The Curse of Peladon (TV story)

The Curse of Peladon was the second story of the ninth season of Doctor Who. It introduced the planet of Peladon and the Galactic Federation, both of which featured in additional stories on television and in other media, as did Alpha Centauri, one of its delegates.

The serial featured David Troughton, the son of Patrick Troughton, formerly the Second Doctor, in his second appearance guest starring on the programme. He reappeared three decades later in Midnight playing a different, older character, Professor Hobbes.

From a production standpoint, Curse switched broadcast order with the previously-produced Sea Devils. This made it the first Doctor Who story broadcast in a different order from which it was made. Though a common enough occurrence in the years that followed, it had been impossible to broadcast out of production order in the 1960s, due the narrow gap of time between production and broadcast.

Synopsis
The Doctor and Jo make a test flight in the TARDIS and arrive on the planet Peladon. Seeking shelter, they enter the citadel of the soon-to-be-crowned King Peladon, where the Doctor is mistaken for a human dignitary summoned to act as chairman of a committee assessing an application by the planet to join the Galactic Federation.

Episode one
It is a rainy night on Peladon. The rain beats against the King's castle walls, perched high atop a mountain. Torbis, the King's Chancellor, enters the throne room to tell the King that the delegate from Alpha Centauri has arrived but they still await the delegate from Earth. Hepesh, the King's High Priest and Torbis' brother, is unsure that the delegation should even take place whereas Torbis is very much in support. Hepesh talks of the curse of Agador. The King stops the two from arguing. Torbis reminds the King that he has raised him since his father died and wouldn't put him wrong. Hepesh tries to interject but the King says that he agrees with Torbis and that Peladon should join the Galactic Federation. Hepesh gives in. Torbis heads off to tell the other delegates of the arrival of the delegate from Alpha Centauri. As he heads off a gigantic beast roars and he is knocked to the floor. Guards from the throne room rushes to his aid. The monster returns and they hide. By the time the King arrives Torbis is dead. The King asks a guard who did this and he points to a statue on the wall. Hepesh says it is the spirit of Agador, the ancient curse of Peladon.

The TARDIS lands on the edge of the mountain. Inside, the Doctor congratulates himself on a perfect landing to the first test flight after he has got the TARDIS working. Jo is complaining as he promised to get her back in time for a night out with Yates. Before he allows her to leave he says he will check the scanners. They do not work. The Doctor checks the equipment. Jo asks if he is sure they are back at base. The Doctor says that the atmosphere, temperature and gravity are all correct. The TARDIS judders. They discover they are on the edge of a cliff. The Doctor skirts along a narrow ledge and then helps Jo leap out. As soon as she does the TARDIS falls off the ledge and plummets down the mountain. The Doctor reassures Jo that the TARDIS is indestructible it is just a question of how to get to it. They cannot go down so they decide to climb up and start climbing the mountain.

The delegate from Alpha Centauri, an alien creature with one big eye and many arms, presents himself to the King, wishful of a happy alliance. The King informs it that they are just waiting on the delegate from Earth. Hepesh mentions the death of Torbis to the King and this spooks the delegate from Alpha Centauri. The King placates it.

The Doctor and Jo reach a ledge but Jo can go no further. They decide to traverse along the ledge in different directions to see what they can find. Soon Jo calls out. The Doctor turns but cannot see her. She pops her head out of a tunnel that she has found.

Hepesh shows the delegate from Alpha Centauri into the delegation room where he is met by the delegate from Arcturus, a small green head in a dome which is attached to a computer. The delegate from Alpha Centauri tells his Arcturian counterpart of the death of Torbis which causes him to react with great concern. The delegate from Alpha Centauri is scared but his Arcturian colleague is more angry. He blows up a jar and tells Hepesh that a similar fate befalls anyone who threatens the delegation.

In the tunnel system, the Doctor and Jo come across a shrine. The Doctor says he has not seen anything like it before on Earth.

Hepesh and the King talk about times of old and Torbis. It is revealed that the King is half Peladonian and half human. Hepesh seems scathing of Earth. Hepesh believes that Torbis was killed by Agador. The King seems confused as to why he was not killed if Agador Rose due to the threat of joining the Galactic Federation. Hepesh says it is a sign but the King is still steadfast. Hepesh considers the delegates to be forming a trap because they despise Peladon and think of it's people as distrustful savages. The King asks Hepesh to summon the delegates to prove them otherwise.

The Doctor and Jo find themselves with a number of different tunnels to go down. They hear a roar and decide to go another way. It is blocked but the Doctor's attention is drawn towards a torch. If this is an abandoned tunnel system how is the torch still alight? He pulls it and a door swings open. Going through, they find themselves in the castle. They hear something coming and hide. An Ice Warrior shuffled past. Once it has gone, the Doctor tells Jo of the danger of the Ice Warriors and they decide to head back into the tunnel but they are soon surrounded by guards.

The King tells the delegates of Torbis' death. They are all spooked. The King mentions the curse and tries to brush it away. The Ice Warrior delegate wishes to hear of the curse. Hepesh tells of the beast of Peladon - an extinct creature that used to be hunted as a rite of passage. Legend has it that the creature would rise again when a stranger would appear that would bring great peril to Peladon. This story is interrupted by the entrance of the Doctor. The Ice Warrior approaches the Doctor menacingly but then assumes that he is the delegate from Earth. The Doctor goes along with this and he is introduced to all the delegates. The delegate from Arcturus accuses the Doctor of being late. The Doctor explains he spaceship crash landed and enquiries if there is any way of getting it back. Hepesh says he will arrange something and then asks for the Doctor's credentials. The Doctor says they were lost in the crash. The King is not interested in credentials but seems very taken with Jo. Hepesh asks whether Jo is of Royal blood as only royalty or delegates from planets are allowed in the throne room on punishment by death. Jo takes on the role of a member of the royal family and the Doctor plays along, introducing her as Princess Josephine of TARDIS.

Outside the throne room, a guard climbs above the door.

The Ice Warrior asks what powers Jo has on the committee of assessment and the Doctor says she is just a royal observer. The delegate from Alpha Centauri tells the Doctor of Torbis' death.

As the delegates argue, the guard is creating a lever underneath a large statue outside the throne room.

The Doctor orders the squabbling to cease and Hepesh agrees. They decide to all go to the delegation room. As they all leave, the King flirts with Jo. Filing down the corridor, the Doctor sees the statue falling and heading directly for the delegate from Alpha Centauri.

Episode two
The Doctor spots the statue just in time and gives the delegates time to jump out of the way. Hepesh again blames the spirit of Aggedor, while the delegates insist the conference be cancelled. King Peladon pleads with the delegates, giving Jo the opportunity to investigate the tunnel behind his throne. She finds large footprints and a small piece of technology next to the statue's plinth. These suggest the Ice Warriors were responsible. As the delegates retire to consider Peladon's request, he asks Jo to stay and talk. He explains his half-human heritage and the loneliness of his position. He hopes Jo will intercede with the other delegates. Jo is annoyed that all he wants is an ally, not a friend.

In the shrine, Hepesh orders Grun to kill the Doctor in Aggedor's name. Jo wants to leave Peladon, but the Doctor insists on staying to keep an eye on the Ice Warriors. An alarm rings out, and the Doctor finds Arcturus in distress because someone has sabotaged his life support apparatus. After repairing the damage, the Doctor dismisses Hepesh's supernatural explanation and blames Izlyr. Izlyr retaliates by stating that the Doctor may have done it to foster Earth's own interests. Jo searches the delegates' rooms for evidence, finding Arcturus' life support circuitry in the Ice Warrior's chamber. Ssorg denies any guilt and locks in Jo until he can discover the truth.

The Doctor is led away by Grun into the tunnels. He flees when he hears a roar. Jo climbs out of Ssorg's window and into a corridor, where she encounters the very real Aggedor. She runs into the Ice Warriors, but they do not believe her story. Izlyr explains that Arcturus was never in danger because his life support has a redundancy, nor was he responsible, since the Ice Warriors foreswore their violent ways long ago. The Doctor escapes the tunnels into the Shrine, where Hepesh arrests him for trespassing on sacred ground. The King has no choice. He sentences the Doctor to death...

Episode three
The Doctor tries to explain that he was trying to escape the tunnels and stumbled into the temple, but Peladon is unaware of the tunnels' existence. Jo urges the King to be flexible, given the Doctor's "diplomatic" status, and he agrees to a compromise — trial by combat against Grun in the ceremonial pit. Jo argues with Peladon over his clinging to ridiculous superstitions but is surprised when he proposes to her and asks her to help him change his planet for the better.

Hepesh offers to help the Doctor escape before the combat, drawing him a map. He explains he is afraid of the progress Federation membership may bring, then admits he has a powerful ally assisting him. For their part, the delegates must obey Federation law and not interfere with local customs. However, Izlyr tells Jo that, since the Doctor saved him from the statue, he must do everything in his power to repay the debt. Arcturus listens to this conversation with a bug.

The Doctor escapes into the tunnels. He finds Aggedor and uses a spinning mirror and a Venusian lullaby to hypnotise him. Just as it seems to be working, Jo arrives and frightens the beast away. The Doctor goes back and tries to explain to everyone that Aggedor is an animal trained to attack anything living beneath the citadel, but Hepesh insists that he be taken to the combat pit. There, he faces Grun with halberds and swords and in hand-to-hand combat. After a long struggle, the Doctor is victorious but refuses to kill Grun. Watching from the edge of the pit, Arcturus and Ssorg draw their weapons and fire...

Episode four
Ssorg is quicker on the trigger and kills Arcturus, who was trying to shoot the Doctor. Hepesh flees, and the others deduce he was in league with Arcturus and sabotaged the life support with his directions. The planet Arcturus is poor in mineral wealth, and he had hoped to arrange a separate mining treaty. Peladon asks the delegates to help him avert a civil war with Hepesh. While they discuss the situation, Grun slips into the tunnels and attacks Hepesh to atone for having been manipulated. Hepesh's guards manage to overpower Grun and leave him for the Doctor to find, whereupon the two put aside their differences and pursue Hepesh.

Jo and the Ice Warriors finally convince Alpha Centauri to bend the rules and support King Peladon, but they find that all their transmitters have been sabotaged and they are cut off from their orbiting spacecraft. Hepesh leads his followers in a revolt, quickly defeating the royal guards and capturing the King. The Doctor and Grun find Aggedor and hypnotise him again. As Hepesh gives the delegates a chance to leave the planet peacefully, the Doctor leads Aggedor into the throne room. He explains that, although they were thought extinct, Hepesh found one Aggedor and trained it to do his bidding. Aggedor attacks and kills Hepesh in a rage after being controlled for so long. Peladon now has no problem ordering the rebels to lay down their arms. Although the TARDIS has been dragged up from the valley below, the Doctor and Jo decide to stay for Peladon's coronation.

The Doctor reminisces about other coronations he has witnessed and speculates that their journey to Peladon was no accident, but a contrivance by the Time Lords to have the Doctor deal with this crisis — he didn't get the TARDIS working after all. Aggedor then wanders in to see the Doctor; he has become rather fond of the Time Lord. The Doctor leads Aggedor off to his enclosure as Peladon comes in to ask Jo for an answer to his proposal. She tells him that she can't marry him and she is not really a princess. Peladon says that he never cared about her rank but accepts her decision.

As the Doctor and Jo head to the throne room, they encounter an embarrassing visitor — Amazonia, the real Earth delegate, delayed and indignant. They decide to slip away and watch some other coronation instead. As Amazonia, Ssorg and Izlyr come into the room where the TARDIS is stored, they see it dematerialise; Amazonia is left gaping and speechless.

Cast

 * Dr. Who - Jon Pertwee
 * Jo Grant - Katy Manning
 * Peladon - David Troughton
 * Hepesh - Geoffrey Toone
 * Torbis - Henry Gilbert
 * Izlyr - Alan Bennion
 * Ssorg - Sonny Caldinez
 * Alpha Centauri - Stuart Fell
 * Voice of Alpha Centauri - Ysanne Churchman
 * Arcturus - Murphy Grumbar
 * Voice of Arcturus - Terry Bale
 * Grun - Gordon St. Clair
 * Aggedor - Nick Hobbs
 * Guard Captain - George Giles
 * Amazonia - Wendy Danvers

Uncredited cast

 * Guards - Chris Webb, Royston Farrell, Billy Dean, Derek Chafer, Stewart Barry, Mike Stevens (DWM 215)
 * Stunt Guards - Rocky Taylor, Dinny Powell, Roy Street, Peter Brace, Mike Horsburgh, Bill Horrigan (DWM 215)

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Ros Anderson
 * Costumes - Barbara Lane
 * Designer - Gloria Clayton
 * Fight Arranger - Terry Walsh, PROFILE
 * Film Cameraman - Fred Hamilton, Peter Sargent
 * Film Editor - Michael Sha-Dyan
 * Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
 * Make-Up - Sylvia James
 * Producer - Barry Letts
 * Production Assistant - Chris D'Oyly-John
 * Script Editor - Terrance Dicks
 * Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
 * Studio Lighting - Howard King
 * Studio Sound - Tony Millier
 * Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer
 * Visual Effects - Bernard Wilkie, Ian Scoones

Story notes

 * Working titles for this story included The Curse and Curse of the Peladons.
 * Ysanne Churchman (Voice of Alpha Centauri) is credited as "Voice" in Radio Times for episodes one, three and four.
 * Murphy Grumbar (Arcturus) and Terry Bale (Voice of Arcturus) were credited in error in Radio Times for episode four; Arcturus is killed in the opening seconds of episode four.
 * Jon Pertwee sings the Venusian Lullaby to the tune of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen".
 * This story was an allegory of the UK's accession to the Common Market — a highly topical issue at the time of its original transmission.
 * This story also exists in the BBC archives as 2 x 50 minute compiled episodes broadcast as part of the Doctor Who and the Monsters repeat season in 1982.
 * There are four sequels: the television story The Monster of Peladon (which is a sequel to this story), the audio story The Prisoner of Peladon (which is a sequel to both of those stories), the audio story The Bride of Peladon (which follows chronologically) and the novel Legacy (which follows on from all chronologically).

Ratings

 * Episode one - 10.3 million viewers
 * Episode two - 11 million viewers
 * Episode three - 7.8 million viewers
 * Episode four - 8.4 million viewers
 * According to Barry Letts and Katy Manning, the precipitous drop in ratings between episodes two and three had to do with national power cuts resulting from a coal miners' strike. The BBC tried to compensate for the loss in viewers by ordering a special recap of episode three broadcast before the debut of episode four. (BBC DVD: The Curse of Peladon)

Myths

 * The natives of the planet Peladon are called Pels. (They are not called by this name here.)
 * Izlyr is an Ice Lord. (Although he is referred to as a Lord, the term 'Ice Lord' is never used.)
 * Peladon is rich in trisilicate. (Although this is key element of the plot in the sequel The Monster of Peladon, this story only goes so far as to establish that Peladon is rich in mineral resources without specifying any particular minerals.)

Filming locations

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

Production errors

 * Jo's hair straightens when she climbs back into the citadel.
 * The corpse of High Priest Hepesh is visibly breathing.
 * When the TARDIS falls, aside from the obvious fact of there being a model, there is no sign of the Doctor or Jo.
 * The actor's hair can be seen sticking out from under Ssorg's helmet.
 * When Jo is escaping the Ice Warriors' room and climbing by the side of the mountain, her shoes change slightly. The shot looking down the mountain has her wearing pink shoes with straps on yet everywhere else Jo is wearing strapless pink shoes.

Continuity

 * The Ice Warriors had previously appeared in TV: The Ice Warriors and TV: The Seeds of Death (in both cases as the antagonists), and they reappeared in TV: The Monster of Peladon, TV: Cold War and TV: Empress of Mars.
 * The Doctor earlier sang his Venusian Lullaby in TV: The Dæmons. PROSE: Venusian Lullaby would be named after this song; the melody of the song is that of the Christmas carol "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen".
 * PROSE: The Face of the Enemy occurs contemporaneously with the events of this story, relatively speaking.
 * The Doctor was already aware that the TARDIS would fall off a cliff on Peladon at some point in his personal future, as the renegade Time Lady Iris Wildthyme told him as much. On that occasion, he informed Iris that this event had not happened yet in his personal timeline. (PROSE: Verdigris)
 * The Doctor has impersonated an official from Earth before. (TV: The Power of the Daleks)

DVD releases

 * This story was first released on DVD in the UK on 4 January 2010 as part of the Peladon Tales Boxset. The one disc set includes a restored version of the story, as well as the following special features:
 * Commentary by Katy Manning (Jo), Barry Letts (Producer), Terrance Dicks (Script Editor), Chris D'Oyly-John (Production Assistant) and Toby Hadoke (Moderator).
 * The Peladon Saga Part One - BBC documentary looking at the making of The Curse of Peladon
 * Warriors of Mars - BBC documentary on the history of the Ice Warriors.
 * Jon and Katy - BBC feature on the pairing of the Third Doctor and Jo Grant.
 * Storyboard Comparison
 * Coming Soon Trailer
 * Radio Times Billings
 * Production Subtitles
 * Photo Gallery


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

Digital Releases
This story is available:
 * in BBC Store (UK);
 * for streaming through BritBox (US) as part of Season 9 of Classic Doctor Who.

VHS releases
This story was released as Doctor Who: The Curse of Peladon.

Released:


 * UK August 1993
 * Australia November 1993
 * US September 1995

Audio release
The story was also recorded and released on both cassette and CD.

The soundtrack of the story was released by BBC Audio on 5 November 2007, with linking narration by Katy Manning.