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''The Paradise of Death'' is a 5-part

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radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

drama, based on the long-running British

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'', and starring

Jon Pertwee John Devon Roland "Jon" Pertwee (; 7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996) was an English actor, comedian, entertainer, cabaret performer and TV presenter. Born into a theatrical family, he served in the Royal Navy and the Naval Intelligence Division during ...

as the Doctor.

Production and broadcast history

This was the second radio serial made by the BBC based on the ''Doctor Who'' television series. In 1985, the Sixth Doctor, played by

Colin Baker Colin Baker (born 8 June 1943) is an English actor who played Paul Merroney in the BBC drama series '' The Brothers'' from 1974 to 1976 and the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series '' Doctor ...

, had starred in a 6-part radio serial entitled ''

Slipback ''Slipback'' is a radio audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', produced by the BBC and first broadcast in six episodes on BBC Radio 4 from 25 July to 8 August 1985, as part of a children's ...

'', during the hiatus between seasons whilst he was starring as the Doctor on television. Prior to this, there was also an audio drama made in 1976 called ''

Doctor Who and the Pescatons ''Doctor Who and the Pescatons'' (commonly shortened to ''The Pescatons'') is an audio play in two episodes based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It is written by Victor Pemberton, and stars Tom Bak ...

'', starring

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 Wh ...

and

Elisabeth Sladen Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen (1 February 1946 – 19 April 2011) was an English actress. She became best known as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series ''Doctor Who'', appearing as a regular cast member from 1973 to 1976, alongside ...

. The scriptwriter for ''Paradise of Death'',

Barry Letts Barry Leopold Letts (26 March 1925 – 9 October 2009) was an English actor, television director, writer and producer, best known for being the producer of '' Doctor Who'' from 1969 to 1974. Born in Leicester, he worked as an actor in theatre ...

, was a former BBC Producer and Director who had (amongst his other credits) produced ''Doctor Who'' on television from 1969 to 1974 (in other words, for almost the entire time Jon Pertwee had played the Third Doctor). Letts had also co-written (together with playwright Robert Sloman) several of the ''Doctor Who'' television serials in which Pertwee had appeared, and had gone on later in the 1970s to novelise some of the television serials he had produced, which were published in hardback and paperback by WH Allen. He would also novelise his own scripts for this radio serial, for publication by WH Allen in 1994. Because of Letts' familiarity with the ''Doctor Who'' series from the five years that he had produced the show, it was an obvious decision that his script would feature that period: namely Pertwee's Doctor, and some of the regulars (in the event, the Brigadier and Sarah Jane) whom Pertwee knew from his time on the show. In effect, this radio production was a reunion of the main cast who had worked on Pertwee's final season on television in 1973–74. The serial ''The Paradise of Death'' was first broadcast in five episodes on BBC Radio 5 (a station which, at the time, was heard solely on AM in the UK) from 27 August to 24 September 1993. It was subsequently repeated, between 12 April and 10 May 1994, by BBC Radio 2 on FM. The serial was released as part of the

BBC Radio Collection AudioGO (formerly BBC Audiobooks) was a publisher of audiobooks and a range of spoken word and large-print titles. It was majority owned by AudioGO Ltd, and minority owned by BBC Worldwide. It was formed in 2010, when AudioGO purchased a majori ...

on audio-cassette (ZBBC 1494), and in March 2000 was re-released on double CD (). The Radio Collection releases included several "bonus" scenes which (due to some scripts proving too long for the 29 minute timeslot) had not been included in the radio broadcasts. During the repeat of the serial on Radio 2, by mistake the episodes were aired out of order. This error generated so many complaints to the BBC's Duty Office that the Corporation realised they had under-estimated the size of the listening audience, a realisation which led them to decide to commission a sequel. Accordingly, a second radio serial featuring the Third Doctor, ''

The Ghosts of N-Space ''The Ghosts of N-Space'' is a radio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was recorded in 1994 and finally broadcast in six parts on BBC Radio 2 from 20 January to 24 February 1996. This ...

'', was broadcast on Radio 2 in 1996. More might have followed, but Pertwee died in 1996, bringing the Third Doctor's era to a close. Letts was thereupon commissioned, instead, to develop an idea for a radio play based upon the 1970s BBC science fiction series ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' (sometimes styled ''Blakes7'') is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four 13-episode series were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first ...

'', which would ultimately lead to his writing two productions featuring cast members from that show, which were broadcast in 1998.

Synopsis

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart of UNIT asks the Doctor to investigate a particularly gruesome murder at a new

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

on London's Hampstead Heath, called ''Space World''. Together with journalist Sarah Jane Smith and her photographer Jeremy Fitzoliver, they take in the incongruous exhibits, including

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...

machines, and even seemingly living alien monstrosities – which the Brigadier immediately suspects of the killing. The owners of the theme park are a ''gang of alien carpetbaggers from outer space'', who are ostensibly trying to persuade the Government to begin talks on allowing interplanetary trade. Although their real motives are unclear, they have a sophisticated form of mind-control which they employ to kill anyone who threatens their plans. When Sarah is kidnapped by the sinister Mr Tragan, and transported to the aliens' home planet, Parakon, the Doctor and the Brigadier must race to her rescue in the Tardis. On Parakon, they learn the truth about the proposed trade deal, which will mean the destruction of all life on Earth. The rapine plant is a parasite which will turn the planet into a wasteland. Freeth and Tragan are secretly conspiring to overthrow the President and democratic government on Parakon, and fear what the visitors from Earth may accidentally disclose which might reveal their plans to Captain Rudley, the commander of the Presidential Guard. The Doctor hopes to persuade the President that rapine will harm the Earth, but Freeth and Tragan hope to have the Doctor executed before he can do so. On their first broadcast, the episodes were summarised as follows – 1: The Doctor is called in to investigate a murder at ''Space World''. 2: The Doctor is dead, and the Brigadier discovers that the Parakon Corporation has friends in high places. 3: Can the Tardis escape from war-torn Blestinu in time to save Sarah Jane from Tragan? 4: Freeth holds the Doctor captive, while Captain Rudley is to be executed for treason. 5: The Gargan monster has Sarah and Jeremy cornered in its den.

Cast

* The Doctor —

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', created by writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln and p ...

—

Nicholas Courtney William Nicholas Stone Courtney (16 December 1929 – 22 February 2011) was an Egyptian-born British actor. He was known for his long-running role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Ear ...

Sarah Jane Smith Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running BBC Television science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' and two of its spin-offs. Sarah Jane is a dogged investigative journalist who first encounters alien t ...

—

* Jeremy Fitzoliver — Richard Pearce *Chairman Freeth —

Harold Innocent Harold Sidney Innocent (18 April 1933 – 12 September 1993) was an English actor who appeared in many film and television roles. After attending Broad Street Secondary Modern School in Coventry, Innocent worked for a short time as an office c ...

*Vice-Chairman Tragan — Peter Miles *President of Parakon —

Maurice Denham William Maurice Denham OBE (23 December 1909 – 24 July 2002) was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes in his long career. Family Denham was born on 23 December 1909 in Beckenham, Kent, the son ...

*Onya Farjin —

Jane Slavin Jane Slavin (born 11 March 1970) is an English actress and novelist. Slavin was the winner of the 1989 BBC Radio Drama Carleton Hobbs Award. She has appeared on television in ''Lewis'', '' Doctors'' as Gayle Buckley, ''Peak Practice'', ''Alway ...

*Grebber/Reporter — Brian Hall *Clorinda/Secretary General of the UN — Jillie Meers *General Commanding Unit — John Hardwood *Odun/Patrol Leader — John Fleming *Captain Waldo Rudley —

Jonathan Tafler Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...

*Greckle — Emma Myant *Rasco Heldal — Michael Onslow *Medan/Hunter — David Holt *Yallett/Officer of the day —

Philip Anthony Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

*Crestin/Bill/Radio Voice/Ambulance Man/Man –

Andrew Wincott Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

*Nobby/Kitson/Wilkins/Soldier – Dominic Letts *Echo Location Operator/Lexhan –

Julian Rhind-Tutt Julian Alistair Rhind-Tutt (born 20 July 1967) is an English actor, best known for playing Dr "Mac" Macartney in the comedy television series ''Green Wing'' (2004–2006). Early life Rhind-Tutt was born in West Drayton, Middlesex, the youngest o ...

*Kaido/Guard 2/Ungar/Custodian of Data Store/Jenhegger –

Trevor Martin Trevor Gordon Martin (17 November 1929 – 5 October 2017) was a British stage and film actor known for playing popular British characters. Early life and education Martin's parents were from Dundee; he was raised in Enfield, and after m ...

Continuity

*The liner notes from the CD release state that this adventure fits "seamlessly into television continuity between ''

The Time Warrior ''The Time Warrior'' is the first serial of the 11th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 15 December 1973 to 5 January 1974. The serial introduced Eli ...

'' and ''

Invasion of the Dinosaurs ''Invasion of the Dinosaurs'', simply titled ''Invasion'' in Part One, is the second serial of the 11th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 12 Januar ...

''". *Throughout the serial, the theme music used to commence and conclude each episode is not the third version of Delia Derbyshire's theme tune that was used during nearly all of Jon Pertwee's time on the television series and nearly exclusively throughout the 1970s. The music used is, anachronistically, the Peter Howell version of the theme tune that was used on the TV series for Seasons 18-22 (August 1980 - March 1985) *The opening scene, featuring an alien spacecraft landing on Hamstead Heath, is lifted from a story outline submitted to the ''Who'' production office in 1970, by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, for the serial which ultimately aired as ''

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, ...

''. *Episode 1 explicitly sets out to establish that the serial is taking place during the 1973–74 season on television, shortly after Sarah's first appearance in the show. The Doctor tells her about his visit to ancient

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...

in ''

The Time Monster ''The Time Monster'' is the fifth and final serial of the ninth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 20 May to 24 June 1972. The serial is set in a vi ...

'' the previous year, and they discuss events they experienced together, in Sarah's first story ''

'' (set in the ''merrie England'' of the 13th Century). The Radio Collection release includes a lot of additional detail, in a "bonus" scene. *The Doctor's pointed remark, ''universally'', to Freeth and Tragan in Episode 1, which the Brigadier echoes in the following scene, is a reference to a line of dialogue spoken by Roger Delgado in ''

Terror of the Autons ''Terror of the Autons'' is the first serial of the eighth season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 2 to 23 January 1971. The serial is set in various locations ...

'' (1971). *The alien mind-control helmets in Episode 1, used to force Mr Grebber to commit "suicide", are based on the mind control helmets used by the B.O.S.S. computer in ''

The Green Death ''The Green Death'' is the fifth and final serial of the tenth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 19 May to 23 June 1973. It was the last regular appe ...

'' (1973) – a serial co-written by Barry Letts. Most of the plot devices which are re-used in this serial, detailed in this section, originally featured in televised ''Doctor Who'' episodes which Letts himself had written. *In Episode 2 the Doctor's being presumed dead, until examined by a medical doctor, is based on a similar scene in ''The Daemons'' (1971), and Sarah presuming him to be dead (and crying over his body) is borrowed from ''Planet of the Spiders'' (1974) – both serials which were very familiar to Barry Letts, as he co-wrote both of them (with Bob Sloman). *The discussion about the United Nations treaty (over the meaning of the ''host country'' clause), in Episode 2, are a reference to the Brigadier's argument concerning that clause with the Minister of Ecology in ''

'' – another serial co-written by Barry Letts. *The numerous mentions in Episode 2 of Bessie, the Doctor's vintage motorcar, refer to the little yellow Edwardian roadster which the Doctor drove in various serials between '' Doctor Who and the Silurians'' (1970) and ''

The Five Doctors ''The Five Doctors'' is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', produced in celebration of the programme's 20th anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago ...

'' (1983). *The mention of the ''Blinovitch limitation effect'' in Episode 2 is a reference to a discussion on time travel between Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning in ''

Day of the Daleks ''Day of the Daleks'' is the first serial of the ninth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 1 to 22 January 1972. It was the first of four Third Doctor serials ...

'' (1972). *The Brigadier's line, ''Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow'', in Episode 3, is a joking reference to the many times Pertwee used that phrase (or some variant of it) on television, including in ''

The Sea Devils ''The Sea Devils'' is the third serial of the ninth season of the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 26 February to 1 April 1972. It was written by Ma ...

'' and ''

'' (where he used that exact phrase), and in '' Doctor Who and the Silurians'', ''

'', '' The Daemons'', ''

'', ''

Frontier in Space ''Frontier in Space'' is the third serial of the tenth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The serial was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 24 February to 31 March 1973. It was the last serial to ...

'' and ''

Planet of the Daleks ''Planet of the Daleks'' is the fourth serial of the tenth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 7 April to 12 May 1973. Continuing from the events of t ...

'' (where he used a close variant of it). *The Doctor tries, unsuccessfully, to soothe an alien monster by crooning a Venusian Lullaby, in Episode 5, as he had successfully done with the monster Aggador in ''

The Curse of Peladon ''The Curse of Peladon'' is the second serial of the ninth season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 29 January to 19 February 1972. The serial is set on ...

'' and ''

The Monster of Peladon ''The Monster of Peladon'' is the fourth serial of the 11th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 23 March to 27 April 1974. It was Jon Pertwee's pen ...

''. *The revelation in Episode 5 that the Rapine plant – which the Parakon Corporation intends to harvest on Earth – will bring about the destruction of all life on the planet is lifted from ''

'': the details of the process differ, but the essence of the aliens' plan is the same as the Axons' ''nutrition cycle'' (for ''rapine'' read ''axonite''). *Jenhegger's line when he saves the Doctor's life, ''No you shall not, he is a good man'', in Episode 5, is based on a similar scene in the final episode of '' The Daemons'' (1971), where Jo Grant begs the alien, Azal, not to slay the Doctor (''No! No, he's a good man! Kill me, not him!'') – another of the serials co-written by Barry Letts. *Jeremy Fitzoliver returns in the next audio serial, ''

''.

Cast and crew notes

*Writer Barry Letts was a long time writer, director and producer for ''Doctor Who'', particularly during Jon Pertwee's years. He returned as the scriptwriter of the next radio play, Jon Pertwee's last performance as the Doctor, ''The Ghosts of N-Space''. *Harold Innocent had previously portrayed Gilbert M in the ''Doctor Who'' television serial ''

The Happiness Patrol ''The Happiness Patrol'' is the second serial of the 25th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in three weekly parts on BBC1 from 2 to 16 November 1988. The serial is set on the Ear ...

'' in 1987, and died between the first broadcast of episodes 3 and 4 of this serial. *Peter Miles has portrayed several roles in ''Doctor Who'', including Nyder in ''

Genesis of the Daleks ''Genesis of the Daleks'' is the fourth serial of the twelfth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was written by Terry Nation and directed by David Maloney, and originally broadcast in six weekly parts from ...

''. *Maurice Denham previously portrayed Azmael in the ''Doctor Who'' television serial ''

The Twin Dilemma ''The Twin Dilemma'' is the seventh and final serial of the 21st season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 22 March to 30 March 1984. In the serial, the al ...

''. *Dominic Letts is the son of scriptwriter Barry Letts. *Trevor Martin previously portrayed a Time Lord in the serial ''

The War Games ''The War Games'' is the seventh and final serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969. In the serial, an unnamed alien r ...

'' and the Doctor himself in the stage play '' Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday''. He reprised this latter role in the

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

audio adaptation '' The Seven Keys to Doomsday''. *Jane Slavin went on to appear in several ''Doctor Who'' audio plays for

starring

's Fourth Doctor.

Reception

In 1994, ''Science Fiction Chronicle''s

Don D'Ammassa Donald Eugene D'Ammassa (born April 24, 1946) is an American fantasy, science fiction and horror critic and author.

In print

''The Paradise of Death'' was novelised by

for WH Allen's

Target Books Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became wel ...

imprint, and published in 1994 (); it was the 156th and final novelisation to be published by Target, ending a series of books which began in 1964 (and had been published under the Target label since 1973). The subsequent serial, ''The Ghosts of N-Space'', would be novelised as part of the

Virgin Missing Adventures The ''Virgin Missing Adventures'' were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which had been cancelled in 1989, featuring stories set between televised episodes of the pro ...

series.

References

Target novelisation

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paradise of Death, The Third Doctor audio plays Radio plays based on Doctor Who 1993 audio plays 1993 radio dramas UNIT audio plays BBC Radio 2 programmes BBC Radio dramas