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| SITE HOME | DOCTOR
WHO HOME | BIG FINISH AUDIOS
| 8TH DOCTOR NOVELS | NEW ADVENTURES | MISSING ADVENTURES |
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The Exploding Planet As Steven struggles for breath, Maaga asks why he doesn't give up. Steven tells her that he'd rather face the Chumblies than her. He fights for breath, and Maaga laughs that the pressure has locked the door: he must surrender or die. However, as she tells the Drahvins, they don't wish him dead as he is their hostage. A projectile crashes through a porthole and the Drahvins take cover as it starts to release ammonia. A Chumbley fires at the door, which flies open. Steven tumbles out, but retreats at the sight of the machine. The Chumbley tells him to stand clear and then that it's safe. The Doctor and Vicki hurry over as he gasps for air. The Drahvin clones emerge from the airlock, guns ready. A Chumbley orders them to stop, and they obey. The Doctor is ordered to lead his party away from the spaceship. Maaga and the clones are then ordered back inside the ship since the ammonia has now cleared. Maaga tells the Drahvins that they must capture the Rills' spaceship before nightfall. Drahvin Three is to steal through the forward hatch and then creep round behind the Chumbley and destroy it. There are about six hours to go before the planet is destroyed. The Doctor sets about transferring power from the TARDIS to the Rills' spaceship. Steven is left behind with a Chumbley and discusses the situation with the robot. If the power isn't transferred in time, the Chumbley reveals that the Rills would be prepared to let the time travellers go while they themselves stay behind on the doomed planet. A Chumbley in the Rills' spaceship reports that the Drahvins have escaped and destroyed a Chumbley. There are about two hours to go, and the power transfer should be finished just in time. A Chumbley reassures the time travellers that they will ensure their safe return to the TARDIS. Drahvin Three enters the chamber, pointing her gun at Steven and Vicki. Before she can fire, she is killed by a Chumbley. The pair look around for the Doctor, who has entered the Rills' chamber. The other Drahvins are resting on a ridge. Maaga assures them that they will destroy the Chumblies, although they haven't so far. Steven and Vicki find the Doctor in the inner chamber. The Rills themselves are behind a partition, enveloped in a dense, smoky gas. Using the Chumbley, one of them tells the TARDIS travellers that the Drahvins find them ugly and are frightened by them. The Doctor tells them that at least they are intelligent, and they respect them as they respect all life. The humans leave the chamber as some of the gas was escaping. There is now about ninety minutes until the planet explodes, and an hour more required to transfer the power. The Drahvins fire on the Chumblies, to no avail. Two suggests using iron bars as Three did, but Maaga insist they head for the spaceship part of the building. The spaceship is now fully charged. A Chumbley will now escort the Doctor, Vicki and Steven back to the TARDIS and then destroy itself. The Drahvins are horrified to discover that the Rills' spaceship is taking off. Elsewhere, the Doctor, Steven and Vicki watch it in the sky, deafened by the roar of its engines. Maaga sees them. They head towards the TARDIS. The Chumbley with them stops and fires at the Drahvins, who fling themselves to the ground. Steven and Vicki reach the TARDIS first, followed by the Doctor. The Drahvins rush towards it, guns blazing, but the TARDIS dematerialises in front of them. They stagger back, clasping their ears. Fear is etched on their faces as, with a deafening noise, the planet begins to shake violently. Inside the TARDIS, Vicki complains that she's hurt her ankle. The Doctor intends putting a cold compress on it and tells her that he wishes they could find somewhere without any dangers where they could take stock of themselves for a while. Vicki points at a planet on the scanner screen and wonders what's going on there. On the a planet, in a jungle, a man hears a terrifying screech and opens his eyes with a start. "I remember now," he says in a low voice. "I must. I must kill. I must kill. I must kill." Cast Barry Jackson, who plays Garvey in the final scene, was also Ascaris in The Romans and Drax in The Armaggedon Factor. Rating 5/10. A slightly disappointing ending to a reasonably entertaining, although unremarkable story. The Drahvins' cloned nature means that Maaga has been the only real character, and the BBC's junking of the tapes means that we've lost any impact that the Rills might have had. back to the top |
THE EXPLODING PLANET |
