50 YEARS OF WHOVIANS

102 THE POWER OF KROLL by Robert Holmes

Illustrated by Bree Rubin

“Tried to get a vintage pulp feel for this Power of Kroll poster :)”

SEASON 15 / STORY 5

The Doctor and Romana arrive on the marsh moon of Delta Magna in search of the next segment of the Key to Time. They are caught in the conflict between the native Swampies and the crew of a chemical refinery. The presence of a gun runner complicates matters; to make things worse, the Swampies intend to awaken Kroll, the giant god that lives beneath the swamps.

FACTS ~

• DOCTOR: The Fourth Doctor
• COMPANIONS: Romana I, K9
• MAIN ENEMY: Kroll
• SPACE & TIME: Delta III

DID YOU KNOW? ~

• This is part of the Key to Time arc.
• The K9 prop would not work on swampy ground and so does not appear in this story. However, John Leeson appears in the role of Dugeen. He took the part after the actor originally cast became unavailable.
• Working titles for this story included Moon of Death, Horror of the Swamp and The Shield of Time.
• The BBC’s Head of Serials, Graeme MacDonald, was so unimpressed by the set designs in this story that he ordered that designer Don Giles was never to work on the series again. By coincidence, episode 3 includes a line of dialogue in which the Doctor criticises the decor of the Swampies’ execution chamber and recommends its architect be fired.
• The green make-up for the Swampies was specially ordered from Germany. Unfortunately for the actors, the remover wasn’t and so they either had to undergo chemical showers at RAF Bentwaters or have their skin scoured in the hotel. Many had a green tinge to their skin for weeks.

101 THE ANDROIDS OF TARA by David Fisher

Illustrated by all-is-one-and-one-is-all 

SEASON 15 / STORY 4

Finding the fourth segment of the Key to Time was simple enough, but holding onto it may be another matter. The Doctor and Romana find themselves embroiled in the political games of the planet Tara, where doubles, android or otherwise, complicate the coronation of Prince Reynart.

FACTS ~

• DOCTOR: The Fourth Doctor
• COMPANIONS: Romana I, K9
• MAIN ENEMY: Count Grendel of Gracht
• SPACE & TIME: Tara

DID YOU KNOW? ~

• This is part of the Key to Time arc.
• Mary Tamm plays four roles in this story: Romana, Princess Strella and their android doubles.
• The plot of the serial is very obviously inspired by The Prisoner of Zenda. In fact, among the working titles were The Androids of Zenda, The Androids of Zend andThe Prisoners of Zend. Another working title was The Seeds of Time.
• This is the fourth and last appearance of Cyril Shaps in Doctor Who (the others being The Tomb of the Cybermen, The Ambassadors of Death and Planet of the Spiders). It was the only time that his character was not killed in the course of the story.

100 UNDERWORLD by David Fisher

Illustrated by dbowkercreative

SEASON 15 / STORY 3

Searching for the third segment to the Key to Timebrings the Doctor and Romana to present-day Earth, where the travellers have to contend with stone circles, Druidic rituals and a not-so-mythical goddess known as the Cailleach.

FACTS ~

• DOCTOR: The Fourth Doctor
• COMPANIONS: Romana I, K9
• MAIN ENEMY: Cessair of Diplos
• SPACE & TIME: Earth, 1978

DID YOU KNOW? ~

• This is the 100th story and was broadcast over the 15th Anniversary.
• This story had the working titles of The Nine Maidens and The Stones of Time.
• The fifteenth anniversary of the programme took place on 23 November 1978, five days after the broadcast of Part 4. To commemorate this, Anthony Read askedDavid Fisher to write a new scene (expanded by Darrol Blake) featuring Romana Iand K9 surprising the Doctor with a cake celebrating his seven hundred fifty-first birthday (and a new, identical scarf). However, producer Graham Williams vetoed this idea as being too self-indulgent and the scene was never shot. Blake had already ordered a cake, and this was eaten by the cast and crew.

099 THE PIRATE PLANET by Douglas Adams

Illustrated by spacetimeconundrum

SEASON 16 / STORY 2

The Doctor and Romana learn the second segment of the Key to Time is on the planet Calufrax. Yet they arrive on a planet called Zanak, which has been hollowed out and fitted with hyperspace engines, allowing its insane, half-robot Captain to materialise it around smaller planets and plunder their resources.

FACTS ~

• DOCTOR: The Fourth Doctor
• COMPANIONS: Romana, K9
• ENEMIES & ALIENS: The Captain
• SPACE & TIME: Zanak

DID YOU KNOW? ~

• This is the second story in The Key to Time arc.
• This was the only story written by Douglas Adams where he received sole credit.
• This was one of the very few Classic Era stories to not be novelised.
  
• The Doctor’s line — “Standing around all day looking tough must be very wearing on the nerves” — was later used in one of the The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxyradio serials, directed by the character Ford Prefect at a Vogon.

096 UNDERWORLD by Bob Baker and Dave Martin

Illustrated by timetravelinchameleonlostinspace

SEASON 15 / STORY 5

At the very edge of the known universe, the TARDISmaterialises on an aging spacecraft, the R1C. On board, the Fourth Doctor and Leela meet Jackson and his crew. They are doggedly pursuing their mission to recover the Minyan race bank from a ship which left their home planet centuries earlier.

Closing in on the P7E at last, Jackson risks everything to follow the trail into the heart of a newly formed planet. Can the Doctor help Jackson face his greatest challenge and secure the future of the Minyans?

FACTS ~

• DOCTOR: The Fourth Doctor
• COMPANIONS: Leela, K9
• ENEMIES & ALIENS: The Oracle
• SPACE & TIME: The P7E and The P1C

DID YOU KNOW? ~

• This story is based on the myth Jason and the Quest for the Golden Fleece.
• This story delves a little deeper into the Time Lords by explaining their non-interference policy.
• Louise Jameson (Leela) refused to scream during a scene when gas fills a room as she considered it out of character.
• Budget restrictions were so strict with this story that it was almost cancelled in order to give the season finale The Invasion of Time more budget.

095 THE SUN MAKERS by Robert Holmes

Illustrated by somethingcompletelydiffferent

SEASON 15 / STORY 4

The TARDIS, along with the Fourth Doctor, Leela andK9 Mark I, arrives on Pluto in the far future. They discover that the planet has a breathable atmosphere and enjoys the heat from six suns. The humans who live there are taxed and exploited heavily. When Leela is captured, the Doctor must save her and stop the Company, before it is too late…

FACTS ~

• DOCTOR: The Fourth Doctor
• COMPANIONS: Leela, K9
• ENEMIES & ALIENS: The Collector
• SPACE & TIME: Megropolis One, Pluto

DID YOU KNOW? ~

• This story was a political comment by Robert Holmes on the Inland Revenue’s Taxation.
• The story was also inspired by Adrian Berry’s The Iron Sun, a novel which deals with man-made stars. 
• Despite Louise Jameson stating that this was one of her favourite stories, she continued to be dissatisfied with the direction of her character of Leela.
• In one draft, Leela was going to be killed off at the climax of this story. They decided against this because they felt it was inappropriate to have the Doctor grieving the death, and more inappropriate for him to not grieve at all.

094 IMAGE OF THE FENDAHL by Chris Broucher

Illustrated by lonlonmilk

SEASON 15 / STORY 3

The present day: just as the Fourth Doctor and Leelaarrive in Fetchborough, England, Professor Fendelmanprepares to experiment on a fossilized skull which science says should not exist. The skull is actually an artefact of the Fendahl, a god-like being who feeds on the life force of others. It has begun to awaken and kill. Worse yet, others seek to exploit the Fendahl’s dreadful power.

FACTS ~

• DOCTOR: The Fourth Doctor
• COMPANIONS: Leela, K9
• ENEMIES & ALIENS: The Fendahl
• SPACE & TIME: England, July 1977

DID YOU KNOW? ~

• Despite joining the TARDIS as a new companion in the previous story, K9 never leaves the TARDIS and barely features in this story. This was because the writer was unaware of the decision when writing.
• This story explains that (as well as Mondas) there was another planet in our Solar System which we are unaware of. It was between Mars and Jupiter and destroyed by the Time Lords, thus creating the asteroid betl.
• This story features a new outfit for Leela, a new variation of her famous “leather bikini”. 
• This story features the actor Wanda Venthan in her first TV role since giving birth to her son Benedict Cumberbatch.

093 THE INVISIBLE ENEMY by Bob Baker and Dave Martin

Illustrated by gillianschwab

SEASON 15 / STORY 2

A three-man rocket crew are nearly done with their mission to Titan Base until a course change puts the rocket in the path of a strange cloud in space. By the time they arrive, they have come under the control of a sentient virus which threatens the galaxy. When the TARDIS picks up an emergency message, it flies into the cloud, infecting the Doctor. To save himself and others, he must undertake a dangerous journey.

FACTS ~

• DOCTOR: The Fourth Doctor
• COMPANIONS: Leela, K9
• ENEMIES & ALIENS: The Swarm and the Nucleus
• SPACE & TIME: Titan Base, 5000

DID YOU KNOW? ~

• This story introduced K9, the Doctor’s famous robot dog companion. He is often paired with Sarah Jane Smith but neither companion travelled with the Doctor together in the original run. This is the only story in which the screen on the side of K9 displays anything.
• This story introduced a new console room, one that was more faithful to the original design than the wood-panelled version of the previous season.
• The working title for this story was The Enemy Within. This has since been used as the unofficial story title for the Doctor Who TV Movie.
• Leela is seen to be left-handed when writing. Actress Louise Jameson is actually right-handed, but chose to make Leela left-handed to portray how unnatural writing is to her.
• The language seen in the signage in the background is called Finglish in the script and is phonetic English. For example the sign for the “Emergency Exit” reads “IMURJINSEE EGSIT”

091 THE TALONS OF WENG-CHIANG by Robert Holmes

Illustrated by citrusapples

SEASON 14 / STORY 6

The Fourth Doctor brings Leela to Victorian London to see how her ancestors lived, but is rapidly drawn into a fiendish plot involving Chinese Tongs, disappearing women, an Oriental stage magician, a murderous ventriloquist’s dummy and giant rats in the sewers.

FACTS ~

• DOCTOR: The Fourth Doctor
• COMPANIONS: Leela
• ENEMIES & ALIENS: Magnus Greel
• SPACE & TIME: London, 1889

DID YOU KNOW? ~

• Jago and Litefood, the Victorian friends that the Doctor and Leela make ended up having their own popular spinoff series with Big Finish.
• The war criminal Magnus Greel is terrified of Time Agents, which get mentioned in this story for the first time.
• The Doctor is shown to have a Batmobile in his pocket.
• The Doctor dresses as Sherlock Holmes throughout the story, and the appearance and character of Magnus is similar to that of the Phantom of the Opera. 
• This is the only story in which the Doctor doesn’t wear his famous scarf at all.
• This story, although popular, is very controversial (well, racist) in that some of the Chinese characters are portrayed by Western actors with makeup. It was due to this that it wasn’t aired on my stations in the US and Canada.