The Green Death (TV story): Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Story
{{Infobox Story SMW
|image=Greendeath title.jpg  
|image = Greendeath title.jpg  
|series=[[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
|series=[[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
|season number= Season 10  
|season number= Season 10 (Doctor Who 1963)|
|season serial number = 5
|season serial number = 5
|story number= 69
|story number= 69
|doctor=Third Doctor
|doctor = Third Doctor
|companions= [[Jo Grant|Jo]]  
|companions = [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|The Brigadier]], [[John Benton|Benton]], [[Jo Grant|Jo]]
|featuring = The Brig
|featuring = Clifford Jones
|featuring2 = Mike Yates
|featuring2 = Mike Yates
|featuring3 = John Benton
|featuring3 = Mark Elgin{{!}}Elgin
|enemy= [[BOSS]], [[Stevens]]
|enemy= [[BOSS]]
|setting= [[London]]; [[Llanfairfach]], [[Wales]]; [[Metebelis III]]
|setting= [[Llanfairfach]], [[Wales]], March 1973
|writer= [[Robert Sloman]]
|writer= Robert Sloman
|director= [[Michael Briant]]  
|director= [[Michael Briant]]
|producer= [[Barry Letts]]  
|producer= [[Barry Letts]]
|novelisation= Doctor Who and the Green Death
|novelisation= Doctor Who and the Green Death (novelisation)
|epcount=6
|epcount = 6
|broadcast date= [[19 May (releases)|19 May]] - [[23 June (releases)|23 June]] [[1973 (releases)|1973]]
|broadcast date= 19 May - 23 June 1973
|network=[[BBC1]]
|network = BBC1
|format= 6x25-minute episodes  
|format= 6x25-minute episodes
|serial production code= [[List of production codes|TTT]]
|serial production code= [[List of production codes|TTT]]
|prev= Planet of the Daleks (TV story)
|prev= Planet of the Daleks (TV story)
|next= The Time Warrior (TV story)
|next= The Time Warrior (TV story)
|clip = A Fond Farewell - The Green Death - Doctor Who - BBC
|clip = A Fond Farewell - The Green Death - Doctor Who - BBC
|thwr = 140
}}
}}
'''''The Green Death''''' was the fifth and final story of the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[Season 10|tenth season]]. The story marked the departure of companion [[Jo Grant]], played by [[Katy Manning]]. It also bore witness to a series of traumatic events for [[Captain]] [[Mike Yates]] and made him doubt his faith in humanity, which deeply upset him. His inability to deal with his doubts later led him to a path of [[Invasion of the Dinosaurs (TV story)|rebellion]].
'''''The Green Death''''' was the fifth and final serial of [[season 10 (Doctor Who 1963)|season 10]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. It was the final regular appearance of [[Katy Manning]] as [[Jo Grant]], who departed the Doctor's company in the closing scene of episode six.
 
It also bore witness to a series of traumatic events for [[Captain]] [[Mike Yates]] and made him doubt his faith in humanity, which deeply upset him. His inability to deal with his doubts later led him to a path of [[Invasion of the Dinosaurs (TV story)|rebellion]].
 
The story came about through [[Barry Letts]] and [[Terrance Dicks]]' concern about the environment. Letts, in particular, had been roused by an article entitled “A Blueprint For Survival”, published by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Goldsmith Edward Goldsmith] in ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ecologist The Ecologist]''.


== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
A death at an abandoned coal pit brings [[UNIT]] and the [[Third Doctor]] to the South [[Wales]] town of [[Llanfairfach]] when the body is found glowing bright green. Are pollutants from [[Global Chemicals]] responsible? Where are the [[giant maggot]]s coming from? And who is the mysterious [[BOSS]]?
When a [[Ted Hughes|dead man]] is found glowing bright green at an abandoned coal mine, [[UNIT]] and the [[Third Doctor]] travel to the South [[Wales]] town of [[Llanfairfach]]. Convinced that pollutants from the nearby [[Global Chemicals]] are responsible, the Doctor faces opposition from the company director [[Jocelyn Stevens|Stevens]], the mysterious [[BOSS]] and deadly [[giant maggot]]s...


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
=== Episode 1 ===
=== Episode one ===
In the Glamorgan county [[Llanfairfach]], a colliery remains inactive after the post-industrial closure of its mining operations. A miner visits one of the underground roadways for inspection. He is scared by a green substance which has infected him during his stay beneath the surface, and he darts for the lift. Meanwhile, a [[Range Rover]] arrives at a crowd of deposed workers formerly employed at the mining facility. A man steps out and addresses several miners. His company is introducing a new process that will greatly expedite their production of oil after the [[National Coal Board]] had to close down the pit because of coal's dwindling industrial promises. The workers cheer vigourously but are met with the sickened remarks from a band of protesters. One of them is a prolific troublemaker in these parts — [[Professor]] [[Clifford Jones]], who believes the men are being exploited for their manpower. The workers are far from rapport{{What}} toward his unpleasant words and start jeering at him to shut up. Instead, all voices are unanimously silenced by the sound of a warning whistle bellowing without stop. The miners know this means there is trouble at the pit, rushing off where an emergency awaits. The same mining worker has emerged from the shafts, collapsed dead with his hand wrenched firmly on the valve to blow the whistle. His flesh has been contaminated by a phosphorescent green substance.
In the Glamorgan county [[Llanfairfach]], a colliery remains inactive after the post-
industrial closure of its mining operations. A miner, [[Ted Hughes]], visits one of the underground tunnels for inspection. He is scared by a green substance which has infected him during his stay beneath the surface, and he darts for the lift. Meanwhile, a [[Range Rover]] arrives at a crowd of deposed workers formerly employed at the mining facility. A man steps out and addresses several miners. His company is introducing a new process that will greatly expedite their production of oil after the [[National Coal Board]] had to close down the pit because of coal's dwindling industrial promises. The workers cheer vigorously but are met with the sickened remarks from a band of protesters. One of them is a prolific troublemaker in these parts — [[Professor]] [[Clifford Jones]], who believes the men are being exploited for their manpower. The workers are far from rapport toward his unpleasant words and start jeering at him to shut up. Instead, all voices are unanimously silenced by the sound of a warning whistle bellowing without stop. The miners know this means there is trouble at the pit, rushing off where an emergency awaits. The same mining worker has emerged from the shafts, collapsed dead with his hand wrenched firmly on the valve to blow the whistle. His flesh has been contaminated by a phosphorescent green substance.


The Welsh mining village of Llanfairfach is of little interest to the [[Third Doctor]], who would rather take a challenging visit to the blue planet of [[Metebelis III]] than a trip to South [[Wales]]. However, [[Jo Grant]] reads a startling newspaper article about a corporate facility that is gearing up to cause a huge amount of pollution. She is keen to go to the village to meet the acclaimed environmentalist and [[Nobel Prize]] winner Professor Clifford Jones.
The Welsh mining village of Llanfairfach is of little interest to the [[Third Doctor]], who would rather take a challenging visit to the blue planet of [[Metebelis III]] than a trip to South [[Wales]]. However, [[Jo Grant]] reads a startling newspaper article about a corporate facility that is gearing up to cause a huge amount of pollution. She is keen to go to the village to meet the acclaimed environmentalist and [[Nobel Prize]] winner Professor Clifford Jones.


[[Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]] arrives and tries to assign a murder investigation mission to the Doctor and Jo, but the Doctor firmly tells him no repeatedly, as he wants to be off to [[Metebilis III]]. Jo pleads her case with the Brigadier over the events she wants to deal with firsthand, but Jo is not impressed with the Brigadier's siding with the corporate giant. She passionately protests that she would even quit UNIT if it interfered with her ability to go there firsthand. Luckily, Lethbridge-Stewart's mission was to visit the facility — he is intrigued enough by the death of a bright green miner to drive her down. The miner was found in a disused mine, and the main source of employment in the village is now the [[Global Chemicals]] petroleum factory. Its boss, [[Stevens]], promises prosperity for all, but Professor Jones and the other environmentalists at his "[[Nuthutch]]" are unconvinced. In light of the protests, Stevens accepts the Brigadier's offer of additional security at his factory.  
[[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]] arrives and tries to assign a murder investigation mission to the Doctor and Jo, but the Doctor firmly tells him no repeatedly, as he wants to be off to [[Metebelis III]]. Jo pleads her case with the Brigadier over the events she wants to deal with firsthand, but Jo is not impressed with the Brigadier's siding with the corporate giant. She passionately protests that she would even quit [[UNIT]] if it interfered with her ability to go there firsthand. Luckily, Lethbridge-Stewart's mission was to visit the facility — he is intrigued enough by the death of a bright green miner to drive her down. The miner was found in a disused mine, and the main source of employment in the village is now the [[Global Chemicals]] petroleum factory. Its boss, [[Stevens]], promises prosperity for all, but Professor Jones and the other environmentalists at his "[[Nuthutch]]" are unconvinced. In light of the protests, Stevens accepts the Brigadier's offer of additional security at his factory.


[[File:Nobody must go down in the mine.jpg|thumb|left|"Nobody must go down the mine... Nobody."]]
[[File:Nobody must go down in the mine.jpg|thumb|left|"Nobody must go down the mine... Nobody."]]
Stevens, however, is told by a voice that "nobody must go down the mine" and zones out, muttering these words to himself when he speaks to his employee [[Hinks]]. When Hinks leaves his office, Stevens unsheathes a pair of large headphones and plugs them into a machine. An unusual sound begins whirring into his head.
Stevens, however, is told by a voice "Nobody must go down the mine..." and zones out, muttering these words to himself when he speaks to his employee [[Hinks]]. When Hinks leaves the office, Stevens unsheathes a pair of large headphones and plugs them into a machine. An unusual sound begins whirring into his head.


Jo discovers the Nuthutch, home of the workshop where Professor Jones is engaged in eco-friendly exploits, but is taken aback by a strange fellow who welcomes his guest with eccentricities, micromanagement, and a patronising attitude toward her. Annoyed with this person, she gives him a what-for, causing the man to lighten up and calm Jo down so she stops bumping into things inside an already crowded room. He shows Jo a new type of [[fungus]] that [[Nancy (The Green Death)|Nancy]] has been developing, ''Saliota Orbis''. It is supposed to be a safe alternative to protein-rich meats. Jo figures out this man is really Professor Jones, and gets on well with him.
Jo discovers the Nut Hutch, where Professor Jones is engaged in eco-friendly exploits, but is taken aback by a strange fellow in the laboratory who welcomes his guest with eccentricities, micromanagement, and a patronising attitude toward her. Annoyed with this person, she gives him a what-for, causing the man to lighten up and calm Jo down so she stops bumping into things inside an already crowded room. He shows Jo a new type of [[fungus]] that [[Nancy (The Green Death)|Nancy]] has been developing, ''Saliota Orbis''. It is supposed to be a safe alternative to protein-rich meats. Jo figures out this man is really Professor Jones, and gets on well with him.


Professor Jones detracts the operations Global Chemicals is running, noting that "it's still using up the oil and doubling the atmospheric pollution." He suggests cleaner alternatives that harness the energy with which the sun provides them, such as wind power and water power. Jones explains the Nuthutch has natural heating tapped from the river, through a heat pump working on [[electricity]] generated by a [[windmill]]. Jo learns the logic behind his use of alternative technology: no waste or [[pollution]].
Professor Jones detracts the operations Global Chemicals is running, noting that "it's still using up the oil and doubling the atmospheric pollution." He suggests cleaner alternatives that harness the energy with which the sun provides them, such as wind power and water power. Jones explains the Nuthutch has natural heating tapped from the river, through a heat pump working on [[electricity]] generated by a [[windmill]]. Jo learns the logic behind his use of alternative technology: no waste or [[pollution]].
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Jones goes on to hypothesise that Steven's oil manufacturing process "must be based on Bateson's polymerisation, and that means thousands of gallons of waste. Aye, a thick sludge you can't break down in any way, like a liquid plastic. And what properties that would have, heaven alone knows." The professor wants to know what they're doing with that waste, thinking it was possibly connected to Hughes' death. Jo figures Global Chemicals could be pumping the waste down the old mine workings and suggests the two of them should go explore it. Jones doesn't seem to get the picture, and Jo insists they visit the mine now. Unfortunately, Jones's abrasiveness gets the better of her when he calls her a child and says he has work to do. She storms out of his workshop, slamming the door on her way out.
Jones goes on to hypothesise that Steven's oil manufacturing process "must be based on Bateson's polymerisation, and that means thousands of gallons of waste. Aye, a thick sludge you can't break down in any way, like a liquid plastic. And what properties that would have, heaven alone knows." The professor wants to know what they're doing with that waste, thinking it was possibly connected to Hughes' death. Jo figures Global Chemicals could be pumping the waste down the old mine workings and suggests the two of them should go explore it. Jones doesn't seem to get the picture, and Jo insists they visit the mine now. Unfortunately, Jones's abrasiveness gets the better of her when he calls her a child and says he has work to do. She storms out of his workshop, slamming the door on her way out.


Unbeknownst to the Doctor and Lethbridge-Stewart, Jo decides to venture down to the mine by herself, accompanied by a friendly miner called [[Bert Pritchard|Bert]]. The Brigadier still arrives to investigate the death, suspicious about [[Elgin (The Green Death)|Elgin]]'s testimonial regarding their outstandingly clean and efficient oil production. He begins to grow weary after patching several calls to UNIT headquarters with no reply. The Doctor has weathered a violent excursion on Metebilis III and returns in his TARDIS with a torn jacket and dirt on his face. He finally answers the call after being derelict and rushes to Global Chemicals in [[Bessie]], suited up in new clothes.
Unbeknownst to the Doctor and Lethbridge-Stewart, Jo decides to venture down to the mine by herself, accompanied by a friendly miner called [[Bert Pritchard|Bert]]. The Brigadier still arrives to investigate the death, suspicious about [[Elgin (The Green Death)|Elgin]]'s testimonial regarding their outstandingly clean and efficient oil production. He begins to grow weary after patching several calls to UNIT headquarters with no reply. The Doctor has weathered a violent excursion on Metebelis III, which is inhabited by hostile lifeforms, and returns in the TARDIS with a torn jacket and dirt on his face. He finally answers the call after arriving back at UNIT and rushes to Global Chemicals in [[Bessie]], suited up in new clothes.


Once the Brigadier has explained the situation to his colleague, the Doctor orders that no one should go down the mine until he has personally inspected it. However, Jo has already gone down with Bert to aid another miner with her first aid skills. The man who went down before them was [[Dai Evans]], wanting to figure out what killed the miner who died pulling the emergency whistle for the shaft and was found glowing green. Now, he is starting to glow in the same way and has called for help.
Once the Brigadier has explained the situation to his colleague, the Doctor orders that no-one should go down the mine until he has personally inspected it. However, Jo has already gone down with Bert to aid another miner with her first-aid skills. The man who went down before them was [[Dai Evans]], wanting to figure out what killed the miner who died pulling the emergency whistle for the shaft and was found glowing green. Now, he is starting to glow in the same way as the miner Hughes and has called for help, but collapsed soon after.


The Brigadier and Doctor notice the mine shaft lowering mechanisms spinning from outside and bolt into the facility to stop the descent, upset that it's Jo who has gone down before him. Even when the Doctor demands that [[Dave (The Green Death)|Dave]], the shaft operator, raises Jo and Bert back up, Dave can't get the brakes to work. One of the Global Chemicals employees cuts the lift cable and they plummet towards the bottom of the mineshaft...
The Brigadier and the Doctor notice the mine shaft lowering mechanisms spinning from outside and bolt into the facility to stop the descent, upset that it's Jo who has gone down before him. Even when the Doctor demands that [[Dave (The Green Death)|Dave]], the shaft operator, raises Jo and Bert back up, Dave can't get the brakes to work. One of the Global Chemicals employees cuts the lift cable and they plummet towards the bottom of the mineshaft...


=== Episode 2 ===
=== Episode two ===
The Doctor reaches Llanfairfach with a [[Metebelis crystal|blue crystal]] to show for his visit to Metebelis III and jams the lift in the nick of time. Jo and Bert are not harmed, but they are stranded in the mine. There, they find [[Dai Evans]], one of the other miners, glowing bright green and terribly ill. It seems there is some serious pollution at work in the mine, and they head off to find a way out. For anybody to get down to the mine to help them, cutting equipment is needed to cut the cables jamming the lift. Global Chemicals say they don't have any such equipment, but a staff member, [[Elgin (The Green Death)|Elgin]], knows this is not true. When Jones hears about Jo's predicament, he comes to the mine to help.  
The Doctor jams the lift machinery with a wrench in the nick of time. Jo and Bert are not harmed, but they are stranded in the mine. There, they find [[Dai Evans]], one of the other miners, glowing bright green and terribly ill. It seems there is some serious pollution at work in the mine, and they head off to find a way out. For anybody to get down to the mine to help them, cutting equipment is needed to cut the cables jamming the lift. Global Chemicals say they don't have any such equipment, but a staff member, [[Elgin (The Green Death)|Elgin]], knows this is not true. When Jones hears about Jo's predicament, he comes to the mine to help.


[[File:Quite spry for my age.jpg|thumb|left|"I'm quite spry for my age, actually."]]
[[File:Quite spry for my age.jpg|thumb|left|"I'm quite spry for my age, actually."]]
The Doctor sneaks into Global Chemicals to steal the equipment, but he is caught. One guard sees him as a bit old for a threat, but the Doctor jests, "I'm quite spry for my age, actually." It doesn't take him much effort to knock the guns out of his hands and properly throw several guards to the ground with his [[Venusian aikido]], not fazed by their use of a baton. He takes the upper hand until four more arrive, this time armed with rifles, and fence him in. Fortunately, Stevens chooses to overlook the incident. By chance, the Brigadier finds somebody with cutting equipment in a garage, allowing the Doctor and a few mine workers to go down into the mine shaft. Things get worse when Bert finds a slick of green slime and touches it. He too seems to contract "the green death". By the time the Doctor finds Dai, the miner is dead, and the [[Time Lord]] becomes very worried for Jo's safety. Increasingly ill, Bert waits behind while Jo looks for a way out alone. The Doctor catches up with Bert and finds Jo near a vast lake of green slime filled with [[Giant Maggot|giant maggots]]. When they try to go back, the tunnel caves in and more maggots emerge from the rubble.
The Doctor sneaks into Global Chemicals to steal the equipment, but he is caught. One guard sees him as a bit old for a threat, but the Doctor jests, "I'm quite spry for my age, actually." It doesn't take him much effort to knock the guns out of his hands and properly throw several guards to the ground with his [[Venusian aikido]], not fazed by their use of a baton. He takes the upper hand until four more arrive, this time armed with rifles, and fence him in. Fortunately, Stevens chooses to overlook the incident. By chance, the Brigadier finds somebody with cutting equipment in a garage, allowing the Doctor and a few mine workers to go down into the mine shaft. Things get worse when Bert finds a slick of green slime and touches it. He too seems to contract "the green death". By the time the Doctor finds Dai, the miner is dead, and the [[Time Lord]] becomes very worried for Jo's safety. Increasingly ill, Bert waits behind while Jo looks for a way out alone. The Doctor catches up with Bert and finds Jo near a vast lake of green slime filled with [[Giant Maggot|giant maggots]]. When they try to go back, the tunnel caves in and more maggots emerge from the rubble.


=== Episode 3 ===
=== Episode three ===
The Doctor and Jo are trapped between a cave-in and the pool of maggots. They escape by wheeling a mine cart through the maggots, but they are still trapped in the mine.
The Doctor and Jo are trapped between a cave-in and the pool of maggots. They escape by wheeling a mine cart through the maggots, but they are still trapped in the mine.


Back at Global Chemicals, Stevens is behaving very curiously. He is using strange headphones to listen to calming messages, and when one of his employees, [[Ralph Fell]], looks helpful to the environmentalists, he is somehow reconditioned with the same headphones and shortly afterward kills himself. Elgin saves the Doctor and Jo from drowning in the green slime when he helps them out of a shaft that links the mine and the factory complex — proving the link between the two. The Brigadier's plan to investigate Global Chemicals further is cut short when he is ordered by the [[Jeremy Thorpe|Prime Minister]] himself to let Stevens get on with it. Stevens evidently enjoys [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]] support for his factory and its new plastic production process.
Back at Global Chemicals, Stevens is behaving very curiously. He is using strange headphones to listen to calming messages, and when one of his employees, [[Ralph Fell]], looks helpful to the environmentalists, he is somehow reconditioned with the same headphones and shortly afterward kills himself. Elgin saves the Doctor and Jo from drowning in the green slime when he helps them out of a shaft that links the mine and the factory complex — proving the link between the two. The Brigadier's plan to investigate Global Chemicals further is cut short when he is ordered by the [[Jeremy Thorpe|Prime Minister]] himself to let Stevens get on with it. Stevens evidently enjoys [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]] support for his factory and its new plastic production process.


The Doctor, Jo and the Brigadier end the day with a nourishing meal of fungus at the Nuthutch, but the frivolity is cut short when they hear Bert too has died. As the Doctor leaves, a maggot egg he brought back from the mine hatches, and the maggot inside creeps up on Jo, the girl none the wiser.
The Doctor, Jo and the Brigadier end the day with a nourishing meal of fungus at the Nut Hutch, but the frivolity is cut short when the Doctor is called to the telephone. He comes back to tell everyone that the call was from the hospital: Bert too has died. As the Doctor leaves, a maggot egg he brought back from the mine hatches, and the maggot inside creeps up on Jo, the girl none the wiser.


=== Episode 4 ===
=== Episode four ===
[[File:Greendeath4.JPG||left|thumb|[[The Doctor]] disguises as a milk man to infiltrate [[Global Chemicals]].]]
[[File:Greendeath4.JPG||left|thumb|[[The Doctor]] disguised as a milkman to infiltrate [[Global Chemicals]].]]
The maggot kills Hinks, who had come to destroy the egg, and escapes before any analysis can be made of it, leaving the Doctor and Jones to analyse the trail of green slime it left behind.
The maggot kills Hinks, who had come to destroy the egg, and escapes before any analysis can be made of it, leaving the Doctor and Jones to analyse the trail of green slime it left behind.


The Brigadier receives orders to seal the mine with explosives and clear the area using UNIT troops. The Doctor realises that this will only make the situation worse, but his plea to Stevens to allow an investigation is ignored. As the Doctor expected, the maggots simply burrow through and are now a threat above ground. Not to be intimidated by Stevens, the Brigadier sends [[Mike Yates|Captain Yates]] into Global Chemicals, undercover as a Ministry official.
The Brigadier receives orders to seal the mine with explosives and clear the area using UNIT troops. The Doctor realises that this will only make the situation worse, but his plea to Stevens to allow an investigation is ignored. As the Doctor expected, the maggots simply burrow through and are now a threat above ground. Not to be intimidated by Stevens, the Brigadier sends [[Mike Yates|Captain Yates]] into Global Chemicals, undercover as a Ministry official.


The Doctor dons some improbable disguises, including a milkman and a cleaning lady, to get through the gates and move freely. Meanwhile, Jo has alienated Cliff, with whom she is falling in love, by ruining one of his slides. Determined to make amends, she heads to the sealed mine in search of a maggot to run some tests on. Having liaised with Yates, the Doctor learns that Stevens takes his instructions from the top floor of the complex, and heads there to find out who is in charge. The [[BOSS]], or Biomorphic Organisational Systems Supervisor, turns out to be a supercomputer with its own megalomaniacal personality.
The Doctor uses a milk truck and the improbable disguise of a substitute milkman (telling the guard that he is the father of the regular milkman, who has been taken ill) to get through the gates and move freely. Meanwhile, Jo has alienated Cliff, with whom she is falling in love, by ruining one of his slides by accidentally knocking a jar of brown fungus. Determined to make amends, Jo heads to the sealed mine in search of a maggot for Cliff to run some tests on. The Doctor, now disguised as a cleaning lady, meets with Yates and learns that Stevens takes his instructions from the top floor of the complex, and heads there to find out who is in charge. The [[BOSS]], or Biomorphic Organisational Systems Supervisor, turns out to be a supercomputer with its own megalomaniac personality.


=== Episode 5 ===
=== Episode five ===
The Doctor speaks with BOSS and finds out that it runs the company, controls Stevens and other key staff members, and is responsible for the polluting chemical process. The Doctor employs the liar paradox, a conundrum which will keep BOSS busy trying to find a solution, while he escapes. Unfortunately, he runs into Stevens and some guards before he can do so. He rejects the brain-washing technique that Stevens subjects him to, but Mike Yates is more susceptible and is converted into one of the computer's slaves.
The Doctor speaks with BOSS and finds out that it runs the company, controls Stevens and other key staff members, and is responsible for the polluting chemical process. The Doctor employs the liar paradox, a conundrum which will keep BOSS busy trying to find a solution, while he escapes. Unfortunately, he runs into Stevens and some guards before he can do so. He rejects the brain-washing technique that Stevens subjects him to, but Mike Yates is more susceptible and is converted into one of the computer's slaves.


After the Doctor escapes, Mike is sent to the Nutchutch to kill the Doctor. His conditioning is deep and only broken by the Doctor's use of the blue crystal he brought from Metebelis 3. Meanwhile, Jones has worked out that the fungus Jo spilt on the slides is actually a curative and then sets off to stop her, but they are both caught in an RAF bombing raid intended to kill the maggots. Cliff is also infected with a maggot and begins to turn green — before he was able to share his knowledge of the cure. In a delirious state, he utters the word "serendipity". Yates re-enters Global Chemicals, pretending to still be under BOSS's control, but he is caught by Stevens, who tells him he just can't depend on anyone.
After the Doctor escapes, Mike is sent to the Nut Hutch to kill the Doctor. His conditioning is deep and only broken by the Doctor's use of the [[Metebelis crystal|blue crystal]] he brought from Metebelis III. Meanwhile, Jones has worked out that the fungus Jo spilt on the slides is actually a curative and then sets off to stop her, but they are both caught in an RAF bombing raid intended to kill the maggots. Cliff is also infected with a maggot and begins to turn green — before he was able to share his knowledge of the cure. In a delirious state in bed at the Nut Hutch, Cliff utters the word "serendipity". Yates re-enters Global Chemicals, pretending to still be under BOSS's control. He uses the blue crystal to break the conditioning of an employee named James, who reveals that the Boss plans a takeover at four o'clock that afternoon. However, before James can reveal any more, he experiences a severe pain, collapses and dies. Stevens enters, and tells Yates he just can't depend on anyone...


=== Episode 6 ===
=== Episode six ===
[[File:Greendeath6.JPG||left|thumb|Maggots!]]  
[[File:Greendeath6.JPG||left|thumb|Maggots!]]
[[Benton|Sergeant Benton]] brings an empty maggot chrysalis to the Nuthatch, revealing that the maggots are about to change into something else. The Doctor discovers that another maggot had died after eating Cliff's fungus, meaning that it is deadly to them. The Doctor and Benton drive around the slag heaps and the mine, liberally scattering the fungus which kills all the maggots, and disposing of a deadly giant fly which attacks them. Returning to the Nuthatch, the Doctor discovers Cliff's cure and uses it to restore him to full health. The Doctor then returns to Global Chemicals to confront BOSS. The computer plans to link up with others and effect a corporate takeover of the human race. However, Stevens, whose conditioning is partially broken by the Doctor using the crystal, tells him to get out while he triggers an explosion which destroys himself, the computer, and the company headquarters.
[[Benton|Sergeant Benton]] brings an empty maggot chrysalis to the Nuthatch, revealing that the maggots are about to change into something else. The Doctor discovers that another maggot had died after eating Cliff's fungus, meaning that it is deadly to them. The Doctor and Benton drive around the slag heaps and the mine, liberally scattering the fungus which kills all the maggots, and disposing of a deadly giant fly which attacks them. Returning to the Nuthatch, the Doctor discovers Cliff's cure and uses it to restore him to full health. The Doctor then returns to Global Chemicals to confront BOSS. The computer plans to link up with others and effect a corporate takeover of the human race. However, Stevens — whose conditioning has been partially broken by the Doctor using the blue crystal — tells him to get out while he triggers an explosion which apparently destroys himself, the computer, and the company headquarters.
[[File:Doctor Rides Off Into Sunset.jpg|thumb|right|Against the dying sun, the Doctor departs, alone.]]


The menace defeated, UNIT troops and environmentalists gather at the Nuthutch for a celebration made all the more special when Jo and Cliff announce they are getting married and then plan to travel the [[Amazon]] looking for a rare fungus, and that the [[United Nations]] (after Jo contacted her uncle) have decided to fund Wholeweal's research: jobs will return to Llanfairfach after all. The Doctor offers his blessing to the couple and gives Jo the blue crystal as a present, asking them to save him some wedding cake. However, as the party starts to get into full swing the Doctor quietly slips away, noticed only by Jo, who understands why.
[[File:Doctor Rides Off Into Sunset.jpg|thumb|right|Against the setting sun, the Doctor departs in Bessie, alone.]]
The menace defeated, UNIT troops and environmentalists gather at the Nut Hutch for a celebration made all the more special when Jo and Cliff announce they are getting married and then plan to travel the [[Amazon]] looking for a rare fungus; and that the [[United Nations]] (after Jo contacted her uncle) have decided to fund Wholeweal's research: jobs will return to Llanfairfach after all. The Doctor offers his blessing to the couple and gives Jo the blue crystal as a wedding present, asking them to save him some wedding cake. However, as the party starts to get into full swing, the Doctor quietly slips away, noticed only by Jo, who understands why.


The Doctor, upset by the departure of his good friend, gets into [[Bessie]] and, after one final look back at the cottage, sadly drives away. Jo and Cliff kiss, enjoying a tender embrace, while the heartbroken Doctor drives off into the sunset.
The Doctor, who is visibly upset by the departure of his good friend, gets into [[Bessie]] and, after one final look back at the cottage, sadly drives away. Jo and Cliff kiss, enjoying a tender embrace, while the heartbroken Doctor drives off into the sunset, smiling sadly.


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
* [[Third Doctor|Dr. Who]] - [[Jon Pertwee]]
* [[Third Doctor|Dr. Who]] - [[Jon Pertwee]]
* [[Jo Grant]] - [[Katy Manning]]
* [[Jo Grant]] - [[Katy Manning]]
* [[Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]] - [[Nicholas Courtney]]
* [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]] - [[Nicholas Courtney]]
* [[Sergeant Benton]] - [[John Levene]]
* [[John Benton|Sergeant Benton]] - [[John Levene]]
* Captain [[Mike Yates]] - [[Richard Franklin]]
* [[Mike Yates|Captain Mike Yates]] - [[Richard Franklin]]
* [[Clifford Jones|Cliff Jones]] - [[Stewart Bevan]]
* [[Clifford Jones|Cliff Jones]] - [[Stewart Bevan]]
* [[Jocelyn Stevens|Stevens]] - [[Jerome Willis]]
* [[Jocelyn Stevens|Stevens]] - [[Jerome Willis]]
Line 122: Line 128:
* Ministers - [[Brychan Powell]], [[Evan Ross]]
* Ministers - [[Brychan Powell]], [[Evan Ross]]
* Security Guards - [[Pat Gorman]], [[Leslie Bates]], [[Dennis Plenty]], [[Steven Ismay]]
* Security Guards - [[Pat Gorman]], [[Leslie Bates]], [[Dennis Plenty]], [[Steven Ismay]]
* Villagers - [[Reg Cranfield]], [[Sonnie Willis|Sonny Willis]]
* Villagers - [[Reg Cranfield (actor)|Reg Cranfield]], [[Sonnie Willis|Sonny Willis]]
* Miners - [[Frank Seton]], [[David Waterman]]
* Miners - [[Frank Seton]], [[David Waterman]]
* [[Stevens (The Green Death)|Stevens]] - [[Leslie Bates]]
* [[Stevens (The Green Death)|Stevens]] - [[Leslie Bates]]
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=== Uncredited crew ===
=== Uncredited crew ===
* Visual Effects Assistants - [[Colin Mapson]], [[Richard Conway]] ([[DWM 320]])
* [[Visual effects assistant|Visual Effects Assistants]] - [[Colin Mapson]], [[Richard Conway]] ([[DWM 320]])


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
* BOSS mentions the composer [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]] and the "[[Ninth Symphony]]".  
* BOSS mentions the composer [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]] and the "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._9_(Beethoven) Ninth Symphony]".
* The National Coal Board of [[Cardiff]] authorises permissions to inspect coal mines.
* The National Coal Board of [[Cardiff]] authorises permissions to inspect coal mines.
* The Doctor's [[sonic screwdriver]] can emit a high frequency noise that stuns creatures with sensitive hearing.
* [[The Doctor's sonic screwdriver]] can emit a high frequency noise that stuns creatures with sensitive hearing.
* [[Dicks (The Green Death)|Dicks]] helps with the explosives.
 
=== Food and Beverages ===
 
* The party scene at the end of episode six marks one of the few times the Doctor is shown consuming what is presumably [[alcohol]] on screen. He also drinks elderberry [[wine]] in episode three, and asks for a bottle to take with him.


== Story notes ==
== Story notes ==
* This is the last story to use the "Pertwee Logo" until the [[Doctor Who (TV story)|1996 movie]]. It was used from then as the default logo for ''Doctor Who'' until the programme's return to television in 2005. Variations of this logo continue to be used for merchandise and materials promoting the classic series, as well as for the franchise as a whole during the show's fiftieth year.
* This is the last story to use the "Pertwee Logo" until the [[Doctor Who (TV story)|1996 movie]]. It was used from then as the default logo for ''Doctor Who'' until the programme's return to television in 2005. Variations of this logo continue to be used for merchandise and materials promoting the classic series, as well as for the franchise as a whole during the show's fiftieth year.
* This is the last story to have its individual segments titled as "Episode -". After this story they were titled as "Part -", with the single exception of ''[[Destiny of the Daleks (TV story)|Destiny of the Daleks]]''.
* This is the last story to have its individual segments titled as "Episode -". After this story they were titled as "Part -", with the sole exception of ''[[Destiny of the Daleks (TV story)|Destiny of the Daleks]]''.
* This is Katy Manning's final story. However, she reprised her role thirty-seven years later in ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' story ''[[Death of the Doctor (TV story)|Death of the Doctor]]''. In that episode, she shows disappointment that the Doctor is now travelling with a married couple in the TARDIS, saying that she only left the Doctor because she got married, suggesting that she would have continued to travel with the Doctor if he had allowed her to bring Professor Jones.
* This is [[Katy Manning]]'s final story. However, she reprised her role thirty-seven years later in ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' story ''[[Death of the Doctor (TV story)|Death of the Doctor]]''. In that episode, she shows disappointment that the Doctor is now travelling with a married couple in the TARDIS, saying that she only left the Doctor because she got married, suggesting that she would have continued to travel with the Doctor if he had allowed her to bring Professor Jones.
* Stewart Bevan (Cliff Jones) was Katy Manning's real-life boyfriend at the time of shooting.
* [[Stewart Bevan]] (Cliff Jones) was [[Katy Manning|Katy Manning's]] real-life boyfriend at the time of shooting. [[Michael E.  Briant|Michael E. Briant]] was reluctant to invite Bevan to audition, fearing the on-set ramifications — especially considering how upset [[Jon Pertwee]] had become when he learned that Manning was leaving. However, Bevan ultimately proved to be the only suitable choice for the role.
* The opening scene of the serial, in which Stevens stands before some miners and brandishes a piece of paper while proclaiming "wealth in our time", is a mimicry of Neville Chamberlain's "peace for our time" speech, regarding the 1938 Munich Agreement.
* The opening scene of the serial, in which Stevens stands before some miners and brandishes a piece of paper while proclaiming "wealth in our time", is a mimicry of [[Neville Chamberlain]]'s "peace for our time" speech, regarding the 1938 Munich Agreement.
* During the party to celebrate Jo and Cliff's engagement, during which the Doctor slips away, the music heard in the background is an instrumental track by the Electric Banana, which was an alias for the famed (and infamous) British band the Pretty Things.
* During the party to celebrate Jo and Cliff's engagement, during which the Doctor slips away, the music heard in the background is an instrumental track by the Electric Banana, which was an alias for the famed (and infamous) British band [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Things Pretty Things].
* The Brigadier takes a phone call from the Prime Minister, who is never seen fully on-screen and named as "Jeremy". This was a joke by the production team intended to suggest that the Liberal Party, then led by [[Jeremy Thorpe]], could win the next General Election; Thorpe, of course, was never Prime Minister.
* The Brigadier takes a phone call from the Prime Minister, who is never seen fully on-screen and named as "Jeremy". This was a joke by the production team intended to suggest that the [[Liberal Party]], then led by [[Jeremy Thorpe]], could win the next General Election; Thorpe, of course, was never Prime Minister.
* Although credited for episode one, Mitzi McKenzie (Nancy) does not actually appear, as her material was not filmed due to her unavailability at short notice.
* Although credited for episode one, [[Mitzi McKenzie]] (Nancy) does not actually appear, as her material was not filmed due to her unavailability at short notice.
* Billie Horrigan and Alan Chuntz (Security Guards) are uncredited on-screen for episode two, but credited in ''Radio Times''.
* [[Billie Horrigan]] and [[Alan Chuntz]] (Security Guards) are uncredited on-screen for episode two, but credited in ''[[Radio Times]]''.
* Terry Walsh (Guard) is uncredited on-screen for episode two, but credited in ''Radio Times''. He is credited as "Security Guard" in ''Radio Times'' for episode four.
* [[Terry Walsh]] (Guard) is uncredited on-screen for episode two, but credited in ''Radio Times''. He is credited as "Security Guard" in ''[[Radio Times]]'' for episode four.
* The credit for Brian Justice on episode four incorrectly reads "Yate's Guard", instead of the grammatically correct "Yates's Guard" which appears in ''Radio Times''.
* The credit for Brian Justice on episode four incorrectly reads "Yate's Guard", instead of the grammatically correct "Yates's Guard" which appears in ''[[Radio Times]]''.
* For episodes two, five and six, the title sequence film over which the closing credits were superimposed was played backwards and upside-down (a result of the film being played backwards through the projector to save time during recording).
* For episodes two, five and six, the title sequence film over which the closing credits were superimposed was played backwards and upside-down (a result of the film being played backwards through the telecine machine to save time during recording).
* The function (and lines) of Elgin is taken up by James, as played by Roy Skelton, in episode five. Tony Adams, who plays Elgin, was taken ill with peritonitis during production and had to be taken to hospital. The scene had to be hastily rewritten so as not to involve Elgin.
* The function (and lines) of Elgin is taken up by James, as played by [[Roy Skelton]], in episode five. Tony Adams, who played Elgin, was taken ill with peritonitis during production and had to be taken to hospital. The scene had to be hastily rewritten so as not to involve Elgin.
* The ''Radio Times'' programme listing for the 90-minute compilation repeat of the story on Thursday 27 December 1973 was accompanied by two black and white photographs with comic strip-style speech balloons: the first was a close-up of the Doctor's face ("THE MAGGOTS ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE!"); and the second was of Cliff and Jo encountering a maggot (with Cliff saying "... COME ON LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"), which was actually a publicity shot taken as part of a ''Radio'' ''Times'' photo-shoot for a special publication to celebrate ''Doctor Who''{{'}}s 10th anniversary and not a deleted scene from the story itself. The accompanying caption read, "The full story of the battle against ''The Green Death'' at 4.0. But Dr. Who has survived many trials in his many times. What and when was the first story? It all began in November, 1963, when the first Dr. Who met ''An Unearthly Child.''"
* The ''[[Radio Times]]'' programme listing for the 90-minute compilation repeat of the story on Thursday 27 December 1973 was accompanied by two black-and-white photographs with comic strip-style speech balloons: the first was a close-up of the Doctor saying "THE MAGGOTS ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE!"; and the second was of Cliff and Jo encountering a giant maggot, with Cliff saying "... COME ON LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!", which was actually a publicity shot taken as part of a ''Radio'' ''Times'' photo-shoot for a special publication to celebrate ''Doctor Who''{{'}}s 10th anniversary and not a deleted scene from the story itself. The accompanying caption read: "The full story of the battle against ''The Green Death'' at 4.0. But Dr. Who has survived many trials in his many times. What and when was the first story? It all began in November, 1963, when the first Dr. Who met ''An Unearthly Child.''" ''(original published text)'' The omnibus edition of ''The Green Death'' was not retained by the BBC Archives, with the 625 line PAL colour videotape being erased for reuse around late May/early June 1974.
* The party scene at the end of episode six marks one of the few times the Doctor is shown consuming what is presumably alcohol on screen. He also drinks Elderberry wine in episode 3, and asks for a bottle to take with him.
* For the scene in which the Doctor and Benton are attacked by the giant fly, [[Michael E. Briant|Michael Briant]] took inspiration from an idea [[Hugh David]] came up with for the opening scene of ''[[Fury from the Deep (TV story)|Fury from the Deep]]'' (on which Briant served as a production assistant) and wanted to have the fly suspended from a helicopter. But adverse weather conditions on the day of filming meant that and only one or two successful shots were obtained and so Briant had to use [[CSO]] for the majority of the scene.
* It was briefly thought that Yates' role in the latter stages of the serial might be given to Benton instead, but this idea was not pursued.
* [[Robert Sloman]] claimed that the slightly stereotypical portrayal of the Welsh were there because of his bad experience of playing [[rugby]] against Welsh teams when he lived in the West Country.
* Global Chemicals was originally named Universal Chemicals. It was then United Chemicals, until it was discovered that a real company with that name existed.
* Ralph Fell was originally named Charles, but this had to be changed to avoid confusion with a real-life petroleum company executive.
* A Wholeweal member nicknamed "Face" was excised from the script and the relevant dialogue instead allocated to Nancy.
* The reference to the Prime Minister as "Jeremy" came at [[Barry Letts]]' instigation — partly to avoid offending [[Edward Heath]], and partly because the producer hoped that [[Jeremy Thorpe]], the leader of [[Liberal Party|the Liberal Party]], would win the next [[General election|UK General Election]].
* [[John Levene]] ad-libbed Benton's reference to two UNIT soldiers as "Dicks" and "Betts" in honour of the production team. 
* Originally, [[Mitzi McKenzie]] was intended to appear as Nancy in the scene where Jo met Clifford Jones, but the material had to be rewritten at the last minute when she proved unavailable.
* Amongst the members of Wholeweal, Jessie was played by a real flautist named [[Jessica Stanley-Clarke]]. She was also a member of the prog-rock band [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsupilami_(band) Marsupilami], who had once toured with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Purple Deep Purple]; later known as Jekka McVicar, she became a well-known expert on organic gardening.
* [[Michael E. Briant]] said that the maggots look effective because they were created in a variety of different ways. According to [[Robert Sloman]], some were so effective that the crew avoided them.
* Stevens was named after Jocelyn Stevens, formerly [[Robert Sloman]]'s superior in the newspaper industry.
* The serial was repeated on [[BBC Four]], as part of its "1973" season in [[2006 (releases)|2006]]. Episodes One & Two on [[3 April (releases)|3 April]], Episodes Three & Four on [[4 April (releases)|4 April]] and Episodes Five & Six on [[5 April (releases)|5 April]].
* [[Barry Letts]] hoped to develop a narrative which demonstrated the importance of balancing industrial development and environmental concerns, rather than just serving as an anti-capitalist tract. He and [[Terrance Dicks]] were also aware that the scripts could not be overtly political, lest the series be accused of fomenting opposition to [[Edward Heath]]'s government.
* [[Robert Sloman]] drew upon the environmental activism of [[Greenpeace]], which had recently been formed in [[Canada]], as well as the Biotechnic Research And Development (BRAD) community in Wales.
* Clifford Jones was written as a younger version of the Doctor, as this was the only type of person for whom the production team could envisage Jo leaving UNIT for.


=== Ratings ===
=== Ratings ===
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=== Myths ===
=== Myths ===
* [[Katy Manning]] left the series because of the death of [[Roger Delgado]] ([[the Master]]). ''Delgado died June 1973 - ''after'' Manning's final episode was filmed (April 1973).''
* [[Katy Manning]] left the series because of the death of [[Roger Delgado]] ({{Delgado}}). ''Delgado died June 1973 - ''after'' Manning's final episode was filmed (April 1973).''
* Some of the giant maggots were created from inflated condoms. ''According to director Michael Briant on the DVD documentary ''The One With the Maggots'', they weren't; they were actually party balloons.''
* Some of the giant maggots were created from inflated condoms. ''According to director [[Michael E. Briant]] on the DVD documentary ''The One With the Maggots'', they weren't; they were actually party balloons.''
* The script contained a scene where the Doctor unsuccessfully tried to get the brainwashed Global Chemicals employees to evacuate the factory before it exploded, which was deleted because it was deemed too much like a similar scene from ''[[Colony in Space (TV story)|Colony in Space]]''. ''No such scene was ever in the script. There was, however, such a scene in the story's novelisation - which, coincidentally, was written by ''Colony in Space'' writer [[Malcolm Hulke]].''


=== Filming locations ===
=== Filming locations ===
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=== Production errors ===
=== Production errors ===
{{discontinuity}}
{{discontinuity}}
* In episode one, when Dai Evans is on the telephone in the mine office, a hand appears to the bottom right, giving Mostyn Evans his cue to speak.
* In episode one, when the infected Dai Evans is calling for help on the telephone in the mine, a hand (possibly that of director [[Michael E. Briant|Michael Briant]]) appears to the bottom right of the screen, giving Mostyn Evans his cue to start speaking.
* In episode five, the Doctor escapes from Global during the day. When Yates is caught it's dark (as seen through the compound's windows), but the next scene, on the slag heap, is in daylight again.
* In episode two, when the Doctor and Davis board the pit lift to be lowered into the mine, the lift’s ‘door’ is a piece of wire fencing Davis lifts into place, which then rests on built-in hinges. However, when they arrive at the bottom of the mine, the lift’s ‘door’ has inexplicably changed to a permanent-standing double picket gate.
* In episode five, the Doctor escapes from Global Chemicals during the day. When Yates is caught it's dark (as seen through the compound's windows), but the next scene, on the slag heap, is in daylight again.
* The CSO used in episode three results in the bottom of the mine cart vanishing.
* The CSO used in episode three results in the bottom of the mine cart vanishing.
* When Jo is helping Bert around a corner, she knocks a support strut out of position.
* When Jo is helping Bert around a corner, she knocks a support strut out of position.
* When Jo sits up in the cable car, her helmet doesn't have a lamp. Switch to the medium shot and it suddenly does.
* When Jo sits up in the cable car, her helmet doesn't have a lamp, but it suddenly gains one in the medium shot.
* When the Doctor picks up the giant fly egg in the mine, it squeaks, revealing it to be a painted balloon.  
* When the Doctor picks up the giant fly egg in the mine, it squeaks, revealing it to be a painted balloon.
* When characters look through Professor Jones's microscope, the objective is rotated so that none of the lenses actually point at the slide.
* When characters look through Professor Jones's microscope, the objective is rotated so that none of the lenses actually point at the slide.
* When Yates breaks James's conditioning, the latter falls against the wall, which visibly shakes.
* When Yates breaks James's conditioning, the ladder falls against the wall, which visibly shakes.
* When Benton rescues Cliff and Jo, the ground shakes and flexes.
* When Benton rescues Cliff and Jo, the ground shakes and flexes.
* In the climax, not one but two heavy consoles move as Stevens frantically operates the controls.
* In the climax, not one but two heavy consoles move as Stevens frantically operates the controls.
* In episode one, Katy Manning accidentally knocks off the triangular crucible holder from the Bunsen burner as she walks through Jones's laboratory, appearing to hit it with the sleeve of her coat unintentionally.  
* In episode one, [[Katy Manning]] accidentally knocks off the triangular crucible holder from the Bunsen burner as she walks through Jones's laboratory, appearing to hit it with the sleeve of her coat unintentionally.
* Certain shots of the TARDIS reveal that it is simply a prop, as the back windows can be faintly seen.
* Certain shots of the TARDIS reveal that it is simply a prop, as the back windows can be faintly seen.
* In episode six, BOSS asked Stevens how "Captain Yates" managed to break through their therapy, but to both of them he was known as "Mr. Yates" so BOSS should not have called him "Captain".


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* The Doctor once again disguises himself as a woman. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Undercover (comic story)|Undercover]]'')
* The Doctor's journey to Metebelis III and taking of the crystal have unexpected consequences. ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Spiders (TV story)|Planet of the Spiders]]'')
* The Doctor's journey to Metebelis III and taking of the crystal have unexpected consequences. ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Spiders (TV story)|Planet of the Spiders]]'')
* Years later, Jo is still married to Clifford Jones, having children and grand-children. ([[TV]]: ''[[Death of the Doctor (TV story)|Death of the Doctor]]'')
* Years later, Jo is still married to Clifford Jones, having children and grand-children. ([[TV]]: ''[[Death of the Doctor (TV story)|Death of the Doctor]]'')
Line 215: Line 245:
* While driving Bessie over to Global Chemicals, the Doctor appears to be using her [[super drive]], as he flies down a road at an alarmingly high speed and easily overtakes a slower vehicle. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time Monster (TV story)|The Time Monster]]'')
* While driving Bessie over to Global Chemicals, the Doctor appears to be using her [[super drive]], as he flies down a road at an alarmingly high speed and easily overtakes a slower vehicle. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time Monster (TV story)|The Time Monster]]'')
* The Brigadier and the Minister of Ecology debate about the interpretation of the [[Enabling Act|Third Enabling Act]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time Monster (TV story)|The Time Monster]]'') to solve the jurisdiction controversy about Global Chemicals.
* The Brigadier and the Minister of Ecology debate about the interpretation of the [[Enabling Act|Third Enabling Act]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time Monster (TV story)|The Time Monster]]'') to solve the jurisdiction controversy about Global Chemicals.
* Jo comments that Wholeweal's backing by the United Nations was only the second time she had ever asked her uncle for anything, to which the Doctor responds by remarking "and look where the first time got you." ([[TV]]: ''[[Terror of the Autons (TV story)|Terror of the Autons]]'')


== Home video and audio releases ==
== Home video and audio releases ==
Line 228: Line 259:


Contents:
Contents:
* [[Stewart Bevan (interview)|Stewart Bevan]] - An interview with the actor about the story.
* ''[[Stewart Bevan Interview (documentary)|Stewart Bevan Interview]]'' - An interview with the actor about the story.
* [[Robert Sloman (interview)|Robert Sloman]] - An interview with the writer about the writing of the story.
* ''[[Robert Sloman Interview (documentary)|Robert Sloman Interview]]'' - An interview with the writer about the writing of the story.
* [[Global Conspiracy? (home video)|Global Conspiracy?]] - A short sketch about what went on in 1973.
* ''[[Global Conspiracy? (home video)|Global Conspiracy?]]'' - A short sketch about what went on in 1973.
* [[Visual Effects]] - [[Colin Mapson]] talks about the effect in the story and how to build a [[Giant Maggot]].
* ''[[Visual Effects (documentary)|Visual Effects]]'' - [[Colin Mapson]] talks about the effect in the story and how to build a [[Giant Maggot]].
* Photo Gallery
* Photo Gallery
* Production Subtitles
* Production Subtitles
* Easter Egg
* [[Easter Egg]]
* Commentary: [[Katy Manning]], [[Barry Letts]], and [[Terrance Dicks]]
* Commentary: [[Katy Manning]], [[Barry Letts]], and [[Terrance Dicks]]


Line 248: Line 279:
==== Special Edition ====
==== Special Edition ====
As with many pre-2006 releases, ''The Green Death: Special Edition'' was released on 5 August 2013.
As with many pre-2006 releases, ''The Green Death: Special Edition'' was released on 5 August 2013.
===== Special Features =====
* Commentary with actor Katy Manning ([[Jo Grant]]), producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks
* Bonus Commentary with actors [[Richard Franklin]] ([[Mike Yates|Captain Yates]]) and [[Mitzi McKenzie]] ([[Nancy (The Green Death)|Nancy]]), moderated by [[Toby Hadoke]] (episodes 3-5); with actress Katy Manning and writer [[Russell T Davies]] (episode 6)
* ''[[The One with the Maggots (documentary)|The One With the Maggots]]'' - Making of documentary
* ''Global Conspiracy?'' - Spoof investigative report
* ''Visual Effects'' - Colin Mapson interview
* ''[[Robert Sloman]] Interview'' - An interview with the story's writer
* ''[[Stewart Bevan]] Interview'' - An interview with the actor who played Professor [[Clifford Jones]]
* ''Wales Today''
* ''[[The Unquiet Dead (documentary)|Doctor Forever - The Unquiet Dead]]''
* ''What Katy Did Next''
* ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' - [[Death of the Doctor (TV story)|Death of the Doctor]] - Optional commentary with actress Katy Manning and series creator Russell T Davies
* ''[[Radio Times]]'' Listings (DVD-ROM)
* Production Information Subtitles
* Photo Gallery
* Coming Soon Trailer - ''[[The Ice Warriors (TV story)|The Ice Warriors]]''
* Easter Eggs:
** Continuity announcements for original broadcast and 1994 repeat airing. To access this hidden feature, press left at ''Visual Effects'' on Disc Two to reveal a hidden ''[[Doctor Who]]'' logo.
** ''Global Conspiracy?'' outtake. To access this hidden feature, press left at Photo Gallery on Disc Two to reveal a hidden ''Doctor Who'' logo.
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
File:The Green Death Special Edition.jpg|Region 2 cover
File:DrWho-GreenDeath.jpg|Region 1 cover
File:Green death special edition australia dvd.jpg|Region 4 cover
</gallery>


==== Doctor Who DVD Files ====
==== Doctor Who DVD Files ====
Line 254: Line 311:
=== Digital releases ===
=== Digital releases ===
This story is available:
This story is available:
* in [[iTunes]] stores ([[Australia]], [[Canada]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[UK]] and [[US]]) as part of the ''Doctor Who: The Classic Series'' collection ''Doctor Who: The Best of The Third Doctor'', which additionally includes the stories ''[[Spearhead from Space (TV story)|Spearhead from Space]]'', ''[[The Three Doctors (TV story)|The Three Doctors]]'' and ''[[Planet of the Spiders (TV story)|Planet of the Spiders]]'';  
* in [[iTunes]] stores ([[Australia]], [[Canada]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[UK]] and [[US]]) as part of the ''Doctor Who: The Classic Series'' collection ''Doctor Who: The Best of The Third Doctor'', which additionally includes the stories ''[[Spearhead from Space (TV story)|Spearhead from Space]]'', ''[[The Three Doctors (TV story)|The Three Doctors]]'' and ''[[Planet of the Spiders (TV story)|Planet of the Spiders]]'';
* in non-continental iTunes stores (Australia, Canada, UK and US) as a stand-alone season of ''Doctor Who: The Classic Series'';  
* in non-continental iTunes stores (Australia, Canada, UK and US) as a stand-alone season of ''Doctor Who: The Classic Series'';
* on [[Amazon Video]] (UK) as Season 69 of ''Doctor Who (Classic)'' series;
* on [[Amazon (service)|Amazon Video]] (UK) as "Season 69" of ''Doctor Who (Classic)'' series;
* for streaming through [[BritBox]] ([[US]]) as part of Season 10 of ''Classic Doctor Who''.
* for streaming through [[BritBox]] as part of Season 10 of ''Classic Doctor Who''.


<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
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== External links ==
== External links ==
* {{bbcepguideclassic|greendeath/|The Green Death}}
* {{bbcepguideclassic|greendeath/|The Green Death}}
* {{radiotimes|2010-02-13/the-green-death|The Green Death}}
{{dwcast}}
{{dwcast}}
{{dwrefguide|who_3t.htm|The Green Death}}
{{dwrefguide|who_3t.htm|The Green Death}}
Line 288: Line 346:
{{UNIT stories}}
{{UNIT stories}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[es:The Green Death]]
[[fr:The Green Death]]
[[ru:Зелёная смерть]]


[[de:{{StoryTitle}}]]
[[fr:The Green Death]]
[[es:The Green Death]]
[[Category:Doctor Who (1963) television stories]]
[[Category:Doctor Who (1963) television stories]]
[[Category:Third Doctor television stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 20th century]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 20th century]]
[[Category:UNIT television stories]]
[[Category:UNIT television stories]]
[[Category:Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart television stories]]
[[Category:Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart television stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in Wales]]
[[Category:Stories set in Llanfairfach]]
[[Category:1973 television stories]]
[[Category:Season 10 stories]]
[[Category:Season 10 stories]]
[[Category:Six part serials]]
[[Category:Six part serials]]
[[Category:Television stories that use Delia Derbyshire's 2nd theme]]
[[Category:Giant maggot stories]]
[[Category:Giant maggot stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in England]]
[[Category:Stories set in England]]

Latest revision as of 20:05, 3 November 2024

RealWorld.png

The Green Death was the fifth and final serial of season 10 of Doctor Who. It was the final regular appearance of Katy Manning as Jo Grant, who departed the Doctor's company in the closing scene of episode six.

It also bore witness to a series of traumatic events for Captain Mike Yates and made him doubt his faith in humanity, which deeply upset him. His inability to deal with his doubts later led him to a path of rebellion.

The story came about through Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks' concern about the environment. Letts, in particular, had been roused by an article entitled “A Blueprint For Survival”, published by Edward Goldsmith in The Ecologist.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

When a dead man is found glowing bright green at an abandoned coal mine, UNIT and the Third Doctor travel to the South Wales town of Llanfairfach. Convinced that pollutants from the nearby Global Chemicals are responsible, the Doctor faces opposition from the company director Stevens, the mysterious BOSS and deadly giant maggots...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Episode one[[edit] | [edit source]]

In the Glamorgan county Llanfairfach, a colliery remains inactive after the post- industrial closure of its mining operations. A miner, Ted Hughes, visits one of the underground tunnels for inspection. He is scared by a green substance which has infected him during his stay beneath the surface, and he darts for the lift. Meanwhile, a Range Rover arrives at a crowd of deposed workers formerly employed at the mining facility. A man steps out and addresses several miners. His company is introducing a new process that will greatly expedite their production of oil after the National Coal Board had to close down the pit because of coal's dwindling industrial promises. The workers cheer vigorously but are met with the sickened remarks from a band of protesters. One of them is a prolific troublemaker in these parts — Professor Clifford Jones, who believes the men are being exploited for their manpower. The workers are far from rapport toward his unpleasant words and start jeering at him to shut up. Instead, all voices are unanimously silenced by the sound of a warning whistle bellowing without stop. The miners know this means there is trouble at the pit, rushing off where an emergency awaits. The same mining worker has emerged from the shafts, collapsed dead with his hand wrenched firmly on the valve to blow the whistle. His flesh has been contaminated by a phosphorescent green substance.

The Welsh mining village of Llanfairfach is of little interest to the Third Doctor, who would rather take a challenging visit to the blue planet of Metebelis III than a trip to South Wales. However, Jo Grant reads a startling newspaper article about a corporate facility that is gearing up to cause a huge amount of pollution. She is keen to go to the village to meet the acclaimed environmentalist and Nobel Prize winner Professor Clifford Jones.

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart arrives and tries to assign a murder investigation mission to the Doctor and Jo, but the Doctor firmly tells him no repeatedly, as he wants to be off to Metebelis III. Jo pleads her case with the Brigadier over the events she wants to deal with firsthand, but Jo is not impressed with the Brigadier's siding with the corporate giant. She passionately protests that she would even quit UNIT if it interfered with her ability to go there firsthand. Luckily, Lethbridge-Stewart's mission was to visit the facility — he is intrigued enough by the death of a bright green miner to drive her down. The miner was found in a disused mine, and the main source of employment in the village is now the Global Chemicals petroleum factory. Its boss, Stevens, promises prosperity for all, but Professor Jones and the other environmentalists at his "Nuthutch" are unconvinced. In light of the protests, Stevens accepts the Brigadier's offer of additional security at his factory.

"Nobody must go down the mine... Nobody."

Stevens, however, is told by a voice "Nobody must go down the mine..." and zones out, muttering these words to himself when he speaks to his employee Hinks. When Hinks leaves the office, Stevens unsheathes a pair of large headphones and plugs them into a machine. An unusual sound begins whirring into his head.

Jo discovers the Nut Hutch, where Professor Jones is engaged in eco-friendly exploits, but is taken aback by a strange fellow in the laboratory who welcomes his guest with eccentricities, micromanagement, and a patronising attitude toward her. Annoyed with this person, she gives him a what-for, causing the man to lighten up and calm Jo down so she stops bumping into things inside an already crowded room. He shows Jo a new type of fungus that Nancy has been developing, Saliota Orbis. It is supposed to be a safe alternative to protein-rich meats. Jo figures out this man is really Professor Jones, and gets on well with him.

Professor Jones detracts the operations Global Chemicals is running, noting that "it's still using up the oil and doubling the atmospheric pollution." He suggests cleaner alternatives that harness the energy with which the sun provides them, such as wind power and water power. Jones explains the Nuthutch has natural heating tapped from the river, through a heat pump working on electricity generated by a windmill. Jo learns the logic behind his use of alternative technology: no waste or pollution.

Jones goes on to hypothesise that Steven's oil manufacturing process "must be based on Bateson's polymerisation, and that means thousands of gallons of waste. Aye, a thick sludge you can't break down in any way, like a liquid plastic. And what properties that would have, heaven alone knows." The professor wants to know what they're doing with that waste, thinking it was possibly connected to Hughes' death. Jo figures Global Chemicals could be pumping the waste down the old mine workings and suggests the two of them should go explore it. Jones doesn't seem to get the picture, and Jo insists they visit the mine now. Unfortunately, Jones's abrasiveness gets the better of her when he calls her a child and says he has work to do. She storms out of his workshop, slamming the door on her way out.

Unbeknownst to the Doctor and Lethbridge-Stewart, Jo decides to venture down to the mine by herself, accompanied by a friendly miner called Bert. The Brigadier still arrives to investigate the death, suspicious about Elgin's testimonial regarding their outstandingly clean and efficient oil production. He begins to grow weary after patching several calls to UNIT headquarters with no reply. The Doctor has weathered a violent excursion on Metebelis III, which is inhabited by hostile lifeforms, and returns in the TARDIS with a torn jacket and dirt on his face. He finally answers the call after arriving back at UNIT and rushes to Global Chemicals in Bessie, suited up in new clothes.

Once the Brigadier has explained the situation to his colleague, the Doctor orders that no-one should go down the mine until he has personally inspected it. However, Jo has already gone down with Bert to aid another miner with her first-aid skills. The man who went down before them was Dai Evans, wanting to figure out what killed the miner who died pulling the emergency whistle for the shaft and was found glowing green. Now, he is starting to glow in the same way as the miner Hughes and has called for help, but collapsed soon after.

The Brigadier and the Doctor notice the mine shaft lowering mechanisms spinning from outside and bolt into the facility to stop the descent, upset that it's Jo who has gone down before him. Even when the Doctor demands that Dave, the shaft operator, raises Jo and Bert back up, Dave can't get the brakes to work. One of the Global Chemicals employees cuts the lift cable and they plummet towards the bottom of the mineshaft...

Episode two[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor jams the lift machinery with a wrench in the nick of time. Jo and Bert are not harmed, but they are stranded in the mine. There, they find Dai Evans, one of the other miners, glowing bright green and terribly ill. It seems there is some serious pollution at work in the mine, and they head off to find a way out. For anybody to get down to the mine to help them, cutting equipment is needed to cut the cables jamming the lift. Global Chemicals say they don't have any such equipment, but a staff member, Elgin, knows this is not true. When Jones hears about Jo's predicament, he comes to the mine to help.

"I'm quite spry for my age, actually."

The Doctor sneaks into Global Chemicals to steal the equipment, but he is caught. One guard sees him as a bit old for a threat, but the Doctor jests, "I'm quite spry for my age, actually." It doesn't take him much effort to knock the guns out of his hands and properly throw several guards to the ground with his Venusian aikido, not fazed by their use of a baton. He takes the upper hand until four more arrive, this time armed with rifles, and fence him in. Fortunately, Stevens chooses to overlook the incident. By chance, the Brigadier finds somebody with cutting equipment in a garage, allowing the Doctor and a few mine workers to go down into the mine shaft. Things get worse when Bert finds a slick of green slime and touches it. He too seems to contract "the green death". By the time the Doctor finds Dai, the miner is dead, and the Time Lord becomes very worried for Jo's safety. Increasingly ill, Bert waits behind while Jo looks for a way out alone. The Doctor catches up with Bert and finds Jo near a vast lake of green slime filled with giant maggots. When they try to go back, the tunnel caves in and more maggots emerge from the rubble.

Episode three[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor and Jo are trapped between a cave-in and the pool of maggots. They escape by wheeling a mine cart through the maggots, but they are still trapped in the mine.

Back at Global Chemicals, Stevens is behaving very curiously. He is using strange headphones to listen to calming messages, and when one of his employees, Ralph Fell, looks helpful to the environmentalists, he is somehow reconditioned with the same headphones and shortly afterward kills himself. Elgin saves the Doctor and Jo from drowning in the green slime when he helps them out of a shaft that links the mine and the factory complex — proving the link between the two. The Brigadier's plan to investigate Global Chemicals further is cut short when he is ordered by the Prime Minister himself to let Stevens get on with it. Stevens evidently enjoys Cabinet support for his factory and its new plastic production process.

The Doctor, Jo and the Brigadier end the day with a nourishing meal of fungus at the Nut Hutch, but the frivolity is cut short when the Doctor is called to the telephone. He comes back to tell everyone that the call was from the hospital: Bert too has died. As the Doctor leaves, a maggot egg he brought back from the mine hatches, and the maggot inside creeps up on Jo, the girl none the wiser.

Episode four[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor disguised as a milkman to infiltrate Global Chemicals.

The maggot kills Hinks, who had come to destroy the egg, and escapes before any analysis can be made of it, leaving the Doctor and Jones to analyse the trail of green slime it left behind.

The Brigadier receives orders to seal the mine with explosives and clear the area using UNIT troops. The Doctor realises that this will only make the situation worse, but his plea to Stevens to allow an investigation is ignored. As the Doctor expected, the maggots simply burrow through and are now a threat above ground. Not to be intimidated by Stevens, the Brigadier sends Captain Yates into Global Chemicals, undercover as a Ministry official.

The Doctor uses a milk truck and the improbable disguise of a substitute milkman (telling the guard that he is the father of the regular milkman, who has been taken ill) to get through the gates and move freely. Meanwhile, Jo has alienated Cliff, with whom she is falling in love, by ruining one of his slides by accidentally knocking a jar of brown fungus. Determined to make amends, Jo heads to the sealed mine in search of a maggot for Cliff to run some tests on. The Doctor, now disguised as a cleaning lady, meets with Yates and learns that Stevens takes his instructions from the top floor of the complex, and heads there to find out who is in charge. The BOSS, or Biomorphic Organisational Systems Supervisor, turns out to be a supercomputer with its own megalomaniac personality.

Episode five[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor speaks with BOSS and finds out that it runs the company, controls Stevens and other key staff members, and is responsible for the polluting chemical process. The Doctor employs the liar paradox, a conundrum which will keep BOSS busy trying to find a solution, while he escapes. Unfortunately, he runs into Stevens and some guards before he can do so. He rejects the brain-washing technique that Stevens subjects him to, but Mike Yates is more susceptible and is converted into one of the computer's slaves.

After the Doctor escapes, Mike is sent to the Nut Hutch to kill the Doctor. His conditioning is deep and only broken by the Doctor's use of the blue crystal he brought from Metebelis III. Meanwhile, Jones has worked out that the fungus Jo spilt on the slides is actually a curative and then sets off to stop her, but they are both caught in an RAF bombing raid intended to kill the maggots. Cliff is also infected with a maggot and begins to turn green — before he was able to share his knowledge of the cure. In a delirious state in bed at the Nut Hutch, Cliff utters the word "serendipity". Yates re-enters Global Chemicals, pretending to still be under BOSS's control. He uses the blue crystal to break the conditioning of an employee named James, who reveals that the Boss plans a takeover at four o'clock that afternoon. However, before James can reveal any more, he experiences a severe pain, collapses and dies. Stevens enters, and tells Yates he just can't depend on anyone...

Episode six[[edit] | [edit source]]

Maggots!

Sergeant Benton brings an empty maggot chrysalis to the Nuthatch, revealing that the maggots are about to change into something else. The Doctor discovers that another maggot had died after eating Cliff's fungus, meaning that it is deadly to them. The Doctor and Benton drive around the slag heaps and the mine, liberally scattering the fungus which kills all the maggots, and disposing of a deadly giant fly which attacks them. Returning to the Nuthatch, the Doctor discovers Cliff's cure and uses it to restore him to full health. The Doctor then returns to Global Chemicals to confront BOSS. The computer plans to link up with others and effect a corporate takeover of the human race. However, Stevens — whose conditioning has been partially broken by the Doctor using the blue crystal — tells him to get out while he triggers an explosion which apparently destroys himself, the computer, and the company headquarters.

Against the setting sun, the Doctor departs in Bessie, alone.

The menace defeated, UNIT troops and environmentalists gather at the Nut Hutch for a celebration made all the more special when Jo and Cliff announce they are getting married and then plan to travel the Amazon looking for a rare fungus; and that the United Nations (after Jo contacted her uncle) have decided to fund Wholeweal's research: jobs will return to Llanfairfach after all. The Doctor offers his blessing to the couple and gives Jo the blue crystal as a wedding present, asking them to save him some wedding cake. However, as the party starts to get into full swing, the Doctor quietly slips away, noticed only by Jo, who understands why.

The Doctor, who is visibly upset by the departure of his good friend, gets into Bessie and, after one final look back at the cottage, sadly drives away. Jo and Cliff kiss, enjoying a tender embrace, while the heartbroken Doctor drives off into the sunset, smiling sadly.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Food and Beverages[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The party scene at the end of episode six marks one of the few times the Doctor is shown consuming what is presumably alcohol on screen. He also drinks elderberry wine in episode three, and asks for a bottle to take with him.

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

  • This is the last story to use the "Pertwee Logo" until the 1996 movie. It was used from then as the default logo for Doctor Who until the programme's return to television in 2005. Variations of this logo continue to be used for merchandise and materials promoting the classic series, as well as for the franchise as a whole during the show's fiftieth year.
  • This is the last story to have its individual segments titled as "Episode -". After this story they were titled as "Part -", with the sole exception of Destiny of the Daleks.
  • This is Katy Manning's final story. However, she reprised her role thirty-seven years later in The Sarah Jane Adventures story Death of the Doctor. In that episode, she shows disappointment that the Doctor is now travelling with a married couple in the TARDIS, saying that she only left the Doctor because she got married, suggesting that she would have continued to travel with the Doctor if he had allowed her to bring Professor Jones.
  • Stewart Bevan (Cliff Jones) was Katy Manning's real-life boyfriend at the time of shooting. Michael E. Briant was reluctant to invite Bevan to audition, fearing the on-set ramifications — especially considering how upset Jon Pertwee had become when he learned that Manning was leaving. However, Bevan ultimately proved to be the only suitable choice for the role.
  • The opening scene of the serial, in which Stevens stands before some miners and brandishes a piece of paper while proclaiming "wealth in our time", is a mimicry of Neville Chamberlain's "peace for our time" speech, regarding the 1938 Munich Agreement.
  • During the party to celebrate Jo and Cliff's engagement, during which the Doctor slips away, the music heard in the background is an instrumental track by the Electric Banana, which was an alias for the famed (and infamous) British band Pretty Things.
  • The Brigadier takes a phone call from the Prime Minister, who is never seen fully on-screen and named as "Jeremy". This was a joke by the production team intended to suggest that the Liberal Party, then led by Jeremy Thorpe, could win the next General Election; Thorpe, of course, was never Prime Minister.
  • Although credited for episode one, Mitzi McKenzie (Nancy) does not actually appear, as her material was not filmed due to her unavailability at short notice.
  • Billie Horrigan and Alan Chuntz (Security Guards) are uncredited on-screen for episode two, but credited in Radio Times.
  • Terry Walsh (Guard) is uncredited on-screen for episode two, but credited in Radio Times. He is credited as "Security Guard" in Radio Times for episode four.
  • The credit for Brian Justice on episode four incorrectly reads "Yate's Guard", instead of the grammatically correct "Yates's Guard" which appears in Radio Times.
  • For episodes two, five and six, the title sequence film over which the closing credits were superimposed was played backwards and upside-down (a result of the film being played backwards through the telecine machine to save time during recording).
  • The function (and lines) of Elgin is taken up by James, as played by Roy Skelton, in episode five. Tony Adams, who played Elgin, was taken ill with peritonitis during production and had to be taken to hospital. The scene had to be hastily rewritten so as not to involve Elgin.
  • The Radio Times programme listing for the 90-minute compilation repeat of the story on Thursday 27 December 1973 was accompanied by two black-and-white photographs with comic strip-style speech balloons: the first was a close-up of the Doctor saying "THE MAGGOTS ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE!"; and the second was of Cliff and Jo encountering a giant maggot, with Cliff saying "... COME ON LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!", which was actually a publicity shot taken as part of a Radio Times photo-shoot for a special publication to celebrate Doctor Who's 10th anniversary and not a deleted scene from the story itself. The accompanying caption read: "The full story of the battle against The Green Death at 4.0. But Dr. Who has survived many trials in his many times. What and when was the first story? It all began in November, 1963, when the first Dr. Who met An Unearthly Child." (original published text) The omnibus edition of The Green Death was not retained by the BBC Archives, with the 625 line PAL colour videotape being erased for reuse around late May/early June 1974.
  • For the scene in which the Doctor and Benton are attacked by the giant fly, Michael Briant took inspiration from an idea Hugh David came up with for the opening scene of Fury from the Deep (on which Briant served as a production assistant) and wanted to have the fly suspended from a helicopter. But adverse weather conditions on the day of filming meant that and only one or two successful shots were obtained and so Briant had to use CSO for the majority of the scene.
  • It was briefly thought that Yates' role in the latter stages of the serial might be given to Benton instead, but this idea was not pursued.
  • Robert Sloman claimed that the slightly stereotypical portrayal of the Welsh were there because of his bad experience of playing rugby against Welsh teams when he lived in the West Country.
  • Global Chemicals was originally named Universal Chemicals. It was then United Chemicals, until it was discovered that a real company with that name existed.
  • Ralph Fell was originally named Charles, but this had to be changed to avoid confusion with a real-life petroleum company executive.
  • A Wholeweal member nicknamed "Face" was excised from the script and the relevant dialogue instead allocated to Nancy.
  • The reference to the Prime Minister as "Jeremy" came at Barry Letts' instigation — partly to avoid offending Edward Heath, and partly because the producer hoped that Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal Party, would win the next UK General Election.
  • John Levene ad-libbed Benton's reference to two UNIT soldiers as "Dicks" and "Betts" in honour of the production team. 
  • Originally, Mitzi McKenzie was intended to appear as Nancy in the scene where Jo met Clifford Jones, but the material had to be rewritten at the last minute when she proved unavailable.
  • Amongst the members of Wholeweal, Jessie was played by a real flautist named Jessica Stanley-Clarke. She was also a member of the prog-rock band Marsupilami, who had once toured with Deep Purple; later known as Jekka McVicar, she became a well-known expert on organic gardening.
  • Michael E. Briant said that the maggots look effective because they were created in a variety of different ways. According to Robert Sloman, some were so effective that the crew avoided them.
  • Stevens was named after Jocelyn Stevens, formerly Robert Sloman's superior in the newspaper industry.
  • The serial was repeated on BBC Four, as part of its "1973" season in 2006. Episodes One & Two on 3 April, Episodes Three & Four on 4 April and Episodes Five & Six on 5 April.
  • Barry Letts hoped to develop a narrative which demonstrated the importance of balancing industrial development and environmental concerns, rather than just serving as an anti-capitalist tract. He and Terrance Dicks were also aware that the scripts could not be overtly political, lest the series be accused of fomenting opposition to Edward Heath's government.
  • Robert Sloman drew upon the environmental activism of Greenpeace, which had recently been formed in Canada, as well as the Biotechnic Research And Development (BRAD) community in Wales.
  • Clifford Jones was written as a younger version of the Doctor, as this was the only type of person for whom the production team could envisage Jo leaving UNIT for.

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Episode one - 9.2 million viewers
  • Episode two - 7.2 million viewers
  • Episode three - 7.8 million viewers
  • Episode four - 6.8 million viewers
  • Episode five - 8.3 million viewers
  • Episode six - 7.0 million viewers

Myths[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Katy Manning left the series because of the death of Roger Delgado (the Master). Delgado died June 1973 - after Manning's final episode was filmed (April 1973).
  • Some of the giant maggots were created from inflated condoms. According to director Michael E. Briant on the DVD documentary The One With the Maggots, they weren't; they were actually party balloons.
  • The script contained a scene where the Doctor unsuccessfully tried to get the brainwashed Global Chemicals employees to evacuate the factory before it exploded, which was deleted because it was deemed too much like a similar scene from Colony in Space. No such scene was ever in the script. There was, however, such a scene in the story's novelisation - which, coincidentally, was written by Colony in Space writer Malcolm Hulke.

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

  • Ogilvie Colliery, Deri, near Bargoed, Glamorgan
  • Troed-y-Rhiw Jestyn, Deri, near Bargoed, Glamorgan
  • Colliery Quarry, Deri, near Bargoed, Glamorgan
  • RCA International factory, Brynmawr, Powys
  • BBC Television Centre (Studio 3), Shepherd's Bush, London

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 episode one, when the infected Dai Evans is calling for help on the telephone in the mine, a hand (possibly that of director Michael Briant) appears to the bottom right of the screen, giving Mostyn Evans his cue to start speaking.
  • In episode two, when the Doctor and Davis board the pit lift to be lowered into the mine, the lift’s ‘door’ is a piece of wire fencing Davis lifts into place, which then rests on built-in hinges. However, when they arrive at the bottom of the mine, the lift’s ‘door’ has inexplicably changed to a permanent-standing double picket gate.
  • In episode five, the Doctor escapes from Global Chemicals during the day. When Yates is caught it's dark (as seen through the compound's windows), but the next scene, on the slag heap, is in daylight again.
  • The CSO used in episode three results in the bottom of the mine cart vanishing.
  • When Jo is helping Bert around a corner, she knocks a support strut out of position.
  • When Jo sits up in the cable car, her helmet doesn't have a lamp, but it suddenly gains one in the medium shot.
  • When the Doctor picks up the giant fly egg in the mine, it squeaks, revealing it to be a painted balloon.
  • When characters look through Professor Jones's microscope, the objective is rotated so that none of the lenses actually point at the slide.
  • When Yates breaks James's conditioning, the ladder falls against the wall, which visibly shakes.
  • When Benton rescues Cliff and Jo, the ground shakes and flexes.
  • In the climax, not one but two heavy consoles move as Stevens frantically operates the controls.
  • In episode one, Katy Manning accidentally knocks off the triangular crucible holder from the Bunsen burner as she walks through Jones's laboratory, appearing to hit it with the sleeve of her coat unintentionally.
  • Certain shots of the TARDIS reveal that it is simply a prop, as the back windows can be faintly seen.
  • In episode six, BOSS asked Stevens how "Captain Yates" managed to break through their therapy, but to both of them he was known as "Mr. Yates" so BOSS should not have called him "Captain".

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor once again disguises himself as a woman. (COMIC: Undercover)
  • The Doctor's journey to Metebelis III and taking of the crystal have unexpected consequences. (TV: Planet of the Spiders)
  • Years later, Jo is still married to Clifford Jones, having children and grand-children. (TV: Death of the Doctor)
  • Jo Grant reappears in PROSE: Genocide, AUDIO: Find and Replace and TV: Death of the Doctor on television.
  • BOSS is mentioned in passing in PROSE: Original Sin.
  • The Doctor meets a parallel version of Jo Grant (and UNIT) in PROSE: Blood Heat.
  • While driving Bessie over to Global Chemicals, the Doctor appears to be using her super drive, as he flies down a road at an alarmingly high speed and easily overtakes a slower vehicle. (TV: The Time Monster)
  • The Brigadier and the Minister of Ecology debate about the interpretation of the Third Enabling Act (TV: The Time Monster) to solve the jurisdiction controversy about Global Chemicals.
  • Jo comments that Wholeweal's backing by the United Nations was only the second time she had ever asked her uncle for anything, to which the Doctor responds by remarking "and look where the first time got you." (TV: Terror of the Autons)

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

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

This story was released as Doctor Who: The Green Death.

Released:

PAL - BBC DVD BBCDVD1142
NTSC - Warner Video E2156

Contents:

Notes:

  • Region 2 cover

    Region 2 cover

  • Region 1 cover

    Region 1 cover

  • Region 4 cover

    Region 4 cover

Special Edition[[edit] | [edit source]]

As with many pre-2006 releases, The Green Death: Special Edition was released on 5 August 2013.

Special Features[[edit] | [edit source]]
  • Region 2 cover

    Region 2 cover

  • Region 1 cover

    Region 1 cover

  • Region 4 cover

    Region 4 cover

Doctor Who DVD Files[[edit] | [edit source]]

It was released as issue 48 of Doctor Who DVD Files.

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

This story is available:

  • The Green Death iTunes cover

    The Green Death iTunes cover

  • Best of Third Doctor collection iTunes cover

    Best of Third Doctor collection iTunes cover

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

Released as Doctor Who: The Green Death, the two-cassette video release was rushed out in memory of Jon Pertwee, who had passed away earlier in the year.

Released:

  • UK August 1996
PAL - BBC Video BBCV5816
  • US April 1997
NTSC - Warner Video E1349
  • UK VHS cover

    UK VHS cover

  • Australian VHS cover

    Australian VHS cover

  • US VHS cover

    US VHS cover

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

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