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{{Infobox TV|
{{title dab away}}
story name= Logopolis|
{{real world}}
image= [[Image:Logopolis_title.jpg|250px]]|
{{ImageLinkTV}}
series=[[Doctor Who]] -<br/>[[TV stories|TV Stories]] |
{{Infobox Story SMW
number= 116 |
|image= log3.jpg
doctor=[[Fourth Doctor]] (regenerates) |
|series=[[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
companions= [[Tegan Jovanka]] (introduction; joins)<br>[[Nyssa]] (joins)<br>[[Adric]] |
|season number= Season 18 (Doctor Who 1963)|
enemy= [[Master|The Master]] |
|season serial number = 7
year= <ul><li>[[Earth]]; [[28th February]], [[1981]]</li><li>[[Logopolis (planet)|Logopolis]]; [[28th February]], [[1981]]</li><li>Outside the [[Universe]]; [[28th February]], [[1981]]</ul> |
|story number = 115
writer= [[Christopher H. Bidmead]]|
|doctor=Fourth Doctor
director= [[Peter Grimwade]]|
|companions= [[Adric]], [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]], [[Nyssa]]
producer= [[ John Nathan-Turner]] and [[Barry Letts]]|
|featuring= The Watcher (Logopolis)
broadcast date= [[28th February]] - [[21st March]] [[1981]]|
|featuring2= Fifth Doctor
format= 4 25-minute episodes|
|enemy= The [[Tremas Master]]  
production code= 5v|
|setting= {{il|[[The Doctor's TARDIS|The TARDIS]]|[[Logopolis]]|[[London]], [[1981]]|[[Pharos Project]], [[Sussex]], [[1981]]}}
previous story=[[The Keeper of Traken]]|
|writer= Christopher H. Bidmead
next story=[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]] }}
|director= [[Peter Grimwade]]
|producer= [[John Nathan-Turner]]
|epcount = 4
|broadcast date= 28 February - 21 March 1981
|network = BBC1
|format= 4x25-minute episodes
|serial production code= [[List of production codes|5V]]
|prev = The Keeper of Traken (TV story)
|next=Castrovalva (TV story)
|made prev = The Keeper of Traken (TV story)
|made next=Four to Doomsday (TV story)
|novelisation = Logopolis (novelisation)
|clip = The Doctor Meets Tegan - Doctor Who - Logopolis - BBC
|clip2 = Fourth Doctor regenerates - Tom Baker to Peter Davison - BBC
|thwr = 224
}}
'''''Logopolis''''' was the seventh and final serial of [[Season 18 (Doctor Who 1963)|season 18]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. It was the final regular appearance of [[Tom Baker]] as the [[Fourth Doctor]], and introduced [[Peter Davison]] in the role as the [[Fifth Doctor]] in the closing moments in part four. It also introduced [[Janet Fielding]] as new [[companion]] [[Tegan Jovanka]].


'''Logopolis''' was the final story of [[Season 18]] of ''Doctor Who''.It was [[Tom Baker]]'s last story as [[Fourth Doctor|the Doctor]] and marks the first appearance of [[Peter Davison]] in the role, at the very end of the story. This serial also marks the first appearance of [[Janet Fielding]] as new [[companion]] [[Tegan Jovanka]].
With this story ending Baker's seven-year tenure as the Doctor, this currently makes Baker, {{as of|2024}}, the longest-serving actor in the role.


==Synopsis==
It also introduced an interim version of the Doctor known as [[the Watcher (Logopolis)|the Watcher]], whose sudden presence foreshadowed [[Fourth Doctor's regeneration|the regeneration of the Doctor]]. What triggered the Watcher's creation, however, was not fully explained, but writer [[Christopher H. Bidmead]] suggested that as multiple incarnations of the Doctor existed, it would be possible that a future, transitional version of himself could travel back in time to watch events unfold. ([[DOC]]: ''[[A New Body at Last (documentary)|A New Body at Last]]'')
The Doctor goes to Logopolis to repair the TARDIS's chameleon circuit, but his old enemy the Master has plans of his own for the planet of mathematicians, a plan that could spell doom for the universe.


==Plot==
After being introduced in the previous serial, [[Nyssa]], played by [[Sarah Sutton]], began her travels with the Doctor here. It additionally introduced a recurring element in [[the TARDIS]]'s [[Cloister Bell]]. This was also [[Anthony Ainley]]'s first full story as {{Ainley}}.
===Part 1===
[[Image:Logopolis_part1.JPG|thumb|right|150px|[[The Watcher]] - but what does he represent?]]
[[Fourth Doctor|The Doctor]] is pacing around in the [[TARDIS]] [[Cloister Room]], pondering thoughts of decay and entropy. As he and [[Adric]] prepare to leave, the large bell in the centre of the room begins to ring. This worries the Doctor, as the sound of the [[Cloister Bell]] is a sign of impending universal catastrophe.


To keep his mind off this, he decides to repair the TARDIS's [[chameleon circuit]], which has frozen it into the shape of a [[police box]]. In order to do this, he intends to materialise the TARDIS around a real police box (thus disguising it), and then obtain its precise measurements in 27 dimensions. With these measurements, he will have the inhabitants of the planet [[Logopolis (planet)|Logopolis]] produce a mathematical calculation &mdash; a [[block transfer computation]] &mdash; to reset the circuit. However, the "police box" he materialises around is actually the TARDIS of [[the Master]], who has survived their [[The Keeper of Traken|encounter on the planet Traken]]. When the Doctor materialises around the Master's TARDIS, a recursive loop of TARDISes within TARDISes is formed.
== Synopsis ==
The Doctor goes to Logopolis to repair the TARDIS's [[chameleon circuit]], not knowing that a shadowy watcher is spying on him.


Meanwhile, an airline stewardess, [[Tegan Jovanka]], is being driven to the airport by her [[Auntie Vanessa|Aunt Vanessa]]. After their car breaks down, Tegan decides to go to the "police box" for help, but finds herself lost in the TARDIS instead. The Doctor and Adric enter another police box in a duplicate TARDIS, but the Doctor, telling Adric to wait behind finds himself this time outside the box. He meets a number of [[policemen]], who find the shrunken, dead bodies of Tegan's aunt and another policeman.
Meanwhile, his old enemy [[the Master]] has [[The Keeper of Traken (TV story)|only recently]] gained secure longevity by possessing the body of [[Tremas]], and revels in his safety. He has plans of his own for the planet of mathematicians, Logopolis, and a plan that could spell doom for the entire universe.


===Part 2===
The Master's plan could rock Logopolis, the keystone of all life. Could this mean the unravelling of the [[causal nexus]] and the [[end of the universe]] itself?
[[Image:Logopolis_part2.JPG|thumb|left|150px|[[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]] lost in the [[TARDIS]]]]
The police think the Doctor has something to do with it, but Adric creates a distraction, and allows the Doctor to escape. In the distance, a mysterious white-clad stranger watches the proceedings. Realising that the shrunken bodies are the trademark of the Master, the Doctor decides to materialise the TARDIS underwater, to literally flush him out. The Doctor misses the [[River Thames]], however, and lands on a boat instead. The mysterious stranger appears here too, and beckons to the Doctor, telling him to go to Logopolis.


As the TARDIS arrives at Logopolis, Tegan finds her way to the control room, somewhat annoyed. She asks to know where her aunt is, and the Doctor, realising that Tegan's aunt was the dead woman in the car, skirts the question. Once they exit the TARDIS, the Doctor asks the Logopolitan leader, [[the Monitor]], for his help. The [[Logopolitan]]s are able to model reality by pure mathematics &mdash; whatever they calculate can take physical form. However, block transfer computations cannot be calculated by machines, so to perform them, the Logopolitans do not use computers. Instead, they use a large physical array of Logopolitans, each muttering a line of calculations out loud and passing them on to the next.  
The Doctor must pit his wits against the Master in a desperate battle to thwart his plans. But he is aware that this might be a fight which could easily spell the end of his life.


However, unknown to the group, the Master has arrived on Logopolis, and has killed several Logopolitans, which disrupts the calculations for the TARDIS. When the Logopolitans produce the required computation and the Doctor attempts to enter it into the TARDIS, it instead shrinks the TARDIS to half its normal size and causes strange effects inside the ship.
== Plot ==
=== Part one ===
On the [[Barnet Bypass]], [[Policeman 1 (Logopolis)|a policeman]] is talking on the telephone of a [[police box]] in a lay-by. Suddenly, a TARDIS materialises around it in disguise and the phone goes dead. The TARDIS/police box door opens, the policeman is dragged struggling inside and there is an evil chuckle.


===Part 3===
Meanwhile, the [[Fourth Doctor]] is pacing around [[the Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] [[Cloister Room]], pondering decay and entropy. As he and [[Adric]] prepare to leave, the large bell in the centre of the room begins to ring. This worries the Doctor. The sound of the [[Cloister Bell]] is a sign of impending universal catastrophe.
[[Image:logopolis3.jpg|thumb|150px|"Nothing like this has ever happened to me before...!"]]
[[File:Adricontaerdis.jpg|thumb|left|The Doctor and Adric with the police box]]
The Logopolitans try to stabilise the TARDIS using sonic projectors to project a stasis field while the Monitor and Adric attempt to uncover the fault. Meanwhile, [[Nyssa]] has been brought from Traken by [[the Watcher]], the mysterious white figure the Doctor spoke with. She is searching for her father. The Monitor and Adric work through the city and discover the shrunken bodies of three Logopolitans. Correcting the error this has caused, they bring the new computation to the TARDIS. Tegan holds the notes up to the TARDIS so the Doctor is able to read them through the scanner and correct the fault. The Doctor emerges from the now restored TARDIS, and admits to Tegan that her aunt is dead. Meanwhile, Nyssa finds the Master, whom she believes to be her father as he is inhabiting [[Tremas]]'s body. The Master gives her a bracelet, which is actually a device which will allow him to control her actions.  
To divert himself, the Doctor decides to repair the TARDIS's [[chameleon circuit]], which has frozen it into the shape of a police box. To do this, he intends to materialise the TARDIS around a real police box, and then obtain its precise measurements in thirty-seven dimensions. With these measurements, he will have the inhabitants of the planet [[Logopolis]] produce a mathematical calculation — a [[Block Transfer Computation]] — to reset the circuit. However, the "police box" he materialises around is actually [[The Master's TARDIS|the TARDIS of the Master]], who has survived their [[The Keeper of Traken (TV story)|encounter on the planet Traken]]. When the Doctor materialises around the Master's TARDIS, a [[Space loop|recursive loop]] of TARDISes within TARDISes is formed.
[[File:He's watching you.jpg|thumb|right|[[The Watcher (Logopolis)|The Watcher]] - but what does he represent?]]
Meanwhile, an airline stewardess, [[Tegan Jovanka]], is being driven to the airport by her [[Vanessa (Logopolis)|Aunt Vanessa]]. The car gets a puncture and pulls onto the lay-by. Tegan decides to go to the "police box" to call for help, but finds herself lost in the TARDIS instead. The Doctor and Adric enter another police box in a duplicate TARDIS. The Doctor, telling Adric to wait behind, finds himself emerging from behind the police box. He meets uniformed [[policemen|police officers]], led by a plain-clothes Detective Inspector, who have found the shrunken, dead bodies of Tegan's aunt and the other policeman in the car. The Doctor realises that the Master has escaped from [[Traken]] and must be somewhere nearby.


The Master attaches a device to the sonic projectors and sets up a counterwave that brings silence to the Central Registry, preventing the Registers from making their calculations. He then goes to the Registry's control room (a replica of the [[Pharos Project]] on [[Earth]], a [[radio telescope]] tasked to seek out signs of [[alien|extraterrestrial life]]), and demands that the Monitor tell him what the true purpose of Logopolis is. The Doctor arrives with Adric and Nyssa, and Adric deactivates the Master's device, only for the Master to have Nyssa attempt to throttle him. Tegan restores the device, and the Master repeats his demand. The Monitor warns the Master that bringing Logopolis to a halt will cause universal disaster, but the Master replies that it is only a temporary effect, which he attempts to demonstrate by deactivating the suppression device.
=== Part two ===
The police think the Doctor has caused the incident, but Adric creates a distraction with the policeman's bicycle he has found. This allows the Doctor to escape to the TARDIS, followed by Adric. In the distance, a mysterious, white-clad stranger watches the proceedings. The Doctor dematerialises the TARDIS, leaving behind the real police box. When the Detective Inspector uses the police box's key to open the door, he and his colleagues find only orange road warning lights inside. Realising that the shrunken bodies are the trademark of the Master, the Doctor decides to materialise the TARDIS underwater, to literally flush him out. The Doctor misses the [[River Thames]], however, and lands on a small jetty instead. The mysterious stranger appears here too. He beckons to the Doctor, telling him to go to Logopolis.


However, the silence persists and the calculations do not resume. They go outside, and find all the Logopolitans dead, crumbling to dust, and the city itself collapsing. The Master thinks this is some sort of trick and tries to have Nyssa strangle the Monitor, but the control device ceases to function. He tries to increase the device's power, but this causes it to fall apart as local decay increases. The Monitor explains the situation: the universe had long ago passed the point of [[Wikipedia:heat death of the universe|heat death]]. To stave off final collapse, the Logopolitans had been modelling a number of temporary [[Charged Vacuum Emboitment]]s, like the one through which the TARDIS had been [[Full Circle|previously transported into E-Space]]. The excess [[entropy]] generated by the universe had been passing through the CVEs to other universes. However, The Master's interference has caused the CVEs to close and the universe is now dying at last.
As the TARDIS arrives on Logopolis, Tegan finds her way to the control room, annoyed. She asks where her aunt is. The Doctor, realising that Tegan's aunt was the dead woman in the car, evades the question. Once they exit the TARDIS, the Doctor asks the Logopolitan leader, [[the Monitor]], for his help. The [[Logopolitan]]s are able to model reality by [[pure mathematics]] and whatever they calculate can take physical form. Since block transfer computations cannot be calculated by machines or computers, the Logopolitans speak aloud a line of calculations and pass the results on.


===Part 4===
Unknown to the group, the Master has arrived on Logopolis and killed several Logopolitans. Adric and Tegan meet with [[Nyssa]], who says she was brought to Logopolis by "a friend of the Doctor". The Logopolitans' deaths have disrupted the calculations for the TARDIS. When the Logopolitans produce the requested computation, the Doctor tries it on the TARDIS. Before the eyes of Adric, Nyssa, Tegan and the Logopolitans, the TARDIS starts to shrink...
[[Image:Logopolis_part4.JPG|thumb|left|150px|Final moments of the [[Fourth Doctor]]]]
Realising that he and the Master must work together, the Doctor orders his companions into his TARDIS, and has the Watcher take them out of [[spacetime]]. However, Tegan refuses to co-operate and follows the Doctor, Master and Monitor back to the Logopolis control room. The Monitor reveals that they had been completing a program to make the CVEs permanent, and prepares to use it on one of the surviving CVEs, but entropy takes hold of him and he disintegrates before their eyes. The Doctor dismantles the computer and realises the program is stored in [[bubble memory]] that they can use with the real Pharos Project. The Doctor, Master and Tegan escape from Logopolis in the Master's TARDIS.


Adric and Nyssa watch helplessly in the Doctor's TARDIS as a portion of the universe is wiped out by encroaching entropy &mdash; including [[Traken]]. On Earth, the two [[Time Lord]]s reconfigure the Logopolitan program and feed it into the Project's computers, but the Master points out that the transmitter is pointed away from the last surviving CVE. After speaking with the Watcher, Adric brings the Doctor's TARDIS to Earth as the Doctor and the Master run on foot to realign the dish. The Doctor's [[companion]]s distract the guards and the two Time Lords get to the dish's control room, hooking up a [[light speed overdrive]] from the Master's TARDIS to ensure the signal gets to the CVE in time. Upon transmission of the program, the CVE begins stabilising.
=== Part three ===
[[File:logopolis3.jpg|thumb|"Nothing like this has ever happened to me before...!"]]
The TARDIS is now half its normal size, but still shrinking. The Monitor has the Logopolitans carry the half-size TARDIS to the Central Registry where they can try to stabilise it. They use sonic projectors to produce a stasis field while the Monitor and Adric attempt to uncover the fault. (The Logopolitans use Earth numbers for their calculations, which the Doctor has taught Adric how to read.) Meanwhile, Nyssa identifies [[the Watcher (Logopolis)|the Watcher]], the mysterious white figure the Doctor spoke with, as the man who brought her from [[Traken]]. She is searching for her father. The Monitor and Adric work through the city and discover the shrunken bodies of three Logopolitans. Fixing the error this has caused, they bring the new computation to the TARDIS. Tegan holds the notes up to the TARDIS so the Doctor can read them via the scanner and correct the fault. The Doctor emerges from the restored TARDIS and tells Tegan that her aunt was murdered by the Master. Meanwhile, Nyssa finds the Master, whom she believes is her father as he is inhabiting [[Tremas]]'s body. "Tremas" gives her a bracelet; it is actually a device which will allow him to control her actions.
[[File:Logopolis_title.jpg|thumb|left|Nyssa discovers the Master killed her father, Tremas]]
The Master attaches a device to the sonic projectors and sets up a counter-wave that brings silence to the Central Registry preventing the Registers from making their calculations. He goes to the Registry's control room (a replica of the [[Pharos Project]] on [[Earth]], a [[radio telescope]] tasked to seek out signs of [[alien|extraterrestrial life]]). He demands the Monitor tell him the true purpose of Logopolis. The Doctor arrives with Adric and Nyssa. Adric deactivates the Master's device, but Nyssa, who is controlled by the Master, attempts to throttle him. Tegan restores the device and the Master repeats his demand. The Monitor warns the Master that bringing Logopolis to a halt will cause universal disaster, but the Master replies that it is only a temporary effect. He attempts to demonstrate this assertion by deactivating the suppression device.


The Master's co-operation with the Doctor has been a ploy, however. Holding the Doctor at gunpoint with his [[Tissue Compression Eliminator]], he transmits a message to the peoples of the universe, saying that if they do not acknowledge his rule, he will send a signal to close the CVE and restart the collapse. The Doctor climbs onto the radio telescope's gantry to disconnect the power cable, and the Master attempts to prevent him by tilting the dish 90 degrees. The Doctor succeeds in disconnecting the cable, but falls off the gantry. As he hangs on to the disconnected cable, visions of old enemies mock him. Losing his grip, the Doctor plunges to the ground. The Master enters his own TARDIS and it dematerialises.
The silence persists and the calculations do not resume. They go outside, and find all the Logopolitans dead, crumbling to dust, and the city collapsing. The Master thinks this is a trick and tries to have Nyssa strangle the Monitor, but the control device ceases to function. He tries to increase the device's power, but it falls apart as local decay increases. The Monitor explains the situation: the universe has long ago passed the point of [[heat death]]. To stave off final collapse, the Logopolitans have been modelling temporary [[Charged Vacuum Emboitement]]s, like the one through which the TARDIS was [[Full Circle (TV story)|previously transported into E-Space]]. The excess [[entropy]] generated by the universe had been passing through the CVEs to other universes. The Master's interference has closed the CVEs and the universe is now dying at last. The Doctor realises he has no choice. To save the universe, he has to work with the Master. He orders his companions into the TARDIS. When they argue about him working with the Master, the Doctor points out that he never chose to travel with any of them; Adric came aboard as a stowaway, Tegan's curiosity brought her into the Doctor's life, and Nyssa came to him asking for help to find her father. With that, the three return to the TARDIS. The Master holds out his hand to the Doctor on their agreement to work together. "One last hope," says the Doctor and they shake hands.


The Doctor's companions run to the spot where he has fallen. Dying, the Doctor experiences visions of the companions that have accompanied his current form and observes, "It's the end... but the moment has been prepared for." They turn to see the Watcher approach, and as he does so he merges with the Doctor. Nyssa realises that the Watcher was the future Doctor all the time. As the companions look on, the Fourth Doctor [[regeneration|regenerates]] into a new, younger body &mdash; the [[Fifth Doctor]].
=== Part four ===
Adric, Nyssa and Tegan enter the TARDIS. The Doctor has the Watcher take it out of [[space]]/[[time]]. However, Tegan refuses to co-operate and follows the Doctor, the Master and the Monitor back to the Logopolis control room. The Monitor reveals that they had been completing a program to make the CVEs permanent. He prepares to use it on one of the surviving CVEs, but entropy takes hold of him. He disintegrates before their eyes. The Doctor dismantles the computer and realises the program is stored in [[bubble memory]] that they can use with the real Pharos Project. The Doctor, the Master and Tegan escape from Logopolis in the Master's TARDIS.


==Cast==
Adric and Nyssa watch helplessly in the Doctor's TARDIS as a portion of the universe is wiped out by encroaching entropy — including [[Traken]]. On Earth, the two [[Time Lord]]s reconfigure the Logopolitan program and feed it into the Project's computers, but the Master points out that the transmitter is pointed away from the last surviving CVE. After speaking with the Watcher, Adric brings the Doctor's TARDIS to Earth as the Doctor and the Master run to realign the dish. The Doctor's [[companion]]s distract the guards and the two Time Lords go to the dish's control room, hooking up a [[light speed overdrive]] from the Master's TARDIS to ensure the signal gets to the CVE in time. On transmission of the program, the CVE begins stabilising.
*[[Fourth Doctor|Doctor Who]] — [[Tom Baker]]
*[[Fifth Doctor|Doctor Who]] — [[Peter Davison]]
*[[Adric]] — [[Matthew Waterhouse]]
*[[Tegan Jovanka]] — [[Janet Fielding]]
*[[Nyssa]] — [[Sarah Sutton]]
*[[The Master]] — [[Anthony Ainley]]
*[[Vanessa]] — [[Dolore Whiteman]]
*[[The Monitor]] — [[John Fraser (actor)|John Fraser]]
*Detective Inspector — [[Tom Georgeson]]
*Security Guard — [[Christopher Hurst]]


==Production Crew==
The Master's co-operation with the Doctor has been a ploy, however. Holding the Doctor at gunpoint with his [[Tissue Compression Eliminator]], he transmits a message to the peoples of the universe, saying that if they do not acknowledge his rule, he will send a signal to close the CVE and restart the collapse. Realising that the Master has control of the CVE "only while that cable holds" the Doctor climbs onto the radio telescope's gantry to disconnect the power cable and the Master tries to prevent him by tilting the dish. The Doctor disconnects the cable, but falls off the tilted gantry. As he hangs onto the disconnected cable, visions of old enemies mock him: [[the Master#A body in decay|the decaying Master]], a [[Dalek]], the [[the Captain|Captain]], the [[Cyber-Leader (Revenge of the Cybermen)|Cyber-Leader]], [[Davros]], a [[Sontaran]], a [[Zygon]] and the [[Black Guardian]]. Losing his grip, the Doctor plummets to the ground. The Master enters his own TARDIS, dematerialising before the Pharos Project guards reach the control room.
*[[Writer]] - [[Christopher H. Bidmead]]
*[[Assistant Floor Manager]] - [[Val McCrimmon]]
*[[Costumes]] - [[June Hudson]]
*[[Designer]] - [[Malcolm Thornton]]
*[[Executive Producer]] - [[Barry Letts]]
*[[Film Cameraman]] - [[Peter Hall]]
*[[Film Editor]] - [[Paul Humfress]]
*[[Incidental Music]] - [[Paddy Kingsland]]
*[[Make-Up]] - [[Dorka Nieradzik]]
*[[Production Associate]] - [[Angela Smith]]
*[[Production Manager]] - [[Margot Heyhoe]]
*[[Script Editor]] - [[Christopher H. Bidmead]]
*[[Special Sounds]] - [[Dick Mills]]
*[[Studio Lighting]] - [[Henry Barber]]
*[[Studio Sound]] - [[John Holmes]]
*[[Visual Effects]] - [[John Horton]]
*[[Producer]] - [[John Nathan-Turner]]
*[[Director]] - [[Peter Grimwade]]


==Story Notes==
[[File:Fourth-doctor-regenerating.jpg|thumb|[[Fourth Doctor's regeneration|The fourth incarnation regenerates]].]]
*This story was the last to feature [[Tom Baker]] as "the current" Doctor. He would reprise his role only in recorded links for the video release of the incomplete ''[[Shada]]'' in [[1992]] and then on the [[Children in Need]] special ''[[Dimensions in Time]]'' (1993). As of 2007, Tom Baker holds the record for having the longest tenure (seven years) as the Doctor on-screen.
*The key plot point of shunting excess entropy into another universe was previously used in [[Wikipedia:Isaac Asimov|Isaac Asimov]]'s novel ''[[Wikipedia:The Gods Themselves|The Gods Themselves]]''.
*This serial arguably — as pointed out in ''About Time 5'' by [[Lawrence Miles]] and [[Tat Wood]] — has the largest body count of any ''Doctor Who'' story, albeit not graphically shown, as the destruction of Logopolis apparently causes a significant portion of the entire universe to be swallowed by a wave of entropy. At the very least, the [[Traken|Traken Union]] is destroyed, which would put the death toll in the billions and making the Master a mass murderer of unprecedented proportions, albeit one caused incidentally.
*Tom Baker's face was electronically removed from the closing credits of Part 4, and the titles were re-shot with Peter Davison's face for the following story, ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]''.
*Part 4 of this story was the last time the lead character was listed in the credits as "Doctor Who" for the next 24 years. Beginning with the next story, ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalava]]'', until the series' cancellation in 1989, the character was credited simply as "The Doctor". The [[Doctor Who: The TV Movie|1996 television film]] did not have an on-screen credit for the [[Eighth Doctor]], but listed the [[Seventh Doctor|Seventh]] as the "Old Doctor". The [[Rose (TV story)|2005 relaunch]] returned the credit to "Doctor Who", and then again to "The Doctor" in ''[[The Christmas Invasion]]''.
*Also, Episode 4 was the first to credit two actors as "Doctor Who" or "The Doctor" when a regeneration scene was involved. It also happened at the end of Episode 4 of ''[[The Caves of Androzani]]''. In both instances, Peter Davison was billed second.
*With his cameo at the very end, Peter Davison became the first person to be in both Doctor Who and the Tomorrow People


===Ratings===
The Doctor's companions run to where he has fallen. Dying, the Doctor sees visions of the companions that have accompanied his current incarnation on his travels: [[Sarah Jane Smith]], [[Harry Sullivan]], [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]], [[Leela]], [[K9]] and [[Romana]]'s [[Romana I|first]] and [[Romana II|second incarnations]]. Smiling, he looks up at his companions who have gathered at his side and says, "It's the end... but the moment has been prepared for." They turn to see the Watcher approach, and Nyssa realises that "he was the Doctor all the time." As the companions look on, the Watcher merges with the dying Doctor, triggering [[Fourth Doctor's regeneration|his fourth regeneration]]. Moments later the [[Fifth Doctor]] sits up, beaming with a delighted grin.
*Part 1 - 7.1m viewers.
*Part 2 - 7.7m viewers.
*Part 3 - 5.8m viewers.
*Part 4 - 6.1m viewers.


=== Location Filming ===
== Cast ==
*The Lovell Telescope at [[Jodrell Bank]] was used for the filming of the location scenes at the Pharos Project.
* [[Fourth Doctor|Doctor Who]] - [[Tom Baker]]
* [[Adric]] - [[Matthew Waterhouse]]
* [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]] - [[Janet Fielding]]
* [[Vanessa (Logopolis)|Aunt Vanessa]] - [[Dolore Whiteman]]
* [[Detective Inspector (Logopolis)|Detective Inspector]] - [[Tom Georgeson]]
* [[Tremas Master|The Master]] - [[Anthony Ainley]]
* [[The Monitor]] - [[John Fraser]]
* [[Nyssa]] - [[Sarah Sutton]]
* [[Security guard (Logopolis)|Security Guard]] - [[Christopher Hurst]]
* [[Fifth Doctor|Doctor Who]] - [[Peter Davison]]


=== Discontinuity ===
=== Uncredited Cast ===
*This story features the Doctor's TARDIS materialising around the Master's TARDIS and creating a [[gravity bubble]] and the [[recursion|recursive]] phenomena of infinite TARDIS'es nesting within each other. Two TARDISES's materialized "inside" each other in ''[[The Time Monster]]'', but did not happen when the TARDIS materialised inside [[Professor Chronotis]]'s rooms (actually his TARDIS in disguise) in the untelevised ''[[Shada (TV story)|Shada]]''.
* [[Watcher (Logopolis)|The Watcher]] - [[Adrian Gibbs]]
*Why is there a litter bin next to the 'Take Your Litter Home' sign in episode one?  
* [[Policeman 1 (Logopolis)|Policeman 1]] - [[Ray Knight]]
*Why does the policeman take the doll-like corpses so seriously?
* Policeman 2 - [[Peter Roy]]
*In episode two, Adric has wet trousers when leaving the TARDIS (which he acquires later when faking his bike accident).
* [[Davis (Logopolis)|PC Davis]] - [[Derek Suthern]]
*When the Master puts the bracelet onto Nyssa's wrist, part of it falls off.
* Pharos Technician - [[Robin Squire]]
*Entropy is green.
* Security Guards - [[Richard Bonehill|Richard Bonehil]]<nowiki/>l, [[Steve Whyment]], [[Keith Guest]], [[Simon Ramirez]]
*In episode four, when the Master enters his TARDIS, his shadow stays after it dematerialises.
 
*The Master looking out of the cabin doorway is very obviously a CSO'd still frame.
== Crew ==
*He also nods Tegan her cue to notice that the Monitor is dying.
* [[Writer]] - [[Christopher H. Bidmead]]
* [[Assistant Floor Manager]] - [[Val McCrimmon]]
* [[Costumes]] - [[June Hudson]]
* [[Designer (crew)|Designer]] - [[Malcolm Thornton]]
* [[Executive Producer]] - [[Barry Letts]]
* [[Film Cameraman]] - [[Peter Hall]]
* [[Film Editor]] - [[Paul Humfress]]
* [[Film sound|Film Sound]] - [[Jim McAlister]]
* [[Incidental Music]] - [[Paddy Kingsland]]
* [[Make-Up]] - [[Dorka Nieradzik]]
* [[Production Assistant]] - [[Patricia Greenland]]
* [[Production Associate]] - [[Angela Smith]]
* [[Production Manager]] - [[Margot Hayhoe]]
* [[Script Editor]] - [[Christopher H. Bidmead]]
* [[Senior cameraman|Senior Cameraman]] - [[Reg Poulter]]
* [[Special Sounds]] - [[Dick Mills]]
* [[Studio Lighting]] - [[Henry Barber]]
* [[Studio Sound]] - [[John Holmes (sound designer)|John Holmes]]
* [[Technical manager|Technical Manager]] - [[Terry Brett]]
* [[Videotape editor|Videotape Editor]] - [[Rod Waldron]]
* [[Video effects|Video Effects]] - [[Dave Chapman]]
* [[Vision Mixer]] - [[Carol Johnson]]
* [[Visual Effects|Visual Effects Designer]] - [[John Horton]]
* [[Producer]] - [[John Nathan-Turner]]
* [[Director (crew)|Director]] - [[Peter Grimwade]]
 
== Worldbuilding ==
=== Astronomical objects ===
* [[Traken]] and [[Mettula Orionsis]] (Traken's star) are mentioned, both of which Adric and Nyssa witness being destroyed by the entropy field spreading across the Universe.
* The Doctor's transmission of the Logopolis program saves the rest of the Universe, starting with the constellation of [[Cassiopeia]].
 
=== Cultural references from real world ===
* The Doctor misquotes his "old friend [[Thomas Huxley|Huxley]]" by saying, "“The cheese-board is the world; the pieces are the phenomena of the universe". He then corrects himself, says "chess-board" and continues to quote some more.
* The Doctor mentions the [[thermodynamics|second law of thermodynamics]] and [[entropy]].
 
=== The Doctor ===
* The Doctor says to Adric that [[Romana II|Romana]] has "broken the cardinal rule of [[Gallifrey]]. She has become involved, and in a pretty permanent sort of way."
* Before [[Fourth Doctor's regeneration|his regeneration]], the Doctor sees images of {{Pratt}}, a [[Dalek]], the [[Cyber-Leader (Revenge of the Cybermen)|Cyber-Leader]], [[the Captain]], [[Davros]], a [[Sontaran]], a [[Zygon]], the [[Black Guardian]], [[Sarah Jane Smith]], [[Harry Sullivan]], [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|the Brigadier]], [[Leela]], [[K9]] and [[Romana]]'s [[Romana I|first]] and [[Romana II|second]] incarnations.
* The Doctor uses his trademark [[The Doctor's scarf|scarf]] to trip the Master.
 
=== Individuals ===
* The Doctor has taught Adric how to read [[Earth]] characters. (This is confirmed by Adric reading the [[police box]]'s instruction plate aloud in part one, and later telling the Monitor in part three that the Doctor taught him to how to read Earth numbers.)
* The Master had temporarily taken the powers of the [[Keeper of Traken]]. This assisted him in possessing the body of [[Tremas]].
* The school uniform which Romana wore in [[Paris]] in [[1979]] ( [[TV]]: ''[[City of Death (TV story)|City of Death]]'') is shown to be in [[Romana's TARDIS bedroom|her TARDIS bedroom]].
 
=== Locations ===
* The Doctor wants to materialise the TARDIS underwater, in the [[Thames]], but the TARDIS lands on a small jetty near the banks.
 
=== Species ===
* The [[Logopolitan]]s are vital to the stability of the [[universe]]. They discovered long ago that the Universe had passed the natural point of total collapse and so used [[block transfer computation]] to create [[Charged Vacuum Emboitement]]s into other universes.
 
=== TARDIS ===
* The Doctor and Adric walk around the [[TARDIS cloister]]s.
* The [[Cloister Bell]] is described as "a sort of communication device reserved for wild catastrophes and sudden calls to man the battle stations".
* Just before the Master's TARDIS materialises into the Doctor's one, Adric and the Fourth Doctor guess a [[gravity bubble]] is responsible for the instrumentation failure of the TARDIS.
* There are references to the TARDIS's faulty [[chameleon circuit]] and a demonstration of how it ''could'' function if properly working.
* After picking up Adric and Nyssa, the Watcher disconnects "the entire co-ordinate sub-system" of [[the Doctor's TARDIS]], which takes it "out of [[time]] and [[space]]".
* [[The Master's TARDIS]] disguises itself as a [[police box]], a [[tree]] and a [[Doric column]] at various times.
* The Master suggests, "We reconfigure our two TARDISes into [[time cone inverter]]s... We create a stable safe zone by applying [[temporal inversion isometry]] to as much of [[space]]/[[time]] as we can isolate.".
* Through the [[Architectural Configuration]], the Doctor jettisons [[Romana]]'s room.
 
=== Technology ===
* On Logopolis, [[sonic projector]]s are said to "create a temporary [[Stasis field|zone of stasis]]".
* The Central Registry on Logopolis is a duplicate of the [[Pharos Project]] on [[Earth]].
* The Master uses an [[electro-muscular constrictor]] to take control over [[Nyssa]]'s hand.
 
== Story notes ==
* The policeman using the telephone in the police box in the opening scene of the story is named in Christopher H. Bidmead's [[Logopolis (novelisation)|novelisation]] as P.C. Donald Seagrave. This was not derived from any information given in the televised version.
* This serial arguably — as pointed out in ''[[About Time 5]]'' by [[Lawrence Miles]] and [[Tat Wood]] — has the largest body count of any ''Doctor Who'' story, albeit not graphically shown, as the destruction of Logopolis apparently causes a significant portion of the entire universe to be swallowed by a wave of entropy. At the very least, the [[Traken Union]] is destroyed, which would put the death toll in the billions and make the Master a mass killer on an unprecedented scale, albeit not by intent. The [[Last Great Time War]] and [[The Flux]] potentially had a higher body count, but even were a death toll to be given, it occurred off-screen.
* [[Christopher H. Bidmead]]'s inspiration for the [[Recursion|recursive loop]] scene came from the end of ''[[The Keeper of Traken (TV story)|The Keeper of Traken]]'', in which the Master escapes via [[The Master's TARDIS|a TARDIS]] within the [[Melkur]], which was also a TARDIS. ([[DOC]]: ''[[A New Body at Last (documentary)|A New Body at Last]]'')
* This story is the first to feature a human companion since [[Leela]] left the Doctor in ''[[The Invasion of Time (TV story)|The Invasion of Time]]'', and the first to feature one from contemporary Earth since [[Sarah Jane Smith]]'s departure in ''[[The Hand of Fear (TV story)|The Hand of Fear]]''.
** Coincidentally, both Elisabeth Sladen and Louise Jameson, who played Sarah Jane and Leela respectively, were asked to reprise their roles for ''Logopolis''.<ref>http://www.shannonsullivan.com/doctorwho/serials/5v.html</ref>
* The story was repeated on [[BBC2]] on consecutive evenings from Monday 30 November to Thursday 3 December 1981 as part of the repeat season ''[[The Five Faces of Doctor Who]]''. The ''Radio Times'' programme listing for the repeat of part one was accompanied by a black-and-white head-and-shoulders publicity shot of the Doctor taken during location filming for [[TV]]: ''[[The Masque of Mandragora (TV story)|The Masque of Mandragora]]'', with the accompanying caption "Another trip through time and space for Doctor Who (Tom Baker): 5.40". ''(original published text)''
* Logopolis comes from two ancient Greek words and means "city of speech," alluding to the oral calculations recited by the Logopolitans.
* This is the first regeneration story in which the Doctor is shown to be fully conscious immediately after regenerating, a precedent that would be followed by most later regenerations, with the sole exception of ''[[Time and the Rani (TV story)|Time and the Rani]]'' (on account of the [[Sixth Doctor]] having already been unconscious as per the events of ''[[The Brink of Death (audio story)|The Brink of Death]]'').
* The Doctor reveals a small panel on one of the TARDIS control panels, with a keyboard which the Doctor can input an exterior appearance for the TARDIS. This is the first instance that reveals the TARDIS's chameleon circuit can be manually overridden, so there is no need for the automatic system.
* This is the last story for [[Barry Letts]] as executive producer and also the last story he contributed to.
* {{w|Harry Andrews}}, [[Bernard Archard]], [[Geoffrey Bayldon]], [[Peter Cushing]], [[Maurice Denham]], [[Frank Finlay]], {{w|Barry Foster (actor)|Barry Foster}}, [[Marius Goring]], [[Michael Gough]], [[William Lucas]], [[Nigel Stock]], [[Frank Windsor]] and [[Peter Wyngarde]] were considered for the Monitor.
* {{w|Alun Armstrong}}, [[Paul Jerricho]], [[Alec Sabin]], [[John Savident]] and [[Michael Sheard]] were considered for the Detective Inspector.
* {{w|Dorothy Alison}} was considered for Aunt Vanessa.
* [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah]] and/or [[Leela]] were considered to return in order to give a familiar face for the Fourth Doctor to go through his regeneration story and ensure a smooth transition. [[Elisabeth Sladen]] and [[Louise Jameson]] declined to return, so Nyssa and Tegan were brought in.
* The Doctor was supposed to scream as he fell to his death. [[Tom Baker]] disagreed, as he felt it was unheroic. He was unhappy with the fact that the final image that viewers would see of his Doctor would be of him lying prone, being photographed from above.
* It was decided to hold off the Master's first on-screen appearance until part three, in order to make the audience wonder if the Watcher might actually be the evil Time Lord.
* During one take of the regeneration, [[Tom Baker]] turned to [[Matthew Waterhouse]] and said, "Adric, you're a c**t and you always will be".
* [[Christopher H. Bidmead]] was a keen computer enthusiast, and used many ideas from computer science in developing his scripts, with elements such as the Monitor, block transfers, and registers all being derived from terminology in computer architecture. Eager to inject ''Doctor Who'' with real scientific notions, Bidmead also drew upon the physics discipline of thermodynamics, making heavy use of the concept of entropy: the measure of unavailable energy in a system, which effectively increases as a system becomes homogeneous. He got a lot of the ideas and language of the story from taking apart and looking at the inner workings of his Vector Graphics MZ system.
* [[John Nathan-Turner]] noticed that a real police box still stood on the Barnet Bypass in London. [[Christopher H. Bidmead]] was fascinated with the TARDIS, and wanted to explore its properties more fully. The Barnet Bypass police box was the last of its kind left in the country. Sadly, the real police box was vandalised and demolished shortly before production started, so the TARDIS prop from the previous season was refurbished and used.
* At the [[Longleat]] celebration, [[Tom Baker]] was asked why he left the series. He replied that he was pushed - by [[Anthony Ainley]].
* [[Christopher H. Bidmead]] defended the scenes where the Doctor attempts to flush the Master out of his TARDIS and the Master holding the universe to ransom with a tape recorder by asking "Does it seem far fetched now we have the internet?"
* [[Tom Baker]] recalled on the [[DVD]] commentary that he was dreading leaving the series and was pretty angry all the time on the shoot. He couldn't take comments or direction from anyone. [[Janet Fielding]] confirms that he was angry with everybody. [[John Nathan-Turner]] claimed that when Baker had finished his last scene, he quietly slipped away without a word.
* When the production crew was unable to locate the owner of the house that [[Peter Grimwade]] had originally intended to use for Aunt Vanessa's residence, they instead moved further up the same street to the home of [[Andrew McCulloch]], who had co-written ''[[Meglos (TV story)|Meglos]]'' earlier that year.
* Logopolis came from the Greek word for "city of numbers".
* The Pharos Project was named for the Egyptian island on which once stood [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighthouse_of_Alexandria the Lighthouse of Alexandria], one of [[Seven Wonders of the World|the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]].
* The mystery surrounding the Watcher was felt to be a crucial element to hold the viewers' interest, and so it was decided to hold off the Master's first on-screen appearance until part three, in order to make the audience wonder if the Watcher might actually be the evil Time Lord in disguise.
* [[Tom Baker]] started filming his final story three days after his wedding to [[Lalla Ward]].
* Filming had to proceed without [[Tom Baker]] and [[Matthew Waterhouse]] when a studio day for ''[[The Keeper of Traken (TV story)|The Keeper of Traken]]'' was remounted after being cancelled by an industrial dispute by BBC electricians. As a result, the production crew focused on material involving Tegan at the lay-by on the Barnet Bypass.
* On [[13 March (releases)|13 March]] [[2019 (releases)|2019]] only, special cinema screenings of ''Logopolis'' were shown all around the [[United States]].<ref>https://www.showtimes.com/movies/doctor-who-logopolis-137453/movie-times/</ref>
 
=== Closing credits ===
At the end of part four:
* The usual image of [[Tom Baker]]'s face (and by extension, much of the starfield footage in the closing credits) was electronically blurred as a method of signifying his departure, and the titles and credits were re-shot with [[Peter Davison]]'s face for the following story, ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]''.
* The lead character was listed as "Doctor Who" for the last time for the next twenty-four years. Beginning with ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]'', until the series' cancellation in 1989, the character was credited simply as "The Doctor" at the request of Peter Davison. The [[Doctor Who (TV story)|1996 television film]] did not have an on-screen character name credit for either the [[Eighth Doctor]] or [[Seventh Doctor]]; however, the press kit for the film credits them as "The Doctor" and "The Old Doctor" respectively. The [[Rose (TV story)|2005 relaunch]] reverted to using "Doctor Who" until switching again to "The Doctor" at David Tennant's request, starting with ''[[The Christmas Invasion (TV story)|The Christmas Invasion]]''.
* This is the first regeneration story to credit both the departing and succeeding actors playing the role of the Doctor. [[Patrick Troughton]] and [[Tom Baker]] were not credited for their appearances in ''[[The Tenth Planet (TV story)|The Tenth Planet]]'' and ''[[Planet of the Spiders (TV story)|Planet of the Spiders]]'' respectively, while [[Jon Pertwee]] did not appear at all in ''[[The War Games (TV story)|The War Games]]''. This also happened at the end credits of ''[[The Caves of Androzani (TV story)|The Caves of Androzani]]'', ''[[The Parting of the Ways (TV story)|The Parting of the Ways]]'', ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'', ''[[The Night of the Doctor (TV story)|The Night of the Doctor]]'', ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'', ''[[Twice Upon a Time (TV story)|Twice Upon a Time]]'' and ''[[The Power of the Doctor (TV story)|The Power of the Doctor]]''. In both of the first two instances, Peter Davison received second billing.
 
=== Ratings ===
* Part one - 7.1 million viewers
* Part two - 7.7 million viewers
* Part three - 5.8 million viewers
* Part four - 6.1 million viewers
 
=== Filming locations ===
* Ursula Street, Battersea, London (Outside Vanessa's house)
* Cadogan Pier, Chelsea Embankment, London (the barge the Doctor lands his TARDIS on)
* Amersham Road (A413), Denham, Buckinghamshire (the main road the Doctor lands the TARDIS next to)
* Albert Bridge, London (location where the Watcher first beckons from)
* Crowsley Park BBC Receiving Station, Blounts Court Road, Sonning Common, Berkshire (doubled as the Pharos Project for some external shots)
* [[BBC Television Centre]] ([[List of stories recorded at BBC Television Centre|TC3 &amp; TC6]]), Shepherd's Bush, [[London]]
 
=== Production errors ===
{{discontinuity}}
* After Tegan closes the front door of Aunt Vanessa's house in part one, when she is shown returning to Aunt Vanessa's car, the front door of the house is visibly open again in the background.
* When the Master puts the mind control bracelet onto Nyssa's wrist, part of it falls off.
* In part four, when the Master enters his TARDIS, his shadow stays after it dematerialises.
* At the beginning of part two, when the Doctor and Adric are going back to the TARDIS to escape the policemen, the Doctor opens the door to the right, but Adric goes through a door that is open to the left.
* When the policemen open the police box and find that the Doctor and Adric have vanished, there do not appear to be any windows in the rear wall. This may have something to do with the shot in part one, where the Doctor exits the TARDIS from the back, due to the dimensional anomaly.
* When the TARDIS is shrunk, it is first seen without the police box instruction plate. Later, as the shrunken TARDIS is carried away to the Central Registry by the Logopolitans , the instruction plate is there.
* Near the end of part four, whilst the Doctor is crawling across the gantry of the satellite tower, you can easily tell the image of the Master in the doorway behind the Doctor is a photographic blowup because he doesn't move at all, you can't see behind him well and it doesn't at all look lifelike.
* The Doctor reaches out an arm toward the Watcher before regenerating, but when the Fifth Doctor sits up both his hands are resting on his chest.
* When the Master's TARDIS dematerialises at the end of part four, a light illuminates on the control panel in the background, showing that the dematerialisation is simply a fade between shots.
 
=== Updated Special Effects ===
The story received an '''Updated Special Effects''' version in the [[18 March (releases)|18 March]] [[2019 (releases)|2019]] release of [[Season 18 (Doctor Who 1963)|Season 18]] in ''[[The Collection]]''. The effects were done by [[Niel Bushnell]].{{Store variant data|variant=Updated Special Effects|release date =18 March 2019}}
 
This edition notably featured footage specially-filmed at [[Jodrell Bank Observatory]], with [[Ethan Jones]] doubling for the [[Fourth Doctor]].
 
==== Deviations from original serial ====
''to be added''
 
==== Crew ====
* Special effects - [[Niel Bushnell]]
* [[Fourth Doctor]] body double - [[Ethan Jones]]


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
*This story continues a loose arc of three serials featuring [[The Master|the Master]]. The trilogy began with ''[[The Keeper of Traken]]'' and concluded in ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]''. Although the Master does not appear until Part 3, his laughter can be heard in the first two episodes and [[Anthony Ainley]] is credited accordingly.
* The Doctor and Adric discuss [[Romana II]]'s recent departure. ([[TV]]: ''[[Warriors' Gate (TV story)|Warriors' Gate]]'')
*This story picks up soon after the events of ''[[The Keeper of Traken]]'', at the end of which the Master secured a thirteenth regeneration by killing Nyssa's father [[Tremas]] and stealing his body. The Doctor and Adric briefly discuss [[Romana]]'s departure and decide to postpone their trip to [[Gallifrey]], where the Doctor had been under orders to return his former companion.
* The Doctor tells Adric that there were "pressing reasons" for his departure from [[Gallifrey]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Beginning (audio story)|The Beginning]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Lungbarrow (novel)|Lungbarrow]]'')
*Before the Doctor falls from the dish, the enemies that mock him are the decaying Master (''[[The Deadly Assassin]]''), a [[Dalek]] (''[[Destiny of the Daleks]]''), the [[Pirate Captain]] (''[[The Pirate Planet]]''), the [[Cyberman|Cyberleader]] (''[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]''), [[Davros]] (''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]''), a [[Sontaran]] (''[[The Invasion of Time]]''), a [[Zygon]] (''[[Terror of the Zygons]]'') and the [[Black Guardian]] (''[[The Armageddon Factor]]'').
* The [[Third Doctor]] and {{delgado}} previously confronted each other on top of another radio telescope near [[Tarminster]] in the [[1970s]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Terror of the Autons (TV story)|Terror of the Autons]]'')
*As he is lying on the ground after falling the Doctor sees visions of all the companions that previously accompanied his fourth incarnation: [[Sarah Jane Smith]] (''[[Terror of the Zygons]]''), [[Harry Sullivan]] (''[[The Sontaran Experiment]]''), [[Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]] (''[[Invasion of the Dinosaurs]]'', a [[Third Doctor]] story), [[Leela]] (''[[The Robots of Death]]''), [[K-9]] (''[[The Armageddon Factor]]''), [[Romana]] I (''[[The Stones of Blood]]'') and Romana II (''[[Full Circle]]'').
* When the [[Fifth Doctor]] attempts to return Tegan to [[Heathrow Airport]], he asks her to confirm the date and time of the flight she missed by entering the TARDIS. She says she was destined for flight A778 at 1730 on [[28 February]] [[1981]] when she entered the TARDIS. ([[TV]]: ''[[Four to Doomsday (TV story)|Four to Doomsday]]'')
*The exact date of 28 February 1981 for this story is set in ''[[Four to Doomsday]]'', as the Doctor is trying to get Tegan to Heathrow in time for her flight. '''Logopolis''' and ''Four to Doomsday'' both happen on the same date. This synchronicity is also shared by the stories ''[[The War Machines]]'', ''[[The Faceless Ones]]'', and the first episode of ''[[The Evil of the Daleks]]'', which all occur around the same date in [[1966]].
* The Doctor reaffirms that he hates farewells. ([[TV]]: ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]'')
*The [[BBC Books]] novel ''[[The Quantum Archangel]]'' by [[Craig Hinton]] briefly shows an [[alternate timeline]] where the destruction of Logopolis did result in the death of the universe.
* The Doctor mentions [[76 Totter's Lane|Totter's Yard]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'')
* The Third Doctor and the Master previously had a similar problem with their TARDISes becoming intertwined. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time Monster (TV story)|The Time Monster]]'')
* The Doctor travels to Logopolis in the hope of having the TARDIS's chameleon circuit repaired. However, earlier in his fourth incarnation, he had described the idea of his future self repairing it as "vulgar." ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Light at the End (audio story)|The Light at the End]]'') The [[Sixth Doctor]] was later able to temporarily repair it. ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen (TV story)|Attack of the Cybermen]]'')
* In a [[parallel universe]] in which [[The Valeyard (He Jests at Scars...)|the Valeyard]] killed the [[Sixth Doctor]] and acquired his seven remaining [[regeneration]]s, the Valeyard intended to stop the Fourth Doctor from destroying Logopolis and steal the Doctor's TARDIS. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[He Jests at Scars... (audio story)|He Jests at Scars...]]'')
* The [[First Doctor]], [[Steven Taylor]] and [[Dodo Chaplet]] visited Logopolis after leaving [[13th century]] [[Kiev]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[He Jests at Scars... (audio story)|He Jests at Scars...]]''; [[PROSE]]: ''[[Bunker Soldiers (novel)|Bunker Soldiers]]'')
* Before his death, the Fourth Doctor remembered some the enemies he had encountered in this incarnation:
** {{Pratt|c}} ([[TV]]: ''[[The Deadly Assassin (TV story)|The Deadly Assassin]]'')
** A [[Dalek]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Destiny of the Daleks (TV story)|Destiny of the Daleks]]'')
** [[The Captain]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pirate Planet (TV story)|The Pirate Planet]]'')
** A [[Cyber-Leader (Revenge of the Cybermen)|Cyber-Leader]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen (TV story)|Revenge of the Cybermen]]'')
** [[Davros]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)|Genesis of the Daleks]]'')
** A [[Sontaran]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion of Time (TV story)|The Invasion of Time]]'')
** A [[Zygon]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Terror of the Zygons (TV story)|Terror of the Zygons]]'')
** The [[Black Guardian]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Armageddon Factor (TV story)|The Armageddon Factor]]'')
* The Doctor would later fall from greater heights without regenerating. ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'', ''[[The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)|The Woman Who Fell to Earth]]'')
* The beginning of the Master's speech, "People of the universe, please attend carefully," would later be quoted by his [[The Master#As Harold Saxon|future]] [[The Master#As Missy|selves]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums (TV story)|The Sound of Drums]]''; [[COMIC]]: ''[[The Abominable Showmen (comic story)|The Abominable Showmen]]'')
** Despite this being the first time mentioned on TV, those words had apparently already been used by a {{Delgado|n=former incarnation}}. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Heralds of Destruction (comic story)|The Heralds of Destruction]]'')


== Video, DVD, and audio releases ==
== Home video and audio releases ==
=== DVD releases ===
This story was released on DVD as part of the [[New Beginnings]] box set, alongside ''[[The Keeper of Traken (TV story)|The Keeper of Traken]]'' and ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]''.


'''DVD Releases'''
Special features include:
[[Image:New_beginnings.jpg|right|76px]]
* Commentary by [[Tom Baker]] ([[Fourth Doctor|the Doctor]]), [[Janet Fielding]] ([[Tegan Jovanka]]) and [[Christopher H. Bidmead]] (writer)
[[Image:Logopolis_region2.jpg|right|76px]]
* ''[[A New Body at Last (documentary)|A New Body at Last]]'' - A new 50-minute documentary looking at the transition from Tom Baker to [[Peter Davison]], featuring many of the actors and production team involved, including exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the [[regeneration]]
[[Image:Logopolis_region1.jpg|right|76px]]
* ''[[Nationwide]]'' - Interviews from the BBC news magazine show with Tom Baker and Peter Davison
* ''[[Pebble Mill at One]]'' - Peter Davison interviewed on the long-running BBC lunchtime show
* ''[[BBC News Reports]]'' - on Tom Baker's wedding, the announcement of Tom Baker's departure and Peter Davison's arrival
* Music-only Option - The original score for this story is included on a separate soundtrack
* Trailers & Continuity Announcements
* ''[[Radio Times]]'' Billings - Articles and listings from ''Radio Times'' (PDF DVD-ROM)
* ''[[Doctor Who Annual 1982|The Doctor Who Annual 1982]]'' (PDF DVD-ROM)
* [[BBC Worldwide|BBC Enterprises]] literature (PDF-DVD-ROM)
* Photo Gallery
* Production Subtitles


Released on DVD together with ''[[The Keeper of Traken]]'' and ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]'' as part of the [[New Beginnings]] DVD box set. Released:
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
*Region 2 [[29th January]] [[2007]]
File:Bbcdvd-logopolis.jpg|Region 2 UK cover
*Region 4 [[7th March]] [[2007]]
New Beginnings DVD box set UK cover.jpg|New Beginnings boxset
*Region 1 [[5th June]] [[2007]]
Logopolis DVD US cover.jpg|Region 1 US cover
Logopolis australia.jpg|Region 4 AUS cover
</gallery>


Contents:
=== Blu-ray release: ===
*Commentary by [[Tom Baker]], [[Janet Fielding]] and [[Christopher H. Bidmead]]
This story was released alongside the rest of Season 18 on the 18th of March 2019 as part of The Collection range. This release contains remastered film footage from their original elements and upscaled studio footage in order to present this serial in HD.
*[[A New Body at Last]] - A 50-minute documentary looking at the transition from Tom Baker to [[Peter Davison]], featuring many of the actors and production team involved, including exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the regeneration.
*Nationwide - Interviews from the BBC news magazine show with Tom Baker and Peter Davison.
*Pebble Mill at One - Peter Davison inteviewed on the long-running BBC lunchtime show.
*BBC News Reports on Tom Baker's wedding, the announcement of Tom Baker's departure and Peter Davison's arrival.
*Music-Only Option - The original score for this story is included on a separate soundtrack.
*Trailers & Continuity Announcements
*Radio Times Billings (PDF DVD-ROM)
*BBC Enterprises Literature (PDF DVD-ROM)
*[[Doctor Who Annual]] [[1982]] (PDF DVD-ROM)
*Photo Gallery
*Production Subtitles


== Target novelisation ==
Special Features include:
[[Image:Logopolis target41.jpg|right|75px]]
* Audio Commentary by actors [[Tom Baker]] and [[Janet Fielding]] and writer [[Christopher H. Bidmead]].
*A novelisation of this serial, ''Doctor Who - Logopolis'', written by [[Christopher H. Bidmead]], ISBN 0-426-20149-3, was published by [[Target Books]] in October 1982. It was number 41 in the series of 156 ''Doctor Who'' novelisations published by Target.
* Info Text
* Isolated Music Soundtrack
* Optional Updated Special Effects - Including new footage filmed at Jodrell Bank.
* Hanging on by a Thread - Making-of Documentary. New for 2019, With Tom Baker, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, Matthew Waterhouse, Christopher H. Bidmead, June Hudson, Adrian Gibbs (The Watcher), Paddy Kingsland (Music), Malcolm Thornton (Designer) and Margot Hayhoe (Production Manager).
* ''[[A New Body at Last (documentary)|A New Body at Last]]'' - 2006 DVD 50-minute documentary, featuring Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Matthew Waterhouse, John Black, Peter Moffat, Christopher H. Bidmead & Adrian Gibbs.
* Behind the Sofa
* Studio Footage - Go behind the scenes of the regeneration.
* Audio Restoration - A brief look at restoration work on this story.
* Tomorrow's Times - Press coverage of the Fourth Doctor's era.
* Stripped For Action - The Fourth Doctor's comic strips.
* Doctor Who Stories - A 2003 interview with Tom Baker.
* BBC1 Continuity Announcements
* The Five Faces of Doctor Who - Trailer for the repeat season screened in 1981.
* HD Photo Gallery
* PDF Written Archive
* Science Featurette - Entropy explained.
 
=== VHS Release ===
The story was released on VHS on [[2 March (releases)|2 March]] [[1992 (releases)|1992]].
 
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
Logopolis uk vhs.jpg|UK cover
</gallery>


== External links ==
== External links ==
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/logopolis/ ''Logopolis'' episode guide on the BBC website]
* {{bbcepguideclassic|logopolis/|Logopolis}}
*[http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/5v.html A Brief History of Time (Travel) - "Logopolis"]
* {{radiotimes|2011-05-06/logopolis}}
*[http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_5v.htm "Logopolis" at the Doctor Reference Guide]
{{dwcast}}
*[http://www.fiveminute.net/doctorwho/fiver.php?ep=logopolis Five-Minute ''Logopolis''] &mdash; Parody version
{{dwrefguide|who_5v.htm|Logopolis}}
{{Wikipedia|Logopolis}}
* {{briefhistory|serials/5v.html|Logopolis}}
* {{locguide|logopolis|Logopolis}}
 
== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}
 
{{DWTV}}
{{Revised editions of Doctor Who TV stories}}
{{Regeneration stories}}
{{Tremas Master stories}}
{{Dalek stories}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[es:Logopolis (serial)]]
[[ru:Логополис (ТВ история)]]


[[Category:Fourth Doctor episodes]]
[[Category:Articles that were originally Wikipedia forks]]
[[Category:The Master episodes]]
[[Category:Doctor Who (1963) television stories]]
[[Category:Tremas Master television stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1981]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1981]]
[[Category:1981 television stories]]
[[Category:1981 television stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in England]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Regeneration television stories]]
[[Category:Fifth Doctor television stories]]
[[Category:Season 18 stories]]
[[Category:Stories set on Traken]]
[[Category:Stories set in Sussex]]
[[Category:New Beginnings television stories]]

Latest revision as of 20:08, 3 November 2024

RealWorld.png

Logopolis was the seventh and final serial of season 18 of Doctor Who. It was the final regular appearance of Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, and introduced Peter Davison in the role as the Fifth Doctor in the closing moments in part four. It also introduced Janet Fielding as new companion Tegan Jovanka.

With this story ending Baker's seven-year tenure as the Doctor, this currently makes Baker, As of 2024, the longest-serving actor in the role.

It also introduced an interim version of the Doctor known as the Watcher, whose sudden presence foreshadowed the regeneration of the Doctor. What triggered the Watcher's creation, however, was not fully explained, but writer Christopher H. Bidmead suggested that as multiple incarnations of the Doctor existed, it would be possible that a future, transitional version of himself could travel back in time to watch events unfold. (DOC: A New Body at Last)

After being introduced in the previous serial, Nyssa, played by Sarah Sutton, began her travels with the Doctor here. It additionally introduced a recurring element in the TARDIS's Cloister Bell. This was also Anthony Ainley's first full story as the Tremas Master.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor goes to Logopolis to repair the TARDIS's chameleon circuit, not knowing that a shadowy watcher is spying on him.

Meanwhile, his old enemy the Master has only recently gained secure longevity by possessing the body of Tremas, and revels in his safety. He has plans of his own for the planet of mathematicians, Logopolis, and a plan that could spell doom for the entire universe.

The Master's plan could rock Logopolis, the keystone of all life. Could this mean the unravelling of the causal nexus and the end of the universe itself?

The Doctor must pit his wits against the Master in a desperate battle to thwart his plans. But he is aware that this might be a fight which could easily spell the end of his life.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

On the Barnet Bypass, a policeman is talking on the telephone of a police box in a lay-by. Suddenly, a TARDIS materialises around it in disguise and the phone goes dead. The TARDIS/police box door opens, the policeman is dragged struggling inside and there is an evil chuckle.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Doctor is pacing around the TARDIS Cloister Room, pondering decay and entropy. As he and Adric prepare to leave, the large bell in the centre of the room begins to ring. This worries the Doctor. The sound of the Cloister Bell is a sign of impending universal catastrophe.

The Doctor and Adric with the police box

To divert himself, the Doctor decides to repair the TARDIS's chameleon circuit, which has frozen it into the shape of a police box. To do this, he intends to materialise the TARDIS around a real police box, and then obtain its precise measurements in thirty-seven dimensions. With these measurements, he will have the inhabitants of the planet Logopolis produce a mathematical calculation — a Block Transfer Computation — to reset the circuit. However, the "police box" he materialises around is actually the TARDIS of the Master, who has survived their encounter on the planet Traken. When the Doctor materialises around the Master's TARDIS, a recursive loop of TARDISes within TARDISes is formed.

The Watcher - but what does he represent?

Meanwhile, an airline stewardess, Tegan Jovanka, is being driven to the airport by her Aunt Vanessa. The car gets a puncture and pulls onto the lay-by. Tegan decides to go to the "police box" to call for help, but finds herself lost in the TARDIS instead. The Doctor and Adric enter another police box in a duplicate TARDIS. The Doctor, telling Adric to wait behind, finds himself emerging from behind the police box. He meets uniformed police officers, led by a plain-clothes Detective Inspector, who have found the shrunken, dead bodies of Tegan's aunt and the other policeman in the car. The Doctor realises that the Master has escaped from Traken and must be somewhere nearby.

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

The police think the Doctor has caused the incident, but Adric creates a distraction with the policeman's bicycle he has found. This allows the Doctor to escape to the TARDIS, followed by Adric. In the distance, a mysterious, white-clad stranger watches the proceedings. The Doctor dematerialises the TARDIS, leaving behind the real police box. When the Detective Inspector uses the police box's key to open the door, he and his colleagues find only orange road warning lights inside. Realising that the shrunken bodies are the trademark of the Master, the Doctor decides to materialise the TARDIS underwater, to literally flush him out. The Doctor misses the River Thames, however, and lands on a small jetty instead. The mysterious stranger appears here too. He beckons to the Doctor, telling him to go to Logopolis.

As the TARDIS arrives on Logopolis, Tegan finds her way to the control room, annoyed. She asks where her aunt is. The Doctor, realising that Tegan's aunt was the dead woman in the car, evades the question. Once they exit the TARDIS, the Doctor asks the Logopolitan leader, the Monitor, for his help. The Logopolitans are able to model reality by pure mathematics and whatever they calculate can take physical form. Since block transfer computations cannot be calculated by machines or computers, the Logopolitans speak aloud a line of calculations and pass the results on.

Unknown to the group, the Master has arrived on Logopolis and killed several Logopolitans. Adric and Tegan meet with Nyssa, who says she was brought to Logopolis by "a friend of the Doctor". The Logopolitans' deaths have disrupted the calculations for the TARDIS. When the Logopolitans produce the requested computation, the Doctor tries it on the TARDIS. Before the eyes of Adric, Nyssa, Tegan and the Logopolitans, the TARDIS starts to shrink...

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

"Nothing like this has ever happened to me before...!"

The TARDIS is now half its normal size, but still shrinking. The Monitor has the Logopolitans carry the half-size TARDIS to the Central Registry where they can try to stabilise it. They use sonic projectors to produce a stasis field while the Monitor and Adric attempt to uncover the fault. (The Logopolitans use Earth numbers for their calculations, which the Doctor has taught Adric how to read.) Meanwhile, Nyssa identifies the Watcher, the mysterious white figure the Doctor spoke with, as the man who brought her from Traken. She is searching for her father. The Monitor and Adric work through the city and discover the shrunken bodies of three Logopolitans. Fixing the error this has caused, they bring the new computation to the TARDIS. Tegan holds the notes up to the TARDIS so the Doctor can read them via the scanner and correct the fault. The Doctor emerges from the restored TARDIS and tells Tegan that her aunt was murdered by the Master. Meanwhile, Nyssa finds the Master, whom she believes is her father as he is inhabiting Tremas's body. "Tremas" gives her a bracelet; it is actually a device which will allow him to control her actions.

Nyssa discovers the Master killed her father, Tremas

The Master attaches a device to the sonic projectors and sets up a counter-wave that brings silence to the Central Registry preventing the Registers from making their calculations. He goes to the Registry's control room (a replica of the Pharos Project on Earth, a radio telescope tasked to seek out signs of extraterrestrial life). He demands the Monitor tell him the true purpose of Logopolis. The Doctor arrives with Adric and Nyssa. Adric deactivates the Master's device, but Nyssa, who is controlled by the Master, attempts to throttle him. Tegan restores the device and the Master repeats his demand. The Monitor warns the Master that bringing Logopolis to a halt will cause universal disaster, but the Master replies that it is only a temporary effect. He attempts to demonstrate this assertion by deactivating the suppression device.

The silence persists and the calculations do not resume. They go outside, and find all the Logopolitans dead, crumbling to dust, and the city collapsing. The Master thinks this is a trick and tries to have Nyssa strangle the Monitor, but the control device ceases to function. He tries to increase the device's power, but it falls apart as local decay increases. The Monitor explains the situation: the universe has long ago passed the point of heat death. To stave off final collapse, the Logopolitans have been modelling temporary Charged Vacuum Emboitements, like the one through which the TARDIS was previously transported into E-Space. The excess entropy generated by the universe had been passing through the CVEs to other universes. The Master's interference has closed the CVEs and the universe is now dying at last. The Doctor realises he has no choice. To save the universe, he has to work with the Master. He orders his companions into the TARDIS. When they argue about him working with the Master, the Doctor points out that he never chose to travel with any of them; Adric came aboard as a stowaway, Tegan's curiosity brought her into the Doctor's life, and Nyssa came to him asking for help to find her father. With that, the three return to the TARDIS. The Master holds out his hand to the Doctor on their agreement to work together. "One last hope," says the Doctor and they shake hands.

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

Adric, Nyssa and Tegan enter the TARDIS. The Doctor has the Watcher take it out of space/time. However, Tegan refuses to co-operate and follows the Doctor, the Master and the Monitor back to the Logopolis control room. The Monitor reveals that they had been completing a program to make the CVEs permanent. He prepares to use it on one of the surviving CVEs, but entropy takes hold of him. He disintegrates before their eyes. The Doctor dismantles the computer and realises the program is stored in bubble memory that they can use with the real Pharos Project. The Doctor, the Master and Tegan escape from Logopolis in the Master's TARDIS.

Adric and Nyssa watch helplessly in the Doctor's TARDIS as a portion of the universe is wiped out by encroaching entropy — including Traken. On Earth, the two Time Lords reconfigure the Logopolitan program and feed it into the Project's computers, but the Master points out that the transmitter is pointed away from the last surviving CVE. After speaking with the Watcher, Adric brings the Doctor's TARDIS to Earth as the Doctor and the Master run to realign the dish. The Doctor's companions distract the guards and the two Time Lords go to the dish's control room, hooking up a light speed overdrive from the Master's TARDIS to ensure the signal gets to the CVE in time. On transmission of the program, the CVE begins stabilising.

The Master's co-operation with the Doctor has been a ploy, however. Holding the Doctor at gunpoint with his Tissue Compression Eliminator, he transmits a message to the peoples of the universe, saying that if they do not acknowledge his rule, he will send a signal to close the CVE and restart the collapse. Realising that the Master has control of the CVE "only while that cable holds" the Doctor climbs onto the radio telescope's gantry to disconnect the power cable and the Master tries to prevent him by tilting the dish. The Doctor disconnects the cable, but falls off the tilted gantry. As he hangs onto the disconnected cable, visions of old enemies mock him: the decaying Master, a Dalek, the Captain, the Cyber-Leader, Davros, a Sontaran, a Zygon and the Black Guardian. Losing his grip, the Doctor plummets to the ground. The Master enters his own TARDIS, dematerialising before the Pharos Project guards reach the control room.

The fourth incarnation regenerates.

The Doctor's companions run to where he has fallen. Dying, the Doctor sees visions of the companions that have accompanied his current incarnation on his travels: Sarah Jane Smith, Harry Sullivan, Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, Leela, K9 and Romana's first and second incarnations. Smiling, he looks up at his companions who have gathered at his side and says, "It's the end... but the moment has been prepared for." They turn to see the Watcher approach, and Nyssa realises that "he was the Doctor all the time." As the companions look on, the Watcher merges with the dying Doctor, triggering his fourth regeneration. Moments later the Fifth Doctor sits up, beaming with a delighted grin.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Uncredited Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Astronomical objects[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Traken and Mettula Orionsis (Traken's star) are mentioned, both of which Adric and Nyssa witness being destroyed by the entropy field spreading across the Universe.
  • The Doctor's transmission of the Logopolis program saves the rest of the Universe, starting with the constellation of Cassiopeia.

Cultural references from real world[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor misquotes his "old friend Huxley" by saying, "“The cheese-board is the world; the pieces are the phenomena of the universe". He then corrects himself, says "chess-board" and continues to quote some more.
  • The Doctor mentions the second law of thermodynamics and entropy.

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

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor has taught Adric how to read Earth characters. (This is confirmed by Adric reading the police box's instruction plate aloud in part one, and later telling the Monitor in part three that the Doctor taught him to how to read Earth numbers.)
  • The Master had temporarily taken the powers of the Keeper of Traken. This assisted him in possessing the body of Tremas.
  • The school uniform which Romana wore in Paris in 1979 ( TV: City of Death) is shown to be in her TARDIS bedroom.

Locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor wants to materialise the TARDIS underwater, in the Thames, but the TARDIS lands on a small jetty near the banks.

Species[[edit] | [edit source]]

TARDIS[[edit] | [edit source]]

Technology[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

  • The policeman using the telephone in the police box in the opening scene of the story is named in Christopher H. Bidmead's novelisation as P.C. Donald Seagrave. This was not derived from any information given in the televised version.
  • This serial arguably — as pointed out in About Time 5 by Lawrence Miles and Tat Wood — has the largest body count of any Doctor Who story, albeit not graphically shown, as the destruction of Logopolis apparently causes a significant portion of the entire universe to be swallowed by a wave of entropy. At the very least, the Traken Union is destroyed, which would put the death toll in the billions and make the Master a mass killer on an unprecedented scale, albeit not by intent. The Last Great Time War and The Flux potentially had a higher body count, but even were a death toll to be given, it occurred off-screen.
  • Christopher H. Bidmead's inspiration for the recursive loop scene came from the end of The Keeper of Traken, in which the Master escapes via a TARDIS within the Melkur, which was also a TARDIS. (DOC: A New Body at Last)
  • This story is the first to feature a human companion since Leela left the Doctor in The Invasion of Time, and the first to feature one from contemporary Earth since Sarah Jane Smith's departure in The Hand of Fear.
    • Coincidentally, both Elisabeth Sladen and Louise Jameson, who played Sarah Jane and Leela respectively, were asked to reprise their roles for Logopolis.[1]
  • The story was repeated on BBC2 on consecutive evenings from Monday 30 November to Thursday 3 December 1981 as part of the repeat season The Five Faces of Doctor Who. The Radio Times programme listing for the repeat of part one was accompanied by a black-and-white head-and-shoulders publicity shot of the Doctor taken during location filming for TV: The Masque of Mandragora, with the accompanying caption "Another trip through time and space for Doctor Who (Tom Baker): 5.40". (original published text)
  • Logopolis comes from two ancient Greek words and means "city of speech," alluding to the oral calculations recited by the Logopolitans.
  • This is the first regeneration story in which the Doctor is shown to be fully conscious immediately after regenerating, a precedent that would be followed by most later regenerations, with the sole exception of Time and the Rani (on account of the Sixth Doctor having already been unconscious as per the events of The Brink of Death).
  • The Doctor reveals a small panel on one of the TARDIS control panels, with a keyboard which the Doctor can input an exterior appearance for the TARDIS. This is the first instance that reveals the TARDIS's chameleon circuit can be manually overridden, so there is no need for the automatic system.
  • This is the last story for Barry Letts as executive producer and also the last story he contributed to.
  • Harry Andrews, Bernard Archard, Geoffrey Bayldon, Peter Cushing, Maurice Denham, Frank Finlay, Barry Foster, Marius Goring, Michael Gough, William Lucas, Nigel Stock, Frank Windsor and Peter Wyngarde were considered for the Monitor.
  • Alun Armstrong, Paul Jerricho, Alec Sabin, John Savident and Michael Sheard were considered for the Detective Inspector.
  • Dorothy Alison was considered for Aunt Vanessa.
  • Sarah and/or Leela were considered to return in order to give a familiar face for the Fourth Doctor to go through his regeneration story and ensure a smooth transition. Elisabeth Sladen and Louise Jameson declined to return, so Nyssa and Tegan were brought in.
  • The Doctor was supposed to scream as he fell to his death. Tom Baker disagreed, as he felt it was unheroic. He was unhappy with the fact that the final image that viewers would see of his Doctor would be of him lying prone, being photographed from above.
  • It was decided to hold off the Master's first on-screen appearance until part three, in order to make the audience wonder if the Watcher might actually be the evil Time Lord.
  • During one take of the regeneration, Tom Baker turned to Matthew Waterhouse and said, "Adric, you're a c**t and you always will be".
  • Christopher H. Bidmead was a keen computer enthusiast, and used many ideas from computer science in developing his scripts, with elements such as the Monitor, block transfers, and registers all being derived from terminology in computer architecture. Eager to inject Doctor Who with real scientific notions, Bidmead also drew upon the physics discipline of thermodynamics, making heavy use of the concept of entropy: the measure of unavailable energy in a system, which effectively increases as a system becomes homogeneous. He got a lot of the ideas and language of the story from taking apart and looking at the inner workings of his Vector Graphics MZ system.
  • John Nathan-Turner noticed that a real police box still stood on the Barnet Bypass in London. Christopher H. Bidmead was fascinated with the TARDIS, and wanted to explore its properties more fully. The Barnet Bypass police box was the last of its kind left in the country. Sadly, the real police box was vandalised and demolished shortly before production started, so the TARDIS prop from the previous season was refurbished and used.
  • At the Longleat celebration, Tom Baker was asked why he left the series. He replied that he was pushed - by Anthony Ainley.
  • Christopher H. Bidmead defended the scenes where the Doctor attempts to flush the Master out of his TARDIS and the Master holding the universe to ransom with a tape recorder by asking "Does it seem far fetched now we have the internet?"
  • Tom Baker recalled on the DVD commentary that he was dreading leaving the series and was pretty angry all the time on the shoot. He couldn't take comments or direction from anyone. Janet Fielding confirms that he was angry with everybody. John Nathan-Turner claimed that when Baker had finished his last scene, he quietly slipped away without a word.
  • When the production crew was unable to locate the owner of the house that Peter Grimwade had originally intended to use for Aunt Vanessa's residence, they instead moved further up the same street to the home of Andrew McCulloch, who had co-written Meglos earlier that year.
  • Logopolis came from the Greek word for "city of numbers".
  • The Pharos Project was named for the Egyptian island on which once stood the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
  • The mystery surrounding the Watcher was felt to be a crucial element to hold the viewers' interest, and so it was decided to hold off the Master's first on-screen appearance until part three, in order to make the audience wonder if the Watcher might actually be the evil Time Lord in disguise.
  • Tom Baker started filming his final story three days after his wedding to Lalla Ward.
  • Filming had to proceed without Tom Baker and Matthew Waterhouse when a studio day for The Keeper of Traken was remounted after being cancelled by an industrial dispute by BBC electricians. As a result, the production crew focused on material involving Tegan at the lay-by on the Barnet Bypass.
  • On 13 March 2019 only, special cinema screenings of Logopolis were shown all around the United States.[2]

Closing credits[[edit] | [edit source]]

At the end of part four:

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Part one - 7.1 million viewers
  • Part two - 7.7 million viewers
  • Part three - 5.8 million viewers
  • Part four - 6.1 million viewers

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

  • Ursula Street, Battersea, London (Outside Vanessa's house)
  • Cadogan Pier, Chelsea Embankment, London (the barge the Doctor lands his TARDIS on)
  • Amersham Road (A413), Denham, Buckinghamshire (the main road the Doctor lands the TARDIS next to)
  • Albert Bridge, London (location where the Watcher first beckons from)
  • Crowsley Park BBC Receiving Station, Blounts Court Road, Sonning Common, Berkshire (doubled as the Pharos Project for some external shots)
  • BBC Television Centre (TC3 & TC6), 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.
  • After Tegan closes the front door of Aunt Vanessa's house in part one, when she is shown returning to Aunt Vanessa's car, the front door of the house is visibly open again in the background.
  • When the Master puts the mind control bracelet onto Nyssa's wrist, part of it falls off.
  • In part four, when the Master enters his TARDIS, his shadow stays after it dematerialises.
  • At the beginning of part two, when the Doctor and Adric are going back to the TARDIS to escape the policemen, the Doctor opens the door to the right, but Adric goes through a door that is open to the left.
  • When the policemen open the police box and find that the Doctor and Adric have vanished, there do not appear to be any windows in the rear wall. This may have something to do with the shot in part one, where the Doctor exits the TARDIS from the back, due to the dimensional anomaly.
  • When the TARDIS is shrunk, it is first seen without the police box instruction plate. Later, as the shrunken TARDIS is carried away to the Central Registry by the Logopolitans , the instruction plate is there.
  • Near the end of part four, whilst the Doctor is crawling across the gantry of the satellite tower, you can easily tell the image of the Master in the doorway behind the Doctor is a photographic blowup because he doesn't move at all, you can't see behind him well and it doesn't at all look lifelike.
  • The Doctor reaches out an arm toward the Watcher before regenerating, but when the Fifth Doctor sits up both his hands are resting on his chest.
  • When the Master's TARDIS dematerialises at the end of part four, a light illuminates on the control panel in the background, showing that the dematerialisation is simply a fade between shots.

Updated Special Effects[[edit] | [edit source]]

The story received an Updated Special Effects version in the 18 March 2019 release of Season 18 in The Collection. The effects were done by Niel Bushnell.

This edition notably featured footage specially-filmed at Jodrell Bank Observatory, with Ethan Jones doubling for the Fourth Doctor.

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

to be added

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

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

This story was released on DVD as part of the New Beginnings box set, alongside The Keeper of Traken and Castrovalva.

Special features include:

  • Region 2 UK cover

    Region 2 UK cover

  • New Beginnings boxset

    New Beginnings boxset

  • Region 1 US cover

    Region 1 US cover

  • Region 4 AUS cover

    Region 4 AUS cover

Blu-ray release:[[edit] | [edit source]]

This story was released alongside the rest of Season 18 on the 18th of March 2019 as part of The Collection range. This release contains remastered film footage from their original elements and upscaled studio footage in order to present this serial in HD.

Special Features include:

  • Audio Commentary by actors Tom Baker and Janet Fielding and writer Christopher H. Bidmead.
  • Info Text
  • Isolated Music Soundtrack
  • Optional Updated Special Effects - Including new footage filmed at Jodrell Bank.
  • Hanging on by a Thread - Making-of Documentary. New for 2019, With Tom Baker, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, Matthew Waterhouse, Christopher H. Bidmead, June Hudson, Adrian Gibbs (The Watcher), Paddy Kingsland (Music), Malcolm Thornton (Designer) and Margot Hayhoe (Production Manager).
  • A New Body at Last - 2006 DVD 50-minute documentary, featuring Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Matthew Waterhouse, John Black, Peter Moffat, Christopher H. Bidmead & Adrian Gibbs.
  • Behind the Sofa
  • Studio Footage - Go behind the scenes of the regeneration.
  • Audio Restoration - A brief look at restoration work on this story.
  • Tomorrow's Times - Press coverage of the Fourth Doctor's era.
  • Stripped For Action - The Fourth Doctor's comic strips.
  • Doctor Who Stories - A 2003 interview with Tom Baker.
  • BBC1 Continuity Announcements
  • The Five Faces of Doctor Who - Trailer for the repeat season screened in 1981.
  • HD Photo Gallery
  • PDF Written Archive
  • Science Featurette - Entropy explained.

VHS Release[[edit] | [edit source]]

The story was released on VHS on 2 March 1992.

  • UK cover

    UK cover

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

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ http://www.shannonsullivan.com/doctorwho/serials/5v.html
  2. ↑ https://www.showtimes.com/movies/doctor-who-logopolis-137453/movie-times/
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Other
Time Lords
Television
Prose
Audio
Comics
Non-Time Lord Gallifreyans
Prose
Shobogans
Television
Proto-
Time Lords
Television
Audio
Others
Television
Prose
Comics
Audio
For the purposes of this list, a "regeneration story" is one in which a regeneration is actually and initially depicted. For this reason The War Games is not included below, even though it is commonly thought of as a "regeneration story". It doesn't actually include a clear scene of regeneration, and the preponderance of stories in other media confirms that the Second Doctor did not regenerate at the end of it.
Additionally, immediate post-regeneration stories, like the 2005 Children in Need Special Born Again — and ones like Castrovalva, where the regeneration sequence was replayed — are not included.
v • e
Tremas Master stories
Television
Audio
Prose
Comics
Video games
Considered
not part
of the DWU
Substantial appearances only; see a full list of appearances here
v • e
Dalek television stories
For the purposes of this list, a "Dalek story" is one in which one living, authentic Dalek plays a part within the confines of the story, outside of flashbacks to previous stories and cliffhangers that lead into the following story. For this reason, stories such as The Space Museum are not counted due to the Daleks' appearance being defined by their importance to following stories, while stories such as The Wheel in Space and The Waters of Mars are absent due to the Daleks' only contribution being references to past Dalek stories. Stories like The Wedding of River Song, Hell Bent, Once, Upon Time and The Vanquishers are also not included due to the Daleks' appearance being restricted to a single scene of no consequence to the plot of the story, while the TV movie is also absent due to the Daleks only being heard from off-screen.
First Doctor era
Dr. Who films
Second Doctor era
Third Doctor era
Fourth Doctor era
Fifth Doctor era
Sixth Doctor era
Seventh Doctor era
The "Wilderness Years"
Ninth Doctor era
Tenth Doctor era
Eleventh Doctor era
Twelfth Doctor era
Thirteenth Doctor era
Fourteenth Doctor era
Fifteenth Doctor era
Because of the ubiquity of this race, no attempt will be made here to list every appearance in every medium. Instead, we focus on televised appearances here, and invite you to explore a complete list of appearances elsewhere.
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