Doctor Who (1963–1989): Season 16, Episode 21 - The Armageddon Factor: Part One - full transcript

The Doctor and company drop in on the planet Atrios, whose inhabitants are in an interplanetary war with their twin planet Zeos. Although Astra, Princess of Atrios, wishes for peace, the ...

(DOCTOR WHO THEME)

-Darling.
-Oh, my love.

-Don't go.
-I must.

But you'll be killed.

Perhaps.

I can't bear it. I love you.

There is a greater love.

Men out there, young men,
are dying for it.

Dying so that Atrios might live.

Atrios?

Do you know
I've never actually been to Atrios?



-Nor to Zeos.
-Where?

Atrios and Zeos, the twin planets
on the edge of the helical galaxy.

Didn't they teach you anything
at the Academy?

Yes, but we're not going to Zeos.

No, we're going to Atrios.

Well, why don't you
get on with it, then?

Right.

DOCTOR: Atrios, K9.

Atrios.

I wonder what the inhabitants
are like there.

You must be strong.

We must all be strong and play our parts

(ALERT SOUNDING)

until victory is won, evil
vanquished and peace restored.



Then, and only then, my darling,
can we love again.

I must go.

Kiss the children for me.

Tell them their daddy
will return before long.

(EXPLOSION)

(PEOPLE GASPING)

It's all right, it's all right.

MAN 1: (ON COMPUTER)
Area six, obliterated.

MAN 2: (ON COMPUTER)
Section seven, heavy damage.

WOMAN: (ON COMPUTER)
District ten, no contact.

MAN 3: (ON COMPUTER) Level 14, holding.

MAN 4: (ON COMPUTER)
Area two, no contact.

WOMAN 2: (ON COMPUTER) Heavy casualties
through all upper levels.

MARSHAL: Any news of our counterattack?

-None, Marshal.
-What do you mean, none?

The fleet is still trying
to locate the target, sir.

The target, Major Shapp, is Zeos.

The planet. Isn't that big enough?

The navigation systems
are being blocked, sir.

The Zeons must be using a new device.
The whole fleet's flying blind.

Or have they all turned cowards?

I want this attack pressed home, Shapp,

before the Zeons smash us to pieces,
is that clear?

Yes, sir.

(COMPUTER BEEPING)

MAN 5: (ON COMPUTER)
Direct hit reported on hospital complex.

Wards seven to ten, destroyed.

I must go there.

I'm sorry, Your Highness,
you can't leave without an escort.

Marshal's orders.

Marshal, I insist on going
to see the hospital immediately.

-Too dangerous.
-The hospital's been hit.

So has everywhere else, Your Highness.
We're under nuclear attack.

How much longer are you going on
with this futile war?

Atrios is being destroyed around us.

We must negotiate before it's too late.
We must have peace.

You don't beg for peace, Princess.
You win it.

Our counterattack is already underway.

When it has succeeded,
we shall have victory within our grasp.

Then we shall have peace.

But don't you understand?

We shall all be wiped out if we go on,
Zeons and Atrions alike.

I understand only my duty.

And my duty, as Marshal of Atrios,

is to prosecute this war
to a successful conclusion.

Yours is to uphold the people's
morale and give them comfort.

Then let me go to the hospital.
I can't do anything here.

What's the situation, Shapp?
Is this raid over?

SHAPP: Yes, sir.
At least, for the moment.

Very well, Your Highness.

One of my guards will accompany you
to the hospital.

Where, no doubt, Surgeon Merak
anxiously awaits you.

MARSHAL: (ON TELEVISION)
People of Atrios,

once more the hated forces of Zeos
clamour at our gates.

Once more, they shall not pass.

Be brave, my people.

Be steadfast. Be strong.

This rain of death
which the Zeons pour upon us,

will it extinguish
the flame of liberty, my people?

''My people.''

No, our sun will rise again.

And Atrios, from its ashes,
will rekindle a mighty resolve,

an implacable wrath,

crushing the hated Zeon
beneath the heel of Atrios.

Even now, we know
the Zeon will to fight is failing.

They cannot go on.

Our ships dominate their skies.

All I ask, my people,

is that you, who have suffered so much

(MEN MOANING)

clench the jaw,
grimly endure a short while more,

until we can deliver the final blow,
which will bring Zeos to its knees.

Victory will be ours.

-Surgeon Merak.
-Princess Astra.

Why must these brave men and women
be left on the floor like rubbish?

-The wards are full, Your Highness.
-I see.

Excuse me, Your Highness,
but I think your rad-check

is due for renewal, yes.
If you would just come this way.

I was so worried.
They told me your ward had been hit.

-Damaged, but not destroyed.
-And you?

-Luckier than many.
-Oh, when will it all end?

Have you been able to contact the Zeons?

The Marshal has me watched all the time.

We must get through. It's the only way.

Whether we're seen as traitors
doesn't matter any longer.

I go on trying, but none of our
messages seem to get through.

-Jammed from here?
-No.

'Cause if they were,
it would mean the Marshal suspects us.

No, it's not that.
He'd have arrested us.

I sent the last message myself.

There was no contact signal,
no echo, no bounce-back, nothing.

As if Zeos just wasn't there.

(EXPLOSION)

Zeos is there, all right.

-Behind schedule, Your Highness.
-Very well.

You must take more care, Princess,

and remember to keep your
rad-check renewed.

-We're losing, Shapp.
-Yes, sir.

If we don't get this counterattack
underway soon, we're finished.

Yes, sir.

-Still nothing from the fleet?
-No, sir. They're still lost.

We must discover whatever it is
that's blocking our navigation systems.

Yes, sir.

Whatever it is,
it's certainly effective.

How can the Zeons develop something
like that and not us?

(COMPUTER BEEPING)

What's gone wrong? Eh?

(WHOOSHING)

There. We should be
in parking orbit over Atrios.

-Let's see where we're going, shall we?
-Why not?

That's odd. That's very odd.
Wouldn't you say that was very odd?

That's very odd.

-I wonder what went wrong.
-Better check the coordinates.

0069, that's exactly what you gave me.

-Are you sure?
-Quite sure.

-Something's gone astray.
-No, no, no, just a minute.

There may have been a time shift.
Let's take another reading.

008010040.

008010... What a lot of zeros.

There it is.

Well, it's something, anyway.

-But it's millions of miles away.
-Yes.

And where's Zeos? There's no sign of it.

Do you know what I think?

I think something's gone wrong.
Something fairly serious.

The Black Guardian?

Well, it could be a coincidence.

I wouldn't like to bet on it.

No, nor would I.
There's only one thing to do.

Listen, why don't you take us
in on manual?

I think I'll take us in on manual,
with circumspection.

Right.

Marshal? I think we're
getting something here.

-Ours or theirs?
-It's hard to tell at this range, sir

but it's not a signal profile I know
and it's hardly moving at all.

-A Zeon secret weapon?
-It's possible, sir.

The device that's been interfering
with our navigation and targeting.

I can't tell yet, sir.

Track it till it's within
surface missile range, Shapp,

-and then we shall see.
-Yes, sir.

Destroy that and we can still win.

I'll show Princess Astra
and her pacifist friends.

She's beginning to panic,

becoming a thorn in my flesh,
an irritant.

She could be useful to my enemies.

Something tells me her value to me
may be at an end.

Don't lose track of that Zeon device.

-It may not be...
-Just don't lose it.

Inform me as soon as
it comes within missile range.

Yes, sir. Where will you be?

I have to attend to...

...a matter of state.

(COMMUNICATOR BEEPING)

Excuse me, Your Highness.

Yes? Yes, sir, she is.

Yes, sir.

Very good, sir.

Will do, sir.

Well?

SOLDIER: There's been a change of plan,
Your Highness.

Your visit to the children's ward
has been cancelled.

-Why?
-A danger of subsidence, Your Highness.

-The recent attack.
-What about the children?

They're being evacuated.

We're to go to K Block so that you can
welcome them into their new quarters.

I thought K Block was
closed down years ago

because of radiation contamination?

Apparently it's clear now,
Your Highness.

This way, please.

(COMMUNICATOR BEEPING)

Inform the Marshal
our unidentified target

will be within range in two minutes.

Well, there's still no sign of Zeos,

but I'm picking up a reading
for Atrios' twin.

Phew.

What's the matter?

Look, radiation levels
you wouldn't believe.

Good heavens,
you could fry eggs in the street.

-But that means...
-What?

There must be a huge nuclear war
going on down there.

-Not at all, no.
-Well, what else could it be?

I don't know. Probably someone giving
a huge breakfast party.

Think... Why do you
always assume the worst?

-Because it usually happens.
-Empirical poppycock.

And where's your joy in life,
where's your optimism?

It opted out.

Optimism, belief that everything
will work out well.

Irrational, bordering on insane.

Oh, do shut up, K9. Listen Romana,

whenever you go into a new situation,
you must always believe the best

until you find out exactly
what the situation is all about,

then believe the worst.

Ah, but what happens if it turns out

not to be the worst, after all?

Don't be ridiculous, it always is.
Isn't it, K9?

Master?

Still, nuclear war... It's always
difficult walking into these situations.

-You never know who's fighting who.
-Or why...

-Oh, I think I can say why.
-Why?

Why. Why, it's got to be, hasn't it?

It's gotta be something
to do with the sixth

and most important segment
of the Key to Time.

Hmm?

This way, Princess.
The children will be waiting for you.

You must go in. Please, Your Highness.

I'm only obeying orders.

Yes, I understand.

-All well, Shapp?
-Yes, sir.

It's still there.

Not moving at all.

It could be on surveillance.

-Yes, sir, monitoring and observing.
-Yeah.

Is it within range?

Just.

Then it won't be on surveillance
much longer. Vaporise it.

Perhaps we should try
to capture it, sir?

That's probably exactly
what they want us to do.

-Vaporise it now.
-Yes, sir.

Doctor, look, something's approaching us
from the planet surface.

DOCTOR: A welcoming party, do you think?

K9? K9, what do you make of that?

Missile identified. Nuclear warhead.

-What? Let's get out of here.
-No, no, no, no. Wait.

We'll dematerialize at the last moment.

Then whoever is shooting at us
will think they've hit us.

-Always confuse the enemy.
-If you say so.

Right. Link that Tracer in.

I want to land as close as possible
to the sixth segment.

The less time we spend on Atrios,
the better.

-Right. Ready.
-Standing by?

K9, how long to impact?

-Three...two...one...
-What?

Got it.

We got it. Smashed it,
vaporised it. Beautiful.

You've earned yourself a medal, Shapp.

Thank you, sir, but I don't know.

-What do you mean, you don't know?
-Whether we got it.

I saw it with my own eyes.

Beautiful. Direct hit.
It's what it's all about.

Yes, sir. But I could swear that
the target disappeared before impact.

Nah.

(WHOOSHING)

-Oh, no...
-No, no, don't say it, please.

-Don't say what?
-Don't say,

''Another underground passage.''

Well, I wonder how deep
we are this time.

Yeah. K9?

K9, are you still sulking in there?
Come on out.

No water or swamps. Quite safe.

(EXPLOSION)

(K9 JABBERING INCOHERENTLY)

-What did he say?
-I don't know.

Master,

radiation levels indicate nuclear
warfare in progress on planet surface.

What?

-How deep are we?
-Four hundred metres below, Master.

Four hundred metres?

They are taking a pasting.

If it's like this down here,
imagine what it's like on the surface.

Surely nothing can live in this?
The radiation levels...

Radiation levels are variable.
No sign of immediate life.

The corpse on the left,
however, is recent.

What?

You're right, K9.

He hasn't been dead long.
Shot, poor chap.

At close range, from the front.

Yeah. Must've been one of his friends.

Just goes to show,
you can't trust anyone nowadays.

I don't think I'm going to
like this place very much.

No, let's locate the sixth segment
and get out of here.

I'm with you all the way.

(TRACER BUZZING)

Through there.

Locked and lead.
What does that suggest to you?

High radiation zone?

K9: Affirmative.

Any sense in life through there, K9?

Regret lead shielding
will prevent effective analysis.

Yes, it's well guarded,
or at least it was.

Perhaps the door's booby-trapped.

-Doctor.
-What?

Remember what we were saying
about the Black Guardian?

Yes.

What?

''Will you come into my parlour?''
said the spider to the fly.

Very apt.

I think we should tread
very carefully. K9?

Master?

Could you make a hole for me
in that door, K9?

A little, little hole, K9.

We don't know what's beyond there,
do we?

Sir?

Marshal?

-Never do that.
-I'm sorry, sir.

I was...

...thinking.

Well, Shapp? Good news? The fleet?

-No, sir, not yet.
-Well, what is it, man?

The alarm sensors in K Block, sir.

What about K Block?

Sensors indicate an attempted break-in.

Now, why would anyone want to attempt
to break in to the high radiation zone?

Risk certain death?

Seal it off, Shapp.
Seal all exits immediately.

I'll deal with this myself,

-you understand?
-Yes, sir.

No one else is to be involved.

And bring that traitor Merak here. Now.

Merak?

DOCTOR: That's enough, K9.
That's enough. Back up.

Help me, whoever you are.

-Romana, there's a...
-There's a what?

There's a man standing behind you.

Get your hands up.

Who are you?

We're travellers.
We seem to be lost, actually.

He's dead.

You'll be shot for this.

It wasn't us.
He was like that when we found him.

You expect me to believe that?

-Yes.
-No.

-No.
-Yes.

(EXPLOSION)

What were you doing at that door?

I've told you, we were trying
to avoid the bombardment.

I thought that door might lead
to the way out.

That door leads to certain death.

What?

He saved our lives.

You're obviously Zeon spies.

-Spies? Do we look like spies?
-No.

I thought spies
looked kind of inconspicuous...

-Surgeon Merak, sir.
-Good.

These are the intruders who were caught
trying to break into K Block.

Who are they? What do they want?

Precisely what I intend to find out,
before I execute them.

Bring in Merak.

Marshal, I've got 100 patients waiting.

Then they'll have to wait.

Do you know these people?

No, should I?

I think you do.
I think they are your accomplices.

-What?
-Zeon spies and saboteurs.

What's that got to do with me?

Princess Astra is missing.

She was last seen with you.

Since then,
her escort has been found dead.

We must find her.
Are you searching for her?

Everything possible is being done.

Now, Merak,

I know you don't agree
with my conduct of this war.

I don't agree with war. Nor does Astra.

I think it's possible that
you might have been foolish enough,

misled, no doubt,
by the noblest of motives,

to cooperate with the enemy. Am I right?

No, Marshal, you're wrong.

It would be much better for you
to admit everything.

I arrested these two myself,

standing over the body
of the Princess' escort.

I told you, we're not even armed. Look.

Nothing. Just a whistle.
Care for a blow?

Shapp.

(SILENCE)

It's useless.
Don't play the fool with me.

-What is the purpose of your visit?
-Tourism.

In the middle of a nuclear war?

Yes, well, I run this small agency,
you see,

trips to battlefields, future and past.

How civilizations died. Very...
Isn't it very profitable, Romana?

Oh, absolutely. It's very educational.

For the last time,
what are you doing here?

Looking for a key.

(RAD-CHECK BEEPING)

Everything you've told me
is obviously a pack of lies.

It's clear to me
that you are Zeon spies.

You've murdered one of my guards,
abducted the Princess Astra,

no doubt with the collusion
of Surgeon Merak here.

Unless you divulge her whereabouts,

you will be executed immediately
as spies. Now is that clear?

-Beautifully put, I thought.
-MARSHAL: Well?

I'm sorry,
I don't think we can help you.

Is that your last word?

-No. No. I sincerely hope not.
-ROMANA: Yes.

But I think we've been here long enough.

-Stay where you are.
-Listen, we tell you the truth

and you don't believe us.

You accuse us of crimes
we haven't committed

and now you're gonna have us shot.

I think, after a long journey,
that's a bit too much, Marshal.

K9, lights.

Goodbye, Marshal. Come on.

Stop them. Stop them!

-Come on, run.
-ROMANA: Where to?

Back to the TARDIS.

(WHOOSHING)

-Doctor.
-What?

The TARDIS.

It's gone.