PLANET
OF THE
SPIDERS
BY
ROBERT
SLOMAN
PART FOUR
1: 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...)
2: 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.)
FIRST 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.
FIRST 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...
FIRST 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. The DOCTOR'S act of defiance has stirred up the villagers and they some of them struggle feebly with the guards.)
FIRST GUARD CAPTAIN: Silence! Silence!
(He crouches down next to the QUEEN'S stand.)
QUEEN SPIDER: So shall perish all two-legs who would dare to question our power!
FIRST GUARD CAPTAIN: (Quietly.) I've never seen them like this before.
QUEEN SPIDER: (Quietly.) I think it would be wise to leave.
(The CAPTAIN notices who is missing...)
FIRST GUARD CAPTAIN: The girl! She's gone!
QUEEN SPIDER: Then you will be punished! We cannot wait. It will soon be dark. Bring the male.
(As REGA hubs a sobbing NESKA, the guards lead SABOR away. Watching them go are the villagers and amongst them, hidden at the back and wrapped up in her shawl, is SARAH...)
3: INT. LAMASERY. HALLWAY
(Back on Earth, MIKE YATES watches round the corner of the hallway as BARNES opens his bedroom door to allow LAND, KEAVER and MOSS in. BARNES follows them in and hangs a "DO NOT DISTURB" sign on the door. MIKE creeps up to the door and starts to listen.)
4: INT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT
(REGA leads NESKA into their hut. ARAK follows and shuts the door as REGA takes her quiet mother into her room.)
5: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. VILLAGE
(Outside the hut, the village is almost empty. SARAH kneels over the DOCTOR. His head rests on her knees and the shawl has been placed over him. He is quite still. A cynical TUAR is with them.)
SARAH: Well can't you do something?
TUAR: No, it's no good - he's dead!
SARAH: (Shouts tearfully.) He can't be!
TUAR: They can use their power to give pain, or to stun, or to kill. Your friend is dead.
(SARAH shakes the DOCTOR.)
SARAH: (Shouts.) No, Doctor! Doctor!
(TUAR reaches down and grabs her arm.)
TUAR: Look, leave him. If you stay out here we'll all be dead. It's almost time for the curfew.
(With some force, he starts to pull her back to the hut. SARAH looks back distraught as she goes.)
TUAR: Bury him tomorrow.
(SARAH glances back once more and suddenly cries out...)
SARAH: Look! He moved! He moved his hand!
TUAR: Impossible.
(She pulls out of the young man's grasp and runs towards the DOCTOR.)
SARAH: I saw him! He's alive! He's alive, I tell you!
(Indeed, the DOCTOR is starting to feebly groan as SARAH leans over him.)
SARAH: Oh...
TUAR: You're right - he is alive.
SARAH: (Upset still.) Oh...oh, Doctor!
6: INT. LAMASERY. HALLWAY
(MIKE is still listening at BARNES' door.)
BARNES: (OOV: Inside room.) He didn't tell me much, but he wouldn't - would he?
7: INT. LAMASERY. BARNES' ROOM
(Inside the bare little bedroom, the men are speaking quietly and urgently. Their nerves are obviously almost at breaking point.)
MOSS: Where is he?
BARNES: I don't know. He seemed to think he'd be taken to the home of that...that creature.
LAND: The spider?
(BARNES nods. MOSS paces the room as KEAVER chews on a nervous finger.)
BARNES: You see, I...I didn't get the chance to...discuss it with him properly - you know what he was.
KEAVER: Was? He's not dead, is he?
BARNES: Well, he may be. How do I know? He's just vanished.
LAND: What are we gonna do?
MOSS: Get out while the going's good.
KEAVER: Why? We haven't done anything criminal.
MOSS: Tell that to the police!
LAND: (Alarmed.) The police!
BARNES: For heaven's sake! It's not that. Nobody need know yet. Perhaps he's trying to get back and can't.
(Suddenly, the door handle starts to turn, somewhat loudly and obviously. BARNES quietly moves to the door as one of the men "shushes" for silence. BARNES reaches the door and pulls it open. Outside is TOMMY, a white workman's apron round him neck. He looks startled at being found. He puts on a feeble smile.)
TOMMY: Hello, Barnes.
BARNES: What are you doing here - spying? Is that it?
(TOMMY clamps one hand over his left eye.)
TOMMY: I spy - t...that's a nice game. I spy with my little eye...
BARNES: Can't you read?
(He points at the sign on the door. TOMMY looks at it in confusion.)
TOMMY: Tommy's learning to read. M...my mum brought me a book.
(BARNES roughly pushes the man back into the hallway and starts the shut the door.)
BARNES: Get away from here. If I catch you spying on me again...
8: INT. LAMASERY. HALLWAY
(The door is slammed in TOMMY'S face. He stares at the sign on the door and puts a finger up at it, trying to decipher the words.)
TOMMY: "D...do...do...don...."
(He gives up and thinks.)
TOMMY: I'll do some reading.
(He hurries away. After he has gone, MIKE comes out of a side room and takes up his post again outside BARNES' door, listening to the conversation within.)
9: INT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT (NIGHT)
(The DOCTOR has been taken into the hut of SABOR'S family and lies on a low bed. He is still unconscious as SARAH tends to him. Night has fallen and ARAK peeps put of the curtained window. TUAR stands at the door as REHA brings in a candle to help light the room. A solemn bell tolls outside. SARAH hears it.)
SARAH: Why is that bell ringing?
ARAK: It's the curfew. It's death to be out after twilight.
(The DOCTOR moans gently. His face is covered with a thin film of sweat.)
DOCTOR: Ah...
SARAH: He seems to be getting worse.
DOCTOR: Ah...
(ARAK hears the pain in her voice and comes over. He puts a gentle arm across her shoulder.)
ARAK: He's dying.
SARAH: No, no!
(Fighting back the tears, she takes the DOCTOR'S hand in hers.)
REGA: He's better dead than captured like...like Sabor.
(She turns away in tears. TUAR joins his sister and comforts her.)
TUAR: We shall be avenged, Rega.
REGA: Will vengeance bring my father back to me?
ARAK: Rega, he gave his life to save me. He gave his life for the freedom of our people.
DOCTOR: (Moans.) Ah...ah...
SARAH: Is there nothing we can do?
REGA: Nothing - there is no cure. He should be dead.
(As the curfew bell continues to toll, sounding more like a funeral bell, SARAH continues to try and hold back the tears.)
10: INT. METEBELIS THREE. COUNCIL CHAMBER (NIGHT)
(The QUEEN'S stand is brought by her retinue of guards into the middle of the council chamber. LUPTON is sat on the edge of her dais on which is firmly placed his SPIDER. The entire council is present.)
QUEEN SPIDER: Stop. Put me down.
(The stand placed on the floor. The QUEEN sees who is in her usual dais.)
QUEEN SPIDER: Who is this two-leg who dares to sit in the place of Huar, Queen of Metebelis?
LUPTON: I have come from Earth.
QUEEN SPIDER: Silence! We do not speak with the two-leg. Answer me, sister.
LUPTON'S SPIDER: This is Lupton, oh Queen. I have brought him from Earth as the council asked.
QUEEN SPIDER: As the council asked? As we commanded. Guards!
(The guards step towards the QUEEN'S dais.)
LUPTON'S SPIDER: Perhaps the days of the Queen's commands are numbered?
QUEEN SPIDER: You would dare to speak treason to my face?
(There are mutters from the council.)
QUEEN SPIDER: Seize the two-leg!
(The guard seizes LUPTON by the arm. He stays calm.)
LUPTON: You forget the crystal, oh Queen.
QUEEN SPIDER: Wait!
(The guard lets go of LUPTON'S arm.)
LUPTON: We have the crystal.
LUPTON'S SPIDER: It is true. You do not dare to harm us.
QUEEN SPIDER: Where is it? Show it to us.
LUPTON: We know...where it is hidden.
QUEEN SPIDER: But the Great One awaits the crystal.
(The council speak as one in their mantra...)
SPIDERS: All praise to the Great One!
LUPTON: Then the Great One will have to go on waiting until we have received the rewards of our success.
(There are gasps of astonishment from the council.)
QUEEN SPIDER: And you, sister? What have you to say?
LUPTON'S SPIDER: I...
(She falters, unable at first to speak such treason. Then...)
LUPTON'S SPIDER: (Confidently.) I agree with Lupton.
QUEEN SPIDER: I see. It would seem that you are not aware of the extent of your failure.
LUPTON: Failure?
QUEEN SPIDER: You were followed to Metebelis by two Earth spies.
(For the first time, the look of calm detachment on LUPTON'S face disappears. The council again mutter to themselves at this news.)
QUEEN SPIDER: The male is dead, but the female lives - a danger to the state and our person. I suggest, sisters, that until she has been captured, we refuse to listen to these...these traitors. Do you agree?
(The council mutter their assent as LUPTON thinks furiously.)
11: INT. LAMASERY. STAIR CUPBOARD
(Back on Earth, TOMMY is within the sanctuary of his cupboard under the stairs. He takes his treasures out of his shoebox one at a time and places them on the floor. When he pulls the crystal out, he reverently places this on a high-stool almost directly in his line of sight. Satisfied, he reaches for a child's Ladybird reading book and starts to read the large and simple text with difficulty...)
TOMMY: (Reads.) "Going...to school."
(He turns several pages over and traces a finger over the words as he tries to decipher them.)
TOMMY: (Reads.) "We...give...the...f...flowers...some..."
(Suddenly, as if slightly troubled by something, he looks up at the crystal. Casting it a look, he returns to the page of his book.)
TOMMY: (Reads.) "Water."
(He turns the page.)
TOMMY: (Reads.) "We...say...our..."
(He seems to hear a slight buzzing in his mind. He falters and looks up at the crystal. Astonished, he sees that it us burning from within with a bright blue light. TOMMY stares at the glow, unable to tear his eyes away. His face screws up slightly, as if in some small pain. Struggling, he reaches up a hand to move the crystal away but his movements are slow and his eyes widen with an inner turmoil as he tries to grasp the source of his torment. As the power of the crystal reaches a climax, TOMMY manages to grab the jewel and falls to the floor unconscious.)
12: INT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT (NIGHT)
(The DOCTOR is still unconscious. SARAH is herself falling asleep but she suddenly jerks awake. She mops the DOCTOR'S brow.)
13: INT. LAMASERY. STAIR CUPBOARD
(TOMMY comes to. The crystal is still in his hand which lies on top of his book. He shakes his head and struggles to sit up, looking at the crystal with suspicion. He then glances down at the book and stops short. The words which previously seemed so hard to decipher now seem clear and simple. In a voice which has lost its childish quality and is now firm and adult, he reads the words aloud as he traces a finger over them.)
TOMMY: (Reads.) "We...say our...prayers."
(He turns the page over. Again he traces a finger and reads the words aloud but in a tone that now conveys his astonishment.)
TOMMY: (Reads.) "Then we...write our...news."
(He sits up and turns another page.)
TOMMY: (Reads.) "We read...in the book corner."
(He speaks as if a lifetime of struggle has come off his shoulders like a huge weight. In a voice filled with emotion, he turns the page again and reads without hesitation...)
TOMMY: (Reads.) "We measure and we weigh!"
(Gasping, he turns another page.)
TOMMY: (Reads.) "We buy things at the shop!"
(His voice is now an unbelieving whisper as he turns one page after another...)
TOMMY: (Reads.) "We have our milk! We play in the playing ground! We dance and...!"
14: INT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT (NIGHT)
(REGA has just come out the back room of the hut, looking weary. ARAK and TUAR are back by their places at the window and door.)
ARAK: How is our mother?
REGA: Well she's asleep now though I'm afraid her dreams will frighten her awake.
TUAR: I heard her call.
REGA: She calls in her sleep – "Sabor" - although she was searching for him.
ARAK: (Angrily.) Those vicious inhuman creatures!
REGA: Shh! Keep your voice down if you must speak treason!
ARAK: They make keep him alive for a week or more. If only we could rescue him.
TUAR: Of course - we must attack!
ARAK: It would be suicide.
TUAR: Well is my brother afraid?
ARAK: That I am.
TUAR: A coward then?
(ARAK looks menacingly at his hothead of a brother.)
ARAK: Take that word back or I'll stuff it down your throat!
TUAR: I'm not afraid of you - or of the eight-legs, but if you won't attack, you are a coward.
ARAK: Why you...!
(ARAK is about to jump at TUAR but REGA stands between them.)
REGA: Stop it! Squabbling like herd-boys and your mother half-distracted! How will quarreling bring your father back?
(ARAK steps back.)
ARAK: We might as well throw ourselves off the cliff as attack the eight-legs.
(SARAH has been half-listening to the squabble as she sits sentinel over the DOCTOR.)
SARAH: If the Doctor were alive and well, he could help you. I know he could.
TUAR: (Contemptuously.) How? How could he help?
SARAH: (Snaps.) Well I don't know how but he could!
(Almost at the end of her tether, she shakes the DOCTOR'S shoulders.)
SARAH: Oh, Doctor, please wake up!
(The DOCTOR'S head moves. He speaks in a voice as quiet as death...)
DOCTOR: (Whispers weakly.) Sarah...?
SARAH: (Delighted.) Yes?! Yes, I'm here.
(She puts her head closer to listen.)
DOCTOR: (Whispers weakly.) Sarah...TARDIS...in the...in the TARDIS...There's a...machine...in...that old...old leather satchel. It's the...only thing...that will save me...
SARAH: (Repeats.) Machine in the old leather satchel.
DOCTOR: (Whispers weakly.) Yeah...
(SARAH looks over him urgently.)
SARAH: The key? Doctor, where's the key to the TARDIS?
(But he is unconscious again. She suddenly sees the chain peeking out of the DOCTOR'S waistcoat pocket...)
SARAH: It's okay...okay...
(...and takes it. As SARAH holds the precious and strangely-shaped key, REGA speaks in puzzlement.)
REGA: Machine? What kind of machine can save a man's life?
SARAH: I don't know, but if he needs it, I'm going to get it for him.
(She goes to the door. The others make no move to stop her but ARAK speaks quietly...)
ARAK: If they catch you...they'll kill you.
(SARAH looks concerned for a moment but she glances back down at the DOCTOR and summons up her courage and opens the door.)
15: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. VILLAGE (NIGHT)
(The village is in darkness. Illumination is provided by flickering bracket torches as SARAH looks over the quiet square. She steps away from the hut and suddenly sees something. She dashes across the cobbles of the square and hides behind a pile of full sacks. Two guards carrying jewelled-staves march across the square and off into the night. SARAH keeps crouched behind the pile of sacks and she circles round them and then makes a run for the TARDIS. Reaching it, she turns the key and enters the sanctuary of the police box.)
16: INT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT (NIGHT)
(The three people in the hut have watched this from gaps in the door and curtains.)
ARAK: She has courage.
TUAR: She's a fool - risk her life. Nothing can save him.
(He glances down coldly at the DOCTOR.)
17: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. VILLAGE (NIGHT)
(The TARDIS door opens and SARAH comes out with a heavy leather satchel. She places it on the floor in the shadows as she re-locks the door. Pocketing the TARDIS key, she steps round the corner of the police box and looks up at the sound of a familiar, mocking voice...)
LUPTON: Well, well, well...
(LUPTON is stood there, smiling at her with his arms crossed.)
LUPTON: Our clever young female journalist. You are keen to get your story, aren't you? What a pity it will never be published.
(SARAH looks upset as her attempt to save the DOCTOR looks doomed to failure...)
18: INT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT (NIGHT)
(Inside the hut, TUAR blocks ARAK'S way as he tries to go out and help SARAH.)
ARAK: Let me pass, I say.
(ARAK moves forward but TUAR pushes him back.)
TUAR: They'll kill you. Would you so betray our father's love? Sabor left you here in trust - to lead us in our fight for freedom.
ARAK: A fine leader. One by one the eight-legs take us. Soon our settlement will be as empty as Skorda.
TUAR: The people of Skorda were cowards. They didn't attack the eight-legs. They...they just sat there like...sheep in a slaughter pen, waiting for death.
ARAK: But if we attack we are as dead as the people of Skorda. We must think of something else.
(He looks down at the DOCTOR.)
ARAK: Wait - the girl said this man could help us.
TUAR: How can a dead man help us?
(REGA remembers what was said earlier.)
REGA: The machine!
(ARAK peeks out of the curtains.)
19: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. VILLAGE (NIGHT)
(SARAH has been taken but the satchel lies forgotten at the base of the TARDIS.)
20: INT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT (NIGHT)
ARAK: (To REGA.) There it is - the bag he spoke of. I'm going to get it.
(He turns to his brother.)
ARAK: If I don't come back - it's up to you.
(TUAR makes no protest. They shake hands and ARAK quietly opens the door.)
21: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. VILLAGE (NIGHT)
(He steps outside. He glances round and then runs towards the satchel. He picks it up and stands against the bulk of the TARDIS, looking round and making sure that the coast is clear.)
22: INT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT (NIGHT)
(REGA steps back from the window and smiles at her brother.)
REGA: Arak's not a coward.
(TUAR smiles back.)
TUAR: No, he's not.
23: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. VILLAGE (NIGHT)
(ARAK looks round from the cover of the TARDIS. Seeing that the coast is clear, he runs back for the hut and makes it safely inside.)
24: INT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT (NIGHT)
(SABOR'S three children crouch down by the unconscious DOCTOR as ARAK opens the satchel. He opens it up and, in puzzlement, takes out the machine. It has one copper lever attached to a silver metallic base which is in the form of a handle.)
TUAR: What should we do?
ARAK: I don't know.
(The DOCTOR comes round weakly.)
DOCTOR: Sar...Sarah Jane...
TUAR: She's not here.
ARAK: She left this machine for you, but we don't know what we should do.
(The DOCTOR'S eyes struggle open.)
DOCTOR: (Whispers.) Give it to me.
(He holds up his left hand and ARAK places the machine in it. The DOCTOR reaches up and grasps the copper handle in his right hand. As he does so, he seems to connect some sort of circuit and the machine starts to give out a loud buzzing noise, increasing in pitch and tone. The three young people jump back with shock. They watch as the DOCTOR points his right hand down at the ground and a bright burst of energy erupts from his fingers like lightning and shoots into the ground, as if a poison was being drained from his body. The DOCTOR settles back. He is still weak but his voice has a renewed vigour and energy.)
DOCTOR: Thank you. Thank you very much.
(He settles back to sleep...)
25: INT. LAMASERY. LIBRARY (NIGHT)
(Night has fallen on Earth. TOMMY enters the library of the Lamasery and switches the light on. The dark wooden shelves are well stacked with volumes and TOMMY runs a hand over them until he picks one. He opens it and starts to read William Blake's verse aloud, struggling slightly with some of the unfamiliar words...)
TOMMY: (Reads.) "Tiger, tiger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night.
What...immortal hand or eye,
could frame thy...fearful s...symmetry?"
(He looks down at the words with wonder.)
TOMMY: That's pretty. No, that's beautiful.
(He turns back to the shelves and starts to pull down volume after volume.)
26: INT. METEBELIS THREE. SPIDER'S BASE. CELL (NIGHT)
(SARAH has been taken to the SPIDER'S base. Tow guards throw her into a blue and white chamber. A huge SPIDER hangs in a web that dangles from the ceiling. She looks round. The room is circled with several low-lying shelves and SABOR lies on one. He is wrapped in a cocoon which totally envelopes his body up to his neck. He looks up at the young girl who realises why he is held that way - she is in the SPIDER'S larder.)
SARAH: No, no!
(She rushes for the door but a guard places his jewelled stave on her shoulder. It glows, SARAH screams and she falls to the ground. LUPTON stands behind the guards. He looks down at her, smiling and nodding in satisfaction.)
27: INT. LAMASERY. BARNES' ROOM (NIGHT)
(LUPTON'S former acolytes are still in BARNES' room...)
BARNES: But Lupton may not be dead. Perhaps he can't get back?
MOSS: (Exasperated.) For heaven's sake! What's the point in saying the same thing over and over again?!
KEAVER: But what are we going to do?
28: INT. LAMASERY. HALLWAY (NIGHT)
(Still listening outside, MIKE YATES decides that that is his cue. He knocks on the door...)
29: INT. LAMASERY. BARNES' ROOM (NIGHT)
(...causing a momentary panic within. The other men look to BARNES for direction. He stands up off his bed.)
BARNES: (Whispers.) Hide yourselves!
(The other men rush off to various places of concealment with MOSS choosing to stand behind the door with a large stick in his hand. BARNES switches off the room light and lies down on the bed with a book in his hand. His reply to the knock affects nonchalance.)
BARNES: Come in.
(The door opens and YATES comes in. BARNES sits up.)
BARNES: Oh, it's you. What do you want?
MIKE YATES: It's alright. I heard you all talking. I think we ought to have a little chat.
(YATES steps forward beyond the edge of the open door. MOSS takes his chance and clubs MIKE down to the floor. BARNES looks at the twitching MOSS, somewhat stunned by his action.)
BARNES: What you do that for?
KEAVER: It's a police job now!
LAND: Stupid thing to do!
MOSS: (Frightened.) Well, you heard him! You heard him! He said he'd been listening.
(MIKE lies still on the floor.)
30: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. VILLAGE
(Dawn breaks over the village and the bell tolls to signal the end of curfew.)
31: INT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT
(Inside the hut, the DOCTOR'S eyes spring open from his place on the floor. He frowns and sits up. TUAR is asleep on the floor near him while ARAK lies slumped over the table next to the curtained window.)
DOCTOR: Wakey wakey! Rise and shine! Show a leg, the weather's fine!
(The two brothers look at him in astonishment.)
32: INT. METEBELIS THREE. SPIDER'S BASE. CELL
(SARAH comes round to the sound of the tolling bell. She has been wrapped in a cocoon like SABOR'S and has been placed on a shelf further long from SABOR. She looks round in puzzlement.)
SARAH: Where am I?
SABOR: You're a prisoner of the eight-legs.
(SARAH remembers the true nature of her imprisonment and starts to struggle in the cocoon.)
SABOR: It's no good struggling.
SARAH: Well...what will they do to us?
SABOR: Usually they eat the sheep we breed for them - they prefer human flesh.
(SARAH lies back, horrified.)
33: INT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT
(The DOCTOR is sat at the table, eating a hearty breakfast out of a wooden bowl. ARAK sits next to him also eating but TUAR prefers to stand at the back of the room as he eats, watching the DOCTOR with his usual blend of suspicion and impatience.)
DOCTOR: Mmm, this is good. It's very good - what is it?
ARAK: Mutton broth.
DOCTOR: Mutton? You have sheep on Metebelis Three?
ARAK: Our ancestors brought them with them.
(REGA places a rough bowl of shapeless pieces of bread on the table.)
DOCTOR: Thank you.
ARAK: A few who survived the crash.
DOCTOR: So your ancestors were colonists?
ARAK: Colonists, explorers - four hundred and thirty-three years ago, their starship came out of its time-jump with no power left, and crashed on Metebelis Three.
DOCTOR: Over four hundred years ago? You know the story very well, don't you?
ARAK: Sabor, my father, taught it me - just as his father taught him, and his father before.
DOCTOR: (Eats.) An oral tradition so detailed - oh, it's fascinating.
(TUAR has heard enough...)
TUAR: Look, I don't understand you! That girl - your friend, you say, is...is a prisoner of the eight-legs, in terrible danger and you just sit there supping broth and...chattering like a woman at the wash-place!
DOCTOR: Oh, Sarah'll be alright for the moment.
TUAR: Well how can you tell that?
DOCTOR: Because the spiders'll be watching her. They'll want to know how she got here and why.
TUAR: And meanwhile my father could be killed! We must attack and attack now!
(He paces the room, but ARAK has heard it before and stays calm.)
ARAK: The girl said you could help us, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Mmm. Yes, I think I can. But first of all I must know what we're up against. How did the spiders get here?
34: INT. METEBELIS THREE. SPIDER'S BASE. CELL
(In the larder cell, SARAH and SABOR are having much the same conversation from their horizontal positions...)
SABOR: The eight-legs? Why they came from Earth too.
SARAH: But there aren't any spiders as big as these on Earth?
SABOR: Keep your voice down, my child! That word's forbidden here. But you're quite right - an ordinary eight-legs, he must have been blown by the wind out of that crashed ship up in the mountains. There are blue crystals there. They have strange powers.
SARAH: Oh, you don't have to tell me that!
SABOR: Ah, then you must know that these crystals can enlarge the mind?
(SARAH nods.)
SABOR: Over the years, these...these spiders became cleverer and cleverer and larger and larger. By the time man found out, it were too late.
35: INT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT
(In the hut, ARAK takes the DOCTOR'S empty bowl off him. TUAR sulks by the door.)
ARAK: And they've ruled us ever since. A few they take and twist their minds until they become their slaves. The rest of us they rule by fear.
DOCTOR: I see.
ARAK: They grew angry with the people of Skorda. They kept too much food for themselves, so the eight-legs wiped them out - two hundred and sixty-nine of them, even the children.
TUAR: They're quite ruthless. We must attack them now!
DOCTOR: (Thinks.) Hmm. Go out and get me some stones, will you?
TUAR: Stones?
DOCTOR: Yes, pebbles...
(He holds up his hand with his fingers and thumb in a small circle.)
DOCTOR: About that big. Little pieces of rock - as many different kinds as you can.
ARAK: But how can pebbles help?
DOCTOR: Let's just saying I'm playing a hunch, mm?
36: INT. LAMASERY. BARNES' ROOM
(MIKE comes to. He is lying on BARNES' bed, a gag in his mouth and his hands tied behind his back. He struggles to sit up but, still weak from his attack, he falls back.)
37: INT. METEBELIS THREE. HUT
(In place of the breakfast bowls, a number of small rocks have been collected and are scattered across the table. The DOCTOR sits there, placing each pebble in turn against a sensor on the machine which drained the poisonous energy from him. Each time, the machine emits a low buzz and the DOCTOR tries another rock in its place. REGA watches in puzzlement as the DOCTOR continues.)
REGA: What are you doing?
DOCTOR: Why should the blue crystal be the only mineral on Metebelis Three with an unusual structure? Now I'm looking for a stone that will absorb the energy of the spider's attacks.
(The machine buzzes as REGA flinches at the use of the forbidden word.)
DOCTOR: Oh, I do beg your pardon...the eight-legs' attacks.
(ARAK enters the hut with a sheepskin pouch in his hand.)
DOCTOR: Ah, more stones. Thank you.
(ARAK starts to empty the stones from the pouch onto the table. The DOCTOR tries two of them but the buzz is the same low one. When he tries a third black stone, the pitch of the buzz is loud and shrieking. ARAK and REGA jump back.)
DOCTOR: Ah! That's more like it.
(He examines the stone.)
DOCTOR: Now we're really getting somewhere.
38: INT. METEBELIS THREE. SPIDER'S BASE. CELL
(SARAH struggles in her cocoon but it is futile.)
39: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. VILLAGE
(The DOCTOR comes out of the hut as the villagers pass on their way to the fields. ARAK and TUAR are with him and he carries the machine in his hand.)
DOCTOR: Follow me as soon as you can.
ARAK: Do you have a stone to protect you?
DOCTOR: No, I've got something much better than that.
(He holds up the machine but ARAK nevertheless takes one of the small black stones out of his pocket.)
ARAK: Take one, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Oh, very well.
ARAK: Good luck.
(The DOCTOR shakes hands with the two brothers.)
DOCTOR: Arak, Tuar.
TUAR: Yes.
(He sets off.)
40: EXT. METEBELIS THREE. SPIDER'S BASE
(The SPIDER'S base sits in a valley beneath a mountain of blue rock. The base is made up of several conical and ridged black towers, seemingly unconnected. As they come into his sight, the DOCTOR stops momentarily to look at them, then walks towards them.)
41: INT. METEBELIS THREE. SPIDER'S BASE. CELL
(SARAH is still struggling in her strange bonds. She is growing increasingly upset at the futile result of her endeavours.)
SABOR: Even your young muscles aren't strong enough. Try to get some rest.
SARAH: Rest? How can you be so calm?!
SABOR: One is only frightened when there's hope of rescue. We have no hope left. We are dead, my child.
SARAH: No! No, I won't have it! There is hope, there must be! I...might be able to escape...and...the Doctor may come to our rescue!
(She lies back, not sounding convinced herself.)
42: INT. METEBELIS THREE. SPIDER'S BASE. PASSAGE
(The DOCTOR strides along one of the blue and white passages of one of the towers. He comes to a junction, chooses a direction and moves on. He comes to a second junction, and into the sight of the GUARD CAPTAIN who earlier shot him down in the village.)
FIRST GUARD CAPTAIN: Halt!
(He raises his arm and again fires at the DOCTOR who quickly holds his machine up. It absorbs the blue sparks. The GUARD CAPTAIN runs forward and starts to struggle with the DOCTOR. In the fight, the machine is knocked from his hand and skids across the floor. The DOCTOR is thrown after it. He reaches out for it but a foot steps onto his fingers – it is LUPTON who stares coolly at a waiting guard.)
LUPTON: Well what are you waiting for? Kill him!
(The guard raises his arm but before he can fire, the DOCTOR cries out and karate-chops LUPTON'S leg. LUPTON jumps back and the DOCTOR jumps to his feet.)
LUPTON: Kill him! Kill him now!
(A new voice rings out.)
SECOND GUARD CAPTAIN: Stop!
(A Second Guard Captain has stepped into the corridor.)
LUPTON: Obey my order.
SECOND GUARD CAPTAIN: You will obey me!
LUPTON: You've got no right to interfere!
SECOND GUARD CAPTAIN: I have orders from the Queen. You are to be arrested! Captain, take him!
(The FIRST GUARD CAPTAIN and the other guard step forward and apprehend LUPTON.)
LUPTON: You stupid fool!
DOCTOR: Oh, I wouldn't say that. He's a highly intelligent fellow - you can tell at a glance.
SECOND GUARD CAPTAIN: Silence!
LUPTON: I shall report this!
(LUPTON is dragged struggling away.)
SECOND GUARD CAPTAIN: You will have your opportunity. Captain, take him to the council.
(LUPTON is pulled away down the corridor, crying out as he goes...)
LUPTON: No! There must be some mistake!
DOCTOR: Ah, poor fellah. Hope they won't be too hard on him. He fell into bad company, you know. Oh well, I must be off.
(He turns and walks the other way and round a corner. The Second Guard Captain runs after him.)
SECOND GUARD CAPTAIN: Stop! Stop!
(He catches up with the DOCTOR and grabs him by the shoulder. The DOCTOR turns, grab his arm and whips him over onto the ground. He turns to run but two other guards with jewelled staves pointed at him walk up.)
DOCTOR: Oh dear, this is getting monotonous.
SECOND GUARD CAPTAIN: Your execution hasn't been cancelled - just postponed.
(The Second Guard Captain gets up from the floor.)
SECOND GUARD CAPTAIN: Bring him along.
(He strides away and the two guards escort the DOCTOR after him.)
43: INT. METEBELIS THREE. SPIDER'S BASE. CELL
(SARAH has given up her attempts at freedom and lies calmly in her cocoon.)
SARAH: Sabor, how long do you think we've got?
SABOR: Who knows? A week, a...a day, an hour.
(Suddenly the DOCTOR walks into the cell. SARAH looks at him in astonishment and delight.)
SARAH: Doctor! You're alive! I knew you'd come!
(The DOCTOR holds up a hand for silence and then gestures behind him. The two guards walk into the cell and SARAH realises that he is as much a prisoner as her. Her head falls back.)
SARAH: Oh...Doctor!
Doctor Who
JON PERTWEE
Sarah Jane Smith
ELISABETH SLADEN
Mike Yates
RICHARD FRANKLIN
Lupton
JOHN DEARTH
Barnes
CHRISTOPHER BURGESS
Tommy
JOHN KANE
Moss
TERENCE LODGE
Land
CARL FORGIONE
Keaver
ANDREW STAINES
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
Fight Arranger
TERRY WALSH
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