The Monster of Peladon
| 073 - The Monster of Peladon | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cast | |||
| Production | |||
| Directed by | Lennie Mayne | ||
| Written by | Brian Hayles | ||
| Script editor | Terrance Dicks | ||
| Produced by | Barry Letts | ||
| Executive producer(s) | None | ||
| Production code | YYY | ||
| Series | Season 11 | ||
| Running time | 6 episodes, 25 mins each | ||
| First broadcast | March 23–April 27, 1974 | ||
| Chronology | |||
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The Monster of Peladon is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from March 23 to April 27, 1974.
Synopsis
The Third Doctor returns, this time with Sarah, to the planet Peladon, where once again the sacred beast Aggedor casts its shadow. Also present are the Ice Warriors, but whose side are they really on?
Plot
Template:Spoiler 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 remain 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 his 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 strategem 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.
Cast
- Doctor Who — Jon Pertwee
- Sarah Jane Smith — Elisabeth Sladen
- Queen Thalira — Nina Thomas
- Chancellor Ortron — Frank Gatliff
- Gebek — Rex Robinson
- Ettis — Ralph Watson
- Preba — Graeme Eton
- Blor — Michael Crane
- Guard Captain — Terry Walsh
- Miners — Max Faulkner, Roy Evans
- Aggedor — Nick Hobbs
- Eckersley — Donald Gee
- Body of Alpha Centauri — Stuart Fell
- Voice of Alpha Centauri — Ysanne Churchman
- Commander Azaxyr — Alan Bennion
- Sskel — Sonny Caldinez
- Vega Nexos — Gerald Taylor
In print
A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in December 1980.
Continuity
This story is a sequel to The Curse of Peladon, and features some of the same characters and themes. This marked the second time Doctor Who returned to an alien planet previously shown on the programme: the first was in The Evil of the Daleks, when the Doctor returned to the Daleks' home planet of Skaro, although that journey was via the Daleks' time cabinet. The Monster of Peladon is the first time the TARDIS returns to a previously visited planet other than Earth.
Video release
The serial was released on VHS on 27 December 1995.