Black Orchid (TV story)

For other uses of Black Orchid see: Black Orchid

A series of murders take place and the Doctor is blamed...

Synopsis
The TARDIS arrives on Earth in 1925 where, due to a case of mistaken identity, the Doctor ends up playing in a local cricket match. The travellers then accept an invitation to a masked fancy dress ball, but events take on a more sinister tone as a number of murders are perpetrated at the country home of their host Lord Cranleigh.

The Doctor comes under suspicion but the murderer is eventually revealed to be Cranleigh's brother George, who has been kept locked up in the house ever since returning in a deranged and disfigured state from an expedition up the Amazon to find the legendary black orchid. George mistakes Nyssa for his former fiancée Ann Talbot, who looks identical, and takes her up to the roof of the house. He is persuaded by the Doctor to let her go, but then falls from the roof to his death.

Part One
A servant is killed by an unseen figure and falls to the floor.The TARDIS lands in 1925 at a railway station and the Doctor is adressed by a Policeman and tells him he's expected, he then adresses him as the Doctor and drives him, Adric, Nyssa and Tegan to the home of the Cranleigh family. The Doctor is imediately put into a game of cricket. The Doctor plays superbly and brings the team back from defeat to a win. They then come into a room to meet the family. Nyssa meets Ann Talbot, the fiancée of Charles Cranleigh who, other than their different hair styles, is identical to Nyssa. They then set off to rooms they had been given and prepare for the up coming fancy dress ball. The Doctor hears a sound and while investigating is trapped in a corridor. An unseen person takes the Doctors costume. Nyssa and Ann dress in the same costumes in order to trick the guests into which is which. The Doctor finds his way out of the corridor. He finds a body in a cupboard and when he finds Lady Cranleigh and Latoni, an indian, and shows them the body. The Doctor agrees to not tell the guests unless the police wish to. The unseen figure dresses himself in the Doctors costume and dances with Ann. He takes he indoors and begins to attack her. James, a servant, attacks the figure and is killed. The figure closes in on Ann.

Part Two
The figure returns Ann to her bed and lays her blankets onto her. Ann wakes up and the figure hides under the bed. Ann runs out the room into the arms of Lady Cranleigh who is there with Latoni. Latoni enters the room and ties up the figure who is revealed to be a person with dead drooping skin on his face and no tongue. The Doctor arrives back at his room and dresses in the costume set out, unknown to him it is the same used by the figure. He climbs down the stairs and Ann declares that he is the person who attacked him. The Doctor says it is only him but Ann persists and the Doctor is soon taken away by the police. Nyssa, Tegan and Adric are also arrested and taken away with the Doctor. They stop at the railway station after the Doctor declares evidence is there. The TARDIS is missing and so they head on to the police station. A policeman declares they have found a police box which no key can open. The Doctor opens it proving his alibi that he is an alien. Back at the house, Lady Cranleigh tells Sir Robert Muir that the scared figure is her son George Cranleigh, he was scarred by indians but Latoni's tribe looked after him and brought him home. He was engaged to Ann and that was why he was stalking her. The Doctor and companions are returned to the house where Nyssa is captured by George who thinks shes Ann. George gets to the roof. The Doctor attempts to get to him through the house while Charles climbs up the side. Both meet at the top and George realises it is not Ann and returns her. Charles thanks him but at that moment George trips and falls from the roof to his death.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Peter Davison
 * Adric - Matthew Waterhouse
 * Tegan - Janet Fielding
 * Nyssa/Ann Talbot - Sarah Sutton
 * Lady Cranleigh - Barbara Murray
 * Sir Robert Muir - Moray Watson
 * Lord Charles Cranleigh - Michael Cochrane
 * Brewster - Brian Hawksley
 * Tanner - Timothy Block
 * Latoni - Ahmed Khalil
 * George Cranleigh - Gareth Milne
 * Sergeant Markham - Ivor Salter
 * Constable Cummings - Andrew Tourell
 * Digby - uncredited
 * James - uncredited

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Val McCrimmon
 * Choreographer - Gary Downie
 * Costumes - Rosalind Ebbutt
 * Designer - Tony Burrough
 * Film Cameraman - Peter Chapman
 * Film Editor - Mike Houghton
 * Incidental Music - Roger Limb
 * Make-Up - Lisa Westcott
 * Producer - John Nathan-Turner
 * Production Assistant - Juley Harding
 * Production Associate - Angela Smith
 * Script Editor - Eric Saward
 * Special Sounds - Dick Mills
 * Studio Lighting - Fred Wright
 * Studio Sound - Alan Machin
 * Theme Arrangement - Peter Howell
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer
 * Visual Effects - Tony Auger

Story Notes

 * This story has characters who not evil or bad people, but have a vested interest in maintaining appearances to avoid the embarrassment of a disfigured relative.
 * This is the first story since The Highlanders not to feature any science fiction elements (except the TARDIS) in the story.
 * The Doctor claims he always wanted to drive a train as a boy.
 * While other stories have featured incidental indications that the Doctor likes cricket (DW: The Ribos Operation, Castrovalva, Four to Doomsday, Human Nature), this is the only televised story to depict the Doctor playing in an actual match. The Fifth Doctor's particular love of the game would be later developed in other media.  It has, for instance, significantly figured in a number of audio stories. (BFA: Phantasmagoria, The Roof of the World, Circular Time)

Ratings

 * Episode 1 - 9.9 million viewers
 * Episode 2 - 10.1 million viewers

Myths

 * Black Orchid is sometimes referred to as the first historical Doctor Who serial since The Highlanders. Although it takes place in an earlier era, it is not explicitly a history-based adventure, unlike The Highlanders. It is correctly the first non-science fictional serial (disregarding the TARDIS and the presence of the Doctor and two non-Earthling individuals) since the earlier story (and, to date, the last).

Filming Locations
to be added

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

 * Police boxes did not exist in the 1920s (yet the policemen recognise the TARDIS for one). - The police box was introduced in Britain in 1891. Besides the police maybe didn't know what it was, but it said police box on the outside so he called it police box.

Continuity

 * The Visitation follows straight into this story and so is mentioned.
 * Ace visits the Cranleigh's party and briefly meets Adric in DWM: Time & Time Again.
 * Ann Talbot reappears in MA: The Sands of Time.

DVD and Video Releases
Black Orchid was released on DVD in April 2008. It was originally schedualed for May but changed at the last moment and The Invasion of Time was moved to May.

Novelisation

 * Main article: Black Orchid (novelisation)


 * Novelised as Black Orchid by Terence Dudley in 1987.