Terminus (TV story)

Synopsis
The TARDIS attaches itself to a space liner after Turlough, still under the Black Guardian's influence, damages its controls. The Doctor and Nyssa meet two space pirates, Kari and Olvir, who have come on board the liner in search of plunder, while Tegan and Turlough get lost in the infrastructure.

The liner docks with what appears to be a hulk floating in space. This is Terminus, which claims to offer a cure for Lazar's Disease. It is crewed by a group of armoured slave workers, the Vanir, while the cure is administered by a huge dog-like creature known as the Garm. Nyssa, who has contracted the disease from sufferers transported aboard the liner, discovers that the cure - involving exposure to radiation - does actually work.

The Doctor and Kari meanwhile learn that the ship, once capable of time travel, was responsible for the creation of the universe when an ejection of fuel from one of its engines caused the 'big bang'. Aided by Kari and the Garm, the Doctor is able to disconnect a still active but damaged engine that is on the point of exploding - something that could result in the universe's destruction.

Plot
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Peter Davison
 * Tegan - Janet Fielding
 * Nyssa - Sarah Sutton
 * Turlough - Mark Strickson
 * The Black Guardian - Valentine Dyall
 * Kari - Liza Goddard
 * Olvir - Dominic Guard
 * Inga - Rachel Weaver
 * Eirak - Martin Potter
 * Valgard - Andrew Burt
 * Sigurd - Tim Munro
 * Bor - Peter Benson
 * Tannoy Voice - Martin Muncaster
 * The Garm - R.J. Bell

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Polly Davidson, Adrian Heywood
 * Costumes - Dee Robson
 * Designer - Dick Coles
 * Fight Arranger - John Waller
 * Film Cameraman - Remi Adefarasin
 * Film Editor - Frances Parker
 * Incidental Music - Roger Limb
 * Make-Up - Joan Stribling
 * Producer - John Nathan-Turner
 * Production Assistant - Rena Butterwick
 * Production Associate - June Collins
 * Script Editor - Eric Saward
 * Special Sounds - Dick Mills
 * Studio Lighting - Sam Barclay
 * Studio Sound - Scott Talbott
 * Theme Arrangement - Peter Howell
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer
 * Visual Effects - Peter Pegrum

Story Notes

 * This is the first instance of the Doctor being able to 'spy' on his companions using the TARDIS scanner.
 * This story has one of three descriptions of how the universe started, the others are in DW: Castrovalva and BBCR: Slipback.
 * This story is well-remembered for its scenes in which the conservative Nyssa gradually removes some of her clothes, leaving her in little more than a shift by the story's end.

Ratings

 * Part 1 - 6.8 million viewers
 * Part 2 - 7.5 million viewers
 * Part 3 - 6.5 million viewers
 * Part 4 - 7.4 million viewers

Myths

 * This story was originally to have featured the Ice Warriors. (It wasn't.)

Filming Locations

 * BBC Television Centre (TC6), Shepherd's Bush, London

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

 * Why would the TARDIS, while travelling in the vortex (i.e. outside of space and time), lock onto a conventional spaceship, that is within the universe, in the event of catastrophic break-up? The disaster caused the TARDIS to drop back into 'real' space and the Terminus transport ship happened to be the nearest one at the time.
 * The origin of the Terminus station is left a little unclear. What was its original function? How did its original pilot/owners and their ability to travel in time get forgotten? How did it come into the possession of Termius Inc? It originally belonged to some alien race. It's pilot was killed in the way postulated by the Doctor. It was found floating in space as a derelict and salvaged by Terminus Inc., and partially adapted for their needs. They then installed the Garm and the Vanir, without bothering to make a full check of the interior due to the radiation levels in the forbidden zone, and because they didn't really care what happened to the Lazars.
 * Why would the explosion of Terminus' second engine destroy the universe? While it might well have acted as the catalyst for the big bang at the beginning of the universe, if the same thing happened now, wouldn't it just be a matter of fuel exploding harmlessly in space? There is a dimensional instabilty at the precise centre of the universe as a result of the first explosion, combined with effects of Terminus' uncontrolled timejump into the future. Hence a second explosion in the exact same spot and of the same type, would destabilize the whole time/space continuum.
 * How does Turlough's tampering with the electronics on board the transport ship at the climax of episode three, lead to the triggering of the automated fuel-dumping proceedure within the Terminus control room, in the forbidden zone? It doesn't. It is just a coincidence that the two events occur simultaneously.
 * Though not strictly speaking an error, it is however obvious that there are not enough lines to go around the four principles. Tegan and Turlough spend almost the entire story trapped in the bowels of the transport ship.

Continuity

 * This is the second story in the "Black Guardian" Trilogy, which ends with DW: Enlightenment.
 * Nyssa meets the Doctor in her future (though his past) in PDA: Asylum.
 * Nyssa also meets the Doctor at the end of his fifth regeneration in BFA: Circular Time.
 * Turlough is given Adric's room in the TARDIS: there are visual references to DW: Kinda (the double helix), The Visitation (the android's mask) and Logopolis'' (the star chart).

DVD and Video Releases

 * Released on Video in episodic format.

Novelisation

 * Main article: Terminus (novelisation)


 * Novelised as Terminus by John Lydecker in 1983.