Black Orchid (TV story)

Why do I always let my curiosity get the better of me?The Doctor

For other uses of Black Orchid see: Black Orchid

A series of murders take place and the Doctor is blamed...

Synopsis

The TARDIS arrives on Earth in 1925 where, due to a case of mistaken identity, the Doctor ends up playing in a local cricket match. The travellers then accept an invitation to a masked fancy dress ball, but events take on a more sinister tone as a number of murders are perpetrated at the country home of their host, Lord Charles Cranleigh.

The Doctor comes under suspicion, but the murderer is eventually revealed to be Lord Cranleigh's brother George, who has been kept locked up in the house ever since returning in a deranged and disfigured state from an expedition up the Amazon to find the legendary black orchid. George mistakes Nyssa for his former fiancée Ann Talbot, who looks exactly like her, and takes her up to the roof of the house. He is persuaded by the Doctor to let her go, but then falls from the roof to his death.

Plot

Part One

The TARDIS lands in 1925 at Cranleigh Halt, a small railway station in rural England. The Doctor is surprised to find himself addressed by a policeman, who tells him he's expected at Cranleigh Hall for a cricket match. Though the invitation is unexpected, the Doctor is keen to play; soon he, Adric, Nyssa and Tegan have arrived at Cranleigh Hall, home of the Cranleigh family. The Doctor is immediately put into the game, and does superbly--bringing the team back from defeat to a win and delighting Lord Charles Cranleigh, who invites the travellers to a fancy dress party to be held that evening.

After the match, the cricketers and bystanders retreat to Cranleigh Hall for introductions. In an opulent sitting room that houses a magnificent black orchid, Lady Cranleigh laments the loss of her botanist son, George, who was killed during an expedition to find the rare bloom. Her surviving son, Charles, introduces his fiancée Ann Talbot--who could be Nyssa's double. The travellers then set off to rooms they had been given and prepare for the upcoming fancy dress ball.

File:Blackorchid.jpg

The titular Black Orchid, a rare specimen from the Amazon.

The Doctor hears a sound and investigates, against his better judgment--only to find himself trapped in a corridor. Meanwhile, an unseen person has stolen his harlequin costume.

Upstairs, Nyssa, Tegan, and Ann Talbot prepare for the party. Nyssa and Ann decide to dress in identical costumes in order to prank the guests; Tegan demonstrates the Charleston, a dance popular in 1925, for her alien friend.

The Doctor finds his way out of the corridor. He finds a body in a cupboard; and, when he finds Lady Cranleigh and her servant Latoni, shows them the body. The Doctor agrees to not tell the guests, in order to avoid causing panic, and continues towards his room.

At the party, someone wearing the Doctor's costume arrives and dances with Ann. He takes her indoors and begins to attack her. James, a servant, attacks the figure and is killed. The figure closes in on Ann...

Part Two

The Doctor's impostor carefully returns Ann to her bed and covers her with a blanket; when she unexpectedly wakes, the mysterious figure hides under her bed. Ann runs out the room and into the arms of Lady Cranleigh, who is there with Latoni. Latoni enters the room and ties up the figure--revealed to be a horribly disfigured man with dead drooping skin on his face, and no tongue.

The Doctor arrives back at his room and dresses in the costume set out for him, unaware that it has just been worn by a killer. As he descends the stairs, Ann identifies him as her assailant. Despite the Doctor's protests, he is soon taken away by the police, along with Nyssa, Tegan, and Adric.

They stop at the railway station after the Doctor declares evidence is there, but the TARDIS is missing and they have little choice but to head on to the police station. There, coincidentally, a policeman declares they have found a police box which no key can open. The Doctor opens it, proving that he is an alien and that his story is true.

Back at the house, Lady Cranleigh tells Sir Robert Muir that the scarred figure is her son George, not killed during the course of his search for the black orchid, but disfigured by a tribe that considered the bloom sacred and themselves its guardians. After George's maiming, Latoni's tribe looked after him and brought him home, where his family preferred that he stay out of sight and pretend to be dead. Chafing under the restrictions, he only wanted to speak to Ann, his former fiancée--which was why he was stalking her.

The Doctor and companions, cleared of suspicion, are returned to Cranleigh Hall. There, Nyssa is captured by George, who mistakes her for Ann, and forcibly taken to the roof. The Doctor attempts to get to him through the house while Charles climbs up the side. They confront George on the roof. George realises that the woman he is holding is not Ann, and returns her. Charles thanks him--but at that moment George trips and falls from the roof to his death.

Cast

The Doctor - Peter Davison
Adric - Matthew Waterhouse
Tegan - Janet Fielding
Nyssa/Ann Talbot - Sarah Sutton
Lady Cranleigh - Barbara Murray
Sir Robert Muir - Moray Watson
Lord Charles Cranleigh - Michael Cochrane
Brewster - Brian Hawksley
Tanner - Timothy Block
Latoni - Ahmed Khalil
George Cranleigh - Gareth Milne
Sergeant Markham - Ivor Salter
Constable Cummings - Andrew Tourell
Digby - uncredited
James - uncredited

Crew

References

Tegan asks for a screwdriver (orange juice and vodka) at the Cranleigh's cocktail party, enjoys cricket and can Charleston.
The Doctor claims he always wanted to drive a steam train as a boy.

Story Notes

This story has characters who not evil or bad people, but have a vested interest in maintaining appearances to avoid the embarrassment of a disfigured relative.
This is the first story since The Highlanders not to feature any science fiction elements (except the TARDIS) in the story. Of all the purely historical serials, this is set in the (as of 2008) closest time from its airdate.
While other stories have featured incidental indications that the Doctor likes cricket (DW: The Ribos Operation, Castrovalva, Four to Doomsday, Human Nature), this is the only televised story to depict the Doctor playing in an actual match. (Peter Davison, a keen cricketer, actually did play cricket in the Doctor's cricket match, and did quite well--he bowled out his opponent.) The Fifth Doctor's particular love of the game would be later developed in other media. It has, for instance, significantly figured in a number of audio stories. (BFA: Phantasmagoria, Roof of the World, Circular Time)

Ratings

Part 1 - 9.9 million viewers
Part 2 - 10.1 million viewers

Myths

Black Orchid is sometimes referred to as the first historical Doctor Who serial since The Highlanders. Although it takes place in an earlier era, it is not explicitly a history-based adventure, unlike The Highlanders. It is correctly the first non-science fictional serial (disregarding the TARDIS and the presence of the Doctor and two non-Earthling individuals) since the earlier story (and, to date, the last).

Filming Locations

Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, Quainton, Buckinghamshire
Buckhurst House, Withyham, East Sussex
Bewdley (Steam Railway), Worcestershire
Quainton Road, Quainton, Buckinghamshire
Withyham Cricket Club, Withyham, East Sussex
BBC Television Centre (Studio 3), Shepherd's Bush, London

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

Police boxes did not exist in the 1920s (yet the policemen recognise the TARDIS for one). (The police box was introduced in Britain in 1891. Besides the police maybe didn't know what it was, but it said police box on the outside so he called it police box.)
In the rooftop shots, you can clearly see that the film was reversed by the smoke.
Peter Davison (the Fifth Doctor) and Gareth Milne (George Cranleigh) are of distinctly different sizes and builds, yet the same costume fits both of them perfectly.

Continuity

DW: The Visitation follows straight into this story.
Ace visits the Cranleigh's party and briefly meets Adric in DWM: Time & Time Again. She sees either Nyssa or Ann--she can't tell which--but doesn't approach her.
Ann Talbot reappears in MA: The Sands of Time.
Lord Cranleigh nearly mentions The Master being his other doctor.

Released in April 2008

DVD and Video Releases

Black Orchid was released on DVD in April 2008. It was originally scheduled for May but changed at the last moment, and The Invasion of Time was moved to May.

Region 2 14th April 2008

PAL -

Region 4 5th June 2008