Season 16, Episode 5 | 4 parts | First broadcast: 23 December 1978 – 13 January 1979 | Writer: Robert Holmes | Director: Norman Stewart
Cast
- Tom Baker as the Doctor
- Mary Tamm as Romana
- John Leeson as the voice of K9
- John Abineri as Rohm-Dutt
- Neil McCarthy as Thawn
Summary
Searching for the fifth segment of the Key to Time on a marshy moon of Delta Magna, the Doctor and Romana find themselves caught between a human methane refinery crew and the native Swampies, who worship a monstrous, city-sized squid god called Kroll. As arms smuggling stirs the Swampies toward violent rebellion and the refinery’s operators plot to eliminate the native population outright, the Doctor discovers the truth behind Kroll’s godlike status is directly tied to the very segment he has come to find.
Interesting Facts
- The giant creature Kroll was realised through a combination of large-scale model work and effects that stretched the show’s technical resources to their limit.
- The story is often read as an allegory for colonial exploitation, pitting an indigenous population against extractive industrial interests.
- Extensive location filming took place in the marshes near Dungeness, standing in for the alien moon’s swamps.
- It marks one of only two scripts writer Robert Holmes contributed to the Key to Time season, alongside The Ribos Operation.
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