Intrigue and danger haunt the dark and mysterious corridors of the Peladon Hugh Court castle, as the various members of the Galactic Federation, recently arrived there for a pivotal meeting, come under attack from the legendary curse of Aggedor, notably the recently damaged ambassador Arcturus, whom the recently arrived Time Lord has helped survive his deadly predicament. A great image from Season Ten's The Curse of Peladon.
The audio of this story, from Brian Hayles, is part of a recently released (July 4th, 2025) LP collection from Demon Records that specially celebrates the Pertwee era.
Once again, our beloved Sarah is in danger, this time from an Ice Warrior, as the Martians return to the important politics and superstition-fused world of Peladon, this time as baddies, during the later episode events of the patchy but fun The Monster of Peladon. Can the bold mining leader Gebek (Rex Robinson) repel the invader?
It's the kind of great posed publicity shot we all wish had made it to the actual story.
The first 'mad scientist' of the Pertwee era, Professor Stahlman (Olaf Pooley, in a fine performance of edgy dedication and building spitefulness) is determined to see his 'Inferno' project reach the very end of its task in penetrating the Earth's core for mystery gas, even if it means destroying the world, and turning himself into a deadly savage Primord, in the process.
I personally liked the Primord creatures of Inferno, a welcome horror addition to the already tense and doom-laden atmosphere of Don Houghton's all-time classic seven-parter of 1970.
His mission to start a war between the mighty Earth and Draconian star empires nearing completion, the fiendish the Master (looking very much the intergalactic policeman) has now taken Jo Grant prisoner and prepares for the journey to the mysterious Ogron planet, hopefully not arriving before his mortal enemy the Doctor has followed him, and a soon meeting with his shadowy paymasters, in this memorable moment from Malcolm Hulke's grand space opera, Frontier in Space.
Check out Daryl Joyce's latest excellent Classic Who story tribute/re-imagining on Frontier...
Jon Pertwee, always a hater of the scene-stealing Daleks, never misses the opportunity to mine his opponents for comedy antics, during location filming for Planet of the Daleks, within the cold and wet clime environs of another typical British quarry doubling for an alien world.
Actor Stephen Thorne poses as the formidable alien scientist Azal during a special publicity shoot taken during CSO filming of the classic Jon Pertwee tale, The Daemons. I never saw the story on original transmission but remember seeing photographs of the character in magazines three or four years later as a child and being both impressed and a little scared of the monster- meaning that the series was genuinely hitting the right note with impressionable young audiences who wanted to be scared but were also fascinated with the classic series genuine cornucopia of colourful monsters.
Investigating the ongoing mystery of the scientific nuclear powered research base located within a set of caves in rural Derbyshire, the Third Doctor gets a shock when a menacing non-extinct Tyrannosaurus Rex from ancient Earth history goes on the attack, during the memorable cliffhanger to part one of Doctor Who and the Silurians. The scene is beautifully recreated in art by Tom Connell for the noughties released Doctor Who Files DVD/magazine series.
From stopping the incursion perils of a Sontaran warrior trapped in medieval England, to taking a deadly journey deep into the heart of the mutated alien Spiders kingdom on the planet Metebelis III, where our indomitable Time Lord must face his fear against a terrifying menace, Jon Pertwee's Doctor Who bowed out in audience-winning style during the show's eleventh season back in 1974. I hope you've enjoyed our story coverage of this iconic and well-regarded season, truly the end of an era for many fans.
Here are the collected story links for your further enjoyment...
Photo art composition by Lee Johnson for the Doctor Who - The Complete History partwork series.
In his last and most dangerous adventure in the Pertwee years, what begins as innocuous research into ESP turns into a deadly mind battle, with the terrifying spiders from the planet Metebelis Three pitted against the Doctor, his friends and fellow Time Lord K'Anpo.
At a Tibetan-style retreat deep in rural England a clandestine circle of chanting brethren unknowingly call upon the evil powers of the Metebelis Spiders, whose quest for the perfect blue crystal leads them straight to the Doctor. He must travel to the alien planet to meet the Great One, merciless ruler of her spiders and human slaves, who plans to take over Earth. The future of the entire universe is in the Doctor's hands, but if he is to face the fear the Great One sees in his mind, then he must face the certainty of total destruction. Could this be the Time Lord's final death?
Original VHS release sleeve synopsis - 1991
Truly the 'last hurrah' for both Jon Pertwee and the Third Doctor's era, my memories of Planet of the Spiders are not from the actual six-part version of the story but rather the excellent omnibus edition shown at Xmas time (December 27th, 1974, at 2.45pm). And I remember all the classic scenes from it too, as if it were yesterday - the fun transport chase between the Doctor and UNIT against Lupton (and especially the Whomobile when it flies), some of the retreat rest home scenes with Mike and Sarah, at least one scene of the spiders' meeting/clashes and Sarah's arrival on Metebelis III as the spider envoy arrives in the small human community. Plus, of course, the finale, where the Doctor confronts the Great One and regenerates. I remember even then thinking that the regeneration scene in to the new Doctor (whose name I briefly didn't know then, as I hadn't seen the newspapers with his casting) was all too brief.
One of the creepy Metebelis III spiders now arrived on Earth.
Overall, Planet has been in and out of fashion many times with fandom over the last four decades or so, but I find it great fun, a tale in which all the regular supporting cast have things to do (it's a shame, though, that an early idea to have the UNIT-retired Mike Yates teamed with Sarah as the new Doctor's travelling companions never happened, especially as the duo work well together in this story). There's also a fine guest cast (John Kane as the soon-intellectual Tommy being a standout), whilst the audience-memorable Spiders, brought to life by BBC effects veterans Ian Scoones and Mat Irvine, are generally well done, though I think the last episode's confrontation with the Great One is ultimately far too static - I hope that the story's eventual Blu-ray release might get a CGI makeover in certain aspects. And as much as I remember the story I also loved getting the original Target book from my mum a year later, what with its cover art of the newly-departed Doctor's facing the possessed Sarah and the corner imaging of his changing face, all of which I really found fascinating and exciting.
Now approaching five-years old, my appreciation for the series ,and my full-time interest in it, really kicked-off by the very next day on BBC 1, and the intriguing arrival of Tom Baker...
A return to a troubled realm for the Doctor. Photo composition art by Lee Johnson for the Doctor Who - The Complete History partwork series.
The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Sarah to the medieval planet Peladon, some half a century after the Time Lord's first visit. now under the benign influence of the Galactic Federation, the Pel nobles enjoy new riches and new technology.
But the Federation is at war with Galaxy Five, and Peladon has taken on a new tactical importance; it is rich in the rare mineral trisilicate, which is vital to the war effort. the Pel miners, however, are in revolt. For too long they have been overworked and taken for granted by the Federation and the Pel royalty. They believe that Federation machinery has awoken the spirit of the legendary Aggedor, who is now slaughtering aliens and unbelievers. As open rebellion erupts, the Federation sends in a hard-line military taskforce - Commander Azaxyr and his ice warriors
The Doctor and Sarah must not only act as peace-keepers between the warring fractions but also discover the truth behind the 'spirit'. They soon learn that the Galactic Federation has been infiltrated by traitors and spies, determined to destroy the alliance from within...
Official BBC Video VHS story synopsis sleeve notes - November 1995.
With the original The Curse of Peladon having been so well received by the public it was a no-brainer to the Who production team that they should attempt a sequel with Pertwee's final season, and one that would make further use of the prior story's already created sets, costumes and monsters from 1971/72, especially the impressive Ice Warriors costume and their new Ice Lord leader. The end result - The Monster of Peladon - is sadly not quite as good sequel-wise, primarily because the story is just too long at six episodes (especially linked to the plotting of the Pel miners' struggles, characters who look visually bizarre to general audiences with their unique afro hair styles) when a tight-to-the-bone four-parter would have been much more effective and welcome. Still, it's great to see the formidable Ice Warriors return once more before disappearing from Classic Whodom forever, and especially back to their original bad guys status. Tom Baker look-a-like Donald Gee, as mining expert Eckersley, is a solid stand-out with his character's shades of grey attitude that gets darker as the story goes on, whilst Alpha Centaur is as dizzyingly delightful as ever (thanks to Ysanne Churchman's voicing, clearly relishing such a fun role). And the ferocious but cute Aggedor (once more inhabited by stuntman Nick Hobbs) makes an appealing final impression on younger viewers. It's the monster scenes in the story that I primarily remember the most from the story's original transmission, notably the moments where the captured Doctor and Sarah are pushed into the pit to encounter Aggedor, and the arrival of the Ice Warriors with their subsequent subterranean conflicts against the resident miners.
Pertwee and a group of set visitors to the BBC meet Aggedor!
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