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{{Infobox ClassicTV|
{{title dab away}}
story name= Kinda |
{{real world}}
image= [[Image:Kinda.jpg|250px]]|
{{ImageLinkTV}}
series=[[Doctor Who]] -<br/>[[List of Doctor Who television stories|TV Stories]]|
{{Infobox Story SMW
number= [[Season 19]]|
|image                 = DukkhaTeganKinda.jpg
story number= 119|
|novelisation          = Kinda (novelisation)
doctor=[[Fifth Doctor]] |
|series                 = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
companions= [[Adric]], [[Tegan]], [[Nyssa]]|
|season number         = Season 19 (Doctor Who 1963)|
enemy= <ul><li>The [[Mara]]</li><li>[[Hindle]]</li></ul> |
|season serial number  = 3
year= <ul><li>[[Deva Loka]]</li><li>"Dark Places of the Inside"</li></ul>|
|story number           = 118
writer= [[Christopher Bailey]]|
|doctor                 = Fifth Doctor
director= [[Peter Grimwade]]|
|companions             = [[Adric]], [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]]
producer= [[John Nathan-Turner]]|
|featuring              = [[Nyssa]]
broadcast date= [[1st February]] - [[9th February]] [[1982]]|
|enemy                 = The [[Mara]], [[Hindle]]
format= 4 25-minute episodes|
|setting                = [[Deva Loka]], c. [[3984]]
production code= [[List of production codes|5Y]]|
|writer                 = Christopher Bailey
previous story= [[Four to Doomsday]] |
|director               = [[Peter Grimwade]]
next story= [[The Visitation]] }}
|producer               = [[John Nathan-Turner]]
|epcount                = 4
|broadcast date         = 1 - 9 February 1982
|network                = BBC1
|format                 = 4x25-minute episodes
|serial production code = [[List of production codes|5Y]]
|prev                  = Four to Doomsday (TV story)
|next                  = The Visitation (TV story)
|made prev              = The Visitation (TV story)
|made next              = Castrovalva (TV story)
|clip                  = Return of Sanders - Doctor Who Kinda - BBC
|clip2                  = The Mara revealed - Doctor Who Kinda - BBC
|clip3                  = Open the box - Doctor Who Kinda - BBC
|bts                    = Exclusive First Look Dream Time - Kinda
}}
'''''Kinda''''' was the third serial of [[Season 19 (Doctor Who 1963)|season 19]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. It featured mainly [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]] and [[Adric]] alongside the [[Fifth Doctor]]. Narratively, it was an especially important story for Tegan, as it established a villain, the [[Mara]], particularly interested in her. The Mara would later return to plague Tegan in other performed ''Doctor Who'' stories. ([[TV]]: ''[[Snakedance (TV story)|Snakedance]]'' and [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Cradle of the Snake (audio story)|The Cradle of the Snake]]'')


==Synopsis==
In 1982, it was a [[serial]] that wasn't well liked amongst the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' fans who participated in the ''[[Doctor Who Magazine|Doctor Who Monthly]]'' (later known as ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'') season poll. It ranked last amongst the season's stories, although the Mara, [[Dukkha]], [[Hindle]], and [[Todd (Kinda)|Todd]] were all well-liked enough to be runners-up in their respective "favourite character" categories ([[DWM 69]]). It has gradually seen its status rise over the years, including among 2010s writer of ''DWM'', [[Big Finish Productions|Big Finish]] and [[BBC Books]] [[Jonathan Morris]] ([[DWM 474]]). In a larger poll done in 2009, respondents to ''DWM'' placed it 69th out of the then-200 ''Doctor Who'' stories that had been made — almost a full 60 positions higher than its sequel, ''[[Snakedance (TV story)|Snakedance]]'' ([[DWM 413]]). A similar ''DWM'' poll in 2014 ranked it 63rd out of the 241 ''Doctor Who'' stories from the show's first fifty years and the second most popular season 19 story after ''[[Earthshock (TV story)|Earthshock]]'' ([[DWM 474]]). Whatever the fan opinion, ''Kinda'' was something contemporary [[British]] critics appreciated. The {{w|National Film Archive}} purchased it soon after its broadcast as "an example of the programme at its best" ([[DWM 104]]).
 
''Kinda'', however, was remarkable for reasons other than its reception.
 
With the exception of [[K9]], ''Kinda'' was the first occasion since the show had started filming in colour that a [[companion]] was absent from the narrative for an entire episode. Generally, this happened in the monochromatic era because an actor needed to take a holiday from the nearly year-long production schedule that was then the norm. In this instance, however, [[Nyssa]]'s absence was more akin to [[Jamie McCrimmon|Jamie]]'s in ''[[The Moonbase (TV story)|The Moonbase]]'': the scripts had simply been completed by the writer before the new companion had been cast. Thus, just as [[Jamie McCrimmon]] was "ill" for large parts of ''The Moonbase'', Nyssa fainted in part one of ''Kinda'' and re-emerged after a restorative TARDIS nap in part four.
 
''Kinda'' was also responsible for a bit of a revolution in the way that ''Doctor Who'' was made. On the positive side, it featured some of the then-latest [[Quantel Paintbox|Quantel]] effects for the trip through Tegan's eye. On the negative, it was plagued by studio problems with camera flare that eroded the five-day studio schedule to the point that there was no time left for some of [[Director (crew)|director]] [[Peter Grimwade]]'s more innovative shots. The chief casualty was the depiction of the Mara's snake form in episode four. This was originally going to have been achieved in a completely different manner, but the time crunch meant that Grimwade had to resort to a less-than-convincing [[puppet]]. Still, this disaster would allow the programme to push for and get, a six-day recording block in future ([[DWM 104|DWM #104]]).
 
== Synopsis ==
The TARDIS visits the planet Deva Loka, where Nyssa remains behind in the ship to recover from a mild mental disorientation while the Doctor, Tegan and Adric explore. Tegan falls asleep under some wind chimes and becomes possessed by an evil force, a Mara.
The TARDIS visits the planet Deva Loka, where Nyssa remains behind in the ship to recover from a mild mental disorientation while the Doctor, Tegan and Adric explore. Tegan falls asleep under some wind chimes and becomes possessed by an evil force, a Mara.


Also on Deva Loka is a survey team assessing the planet for colonisation, but three of their number have disappeared and the remainder - Sanders, his deputy Hindle and the scientist Todd - are encountering difficulties in their dealings with the outwardly primitive but telepathically gifted native people, the Kinda. Hindle becomes mentally unstable, but his mind is eventually cleared by a Kinda device called the Box of Jhana.
== Plot ==
=== Part one ===
A small human expedition has established a domed base on the tranquil [[jungle]] planet of [[Deva Loka]] to determine its suitability for colonisation, but all is not well. Three members of the team have disappeared, leaving only the overbearing commander, [[Sanders (Kinda)|Sanders]]; his second, [[Hindle]]; and the scientist [[Todd (Kinda)|Todd]]. Todd's warning to Sanders that he's pushing Hindle to the point of a nervous breakdown go unheeded. Hindle suspects that the native humanoid population, the apparently peaceful and primitive Kinda, are responsible for the disappearances, and is holding two males as hostages.
 
[[File:Inside your head.jpg|thumb|left|Inside [[Tegan]]'s head, the [[Mara]] vies for control.]]
The TARDIS arrives on Deva Loka. [[Nyssa]] is still unsteady after recent events aboard the [[Urbankan]] ship, and the [[Fifth Doctor]] builds her a [[delta wave augmenter]], using his [[sonic screwdriver]] as a component, to help her relax. He, [[Adric]] and [[Tegan]] explore the jungle and discover a clearing lined with crystalline wind chimes. The Doctor is surprised; the chimes are set up in harmonics, suggesting the presence of intelligent life. While Tegan rests under the wind chimes, Adric and the Doctor find an empty [[Total Survival Suit]] (TSS) nearby, a machine built for a standing human to travel. The door to the machine is open but its operator is nowhere to be found. When Adric impulsively slams the machine's door, it activates and marches the Doctor and Adric to the dome.
 
Tegan, meanwhile, falls into a deep sleep as the chimes appear to have a hypnotic effect. Her [[consciousness]] is transported to a black void where she encounters an elderly couple, [[Anicca]] and [[Anatta]], playing a board game, who refuse to acknowledge that she exists and tell her to go away. Tegan then encounters [[Dukkha]], who appears to be the spokesman for a sinister entity. All three have the same mark of a [[snake]] on their forearms. Dukkha confronts Tegan with paradoxes of existence; he splits her into two beings and orders them to argue which one is real.
 
At the Dome, the Doctor and Adric are treated with suspicion. Sanders demands to know what has happened to [[Roberts (Kinda)|Roberts]], the expedition member who was using the machine in the area, but the Doctor explains that it was empty when he and Adric found it. Todd brings the Doctor to see the two Kinda hostages. The males are mute, but while Sanders and Hindle see this as evidence of primitive minds, Todd sees evidence of deeper intelligence. She muses that the Kinda are telepathic, and the ornaments they wear around their necks resemble a DNA double-helix. Todd starts eating an [[apple]] and offers one to the Doctor. Outside the window, a lone Kinda male, [[Aris]], watches.
 
[[File:Hindle_takes_over.jpg|thumb|Hindle takes over.]]
Hindle smashes things in the lab after ordering the Doctor and Todd to go see Sanders. Left alone with the two Kinda, he holds up a mirror. Seeing their own faces in the reflection, they appear to believe that he has captured their souls and submit to his will.
 
Todd is appalled when Sanders announces his intention to explore the jungle in the TSS, leaving Hindle in command. Not only does she believe that Hindle is unstable, but all three of the missing expedition members disappeared the same way. Her fears about Hindle are immediately confirmed once Sanders leaves; flanked by his two armed Kinda servants, Hindle announces that he has the power of life and death over all of them.
 
=== Part two ===
[[File:PannaKarunaKinda.jpg|thumb|left|[[Panna]] and [[Karuna]] sense [[Aris]]' approach.]]
Sanders, in his TSS, draws near to the Kinda village. [[Panna]], the female shaman of the tribe, hears his approach and directs her acolyte [[Karuna]] to give him a small box she is holding - the male Kinda are mute but females can speak. Before Sanders comes near, Aris returns to his village in anguish. Panna instructs Karuna to read him telepathically. She senses great pain and anger in Aris, as one of the captured Kinda is his brother.
 
The Doctor, Adric, and Todd are locked in a cell while Hindle dresses his Kinda hostages in colonial uniforms. Meanwhile, Sanders draws nearer to Panna and Karuna. Karuna protests that it is dangerous for a male to take the box, but Panna is resolute. Karuna presents him with the box; Sanders takes it and is overcome by a psychic force.
 
Hindle, now even more unhinged, announces his intention to sterilise an area fifty miles around the dome, using fire and acid, believing the plant life of Deva Loka to be an enemy. Adric manages to persuade Hindle he's on his side, then swipes the cell key. Unfortunately, his attempt to smuggle the key to the Doctor in the cell fails.
 
[[File:MultiTeganKinda.jpg|thumb|Tegan multiplies herself within her dreams.]]
Tegan, still trapped in the void, is literally arguing with herself. Dukkha returns to taunt her, adding many more Tegans. Dukkha makes it clear what he wants: her physical form. When Tegan demands that he leave her alone, he grants her wish: she is left completely alone. Tegan submits to his will. Taking his hand, the mark of the snake moves from his forearm to hers. She wakes in the clearing with a malevolent grin, now possessed by the [[Mara]].
 
Hindle's plan to punish Adric's treason is interrupted when Sanders returns to the Dome in the TSS. His demeanour is entirely changed, playful and childlike. He offers the box to Hindle, who is terrified at what may lurk inside.
 
Tegan encounters Aris in the jungle. She senses his anguish and taunts him with promises of power. On taking her arm, he receives the mark of the snake and becomes the new host of the Mara.
 
Hindle imprisons the Doctor, Todd, and Sanders in the cell, and orders them to open the box or else he'll have them shot. The Doctor opens the box, and Todd screams...
 
=== Part three ===
A [[jester]]'s [[puppet]] pops out of the box. The tension is broken with laughter; the Doctor observes that the Kinda have a sense of humour. Hindle is unamused. However, staring into the box, the Doctor and Todd have a shared psychic experience in which they receive a summons from Panna and Karuna. The dome's power flickers out and the door to the cell opens. Todd and the Doctor take their cue to exit, seeking out the Kinda. Sanders is left in a daze from the box, however, and is left behind.
 
[[File:HindleAdricKinda.jpg|thumb|left|Hindle tries to draw Adric into his Mara-inspired insanity.]]
While Hindle decides that the only recourse is to destroy the dome with explosives, the Doctor and Todd encounter the Kinda, led by a jester. The Doctor builds a rapport with the jester with sleight of hand, only to be interrupted by Aris bellowing, "Seize the [[Not-We]]!"
 
With the mark of the snake on his arm hidden, Aris invokes a Kinda prophecy that when the tribe is confronted with outsiders (the "Not-We"), a male "with voice" would become the tribe's leader. In the confusion, Karuna leads the Doctor and Todd away from the stunned Kinda. Hindle has rigged the dome to explode, taking a chunk of the jungle with it, ensuring their perpetual safety through death. Adric attempts to play along with the unhinged Sanders and Hindle who are constructing an elaborate model city out of cardboard boxes.
 
The Doctor and Todd meet Panna and Karuna in their mountaintop cave. Aris follows and confronts them. Despite Panna's protests, the Kinda submit themselves to Aris's will, and Karuna joins them to attack the Not-We in the Dome.
 
The Doctor notices the mark of the Mara on Aris's arm; despite her blindness, Panna is aware of it as well. She insists that they must understand. Together they have a shared psychic vision of the Kinda in a circle of timekeeping devices. As the timepieces countdown, the jester dances in the circle until the clocks stop, the end of the cycle. Emerging from the trance, they find that Panna is dead.
 
=== Part four ===
Karuna receives Panna's spirit and is snapped out of her obedience to Aris. She returns to the cave and takes Panna's staff. They realise that the Mara entered Tegan's mind from the [[Dark Places of the Inside]], and is now present on Deva Loka in Aris.
 
Adric seeks shelter from Sanders and Hindle in the TSS, but it activates and he can't control it. At the same time, Aris and the Kinda launch a futile attack on the dome. Adric in the TSS accidentally opens fire, wounding Aris and making the others flee. The Doctor arrives and calms Adric, freeing him from the machine.


Aided by the Kinda, the Doctor ultimately succeeds in banishing the Mara - which manifests itself in the form of a giant snake - by trapping it in a circle of mirrors.  
[[File:MaraTrueForm.jpg|thumb|right|The Mara's true form revealed.]]
Todd and the Doctor confront Hindle and Sanders. Hindle reveals how he is controlling the Kinda hostages: they believe the mirror he held to their faces captured their souls. When the Doctor accidentally steps on and crushes one of the cardboard people in Hindle's city, Hindle becomes violent and attempts to detonate the explosives. The Doctor restrains him, and in the ensuing struggle, the mirror is shattered. Todd persuades Hindle to open the box, and his sanity is restored.


==Plot==
The Doctor realises that the Mara may be repelled by its own reflection; the one thing evil cannot face is itself. They trap Aris in a circle of reflective solar panels, and the Mara separates itself from him. The Mara enlarges itself into a giant snake, but its power is reflected on itself by the mirrors and it dissipates. Aris is free, the Mara is expelled back to the Dark Places of the Inside, and Hindle and Sanders are restored to mental stability.
===Episode One===
A small human expedition has established a domed base on the tranquil jungle planet of [[Deva Loka]] to determine its suitability for colonization, but all is not well. Four members of the team have disappeared, leaving only the overbearing commander Sanders, his second Hindle, and the scientist Todd.  Todd's warning to Sanders that he's pushing Hindle to the point of a nervous breakdown go unheeded.  Hindle suspects that the native humanoid population, the apparently peaceful and primitive Kinda, are responsible for the disappearances, and is holding two males as hostages.


The TARDIS arrives on Deva Loka. [[Nyssa]] is still unsteady after earlier events (see [[Four to Doomsday]]), and [[Fifth Doctor|the Doctor]] builds her a Delta Wave emitter to help her relax. He, [[Adric]] and [[Tegan]] explore the jungle and discover a clearing lined with crystalline wind chimes. The Doctor is quite surprised; the chimes are set up in harmonics, suggesting the presence of intelligent life. While Tegan rests under the wind chimes, Adric and the Doctor find an empty Total Survival Suit (TSS) nearby, a machine built for a standing human to travel. The door to the machine is open but its operator is nowhere to be found.  When Adric impulsively closes the machine's door, it activates and marches the Doctor and Adric to the dome.
Todd tells the Doctor that she'll recommend that Deva Loka be classified unsuitable for colonisation and that the unit should be removed. She plans to leave, saying, "it's all a bit too green for me". They reach the TARDIS, and when Todd sees Tegan, Adric and the fully-recovered Nyssa standing outside it, Todd asks the Doctor if he really goes into space in it. The Doctor says the idea is "impossible", if not "ridiculous". The Doctor then says goodbye to Todd and herds his companions into the TARDIS. He stops in the doorway and says, "I think paradise is a little too green for me, as well." He waves goodbye to Todd and enters the TARDIS.


Tegan, meanwhile, falls into a deep sleep as the chimes appear to have a hypnotic effect.  Her mind is transported to a black void, where she encounters an elderly couple playing chess, who refuse to acknowledge that she exists.  She then encounters Dukkha, who appears to be the spokesman for a sinister entity.  All three have the same mark of a snake on their forearms. 
== Cast ==
* [[Fifth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Peter Davison]]
* [[Adric]] - [[Matthew Waterhouse]]
* [[Tegan]] - [[Janet Fielding]]
* [[Nyssa]] - [[Sarah Sutton]]
* [[Todd (Kinda)|Todd]] - [[Nerys Hughes]]
* [[Sanders (Kinda)|Sanders]] - [[Richard Todd]]
* [[Hindle]] - [[Simon Rouse]]
* [[Panna]] - [[Mary Morris]]
* [[Karuna]] - [[Sarah Prince]]
* [[Aris]] - [[Adrian Mills]]
* [[Anatta]] - [[Anna Wing]]
* [[Anicca]] - [[Roger Milner]]
* [[Dukkha]] - [[Jeff Stewart]]
* [[Trickster (Kinda)|Trickster]] - [[Lee Cornes]]


At the Dome, the Doctor and Adric are treated with suspicion.  Todd brings the Doctor to see the two Kinda hostages.  The males are mute, but while Sanders and Hindle see this as evidence of primitive minds, Todd sees evidence of deeper intelligence.  She muses that the Kinda are telepathic, and the ornaments they wear around their necks resemble a DNA double-helix.  Outside the window, a lone Kinda male Aris watches.
=== Uncredited cast ===
* Kinda - [[Jerry Judge]] ([[DWM 226]])
* Kinda child - [[Jonny Lee Miller]]


Aris returns to his village in anguish.  The elderly female leader & shaman Panna instructs her young acolyte Karuna to read him (while Kinda males are mute, the females are not).  She senses great pain and anger, as one of the captured Kinda is Aris' brother.
== Crew ==
* [[Assistant Floor Manager]] - [[Val McCrimmon]]
* [[Costumes]] - [[Barbara Kidd]]
* [[Designer (crew)|Designer]] - [[Malcolm Thornton]]
* [[Incidental Music]] - [[Peter Howell]]
* [[Make-Up]] - [[Suzan Broad]]
* [[Producer]] - [[John Nathan-Turner]]
* [[Production Assistant]] - [[Rosemary Parsons]]
* [[Production Associate]] - [[Angela Smith]]
* [[Production Manager]] - [[Anne Faggetter|Ann Faggetter]]
* [[Script Editor]] - [[Eric Saward]]
* [[Senior cameraman|Senior Cameraman]] - [[Alec Wheal]]
* [[Special Sounds]] - [[Dick Mills]]
* [[Studio Lighting]] - [[Mike Jefferies]]
* [[Studio Sound]] - [[Alan Machin]]
* [[Technical manager|Technical Manager]] - [[David Hare]]
* [[Theme Arrangement]] - [[Peter Howell]]
* [[Doctor Who theme|Title Music]] - [[Ron Grainer]]
* [[Videotape editor|Videotape Editor]] - [[Steve Murray]]
* [[Video effects|Video Effects]] - [[Dave Chapman]]
* [[Vision Mixer]] - [[James Gould]]
* [[Visual Effects Designer]] - [[Peter Logan]]


Hindle, left alone with the two Kinda, holds up a mirror.  Seeing their own faces in the reflection, they appear to believe that he has captured their souls, and submit to his will.
=== Uncredited crew ===
* [[Production Assistant]] - [[Sue Plumb]] ([[INFO]]: ''Kinda'')
* [[Design assistant|Design Assistant]] - [[Martin Methven]] ([[INFO]]: ''Kinda'')
* [[Floor assistant|Floor Assistant]] - [[Charles Beeson]] ([[INFO]]: ''Kinda'')
* [[Props buyer|Prop Buyer]] - [[Chris Faraday]] ([[INFO]]: ''Kinda'')
* [[Grams operator|Gram Op]] - [[Andy Stacey]] ([[INFO]]: ''Kinda'')


Todd is appalled when Sanders announces his intention to explore the jungle in the TSS, leaving Hindle in command.  Not only does she believe that Hindle is unstable, but all four of the missing expedition members disappeared the same way.  Her fears about Hindle are immediately confirmed once Sanders leaves; flanked by his two armed Kinda servants, Hindle  announces that he has the power of life and death over all of them.
== Worldbuilding ==
=== The Doctor ===
* The Doctor states a phrase he believed [[K9]] would say.
* The Doctor begins to recite the old adage, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," but stops when considering the end of the statement.


===Episode Two===
=== Foods and beverages ===
The Doctor and Todd are locked in a cell, though Adric manages to persuade Hindle he's on his side.  Hindle declares a state of war between the base and the Kinda, and prepares a campaign to wipe them out.
* When Tegan was three years old, she didn't like [[ice cream]].


Tegan, still trapped in the void, is being taunted by Dukkha.  He confronts her with paradoxes of existence.  First he splits her into two beings and orders them to argue which one is real, then dozens.  Finally her worst fear; being left completely alone.  She submits to his will.  Taking his hand, the mark of the snake moves from his forearm to hers.  She wakes in the clearing with a malevolent grin, now possessed by [[the Mara]].
=== Galactic empires ===
* [[Deva Loka]] was once part of the [[Sumaran Empire]].


Sanders, in his TSS, arrives at the Kinda village.  Karuna approaches him with a small box in her hand.  He takes the box and is overcome by a psychic force.
=== Myths and legends ===
* The [[Wheel of Life]] is the centre of the Kinda's mythology.


Tegan encounters Aris in the jungle. She senses his anguish and taunts him with promises of power.  On taking her arm, he receives the mark of the snake and becomes the new host of the Mara.
=== Cultural References from the Real World ===
* The Doctor quotes Prospero from ''[[The Tempest]], ''"Such stuff as dreams are made on," when they are outside of Panna's cave.


Adric betrays Hindle's trust when he is caught attempting to smuggle a key to the Doctor in the cell.  Hindle's plan to destroy the jungle is foiled when Sanders returns to the Dome in the TSS.  His demeanor is entirely changed, playful and childlike.  He offers the box to Hindle, who is terrified at what may lurk inside.  Hindle imprisons them all in the cell, and orders them to open the box.  The Doctor opens the box; Todd screams...
=== Supposed deities ===
* The [[Mara]] can only cross into reality through the [[dream]]ing of a solitary mind.


===Episode Three===
=== Jargon, slang and colloquialisms ===
...and a jester's puppet pops out.  The tension is broken with laughter; the Doctor observes that the Kinda have a sense of humor.  Hindle is unamused.  However, staring into the box, the Doctor and Todd have a shared psychic experience in which they receive a summons from Panna and Karuna.  The dome's power flickers out and the door to the cell opens.  Todd and the Doctor take their cue to exit.
* [[ILF]] stands for intelligent life form.


The Mara's possession of Aris has endowed him with the power of speech.  Returning to the village (with the mark of the snake hidden) he invokes a Kinda prophecy that when the tribe is confronted with outsiders (the "Not-We") a male "with voice" would become the tribe's leader.  Despite Panna and Karuna's protests, the Kinda submit themselves to Aris' will, and agree to help him attack the Not-We in the Dome.
=== Influences ===


Adric attempts to play along with the unhinged Sanders and Hindle who are constructing an elaborate model city out of cardboard boxes, but he alienates Hindle when he accidentally steps on a small cardboard person.  Hindle now intends to blow the Dome up along with the jungle, ensuring their perpetual safety through death.
* [[Christopher Bailey]] was influenced by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_K._Le_Guin Ursula K LeGuin]'s [[1972]] novel ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Word_for_World_Is_Forest The Word For World Is Forest],'' about a revolution amongst the formerly pacific natives of an alien world against their human slavers, although Bailey would later profess no memory of having read it.


The Doctor and Todd meet Panna and Karuna in their mountaintop cave. Together they have a shared psychic experience where they see that the presence of the Mara and the arrival of the Not-We are part of the great cycle of life, The Wheel, and that the time has come when chaos would return to their world. Emerging from the trance, they find that Panna is dead.
== Story notes ==
* The working title for the story was ''The Kinda''.
* ''Kinda'' is based on [[Buddhist]] concepts, with Buddhist names and themes throughout the story. The name of the planet "Deva Loka" means "realm of the Gods". The Mara derives from a [[demon]] of the same name in Buddhist [[mythology]] which, as in ''Doctor Who'', symbolises [[temptation]] rather than [[evil]] (at least, in the sense of "[[sin]]fulness"). In ''Kinda'', [[Dukkha]], [[Panna]], [[Karuna]], [[Anatta]] and [[Anicca]]'s names and functions all derive from Buddhism as well. Dukkha is "suffering" (his name is also a play on the word "Doctor"), Panna is "[[wisdom]]", Karuna means "[[compassion (emotion)|compassion]]", Anatta is "not-self" and Annica means "impermanence". In ''Snakedance'', the character of Tanha appears; Tanha is "[[thirst]]", which figuratively means "restlessness" or "craving".
* This is the only story of the [[Peter Davison]] era not to feature any [[TARDIS control room|TARDIS interior]] scenes.
* In addition, the story contains [[Biblical]] references (an [[Garden of Eden|arboreal paradise]], a [[serpent]], and [[apple]]s).
* ''[[Doctor Who: The Unfolding Text]]'' features a section on the making of ''Kinda''.
* Nyssa does not appear in parts two and three due to [[Sarah Sutton]]'s contract being negotiated. Sutton didn't mind, as she took the time off to go shopping.
* While the exact date in which this story is set is not made clear, Todd does mention that their unnamed "mother world" —which could be Earth, bearing in mind the survey team have recognisably English names — is vastly overpopulated. This could indicate that it takes place around the same era as [[TV]]: ''[[Colony in Space (TV story)|Colony in Space]]''. ''[[A History of the Universe (reference book)|A History of the Universe]]'' and the first two editions of ''[[AHistory]]'' arbitrarily place the story in [[28th century|2782]]. The third edition redates it to [[31st century|3026]], based on evidence from ''[[The Cradle of the Snake (audio story)|The Cradle of the Snake]]''.
* This was [[Janet Fielding]]'s favourite script, according to the roughly contemporaneous [[DWM 104|DWM #104]]. [[Peter Davison]] also loved it, as he felt that it gave her more to do than raise her eyes and get angry at the Doctor.
* ''Kinda'' was commissioned by [[Christopher H. Bidmead]], worked on by [[Anthony Root]] and actually produced under [[Eric Saward]]. It, therefore, is at least in the running for the serial that went through the most [[script editor]]s.
* Adric asks the Doctor about leaving the sonic screwdriver in the TARDIS, to which the Doctor replies, "What would we need it for?" The screwdriver is destroyed in the following story, ''[[The Visitation (TV story)|The Visitation]]''.
* One of the uncredited child actors in this story is future film and TV star [[Jonny Lee Miller]].[http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2012/09/elementary-10-jonny-lee-miller-roles-you-should-know]
* The story is also a striking allegory for [[Australia]]n [[colonialism]]. It is unclear if this is intentional but there are many striking similarities between both the Kinda themselves and their colonisers; and those of the [[Aborigine|Australian Aboriginal people]] and theirs. The automatic dismissal of their status and intelligence (out of ignorance or indifference). Similar kinship systems are also reflected. The period of creation in Aboriginal lore is also known as the Dreamtime or the Dreaming and the snake/serpent is a prominent feature.
* [[Christopher Bailey]] regrets using Buddhist names in the script, saying, "If you were making a [[Japan]]ese show, you'd think twice about calling one of the characters [[Jesus Christ]]." He also thought the production was poor, although he admired [[Simon Rouse]]'s performance as Hindle. He was horrified by the childish cardboard box construction of Hindle's and Sanders' model city in the last episode, which he felt should have been a more serious enterprise. He didn't like that garden centre look of Deva Loka either, and asked that if they couldn't realise his ideas, why didn't they ask him to come up with ideas that could be realised? He particularly hated the shampoo-advert hippies playing the natives.
* [[Matthew Waterhouse]] felt that he gave his best performance in this story and that production was emotionally deeper than usual.
* [[Christopher Bailey]] originally wrote the script with the [[Fourth Doctor]] in mind. He had originally envisioned the Doctor playing the role of a “wise sage”, but the younger Doctor anticipated by the production team would no longer suit this portrayal.
* [[Richard Todd]] is first best actor [[Academy Award|Oscar]] nominee to appear in the series.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Andrews Harry Andrews], [[Bernard Archard]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Bailey Robin Bailey], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Clark Ernest Clark], [[Robert Fleming]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Howard Trevor Howard], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mills John Mills] and [[Nigel Stock]] were considered for Sanders.
* [[Nerys Hughes]] replaced [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marti_Webb Marti Webb] as Todd. [[Lynda Bellingham]], [[Isla Blair]], [[Eleanor Bron]], [[Clare Clifford]], [[Pauline Collins]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judi_Dench Judi Dench], [[Liza Goddard]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Hanley Jenny Hanley], [[Diane Keen]], [[Rula Lenska]], [[Maureen Lipman]], [[Joanna Lumley]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Mirren Helen Mirren], [[Kate O'Mara]], [[Diana Quick]], [[Diana Rigg]], [[Pamela Salem]], [[Twiggy]], [[Wanda Ventham]] and [[Fiona Walker]] were also considered for the role.
* [[Richard Todd]] was asked to tone his performance down in rehearsals as [[John Nathan-Turner]] thought it was far too over the top.
* [[Nerys Hughes]] says on the [[DVD]] commentary she was baffled by the script.
* Both [[Simon Rouse]] and [[Jeff Stewart]] later went on to star in ''[[The Bill]]''. [[Peter Davison]]'s daughter [[Georgia Moffett]] would later appear in the series herself as Abby Nixon and her husband, future Doctor [[David Tennant]] appeared in the series in the one-off guest role of Steve Clemens.
* The relationship between [[Christopher Bailey]] and [[Eric Saward]] was uneasy, as the author felt that the script editor was performing unnecessarily broad rewrites on his episodes, forcing him to make further changes at the last minute in an attempt to find middle ground. According to Saward, Bailey said at one point, "My themes! Where have they gone?" to which Saward replied, "It was either this or we rejected it". Bailey found the rewrites clunky and rewrote the script himself.
* [[John Nathan-Turner]] disapproved of the intended final scene, in which Sanders and Hindle link arms and walk into the forest, holding a flower. He feared that this would appear too campy, and ordered that it be excised from the shooting script.
* The colonial subtext was [[John Nathan-Turner]]'s idea, as was the pith helmets.
* In editing, it was discovered that although parts one and two overran significantly (resulting in a number of minor edits), part four could not be made to stretch to its requisite duration. Because of the structure of part three, it would be difficult to move up material to help fill the gap, as was the normal practice. Consequently, [[Eric Saward]] was forced to ask [[Christopher Bailey]] to provide four minutes' worth of extra material featuring only the regular cast to pad out the episode. Bailey developed two scenes set in the expedition dome's airlock, one involving Tegan and Adric discussing Hindle's bomb, and another in which the Doctor assures them that Hindle is no longer a threat.
* [[Sarah Sutton]] and [[Sarah Prince]] were at drama school together, yet they don't share any screen time in the story.
* The forest of the Kinda was an allusion to [[Garden of Eden|the Garden of Eden]].
* Sanders was named for the title character in the [[1935]] adventure film ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanders_of_the_River Sanders of the River]''. Ironically, [[Richard Todd]] starred in the remake ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Drums_Along_the_River Death Drums Along the River]''.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Drums_Along_the_River]
* [[Peter Grimwade]] was unhappy with the forest set, feeling that it gave away the studio-bound nature. Considerable time was spent hiding the studio floor under scattered leaves, resulting in some material being taped without the benefit of camera rehearsals. Grimwade was ultimately forced to abandon some of his planned shots, including a complex effects sequence in which Panna sat atop a crumbling plinth. Visual effects designer [[Peter Logan]] was infuriated that so much thought and planning had gone to waste, and he subsequently requested that special effects be given greater consideration in the future.
* [[Peter Grimwade]] was concerned about some of the symbolism in Tegan's dream environment, as he thought that some of these elements, such as the phallic nature of the Mara's serpentine form, were too adult, and tried to tone them down.
* Tegan's dream environment was referred to as "The Wherever" in the script, while Panna's vision was described as being set in "The Beyond".
* At a late stage, it was decided to substantially shorten the dream sequences, including dropping plans for the appearance of a plant creature. The BBC Visual Effects Department had already started to build the prop, however, meaning that the associated expense would be squandered.


===Episode Four===
=== Ratings ===
Karuna now embodies Panna's spirit, and is now shaman. They find the unconscious Tegan and realize that the Mara entered Tegan's mind from the Dark Places of the Inside, and is now present on Deva Loka in Aris.
* Part one - 8.4 million viewers
* Part two - 9.4 million viewers
* Part three - 8.5 million viewers
* Part four - 8.9 million viewers


Adric seeks shelter from Sanders and Hindle in the TSS, but it activates and he can't control it. At the same time, Aris and the Kinda launch a futile attack on the Dome. Adric in the TSS accidentally wounds Aris and the others flee.  The Doctor arrives and liberates Adric from the machine.  Todd persuades Hindle to open the Box.
=== Myths ===
* [[Kate Bush]] wrote ''Kinda'' under a pseudonym. ''(She didn't.)''
* Playwright [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Stoppard Tom Stoppard] wrote this story under a pseudonym. ''(He didn't.)''
* During a break between filming scenes, [[Matthew Waterhouse]] attempted to lecture the Oscar-nominated and vastly more experienced [[Richard Todd]] on how to act. ''(While [[Peter Davison]] has made this claim, Waterhouse has clarified that this did not actually happen. He did off-handedly remark to Todd that "the secret of acting is not to look at the camera," but was actually poking fun at a scene he himself had flubbed by looking into the camera a little while earlier. However, Waterhouse did admit that he tried to give the more experienced Davison tips on how to play the Doctor during filming of [[Four to Doomsday (TV story)|Four to Doomsday]], and that Davison likely assumed he was doing the same to Todd.''


The Doctor realizes that the Mara may be repelled by its own reflection.  They trap Aris in a circle of reflective solar panels, and the Mara separates itself from him.  The Mara enlarges itself into a giant snake, but its power is reflected back on itself by the mirrors and it dissipates.  Aris is free, the Mara is expelled back to the Dark Places of the Inside, and Hindle and Sanders are restored to mental stability.  The expedition members all agree that Deva Loka will be reported as unsuitable for colonization.  Adric, Tegan and the Doctor return to the TARDIS, find Nyssa well-rested and recovered, and they depart.
=== Filming locations ===
* [[BBC Television Centre]] ([[List of stories recorded at BBC Television Centre|TC8]]), Shepherd's Bush, [[London]]


==Cast==
=== Production errors ===
*[[Fifth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Peter Davison]]
{{discontinuity}}
*[[Adric]] - [[Matthew Waterhouse]]
* In part one, the Doctor asks Tegan to strike two winds chimes, resulting in an ascending perfect fourth. The Doctor incorrectly identifies the interval as a "perfect fifth".
*[[Tegan]] - [[Janet Fielding]]
* In part two, when the Doctor asks Hindle why he thinks the plants are hostile, a crew member is visible through the doorway behind them.
*[[Nyssa]] - [[Sarah Sutton]]
* Adric and Nyssa's [[draughts]] board is the wrong way round.
*[[Todd]] - [[Nerys Hughes]]
* The camera wobbles often throughout the [[serial]].
*[[Sanders]] - [[Richard Todd]]
* When the Kinda surround the Mara-possessed Aris with mirrors, there is an obvious gap at the lower left for the camera to dolly in and out.
*[[Hindle]] - [[Simon Rouse]]
*[[Panna]] - [[Mary Morris]]
*[[Karuna]] - [[Sarah Prince]]
*[[Aris]] - [[Adrian Mills]]
*[[Anatta]] - [[Anna Wing]]
*[[Anicca]] - [[Roger Milner]]
*[[Dukkha]] - [[Jeff Stewart]]
*[[Trickster]] - [[Lee Cornes]]


==Crew==
=== CGI Effects ===
*[[Assistant Floor Manager]] - [[Val McCrimmon]]
[[File:Cg_mara.jpg|thumb|right|The 2011 CGI [[Mara]].]]
*[[Costumes]] - [[Barbara Kidd]]
The story received a '''CGI Effects''' version in the [[2011 (releases)|2011]] ''[[Mara Tales]]'' boxset. The effects were done by [[Chris Petts]] and [[Sally Clayton]].{{Store variant data|variant=CGI Effects|release date =20 June 2009}}
*[[Designer]] - [[Malcolm Thornton]]
*[[Incidental Music]] - [[Peter Howell]]
*[[Make-Up]] - [[Suzan Broad]]
*[[Producer]] - [[John Nathan-Turner]]
*[[Production Assistant]] - [[Sue Plumb]], [[Rosemary Parsons]]
*[[Production Associate]] - [[Angela Smith]]
*[[Script Editor]] - [[Eric Saward]]
*[[Special Sounds]] - [[Dick Mills]]
*[[Studio Lighting]] - [[Mike Jefferies]]
*[[Studio Sound]] - [[Alan Machin]]
*[[Theme Arrangement]] - [[Peter Howell]]
*[[Title Music]] - [[Ron Grainer]]
*[[Visual Effects]] - [[Peter Logan]]


==References==
==== Deviations from original serial ====
*The Doctor refers to [[K-9]].
* The physical appearance of the [[Mara]] at the end of the story is updated to a fully CGI creature, more closely resembling a realistic snake.


===[[:Category:Supposed deities|Supposed deities]]===
==== Other information ====
*[[Mara]]
* The CGI version of the Mara appears on the cover of the [[Eleventh Doctor]] anthology ''[[Tales of Trenzalore: The Eleventh Doctor's Last Stand]]''.


===[[:Category:Galactic empires|Galactic empires]]===
== Continuity ==
*[[Deva Loka]] was once part of the [[Sumaran Empire]].
* The Mara maintains a connection to Tegan, which soon manifests itself again on the planet of Manussa, before being banished for a second time. ([[TV]]: ''[[Snakedance (TV story)|Snakedance]]'') At a later point in time, when the Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and [[Turlough]] were visiting the planet of [[Chodor]], a third manifestation was premised. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Whispering Forest (audio story)|The Whispering Forest]]'') They then fought the entity, once again on Manussa, though centuries before the rise of the Sumaran Empire. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Cradle of the Snake (audio story)|The Cradle of the Snake]]'')
* The Eleventh Doctor encountered the Mara while protecting the town of [[Christmas (town)|Christmas]] on [[Trenzalore]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Dreaming (short story)|The Dreaming]]'')
==Story Notes==
* The Mara later taunts the Doctor by saying Chodor is too green for him, which is what he said about Deva Loka. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Whispering Forest (audio story)|The Whispering Forest]]'')
* Kinda is supposedly all about Buddhism, with Buddhist names and themes throughout the story.
* Tegan later recounts the events of ''Kinda'' while in a dream state induced by the Doctor. ([[TV]]: ''[[Snakedance (TV story)|Snakedance]]'')
*The textbook [[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Unfolding Text]]'' features section on the making of Kinda.
* Wind chimes from Deva Loka are possessed by the [[Galactic Federation]], who classified the planet as "S14" by the mid [[39th century]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Legacy (novel)|Legacy]]'')
*Well known British film star Richard Todd plays Sanders.
* Adric apparently holds on to one of the Kinda's caduceus pendants as a keepsake in his room; it makes minor appearances in part one of both [[TV]]: ''[[Earthshock (TV story)|Earthshock]]'' and [[TV]]: ''[[Terminus (TV story)|Terminus]]''.
*[[Nerys Hughes]], better known for her starring roles in the BBC's The Liver Birds and The District Nurse, plays Todd. She also got a role in [[Torchwood]] in ''[[Something Borrowed]]'' as [[Brenda Williams]] mother of [[Rhys Williams]].  
* Jack Harkness later described the Mara as "kind of malignant wraiths," claiming it was where the word "nightmare" came from, and that they suffocated people in their sleep. ([[TV]]: ''[[Small Worlds (TV story)|Small Worlds]]'')
*Adrian Mills plays Aris - he later became a television presenter, including on the BBC's consumer programme That's Life.
*Both Simon Rouse and Jeff Stewart went on to star in "The Bill"


===Ratings===
== Home video and audio releases ==
*Part 1 - 8.4 million viewers
=== DVD releases ===
*Part 2 - 9.4 million viewers
It was released on DVD in a box set called ''Mara Tales'' with ''[[Snakedance (TV story)|Snakedance]]'' on 7 March 2011 in Region 2.
*Part 3 - 8.5 million viewers
*Part 4 - 8.9 million viewers


===Myths===
Contents:
*Kate Bush wrote Kinda under a pseudonym. ''(She didn't)''
* Commentary by [[Peter Davison]] ([[Fifth Doctor|The Doctor]]), [[Janet Fielding]] ([[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]]), [[Matthew Waterhouse]] ([[Adric]]) and [[Nerys Hughes]] ([[Todd (Kinda)|Todd]])
*Playwright Tom Stoppard wrote this story under a pseudonym. ''(He didn't)''
* ''[[Dream Time (documentary)|Dream Time]]'' - The making of ''Kinda'', featuring [[Simon Rouse]] ([[Hindle]]), [[Adrian Mills]] ([[Aris]]), director [[Peter Grimwade]], writer [[Christopher Bailey]], script editors [[Christopher H. Bidmead]], [[Eric Saward]] and [[Antony Root]], and designer [[Malcolm Thornton]]
* ''[[Peter Grimwade: Directing with attitude... (documentary)|Peter Grimwade - Directing With Attitude]]'' - A look back at the career of Peter Grimwade
* Deleted and Extended Scenes
* Optional CGI Effects Sequence
* CGI Effects Comparison Featurette
* Isolated Score - Listen to the incidental music on a separate audio track
* ''[[Radio Times]]'' Billings (PDF DVD-ROM - PC/Mac)
* Production Information Subtitles
* Photo Gallery
* Trails and Continuity
* Coming Soon Trailer - ''[[Revisitations|Revisitations 2]]''


===Filming Locations===
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
*[[BBC Television Centre]] ([[List of stories recorded at BBC Television Centre|TC8]]), Shepherd's Bush, [[London]]
Mara Tales DVD UK cover.jpg|[[Mara Tales]] region 2 cover.
Kinda dvd.jpg|Region 1 cover.
Mara Talesdvd.jpg|Mara Tales Region 4 cover
Maratales-kinda.jpg|Region 2 DVD cover
DOCTOR-WHO-Kinda-DVD-BBC-AS-NEW.jpg|Region 4 DVD cover
</gallery>


===Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors===
[http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2010/12/dwn301210232212-dvd-update.html]
''to be added''


==Continuity==
It was released as [[DWDVDF 93|issue 93]] of ''[[Doctor Who DVD Files]]''.
*[[DW]]: ''[[Snakedance]]'' is the sequel to this story.
*Wind chimes from Deva Loka appear in [[NA]]: ''[[Legacy]]''.


==DVD and Video Releases==
=== Video releases ===
''to be added''
This story was released on VHS in October 1994 in the United Kingdom, February 1995 in Australia and June 1996 in the US.


==Novelisation==
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
[[Image:Kinda novel.jpg|right|75px]]
File:Kinda VHS UK cover.jpg|VHS UK cover
: ''Main article: [[Kinda (novelisation)]]''
File:Kinda VHS Australian cover.jpg|VHS Australian cover
File:Kinda VHS US cover.jpg|VHS US cover
</gallery>


* Novelised by [[Terrance Dicks]] in [[1984]].
=== Digital releases ===
The story is available for streaming through BritBox in Canada & the US and through Amazon Instant Video in the UK.


==See also==
=== Audio release ===
''to be added''
An audio recording of the story was also released. It was read by Peter Davison.
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
file:Bbcaudio14.jpg|Cassette cover
</gallery>


==External Links==
== External links ==
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/kinda/ BBC Episode Guide to '''Kinda''']
* {{bbcepguideclassic|kinda/|Kinda}}
*[http://www.gallifreyone.com/episode.php?id=5y Outpost Gallifrey Episode Guide: '''Kinda''']
* {{radiotimes|2012-01-17/kinda}}
*[http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_5y.htm Doctor Who Reference Guide: Detailed Synopsis - '''Kinda''']
{{dwcast}}
*[http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/5y.html A Brief History of Time (Travel): '''Kinda''']
{{dwrefguide|who_5y.htm|Kinda}}
* {{briefhistory|serials/5y.html|Kinda}}
{{DWTV}}
{{Revised editions of Doctor Who TV stories}}
{{Mara stories}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[es:Kinda (serial)]]


{{season 19}}
[[Category:Doctor Who (1963) television stories]]
{{TV stub}}
[[Category:Season 19 stories]]
[[Category:Fifth Doctor episodes]]
[[Category:Mara stories]]
[[Category:1982 television stories]]
[[Category:Television stories set in Mutter's Spiral]]
[[Category:Stories set outside time and space]]
[[Category:Four part serials]]
[[Category:Television stories set in dreams]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 39th century]]

Latest revision as of 20:08, 3 November 2024

RealWorld.png

Kinda was the third serial of season 19 of Doctor Who. It featured mainly Tegan and Adric alongside the Fifth Doctor. Narratively, it was an especially important story for Tegan, as it established a villain, the Mara, particularly interested in her. The Mara would later return to plague Tegan in other performed Doctor Who stories. (TV: Snakedance and AUDIO: The Cradle of the Snake)

In 1982, it was a serial that wasn't well liked amongst the Doctor Who fans who participated in the Doctor Who Monthly (later known as Doctor Who Magazine) season poll. It ranked last amongst the season's stories, although the Mara, Dukkha, Hindle, and Todd were all well-liked enough to be runners-up in their respective "favourite character" categories (DWM 69). It has gradually seen its status rise over the years, including among 2010s writer of DWM, Big Finish and BBC Books Jonathan Morris (DWM 474). In a larger poll done in 2009, respondents to DWM placed it 69th out of the then-200 Doctor Who stories that had been made — almost a full 60 positions higher than its sequel, Snakedance (DWM 413). A similar DWM poll in 2014 ranked it 63rd out of the 241 Doctor Who stories from the show's first fifty years and the second most popular season 19 story after Earthshock (DWM 474). Whatever the fan opinion, Kinda was something contemporary British critics appreciated. The National Film Archive purchased it soon after its broadcast as "an example of the programme at its best" (DWM 104).

Kinda, however, was remarkable for reasons other than its reception.

With the exception of K9, Kinda was the first occasion since the show had started filming in colour that a companion was absent from the narrative for an entire episode. Generally, this happened in the monochromatic era because an actor needed to take a holiday from the nearly year-long production schedule that was then the norm. In this instance, however, Nyssa's absence was more akin to Jamie's in The Moonbase: the scripts had simply been completed by the writer before the new companion had been cast. Thus, just as Jamie McCrimmon was "ill" for large parts of The Moonbase, Nyssa fainted in part one of Kinda and re-emerged after a restorative TARDIS nap in part four.

Kinda was also responsible for a bit of a revolution in the way that Doctor Who was made. On the positive side, it featured some of the then-latest Quantel effects for the trip through Tegan's eye. On the negative, it was plagued by studio problems with camera flare that eroded the five-day studio schedule to the point that there was no time left for some of director Peter Grimwade's more innovative shots. The chief casualty was the depiction of the Mara's snake form in episode four. This was originally going to have been achieved in a completely different manner, but the time crunch meant that Grimwade had to resort to a less-than-convincing puppet. Still, this disaster would allow the programme to push for and get, a six-day recording block in future (DWM #104).

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

The TARDIS visits the planet Deva Loka, where Nyssa remains behind in the ship to recover from a mild mental disorientation while the Doctor, Tegan and Adric explore. Tegan falls asleep under some wind chimes and becomes possessed by an evil force, a Mara.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Part one[[edit] | [edit source]]

A small human expedition has established a domed base on the tranquil jungle planet of Deva Loka to determine its suitability for colonisation, but all is not well. Three members of the team have disappeared, leaving only the overbearing commander, Sanders; his second, Hindle; and the scientist Todd. Todd's warning to Sanders that he's pushing Hindle to the point of a nervous breakdown go unheeded. Hindle suspects that the native humanoid population, the apparently peaceful and primitive Kinda, are responsible for the disappearances, and is holding two males as hostages.

Inside Tegan's head, the Mara vies for control.

The TARDIS arrives on Deva Loka. Nyssa is still unsteady after recent events aboard the Urbankan ship, and the Fifth Doctor builds her a delta wave augmenter, using his sonic screwdriver as a component, to help her relax. He, Adric and Tegan explore the jungle and discover a clearing lined with crystalline wind chimes. The Doctor is surprised; the chimes are set up in harmonics, suggesting the presence of intelligent life. While Tegan rests under the wind chimes, Adric and the Doctor find an empty Total Survival Suit (TSS) nearby, a machine built for a standing human to travel. The door to the machine is open but its operator is nowhere to be found. When Adric impulsively slams the machine's door, it activates and marches the Doctor and Adric to the dome.

Tegan, meanwhile, falls into a deep sleep as the chimes appear to have a hypnotic effect. Her consciousness is transported to a black void where she encounters an elderly couple, Anicca and Anatta, playing a board game, who refuse to acknowledge that she exists and tell her to go away. Tegan then encounters Dukkha, who appears to be the spokesman for a sinister entity. All three have the same mark of a snake on their forearms. Dukkha confronts Tegan with paradoxes of existence; he splits her into two beings and orders them to argue which one is real.

At the Dome, the Doctor and Adric are treated with suspicion. Sanders demands to know what has happened to Roberts, the expedition member who was using the machine in the area, but the Doctor explains that it was empty when he and Adric found it. Todd brings the Doctor to see the two Kinda hostages. The males are mute, but while Sanders and Hindle see this as evidence of primitive minds, Todd sees evidence of deeper intelligence. She muses that the Kinda are telepathic, and the ornaments they wear around their necks resemble a DNA double-helix. Todd starts eating an apple and offers one to the Doctor. Outside the window, a lone Kinda male, Aris, watches.

Hindle takes over.

Hindle smashes things in the lab after ordering the Doctor and Todd to go see Sanders. Left alone with the two Kinda, he holds up a mirror. Seeing their own faces in the reflection, they appear to believe that he has captured their souls and submit to his will.

Todd is appalled when Sanders announces his intention to explore the jungle in the TSS, leaving Hindle in command. Not only does she believe that Hindle is unstable, but all three of the missing expedition members disappeared the same way. Her fears about Hindle are immediately confirmed once Sanders leaves; flanked by his two armed Kinda servants, Hindle announces that he has the power of life and death over all of them.

Part two[[edit] | [edit source]]

Panna and Karuna sense Aris' approach.

Sanders, in his TSS, draws near to the Kinda village. Panna, the female shaman of the tribe, hears his approach and directs her acolyte Karuna to give him a small box she is holding - the male Kinda are mute but females can speak. Before Sanders comes near, Aris returns to his village in anguish. Panna instructs Karuna to read him telepathically. She senses great pain and anger in Aris, as one of the captured Kinda is his brother.

The Doctor, Adric, and Todd are locked in a cell while Hindle dresses his Kinda hostages in colonial uniforms. Meanwhile, Sanders draws nearer to Panna and Karuna. Karuna protests that it is dangerous for a male to take the box, but Panna is resolute. Karuna presents him with the box; Sanders takes it and is overcome by a psychic force.

Hindle, now even more unhinged, announces his intention to sterilise an area fifty miles around the dome, using fire and acid, believing the plant life of Deva Loka to be an enemy. Adric manages to persuade Hindle he's on his side, then swipes the cell key. Unfortunately, his attempt to smuggle the key to the Doctor in the cell fails.

Tegan multiplies herself within her dreams.

Tegan, still trapped in the void, is literally arguing with herself. Dukkha returns to taunt her, adding many more Tegans. Dukkha makes it clear what he wants: her physical form. When Tegan demands that he leave her alone, he grants her wish: she is left completely alone. Tegan submits to his will. Taking his hand, the mark of the snake moves from his forearm to hers. She wakes in the clearing with a malevolent grin, now possessed by the Mara.

Hindle's plan to punish Adric's treason is interrupted when Sanders returns to the Dome in the TSS. His demeanour is entirely changed, playful and childlike. He offers the box to Hindle, who is terrified at what may lurk inside.

Tegan encounters Aris in the jungle. She senses his anguish and taunts him with promises of power. On taking her arm, he receives the mark of the snake and becomes the new host of the Mara.

Hindle imprisons the Doctor, Todd, and Sanders in the cell, and orders them to open the box or else he'll have them shot. The Doctor opens the box, and Todd screams...

Part three[[edit] | [edit source]]

A jester's puppet pops out of the box. The tension is broken with laughter; the Doctor observes that the Kinda have a sense of humour. Hindle is unamused. However, staring into the box, the Doctor and Todd have a shared psychic experience in which they receive a summons from Panna and Karuna. The dome's power flickers out and the door to the cell opens. Todd and the Doctor take their cue to exit, seeking out the Kinda. Sanders is left in a daze from the box, however, and is left behind.

Hindle tries to draw Adric into his Mara-inspired insanity.

While Hindle decides that the only recourse is to destroy the dome with explosives, the Doctor and Todd encounter the Kinda, led by a jester. The Doctor builds a rapport with the jester with sleight of hand, only to be interrupted by Aris bellowing, "Seize the Not-We!"

With the mark of the snake on his arm hidden, Aris invokes a Kinda prophecy that when the tribe is confronted with outsiders (the "Not-We"), a male "with voice" would become the tribe's leader. In the confusion, Karuna leads the Doctor and Todd away from the stunned Kinda. Hindle has rigged the dome to explode, taking a chunk of the jungle with it, ensuring their perpetual safety through death. Adric attempts to play along with the unhinged Sanders and Hindle who are constructing an elaborate model city out of cardboard boxes.

The Doctor and Todd meet Panna and Karuna in their mountaintop cave. Aris follows and confronts them. Despite Panna's protests, the Kinda submit themselves to Aris's will, and Karuna joins them to attack the Not-We in the Dome.

The Doctor notices the mark of the Mara on Aris's arm; despite her blindness, Panna is aware of it as well. She insists that they must understand. Together they have a shared psychic vision of the Kinda in a circle of timekeeping devices. As the timepieces countdown, the jester dances in the circle until the clocks stop, the end of the cycle. Emerging from the trance, they find that Panna is dead.

Part four[[edit] | [edit source]]

Karuna receives Panna's spirit and is snapped out of her obedience to Aris. She returns to the cave and takes Panna's staff. They realise that the Mara entered Tegan's mind from the Dark Places of the Inside, and is now present on Deva Loka in Aris.

Adric seeks shelter from Sanders and Hindle in the TSS, but it activates and he can't control it. At the same time, Aris and the Kinda launch a futile attack on the dome. Adric in the TSS accidentally opens fire, wounding Aris and making the others flee. The Doctor arrives and calms Adric, freeing him from the machine.

The Mara's true form revealed.

Todd and the Doctor confront Hindle and Sanders. Hindle reveals how he is controlling the Kinda hostages: they believe the mirror he held to their faces captured their souls. When the Doctor accidentally steps on and crushes one of the cardboard people in Hindle's city, Hindle becomes violent and attempts to detonate the explosives. The Doctor restrains him, and in the ensuing struggle, the mirror is shattered. Todd persuades Hindle to open the box, and his sanity is restored.

The Doctor realises that the Mara may be repelled by its own reflection; the one thing evil cannot face is itself. They trap Aris in a circle of reflective solar panels, and the Mara separates itself from him. The Mara enlarges itself into a giant snake, but its power is reflected on itself by the mirrors and it dissipates. Aris is free, the Mara is expelled back to the Dark Places of the Inside, and Hindle and Sanders are restored to mental stability.

Todd tells the Doctor that she'll recommend that Deva Loka be classified unsuitable for colonisation and that the unit should be removed. She plans to leave, saying, "it's all a bit too green for me". They reach the TARDIS, and when Todd sees Tegan, Adric and the fully-recovered Nyssa standing outside it, Todd asks the Doctor if he really goes into space in it. The Doctor says the idea is "impossible", if not "ridiculous". The Doctor then says goodbye to Todd and herds his companions into the TARDIS. He stops in the doorway and says, "I think paradise is a little too green for me, as well." He waves goodbye to Todd and enters the TARDIS.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Uncredited cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Uncredited crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor states a phrase he believed K9 would say.
  • The Doctor begins to recite the old adage, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," but stops when considering the end of the statement.

Foods and beverages[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • When Tegan was three years old, she didn't like ice cream.

Galactic empires[[edit] | [edit source]]

Myths and legends[[edit] | [edit source]]

Cultural References from the Real World[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor quotes Prospero from The Tempest, "Such stuff as dreams are made on," when they are outside of Panna's cave.

Supposed deities[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Mara can only cross into reality through the dreaming of a solitary mind.

Jargon, slang and colloquialisms[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • ILF stands for intelligent life form.

Influences[[edit] | [edit source]]

Story notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The working title for the story was The Kinda.
  • Kinda is based on Buddhist concepts, with Buddhist names and themes throughout the story. The name of the planet "Deva Loka" means "realm of the Gods". The Mara derives from a demon of the same name in Buddhist mythology which, as in Doctor Who, symbolises temptation rather than evil (at least, in the sense of "sinfulness"). In Kinda, Dukkha, Panna, Karuna, Anatta and Anicca's names and functions all derive from Buddhism as well. Dukkha is "suffering" (his name is also a play on the word "Doctor"), Panna is "wisdom", Karuna means "compassion", Anatta is "not-self" and Annica means "impermanence". In Snakedance, the character of Tanha appears; Tanha is "thirst", which figuratively means "restlessness" or "craving".
  • This is the only story of the Peter Davison era not to feature any TARDIS interior scenes.
  • In addition, the story contains Biblical references (an arboreal paradise, a serpent, and apples).
  • Doctor Who: The Unfolding Text features a section on the making of Kinda.
  • Nyssa does not appear in parts two and three due to Sarah Sutton's contract being negotiated. Sutton didn't mind, as she took the time off to go shopping.
  • While the exact date in which this story is set is not made clear, Todd does mention that their unnamed "mother world" —which could be Earth, bearing in mind the survey team have recognisably English names — is vastly overpopulated. This could indicate that it takes place around the same era as TV: Colony in Space. A History of the Universe and the first two editions of AHistory arbitrarily place the story in 2782. The third edition redates it to 3026, based on evidence from The Cradle of the Snake.
  • This was Janet Fielding's favourite script, according to the roughly contemporaneous DWM #104. Peter Davison also loved it, as he felt that it gave her more to do than raise her eyes and get angry at the Doctor.
  • Kinda was commissioned by Christopher H. Bidmead, worked on by Anthony Root and actually produced under Eric Saward. It, therefore, is at least in the running for the serial that went through the most script editors.
  • Adric asks the Doctor about leaving the sonic screwdriver in the TARDIS, to which the Doctor replies, "What would we need it for?" The screwdriver is destroyed in the following story, The Visitation.
  • One of the uncredited child actors in this story is future film and TV star Jonny Lee Miller.[1]
  • The story is also a striking allegory for Australian colonialism. It is unclear if this is intentional but there are many striking similarities between both the Kinda themselves and their colonisers; and those of the Australian Aboriginal people and theirs. The automatic dismissal of their status and intelligence (out of ignorance or indifference). Similar kinship systems are also reflected. The period of creation in Aboriginal lore is also known as the Dreamtime or the Dreaming and the snake/serpent is a prominent feature.
  • Christopher Bailey regrets using Buddhist names in the script, saying, "If you were making a Japanese show, you'd think twice about calling one of the characters Jesus Christ." He also thought the production was poor, although he admired Simon Rouse's performance as Hindle. He was horrified by the childish cardboard box construction of Hindle's and Sanders' model city in the last episode, which he felt should have been a more serious enterprise. He didn't like that garden centre look of Deva Loka either, and asked that if they couldn't realise his ideas, why didn't they ask him to come up with ideas that could be realised? He particularly hated the shampoo-advert hippies playing the natives.
  • Matthew Waterhouse felt that he gave his best performance in this story and that production was emotionally deeper than usual.
  • Christopher Bailey originally wrote the script with the Fourth Doctor in mind. He had originally envisioned the Doctor playing the role of a “wise sage”, but the younger Doctor anticipated by the production team would no longer suit this portrayal.
  • Richard Todd is first best actor Oscar nominee to appear in the series.
  • Harry AndrewsBernard ArchardRobin BaileyErnest ClarkRobert FlemingTrevor Howard, John Mills and Nigel Stock were considered for Sanders.
  • Nerys Hughes replaced Marti Webb as Todd. Lynda Bellingham, Isla Blair, Eleanor Bron, Clare Clifford, Pauline Collins, Judi Dench, Liza Goddard, Jenny Hanley, Diane Keen, Rula Lenska, Maureen Lipman, Joanna Lumley, Helen Mirren, Kate O'Mara, Diana Quick, Diana Rigg, Pamela Salem, Twiggy, Wanda Ventham and Fiona Walker were also considered for the role.
  • Richard Todd was asked to tone his performance down in rehearsals as John Nathan-Turner thought it was far too over the top.
  • Nerys Hughes says on the DVD commentary she was baffled by the script.
  • Both Simon Rouse and Jeff Stewart later went on to star in The Bill. Peter Davison's daughter Georgia Moffett would later appear in the series herself as Abby Nixon and her husband, future Doctor David Tennant appeared in the series in the one-off guest role of Steve Clemens.
  • The relationship between Christopher Bailey and Eric Saward was uneasy, as the author felt that the script editor was performing unnecessarily broad rewrites on his episodes, forcing him to make further changes at the last minute in an attempt to find middle ground. According to Saward, Bailey said at one point, "My themes! Where have they gone?" to which Saward replied, "It was either this or we rejected it". Bailey found the rewrites clunky and rewrote the script himself.
  • John Nathan-Turner disapproved of the intended final scene, in which Sanders and Hindle link arms and walk into the forest, holding a flower. He feared that this would appear too campy, and ordered that it be excised from the shooting script.
  • The colonial subtext was John Nathan-Turner's idea, as was the pith helmets.
  • In editing, it was discovered that although parts one and two overran significantly (resulting in a number of minor edits), part four could not be made to stretch to its requisite duration. Because of the structure of part three, it would be difficult to move up material to help fill the gap, as was the normal practice. Consequently, Eric Saward was forced to ask Christopher Bailey to provide four minutes' worth of extra material featuring only the regular cast to pad out the episode. Bailey developed two scenes set in the expedition dome's airlock, one involving Tegan and Adric discussing Hindle's bomb, and another in which the Doctor assures them that Hindle is no longer a threat.
  • Sarah Sutton and Sarah Prince were at drama school together, yet they don't share any screen time in the story.
  • The forest of the Kinda was an allusion to the Garden of Eden.
  • Sanders was named for the title character in the 1935 adventure film Sanders of the River. Ironically, Richard Todd starred in the remake Death Drums Along the River.[2]
  • Peter Grimwade was unhappy with the forest set, feeling that it gave away the studio-bound nature. Considerable time was spent hiding the studio floor under scattered leaves, resulting in some material being taped without the benefit of camera rehearsals. Grimwade was ultimately forced to abandon some of his planned shots, including a complex effects sequence in which Panna sat atop a crumbling plinth. Visual effects designer Peter Logan was infuriated that so much thought and planning had gone to waste, and he subsequently requested that special effects be given greater consideration in the future.
  • Peter Grimwade was concerned about some of the symbolism in Tegan's dream environment, as he thought that some of these elements, such as the phallic nature of the Mara's serpentine form, were too adult, and tried to tone them down.
  • Tegan's dream environment was referred to as "The Wherever" in the script, while Panna's vision was described as being set in "The Beyond".
  • At a late stage, it was decided to substantially shorten the dream sequences, including dropping plans for the appearance of a plant creature. The BBC Visual Effects Department had already started to build the prop, however, meaning that the associated expense would be squandered.

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Part one - 8.4 million viewers
  • Part two - 9.4 million viewers
  • Part three - 8.5 million viewers
  • Part four - 8.9 million viewers

Myths[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Kate Bush wrote Kinda under a pseudonym. (She didn't.)
  • Playwright Tom Stoppard wrote this story under a pseudonym. (He didn't.)
  • During a break between filming scenes, Matthew Waterhouse attempted to lecture the Oscar-nominated and vastly more experienced Richard Todd on how to act. (While Peter Davison has made this claim, Waterhouse has clarified that this did not actually happen. He did off-handedly remark to Todd that "the secret of acting is not to look at the camera," but was actually poking fun at a scene he himself had flubbed by looking into the camera a little while earlier. However, Waterhouse did admit that he tried to give the more experienced Davison tips on how to play the Doctor during filming of Four to Doomsday, and that Davison likely assumed he was doing the same to Todd.

Filming locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

Production errors[[edit] | [edit source]]

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.
  • In part one, the Doctor asks Tegan to strike two winds chimes, resulting in an ascending perfect fourth. The Doctor incorrectly identifies the interval as a "perfect fifth".
  • In part two, when the Doctor asks Hindle why he thinks the plants are hostile, a crew member is visible through the doorway behind them.
  • Adric and Nyssa's draughts board is the wrong way round.
  • The camera wobbles often throughout the serial.
  • When the Kinda surround the Mara-possessed Aris with mirrors, there is an obvious gap at the lower left for the camera to dolly in and out.

CGI Effects[[edit] | [edit source]]

The 2011 CGI Mara.

The story received a CGI Effects version in the 2011 Mara Tales boxset. The effects were done by Chris Petts and Sally Clayton.

Deviations from original serial[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The physical appearance of the Mara at the end of the story is updated to a fully CGI creature, more closely resembling a realistic snake.

Other information[[edit] | [edit source]]

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Mara maintains a connection to Tegan, which soon manifests itself again on the planet of Manussa, before being banished for a second time. (TV: Snakedance) At a later point in time, when the Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and Turlough were visiting the planet of Chodor, a third manifestation was premised. (AUDIO: The Whispering Forest) They then fought the entity, once again on Manussa, though centuries before the rise of the Sumaran Empire. (AUDIO: The Cradle of the Snake)
  • The Eleventh Doctor encountered the Mara while protecting the town of Christmas on Trenzalore. (PROSE: The Dreaming)
  • The Mara later taunts the Doctor by saying Chodor is too green for him, which is what he said about Deva Loka. (AUDIO: The Whispering Forest)
  • Tegan later recounts the events of Kinda while in a dream state induced by the Doctor. (TV: Snakedance)
  • Wind chimes from Deva Loka are possessed by the Galactic Federation, who classified the planet as "S14" by the mid 39th century. (PROSE: Legacy)
  • Adric apparently holds on to one of the Kinda's caduceus pendants as a keepsake in his room; it makes minor appearances in part one of both TV: Earthshock and TV: Terminus.
  • Jack Harkness later described the Mara as "kind of malignant wraiths," claiming it was where the word "nightmare" came from, and that they suffocated people in their sleep. (TVSmall Worlds)

Home video and audio releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

DVD releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

It was released on DVD in a box set called Mara Tales with Snakedance on 7 March 2011 in Region 2.

Contents:

[3]

It was released as issue 93 of Doctor Who DVD Files.

Video releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

This story was released on VHS in October 1994 in the United Kingdom, February 1995 in Australia and June 1996 in the US.

Digital releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

The story is available for streaming through BritBox in Canada & the US and through Amazon Instant Video in the UK.

Audio release[[edit] | [edit source]]

An audio recording of the story was also released. It was read by Peter Davison.

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]