The Monster of Peladon

073 – The Monster of Peladon
Doctor Who serial
The Ice Warrior leader, Commander Azaxyr, demands the trisilicate the Galactic Federation needs.
Cast
Doctor Jon Pertwee (Third Doctor)
Companion Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith)
Others Nina Thomas — Queen Thalira Frank Gatliff — Chancellor Ortron Rex Robinson — Gebek Ralph Watson — Ettis Graeme Eton — Preba Michael Crane — Blor Terry Walsh — Guard Captain Max Faulkner, Roy Evans — Miners Nick Hobbs — Aggedor Donald Gee — Eckersley Stuart Fell — Body of Alpha Centauri Ysanne Churchman — Voice of Alpha Centauri Alan Bennion — Azaxyr Sonny Caldinez — Sskel Gerald Taylor — Vega Nexos
Production
Writer	Brian Hayles
Director	Lennie Mayne
Script editor	Terrance Dicks
Producer	Barry Letts
Executive producer(s)	None
Production code	YYY
Series	Season 11
Length	6 episodes, 25 minutes each
Originally broadcast	23 March – 27 April 1974
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → Death to the Daleks Planet of the Spiders

The Monster of Peladon is the fourth serial of the eleventh season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 23 March to 27 April 1974.

Plot

On the planet Peladon a power struggle is in place between the trisilicate miners and the ruling class, with miners under the leadership of Gebek and hot-headed Ettis calling for improved conditions. The planet’s ruler Queen Thalira, daughter of the late King Peladon, is sympathetic, but knows her planet is vital to supply the war effort of the Galactic Federation of which it is a member. The Federation is in conflict with the warlike Galaxy Five confederation. The Pels become concerned when a vision of Aggedor, the royal beast, starts appearing in the mines and killing miners, including the alien engineer Vega Nexos. Chancellor Ortron tries to convince the Queen this is a sign of displeasure at the alien presence on the planet, but she remains unconvinced.

Another alien presence reaches the Citadel: the TARDIS, bearing the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith. He recalls his visit to Peladon fifty years earlier when the planet joined the Galactic Federation, and is pleased to find a familiar face in Alpha Centauri, the Federation Ambassador. The Queen knows of the Doctor from her father and enlists his support in trying to find the cause of the manifestations of Aggedor. He guesses someone is deliberately trying to interrupt trisilicate production, and they seem to have succeeded when the miners decide to strike. Ettis then leads an attack on the Federation armoury and gets weapons for the striking miners. This looks like damaging trisilicate supplies even further, so Engineer Eckersley, a human in charge of the refinery, sends for Federation troops to help restore order.

Both the miners and the Pel leaders are unhappy with the notion of Federation occupation, especially when the Ice Warrior force displays its ruthlessness in shooting down Pels. The sole concern of the force leader, Commander Azaxyr, is to maintain trisilicate production. There is now a realignment in Pel politics: Ortron and Gebek join forces in seeking to rid the planet of the Martians. Ettis, however, has become crazed and is killed trying to blow up the Citadel. The Ice Warriors now impose martial law on the capital, imprisoning the Queen and her courtiers, and even killing Ortron when he tries to flee.

The truth is now revealed: Azaxyr and Eckersley are both Galaxy Five agents and have engineered the crisis and occupation as a means to control the trisilicate supply. The Aggedor apparition was just an image created to support the panic. Gebek now leads the Pels in a final assault on the Ice Warriors, and Azaxyr and the other invaders are killed. Eckersley himself is killed by the real Aggedor when he attacks the Queen, though sadly the beast dies in the process. News now reaches Peladon that Galaxy Five has capitulated, its Peladon stratagem exhausted, and Queen Thalira seeks to repair Pel society when she appoints Gebek her new Chancellor. As ever, the Doctor and Sarah slip away quietly.

Continuity

This story is a sequel to The Curse of Peladon, and features same themes. Sarah Jane refers to these events in the serials The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith and Death of the Doctor in the spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures.

The Fifth Doctor returns to Peladon in the Big Finish audio play The Bride of Peladon. The Third Doctor visits the planet again in the Big Finish Companion Chronicles story The Prisoner of Peladon.

Production

Serial details by episode

Episode	Broadcast date	Run time	Viewership (in millions)	Archive
"Part One"	23 March 1974 (1974-03-23)	24:59	9.2	PAL 2" colour videotape
"Part Two"	30 March 1974 (1974-03-30)	23:26	6.8	PAL 2" colour videotape
"Part Three"	6 April 1974 (1974-04-06)	24:47	7.4	PAL 2" colour videotape
"Part Four"	13 April 1974 (1974-04-13)	24:50	7.2	PAL 2" colour videotape
"Part Five"	20 April 1974 (1974-04-20)	23:56	7.5	PAL 2" colour videotape
"Part Six"	27 April 1974 (1974-04-27)	23:48	8.1	PAL 2" colour videotape

The mineral was named Trisilicate because Barry Letts saw it listed on the back of a tube of Boots Toothpaste as one of the ingredients.

Cast notes

The character played by Roy Evans is credited as 'Miner' on-screen, but is named as Rima in dialogue – and is also credited as such in the Radio Times.

In print

A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in December 1980.

Doctor Who book
Doctor Who and the Monster of Peladon
Series	Target novelisations
Release number	43
Writer	Terrance Dicks
Publisher	Target Books
Cover artist	Steve Kyte
ISBN	0-426-20132-9
Release date	4 December 1980
Preceded by	'
Followed by	'

VHS, DVD and CD release

The serial was released on VHS on 27 December 1995. It was released on Audio CD with linking narration by Elisabeth Sladen, on 3 March 2008. The Monster of Peladon was released on DVD on 18 January 2010 in a boxset entitled 'Peladon Tales', along with The Curse of Peladon.

External links

• The Monster of Peladon at BBC Online
• The Monster of Peladon at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel)
• The Monster of Peladon at the Doctor Who Reference Guide

Fan reviews

• The Monster of Peladon reviews at Outpost Gallifrey
• The Monster of Peladon reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide

Target novelisation

• On Target — Doctor Who and the Monster of Peladon