The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (TV story)

Synopsis
The Doctor and Ace head for the Psychic Circus on the planet Segonax, where they meet a disparate group of fellow visitors including a pompous explorer named Captain Cook, his companion Mags, and a biker known as Nord.

The Circus itself is dominated by the sinister Chief Clown and his deadly troupe of robot clowns, who organise a talent contest in which all visitors take part. The audience consists of just a single strange family - mother, father and daughter - seated at the ringside. Although hindered by the treacherous Cook, the Doctor eventually discovers that the Circus hides a terrible secret: the family are in reality the Gods of Ragnarok, powerful creatures with an insatiable craving for entertainment who invariably destroy those who fail to please them.

With Ace's help, the Doctor ends the Gods' influence here and returns the Circus to the control of its original hippie owners.

Part 1
Flowerchild and Bellboy, circus performers on the run from their circus, are fleeing across the barren planet Segonax, but they are being tracked by a sinister Chief Clown. The runaways agree to split up, and Flowerchild alone reaches an abandoned bus. Inside, she finds an odd box, which she pockets--unaware that the robotic bus conductor has seen her and re-awakened...

Ace investigates the TARDIS wardrobe. To the Doctor's bemusement, she tries on articles of clothing including his fourth incarnation's scarf and Mel's old top. The fashion show is interrupted as an advertisement appears in the console room, alerting the travellers to the famed Psychic Circus on the planet Segonax. Ace, who is frightened of clowns, does not want to go, but the Doctor insists.

At The Circus The Ring Master starts to Rap as he introduces the cirus. There is a fmily that are very happy and start to clap. Nearer the Circus Nord The Vandal uses a Transmat with his futuristc motorbike to get to the circus. Nord pulls out a burger and starts to eat it. Ace and the Doctor approuched a A Lady and so does Nord. Ace tries to get a lift with Nord but he refuses. The Lady says that she does not like the circus because it is full of "Hippies". The Doctor and Ace walk on further and meet Captian Cook and his fiend Mags. They stop and have some tea together and Cook tells the doctor where he has traveled and referse to Mags as a very Unusaul Thing. Suddenly They are attacked by a mad robot but Ace switches it of. The Clowns use kites to find Bell Boy and catch him and put him in there car. Nord enters the circus and is locked up in a cage. Ace, Mags, The Doctor and Captain Cook find a bus. Ace finds an Ear ring that belonged to flower child and she puts it on her Jacket. Mags and Captain Cook make there way to the circus and as soon as they enter they see Bell Boy being Tortured by The Clowns. Ace and The Doctor are about to Enter the circus. Even though they do not know of the dangers they face.

Part 2
Ace and the doctor enter the Circus and are greated by Morgana a fortune teller and ticket lady for the circus. She tries to warn them about going into the circus but the Chief Clown pokes his head through the curtian and she stops. Ace and the Doctor go into the arena to discover that it is all dark and wonders what is going on. The Ringmaster and the clowns appear and every lights up. The clowns spin Ace round but she escapes and the chief clown asks the robot clowns to run after her. The Doctor is locked up in a chage and meets Captain Cook, Mags and Nord they tell him that he has to perform to stay alive and entertian the family that are watching the Arena. Ace is being chased by the clowns and she figures out a way to escape by using Flowerchild's earing and cuts through the tent. She then holds the tent together so that the clowns that run past her dont see her. She then hides in the entrance where they met Morgana and she over hears the Ring Master and Morgana talking about The circus and Morgana is very unhappy about what the chief clown is doing. The Chief Clown arrives and Ace is found out and she runs, chased by the clowns, she finds Bellboy but hides when the chief clown asks him to repair the bus conducter. Cook pressures Nord into going into the ring next he lifts a wieght and the family give him a nine. They Then ask for a joke and he fails do so and he is lit by a bolt of lightning and ,reduced to ashes, killed. Whizkid arrives via transmat and he asks the stalls lady the way to the circus and she tells him because he is a good honest boy. He rides to the circus and the clowns capture him and put him into the cell. He reveals that he is a fan of the circus ad captain cook. The Doctor and Mags mange to escape there cell but cook will not come along. Ace is captured by the chief clown and put into a darkened room full of robot clowns and they start to move. The Doctor and Mags walk down a coridor leading to a well that seems bottomless the doctor dropps a juggling club down and there appears to be an eye that he had seen on the kites. They are confronted by Cook and he has robot clowns by his side, he tells them it is time to enter to ring.

Part 3
Ace is rescued by Bellboy, he explains that he had a special skill like every one else at the circus and his special skill is to fix the robot clowns. He escaped because he did not like the way the circus has changed. He gives Ace a large control box for the robto that attacked them before. The Clowns, Cook, Mags and the doctor leave under an image of a moon Mags takes a wierd reaction to this and the doctor uses this opertunity to escape again. He runs to the entrance and sees Morgana's crystall ball with the eye symbol and fears that things are getting out of control. The Doctor meets Deadbeat a man suffering from mental illness he works as a cleaner and is taklen by him to Ace and Bellboy both men start to remember what happened at the circus before the clowns took over. Whizzkid is eager to go into the ring and Cook lets him go first. Since he fails to perform he is killed by a bolt of lighting. The Doctor, Ace and Deadbeat run of to fight the clowns the chief clown arrives. Bellboy programes the Clowns to kill him and they do so. Deadbeat shows the doctor and Ace how he summoned the powers that now controll the circus and summons aan amulet above the well and relises that the eye is now missing. The Doctor asks Ace to fetch the eye of the bus before long and goes into the cage and proposes that Mags and Cook enter the ring together.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Sylvester McCoy
 * Ace - Sophie Aldred
 * Captain Cook - T. P. McKenna
 * Mags - Jessica Martin
 * Ringmaster - Ricco Ross
 * Chief Clown - Ian Reddington
 * Stallslady - Peggy Mount
 * Whizz Kid - Gian Sammarco
 * Nord - Daniel Peacock
 * Bellboy - Christopher Guard
 * Morgana - Deborah Manship
 * Deadbeat - Chris Jury
 * Flowerchild - Dee Sadler
 * Bus Conductor - Dean Hollingsworth
 * Dad - David Ashford
 * Mum - Janet Hargreaves
 * Little Girl - Kathryn Ludlow

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Managers - David Tilley, Duncan McAlpine
 * Costumes - Rosalind Ebbutt
 * Designer - David Laskey
 * Incidental Music - Mark Ayres
 * Make-Up - Denise Baron
 * OB Cameramen - Barry Chaston, Alan Jessop
 * Producer - John Nathan-Turner
 * Production Assistant - Alexandra Todd
 * Production Associate - June Collins
 * Script Editor - Andrew Cartmel
 * Special Sounds - Dick Mills
 * Studio Lighting - Don Babbage, Henry Barber
 * Studio Sound - Scott Talbott
 * Theme Arrangement - Keff McCulloch
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer
 * Visual Effects - Steve Bowman

Story Notes

 * An asbestos scare struck the BBC's studios therefore the shots that take place in the tent are the shots that were filmed in a tent.
 * This story was originally a Three parter but was expanded (at the request of the producers) to Four parts.
 * Ben Aaronovitch suggested the character that became Captain Cook.
 * Whizz Kid, the fan character, was a deliberate parody of Doctor Who fans.

Ratings

 * Part 1 - 5.0 million viewers
 * Part 2 - 5.3 million viewers
 * Part 3 - 4.8 million viewers
 * Part 4 - 6.6 million viewers

Myths
to be added

Locations
This story was technically filmed entirely on location, although the main location was the car park of a studio.
 * Warmwell Quarry, Dorset
 * The car park of BBC Elstree, Hertfordshire

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
to be added

Continuity

 * It is revealed in NA: Conundrum and No Future that the Gods of Ragnarok created the Land of Fiction.

DVD and Video Releases
to be added

Soundtrack
A soundtrack album of Mark Ayres' score was released by Silva Screen Records on FILMCD 114.

Novelisation

 * Main article: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (novelisation)


 * Novelised as The Greatest Show in the Galaxy in 1989 by Stephen Wyatt.