Planet of the Spiders (TV story): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:08, 7 April 2010

Well, here we go again...Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart

Planet of the Spiders was the fifth and final story of Season 11. It marked the final appearance of Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor and the first appearance (uncredited) of Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. The character of Mike Yates also makes his final appearance.

Synopsis

The blue crystal that the Doctor took from Metebelis III in a previous adventure is desperately sought by the Eight Legs, a race of mutated spiders, as the final element in their plan for universal domination. With help from an old mentor, the Doctor realizes the only way to foil the plot is to make the ultimate sacrifice. The Doctor must risk death to return to the cave of the Great One and save the universe.

Plot

Part One

Somewhere in the English countryside, a bushy-haired young man is taking a relaxing walk. It is Captain Mike Yates -- recently drummed out of UNIT for betraying his superiors.

As he walks, the Doctor and the Brigadier are attending a show. A comedian with a thick accent is making bad jokes. The Brigadiers rolls his eyes at the Doctor, who looks embarrassed. The Brigadier comments to the Doctor that they are wasting their time. But when the announcer tells them the next act is an exotic dancer, his attention perks up.

Mike approaches a big country house. He walks in and hears some quiet chanting. Ever the operative, he sneaks down into the cellar to investigate.

He sees five men sitting around an ornate Mandela, chanting the lotus chant and banging cymbals. He watches in quiet fascination as the chanting grows louder and more frantic. A blue glow appears on the Mandela. Mike leans forward to get a better look but touches a spider web, making him jerk back. He knocks over a candle, which rolls loudly down the stairs. The men stop chanting and look around suspiciously but Mike has vanished.

The exotic Scheherazade has finished her act. The Doctor teases the Brigadier for his rapt attention; the Brigadier deflects it saying he should adapt some of her exercises for men. But before the Doctor can get in another quip, the next act is announced -- the mind-reader Professor Clegg. The Doctor eagerly sits up. This is what they came for.

The group of chanting men ask their middle-aged leader -- Lupton -- if they should try again but the mood is clearly lost. They think that it was only the wind that knocked down the candle until they hear a car drive off - the sports car belonging to their "new friend, Mr. Yates."

The next day, Clegg arrives at UNIT headquarters to met the Doctor. He thinks that the Brigadier wants him to perform his act for some regimental show. But the Doctor explains he is researching ESP and wants Clegg to help him.

Clegg is a little embarrassed and the Brigadier asks him if his act was all a trick. Clegg admits to this and the Doctor speculates he was using a word code with his assistant. Clegg asks him if the secret of his act is safe the Doctor assures him that it is: he will never tell anyone that Clegg is a powerful clairvoyant. Clegg is alarmed but the Doctor points out he made some mistakes the night before -- giving answers before his assistant had spoken a word.

Clegg collapses into a chair, lamenting that he doesn't want this new power. He was happier just doing his act. The Doctor is sympathetic, asking if there have been any other power such as psychokenesis - moving objects with his mind. Clegg nods and the Doctor asks the actor to demonstrate his powers.

Clegg reluctantly agrees and concentrates on a breakfast tray. To their astonishment, it rises and floats across the room. But Clegg can't keep it up and the tray falls to the ground with a clatter.

The amazed Brigadier suggest that should be used in his act but Clegg thinks he would lose his sanity doing it. The Doctor reassures him, explaining that his powers are normal -- they are just dormant in most humans. Clegg incredulously asks if the Doctor can figure out why he's different and the Time Lord agrees to help all he can.

Lupton speaks to a young monk named Cho-Je. He objects to the arrival of a female journalist but the Tibetan reassures him, explaining they can't just shut out the world. Lupton says that he came there for solitude but Cho-Je explains that he must learn to walk in solitude everywhere. Besides, Mike Yates has already left to pick her up.

At the station, Sarah Jane Smith meets Mike and they hop into his sports car. They roar off into the countryside as the pretty dark-haired journalist pushes the reluctant ex-soldier for an explanation.

Lupton explains to Barnes -- one of the men from the Mandela circle -- that of course it was Yates who was watching them. The men want to stop their experiments but Lupton insists they were on the verge of a breakthrough.

They are interrupted by the arrival of big lumbering man named Tommy. Tommy has the mind of a child -- he speaks simply and tries to show them a pretty flower. He then tries to drag them off to tea but they shove him to the ground, crushing the flower. He starts crying.

Sarah continues to taunt Mike, asking what he wants to show her. He fobs her off with a vague notion that she can write a story about the meditation center in the center of England. But her keen journalistic instincts are unsatisfied. She asks why he is there and he explains that he needed to sort himself out after the business with the dinosaurs. He saw an article about the Tibetan monks and decided to try it out.

In the basement, Lupton's men are once again chanting around the Mandela.

Mike has now told Sarah about the events of the previous night. She suggest that they are doing just doing some extra meditation, but Mike wonders why they would be so secretive about it. He thinks they are tapping some unholy power -- which would concern UNIT. With a laugh, Sarah realizes why he called her.

The chanting grows in power, Lupton's voice becoming fierce in concentration.

As Sarah agrees to act as a go-between with the Brigadier, they suddenly see a tractor in the middle of the road. Mike violently swerves to avoid it, then looks back to see an empty road. Sarah is now convinced something dangerous is going on.

The Doctor connects Clegg to a machine that monitors brainwaves. He asks the Brigadier for an object and the soldier hands him a pocket watch. As the Doctor watches an oscilloscope, Clegg contemplates the shiny object.

Clegg drifts out as he begins a psychic reading of the watch. It is 11 years old. Given to the Brigadier in a hotel by the sea in Brighton. From a young lady named Doris in appreciation for . . . but The Brigadier looks uncomfortable and grabs the watch back before more can be revealed. The Doctor taunts him that maybe too much has already been said.

The Doctor then connects Clegg to an IRIS machine that will make pictures from his thoughts. He hands him the sonic screwdriver. Drashigs appear on the monitor with scenes of the Doctor using the screwdriver to create explosions and drive them off.

Sarah has now arrived at the monastery and is interviewing Cho-Je. He explains that he wants men to face their fears and find their true self. He will see the true mind -- which is no mind. The old man will die and the new man will discover to his inexpressible joy that he has never existed! Sarah asks if exploring the subconscious is dangerous, if it can turn up nasty thing. Cho-Je explains that their way uses the power to help. But he must end the interview to meditate.

Mike then asks if the powers they are developing could be used for evil. Cho-Je reassures him that could never happen in his monastery.

Clegg is still upset by his visions. The Doctor asks abound bending forks but Benton arrives, see the IRIS machine and, not realizing the Brigadier is there, asks the Doctor if he is taking up hair-dressing. The Brigadier chides him and an abashed Benton explains that a package has arrived addressed to the Doctor, the Brigadier, Captain Yates or Sergeant Benton. When he explains that the package is from South America, the Doctor realizes it's from Jo Grant.

The Doctor eagerly grabs it, but then hands it to Clegg. The Professor sees that it has come a long way -- not just from South America but from the star. It's not a meteorite, but something beautiful, a crystal.

The Doctor and the Brigadier realize it is the blue crystal from Metabilis 3. He opens it up and holds up the sparkling blue gem.

Sarah and Mike overhear some chanting in the monastery. They quietly peer in to see a group of men meditating to a tape of monastic chants. Sarah asks what they are meditating about and Mike explains they are not meditating "about" anything. They're supposed to be watching their tummies as they breath. Sarah jokes they are contemplating their belly buttons.

They get ready to leave but are approached by Lupton and Barnes. Mike introduces them. Sarah is about to explain about the accident on the road, but Mike deflects her. When Lupton asks is they want to have some tea, Mike suddenly says Sarah Jane has to leave right away and drags the protesting girl off. Lupton delightedly watches as Mike guides Sarah to his car and drives away.

Mike explains to Sarah who Lupton was. He speculates the Lupton created the hallucination of the tractor. Sarah asks why they are running away but Mike explains they will return later in secret.

The Doctor reads a letter from Jo. She explains that they haven't found the mushroom Cliff is seeking. But they are having problems because the Indians don't like the crystal. So she's sent it back to whoever happens to be around.

Sarah and Mike sneak back into the monastery through a window but are caught by Tommy. He thinks they are playing a game and Sarah acts on this, saying it's a secret game and he shouldn't tell anyone about them. He spies her broach, comments on how pretty it is and she gives it to him. He wanders off, cooing over the pretty object. Mike taunts Sarah about her "shameless display of feminine wiles" which Sarah says is nonsense.

They sneak into the basement and hide as Lupton and his followers arrive, brushing against numerous spider webs. The men begin their chanting and cymbal-crashing once again.

The Doctor is still reading the letter when Clegg begins to sense something. Suddenly, the lab starts shaking as fire glows deep inside the crystal. Objects fly all over the lab as the Doctor struggles to get the crystal out of Clegg's hands. When he does, the Professor slumps in his chair, stone dead.

In the monastery, the chanting grows. Sarah and Mike watch in horror as a shape appears in a blaze of blue light in the center of the Mandela. It is a giant spider! .

Part Two

The giant spider melds with Lupton, and together they infiltrate UNIT and steal the blue crystal, leading to a lengthy chase involving the Whomobile, a small helicopter, a hovercraft, and a speedboat. The Doctor finally catches up to Lupton's boat, but when he jumps on board, Lupton vanishes.

Part Three

Lupton re-appears at the meditation center, secretly observed by the simple-minded handyman Tommy, who later steals the crystal to add to his collection of 'pretties'. The Doctor and Sarah Jane investigate the meditation center. Exploring the basement Sarah steps on Lupton's mandala and is transported to Metebelis III, where a small group of humans are held in bondage by the giant spiders, who refer to themselves as the Eight Legs. The Doctor follows in his TARDIS to rescue Sarah Jane, but is incapacitated by the Eight Legs' human guards.

Part Four

On Metebelis III, the Doctor lingers in a coma. Tommy's brain is healed when he looks deep into the crystal. Lupton becomes embroiled in a plot led by his spider host against the Eight Leg Queen. The Doctor recovers thanks to a machine Sarah retrieved for him from the TARDIS. In doing so however, she is captured by the Eight Legs. Thrown into a cell with a man named Sabor, Sarah learns the history of Metebilis 3: The humans are descendants of survivors of a crashed spaceship, and the Eight Legs were common spiders onboard that became mutated by radiation from the blue crystals. The Doctor finds a type of stone which nullifies the effects of the Eight Legs' energy rays, which the humans will use in their rebellion. The Doctor attempts to rescue Sarah Jane, but is captured again by the Eight Legs as well.

Part Five

The Doctor escapes from his cocoon, and reaches the mouth of the cave of the Great One, who warns him not to enter due to the lethal radiation within. She orders him to return the blue crystal that he stole, and humiliates him by forcing him to march in a circle like a tin soldier via her psychic power. The Doctor is too overcome by fear to face her, and escapes with Sarah Jane back to Earth in the TARDIS. They meet the leader of the meditation center, the Abbott K'anpo Rimpoche. Meanwhile Lupton's followers, possessed by the Eight Legs, fire telekinetic force at Tommy, the only person standing in the way of their taking the crystal.

Part Six

Sarah Jane is revealed to be under the control of the Queen, which explains how she and the Doctor escaped so easily. With the blue crystal, which Tommy had given to K'anpo, the Doctor is able to free her mind. The Doctor is astounded to discover an old friend; K'anpo is his former mentor, a fellow renegade Time Lord now enjoying peaceful exile on Earth. The attack of Lupton's followers is repulsed with the help of Tommy, but K'anpo is injured and forced to regenerate by merging with his assistant, Cho Je, who was a projection of K'anpo's own conscience. The Doctor realizes his greed for knowledge and his theft of the crystal has set all these events into motion, and that he must face his fear and probable death by returning it. He pilots the TARDIS to Metebelis III and enters the cave to confront the Great One, an enormous spider, who desires the blue crystal to complete a crystalline web that will amplify her psychic power to infinity. However, once the crystal is in place, the web overloads and destroys both her and the Eight Legs. The Doctor receives a lethal dose of radiation from the cave, and barely manages to escape in the TARDIS. He eventually arrives at UNIT (after being gone, from their perspective, for three weeks), collapses on the floor, and appears to die. As Sarah weeps, K'Anpo/Cho-Je appears and with a little 'push', induces the Doctor's third regeneration.

Cast

The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
Fourth Doctor -Tom Baker (uncredited at the end of Part 6.)
Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
Mike Yates - Richard Franklin
Sergeant Benton - John Levene
Professor Clegg - Cyril Shaps
Lupton - John Dearth
Barnes - Christopher Burgess
Moss - Terence Lodge
Land - Carl Forgione
Keaver - Andrew Staines
Cho Je - Kevin Lindsay
Tommy - John Kane
Policeman - Chubby Oates
Soldier - Pat Gorman
Man with Boat - Terry Walsh
Hopkins - Michael Pinder
Tramp - Stuart Fell
Spider Voices - Ysanne Churchman, Kismet Delgado, Maureen Morris
Arak - Gareth Hunt
Sabor - Geoffrey Morris
Neska - Jenny Laird
Rega - Joanna Monro
Tuar - Ralph Arliss
Guard Captains - Walter Randall, Max Faulkner
K'anpo Rimpoche - George Cormack

Crew

Assistant Floor Manager - Graeme Harper
Costumes - L. Rowland Warne
Designer - Rochelle Selwyn
Film Cameraman - Fred Hamilton
Film Editor - Bob Rymer
Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
Make-Up - Deanne Turner
Producer - Barry Letts
Production Assistant - Marion McDougall
Production Unit Manager - George Gallaccio
Script Editor - Terrance Dicks
Special Sounds - Dick Mills
Studio Lighting - Ralph Walton
Studio Sound - John Holmes
Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
Title Music - Ron Grainer
Visual Effects - Bernard Wilkie

References

The Doctor

The Doctor is familiar with Tibetan customs.

Crystals

The Doctor receives a package from Jo Grant containing his Metebelis crystal, which he picked up during his previous visit to Metebelis III.

Foods and beverages

The Doctor likens Sergeant Benton's coffee-making skills to that of Mrs. Samuel Beakes.
Lupton offers Sarah tea.

Individuals

The Doctor mentions being taught in the ways of escapology by Harry Houdini.
Mike Yates refers to the last time he encountered Sarah "that business with the Dinosaurs".
The Brigadier's watch was given to him 11 years ago in Brighton by Doris.
The Brigadier phones Sullivan, the UNIT Medical Officer.

Periodicals

Sarah has worked for Metropolitan magazine.

Story Notes

This is the first time the term "regeneration" is mentioned on screen.
This is the first time we see someone other than the Doctor regenerate (K'anpo Rimpoche).
This story features a large chase scene featuring: Bessie, the Doctor's car (known as the Whomobile), a police car, a gyrocopter, a hovercraft and a boat.
Tom Baker is uncredited in the conclusion of Planet of the Spiders, when Jon Pertwee transforms into Tom Baker. Since no regeneration was shown at the end of The War Games (although we do see the apparent beginning of it), this marked the first time since William Hartnell changed into Patrick Troughton in 1966's The Tenth Planet that an on-screen hand-over of the role had occurred. End-of-episode changeovers would become the norm for the next few regenerations until the regeneration from the Sixth to Seventh Doctors at the beginning of Time and the Rani (and both played by the same actor) broke the pattern.
Parts of this story were recorded at the same time as parts of Robot. This not only meant that Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker were literally playing the Doctor at the same time, but also that Elisabeth Sladen — and to a lesser extent, Nicholas Courtney and John Levene — were having to rush back and forth between the two productions.
The Time Beetle featured in Turn Left shares some similarities with the Eight Legs; It too is a giant-sized insectoid that can latch onto a victim's back, disguising it's prescence at the same time.

Ratings

Part 1 - 10.1 million viewers
Part 2 - 8.9 million viewers
Part 3 - 8.8 million viewers
Part 4 - 8.2 million viewers
Part 5 - 9.2 million viewers
Part 6 - 8.9 million viewers

Myths

Roger Delgado's Master was originally to have been written out in Planet of the Spiders, and after the actor's death the story was revised to incorporate Lupton in place of the Master. It is true that had Delgado had not died he would have been written out in the final story of season eleven. He had informed Barry Letts that he would only appear as the Master in one more story during the filming of Frontier in Space. Letts agreed to the request, seeing it as an opportunity to dramatically end Season 11. Thus, he asked writer Robert Sloman to help him write a story which would at last define the relationship between the Doctor and the Master, before having the Master sacrifice himself to save the Doctor. Sloman delivered at least an initial round of scripts, called The Final Game, before Delgado's death halted the complete suspension on the story line. Planet of the Spiders was a wholly different story, save perhaps for Barry Letts' desire to incorporate certain Buddhist philosophies.
A frequent corollary to the above is that The Final Game would have also incorporated the regeneration of the Third Doctor. One of the impetuses for Pertwee's decision to resign was Delgado's death. Had Delgado not died, but merely relinquished his role, it is unlikely Pertwee would have looked on Delgado's absence a motivation to quit. More to the point, though, Sloman had delivered scripts to Letts two weeks prior to Delgado's death on 18th June 1973. Pertwee didn't announce his retirement until after his request for a raise was denied in December 1973. The Final Game could not logically have included any elements pertaining to the Doctor's regeneration, because writer Robert Sloman didn't know Pertwee was going to leave.

Filming Locations

Tidmarsh Manor, Tidmarsh, Berkshire
Bloomfieldhatch Lane, Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire
Membury Airfield, Membury, Wiltshire
River Severn, Westbury-on-Severn, Gloucestershire
Mortimer Station, Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire
Mereoak Lane, Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire
Le Marchant Barracks, London Road, Devizes, Wiltshire
BBC Television Centre (TC1, TC6, TC8), Shepherd's Bush, London

Production errors

The Doctor's flying car is a different colour in the studio (gold rather than silver).

Continuity

Jo Grant sends the Doctor a package containing the blue Metebelis crystal (DW: The Green Death), which the spiders covet, making this serial a sequel of sorts to The Green Death.
Mike Yates refers to his last appearance in DW: Invasion of the Dinosaurs.
The Doctor previously mentioned the hermit who lived behind his house in DW: The Time Monster.
EDA: Interference - Book Two presents an alternate regeneration sequence.
The Eight Legs returned in ST: Return of the Spiders, BFA The Eight Truths and BFA Worldwide Web.
The Fifth doctor in the ST: Light at the End of the Tunnel tries to fight of his phobia of spiders when he goes inside a large pipe making this story as a reference.
The Eighth Doctor still has a phobia of spiders in EDA: The Scarlet Empress.
Professor Clegg divines that the Brigadier's wristwatch was given to him eleven years earlier in a hotel room by a woman named Doris, prompting a somewhat embarrassed reaction from him. In DW: Battlefield, the retired Brigadier is married to a woman named Doris.
This isn't the same sonic screwdriver as in DW: Carnival of Monsters, Clegg shouldn't associate it with Drashigs.

Timeline

This story occurs after ST: An Overture Too Early
This story occurs before DW: Robot
ST: Ancient Whispers takes place during episode 6 of this story.

DVD and Video Releases

DVD releases

An audio commentary for Planet of the Spiders was recorded in 2007 with Actors Elisabeth Sladen, Nicholas Courtney and Richard Franklin, Producer/Director Barry Letts and Script Editor Terrance Dicks for a future release date. Planet of the Spiders is being released in late 2010 in a two-disc set featuring a number of documentaries, a 5.1 mix, CGI effects, comentary and a special never-seen before feature.^{[source needed]}

Video releases

Novelisation

Main article: Doctor Who and the Planet of the Spiders

Novelised as Doctor Who and the Planet of the Spiders by Terrance Dicks in 1986.

External Links

Template:Season 11

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 ===Part One===
-[[Mike Yates]], discharged from [[UNIT]] and recuperating at a rural Buddhist meditation center, is concerned about a small group who meet secretly in the basement; he suspects they may be attempting to summon something evil through their meditation. Meanwhile, [[The Doctor]] is researching psychic energy and enlists the assistance of a clairvoyant, Professor [[Herbert Clegg]]. His experiments backfire when Clegg's fixation on the [[Metebelis crystal]] (which [[Jo Grant]] had recently returned to the Doctor) leads to his seeing giant spiders, and he dies of a fright-induced heart attack. Mike enlists the assistance of [[Sarah Jane]], whose initial skepticism is erased after they are nearly run off the road by a hallucinatory tractor. Sneaking into the basement they see the group, led by [[Lupton]], summon a giant spider (similar to the ones Clegg saw) into existence.
+[[Mike Yates|Somewhere in the English countryside, a bushy-haired young man is taking a relaxing walk. It is Captain Mike Yates -- recently drummed out of UNIT for betraying his superiors. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|As he walks, the Doctor and the Brigadier are attending a show. A comedian with a thick accent is making bad jokes. The Brigadiers rolls his eyes at the Doctor, who looks embarrassed. The Brigadier comments to the Doctor that they are wasting their time. But when the announcer tells them the next act is an exotic dancer, his attention perks up. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|Mike approaches a big country house. He walks in and hears some quiet chanting. Ever the operative, he sneaks down into the cellar to investigate. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|He sees five men sitting around an ornate Mandela, chanting the lotus chant and banging cymbals. He watches in quiet fascination as the chanting grows louder and more frantic. A blue glow appears on the Mandela. Mike leans forward to get a better look but touches a spider web, making him jerk back. He knocks over a candle, which rolls loudly down the stairs. The men stop chanting and look around suspiciously but Mike has vanished. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|The exotic Scheherazade has finished her act. The Doctor teases the Brigadier for his rapt attention; the Brigadier deflects it saying he should adapt some of her exercises for men. But before the Doctor can get in another quip, the next act is announced -- the mind-reader Professor Clegg. The Doctor eagerly sits up. This is what they came for. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|The group of chanting men ask their middle-aged leader -- Lupton -- if they should try again but the mood is clearly lost. They think that it was only the wind that knocked down the candle until they hear a car drive off - the sports car belonging to their "new friend, Mr. Yates." ]]
+[[Mike Yates|The next day, Clegg arrives at UNIT headquarters to met the Doctor. He thinks that the Brigadier wants him to perform his act for some regimental show. But the Doctor explains he is researching ESP and wants Clegg to help him. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|Clegg is a little embarrassed and the Brigadier asks him if his act was all a trick. Clegg admits to this and the Doctor speculates he was using a word code with his assistant. Clegg asks him if the secret of his act is safe the Doctor assures him that it is: he will never tell anyone that Clegg is a powerful clairvoyant. Clegg is alarmed but the Doctor points out he made some mistakes the night before -- giving answers before his assistant had spoken a word. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|Clegg collapses into a chair, lamenting that he doesn't want this new power. He was happier just doing his act. The Doctor is sympathetic, asking if there have been any other power such as psychokenesis - moving objects with his mind. Clegg nods and the Doctor asks the actor to demonstrate his powers. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|Clegg reluctantly agrees and concentrates on a breakfast tray. To their astonishment, it rises and floats across the room. But Clegg can't keep it up and the tray falls to the ground with a clatter. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|The amazed Brigadier suggest that should be used in his act but Clegg thinks he would lose his sanity doing it. The Doctor reassures him, explaining that his powers are normal -- they are just dormant in most humans. Clegg incredulously asks if the Doctor can figure out why he's different and the Time Lord agrees to help all he can. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|Lupton speaks to a young monk named Cho-Je. He objects to the arrival of a female journalist but the Tibetan reassures him, explaining they can't just shut out the world. Lupton says that he came there for solitude but Cho-Je explains that he must learn to walk in solitude everywhere. Besides, Mike Yates has already left to pick her up. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|At the station, Sarah Jane Smith meets Mike and they hop into his sports car. They roar off into the countryside as the pretty dark-haired journalist pushes the reluctant ex-soldier for an explanation. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|Lupton explains to Barnes -- one of the men from the Mandela circle -- that of course it was Yates who was watching them. The men want to stop their experiments but Lupton insists they were on the verge of a breakthrough. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|They are interrupted by the arrival of big lumbering man named Tommy. Tommy has the mind of a child -- he speaks simply and tries to show them a pretty flower. He then tries to drag them off to tea but they shove him to the ground, crushing the flower. He starts crying. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|Sarah continues to taunt Mike, asking what he wants to show her. He fobs her off with a vague notion that she can write a story about the meditation center in the center of England. But her keen journalistic instincts are unsatisfied. She asks why he is there and he explains that he needed to sort himself out after the business with the dinosaurs. He saw an article about the Tibetan monks and decided to try it out. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|In the basement, Lupton's men are once again chanting around the Mandela. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|Mike has now told Sarah about the events of the previous night. She suggest that they are doing just doing some extra meditation, but Mike wonders why they would be so secretive about it. He thinks they are tapping some unholy power -- which would concern UNIT. With a laugh, Sarah realizes why he called her. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|The chanting grows in power, Lupton's voice becoming fierce in concentration. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|As Sarah agrees to act as a go-between with the Brigadier, they suddenly see a tractor in the middle of the road. Mike violently swerves to avoid it, then looks back to see an empty road. Sarah is now convinced something dangerous is going on. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|The Doctor connects Clegg to a machine that monitors brainwaves. He asks the Brigadier for an object and the soldier hands him a pocket watch. As the Doctor watches an oscilloscope, Clegg contemplates the shiny object. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|Clegg drifts out as he begins a psychic reading of the watch. It is 11 years old. Given to the Brigadier in a hotel by the sea in Brighton. From a young lady named Doris in appreciation for . . . but The Brigadier looks uncomfortable and grabs the watch back before more can be revealed. The Doctor taunts him that maybe too much has already been said. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|The Doctor then connects Clegg to an IRIS machine that will make pictures from his thoughts. He hands him the sonic screwdriver. Drashigs appear on the monitor with scenes of the Doctor using the screwdriver to create explosions and drive them off. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|Sarah has now arrived at the monastery and is interviewing Cho-Je. He explains that he wants men to face their fears and find their true self. He will see the true mind -- which is no mind. The old man will die and the new man will discover to his inexpressible joy that he has never existed! Sarah asks if exploring the subconscious is dangerous, if it can turn up nasty thing. Cho-Je explains that their way uses the power to help. But he must end the interview to meditate. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|Mike then asks if the powers they are developing could be used for evil. Cho-Je reassures him that could never happen in his monastery. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|Clegg is still upset by his visions. The Doctor asks abound bending forks but Benton arrives, see the IRIS machine and, not realizing the Brigadier is there, asks the Doctor if he is taking up hair-dressing. The Brigadier chides him and an abashed Benton explains that a package has arrived addressed to the Doctor, the Brigadier, Captain Yates or Sergeant Benton. When he explains that the package is from South America, the Doctor realizes it's from Jo Grant. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|The Doctor eagerly grabs it, but then hands it to Clegg. The Professor sees that it has come a long way -- not just from South America but from the star. It's not a meteorite, but something beautiful, a crystal. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|The Doctor and the Brigadier realize it is the blue crystal from Metabilis 3. He opens it up and holds up the sparkling blue gem. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|Sarah and Mike overhear some chanting in the monastery. They quietly peer in to see a group of men meditating to a tape of monastic chants. Sarah asks what they are meditating about and Mike explains they are not meditating "about" anything. They're supposed to be watching their tummies as they breath. Sarah jokes they are contemplating their belly buttons. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|They get ready to leave but are approached by Lupton and Barnes. Mike introduces them. Sarah is about to explain about the accident on the road, but Mike deflects her. When Lupton asks is they want to have some tea, Mike suddenly says Sarah Jane has to leave right away and drags the protesting girl off. Lupton delightedly watches as Mike guides Sarah to his car and drives away. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|Mike explains to Sarah who Lupton was. He speculates the Lupton created the hallucination of the tractor. Sarah asks why they are running away but Mike explains they will return later in secret. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|The Doctor reads a letter from Jo. She explains that they haven't found the mushroom Cliff is seeking. But they are having problems because the Indians don't like the crystal. So she's sent it back to whoever happens to be around. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|Sarah and Mike sneak back into the monastery through a window but are caught by Tommy. He thinks they are playing a game and Sarah acts on this, saying it's a secret game and he shouldn't tell anyone about them. He spies her broach, comments on how pretty it is and she gives it to him. He wanders off, cooing over the pretty object. Mike taunts Sarah about her "shameless display of feminine wiles" which Sarah says is nonsense. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|They sneak into the basement and hide as Lupton and his followers arrive, brushing against numerous spider webs. The men begin their chanting and cymbal-crashing once again. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|The Doctor is still reading the letter when Clegg begins to sense something. Suddenly, the lab starts shaking as fire glows deep inside the crystal. Objects fly all over the lab as the Doctor struggles to get the crystal out of Clegg's hands. When he does, the Professor slumps in his chair, stone dead. ]]
+[[Mike Yates|In the monastery, the chanting grows. Sarah and Mike watch in horror as a shape appears in a blaze of blue light in the center of the Mandela. It is a giant spider! ]]
+.
 ===Part Two===

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