Doctor Who: Frontios (Story 133)

Beneath the Earth...
One of the most underrated episodes of the old Doctor Who series. This one harks back to the old gothic themes and atmosphere of the Tom Baker days. There is still one chilling scene which clings to my childhood memories since the first time I've seen it. The scene concerns one of the ill-fated men being dragged into the dirt until he is entirely engulfed by the ground itself as if the earth has grown hungry. How his hand grasp the final remnants of life before he is pulled away. This sets the tone for the rest of the Frontios episode.

The story itself is written by veteran Christopher H. Bidmead who was responsible for script editing very structured stories for Tom Baker's final season. Bidmead made one of the best contributions to the Doctor Who series: bringing the science back to science fiction for Doctor Who. And he does no less for the stand alone show Frontios. And he tells a chilling tale for the last vestiges of the human race who are attacked by something...

Living on the edge
This Season 21 story, set between Doctor Who: The Awakening - Episode 132 and Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks (Story 134), stars Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, accompanied by Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Turlough (Mark Strickson).

For the first-time viewer, the setup of the Doctor Who series is basic enough: the Doctor is an alien who adventures in time and space in his TARDIS, usually with a human companion or two. I don't think you need to have seen the series before to enjoy this story, but it does help to know that the Time Lords, the Doctor's own people, have certain rules and responsibilities (sadly, never fully defined) where time travel and knowledge of the future is concerned.

It's the far future and the TARDIS crash-lands on Frontios, a planet only marginally suitable for habitation. One of the last...

Disc content for Frontios...
1 disc, 98 minutes, 4 episodes, full frame video, English mono audio, English subtitles.

An irresistible force draws the TARDIS to the barren surface of Frontios, where in the far future the last surviving humans cower amongst the ruins of their wrecked spacecraft. Under constant threat from lethal meteorite bombardments, few of the doomed colony members realize that the ground of Frontios itself opens up and devours the unwary. Not permitted to assist, the Doctor attempts to leave, but is thwarted when the unimaginable occurs: the TARDIS is utterly destroyed. All the while, burrowing undetected below the planet's crust, sickening alien parasites prepare a gruesome and final fate for all humanity.

Extras:
Audio Commentary with actors Peter Davison, Jeff Rawle and John Gillett, script editor Eric Saward and special sounds designer Dick Mills.
Driven to Distractation: The Making of Frontios
Deleted and Extended Scenes
Photo Gallery
PDF...

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