Frontios (TV story)

...Frontios buries its own dead...

In the far reaches of the future, the TARDIS crash-lands on the planet Frontios in the Veruna system, where the last remnants of mankind have fled the collision of Earth with the sun. Gruesome tales of a hungry earth stalk the struggling settlement, and a bombardment of meteors from an unseen enemy hold the future of mankind in a precarious balance.

At a crucial point in history, with the future still unknown, the Doctor is unable to intervene for fear of violating the laws of Time itself.

But when the TARDIS is destroyed in an attack on the colony, he may have no choice.

Cast
The_Doctor - Peter_Davison

Tegan_Jovanka - Janet_Fielding

Vislor_Turlough - Mark_Strickson

Brazen - Peter_Gilmore

Norna - Lesley_Dunlop

Range - William_Lucas

Plantagenet - Jeff_Rawle

Cockerill - Maurice_O'Connell

Orderly - Richard_Ashley (Episode 1)

Gravis - John Gillett (Episodes 2-4)

Deputy - Alison_Skilbeck (Episode 3)

Retrograde - Raymond_Murtagh (Episodes 3-4)

Captain_Revere - John_Beardmore

Crew
Christopher_H_Bidmead (Writer), Ron_Jones (Director), John_Nathan-Turner (Producer), Eric_Saward (Script_Editor), David_Buckingham (Designer), Joanna_Guritz (Assistant_Floor_Manager), June_Collins (Production_Associate), Anushia_Nieradzik (Costumes), Jill_Hagger (Make_Up), Joanna_Guritz (Assistant_Floor_Manager), Dave_Havard (Visual_Effects), Paddy_Kingsland (Incidental_Music), Valerie_Letley (Production_Assistant), Dick_Mills (Sound_Effects), Martin_Ridout (Studio_Sound), Ed_Stevenson (Assistant_Floor_Manager), John_Summers (Studio_Lighting), Ron_Grainer (Title_Music)

Myths

 * This story was originally intended to feature Richard_Hurndall in a black and white retrospective story remembered by Peter Davison's Doctor after hitting his head on the TARDIS control console. (False)

Broadcast Dates
Part 1 - 26th January, 1984 - 6:40pm - 7:05pm

Part 2 - 27th January, 1984 - 6:40pm - 7:05pm

Part 3 - 2nd February, 1984 - 6:40pm - 7:05pm

Part 4 - 3rd February, 1984 - 6:40pm - 7:05pm

Continuity

 * Turlough makes reference to the Arar_Jecks of Heiradi, who had hollowed a huge subterranean city beneath the surface of their planet during the Twenty Aeon War.


 * Turlough's home planet was attacked millenia ago by the Tractators, an event stored in their ancestral memory. The sight of the Tractators triggers a resurgence of the memory, causing Turlough to go into a catatonic shock and allowing him to 'remember' who they were, what they were capable of, as well as their weakness.


 * The_Gravis is aware of the capabilities of a TARDIS, presumably by reputation.

Quotes
Turlough: "Fleeing from the imminence of a catastrophic collision with the sun, a group of refugees from the DOOMED planet Earth..."

The_Doctor: "Oh, marvellous. You're going to kill me. What a finely tuned response to the situation."

The_Doctor: [Regarding the TARDIS] "As an invasion weapon, you'd have to agree that it's about as offensive as a chicken vol-au-vent."

More Info

 * Story Synopsis


 * Story Transcript


 * Story Novelization


 * DVD Release


 * Video Release