''The Seeds of Death'' is the fifth serial of the sixth 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''. Written by Brian Hayles and an uncredited

Terrance Dicks Terrance William Dicks (14 April 1935 – 29 August 2019) was an English author and television screenwriter, script editor and producer. In television, he had a long association with the BBC science-fiction series ''Doctor Who'', working a ...

and directed by Michael Ferguson, it originally aired 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 25 January to 1 March 1969. It sees the return of the

Ice Warrior The Ice Warriors are a fictional Extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of List of reptilian humanoids, reptilian humanoids in the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' ...

s, previously introduced by Hayles in the 1967 serial '' The Ice Warriors''. The serial is set in London and on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

in the late 21st century. In the serial, the time traveller the

Second Doctor The Second Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Patrick Troughton. While the Troughton era of ''Doctor Who'' is well-remembered by fans an ...

(

Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor who was classically trained for the stage but became known for his roles in television and film. His work included appearances in several fantasy, science fiction ...

) and his travelling companions Jamie McCrimmon (

Frazer Hines Frazer Simpson Frederick Hines (born 22 September 1944) is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor and appeared in ''A King in New York'' (1957) with Charlie Chaplin. He later played Jamie McCrimmon in ''Doctor Who'', appearing i ...

) and Zoe Heriot (

Wendy Padbury Wendy Padbury (born 7 December 1947) is a British actress and former talent agent. She has appeared in television series since 1966, including as Zoe Heriot, a companion to Patrick Troughton's Doctor in ''Doctor Who'', from 1968 to 1969. Earl ...

), along with the technicians Gia Kelly ( Louise Pajo) and Phipps (Christopher Coll), try to prevent the Ice Warriors' plot to make the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

's atmosphere inhospitable to humans but viable for the Ice Warriors to invade.

Plot

At the end of the twenty-first century, a

teleportation Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction literature and in other popular culture. Teleportation is oft ...

technology called "T-Mat" has replaced all traditional forms of transport, allowing people and objects to travel instantly anywhere on

. Manned space exploration has ceased. The Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Herriot arrive in a museum on Earth run by Professor Daniel Eldred dedicated to the obsolete technology of rockets. However, something goes amiss at the T-Mat vital relay station on the

and the system breaks down. With communications out, and no way to reach the Moon without T-Mat, those responsible for the system, Commander Radnor and his assistant Gia Kelly, turn to Professor Eldred to help. He has been privately building a

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

in hopes of re-igniting interest in space travel. The Doctor and his companions volunteer to crew the rocket. The Doctor also comments that the TARDIS is not suitable for short range use after Zoe informs Jamie that the TARDIS would most likely overshoot by a couple of million years. The relay station on the Moon has been invaded by

s, a militant Martian race, who plan to use it as a staging point for an invasion of Earth. The technicians attempt to fight the invaders but several are killed, while Phipps goes into hiding and Fewsham is pressed into assisting the invaders. Fewsham repairs the T-Mat link on receive mode and Miss Kelly beams through to start repairing the T-Mat system. When the Doctor and his companions arrive on the Moon they make contact with Phipps, who is hiding in the moonbase. The Doctor accidentally reveals himself to the Ice Warriors and their leader Commander Slaar. The Ice Warriors have a deadly plan: they have seeds, which they send to various parts of Earth using T-mat, of a

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from t ...

that will multiply and suck all the

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...

from the surrounding atmosphere, making it more comfortable for the Martians but uninhabitable for humans. Once the full T-Mat relay is repaired, one seed is sent to Earth Control and explodes, killing a technician and alerting Radnor and Eldred of the danger. The seed soon creates foam, which multiplies its effects and imperils more and more people. Other T-Mat terminals across the world receive more seeds. The Ice Warriors also use T-Mat to dispatch a small advance force to seize Earth's weather control systems in London and ensure good conditions for the growth of the fungus. On the Moon Miss Kelly and Phipps work with Zoe and Jamie to stage diversions and attacks against the Ice Warriors. During their main assault to free the Doctor, Phipps is killed. The Ice Warriors have now retreated to their spacecraft to plan the next stage of their invasion, leaving an opportunity for most of the captives to flee. Fewsham, however, remains behind, seemingly fearing an enquiry into his actions if he returns to Earth. In T-Mat control on Earth, the Doctor works out that the seed pods can be defeated using water. This explains where the Ice Warrior beamed to Earth has gone, and the Doctor tracks him down to the weather control system, where the alien has been stationed to prevent any rain fall that would be deadly to the pods. The Doctor and his allies recapture the weather control system and summon rain, destroying the fungus, which is used to the dry conditions on Mars. Fewsham has meanwhile delivered a crushing blow to the Ice Warriors. He dupes Slaar into revealing in a live link with Earth that the main invasion force is following a homing signal to the Moon, for which he is killed. But at least the Doctor now knows the full extent of the Ice Warrior plans. He returns to the moonbase by T-mat to set a new signal for the Martian fleet from there. The Doctor confronts Slaar while substituting the alternative signal. This draws the Martian fleet away and lures it into the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

. Slaar moves to kill the Doctor in revenge but the arrival of Jamie in a T-Mat cubicle causes chaos, and Slaar is killed in one of the sonic beams of the last of his warriors. Jamie then kills the surviving Martian and the invasion is over. The Doctor and Jamie return to Earth and then make their goodbyes before departing in the

TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior a ...

with Zoe.

Production

Although Brian Hayles is solely credited as the story's author, series script editor

rewrote Episodes 3 to 6 of the script. This was partly because he considered Hayles's original ending lacklustre and unworkable, but also because originally Jamie McCrimmon was to have been replaced by a new companion called Nik by this story; actor

postponed his departure, however. Dicks was co-credited on the sleeve of the VHS release for his writing duties on the serial. Patrick Troughton does not appear in Episode 4 as he was on holiday when it was being recorded. A double stands in for him in some shots where the Doctor is seen unconscious on the floor.

Cast notes

This story is the first story to feature Alan Bennion in the role of an Ice Lord, this one named Slaar. Bennion would return as the Ice Lords Izlyr in '' The Curse of Peladon'' (1972) and Azaxyr in '' The Monster of Peladon'' (1974). Sonny Caldinez, who played Slaar's second in command, is the only actor to appear as an Ice Warrior in all four televised ''Doctor Who'' stories in the classic series to feature the Ice Warriors. Caldinez also appeared as Kemel in '' The Evil of the Daleks'' (1967). Ronald Leigh-Hunt played Commander Radnor in this story. Leigh-Hunt would play Commander Stevenson in ''

Revenge of the Cybermen ''Revenge of the Cybermen'' is the fifth and final serial of the 12th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 19 April to 10 May 1975. It was the first ...

'' (1975). Harry Towb later played McDermott 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 i ...

'' (1971). Christopher Coll would later play Stubbs in '' The Mutants'' (1972). Steve Peters, who played an Ice Warrior, was billed simply as "Alien" in the '' Radio Times'' listing for episode one, so as not to spoil the surprise of the Ice Warriors' appearance.

Commercial releases

In print

A novelisation of this serial, written by Dicks, was published by

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 ...

in July 1986.

Home media

This story was released on VHS and Betamax in 1985 in an omnibus format. In February 2003, an unedited remastered, VidFIREd version was released on Region 1 and Region 2

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

. The story was chosen to represent the Patrick Troughton era as part of the ''Doctor Who'' 40th Anniversary releases. A special edition Region 1 and 2 DVD with expanded special features and improved picture quality was released along with similarly expanded special editions of the '' Carnival of Monsters'' and ''

Resurrection of the Daleks ''Resurrection of the Daleks'' is the fourth serial of the 21st season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on BBC1 between 8 February and 15 February 1984. The serial ...

'' as part of the ''Revisitations 2'' DVD boxed set on 28 March 2011 exclusively in the UK.

References

External links

*
Doctor Who Locations
– The Seeds of Death

Target novelisation

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seeds Of Death Second Doctor serials Doctor Who serials novelised by Terrance Dicks Doctor Who serials written by Brian Hayles Doctor Who stories set on Earth Television series about the Moon 1969 British television episodes Fiction set in the 21st century Teleportation in fiction