Season 21, Episode 2 | 2 parts | First broadcast: 19–20 January 1984 | Writer: Eric Pringle | Director: Michael Owen Morris
Cast
- Peter Davison as the Doctor
- Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka
- Mark Strickson as Vislor Turlough
- Denis Lill as Sir George Hutchinson
- Polly James as Jane Hampden
Summary
Taking Tegan to visit her grandfather in the small English village of Little Hodcombe, the Doctor discovers the residents’ historical re-enactment of an English Civil War battle has spiralled into disturbing, obsessive fanaticism, stirred up by an ancient alien entity called the Malus buried beneath the local church. As the war games grow ever more dangerous and real, the Doctor must uncover the Malus’s influence before the village destroys itself in its grip.
Interesting Facts
- At just two episodes, this is one of the shortest stories of the classic series, told in a tightly compressed runtime.
- Its themes of historical re-enactment curdling into genuine violence gave the story an unusually eerie, folk-horror atmosphere.
- Tegan’s grandfather, a recurring element of her personal backstory, provided a rare glimpse into a companion’s family and roots.
- The grotesque, wall-mounted Malus creature effect became one of the more memorably unsettling monster designs of the era.
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