The Armageddon Factor
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The Armageddon Factor
''The Armageddon Factor'' is the sixth and final serial of the 16th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 20 January to 24 February 1979. It was the last to feature Mary Tamm as Romana. The serial is set on the planets Atrios and Zeos, and another planet in between them. In the serial, the war between Atrios and Zeos is nearing its end. Mentalis, a commandant computer on Zeos, and the Marshal of Atrios (John Woodvine), plot to wipe each other out. At the same time, the Shadow (William Squire), a henchman of the Black Guardian (Valentine Dyall), steals the time and space vessel the TARDIS, which contains the first five segments of the powerful Key to Time, and kidnaps Princess Astra of Atrios (Lalla Ward), who is the sixth and final segment. Plot Searching for the final segment of the Key to Time, the Fourth Doctor and Romana arrive on the planet Atrios, which has endured a recent bo ...
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Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the Fourth Doctor, fourth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1974 to 1981.Scott, Danny. (17 December 2006)"A Life in the Day: Tom Baker" ''The Sunday Times''. Later in his career, Baker performed in the television series ''Medics (UK TV series), Medics'' (1992–1995), ''Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) (2000 TV series), Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)'' (2000–2001) and ''Monarch of the Glen (TV series), Monarch of the Glen'' (2004–2005). He also provided narration for the television comedy series ''Little Britain (sketch show), Little Britain'' (2003–2006) and ''Little Britain USA'' (2008). His voice, which has been described as "sonorous", was voted the fourth-most recognisable in the UK in 2006. Early life Thomas Stewart Baker was born on Scotland Road in the Vauxhall, Liverpool, Vauxh ...
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Harry Fielder
Henry Arthur Fielder (26 April 1940 – 6 February 2021), sometimes credited as Harry H. Fielder or Harry Aitch Fielder, was an English actor who worked extensively in British film and television from the 1960s to the 1990s. Career Fielder was born in Islington, London. He appeared as an extra in many American films due to filming taking place partly or entirely in Britain. His film credits include '' Oliver!'', '' Star Wars: A New Hope'', '' McVicar'', and '' Highlander''. He appeared as an extra in a wide range of TV shows including '' Doctor Who'', ''Blake's 7'', '' Shoestring'', '' The Sweeney'', ''Minder'' and '' The Professionals''. Fielder co-presented '' CBTV'', a Thames TV programme for younger viewers, in the 1980s where he played the Security Guard, Harry, who Jim Sweeney and Steve Steen would have to sneak past at the gates of Teddington Studios Teddington Studios was a large British television studio in Teddington, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, ...
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Destiny Of The Daleks
''Destiny of the Daleks'' is the first serial of the 17th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 1 September to 22 September 1979. The story introduces Lalla Ward as the newly regenerated Romana. It is set on the planet Skaro centuries after events of the 1975 serial ''Genesis of the Daleks''. The Daleks arrive on Skaro to find their creator Davros (David Gooderson) in suspended animation. They seek his guidance to help them beat the Movellan race with whom the Daleks are in a stalemated war. Plot K9 has lost his voice, and the Fourth Doctor is confused as to why a robot would have laryngitis. Romana, for reasons unknown, regenerates, choosing the form of Princess Astra of the planet Atrios, in spite of the Doctor's initial disapproval of it. The TARDIS lands on a rocky planet. The Doctor and Romana see a group of ragged-looking humans burying one of their dead, followed by a spa ...
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The Power Of Kroll
''The Power of Kroll'' is the fifth serial of the 16th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 23 December 1978 to 13 January 1979. The serial is set on the third moon of the human colony world Delta Magna. In the serial, a methane catalysing refinery's operations in the swamp disturbs the giant squid Kroll, which grew in size after ingesting the fifth segment of the powerful Key to Time. When Kroll surfaces, it subsequently rampages on the moon. Plot The Fourth Doctor and Romana have arrived on the third moon of Delta Magna, searching for the penultimate segment of the Key to Time. They find themselves caught in the middle of a dispute between the crew of a methane refinery and the natives (known as 'Swampies'). The Swampies claim that the crew have disturbed the waters, and will incur the wrath of their god, Kroll. Kroll is revealed to be a giant squid, which surfaces to feed every f ...
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The Key To Time
The sixteenth season of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', known collectively as ''The Key to Time'', began on 2 September 1978 with ''The Ribos Operation'', and ended with ''The Armageddon Factor''. The arc was originally conceived by producer Graham Williams, who had proposed it as part of his application for the producer's job in 1976. The name refers to the powerful artefact, the segments of which are what the Fourth Doctor and his companions, Romana and K9, search for during the season. Anthony Read was the script editor until the final story, when Douglas Adams became the new script editor. Synopsis A figure calling himself the White Guardian commissions the Doctor and K9, assisted by a new companion, the Time Lady Romana, to find the six segments of the Key to Time, a cosmic artefact resembling a perfect cube that maintains the equilibrium of the universe. Since it is too powerful for any single being to possess, it has been split into six differ ...
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Dudley Simpson
Dudley George Simpson (4 October 1922 – 4 November 2017) was an Australian composer and conductor. He was the Principal Conductor of the Royal Opera House orchestra for three years and worked as a composer on British television. He worked on the BBC science-fiction series ''Doctor Who'', for which he composed incidental music during the 1960s and 1970s. When Simpson died aged 95 in 2017, ''The Guardian'' wrote that he was "at his most prolific as the creator of incidental music for ''Doctor Who'' in the 1960s and 70s, contributing to 62 stories over almost 300 episodes – more than any other composer.""Dudley Simpson obituary"
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David Maloney
David John Lee Maloney (14 December 1933 – 18 July 2006) was a British television director and producer, best known for his work on the BBC science-fiction series ''Doctor Who'', ''Blake's 7'' and ''The Day of the Triffids''. ''The Guardian'' described him on his death as "one of that old school who could turn out 30-minute dramas in two days shooting time". Early life Maloney was born in Alvechurch, Worcestershire, educated at King Edward VI Five Ways and served in the Royal Air Force before becoming an actor in repertory theatre. Career Maloney joined the BBC as a television production assistant and trained to be a director at the corporation. His directing credits included the police series ''Z-Cars'', ''Softly, Softly: Taskforce'' and ''Juliet Bravo'', and an adaptation of the Walter Scott novel ''Ivanhoe (1970 TV series), Ivanhoe'' (1970). He first worked on ''Doctor Who'' as a production assistant to Christopher Barry on the serial ''The Rescue (Doctor Who), The ...
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Graham Williams (television Producer)
Richard Graham Williams (24 May 1945 – 17 August 1990) was an English television producer, script editor and screenwriter. He produced three seasons of the BBC science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'' during Tom Baker's era as the Fourth Doctor, the ITV children's series ''Super Gran'' (1986-1987), and thirteen episodes of '' Tales of the Unexpected'' (1982-1984). Early work After working as the script editor for ''The View From Daniel Pike'' (1971), '' Sutherland's Law'' (1973), ''Barlow at Large'' (1975) and ''Z-Cars'' (1975–1976), he was encouraged by Bill Slater, then BBC Head of Serials, to move to production. He created a new police series for the BBC, which became ''Target'', but the corporation's management decided to take him off it at an early stage and charged him with taking over '' Doctor Who'' in 1977, swapping roles with Philip Hinchcliffe. ''Doctor Who'' Williams was the producer on ''Doctor Who'' between 1977 and 1980, during the Tom Baker era. Un ...
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Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' developed into a "trilogy" of five books that sold more than 15 million copies in his lifetime. It was further developed into a television series, several stage plays, comics, a video game, and a 2005 feature film. Adams's contribution to UK radio is commemorated in The Radio Academy's Hall of Fame. Adams also wrote ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'' (1987) and ''The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul'' (1988), and co-wrote ''The Meaning of Liff'' (1983), ''The Deeper Meaning of Liff'' (1990), and ''Last Chance to See'' (1990). He wrote two stories for the television series ''Doctor Who'', co-wrote ''City of Death'' (1979), and served as script editor for its seventeenth season. He co-wrote the sketch "Patient Abuse" for the final episode of ' ...
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Anthony Read
Anthony Read (21 April 1935 – 21 November 2015) was an English television producer, screenwriter, script editor and author. He was principally active in British television from the 1960s to the mid-1980s, which included a period as a script editor and writer of ''Doctor Who'' from 1977 to 1979, although he occasionally contributed to televised productions until 1999. Beginning in the 1980s, he launched a second career as a print author, concentrating largely on World War II histories. He was also a chair of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain. From 2004 he regularly wrote prose fiction, mainly in the form of a revival of his television series ''The Baker Street Boys'' (1983). Early life Read was born in the small mining community of Cheslyn Hay, Staffordshire. He originally set out to become an actor, due to his education at Queen Mary's Grammar School in Walsall, known for its strong theatrical tradition, and then at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. Gene ...
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Dave Martin (screenwriter)
David Ralph Martin (1 January 1935 – 30 March 2007) was an English television and film writer. He was born in Handsworth, Birmingham, England, and attended Handsworth Grammar School. Doctor Who David contributed numerous scripts for the ''Doctor Who'' television series between 1971 and 1979 including: * ''The Claws of Axos ''The Claws of Axos'' is the third serial of the eighth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 13 March to 3 April 1971. In the serial, set in Britain, ...'' (1971) * ''The Mutants'' (1972) * ''The Three Doctors (Doctor Who), The Three Doctors'' (1973) * ''The Sontaran Experiment'' (1975) * ''The Hand of Fear'' (1976) * ''The Invisible Enemy (Doctor Who), The Invisible Enemy'' (1977) * ''Underworld (Doctor Who), Underworld'' (1978) * ''The Armageddon Factor'' (1979) For all of these, Martin collaborated with Bob Baker (scriptwriter), Bob Baker. Tog ...
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Bob Baker (scriptwriter)
Robert John Baker (26 July 1939 – 3 November 2021) was a British television and film writer. He was best known for working on the original run of ''Doctor Who'', and for being a co-writer of the Wallace and Gromit films ''The Wrong Trousers'', ''A Close Shave'', '' Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' and ''A Matter of Loaf and Death'' (in which the character Baker Bob is named after him). Career Baker and Dave Martin began writing for Harlech Television (HTV), the local ITV franchise. One of their earliest works was Thick As Thieves starring Leonard Rossiter. Baker wrote for ''Doctor Who'' between 1971 and 1979. For all but the last of his contributions to this series (''Nightmare of Eden''), Baker collaborated with Dave Martin on numerous scripts including: * ''The Claws of Axos'' (1971) * ''The Mutants'' (1972) * '' The Three Doctors'' (1972–1973) * ''The Sontaran Experiment'' (1975) * ''The Hand of Fear'' (1976) * '' The Invisible Enemy'' (1977) * ''Und ...
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