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

Part One

The Fifth Doctor and Turlough are drawn to the planet Sarn by Kamelion, where they encounter the Master in one of his diabolical plans to tap the power of the Numismaton gas.

Part Two

to be added

Part Three

to be added

Part Four

The Doctor pilots the TARDIS back to the ruins, where Lomand has just informed Turlough that political prisoners are no longer persecuted on Trion. Turlough agonises over his decision for a moment, but knows that he really has no choice; he has to go home someday, and it's better to go now while he's a minor hero. He bids the Doctor goodbye and asks Peri to take care of him. As Turlough departs for the Trion ship, the Doctor and Peri return to the TARDIS, where Peri asks if she can accompany the Doctor on his travels... and the Doctor welcomes her aboard.

Cast

Crew

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 15th November.
Vislor Turlough's rank is Junior Ensign Commander, he is from Trion, and he 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.
The Master removes the temporal stabiliser from the Doctor's TARDIS, rendering it inoperable, Kamelion also removes the comparator, another vital circuit.

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.
The H. Rider Haggard novel, She, whose title character renews herself periodically by bathing in a magic flame.
This is the only Fifth Doctor serial in which Janet Fielding does not appear.

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 ("Would you show (no) mercy to one of your own...?") prior to his "demise" has led to ongoing speculation as to whether the Master might be the Doctor's brother or another relative. (The more likely explanation is he referring to their shared biology as Gallifreyans or status as Time Lords.)

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 three other stories have included filming outside of Europe: Doctor Who (filmed entirely in Canada) and Daleks in Manhattan (which included second-unit photography done in New York City), and Planet of the Dead, which was partially filmed in Dubai. 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.
Papagayo Beach, Lanzarote
Orzola Jetty, Orzola, Lanzarote
Mirador del Rio, Lanzarote
Montañas del Fuego, Timanfaya National Park, Lanzarote
BBC Television Centre (TC6 & TC8), Shepherd's Bush, London

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 studio and location shots of Turlough rescuing Peri don't quite match up. She's still wet from her near-drowning when Turlough gets her to the exterior of the TARDIS doors, but is dry when they cut to the interior, studio shot.

Continuity

Kamelion first appeared in DW: The King's Demons.
Turlough first appeared in DW: Mawdryn Undead.
The Doctor and Peri re-meet the Master following his burning in ST: A Town Called Eternity.
The Master returns on-screen in DW: The Mark of the Rani.
In TN: Shell Shock it's strongly implied that Howard sexually abused Peri when she was younger; this supports dialogue spoken by Peri (while half asleep) imploring Howard not to turn off the lights.
With the departure of Turlough, the next occasion in which the Doctor travels with a male companion is in NA: Original Sin with Chris Cwej joining the TARDIS and again in BFA: The Harvest both with the Seventh Doctor. In the comic strip, the Sixth Doctor travelled with Frobisher from DWM: The Shape Shifter and the Fifth Doctor had briefly travelled with Gus Goodman from DWM: 4-Dimensional Vistas. Grant Markham was retroactively introduced as a companion of the Sixth Doctor in MA: Time of Your Life. Again the Doctor travels with a male companion in the novels beginning with Fitz Kreiner in EDA: The Taint and again with C'rizz in BFA: The Creed of the Kromon. On screen however the Doctor would not be seen travelling with a male companion until the brief tenure of Adam Mitchell beginning in the 2005's DW: Dalek, followed by the arrival of Jack Harkness in the later DW: The Empty Child for a more substantial tenure in the TARDIS.

Timeline

This story occurs after ST: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
This story occurs before ST: Five Card Draw

Home video and audio releases

DVD releases

This story was first released on DVD in the UK on 14th June 2010 as part of the Kamelion Tales boxset. The two disc set includes a restored version of the story, as well as the following special features:

Commentary by Peter Davison (The Doctor), Nicola Bryant (Peri), Mark Strickson (Turlough) and Fiona Cumming (Director).
The Flames Of Sarn
Return To The Planet Of Fire
Designs On Sarn
Calling The Shots
Remembering Anthony Ainley
Deleted And Extended Scenes
Continuity
Isolated Music Soundtrack
Coming Soon Trailer
Radio Times Billings
Production Subtitles
Photo Gallery

Plus a new Special Edition of Planet of Fire, in 16:9 widescreen format, with 5.1 surround sound, CGI effects and extra footage.
Editing for DVD release completed by Doctor Who Restoration Team.