Season 14, Episode 4 | 4 parts | First broadcast: 1–22 January 1977 | Writer: Chris Boucher | Director: Pennant Roberts
Cast
- Tom Baker as the Doctor
- Louise Jameson as Leela
- David Garfield as Neeva
- Leslie Schofield as Calib
Summary
Landing on a jungle planet whose towering cliff face has been carved into a giant, tortured image of his own likeness, the Doctor discovers he unknowingly caused a devastating civil war generations earlier by damaging the computer Xoanon while attempting repairs, splitting the descendants of a stranded human expedition into two warring, superstitious tribes: the primitive Sevateem and the technologically dependent Tesh. Aided by the fierce, exiled warrior Leela, the Doctor sets out to correct his past mistake and heal Xoanon’s fractured, dangerously unstable mind before it destroys them all.
Interesting Facts
- This story introduces Leela, whose savvy, questioning outsider perspective offered a sharp contrast to prior companions and reshaped the Doctor-companion dynamic for the next two seasons.
- It is one of relatively few classic-series stories in which the Doctor is directly, personally responsible for the crisis he must resolve, from events that occurred before the story begins.
- The giant cliff-face carving of the Doctor’s own face was achieved through a mix of location filming and forced-perspective model work.
- Writer Chris Boucher went on to create the character of Leela and later worked extensively in British science-fiction television, including Blake’s 7.
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