Project: Who - The Armageddon Factor
The Armageddon Factor
Written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin
Directed by Michael Hayes
The Doctor and Romana are looking for the finale piece of the Key to Time.
Atrios and Zeos are two planets which neighbor each other. They are at war, and neither side has any problems attacking non-military installations. Hospitals, for example. Schools as well.
The Marshall, a man in charge of Atrios' military structure, is a pompous schmuck. Among his people is a peaceful princess named Astra, who looks remarkably like the upcoming regenerated Romana. Don't worry. She can't act here, either.
The Doctor and Romana land on Atrios and are quickly captured, but only for a moment. They rush back to the Tardis only to find it is missing.
They meet up with another doctor, named Merak. Merak is searching for his girlfriend, Astra.
The bad guys find K9 and send him to the metal recycling center, along with other scrap metal.
The Doctor rescues him, of course. Then K9 starts coughing. wtf? He coughs? Since when can a robot cough?
They work with the Marshall, whose bipolar personality has shifted the other way. Now he's happy-go-lucky. Both of the Gallifreyans think the Marshall is a puppet - a literal puppet, whose strings are being pulled.
A message appears, supposedly from Astra, saying she has been kidnapped by Zeons and the planet must surrender. The Marshall instructs the Doctor to go rescue her.
But it appears it's a trap. The Doctor is taken by two figures dressed in the same costumes as the one who previously kidnapped Astra.
The Marshall looks into a mirror, and talks with a skull lurking inside it. It gives him instructions.
Romana, K9, and Merak return to where the Tardis was. K9's scans reveal it is missing, not just hidden.
The Doctor is restrained, talking to someone who calls himself the Shadow. This Shadow chap knows he's a Time Lord, and all about their quest to find the Key. The Shadow also has the Tardis.
This Shadow guy sure knows a lot about the Doctor, and seems to be rather old. He claims to be well over a thousand years old.
He interrogates Astra, revealing they aren't on either planet, but a third place.
Merak keeps looking for Astra. Romana finds him. Since he took the tracer, Romana takes it back. Together, they resume looking.
The Commandant (military dude in charge) of Zeos is a machine, which K9 has been communicating with. K9 takes the Doctor and Shepp - the Marshall's second-in-command - to see him/it. There, the Doctor and Romana reunite.
K9 and the Commandant communicate. (The set here looks like a re-use of the set from "Ark in Space" ... if so, great job, I love it.)
Shepp tries to kill the computer, who now has a name ... Mentalis. But a laser beam shoots out of the wall, forcing the gun out of his hand.
Mentalis has instructions to destroy everything now that it considers the war to be over.
The Marshall takes a ship and flies to Zeos, intent on finally destroying the planet.
The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to try to stop Mentalis's attack. Romana and the Doctor believe there may be a third, hidden planet - Shadow Dude' home.
The Doctor succeeds in forcing Mentalis to destroy itself using Captain Kirk Technology. He doesn't know that only miles away, the Marshall has already armed warheads which are on their way. The group runs for the Tardis.
Shepp and Merak go take a nap.
The Doctor and Romana go inside with K9. The Doctor fashions a fake replacement for the Sixth Piece. Since they already have the first five, they know what the sixth piece looks like, and how it would fit in with the others. It kind of allows him to temporarily freeze time. Everyone else is stuck in a three second loop.
The Doctor: "I've stopped the universe! Still, they'll never know."
Shadow Dude commands Astra (now under his command) to go to the Doctor and get the pieces.
K9 receives and answers a distress signal. He follows it into the transmat and disappears, landing on Shadow Dude's planet.
Astra finds Merak, who takes her to the Doctor.
Shadow Dude does something to K9. K9 now calls HIM "Master" ... Who the heck is this guy?
He telepathically tells Astra to bring Romana to him. Then he finally comes out to the Doctor - He is a servant of the Black Guardian, and is working for the BG in exactly the same way the Doctor is working for the White Guardian.
Romana is in the same prison which had earlier held the Doctor.
The Doctor meets another Time Lord named Drax. Drax went to school with the Doctor, and calls him Theta Sigma. Drax has been working for Shadow Dude under duress, and still is.
K9 finds the Doctor, and acts weird. He calls him "Doctor" not "Master" for example. Drax removes a control device from the tin dog, then the Doctor goes off to rescue Romana. Naturally, he's kidnapped.
The Doctor agrees to give Shadow Dude the five pieces in exchange for Romana's life. At the Tardis, Drax sneaks up and fires on him.
The Doctor disappears. Drax turns and fires on himself. It was a shrink ray.
Shepp and Merak wake up and return to Atrios, trying to contact the Marshall.
Shadow Dude goes to the Tardis. He can't go in, it's too bright. His servant fetches it though.
Romana figures it out - Astra is the Sixth Piece.
Astra reaches out to touch the Key, transforming herself into the Sixth Piece.
The Doctor rushes in with Drax, grab the Key and piece of Astrid and Romana, and they all go inside the Tardis.
They take out Mentalis, and all is right again.
The Doctor has a chat with the Black Guardian. He then scatters the pieces of the Key all over again. Then he installs a randomizer so the Black Guardian can't find him again.
* * *
Mary Tamm as Romana continues to impress here. I wish she had stayed on for at least another season. Lalla Ward just doesn't have "it" in comparison. It's honestly like watching a production by the Royal Shakespeare Company and then turning around to watch the same play by a kindergarten class.
The Doctor and Romana get along beautifully here, like friends who have known each other for years, and it is a pleasure to watch them together.
Written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin
Directed by Michael Hayes
The Doctor and Romana are looking for the finale piece of the Key to Time.
Atrios and Zeos are two planets which neighbor each other. They are at war, and neither side has any problems attacking non-military installations. Hospitals, for example. Schools as well.
The Marshall, a man in charge of Atrios' military structure, is a pompous schmuck. Among his people is a peaceful princess named Astra, who looks remarkably like the upcoming regenerated Romana. Don't worry. She can't act here, either.
The Doctor and Romana land on Atrios and are quickly captured, but only for a moment. They rush back to the Tardis only to find it is missing.
They meet up with another doctor, named Merak. Merak is searching for his girlfriend, Astra.
The bad guys find K9 and send him to the metal recycling center, along with other scrap metal.
The Doctor rescues him, of course. Then K9 starts coughing. wtf? He coughs? Since when can a robot cough?
They work with the Marshall, whose bipolar personality has shifted the other way. Now he's happy-go-lucky. Both of the Gallifreyans think the Marshall is a puppet - a literal puppet, whose strings are being pulled.
A message appears, supposedly from Astra, saying she has been kidnapped by Zeons and the planet must surrender. The Marshall instructs the Doctor to go rescue her.
But it appears it's a trap. The Doctor is taken by two figures dressed in the same costumes as the one who previously kidnapped Astra.
The Marshall looks into a mirror, and talks with a skull lurking inside it. It gives him instructions.
Romana, K9, and Merak return to where the Tardis was. K9's scans reveal it is missing, not just hidden.
The Doctor is restrained, talking to someone who calls himself the Shadow. This Shadow chap knows he's a Time Lord, and all about their quest to find the Key. The Shadow also has the Tardis.
This Shadow guy sure knows a lot about the Doctor, and seems to be rather old. He claims to be well over a thousand years old.
He interrogates Astra, revealing they aren't on either planet, but a third place.
Merak keeps looking for Astra. Romana finds him. Since he took the tracer, Romana takes it back. Together, they resume looking.
The Commandant (military dude in charge) of Zeos is a machine, which K9 has been communicating with. K9 takes the Doctor and Shepp - the Marshall's second-in-command - to see him/it. There, the Doctor and Romana reunite.
K9 and the Commandant communicate. (The set here looks like a re-use of the set from "Ark in Space" ... if so, great job, I love it.)
Shepp tries to kill the computer, who now has a name ... Mentalis. But a laser beam shoots out of the wall, forcing the gun out of his hand.
Mentalis has instructions to destroy everything now that it considers the war to be over.
The Marshall takes a ship and flies to Zeos, intent on finally destroying the planet.
The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to try to stop Mentalis's attack. Romana and the Doctor believe there may be a third, hidden planet - Shadow Dude' home.
The Doctor succeeds in forcing Mentalis to destroy itself using Captain Kirk Technology. He doesn't know that only miles away, the Marshall has already armed warheads which are on their way. The group runs for the Tardis.
Shepp and Merak go take a nap.
The Doctor and Romana go inside with K9. The Doctor fashions a fake replacement for the Sixth Piece. Since they already have the first five, they know what the sixth piece looks like, and how it would fit in with the others. It kind of allows him to temporarily freeze time. Everyone else is stuck in a three second loop.
The Doctor: "I've stopped the universe! Still, they'll never know."
Shadow Dude commands Astra (now under his command) to go to the Doctor and get the pieces.
K9 receives and answers a distress signal. He follows it into the transmat and disappears, landing on Shadow Dude's planet.
Astra finds Merak, who takes her to the Doctor.
Shadow Dude does something to K9. K9 now calls HIM "Master" ... Who the heck is this guy?
He telepathically tells Astra to bring Romana to him. Then he finally comes out to the Doctor - He is a servant of the Black Guardian, and is working for the BG in exactly the same way the Doctor is working for the White Guardian.
Romana is in the same prison which had earlier held the Doctor.
The Doctor meets another Time Lord named Drax. Drax went to school with the Doctor, and calls him Theta Sigma. Drax has been working for Shadow Dude under duress, and still is.
K9 finds the Doctor, and acts weird. He calls him "Doctor" not "Master" for example. Drax removes a control device from the tin dog, then the Doctor goes off to rescue Romana. Naturally, he's kidnapped.
The Doctor agrees to give Shadow Dude the five pieces in exchange for Romana's life. At the Tardis, Drax sneaks up and fires on him.
The Doctor disappears. Drax turns and fires on himself. It was a shrink ray.
Shepp and Merak wake up and return to Atrios, trying to contact the Marshall.
Shadow Dude goes to the Tardis. He can't go in, it's too bright. His servant fetches it though.
Romana figures it out - Astra is the Sixth Piece.
Astra reaches out to touch the Key, transforming herself into the Sixth Piece.
The Doctor rushes in with Drax, grab the Key and piece of Astrid and Romana, and they all go inside the Tardis.
They take out Mentalis, and all is right again.
The Doctor has a chat with the Black Guardian. He then scatters the pieces of the Key all over again. Then he installs a randomizer so the Black Guardian can't find him again.
* * *
Mary Tamm as Romana continues to impress here. I wish she had stayed on for at least another season. Lalla Ward just doesn't have "it" in comparison. It's honestly like watching a production by the Royal Shakespeare Company and then turning around to watch the same play by a kindergarten class.
The Doctor and Romana get along beautifully here, like friends who have known each other for years, and it is a pleasure to watch them together.