Doctor Who and the Silurians

Doctor Who and the Silurians (also known simply as The Silurians) is the second serial of the seventh season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast in seven weekly parts on BBC1 from 31 January to 14 March 1970.

A nuclear powered cyclotron facility in some caves under a moorland is experiencing mysterious power drains and mental breakdowns amongst staff. The Third Doctor and Liz Shaw meet Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart there to investigate. Major Baker, the security chief, believes there is a saboteur in the centre.

The Doctor and Liz discover a Silurian base with the signal device, where they witness a Silurian being revived from hibernation by a machine, explaining the energy drains that the reactor has been experiencing.

Masters, the Permanent Under-Secretary in charge of the centre, arrives. The Doctor tells them about the Silurians in the caves, urging peaceful contact. However, this is ignored when Quinn’s assistant reveals that he was killed by the Silurian he held captive.

The Doctor attempts to warn the Silurians, but they put him in a cage. He is able to reason with the leader of the Silurians, who attempts to convince his brethren to find a way of co-existing with humans. The younger Silurian refuses and kills the leader, usurping the title as leader.

Baker is later infected with a deadly strain of bacteria by the Silurians before he is released, resulting in an epidemic to spread across Britain. The Doctor is able to find a cure, which is mass produced, ending the epidemic.

The Doctor, Liz and the Brigadier are then abducted by the Silurians and taken to the power plant, where the Doctor overloads the reactor and tells the younger Silurian that the area will be irradiated for at least 25 years. The Silurians re-enter the caves to hibernate until the danger has passed.

Since the mechanism is faulty, the younger Silurian will stay awake to operate it and sacrifice his life. The Doctor and Liz repair the reactor. The younger Silurian realises he has been duped into sending his race back to sleep. He attacks the Doctor but is shot by the Brigadier.

The Doctor insists that the caves are to remain untouched to allow the Silurians to hibernate peacefully, hopeful that talks of peace may occur between them and humankind in the future. However, the Brigadier orders the caves to be destroyed, killing the Silurians inside and horrifying the Doctor, who opposed the mass murder of the Silurians.

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To view the list of other Doctor Who serials, please click this link

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