GALLERY
CAST
Regular Cast
Colin Baker (
Guest Cast
Eleanor Bron (Kara), Clive Swift (Jobel), Alexei Sayle (DJ), Terry Molloy (Davros), Jenny Tomasin (Tasambeker), William Gaunt (Orcini), John Ogwen (Bostock), Stephen Flynn (Grigory), Bridget Lynch-Blosse (Natasha), Trevor Cooper (Takis), Colin Spaull (Lilt), Hugh Walters (Vogel), Alec Linstead (Head of Stengos) [1], Ken Barker (Mutant) [1], Royce Mills, Roy Skelton (Dalek Voices), John Scott-Martin, Cy Town, Tony Starr, Toby Byrne (Dalek Operators), Penelope Lee (Computer Voice) [2].
CREW
| Written by | Eric Saward |
| Directed by | Graeme Harper |
| Produced by | John Nathan Turner |
SYPNOSIS
The TARDIS takes The Doctor and Peri to the planet Necros, where The Doctor plans to visit his old friend Professor Arthur Stengos. But after an encounter with the Great Healer, Stengos is not quite the man The Doctor once knew.
The Great Healer works in the catacombs beneath Tranquil Repose, the galactically-famous final resting place for the dead and the not-quite-yet-dead. In the upper chambers the busy workers prepare the deceased for their final burial, while deep below the Great Healer is using their bodies for a sinister project of his own. For the Great Healer is also known by another name – Davros, creator of the Daleks, who’s using the bodies to build himself a brand new Dalek army.
The Doctor must quickly act to stop Davros, but the evil scientist has a plan that will eradicate all opposition and enable him to lead his daleks on a new mission of universal conquest.
PLOT
Part One
The TARDIS lands on Necros, at the funeral home and suspended animation centre Tranquil Repose. The Sixth Doctor and Peri have come to visit a deceased acquaintance. On the way, The Doctor points out great numbers of flowers similar to the soybean in food versatility. The Doctor is attacked by a mutant, who Peri accidentally kills whilst trying to save The Doctor. Before he dies, the mutant tells The Doctor the Great Healer used him as a genetic experiment. His appearance and hostility were caused by the experiments.
At Tranquil Repose, a disc jockey plays songs and chats to entertain those in suspended animation. He keeps them aware of current events, but saves for moments of private reflection the fact that cures for some of the afflicted were perfected decades ago.
A couple, Natasha and Grigory, have illegally entered Tranquil Repose, also looking for the scientist The Doctor is visiting – Arthur Stengos, her father. They find his assigned suspended animation capsule empty. Shocked, they continue looking and proceed downward. They find a dark room filled with pulsating brains and other experiments. Grigory walks past a Glass Dalek casing with a mutating red creature inside it. It opens its eye and Grigory comments on how gruesome the thing is. When Natasha looks at it, the creature opens its mouth and starts saying, “Na.. tasha? Natasha?”. Natasha realises it is the head of her father and he is being changed into a Dalek.
Kara, whose company distributes food throughout the galaxy, is a pawn of the Great Healer, in actuality Davros (now apparently reduced to a disembodied head in a tank as a result of being infected by the Movellan virus) who is leading the Imperial daleks. He takes virtually all the money she makes. To dissolve this arrangement, she has hired the mercenary Orcini and his squire, Bostock. She has given Orcini a transmitter with a five-button passcode. This must be entered when Orcini enters Davros’s headquarters. Orcini accepts the contract solely for the honourof killing Davros.
With Davros eliminated, she believes she will have the power and the capital to control the galaxy.
Arthur Stengos, who is now just a head with red flesh growing over him, explains to Natasha and Grigory what’s going on. He tells them that the brains of everybody in Tranquil Repose are being used to change into new Dalek mutants. He says his mind has been conditioned to serve “the Great Healer”, but he can’t remember who “the Great Healer” actually is. He orders his daughter to kill him before he fully mutates. While she hesitates, Grigory pulls his own gun, but Natasha stops him and shoots her father herself. The two are captured, thrown in a cell and questioned by Takis and Lilt, who try rum on Grigory as a truth serum.
As they are about to enter the Tranquil Repose, The Doctor and Peri find a giant statue of the Doctorin the Garden of Fond Memories. He realises this means that he will die here in his current incarnation. Peri cries out in alarm as the statue topples over, falls towards The Doctor and collapses on top of him…
Part Two
Peri sees Mr Jobel, and tells him what has happened. He tells Peri The Doctor may be dead. However, the statue is not made of stone, so The Doctor isn’t harmed. He believes somebody raised it to get his attention. Inside Tranquil Repose, he and Peri are greeted by Tasambeker. Intrigued by the DJ’s recordings, Peri wants to meet him and The Doctor urges her to do so, despite having Jobel as a companion. The Doctor wants to see the person who erected the statue dedicated to his passing and suspects trouble.
Orcini destroys a Dalek, and Davros is notified. He is convinced Kara has sent assassins, so he deploys daleks to bring her to him. They arrive, kill her secretary and take her back.
Peri departs of the Daleks capture The Doctor. He is thrown in a cell with Natasha and Grigory, who are soon rescued by Orcini. Orcini penetrates Davros’s lair. He and Bostock empty their guns into Davros’ life-support system. Davros appears killed by the ensuing explosion, but Orcini realises the kill was too easy. Sure enough, the real Davros – who has survived the virus unscathed – appears with a group of daleks. Orcini and Bostock try to shoot their way out, but they are quickly subdued, with one of Orcini’s legs blown off in the fight. Kara is brought in and he betrays her motives to Davros.
Shocked, Kara states that they are both dead. Orcini responds, “You before me, ” and kills her for her betrayal – the “transmitter” was actually a bomb.
Natasha and Grigory infiltrate the incubator room yet again. They plan to destroy the brains scheduled for metamorphosis. When Natasha tries to fire her gun, it dies for lack of power. Grigory reckons there’s a self-destruct switch on the brain incubator console. He presses some buttons, but stops as Natasha sees a glass Dalek incubator materialise.
The Doctor, via communicator, warns Peri to get back to the TARDIS and hail the President’s ship, which is en route with the body of the deceased First Lady. The DJ persuades Peri to use his equipment. Overhearing the transmission, Davros orders the DJ killed and Peri captured. The DJ produces a sonar weapon. He blows up two daleks as they enter his room, but is killed when a third Dalek enters. Peri is captured. The Doctoroverhears the events via broadcast. He rushes to save her but is caught en route by two daleks. Both meet in Davros’ laboratory where he reveals he has a new army of daleks, hidden in catacombs somewhere underneath his laboratory.
Natasha and Grigory plan to escape the incubator room before The Dalek fully grows. They make their way to the door, but Natasha turns around and notices the glass Dalek has disappeared. The two look up to see a Dalek machine flying high above the ground towards them. They try to open the door, but the flying Dalek exterminates them before self-destructing.
Davros gleefully informs The Doctor of Natasha and Grigory’s deaths, and reveals that even had they succeeded in destroying the laboratory, it would have achieved nothing, as his main force of daleks is safely hidden elsewhere. As he goes to activate his daleks, Bostock retrieves his gun and blows off Davros’s hand. Bostock is immediately exterminated by a nearby Dalek, and a furious Davros vows to have The Doctor and Peri converted into daleks, as revenge for all the problems the Time Lord has ever caused him.
Meanwhile daleks loyal to the Supreme Dalek and not to Davros arrive from Skaro, called by Takis who seeked to end the Imperial daleks control over Necros after realising what has been going on. The Renegade daleks demand to be taken to Davros, and Takis leads the way. Shortly, some of the Imperial daleks appear and the two factions battle. The Skaro daleks win and progress toward Davros.
Davros is shocked when the newly arrived daleks enter the room. He tries to persuade them to capture The Doctor, however they do not recognise The Doctor because of his regeneration. They take Davros back to Skaro to be put on trial for crimes against The Daleks.
Orcini wants to explode the bomb before Davros’s ship leaves – he hesitates and allows all to leave only because of the Doctor. The Doctor wants to set a timer, but Orcini says there is no time. They all rush out, and Orcini blows the bomb after hugging the body of Bostock. Unfortunately, the blast does not destroy the escaping Renegade Dalek ship, which causes Peri to think that Orcini threw his life away for nothing. The Doctor reassures her that Orcini died for something very honourable: the destruction of Davros’s new generation of daleks.
With Tranquil Repose now devoid of its clients, and most of the facility having been destroyed by the explosion, The Doctor tells the surviving staff that they can continue to live their lives by cultivating the native weed plant, which can replace the food that Davros and Kara were supplying. Peri asks for avacation, so The Doctor agrees, proclaiming “All right, I’ll take you to–“
(A freeze-frame occurs before The Doctor can name the intended destination.)
NOTES
MEDIA CLIP