The Seeds of Death (Season 6, Episode 5)

Season 6, Episode 5 | 6 parts | First broadcast: 25 January – 1 March 1969 | Writer: Brian Hayles | Director: Michael Ferguson

Cast

• Patrick Troughton as the Doctor
• Frazer Hines as Jamie McCrimmon
• Wendy Padbury as Zoe Heriot
• Alan Bennion as Lord Slaar

Summary

In a future where humanity has come to rely entirely on the instantaneous T-Mat teleportation network, the Doctor discovers the Ice Warriors have seized the London T-Mat terminus and are seeding Earth with deadly foam-releasing pods, part of a scheme to alter the planet’s atmosphere in preparation for a full-scale Martian invasion.

Interesting Facts

• This is the second and final classic-series appearance of the Ice Warriors during the Second Doctor’s tenure, following Season 5’s The Ice Warriors, and establishes them as a more overtly militaristic threat.
• All six episodes survive complete in the BBC archive.
• The story’s premise, depicting a society made dangerously complacent by reliance on a single piece of technology, echoes concerns raised in earlier “base under siege” stories of the era.
• Alan Bennion’s performance as Lord Slaar was the first of three Ice Warrior roles he played across the classic series.

References

• The Seeds of Death – Wikipedia
• The Seeds of Death (TV story) – Tardis Wiki (Fandom)