Four to Doomsday
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| 118 - Four to Doomsday | |
|---|---|
| Doctor | Peter Davison (Fifth Doctor) |
| Writer | Terence Dudley |
| Director | John Black |
| Script editor | Antony Root |
| Producer | John Nathan-Turner |
| Executive producer(s) | None |
| Production code | 5W |
| Series | Season 19 |
| Length | 4 episodes, 25 mins each |
| Transmission date | January 18–January 26, 1982 |
| Preceded by | Castrovalva |
| Followed by | Kinda |
Four to Doomsday is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from January 18 to January 26, 1982.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
The Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and Adric arrive on a spaceship which is headed for Earth. On board they meet natives of Earth from various different eras, and also three Urbankans: Monarch, Persuasion and Enlightenment. What are the aliens' intentions when they reach Earth?
[edit] Plot
The TARDIS materializes on board a vast and advanced alien spacecraft, observed by a hovering surveillance device which conveys the arrival of the Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa and Adric to an observing being that is in control of the vessel. The TARDIS crew become separated and the Doctor and Tegan reach the bridge of the vessel where the green-skinned commander introduces himself as Monarch, ruler of Urbanka, and his associates and fellow Urbankans are the Ministers of Enlightenment and Persuasion. The leader is intrigued by talk of current Earth civilisation and reveals their ship is bound for Earth. Shortly afterward Enlightenment and Persuasion seemingly regenerate into seemingly human form, dressed in garments Tegan designed to demonstrate contemporary Earth fashions.
The TARDIS crew are reunited as guests aboard the ship and it soon becomes apparent that there are four distinct human cultures represented on the vessel by a small group of humans – Ancient Greeks, the leader of whom is the philosopher Bigon; Chinese Mandarins and their leader Lin Futu; Princess Villagra and representatives of the Mayan people; and Kurkutji and his tribesmen, of the very ancient Australian Aborigine culture. The Urbankans have made periodic visits to Earth, each time getting speedier in their journeys. This time they have left their homeworld after erratic solar activity, storing three billion of their species on slides aboard their craft, and it seems the current journey is their last and they now wish to settle on Earth, which they are due to reach in four days time.
The Doctor becomes suspicious of Monarch and soon learns that the Urbankan does not plan on peaceful co-existence: instead, he has developed a virus to wipe out humanity, and this will be unleashed before the Urbankans disembark. He also finds out that the humans aboard are not descendents of the original abductees, but are the original people taken from Earth and converted into androids like the three Urbankans walking around on board. The four leaders of the peoples have been given additional circuits to help them reason, but this facility can be taken away, as Bigon learns when he crosses Monarch once too often. He explained to the Doctor that Monarch strip-mined and destroyed Urbanka in a quest for minerals to improve the ship, and now plans to do the same to Earth. Monarch believes that if he can move the ship faster than the speed of light, he can pilot it back to the beginning of time and discover himself as God…
Adric, nevertheless, is rather taken with Monarch, and tensions between him and the Doctor become very strained. It takes the truth to break the alien’s hold over the boy. The Doctor now sets about over-throwing Monarch and, with the help of the human androids led by a restored Bigon, a revolution is put into effect. Enlightenment and Persuasion are de-circuited, while Monarch himself is exposed to the deadly toxin and killed. It seems he was a product of the weak “flesh time” after all, having never, as the Doctor suspected, been fully converted into an android. The humanoid androids decide to pilot the vessel to a new home on a new world, while the TARDIS crew departs. Back in the console room, Nyssa suddenly collapses to the floor in a dead faint...
[edit] Cast
- The Doctor — Peter Davison
- Adric — Matthew Waterhouse
- Nyssa — Sarah Sutton
- Tegan Jovanka — Janet Fielding
- Monarch — Stratford Johns
- Enlightenment — Annie Lambert
- Persuasion — Paul Shelley
- Bigon — Philip Locke
- Villagra — Nadia Hammam
- Lin Futu — Burt Kwouk
- Kurkutji — Illarrio Bisi Pedro
[edit] Cast notes
Guest stars in this serial include Stratford Johns as Monarch and Burt Kwouk as Lin Futu. See Celebrity appearances in Doctor Who.
[edit] Continuity
- The Big Finish Productions audio drama Primeval provides an alternative explanation, beyond mere exhaustion, for Nyssa's collapse at the end of this story. The canonicity of the audio dramas, however, is unclear.
[edit] Production
- The working title for this story was Days Of Wrath.
- Although Castrovalva was the first story aired which featured Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, this story was the first in the season to be produced.
- It was originally decided that after Castrovalva, the Doctor would only have two companions, Adric and Tegan. As a result, the character of Nyssa was to be written out of the series at the end of this story. However, Peter Davison strongly opposed this move because he felt that Nyssa was the companion who was "most suited to his vision of the Doctor." Given this, producer John Nathan-Turner and the rest of the production team relented.
[edit] In print
| Doctor Who book | |
 |
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| Four to Doomsday | |
|---|---|
| Series | Target novelisations |
| Release number | 77 |
| Writer | Terrance Dicks |
| ISBN | 0 426 19334 2 |
| Release date | 21 July 1983 |
| Preceded by | Castrovalva |
| Followed by | Earthshock |
A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in April 1983.
[edit] Broadcast and VHS release
- This story was released on VHS in September of 2001.
[edit] External links
- Four to Doomsday episode guide on the BBC website
- Four to Doomsday at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel)
- Four to Doomsday at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
[edit] Reviews
- Four to Doomsday reviews at Outpost Gallifrey
- Four to Doomsday reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide
