The Keeper of Traken (TV story): Difference between revisions

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The Keeper of Traken

Key crew

Writer:

Johnny Byrne

Director:

John Black

Producer:

John Nathan-Turner

Release details

Story number:

114

Number of parts:

4

Premiere broadcast:

31 January - 21 February 1981

Premiere network:

BBC1

Format:

4x25-minute episodes

Production code:

5T

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*Doctor Who* television stories
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The Keeper of Traken was the sixth story of Season 18 of Doctor Who. It was the first story to feature Sarah Sutton as new companion Nyssa, and featured the return of the Master after a long absence, here played by Geoffrey Beevers and (briefly) Anthony Ainley. It is also the first story in what is sometimes referred to as "The Master Trilogy".

In this story, the Master assimilated a new body to replace the one that was withering, and thus changed physical appearance without the aid of regeneration. Anthony Ainley would now portray the Master until the end of the classic series with his substitute body.

Synopsis

The Doctor and Adric learn from the wizened Keeper of Traken that a great evil has come to his planet in the form of a Melkur - a calcified statue. The Keeper of Traken is nearing the end of his reign and seeks the Doctor's help in preventing the evil from taking control of the bioelectronic Source that is the keystone of the Traken Union's civilisation.

Plot

Part one

The TARDIS receives a visitor - the Keeper.

In the TARDIS, the Fourth Doctor and Adric have arrived back in N-Space near the star Mettula Orionsis, home to the Traken Union, famous for its universal harmony. Suddenly they find themselves in orbit of Traken, and the figure of an elderly man on a throne appears within the console room. The Doctor identifies him as the Keeper of Traken. The Keeper reveals that he will soon die and have to pass on his powers to a successor. He asks the Doctor to come to Traken, but warns him of great danger. On the scanner, the Keeper reveals images of Traken and of the arrival of an evil creature known as a Melkur years ago. The creature's baleful influence cannot go beyond the groves, and it becomes calcified. A young Trakenite woman called Kassia is seen pitying it.

On present day Traken, Consul Tremas is marrying Kassia. Tremas and Kassia enter the Keeper's chamber to receive his blessing. Tremas is the Keeper's named successor. In the grove, Kassia tends to Melkur for what is supposed to be the last time. She pours out her heart to the inanimate statue about her concerns, that once Tremas becomes Keeper, he will be taken from her. A voice is heard emanating from Melkur echoing her word "soon". A short time later, Fosters find a body outside the Grove and the Consuls are summoned to a meeting by Kassia. Tremas scans the area, but the readings are off the scale of his instrument. He says that it means some force is taking control of Traken. Believing the man to have been murdered, Kassia says that the great danger necessitates that the Fosters be armed, but the Consuls cannot agree among themselves and summon Proctor Neman.

The TARDIS emerges in the Grove, opposite to the Melkur statue. As the Doctor and Adric exit the Grove, they are surrounded by armed Fosters. The consuls vote to summon the Keeper, just as the Doctor and Adric are brought before them. Neman and the other Fosters are sent to check the presence of the Doctor's craft in the grove, but before they arrive, red light is seen shooting from the Melkur's eyes towards the TARDIS, causing it to disappear. Melkur is later seen striding from the Grove towards the Court room. The Consuls ask about the identity of the Doctor and Adric, and Melkur stands at the doors of the room seen only by the Keeper, its eyes glowing red. The Doctor asks the Keeper to identify them, but he cries out, "Evil! The sanctum is invaded! … Evil, infinite evil!" The Keeper then vanishes, and Melkur moves out of sight. The Consuls and the Fosters then point their weapons at the Doctor and Adric, and close in on them...

Part two

Kassia describes the Doctor and Adric as creatures of evil before becoming overwhelmed and fainting. Seeing Tremas's instrument, the Doctor says that he could use it to detect the high energy beam used to attack the Keeper. Meanwhile, Melkur is seen attacking Fosters with lasers shooting from its eyes. Tremas speaks up for the Doctor and Adric, and invokes Consular privilege to protect them. Kassia is particularly displeased. Consul Seron says that should they breach any law, Tremas's life will also be forfeit.

Adric and Nyssa hard at work.

Meanwhile Kassia rushes to Melkur and starts hiding the bodies of the Fosters. The following day, Tremas and the Doctor go to the Grove to search for the TARDIS. Meanwhile, Adric and Tremas's daughter Nyssa are conducting a Fourier analysis of the energy readings. In the Grove, Kassia is seen again conversing with Melkur. He gives her a band and asks her to wear it as a token of her allegiance, and she places it around her neck. When the band glows red, Melkur commands her to go forth and be its eyes and ears. Kassia informs it that Seron will enter rapport with the Keeper instead of Tremas, but Melkur is not concerned.

Tremas and the Doctor enter the Court room, where they see Kassia emerging from the source chamber in some sort of trance. When she has gone, they descend into the source chamber and enter the grove through a secret entrance. There, the Doctor realises that the TARDIS is in fact present in the Grove, but has been displaced in time. Later, the Source manipulator activates; the Keeper is being summoned — it is Seron's rapport. Watched by Kassia, Seron is enveloped in a column of light. Kassia's band and eyes glow, and she shoots laser beams, killing Seron. At that moment, Tremas arrives, but as the other Consuls arrive Kassia declares that Seron was dead because he was rejected by the Keeper. She orders the Fosters to seize Tremas, the Doctor and Adric, but they flee to the grove, where they are found by Kassia and the Fosters, who catch them in a net. Kassia returns to the Melkur and tells him that the deed is done. However, he answers back, "Oh, no Kassia. It is only beginning..."

Part three

Tremas, Adric and the Doctor are placed in a cell in the penal wing by the Fosters. In the grove, Melkur informs Kassia that Tremas will continue to live as long she continues to obey, and that she must become the next Keeper. Tremas informs the Doctor that Melkur could not come in contact with the Source, as the bio electronics only permit access to a Trakenite. Kassia meets with Katura and Luvic to persuade them that she should be the Keeper-nominate, which they readily do. Meanwhile, Nyssa attempts to get past Neman to see her father. When he will not budge, she shoots him and another guard with a green energy beam. She proceeds to the cell and frees the Doctor and the others. When Kassia finds the stunned Neman, she furiously orders him to search the sanctum and the Grove. The Doctor goes to Tremas's quarters, hoping that they have already been searched. The Doctor asks him if he has the master plans for the source manipulator.

The Keeper is dying, and Kassia is summoned by Katura and Luvic. The Doctor and the others try to get to the TARDIS, but are caught in the Grove by Neman and the Fosters. Neman informs them that the Keeper-nominate has sentenced them to death, but a sudden thunder storm terrifies the Fosters and they flee before carrying out the execution. Kassia enters the Sanctum at the moment of the Keeper's death, and seats herself on the Keeper's throne. Inside Melkur, a hideously deformed figure is seen, while behind him is a black wall with roundels...

The Melkur statue dematerialises from the grove with a TARDIS-like sound. As Katura and Luvic prepare to use their Consular rings to connect Kassia to the source, the Doctor bursts into the chamber and pleads with Katura not to complete the transition, but she ignores him. Kassia screams in agony, and disappears. The Melkur statue materialises in her place…

Part four

Melkur commands Neman to confine the Consuls to their quarters. As he does so he begins to fade from the throne before disappearing. The Doctor and Tremas discuss how they might be able to defeat Melkur before he has complete access to the Source. They do not have the five Consular rings, but with the Source manipulator blue-print, the Doctor thinks there may be a way. Melkur dispatches Neman, now adorned with a control band, to secure the blue print document. He enters Tremas's quarters, and asks for the blue print to be handed over. The Melkur statue materialises within the room, and when Tremas refuses to release the document, Melkur shoots energy beams from his eyes at him. The Doctor releases the document, and Melkur burns it with its energy beam. The Doctor knocks Neman and the Fosters' heads together, and retrieves Tremas's Consular ring.

Nyssa and Adric complete construction of a servo-shutdown, with which they can sabotage the source manipulator. The Doctor goes to the sanctum, and prepares to try to break the encryption of the Source security system. Nyssa and Adric enter the Source manipulator chamber and prepare to attach the device. Tremas tries to make a defiant stand against Melkur, but Melkur mentally controls him. Neman is brought forth and hands his weapon to Tremas. Under Melkur's willpower, Tremas shoots down Neman. Melkur outlines its plans of conquest. The Doctor is drawn within the Keeper's inner sanctum, before both he and the Melkur disappear. Inside Melkur, the Doctor immediately recognises the disfigured creature as the Decayed Master.

The Doctor is paralysed when the Master keys his TARDIS' systems to his bio rhythms. The Master explains that he is nearing the end of his twelfth regeneration, and that with the powers of the Keeper of Traken he can extend his life beyond this final limitation of a Time Lord. Just as he is about to attack the Doctor to take his body, the servo-shutdown begins to destabilise the Source. The Doctor, able to move once again, smashes through a glass panel to escape.

A new body at last...

With the encryption broken, Adric's sabotage of the Source is reversed. Luvic runs to the throne to become the new Keeper before the Source dies. Adric and the Doctor return to the TARDIS.

As things settle down on Traken, Tremas investigates a mysterious longcase clock. When he touches the clock face, he is transfixed and the door of the clock opens. The Master emerges and merges with Tremas… "a new body at last…". Laughing, the newly-rejuvenated Master enters the clock, which is in fact his TARDIS. Seconds after the Master's TARDIS has dematerialised, Nyssa comes looking for her father. She calls to him, but there is no answer...

Cast

Production Crew

References

The Doctor

The Doctor consults his time logs. Adric is able to read them.

Food and beverages

Wine is consumed during the wedding of Tremas and Kassia.

The Master

The Master appears to have two TARDISes, the Melkur and his grandfather clock, which is inside the Melkur TARDIS.
The Decayed Master is nearing the end of his twelfth regeneration, making him the thirteenth incarnation.

Science

The Doctor mentions the law of probability and the second law of thermodynamics.
Adric applies a Fourier analysis on the energy readings from the Melkur.

Traken

Melkur means "a fly caught by honey".
Traken is in Mettula Orionsis.

Technology

The Doctor's TARDIS is displaced via a time cone.

Weapons

The Melkur generates a strong plasma field and can shoot plasma beams.
Nyssa provides a ion bonder, a weapon settable to stun with a green ray.

Story notes

This story was the first part of a trilogy featuring the Master, who had not appeared since The Deadly Assassin in 1976. The two following stories, Logopolis and Castrovalva, continue the story of his return.
Continuing the tradition of the Master having aliases of "Master", Tremas is an anagram. Geoffrey Beevers is credited as the Melkur to conceal the plot twist of the Master's return. Even after the identity of the person inside the Melkur has been revealed in part three, the closing titles still credit Beevers as "Melkur". The Melkur statue itself was actually played by Graham Cole, who remained uncredited both on-screen and in Radio Times.
The hooded robe and mask worn by Geoffrey Beevers as the disfigured Master were those as worn by Peter Pratt in The Deadly Assassin. However, on this occasion the false eyes and mouth were removed from the mask to allow Beevers to give the character more facial expression.
If Nyssa's pre-companion appearance is discounted, this is the sole TV story in which the Doctor travels with only a male companion throughout.
This is the first story to feature the Master changing bodies on screen — though it is not a true regeneration, but rather the acquisition of another person's body. The Master would change bodies again in TV: Doctor Who. He would not regenerate on-screen until TV: Utopia.
The Master's TARDIS is shown to have offensive weaponry, which it uses in its Melkur form, and will again in Castrovalva.
The Radio Times programme listing for part four was accompanied by a black and white head-and-shoulders photograph of Nyssa, with the accompanying caption "Will Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) help to defeat Melkur? Doctor Who: 5.10 p.m."
To date, this is the final televised story not to feature at least one human.

Ratings

Part one - 7.6 million viewers
Part two - 8.1 million viewers
Part three - 5.2 million viewers
Part four - 6.1 million viewers

Filming locations

BBC Television Centre (TC6 & TC8), Shepherd's Bush, London

Production errors

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.

Kassia's red eyes are clearly painted on her eyelids.
The opening and closing credits are noticeably off-centre, appearing slightly lower than usual.

Continuity

The Decayed Master is still in his crippled form, as when the Doctor encountered him on Gallifrey. (TV: The Deadly Assassin)
The newly revived Master will encounter the Doctor again very soon. (TV: Logopolis, Castrovalva)
Nyssa meets the Doctor and Adric, although she does not leave and begin travelling with them. She is soon thereafter taken to them by The Watcher. (TV: Logopolis)
AUDIO: Primeval also takes place on Traken, and is more or less a prequel to this story.
The Fourth Doctor has already met Nyssa in PROSE: Asylum. However, this took place significantly after her departure from the TARDIS in TV: Terminus in her personal timeline.
During the Doctor's second incarnation, he visited Traken in the company of Jamie McCrimmon and Victoria Waterfield. (PROSE: The Astronomer's Apprentice)

Home video and audio releases

DVD releases

This story was released on DVD together with Logopolis and Castrovalva as part of the New Beginnings DVD box set. It was released:

Region 2 - 29 January 2007
Region 4 - 7 March 2007
Region 1 - 5 June 2007

Part four is extended slightly to incorporate a dedication to the memory of Anthony Ainley, who died between recording his commentary and the DVD's release. The dedication includes a brief outtake of Ainley from his recordings for the videogame Destiny of the Doctors. The clip's inclusion is technically an easter egg as it isn't listed on the DVD menus or cover.

Special features:

Audio Commentary by actors Anthony Ainley, Sarah Sutton, Matthew Waterhouse and writer Johnny Byrne.
Being Nice to Each Other - A new 30-minute "making of" documentary that includes contributions from actors Sarah Sutton, Sheila Ruskin, Geoffrey Beevers, director John Black, writer Johnny Byrne and script editor Christopher H. Bidmead.
The Return of the Master - Geoffrey Beevers, Christopher H. Bidmead and John Black talk about the return of the Doctor's arch-enemy.
Swap Shop - Noel Edmonds interviews Sarah Sutton in an excerpt from January 1981.
Music-Only Option - The original score for this story is included on a separate soundtrack.
Trailers & Continuity Announcements
DVD-ROM feature - 1982 Doctor Who annual, Radio Times illings and BBC Enterprises Literature PDFs
Photo Gallery
Production Subtitles

Notes:

Editing for the DVD release was completed by the Doctor Who Restoration Team.

DVD Region 2 UK cover
DVD Region 1 US cover
DVD Region 4 AUS cover

New Beginnings

New Beginnings DVD UK cover
New Beginnings DVD Australian cover
New Beginnings DVD US cover

VHS releases

This story was released on VHS in June 1993 in the UK, in September 1993 in Australia and in February 1994 in the US.

VHS UK cover
VHS Australian cover
VHS US cover

External links

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 |companions= [[Adric]]
 |featuring = [[Nyssa]]
-|enemy= {{Pratt|c}}
+|enemy= {{Pratt|c}}, [[Melkur]]
 |setting= [[Traken]], [[1981]]
 |writer= [[Johnny Byrne]]
@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 '''''The Keeper of Traken''''' was the sixth story of [[Season 18]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. It was the first story to feature [[Sarah Sutton]] as new companion [[Nyssa]], and featured the return of [[the Master]] after a long absence, here played by [[Geoffrey Beevers]] and (briefly) [[Anthony Ainley]]. It is also the first story in what is sometimes referred to as "The Master Trilogy".
 In this story, the Master assimilated a new body to replace the one that was withering, and thus changed physical appearance without the aid of [[regeneration]]. Anthony Ainley would now portray the Master until the end of the classic series with his substitute body.
 == Synopsis ==

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