Part Nine: The Adventure Continues:
[Scene: The Doctor is alone at the console of the TARDIS, Henderson and Devisingh are elsewhere sleeping. The communication screen suddenly lights up, the Time Lord Ranos appearing on it, looking severe.]
RANOS:
Ah, Doctor, thank goodness, we're in need of your skills.
DOCTOR:
When aren't you? What battle of yours do you need me to win this time Ranos?
RANOS:
The Daleks and Cybermen are using time travel to reverse their defeat at Lanar VII, we need you to strike at their capabilities to do so.
DOCTOR:
So that only we can go back to correct our mistakes? You know the consequences of this as much as I do Ranos, it could lead to the end of time itself.
RANOS:
It won't come to that Doctor. At least, I can only hope it won't.
DOCTOR:
Is this truly what I've been fighting for? An endless madness that could destroy the entire Universe?
RANOS:
[Attempting some joviality] You were there at the beginning Doctor, it's only right you'll be there at the end.
DOCTOR:
[Severely] Even if it costs me everything, there shall be no end.
- Extract from the opening scene of '
The End of Time', the final serial of the twenty-first series of
Doctor Who
As Jeremy Brett's run as the Doctor continued throughout 1985 and 1986, Doctor Who experienced a resurge in popularity that was in no small part due to Brett's time in the part. The Doctor was mysterious, many fan theories springing up in response to the hints towards his past and family. Nothing concrete was ever provided but the question of who the Doctor actually was grew as the series went on, Brett's performance deepening the mystery of the character, adding little tweaks to it that added further questions. The period 1984-1987 is regarded as the high point of Doctor Who with high quality scripts, excellent performances and a long running story arc which culminated in what's regarded as the series' moment of triumph. Brett himself would go onto earn an OBE for his role in the series just before his death and list the role as the highlight of his career.
- Extract from a fan poll on the top ten list of fan favourites to play the Doctor, Doctor Who Fan Magazine 2000
What happened to the Fifth Doctor?
Was the Doctor really there at the beginning of the Time Lords?
Why did Henderson smile?
Who was Andorra?
How many years was the Sixth Incarnation of the Doctor active for?
Could the Time Lords and Daleks return?
- Only a few of the many questions fans had at the end of the Sixth Doctor's tenure
“Despite the huge controversy during the John Denver run,
Doctor Who gained a huge fan following in the US that we were determined to hold onto. To that end, we looked to cast more American actors to help fill the gap from Denver leaving us. While still primarily a British show, tapping into talent from overseas really helped expand the talent shown on screen as we averaged around three actors per series, budget allowing. It showed what we could get, in terms of talent who could do great things with the material we offered them. Granted, there was some minor backlash over one incident, but that was isolated from what we accomplished as a whole.”
- Extract from an interview with David Maloney, 1998
War in The Skies:
With the Time War ongoing, the Doctor and his companions touch down on a ship belonging to Quixano, a leader of a rebellion against the tyrannical Emperor of Celor. Despite this war, the Doctor is here to investigate rumours of the involvement of the Cybermen, despite them having no place in this time or world. Forced to go along with Quixano during their investigations, Devisingh in initially open to his rebellion against the tyranny of the Emperor until the true nature of his fanaticism is revealed, Quixano plans on destroying the government completely, leaving nothing in its place and allowing true anarchy to take place, giving the people complete freedom to live or die in the chaos to follow. Horrified by this, Devisingh tries to get the Doctor to forge a peace, which he tries, even managing to get a communication between them but it just devolves into a shouting match. Throughout this though, Henderson and the Doctor find evidence of the Cyberman intervention in weaponry captured from Empire troops. Further investigation leads them to discover that the Emperor made an alliance with the Cybermen, promising them the rebels as rewards for their weaponry. The Cybermen themselves hope to use Celor as a new production base once the war is over however, turning the billions who live there into greater numbers of their forces. Directing the attacks of both the Emperor and Rebels to the Cyberman ship, the joined forces manage to destroy the threat before Quixano directs his ship to destroy the Emperor's, killing him and decapitating the government. Unable to stay as he's discovered the nature of the Cybermen's alliance with the Daleks, the Doctor brings his companions to Gallifrey as Celor faces an uncertain future.
- Synopsis of the the second serial of the twentieth series of
Doctor Who, '
The War in the Skies'
Raul Juliá and Brian Blessed have a polite discussion about politics.
- Caption underneath the photo on the 'Ham to Ham Combat' page from TV Tropes, 1012
[Scene: A communications centre with people manning consoles and a large screen on one side of the room. The Doctor, Henderson and Devisingh stand beside rebel leader Quixano as he looks to the screen.]
QUIXANO:
Activate visual.
[The screen activates, a bulb lighting up beside it, showing the Emperor glaring directly into the room.]
QUIXANO:
Activate audio.
[A second bulb lights up for a second before burning out as the Emperor begins to speak]
EMPEROR:
So Quixano you dog, are you ready to surrender?
QUIXANO:
To one such as you? Never! You are a disease upon our people, one that must be eradicated immediately! This is simply to serve notice on you and your followers, surrender now and I guarantee your trial will be fair.
EMPEROR:
A trial?! Me?! You dare put your sovereign in the place of thieves and guttersnipes?! Even if your backlog of crimes hadn't condemned you already, I'd have had you killed for that!
QUIXANO:
You may try you monster! But I represent an idea of freedom! And you cannot kill an idea! Capture me! Torture me! Kill me! It doesn't matter! Even if I die, the idea shall live on and people shall see it!
EMPEROR:
The people will not dare strike at their true ruler for a treacherous worm like you!
QUIXANO:
You are no ruler of the people! YOU! ARE! A TYYYRRRRRANT!!!
EMPEROR:
TYRANT??!!! I! AM! THE! EEMMMPPERRRRAAHHH!!!
[To the side, Henderson flinches while Devisingh winces and brings hand up to her right ear. The Doctor brings a hand to his face and sighs.]
DOCTOR:
I see this was as productive as I had imagined...
- Extract from a scene from '
War in The Skies', the second serial of the twentieth series of
Doctor Who
“One fun fact to note about this scene is, due to a power outage cutting production time short, there was no time for a reshoot so the shot with the bulb burning out had to be kept in. Considering that was the bulb to show that the audio was working, what you saw and heard was Raul Juliá and Brian Blessed screaming through 10,000 miles of the vacuum of space. In space, everyone can hear you ham.”
- Extract from '
War in The Skies', a review by SFDebris, 2011
“We hadn't intended to use that shot of course. We managed to tape a few of the scenes and had planned on several shots with a different take to see how Raul would react to each one and select the best out of them. Unfortunately, time constraints after a power failure and numerous other haphazards that all seemed to pile on at once meant we were stuck with the one where we were in a competition to see who could swallow the most scenery in the least amount of time. Raul played against it well, going as far as I did. Just a shame he wasn't able to give a more subdued performance as that's the scene everyone remembers about that serial.”
- Extract from an interview with Brian Blessed, 2004
“I know people credit me and Peter for our reactions to the argument in that episode as being a comic thing, but it wasn't. It wasn't until we were shooting the scene that we realised we were behind the sound system. We got a complete blast of Brian with the machine at full volume from right behind us. Gave us a headache throughout the rest of the day.”
- Extract from an interview with Meera Syal, 2001
The Time War, a story-arc which encompassed series nineteen, twenty, twenty-one and twenty-two of
Doctor Who. Largely composed of telling the story of how the Doctor and his companions fought against the Daleks as they made a concentrated effort through time and space to destroy the Time Lords and bring the Universe under their control. It comprised of three major sub-arcs throughout the four series, the nineteenth series and beginning of the twentieth told the story of the start of the Time War and the gathering of forces by the Time Lords and the Doctor. The second sub-arc told of the alliance between the Daleks and Cybermen which the Doctor ended only through great sacrifice and the loss of his own morals. The third suc-arc told the last days of the Time War as the Time Lords grew ever more desperate to end the conflict before the Daleks became victorious with the Doctor trying desperately to contain the damage both sides wreaked in the Universe. Largely seen as the show's Golden Age by British fans, the series enjoyed high ratings although it was controversial for several of the themes running throughout, as well as the perceived violence in the show.
- Extract from '
The Heart of The TARDIS: A Doctor Who Wiki', 2013
“It was great working with both Meera and Jeremy, the three of us got on really well and it showed on screen. It really helped with out characters that we could sit down and talk about what we wanted to get out of them and our performances, it also really helped to develop the relationship on screen between Henderson and Devisingh. The writing really let us show that what could have been a two-dimensional back and forth constant argument between the two was allowed to become so much more than that.”
- Extract from an interview with Peter Davison, 2003
[Scene: A corridor in an alien station, Henderson and Devisingh are rushing through it, escaping stealthily from a Cybermen outpost that is unaware of their presence.]
HENDERSON:
[Lurching to the left] Quick! This way!
DEVISINGH:
No! We came through this way! [Pointing to the right] We can get back that way!
HENDERSON:
Oh for pity's sake, which one of us is the professional soldier here? Why don't you listen to me you...
DEVISINGH:
You... What exactly? You woman? You darkie? Is that it?
HENDERSON:
We don't have time for this.
DEVISINGH:
Maybe not, but I'm sick of it. Your attitude, your condescension and the fact you just can't get over ideas that belong in the past!
HENDERSON:
And you seem to forget that's where I'm from! For God's sake, you think it's easy to just leap away from my home and time to realise that everything I've been taught, everything I've learned is wrong. No, not just wrong, evil. So forgive me if it's taking me time to get used to this fact. Forgive me if I can't drop beliefs I've held all my life. And forgive me if I don't live up to your own enlightened ideals. Now, shall we get going before we're discovered?
[Henderson heads off in his original direction, Devisingh looking at him before following quietly.]
- Extract from a scene from 'The Cyber Initiative' a serial from the twentieth series of
Doctor Who
“We managed to get the idea for the series in general during those first few days I met with David. After setting down the core ideas for the next four years, it then began to flesh out more, turning into the form of the television series. We all had lots of help from the actors regarding the characters, as well as other writers making great contributions. Meera did a very good job when the time came for her to leave the show, the fate of her character having been planned out three years before. The fan reaction to her and Peter in the show was better than we hoped, the story we planned had come to fruition in the last two years of my time on the show, starting with '
The End of Time'.”
- Extract from an interview with Alan Moore, 2003
“We all knew the time frame we had for the series. This wasn't going to be where we signed on for a year at a time or so. The layout had been given to us from the start so it wasn't a suprise at all to read of Devisingh's death. It was still a bit sad though, I loved my time on the show and finally having to say goodbye did manage to bring a tear to my eye. I have to admit that I was very proud of my time in
Doctor Who and was overwhelmed by the fan response I received for my work on it. I still get people coming up to me telling me that Jeremy, Peter and I were their favourites in the TARDIS. I have nothing but fond memories of my time on the show and my only regret is that it didn't last longer.”
- Extract from an interview with Meera Syal, 2003
The End of Time:
After receiving a message from the Time Lords about how the Daleks are using time travel to prevent losing a battle on the Planet Lanar VII, the Doctor and his companions arrive on the planet looking to destroy the time machine before it can be used again as the Time Lords attack. Having grown jaded over the madness around her, Devisingh breaks away from the group as she tries her best to bring about a peace between the Daleks and Time Lords. As she does this, Henderson and the Doctor act to destroy the time machine, bringing the remaining Cybermen down on them, the race having lost the majority of their number during the Time War. The Time Lords actually called in the Doctor to act as a distraction while they bring about a plan to end the threat of the Daleks and Cybermen with a bomb that would distort time itself in the region, obliterating all those hit by it from time itself. Discovering the scheme, the Doctor and Henderson rush madly to stop it, realising the insanity of such a weapon being used. The Doctor manages to eliminate the time destroying elements of the bomb as Henderson helps fight off a Cyberman attack, but is unable to stop it from being sent out to be used. The Cyberman fall onto the Time Lord defences, only to be called back once a message is heard from a spaceship, one from Devisingh as she tries to summon the different sides to discuss peace. Believing that the Doctor is with his companion, the Cybermen move in to attack her, not realising the bomb is about to be set off. Devisingh believes this is a sign that peace might be possible before the bomb explodes, taking out the entire Solar System, killing her and wiping out the last of the Cybermen. The Doctor and Henderson watch on, knowing that there's nothing they can do without starting the madness they came here to stop and take their leave, the Doctor finally picking up a weapon as he looks to fight in the remaining days of the Time War.
- Synopsis of '
The End of Time', the final serial of the twenty-first series of
Doctor Who, aired in March, 1986
“I knew it! I knew they'd listen! Just someone to reach out to them, that's all they needed. Oh, I hope you're watching Doctor, I hope you know what this day means! Finally, this nightmare can-.”
- The final words of Devisingh
“All scores being relative to their series, '
The End of Time' gets an eight out of ten. It shook up the status quo like little else in the series previously. One of the companions died in a way that was completely accidental in actually saving the Doctor's life, the Cybermen were gone, not to be seen for well over a decade after this serial aired and only two were left on the TARDIS to see out the final days of the war.”
“The character of Devisingh has been somewhat divisive as I've noted before. While well written and not the stereotypical hippie some have accused her of being, her actions led some fans to accusing her to losing her mind at least, thinking that, after everything she'd been through, the Daleks could still be negotiated with. But I disagree with that for various reasons. Devisingh had set herself out for being the Doctor's anchor towards the part of Humanity he cherished and idealised so much. Throughout her time on the show, Devisingh always appealed to the Doctor's best characteristics and managed to bring them out in him. As the Time War went on though, the weariness that the Doctor felt about the conflict was seen in her as well. While the Doctor was willing to accept it for Gallifrey, Devisingh had no such loyalties and was willing to call the Time War for what it was, a mad war fought between two races that were willing to destroy the Universe for their own ends, both as bad as each other. In her final act, she let hope override reality, hope that the war could stop. In her own words, that the nightmare could end.”
“In Devisingh's death, we see it's effect on Henderson and the Doctor. Henderson, formally committed to the Time War and the destruction of the Daleks, asks the Doctor what's the point of it if they couldn't save someone like Devisingh and only receives silence as a response. Before, he was a loyal soldier to the Doctor but the relationship he established with Devisingh, someone he previously only saw in contempt, opened his mind to things outside his time, his world view. With her death, he can only contemplate on his regret of not doing further.”
“And what of the Doctor? The last shot we have of him in this serial, this series in fact, is sitting in solitude, thinking about what has happened. Unable to save Devisingh, he instead looks to a gun taken from the Cybermen and starts to modify it. The Doctor, a man so committed to his ideals that he's refused to even carry a gun into battle, now works on creating a weapon to kill as many of his enemies as he can. No mercy, no regrets. The Sixth Doctor had completed the transition from an explorer into a warrior, one that would no longer react to orders, he would seek out and kill all Daleks to end them, and the nightmare.”
- Extract from '
The End of Time', a review by SFDebris, 2013