The Curse of Peladon (TV story)

"Klokleda partha mennin klatch, haroon haroon haroon..."

- The Doctor

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 would feature in several subsequent stories on television and in other media.

From a production standpoint, Curse was notable for switching broadcast order with the previously-produced Sea Devils. This made it the first Doctor Who story broadcast in a different order to that in which it was made. Though a common enough occurrence in the years that would follow, 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.

=== Plot===

to be added

=== Cast===

The Doctor - 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

== 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

== References==

=== Minerals===

Peladon is rich in Trisilicate.

=== Music===

The Doctor hypnotises Aggedor with a Venusian lullaby. (Which goes something along the lines of "Kokleda partha mennin klatch, aroon aroon aroon, Ablarka sheena teerinatch, aroon araan aroon." Which translates as "Close your pretty eyes, my darling - well, three of them at least.")

=== Organizations===

Peladon is about to be admitted into the Galactic Federation.

=== Races and species===

The Ice Warriors are from Mars.

There's only one bed in the Ice Warriors' quarters.

The delegates from Alpha Centauri and Arcturus are not called by name or by what they call their own planets but by the Earth designations for their star systems.

== Story Notes==

Working titles for this story included: The Curse and then 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.

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.

David Troughton, son of the previous Doctor Patrick Troughton, shared a flat at this time with future Doctor Colin Baker. Three decades later, Troughton would again guest star in DW: Midnight.

It is heavily implied that the Time Lords were responsible for the Doctor and Jo appearing on Peladon at such a crucial point in the planet's history.

The Doctor states that the last coronation he attended was Elizabeth I's ("Or was it Queen Victoria's?" he muses). It was probably Victoria's, as he says in The Shakespeare Code that he hasn't met Elizabeth I yet.

=== 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 betwen episodes 2 and 3 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 that a special recap of episode three was broadcast before the debut of part 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.)

=== Filming Locations===

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

=== Production errors===

The Doctor is nearly hit by the swinging secret passage door in Episode One.

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.

== Continuity==

There are three sequels; DW: The Monster of Peladon (which is a sequel to this story), BFA: The Bride of Peladon (which follows chronologically) and NA: Legacy (which follows on from all chronologically).

The Ice Warriors previously appeared in DW: The Ice Warriors and DW: The Seeds of Death (in both cases the antagonists).

The Doctor previously uttered his Venusian Lullaby in DW: The Dæmons. In the 1990s, a novel, Venusian Lullaby would be named after this song; the melody of the song is that of the Christmas carol "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen", which would later be featured in the 2008 special DW: The Next Doctor.

PDA: The Face of the Enemy occurs co-current with the events of this story.

This is only the second serial to feature a TARDIS flight since the Doctor's regeneration.

== DVD, Video and Other Releases==

=== DVD Release===

This serial was released in Region 2 in January 2010 as a part of a boxed set called Peladon Tales, along with The Monster of Peladon.

=== Video Releases===

Released as Doctor Who: The Curse of Peladon

Released:

UK August 1993

Australia November 1993

US September 1995

== Novelisation==



Main article: Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon

Novelised as Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon in 1975 by Brian Hayles.

== External Links==







The Tardis Library: Video release information for The Curse of Peladon