Doctor Who: The Armageddon Factor (1979)

Dates of Original Broadcast:
Number of Episodes: 6
Average Episode Running Times: 25m
Format: colour
Sound: mono

DIRECTION

Director: Michael Hayes

SCRIPT
[Written] By: Bob Baker and Dave Martin
Script Editors: Anthony Read, Douglas Adams (uncredited)

PHOTOGRAPHY
Lighting: Mike Jefferies

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
VT Editor: Rod Waldron

MUSIC
Incidental Music by: Dudley Simpson
Title Music: Ron Grainer (uncredited)
Title Music Arranged by: Delia Derbyshire (uncredited)

SOUND
Sound: Richard Cubb
Special Sound: Dick Mills

COSTUMES AND MAKE-UP
Costume Designer: Michael Burdle
Make-up Artist: Ann Briggs

VISUAL EFFECTS
Visual Effects: John Horton
Electronic Effects Operator: Dave Chapman

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Designer: Richard McManan-Smith

MISCELLANEOUS
Production Assistant: Ann Aronsohn
Assistant Floor Managers: Steve Goldie, Rosemary Padvaiskas (both uncredited)

CAST

Part One
Tom Baker (Doctor Who)
Mary Tamm (Romana)
John Woodvine (Marshal)
Lalla Ward (Princess Astra)
Davyd Harries (Major Shapp)
Ian Saynor (Surgeon Merak)
John Leeson (voice of K9)
Ian Liston ('Hero')
Susan Skipper ('Heroine')
John Cannon (guard)

Part Two
Tom Baker (Doctor Who)
Mary Tamm (Romana)
John Woodvine (Marshal)
Lalla Ward (Princess Astra)
Davyd Harries (Major Shapp)
Ian Saynor (Surgeon Merak)
John Leeson (voice of K9)
Harry Fielder (guard)

Part Three
Tom Baker (Doctor Who)
Mary Tamm (Romana)
John Woodvine (Marshal)
Lalla Ward (Princess Astra)
Davyd Harries (Major Shapp)
Ian Saynor (Surgeon Merak)
William Squire (The Shadow)
John Leeson (voice of K9)
Iain Armstrong (technician)
Pat Gorman (pilot)

Part Four
Tom Baker (Doctor Who)
Mary Tamm (Romana)
John Woodvine (Marshal)
Lalla Ward (Princess Astra)
Davyd Harries (Major Shapp)
Ian Saynor (Surgeon Merak)
William Squire (The Shadow)
John Leeson (voice of K9)
Pat Gorman (pilot)

Part Five
Tom Baker (Doctor Who)
Mary Tamm (Romana)
Lalla Ward (Princess Astra)
William Squire (The Shadow)
Barry Jackson (Drax)
John Leeson (voice of K9)

Part Six
Tom Baker (Doctor Who)
Mary Tamm (Romana)
John Woodvine (Marshal)
Lalla Ward (Princess Astra)
William Squire (The Shadow)
Davyd Harries (Major Shapp)
Ian Saynor (Surgeon Merak)
Valentine Dyall (The Guardian)
Barry Jackson (Drax)
John Leeson (voice of K9)

UNCREDITED CAST

Frank Arbisman, Barbara Hampshire, Juliet St Davis, Ian Sheridan, Terry Ward, Albert Welch (patients)
Val McKinnon, Judy Roger (nurses)
Ian Liston (voices)
Peter Caton, Tony O'Leary, Peter Roy, Richard Sheekey, Barry Summerford, Reg Turner (guards)
Peter Bithiel, Constance Carling, Gerry Dean, Bill Hughes, Malcolm Ross, David Wilde (technicians)
Stephen Calcutt, Michael Braben, James Haswell, Ridgewell Hawkes, Danny Rae, Derek Suthern (mutes)
Michael Gordon-Brown, Eddie Whiting (extras)

PLOT SUMMARY

With only one more segment of the Key to Time to find, The Doctor and Romana arrive on the planet Atrios which is waging a dreadful war with the neighbouring world of Zeos. The Doctor tries to find a non-violent way to end the conflict but is hindered by The Shadow, a servant of the evil Black Guardian, and his super-computer Mentalis.

A disappointing conclusion to the quest for the Key to Time mars a good enough story but which fails to resolve the ongoing storyline, which just seems to peter out. An excellent cast do well with a well paced and nicely structured set of scripts, but the lack of a proper ending for the quest leaves a bad taste that tends to sour the rest of an otherwise fine story.

UK
Television Distributor: BBC
Video Distributor: BBC Video

1979
January
20: UK - Part One television broadcast (on BBC1)
27: UK - Part Two television broadcast (on BBC1)

February
3: UK - Part Three television broadcast (on BBC1)
10: UK - Part Four television broadcast (on BBC1)
17: UK - Part Five television broadcast (on BBC1)
24: UK - Part Six television broadcast (on BBC1)

Armageddon - working title

BOOKS

Doctor Who: The Television Companion pp.358-361
credits, synopsis, review (by David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker)

OTHER SCOURCES

screen
credits

KEYWORDS

aliens, time travel

Last Updated: 1 January, 2009