Dr. Who (The Early Years) - Part 54 "Arc of Infinity"

After finally dropping Tegan off at Heathrow airport, Nyssa and the Doctor are busy doing some repairs to the Tardis. He fixes the audio on the scanner when Nyssa suggests fixing other features of the Tardis, such as the Tardis' state of temporal grace. It's then they notice a 'massive source of magnetic radiation' targeting the Tardis. It enters the Tardis and attempts to bond with the Doctor. Though it's initial attempt fails, the Doctor realizes the danger is far from over. Especially when Nyssa points out the creature was comprised of anti-matter.

The Timelords of Gallifrey have noticed the bonding attempt and also realize how dangerous such a bond could be. They forceably recall the Doctors Tardis back to Gallifrey. The Tardis materializes in a locked room and the Doctor soon meets Maxil, one of the Chancellery guards. (Ironically, the character is played by Colin Baker who later goes on to play the Doctor in future stories.) Taking no chances, Maxil disables the Tardis.

Back on Earth, Tegan is on Holiday in Amsterdam. When she tries to meet her favourite cousin, she runs into his friend instead who claims he's missing. The story he tells is so fantastic, he can't even tell the police. Tegan however, is more ready to listen. Doing some of her own investigation she finds her cousin Colin, but he seems to be possessed. Tegan then finds out who is responsible for possession, it's the same creature who tried to bond with the Doctor. Scanning her brain, he discovers she's known to the Doctor. He decides to use her as bait against the Doctor.

Back on Gallifrey, the Doctor is sentenced to death to prevent another bonding with the creature. Borusa, the Castallen and the other Timelords of the High Council almost unanimously passed the decree, with only one person holding out, Hedin, a one time friend of the Doctor. Nyssa attempts to rescue the Doctor and pulls a gun on the High Council. The Doctor tries to put Nyssa at ease and takes the gun away from her. As a last wish, he requests the council overlook her zealous misplaced loyalty. The High council agree and place the Doctor in the disintegration booth. Nyssa watches in horror as the Doctor dissolves.

The Doctor has actually not been vaporized, but placed inside the Matrix. He discovers it's Omega who's trying to bond with him. Omega promises to release the Doctor if he promises not to try and stop him, but the Doctor says he'll do whatever he can to stop him. Currently Omegas Tardis is in Amsterdam and he's captured Tegan so he uses her as a hostage to get the Doctors loyalty. The Doctor finally admits he can't leave Gallifrey anyway. The Doctor is finally released and despite promising Omega, he tries to leave Gallifrey and head to Amsterdam thanks to Tegan boldly ignoring Omega's threats. Once out of the matrix, the Doctor learns his friend Hedin is working with Omega.

Hedin has laid evidence making it look like President Borusa is responsible for a previous murder and for working with Omega. When the Castellan finds the President he aims to arrest him. When he discovers the Doctor is still alive and with Borusa, he immediately sentences him to death and fires his weapon, but Hedin jumps in front of the blast, saving the Doctor. Borusa explains to the Castellan that Hedin was the traitor, not himself or the Doctor. Now knowing where Omega is, the Timelords help the Doctor escape Gallifrey without being detected by Omega.

The Timelords are just able to help the Doctor escape. Having landed in Amsterdam, the Doctor finds Omega and Tegan but Omega quickly escapes when his Tardis explodes. But he mentions the Doctor is too late and quickly escapes in a body that has bonded with normal space. Shaking the dust off, Nyssa and the Doctor, now with Tegan following along chase after Omega. They discover a man who's been killed and his clothes taken. The Doctor stresses how important it is to find Omega because his bond is not permanent.

It's not long before Omega also discovers his bond is not permanent. In blind fear, he tries to evade the Doctor and ultimately hopes to take the rest of the universe with him when he finally returns back to anti-matter and disperses. Fortunately the Doctor catches up with him and puts Omega out of his misery before he can explode, saving the universe and giving Omega the only freedom he can truly have. It's then Tegan mentions to Nyssa she was fired from her job so the Tardis is now stuck with her. Nyssa gives Tegan a hug, the Doctor doesn't look so pleased.

Dr. Who (The Early Years) - Part 42 "The Invasion of Time"

Strange things are already afoot once this episode begins. The Doctor is outside of the Tardis and talking to a few aliens, discussing a plan. He has K-9 and Leela in the tardis, forbidding them to come out or turn on the scanner. When she tries the scanner anyway, she realizes the Doctor has locked it. Bemused, Leela wonders why the Doctor doesn't trust her. After signing a contract, the Doctor returns to the Tardis and sets the co-ordinates for Gallifrey.

Upon arriving to Gallifrey, the Doctor claims full rights to the presidency. Since he last visited, no new president has been inaugurated. With no other rivals to challenge him, the Doctor is made president and given the rod, the sash and coronet of Rassilon. He runs into Borusa again, who is puzzled by the Doctors behaviour. The Doctor is now short tempered and verbally abusive to Borusa.

One of the Doctors first acts as President is to banish Leela outside of the Timelord citadel, but she manages to escape. While on the run, she meets Rodan. She's a glorified 'traffic cop', monitoring space but not getting involved. Despite being protected, Rodan lowers the shield protecting her, sensing Leela is not a threat to her. Leela is shocked by her and every Timelord vow of non-intervention.

The Doctor next orders to have his private room completely covered in lead. He stresses to Borusa he wants it everywhere. Floors, ceiling, even the door. While his redecoration is in progress, the Doctor shocks Borusa and the rest of the Timelords even more when he allows the Vardans access to Gallifrey. They are a telepathic race striving to invade Gallifrey, and ultimately all of time. Travelling along wavelengths, they partially materialize.

After her chat with Rodan, Leela realizes the Doctor is not a traitor as he always has a plan. She decides the Doctor must have wanted her outside the city for a reason. She convinces Rodan to join her. While in the Gallifreyan wastelands, the two meet the Outsiders. They are Gallifreyans who have rejected Timelord ways to live a simpler life. Leela convinces them to join in the fight, to regain control of Gallifrey.

To get the full trust of the Vardans, the Doctor orders K-9 to destroy the Transduction Barrier, which protects Gallifrey from being invaded. He then invites Borusa into his special lead-lined room (shielding his thoughts from the Vardans). Now with Borusa's full support, the Doctor devises a way to rid Gallifrey of the Vardans, and putting their planet into a time-loop. But celebrations come to early as the Sontarans invade, while the Transduction Barrier is still down.

The Doctor, Leela, Borusa, K-9 & Rodan all retreat to the Tardis, but the Sontarans are able to break in with help from Kelner, another Timelord. While in the Tardis, we get to see many corridors, a workshop and the swimming pool. The Doctor instructs Rodan to help build a de-mat gun which he uses to destroy the Sontarans. The gun is powered by the Great Key of Rassilon, and after used in the demat gun, the key destroys the de-mat gun and erases the Doctors memory, giving him no knowledge of even claiming to be president. When he opts to leave, Leela decides to stay behind.

WHO: Leela
DEPARTURE LOCATION: Gallifrey
REASON FOR DEPARTURE: Leela has taken a liking to Andred and prefers to stay behind with him, rather than follow with the Doctor. Though she does tell the Doctor she'll miss him.





NEXT: The Key To Time

Bonus Photo

Leela in the Tardis Pool Room

Dr. Who (The Early Years) - Part 39 "The Deadly Assassin"

After receiving another premonition of the Gallifreyan President being shot, the Doctor lands his Tardis inside the city. Its immediately detected and a squad of guards are sent to investigate. The Doctor realizes he's in trouble and opts to sneak out of the Tardis so he can warn the President of what's to come. Avoiding the guards, he makes his way for the Panoptican, but a guard captures him. With the Doctor is being held, an unknown person kills the guard, allowing the Doctor to escape.

The Doctor sneaks his way onto the Panoptican and runs into Runcible, an old classmate who is now essentially a Gallifreyan reporter. He's chastised by Borusa, a teacher from his academy but the Doctor talks to him while searching for the assassin. When Runcible has problems contacting his video technician from up above, the Doctor realizes that's where the shot killing the President will come from. He dives past the assembled Timelords as the President makes his way in.

Unfortunately, the Doctor is unable to prevent the assassination and is framed for the murder. Chancellor Goth is the leading candidate for the Presidency and likely the one who the President was going to name as his successor. Goth wants a swift trial and the Doctor executed as quickly as possible so the Timelords do not appear weak. Cardinal Borusa, is also an old teacher of the Doctor and against it, hoping for a just and fair trial.

The Doctor is on trial for his crime of assassinating the President where he maintains his innocence. Wanting a swift trial, Goth is quick to declare the Doctor guilty. But the Doctor has a trick up his sleeve when he declares 'Article 17', announcing himself as a Presidential candidate. Under Gallifreyan law, he is protected until the next President is declared. The Doctor doesn't expect to win, he just knows it's given him more time to plead his case. Once free, he convinces Castellan Spandrell of his innocence and how he was framed.

The Matrix is a Gallifreyan computer capable of predicting events in the future. The answers the Doctor needs are within, so with Spandrell's help, he projects himself into the Matrix. There, he's hunted by the real killer of the President who needs to kill the Doctor now from discovering the secrets. The Doctor discovers he's being hunted by Goth, the real killer of the President. Having defeated him, the Doctor leaves the Matrix and searches for Goth, now outside the Matrix also. The Doctor realizes someone must be controlling Goth.

What the Doctor finds shocks both him and Spandrell. The Master has arrived on Gallifrey to steal the power the President controls to renew his regenerative cycle. The Master has used up all 12 of his regenerations and wants more, even if it comes to destroying all of Gallifrey. The Master fakes his own death and while in the morgue gains control of the Sash of Rassilon, to protect him from being pulled into the Eye of Harmony - the great source of Timelord power. The Doctor is able to stop the Master, but he gets away, still horribly disfigured.




NEXT: Something For the Dads

Dr. Who (The Early Years) - Part 28 "The Three Doctors"

In 1973, Doctor Who was in it's 10th year. And to celebrate, the producers decided to do something a little different. First, we officially get the name of the Doctor's planet, Gallifrey. A mysterious force is draining power from Gallifrey and the Timelords realize they will require the assistance of the Doctor. Every other Timelord seems to be needed to combat the power loss.

Unknown to anyone, the culprit is Omega. The original Timelord who effectively harnessed the power of a black-hole, which is what gives the Timelords the power to travel in time. He became trapped in the black-hole and was thought dead, but regarded as a hero. Trapped alone in a world of anti-matter, Omega became bitter and angry feeling abandoned.

On Earth, Omega has begun to reek his vengeance on the Timelords, starting with the Doctor. Sending anti-matter blobs & formless creatures in an attempt to capture and bring him to the anti-matter universe. While with Jo and Benton, the Doctor is forced to flee to the Tardis (This is Benton's first visit into the Tardis).

Still in critical condition, the Timelords break their own rule of time and send a previous incarnation of the Doctor to help himself. This catches Jo by surprise as she was unaware of the Doctors ability to regenerate. The Brigadier and Benton warmly welcome the 2nd Doctor, as this was how he looked when they first met him. Understandably, the Brigadier is still confused.

The power on Gallifrey is almost exhausted, but when the two Doctors continue to argue with each other instead of help each other, the Timelords are forced to send the 1st Doctor also. With limited power, they are only able to send him in an advisory role. (Actually, the actor William Hartnell was too ill to perform as the producers would have liked). The Doctors finally put their heads together and devise a way to "nobble" Omega.

The Doctors realize Omega has been completely consumed by the Anti-matter and exists only because his will commands it. Now knowing he can never return to the real world, Omega vows to destroy the universe but the Doctors give him the only freedom he can ever have - destruction. Doing so, they reverse the power drain on Gallifrey and supply it with a complete new energy source. In gratitude, the Timelords release the Doctor of his banishment and supply him with a new dematerialization circuit.

Next: Mastering the Frontier

Dr. Who (The Early Years) - Part 22 "The War Games"

Shall We Play A Game?
The Tardis crew has landed on Earth again, or so it would seem. They are shocked to discover they have landed in what looks like World War 1, in the year 1917. They befriend Jennifer Buckingham but are captured by Germans, then quickly released from a surprise Briton squad. The Tardis crew are taken into custody to determine who they are and what they are doing.

As much as it looks like Earth during World War 1, something far more sinister going on. The first evidence of this happens when General Smythe holds a court marshal for the Doctor and crew. Smythe used hypnosis to convince the rest of the tribunal they are guilty. The Doctor is sentenced to be shot, while Jamie is held with another prisoner who claims to be from 1745.

The War Games is the longest Doctor Who story with 10 parts. But there is a lot to cover as there are various wars going on from different parts of Earth's history. One of the persons responsible is known as the War Chief. He identifies himself as a Time Lord and the Doctor confirms this, while confirming he is also a Time Lord from the same planet. This is the first time we learn something about where the Doctor comes from.

The War Chief is a renegade from the same planet as the Doctor and has been helping the War Lords, constructing limited life-span Sidrat time machines (That's Tardis spelled backwards). The goal is to create an army from the survivors of these wars to conquer the galaxy. A task too daunting to deal with by himself, the Doctor is forced to contact those he ran away from - his own people, the Time Lords. He explains to Jamie and Zoe the Time Lords have a strict rule of not getting involved and for doing so he will be punished.

The leader of the War Lords find out the War Chief is double crossing them and has him executed. But because the Doctor called the Time-Lords, they are all captured. For his crimes, the War Lord is erased from history. Jamie and Zoe are sent back to their own people, and the Doctor is to be exiled on Earth, with a forced regeneration and all knowledge of the Tardis taken from him.

WHO: The Doctor (Patrick Troughton)


DEPARTURE LOCATION: Gallifrey (Though still unnamed in the series).

REASON FOR DEPARTURE: For breaking the rule of non-intervention, he is forced to regenerate.



WHO: Jamie

DEPARTURE LOCATION: Gallifrey, but returned Earth, 1746

REASON FOR DEPARTURE: Unwillingly forced to return to his own time by the Time Lords.




WHO: Zoë

DEPARTURE LOCATION: Gallifrey, but returned to the Wheel in Space in the 21st Century.

REASON FOR DEPARTURE: Unwillingly forced to return to her own time by the Time Lords.




IN TWO WEEKS: "I Shaw My Dolly Move" [IN COLOUR]

NEXT: The Second Doctor in Review