The Seeds of Doom (Season 13, Episode 6)

Season 13, Episode 6 | 6 parts | First broadcast: 31 January – 6 March 1976 | Writer: Robert Banks Stewart | Director: Douglas Camfield

Cast

• Tom Baker as the Doctor
• Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith
• Tony Beckley as Harrison Chase
• Kenneth Gilbert as Dunbar

Summary

Called in by the World Ecology Bureau after two ancient alien seed pods are unearthed in the Antarctic, the Doctor and Sarah Jane race to stop a monstrous Krynoid plant creature from germinating and spreading across the planet. When the investigation leads to obsessive plant collector Harrison Chase, who covets the pod for his own deranged purposes, the Doctor finds himself battling both a ruthless human collaborator and a rapidly mutating alien menace capable of turning any living thing green and vegetal in its path.

Interesting Facts

• The story shifts dramatically in tone partway through, moving from an Antarctic base-under-siege thriller to an English country-house thriller once the action relocates to Chase’s mansion.
• Tony Beckley’s portrayal of the obsessive, plant-worshipping Harrison Chase is often ranked among the classic series’ most memorable one-off villains.
• At six episodes, it gave director Douglas Camfield room to build an unusually tense, slow-burn atmosphere compared to the era’s more typical four-parters.
• This was Elisabeth Sladen’s penultimate regular serial as Sarah Jane Smith before her departure the following season.

References

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