''The Invasion of Time'' is the sixth and final serial of the
15th season of the British
science fiction television
Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...
series ''
Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
from 4 February to 11 March 1978. It features the final appearance of
Louise Jameson
Louise Jameson (born 20 April 1951) is an English actress with a wide variety of television and theatre credits. Her roles on television have included playing Leela in ''Doctor Who'' (1977–1978), Anne Reynolds in ''The Omega Factor'' (1979), ...
as the
companion Leela.
In the serial, the Vardans break the defences of
Gallifrey
Gallifrey () is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It is the original home world of the Time Lords, the civilisation to which the protagonist, the Doctor belongs. It is located in ...
to allow the
Sontarans to invade and control the power of the
Time Lord
The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', of which the series' main protagonist, the Doctor, is a member. Time Lords are so named for their command ...
s.
Plot
To the confusion of
Leela and
K9, the
Fourth Doctor
The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker.
Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the ...
has a covert meeting with aliens before taking his companions to the Citadel at
Gallifrey
Gallifrey () is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It is the original home world of the Time Lords, the civilisation to which the protagonist, the Doctor belongs. It is located in ...
. Once there, he lays claim to the vacant Presidency as his right by
Time Lord
The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', of which the series' main protagonist, the Doctor, is a member. Time Lords are so named for their command ...
law—he is the only candidate, as established in the story ''
The Deadly Assassin
''The Deadly Assassin'' is the third serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 30 October to 20 November 1976. It is the first seri ...
''. While reviewing the presidential suite, he orders it lined with lead. During his induction ceremony, the Crown of Rassilon seems to reject him, and he's injured. Leela is accused of having attacked him, when in fact she tried to help him, and she's banished from the Citadel. Later, in front of the gathered Time Lords, the Doctor greets three figures that materialise within the Citadel, the Vardans, whom he had met before coming to Gallifrey, and addresses them as the Time Lords' new masters. Amid the confusion, the compliant Castellan Kelner kowtows to the Vardans and assists them in taking over, issuing arrests and ordering banishment for any Time Lords that he sees as disloyal. The Doctor confides in Chancellor
Borusa
Borusa is a fictional character in the series ''Doctor Who'', a member of the race of Time Lords from Gallifrey. Within the context of the series, Borusa is a former teacher of the Doctor who appears in four serials. Notably, Borusa was portraye ...
, once they're in his lead-lined suite, that the Vardans can read their thoughts but lead blocks this. The Doctor plans to lock the Vardans in a time lock on their home planet as they are a dangerous race, but needed to keep up this facade in order to determine the location of their homeworld, and banished Leela for her own safety. The Doctor later explains the same to the Citadel guard commander Andred, using a force field from the TARDIS to shield his thoughts, to gain his help.
Meanwhile, Leela has faith that the Doctor's actions are towards a larger goal, and along with the banished Time Lady Rodan, travel across the wastelands of Gallifrey. They meet a group of outsiders that have abandoned Time Lord ways, led by Nesbin. Leela explains the situation at the Citadel, and Nesbin agrees to help, assembling a resistance force to help take the Citadel back.
When Kelner and the Vardans accuse the Doctor of being untrustworthy, he offers to show his commitment by dismantling the quantum forcefield that surrounds Gallifrey, which would allow the Vardans' full invasion force to arrive. However, the Doctor tricks them, and only creates a small hole in the forcefield, large enough for K9 to trace the Vardans to their home planet and engage the time lock, causing the Vardans to disappear. The situation seems resolved but moments later, a squad of
Sontaran warriors transport into the Citadel. Their leader, Commander Stor, explains they had used the Vardans to help disable the forcefield, and seizes control of the Citadel. While Kelner quickly aligns with the Sontarans, the Doctor, Borusa, and their allies escape, regrouping with Leela, Rodan, Nesbin, and the other outsiders. Leela joins Andred to help defend the Citadel with the combined resistance group and Citadel guards, while Rodan repairs the hole in the forcefield. The Doctor wants the
Great Key of Rassilon, but there is no record of it. He deduces that
Rassilon
Rassilon is a fictional character in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. In the backstory of the programme, he was the founder of Time Lord society on the planet Gallifrey and its first lea ...
gave the key to the first chancellor and that its location has been handed down from chancellor to chancellor ever since. He convinces Borusa to give it to him, which he plans to use to power a Demat Gun, a weapon that erases its target from all of time. Stor learns of this and orders a squad of Sontarans to give chase in the Doctor's TARDIS with assistance from Kelner. The Doctor is able to elude them within the labyrinthine corridors of the TARDIS, and with Rodan and K9's help, constructs the Demat Gun. He goes out into the Citadel to find Stor, who is attempting to destroy the entire galaxy, including Stor and the Sontaran fleet, with a bomb. The Doctor fires the Demat Gun, and the Sontaran invaders disappear, ending the threat. When he awakes, the Doctor remembers nothing of the events, and Borusa calls it the "wisdom of Rassilon", as he can return the key to its hiding place. He then has Kelner arrested for treason and starts the process of rebuilding the Citadel.
As the Doctor prepares to leave, Leela announces she plans to stay behind with Andred, as they have found a romantic interest in each other, and K9 also insists he must stay to help Leela. After saying his goodbyes, the Doctor enters the TARDIS, pulls out a large crate labelled "K9 MII", and breaks the fourth wall and grins at the audience.
Production
The script is credited to
David Agnew
"David Agnew" is a pen name that was employed on BBC television drama programmes of the 1970s as a scriptwriting credit.
Conditions of use
The pseudonym "David Agnew" was most often used when the original freelance scriptwriter was unable to acc ...
, a pseudonym often used by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
for work produced "in house" by contracted production team members. On this occasion it masks the authors Anthony Read (the series'
). This story was written as a replacement for another story, ''The Killers of the Dark'' by
, which was considered too expensive and complex to shoot. The script was written in just two weeks, with four days for rewrites. Additionally, when asked about the unused script at a convention, Graham Williams, having forgotten the exact title, made up the name "Gin Sengh", as in ''The Killer Cats of Gin Sengh'' (or ''Geng Singh''—the spelling being indeterminate), resulting in the fan myth that this was the original title.
who suggested to Graham Williams that this story be split into two segments, the first four episodes being based around the Vardans and the final two episodes being based around the Sontarans who come into the story at the end of episode 4.
Louise Jameson, who had already announced her departure from the show, reportedly wished for her character, Leela, to be killed at the end of the series, and was disappointed that Leela instead opted to stay behind on Gallifrey with Andred, even though nothing in the script suggests a romance between the two characters. The producers decided that killing off her character would be too traumatic for younger viewers.
An industrial strike, which was eventually resolved before production, forced the studio sets to be constructed within St Anne's Hospital in Redhill as the BBC's Christmas holiday specials were given priority in the regular studios.