The Invisible Enemy
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- This article is about the Doctor Who story. For the Outer Limits episode, see The Invisible Enemy (The Outer Limits).
| 093 - The Invisible Enemy | |
| Doctor | Tom Baker (Fourth Doctor) |
|---|---|
| Writer | Bob Baker Dave Martin |
| Director | Derrick Goodwin |
| Script Editor | Robert Holmes |
| Producer | Graham Williams |
| Executive producer(s) | None |
| Production code | 4T |
| Series | Season 15 |
| Length | 4 episodes, 25 mins each |
| Transmission date | October 1–October 22, 1977 |
| Preceded by | Horror of Fang Rock |
| Followed by | Image of the Fendahl |
The Invisible Enemy is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from October 1 to October 22, 1977. The serial introduced the Doctor's newest companion, the robot dog K-9, voiced by John Leeson.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
In the year 5000, when man is spreading himself across the solar system, a shuttle crew on their way to Titan encounters a cloud in space that infects them with an intelligent virus. When the Doctor answers the distress call, he is infected as well. As the virus spreads, the only way to stop it is may be to enter the Doctor's body and fight the nucleus directly.
[edit] Plot
Mankind is colonizing space at a fantastic rate. Some human space travelers are cruising near the outer planets of the solar system with their ship on autopilot. The ship's computer, and soon the human crew, is possessed by a strange virus. Reaching their destination, Titan Base, they proceed to take over the base as a breeding ground. The station manager, Lowe is able to send out a distress call.
The TARDIS is traveling through the same region, and is infected by the virus. The infection passes to the Doctor, but he is unaffected for the moment. He and Leela hear the distress call and go to investigate. While there, the Doctor is overcome by repeated infections and is chosen, due to his incredible powers as a Time Lord, to be the host of the Nucleus of the Swarm. Leela is unable to be infected.
The Nucleus declares her a reject and orders that she be killed. The Doctor manages to break free of his infection and tells Leela how to get the TARDIS to the nearest medical center. Accompanying them is Lowe, who has been infected, although the Doctor and Leela don't know this.
At the medical station, the Doctor's doctor, Professor Marius, introduces the group to K-9, a robotic dog he made to replace the real dog he had to leave on Earth. Professor Marius is baffled as to how to treat the Doctor's strange infection. Meanwhile, Lowe has been infecting the staff of the hospital.
Leela and the Doctor decide on a last-ditch strategy. They create clones of themselves, which can only survive for ten minutes due to problems with the technique. The clones will then be shrunk and inserted into the Doctor. There they will destroy the Nucleus and escape through the tear duct. In the meantime, Leela and K-9 fight off the infected staff of the hospital.
After a hazardous voyage through his mind, the Doctor's clone and Leela's clone are separated, and the Doctor's clone reaches the Nucleus. He has no weapons with which to destroy it, and it learns the intended escape route of the Doctor's clone, since the Doctor thought of it. Prof. Marius faithfully retrieves something from the tear duct and expands it to human size. It turns out to be the Nucleus. The Doctor is cured of his infection.
The Nucleus and the infected staff leave for Titan Base so the Nucleus can spawn. The Doctor realizes he is cured since Leela's clone introduced into his blood stream her immunity factor. He replicates it and gives it to Prof. Marius. The Doctor and Leela and K-9 proceed to Titan Base in the TARDIS.
They just barely manage to fight off the infected humans, but are again without sufficient weaponry to destroy the Nucleus, or its many children which are about to hatch as "macro-sized" beings, like the newly macro-sized Nucleus. The Doctor manages to jam the door they are behind and rigs a gun to fire into a cloud of hydrogen gas he is releasing and escapes. As intended, when the Swarm finally forces open the door, the blaster fires, igniting the hydrogen and destroying the Swarm and the base.
When they return to the hospital, they thank Prof. Marius for the use of K-9, who has ably assisted them. Prof. Marius makes a surprising offer. He must soon return to Earth, and weight restrictions now prevent him from taking K-9 back. He offers him to the Doctor, with some sadness, but knowing K-9 will have a good home. The Doctor and Leela gratefully accept, and K-9 himself is eager to learn more about the TARDIS.
Prof. Marius, with teary eyes, watches the TARDIS disappear, commenting, "I only hope he's TARDIS-trained."
[edit] Cast
- Doctor Who — Tom Baker
- Leela — Louise Jameson
- Voice of K-9 — John Leeson
- Lowe — Michael Sheard
- Safran — Brian Grellis
- Silvey — Jay Neill
- Meeker — Edmund Pegge
- Crewman — Anthony Rowlands
- Professor Marius — Frederick Jaeger
- Parsons — Roy Herrick
- Nurses — Elizabeth Norman, Nell Curran
- Ophthalmologist — Jim McManus
- Cruikshank — Roderick Smith
- Hedges — Kenneth Waller
- Medic — Pat Gorman
- Nucleus — John Scott Martin
- Nucleus Voice — John Leeson
- Michael Sheard makes a guest appearance as Lowe. See also Celebrity appearances in Doctor Who.
[edit] In print
A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in March 1979.
[edit] Trivia
- Working titles for this story included The Enemy Within, The Invader Within and The Invisible Invader.[citation needed]
- The sequence in which the miniaturized clones of Leela and the Doctor journey inside the Doctor's brain was partially inspired by the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage.[1]
- It was not decided until late in the production that K-9 was to be a new companion. The decision to use it in multiple serials was made partly to offset the expense that had gone into making the prop.[citation needed]
- The 51st century is a significant time in the Whoniverse. Aside from the Great Breakout mentioned in this story and being the home era of K-9, the century will also bring a new ice age, a near world war, time travel research and the coming of the Time Agents (all mentioned in The Talons of Weng-Chiang). A former Time Agent, Jack Harkness, would also become a companion of the Ninth Doctor, and the episode The Girl in the Fireplace (2006) partly takes place in the 51st century.
- A new TARDIS console room debuts in this story, replacing the one that had been used for the previous season but which had become damaged in storage. The re-designed TARDIS console, which had last appeared in Pyramids of Mars, is once again used from this story up until The King's Demons.
[edit] External links
- The Invisible Enemy episode guide on the BBC website
- The Invisible Enemy at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel)
- The Invisible Enemy at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
[edit] Reviews
- The Invisible Enemy reviews at Outpost Gallifrey
- The Invisible Enemy reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide
