This story's production code is 4X. That's like XXX, but one X-ier.
James VHS Gent ⚡@jamesgent76
My favourite Classic Who story! Love how bitchy the scientists are to each other. A realistic depiction of the workplace 😉
Ha, yeah! They do have that moan later on about whose turn it was to do breakfast, so banal, but so real!
richt1963@richt1963 Excellent Story - More Hinchcliffe than Williams for sure. Love it!!
Yeah, Holmes still around as Script Editor of course, so that helps!
richt1963@richt1963 The calm before the Oxbridge Humour Overload.
Pierre@DWfan9 I love this story! Great setting:English village, scientists, coven, alien menace. Perfect Doctor Who.
...a human skull found buried under a volcano 8 millions years too early.
We meet Stael, humourless assistant to project leader Doctor Fendelman.
Chris@KosmicKris Isn't Scott Fredricks fabulous!!!
Yes, a really powerful performance - oozing menace!
John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland The character's names in this a brilliant. Thea Ransome! Adam Colby! Dr Fendahlman! MAXIMILLIAN STAEL! and my fave, Hiker.
Don't forget Leakey the dog! :-D
James Cooray Smith@thejimsmith I am a big fan of @OldRoberts953's pointing out that they could be called Dr Crazy, Johnny Squarejaw, Adolf Evil & Wendy Doomed. (My wife uses these names as conversational archetypes now.)
Oh God, story ruined! Totally nails it.
John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland Oh yes, I remember. Was it in DWM? I think it all adds to the enjoyment of the whole thing.
Ian Potter@ianzpotter Thea Ransome is one of the most cruelly predestined names in all fiction.In the woods, a lone hiker whistles Joplin's "The Entertainer". Bloody love The Sting.
Denis Lil. Always quality, no matter the accent.
Tonight's Time Scanner is Lancelot, and we'll be using Set of Skulls 4!
Thea seems to fall into some sort of trance as the Time Scanner causes Eustace to glow with energy.
In the woods nearby, the whistling Hiker is first paralysed, then collapses.
In only the robot dog's 2nd story, the Doctor already has K9 in bits.
Urgh! A scarf-less Tom! It's as if he's nekkid.
Leela doesn't see why she can't call K9 "he" when the Doctor refers to the TARDIS "she."
Just as the Doctor claims to have complete control of the TARDIS, they're dragged off course by the time scan.
The TARDIS likes Leela's "primitive thought patterns", apparently.
The time scanner must be deactivated before it makes the Earth implode. Right-o.
"I like your new dress."
Thea's recovered now, but Max missed his turn to take breakfast.
To be fair, Max and the Professor have been at it all night.
KrynoidPodCast@KrynoidPodCast Now he won't have enough lead left in his pencil to carry out his plan to repopulate the Earth single-handedly. #Survivors
Leakey has killed again. Dog of Doom.
Thea goes all Dr. McCoy: "I'm a technician, not a human palaeontologist!"
"There's a corpse by the wood."
"What sort of corpse."
"A dead one. What other sort is there?"
It is never easy to die. Unless you're Rory Williams.
Fendelman persuades the others to delay reporting the death to the police so that they can continue their tests in peace.
Unbeknownst to Thea and Adam, Fendelman orders up a security team to make sure no one gets in... or out.
"Come on then."
"No, no, no. The one who leads says come on. Come on."
These Cows are probably just pissed off that Leela seems to be wearing their late friend Daisy.
When the hitcher's body begins to decompose, as if drained of all energy, Fendelman orders Stael to get rid of it.
As the Doctor and Leela take a break at the edge of the wood, Leela captures the skulking Ted Moss.
"I was sent by the council. Someone asked for the verges to be done. 18 months ago."
John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland WHERE'S HIS EQUIPMENT? Also, now it would be a "community volunteer" "comissioned" by the local authority. One day I'd like to play a comedy yokel in Doctor Who.
"No, no, no. The one who leads says come on. Come on."
These Cows are probably just pissed off that Leela seems to be wearing their late friend Daisy.
When the hitcher's body begins to decompose, as if drained of all energy, Fendelman orders Stael to get rid of it.
As the Doctor and Leela take a break at the edge of the wood, Leela captures the skulking Ted Moss.
"I was sent by the council. Someone asked for the verges to be done. 18 months ago."
John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland WHERE'S HIS EQUIPMENT? Also, now it would be a "community volunteer" "comissioned" by the local authority. One day I'd like to play a comedy yokel in Doctor Who.
I think I could only be persuaded to do it if they *guaranteed* freak weather conditions. So filming in the UK.
Ted fills them in about the scientifically spooky goings on at the Priory in Fetchborough.
Fetchborough? That's near Broadchurch, isn't it? Up the coast from Walmington-on-sea?
In the Priory kitchen, Security guard Charlie off 'Enders has a run-in with crazy old Ma Tyler. Any relation?
KrynoidPodCast@KrynoidPodCast A security guard? In a kitchen? Does that make it a security kitchen?!
Adam turns on the charm to cool the tempers but is glad of Ma Tyler's supplies seeing as Fendelman has them on lockdown.
Adam gets his first look inside the secret lab, where Fendelman explains his inspiration was a "sonic shadow".
What Fendelman calls "ultimate archaeology" is basically just a 70s version of Tony Robinson's GeoPhys lot.
The Doctor vetos Leela killing a guard because "you'll upset the dog."
Adam gives his verdict on Fendelman's theory: "Crazy as a bed bug!"
Apparently Fendelman's machine only works after dark...
...and it's night when the Doctor makes it to the Priory grounds.
Leela's wandered off.
As the machine powers up, Eustace begins to glow once more...
The Doctor is rooted to the spot like the hiker before him.
At a nearby cottage, Leela opens the door only to be given both barrels!
Cliffhanger!
Through sheer willpower, the Doctor is able to force his legs to move, and escapes the psychic attack.
Leela, having ducked in the nick of time, is confronted by the gun-wielding Ted Moss.
But it's Ma Tyler's cottage, and her grandson, Jack, wants to know what Leela and Ted are doing there.
John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland Compare and contrast Mr Hinsliff's performance in "Image of the Fendal" and "Nightmare of Eden"
Indeed! Having watched it the other week it's easy to see a difference in house style; it's a much larger performance 2 years later.
John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland It's almost like there was nobody directing "Nightmare of Eden" isn't it?
John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland He was, as he admits himself, a nightmare. And then JNT comes along, says no, and he sulks! Still, all good fun to watch!
Charlie's checking in the Scum to see what time 'Enders is on, when there's a supernatural noise at the door...
Adam finds Thea's still entranced by Eustace, but she snaps out of it when they hear Charlie's death scream.
Reckon it must have been Don Brennan that killed Charlie. It's a Corrie vs. Enders turf war thing. The skull is Arthur Fowler's.
Ted fills them in about the scientifically spooky goings on at the Priory in Fetchborough.
Fetchborough? That's near Broadchurch, isn't it? Up the coast from Walmington-on-sea?
In the Priory kitchen, Security guard Charlie off 'Enders has a run-in with crazy old Ma Tyler. Any relation?
KrynoidPodCast@KrynoidPodCast A security guard? In a kitchen? Does that make it a security kitchen?! 
Adam turns on the charm to cool the tempers but is glad of Ma Tyler's supplies seeing as Fendelman has them on lockdown.
Adam gets his first look inside the secret lab, where Fendelman explains his inspiration was a "sonic shadow".
What Fendelman calls "ultimate archaeology" is basically just a 70s version of Tony Robinson's GeoPhys lot.
The Doctor vetos Leela killing a guard because "you'll upset the dog."
Adam gives his verdict on Fendelman's theory: "Crazy as a bed bug!"
Apparently Fendelman's machine only works after dark...
...and it's night when the Doctor makes it to the Priory grounds.
Leela's wandered off.
As the machine powers up, Eustace begins to glow once more...
The Doctor is rooted to the spot like the hiker before him.
At a nearby cottage, Leela opens the door only to be given both barrels!
Cliffhanger!
Through sheer willpower, the Doctor is able to force his legs to move, and escapes the psychic attack.
Leela, having ducked in the nick of time, is confronted by the gun-wielding Ted Moss.
But it's Ma Tyler's cottage, and her grandson, Jack, wants to know what Leela and Ted are doing there.
John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland Compare and contrast Mr Hinsliff's performance in "Image of the Fendal" and "Nightmare of Eden"Indeed! Having watched it the other week it's easy to see a difference in house style; it's a much larger performance 2 years later.
John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland It's almost like there was nobody directing "Nightmare of Eden" isn't it?
I feel like all that starts here, Tom going off the rails. With Hinchcliffe no longer around and Holmes with one foot out the door, Tom himself is the de facto authority on his Doctor and starts to overrule anyone who doesn't stand up to him, Williams included.
John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland He was, as he admits himself, a nightmare. And then JNT comes along, says no, and he sulks! Still, all good fun to watch!
Ha, definitely!
Charlie's checking in the Scum to see what time 'Enders is on, when there's a supernatural noise at the door...
Adam finds Thea's still entranced by Eustace, but she snaps out of it when they hear Charlie's death scream.
Reckon it must have been Don Brennan that killed Charlie. It's a Corrie vs. Enders turf war thing. The skull is Arthur Fowler's.
Thea collapses as the Doctor enters. He has that effect.
He says the creatures that manifest on her body are "embryo Fendahleen".
The Fendahl was supposed to have perished when the 5th planet broke up.
The Doctor is fascinated by Fendelman. "Is that really your name?"
With the Doctor locked up...
...Adam proposes to call the police, but Fendelman has him over a barrel about not reporting the previous death.
Jack sends Ted Moss packing...
...and explains to Leela that the locals think his gran has mystic powers.
A mysterious benefactor aids the Doctor's escape. Clara?
John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland At last! An explanation!Adam is concerned that the phones are cut off.
But Thea has worse fears: she thinks what is happening is all part of a plan, and the plan is hers!
"You must think my head zips up at the back!"
Fendelman believes Eustace is alien, and that the whole human race is alien.
Something's spooking Ma Tyler.
The Doctor discovers that Moss is working for none other than Stael.
There must be 13 for the coven, but 1 place is reserved for "the one who kills."
Fendelman wants to show Adam and Thea some revealing images. Oh, aye?
Ma Tyler is in shock. Whatever it was, "It were hungry for my soul!"
For as long as man can remember, Denis Lil's 'tache has been a symbol of power.
Leela overpowers one of the guards to make it back into the house.
Stael gives Thea a fright, but it's about to get worse for her...
...she's his "chosen one", unlucky number 13.
Here's the start of Tom going off the rails. With Hinchcliffe no longer around, and Holmes with one foot out of the door, he's the de facto authority on his Doctor, so does what he likes.
"Alas, poor skull."
Thought Tom's Doctor was supposed to never lie? That's a Liquorice allsort, not a jelly baby!
The Doctor's been bitten by the skull!
End of Part 2!
Leela finds the Doctor and breaks the connection by kicking the chair out from under him.
I thought Tom wasn't supposed to be that keen on Leela...?
The Doctor realizes that the skull is becoming a "metracion generator" to recreate the Fendahl.
The Fendahl "eats life itself."
The Doctor says Fendelman can safely operate his machine for about 100 hours before it implodes. He' already just shy of 99.
Fendelman believes he can scan back to the true genesis of Homo Sapiens.
If Thea really was the Medium, she'd've seen this coming.
"Max, you're a fool!"
"I shall be a god!"
"I shall be a god!"
The Doctor thinks he can snap Ma Tyler out of her trance with a nice cup of tea.
And fruitcake.
Fendelman is stunned when Stael pulls a gun on them to force them to turn the scanner off till his coven are ready.
Ma Tyler returns indignantly to the land of the living. "That ain't the way to make fruitcake!"
She explains that the coven consulted her for her 2nd sight.
The Doctor attributes her abilities to having lived all her life next to a weak point in the fabric of space and time.
Ma Tyler gives Leela a charm to protect her from the figure she saw in her dream. "Twere a woman!"
Stael isn't quite ready to reveal his plans for Thea yet.
The TARDIS seems very noisy.
The Doctor and Leela have returned there to seek clues about the demise of the 5th planet.
But it's a wild goose chase - the Time Lords erased the planet from time.
Ma Tyler tells Jack to "never trust a man as wears a hat."
"But Granddad always wore one."
"And a wicked old devil he were, too!"
She fills shotgun cartridges with rock salt, a mystical defence.
The Doctor realizes the skull is absorbing the energy released when the scanner beam damages the time fissure. Of course.
As the coven begins to assemble, the truth dawns on Fendelman.
"The Doctor asked if my name was real. Fendelman. Man of the Fendahl."
"Only for this have the generations of my fathers lived... Mankind has been used!"
Stael puts him out of his misery...
...and begins his ceremony.
Jack and Ma Tyler enter the Priory, and soon meet up with the Doctor and Leela.
Moments later, the malign influence of the Fendahl paralyses them all...
...as the full grown creatures drags itself inexorably towards them!
Giant slug thing! End of part 3!
Vincent Jones@Bunny_Snuggler Oh, I remember this one! It's where a giant penis attacks the house!
*looks at Fendahleen design* You may need to see a doctor...!
Vincent Jones@Bunny_Snuggler PMSL, it was just the one week in Amsterdam!
The Doctor drives the Fendahleen back with the rock salt loaded shot gun.
Ooh 'eck, Edwin Bandersnatch's mum's gone all gold and wotnot!
She starts to absorb the life-force of the coven members.
This wasn't part of Stael's plan.
The Doctor spots Stael's power cables leading down into the cellar and follows them, Leela in tow.
"You know summat, John? There's going to come a time when I'll be too old for this sort of thing."
Stael & co. are now completely enslaved to the Fendahl; it's too late for anyone that's seen its' eyes.
Stael begs the Doctor to give him the gun so he can break the coven... which he does.
So shocking when the Doctor leaves Max to shoot himself.
John Mark Frankland@JMFrankland They were right to leave this off screen. IT'S A TEATIME ADVENTURE SHOW, plus it paves the way for a sequel...
The Doctor says the effect the salt has on the Fendahleen is probably the origin of the superstition of throwing salt over your shoulder.
With the scanner turned off, the planet is safe from implosion, but there's still the matter of the Fendahl.
The creature is a gestalt, and as it's now incomplete, they might have a chance of stopping it.
Are those Fendahleen blowing raspberries? Cocky little swines.
12 million years ago, on a planet which no longer exists, evolution went up a blind alley.
Natural selection turned back on itself and a creature evolved which prospered by absorbing the energy wavelengths of life itself.
The Time Lords were too late, Eustace had already made it to Earth when they erased the 5th planet.
Eustace then influenced human evolution to bring about the 2nd coming of the Fendahl.
When another Fendahleen approaches, Jack isn't equal to the task, so Leela has to take the shot.
"Time's running out!"
"Thea" finally transforms into a Fendahleen.
The Doctor's relieved to find Leela and Jack are alright after downing their attacker, but there's not a moment to lose...
...and he's soon rigging a more controlled implosion to destroy the Priory and everything in it.
Everything but the skull, anyway; that'll need disposing of separately.
Adam must operate the scanner for 2 mins at the right time.
"Remember, 3 minutes!" (Holds up 4 fingers).
The Doctor braves the Fendahleen to scoop up the skull in a lead-lined box.
Adam's switched off the scanner, so they've got 3 minutes to get out.
The Doctor scatters Ma Tyler's salt so he and Leela can escape the stare of the Fendahl.
Thea returns to the pentagram.
With the implosion annihilating the Priory...
...the Doctor & Leela leave without saying any goodbyes.
Jack puts the kettle on, as everyone breathes a sigh of relief back at Ma Tyler's.
The Doctor and Leela are off to pop the skull in the nearest supernova.
I prefer Leela's old outfit too, actually.
KrynoidPodCast@KrynoidPodCast I prefer her brown eyes too but I suppose I shouldn't as they aren't Louise's own.
Yeah, same, actually - I guess I'm more used to them brown as I probably rewatch those stories more!
KrynoidPodCast@KrynoidPodCast Me too. The brown-eyed era is Leela's finest :)
Leela scores a point as the Doctor refers to K9 as "him."
"I can call K9 'him' if I want to. He's my dog."
K9's neck needs oiling.
Coming Soon... The Keys of Marinus
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