The Ribos Operation (TV story)

The Ribos Operation was the first story of Season 16 of Doctor Who. It began the season-long quest to find the legendary Key to Time.

All four parts of The Ribos Operation ran over the allocated time, so much material was cut from the broadcast version. Some of this material was retained in Ian Marter's novelisation.

There was much debate as to whether K9 should return after the problems the prop had caused in season fifteen. The character was popular with younger audiences, however, so with the assurance that the new prop was more efficient, Graham Williams approved the introduction of K9 Mark II.

Tom Baker's lip was cut in an accident in which a dog bit him. This meant he had a visible sticking plaster upon his face in the publicity stills for this story. The scar from the injury remained visible in much of this and subsequent stories.

The Ribos Operation was notable for seeing a number of debut appearances. It was the first serial to feature Mary Tamm as companion Romana and was also the first to properly feature K9 Mark II. The White Guardian also made his debut. He was not seen again until Enlightenment, though his voice was heard in The Stones of Blood.

Synopsis
The Doctor is recruited by the White Guardian to seek the six segments of the Key to Time. He is given a new assistant, the Time Lady Romana. The quest for the first segment takes them to Ribos, a medieval planet that galactic confidence trickster Garron is trying to sell to the Graff Vynda-K.

Part 1
The Doctor is busy planning a holiday to Halergan 3 when the TARDIS goes dark and a mysterious voice summons him from outside. The White Guardian asks the Doctor to complete a task for him — to find the six segments of the Key to Time, an immensely powerful cube which maintains the equilibrium of time. The segments are hidden throughout the cosmos, though they can be found with a locator and the help of a new assistant, a Time Lord named Romanadvoratrelundar, whom the Doctor calls Romana. Before the Doctor embarks on the quest, he is warned that there is a Black Guardian who also covets the Key.

The Doctor meets Romana inside the TARDIS. As a new recruit from the Time Lord Academy on Gallifrey, Romana is inexperienced, but believes herself just as capable as the Doctor, who would rather work alone. The Doctor, though incensed to find that there is now a hole in his console, inserts the locator in the hole and sees that the first segment is presently on Cyrrhenis Minima... at least, it is for a moment, before the coordinates change to new ones: Ribos.

Meanwhile, on Ribos, Garron and Unstoffe are atop a parapet of the castle of Shur that houses the planet's Crown Jewels. As guards in the vault extinguish the lights and secure the room, Unstoffe drops a chunk of drugged meat into the chamber, then lowers a ladder. Unstoffe reluctantly climbs down, stepping off the ladder next to the sleeping shrivenzale. Working quickly but quietly, he cuts a hole in the glass case housing the valuable jewels. Then, rather than steal anything, he places in a large piece of jethrik, a precious blue stone and the rarest and most valued mineral in the galaxy.

Garron leaves to meet the Graff Vynda-K, an exiled tyrant. Shortly after they make their introductions and leave, the Doctor's TARDIS materialises and the two Time Lords emerge. As the Doctor is instructing Romana on the value of always expecting the unexpected, he is unexpectedly caught in a net.

The Graff is impressed by the planet's supposed quantity of jethrik. Garron uses a bug in the Graff's chamber to monitor his conversation with Sholakh, the Graff's aide, but is interrupted by the Doctor and Romana in the passageway. He effects the manner of a watchman to make his escape, calling out "Four o'clock and all's well!" as he walks away. But the Doctor is puzzled by the fact that he does it with a Somerset accent.

The locator points the Doctor and Romana to the chamber containing the jethrik and the Crown Jewels of Ribos. As the Doctor tries to open the locks to retrieve the segment, Unstoffe joins one of the guards atop the tower and gives him a drink, which conveniently knocks him out. Unstoffe blows the guard's horn and the guards below lower the door to the shrivenzale's chamber — trapping the Doctor and Romana with the waking beast...

Part 2
The guards operating the door notice the obstruction and, fearing harm to the shrivenzale, lift it again, freeing the Time Lords. The door is soon closed, keeping the shrivenzale at bay. The Doctor and Romana hide when guards enter the room, followed by Garron, who asks for a substantial sum of money to be kept there for protection. The Doctor is concerned he may also be after the segment.

The money will, of course, be the Graff Vynda-K's deposit for his purchase of the planet, which he intends to use as a base to build an army and a battle fleet. The Graff is intrigued when Unstoffe, pretending to be a native of Ribos, concocts a tale about a lost mine containing an excess of jethrik. He sends Sholakh for his money, then discovers the bug planted in his chamber. He realises that Garron is trying to con him.

Later, Unstoffe distracts the shrivenzale, recovers their piece of jethrik, and takes the money from the safe. By now, the Doctor has realised that the piece of Jethrik is the segment. He also tries to take it, but the guards are alerted, prompting him to escape using Unstoffe's route while Unstoffe bolts through the door with the jethrik. However, an angry Graff, who intends to kill them for deceiving him, intercepts the Doctor, Romana and Garron. He orders their execution on the spot...

Part 3
Distracted momentarily by the Doctor and advised by Sholakh to remember the money stolen, the Graff instead takes Garron prisoner with his presumed accomplices, the Doctor and Romana. The Graff confronts the Shrieve Captain to see what is being done. Noticing the jethrik is gone as well, he discovers the "scringestone" tale is a lie. Meanwhile, Sholakh discovers that Garron has an accomplice when his communicator begins beeping. After Sholakh leaves, the Doctor uses his dog whistle to summon K9.

Unstoffe hides with Binro, a homeless outcast who believes that Ribos is a planet orbiting a star, which Unstoffe confirms to be true. The Ribos guards summon the Seeker, who locates Unstoffe's hideout. The guards prepare a pre-dawn raid. The Graff has other plans and orders Sholakh to rally his men, go in to massacre all the Ribosians, take the jethrik and leave.

Using the listening device in the Graff's room, Garron warns Unstoffe about the Graff. While the Seeker and the Graff are in the concourse, Binro, thankful for Unstoffe's encouragement, leads him to the labyrinthine Catacombs under the city. K9 helps the Doctor, Romana and Garron escape from the Graff's quarters.

The Graff and his men enter the Catacombs without the Ribos guards, who fear the place as the home of the Ice Gods. Binro and Unstoffe don't fear the Ice Gods, knowing they are mythical, but do fear the nest of Shrivenzales they hear in the distance. The Doctor's group is not far behind them, but are forced to hide when the Graff's party comes upon them. Unfortunately, the Doctor gives away their presence when a skull falls to the floor...

Part 4
The noise of the skull also draws the attention of a Shrivenzale, scattering the Graff's men. Reflecting on the difficulty of finding their quarry, Sholakh advises the Graff to use the Seeker as her earlier information was accurate.

The Doctor sends the rest of his group ahead and doubles back to the city. Farther down in the catacombs, Unstoffe and Binro split up, the latter also doubling back to see if he can determine Garron's fate. At the entrance to the catacombs, the impatient Graff kills one of the guardsmen in front of the Shrieve Captain to convey his displeasure with being made to wait for the Seeker. After witnessing this display of ruthlessness from a hiding place, the Doctor returns to the Graff's chambers.

Garron steals the core to the Key to Time from Romana and heads off to locate the jethrik and Unstoffe, in that order. The Seeker, meanwhile, foresees the death of the Graff and all of his men, but nonetheless leads them into the catacombs, where they find Binro. They proceed deeper. (The tail of a scarf peeks out from the robe of the last guard in line.)

The Graff corners Unstoffe and Garron; Binro is shot dead and Unstoffe wounded. Garron bluffs the Graff by claiming the Doctor and Romana are interstellar agents who have stumbled across the Graff's crimes, but this only serves to enrage him further. Adding to the chaos, a shrivenzale draws near. (Unnoticed by all, in all this activity, is one of the Graff's guards, blowing a dog whistle.)

The Ribos guards destroy the entrance to the Catacombs, causing the ceiling to collapse on the Graff's men. The collapse traps Unstoffe and Garron, but they are dug out by K9. With the money and the piece of Jethrik, the Graff recalls the Seeker's prophecy that all but one of his group will die. He gives his last surviving guard an explosive to kill himself with. The guard, actually the Doctor in disguise, swaps the explosive for the Jethrik. The Graff walks off into the maze yelling like a madman before exploding.

After leaving the Catacombs, Garron and Unstoffe are free to commandeer the Graff's deserted ship. The Doctor, Romana and K9 depart in the TARDIS and the Doctor and Romana reveal the first piece of the Key to Time. The Doctor looks at the first segment and comments, "Only five more to go."

Cast

 * The Doctor - Tom Baker
 * Romana - Mary Tamm
 * Voice of K9 - John Leeson
 * White Guardian - Cyril Luckham
 * Garron - Iain Cuthbertson
 * Unstoffe - Nigel Plaskitt
 * Graff Vynda-K - Paul Seed
 * Sholakh - Robert Keegan
 * Shrieve Captain - Prentis Hancock
 * Shrieves - Oliver Maguire, John Hamill
 * Binro - Timothy Bateson
 * The Seeker - Anne Tirard

Crew

 * Writer - Robert Holmes
 * Assistant Floor Manager - Richard Cox
 * Costumes - June Hudson
 * Designer - Ken Ledsham
 * Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
 * Make-Up - Christine Walmesley-Cotham
 * Production Assistant - Jane Shirley
 * Production Unit Manager - John Nathan-Turner
 * Script Editor - Anthony Read
 * Special Sounds - Dick Mills
 * Studio Lighting - Jim Purdie
 * Studio Sound - Richard Chubb
 * Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer
 * Visual Effects - Dave Havard
 * Producer - Graham Williams
 * Director - George Spenton-Foster

The Doctor

 * The Doctor claims to have been trained in sleight of hand by John Nevil Maskelyne, a well-known stage magician from the late 19th century.
 * Romana gives her age as one hundred forty and catches the Doctor in lying about his own age. Ironically, she would later lie about her age in TV: City of Death, giving it as only a hundred twenty-five.
 * The Doctor refers to the recent Sontaran invasion of Gallifrey. (TV: The Invasion of Time)

The Doctor's items

 * The Doctor uses a dog whistle to summon K9.

Individuals

 * The White Guardian appeared to and recruited Romana in the form of the Lord President of the Time Lords.
 * This is the Doctor's first encounter with the White Guardian. The Black Guardian is his opposite and is also seeking the Key to Time.
 * K9 Mark II makes his first appearance.

Gallifreyan organisations

 * Romana I states that she achieved "a triple first" at the Academy, while the Doctor only got "fifty-one percent on the second attempt."

Locations

 * The Graff suggests hiring mercenaries from the planet Shalankie.

Minerals

 * Garron's jethrik was obtained on Cyrrhenis Minima.

Psychology

 * The Doctor hypnotises one of the guards.

Vehicles

 * Graff Vynda-K wants to hire Pontonese battleships with his profits.

Story notes

 * This story marks the beginning of the quest for the Key to Time. All stories in Season 16 were linked to this theme. This was the first time a story arc encompassed an entire season (all of the stories of Season 8 were related to the Master, but they were separate standalone stories with no storyline-related connection).
 * Working titles for this story include Operation, The Ribos File and The Galactic Conman.
 * This story was the last season opener to introduce a new companion until TV: Rose in 2005; although Lalla Ward takes over as Romana in the following series-opener, she is still the same character. All of the following companions would be introduced mid-way through, or at the end, of a series.
 * The Key to Time prop was created by visual effects designer Dave Havard.
 * New companion Mary Tamm had attended RADA with her predecessor, Louise Jameson.
 * Originally, the shortened form of Romanadvoratrelundar's name was to be "Romy."
 * On the night before the last day of recording The Ribos Operation, Tom Baker was bitten on the left side of his upper lip by a dog belonging to Paul Seed (who played the Graff Vynda-K). Publicity photographs from late April show Baker with a plaster cast on that lip. The wound had to be concealed with makeup, much to the actor's discomfort. The scar was quite noticeable on screen throughout most of this season and the next.
 * This story includes a rare instance of the Doctor acting directly to kill a human(oid) enemy when the Doctor does a switch and leaves the murderous Graff holding his own explosive.
 * Elisabeth Sladen, who as Sarah Jane Smith was last seen in The Hand of Fear, was approached to return to the series as a replacement for Leela (who had left in The Invasion of Time). When Sladen declined the offer, the character of Romana I was created instead.
 * Prentis Hancock (The Shrieve Captain) previously played Jimmy in TV: Spearhead from Space, Vaber in TV: Planet of the Daleks and Salamar in TV: Planet of Evil.
 * The original credits list the White Guardian as simply "The Guardian." This may be a hint at a suspicion the Doctor voices at the climax of The Armageddon Factor, that he and Romana have all along been working for the Black Guardian disguised as his more benevolent counterpart. However, the original intent of Graham Williams and Anthony Read was that the Guardian seen in this story was indeed the White Guardian. (INFO: The Ribos Operation)
 * From this story until TV: The Horns of Nimon, the Doctor will wear an extra long scarf, which is the remaining portion of original scarf and the stunt scarf sewn together.

Ratings

 * Episode 1 - 8.3 million viewers
 * Episode 2 - 8.1 million viewers
 * Episode 3 - 7.9 million viewers
 * Episode 4 - 8.2 million viewers

Filming locations

 * BBC Television Centre (Studio 4), Shepherd's Bush, London

Myths and rumours

 * The previous story, The Invasion of Time, introduced a female Time Lord named Rodan, played by Hilary Ryan. A rumour/myth related to this serial is that Romana was originally to have been Rodan, but Ryan was unavailable so a new character was created.
 * Conversely, there is a related misconception that this story marks the first appearance of a named female Time Lord (Susan Foreman notwithstanding) and that female Time Lords have long, complex names. The appearance of Rodan in the previous story contradicts both myths (although it's possible Rodan is a shortened form of that name, just like Romana).

Production errors
to be added

Continuity

 * This story marks the beginning of the quest for the Key to Time.
 * The Black Guardian appears in TV: The Armageddon Factor.
 * The White Guardian next appears in TV: Enlightenment.

DVD releases

 * This story was released along with The Pirate Planet, The Stones of Blood, The Androids of Tara, The Power of Kroll and The Armageddon Factor as Doctor Who: The Key to Time. This October 2002 release was only in Region 1. Extras include commentary by Tom Baker and Mary Tamm, a photo gallery and production information subtitles.


 * It was also released with the same stories as Doctor Who: The Key to Time, an extras-laden box set limited to 15,000 in its initial UK release on 24 September 2007, later followed by wide release in Region 1 on 3 March 2009 as The Key to Time - Special Edition.

Extras (2007/2009 version):
 * Commentary by Tom Baker and Mary Tamm (carried over from the 2002 set).
 * A Matter of Time - Documentary on the Graham Williams era as producer of Doctor Who, including the history of the Key to Time story arc and Douglas Adams' beginning with the series. Interviewees include Tom Baker Mary Tamm, Louise Jameson, Lalla Ward, John Leeson, Douglas Adams (archival interview), Mat Irvine, Gareth Roberts, Colin Mapson, and Paul Seed. Narrated by Toby Longworth.
 * The Ribos File - featurette on the production of the first serial, featuring interviews with Nigel Plaskitt, Paul Seed and Prentis Hancock.
 * Season 16 trailer - The original BBC1 trailer for the sixteenth season of Doctor Who.
 * Continuities - Off-air continuity links from the story's original transmissions.
 * Radio Times Billings - Listings from Radio Times (DVD-ROM PC/Mac).
 * Coming Soon Trailer - Planet of Evil. (2007 UK release only)
 * Photo Gallery
 * Production Subtitles

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

Video Release

 * This story was released on VHS in April 1995 in PAL and NTSC formats, with the UK version featuring cover art by Colin Howard and spine art by Andrew Skilleter.