BY ROBERT BANKS STEWART
PART FOUR
Original Air Date: 19th March, 1976
6:45pm - 7:10pm
CHASE: What do you do for an encore, Doctor?
DOCTOR: I win.
CHASE: Open this door! Guards! Guards!
CHASE: Why am I surrounded by idiots! Guards!
KEELER: Argh! My arm! My arm!
CHASE: Keeler! It's happened.
GUARD: What's up?
SCORBY: The Doctor and the girl. Come on!
DOCTOR: Get in there and hide. I'll be as quick as I can.
SARAH: You can't tackle them single-handed.
DOCTOR: Oh no, I've got a p*stol.
SARAH: But you'd never use it.
DOCTOR: True, but they don't know that, do they.
CHASE: Amazing.
KEELER: My whole body's changing. Look at my arm. Get me to a hospital, please.
CHASE: Don't be ridiculous. We'll look after you here.
KEELER: Do something. You must do something.
CHASE: It's incredible. Absolutely unique.
KEELER: For pity's sake, help me.
HARGREAVES: What's all this? Oh sir, I hear Mister Keeler
CHASE: Mister Keeler is not very well.
HARGREAVES: Mister Keeler!
CHASE: We must get him over to the cottage where we can look after him properly.
HARGREAVES: What happened, sir?
CHASE: Don't ask questions, just do it.
CHASE: Bear up, Keeler.
DOCTOR: Nobody move.
SCORBY: How predictable. The criminal returns to the scene of the crime.
DOCTOR: I see the pod's burst. Was anyone in the way?
SCORBY: Yeah, Keeler. Very clumsy of him. Where's the girl?
DOCTOR: You're working for a madman, Scorby, you know that?
SCORBY: He pays well. And when it comes to money, Mister Chase and I are of the same religion.
DOCTOR: Franklin Adams, 1881 to 1960. American humourist.
SCORBY: The quotes are over, Doctor. Miss Smith'll never get out of this place alive, and neither will you.
SCORBY: Now, this way. And this time don't try anything.
DOCTOR: You know
SCORBY: Not anything!
SCORBY: Turn around.
DOCTOR: Can't we talk this over, Scorby?
SCORBY: You're getting a bit unsteady on your feet, Doctor.
DOCTOR: You're pushing your luck, Scorby.
SCORBY: Take a seat, Doctor.
SCORBY: You see our little machine, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Looks as if it's got possibilities.
SCORBY: Oh yes, it has. Distinct possibilities. Did you know we made our own compost?
DOCTOR: Quite right. Always put back in the soil what you take out.
SCORBY: Just what Mister Chase says. He never wastes anything that can be used to fertilise his plants. Anything.
DOCTOR: That's very commendable.
SCORBY: It's got a very healthy appetite, Doctor. Tie him up.
KEELER: What's happening? What have you done?
CHASE: It's for your own good. You mustn't move.
KEELER: You can't keep me here. I need medical attention! Look at me.
CHASE: The rate of increase is astonishing. Remarkable, Keeler. Protein absorption from the animal, of course.
KEELER: What animal?
CHASE: Your own body. We shall have to give you some food soon.
KEELER: Chase, stop behaving like a maniac and get me to hospital.
CHASE: Don't be ridiculous. That would ruin everything. Together, we could be on the verge of a great scientific discovery. We must observe the process carefully.
KEELER: Hargreaves, don't listen to him. This is m*rder.
HARGREAVES: I'm sure Mister Chase is right, sir. And it's for your own good.
CHASE: You're changing into a plant, Keeler. You're privileged. Think of it, a marvellous new species of plant. I shall need some equipment to monitor this experiment.
KEELER: Chase!
HARGREAVES: He might be right, sir. It could be dangerous.
CHASE: Everything will be all right, Hargreaves, just as long as we keep him in there.
HARGREAVES: Very good, sir.
SCORBY: Ah, there you are, Mister Chase. We've got the Doctor. I've locked him in the compost room.
CHASE: Good. No sign of the girl?
SCORBY: No, not yet. We've got all the exits covered. She won't get far.
HARGREAVES: General laboratory. What? Oh, hold on. It's for you, sir. Says it's urgent. Main gate.
CHASE: Chase. Amelia Ducat? Why'd you let her past the main gate?
WATCHMAN: Sorry, sir. Miss Ducat insists on seeing you. Says you owe her money. Well that's what she says, sir.
CHASE: Well get rid of her. I'm in the middle of some very important work and I can see no one. Is that clear?
WATCHMAN: I've told her all about that, Mister Chase, but she's very, er, persistent. She's mentioned something about lawyers, sir.
CHASE: Lawyers? (covers the handset) Man's a fool. Why am I surrounded by idiots?
SCORBY: Wouldn't it be better to see her, Mister Chase, and avoid any fuss?
CHASE: It might, and it might not. (into telephone) Have someone bring her up to the library.
KEELER: Don't be frightened. You should be glad. After all, it might have been you.
SARAH: Keeler? What have they done to you?
KEELER: Disgusting, isn't it. Aren't you scared?
SARAH: No, I'm not scared. Why are they keeping you here?
KEELER: Chase. Chase owns me body and soul. Body. This must be how Winlett changed. You saw him at the base, didn't you. What was it like? You've got to tell me.
SARAH: I'm going to find the Doctor. He knows more about this than anyone else. Now, do you know where he is?
KEELER: I might. Let me loose and we'll go together.
SARAH: I can't.
KEELER: I won't harm you.
SARAH: You mightn't mean to, but you would.
KEELER: You're as bad as Chase and the others. You want me to die! You want me to die! You want me to die!
HARGREAVES: Mister Keeler, try not to distress yourself. Mister Chase ordered this meal for you, sir.
CHASE: Good evening, Miss Ducat.
AMELIA: Good evening, Mister Chase. I'm sorry to have insisted on seeing you at this hour.
CHASE: Not at all. It's a great pleasure, indeed an honour, to see you again.
AMELIA: I was visiting Lady Chandley nearby. Painting a rare hibiscus in her conservatory.
CHASE: Ah yes, the Venezuelan gobbo. I have several of the species.
AMELIA: Of course, your collection of plants is unrivalled. Even the short safari from the gate is simply packed with interest.
CHASE: What a shame you should come in the autumn. In high summer, ah.
AMELIA: Even so, I think I could set up my easel here to good purpose.
CHASE: At any other time I'd be very happy for you to do so, but just at the moment I have some very pressing business.
AMELIA: What a pity. Never mind. The real reason for my coming won't take up much of your time.
CHASE: Yes, it seems I neglected to pay you for a painting I had from you.
AMELIA: Yes.
CHASE: I offer you my humblest apologies.
AMELIA: Seven hundred and fifty guineas.
CHASE: Guineas?
AMELIA: Plus inflation. Shall we say a round thousand?
CHASE: Pounds.
AMELIA: Done.
CHASE: I'll write you a cheque now.
AMELIA: Magnificent house you have here, Mister Chase.
CHASE: Yes, it is rather fine, isn't it. Most of it was built during the Wars of the Roses. Charmingly named, but rather a bloodthirsty period in history, I always think.
SCORBY: Do you want to start the (pause as he sees Amelia) recycling experiment, Mister Chase?
CHASE: No. I want to see it. I'll be right there.
CHASE: I apologise for the delay.
AMELIA: Thank you.
CHASE: Mister Scorby will see you out.
AMELIA: What is this recycling experiment? Sounds interesting.
CHASE: Yes, I'm afraid it's something we're keeping rather quiet about just for the moment. Within these grounds there are several private projects going on.
AMELIA: Oh.
SCORBY: This way, madam.
AMELIA: Goodbye.
CHASE: So sorry to have kept you waiting.
DOCTOR: Not at all, not at all.
CHASE: I do hope you haven't been bored.
DOCTOR: Oh no, I've been watching your little toy. It's most efficient.
CHASE: Yes, isn't it. The problem is keeping it stocked up.
DOCTOR: Yes, at the moment it's working on an empty stomach.
CHASE: The next time it starts, we must give it something to bite on. You've noticed how lush the grounds are?
DOCTOR: Oh, yes.
CHASE: This is the secret. We put everything into the grinder. Every scrap of food and garden waste, lots of other things. Provided they're organic.
DOCTOR: I'm sure you're noted for your tidiness. How is Keeler?
CHASE: Dear Arnold. A brilliant researcher and a dedicated botanist. And now, properly nurtured, he can be of inestimable value to science.
DOCTOR: Nurtured. You don't mean to say you've been feeding him?
AMELIA: It is a fascinating house. The mixture of styles is charming. This corridor must be early sixteenth century, is it not?
SCORBY: I'm sorry, history isn't my strong point. Would you mind coming this way, please?
GUARD: We've covered the south and west sections. There's no sign of the girl.
SCORBY: Yes, all right, thank you. (to Amelia) Sorry, we're just doing a bit of a security exercise. Would you excuse me a moment? A word in your ear.
SARAH: Psst! Miss Ducat! Please.
AMELIA: My dear child, are you all right?
SARAH: That man Scorby mustn't see me. I'm trying to find the Doctor.
AMELIA: What's happening?
SARAH: Will you tell Sir Colin Thackeray at the World Ecology Bureau that we've found the pod but we're trapped here. Please?
SCORBY: Were you talking to someone?
AMELIA: Talking?
SCORBY: I thought I heard voices.
AMELIA: That must have been me. I'm always talking to myself. It's old age, you know. Happens to us all. Er, this is the way out, is it not?
SCORBY: Er, yeah, just go straight
CHASE: Right, get out.
CHASE: I shall set the machine on a*t*matic control, which means it will start up again in a few minutes time. Your death will be agonising, Doctor, but mercifully quick.
DOCTOR: What can I say?
CHASE: Blood and bone contain the most valuable nitrogen elements. Just think. After shredding, your remains will pass automatically through my compost acceleration chamber and within twenty five minutes you will be pumped into the garden to become part of nature's grand design.
DOCTOR: I still can't think of anything to say.
AMELIA: Very kind. There we are.
THACKERAY: Well, what happened?
AMELIA: You were quite right, Sir Colin. The girl and the Doctor have run into trouble.
THACKERAY: And did Chase suspect anything?
AMELIA: I think not. The debt for my picture was a splendid excuse.
DUNBAR: You saw the Doctor?
AMELIA: No, but I saw Miss Smith. They've found the pod but they're both trapped in the house.
THACKERAY: So Chase is behind this, after all.
AMELIA: Well, it would seem so. What are you going to do to help them?
THACKERAY: We'd better alert the Doctor's friends at UNIT. This is getting too big for us.
DUNBAR: No, wait. Let me go in alone.
THACKERAY: You'll never get past the gate.
DUNBAR: Yes, I will. They know me already.
THACKERAY: What do you mean?
DUNBAR: I've made a terrible mistake, Sir Colin. It's my duty to try and save the situation.
THACKERAY: I don't understand.
DUNBAR: Give me half an hour. If I'm not back by then, return to London and contact UNIT.
HARGREAVES: Now, Mister Keeler
SARAH: Doctor!
DOCTOR: Quick, Sarah, the button!
DOCTOR: Not that button, the other one!
SARAH: Are you all right?
DOCTOR: Oh, Sarah.
SARAH: What?
DOCTOR: It would have been such a waste!
DUNBAR: I warned you not to go too far. You must abandon the experiment, destroy that abomination.
CHASE: The search for knowledge knows no boundaries. This is the most valuable study in plant biology ever made. Nothing will stop me now. I will cultivate the Krynoid.
HARGREAVES: Mister Chase! Mister Chase, that thing in the cottage, it's a monster! It's breaking loose.
CHASE: What?
HARGREAVES: The ropes, they're not going to hold it.
DUNBAR: You mean that horror could be roaming around?
HARGREAVES: It could be in the grounds by now.
DUNBAR: I'm going for help. If that thing's free it will k*ll us all.
CHASE: I would prefer it if you kept your mouth shut.
DUNBAR: No, it's all gone far enough. I'm going for help.
CHASE: You won't get past the guards.
DUNBAR: We'll see.
CHASE: Scorby! Get Dunbar!
SARAH: It's gone!
DOCTOR: Yes, but where?
`
Doctor Who
TOM BAKER
Sarah Jane Smith
ELISABETH SLADEN
Harrison Chase
TONY BECKLEY
Scorby
JOHN CHALLIS
Arnold Keeler
MARK JONES
John Stevenson
HUBERT REES
Charles Winlett
JOHN GLEESON
Derek Moberley
MICHAEL McSTAY
Richard Dunbar
KENNETH GILBERT
Sir Colin Thackeray
MICHAEL BARRINGTON
Hargreaves
SEYMOUR GREEN
Written by
ROBERT BANKS STEWART
Production Assistant
GRAEME HARPER
Production Unit Manager
JANET RADENKOVIC
Title Music by
RON GRAINER AND BBC RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP
Title Sequence
BERNARD LODGE
Incidental Music by
GEOFFREY BURGON
Special Sound
d*ck MILLS
Costume Designer
BARBARA LANE
Make-Up
ANN BRIGGS
Visual Effects Designer
RICHARD CONWAY
Studio Lighting
JOHN DIXON
Studio Sound
JOHN HOLMES
O.B. Lighting
CLIVE POTTER
O.B. Sound
VIC GODRICH
Script Editor
ROBERT HOLMES
Designers
ROGER MURRAY-LEACH
JEREMY BEAR
Producer
PHILIP HINCHCLIFFE
Directed by
DOUGLAS CAMFIELD
BBC COLOUR
© BBC 1975
TOM BAKER
Sarah Jane Smith
ELISABETH SLADEN
Harrison Chase
TONY BECKLEY
Scorby
JOHN CHALLIS
Arnold Keeler
MARK JONES
John Stevenson
HUBERT REES
Charles Winlett
JOHN GLEESON
Derek Moberley
MICHAEL McSTAY
Richard Dunbar
KENNETH GILBERT
Sir Colin Thackeray
MICHAEL BARRINGTON
Hargreaves
SEYMOUR GREEN
Written by
ROBERT BANKS STEWART
Production Assistant
GRAEME HARPER
Production Unit Manager
JANET RADENKOVIC
Title Music by
RON GRAINER AND BBC RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP
Title Sequence
BERNARD LODGE
Incidental Music by
GEOFFREY BURGON
Special Sound
d*ck MILLS
Costume Designer
BARBARA LANE
Make-Up
ANN BRIGGS
Visual Effects Designer
RICHARD CONWAY
Studio Lighting
JOHN DIXON
Studio Sound
JOHN HOLMES
O.B. Lighting
CLIVE POTTER
O.B. Sound
VIC GODRICH
Script Editor
ROBERT HOLMES
Designers
ROGER MURRAY-LEACH
JEREMY BEAR
Producer
PHILIP HINCHCLIFFE
Directed by
DOUGLAS CAMFIELD
BBC COLOUR
© BBC 1975