Ghost Light (TV story)

Synopsis
The Doctor brings Ace to Gabriel Chase, an old house that she once burnt down in her home town of Perivale. The year is 1883 and the house is presided over by Josiah Samuel Smith, who turns out to be the evolved form of an alien brought to Earth in a stone spaceship that is now in the basement. Others present include the explorer Redvers Fenn-Cooper, who has been driven mad by what he has seen there, and Nimrod, Smith's Neanderthal manservant.

Smith intends to use Fenn-Cooper's unwitting help in a plot to kill Queen Victoria and restore the British Empire to its former glory. His plans are hampered by Control, a female alien whose life-cycle is in balance with his own. Ace inadvertently causes the release of the spaceship's true owner - a powerful alien being known as Light.

Light originally came to Earth to compile a catalogue of its species but, on discovering that his catalogue has now been made obsolete by evolution, he decides to destroy all life on the planet. He disintegrates when the Doctor convinces him that evolution is irresistible and that he himself is constantly changing.

Control has meanwhile evolved into a lady and Smith has reverted to an earlier, primitive form. They leave in the spaceship, along with Nimrod and Fenn-Cooper, heading for new adventures.

Plot
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Sylvester McCoy
 * Ace - Sophie Aldred
 * Josiah Samuel Smith - Ian Hogg
 * Light - John Hallam
 * Lady Pritchard - Sylvia Syms
 * Redvers Fenn-Cooper - Michael Cochrane
 * Control - Sharon Duce
 * Gwendoline - Katharine Schlesinger
 * Nimrod - Carl Forgione
 * Reverend Ernest Matthews - John Nettleton
 * Mrs Grose - Brenda Kempner
 * Inspector Mackenzie - Frank Windsor

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Stephen Garwood
 * Costumes - Ken Trew
 * Designer - Nick Somerville
 * Incidental Music - Mark Ayres
 * Make-Up - Joan Stribling
 * Producer - John Nathan-Turner
 * Production Assistant - Valerie Whiston
 * Production Associate - June Collins
 * Script Editor - Andrew Cartmel
 * Special Sounds - Dick Mills
 * Studio Lighting - Henry Barber
 * Studio Sound - Scott Talbott, Keith Bowden
 * Stunt Arranger - Paul Heasman
 * Theme Arrangement - Keff McCulloch
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer
 * Visual Effects - Malcolm James

Story Notes

 * This was the last Doctor Who story to be recorded in the on-going run by the BBC.
 * This story had working titles of; The Bestiary, Life-Cycle.

Ratings

 * Episode 1 - 4.2 million viewers
 * Episode 2 - 4.0 million viewers
 * Episode 3 - 4.0 million viewers

Myths
to be added

Location Filming

 * Weymouth, Dorset

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
to be added

Continuity

 * In NA: Blood Heat it is revealed that Manisha (Ace's friend) died in the firebomb that torched her flat.

DVD, Video, and Other Releases
DVD Releases

Released as Doctor Who: Ghost Light.

Released:
 * Region 2 20th September 2004
 * PAL - BBC DVD BBCDVD1352


 * Region 4 3rd February 2005
 * Region 1 7th June 2005
 * NTSC - Warner Video E2218

Content:
 * Light in Dark Places Documentary - A look back at the making of the story.
 * Deleted/Extended Scenes
 * Shooting Ghosts - A unique look at the studio recording process.
 * Writer's Question Time - Marc Platt answers questions at a 1990 Doctor Who convention.
 * 5.1 Mix
 * Music-only Option
 * Photo Gallery
 * Production Subtitles
 * Easter Eggs
 * Commentary: Sophie Aldred, Andrew Cartmel, Marc Platt, and Mark Ayres

Video Releases

Released as Doctor Who: Ghost Light.

Released:
 * UK May 1994
 * PAL - BBC Video BBCV5344


 * Australia/NZ July 1994
 * US June 1996
 * NTSC - Warner Video E1318

Target Novelisations and Other Publications

 * Novelised as Ghost Light in 1990 by Marc Platt.
 * Published as a script book by Titan Books in 1993, written by Marc Platt edited by John McElroy.