Doctor Who (1963–1989): Season 6, Episode 21 - The Krotons: Episode Three - full transcript

Jamie is held prisoner by the Krotons who intend to recapture the Doctor and Zoe for their mental energy.

Sincro: wyxchari

ITS MIND IS PRIMITIVE!

THE POWER WILL KILL IT!

IT IS STILL OF VALUE, IT CAN GIVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE OTHER CREATURES.

This isn't the way to the city.

No, it's the way to the TARDIS.

The TARDIS? But we can't leave Jamie behind.

Well don't worry about him, he's perfectly safe isn't he? Come on!

Oh my head.

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

Oh it's you. I thought I'd dreamt you up.



WHERE ARE YOU FROM?!

YOU ARE OF THE SAME RACE AS THESE BIPEDS?

Zoe and the Doctor... Where are they?

YOU ARE SPACE TRAVELLERS?

Got out. Good old Doctor!

ANSWER!

Y-you're breaking my arm!

DO NOT DAMAGE THE CREATURE!

YOU AND THESE OTHER BEINGS ARE SPACE TRAVELLERS?

COMMANDER!

WHAT IS THAT?

It's the TARDIS.

WHAT IS ITS FUNCTION?

It travels through time and space.



RANGE ZERO-SEVEN DISPERSION UNIT ON TARGET.

THEY ARE LEAVING, SHALL I FIRE?

They're not leaving... they wouldn't!

You wish to see me?

You got my message?

That the council needs my advice. On a matter of science I presume?

On a matter of war.

War?

War against the Krotons.

War against the Krotons?! Are you both out of your minds?

Now you listen to me!

Axus! Not yet! Beta you're a scientist, surely you want to be free of the Krotons?

Free, yes; dead, no!

We can defeat them!

Can we? Our ancestors tried.

They were savages; primitive men with clubs and stones.

We are much more advanced now!

Are we? All our knowledge is given us by the Krotons.

Then we can use it against them!

You're talking nonsense Eelek! We only know what the Krotons tell us. We don't think, we obey.

He could help us if he wasn't afraid of the Krotons.

Don't you think I want to be free of them? Don't you think I want to discover truth for myself? Instead of being fed information like a dog with scraps.

Then you will help us?

To fight the Krotons? Listen, I've just been talking to the stranger, the Doctor. He made me realise how pitifully little the Krotons tell us.

I would forget the Doctor if I were you, and his friends.

What do you mean?

They submitted themselves to the teaching machines in the Learning Hall.

What happened?

The Doctor and the girl scored the highest result ever. The Krotons summoned them, they went into the machine and the boy followed them.

So now they'll be dead like Abu-Gond, or mindless like Vana. So, you will help us?

Give me time Eelek. There are certain things the Krotons forbid us to study; fluids which eat away metal and flesh; in time I can develop some way of attacking them.

In time! It's always "in time!" isn't it?! "Just give us a little more time, just be a little more patient!" Always time, a little more time!

We've been slaves for a thousand years, do you think you can free us in one day?

Yes!

Why don't you wait and see what Selris has to say?

You will no longer obey Selris, you will obey me!

SHALL I FIRE COMMANDER?

WE CANNOT KILL THEM, WE NEED THEIR MINDS. YOU WILL LEAVE THE DYNOTROPE AND FETCH THEM BACK.

WHAT IS THE OPERATING PRINCIPLE OF YOUR CRAFT?

Ah... you-you-you mean how does it work? Well, only the Doctor knows that.

WHAT IS ITS TRANSFERENCE INTERVAL?

Ah, transference interval? Well... Er, er... What's that?

YOU HAVE NO VALUE!

VISION CONTROL REQUIRED NOW.

ON CONTROL AND PROCEED.

How is Vana?

Better, much better - but very tired. She'll be alright by morning though.

That is good news.

Are the strangers still in the Learning Hall?

They're gone.

Do you mean they've left, they've gone back?

They went into the machine.

What?!

The Krotons sent for Zoe, and the Doctor insisted on going as well.

You let them go, why didn't you stop them?

What could I do? It is the will of the Krotons!

But why didn't they run? Why did they go in when they know what must happen?

Because they knew what would happen if they failed to obey.

But not to them father, they could have escaped in their machine!

There is a council meeting.

Council meeting! Is that all you can ever think about, talking? What about some action Father? You think that the Krotons are still our great benefactors, don't you?!

No Thara. I think of them as enemies; we're powerless to do anything against them!

Well Eelek is going to do something about it!

Thara?

It's alright Vana, you're quite safe.

I feel so faint.

Try to sleep now, we're looking after you.

Oh!

RADIUS ONE-EIGHT-ONE VECTOR FIVE.

DO NOT MOVE!

Uh, I was just er, just stretching my leg.

Look, what are you gonna do with me?

YOU HAVE NO VALUE.

Oh what do you mean?

YOU WILL BE DISPERSED!

Thara, what did you mean about Eelek?

I meant you don't know what's happening. He is no longer your deputy, he's taken over as council leader.

He has no authority..!

A vote was taken!

A vote?

Listen, everybody in the city knows how the Krotons have tricked us - Eelek announced it!

The fool! They will want revenge.

Well exactly, and that's what Eelek has promised them.

Can't you understand, Eelek doesn't care what happens to our people.

Eelek is a patriot.

It is not patriotism to lead people into a war they cannot win!

We can't let the Krotons rule us forever without putting up some sort of fight!

We will be strong one day, we will fight them.

After another thousand years?

Eelek must be stopped.

How? He won't listen to you. Our people want this war because of what happened to Vana and the others.

And how does Eelek intend to fight the Krotons, march on their machine?

Do you have a better idea?

There is a way we could fight them, and that is by not letting them suspect that they are being attacked!

RADIUS ONE-SEVEN-NINE VECTOR-FIVE.

What about the Doctor, what are you going to do with him?

THEY ARE NEEDED FOR THE DYNOTROPE.

Dynotrope? Th-that's this machine then?

ONE-SIX-EIGHT VECTOR-FOUR.

Well why do you need them, and w-why have you been killing the Gonds?

THE DYNOTROPE NEEDS HIGH-BRAINS FOR TRANSFER POWER. THE GONDS HAVE NO HIGH-BRAINS.

Aye, and that makes it alright to kill them, does it?

THAT IS PROCEDURE. RADIUS ONE-SIX-THREE VECTOR-FOUR.

Selris should be here; he's still the council leader, or am I mistaken.

You are mistaken.

Selris is old. In time of war we need a strong leader.

Eelek has taken command.

So at last you've achieved your ambition, eh?

Yes, and I have the support of the whole council.

It must be quite a change for you to feel popular.

And there is a limit to how much I will take from you.

I'm wondering just how popular you will be when hundreds of our people have been killed. Do you want a repetition of the massacre we suffered when the Krotons first came here?

Today we have slings and fireballs. Weapons that will destroy the strongest building to rubble!

Have you ever looked at the wasteland?! Nothing grows there even to this day - it smells of death! Compared with their kind of weapons I tell you we still only have clubs and stones!

Ah I mean, h-how would you like to die without knowing the reason, eh?

KROTONS CANNOT DIE.

Y-you mean you can't be killed, you-you live forever?

WE FUNCTION PERMANENTLY, UNLESS WE EXHAUST.

Exhaust?

RADIUS ONE-FIVE-TWO VECTOR-THREE.

How do you mean by exhaust?

THE EXHAUST PROCEDURE IS MERELY REVERSION TO BASIC MOLECULES, BUT THE MATTER CAN BE RE-ANIMATED.

Well what about me though? I mean; I can't be reanimated, why kill me?

RADIUS ONE-FOUR-NINE, VECTOR-THREE.

I mean, what good will it do you?

ALL WASTE MATTER MUST BE DISPERSED, THAT IS PROCEDURE.

So, these creatures have a life system based on tellurium, eh? It's fascinating isn't it Zoe? Then that tank must have been a polarised centrifuge.

Which we activated.

Oh don't blame yourself Zoe. Oh, that machine must have lain around for thousands of years for someone as clever as us to turn up.

Just like a giant mousetrap - and those poor Gond students have been the mice.

Yes, that's horrible. Still, you must admit, that it's a-a very good way of existing through time.

Uh, what are you doing?

Oh, there's some-some deposits of sulphur around here somewhere.

Yes, Jamie remarked about the smell as soon as we stepped out of the TARDIS.

Hydrogen telluride.

What? Oh of course! The worst smell in the world.

The worst smell in any world.

Why didn't I think of that?

Zoe, I'd say it's a safe bet that that machine is composed of tellurium.

Doctor, what do you want sulphur for?

Oh-oh it-it'll come in useful - it's very useful stuff sulphur, you know, very useful stuff indeed.

I've got the funny feeling we're being watched...

RADIUS THREE-ZERO VECTOR ONE. TWO ZERO, OBJECTIVE IN RANGE.

Get back in the TARDIS will you! Go on!

RADIUS ONE-ZERO

Go on!

Look at this, it's almost pure sulphur.

Oh Doctor, can we go now?

Oh yes, in a minute. What do you know about tellurium Zoe?

Well it's one of the exceptional elements in the periodic table.

Mm.

It's atomic weight is a hundred and twenty eight.

Yeah.

And it's atomic number is fifty...

Mm-hm, well go on...

It doesn't really matter anymore.

Mm?

Oh my giddy aunt.

YOU WILL RETURN TO THE DYNOTROPE.

Oh-oh, yes. Ah yes of course, ah... yes, if you put it that way. Er, I wonder perhaps if I were to...

RETURN!

Oh yes-yes!

STOP!

Hah, now we'll see if you die or not!

STOP! STOP!

STOP! STOP! STOP!

Oh no, argh!

DIRECTION POINT! DIRECTION POINT! I HAVE LOST CONTACT!

Quick, Zoe, up there - run!

STOP! DIRECTION POINT REQUIRED IMMEDIATELY!

RADIUS ONE ZERO, VECTOR THREE.

DO I PROCEED?

NO, WAIT. THE AUTO-SCANNER HAS LOST CONTACT. YOU WILL DESTROY THE TARDIS MACHINE.

DIRECTION POINT?

RADIUS FOUR-ONE, VECTOR TWO.

Can't it see?

No apparently not in the light. It was dark in the machine wasn't it?

Look it's moving again now.

Yes.

It's going towards the TARDIS.

Yes it's being directed by the machine's scanners.

Oh Doctor, the TARDIS!

Yes.

Well now what do we do?

Well there's-there's nothing we can do until that wretched Kroton moves away.

FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS?

RETURN TO THE DYNOTROPE.

DIRECTION POINT?

REVERSE THE READINGS.

Look, it alright again!

Yes, what a, what a stupid place to land. You can tell that the Captain is not at the helm can't you?

You knew it would vanish like that, didn't you?

Well it only does that, you see, if I, if I remember to set the HADS.

The what?

The HADS. The Hostile-Action Displacement System. If the TARDIS is attacked it automatically dematerialises. Now, I think it's safe, I think it's safe for us to move now.

Oh, to move where?

Well I... We've got to ssee... tell the Gonds that we're alright haven't we? And Jamie'll be worried, come along now. Carefully.

First we destroy the Learning Hall, then we make a frontal attack.

Suicide!

What does the Controller of Science know of war?

You came here asking for my advice, I have given it. Wait until we can develop effective weapons.

And how long will that take? I say attack now?

No Eelek!

You'll be pleased to know he's taken your place as leader of the council!

To lead an attack on the Krotons?

That is my plan.

I forbid it!

You can't forbid anything!

Ordered slings and fireballs to be prepared!

They've heard enough of your plans.

Slings and fireballs will never reach the Krotons while they're still in that machine!

Exactly Beta, and I have a plan to draw them out. Now under the Hall of Learning there are three pillars which support the machine...

THE HIGH-BRAINS MUST BE RECAPTURED BEFORE EXHAUST TIME.

CAPTIVE ALIENS ARE DISPERSED.

CHECK EXHAUST TIME.

COMMENCE CHECK.

ILEAL POWERSTAT IS?

STATIC.

GRAVITATION FEED?

NORMAL.

AUXILIARY OUTPUT.

RISING.

DYNOTROPE BALANCE.

BALANCE FOUR.

THE DYNOTROPE WILL EXHAUST IN THREE HOURS.

Are you sure you're strong enough?

Of course. I'm alright now.

I can carry you.

That won't be necessary, I'll walk Thara.

It's a long way to the hills...

Doctor you're back!

Yes, I'm sorry I've been so long.

But... we thought you were dead!

Dead?

Selris said that you'd gone into the machine.

Oh yes, well we did, but er... Well-well er, what goes in must come out, mustn't it? You're better aren't you?

Much.

Sit down, you mustn't...

Oh, I'm glad to see you're going on holiday.

Holiday? We aren't goi...

Well it looks as though...

Well the city's being evacuated.

Evacuated? What do you mean?

My father's going to lead an attack on the Krotons. He hopes they'll strike back and come out into the open.

Didn't he learn last night?

Oh he's going to attack the machine from underneath.

Demolish the machine's supports.

Oh I don't think that's a very good idea! Zoe, there's no time to be lost!

Will you take me to Beta please?

Yeah.

Ready with the stop-draw? Now!

Thara, if you've come to try and persuade me to leave you're wasting your time.

I haven't, the Doctor asked to see your laboratory.

Can you hold my bag please.

Er, there's a small job I want you to do.

Oh, what's that?

It's sulphur. I've written out some instructions here, I don't know whether you can follow them, can you?

Yes, I think so. But the Krotons forbid us to study chemistry.

Yes... Beta, did it ever occur to you to wonder why?

Doctor, where's Jamie?

He's supposed to be looking after you. Well where's he got to?

Well he followed you out to the Learning Hall.

Well I haven't seen him since this morning!

Oh you don't suppose he tried to get into the machine do you?

Come on, we must go!

Yes, let's!

Give me a sample of that as soon as you can will you?

Vana, I'm staying here to help.

Oh no you're not, you're going to the hills the pair of you.

Oh don't be ridiculous Beta we're not leaving you here. Besides, I feel quite faint - I don't think I could walk a step.

THE GRAVITATION FEED IS DROPPING.

THE DYNOTROPE IS MOVING OUT OF BALANCE. STATIC BEAM, SWITCH TO FULL VOLUME.

FULL VOLUME ON.

SYSTEM CHECK COMMENCE.

Shine the light up there?

If that comes down we shall all be killed!

But the machine will come down first! Look at the vibration!

Stop it! Stop it!

Doctor!

What do you think you're doing, you idiots?! Just unhook the thing, you're meddling with things you don't understand!

Oh Doctor, look out!

Oh Zoe! Run, run!