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
- 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.
- 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
to be added
Filming locations
- Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. This was the first Doctor Who story to include filming away from the European continent.
- 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
- 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.
- According to director Fiona Cumming in the DVD commentary, Peri's passport was not specifically made for this production, but was, rather, the reuse of a passport that actor Dallas Adams had used in another production. Therefore, any details gleaned from freeze-framing the close-ups on the prop — such as her birth date and location — were not specific to Peri, but to the character Adams had played in the other production. Thus, they are technically production errors. Oddly, the production subtitles on the DVD champion the information contained within the passport, despite Cumming's revelations about the true origin of the prop.
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. Some read this as supporting Peri's dream-state behavior in this story where she shouts out Howard's name after saying, "Don't turn out the light." However, by concentrating on just these two lines, the two previous lines — "No, Howard. Please don't leave me alone." — are conveniently ignored. It's somewhat unlikely that a person plagued by parental abuse would be begging for the abuser to stay with her. Indeed, the DVD commentary makes it very clear the production team were aiming for a positive, friendly relationship between the two characters, and there's not much more than Shell Shock which suggests anything improper between Howard and Peri. In fact, BFA: The Reaping details the reasons for the divorce of Peri's mother and Howard, and completely fails to mention any sort of sexual abuse. Shell Shock is thus one view of the relationship between Peri and Howard, which has never been supported clearly by any performed Doctor Who.
- The Master's final line before apparently being killed is directed squarely at the Doctor: "Won't you show mercy to your own ..." According to the DVD commentary, Fiona Cumming asked John Nathan-Turner how the line was to end, to which he replied, "brother". However, Anthony Ainley never said the word in any take captured on video. Thus fans were free to speculate about how the line was to have ended. In The Sound of Drums, the Tenth Doctor strongly implies that the Master was not his Brother.
- This was the final serial to feature a male companion until the series revival in 2005. Turlough was the last male assistant seen on screen — barring the return of the Brigadier in Battlefield — until Adam Mitchell made his one and only voyage in The Long Game. However, there were several non-televised male companions to have traveled with the Doctor in other media between Turlough and Adam, beginning with the Whifferdill, Frobisher.
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.
UK DVD 2010 Cover
UK DVD 2010 Boxset
VHS releases
Novelisation and its audiobook
- Main article: Planet of Fire (novelisation)
- Novelised as Planet of Fire by Peter Grimwade in 1985.
External links
- Planet of Fire at the BBC's official site
- Planet of Fire at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- Planet of Fire at Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel)
- Planet of Fire at The Locations Guide
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