Doctor Who & Spin-Offs A-Z Game

[Alan]

P ~ Planet of the Spiders - 1974 story starring Jon Pertwee in his final appearance as "The Doctor" and Elisabeth Sladen as "Sarah Jane Smith", with Nicholas Courtney as "Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart", John Levene as "Sergeant John Benton", Richard Franklin in his final appearance as "Mike Yates", and introducing Tom Baker as "The Doctor".

Synopsis
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what begins as innocuous research into ESP turns into a deadly mind battle, with the terrifying spiders from the planet Metebelis III pitted against the Doctor, his friends and Time Lord K'anpo.

At a Tibetan-style spiritual retreat deep in rural England, a clandestine circle of chanting brethren unknowingly call upon the evil powers of the Metebelis Spiders, whose quest for the perfect blue crystal leads them straight to the Doctor. He must travel to the alien planet to meet the Great One, merciless ruler of her spiders and human slaves, who plans to take over Earth.

The future of the entire universe is in the Doctor's hands, but if he is to face the fear the Great One sees in his mind, then he must face the certainty of total destruction. Could this be the Time Lord's final death?

[Guest]

Q ~ Quantum-locking - Quantum-locking is a feature gained by species through evolution. The only known species to evolve this ability were the Weeping Angels who appeared in 'Blink'.

If a creature is quantum-locked, then they are turned to stone whenever they are observed. However, if the observer turns away, blinks or stops observing them in any way, the creature can move for the time until the observation resumes.

If two creatures are quantum-locked and are facing each other, they must be careful to cover their eyes before they are turned to stone. If they don't, they risk looking at each other, and being that they are both being observed by the other, they would be trapped in stone form

[Alan]

R ~ Regeneration - Regeneration is a biological ability exhibited by the Time Lords, a race of humanoids originating on the planet Gallifrey. This process allows a Time Lord who is old or mortally wounded to undergo a transformation into a new physical form and a somewhat different personality. The Doctor, is a Time Lord and has undergone this process several times and is currently in his 10th incarnation.

The process of regeneration and its aftermaths has been seen in the following stories - The Tenth Planet, The Power of the Daleks, The War Games, Spearhead from Space, Planet of the Spiders, Robot, Underworld, Destiny of the Daleks, Logopolis, Castrovalva, The Caves of Androzani, The Twin Dilemma, Time and the Rani, the 1996 TV movie Enemy Within, Bad Wolf, the Children in Need special The New Doctor, The Christmas Invasion, and Utopia.

[Guest]

S ~ Seal of Rassilon - A spiralling insignia somewhat reminiscent of a Celtic knot, it serves as a logo of the Time Lords. It is seen in multiple episodes of the series to designate the Time Lords and Gallifrey. The Seal is most often seen on Time Lord architecture and artifacts, as well as badges on ceremonial clothing. The Seal was featured heavily in the interior design of the Eighth Doctor's TARDIS. It was seen most recently in 'The Sound of Drums', set in stonework beneath the Untempered Schism.

[Alan]

T ~ Time Meddler, The - 1965 story starring William Hartnell as "The Doctor", Maureen O'Brien as "Vicki Pallister", & Peter Purves as "Steven Taylor".

Synopsis
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The TARDIS lands on a beach in England. The Doctor, Vicki and new companion Steven discover a Viking helmet, and deduce they have arrived in the past. Whilst Steven and Vicki scale the cliff, the Doctor opts for a far more gentle path...

In the woods above the cliffs, Steven and Vicki find an abandoned modern wristwatch. The Doctor investigates a nearby monastery, only to discover more anachronisms...

As the local villages are attacked by invading Vikings, the Doctor realises that they are a few weeks away from the famous battle of Hastings in 1066. Who is the Meddling Monk, and what is his interest in the time travellers?


Trivia
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This is the first time we meet another member of the Doctor's race (although they are not yet identified as Time Lords), from a time 50 years after the Doctor left his homeworld (which is not named in this story).

[Guest]

U ~ Umbrella - The Seventh Doctor carried from 'Delta and the Bannermen' onwards an umbrella with a question-mark shaped handle. He had ceased using it by the time of his last appearance in the Doctor Who television movie. The Sixth Doctor occasionally carried a different umbrella, a multicolored model with a straight handle. This was destroyed in the Seventh Doctor's first story, 'Time and the Rani', leading to the question-mark umbrella. The first time the Doctor is seen on screen with an umbrella (this one a simple black one), is in the story 'The Krotons' with the Second Doctor.

[Alan]

V ~ Valeyard, The - The Valeyard is described as an aspect of the Doctor from between his twelfth and thirteenth incarnations. In the 1986 story The Trial of a Time Lord, the Time Lords appoint the Valeyard as prosecutor at the 6th Doctor's trial, hoping to have him executed - thereby removing the sole witness to their near-destruction of life on Earth.

[Guest]

W ~ Web Planet, The - 1965 story starring William Hartnell as "The Doctor", Jacqueline Hill as "Barbara Wright", William Russell as "Ian Chesterton", & Maureen O'Brien as "Vicki Pallister".

The TARDIS is pulled off course by a mysterious force and trapped on the barren, desolate low-oxygen world of Vortis in the Isop galaxy. The Doctor, Barbara, Ian and Vicki are soon swept up in the struggles of the butterfly-like Menoptra, the original denizens of Vortis who were forced to flee the planet for the moon Pictos to escape the encroaching web of the Animus and its mind-controlled minions, the ant-like Zarbi and their living weapons, the Venom Grubs. With assistance from the caterpillar-like Optera, the devolved descendants of the planet's original inhabitants, the TARDIS crew and the Menoptra are able to destroy the Animus at the center of its web complex with the secret Menoptra weapon, the isotope-powered living cell destructor.

[Alan]

X ~ X-Ray - In the 1970 story Spearhead from Space, the newly regenerated 3rd Doctor was admitted to a hospital and it was an X-Ray scan that first revealed the Doctor's Time Lord physiology of two hearts.

[Guest]

Y ~ Yates, Captain Mike - Yates first appeared in the Third Doctor serial 'Terror of the Autons', the latest in a line of Captains assisting Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. He proved more durable than his predecessors, appearing semi-regularly in the programme from 1971 to 1974 alongside the Brigadier and Sergeant Benton. Together with the Doctor and his companions, Yates fought off alien invasions, the machinations of the renegade Timelord known as the Master, rogue computers and mutated maggots.

Spoiler:

Yates was a fairly non-descript character, typical of the British Army officer class, and little is known of him outside of his time with UNIT. He was cool under fire, efficient, and both gave and carried out his orders with a minimum of fuss. He appeared to have a relatively good rapport with his men, although he did remind Benton on occasion that "rank hath its privileges". He was attracted to the Third Doctor's assistant Jo Grant and they may have dated for a time - Jo was dressed up to go on a date with Mike at the start of 'The Curse of Peladon' only to be taken on a trip in the TARDIS by the Doctor.

Yates's fall from grace started when he was brainwashed by the artificial intelligence BOSS in the 1973 serial 'The Green Death'. The brush with ecological disaster apparently made Yates very concerned about the future of the planet, and he was easily recruited by Sir Charles Grover into a conspiracy to reverse time and return Earth to a "golden age" ('Invasion of the Dinosaurs'). The conspiracy was thwarted by the Doctor, and in return for his past service to UNIT, the Brigadier allowed Yates to take medical leave and then quietly resign (actor Richard Franklin believes the initial plan for this story was to kill off Yates[1]).

Trying to recover, Yates attended a meditation centre but uncovered strange goings-on, which he reported to Sarah Jane Smith, since he felt that UNIT would find him untrustworthy. Sarah communicated this back to the Doctor, leading into the rest of the events of the Third Doctor's last serial, 'Planet of the Spiders'. It is not known if Yates returned to UNIT after that, or if he went on to other things.

'Planet of the Spiders' was Yates's last appearance in the series. Richard Franklin returned as an illusory image of Yates in the 20th Anniversary special 'The Five Doctors' and reprised the role of Yates in the 1993 charity special 'Dimensions in Time'.

[Alan]

Z ~ Zeta Major - Novel which was part of the "Past Doctor Adventures" range of books. This novel features the 5th Doctor, Nyssa, & Tegan Jovanka.

In takes place between the TV stories Arc of Infinity and Snakedance and acts as a sequel to the TV story Planet of Evil.

Synopsis
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A glib remark from the Doctor to a desperate scientist has had far-reaching effects on the empire of Morestra. Eminent Morestran scientist Sorenson, attempting to find a new power source for his planet, risked a universal catastrophe by attempting to steal anti-matter crystals from the distant planet of Zeta Minor. The Doctor averted disaster, but has in effect sent all Morestra up a technological cul-de-sac.

Now in his fifth regeneration, the Doctor becomes involved once again in Morestra's future. The empire has become a theocracy, and the all-powerful Church, finally discovering that Sorenson's world-spanning energy tower will never work, is attempting to save face by covertly returning to Zeta Minor to steal the powerful minerals they need. This time, they believe they are prepared for all eventualities...

With his companions embroiled in the ever-shifting loyalties and intrigues of the Morestran court, only the Doctor accepts that the forces of the anti-matter universe can never interact with our own. Can he stop something he started two thousand years ago?

[Guest]

A ~ Alpha Centauri - Alpha Centauri is an alien delegate for the Galactic Federation.

Alpha Centauri is a hermaphroditic hexapod from Alpha Centauri. It is tall, green, has one large blue eye, six arms and a high-pitched voice, wears a long yellow cape and walks with a nervous gait. It is prone to cowardice and hysterics. It has a low opinion of Earth, describing it as a "'remote and unattractive" planet, but regrets that its appearance can frighten humans. It regards females as unimportant.

It appeared in 'The Curse of Peladon' and 'The Monster of Peladon'.

[Alan]

B ~ Berserker, The - The Beserkers were a cult of aliens that used pendants to control people.

In The Sarah Jane Adventures Series 2 story The Mark of the Berserker, one such pendant was found at Park Vale School and was used by a boy named Jacob. It gives the wearer psychic powers, so that others are forced to do anything the wearer tells them to. However, Jacob becomes scared of the pendant's power and the mysterious tattoos it produces in the wearer, so he gives it to Rani Chandra, after she caught him using it. Rani put it in Sarah Jane Smith's attic (as Sarah Jane is away) but when Clyde Langer invited his estranged father, Paul, to see the alien artefacts stored there, the father stole the pendant. He made his son forget about his mother and friends and called Clyde his soldier. The father was possessed until Clyde threw the pendant into the sea and destroyed its power

[Guest]

C ~ Cyber-conversion unit - Scavenged by Ianto Jones from the ruins of Torchwood One and installed in the basement of the Hub. It was modified following the instructions of Lisa Hallett, a partially converted Cyberman, to become a life support system for her. It was still somewhat operational and was used to attempt to upgrade Dr Tanizaki but resulted in only his death. It was also used to transplant the brain of Lisa into the body of another woman. When used to upgrade it caused a huge power drain on the Hub ('Cyberwoman').

[Alan]

D ~ Death to the Daleks - 1974 story starring Jon Pertwee as "The Doctor" and Elisabeth Sladen as "Sarah Jane Smith".

Synopsis
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An inexplicable power-loss strands the TARDIS on the sinister planet Exxilon where the Doctor meets an expedition from Earth seeking a rare material that can cure the virulent space plague that threatens all human life throughout the galaxy. Nearby, Sarah Jane discovers a mysterious, living Citadel but is captured by the savage Exxilons who prepare her for sacrifice...

The Doctor must uncover the secrets of the ancient Exxilon City, locate the source of the power-drain, save Sarah and help the Earth expedition. But his plans are threatened by new arrivals on the planet - the Doctor's oldest and deadliest enemies - The Daleks!