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110[1] – Meglos
Doctor Who serial
Cast
Others
Production
Directed byTerence Dudley
Written byJohn Flanagan and
Andrew McCulloch
Script editorChristopher H. Bidmead
Produced byJohn Nathan-Turner
Executive producerBarry Letts
Music byPaddy Kingsland (1)
Peter Howell (2–4)
Production code5Q
SeriesSeason 18
Running time4 episodes, 25 minutes each
First broadcast27 September 1980 (1980-09-27)
Last broadcast18 October 1980 (1980-10-18)
Chronology
← Preceded by
The Leisure Hive 		Followed by →
Full Circle
List of episodes (1963–1989)

Meglos is the second serial of the 18th season of the science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 27 September to 18 October 1980.

In the serial, the Zolfa-Thuran plant Meglos steals a huge source of power on the planet Tigella known as the Dodecahedron.

Plot

[edit]

The Prion star system contains two habitable planets which have supported civilisations: Zolfa-Thura, a desert world devoid seemingly of life structures bar five giant screens; and Tigella, a jungle world inhabited by the humanoid, white haired Tigellans. The structure of Tigellan society is based on two castes: the scientific Savants, led by the earnest Deedrix, and the religiously fanatical Deons, led by Lexa. The latter worship the Dodecahedron, a mysterious twelve-sided crystal which they see as a gift from the god Ti. The Savants, however, have utilised its power as an energy source for their entire civilisation. The planet’s leader, Zastor, mediates between the two factions, whose tensions have grown greater as the energy source has begun to fluctuate. When Zastor’s old friend the Doctor gets in touch, the weary leader invites him back to Tigella to investigate and help. When the Fourth Doctor, Romana, and K9 try to land the TARDIS on Tigella they are trapped in a time loop (which they call a chronic hysteresis), causing them to repeat a small "pocket of time" over and over again.

The culprit is Meglos, the last Zolfa-Thuran, a cactus creature who has remained hidden below the planet's surface in a secret structure. He has summoned a band of space pirates called Gaztaks to help him steal the Dodecahedron back from Tigella, as it is a Zolfa-Thuran energy source of immense power. Meglos uses an Earthling captured for him by the Gaztaks to occupy and take on humanoid form: and the humanoid form he chooses is the Doctor, whom he has trapped in the bubble. While the hysteresis persists Meglos gets the Gaztaks to take him to Tigella, and infiltrates the city in his new identity. Zastor greets “the Doctor” warmly as an old friend, asking him to examine the Dodecahedron, but others are less sure, especially Lexa.

The Doctor and Romana break out of the loop by throwing it out of phase, and land on Tigella in the middle of the hostile jungle. As the Doctor heads off to find Zastor, Romana stumbles across dangerous vegetation – deadly bell plants – and then the Gaztaks, waiting patiently for Meglos to return to their spaceship. She gives them the slip and heads off to the city.

Meglos has used his time as the Doctor to steal the Dodecahedron, shrinking it to minute size. However, the Earthling fights back against his occupation, causing green cactus spikes to break out on his skin. When the Tigellans discover that the Dodecahedron is missing and sound the alarm, Meglos hides away, but the real Doctor arrives at the same time and is accused of theft. His bewilderment and charm are little defence as both Savants and Deons panic as the energy levels of the city start to fail. Lexa uses the situation to her own ends. Zastor and Deedrix are arrested in a Deon coup, with other Savants expelled to the hostile surface of the planet, while the Doctor himself is prepared for sacrifice to Ti.

The doors of the city are sealed with Meglos trapped inside, with a hostage Savant named Caris for company. She gets the upper hand when the Earthling tries another bout of resistance. In a subsequent mix-up, Romana overpowers Caris, letting Meglos escape and reunite with the Gaztaks, who have staged an attack on the city to rescue him. With the miniaturized Dodecahedron in his possession, the pirates blast off back to Zolfa-Thura – though three Gaztaks, half the crew, have been lost.

The real Doctor proves that he did not steal the artefact and that there is a doppelgänger at work. Lexa realises her mistake but does not live long to regret it when she is shot dead while protecting Romana from a wounded Gaztak who was left behind. The Doctor, Romana, Caris, and Deedrix head with K9 for the TARDIS, determined to follow the Gaztak ship.

Grugger’s ship touches down on Zolfa-Thura and Meglos restores the Dodecahedron to full size, placing it at a spot equidistant between the Screens. He reveals his race perished in a civil war over the control of the crystal, which can power a weapon strong enough to destroy planets. At Grugger’s urging Meglos decides to use the weapon again and to aim it at Tigella.

When the Doctor arrives, he plays Meglos at his own game and tries a little impersonation. The situation becomes so confused that the Gaztaks lose track of which one is which, enabling the Doctor to redirect the super-weapon at Zolfa-Thura before both he and Meglos are detained by the Gaztaks. Meglos abandons the Earthling, leaving a bemused man watching a cactus creature reassert himself in his laboratory. Meglos knows the Doctor has realigned the weapon. However, the creature is unable to stop the Doctor fleeing back to the TARDIS, taking the man from Earth with him, and is also unable to persuade Grugger not to fire the weapon. From the TARDIS the Doctor and his friends witness the destruction of Zolfa-Thura, along with the Gaztaks, Meglos, and the Dodecahedron.

Caris and Deedrix return to rebuild Tigella, recognising with Zastor and the Deons that old enmities must be put aside and a new society forged. The Doctor and Romana depart and prepare to take the Earthling home, but as they are leaving Romana receives a message from the Time Lords that she must return to Gallifrey.

Production

[edit]
EpisodeTitleRun timeOriginal release dateUK viewers
(millions) [2]
1"Part One"24:4327 September 1980 (1980-09-27)5.0
2"Part Two"21:244 October 1980 (1980-10-04)4.2
3"Part Three"21:1911 October 1980 (1980-10-11)4.7
4"Part Four"19:3018 October 1980 (1980-10-18)4.7

Working titles for this story included The Golden Pentangle and The Last Zolfa-Thuran. This is one of only two multi-part stories to feature all credited cast members in every episode, the other being The Edge of Destruction (1964).[3]

This story features the only use in Doctor Who of a camera-linking system known as Scene-Sync that allowed the use of non-static shots of characters superimposed onto a miniature set. As the cameras on the actors were moved, the cameras on the miniature set moved the equivalent scaled amount automatically. The exact scale motion was achieved by trial and error, involving minute adjustments to the voltage delivered to the slave camera's motors. Part Four's closing theme was transposed to the lower key of the original theme music.

During production of this story, Madame Tussauds in London debuted the "Doctor Who Exhibition". Included were sculptures of both the Fourth Doctor and his Meglos doppelganger. As a result, Tom Baker is the only person to have appeared twice in the wax museum.

When writing the 2010 story The Lodger, Gareth Roberts had thought of making it a sequel to Meglos but this sequel idea was ultimately dropped.[4]

Cast notes

[edit]

Jacqueline Hill, who played the First Doctor's companion Barbara Wright, makes a guest appearance as Lexa,[3] marking the first time a companion has returned to play a role other than their original character. Brotadac is an anagram of "Bad Actor",[5] an in-joke by the production team, who were then somewhat embarrassed when the part went to Frederick Treves, whom they considered a fine actor. Bill Fraser only agreed to take the role of Grugger on condition the character was allowed to kick K9.[6] His request was granted; he later appeared in the spin-off pilot K-9 and Company.[7] Crawford Logan also provided the voice of Meglos but was credited only as Deedrix.

Commercial releases

[edit]

In print

[edit]

Terrance Dicks' novelisation was published by Target Books in February 1983. Dicks names Meglos' unfortunate human host and bookends the novel with his kidnapping and subsequent return to Earth. A French translation was published in 1987. An audiobook of the Target novelisation was released by BBC Audio on 1 July 2021 read by Jon Culshaw and John Leeson.

Key Information

Home media

[edit]

Meglos was released on VHS in April 2003, on DVD in January 2011,[8] and as part of the Doctor Who DVD Files (issue 109) in March 2013. Paddy Kingsland and Peter Howell's incidental music for the serial was released as part of the compilation album Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume 4: Meglos & Full Circle in 2002.

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Meglos

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Meglos is a four-part serial of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, constituting the second story of its eighteenth season. Originally broadcast on BBC One from 27 September to 18 October 1980, it stars Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, Lalla Ward as his companion Romana II, and John Leeson voicing the robot dog K9. The serial, written by John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch, was directed by Terence Dudley and produced by John Nathan-Turner under script editor Christopher H. Bidmead. In the story, the Doctor, Romana, and K9 arrive on the planet Tigella, a lush world where the native Tigellans have retreated underground to escape carnivorous vegetation. Society on Tigella is divided between the scientific Savants, led by Zastor (), and the religious Deons, headed by High Priestess Lexa (). The planet's power source, an enigmatic artifact called the , has malfunctioned, sparking conflict. Unbeknownst to them, Meglos—a last-of-his-kind (cactus-like being) from the barren neighboring planet Zolfa-Thura—plots to steal the to restore his homeworld's dominance. With the aid of Gaztak mercenaries led by General Grugger () and Lieutenant Brotadac (Frederick Treves), Meglos uses advanced technology to impersonate the Doctor, framing the real for the theft and endangering Tigella's future. The serial is notable for its exploration of themes like science versus religion and identity through the Doctor's , as well as innovative use of chroma-key effects for Meglos's transformations. It marks the return of to , her first appearance since playing the First Doctor's companion Barbara Wright in the 1960s. Filmed in June and July 1980 at Centre, Meglos averaged 4.65 million viewers across its episodes and was released on DVD in 2010 and as part of the Season 18 Blu-ray collection in 2019, both with special features including commentary and behind-the-scenes documentaries.

Synopsis

Plot

On the planet Tigella, the Savants, a scientifically minded faction led by Zastor, and the Deons, a religious group led by Lexa, are locked in a bitter civil conflict over the , a mysterious polyhedral artifact that serves as the sole power source for their but has begun to fail, forcing the Tigellans to live beneath the surface amid aggressive carnivorous vegetation known as Bell Plants. Zastor, seeking an arbiter, summons the to resolve the dispute, but the call is intercepted by Meglos, the last surviving member of the Zolfa-Thurans, a cactus-like species native to the barren planet Zolfa-Thura, whose civilization was destroyed in a war with Tigella centuries earlier over the , which Meglos now seeks to reclaim to restore power to his homeworld and exact revenge. To execute his plan, Meglos allies with a band of ruthless Gaztak mercenaries led by Grugger and his lieutenant Brotadac, hiring them to assist in the ; he first occupies the body of a captured Earthman using advanced Zolfa-Thuran , then employs a Meson Converter to scan and duplicate the Doctor's form after trapping the —carrying the , his companion Romana, and robot dog K9—in a chronic time loop on Zolfa-Thura. Impersonating the Doctor, Meglos arrives on Tigella aboard the mercenaries' ship, deceives Zastor into granting access to the Dodecahedron's chamber, and uses the Converter to miniaturize and steal the artifact, framing the real Doctor in the process before fleeing back to Zolfa-Thura with Grugger's crew. Meanwhile, the Doctor, Romana, and K9 break free from the by recalibrating the controls and land on Tigella, where they are immediately entangled in the escalating conflict: Romana and K9 venture into the dangerous jungle surface to investigate the Bell Plants, showcasing Romana's resourcefulness as she navigates the carnivorous foliage and commands K9 to defend against attacks, while the Doctor is captured by Tigellan guards who mistake him for the impersonator due to Meglos's earlier actions. The Savants put the Doctor on for and , with young Savant Deedrix and his sister Caris aiding his defense by smuggling him messages, but the Deons, driven by Lexa's zeal, prepare to him in a at the Bell Grove to appease their gods and end the power crisis. As tensions rise, Romana infiltrates the Bell Grove, using her ingenuity and K9's capabilities to evade Deon guards and gather intelligence on the Dodecahedron's malfunction, while the Gaztaks, growing impatient with Meglos's delays, betray him by demanding a larger share and ransack the Tigellan city in search of more loot. Meglos, reverting briefly to his true spiky, plant-like form to converse with Grugger, reveals his motivation stems from a desperate bid to revive Zolfa-Thura's lost glory using the Dodecahedron's energy, but the mercenaries' greed leads to infighting; meanwhile, the Doctor escapes his captivity with help from Caris and confronts the impersonation's fallout, which sows confusion among the Tigellans as Meglos's actions have deepened the factional divide. In the climax on Zolfa-Thura, the real Doctor arrives and tricks Grugger and Brotadac, while Meglos activates the Dodecahedron between the Screens of Zolfa-Thura to power a superweapon aimed at destroying Tigella; the Doctor reverses the energy flow, causing the Dodecahedron to overload and annihilate Zolfa-Thura instead, killing Meglos—who withers in the destruction—and the Gaztaks, while Lexa sacrifices herself on Tigella to save Romana from a stray Gaztak. With Meglos defeated and Zolfa-Thura destroyed, the is lost in the explosion, but the Doctor explains that its absence forces the Savants and Deons to unite in rebuilding Tigella and reclaiming the surface from the Bell Plants, averting and resolving the power crisis through collaboration. The Doctor releases the original Earthman from the lingering effects of Meglos's possession, returning him to his home era, while Romana and K9 rejoin him at the ; as peace settles on Tigella with Zastor, Caris, and Deedrix bidding farewell, the Doctor, Romana, and K9 depart, the impersonation's confusion resolved and Meglos's vengeful arc concluded in failure.

Cast

Tom Baker portrays the Fourth Doctor, as well as the villain Meglos in the form of the Doctor's impersonation, allowing the to tackle the of hero and within the story's duplication plot. Lalla Ward plays Romana II, the Doctor's companion who aids in unraveling the mystery on Tigella. John Leeson provides the voice for K9, the robotic dog companion, in what marked his return to the series after voicing the character in earlier seasons. Among the guest cast, Jacqueline Hill appears as Lexa, the authoritative leader of the Deons faction on Tigella, notable for her return to Doctor Who following her portrayal of historical companion Barbara Wright in the 1960s serials. Bill Fraser is cast as General Grugger, the opportunistic leader of the mercenary Gaztaks seeking profit from the conflict. Frederick Treves plays Lieutenant Brotadac, Grugger's pragmatic second-in-command among the Gaztaks. Supporting roles include as Deedrix, a key Savant involved in the technological and diplomatic tensions on Tigella, who also voices the titular Meglos, the last of the Zolfa-Thurans driven by revenge. Christopher Owen, uncredited, portrays the Earthling abducted and transformed by Meglos, contributing to the scenes of possession and duplication. Other Savants and Deons, such as as Zastor (the Savant leader), Colette Gleeson as Caris (Deedrix's sister and a Savant sympathizer), and June Page as a nurse, appear across episodes to flesh out the Tigellan society's divisions. The casting of Meglos emphasized the character's plant-like physiology, with the physical form requiring elaborate makeup and prosthetics to depict the spiky, organic Zolfa-Thuran appearance, while the dual roles involving impersonation presented challenges in distinguishing performances for duplicated characters like the Doctor.

Production

Development

The development of Meglos began in late 1979 when script editor Christopher H. Bidmead commissioned the serial from writers John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch to align with Season 18's emphasis on scientific themes and entropy. Bidmead, seeking fresh talent, selected the duo partly due to his personal friendship with McCulloch from their time as actors together. On February 25, 1980, they were formally tasked with expanding their initial story outline into a full script, marking their debut contribution to Doctor Who. Flanagan and McCulloch's original pitch centered on a horror story featuring plant-based aliens exploiting a societal divide between and religion, inspired by a plant and initially titled "The Golden Star." The concept evolved through multiple revisions, with the title shifting to variations like "The Golden Pentangle" and "The Last Zolfa-Thuran," before settling on Meglos. To integrate with Season 18's overarching narrative, Bidmead incorporated the —a twelve-sided artifact serving as a power source—revising it from an earlier five-sided version and adding concepts like chronic hysteresis to underscore themes of decay and energy loss. Key script alterations included the addition of a duplication plot, enabling actor to portray both the Doctor and the villainous Meglos in a transformative sequence. This change heightened dramatic tension while showcasing Baker's versatility. Additionally, the script integrated K9's role with its first voicing in the serial by , following John Leeson's departure from the character after Season 16. Pre-production discussions, led by Bidmead, stressed elements to ground the narrative, such as the Converter's fictional physics enabling Meglos's body transformation without relying on real-world equations. Budget considerations prioritized cost-effective studio production, with allocations supporting the guest writers' development work. Initial storyboarding focused on visualizing Zol Noor's arid desert environment, emphasizing practical set designs for the planet's barren landscape.

Filming and design

Principal photography for Meglos took place entirely in studio at BBC Television Centre in , with no external location filming due to budget limitations imposed by producer . The first block of recording occurred from 25 to 27 June 1980 in Studio TC8, covering the majority of Tigellan-based scenes. A second session followed from 10 to 12 July 1980 in Studio TC3, focusing on Zolfa-Thura sequences, TARDIS interiors, model shots, and the Gaztak spaceship. Set design was handled by Philip Lindley, who created the Tigellan environments to blend organic forest elements with technological structures, evoking a divided society. Zolfa-Thura was depicted as a barren, rocky desert landscape, achieved through practical set pieces and compositing during the July sessions. The Bell Foundation chamber featured a central glowing for the , using lighting to simulate an energy source. Costume designer June Hudson crafted outfits reflecting the story's factions, including white robes for the Savants to convey a sterile scientific precision. The Gaztaks wore ragged, utilitarian attire to emphasize their piratical nature. For Meglos's true form, donned a , spiky suit mimicking a cactus-like being, which he found uncomfortable due to its heat-retaining foam and appliances. Romana's ensemble drew inspiration from classic literature, incorporating a velvet and for a period aesthetic. Visual effects were supervised by Steven Drewett, who introduced the innovative Scene-Sync process—a precursor to advanced —for integrating actors against the Zolfa-Thura desert backdrop on 11 July 1980. This technique allowed seamless and was later adopted across productions. The Dodecahedron's activation sequences employed CSO for glowing energy fields and particle effects, while the Meson Converter's transformation beam utilized overlaid video effects to depict Meglos's . Practical and added beams in handled K9's weaponry, including its disruptive blasts against Gaztak equipment. Terence Dudley, directing his only Doctor Who serial, prioritized tight framing and reaction shots to underscore the confusion from the Doctor's duplication by Meglos, heightening dramatic tension. Production faced challenges from Tom 's recent illness, which left him disengaged during rehearsals and early sessions, impacting the overall energy on set. Despite this, Dudley effectively managed the dual performance demands on , blending the Doctor's affability with Meglos's menace through nuanced blocking.

Release

Broadcast

Meglos aired as the second serial of the eighteenth season of , with its four episodes transmitted weekly on Saturdays from 27 September to 18 October 1980 on . Episode durations were Part One at 24 minutes and 43 seconds, Part Two at 21 minutes and 24 seconds, Part Three at 21 minutes and 19 seconds, and Part Four at 19 minutes and 30 seconds; Parts Two through Four each began with black-and-white reprise clips summarizing key events from the prior . Overnight viewership stood at 5.0 million for Part One, falling to 4.2 million for Part Two before recovering to 4.7 million for both Parts Three and Four, yielding a serial average of 4.65 million viewers. Audience Appreciation Index scores registered 61 for Part One, 64 for Part Two, 62 for Part Three, and 63 for Part Four, averaging 62% and suggesting moderate levels of viewer satisfaction. Positioned after The Leisure Hive and before Full Circle, the story bridged the season's early entries to the E-Space trilogy while echoing the arc's entropy motif through the decaying planet Zolfa-Thura and the energy-draining Dodecahedron. The transmissions encountered no significant censorship or editorial alterations, although ratings were adversely affected by concurrent scheduling against the popular ITV import Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

Novelisation

The novelisation of Meglos was adapted from the television serial by and published in paperback by on 19 May 1983 as the 75th entry in their series, with an of 0-426-20136-1. The cover art was created by Andrew Skilleter, featuring a dual image of the and the cactus-like antagonist Meglos. Unlike the televised version, the novel provides expanded backstory for the planet Zolfa-Thura, portraying it as a formerly thriving world whose advanced civilisation collapsed due to catastrophic over-dependence on the power source known as the , leading to ecological devastation and societal ruin. Dicks also delves deeper into Meglos's psyche through extended internal monologues that highlight the character's deep-seated bitterness and resentment toward the Tigellans for possessing the , adding layers of motivation absent from the screen. Key differences from the TV story include more detailed scientific explanations for the Meson Converter, presented as a device capable of molecular reconfiguration to enable without delving into complex equations, making the more accessible while retaining its pseudoscientific essence. Additionally, the incorporates new scenes depicting pre-conflict Tigellan , illustrating the origins of the schism between the science-focused Savants and the nature-worshipping Deons to contextualise their ongoing civil strife. The novel was reissued in April 1993 by Target Books with a new cover design, maintaining the original text. The original writers of the TV script, John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch, had used the pseudonym "James Doran" for their work due to their status as Oxford undergraduates at the time; in later interviews, they discussed how the story drew inspiration from ecological themes, such as resource exploitation leading to planetary collapse, which influenced the narrative's environmental undertones.

Home media

Meglos was first released on in the United Kingdom on 10 March 2003 by Video, with no additional extras included. The US edition followed on 7 October 2003, distributed by BBC Warner, also without special features. The serial received its DVD release on 10 January 2011 in Region 2 by 2|entertain, featuring a digitally remastered video presentation that improved the CSO effects for the to address original broadcast quality issues. Special features on the DVD include an audio commentary moderated by Clayton Hickman with actors and Christopher Owen, writer John Flanagan, and composers Paddy Kingsland and Peter Howell; a making-of titled "Meglos Men"; "The Scene-Sync Story" on the effect; a photo gallery; and an isolated music track serving as a full soundtrack option. The DVD was bundled with a CD of the complete in some editions. Meglos appeared on Blu-ray as part of : The Collection – Season 18 box set, released on 25 February 2019 in the UK by , with episodes upscaled to high definition and retaining the isolated music track from the DVD. The set includes additional production info text subtitles and expanded special features such as a new "Behind the Sofa" discussion with , , and others. Deleted and extended scenes, including extended Gaztak negotiations, are accessible across the DVD and Blu-ray releases. Audio-only releases include a 1991 BBC Radio Times cassette featuring narrated highlights from the serial. The full incidental music soundtrack was issued on CD as part of at the Volume 4: & Full Circle in 2002 by Music. became available for streaming on in 2023, complete with English subtitles. As of November 2025, no major new physical or digital releases have been announced, though the serial remains integrated into streaming services such as International.

Reception

Contemporary reviews

Upon its broadcast in September and October 1980, Meglos received mixed contemporary reviews from the press, fans, and industry figures, often highlighting its ambitious themes alongside narrative shortcomings. In a preview for , David Jeffery discussed changes in the series but warned of potentially slow pacing that might test viewers' patience. Press reactions were similarly divided. A 1981 retrospective described it as "underrated but flawed," appreciating the return of Jacqueline Hill as Lexa while critiquing the underdeveloped antagonist. Fan responses were mixed, with appreciation for Jacqueline Hill's return as Lexa and K9's humorous contributions, though many criticized Meglos's motivation as underdeveloped and the story's resolution as rushed. Viewership figures provided context for the reception, with ratings averaging 4.65 million viewers attributed to strong competition from ITV programming, though Part Four saw 4.7 million due to the resolution of the involving the Doctor's escape from the .

Legacy and retrospective analysis

Meglos occupies a transitional position within the overarching narrative arc of Season 18, linking the gothic horror of "State of Decay" to the impending E-Space trilogy, while the Dodecahedron artifact embodies the season's central motif of entropy under script editor Christopher H. Bidmead's direction. In modern critiques, the serial has been praised for its innovative alien design featuring a sentient antagonist, though often criticized for plot inconsistencies and pacing issues that undermine its potential. has extended the era through audio dramas set between "Meglos" and subsequent stories, exploring adventures in the Bidmead style without direct sequels to the serial. The story's depiction of a dying planet Zolfa-Thura and the ecological tensions on Tigella have influenced perceptions of eco-themed narratives in Doctor Who, echoing earlier tales like "The Seeds of Doom" in portraying environmental collapse through alien agency. Fan discussions as of 2025 frequently describe it as a "transitional" work marking the early phase of producer John Nathan-Turner's tenure, blending experimental elements with traditional structure. Retrospective rankings place "Meglos" low among classic-era stories; in Doctor Who Magazine's 2014 poll of the first 50 years, it ranked 231 out of 241, with commentators noting advances in but highlighting Tom Baker's apparent disengagement during production. Recent analyses, such as 2024 fan podcasts, interpret Zolfa-Thura's barren landscape and Meglos's quest as a for , amid ongoing talks of animated reconstructions for other classics but none confirmed for this complete serial.

References

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  42. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF2BOawixyY
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