Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit

The Creature from the Pit is the third serial of the 17th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 27 October to 17 November 1979.

The use of an MK3 Emergency transceiver on the TARDIS identifies a distress signal and brings the craft to the lush jungle world of Chloris, where metal in all forms is a rare and prized commodity. The Fourth Doctor and Romana venture out to discover the remains of an enormous egg in the jungle, and when they meet the inhabitants they find a matriarchy ruled through fear by the icy and callous Lady Adrasta.

Without metal to make the tools needed to keep the jungle under control, lush plant life dominates. The Lady Adrasta controls the planet’s very last metal mine, holding on to power through the Huntsman and the Wolfweeds. Her throne room contains an array of metal including a shield patterned in the same way as the remnants of the shell. She mentions the Creature which dwells in a deep pit on Chloris.

Romana is captured by a party of scavengers, keen to find and hoard more metal. They are impressed by K9. The robot enables her escape and she is briefly reunited with the Doctor before he leaps into the Pit himself, determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and the Pit. Within it he encounters Organon, an astrologer thrown there by Adrasta earlier, and then comes face to face with the Creature: the vast shapeless blob rolls over him.

The Doctor calculates it is not, however, dangerous, and is fascinated to note it is a herbivore which produces metal from within itself. It also forms a tentacle and draws a picture which the Doctor recognises as the shield from Adrasta’s throne room. Lady Adrasta, her lady-in-waiting Karela, the Huntsman, his Wolfweeds, and some guards, enter the Pit and make their way to the Doctor, Organon, and the Creature.

The scavengers have raided the throne room for booty, including the alien shield. It exerts influence over two of them, who take it to the Pit and place it on the Creature. It turns out the shield is a communication device. Erato, as the Creature is named, is the Tythonian ambassador to Chloris and came to negotiate a treaty exchanging metal for chlorophyll fifteen years earlier. Its craft was the vast egg found in the jungle.

However, Adrasta realised her power was dependent on control of the planet’s metal supply and so imprisoned Erato to maintain her status. The Huntsman sets the Wolfweeds on Adrasta as Erato rolls over them both, devouring the Wolfweeds and leaving behind Adrasta’s web-covered corpse. The Doctor arranges to have Erato lifted from the Pit. Adrasta’s sidekick, Karela, attempts to capitalise on the situation and seize power herself—but with the help of K9 the Doctor brings it to nought.

The Doctor has rescued the Tythonian just in time – it seems Tythonus has declared war on Chloris over the missing ambassador, and has despatched a neutron star to collide with Chloris’ star and destroy the system. It is due to collide within the next twenty-four hours.

Erato weaves a metal covering around the star, enabling the Doctor, using the TARDIS gravity beam, to draw the star off course and neutralise the danger. The Doctor’s last act on Chloris is to push the Huntsman, now one of the de facto rulers, toward a mutually beneficial trade agreement with Erato and the Tythonians.

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

Doctor Who Episode Guides for Sale on Amazon

Step aboard the TARDIS and journey across the universe with every incarnation of The Doctor in this series of unofficial Doctor Who episode companions.

This collection of twelve books explores every televised adventure of the Time Lord’s lives.

Each volume in the series delves into a different Doctor’s era, offering detailed episode guides, behind-the-scenes insights, character profiles, and story synopses.

Once you have clicked the link, choose which book you want, and then whether you want to buy the Kindle (eBook) or Paperback versions.

Previews are available before you buy.

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