Season 26, Episode 2 | 3 parts | First broadcast: 4–18 October 1989 | Writer: Marc Platt | Director: Alan Wareing
Cast
- Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor
- Sophie Aldred as Ace
- Ian Hogg as Josiah Samuel Smith
- Sylvia Syms as Mrs Pritchard
- Michael Cochrane as Redvers Fenn-Cooper
Summary
The Doctor brings Ace back to 1883 and to Gabriel Chase, a Victorian house Ace once burned down as a teenager after sensing something evil within it, forcing her to confront the house and her own fears from the inside this time. Beneath its gothic surface, the household conceals a bizarre menagerie of husk servants, a deranged big-game hunter, and the shape-shifting alien Josiah Samuel Smith, all overseen by an ancient, dormant being whose awakening threatens to unravel evolution itself.
Interesting Facts
- Widely regarded as one of the most densely written and thematically complex stories of the classic series, its intricate plot has become a subject of extensive fan analysis.
- The story ties directly into companion Ace’s personal backstory, addressing the reasons behind her earlier act of arson at the same house.
- Its Victorian gothic setting and exploration of themes around evolution, colonialism, and repression set it apart tonally from most other stories of the era.
- Despite critical acclaim in retrospect, the story’s density and unconventional pacing made it one of the more challenging serials for contemporary audiences to follow on first broadcast.