The Invisible Enemy (TV story)

"The age of Man is over, Doctor. The age of the virus has begun"

- Nucleus

Synopsis
A rocket with three men are near complete their mission to Titan Base until a course change puts the rocket in the path of a strange cloud in space. By the time they have arrived, they have changed and serve a sentient virus which threatens the galaxy. When the TARDIS picks up an emergency message, it flies into the cloud, infecting the Doctor himself. To save himself and others, the Doctor must undertake a dangerous journey.

Plot
The TARDIS is infiltrated by the Swarm - a space-borne intelligence that wishes to spread itself across the universe - and the Doctor is infected by its nucleus. The ship then materialises on Titan, one of the moons of Saturn, where the human occupants of a refuelling station have also been taken over.

The Doctor eventually collapses as a result of his infection, but first manages to relay to Leela the coordinates of a local hospital asteroid. At the Bi-Al Foundation, based on the asteroid, Professor Marius clones the two time travellers, miniaturises the clones using the relative dimensional stabiliser from the TARDIS and then injects them into the Doctor's body in the hope that they can find and destroy the nucleus.

The plan backfires as the nucleus escapes from the Doctor in place of the clones and is enlarged to human size. The creature arranges for itself to be taken back to Titan, where breeding tanks have been prepared for it.

The Doctor, now cured of its influence, enlists the help of K9, Professor Marius's dog-shaped robot computer, and sets a booby-trap that results in the breeding tanks being blown up, killing the nucleus. Marius gives K9 to the Doctor as a parting gift.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Tom Baker
 * Leela - Louise Jameson
 * Voice of K-9 - John Leeson
 * Lowe - Michael Sheard
 * Safran - Brian Grellis
 * Meeker - Edmund Pegge
 * Silvey - Jay Neill
 * Crewman - Anthony Rowlands
 * Nucleus - John Scott Martin
 * Nucleus Voice - John Leeson
 * Professor Marius - Frederick Jaeger
 * Parsons - Roy Herrick
 * Cruikshank - Roderick Smith
 * Marius' Nurse - Elizabeth Norman
 * Reception Nurse - Nell Curran
 * Opthalmologist - Jim McManus
 * Hedge - Kenneth Waller
 * Medic - Pat Gorman

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Tony Garrick, Christabel Albery
 * Costumes - Raymond Hughes
 * Designer - Barry Newbery
 * Film Cameraman - Nick Allder
 * Film Editor - Glenn Hyde
 * Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
 * Make-Up - Maureen Winslade
 * Producer - Graham Williams
 * Production Assistant - Norman Stewart
 * Production Unit Manager - John Nathan-Turner
 * Script Editor - Robert Holmes
 * Special Sounds - Dick Mills
 * Studio Lighting - Brian Clemett
 * Studio Sound - Michael McCarthy
 * Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer
 * Visual Effects - Tony Harding, Ian Scoones

Story Notes

 * This story had the working titles; The Invader Within, The Enemy Within and The Invisible Invader.
 * This story was listed on the 1970s sound effects LP as "The Enemy Within" which would go on to become the second-hand title given to the 1996 television movie.
 * This is the story which introduced K-9.
 * This story also re-introduces the 'old' white console room (though slightly redesigned by Barry Newbery) rather than the 'wooden' secondary console room which debuted in The Masque of Mandragora.

Ratings

 * Part 1 - 8.6 million viewers
 * Part 2 - 7.3 million viewers
 * Part 3 - 7.5 million viewers
 * Part 4 - 8.3 million viewers

Myths
to be added

Filming Locations

 * Ealing Television Film Studios, Ealing Green, Ealing
 * Bray Studios, Slough
 * BBC Television Centre (Studio 6), Shepherd's Bush, London

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

 * When the TARDIS first arrives on Titan, in the background you can see one of the relief ship crew still helmeted.
 * Why when the infected crew members arrive on Titan don't they infect the base personnel instead of killing them? The crew member's infection is still in its early stages and is not yet contagious.
 * The cloning of the Doctor and Leela seems to have also cloned their clothes. No doubt due to 51st century technological advances in the field of not showing nudity on television.
 * The nucleus was clearly on wheels.
 * Several times during the episode, the signs for the "Isolation Ward" are spelled "Isolayshun." (There are other misspellings, not only with the Isolation Ward but in the various other locations in which this story is set. This is not an error, but an intentional aspect of the design to show a progression of the language at this point in history to phonetic spelling - i.e. spelling a word as it sounds.)
 * The interior of the Doctor's brain seems strangely lacking in fluid and other mucas that would drown the miniaturised Doctor & Leela. Also why is there a 'screen' with pictures of cogs and pillars floating across it? The Doctor's brain is that of a Time Lord, therefore there is no reason to believe its physiology should in any way be in keeping with the principles of human neurobiology. (Specific mention is also made that the miniaturised clones are not massive enough to break the fluid tension, implying that fluid is present but not discernible.)

Continuity

 * K-9 joins the Doctor and Leela, he departs with Leela in DW: The Invasion of Time.
 * Leela is left-handed, or at least writes with her left hand. Actress Louise Jameson is right-handed, but chose to make Leela a left-handed writer in order to increase her awkwardness at this task.

Timeline

 * This story occurs after DWA: The Crocodiles from the Mist
 * This story occurs before VD: Crimson Dawn

DVD, Video and Other Releases
DVD release
 * Region 2 16th June 2008
 * PAL -


 * Region 4 4th September 2008
 * PAL -


 * Region 1 2nd September 2008
 * NTSC -


 * This story was on DVD release on 16 June, 2008 in a K-9 Tales Box Set. It was released in the Box Set alongside K-9 and Company.


 * Early versions of the box set feature a fault on The Invisible Enemy disc. A scene from half way through episode 3 is skipped and appears after the closing credits. 2 entertain is aware of the problem but have decided to go on with the release as planned. Though they are trying to fix the problem for later copies of the DVD box set.

Notes:
 * Editing for DVD release completed by Doctor Who Restoration Team.

Novelisation

 * Main article: Doctor Who and the Invisible Enemy


 * Novelised as Doctor Who and the Invisible Enemy in 1979 by Terrance Dicks.