16x21 - The Armageddon Factor - part 1

Episode transcripts for the 1963 classic TV show "Doctor Who". Aired November 23, 1963 to December 6, 1989. (First to Seventh Doctor)*

Moderator: Kitty Midnight

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What began as an encounter in a London junkyard in 1963 was to become a national institution in the United Kingdom. The crotchety old man - a renegade Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey - who calls himself "The Doctor" has regenerated several times, traveling with several companions for over five decades.
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16x21 - The Armageddon Factor - part 1

Post by bunniefuu »

THE ARMAGEDDON FACTOR

BY: BOB BAKER AND DAVE MARTIN

Part One


Original Air Date: 20 January 1979
Running time:24:39




HEROINE: Darling.

HERO: Oh, my love.

HEROINE: Don't go.

HERO: I must.

HEROINE: But you'll be k*lled!

HERO: Perhaps.

HEROINE: I can't bear it. I love you.

HERO: There is a greater love. Men out there, young men, are dying for it. Dying so that Atrios might live.




DOCTOR: Atrios? Do you know, I've never actually been to Atrios.

ROMANA: Nor to Zeos?

DOCTOR: Where?

ROMANA: Atrios and Zeos. The twin planets on the edge of the helical galaxy. Didn't they teach you anything at the academy?

DOCTOR: Yes, but we're not going to Zeos.

ROMANA: No, we're going to Atrios.

DOCTOR: Well why don't you get on with it then?

ROMANA: Right.

DOCTOR: Atrios, K9. Atrios. I wonder what the inhabitants are like there?




HERO (on screen): You must be strong. We must all be strong and play our parts until victory is won, evil vanquished, and peace restored. Then, and only then, my darling, can we love again. I must go. Kiss the children for me. Tell them their daddy will return before long.

MERAK: It's all right, it's all right.




MAN (OOV.): Area six obliterated.

MAN 2 (OOV.): Section seven, heavy damage.

WOMAN (OOV.): District ten, no contact.

MAN 3(OOV.): Level fourteen holding.

MAN 4: Area two, no contact.

WOMAN 2: Heavy casualties through all upper levels.

MARSHAL: Any news of our counterattack?

SHAPP: None, Marshal.

MARSHAL: What do you mean, none?

SHAPP: The fleet is still trying to locate the target, sir.

MARSHAL: The target, Major Shapp, is Zeos! The planet. Isn't that big enough?

SHAPP: The navigation systems are being blocked, sir. The Zeons must be using a new device. The whole fleet's flying blind.

MARSHAL: Or have they all turned cowards? I want this att*ck pressed home, Shapp, before the Zeons smash us to pieces. Is that clear?

SHAPP: Yes, sir.

MAN (OOV.): Direct hit reported on hospital complex. Wards seven to ten destroyed.

ASTRA: I must go there.

GUARD: I'm sorry, your Highness, you can't leave without an escort. Marshal's orders.

ASTRA: Marshal, I insist on going to see the hospital immediately.

MARSHAL: Too dangerous.

ASTRA: The hospital's been hit!

MARSHAL: So has everywhere else, your Highness. We're under nuclear att*ck.

ASTRA: How much longer are you going on with this futile w*r? Atrios is being destroyed around us. We must negotiate before it's too late. We must have peace.

MARSHAL: You don't beg for peace, Princess. You win it! Our counterattack is already underway. When it has succeeded, we shall have victory within our grasp. Then we shall have peace.

ASTRA: But don't you understand? We shall all be wiped out if we go on, Zeons and Atrions alike.

MARSHAL: I understand only my duty. And my duty as Marshal of Atrios is to prosecute this w*r to a successful conclusion. Yours is to uphold the people's morale and give them comfort.

ASTRA: Then let me go to the hospital. I can't do anything here.

MARSHAL: What's the situation, Shapp? Is this raid over?

SHAPP: Yes, sir, at least for the moment.

MARSHAL: Very well, your Highness. One of my guards will accompany you to the hospital. Where, no doubt, Surgeon Merak anxiously awaits you.




MARSHAL (on screen): People of Atrios, once more the hated forces of Zeos clamour at our gates. Once more, they shall not pass. Be brave, my people. Be steadfast, be strong.




MARSHAL (on screen): This rain of death which the Zeons pour upon us, will it extinguish the flame of liberty, my people?

ASTRA: My people.

MARSHAL (on screen): No, our sun will rise again, and Atrios from its ashes will rekindle a mighty resolve, an implacable wrath, crushing the hated Zeon beneath the heel of Atrios.




MARSHAL (OOV.): Even now we know the Zeon will to fight is failing. They cannot go on. Our ships dominate their skies. All I ask, my people, is that you, who have suffered so much, clench the jaw, grimly endure a short while more, until we can deliver the final blow which will bring Zeos to its knees. Victory will be ours.

ASTRA: Surgeon Merak.

MERAK: Princess Astra.

ASTRA: Why must these brave men and women be left on the floor like rubbish?

MERAK: The wards are full, your Highness.

ASTRA: I see.

MERAK: Excuse me, your Highness, but I think your rad-check is due for renewal. Yes, if you'd just come this way.




ASTRA: I was so worried. They told me your ward had been hit.

MERAK: Damaged but not destroyed.

ASTRA: And you?

MERAK: Luckier than many.

ASTRA: Oh, when will it all end?

MERAK: Have you been able to contact the Zeons?

ASTRA: The Marshal has me watched all the time.

MERAK: We must get through. It's the only way. Whether we're seen as traitors doesn't matter any longer.

ASTRA: I'll go on trying, but none of our messages seem to get through.

MERAK: Jammed from here?

ASTRA: No.

MERAK: Because if they were, it would mean the Marshal suspects us.

ASTRA: No, it's not that. He'd have arrested us. I sent the last message myself. There was no contact signal, no echo, no bounce-back, nothing. As if Zeos just wasn't there.

MERAK: Zeos is there all right.

GUARD: Behind schedule, your Highness.

ASTRA: Very well.

MERAK: You must take more care, Princess, and remember to keep your rad-check renewed.




MARSHAL: We're losing, Shapp.

SHAPP: Yes, sir.

MARSHAL: If we don't get this counterattack underway soon, we're finished.

SHAPP: Yes, sir.

MARSHAL: Still nothing from the fleet?

SHAPP: No, sir, they're still lost.

MARSHAL: We must discover whatever it is that's blocking our navigation systems.

SHAPP: Yes, sir. Whatever it is, it's certainly effective.

MARSHAL: How can the Zeons develop something like that and not us? What's gone wrong, eh?




DOCTOR: There. We should be in parking orbit over Atrios. Let's see where we're going, shall we?

ROMANA: Why not?

DOCTOR: That's odd. That's very odd. Wouldn't you say that was very odd?

ROMANA: That's very odd.

DOCTOR: I wonder what went wrong?

ROMANA: Better check the coordinates.

DOCTOR: Zero zero six nine. That's exactly what you gave me. Are you sure?

ROMANA: Quite sure. Something's gone astray.

DOCTOR: No, no, no, just a minute. There may have been a time shift. Let's take another reading.

ROMANA: Zero zero eight zero one zero zero four zero.

DOCTOR: Zero zero eight zero one zero. What a lot of zeroes. There it is!

DOCTOR: Well. Well, it's something, anyway.

ROMANA: But it's millions of miles away.

DOCTOR: Yes.

ROMANA: And where's Zeos? There's no sign of it.

DOCTOR: Do you know what I think? I think something's gone wrong. Something fairly serious.

ROMANA: The Black Guardian?

DOCTOR: Well, it could be a coincidence.

ROMANA: I wouldn't like to bet on it.

DOCTOR: No, nor would I. There's only one thing to do.

ROMANA: Listen, why don't you take us in on manual.

DOCTOR: I think I'll take us in on manual, with circumspection.

ROMANA: Right.




SHAPP: Marshal? I think we're getting something here.

MARSHAL: Ours or theirs?

SHAPP: It's hard to tell at this range, sir, but it's not a signal profile I know and it's hardly moving at all.

MARSHAL: A Zeon secret w*apon?

SHAPP: It's possible, sir.

MARSHAL: The device that's been interfering with our navigation and targeting.

SHAPP: I can't tell yet, sir.

MARSHAL: Track it until it's within surface m*ssile range, Shapp, and then we shall see.

SHAPP: Yes, sir.

MARSHAL: Destroy that, and we can still win. I'll show Princess Astra and her pacifist friends.

MARSHAL: She's beginning to panic, becoming a thorn in my flesh, an irritant. She could be useful to my enemies. Something tells me her value to me may be at an end.

MARSHAL: Don't lose track of that Zeon device.

SHAPP: It may not be a Zeon

MARSHAL: Just don't lose it. Inform me as soon as it comes within m*ssile range.

SHAPP: Yes, sir. Where will you be?

MARSHAL: I have to attend to (pause) a matter of state.




GUARD: Excuse me, your Highness.

GUARD: Yes? Yes, sir, she is. Yes, sir. Very good, sir. Will do, sir.

ASTRA: Well?

GUARD: There's been a change of plan, your Highness. Your visit to the children's ward has been cancelled.

ASTRA: Why?

GUARD: A danger of subsidence, your Highness. The recent att*ck.

ASTRA: But what about the children?

GUARD: They're being evacuated. We're to go to K block so that you can welcome them into their new quarters.

ASTRA: I thought K block was closed down years ago because of radiation contamination.

GUARD: Apparently it's clear now, your Highness. This way, please.




SHAPP: Inform the Marshal our unidentified target will be within range within two minutes.




ROMANA: Well, there's still no sign of Zeos, but I'm picking up a reading for Atrios' twin.

DOCTOR: What's the matter?

ROMANA: Look. Radiation levels you wouldn't believe.

DOCTOR: Good heavens. You could fry eggs in the street.

ROMANA: But that means

DOCTOR: What?

ROMANA: There must be a huge nuclear w*r going on down there.

DOCTOR: Not at all, no.

ROMANA: Well, what else could it be?

DOCTOR: I don't know. Probably someone giving a huge breakfast party. Think positive. Why do you always assume the worst?

ROMANA: Because it usually happens.

DOCTOR: Empirical poppycock. Where's your joy in life? Where's your optimism?

ROMANA: It opted out.

K9: Optimism. Belief that everything will work out well. Irrational, bordering on insane.

DOCTOR: Oh do shut up, K9. Listen, Romana. Whenever you go into a new situation you must always believe the best until you find out exactly what the situation's all about, then believe the worst.

ROMANA: Ah, but what happens if it turns out not to be the worst after all?

DOCTOR: Don't be ridiculous, it always is. Isn't it, K9?

K9: Master?

DOCTOR: Still, nuclear w*r. It's always difficult walking into these situations. You never know who's fighting who.

ROMANA: Or why.

DOCTOR: Oh, I think I can say why.

ROMANA: Why?

DOCTOR: Why? Why, it's got to be, hasn't it? It's got to be something to do with the sixth and most important segment of the Key to Time, hmm?




GUARD: This way, Princess. The children will be waiting for you.

GUARD: You must go in. Please, your Highness. I'm only obeying orders.

ASTRA: Yes, I understand.




MARSHAL: All well, Shapp?

SHAPP: Yes, sir. It's still there, not moving at all.

MARSHAL: It could be on surveillance.

SHAPP: Yes, sir, monitoring and observing.

MARSHAL: Hmm. Is it within range?

SHAPP: Just.

MARSHAL: Then it won't be on surveillance much longer. Vapourise it.

SHAPP: Perhaps we should try to capture it, sir?

MARSHAL: That's probably exactly what they want us to do. Vapourise it now!

SHAPP: Yes, sir.




ROMANA: Doctor, look, something's approaching us from the planet surface.

DOCTOR: A welcoming party, do you think? K9? K9, what do you make of that?

K9: m*ssile identified. Nuclear warhead.

ROMANA: What? Let's get out of here.

DOCTOR: No, no, no, no, no, no. Wait. We'll dematerialise at the last moment. Let whoever's sh**ting at us think they've hit us. Always confuse the enemy.

ROMANA: If you say so.

DOCTOR: Right, link that tracer in. I want to land as close as possible to the sixth segment. The less time we spend on Atrios, the better.

ROMANA: Right. Ready.

DOCTOR: Standing by? K9, how long to impact?

K9: Three, two, one.

DOCTOR: What?




MARSHAL: Got it! We got it! Smashed it, vapourised it! Beautiful. You've earned yourself a medal, Shapp.

SHAPP: Thank you, sir, but I don't know.

MARSHAL: What do you mean, you don't know?

SHAPP: Whether we got it.

MARSHAL: I saw it with my own eyes. Beautiful direct hit. It's what it's all about.

SHAPP: Yes, sir, but I could swear that the target disappeared before impact.

MARSHAL: Nah.




ROMANA: Oh no.

DOCTOR: No, no, don't say it, please.

ROMANA: Don't say what?

DOCTOR: Don't say another underground passage.

ROMANA: Well, I wonder how deep we are this time?

DOCTOR: Yes. K9? K9, are you still sulking in there? Come on out. No water or swamps. It's quite safe.

ROMANA: What did he say?

DOCTOR: I don't know. What did you say?

K9: Master, radiation levels indicate nuclear warfare in progress on planet surface.

ROMANA: What? How deep are we?

K9: Four hundred metres below, master.

DOCTOR: Four hundred metres? They are taking a pasting. If it's like this down here, imagine what it's like on the surface.

ROMANA: Surely nothing can live in this? The radiation levels alone

K9: Radiation levels are variable. No sign of immediate life. The corpse on the left, however, is recent.

ROMANA: What?

DOCTOR: You're right, K9. He hasn't been dead. sh*t, poor chap.

ROMANA: At close range, from the front.

DOCTOR: Yeah. Must have been one of his friends. Just goes to show, you can't trust anyone nowadays.

ROMANA: I don't think I'm going to like this place very much.

DOCTOR: No. Let's locate the sixth segment and get out of here.

ROMANA: I'm with you all the way. Through there.

DOCTOR: Locked and lead. What does that suggest to you?

ROMANA: High radiation zone?

K9: Affirmative.

DOCTOR: Any sentient life through there, K9?

K9: Regret lead shielding will prevent effective analysis.

DOCTOR: Yes, it's well guarded, or at least it was. Perhaps the door's booby-trapped.

ROMANA: Doctor.

DOCTOR: What?

ROMANA: Remember what we were saying about the Black Guardian?

DOCTOR: Yes. What? Will you come into my parlour said the spider to the fly?

ROMANA: Very apt.

DOCTOR: I think we should tread very carefully. K9?

K9: Master?

DOCTOR: Could you make a hole for me in that door, K9? A little, little hole, K9. We don't know what's beyond there, do we.




SHAPP: Sir? Marshal?

MARSHAL: Never do that.

SHAPP: I'm sorry, sir.

MARSHAL: I was (pause) thinking. Well, Shapp, good news? The fleet?

SHAPP: No, sir, not yet.

MARSHAL: Well, what is it, man?

SHAPP: The alarm sensors in K block, sir.

MARSHAL: What about K block?

SHAPP: Sensors indicate an attempted break-in. Now why would anyone want to attempt to break in to the high radiation zone, risk certain death?

MARSHAL: Seal it off, Shapp. Seal all exits immediately. I'll deal with this myself, you understand?

SHAPP: Yes, sir.

MARSHAL: No one else is to be involved. And bring that traitor Merak here, now.

SHAPP: Merak?




DOCTOR: That's enough, K9, that's enough. Back up.

ASTRA (OOV.): Help me, whoever you are.

DOCTOR: Romana, there's a

ROMANA: There's a what?

DOCTOR: There's a man standing behind you. Get your hands up.

MARSHAL: Who are you?

DOCTOR: We're travellers. We seem to be lost, actually. He's dead.

MARSHAL: You'll be sh*t for this.

ROMANA: It wasn't us. He was like that when we found him.

MARSHAL: You expect me to believe that?

ROMANA: Yes.

DOCTOR: No. Yes.

ROMANA: No.




MARSHAL: What were you doing at that door?

DOCTOR: I've told you. We were trying to avoid the bombardment. I thought that door might lead to the way out.

MARSHAL: That door leads to certain death.

DOCTOR: What? He saved our lives.

MARSHAL: You're obviously Zeon spies.

DOCTOR: Spies? Do we look like spies?

ROMANA: No.

DOCTOR: I though spies looked kind of inconspicuous.

SHAPP: Surgeon Merak, sir.

MARSHAL: Good. These are the intruders who were caught trying to break into K block.

SHAPP: Who are they? What do they want?

MARSHAL: Precisely what I intend to find out before I execute them. Bring in Merak.

MERAK: Marshal, I've got a hundred patients waiting.

MARSHAL: Then they'll have to wait. Do you know these people?

MERAK: No, should I?

MARSHAL: I think you do. I think they are your accomplices.

MERAK: What?

MARSHAL: Zeon spies and saboteurs.

MERAK: What's that got to do with me?

MARSHAL: Princess Astra is missing. She was last seen with you. Since then, her escort has been found dead.

MERAK: We must find her. Are you searching for her?

MARSHAL: Everything possible is being done. Now Merak, I know you don't agree with my conduct of this w*r.

MERAK: I don't agree with w*r, nor does Astra.

MARSHAL: I think it's possible that you might have been foolish enough, misled no doubt by the noblest of motives, to cooperate with the enemy. Am I right?

MERAK: No, Marshal, you're wrong.

MARSHAL: It would be much better for you to admit everything. I arrested these two myself, standing over the body of the Princess's escort.

DOCTOR: I told you, we're not even armed. Look, nothing, just a whistle. Care for a blow? Go on.

MARSHAL: Shapp.

MARSHAL: Bah, it's useless. Don't play the fool with me.

MARSHAL: What is the purpose of your visit?

DOCTOR: Tourism.

MARSHAL: In the middle of a nuclear w*r?

DOCTOR: Yes, well, I run this small agency, you see. Trips to battlefields future and past. How civilisations d*ed. It's very profitable. Isn't it very profitable, Romana?

ROMANA: Oh, absolutely. It's very educational.

MARSHAL: For the last time, what are you doing here?

DOCTOR: Looking for a key.

MARSHAL: Everything you've told me is obviously a pack of lies. It's clear to me that you are Zeon spies. You've m*rder*d one of my guards, abducted the Princess Astra, no doubt with the collusion of Surgeon Merak here. Unless you divulge her whereabouts, you will be ex*cuted immediately as spies. Now is that clear?

DOCTOR: Beautifully put, I thought.

MARSHAL: Well?

DOCTOR: I'm sorry, I don't think we can help you.

MARSHAL: Is that your last word?

DOCTOR: No.

ROMANA: Yes.

DOCTOR: No, I sincerely hope not, but I think we've been here long enough.

MARSHAL: Stay where you are!

DOCTOR: Listen, we tell you the truth and you don't believe us. You accuse us of crimes we haven't committed, and now you're going to have us sh*t. I think after a long journey that's a bit too much, Marshal. K9, lights!

DOCTOR: Goodbye, Marshal. Come on.

MARSHAL: Stop them! Stop them!




DOCTOR: Come on, run.

ROMANA: Where to?

DOCTOR: Back to the TARDIS.




ROMANA: Doctor!

DOCTOR: What?

ROMANA: The TARDIS! It's gone!



`
The Doctor
Tom Baker

Romana
Mary Tamm

Voice of K9
John Leeson

Princess Astra of Atrios
Lalla Ward

The Black Guardian
Valentine Dyall

Drax
Barry Jackson

Marshal
John Woodvine

The Shadow
William Squire

Shapp
Davyd Harries

Merak
Ian Saynor

Guard
John Cannon

Guard
Harry Fielder

Technician
Iain Armstrong

Pilot
Pat Gorman

'Hero'
Ian Liston

'Heroine'
Susan Skipper




Assistant Floor Manager
Steve Goldie

Assistant Floor Manager
Rosemary Padvaiskas

Costumes
Michael Burdle

Designer
Richard McManan-Smith

Make-Up
Ann Briggs

Producer
Graham Williams

Production Assistant
Ann Aronsohn

Production Unit Manager
John Nathan-Turner

Script Editor
Anthony Read

Special Sounds
d*ck Mills

Studio Lighting
Mike Jefferies

Studio Sound
Richard Chubb

Theme Arrangement
Delia Derbyshire

Title Music
Ron Grainer

Visual Effects
John Horton
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