096: SoraRabbit Watches: Doctor Who Season Seven

Welcome back to my ongoing coverage of the entire Doctor Who series! I was hoping to get to this sooner but other projects kept getting in the way. Regardless, we’re here now to continue our long journey through all of Doctor Who.

So far 50 serials and 253 episodes have been discussed! Here are the previous posts in the series:

Doctor Who Season One

Doctor Who Season Two

Doctor Who Season Three

Doctor Who Season Four

Doctor Who Season Five

Doctor Who Season Six

Doctor Who Season Seven aired on the BBC in 1970 and consisted of 25 episodes over 4 serials. This is the shortest season so far, and this marks the beginning of shorter seasons going forward.

As always, this post will consist of somewhat brief plot summaries, omitting and abbreviating details, and reordering some things to eliminate a lot of back and forth scene changes. What follows is still spoiler-heavy if that sort of thing bothers you.

For those unversed, Doctor Who is a ridiculously long-running science fiction series with a built-in gimmick. Every time the main star decides to leave, they can recast him with a new actor, but keep the same character. Typically, the Doctor would travel through space and time with a continually-changing cast of companions . . . but that has changed now. More on that soon.

This season is a huge reboot for the series. The first, and most obvious change is that we’re finally in color! That’s right, the era of black-and-white is finally over! Also, if you recall, the previous season ended with another regeneration by the Doctor, but we did not get to see what form he was taking. He’d also sent his companions home. This means we get an all-new cast. (Of course there are two familiar faces that crop up…) Also, due to the events of last season, the Doctor is now exiled to Earth rather than buzzing about time and space. This means the entirety of the season (and several more to come) are set fully on Earth in the then-modern time of 1970. As you can imagine, this limits the story possibilities.

Also of great import is the fact that we're out of the era of reconstructions! At one time there were 36 episodes missing from various serials of the next five seasons, but as of now they've all been recovered in some form. So it's all live action from here on out! In a recent development, two of the missing episodes from The Dalek’s Master Plan in Season 3 have been found, so it’s possible that some day all the missing episodes will be back in the hands of fans.

Let’s take a look at some of the characters and villains we’ll be seeing this time.

The Third Doctor: This is the third incarnation of the mysterious Doctor that we have met. This version has a distinct sense of style and is a bit more charming than the previous versions. He’s also more action-oriented, able to run and hide more easily, and not afraid to use martial arts to defend himself.

Liz Shaw: The latest in a long line of rotating companions for the Doctor. She is a civilian scientist recruited by UNIT. She is an expert in meteorites, physics, and many other subjects. She is highly skeptical of aliens and the paranormal, but bonds with the Doctor over science.

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart: We met this character in Season 5 and saw him again in Season 6. He is a constantly helpful and loyal man, a great leader. He is the head of UNIT and takes a no-nonsense attitude but keeps an open mind when things dip into the unexplained.

Sergeant Benton: Another returning face from Season 6. He’s gotten a promotion (from Corporal) and now serves as the Brigadier’s right-hand man.

UNIT: The United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. A group dedicated to observation and investigation of supernatural and strange occurrences headed by the Brigadier.

Autons: Sophisticated plastic human replicas used by the Nestenes to invade Earth. They have disintegrator rays built into their hands. There are a variety of Autons that are perfect human duplicates that even replicate their mannerisms and memories, but the majority of them seem to be mass produced and mindless, resembling store mannequins.

The Nestenes: A race of nearly indestructible aliens that conquer planets all over the universe. They can live as formless consciousness or create bodies for themselves. It’s unclear if they are the creators of the Autons or just using them for their invasions. These are minor villains, but I did find out that they return once in the modern era, so they’re worth mentioning here.

I do like their design. (Credit: BBC TV)

Silurians: Claiming to be the original rulers of Earth billions of years ago, the Silurians are a revived race of bipedal intelligent lizard creatures. They had a highly advanced civilization with a tendency to exterminate any races that could challenge their dominance. Most of them only attack in self-defense, however. They have a third eye that can paralyze someone with pain, activate their machinery, and cut through walls.

The Doctor arrives on Earth. Again. (Credit: BBC TV)

The first serial of Season Seven ran from Episode 254 to 257 and was called Spearhead From Space. This serial picks up where the previous one left off, with the Doctor forced into a new regeneration by the Time Lords, who have exiled him to Earth for an unspecified amount of time. It reintroduces UNIT to the series and the character of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

Episode 1: A tracking technician detects a strange object coming closer to Earth. His boss thinks they're meteorites but the guy has doubts. The TARDIS materializes. The Doctor, in his new form, comes out of the door and immediately falls to the ground. We then follow a woman named Dr. Elizabeth Shaw as she meets with Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. The Brigadier explains to her what UNIT is all about, as well as the increase in alien and paranormal activity as of late. His theory is that Earth is sending probes out into space and they drew attention to themselves. He also recaps his previous two meetings with the Doctor. He explains that the main reason they're recruiting her is because of some strange meteorites which have been descending to Earth without burning up in the atmosphere. Their meeting is cut short by a call from Captain Monro who reports that a strange man has been taken to a local hospital and there was a police box found in a field near him. This gets the Brigadier's attention and they rush to meet with the Doctor.

While this is going on, the Doctor's doctor learns that his strange new patient has a bizarre cardiovascular system, strange lungs, an unknown blood type, and two hearts. The doctor (not our doctor, the other one) enters the smallest hallway imaginable to call the X-Ray department. A janitor overhears the conversation and sneaks off to alert the press, hoping to make money off the story. By the time Brigadier and Liz get there, the lobby is packed with reporters who are very interested to see UNIT is on the scene. (Apparently they have a reputation.) A suspicious-looking man watches in the background.

The Brigadier doesn't recognize the Doctor, but the Doctor remembers him. He asks for a mirror and is at first shocked by his new appearance. Then he decides he looks "rather distinctive". The Doctor pretends to sleep and his doctor orders the Brigadier and Liz to leave. The Brigadier orders Monro to get the Doctor to the London HQ as soon as possible. After they leave, the Doctor gets his shoes back so he can get the TARDIS key he'd put in there.

A grubby man in a field digs up a glowing stone and hides it in his bag. He's shooed away by members of UNIT, who were ordered to guard the TARDIS. Two men dressed as orderlies come in, karate chop the doctor, and kidnap the Doctor. (Man this is confusing. Too many doctors.) The shady-looking man is driving their car. Before they can get him loaded into the ambulance, the Doctor wheels away in his wheelchair, setting everyone off on a chase. He ditches everyone near the pasture, but then is seemingly shot by a member of UNIT.

The most narrow hallway ever. (Credit: BBC TV)

As a quick side note, the hospital is very strange. It looks more like a government building or something. There are strangely cramped hallways, like the one shown above. There was an open shower in the lounge or break room which seems like an odd choice, but I don’t know enough about British culture in 1970 to not say that’s a normal setup. I can’t imagine showering while my coworkers watch and drink coffee. Also, I have no idea why the Doctor’s costume was being stored there. Was one of their patients a stage magician? Very odd stuff.

Episode 2: The bullet just grazed his scalp, yet back at the hospital, the doctor can find no brain activity in the Doctor. (I hope he doesn't often need medical attention. This is annoying to recap.) He put himself into a self-induced coma. The Brigadier is given the Doctor's key and orders the TARDIS be brought back to HQ. We then cut to a confused toy designer named John at a doll factory asking his boss why he got fired and why his workshop is now marked off-limits. His boss sends him away, acting strange. The creepy-looking guy from last episode is lurking around too.

Back at UNIT, Liz is analyzing the shell of the meteorite that the men found, determining that's it's been manufactured, possibly plastic. At the doll factory, the creepy man finally talks, stating that two energy modules are missing, it's too dangerous to go near the man at the hospital, and energy is a form of life. The grubby man examines his meteorite/module and it sends out a signal, which is heard by a freaky but well-dressed gold dude in the woods. The Doctor is almost caught sneaking out of the hospital and quickly strips to take a shower as misdirection. After this, he gets dressed up all fancy in a velvet jacket, frilly shirt, and a cape. (This becomes his trademark outfit.) He drives off in a jalopy. UNIT is bringing the other meteorite back to HQ when they're forced off the road by the weird gold dude.

The Doctor arrives at UNIT HQ and demands to see the Brigadier. He explains that his watch can track the TARDIS wherever it is. The Brigadier was unable to open the TARDIS with the key, but the Doctor says it will work for him. (In previous seasons we learned there was a trick to turning it just right.) He says that his new face has grown on him and he has amnesia. He's able to remember the Brigadier, the TARDIS, and the planet Delphon for some reason, so it's only partial amnesia. He meets Liz and they get along immediately. He agrees to help them with the meteorite problem in exchange for the key. John sneaks back into the factory and finds his workshop is filled with strange machinery and gold mannequins. One starts walking towards him and the episode ends.

The Doctor is hard at work. (Credit: BBC TV)

Episode 3: The mannequin has a gun in his hand and John barely gets away. The military was meeting with creepy guy Channing and the the factory boss Hibbert. They're making a model of him, which I'm sure won't be used for nefarious purposes. We learn that the mannequins are called Autons. John warns two UNIT guards, who contact the Brigadier. Liz and the Doctor are having trouble analyzing the meteorite shell and he says they need better equipment, which he thinks he may have in the TARDIS. He explains the TARDIS to the skeptical Liz, calling it "dimensionally transcendental", which is a cool way to put it. He hatches a plan to have Liz get the key back from the Brigadier. The scruffy guy— Seeley— tries to sell the meteorite he dug up to UNIT Captain Munro.

While John explains the Autons to Lethbridge-Stewart, Liz swipes the TARDIS key from his desk. John says that the plastic factory is automated and he thinks they're making those freaky dummies. The Brigadier, already noticing the key is missing, confronts Liz and says the Doctor is going to get away. The TARDIS fires up but stops again, smoking. The Doctor realizes that he's indeed stuck on Earth as the Timelords said. (They changed the dematerialization code.) He apologizes for trying to escape and promises not to trick them again. While Seeley is detained by UNIT, his wife Meg snoops and finds the meteorite, instantly alerting the gold Auton. The Brigadier, Monro, the Doctor, and Liz all rush to Seeley's house. Meg shoots the Auton with a shotgun, which has no effect. It knocks her out and starts searching for the meteorite.

UNIT attacks the Auton and Channing recalls him, saying it's too early for a battle. The meteorite, which Channing calls the "swarm leader" is taken into UNIT custody. While they were gone, an Auton kills John, vaporizing him. Thinking he was taken to the plastic factory, the Doctor suggests they go investigate it. Hibbert claims they just make dolls and mannequins there and John was lying about everything else. The Brigadier, recognizing Channing, gets authority from Major-General Scobie to raid the factory. But right after, Scobie opens his door to find an Auton that looks just like him.

The little black hole in this thing opens and closes rhythmically. (Credit: BBC TV)

Episode 4: The Doctor tests the swarm leader and finds it's just a container and there's something inside it that has intelligence. He believes it’s a consciousness that needs a vessel. The fake Scobie calls and tells the Brigadier to leave the plastic factory alone. When the Doctor finds out a replica was made of the General, he and Liz investigate Madame Tussauds to find replicas mostly of political and military leaders. Suspicious of the fact that the General's replica has a wound wristwatch, the Doctor comes back later and determines that it's the real General, frozen somehow.

At the plastic factory, Channing reveals a tank with a strange alien which looks suspiciously like a butthole. (See above screenshot.) He claims it's the perfect vessel for the swarm leader. He mentions all the replicas will be activated soon. He sends the General Scobie's replica to confiscate the meteorite from UNIT. At the waxworks, Channing senses the Doctor's presence as he tries to get through to Hibbert, telling him to fight Channing's mind control. Channing puts the meteorite in the body to complete it and threatens Hibbert with disintegration. The Brigadier, hearing of what's been going on, decides to go over the General’s head and raid the factory. The Doctor and Liz work hard on a strange device to combat the Autons.

Morning comes and the Autons are activated. They leave the waxworks and shop windows and start killing people and seizing police stations and communications. The Doctor announces his device can stop them and the Brigadier sends a group of UNIT soldiers to help him get into the factory. Hibbert breaks free of the mind control and tries to destroy the tank with a metal bar. Channing reveals that he is from an alien race known as the Nastene who have been colonizing planets for a thousand million years. (Which is a billion? Why not say a billion?) Channing orders Hibbert be disintegrated. The Doctor turns on his machine and kills General Scobie's replica, showing it was an Auton. He and Liz knock out more of them while UNIT battles the encroaching Autons.

They confront Channing, who says the Nestene cannot be killed. The Doctor's device stops working and while Liz works on it, the Doctor is attacked by the tentacle monster coming from the tank. Liz figures out the problem with the device (the cord had come loose) and the Nestene is destroyed. Without it, all the Autons collapse, including Channing, who turns out was an Auton all along.

Back at UNIT HQ, the Doctor reveals that his device was basically just an Electroconvulsive Therapy device. He agrees to work with UNIT as Science Advisor in exchange for parts to fix the TARDIS and the assistance of Dr. Shaw. The Brigadier also promises to find clothes and a car similar to what the Doctor "borrowed" from the hospital. He asks the Doctor's name, to which the Doctor says Doctor John Smith. (Which, if you recall, is the alias given to him by Jamie in Season Five.)

Thoughts: The serial that started off the season was our introduction to the new Doctor, his new companion, and a new status quo for the series. While the pacing is a little slow, this was a good start to the season and a good introduction to our new Doctor. I liked the Mulder/Scully relationship that the Brigadier and Liz fell in to from the start. While I had my doubts on how the new format would work, this serial shows it's possible to keep the Doctor centralized in one location. Although they set up the Nestenes as a possible recurring threat, they didn’t return until modern-day Doctor Who. They did appear a lot in the ancillary media, however. I liked the new Doctor right away (although I still miss the Second Doctor) and having the show in color is a much-needed upgrade.

The Doctor is about to go spelunking. (Credit: BBC TV)

The second serial ran from Episode 258 to 264 and was called Doctor Who and the Silurians. This serial is about the discovery of a race of advanced beings that preceded humans on Earth and the conflict that arises when they reawaken.

Fun fact: this is one of the few references in the actual series of the term “Doctor Who”. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the character is not actually called Doctor Who, just “The Doctor”. This appears to have been done as a mistake behind the scenes due to changes in the production team, as many serials had “Doctor Who and… ” as part of the working titles. The titles would normally be changed before the serials aired. This is also the first appearance of the Doctor’s car Bessie, which continues to appear throughout the season. Bessie has a license plate that reads "WHO 1".

Episode 1: Two workers are attacked by a reptilian creature in a cave. At UNIT HQ, the Doctor is working on his new car. Liz doubts he'll get it working and tells him the Brigadier has ordered them to report for a briefing. He doesn't want to go until he hears there will be caves to visit. They drive over in his car. The atomic research center is in a cave and the Director, Doctor Lawrence, explains that they're trying to find ways to produce cheap atomic energy using a new kind of nuclear reactor. The Doctor is unimpressed. They're having unexplained power leakages and a lot of employee problems. Baker, head of security, tells the Brigadier that he believes someone on the inside is sabotaging the project. The Doctor, who can't find his Sonic Screwdriver, investigates the cyclotron with Liz and the second in command of the facility, Dr. Quinn. Quinn mentions the workers from the beginning and that he thinks things are being covered up. One was killed and the other was injured. The Doctor finds that the energy log has missing pages.

They insist on seeing Spencer, the survivor of the attack, who is drawing on the walls and tries to choke the Doctor. Back in the cyclotron, Miss Dawson, who works there, tells Dr. Quinn that they need to stop "them" from taking the power or at least tell the Brigadier. He refuses, saying the potential knowledge they could gain is worth any risk. The Doctor tells the Brigadier that Spencer is drawing cave drawings on his wall. There is a power failure and one of the technicians, Roberts, goes crazy and tries to kill Dawson. The Doctor manages to stabalize the reactor in time.

Liz discovers that the mental breakdowns have been happening in the cyclotron and also mentions she felt a sort of oppression or terror while she was in there. They decide it only effects some people. The Doctor believes it's the caves causing it. The man who died had a fractured skull and claw marks on his side. The Doctor explores the caves and follows a roaring sound, discovering a dinosaur.

Have you seen this alien? (Credit: BBC TV)

Episode 2: A weird beeping noise sounds and the dinosaur leaves. The Brigadier is planning a daring rescue when he learns the Doctor is in the caves, but the Doctor returns before they can go after him. The Brigadier scoffs at the idea of a dinosaur, but Baker thinks that someone created a fake to scare the researchers off. The Doctor leads a small group (Liz was ordered to stay behind) into the caves to show them the footprint he found. It's gone, but they hear rumbling sounds. Baker separates from them, chasing a figure and shoots at it, firing over its head. The bullet ricochets and hits it. It runs off and the dinosaur attacks Baker, knocking him unconscious. The sound calls it off, so no one else sees it, but they find the blood from the figure. The wounded reptilian creature exits the caves and hides in a barn.

The Doctor tests the blood and finds it's similar to reptiles, but hides his results from the Brigadier. He theorizes that the smaller creatures are intelligent and control the larger dinosaur. He suspects they may not be hostile. Quinn sneaks off to the caves, which upsets Lawrence and forces Dawson to cover for him. Quinn enters a metal door and is in a high-tech room. He talks with a voice and demands they stop taking power, at least until UNIT leaves. The creature refuses, saying that they can't make their own power yet and one of their kind was wounded. Quinn will not be given their scientific secrets until the wounded one is brought back. He's given a summoning device and sent on his way.

The Doctor finds nothing wrong with the reactor and suggests that something outside is affecting it. He says they have to close the base, but Lawrence refuses. A farmer discovers the creature and is killed. The Doctor realizes that the claw marks were from the smaller creature and the farmer actually died of heart failure from shock. His wife was hospitalized and the Doctor draws a creature similar to what Spencer was drawing. She is scared of it and says it's in the barn. Liz was left to do forensic tests and is attacked by the creature.

Episode 3: The creature knocks Liz out and bars the barn door. Quinn tells Dawson about his mission and when he hears about the barn, he races off. The Doctor and friends break into the barn but the creature escaped. Liz comes to and says that the creature was a reptile-man. The Doctor hides this intel from Quinn, who is acting suspiciously. After he leaves, Liz points out that he went out of his way to visit the barn. UNIT searches for the creature and turns up nothing. Quinn is spotted using his summoning device and the Brigadier and the Doctor hear a noise like they heard in the cave. They find the tracks of the creature, which the Doctor confirms are smaller than the tracks he saw, and must belong to a biped. They also see tire tracks. Quinn had found the creature and drove off. The Doctor stops by his cottage and Quinn acts all shady, rushing him out the door. The Doctor comments on how hot he keeps it in his house, like a reptile house in a zoo.

Back at the research base, Liz and the Doctor search Quinn's office, finding a model of the Earth from two hundred million years ago. The Doctor identifies this as the "Silurian era". He almost gets Dawson to spill what she knows but is interrupted by the Brigadier. She rushes to warn Quinn and implore him to reveal the truth. He refuses, saying that he's going to hold the wounded creature hostage until he gets the scientific knowledge he wants. Baker leaves medical bay and demands they search the caves immediately, which the Brigadier agrees with and the Doctor does not. Lawrence says he's almost out of time because he's called someone to come and kick UNIT off the base. The Doctor goes back to Quinn's cottage and finds Quinn dead, holding his summoning device. The Doctor activates it and the creature enters the room.

The Doctor practices diplomacy. (Credit: BBC TV)

Episode 4: Before the Silurian can attack the Doctor, he says hello and offers his hand. The alien is calmed. Before the Doctor can get any information from it, a car drives by, scaring it away. Back at the base, Baker knocks out his guard and escapes. He goes to the caves, almost immediately getting captured by Silurians. The Doctor continues hiding the truth from the Brigadier, but explains what happened to Liz, stressing that the creature only attacked her because it felt threatened and wanted to escape. Using Quinn's map, they explore the caves. Liz insists on coming with, despite the Doctor's protests. The cave is strangely warm and there are pools of acidic bubbling water all around. They hide from a Silurian and use Quinn's device to open the door we saw Quinn go through two episodes ago. Inside are several Silurians going about their business and Baker in a cell. They've been treating him well, just asking pointed questions about humans and their weaponry. There's a humming noise and a Silurian is being revived from hibernation, which the Doctor thinks may be causing the power loss. They sneak away, telling Baker to keep cooperating, and come across the dinosaur. Baker is questioned but refuses to say anything about weapons. The younger Silurian thinks the humans should be killed, but the older one wants to study them.

Back at the base, the cyclotron is breaking down and Quinn and Dawson are nowhere to be found. Lawrence meets with Masters, the Permanent Under-Secretary. Masters wants to shut down the whole thing, but Lawrence blames UNIT's interference. Masters refuses to withdraw UNIT or send reinforcements. The Doctor appears and explains what's been happening. Lawrence, of course, doesn't believe him, but the Brigadier does. The Doctor asks them to hold off on attacking and offers to be an ambassador. Dawson arrives and reveals that she knew all about them and one killed Quinn. They start planning an attack, so the Doctor sneaks off to meet with the Silurians alone to warn them.

This doesn't go well. They cage the Doctor and refuse to meet the humans in peace. They say the planet belongs to them and the humans stole it. UNIT gets lost in the caves and trapped by a wall. The younger Silurian tells the Doctor that they destroyed the soldiers and now they'll destroy him. He emits a high-pitched noise and his third eye glows red. The Doctor is wracked with pain.

Episode 5: The older Silurian stops the torture and is also mad that the soldiers were trapped. UNIT worries that they may run out of air and are unable to radio for help. One of them, Robins, starts cracking up. He draws on the wall and tries to choke another of the men. The Doctor convinces the Silurian leader to let him out, warning that the humans have greater weapons than they think. The leader explains that they hid underground because a planet was about to crash into the Earth. The Doctor explains this was just the moon. Their hibernation system failed and they only awakened because of the cyclotron. The Doctor convinces the Silurian leader to release UNIT and allow him to speak on their behalf, to find a warm place where they can live in peace. The leader agrees, angering the younger Silurian. Baker awakens and shouts that the Doctor is a traitor, revealing all their secrets to the enemy.

While all this is going on, Liz shows Masters the Doctor's work, which impresses him. They realize UNIT is trapped and it may be because the Doctor snuck down to the caves. The younger Silurian threatens the scientist Silurian's life, forcing him to hand over some bacteria that they used to kill monkeys with. Baker tries to escape, but is recaptured and infected by the bacteria before being released. The leader tells the Doctor there is no cure, but gives him some of the bacteria to experiment with. As Masters and Lawrence argue about how to proceed, the Brigadier returns and says the Doctor is in danger. Baker arrives and says the Doctor is a traitor and they have to attack. The Doctor arrives also, revealing that Baker is infected with a disease that can wipe out humanity. He has open sores on his wrist and is sweating.

The young Silurian kills the leader with his third eye. The Doctor convinces everyone to let him work on a cure and continue to broker peace. Masters decides to shut down the cyclotron despite Lawrence's complaints. Masters plans to leave for London, but shows signs of illness, which no one notices. The Doctor and the Brigadier rush to get Baker out of the hospital and into quarantine, but they arrive at the hospital just in time to see him collapse, dead. The Doctor warns that he's only the first victim.

Let’s get this party started. (Credit: BBC TV)

Episode 6: The Doctor works up an inoculation for the bacteria, but Dawson and some hospital staff are ill. They scramble to find Masters before he spreads the disease. The Brigadier is preparing for battle, but the Doctor holds out hope that peace could still be possible. Lawrence is continuing to be a little bitch and refuses to believe there's even a disease. He avoids getting vaccinated. The Silurians realize that the humans aren't all dead and decide they have to capture the Doctor so he can't cure them. The Doctor continues trying to find a full cure. In London, thanks to Masters, people start falling in the streets. Masters also dies. Lawrence has gotten sick, Liz has to get inoculated again, and the disease has spread to Paris. The Doctor is having trouble finding the right combination of drugs. Lawrence goes berserk and attacks the Brigadier before collapsing, dead. The Doctor finally gets the cure and as he rushes to transcribe it, two Silurians break through the wall and attack him with their third eyes. He collapses.

Episode 7: The Silurians cart the Doctor away, killing a UNIT guard in the process. As the Brigadier deals with red tape, Liz finds that the Doctor is missing. The Brigadier orders an evacuation and plans an attack. The Silurians are angered that the antidote was discovered and decide to make the planet uninhabitable using the cyclotron and also revive all the rest of the Silurians. They take the Doctor back to the center to reactivate the generator. He says he needs Liz's help and he will refuse if they keep killing people. They have a device that will eliminate the Van Allen Belt, raising the global temperature to a point that will kill all the humans.

With Liz's help, the Doctor overloads the reactor and tells them it's about to explode, filling the caves with radiation. The Silurians rush to get back into hibernation, but have to leave one of them awake. The new leader volunteers, telling the scientist that when the pods revive them in 50 years, he will be the next leader. The Silurians had jammed the elevators, so the Doctor has to forcefully shut down the reactor to save them all. He sneaks back to the caves to inspect the hibernation pods, intending to start reviving Silurians one at a time so that he can reason with them and learn from their scientific advancements. The Brigadier doesn't like that idea. The Silurian leader realizes the Doctor tricked them and resolves to revive his people and continue their plan. Before he kills the Doctor, the Brigadier shoots him in the back.

As soon as the Doctor and Liz leave, the Brigadier orders the Silurian base to be detonated. The cave-in kills the Silurian leader, who had come to and was trying to revive his people early. The Doctor realizes what happened. Liz says she didn't know, but assumes the Brigadier had orders from the government. The Doctor grimly tells Liz that the Brigadier just murdered a whole race of beings.

Thoughts: This serial was fine, although it slowed around Episode 3 and 4 before picking back up. (Although very little happened in Episode 6 either.) Like many of the longer serials, it could have been punched up by combining and eliminating scenes to cut it down by an episode or two. I feel like Liz was under-utilized, continually being told to stay behind and left to do her own thing while the Doctor investigated alone. The Silurians looked fine despite the low budget costumes. I think they actually had an interesting design. But their voices were excessively silly. (They were strangely modulated and sounded cartoony.) I do like the angle of two highly intelligent species, unable to come to terms and striking out in fear.

Some of the writing could have used work. They forgot to explain why people were going crazy. It almost seemed like the proximity to the Silurians were causing some people to retrograde to the state of primal humans, but this plot thread was never resolved or elaborated on. The dinosaur was similarly not elaborated on... I assume that it was in hibernation while the rest of the Silurians were, and was probably put back under since it was not shown again.

Also, a fun side note, the Silurians state their new hibernation will last 50 years. The next episode to feature them did end up occurring 50 years later, in 2020.

The third serial spanned Episode 265 to 271 and was called The Ambassadors of Death. This serial is about a probe to Mars and the disappearance of the astronauts on the mission.

Episode 1: Mars Probe 7 has been missing for seven months after taking off from Mars. The Brigadier is assisting Professor Cornish from Space Centre as they televise the attempts to make contact using an astronaut who was sent up to investigate. While this is going on, the Doctor is working on his Time Vector Generator using the TARDIS control console. He accidentally sends Liz fifteen seconds into the future. When he goes to check on her, he gets caught in the time field as well and jumps forward. To Liz it appears as though the Doctor disappeared and she stayed where she was. He explains that's because he wasn't in the future with her yet, which confuses her. The Brigadier is on TV and the Doctor is still mad about the Silurian genocide.

The astronaut locates the probe but can't make contact. He boards it and a horrible noise sounds. They lose contact with him. The Doctor recognizes the sound but doesn't remember the specifics. He and Liz rush to Space Centre in Bessie. He barges in, butting heads with Cornish, explaining that the signal is a message and it will repeat. After it does, they hear a different signal, which the Doctor states is a reply coming from Earth. They triangulate it and figure out it's coming from an abandoned warehouse in London. UNIT arrives and we see the signal is coming from two men. A third comes in, referred to as the Sergeant. He and his men start firing on UNIT, killing several men. The Sergeant and the Brigadier go one on one until the Brigadier is disarmed. The Sergeant has the opportunity to shoot the Brigadier, but drops his gun and surrenders. The other men escape, causing their communication device to self destruct.

Back at the Space Centre, the Doctor is having trouble with Taltalian, one of the other Doctors who works there. He has been barring the Doctor from using the computers. Cornish reports that a solar flare is building up, which will kill anyone who still remains alive on the probe. The controls are on manual, so they can't bring it down remotely. Taltalian sneaks up behind the Doctor and Liz, drawing a gun on them.

This Doctor knows magic. (Credit: BBC TV)

Episode 2: Taltalian demands the tape of the signal, causing the Doctor to realize he understood the message. He refuses to hand it over, making it disappear. Taltalian escapes and UNIT starts searching for him. Once he leaves, the tape returns in the Doctor's hand. Liz asks if he sent it into the future, but he claimed he transmigrated it, not elaborating further. He and the Brigadier interrogate the Sergeant, getting no information from him. Although the Doctor does realize that he's military and likely hired by the people who sent the reply message. The shuttles have separated and the recovery capsule is reentering the atmosphere, although there's still no radio contact.

Someone sneaks in and frees the Sergeant. Liz and a scientist named Dobson analyze the tape and Liz realizes Taltalian sabotaged the computers. Cornish remotely controls the capsule, landing it safely. The rush to make contact with the astronauts. They don't respond and have locked the capsule from the inside. They arrange to take it back to the Space Centre but are waylaid by the evil men from last episode. They drop smoke grenades from a helicopter and steal the capsule. They have strange guns that appear to shoot air. The Doctor, who had been following in Bessie, stops them in the road, pretending to be stuck. He has them push Bessie but magnetizes it so they're stuck to it. He steals the capsule back.

Liz has determined the patterns in the message and it appears to be a pictograph. We see that Dobson seems to be working for Taltalian. The Doctor and the Brigadier report to the Minister for Technology, Sir James Quinlan, that there is a mole in the Space Centre. He is dismissive about this and when they leave he opens a door where Taltalian was hiding. They're worried that the Doctor is close to finding their secret. The team finally gets a response from the astronauts, who don't appear to understand that they've landed. All they will respond with is "We are not cleared for re-entry." The Doctor suggests they cut open the capsule.

Episode 3: They open the craft and you probably already guessed this. Inside are no astronauts, just a tape recorder. The Doctor determines that someone took them out before they got the capsule. Liz finds that the inside is radioactive. General Carrington, the head of the Space Security Department, was the one who removed the astronauts. He orders that they be submitted to more radiation to keep them alive. Quinlan introduces the Doctor to the General, who insists he's trying to protect the astronauts. Everything that has happened so far was ordered by the General. The coded messages indicated to him that there was an emergency and Taltalian was ordered to keep them from figuring out the code. The coded message was about the probe passing through an unexpected radiation belt. The radiation is a previously unknown type, which is contagious and could destroy all mankind if not contained.

Before they can be brought to the astronauts, a criminal named Reegan abducts them, killing all the guards and scientists. The men Reegan ordered to guard the astronauts die of radiation exposure and are disposed of in a gravel pit. The Doctor and Liz figure out that the astronauts couldn't possibly have survived the levels of radiation they were exposed to, so the suits have to contain aliens. The real astronauts are still in orbit in the Mars probe. Cornish tries to organize another rescue, but Quinlan keeps blocking his efforts. Reegan and his scientist, Lennox, try the cure the aliens of the radiation, which weakens them. Both suited figures are almost killed before they figure out the aliens need the radiation to live. Reegan's boss thinks the Doctor and Liz are getting in the way, so they try to lure them to the gravel pit to examine the bodies with a fake message from the Brigadier. Liz goes, but the Doctor stays behind to help with the rescue. Liz ends up having a car chase in Bessie. She gets out to try to get away and while fighting off the men, she falls over a bridge railing.

Episode 4: The men pull Liz back up before she falls. The Brigadier is leading a search for Liz, the General thinks there are foreign agents at work, and the Doctor butts heads with him, insisting they need to rescue to astronauts. The Doctor receives a message threatening to kill Liz if he doesn't stop interfering. He doesn't stop. Liz helps Lennox with the radiation levels. When they're alone, Lennox helps Liz escape. The Doctor finally decodes the message and starts building the device it indicates. He also accuses Taltalian of still being a spy. Not shockingly, he is a spy. He takes a device, which turns out to be the same kind that the Doctor is building, which controls the aliens. He also picks up Liz while she was hitchhiking and brings her back to Reegan. Taltalian relays the orders to make the aliens conduct some raids and also that the Doctor needs to be eliminated before he builds his own control device. Reegan gives Taltalian a briefcase bomb to kill the Doctor, saying it's set for 15 minutes but actually sets it to zero.

Cornish is still being blocked at every attempt to send the rocket up. The Doctor volunteers, explaining he's spent plenty of time in space. Cornish reluctantly agrees. The Doctor thinks he's convinced Taltalian to reveal everything in exchange for amnesty, but the duplicitous man attempts to kill the Doctor, blowing himself up with the briefcase instead. The Doctor finds that he had one of the devices. Liz is forced to demonstrate the control device to Reegan. Quinlan is shown to be working with the General and they believe if the Doctor goes up in the rocket it will have dire consequences. Quinlan asks the Doctor to come to his office so he can tell him the truth and convince him to stay. Before he can, an alien astronaut comes into his office and kills him, destroying the contents of his safe. The Doctor find Quinlan dead, and while he's checking on him, the alien comes up behind him.

Episode 5: The Brigadier arrives in the nick of time and shoots the alien, which does nothing. The alien does escape, killing another UNIT soldier and sealing the door. Looking at the spent bullets, the Doctor determines they were flattened on impact by a force field. Cornish tells the Doctor that they're working on concocting some fuel to get around Quilan's attempts to stop their rescue mission. He has reviewed the medical testing the Doctor underwent and is amazed by the results. The Doctor brushes this aside, not wanting to discuss his alien physiology. Back at the lab, the astronaut/alien collapses upon returning and is reradiated. Reegan is thrilled by the rampage and Liz is horrified. She uses this to convince Lennox to escape and get help from UNIT. After arguing a lot and Liz working to persuade the guard, Lennox finally relents and escapes.

Carrington demands they send a nuclear warhead up in the capsule instead of the Doctor to stop what appears to be an alien invasion with foreign collaborators. Despite Carrington's attempts to stop them, they move the launch of the capsule up. Sergeant Benton informs the Brigadier that Lennox has come to inform on the villains. He's put into a locked cell for his safety. Back at the lab Reegan is pissed and the guard blames Liz. Reegan holds a gun to her head and demands to know where Lennox has gone. After she tells him, Reegan calls someone and tells them to take care of Lennox. While the Doctor is bored by the slowness of preparing for space travel, there is a lengthy sequence of a man sneaking around the launch site, knocking out guards and turning valves. The end result is that too much of the experimental fuel was put in, putting the Doctor in danger of being blown out of the Earth's orbit and into the sun. The Brigadier, after learning this, is too late to stop the launch. Meanwhile, someone smuggles a radioactive isotope in to Lennox in his food tray. No one hears his calls for help.

The Doctor can't manually control the fuel burn and so he suggests they jettison stage 1 of the rocket early. Cornish is concerned with this, but does it and that gets the burn under control. The Doctor calmly makes his way to Mars Probe Seven, docks, and prepares to board it. Before he can, he's warned that a UFO is on coarse to collide with him. He looks out the window and sees a disc-shaped craft looming in on him.

I love the cheap special effects. (Credit: BBC TV)

Episode 6: An ominous voice tells the Doctor to leave his capsule and to not worry, an environment has been prepared, so he'll be able to breathe. In the next room he finds the three missing astronauts, sitting around chatting and watching sports on TV. They're convinced they're on Earth in quarantine and won't believe otherwise. They're hypnotized by the voice who explains their minds will deteriorate if they knew the truth. The alien (who looks like a mummy hiding behind a venetian blind) demands the return of their ambassadors or the Earth will be destroyed. He says an agreement was made. Back on Earth, Carrington is planning an attack on the alien ship, which is a half mile in diameter. Cornish and the Brigadier hold out hope that the Doctor is still alive and can figure something out.

On the ship, the Doctor is shocked by the revelation that the aliens were ambassadors and insists no one on Earth could have known that. The alien is sure someone must know. It agrees to let the Doctor go back and secure the return of the ambassadors, but the astronauts will remain as hostages until then. The Brigadier converses with Cornish, telling him somehow Lennox was killed in their own HQ. The men in the gravel pit were petty thugs and Taltalian was killed by a top secret bomb. So this leads them to agree with the Doctor's theory that there is a conspiracy. Liz sees one of the Ambassadors without his helmet and now knows they're aliens. His face looks all melty. Reegan says that he no longer cares what his boss wants, since he has the aliens now. He also mentions Lennox is dead and offers Liz his old job under threat of death.

The Doctor makes contact with the Space Centre but goes radio silence when pressed for details. He says it's not safe to explain over radio. He lands and Reegan sabotages the decontamination by pumping in gas. He kidnaps the Doctor and brings him back to the lab, falsely reporting to his boss that he's dead. Carrington is trying to pin everything on the Doctor, claiming he faked his kidnapping. Reegan, ignoring the Doctor’s pleas to release the ambassadors, demands he build a translation device so they can communicate with the aliens. The Doctor plans to send a message to the Brigadier with his list of materials he needs for the device. They're interrupted by Carrington, who bursts in, declares he's the boss and pulls a gun on the Doctor.

Okay, this is a better alien design. (Credit: BBC TV)

Episode 7: Of course, Reegan arrives in time to stop his boss from shooting the Doctor. He convinces Carrington to spare the Doctor so he can build the translator for them. Carrington's plot is to reveal the aliens as hostile and stop them before they can invade. The Doctor explains they're just ambassadors and they're peaceful. Carrington first encountered them on his own mission to Mars where they touched and killed his fellow astronaut. The Doctor maintains that they likely didn't know their touch would be fatal. Carrington says Quinlan wasn't in on it and believes he's saving the world by turning the public against the aliens.

The Space Centre's satellite is disintegrated by the alien ship. Carrington sends Reegan and two of the aliens to raid the isotope stores while he takes the other with him, alerting the Brigadier that he's captured one of the aliens. The raid is completed with no killing, only radiation injuries. Carrington tells the Brigadier this proves the aliens are dangerous and there are human traitors helping them. He again blames the Doctor. He prepares to broadcast the alien removing his helmet on television to cause public panic. Meanwhile, the Doctor finishes his device but pretends it's not working as he taps a message over the radio waves in Morse code. UNIT picks it up and locates him. The Doctor finishes the translator and the ambassadors ask why they're being held prisoner and forced to kill. They came in peace. Reegan is pleased he can communicate with them so he can threaten them more easily.

The head alien contacts the Space Centre and warns them that they're running out of time to return the ambassadors. Carrington, learning of the Doctor's message, arrests the Brigadier and his men, taking over Space Centre. The Brigadier escapes and has to drive Bessie to the lab where the Doctor and Liz are being held. The Brigadier saves them, killing the guard and injuring Reegan. They take the Ambassadors to the Space Centre. No one can talk Carrington out of his broadcast and even Cornish is arrested. They arrive just in time to stop the broadcast and the General is arrested. The ambassadors are to be returned to the alien ship so the astronauts can finally come home. The Doctor stops himself before shaking the alien’s hand.

Thoughts: This serial was interesting, but had the usual pacing issues. All the twisting dials and radio contact with space shuttles, the extended capsule transport scene, things like that could have been compressed or cut altogether. Taltalian had a really over-the-top fake French accent which kept making me chuckle. Some of the special effects on this serial were pretty cool, like with the alien ship, the viewscreens, and the like. Still low budget, but creative. Carrington's motivations were reasonable, but his plan really makes no sense if you think about it too long. The cliffhangers seemed tacked on, though. Lots of getting guns pulled on them, facing aliens, and Liz falling off the bridge, just for the resolution to fizzle in the opening seconds of the next episode. It felt forced in a way it doesn’t usually feel.

Long stretches of this serial reverted to black and white due to problems with the recordings. The entirety of Episode 4 was in black and white.

And I'm glad that they mentioned the Silurians. That was a nice bit of continuity. It seemed like a real important stressor for the relationship and trust between the Doctor and the Brigadier, so it would have been a pity if it had been ignored in this serial.

The fourth and final serial of Season Seven ran from Episode 272 to 278 and was called Inferno. This serial is about a doomed government project to penetrate the Earth's crust. It also, for the first time, touches on the concept of parallel universes.

Something wrong with this guy. (Credit: BBC TV)

Episode 1: A maintenance worker named Slocum inspects a pipe at a drilling center nicknamed the Inferno. There is a green substance coming from the pipe and when he touches it, he's burned, his hand turns green, and he wanders off in a trance. When someone tries to check on him, Slocum kills him with a wrench. Inside the center are Sir Keith, the director of the project, the head scientist Professor Stahlman, and the Professor's assistant, Dr. Petra Williams. To sum up the workplace drama, Keith is concerned for everyone's safety, Stahlman just wants to get his project done no matter the danger, and Williams is overworked and harassed. Keith has sent for an expert in oil drilling, a man named Sutton who has no idea why he's there but who immediately flirts with, and is snubbed by, Williams. The Doctor and UNIT are there also, in their usual capacity of guarding and advising. UNIT is investigating the murder, which Stahlman doesn't feel is his problem. He also instantly dislikes the Doctor, which is no surprise for the way this season has been going. The project is to drill down to the Earth's crust and release gas (which Stahlman has named after himself) to use as an energy source.

The Doctor and Liz are up to secret experiments in a shed using nuclear power to jump start the control console from the TARDIS. While they're testing, Slocum-- who's now grown fur and claws-- enters the nuclear power room, knocking out a scientist, and throws a switch. There is a surge of power, which feeds too much power into the console. The Doctor vanishes for a bit, finding himself hurtling through a black void while clinging to the console. Liz, after some trouble, gets the power switches turned off and the Doctor returns. He has no idea where he was but is determined to find out. Back in the center, the drill is smoking due to the power surge and Keith puts them at red alert, which Stahlman countermands. He refuses to stop the drill. Williams rushes to check the coolant and Sutton is an absolute dick to her, telling her it's too dangerous and that she's stupid, things like that. He has a weird way of flirting.

The Doctor and Liz rush to find out what's happening and the Brigadier tells them there's been another murder. While the others try to fix the power controls, the Doctor and the Brigadier investigate the new murder, coming face to face with the mutated Slocum.

The Brigadier is evil now. (Credit: BBC TV)

Episode 2: The Doctor tries to calm Slocum. In the ensuing struggle, a UNIT private named Wyatt is injured but shoots Slocum twice. The controls are hot to the touch, but the Doctor manages to get them turned off and Slocum dies. The Doctor comments on his resilience and how long he survived after being shot. He also notes the body is still hot. The scientist and private are alive, but catatonic. Stahlman refuses to stop the drilling. The Doctor tells the Brigadier that there was some sort of retrogression of Slocum's cells that caused him to become an animal, but he doubts the process was finished. He mentions that he heard sounds like the creature made back during the volcanic eruption of Krakatoa in 1883. Their discussion is interrupted by Wyatt, who has also started turning into a creature. The Doctor tries to calm him but is attacked. Wyatt falls off the railing and hits the ground, dying. The Doctor warns them not to touch the body. Unnoticed, the scientist who had been attacked walks off in a trance.

Back in the Center, Stahlman wants to increase the speed of the drilling despite the danger. Keith and Sutton have a vial of the green goo from the pipe. It's been kept in a reinforced box and is too hot to touch. The Brigadier pulls the reluctant Stahlman away to suggest they shut the whole process down to investigate the murders. The Doctor examines the vial and tells Liz that he wishes he could hear the substance, because he thinks it would let out a scream. She shows him something on the computers. Stahlman refuses to listen to the Brigadier and the Doctor walks in asking if he's going to keep ignoring what the computers are telling them. The readings say they need to stop the drilling. Stahlman says the computer readings are faulty. The goo is trying to escape the vial. Stahlman grabs it and puts it back in the box, ordering them to freeze it. The Doctor tells him he shouldn't have touched it. Angry at the Doctor's perceived interference, he orders the power supply to his lab cut off. While he's not looking, the Doctor turns it back on.

Stahlman's hand is turning green. He sneakily removes a circuit from the computer. The Doctor catches him trying to destroy the circuit and uses Venusian aikido to paralyze him. Stahlman manages to hide the circuit to throw the Brigadier off his trail and destroys it once he's alone. Back in the lab, Liz has fixed the tri-gamma circuits. The Doctor sends her off to run some tests on the computer. Once she's back in the center, the Brigadier explains the computer is broken and the Doctor knew that. Liz realizes she's been tricked and they rush back to the lab in time to see the Doctor and the console start to dematerialize. Stahlman, trying to increase the drilling rate, notices the nuclear power surge and shuts off the Doctor's power. The Doctor, the console, and Bessie all disappear.

Episode 3: Since Stahlman disconnected the power, Liz can't bring the Doctor back. The Brigadier insists he reconnect the power but he refuses. He also refuses to stop the acceleration of the experiment. He hides his green hand with a glove but seems to be getting more irritable. Which is saying a lot. The man’s default setting is blustery anger. The Doctor awakens seemingly where he left from, but his key won't open the door and there is a strange poster on the wall saying "Unity is Strength". He gets out of the shed but is immediately shot at. The Doctor speeds away in Bessie, pursued by armed soldiers. He gives them the slip by hiding in a garbage can. Continuing to flee, he is confronted by one of the bestial men. He subdues the man with a fire extinguisher. He's attacked by another beast, who's shot by the soldiers.

After this he runs into Liz, but now she's a brunette and doesn't know him. He's taken to the Brigadier, who's gone full Nick Fury (eye patch and all) who suspects he's a spy. The Doctor figures out he's somehow ended up in a parallel dimension where things are slightly different. Liz is no longer a scientist and is instead Section Leader. Lethbridge-Stuart is Brigade Leader and much colder and more ruthless. In this dimension, UNIT is the Republican Security Forces. The royal family was killed and replaced by a group called the Republic. Liz reports that no record is found of the Doctor in their Central Records. This version of Stahlman is also a jerk, and hiding a green hand. There is a leak in a drill head and everyone goes on alert. In the ruckus, the Doctor slips away and tries to fix the computer, which this Stahlman also sabotaged. Benton arrives and holds a gun on the Doctor, ordering him to leave the building as his firing squad is ready.

Episode 4: Liz intervenes and allows the Doctor to fix the computer. To Stahlman's outrage, he informs them the drill is overheating and to fix it, they will have to create a reverse vortex at the bottom of the shaft. Sutton and Williams have somehow continued their romantic/antagonistic roles from the other dimension. The Doctor learns that this Liz almost became a scientist as well, but made different choices. She and the Brigadier interrogate the Doctor, during which he says the TARDIS usually lets him travel forward and backward, but this time it slipped him sideways in time. Stahlman demands he be killed, but the Brigadier needs to know if he's a spy first. The Doctor tells them that Stahlman was infected by the green goo and will eventually be overtaken by it. We check back in briefly with the Doctor's main universe, where they've been unable to locate him. Sir Keith is preparing to take his concerns to the minister, but is afraid they won't be able to stop the drilling.

After being transferred to a cell, the Doctor finds one of the beast men has regained consciousness in the neighboring cell. It kills the guard, bends the bars, and attacks the Doctor, who manages to escape. After a chase, he infiltrates the control room and tries to shut down the drill, but the Brigadier catches him. He's held at gunpoint and implores them to stop the drilling. He says that terrible things will happen if the countdown is allowed to reach zero, that the Earth is retaliating against them. Sutton tries to help him escape, but he's caught again. The countdown reaches one as the episode ends.

Episode 5: When the drill reaches "penetration zero" everything starts shaking. (They talk about penetration a lot in this serial.) Stahlman runs in without a suit and the Doctor says that he'll be fine due to his condition. He and Sutton go in wearing protective suits, but Stahlman tries to kill Sutton. The two escape and Stahlman seals the drill room off. He starts making the trapped technicians into beasts like him. Things are exploding, the green goo is bubbling out, and the Doctor gravely informs them all that there is nothing that can be done at this point. The world is going to shake itself apart. It’s too late to reverse it, even if they filled in the shaft. The Brigade Leader is in charge now and most of the workers have escaped. A beast attacks them and bullets are useless. The Doctor kills it with a fire extinguisher, saying that they're weak to the cold.

Everybody is losing hope, but Dr. Williams keeps trying to fix the computer. The Doctor tells them that while this world is doomed, he could still use their nuclear reactor to get home and save that Earth. Liz believes him, but the Brigade Leader scoffs at it. The Doctor uses the power reserves in the TARDIS console to move himself forward in time a few seconds to prove it to them. The Brigade Leader demands that the Doctor has to take them all with him. The Doctor says that he wishes he could, but that would cause a dimensional paradox. Stahlman calls them over the intercom and convinces Williams to open the blast shield. The Doctor tries to stop them, but the Brigade Leader says that Stahlman must have found a solution. Instead, he comes out with several beast-ified technicians. The Doctor sabotages the blast shield, lowering it and buying them time to escape to the office. Benton is lost in the scuffle.

Back in the main universe, Sir Keith is coming back by car from talking the minister into stopping the drilling. The driver, under orders from Stahlman, has delayed the return trip and they get into an car accident. Back in the dark universe, the monsters have broken into the office.

Episode 6: Holding off the monsters with a fire extinguisher and a tube pumping coolant, Williams works to restore power to the nuclear reactor. There is a brief return to the main universe where we learn that Sir Keith has disappeared, Sutton wants to talk with the Doctor, Liz is still worried about him, and the Brigadier is losing his patience with Stahlman. In the mirror universe, I'll cut out all the padding. All that happens in this episode is that Williams is ultimately unable to start the nuclear reactor, the tremors are getting worse, and the complex is being overrun with the beasts. They finally get the power working and the Brigade Leader threatens the Doctor with a gun. Liz shoots him, telling the Doctor to go. He can't get the console to work, the power is erratic. Lava starts pouring out of the shaft and heads towards them.

Episode 7: Liz discovers the Doctor has returned and is unconscious. Although she is not in any way a medical doctor, she insists that he's in a coma and may never come out of it. But also that he might. Such an expert! He comes out of it long enough to warn them to reverse the systems. An emergency happens and reversing the systems is all that stops it. Stahlman is, of course, pissed about this and demands they speed up the drilling and follow his orders. When the Doctor awakens and explains where he's been, no one believes him. Sir Keith arrives, having survived his car crash, and although he confronts Stahlman about delaying his return, he still won't go against orders and stop the drilling. (Which is strange since the minister agreed to stop it.) Stahlman again refuses to stop the drilling so the Doctor goes to town on the computer with a wrench.

Stahlman, starting to transform into one of those green monsters, shuts himself in the drill room and lowers the heat shield. To pad out the run time a bit, the Doctor is taken to sick bay, uses Venusian karate on the guards and battles another green guy. He then returns to the complex as though none of this happened, in time to find that Stahlman is calling to them from the drilling room. He's rubbed the green goo all over his face and fully transformed. He attacks them and is hit with fire extinguishers. They finally shut the drill down, manually shutting everything off from the inside room with 30 seconds left before Penetration Zero..

The Doctor tells Sir Keith to fill in the shaft. He says he will and assures them the drilling is done for good. We also learn that the asshole got the girl... Sutton and Williams left together. I guess she was won over by his lack of charm. Before leaving, the Doctor convinces them to let him use the nuclear reactor one more time. He tells the Brigadier off, insulting him, and tries to leave. But the TARDIS is only transported a few seconds forward in time and space, landing outside in the rubbish pile. He has to apologize to the Brigadier and ask for his help to fetch the console.

Yes this screenshot was preceded by a quick chair turn. (Credit: BBC TV)

Thoughts: This is one of the many serials that suffered from having more episodes than plot. Many aspects of this story were added in order to pad out the runtime, and it certainly feels like it. Again, Episodes 5 and 6 could easily have been combined into one episode. Not much happens in Episode 6. The character of Sutton and his awkward romantic subplot with Williams was annoying to me. He could barely talk to her without shouting at and insulting her, yet somehow she fell in love with him. In BOTH dimensions.

The green monsters were not named in the show, but I found in my research that they were called Primords. The ending credits apparently said this, but I missed it. My biggest problem with this serial is that they weren't really explained. The green goo turned people into Primords, but why and what they were after was not clear. They seemed to want the drilling to continue, but in some cases they seemed to be sabotaging things. And when the lava started to flow, they appeared just as scared as everyone else. The Doctor seemed to think the goo was sentient, but that was also not a fully developed plot concept. The whole thing felt half-baked.

Aside from those factors, I rather enjoyed this serial. Although I love the potential of adding alternate dimensions to the story, it seemed a little unnecessary in this one. It seems to have been mainly added to pad out the serial. And also as an excuse to be able to destroy the planet so as to up the stakes. Without that aspect we would have had a straight forward three or four episode disaster story, so I do understand why they added it to give it more depth. At times this felt like three disconnected stories in one— the drilling disaster, the Primords, and the alternate version of Earth. The three stories combined by Episode 5, but it still felt clunky.

While not stated in the story, this is Liz Shaw's final regular appearance. Next season she is replaced by another companion. I'll wait until then to see if this is explained or if her absence is ignored. I predict she’ll get a casual one sentence mention before we meet her replacement.

And that’s Season Seven! I’ll get into more thoughts about the season as a whole once we’re through our usual sections on what we learned this time around.

TARDIS Facts: The TARDIS sends out a signal that the Doctor can pick up with his watch, so he can find it wherever he is. The lock on the front door now has a "metabolism detector", so it will only open for him. (I have no idea when he had the time to install this.) The TARDIS was rendered useless because the dematerialization code was changed by the Timelords. The mechanism that controls time travel is called the "Time Vector Generator". The console itself is able to travel through time and space and even dimensions. The console is able to store a small amount of energy inside itself without an external power source, but once this is depleted it has to be powered again.

Earth Facts: This section typically talks about Earth history (what we would consider our future) but this time we’re a little more limited since there is no time travel going on in this season. Still, we do get to see that UNIT is still going strong 3 years after its formation and were well known by the public. In 1970, the public seems to know about the existence of aliens and the ever-present possibility of alien invasion. How widespread this knowledge is was not made clear, but everyone seems to know that UNIT operates to investigate alien matters. We also learned that primitive humans were exterminated by the Silurians, who ruled the Earth millions of years ago before being scared away by the moon. Despite their fear of celestial bodies, the Silurians had a very advanced civilization, the traces of which were no longer in evidence by modern times. (Look up “The Silurian Hypothesis”. It’s pretty cool, and was inspired by this season’s serial. Yes, I fell into another rabbit hole researching this post.)

The Doctor’s two hearts. (Credit: BBC TV)

Doctor Facts: Now we have a whole new Doctor to learn about! As stated previously, this is still the same character, but his personality has changed in some ways. And it’s always unclear just how many of his memories he retains. The Doctor has partial amnesia, either as part of his exile, or a result of the sudden regeneration. He remembers some things, such as the Brigadier, the trick with the TARDIS key, and some of the planets he has visited. This incarnation of the Doctor has a tattoo of a snake on his right forearm, which is not explained in the episodes. This Doctor has a refined sense of style, preferring dressing up whenever possible. The Doctor is now officially using his previous alias of John Smith as his name while working with UNIT. The Doctor claimed to be "several thousands of years" old, but he may have just been teasing Liz. The Doctor showed the ability to "transmigrate" objects, but didn't explain how he did it. It could have been sleight of hand. The Doctor apparently is proficient in "Venusian aikido", although this has never been mentioned before and this is the first time he’s utilized this. The Doctor has two hearts, a blood type unlike those found on Earth, and a strange cardiovascular system. We learned in a previous season that his lungs are stronger than regular human lungs. His normal pulse is ten beats a minute. One heart beats faster than the other, which he says is normal for him.

The Doctor's Past: Not much here, as the Doctor has partial amnesia. He did recall being on a planet called Delphon. He also mentioned being at the Krakatoa eruption of 1883. Also, he was apparently on Venus long enough to learn their martial arts.

Defining moments to show the Doctor's personality: The Doctor's actions in the hospital on the season opener served to show how much more shrewd this incarnation is. He used trickery to get his shoes, feigned unconsciousness to avoid more conversation, and stripped naked to distract the doctors. Also while escaping the hospital, he finds what will turn out to be his iconic outfit-- a dark velvet smoking jacket with a ruffled shirt, a floppy bowtie, and a cape. Very fancy, but not very inconspicuous. He fusses over the choice of hat when he should should be escaping. The moment the Doctor got the TARDIS key back, he tricked Liz and tried to betray the Brigadier to escape, saying that he couldn't stand the thought of being stuck on one planet and one time. This replayed at the end of Inferno when he again attempted to flee at the first possible opportunity. His actions in the parallel dimension shows that he still has his cold pragmatism. To preserve the dimensional integrity, he couldn’t attempt to rescue anyone from that dimension. Although he displayed a bit of regret at this, it didn’t seem to affect him too deeply, which made me think of how he acted in his first incarnation.

Overall Thoughts: This season was a vast change from the previous six seasons. The show was very close to being cancelled, which is why this season served as a soft reboot. The new format and setting brought some new story possibilities, but the show is in danger of falling into a predictable pattern. Three of the four serials this season dealt with a new alien invasion. Of course, the Ambassadors of Death showed that could be shaken up by introducing peaceful aliens being misused by humans. I do appreciate that they broke from their previous story crutch of rebels fighting against oppression. That trope was far beyond overplayed. However, the new trope appears to be those in power refusing to listen to reason and putting everyone else in danger for their own agenda. We’ll see if that keeps cropping up next season. I suspect it will.

I liked Liz just fine, but she wasn't given nearly enough time to shine as compared to her predecessors. She had potential but ended up pretty drab. I'm hoping the revolving door of the companions slows down a bit so they have more time to develop before disappearing. Incidentally, my research turned up that Liz was written out due to the character being too smart... the role of the companions are to act as viewer proxies, and Liz was able to catch on to what the Doctor was doing and saying too quickly. I guess you could say she was overqualified for the role as companion.

As a side musing, I've been reading a lot of Marvel comics from the 60s and it seems like a common thing in stories back then— Doctor Who is very much one of these stories— "scientist" used to be a catch all phrase. If you were a scientist in old media, there was no specialization. You were automatically good at biology, chemistry, technology, robotics, what have you. Scientist was a generic term for someone who could manipulate things that regular characters couldn't. I find it pretty amusing.

This screenshot makes them seem unconcerned. (Credit: BBC TV)

This season again suffered from the issues of the previous seasons: serials running too long and requiring a lot of padding, stories falling into familiar story beats, and multiple rewrites of the scripts causing confusing and under-developed plot elements.

Despite its flaws, I thought this season was pretty cool. Limiting the Doctor to Earth worked out better than I expected, carried by the new actor and what he brings to the character. I’m really digging the Third Doctor so far. One of the great things about Doctor Who is the ability to continually reinvent itself, and it certainly did that with the Third Doctor and the new status quo. The Brigadier and Liz were good as supporting characters. I still prefer the mystery and twists and turns of the old premise... jumping randomly through time and space provides for much more variety and strangeness. It seems a waste to keep them stuck on one planet in one time frame. But still, this was the compromise to reduce costs and keep the show on the air.

The jump to color was very welcome. There was also a lot of experimentation with music in this one, leaning more towards electronic music. I’m not a big fan of the shorter seasons, but it did make this post a lot quicker to complete. All in all, a standout season with lots of new elements to it. It will be interesting to see how the show continues to evolve.

The Doctor tries to escape again. (Credit: BBC TV)

Lingering Questions: My biggest lingering question from this season is just how sustainable is this new status quo? Keeping the Doctor Earthbound feels as though it will be rather limiting as the series continues.

Was the Doctor’s amnesia a part of his exile and how long will it last? Does he remember that he was exiled? Why does this version of the Doctor have a tattoo? (I know it’s because Jon Pertwee has the tattoo, but why didn’t they cover it up? Because they didn’t, I have to treat it as a part of the character.) I’ve seen it posed that the Time Lords may have put it on him as part of the exile, but this has not been stated canonically from what I can see. If it wasn’t put there by the Time Lords, it seems odd that a newly-regenerated body would have ink, but there's still a lot we don't understand about the process of regeneration. It’s still unexplained why his new bodies so far have been above middle aged. You would think he’d be regenerated into a young adult body, if not that of a baby or child. Is his consciousness going into other people's bodies? If so, what happens to the people who used to inhabit them?

And that’s all there is to say about Season Seven. This season brought many changes that will continue for the foreseeable future. I really meant to get to this one sooner, but last year proved to be busier than I anticipated. Hopefully I’ll have time for another season this year. The shorter seasons should help with that.

At this point, we’re at 278 Episodes and 54 Serials discussed! We’ve met three Doctors and 14 companions. (I don’t count the Brigadier and Sergeant Benton, as they’re really more recurring allies than companions.) Thank you all so much for continuing to join me on our long, long journey through the epic saga of Doctor Who! If things go well, I’ll be back very soon with Season Eight.

Hi.

Aug 16 096: SoraRabbit Watches: Doctor Who Season Seven

Hi.

Aug 16 096: SoraRabbit Watches: Doctor Who Season Seven

Jun 2 095: Journey Through the Forgotten Comic Book Bin #2

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