedings as the fall out with the Doctor and unite the Pels against them. But I've seen Curse of Peladon, I thought the Ice Warriors were meant to be the good guys now?

It's good to see lots of warriors on the screen together: at one stage there's Azaxyr plus four warriors in the throne room.

Sskel is using the Vaaga suit that Sonny Caldinez has used since Seeds of Death but it's be interesting to try to work out which warrior in the Ice Warriors the other costumes are from, some of which appear to be in some disrepair. The warrior behind Gebek at 17:32 into the episode appears to have a flat face where most of the others have make up covering the actor's lower face whereas the one visible at 19:06 appear to have just solid armour covering the lower face which I'm not sure any of the others did before.

And just why are the Ice Warriors using these odd upright hand weapons?

They've still got the sonic disrupters built into the forearms of the costumes and these new weapons produce the same effect the sonic disrupters always did. The Ice Warrior armour looks like it's had a repaint too and is a more vibrant dark green compared to the almost olive green used in Curse of Peladon.

I did enjoy Azaxyr's Judge Dredd impersonation here:

AZAXYR: I am not sure what to make of you, Doctor. I think perhaps it would be safer to accept Ortron's theory and execute you as a spy.
SARAH: You can't do that. We're not under your authority.
ALPHA: Federation regulations do not permit summary execution!
AZAXYR: Must I remind you yet again, Ambassador, here on Peladon I am the law! Yes, I think perhaps it would be safer to order your execution at once.
DOCTOR: Don't I even get a trial?
AZAXYR: Doctor, that was your trial.

Come to think of it there is a certain similarity in design between the helmets of the Mega City Lawman and the Ice Lord.....

So the Ice Warriors are back and that means two familiar acting names are back with us. Alan Bennion plays Commander Azaxyr just as he played Slaar in The Seeds of Death & Izlyr in The Curse of Peladon.

His chief lieutenant Sskel is played by Sonny Caldinez who's been in every Ice Warrior story playing Turoc in The Ice Warriors, an Ice Warrior in The Seeds of Death and Ssorg in The Curse of Peladon as well as the mute Kemel in The Evil of the Daleks. You can also see him in Roger Moore James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun as Kra, Hawaii Five-O as Code #42 in Nine Dragons, Raiders of the Lost Ark as the Mean Mongolian, Neverwhere as the Market man in Knightsbridge and The Fifth Element as Emperor Kodar Japhet.

Both Caldinez and Bennion are making their final Doctor Who appearances in this story.

As per Ssorg in the Curse of Peladon, Sskel's fleeting lines aren't delivered by the actor in the costume but rather by, uncredited, Doctor who's producer Barry Letts. Listen to Ssorg/Sskel, it's obvious when you realise, especially if you've ever heard Sonny Caldinez interviewed on the DVDs!

There's several extra Ice Warriors on screen:

Terrance Denville had previously been a double for Captain Blade in The Faceless Ones, a Cyberman in The Invasion, Foot Soldier & Alien Technician in The War Games, a Waxwork visitor/replica in Spearhead from Space, a Technician & UNIT Soldier in The Silurians, a UNIT trooper in The Three Doctors, a Cyberman again, briefly, in The Carnival of Monsters, a Guard in Frontier in Space, a Spiridon in Planet of the Daleks and an Exxilon in Death to the Daleks. This is his last Doctor Who role. He plays a Technician in Moonbase 3 Departure and Arrival, Behemoth and Outsider, appears as a Russian Security Council Member in the Pierce Brosnan James Bond film GoldenEye and appears in the Miranda episode Before I Die as an Old Man.

David Cleeve had been a UNIT Soldier in The Time Warrior He'll be back as a Thal Soldier/Guard in Genesis of the Daleks, a Radiation Suit Man in The Hand of Fear, An Other & Megro Guard in The Sun Makers and a Ceremonial Deon Guard in Meglos.

Kevin Moranhad been a UNIT Troop in The Time Monster, a Draconian in Frontier in Space. a Spiridon in Planet of the Daleks, an army soldier in Invasion of the Dinosaurs and an Exxilon in Death to the Daleks. He returns as a Soldier/Brethren Guest in The Masque of Mandragora. In Doomwatch he plays a man in Flood.

Alan Lenoir had been one of Irongron's men in The Time Warrior. In Doomwatch he's a Man in Flood.

So that's Sskell plus 4 warriors, which uses all five of the Ice Warrior costumes made for the original story: Varga, Turoc, Isbur, Rintan & Zondal. But the DWAS Production file thinks that one other supporting artist doubles as an Ice Warrior during part 3: One of Steve Ismay, David Rolfe, Pat Gorman or Tony Lord, all of whom play guards, played the role but nobody knows which one!

372 The Monster of Peladon Part Three

EPISODE: The Monster of Peladon: Part Three
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 372
STORY NUMBER: 073
TRANSMITTED: Saturday 06 April 1974
WRITER: Brian Hayles
DIRECTOR: Lennie Mayne
SCRIPT EDITOR: Terrance Dicks
PRODUCER: Barry Letts
RATINGS: 7.4 million viewers
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - Peladon Tales: Curse of Peladon & Monster of Peladon
EPISODE FORMAT: 625 video

"Well, as we were shoved down here to receive the verdict of Aggedor, I would say that the result is very much in our favour, wouldn't you?"

The Doctor once again calms his old friend Aggedor using a Venusian lullaby and they are released. Eckersley advises Alpha Centauri to summon Federation troops which he does. The Doctor advises Queen Thalira to negotiate with Gebek to help appease the miners and spread the benefits of Federation membership wider than the royal court. The Doctor isn't pleased that troops are coming and is interested in what Sarah saw in the refinery. Ortron arrests the Doctor when he tries to leave the citadel. Gebek & Ettis capture the sonic lance. Gebek helps free the Doctor. Ettis has taken the sonic lance to a nearby mountain top and aimed it at the citadel. Alpha Centauri receives a transmission that the Federation troops are coming. Finding their way to the refinery, the Doctor deactivates the alarm. Eckersley spots them and Sarah confesses that they think the Aggedor trickery is being run from the refinery. Ortron persuades the miners back to work, but as soon as they return they are attacked by the Aggedor apparition. Opening the refinery door the Doctor & Gebek find an Ice Warrior inside!

Ortron hasn't thought this through properly at all: The Doctor is the man that led Aggedor into the throne room 50 years ago so chances are they're going to get on ok in a pit together. Then, having submitted him to the judgement of Aggedor he finds he doesn't like the verdict so has him banged up again anyway. Deary me. Still the Ice Warriors are here now so things will get better won't they?

We've seen both main Peladon miners in Doctor Who before:

Ettis is played by Ralph Watson who was the Generator Scientist, also in The Underwater Menace, Captain Knight in The Web of Fear and will be Ben in Horror of Fang Rock. Porridge he plays the Pub Landlord in A Day Out. You can hear him interviewed in Who's Round 154

Rex Robinson, playing Gebek, was previously Doctor Tyler in the Three Doctors and will return as Dr. Carter in The Hand of Fear. All 3 of his appearances are directed by Lennie Mayne who evidently takes the Camfield/Letts approach to casting actors he knows and is comfortable working with! He was also in The Professionals as the Superintendent in Cry Wolf and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace as the Subway Engineer. You can hear Rex Robinson interviewed in Who's Round 45.

One of the miners, Rima, is played by the distinctive looking Roy Evans who was Trantis in The Daleks' Master Plan and Bert Pritchard in The Green Death. He was in Out of the Unknown as the Postman in the 1971 episode Deathday: that is one of four from the last series of that show which exists and it can be found on the Out of the Unknown DVD Set. He appears in Blake's 7 as a Slave in Redemption. In the 1980s he was in th original The Black Adder as Abel, A Blind Beggar / Dumb Peasant in The Archbishop, Witchsmeller Pursuivant and The Black Seal. Evans has credits on IMDB through to 2004 by which point he would have been 74 when he appeared on The Green Death DVD.

Preba is played by Graeme Eton who you can also see in The Professionals as the CI5 Mechanic in You'll Be All Right.

Onto the unnamed Miners:

On Doctor Who debut is John Cannon. He returns as the speaking part of Elgin in Hand of Fear, which gives us a clear look at him and makes him easy to identify elsewhere. He's then a Passerby and Audience/Stagehands/Doorman in Talons of Weng Chiang, a Trog in Underworld, a Technician in Pirate Planet, a Guard in Armageddon Factor, a Guard in Creature from the Pit, should have been the Executioner Prisoner in Shada, a Security Guard in Time-Flight, the Police Sergeant in Mawdryn Undead, The Shadow's Helmsman in Enlightenment and a Retainer in King's Demons. He was a Moonbase 3 Technician in Castor and Pollux and is a Prison Inmate in the Porridge episode A Night In. He was in The Sweeney twice as a Constable in Supersnout and a Policeman in Thou Shalt Not Kill, in which he's directed by Doctor Who director Douglas Camfield. In I, Claudius he's a Cake Ship slave in A Touch of Murder. His Blake's 7 are a Federation Trooper in Project Avalon, Cevedic's Heavy in Gambit, a Labourer in The Harvest of Kairos and a Federation Trooper in Children of Auron. He's in The Professionals as Huey in It's Only a Beautiful Picture and the same year plays a Holographic Imperial Officer in The Empire Strikes Back. Camfield uses him again as a Legionnaire in Beau Geste.

Christopher Holmes was a UNIT Soldier in Day of the Daleks, a Guard in The Time Monster, a Miner in The Monster of Peladon, a Muto in Genesis of the Daleks, a Traveller/Brother in The Masque of Mandragora, a Citizen in Full Circle, a Plasmaton in Time Flight, Ambril's attendant in Snakedance and a Genius in Time and the Rani. In Blake's 7 he was a Federation Trooper in The Way Back, a Prisoner in Space Fall, a Prisoner in Cygnus Alpha, a Mutoid in Duel & Project Avalon, a Star One Technician in Star One and a Hi-tech Patient in Powerplay.

Paul Phillips was an Egyptian Slave in Dalek Masterplan, a Scotsman in The Highlanders, a Scientist at Hospital in the Macra Terror, a Prison Guard & Prisoner in War Games, a Lab Tech Claws of Axos and a captured scientist in The Time Warrior. In Porridge he's a Prisoner in No Way Out, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin he's a Commuter in Hippopotamus and in I, Claudius he plays a Senator in Zeus, by Jove!

Roy Brent was a Firing Squad Member & Prison Sentry in The War Games, an Auton Hospital Porter in Spearhead from Space, a Control Room Assistant & UNIT Soldier in The Ambassadors of Death and a UNIT Soldier in The Claws of Axos He returns as one of the Collector’s Escort in The Sunmakers, a Shrieve in The Ribos Operation, a Guard in Creature from the Pit, a Skonnan Elder in Horns of the Nimon and a Resistance Fighter in Trial of a Timelord 5-8: Mindwarp. In Monty Python's Flying Circus he's an Armoured Knight in Njorl's Saga.

Bill Hayden also appears in Doomwatch as Mr. Duffy in The Inquest.

Tom O'Leary had been a Firing Squad Member, Prison Sergeant, a German Soldier, a Roman Soldiers and an Austro-Hungarian Officer in The War Games, a Gatekeeper & Military Policeman in Ambassadors of Death, and an Auton in Terror of the Autons. He returns as Albert Einstein in Time and the Rani.

One new Guard: Tony Lord returns as a Dead Crewman and Cyberman in Revenge of the Cybermen.

Queen Thalira's Handmaiden is Frances Pidgeon who returns as Miss Jackson in the Hand of Fear. She'd been in Doomwatch as a secretary in Public Enemy and High Mountain. Both her Doctor Who appearances and both her Doomwatch appearances are directed by Lennie Mayne, her husband.

Another returning actor from Curse of Peladon is Nick Hobbs, once again playing Aggedor. He'd previously been a Technician in The Ambassadors of Death, an RSF Sentry in Inferno, an Auton Daffodil Man in Terror of the Autons, an American Aide in The Mind of Evil, the Nuton Driver in The Claws of Axos, a U.N.I.T. Soldier in Day of the Daleks and a Guard in The Time Monster. He returns as a Wirrn Operator in The Ark in Space. In Space: 1999 he's a Security Guard in Space Warp while in Blake's 7 he plays a Hooded Figure in Cygnus Alpha before returning in New Doctor Who as Mr Nainby in Amy's Choice.

There's no location work at all in this story, something Monster of Peladon shares with only one of the other 23 Third Doctor tales: it's antecedent Curse of Peladon.

371 The Monster of Peladon Part Two

EPISODE: The Monster of Peladon: Part Two
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 371
STORY NUMBER: 073
TRANSMITTED: Saturday 30 March 1974
WRITER: Brian Hayles
DIRECTOR: Lennie Mayne
SCRIPT EDITOR: Terrance Dicks
PRODUCER: Barry Letts
RATINGS: 6.8 million viewers
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - Peladon Tales: Curse of Peladon & Monster of Peladon
EPISODE FORMAT: 625 video

"The decision is no longer yours or mine, your Majesty. The girl and the Doctor have gone to face the judgement of Aggedor!"

Gebek digs the Doctor out with Eckersley's sonic lance to dig the Doctor out. Hearing an alarm Sarah searches for the Doctor. The Doctor promises to help the miners. Lost in the tunnels Sarah glimpses someone in the Federation refinery but is attacked by it's defence system. The Doctor believes the Aggedor he's seen is a product of technological trickery. Eckersley & Alpha Centauri rescue Sarah with the shadowy figure again seen in the refinery. Ortron wants the miners revolt crushed and the Doctor, who he thinks is a traitor, killed. Alpha Centauri & Sarah are seized by Ettis and threatened to allow his miners access to the armoury and Federation weapons. Ettis takes Sarah as a hostage, and escaping she is seized by Ortron's guards. The Doctor comes to rescue her but he too is seized. They are both sentenced to be cast into a pit under the temple where they encounter Aggedor.

Those who remember Curse of Peladon may already have spotted the flaw in Orton's plan! Here's his claim in the previous episode:

ORTON: Right from the day Chancellor Hepesh died, I served your father loyally. I worked for the things he believed in. Progress, civilisation, the Federation.

Surely then he would have known how Hepesh died?

Apart from that ..... Oh dear, lets play the escape & recapture game again. I'm wondering if there's anyone out there who didn't know what it was in the refinery as it's absolutely obvious especially if you've seen the previous Peladon story.

I do worry that the guard helping his injured comrade outside the refinery, who I think is Guard Captain Terry Walsh, hadn't followed his direction too well as his manner of speech is modern English and doesn't fit with any of the other Peladon natives at all!

Plenty of other guards in the episode and story too:

We'll assume you know who Pat Gorman is! Last seen as a UNIT Corporal in Invasion of the Dinosaurs he's back as a Soldier in Planet of the Spiders. But just in case you don't, and since we've not had them yet this season, now's a good time for a ceremonial reading of his full Doctor Who credits: he was a Freedom Fighter/Rebel in Dalek Invasion of Earth, a Planetarian in Mission to the Unknown: Delegate Detective thinks he's Sentreal the black Christmas tree, a Greek Soldier in The Myth Makers, a Guard in Massacre, a Worker in The War Machines, a Monk in The Abominable Snowmen, a Guard in The Enemy of the World, a Cyberman in The Invasion, a Technician in The Seeds of Death, a Military Policeman in The War Games episode two, the Silurian Scientist in The Silurians, a Technician in The Ambassadors of Death, a Primord in Inferno, the Auton Leader in Terror of the Autons, a Primitive and Long in Colony in Space, a Coven Member in The Dæmons, a Guard & Film Cameraman in Day of the Daleks, a Sea Devil in The Sea Devils, a UNIT Soldier in The Three Doctors, a Presidential Guard and Sea Devil in in Frontier in Space, a Global Chemicals Guard / 'Nuthatch' Resident in The Green Death and -a UNIT Corporal in Invasion of the Dinosaurs He returns a Soldier in Planet of the Spiders, the Gate Guard in Robot part one, a Thal Soldier in Genesis of the Daleks, a Cyberman/Dead Crewman in Revenge of the Cybermen, a Guard in The Seeds of Doom, a Soldier/Brother in The Masque of Mandragora, a Chancellory Guard in The Deadly Assassin, a Medic in The Invisible Enemy, a Kro in The Ribos Operation, the Pilot in The Armageddon Factor, a Thug in City of Death part one, a Gundan in Warriors' Gate, a Foster in The Keeper of Traken, Grogan in Enlightenment, a Soldier in The Caves of Androzani, a Slave Worker and a Cyberman in Attack of the Cybermen. Of those it' easiest to spot his face in Abominable Snowmen, Planet of the Spiders, Robot and The Armageddon Factor! He's got several Blake's 7 appearances to his name as a Scavenger in Deliverance, Federation Trooper / Rebel in Voice from the Past, Trantinian planet hopper Captain in Gambit, Death Squad Trooper in Powerplay, Federation Trooper in The Harvest of Kyros & Rumours of Death, Hommik Warrior in Power, Helot in Traitor and a Federation Trooper in Games & Blake. We was also in Adam Adamant Lives! as a Guard in More Deadly Than the Sword, a Man at Club in Beauty Is an Ugly Word, a Coven Member in The Village of Evil, a War Office Guard / TA Soldier in D for Destruction and an S.S. Guard in A Sinister Sort of Service. He appears once in The Prisoner as a Hospital Orderly in Hammer Into Anvil and just once in Doomwatch as Man in Hear No Evil. His Porridge appearance in the second Christmas Special The Desperate Hours is another easy spot: he's the Prison Officer who comes into the loos as Fletcher and friends are sampling the contraband home brew. He was in two episodes of The Sweeney as a Flying Squad Officer in Thou Shalt Not Kill (director: D Camfield) & Latin Lady, and two The Tomorrow People stories: Worlds Away as the Vesh Hunter and War of the Empires as a US Marine. In the BBC The Day of the Triffids he played a Blind Man in episode 5 while in Douglas Camfield & Robert Holmes adaption of The Nightmare Man he played The Killer with Camfield using him again as a Legionnaire in Beau Geste. He was in The Professionals five times: as a Golfer in Killer with a Long Arm, a CI5 Agent in Close Quarters & Servant of Two Masters, a Security Man in Weekend in the Country and the Police Superintendent at inquest in Discovered in a Graveyard. He's a Policeman again in The Young Ones: Interesting and towards the end of his career Russell T Davies uses him in Dark Season as a Heavy.

Derek Chafer had been a Saxon in The Time Meddler, a Greek Soldier in The Myth Makers, a Guard in The Massacre, a Lynch Mob Member in The Gunfighters, a Cyberman in The Moonbase, a Guard in Fury from the Deep, a Cyberman in The Invasion, a Technician in Seeds of Death, an Issigri HQ Miner in The Space Pirates, a UNIT Soldier in Doctor Who and the Silurians episode, a Military Policeman & UNIT Soldier in Ambassadors of Death, a Prisoner in The Mind of Evil, a Primitive in Colony in Space, a Guard in The Curse of Peladon, a Warrior in The Mutants and an Exxilon in Death to the Daleks. He returns as a Soldier/Armourer/Brethren Guest in The Masque of Mandragora, a Leviathan Guard in Ribos Operation, a Gracht Guard in Androids of Tara, a Skonnan Elder in Horns of the Nimon, Doctor Body Parts/Pangol Doctor in The Leisure Hive and a Gundan in Warriors' Gate. And on the way the production paperwork will; spell his names several different ways! He was in Doomwatch as a man in Project Sahara, Re-Entry Forbidden & The Red Sky and played a man in the missing third season Out of the Unknown episode 1+1=1.5.

Regular extra Steve Ismay had been a BBC3 TV Crewmember in The Dæmons, a Guerilla & Stills Cameraman in Day of the Daleks, Sea Devil in The Sea Devils, Varan's Bodyguard in The Mutants a Presidential Guard in Frontier in Space and a Security Guard in The Green Death. So far he's been in every story this season playing a UNIT Soldier in The Time Warrior and an Army Soldier in Invasion of the Dinosaurs, an Exxilon and an Exxilon Zombie in Death to the Daleks and he completes this by playing a Metebelis 3 Guard in Planet of the Spiders! He then returns as a Guard in The Deadly Assassin, a Leviathan Guard in Ribos Operation, a Gracht Guard & one of Zadek's Guards in The Androids of Tara, would have been a "Space Monster" in Shada, possibly a Cyberman, then plays a Citizen in Full Circle, a Cyberman in Earthshock and a Security Guard in Time Flight. He had been Man in the Doomwatch episode The Islanders & Flood, and then appears in The Sweeney as a Policeman in Cover Story, a Driver in Golden Boy and a Villain in Stoppo Driver. In Porridge he played a Prison Warden in A Night In and a Gardener in Happy Release while in The Tomorrow People he was in a Vesh Rebel in Worlds Away and an SIS Sergeant in The Dirtiest Business. In Blake's 7 he plays a Scavenger in Deliverance, a Guard in Dawn of the Gods, a Convict in Moloch and a Hommik in Power.

Bob Blaine had previously been a Gatekeeper in Ambassadors of Death, an Auton Daffodil Man in Terror of the Autons, a Prisoner & UNIT Soldier in The Mind of Evil, a Colonist & IMC Guard in Colony in Space, a Chateau Guard in The Sea Devils, a UNIT Trooper in The Time Monster and an Exxilon in Death to the Daleks.

David Rolfe made his Doctor Who debut in the previous story as an Exxilon in Death to the Daleks. He's back as a Crew Member in Planet of Evil, a Courtier in The Masque of Mandragora, one of the Doctor's Body Parts & a Pangol/Doctor in The Leisure Hive.

Chris Hodge was previously an Airport Passenger in The Faceless Ones.

Somewhere in the miners this episode is stuntman Max Faulkner: he gets a speaking role later in the story. The story is that while Curse of Peladon is based on the UK's entry into the European Common Market, Monster is inspired by the Miner's strikes that occurred during the early 70s.

370 The Monster of Peladon Part One

EPISODE: The Monster of Peladon: Part One
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 370
STORY NUMBER: 073
TRANSMITTED: Saturday 23 March 1974
WRITER: Brian Hayles
DIRECTOR: Lennie Mayne
SCRIPT EDITOR: Terrance Dicks
PRODUCER: Barry Letts
RATINGS: 9.2 million viewers
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - Peladon Tales: Curse of Peladon & Monster of Peladon
EPISODE FORMAT: 625 video

"I've been meaning to pay a return visit to Peladon for ages!"

On the planet Peladon, miners are menaced by the spirit of Aggedor and Federation mining expert Vega Nexos is slain. The miners, fearing Aggedor, refuse to work and use Federation equipment which the Federation need them to use to mine enough Trisilicate to win their war with Galaxy Five. The Doctor & Sarah arrive and are chased by guards who think they're spies and then are arrested for violating the temple of Aggedor. They are taken to the throne room of Queen Thalira, the daughter of King Peladon, where they are recognised by the Doctor's old friend Alpha Centauri who vouches for them. Disgruntled miner Gebek comes to the citadel to speak with the Queen to put his view that the aliens should be sent home. Militant miner Ettis leads miners to the citadel to try and seize Federation weapons. They take engineer Eckersley hostage but the Doctor frees him and takes the captive Ettis to the Queen. Chancellor Ortron demands Ettis & Gebek's execution but the Doctor allows them to escape. The Doctor believes Aggedor's appearances are caused by trickery and asks to investigate. The Queen's champion Blor takes the Doctor to where the apparitions were seen but the miner Ettis sets off explosives sealing them in a cave. Aggedor appears and disintegrates Blor.

Back to Peladon we go. Same tunnels as before, but a new Queen on the throne and some disorder amongst the miners. Is this the first time that Doctor Who has done a direct sequel to a story? Not just brought the monsters back, but the same location and some of the same characters? Hmmm. Yes. Ish. Web of Fear is a sequel to the Abominable Snowman (Yeti & Travers) and The Invasion is in turn a direct sequel to Web of Fear, and the Auton stories Spearhead from Space & Terror of the Autons but none are quite the same league as this/

So as you'd expect with a direct sequel there's some returning personnel: Writer Brian Hayles & Director Lennie Mayne were both present for the earlier Curse of Peladon as were those responsible for Alpha Centauri:

Inside the Alpha Centauri costume is regular stunt man Stuart Fell. Curse of Peladon was his first credited appearance having previous been a UNIT soldier & Auton in Terror of the Autons, UNIT staff member & a photographer in The Mind of Evil and a UNIT Soldier & Axon in The Claws of Axos. He then appeared as a Guard, Sailor & Sea Devil in The Sea Devils and a Functionary in Carnival of Monsters, before appearing as Alpha Centauri again here. He goes on to play the Tramp in Planet of the Spiders part two, who the Doctor drives the hovercraft over, and a Guard later in the same story, a Wirrn Larvae & Wirrn in The Ark in Space, Double for Styre in The Sontaran Experiment, The Kraal in The Android Invasion part three, the Monster in The Brain of Morbius, Forking peasant / Guard / Acolyte in The Masque of Mandragora, a Policeman, Coolie & the Giant Rat in Talons of Weng Chiang, a Guard in The Sun Makers, a Sontaran in The Invasion of Time, a Shrivenzale in the Ribos Operation, Roga in State of Decay, a Castrovalvan Warrior in Castrovalva, a masked villager in The Visitation and a Cyberman in The Five Doctors plus he did stunts in Terror of the Autons, was fight arranger in The Talons of Weng-Chiang, more stunts in The Ribos Operation & Full Circle and served as fight arranger again in State of Decay. In Blake's 7 he was Dortmunn in Mission to Destiny, a Subterron in Project Avalon, a Goth Warrior in The Keeper, a Sarran in Aftermath, a Labourer in The Harvest of Kyros, a Guard in City at the Edge of the World, a Federation Trooper in Rumours of Death, a Guard in Moloch, a Gunman in Death-Watch, a Link in Terminal & Rescue and a Hommik Warrior in Power plus he was the stunt coordinator for Project Avalon, The Keeper, Aftermath, Volcano, The Harvest of Kyros, City at the Edge of the World, Rumours of Death, Moloch, Death-Watch, Terminal, Rescue & Power. He plays a man in the Doomwatch episode Spectre at the Feast. He's in The Empire Strikes Back as a Snowtrooper and does stunts in Return of the Jedi. He also does stunt work on the Roger Moore James Bond films For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy & A View to a Kill. And so much more.

Meanwhile the voice of Alpha Centauri is provided by Ysanne Churchman who also returns in the same role in The Monster of Peladon then voices some of the eponymous monsters in the Planet of the Spiders before returning in the new series episode Empress of Mars as Alpha Centauri's voice after a 40 year absence!. She's most famous for voicing Grace Archer, the character killed off in the Radio Soap Opera the night ITV was launched.

Shall we say we'll be seeing some more of Curse's cast before this story is out and leave it at that for now ;-)

Alpha Centauri's engineer friend Eckersley is played by Donald Gee who was Major Ian Warne in the awful Space Pirates, coincidentally the penultimate second Doctor story as this one is the penultimate Third Doctor story. He has a recurring role inWhatever Happened to the Likely Lads%3F as The Vicar and appears in Yes Minister as Reporter Alex Andrews in The Skeleton in the Cupboard.He played Radagast the Brown in the BBC Radio The Lord of the Rings alongside his Space Pirates co-star Jack May, who played General Hermack in the Doctor Who story, as Theoden. Other Doctor Who personnel involved include Gerard Murphy (Richard in Silver Nemesis) as the Narrator, Bill Nighy (the guide in Vincent & The Doctor) as Sam, David Collings (Mawdryn in Mawdryn Undead) as Legolas, Peter Howell (The Investigator in the Mutants) as Saruman, Philip Voss (Acomat in Marco Polo & Wahed in The Dominators) as the Lord of the Nazgûl, Michael Spice (the voice of Morbius in The Brain of Morbius and Magnus Greel in The Talons of Weng-Chiang) as A Nazgûl/Háma and Stephen Thorne (Azal in the Daemons, Omega in the Three Doctors and an Eldred in Hand of Fear) as Treebeard. It's fab, buy the CDs.

The slain Federation miner Vega Nexos, made famous by the Doctor Who cards given away with Weetabix in the 1970s is played by Gerald Taylor here making his final Doctor Who appearance. He first appeared in the sixth episode of Doctor Who, The Daleks part 2: The Survivors as a Dalek, a role he repeats in Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Chase, Mission to the Unknown, Dalek Masterplan, Power of the Daleks, Evil of the Daleks and the Dr. Who and the Daleks film. He was in The Web Planet as a Zarbi and The War Machines as a War Machine and the Voice of Wotan. His first on screen appearance as a human was as Damon's Assistant in The Underwater Menace and he can be seen again as the Baker's Man in The Dæmons. He's also in one of the currently missing Out of the Unknown second season episode The Naked Sun as a robot.

Playing Queen Thalira is Nina Thomas: she's in The Sweeney episode Tomorrow Man as Caroline.

Chancellor Ortron is played by Frank Gatliff. He's got an Out of This World on his CV playing The Commander in Pictures Don't Lie. He also appears in The Tomorrow People AS Father Martin O'Connor in Secret Weapon: Not Quite a Sleeping Beauty and Blake's 7 as Dastor in The Harvest of Kairos.

The Queen's Champion Blor is played by Michael Crane who returns as a Muto in Genesis of the Daleks. In Blake's 7 he's Mall in Powerplay.

Somewhere in this episode is Thalira's Guard Captain played by regular stuntman Terry Walsh. He was a Militiaman in The Smugglers, a Soldier in The Web of Fear, a UNIT Soldier in The Invasion, The Ambassadors of Death & Inferno, in the last of which he also played a Technician and an RSF Soldier, an Auton Policeman & Unit Soldier in Terror of the Autons, a UNIT Motorcyclist in The Mind of Evil, a Primitive, Colonist & IMC Guard Rogers in Colony in Space, Castle Guard Barclay & a Sea Devil in The Sea Devils, an Overlord Guard in The Mutants, the Window Cleaner in The Time Monster, a Guard in The Green Death, a Warehouse Looter in Invasion of the Dinosaurs and Jack, an Exxilon & a Zombie in Death to the Daleks. He returns as the Man with Boat in Planet of the Spiders, a Bouncer in Robot, Zake in The Sontaran Experiment, a Thal Soldier, Muto and Kaled Scientist in Genesis of the Daleks, a Vogan in Revenge of the Cybermen, a Crew Member in Planet of Evil, the Executioner in The Masque of Mandragora, a Horda Pit Guard in The Face of Evil, Mensch in The Power of Kroll and Doran in The Creature from the Pit.

Walsh stunt doubled for the Doctor in Inferno, Terror of the Autons, Day of the Daleks, Curse of Peladon, The Sea Devils, Carnival of Monsters, Frontier in Space, The Green Death, The Time Warrior, Death to the Daleks, Monster of Peladon, Planet of the Spiders, The Sontaran Experiment, Revenge of the Cybermen, Planet of Evil, The Android Invasion, The Seeds of Doom, The Deadly Assassin, The Face of Evil, The Androids of Tara, The Creature from the Pit. He was also the double for The Master in The Sea Devils, the Minotaur in the Time Monster, Mike Yates in The Green Death & Planet of the Spiders, Harry Sulivan in The Sontaran Experiment, Sorenson in Planet of Evil, Chancellor Goth in The Deadly Assassin, Count Grendel in The Androids of Tara and a Stuntman on Power of Kroll. He was Fight Aarranger for The Sea Devils, The Mutants, The Green Death, Death to the Daleks, Monster of Peladon, Planet of the Spiders, The Sontaran Experiment, The Android Invasion, The Seeds of Doom, The Deadly Assassin, The Face of Evil, The Androids of Tara & The Creature from the Pit. He also doubled for The Doctor in the Children In Need Spoof The Dimensions in Time and played the Duelling Guard and a Mercenary in The Ultimate Adventure where he also staged the fights.

He was also in the Adam Adamant Lives! episode - D for Destruction as Watts, which we like because it has Patrick Troughton and a load of control panels in it! In Space: 1999 he was Clan Guard in Journey to Where, the Rescue Eagle Pilot in The Mark of Archanon, a Technician in Space Warp and a Security Guard in The Seance Spectre. He was in Superman II as a KFC Man / French Officer and An American Werewolf in London as the Taxi Driver Who Crashes His Cab. He did stuntwork on The Italian Job, the Roger Moore James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, Superman, Superman III & Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Douglas Camfield & Robert Holmes' The Nightmare Man, the aforementioned An American Werewolf in London, Krull and Robin of Sherwood.

369 Death to the Daleks Part Four

EPISODE: Death to the Daleks: Part Four
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 369
STORY NUMBER: 072
TRANSMITTED: Saturday 16 March 1974
WRITER: Terry Nation
DIRECTOR: Michael Briant
SCRIPT EDITOR: Terrance Dicks
PRODUCER: Barry Letts
RATINGS: 9.5 million viewers
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - Death To The Daleks
EPISODE FORMAT: 625 video

"Fight it! It's an illusion! It's an illusion! You have no substance! No truth! You do not exist! You do not exist!"

The Doctor & Bellal penetrate deeper & deeper into the city passing more tests with the Daleks always one step behind them. As the Daleks destroy one of the traps they witness it restoring itself. The Doctor & Bellal's progress is being monitored when Bellal is taken under the hypnotic influence of the city and tried to attack the Doctor who breaks the hold. Galloway & Hamilton are ordered by the Daleks to climb the beacon to position explosives. Sarah & Jill substitute the stored Parrinium for sand. The Doctor believes they are being subjected to intelligence tests. The final test is a psychological assault which they survive permitting them to enter an inner control room where they find the body of an Exxilon sat at a control console. As they watch it crumbles away in the air current from the open door, the first to penetrate the room in centuries. The city creates anti-bodies to attack them. Hamilton & Galloway set their charges but Galloway retains one. A Dalek discovers Jill missing and self destructs. The Doctor attacks the city's electronic brain but is attacked by the anti-bodies who are quickly distracted by the arrival of the Daleks which allow the Doctor & Bellal to escape. Hamilton & Galloway are ordered to load the Parrinium onto the Dalek ship. The Doctor & Bellal are reunited with Jill & Sarah. The bomb explodes restoring the power supply to the Dalek ship. Galloway hides himself on the Dalek ship. The Daleks tell the Doctor they will fire a plague missile at the planet Exxilon once they are in orbit but Galloway uses the bomb to destroy the Dalek ship killing himself in the process. The Exxilon city crumbles away now it's cut off from power.

The Doctor mourns the city's loss realising the universe is down to 799 wonders.

What is that Dalek on guard duty doing?

DALEK: Human female has escaped. I have failed! Female prisoner has escaped! I have failed! I have failed! Self destruct! I have failed! Destruct! I have failed! Destruct! Failed! Failed! Failed! I, I, I, I, I.

Why oh why does it self destruct when it finds that Jill has escaped?. Deary me. Oh. It's our first "brave the series of traps to reach the inner sanctum".

We started the journey into the city in this last episode but The Doctor & Bellal's trials are mostly contained in this episode.

Bar the Doctor's instinctive reaction to the floor trap at the end of the previous episode I don't have a problem with the idea of the brain teasing tests and traps here.

What I have a problem with is it's repetition wholesale in years to come: It's there in the last episode of the Pyramids of Mars, albeit there with some decent reasoning, the last episode of the Hand of Fear, where we even get an ancient observer at a console crumbling away to dust when disturbed, and the Five Doctor which contains a modified version of the electrified floor seen here.

I'm not sure who's idea it was. Terry Nation's, because he wrote the script? Maybe. But Script Editor Terrance Dicks is responsible for the lifting of the floor sequence in Five Doctors and by this point he's being shadowed by his successor Robert Holmes who wrote Pyramids of Mars and script edited it & Hand of Fear.

BELLAL: Doctor!
DOCTOR: What is it?
BELLAL: Doctor, come here!
DOCTOR: What is it?
BELLAL: Look!
DOCTOR: We haven't got much time.
BELLAL: What is it? What's happening?
DOCTOR: The city is creating antibodies. They're trying to neutralise us. Now keep a very close eye on them. Let me know the moment they're complete.

There's two antibodies seen onscreen. One is series stuntman Terry Walsh and you can see all his credits in part one where he briefly played the spaceman Jack.

His companion is regular extra Steve Ismay who had been a BBC3 TV Crewmember in The Dæmons, a Guerilla & Stills Cameraman in Day of the Daleks, Sea Devil in The Sea Devils, Varan's Bodyguard in The Mutants a Presidential Guard in Frontier in Space and a Security Guard in The Green Death. He's in every story this season playing a UNIT Soldier in The Time Warrior and an Army Soldier in Invasion of the Dinosaurs before this story followed by a Guard in The Monster of Peladon & a Metebelis 3 Guard in Planet of the Spiders! He then returns as a Guard in The Deadly Assassin, a Leviathan Guard in Ribos Operation, a Gracht Guard & one of Zadek's Guards in The Androids of Tara, would have been a "Space Monster" in Shada, possibly a Cyberman, then plays a Citizen in Full Circle, a Cyberman in Earthshock and a Security Guard in Time Flight. He had been Man in the Doomwatch episode The Islanders & Flood, and then appears in The Sweeney as a Policeman in Cover Story, a Driver in Golden Boy and a Villain in Stoppo Driver. In Porridge he played a Prison Warden in A Night In and a Gardener in Happy Release while in The Tomorrow People he was in a Vesh Rebel in Worlds Away and an SIS Sergeant in The Dirtiest Business. In Blake's 7 he plays a Scavenger in Deliverance, a Guard in Dawn of the Gods, a Convict in Moloch and a Hommik in Power.

There's a lovely touch as the power comes back on following the destruction of the beacon: as the lights come up in the Dalek ship the familiar Dalek control room noise starts. Fabulous.

We've also got a rather nasty insinuation towards the end of the episode:

DOCTOR: Well, don't prolong the agony. It's obvious you mean to kill us. Why don't you get on with it?
DALEK: It is not necessary. You will perish with the rest of the creatures.
DOCTOR: Well, what had you in mind?
DALEK: We have all the parrinium we need. With it, we can force the space powers to accede to our demands. If they do not, millions of people on the outer planets will perish.
HAMILTON: Don't you think Earth will send another mission? Now that the power barrier has been broken, we could have another ship here in less than a month.
DOCTOR: I imagine the Daleks have already taken that into account, Peter.
DALEK: Correct. When our ship is in space, we will fire a plague missile on to the surface of this planet. The plague will destroy

The Daleks intend to contaminate Exxilon by firing a plague missile at the planet. They have form for similar behaviour in Dalek Invasion of Earth, with a plague preceding the invasion:

CRADDOCK: Well, meteorites came first. The Earth was bombarded with them about ten years ago. A cosmic storm, the scientists called it. The meteorites stopped, everything settled down, and then people began to die of this new kind of plague.
DOCTOR: Yes, that explains your poster, dear boy. Germ bombs, hmm?
CRADDOCK: Yes. The Daleks were up in the sky just waiting for Earth to get weaker. Whole continents of people were wiped out. Asia, Africa, South America. They used to say the Earth had a smell of death about it.

Then there's the very nasty virus they created in Planet of the Daleks.

DALEK: The bacteria are multiplying.
DALEK SCIENTIST: We have calculated that after the release of the culture into the atmosphere, it will totally contaminate the planet within the space of one Spiridon day.
DALEK: All plant life will wither and die.
DALEK SCIENTIST: All unimmunised animal life will die within one hour of inhaling the contaminated air.
LEADER: Approved. Continue with preparations.
DALEK: The most virulent form of the bacteria will be ready for release in half a Spiridon day.

So can we then assume that they're the ones responsible for the plague inflicting the galaxy?

It's not a bad Dalek story truth be told: They're devious and nasty plus they look the best the have done in colour so far. It's almost a shame they revert back to the grey in their next appearance from the silver they use here.

This is also the last time until Remembrance of the Daleks that we see them operating without the command or influence of Davros hanging over them.

Novelised by Terrance Dicks in 1978 Death to the Daleks appeared after the novelisation of the subsequent Dalek story, Genesis of the Daleks. The cover to this book was used as a poster by Target in the mid 1980s. Death to the Daleks was the second Pertwee story issued on video tape in 1987, following Day of the Daleks, and was the first story to be issued at the budget price of £9.99, previous releases having cost in the region of £25. It was the last remaining complete Dalek story to be released on DVD.