PLANET
OF THE
SPIDERS
BY
ROBERT
SLOMAN
PART THREE
1: EXT. RIVER
(The DOCTOR has reached the river again but has cut out a considerably long stretch of the curve in its route by going overland. He skims back onto the surface of the water and finds that he is much closer behind LUPTON'S speedboat and getting nearer all the time. The DOCTOR finds himself buffeted by the churned-up waters from the speedboat and instead goes to one side of the wake of the craft, thereby being able to close up easier. LUPTON hears the drone of the hovercraft and looks back. The look of satisfaction disappears off his face.)
LUPTON: He'll catch us!
SPIDER: (OOV.) I'll get help from Metebelis. Concentrate! Concentrate!
(The two craft are now neck and neck together with both men watching ahead and each others movements as they race through the water. The DOCTOR brings the hovercraft immediately next to the speedboat and lunges himself aboard LUPTON'S craft. LUPTON keeps at the controls as the DOCTOR clambers to his feet. But when he looks down at the driver's seat, it is empty. LUPTON has disappeared into nothingness before an astounded DOCTOR. The boat starts to drift to a halt.)
2: INT. LAMASERY. PASSAGEWAY
(TOMMY'S secret hideaway in the Lamasery is a cupboard under the stairs. The burly handyman comes out of this private place and immediately a troubled look appears on his face. Sensing something wrong, he peeps round the corner and his eyes widen as he sees LUPTON materialise from thin air, staggering slightly on his feet as he does so.)
TOMMY: Clever Lupton!
(TOMMY smiles in admiration. He watches as LUPTON reaches into the pocket of his checked sports jacket and brings out the blue crystal. Any feelings of confusion that TOMMY feels over LUPTON'S seeming trick of magic instantly disappear when he sees the jewel in the man's hands.)
TOMMY: Pretty!
(TOMMY retreats back as CHO-JE walks across the hallway. LUPTON hurriedly pockets the crystal and nods a greeting to the little lama which is returned.)
CHO-JE: Mr. Lupton.
(CHO-JE passes on and into the meditation room. LUPTON makes sure he has gone and heads towards his own room, not seeing that TOMMY is bumbling along after him.)
2: INT. LAMASERY. LUPTON'S ROOM
(LUPTON enters his own room which is on the ground floor. Its fixtures and fittings are basic with a wardrobe, bed washstand and table under the window with one chair nearby. LUPTON shuts the door to and leans against it. He looks shattered and his face is covered in a film of sweat, nevertheless he looks triumphant. He speaks to his unseen companion.)
LUPTON: We've done it!
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (OOV.) Yes, we've done it - together.
(LUPTON takes the crystal out of his pocket and looks down at it as he staggers across the room.)
LUPTON: Will...this give us...power?
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (OOV.) More power than you dared to dream of.
(LUPTON smiles. Suddenly, the SPIDER grows anxious...)
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (OOV.) Veil your mind! You must cloak your ambition. I can understand it, perhaps I share it, but if my sisters on Metebelis Three were to have an inkling of your thoughts...they would kill you.
(The SPIDER cries out.)
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (OOV.) Beware! They seek to make the link.
(LUPTON feels his surroundings growing fuzzy...)
3: INT. METEBELIS THREE. SPIDER'S BASE. COUNCIL CHAMBER
(...and he finds himself in mind and partially in body in the Council Chamber of the QUEEN SPIDER on Metebelis Three. The chamber is small, well-lit and in hues of white and blue. A raised platform on two levels which runs half-way round the room contains the many SPIDER members of the council. At the left-hand side of the platform is the dais of QUEEN SPIDER on which she sits, ever-twitching and moving her eight legs. She and the council members are identical in look to LUPTON'S SPIDER but the QUEEN has a regal and imperious tone to her voice. LUPTON himself appears as a disembodied head floating in the air in a corner of the chamber which faces the QUEEN SPIDER. LUPTON'S SPIDER does not appear but her voice is heard clearly and distinctly as LUPTON'S head looks round in some confusion at this sudden transportation. His image constantly cross-fades to an image of itself from a different angle.)
QUEEN SPIDER: We are successful?
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (OOV.) Totally - the crystal is ours.
(There are murmurs and exclamations of surprise and delight from the council members.)
QUEEN SPIDER: You have done well.
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (OOV.) I thank you, o Queen.
QUEEN SPIDER: Now you must prepare to return, bringing the crystal with you.
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (OOV.) It shall be done.
LUPTON: Look, what about me? I am to be...forgotten?
QUEEN SPIDER: (Annoyed.) You are not necessary!
LUPTON: Oh, but I am. Without me, you would never have recovered your precious crystal. I...I've been your friend.
QUEEN SPIDER: (Amazed.) A friend? A two-leg dares to claim friendship with the eight-legs - the noble ones?
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (OOV: Placating.) He means no harm, o Queen, and it is true that he has served us well.
(The rest of the council murmur their agreement.)
QUEEN SPIDER: Very well. His reward will be to serve us further. We could use him in the great work - the conquest of Earth.
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (OOV.) Conquest?
QUEEN SPIDER: This is the secret purpose of the Great One.
(At the mention of this name, the council members join in a sudden chorus of acclamation which is tinged with fear...)
COUNCIL: All praise to the Great One!
QUEEN SPIDER: That is why she requires the crystal. We shall return to our rightful home – Earth, as rulers! We have exhausted our power. Be ready to return. Be ready...
(The sight of the chamber becomes opaque before LUTPON'S eyes...)
4: INT. LAMASERY. LUPTON'S ROOM
(...and he finds himself back in his own room, a little shaken by the experience and still looking sweaty and tired. He moves open to the sash window and pushes it upwards.)
5: EXT. LAMASERY
(He leans out of the window, gasping for fresh air. The SPIDER speaks soothingly.)
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (OOV.) Rest now. Let the power return to your body, and to your mind.
6: INT. LAMASERY. LUPTON'S ROOM
(He turns from the window and stumbles over to his bed, the crystal in his hand. He collapses faces down on the bed.)
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (OOV.) Sleep, Lupton, sleep.
(As he closes his eyes, the SPIDER materialises on his back. It scuttles off and onto the floor. It heads for the door where it fades from sight...)
7: INT. LAMASERY. PASSAGEWAY OUTSIDE LUPTON'S ROOM
(...and reappears outside the door in the hallway. It moves off through the passages of the Lamasery.)
8: INT. LAMASERY. HALLWAY
(CHO-JE has two visitors – the DOCTOR and SARAH have arrived at the Lamasery and are with the lama in the sitting room with MIKE. SARAH has changed into a red striped top and jacket with beige trousers.)
CHO-JE: I can understand your distress at losing a valuable piece of equipment, er, er, Doctor?
(None of them see that BARNES is in the hallway and listening to the conversation within.)
CHO-JE: However, I feel you are mistaken in suggesting that Mr. Lupton had anything to do with it.
(Having heard enough, BARNES moves off.)
SARAH: But I saw him! I recognised him!
CHO-JE: When? How far away from here?
9: INT. LAMASERY. SITTING ROOM
DOCTOR: Oh, about eighty miles I should say.
SARAH: And we lost sight of him at about half-past-ten or thereabouts.
CHO-JE: At half-past-ten I was walking to the meditation class and I saw Mr. Lupton in the corridor.
MIKE YATES: But...but, that's impossible.
CHO-JE: (Smiles.) Precisely, so one of us is mistaken. You cannot believe he was transported here in the winking of an eye.
(The DOCTOR smiles at CHO-JE.)
DOCTOR: No, no, of course not.
MIKE YATES: Well, stranger things...have happened.
SARAH: You can say that again.
MIKE YATES: Much stranger.
10: INT. LAMASERY. HALLWAY
(Outside the room, the SPIDER approaches across the tiled floor.)
CHO-JE: As we both know, such things are child's play to a master of sorcerer, but you cannot believe that Mr. Lupton is a sorcerer.
(The SPIDER pauses, watching what is going on in the room.)
CHO-JE: We have no magicians here, I do assure you.
11: INT. LAMASERY. LUPTON'S ROOM
(BARNES has got to LUPTON'S room and shakes him awake.)
BARNES: Lupton? Lupton, wake up! Wake up!
LUPTON: (Sleepily.) Mmm? Mmm?
(He looks up at BARNES through groggy eyes.)
LUPTON: What is it?
(He sits up, still holding the crystal.)
BARNES: That girl's back. She's brought somebody with her called "the Doctor".
LUPTON: Has she indeed?
BARNES: Now they're saying that you...
(He spots the crystal in LUPTON'S hand.)
BARNES: Then it's true?
(LUPTON smiles, gets up off the bed and crosses to the window.)
BARNES: (Worried.) Lupton, we've gotta stop this.
(LUPTON puts the crystal down on table in front of the window.)
BARNES: We're meddling in things we don't understand.
LUPTON: (Sardonically.) Are we now?
BARNES: Now listen to me - i...is that thing on your back at this moment?
(LUPTON looks and senses the loss. He seems unconcerned.)
LUPTON: How very strange - no it's not.
(LUPTON takes off his sports jacket...)
BARNES: Right, let's get away from here - now, while the going's good.
(...and crosses to the sink, rolling up the sleeves of his polo neck jumper and not listening to BARNES' entreaties.)
LUPTON: Barnes, do you know why I came to this place?
BARNES: No, not really.
LUPTON: All right - potted history coming up.
(He takes off his watch, puts the plug in the sink and turns on the tap.)
LUPTON: Picture me, bright young salesman, "Salesman of the year", Sales Manager, Sales Director. (Shouts.) I gave them twenty-five years of my life! Are you with me so far?
BARNES: Yes, yes.
(He turns the tap up, grabs the soap and starts to wash his hands as BARNES listens.)
LUPTON: Then the finance boys moved in. Merger, takeover - golden handshake me, out on the streets.
(Unseen by either of the two men, TOMMY appears at the window, crouched down so as not to be seen.)
LUPTON: They could even have taken that.
(LUPTON starts to swill his face, thus missing seeing TOMMY spot the crystal, stretch into the room and take the precious object off the table.)
LUPTON: But when I tried...to set-up of my own, they deliberately, cold-bloodedly...broke me.
(TOMMY moves away from the window, the re-stolen article in his grasp.)
LUPTON: I'm still looking for some of the bits.
BARNES: So you came here to get peace of mind?
(LUPTON lets off a cry of derision into the towel he is using to dry his face.)
LUPTON: Ha! I came here to get power. Do you think I'm going to let go now when it's in sight, when I can see myself taking over that firm, taking over the country...the entire stinking world! Huh! I want to see them grovel, I want to see them breaking their hearts, I want to see them eating dirt!
BARNES: (Ruefully.) And I came here just to look for peace of mind.
12: INT. LAMASERY. PASSAGEWAY
(TOMMY runs gasping down a passageway of the Lamasery. He looks round and enters the cupboard under the stairs.)
13: INT. LAMASERY. STAIR CUPBOARD
(He switches on the single bulb that hangs on a flex from above. The walls of the limited space hold a series of fuse boxes and a wooden first aid box. There are an assortment of objects stored there including a stepladder and an old ironing board. TOMMY kneels on the floor and opens a battered suitcase. From this he extracts a white shoebox – his treasure chest. Sitting back he takes the lid off the box and looks at the assortment of jewellery, trinkets and junk within. He then looks at his newly 'acquired' treasure.)
TOMMY: Ah, pretty!
(He places the jewel in the box and stirs his hand through the other objects.)
TOMMY: All Tommy's pretties.
(Gasping with delight, he puts the lid back on the shoebox and hugs it to himself.)
14: INT. LAMASERY. LUPTON'S ROOM
(His wash over, LUPTON puts his jacket back on, a smile on his face.)
BARNES: So what are we going to do?
LUPTON: When I've learned how to use that crystal, I shan't need the spiders anymore.
(BARNES turns and sees the SPIDER materialise in the room in front of the door.)
BARNES: Lupton, look!
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (To LUPTON.) Your master will come to fetch you soon.
LUPTON: My master? You mean Cho-Je? Why?
LUPTON'S SPIDER: To talk to the Doctor.
BARNES: (To LUPTON.) Is it speaking to you? What's it saying?
LUPTON'S SPIDER: Send this fool away!
LUPTON: Very well. Off you go, Barnes.
BARNES: (Slightly panicked.) What are we gonna do?
(LUPTON speaks to him in a condescending fashion.)
LUPTON: Later, man, later.
BARNES: (Sighs.) Very well.
(The weak and confused man heads for the door, carefully walking round the twitching SPIDER with some distaste. He leaves the room.)
LUPTON'S SPIDER: We must prepare to meet this Doctor.
LUPTON: I see no necessity.
LUPTON'S SPIDER: He could be dangerous.
LUPTON: So could I. (Firmly.) So...could...I.
LUPTON'S SPIDER: You will go to see him.
LUPTON: I shall not.
LUPTON'S SPIDER: You forget, Lupton - we are linked together now. I can twist your mind as easily as a two-leg boy twists another's arm.
(It rears up on its legs.)
LUPTON'S SPIDER: Like this!
(A reverberating sound echoes through LUPTON'S mind. He clamps his hands to his head in agony.)
LUPTON: Oh...oh, stop!
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (Goading.) "You won't need the spiders anymore" - isn't that what you said?
LUPTON: Stop, I can't bear it!
LUPTON'S SPIDER: Say please!
LUPTON: Please...please!
(The sound diminishes. LUPTON groans as his hands fall away.)
LUPTON: Oh...
(He staggers over to a chair.)
LUPTON'S SPIDER: You will go to see the Doctor and lull his suspicions. In future you will do as I wish.
LUPTON: What did you do to my mind? It felt like red-hot needles. Was it...
(Sat in the chair, LUPTON closes his eyes.)
LUPTON: Was it...this that you did?
(Nothing happens.)
LUPTON: Or...no...no...was it...this!
(He stares down at the SPIDER with eyes ablaze. The positions are reversed and the SPIDER'S mind is filled with the reverberating sound. The SPIDER cries out in agony and writhes on the floor.)
LUPTON'S SPIDER: No...no...stop!
LUPTON: (Smiles.) Say please...
LUPTON'S SPIDER: Please, Lupton! Please!
(LUPTON stops the torture. The SPIDER groans as it lies flat on the floor.)
LUPTON'S SPIDER: You are...cleverer than the two-legs on Metebelis Three.
LUPTON: I'm cleverer than most of them on Earth!
LUPTON'S SPIDER: Very well, you need not see this man. Come, we must make ready!
(LUPTON gets up and looks down at his SPIDER.)
LUPTON: I'm not going to Metebelis Three just to become a slave to that Queen of yours.
LUPTON'S SPIDER: I like her arrogance no more than you do. You seek power on Earth. I shall seize it on Metebelis. We can help each other. Turn around!
LUPTON: (Sniffs.) Very well.
(He turns away from the SPIDER and it jumps onto his back and fades away. He hears its voice in his mind.)
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (OOV.) Now - the crystal!
(He turns to the window and sees that the crystal is not on the table.)
15: EXT. LAMASERY
(He turns over books and several other items and looks on the open window-sill.)
LUPTON: It's gone!
16: INT. LAMASERY. LUPTON'S ROOM
(He turns from the window.)
LUPTON: The crystal has gone!
17: INT. LAMASERY. SITTING ROOM
(The DOCTOR'S patience, usually so quickly exhaustible, is still being maintained in the face of CHO-JE'S gentility...)
DOCTOR: Look, Venerable, may we see this man, Lupton, now? I'm sorry to seem pushy but it is very important.
CHO-JE: It is good that we have come to the west. You whip your poor horse too much. He gets up so that he is exhausted and yet, you know, he never leaves his stable.
SARAH: Now what's that supposed to mean?
MIKE YATES: I think he's saying that, er, time is an illusion.
DOCTOR: And it'll all be the same in a hundred years.
18: INT. LAMASERY. HALLWAY
(Out in the hallway, TOMMY comes down the stairs...)
DOCTOR: (In sitting room.) Yes, where have I heard that before?
(...and whispers to SARAH through the open doorway into the sitting room.)
TOMMY: Hey!
CHO-JE: (In sitting room.) There is only the now - the here and the now. The present moment...
(SARAH comes out of the sitting room with a broad smile for her friend.)
SARAH: Hello, Tommy.
TOMMY: Hello, Sarah Jane Smith. Tommy like you.
SARAH: Well I like you too.
TOMMY: You give Tommy nice presents for his friend.
SARAH: Ooh, I haven't got another one, I'm afraid.
TOMMY: No, no, Tommy got nice present for Sarah Jane Smith. Y...you come.
SARAH: Oh, well, not just now, Tommy.
(He takes her hand in an insistent gesture.)
TOMMY: You come, Sarah Jane Smith.
CHO-JE: (In sitting room.) ...the ocean...
(She casts a look back into the sitting room.)
SARAH: Okay, okay, but we'll have to be quick.
(They move off.)
19: INT. LAMASERY. SITTING ROOM
(Meanwhile...)
MIKE YATES: Suppose it'll mean something to me in the end.
CHO-JE: Ah, the meaning of meaning is the last barrier to understanding.
DOCTOR: Yes, er, Venerable, could we see Mr. Lupton now - please?
CHO-JE: But of course. Mr. Moss?
(MOSS walks into the sitting room from the hallway, having been lurking outside.)
CHO-JE: If you would both wait here, this gentleman will find Mr. Lupton for you?
(He looks at MOSS who smiles...)
MOSS: Of course.
(...and hurries away.)
CHO-JE: Excuse me, Doctor.
(CHO-JE turns and walks quietly from the room, giving the prayer wheel a spin as he goes.)
20: INT. LAMASERY. PASSAGEWAY
(An annoyed BARNES strides ahead of LUPTON as they walk down a passageway.)
BARNES: I didn't take it! I wouldn't know what to do with it if I had it.
LUPTON: But you saw it?
BARNES: Well, of course I did. You put it on the table.
(LUPTON hesitates and speaks to his unseen SPIDER as BARNES watches.)
LUPTON: Could it have been sent to Metebelis Three?
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (OOV.) No, my sisters haven't the power. You remember? The crystal must still be on Earth.
LUPTON: Then we must find it.
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (OOV: Urgently.) There is no time. The power is building fast. We must be ready!
LUPTON: We don't have to go.
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (OOV: Urgently.) If the Queen finds out that we have lost the crystal, she'll kill us both!
LUPTON: Right, we'll bluff them. We'll pretend we've still got it.
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (OOV.) But they'll never believe it!
LUPTON: We have no choice.
(He turns to BARNES who has been listening to the seemingly one-sided conversation with growing concern.)
LUPTON: Now listen, Barnes...
BARNES: Perhaps you've gone mad? Hearing voices? Talking to yourself?
LUPTON: You saw the spider, didn't you?
BARNES: Perhaps I've gone mad too?
(He walks into a room. LUPTON follows. Round the corner, TOMMY runs hand in hand with a giggling SARAH towards his cupboard under the stairs.)
TOMMY: You stay - er, Tommy get present.
SARAH: (Nods.) Yes.
TOMMY: Secret.
(TOMMY puts a finger to his lips and shushes. SARAH repeats the gesture and laughs as a delighted TOMMY goes into his cupboard. Waiting and checking her watch, she suddenly hears two familiar voices...)
BARNES: (OOV.) Shall I look for the others then?
LUPTON: (OOV.) No, no, no.
(She checks that she is not being watched and peeps round the corner where LUPTON and BARNES have come out of the room.)
LUPTON: I'll go through the ritual by myself.
BARNES: In the cellar - now?
LUPTON: Yes, yes. See if you can keep the others away for half-an-hour or so, will you?
(MOSS runs up.)
MOSS: Lupton, Cho-Je wants you to meet some fellow with Yates.
LUPTON: Yes, I know, I know. Tell him, erm...tell him you can't find me. (To BARNES.) I'll need the mandala.
(LUPTON and BARNES go back into the room. MOSS sighs and walks off to give his message. SARAH'S head pops out from round the corner. She paces for a moment and thinks to herself, then TOMMY comes back out of the cupboard with is shoebox full of treasures.)
TOMMY: Sarah Jane Smith...
SARAH: No, not now, Tommy!
TOMMY: No, I...
SARAH: (Sharply.) No, not now!
(TOMMY stops, looking a bit hurt.)
SARAH: Hey, Tommy - you know Mike Yates, don't you?
TOMMY: (Puzzled.) Yates? (Realises.) He...he give Tommy present!
(He starts to delve into his box.)
SARAH: Yes, yes...
TOMMY: I...
SARAH: Well...we, listen, Tommy - now listen carefully. I want you to go and find Mike Yates and tell him...tell him that Lupton has gone down to the cellar...
TOMMY: (Struggling to remember.) Cellar...
SARAH: ...and that I'm going down there too.
TOMMY: You...
SARAH: Okay?
TOMMY: Cell...you...
SARAH: Yes, look...
TOMMY: Cell...
SARAH: (Impatiently.) I've gotta go. I must get there first.
(She starts to walk off.)
TOMMY: Er...er...
SARAH: Cellar, Tommy!
(She runs off...)
TOMMY: But Sarah Jane Smith...!
(....and therefore misses the sight of TOMMY pulling the sought for crystal out of the box.)
TOMMY: Give present!
(LUPTON comes out of the room with the mandala rolled up under his arm. He doesn't see TOMMY and heads off for the cellar. TOMMY struggles to remember his errand.)
TOMMY: Yates...
(He puts the crystal back in his box and heads for the cupboard.)
21: INT. LAMASERY. CELLAR
(SARAH is the first to reach the cellar. She looks round and goes into her previous hiding place in the alcove behind the pillar and not a moment too soon for LUPTON enters the cellar. He places a cushion in the middle of the floor and spreads the mandala out. He sits down cross-legged on the cushion and starts to chant...)
LUPTON: Om mani padme hum, Om mani padme hum...
22: INT. LAMASERY. SITTING ROOM
(The DOCTOR and MIKE are still waiting for MOSS to return. The DOCTOR is pacing but it is MIKE who jumps up in impatience.)
MIKE YATES: This is ridiculous! Where's that feller got to?
(TOMMY runs into the room and points back into the hallway.)
TOMMY: Yates! Sarah!
MIKE YATES: Not now Tommy.
TOMMY: She's in the cellar!
MIKE YATES: Not now.
TOMMY: I tell you, mister, in...in the cellar.
DOCTOR: I think he's trying to tell you something important, Mike.
MIKE YATES: It always is.
(MOSS enters behind a confused-looking TOMMY.)
MIKE YATES: Ah, there you are.
MOSS: I'm sorry. I can't find Lupton anywhere.
(This prompts another memory recall in TOMMY.)
TOMMY: (To MIKE.) Er...Lupton!
MOSS: He's not in his room, he's not meditating, he's probably gone for a walk.
TOMMY: (To MIKE, insistently.) Lupton in the cellar!
(MIKE at last listens.)
MIKE YATES: What?
TOMMY: Sarah Jane Smith - in the cellar!
DOCTOR: Where is this cellar, Mike?
MIKE YATES: I'll show you.
(They rush off. TOMMY calls after them.)
TOMMY: Hey...hey, mister!
(TOMMY smiles with pride but MOSS looks concerned.)
TOMMY: I tell him. Tommy did it.
MOSS: You certainly did.
23: INT. LAMASERY. PASSAGEWAY
(SARAH watches as LUPTON'S chant becomes more intense and aggressive.)
LUPTON: Om mani padme hum, Om mani padme hum, Om mani padme hum...
(A blue glow surrounds LUPTON...)
LUPTON: Om mani padme hum, Om mani padme hum, Om mani padme hum, Om mani padme hum...
(...and he and the glow fade away. Seeing that he is alone, SARAH gets up and runs into the centre of the cellar...)
SARAH: Doctor! Mike!
(...but she is also stood in the centre of the mandala.)
23: INT. LAMASERY. PASSAGEWAY OUTSIDE CELLAR
(MIKE leads the DOCTOR quickly down a passageway and round a corner. BARNES is stood sentinel outside the door that leads to the cellar. Suddenly they hear SARAH'S call...)
SARAH: (OOV: In cellar.) Doctor, come quickly!
(The DOCTOR shoves BARNES aside...)
DOCTOR: Get out of my way!
(...and they rush down into the anteroom and the cellar.)
24: INT. LAMASERY. CELLAR
(SARAH seems rooted to the spot on the centre of the mandala. Her upper body sways as she tries to step off. The DOCTOR rushes down the steps and sees what is happening.)
DOCTOR: (Shouts.) Sarah, get off that mandala!
SARAH: (Shouts.) I can't!
(He runs towards her but in an instant, her view changes from that of the DOCTOR rushing at her...)
25: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. DESERT
(...to that of a rocky and pinnacled desert under a blue sky. Free of the mandala, she regains her balance and looks round in utter shock at her new surroundings. Crags and rocks reach to the sky and there are strange cries of animal and bird life in the air. Suddenly something familiar catches her eye. LUPTON is not far away, also looking round his new environment. She crouches behind a rock to watch...and a hand clamps down over her mouth.)
26: INT. LAMASERY. PASSAGEWAY OUTSIDE CELLAR
(MIKE and the DOCTOR run up to the passageway outside the cellar and see that the 'guard' has disappeared.)
MIKE YATES: Barnes?
(They look round a corner.)
MIKE YATES: He's gone.
DOCTOR: (Sighs.) Well, never mind. I doubt if he could have told us very much anyway. Well, there's only one thing for me to do, Mike - I've got to get after her - to Metebelis Three.
MIKE YATES: In the TARDIS?
DOCTOR: Yes, of course.
MIKE YATES: But how can you be sure you'll get there?
DOCTOR: Well, the TARDIS may be a little erratic, I'll admit. After all, she is getting on a bit. But Metebelis Three is the one planet I can be absolutely certain of reaching. You see I wired the coordinates into the programmer.
(He heads off down the passageway but MIKE stops him.)
MIKE YATES: Yes, but, but, Doctor - a planet's a big place.
DOCTOR: Yes, well, I always leave the actual landing to the TARDIS herself. She's no fool, you know?
MIKE YATES: You speak as if she were alive?
DOCTOR: (Smiles.) Yes...yes, I do, don't I? Bye, Mike.
(He moves off.)
27: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. VILLAGE
(SARAH'S captor is a young, lithe long-haired man dressed in primitive clothing. He drags her into the centre of what appears to be a village made up of a row of flat-roofed one-storey huts, decorated with symbols which sit on a raised terrace. At the end of the row is a raised platform. Several other people are outside the cabins under the blue cloudy sky, dressed in an assortment of clothing that somewhat resembles that of South and Central American peoples.)
TUAR: (Shouts.) Hey, I found a spy!
SABOR: (Shouts.) Tuar! You're a fool!
(The speaker is SABOR, an elderly but still energetic man with white hair and beard who rushes after SARAH and TUAR as he pulls her towards the raised platform at the edge of the village. They stop and the villagers look at the strangely dressed SARAH in puzzlement. One, a young girl called REGA, almost hides behind the old man looking at the captive as TUAR holds her hand up her back.)
SABOR: (Shouts.) If she's a spy, you've condemned us all - we're as good as dead!
TUAR: (Shouts.) Look, I'm tired of waiting! The eight-legs'll kill us all anyway - it's time we fought back!
SABOR: (Shouts.) It will do us no good speaking treason. Release her!
(TUAR scowls, hesitating to obey the old man.)
SABOR: Release her, I say!
(The young girl speaks to SARAH with suspicion.)
REGA: Who are you? How ___ you come here?
SARAH: Erm...
TUAR: Oh, don't waste time, Rega. She's a spy - we must kill her!
SARAH: Hey?
SABOR: (To TUAR.) Already we're in danger - do you want the whole village wiped out? Remember Skorda.
SARAH: But I'm not a spy! I don't know who you are or anything.
TUAR: You're lying.
SARAH: Well anyway, who am I supposed to be spying for - the spiders?
(There are gasps and cries of astonishment from the villagers.)
TUAR: You see? Who but a spy would dare use a forbidden word? We must kill her before she can betray us!
(He pulls her towards the platform as she starts to scream out.)
SARAH: No, no!
SABOR: Tuar, No!
TUAR: Stay back!
SABOR: No, Tuar, you fool!
TUAR: Stay back!
(He pulls her towards the edge of the platform which is revealed to be on the edge of a precipice. TUAR tries to push the screaming SARAH over the edge and the others are trying to pull him back when a commanding voice cries out...)
ARAK: Stop!
(The shouter is another man, but one more swarthy, a little older and more powerfully built than TUAR. He stands in the doorway of one of the huts.)
ARAK: Tuar! Stop!
(He runs towards the commotion, followed from out of the hut by a scared and feeble woman.)
NESKA: Arak! Arak! Come back inside, my son!
(The new arrival, ARAK, reaches the group as SARAH'S upper body hangs over the edge.)
ARAK: Let her go! She may be telling the truth - let her go.
(He looks menacingly at the younger man.)
ARAK: You will follow her, my brother.
(TUAR reluctantly hangs back, allowing the gasping SARAH to stand. ARAK leads her away from the platform towards the centre of the village.)
TUAR: She's a spy.
ARAK: Rubbish! She's a stranger - look at her clothes.
TUAR: A stranger? Where from?
NESKA: Why not ask her? (To SARAH, gently.) Where do you come from, child?
SARAH: I'm...I'm from Earth.
SABOR: From Earth? But how? Did you come in a starship like your ancestor did?
SARAH: (Puzzled and afraid.) Er, no, erm, well, I don't know how I got here actually.
TUAR: You see? She's lying.
SABOR: Tell the truth, girl.
(There is suddenly a distant trumpet sound.)
SABOR: How many of you? Where's your ship?
REGA: (To NESKA.) Mother! Listen!
(She looks terrified.)
REGA: The Queen of the eight-legs is coming.
NESKA: (To ARAK.) Quickly, my son - get back into hiding!
ARAK: (To SARAH.) Come.
(He leads SARAH back towards the hut that he ran from as the trumpet sounds get louder. NESKA, SABOR and REGA go with them. TUAR shouts after them...)
TUAR: She'll betray you! She'll betray us all!
28: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT
(The group enters the dark hut. It is furnished with the most primitive of furniture and tools. Cloths hang over the windows, cutting out most of the light.)
SARAH: Well, what is it? What's happening?
ARAK: Quiet.
NESKA: Keep silent, girl. You will bring death to us all.
29: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. VILLAGE
(TUAR enters the hut after the others and shuts the door. A procession enters the village. There are several guards and their GUARD CAPTAIN. They wear identical leather and fur covered tops with wide blue trousers and flat round leather hats. They carry short staves that end in a round blue crystal. Four of the guards carry an elaborate covered stand between them, rather like a squat sedan chair, and place it on the platform. On the stand, twitching on blue velvet cushioning, is the QUEEN SPIDER. The guards push the villagers back and the GUARD CAPTAIN addresses the villagers...)
GUARD CAPTAIN: Hear now, Huarth, most noble of the noble ones, Queen of the eight-legs, speaks thus:
Arak, male two-leg, having attacked field guard Draga, leaving him for dead, the same Arak will now surrender himself.
30: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT
(NESKA looks up at her son ARAK in fear.)
GUARD CAPTAIN: (OOV: Outside hut.) If Arak does not come forth, one male two-leg will be taken from each family of the settlement to suffer the retribution due for the foul crime of Arak.
ARAK: I must go, Mother.
NESKA: No! No!
SABOR: I'll speak to the Queen. Maybe she'll listen to me.
(NESKA grabs his arm in appeal.)
NESKA: No, Sabor, it's too dangerous.
SABOR: The people need Arak - they trust him, they listen to him. He's our last chance.
TUAR: That's true, Arak.
GUARD CAPTAIN: (OOV: Outside hut.) Arak, come forth!
31: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. VILLAGE
(The door of the hut opens and SABOR emerges with dignity. He walks up to the QUEEN'S stand and goes down on one knee.)
GUARD CAPTAIN: Sabor, where is your son?
SABOR: I beg leave to speak to the Queen.
QUEEN SPIDER: Speak, Sabor.
SABOR: Draga is a bad field guard. He's unfair, he's cruel. He struck Neska, Arak's mother, for no good reason and...
QUEEN SPIDER: (Interrupts.) Silence! This is not to the point. Did he or did he not strike my guard?
SABOR: He did, but surely there's a...
QUEEN SPIDER: (Interrupts.) Then he must die. Where is he?
(SABOR scowls at the GUARD CAPTAIN.)
SABOR: He's gone to the hills.
GUARD CAPTAIN: How do you know?
SABOR: Because I helped him
32: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT
(ARAK has heard enough.)
ARAK: No!
(He heads for the door but TUAR stops him.)
TUAR: Look, it's no good! If you go out there, they'll kill you both.
33: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. VILLAGE
(Meanwhile, outside the hut.)
QUEEN SPIDER: (To SABOR.) You know the penalty? You know that you will take his place?
(SABOR bows his head in resignation.)
SABOR: Yes.
QUEEN SPIDER: Very well. Justice is satisfied. Let us return.
34: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT
SARAH: Well, what's going to happen to him?
TUAR: The eight-legs will eat him of course.
NESKA: No!
(Horrified by this thought, NESKA opens the door.)
35: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. VILLAGE
(...and runs out of the hut.)
NESKA: No, I shan't! You shan't take him!
(She runs up to her husband.)
NESKA: Sabor, my husband, my love! Why did you do it? Why? Why?
GUARD CAPTAIN: Woman, get back!
SABOR: This is the best way - I know.
(She hugs SABOR.)
NESKA: I shan't let them take you - I shan't, I shan't.
GUARD CAPTAIN: Guard!
(The guard places his jewelled stave against NESKA'S arm. The end glows blue and the old lady falls to the ground. REGA runs from the hut to the fallen woman.)
REGA: Mother, Mother!
(SARAH watches from the open door, thereby revealing herself...)
QUEEN SPIDER: Wait! There is a stranger here. Guards!
36: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT
(SARAH hastily shuts the door and turns to TUAR and ARAK.)
SARAH: She saw me – they're coming. The guards are coming!
TUAR: (To ARAK.) See? She has betrayed you.
ARAK: Quick, you must hide!
SARAH: No, they mustn't find you.
37: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. VILLAGE
(She bravely steps out as the guards approach.)
SARAH: (Lightly.) Okay, okay, I'll come quietly.
38: INT. UNIT HQ. LABORATORY
(The DOCTOR runs quickly into his laboratory. He takes the key from his pocket and enters the TARDIS. The door shuts, the roof light flashes and it dematerialises from Earth...)
39: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. VILLAGE
(...and rematerialises on Metebelis Three. He steps out, closes the door and looks round. Walking round the police box, he sees that he is smack in the middle of the village. All are astonished to see him expect SARAH who, held by a guard, smiles in delight.)
DOCTOR: Hello, Sarah Jane.
(He walks towards her.)
GUARD CAPTAIN: Stop!
(The guard places his stave on the DOCTOR'S arm. It glows but instead of knocking him unconscious, he spins round angrily on the man.)
DOCTOR: Don't do that!
QUEEN SPIDER: Let him approach.
GUARD CAPTAIN: You will kneel to the most noble Queen.
DOCTOR: The Queen?
(He realises who the GUARD CAPTAIN is referring to and smiles.)
DOCTOR: Oh, yes. Yes, of course.
(He kneels down on one knee, with a touch of mockery in his face.)
DOCTOR: Er, greetings, o most noble Queen. Er, may I ask what you intend to do with this young lady?
QUEEN SPIDER: You do not speak like a two-leg - where have you come from?
DOCTOR: Er, both Miss Smith and I come from Earth, your Majesty.
QUEEN SPIDER: From Earth? Then you are the one who...no, no, that cannot be. We shall return. Bring this two-leg. We shall question him with the female.
DOCTOR: Well now, just a minute, your Majesty...
GUARD CAPTAIN: Over there!
(A guard places another stave on the DOCTOR'S back. It glows again but once more has no effect. The DOCTOR'S patience has been tried too much though and he turns and pushes the guard back by the face. One after another the guards start to rush at the DOCTOR but he easily throws each one over his shoulder. One of the few guards left is the one holding SARAH and he joins in the fray. The DOCTOR grabs his arm and throws him as well. Seeing that SARAH is free, NESKA and REGA wrap a red shawl over her shoulders and push her to safety. They then watch as the DOCTOR wards off another two guards by spinning them both over at the same time. He looks round and then makes a run for the TARDIS but the watching GUARD CAPTAIN points a hand and a blue arc of energy crackles out and hits the DOCTOR in the back. This time he is not immune to the effects and he collapses against the police box. He feebly reaches out to the TARDIS but then his head falls to the floor...)
Doctor Who
JON PERTWEE
Sarah Jane Smith
ELISABETH SLADEN
Mike Yates
RICHARD FRANKLIN
Lupton
JOHN DEARTH
Cho-je
KEVIN LINDSAY
Tommy
JOHN KANE
Barnes
CHRISTOPHER BURGESS
Moss
TERENCE LODGE
Arak
GARETH HUNT
Sabor
GEOFFREY MORRIS
Neska
JENNY LAIRD
Rega
JOANNA MONRO
Tuar
RALPH ARLISS
Guard Captain
WALTER RANDALL
Spider Voices
YSANNE CHURCHMAN
KISMET DELGADO
MAUREEN MORRIS
Written by
ROBERT SLOMAN
Visual Effects Designer
BERNARD WILKIE
Title Music by
RON GRAINER &
BBC RADIOPHONIC
WORKSHOP
Title Sequence
BERNARD LODGE
Incidental Music by
DUDLEY SIMPSON
Special Sound
DICK MILLS
Script Editor
TERRANCE DICKS
Designer
ROCHELLE SELWYN
Directed by
BARRY LETTS
COLOUR
© BBC 1974