Four to Doomsday (TV story)
Synopsis
The TARDIS arrives on board a huge spaceship where the Doctor and his companions encounter the frog-like Urbankans and a population of human androids. The androids are drawn from four different ethnic groups - Greek (led by Bigon), Chinese (led by Lin Futu), Mayan (led by Villagra) and Aboriginal Australian (led by Kurkutji) - and perform regular displays of dance and other rituals termed 'recreationals'.
The Urbankans' leader, Monarch, aided by his ministers Persuasion and Enlightenment, is engaged in a complex scheme to plunder from Earth the raw materials needed to enable him to travel back in time and thereby confirm his belief in his own status as the universe's divine creator.
Monarch has a poison that he intends to use to conquer humanity so that Earth can be repopulated with his androids. The Doctor, however, throws a canister of the poison at Monarch, causing him to shrink away to virtually nothing.
Plot
to be added
Cast
- The Doctor - Peter Davison
- Adric - Matthew Waterhouse
- Tegan - Janet Fielding
- Nyssa - Sarah Sutton
- Bigon - Philip Locke
- Minister for Enlightenment - Annie Lambert
- Kurkutji - Illarrio Bisi Pedro
- Lin Futu - Burt Kwouk
- Monarch - Stratford Johns
- Persuasion - Paul Shelley
- Villagra - Nadia Hammam
Crew
- Assistant Floor Manager - Val McCrimmon
- Choreographer - Sue Lefton
- Costumes - Colin Lavers
- Designer - Tony Burrough
- Fight Arranger - B H Barry
- Incidental Music - Roger Limb
- Make-Up - Dorka Nieradzik
- Producer - John Nathan-Turner
- Production Assistant - Jean Davis
- Production Associate - Angela Smith
- Script Editor - Antony Root
- Special Sounds - Dick Mills
- Studio Lighting - Don Babbage
- Studio Sound - Alan Machin
- Theme Arrangement - Peter Howell
- Title Music - Ron Grainer
- Visual Effects - Mickey Edwards
References
- Urbanka is in the solar system Inokshi in Galaxy 1489.
- The Doctor was a friend of Francis Drake.
- The Doctor demonstrates that he can survive (for a short time) exposed to the vacuum of space.
- The Doctor states that only his Professor at the Academy really understood artron energy, which powers the TARDIS.
- Nyssa is skilled in bioengineering and cybernetics.
Story Notes
- This was the first Fifth Doctor story to be filmed.
- Working title for this story was Day of Wrath.
Ratings
- Part 1 - 8.4 million viewers
- Part 2 - 8.8 million viewers
- Part 3 - 8.9 million viewers
- Part 4 - 9.4 million viewers
Myths
to be added
Filming Locations
- BBC Television Centre (TC6), Shepherd's Bush, London
Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
- Tegan is able to draw very quickly and incredibly detailed sketches in less than a minute.
- Tegan is able to speak one of 3000 Aboriginal languages...but also one over 35,000 years old. Maybe she had the use of oral tradition and she was Aborigine-descended
- The TARDIS is unable to translate Aborigine's language; it is generally assumed that the TARDIS translates all languages for the Doctor and his companions.
Continuity
- DW: Human Nature mimics the Doctor's amazing abilities with a cricket ball.
- The Doctor previous displayed an ability to survive exposure to a vacuum in space in DW: Nightmare of Eden.
DVD and Video Releases
Four to Doomsday is due to be released on the 15th September 2008.
Novelisation
- Main article: Four to Doomsday (novelisation)
- Novelised as Four to Doomsday in 1983 by Terrance Dicks.
External Links
- BBC Episode Guide for Four to Doomsday
- Outpost Gallifrey Episode Guide: Four to Doomsday
- Doctor Who Reference Guide: Detailed Synopsis - Four to Doomsday
- A Brief History of Time (Travel): Four to Doomsday
