Planet of Fire (TV story)
Synopsis
On holiday in Lanzarote, a young American girl named Peri narrowly escapes drowning when she is rescued from the sea by Turlough and taken into the TARDIS to recover. The Doctor is on the island because the TARDIS has detected a mysterious signal being transmitted from an unknown artifact retrieved from the sea bed by Peri's stepfather, Howard Foster.
The Master reasserts his control over Kamelion and gets it to bring the TARDIS, along with the Doctor, Turlough and Peri, to the planet Sarn, where he is hoping to use that world's supply of revitalising numismaton gas to restore his body - accidentally shrunken in an experiment with his tissue compression eliminator weapon - to its correct size.
It transpires that amongst the Sarn natives, who worship a fire god named Logar, are political prisoners from Trion - Turlough's home world. Turlough too is revealed to be a political refugee. He meets his brother and later, when a spaceship arrives from his home world, discovers that Trion has granted an amnesty to all political prisoners.
The Master is apparently killed when a stream of numismaton gas in which he is bathing turns to a normal hot flame. The Doctor destroys Kamelion at the robot's own bidding as it has become completely unstable. Turlough leaves to return to Trion, while Peri goes with the Doctor.
Plot
to be added
Cast
- The Doctor - Peter Davison
- Turlough - Mark Strickson
- Peri - Nicola Bryant
- Timanov - Peter Wyngarde
- The Master - Anthony Ainley
- Sorasta - Barbara Shelley
- Amyand - James Bate
- Professor Howard Foster - Dallas Adams
- Voice of Kamelion - Gerald Flood
- Malkon - Edward Highmore
- Roskal - Jonathon Caplan
- Curt - Michael Bangerter
- Lookout - Simon Sutton
- Zuko - Max Arthur
- Lomand - John Alkin
Crew
- Assistant Floor Manager - Robert Evans
- Costumes - John Peacock
- Designer - Malcolm Thornton
- Film Cameraman - John Walker
- Film Editor - Alastair Mitchell
- Incidental Music - Peter Howell
- Make-Up - Elizabeth Rowell
- Producer - John Nathan-Turner
- Production Assistant - Claire Hughes Smith
- Production Associate - June Collins
- Script Editor - Eric Saward
- Special Sounds - Dick Mills
- Studio Lighting - John Summers
- Studio Sound - Scott Talbott
- Theme Arrangement - Peter Howell
- Title Music - Ron Grainer
- Visual Effects - Chris Lawson
References
- Peri (Perpugilliam) Brown is a young American student, holidaying with her mother and archaeologist step father, Professor Howard Foster, on Lanzarote.
- Peri's summer studying includes an ecology project. She has exams coming up, and her return flight is to New York.
- According to Peri's passport she is from Pasadena, California and her birthdate is 15 November.
- Vislor Turlough - his rank is Junior Ensign Commander he is from Trion, and was on the losing side in the planet's civil war.
- Turlough's father and brother Malkon were exiled to Sarn, where the Trions sent occasional prisoners. Such prisoners were branded with the Misos Triangle, and the indigenous population heralded them as leaders chosen by Logar, their fire god. Turlough's father died when the spacecraft crashed. The volcanic forces of Sarn were for a while kept in check by Trion scientists.
- The volcanic activity on Sarn which will soon destroy the planet also produces numismaton gas, "an immensely rare catalytic reagent" with great healing properties.
- The Master controls Kamelion forcing him to control the TARDIS.
- The Master accidentally shrunk himself while adjusting his Tissue Compression Eliminator.
- Peri compares the statue of Eros to Elton John.
Story Notes
- This story had the working title of: The Planet of Fear
- Kamelion appears for the first time since The King's Demons the previous season; complications involving the robot model prevented him from appearing in other episodes, although a scene was filmed for The Awakening but cut before transmission. Kamelion "death" makes him the fourth known companion to die while travelling with the Doctor, following Katarina, Sara Kingdom, and Adric.
- It was during production of this serial that Peter Davison and Nicola Bryant participated in their infamous "James Bond" photo shoot, in which Davison donned a tuxedo and prop gun and Bryant a bikini.
Influences
- The H. Rider Haggard novel, She, whose title character renews herself periodically by bathing in a magic flame.
Ratings
- Part 1 - 7.4 million viewers
- Part 2 - 6.1 million viewers
- Part 3 - 7.4 million viewers
- Part 4 - 7.0 million viewers
Myths
- The Master's ambiguous statement prior to his "demise" has led to ongoing speculation as to whether The Master might be the Doctor's brother or another relative. This however would contradict the statement made in The Five Doctors in which the Master told the First Doctor that they attended the "academy" together which would suggest they are not familial relations. (Later appearances by the Master shed make no reference to such a relationship, either.)
Filming Locations
- Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. This was the first Doctor Who story to include filming away from the European continent. To date only two other stories have included filming outside of Europe: Doctor Who: The TV Movie (filmed entirely in Canada) and Daleks in Manhattan (which included second-unit photography done in New York City). At the time this serial was made, the producers were planning to film part of The Two Doctors in the United States, but the location was later changed to Spain.
Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
to be added
Continuity
- Kamelion first appeared in The King's Demons.
- Turlough first appeared in Mawdryn Undead.
- The Doctor and Peri re-meet the Master following his burning in ST: A Town Called Eternity.
- In TN: Shell Shock it's strongly implied that Howard sexually abused Peri when she was younger.
- With the departure of Turlough, the next occasion in which the Doctor would be seen travelling with a male companion on screen would not be until the (brief) tenure of Adam Mitchell beginning in the 2005 episode Dalek.
DVD and Video Releases
- Released on video in episodic format. Not yet released on DVD
Target Novelisations
- Novelised as Planet of Fire by Peter Grimwade in 1985.
External Links
- Official BBC Episode Guide for Planet of Fire
- Outpost Gallifrey Episode Guide: Planet of Fire
- Doctor Who Reference Guide: Detailed Synopsis - Planet of Fire
- A Brief History of Time (Travel) entry for Planet of Fire
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