The Curse of Peladon (TV story): Difference between revisions

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
(→‎Plot: Added episode two, more to follow)
(→‎Plot: added episode three, more to follow)
Line 39: Line 39:


The Doctor is led away by Grun, who leads him into the tunnels and then flees when he hears a roar. Jo climbs out of Ssorg's window and into a corridor, where she runs into a very real Aggedor. She runs into the Ice Warriors, but they do not believe her story. Izlyr explains that Arcturus was never in danger of death because his life support has a redundancy and that he was not responsible, since the Ice Warriors foreswore their violent ways long ago. The Doctor escapes the tunnels into the shrine, where Hepesh arrests him for trespassing on sacred ground. The King has no option but to sentence the Doctor to death.
The Doctor is led away by Grun, who leads him into the tunnels and then flees when he hears a roar. Jo climbs out of Ssorg's window and into a corridor, where she runs into a very real Aggedor. She runs into the Ice Warriors, but they do not believe her story. Izlyr explains that Arcturus was never in danger of death because his life support has a redundancy and that he was not responsible, since the Ice Warriors foreswore their violent ways long ago. The Doctor escapes the tunnels into the shrine, where Hepesh arrests him for trespassing on sacred ground. The King has no option but to sentence the Doctor to death.
===Episode three===
The Doctor tries to explain that he was trying to escape the tunnels and stumbled into the temple, but Peladon is unaware of the tunnel's existence. Jo urges the King to be flexible, given the Doctor's "diplomatic" status, and he agrees to a compromise - trial by combat against Grun in the ceremonial pit. Jo argues with Peladon over his clinging to ridiculous superstitions, but is then surprised when he proposes to her and asks her to help him change his planet for the better.
Hepesh offers to help the Doctor escape before the combat, drawing him a map and explaining that he is afraid of the progress that federation membership may bring, then admitting that he has a powerful ally assisting him. For their part, the delegates must obey federation law and not intefere with local customs. However, Izlyr tells Jo that, since the Doctor saved him from the statue, he must do everything in his power to repay the debt. Arcturus listens in on this conversation with a bug.
The Doctor escapes into the tunnels, discovering Aggedor and uses a spinning mirror and a [[Venusian lullaby]] to hypnotise him. Just as it seems to be working, Jo arrives and frightens the beast away. The Doctor goes back and tries to explain to everyone that Aggedor is an animal trained to attack and living beneath the palace, but Hepesh insists that he be taken to the combat pit. There, he faces off against Grun with halberds, swords and in hand to hand combat. After a long struggle, the Doctor is victorious but refuses to kill Grun. Watching from the edge of the pit, both Arcturus and Ssorg draw their weapons and fire.


==Cast==
==Cast==

Revision as of 14:49, 10 September 2010

TVStub.png

The Curse of Peladon was the second story of the ninth season of Doctor Who. It introduced the planet of Peladon and the Galactic Federation, both of which would feature in several subsequent stories on television and in other media.

From a production standpoint, Curse was notable for switching broadcast order with the previously-produced Sea Devils. This made it the first Doctor Who story broadcast in a different order to that in which it was made. Though a common enough occurrence in the years that would follow, it had been impossible to broadcast out of production order in the 1960s, due the narrow gap of time between production and broadcast.

Synopsis

The Doctor and Jo make a test flight in the TARDIS and arrive on the planet Peladon. Seeking shelter, they enter the citadel of the soon-to-be-crowned King Peladon, where the Doctor is mistaken for a human dignitary summoned to act as Chairman of a committee assessing an application by the planet to join the Galactic Federation.

Plot

Episode one

During a stormy night on the planet Peladon, the King witnesses an argument between his two advisers, Chancellor Torbis and High Priest Hepesh, over an application for membership of the Galactic Federation. As the pro-federation Torbis leaves the throne room, he is attacked and killed by a large savage creature.

The TARDIS materialises on the same mountain as the royal palace, with the Doctor explaining to Jo that they have been on a short trip to run the TARDIS in. As they exit, the TARDIS topples off the ledge and plummets down the cliff, leaving them with little choice but to climb to the palace for help. They find a small tunnel that leads past a shrine and enter the palace. Meanwhile, King Peladon tries to reassure the federation delegates, assembled for a summit on the planet's induction, that Torbis' death is nothing to worry about. When the Doctor sees that Ice Warriors are among the delegates, he is immediately suspicious of their motives. When he is discovered, he convinces the King that he is the Earth delegate and Jo is a princess sent to observe the summit.

Peladon explains to the delegates - The Doctor, Jo, Arcturus , Alpha Centauri, Lord Izlyr and his henchman Ssorg - that Hepesh believes that Torbis was killed by the spirit of Aggedor, a mythical beast said to protect the royal family. As the delegates withdraw to consider how to proceed, the King's champion, Grun, slips away and tries to kill the delegates by dropping a statue of Aggedor on them as they pass.

Episode two

The Doctor spots the statue just in time and gives the delegates time to jump out of the way. Hepesh once more blames the spirit of Aggedor, while the delegates insist the conference be cancelled. King Peladon pleads with the delegates, giving Jo the opportunity to investigate the tunnel behind his throne. She finds large footprints and a small piece of technology next to the statue's plinth, both of which suggest the Ice Warriors were responsible. As the delegates retire to consider Peladon's request, he asks Jo to stay and talk. He explains his half-human heritage and the loneliness of his position, hoping that Jo will intercede with the other delegates. Jo is annoyed that all he wants is an ally, not a friend.

The Doctor repairs Arcturus' circuitry

In the shrine, Hepesh orders Grun to kill the Doctor in Aggedor's name. Jo wants to leave Peladon, but the Doctor insists upon staying to keep an eye on the Ice Warriors. An alarm rings out and the Doctor finds Arcturus in distress because someone has sabotaged his life support apparatus. After repairing the damage, the Doctor dismisses Hepesh's supernatural explanation and instead blames Izlyr. Jo searches the delegates' rooms for evidence and finds Arcturus' life support circuitry in the Ice Warrior's chamber. Ssorg denies any guilt and locks Jo in until he can discover the truth.

The Doctor is led away by Grun, who leads him into the tunnels and then flees when he hears a roar. Jo climbs out of Ssorg's window and into a corridor, where she runs into a very real Aggedor. She runs into the Ice Warriors, but they do not believe her story. Izlyr explains that Arcturus was never in danger of death because his life support has a redundancy and that he was not responsible, since the Ice Warriors foreswore their violent ways long ago. The Doctor escapes the tunnels into the shrine, where Hepesh arrests him for trespassing on sacred ground. The King has no option but to sentence the Doctor to death.

Episode three

The Doctor tries to explain that he was trying to escape the tunnels and stumbled into the temple, but Peladon is unaware of the tunnel's existence. Jo urges the King to be flexible, given the Doctor's "diplomatic" status, and he agrees to a compromise - trial by combat against Grun in the ceremonial pit. Jo argues with Peladon over his clinging to ridiculous superstitions, but is then surprised when he proposes to her and asks her to help him change his planet for the better.

Hepesh offers to help the Doctor escape before the combat, drawing him a map and explaining that he is afraid of the progress that federation membership may bring, then admitting that he has a powerful ally assisting him. For their part, the delegates must obey federation law and not intefere with local customs. However, Izlyr tells Jo that, since the Doctor saved him from the statue, he must do everything in his power to repay the debt. Arcturus listens in on this conversation with a bug.

The Doctor escapes into the tunnels, discovering Aggedor and uses a spinning mirror and a Venusian lullaby to hypnotise him. Just as it seems to be working, Jo arrives and frightens the beast away. The Doctor goes back and tries to explain to everyone that Aggedor is an animal trained to attack and living beneath the palace, but Hepesh insists that he be taken to the combat pit. There, he faces off against Grun with halberds, swords and in hand to hand combat. After a long struggle, the Doctor is victorious but refuses to kill Grun. Watching from the edge of the pit, both Arcturus and Ssorg draw their weapons and fire.

Cast

Crew

References

Minerals

Music

  • The Doctor hypnotises Aggedor with a Venusian lullaby. (Which goes something along the lines of "Kokleda partha mennin klatch, aroon aroon aroon, Ablarka sheena teerinatch, aroon araan aroon." Which translates as "Close your pretty eyes, my darling - well, three of them at least.")

Organisations

  • Peladon is about to be admitted into the Galactic Federation.

Races and species

  • The Ice Warriors are from Mars.
  • There's only one bed in the Ice Warriors' quarters.
  • The delegates from Alpha Centauri and Arcturus are not called by name or by what they call their own planets but by the Earth designations for their star systems.

Story notes

  • Working titles for this story included: The Curse and then Curse of the Peladons.
  • Ysanne Churchman (Voice of Alpha Centauri) is credited as Voice in Radio Times for Episodes One, Three and Four.
  • Murphy Grumbar (Arcturus) and Terry Bale (Voice of Arcturus) were credited in error in Radio Times for Episode Four.
  • Jon Pertwee sings the Venusian Lullaby to the tune of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen".
  • This story was an allegory of the UK's accession to the Common Market - a highly topical issue at the time of its original transmission.
  • David Troughton, son of the previous Doctor Patrick Troughton, shared a flat at this time with future Doctor Colin Baker. Three decades later, Troughton would again guest star in DW: Midnight.
  • It is heavily implied that the Time Lords were responsible for the Doctor and Jo appearing on Peladon at such a crucial point in the planet's history.
  • The Doctor states that the last coronation he attended was Elizabeth I's ("Or was it Queen Victoria's?" he muses). It was probably Victoria's, as he says in The Shakespeare Code that he hasn't met Elizabeth I yet.

Ratings

  • Episode One - 10.3 million viewers
  • Episode Two - 11 million viewers
  • Episode Three - 7.8 million viewers
  • Episode Four - 8.4 million viewers
According to Barry Letts and Katy Manning, the precipitous drop in ratings betwen episodes 2 and 3 had to do with national power cuts resulting from a coal miners' strike. The BBC tried to compensate for the loss in viewers by ordering that a special recap of episode three was broadcast before the debut of part four. (BBC DVD: The Curse of Peladon)

Myths

  • The natives of the planet Peladon are called Pels. (They are not called by this name here.)
  • Izlyr is an Ice Lord. (Although he is referred to as a Lord, the term 'Ice Lord' is never used.)

Filming locations

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.
  • The Doctor is hit by the swinging secret passage door in Episode One.
  • Jo's hair straightens when she climbs back into the citadel.
  • The corpse of High Priest Hepesh is visibly breathing.
  • When the TARDIS falls, aside from the obvious fact of there being a model, there is no sign of the Doctor or Jo.

Continuity

Timeline

Home video and audio releases

DVD releases

  • This story was first released on DVD in the UK on 4th January 2010 as part of the Peladon Tales Boxset. The one disc set includes a restored version of the story, as well as the following special features:
  • Commentary by Katy Manning (Jo), Barry Letts (Producer), Terrance Dicks (Script Editor), Chris D’Oyly-John (Production Assistant) and Toby Hadoke (Moderator).
  • The Peladon Saga – Part One
  • Warriors Of Mars
  • Jon And Katy
  • Storyboard Comparison
  • Coming Soon Trailer
  • Radio Times Billings
  • Production Subtitles
  • Photo Gallery
  • UK DVD 2010 Cover

    UK DVD 2010 Cover

  • UK DVD 2010 Boxset

    UK DVD 2010 Boxset

VHS releases

Released as Doctor Who: The Curse of Peladon

Released:

Novelisation and its audiobook

Curse of Peladon novel.jpg
Main article: Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon

External links

Template:Season 9

v • e
Ice Warrior stories
For the purposes of this list, an "Ice Warrior story" is one in which one living, authentic Ice Warrior plays a part within the confines of the story, outside of flashbacks to previous stories and cliffhangers that lead into the following story.
Television
Audio
Prose
Comics
Video games
Complete list of appearances
Retrieved from "https://tardis.wiki/w/index.php?title=The_Curse_of_Peladon_(TV_story)&oldid=425428"