The Krotons (TV story): Difference between revisions

The Doctor's TARDIS lands in a desolate area nearby. Jamie immediately notes the strong odour of [[sulphur]] whilst the Doctor states that the planet has twin suns. Zoe suggests that they depart, but the Doctor opts to explore. From a clifftop they see the Gond city below. They encounter a metallic crystalline structure with a hatchway similar to the one in the city. Jamie noticed that the smell is stronger. The Doctor is cautious. He identifies the structure as a machine and wants to head back to the TARDIS. As they head off, the door opens, and they hide as a dazed and weary Abu emerges from the hatchway. Before their horrified eyes, he is evaporated by blasts of energy.  

Thara and Selris argue over Vana's selection. Thara questions if the Krotons even exist. Thara draws a weapon and is soon surrounded by Gonds. The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe enter the city. They are regarded with suspicion; the Gonds have never met strangers before and the area where they landed, the Wasteland, is believed uninhabitable. Meanwhile, the stand-off between Thara and the Gonds continues. Vana wants to go through the door in order to protect Thara. He relents. The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe watch this, and the Doctor tries to stop it, thinking it some kind of sacrifice. The Gonds seize the Doctor and his colleagues for stopping their ritual. As a particularly hotheaded young man named Axus fights with Jamie, Vana rushes into the Kroton machine. Jamie wins the fight with Axus. Selris interrogates the Doctor and his colleagues. The Doctor's description of the death of Abu shocks the crowd, as does the revelation that they have been in the Wasteland. The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe rush back to the Wasteland to rescue Vana, followed by Thara.

Somewhere inside the machine, a check is run on the Doctor. In the Learning Hall a portal opens and a metallic, snake-like object emerges and moves towards the group. Inside the machine all screens display an image of the Doctor. The probe homes in on the Doctor who backs away. The Doctor falls and covers his face as the machine bears in...

The Doctor and Zoe are inspecting one of the walls in the Gond city and find it covered in some kind of crystalline substance. The Doctor states that underground he found that the machine's foundation had a root structure, suggesting the Kroton machine may be organic. A gong sounds, and a message from the Krotons is delivered. Zoe has been summoned to be a companion of the Krotons. The Doctor takes the test himself so as to accompany her. He does not perform as well as Zoe, scoring higher but requiring more questions. The Doctor comes away from the machine stating that he is happy he has pleased the Krotons, before realising he too is becoming brainwashed. The gong sounds again, and the Doctor has been summoned also. The door opens. The Doctor and Zoe have lost a bit of their bravery but edge their way in. As the door closes, Jamie enters and sees his two friends enter the dangerous machine.  

Thara has fractured his leg. The Doctor wants to abandon the Learning Hall. Selris joins them and regrets that his actions have not effected the machine at all. The Doctor disagrees and shows that it is leaking and probably not running at full power. Vana provides the Doctor with a small sample of Beta's [[sulphuric acid]]. The Doctor is horrified to learn that Jamie is inside the Dynatrope and rushes off.  

* [[Floor assistant|Floor Assistant]]s - [[David Collins]], [[Maurice Gallagher]] ([[INFO]]: ''The Krotons'')

* [[Scene supervisor|Scene Supervisor]]s - [[Ron Bailey (scene supervisor)|Ron Bailey]], [[Reg Lewis]], [[Brian Davis]] ([[INFO]]: ''The Krotons'')

* A preliminary outline for the story, then entitled ''The Trap'', was submitted for [[season 2]]. It was rejected because the robots were deemed too similar to the [[Mechanoid]]s, then set to feature in ''[[The Chase (TV story)|The Chase]]''. Three years later, Holmes re-submitted the outline as ''The Space-Trap'' to a new, more receptive production team. The script — under the name ''The Space Trap'' (without hyphen, as here) — was actually commissioned for delivery in 1969, probably for the penultimate story of Season 6. However, because Holmes had completed the scripts early, the story went into production in late 1968 when a [[Dick Sharples]] story, ''[[Prison in Space]]'', fell by the wayside.    

* The [[Kroton (species)|Krotons]] appear in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Alien Bodies]]'', which greatly fleshes out Kroton history, biology and origins. They also return to battle the [[Sixth Doctor]] and [[Charley Pollard]] in [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Return of the Krotons]]''.