Meglos (TV story)

Meglos in the second serial of Season 18 and so was the second serial in the Nathan-Turner era. After the innovative tale of The Leisure Hive, Meglos was somewhat a step back into old ways. The storyline is similar to those of Robert Holmes as is the antagonist, Meglos.

Synopsis
The Doctor is invited to visit the planet Tigella by its leader, Zastor, who has become concerned about disputes between his people's two opposing factions, the religious Deons and the scientist Savants.

The TARDIS is intercepted by the megalomaniacal xerophyte Meglos, last survivor of the planet Zolfa-Thura, and trapped in a chronic hysteresis - a time loop - but the Doctor and Romana manage to free it.

Meglos, using the body of a kidnapped Earthling, transforms himself into a duplicate of the Doctor and steals the Tigellans' power source - a mysterious dodecahedron. He plans to use this to power an apocalyptic device with which he intends to destroy Tigella.

The Doctor, although hindered by the activities of a group of Gaztak mercenaries hired by Meglos, ultimately brings about the xerophyte's destruction by tampering with the dodecahedron's controlling computers.

Part one
In the TARDIS, the Doctor and Romana are once again repairing K9. They land on the planet Tigella and the Doctor remembers a previous visit there. He befriended a man named Zastor, leader of the Tigellans.

On Tigella, a loss of power occurs after a transformer breaks down. The inhabitants, living under the surface, find it hard to compensate. Arguments continue between the Deons and the workers as to ownership of the Dodecahedron, Tigella’s power source and the Deon’s deity. The Deons refuse the workers access to the Dodecahedron. Zastor, unable to decide, orders the Doctor to be sent for. He hopes him to help in decisions. Deedrix leads the workers in the belief that the Dodecahedron is merely an artefact.

On Zolfa-Thura, a ship touches down. A party of Gaztaks, led by General Grugger, emerges. They bring forth an Earthling whom they stun. They brought him to the planet on the promise of reward. A hidden room emerges from the ground. A door opens and the party enters. Within they meet Meglos, a Zolfa-Thuran.

Meglos outlines his new plans to the Gaztaks. He wants them to attain the Dodecahedron so that he can use it to power the galaxy. He tells them of the recent power fluctuations the Tigellans have been experiencing. The Earthling and Meglos are placed in adjacent chambers. Grugger plans to steal the machinery but Meglos traps Grugger and his aid, Brotadac, within the toom.

They transfer Meglos’ conscience into the Earthling. His skin becomes cactus-like in appearance. Predicting the Doctor to be a threat, Meglos traps him in a time loop. He then takes on the Doctor’s appearance.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Tom Baker
 * Romana - Lalla Ward
 * K9 - John Leeson
 * Meglos - Tom Baker, A Cactus
 * Lexa - Jacqueline Hill
 * Zastor - Edward Underdown
 * General Grugger - Bill Fraser
 * Earthling - Christopher Owen
 * Lieutenant Brotadac - Frederick Treves
 * Caris - Colette Gleeson
 * Deedrix - Crawford Logan
 * Tigellan Guard - Simon Shaw

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Val McCrimmon, Karen Loxton
 * Costumes - June Hudson
 * Designer - Philip Lindley
 * Executive Producer - Barry Letts
 * Incidental Music - Paddy Kingsland, Peter Howell
 * Make-Up - Cecile Hay-Arthur
 * Producer - John Nathan-Turner
 * Production Assistant - Marilyn Gold
 * Production Unit Manager - Angela Smith
 * Script Editor - Christopher H. Bidmead
 * Special Sounds - Dick Mills
 * Studio Lighting - Bert Postlethwaite
 * Studio Sound - John Holmes
 * Theme Arrangement - Peter Howell
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer
 * Visual Effects - Steven Drewett

K9

 * As a result of his brief swim at Brighton Beach, K9's batteries are damaged and now require a recharge every 2 hours.

Objects

 * The Doctor wasn't allowed to see the dodecahedron on his previous visit (but did as he remembers seeing it).

Races and species

 * The Tigellans know of the Time Lords.
 * Time Lords are Time sensitive enough to be aware of being in a Time loop.

Romana

 * Romana knows martial arts, and has heard of the screens of Zolfa-Thura.

Story notes

 * Jacqueline Hill previously played Barbara Wright.
 * The working titles for Meglos were: The Golden Pentangle, The Golden Pentagram, The Golden Star, The Last Sol-Fataran and The Last Zolfa-Thuran.
 * The end title's music of each of the episodes has been reduced by 2 or 1 octaves.
 * With the obvious exceptions of season one's The Edge of Destruction and single episode stories (Season Three's Mission to the Unknown), the The Five Doctors, 1996 TV movie and the new BBC Wales series), this is the only story in the series' history in which all the credited cast members appear in all the episodes.
 * The sound effect created for the approach of the Fendahl in Image of the Fendahl is re-used as background atmosphere for the Tigellan jungle.
 * The scenes set on the surface of Zolfa-Thura were realised by way of a new effects technique referred to as scene-sync - a development of the established CSO process. This involved two cameras being electronically synchronised to follow identical movements so that they could be made to track in unison and maintain the composite image (created in the usual way), whereas previously CSO shots had almost invariably been static.
 * Bill Fraser agreed to play Grugger only if he could kick K9.

Ratings

 * Part 1 - 5.0 million viewers
 * Part 2 - 4.2 million viewers
 * Part 3 - 4.7 million viewers
 * Part 4 - 4.7 million viewers

Myths
to be added

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors

 * In part one the wires holding the planet up over Zolpha Thura are horribly obvious.
 * The cactus gloves show Tom Baker's wrists quite often.

Continuity

 * The Gaztaks appear in PDA: Warmonger.
 * The Doctor previously faced a villainous doppelganger of himself in DW: The Enemy of the World.

Timeline

 * This story takes place after ST: Checkpoint
 * This story takes place before DW: Full Circle

Home video and audio releases
Released on VHS in the UK in March 2003.

Novelisation and its audiobook

 * Main article: Meglos (novelisation)


 * Novelised by Terrance Dicks in 1983.
 * The novel answers the question of how Meglos's species would be able to advance technologically as immobile cacti by their ability to take over the minds of other beings, implying that, despite what was shown, they are able to do it without technological adjuncts.
 * Also explained is why Meglos asked for an Earthling to use as a Host body rather than a (much closer) Tigellan? The novelization claims that Meglos considers Earthlings to be more "malleable".