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DOCTOR WHO
THE SEEDS OF DOOM
Written by
Robert Banks Stewart
Part Two
(Overlap from 'Charles!')
(The heavily breathing creature formerly known as WINLETT steps over MOBERLEY and opens the door to the building. He/it steps out into the blowing snow.)
[INT. Research station living quarters]
(SCORBY pulls a case from beneath a bed and opens it. Within are a rifle and bullets.)
SCORBY: You'd think butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. Keep watch.
KEELER: (still sitting but glancing about) What're you doing, Scorby?
SCORBY: I don't like guns in the wrong hands.
(He starts taking apart the firing mechanism.)
KEELER: There's no need for that. They're not going to try and shoot us.
SCORBY: I'd rather not give them the chance. I said 'Keep watch.'
KEELER: (sighing and standing) I wish you'd stop behaving like some cheap gangster. All we've come here for is to confirm that this pod is something unusual, that's all.
SCORBY: You don't think we're going to fly back empty-handed, do you?
KEELER: But, we can't... Scorby!
SCORBY: Shhh!
KEELER: We'd never get away with it.
SCORBY: You a betting man, Keeler?
KEELER: Now just a minute. This is the first you've said-. I want to know exactly what it is you're planning.
SCORBY: All right, Keeler. Tomorrow, we dig a nice big hole in the snow - big enough for, say, five bodies. We fill it up, we take the pod, we fly home. No witnesses, nothing. Just another lost expedition.
KEELER: You're mad. You're mad. You're mad. I'm not doing that. Oh, no.
SCORBY: You'll do it, Keeler. You'll do exactly as you're told. Otherwise, I'll just make the hole a little bigger.
(There is a click from the rifle that SCORBY holds pointed at KEELER's head.)
[INT. Research station lab]
(SARAH closes the outer door. She rounds the corner and sees the body. We then see her enter the lab.)
DOCTOR: Ready, Stevenson.
STEVENSON: I'm sure th-
SARAH: (entering) I think Moberley's dead.
STEVENSON: What?
SARAH: This way.
(They leave.)
[INT. Research station sick bay]
(The DOCTOR examines the body and then enters, seeing the empty bed. STEVENSON is right behind him.)
STEVENSON: Did you see his face? Where's he gone?
DOCTOR: He left after killing Moberley.
STEVENSON: I don't believe that [?]. You mean to say Charles did that?
DOCTOR: Not Charles, the alien.
STEVENSON: Alien?
DOCTOR: Not of this world, Stevenson. I told you he was changing form. Already his mind's been taken over. Very soon his entire body will alter.
SARAH: Into a Krynoid.
DOCTOR: Yes. There'll be a transition period, a grotesque parody of the human form. By now, Winlett himself no longer exists, and we must destroy what he has become.
(As he speaks, we see the creature trudging through snow.)
[INT. Research station living quarters]
KEELER: Scorby, someone's coming.
(SCORBY puts the rifle case back where he found it, and the men adopt a less suspicious-looking posture. STEVENSON and SARAH enter, grabbing their outerwear.)
SARAH: You okay?
SCORBY: Yeah, a lot better, thanks. What's the trouble?
STEVENSON: We're going out.
SCORBY: You're joking. In this weather?
STEVENSON: Yes, Mister Scorby, in this weather. (He gets the rifle out.)
DOCTOR: Come on, Stevenson. We don't have much time.
STEVENSON: Ready, Doctor.
DOCTOR: I hope that's the answer. Stay warm.
(KEELER and SCORBY are left alone again.)
KEELER: What the devil's going on?
SCORBY: What do you think I am, a mind-reader? Anyway, come on. Now's our chance.
KEELER: What do you mean? What do you mean? What do you mean? Do what?
SCORBY: To find the pod.
[INT. Chase's library]
(We are in an oak-panelled room that has a clock standing in it and features several plant-themed paintings on the walls.)
DUNBAR: I tell you, something has happened out there. We've had a telex message saying an infection has broken out.
CHASE: Infection? What sort of infection?
DUNBAR: Apparently a virus conveyed by the pod. Now, if you get that pod, you'll probably have to take precautions.
CHASE: If? There's no question of 'if'. I have sent my most efficient man.
DUNBAR: To Antarctica?
CHASE: Yes. It will be easier to acquire the pod there rather than wait for its arrival in England and the resultant publicity. By that time, it will be better protected than the Crown Jewels.
DUNBAR: You're going well outside the law, Mister Chase.
CHASE: I understand policemen are few and far between in the Antarctic.
DUNBAR: Look, if there are any repercussions, have I your word you'll preserve my anonymity?
CHASE: Don't worry, I always take care of my employees. It wouldn't do if a public servant of your standing were found betraying trust and selling secrets, would it?
DUNBAR: No. On the other hand, I took up a career hoping to reach the top, but I've seen time-serving non-entities promoted over my head.
CHASE: Yes, it must be most galling. The only alternative is to seek other forms of reward, which you have most sensibly done. I think you will find this is the amount we agreed for your, er, help.
(He opens a briefcase on a side table, to show DUNBAR the banknotes within.)
DUNBAR: Yes, it's most generous.
CHASE: A fair exchange, Dunbar. You want money, and I want that pod.
[EXT. Antarctica]
(The WINLETT creature reaches a building. We then see the others looking down on this area from above.)
DOCTOR: What's that down there?
STEVENSON: It's our generator plant.
SARAH: Why so far from base?
STEVENSON: Safety measure. It's a new fuel-cell system being tested out here for the first time.
DOCTOR: Let's take a look.
[INT. Research base lab]
(SCORBY is heavy-handedly checking a cupboard. He is not subtle.)
SCORBY: You're supposed to be the botanist. Where would you keep this pod?
KEELER: I don't know. I suppose it must be here somewhere. Careful, that's valuable.
SCORBY: So what? There'll be nobody left to use it after we're finished.
(SCORBY drops the piece of equipment on the floor, and it shatters. KEELER covers his eyes.)
RADIO [OC]: This is South Bend calling Camp Five. Come in, Camp Five. Over.
KEELER: Scorby, what do we do?
RADIO [OC]: This is South Bend calling Camp Five. Come in, Camp Five. Over.
SCORBY: Camp Five receiving you. Over.
RADIO [OC]: Is that you, Derek?
SCORBY: Er, yes. Come in, South Bend.
RADIO [OC]: The weather's clearing this end. The marines'll get the medic through as soon as possible.
SCORBY: Have they left yet?
RADIO [OC]: They're leaving right now.
SCORBY: Look, uh, cancel them, will you? We don't need 'em any more. Everything's under control here.
RADIO [OC]: Hello? Is that you, Derek? Hello? Hello, Derek, is that you? Derek?
(SCORBY disconnects the aerial.)
[EXT. Outside the generator plant]
DOCTOR: It left the place in a blizzard. It'll try to find shelter somewhere.
STEVENSON: I don't think this has been disturbed.
DOCTOR: It's as well to make sure.
(STEVENSON undoes the door.)
[INT. Research base lab]
KEELER: Hey, Scorby, I think I've found it. Look.
(He pulls out the tray with the opened pod case.)
KEELER: Now, that's the pod in Dunbar's photograph, but-
SCORBY: Somebody's cut it open.
KEELER: No, no, no, no, no. No, this wasn't cut. This, this must have germinated.
SCORBY: What do you mean, germinated?
KEELER: I mean that this pod has opened as part of its natural cycle to release a shoot or something.
SCORBY: Yeah, but it's the actual plant that Chase wants, right?
KEELER: Right.
SCORBY: Well, we'd better find it, then, hadn't we? And quick.
[INT. Generator plant]
STEVENSON: No, I'm afraid Winlett must have collapsed somewhere.
DOCTOR: Don't you ever listen, Stevenson? Winlett, Winlett. Winlett as a man no longer exists.
SARAH: All right then. He's a plant or a vegetable or whatever he is now. He's going to have even less resistance to cold, isn't he?
STEVENSON: You know, I find this very hard to take. You're telling me that these things are, are inimical to the whole of animal creation?
DOCTOR: Inimical? They are lethal.
STEVENSON: How do you know?
DOCTOR: Never mind how I know, Stevenson. Just take it from me. On any planet where the Krynoid gets established, all animal life is extinguished.
SARAH: There's no danger now, is there? I mean, we've got the second pod in the freezer, and Winlett-
DOCTOR: Winlett?
SARAH: The Krynoid is very likely frozen stiff under the snow somewhere.
DOCTOR: I hope you're right.
SARAH: So do I.
(They leave the building. We see the plant man nearby.)
[INT. Research station sick bay]
(SCORBY pulls the sheet from MOBERLEY's body on the bed.)
KEELER: Good grief! Look at that mark, Scorby. What could have caused that? That's the man who-
SCORBY: Yeah, I know.
(We see the Krynoid enter the generator plant.)
[EXT. Just outside the base]
STEVENSON: I'll be with you in a moment. I want to check something.
[INT. Research base corridor]
SCORBY [OC]: In here, Doctor!
[INT. Research base sick bay]
(The sheet is back on the corpse.)
DOCTOR: Whatever you do, don't touch him. Don't touch him.
SCORBY: Get your hands up. Turn around, Doctor.
(The DOCTOR does a quick 360. SCORBY stands behind the door, with a pistol.)
SCORBY: Facing this way.
DOCTOR: (turning) Have we annoyed you or something?
SCORBY: Shut up. Okay, start talking.
DOCTOR: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had perfect pitch.
SCORBY: What happened to him?
DOCTOR: Who, Wolfgang Amadeus? Oh, him. Oh, he died.
KEELER: How?
SCORBY: We gathered that.
DOCTOR: It happened because of a pod.
KEELER: The pod?
SCORBY: Look, Doctor, there's already one corpse in here. I can easily double that number.
SARAH: Look, he's telling you the-
SCORBY: Stay where you are.
SARAH: (quietly) truth.
DOCTOR: There's been an accident. One of the men was infected.
KEELER: By the pod?
SARAH: He went mad.
DOCTOR: Yes, you could say he's not quite himself.
SCORBY: Where is he now?
SARAH: We don't know. Somewhere out there.
KEELER: Oh, you mean you have a homicidal maniac on the loose?
DOCTOR: Oh, much more dangerous than that, and he's desperate for food and warmth. There's only one place he can find food and warmth.
SCORBY: You mean this camp.
DOCTOR: It's a comforting thought, isn't it? I think we should lock all the doors and windows.
KEELER: What are we going to do, Scorby?
SCORBY: Easy. I think it's time we got some real answers. But not in here. Why don't we make ourselves a little more comfortable? Come on, move.
(They all leave, some by force and some not.)
[INT. Research base living quarters]
(KEELER is tying the DOCTOR and SARAH to chairs.)
SCORBY: Okay, that'll do. Watch the door. Now then, Doctor, let's have the truth. Where's the plant that came out of the pod?
DOCTOR: That grew in the bed that was part of the garden close to the house that Jack-
SARAH: Jack built.
SCORBY: I'm not a patient man, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Well, your candour does you credit. However, you're too late.
SCORBY: What do you mean?
DOCTOR: Odd things have been happening, odd and dangerous. I don't think you'd understand.
SCORBY: Try me.
DOCTOR: All right. At its simplest, the man who went mad is no longer a man in any sense you'd recognise.
KEELER: Well, if he's not a man, what is he?
DOCTOR: An alien life form.
SCORBY: I said I wanted some straight answers, Doctor.
STEVENSON [OC]: Doctor?
KEELER: Scorby! Somebody's coming.
STEVENSON [OC]: Doctor? Miss Smith? Where are you?
SCORBY: In here.
(STEVENSON enters.)
SCORBY: Come and join the party.
STEVENSON: (raising the rifle) Drop that gun. I said 'Drop that gun!'
(He attempts to fire.)
SCORBY: Not very friendly, are we?
(SCORBY approaches him and grabs the rifle, using it to send STEVENSON across the room, to join the others.)
STEVENSON: What's happening?
DOCTOR: For some reason, these two want to get their hands on the pod.
STEVENSON: (sotto) The pod's still safe? They haven't taken it out-
(The DOCTOR pokes STEVENSON with his knee.)
SCORBY: What did you say? Taken it out? Taken it out of where?
KEELER: They've got a second pod.
SCORBY: Then we're not going back empty-handed, are we? Where is it?
DOCTOR: Oh, don't be a bigger fool than you already are. Don't you understand anything? It's dangerous.
SCORBY: I asked you a question, Doctor. Where is the pod?
(The DOCTOR doesn't seem bothered by the gun pointed at his head. SCORBY tries STEVENSON next.)
SCORBY: Where is it? Stubborn pair.
SCORBY: (pointing the gun at SARAH's head) This time I'm not joking.
DOCTOR: It's in the freezer.
SCORBY: That's better. You show me.
(He grabs STEVENSON.)
SCORBY: (pulling out a spare gun) Okay, watch these two.
KEELER: No, no, no. I don't want it.
SCORBY: I said watch them!
(KEELER takes the gun.)
SCORBY: Come on, move.
(They leave.)
DOCTOR: Don't worry, you're all right with us. We won't hurt you.
[INT. Research base lab]
(STEVENSON removes the pod from the freezer.)
SCORBY: Bring it here. (he does) Are there any more?
STEVENSON: No, this is unique now. Priceless, as you are no doubt aware.
SCORBY: So what's to stop this breaking open like the other one?
STEVENSON: It's quite safe at this temperature.
SCORBY: Well, it's going on a little journey. You must have something here to keep it cool.
STEVENSON: We have thermal containers.
SCORBY: Get one. There's something I don't quite understand. Where does the power come from to keep this place going?
STEVENSON: We have a new fuel-cell system half a mile from here.
SCORBY: This alien creature could be hiding there.
STEVENSON: No, we checked that an hour ago.
[INT. Research base living quarters]
DOCTOR: (to KEELER) I'd give your arm a rest, if I were you.
SARAH: Yes, we're not likely to run away.
DOCTOR: You don't like violence, do you, Keeler? Not like your friend. What are you, a scientist? Botanist, perhaps. Is that it? Were you sent here to identify the pod? Surely you understand the implications of what I'm saying?
KEELER: We know what we're doing.
DOCTOR: I wish I could believe you.
KEELER: Shut up, shut up!
SARAH: You remember what happened to Winlett. Well, things are getting out of control, and you don't know how to handle it. If you release us, then we can fight it together.
(The other two return.)
KEELER: Oh, for God's sake, let's get out of here quickly before that monster thing comes back.
(SCORBY gives KEELER the insulated container with the pod inside and takes back the gun.)
SCORBY: Stop panicking. Tie him up. Tie him up.
KEELER: Rope. Excuse me.
(He ties STEVENSON's hands behind his back and then ties his feet. We see a shot of the Krynoid moving about outside.)
SCORBY: You can say your goodbyes now, Doctor.
KEELER: You're not going to shoot them in cold blood?
SCORBY: Why not? No, I've got a better idea. Come here, miss.
(He drags a less than co-operative SARAH to her feet.)
DOCTOR: Where are you taking her?
SCORBY: (shoving the DOCTOR down and marching SARAH out) Sit down! Come on, move.
DOCTOR: Scorby! Scorby! Scorby!
[EXT. Just outside the base]
SCORBY: Take us to the power plant.
SARAH: I don't know what you mean.
SCORBY: Come on, don't try to be funny. You checked it an hour ago. Now, come on, move.
(KEELER follows then, with the container and a sack.)
[INT. Research base living quarters]
(After observing the Krynoid for a moment, we return to the prisoners. They sit back to back, working on the ropes.)
STEVENSON: It's hopeless.
DOCTOR: Nothing's hopeless. All we have to do is think.
[INT. Generator plant]
(SCORBY has placed a magnetic device on part of the generator and is adjusting it.)
KEELER: (tying SARAH to a pipe) What's that thing, Scorby?
SCORBY: This power system provides energy for the whole camp. There are wires running from here to every building. So we don't need to dig a hole after all. We just obliterate them. A real fireworks display.
SARAH: That's murder. Cold-blooded murder.
[INT. Research base living quarters]
(The DOCTOR hops over to an area where hurricane lamps are hanging from the ceiling. He unhooks one with his head and hops around to line himself up with bits of the broken glass.)
DOCTOR: Come on, quick, get over here. And keep still. I don't want to sever a blood vessel. Okay?
STEVENSON: Right.
[INT. Generator plant]
KEELER: It is, it's murder. It is cold-blooded murder!
SCORBY: Look, you do exactly as you're told or you go up with it, Arnold.
(KEELER goes back over to SARAH.)
SARAH: He doesn't have to kill us. You've got the pod.
SCORBY: There, that should do it. (ticking begins) That bomb will set off a fault in the system that'll blow the whole camp to smithereens, leaving no trace whatsoever. It's ingenious, don't you think?
KEELER: No! No! I can't let you do it. No!
(His attempt to overpower SCORBY ends with SCORBY getting him in a neck lock.)
SCORBY: It's too lake, Keeler. I've started the countdown. Now, let's get out.
(KEELER leaves.)
SCORBY: You shouldn't have long to wait - ten minutes at the outside. (He too leaves.)
[INT. Research base living quarters]
(Both men have escaped their bonds.)
DOCTOR: Contact the main base on the radio.
STEVENSON: Right.
DOCTOR: See if they can intercept that aeroplane.
STEVENSON: What about the Krynoid?
DOCTOR: We'll just have to take a chance on that.
(He leaves.)
[EXT. Just outside the base]
DOCTOR: Sarah!
(We hear an aeroplane motor start.)
[INT. Research base lab]
(The Krynoid enters the building.)
STEVENSON: Hello, main base. Hello, main base. Can you hear me? Over.
(The Krynoid enters the room, and STEVENSON yells. The Krynoid wrestles with him.
Meanwhile, outside, the DOCTOR sees the aeroplane about to take off.)
[INT. Generator plant]
(The timer is at 59 seconds. We see the DOCTOR running outside. The Krynoid is now heading in the same direction as he is. The DOCTOR gets there first.)
SARAH: Doctor! Quick, quick.
DOCTOR: (working on untying her) What's the hurry?
SARAH: There's a time bomb over there. We've only got seconds. Where's Stevenson?
DOCTOR: I'll have to try and warn him.
(We are at 19 seconds remaining on the counter.)
DOCTOR: There.
(We hear the Krynoid enter, then see it. The DOCTOR and SARAH move deeper into the plant, and it follows. They then double back and close the door behind them. They run away as the Krynoid tries to escape. There is an explosion, and secondary explosions take out the base.)
The above notes, transcription, etc. by Anna Shefl
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