Doctor Who: The Savages
Doctor Who: The Savages
Doctor Who: The Savages
The Doctor, Steven and Dodo stare up at the TARDIS scanner, eager for a glimpse
of their next destination.The
scanner pans across a desolate and rocky landscape. The Doctor confidently tells
Dodo that they have arrived in
the future, in 'an age of peace and prosperity.' Taking some surveillance
equipment with him, the Doctor leads the
way out of the TARDIS. The Doctor tells Steven and Dodo to stay near the Ship
while he takes some readings.
Sometime later, Steven becomes anxious at the Doctor's continued absence. 'You
should have gone with him,' says
Dodo.'You heard what he said,' Steven replies. 'You don't have to do everything he
says,' Dodo teases. 'You're a
grown man. Or are you?' Steven glares at her. 'It's just as I thought,' chuckles
the Doctor. 'I think my young
friends are in for quite a surprise.' He is unaware that he is being silently
observed from the bushes. Steven
starts to look for the Doctor. 'Doctor!' he cries as the wind howls around him.
The Doctor hears him but remains
engrossed in his research. Dodo is startled by a noise. When Steven returns she
tells him that she has seen a man
wearing animal skins and carrying an axe. 'The Doctor was wrong,'concludes Steven.
'We're not in the future at all.'
Two savage-looking men quietly observe the Doctor. 'He's not one of our people,'
says one of them. The Doctor is
approached by two guards. 'We have come to welcome you,' says Captain Edal.'It is
a great honour to have you visit
our planet,' says his colleague Exorse. 'You are known to us as the Traveller From
Beyond Time,' says Exorse. 'The
Elders of our city have been plotting the course of your space-time ship for many
light years.' Edal is surprised
to see the Doctor carrying what he thinks is a weapon. 'This is my Reacting
Vibrator,' the Doctor tells him. 'I'm
able to do my calculations from this.'Exorse goes to look for the Doctor's
travelling companions while the Doctor
himself accompanies Edal to the city. A spear hits the ground by Steven's feet.
Savages appear on the horizon and
quickly descend the ravine, heading towards Steven and Dodo. Steven and Dodo are
saved by the sudden appearance of
Exorse. 'Welcome to the Traveller's companions.' Exorse tells them that the Doctor
has gone to meet the Elders of
their city. 'Our Elders wait to honour your Doctor. They will be very happy to
welcome his friends.'
The Doctor is shown into the city's council chamber, which is dominated by four
Elders. Jano, leader of the
Council of the Elders, greets the Doctor. 'We know you only as a record in our
charts of space and time, yet you
seem to us like an old friend.' 'We are honoured by your visit,' he continues.
'The whole city looks upon you with
admiration.' 'We have charted your voyages from galaxy to galaxy, and from age to
age. But we never thought we
would meet you face-to-face.'
Jano asks the Doctor to accept the office of a High Elder. Flower and another
girl help the Doctor with his
robes. The Doctor is overwhelmed by Jano's admiration and generosity. 'We
recognise in you the greatest specialist
in space-time exploration. You have taken this branch of learning far beyond our
elementary capabilities.' Steven
and Dodo are shown in. Dodo is impressed by the Doctor's new robes. 'You're really
with it now,' she smiles. 'With
what, my dear?' asks a bemused Doctor. Dodo is delighted to receive a present from
the Elders - a mirror and some
genuine diamonds. Flower and Avon lead Steven and Dodo from the room as the Doctor
sits down with the Elders.
Edal and Exorse patrol the shrubland outside the city. 'Why should we treat this
old Doctor as one of ourselves?'
asks Edal. Chal and Tor, the two savages that observed the Doctor, watch from the
bushes. They are accompanied by
a girl called Nanina. Chal tells Nanina to go back to the caves and tell the
families to hide, now the guards have
started hunting. 'Take care in the craters,' he urges. As Nanina creeps through
the undergrowth, Exorse brandishes
his light gun.
Flower and Avon praise their benevolent Elders as Steven and Dodo admire the
city. 'What's the secret?' asks
Steven. 'Other civilisations have failed to make this advance.' Flower begins to
respond but Avon tells her to be
quiet. 'Our scientists have made one simple discovery,' Avon tells Steven. 'And
due to this they have found a way
to give us all greater energy, greater intellect and greater talent.' 'If I accept
your gifts I must endorse your
life,' says the Doctor, 'but I can't do that without knowing something about you.'
'I know very well that you are
far advanced from most planets,' continues the Doctor. 'But how you achieve this,
I know not.' 'I would like to
know more,' says the Doctor, as Jano listens. 'We have learned how to transfer the
energy of life directly to
ourselves,' reveals Jano. 'It is as though we were able to recharge ourselves with
life's vital force.' 'The
energy of life we accumulate we store in vats such as these,' says Jano, pointing
to a model. 'Then, when the
Elders decide that some member of the community needs new force, we can transfer
that energy directly.' 'We absorb
only a very special form of animal vitality,' adds Jano cryptically.
Nanina hurries back to her people's caves. She hears a movement, and sees Exorse
patrolling the ground above her.
She dives behind a rock and keeps still, waiting for him to move on. Chal and Tor
nervously monitor her progress.
'Can you see the hunter?' asks Tor. Exorse makes his way towards the floor of the
ravine, convinced he heard a
noise. Nanina crawls along the ground, unwittingly moving closer to Exorse. 'Not
that way!' shouts Tor, but it is
too late. Exorse fires his light gun. Nanina is enveloped in its searing energy
field. Her body contracts, and she
is held rigid in its beam. Exorse gestures with the gun and she staggers forward,
powerless to resist. Chal begs
Exorse to take him instead of the girl, but theguard ignores him and continues to
herd his prisoner towards the
city. Nanina's journey nears its end. While on her tour of the city, Dodo looks
out a window and sees Exorse force
Nanina through the entrance. Steven and Dodo's tour continues. Dodo is intrigued
to discover that the land outside
is considered off-limits. Exorse switches off his light gun and the exhausted
Nanina collapses against a metallic
wall. 'Please let me go,' she begs her captor.
Senta examines a savage who has recently undergone the energy transfer process.
'He'll recover,' he cynically
concludes before releasing the prisoner, who feebly shuffles towards an exit. An
electronic signal announces the
arrival of a guard. 'I'm filing a complaint,' Senta tells Exorse. 'You're late.'
Exorse hands over Nanina, who is
prepared for the energy transfer process. 'No! No... please!' she implores. Dodo
sees Exorse leaving and decides
to creep away from the guided tour.By the time Flower, Avon and Steven realise she
has gone, Dodo has made her way
down a long corridor. A shambling figure appears in the distance, it is the
recently released savage Wylda. His
arms outstretch as he approaches her. Dodo shrinks away in terror.
Episode Two
Dodo has wandered off during a guided tour of the city, but is soon approached
by a savage who makes his way
towards her with his arms outstretched. Dodo lets out a terrified scream, but the
savage staggers straight past her
and crawls towards the end of the corridor. He trips a light beam, which activates
a hidden door. Noticing that
the man is too weak to crawl through the door, Dodo cautiously moves towards him.
She helps him out of the city
and ducks back into the corridor when the door begins to glide shut. In the
laboratory Nanina is prepared for the
energy transfer process. Nanina's outstretched body is enclosed in a large glass
cubicle. A device is suspended
over her body. Nanina's cries diminish to a terrified whimper as the laboratory
assistants initiate the next stage
of the process. The cubicle fills with gas and the transfer of energy begins. The
vats behind Nanina begin to fill
with black liquid. The transfer rate increases and Nanina falls silent.The
machinery emits a loud hum as the
liquid in the vats begins to bubble.Avon, Steven and Flower continue to search for
Dodo. In a nearby corridor,Dodo
listens outside the laboratory, intrigued by the sound of the machinery within.
Inside the laboratory Senta
operates the machinery while one of his assistants monitors the energy readings.
Jano boasts that the energy transfer process means that 'intellectual workers
find themselves able to accomplish
more. Artists are able to create works of brilliance and beauty.'Steven rushes in
to tell the Doctor that Dodo has
disappeared. Much to Steven's frustration the Doctor concludes that Dodo is more
than capable of looking after
herself. Nanina weakens as the energy transfer draws to an end. One of the
assistants notices Dodo watching them
from the other end of the laboratory. Dodo struggles as she is taken prisoner. She
is mistaken for a savage and
prepared to undergo transference. 'No!' she cries. 'No... No!' Captain Edal
retraces Flower and Avon's steps in an
effort to locate Dodo. Edal operates a lever and a door opens, leading to a
forbidden area. Steven decides to take
a look and Edal tries to stop him. 'Are you one of the people from beyond time?'
Senta asks a furious Dodo before
Edal marches her out of the laboratory. Nanina is removed from the gas-filled
cubicle with moments to spare. 'It
must be some considerable time before we extract any more life energy from this
particular subject,' says Senta.
Nanina stares blankly ahead as she is released from the operating trolley. Flower
is alarmed when Dodo claims she
has been attacked by a mad doctor. 'What did you see?' asks Edal. Steven reassures
him that Dodo has a vivid
imagination. Edal accuses Flower and Avon of negligence in letting Dodo wander
off. He orders them to report to
the Elders. 'Do not be afraid,' Avon tells Flower. 'They cannot harm us.' A semi-
conscious Nanina is carried from
the laboratory by two assistants. The Doctor declares that he intends to return to
the TARDIS to collect some
papers detailing his investigations into time travel. He declines Jano's offer of
a guard escort and leaves with
Steven and Dodo. When they have gone, Jano tells Edal to follow them. On the way
back to the TARDIS the Doctor
listens to Dodo's story and reveals that he doesn't trust Jano or the Elders.
Steven spots one of the savages and
the Doctor decides to take a closer look. Dodo recognises the collapsed figure as
the man she encountered in the
corridor. 'They have discovered a way of extracting life's force,' explains the
Doctor, 'and absorbing it into
themselves.' 'Leaving the victim as you see, almost dead.' The Doctor hands his RV
instrument to Steven and tells
him to fetch some medicinal D403 capsules from the TARDIS. Dodo goes with him.
Episode Three
'6.10... 6.70... 7.10' intones the assistant as the energy transfer continues.
The machinery hums louder as
Senta notices the Doctor's vitality readings begin to drop. Jano is delighted that
the transfer appears to have
been a success. He proposes that the Doctor's companions should also be subjected
to the process. 'As it is they
are a danger to us. But as a source of energy they could be of great value.' Chal
leads Dodo and Steven through
the scrubland, towards a nearby valley. Dodo is surprised that Chal's people live
in caves. 'It is the one place
the guards will not follow,' says Chal. 'Even they hesitate to go into the
darkness of those passages.'
Tor reports that the guards are now looking for Steven and Dodo. He adds that
the Doctor will almost certainly
have undergone an energy transfer. 'Steven,' asks Dodo, 'what are we going to do?
'Don't worry,' says Steven,
'We'll find him.' 'I must warn you,' says Chal, 'when you do find him he will not
be as you remember. They leave us
afterwards only a hollow shell of ourselves.'
'As a source of energy his power is remarkably high,' says an impressed Senta.
Jano declares that he will be the
sole beneficiary of the Doctor's energy. 'I shall be ready when you need me.' Edal
patrols the scrubland, looking
for Steven and Dodo. Edal tells Exorse to see if they have reached the Valley of
Caves. One of the savages whispers
to Chal, telling him that a patrol is heading in their direction. Chal decides to
take Steven and Dodo to the caves.
Tor is furious. 'No Chal! The guards would follow and then our last refuge would
be gone.' Nanina and Wylda are in
the cave when Steven and Dodo arrive. 'Beautiful!' says Dodo, looking around.
'Like a little temple!' Chal is
justifiably proud. 'It is the one spot on this island which we can call our own.'
'Our ancestors were great artists,'
says Chal, indicating the murals on the wall. 'Most of our talents have been taken
from us. Only our faith remains.'
Exorse approaches Tor and demands to know where the strangers are. Tor says
nothing. Exorse raises his light gun
and at point blank range squeezes the trigger. Tor is enveloped by the mesmerising
beam. Powerless to resist, Tor
moves his head to indicate the caves above him. Exorse shouts into the cave,
demanding that the strangers come out.
Nanina feebly protests, 'There are no strangers,' while Steven and Dodo listen.
Steven weighs up the odds of taking
on the guard. As the other savages nervously listen, Dodo realises they are
trapped. Chal leads Steven and Dodo
towards some tunnels at the back of the cave. Meanwhile Exorse walks through the
entrance. Exorse angrily
interrogates the timid savages. 'The strangers, girl � where are they?' he asks
Nanina. 'Tell me or you will suffer.'
Exorse points his light gun at another savage. 'I shall take you back in their
place.' 'Don't talk!' pleads Nanina,
but the savage panics. 'They have gone into the face of the rock,' he tells
Exorse.
Chal, Steven and Dodo continue their journey. Back in the cave Exorse asks,
'Which opening? Which opening?' The
terrified savage points to the passageway. Exorse gingerly moves through the
tunnel, listening for any sound ahead.
Chal, Steven and Dodo keep moving, guided only by the light from Chal's torch.
Hearing a noise ahead, Exorse breaks
into a self-satisfied smile. Chal admits that there is very little of the passage
left. Steven knows that if it gets
any narrower they will have to stop. 'I know you're in there strangers,' shouts
Exorse. 'It will be better for you
if you turn back now.' Tor returns to the cave, and Nanina tells him what has
happened. Steven whispers to Chal,
asking him how the light gun works. Chal confirms that the rays of the light gun
are still effective when reflected.
'I've seen it on the water of the lake,' he says. Steven asks Dodo for her mirror.
'The travellers from beyond time
are indeed foolish people,' says Exorse before he turns a corner and closes in on
the fugitives. Exorse activates
his light gun and sweeps the walls of the passage. 'Don't let it shine on you,'
Chal tells Dodo. 'Don't let it
touch your eyes.' 'Hold him Dodo,' says Steven as Chal starts to panic. 'This
might just work.' Steven holds up the
mirror, reflecting the beam back at Exorse. Dazzled by the beam, Exorse drops his
light gun and Steven grabs it.
Steven activates the gun directly into Exorse's face. 'He has taken the guard
prisoner,' mutters Chal. 'It is
impossible.' Nanina is stunned to see the captive Exorse emerge from the tunnel.
'The strangers must be gods!'
exclaims Tor.
The assistants lift the unconscious Doctor from the operating trolley and
prepare to take him to a guest
apartment. Jano is ready to receive the Doctor's energy. 'It is most important we
keep this intransference secret
until we know the results,' he tells Senta. Senta leads Jano to a chair, and
places a device over his head. Senta
activates a control on an instrument panel and a glass screen descends. The vats
start to bubble and jets of gas
are released inside the cubicle
The savages debate what to do with the captive Exorse. Steven asks them how to get
back to the city. Chal offers
to show him and Dodo the way. When they have gone, Tor takes a club and brutally
strikes Exorse. Nanina stops him
from beating the guard further, and cleans Exorse's wound. Exorse is confused, but
touched by her compassion. 'The
entrance is there,' says Chal, pointing ahead. 'It opens into a passage which
leads to the laboratory.' A guard
steps through the entrance. Steven, Dodo and Chal watch as the guard retrieves
some food from his pocket. Steven
confidently steps out and activates his light gun. The guard slumps to the ground,
unconscious. 'The light must
have hit his eyes,' says Chal. 'He will be like this for a long time.' Steven
tells Chal to take the guard into the
bushes while he and Dodo go inside.
Episode Four
The Doctor remains oblivious to the danger as Dodo begins choking on the gas.
'It's no good,' says Steven,
struggling with the door. 'I'm sorry.' Jano watches events unfold on a monitor.
The guards demand that Steven
throws the remaining light gun into the vapour. 'No,' says the watching Jano,
speaking with the Doctor's voice.
'Don't give it to them.' The door at the end of the passage suddenly glides open.
Dodo carries the Doctor through
while Steven opens fire on the advancing Edal. Jano continues to watch, his finger
pressed firmly on the button
that activates the door. Still brandishing his light gun, Steven steps backwards
just as the door begins to close.
Senta and Edal rush forwards but it is too late, Steven, Dodo and the Doctor have
escaped. Edal demands to know why
Jano facilitated the strangers' escape. Jano furiously denies the allegation,
before his own personality reasserts
itself. He says the strangers are to be found, and he will personally lead a
patrol to catch them. Dodo and Steven
haul the stricken Doctor through the scrubland. 'I've seen many of our people like
that,' says Chal, observing the
Doctor. Chal, Dodo and the Doctor head for the safety of the caves while Steven
prepares to stave off the patrol.
Two guards are sent to watch over the TARDIS while Jano leads the others towards
the Valley of Caves. 'I will
come with you,' a slightly suspicious Edal tells Jano. 'I think you may need my
help.' Steven hears a noise and
ducks behind a rock. Edal and Jano approach Steven's hiding place. Edal pulls Jano
to the ground as Steven
activates his gun. There is an exchange of fire and Steven hits a guard. Edal and
one of the remaining guards
attempt to surround Steven. Beams of light pass overhead as Steven crawls through
the undergrowth. 'If only the
Doctor would move faster,' says a frustrated Dodo. 'Help him,' says Chal. 'Do not
be angry with him.' Edal
approaches Steven's hiding place while the other guard closes in from the opposite
side. They converge on the spot
only to find that Steven has gone. Jano is baffled by his disappearance until
another beam of light from Steven's
gun sears the air overhead. Inside the cave, Narinda ministers to the wounded
Exorse with a jar of herbal medicine.
'Nanina protects our enemies!' mocks Tor. 'This is a dangerous man. What do we do?
Let him go so he may attack us
again?' Fearing for Exorse's safety, Nanina grabs a spear. 'You would fight for
this man, Nanina?' asks an
incredulous Tor. 'How can an enemy mean so much?' They are interrupted when Chal,
Dodo and the Doctor arrive at the
cave. Steven runs towards the cave, stopping only to return Edal's fire. Steven
spots the frail figure of the
Doctor at the mouth of the cave. 'Get him inside, quick!' he shouts. 'They're
right behind me!' Edal and his guards
open fire as Steven runs towards the cave. Steven tells Dodo to take the Doctor to
the back of the cave and give
him some of the medicinal capsules she gave to Wylda. As the Doctor is guided
through the cave Steven hears a
movement outside. 'It's their leader, Jano,' says Chal. Steven takes aim and
prepares to fire. The Doctor suddenly
grabs Steven's arm. 'You must not harm Jano,' he insists. 'Please carry out my
instructions and do not harm Jano.'
'Take him down,' says Chal, as the Doctor is led further into the cave. Steven
hesitates for a moment before
handing the light gun to Tor. 'Don't use it unless you have to.' 'I am going to
destroy the power that they hold
over you,' proclaims a weary but indignant Doctor. 'All we need is one friend from
the other side.'
Jano insists that Edal and the guards return to the city without him. On their
return, Senta is furious to learn
that Jano has been left alone. Edal tells two of the Elders that he believes Jano
is about to betray them. 'Don't
be alarmed,' calls out Jano as he enters the cave. 'Is the Doctor there?' The
savages cower as the Doctor tells the
confused Jano, 'You wanted my intellect. You got it, and along with it a little
conscience. Hmm?' Jano replies: 'I
have grown aware of the evil that we have done and I am determined to end it.'
Exorse escapes his bonds and dashes
out of the cave. Nanina runs after him. 'If you betray Jano what will become of
us?' she asks him. 'It is Jano who
is the traitor,' says Exorse. Nanina looks him in the eye and says, 'You owe me
your life, Exorse. I have a right
to ask you.' 'If you are against us now you condemn us forever,' says Nanina.
Exorse turns away without a word.
'It appears that Jano has absorbed dangerous ideas from the Doctor,' says Senta.
Edal assumes command and warns,
'We must be ready for Jano.' While Jano and the Doctor confer over their plan,
Exorse returns to the city and
denies having seen the former leader.
Jano strides into the room, bringing the Doctor, Cha, Tor and some other
'prisoners' with him. Senta tells Jano
that Edal claimed he was a traitor and tried to assume command. As the prisoners
file through Jano orders Edal to
be arrested. Jano seals the doors of the laboratory and tells Senta: 'I want you
to destroy all this... all the
machinery which we have used to destroy our fellows.' Senta is appalled, but Jano
is adamant. 'If you will not
destroy all this, then I must.' Senta triggers the emergency alarm. 'This is our
one chance to start life afresh on
this planet!' shouts Jano above the din of the alarm. 'Help me!' Senta begs Exorse
to stop them, but Exorse simply
lowers his gun and watches as the equipment and generators are smashed. The
savages smash everything in sight, as
the laboratory descends into chaos. The energy vats shatter, and the black liquid
they contained begins to engulf
the broken machinery. 'You know, my dear?' the Doctor tells Dodo. 'There's
something rather satisfying about
destroying something that's evil.' 'This is only the beginning Chal,' says Jano.
'After this destruction our people
must learn to build a world that they can both live in.'
'Make sure the strangers don't escape!' screams Edal from outside the laboratory.
'It is they who have done this
to us! Kill the Doctor on sight!' The door gives way, allowing Edal and his guards
to enter the room. 'What can you
do now?' asks Steven. 'The place is destroyed. Your power's gone.' 'Edal,' says
Jano solemnly, 'you have no more
authority here.' 'I do not take orders from traitors,' says Edal, who aims his gun
at Jano. Steven snatches it from
him and Edal is caught in the ensuing blast. He drops to the ground. Jano asks the
Doctor to mediate between his
people and the savages, but he humbly declines. 'There is the leader we want,
Jano,' says Chal, pointing to Steven.
Steven is stunned, and claims he could never leave the Doctor and Dodo. 'Think of
the challenge,' says the Doctor,
'to be able to set up the people on this planet for a new life. You're quite ready
for this task.' 'You would give
us new hope,' says Chal. Steven considers his words carefully. 'Very well,' he
says. 'I will stay.' As Dodo begins
crying, Jano turns to the Doctor. 'For many light years we looked forward to your
arrival on this planet. We always
knew of your wisdom, but we never dreamed of the miracle it would bring us.' 'We
shall await you in the council
chamber,' Jano tells Steven, before he leaves the room with Chal. Steven, Dodo and
the Doctor are alone. 'Goodbye
Doctor,' says Steven. 'Goodbye Steven,' he replies. 'And good luck.' Steven
hurries away, but pauses when he
reaches the door. He turns around and waves farewell to his friends. Dodo hugs the
Doctor and asks him if they'll
ever see Steven again. 'Who knows, my dear?' he says. 'In this strange complex of
time and space anything could
happen.' Dodo continues sobbing as the Doctor tells her, 'We mustn't look back.'
With their arms around each other
they walk away from the devastated laboratory. The remnants of the energy vats
bear silent witness to an era of
cruel exploitation. The Doctor and Dodo return to the TARDIS. The sound of the
howling wind is soon joined by the
grating noise of the Ship dematerialising. The TARDIS fades from view, leaving
former occupant Steven Taylor to
begin a new life.