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DOCTOR WHO
THE SEEDS OF DOOM

Written by
Robert Banks Stewart

Part Six

(Overlap from 'Come on')

[EXT. Grounds]

BERESFORD: (leading a squad in) Laser, quick. (they stop and take up position) Let him have it. Fire!

[EXT. Greenhouse]

(The main party see the laser hit the very top bit of the Krynoid.)
HENDERSON: The Major!

[EXT. Grounds]

BERESFORD: And another. Fire!

[EXT. Greenhouse]

(The Krynoid staggers slightly and steps away a tad.)
DOCTOR: The other door. Come on!
(They run around the side of the building. Behind the hulking Krynoid, they pass through a small door. Chase reacts when it slams. He moves.)

[EXT. Grounds]

BERESFORD: Hit it square in the chest. Fire! Fire! Fire!
(The Krynoid staggers a bit.)
BERESFORD: Come on, out.

[INT. Botany lab]

(Through the clear bits of the filing-cabinet-barricade door from the greenhouse, the DOCTOR sees a wall of plant life.)
DOCTOR: We've got to find Chase before he has another attack of megalomania. Krynoid on the outside, a madman lurking inside - not a happy situation.
SARAH: Do you think he's counting on the Krynoid sparing him, if, well, if he sacrifices us?
HENDERSON: Well, Major Beresford did do his best, even if it was like using a pea-shooter.
DOCTOR: Shh, shh, shh, shhh. I think we've been wrong about Chase up till now.
HENDERSON: What are you on about?-
DOCTOR: Will you just shut up a minute, please? You said Chase went outside and actually took photographs of the Krynoid, and came in apparently unharmed. Unharmed?
SARAH: You mean he's actually infected?
DOCTOR: Or possessed.

[EXT. Grounds]

(The squad are jogging away.)
BERESFORD: Come on, quick. Come on!

[INT. Corridor]

DOCTOR: You and Henderson take that corridor. Sarah and I will go this way.
(They move as instructed. We see CHASE enter the lab.)

[INT. Botany lab]

CHASE: (looking at the empty defoliant jugs) Filth.
(Atop the filing cabinets is a small sound unit, which he makes short work of.)

[INT. Corridor]

SARAH: (sotto) Doctor, maybe he's not in the house.
DOCTOR: I doubt that.
(He opens a door, finds many plants waiting, and closes it.)
HENDERSON: (walking up) Doctor, there's creeper breaking through into the corridor.
DOCTOR: Where's Scorby?
HENDERSON: He's back in the main lab.
DOCTOR: Come on. Let's join him there.

[EXT. Main gates]

THACKERAY: What happened?
BERESFORD: We've had to pull back. The laser's hopeless against it.
THACKERAY: And you haven't made contact with the Doctor?
BERESFORD: No, not yet, but I'm going to try and get through with a couple of men.

[INT. Botany lab]

(A Krynoid tentacle thrashes about through a freshly broken window. HENDERSON watches from the doorway. He enters and aims his weapon at the tentacle.)
SCORBY: It's like we're under siege.
(A corner of the ceiling collapses. Plaster falls. HENDERSON hands the DOCTOR the rifle.)
HENDERSON: Here, do your best. I'll go and see if I can get some more timber.
DOCTOR: Yes, you go and do that.
(He hands SCORBY the rifle. CHASE, in the compost shed, hears a sound and hefts a large spanner. The noise is HENDERSON ripping out planks nearby. CHASE clobbers HENDERSON over the head and drags the hapless soldier off.
Meanwhile, a corner of the building can be seen to be collapsing inward under the Krynoid's attack.
Elsewhere, SCORBY nails a plank over the latest window hole.)
SCORBY: It's trying its luck on the east wing now. I still say we make a break for it.
DOCTOR: Oh, Scorby, just think about what we're up against. Everything that grows in the ground is your enemy. You wouldn't get far.
SCORBY: So what are we supposed to do? Wait here until the Krynoid reduces this place to rubble?
SARAH: Don't be so negative. Major Beresford's going to come up with something.
SCORBY: Oh, yeah. That laser gun was useless, wasn't it? Look, I've never relied on anybody, just myself. I've always got myself out of trouble. Africa, the Middle East, you name it. I've not been a mercenary for nothing. I'm a survivor, right?
DOCTOR: Hmm? Scorby, bullets and bombs aren't the answer to everything.
(A bunch more plaster falls on the occupants of the room.)
SCORBY: What are we going to do?
SARAH: Oh, just shut up, will you? We're all in the same boat.
SCORBY: And where's your precious Beresford? I suppose he's dropped everything and run, has he?
DOCTOR: No more than you would, Scorby, hmm.
(We see HENDERSON, tied up by CHASE and lying in the composter. CHASE turns it on at the wall. The sides of the hopper rise, and the screws begin to turn.)
SARAH: (looking out the window) It's coming back this way, Doctor. Any hope yet?
DOCTOR: (repairing the sound system) Oh, yes. Chase didn't do any irreparable damage. I think I can fix this.
SARAH: Well done.
SCORBY: Oh, yeah. Well done, Doctor. Why are you bothering? It's obvious your army friends have scarpered. I'd have done the same if I'd been out there. We're as dead as mutton, you realise? RIP. It's ridiculous, innit?
DOCTOR: Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Scorby. It'll become a habit.
(The room shakes yet again, and SCORBY removes the filing cabinet from in front of an exterior door. He opens it.)
DOCTOR: No, Scorby, don't! Don't go, Scorby - you won't make it!
(SCORBY rushes headlong into the vegetation. SARAH and the DOCTOR push the door shut behind SCORBY, who manages to reach the grounds. At a dew pond, he starts swimming, but the weed within pulls him down. We then see BERESFORD and his squad reach a stone terrace from which they can see the bulk of the - now even larger - Krynoid with all its huge tendrils.)
SARAH: (referring to a rattling, drumming sound that has just begun) What's that?
DOCTOR: Probably the plants have got into the humidity system.
SARAH: Well, that means the water could boil up and blow suddenly.
DOCTOR: It's possible.
SARAH: Oh, great. That's all we need. A scalding shower.
DOCTOR: Ah. Henderson. Sergeant Henderson?
SARAH: He's not back yet.
DOCTOR: You go and get him.
SARAH: Right.
DOCTOR: Tell him I need Beresford's wavelength.

[INT. Corridor]

SARAH: (coming across the abandoned planks) Sergeant? Sergeant? (rounding a corner) Sergeant?

[INT. Compost shed]

SARAH: Sergeant? Sergeant?
(CHASE closes the door behind her as she enters. She turns.)
CHASE: The sergeant's no longer with us. He's in the garden. He's part of the garden.
SARAH: That's very clever of you.
CHASE: Don't humour me, Miss Smith. We're helping the plant world, the sergeant and I. In different ways, of course. I've become part of a life that I've always admired for its beauty, colours, sensitivity. I have the Krynoid to thank, as it thanks me for its opportunity to exist here on Earth. Soon the Krynoids will dominate everywhere, and your foul species will disappear.
SARAH: And you'll all flower happily ever after.
CHASE: You and your kind are nothing but parasites. You're dependent upon us for the air you breathe and the food you eat. We have only one use for you.

[EXT. Grounds]

BERESFORD: (into his R/T as the Krynoid batters the mansion) This is Scorpio section. I say again, this is Scorpio section. Are you receiving me? Over.

[INT. Botany lab]

DOCTOR: Hello, Beresford. This is the Doctor. I can hear you. Over.
BERESFORD [OC]: Great. What's your situation, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Desperate. We're trapped. What action are you taking against the Krynoid?
BERESFORD [OC]: The lasers had no effect. Frankly, we're stuck for an answer.
DOCTOR: Listen, Beresford. By my reckoning, you've got about fifteen minutes before the Krynoid reaches the point of primary germination.

[EXT. Grounds]

BERESFORD: What's he mean?
THACKERAY: Give me that. Doctor, Thackeray here. What do you mean by primary germination?
DOCTOR [OC]: I mean the Krynoid is about to eject hundreds of embryo pods. The whole planet will be doomed.
THACKERAY: Well, how can we stop it?
DOCTOR [OC]: There's only one way, Sir Colin. A low-level attack by aircraft with high explosives.
THACKERAY: But that'll mean destroying the house too. What about you and the others?

[INT. Botany lab]

DOCTOR: Never mind us. Order that attack. It's your only chance. Out.
(He heads off in search of his companion.)

[EXT. Grounds]

RAF [OC]: I'll be with you in (figuring) three minutes. Over.
BERESFORD: Roger, Red Leader. Out.
(He hands the unit to another soldier and approaches THACKERAY.)
BERESFORD: Well, the planes are on their way. Three minutes.
THACKERAY: Is there no way we can get them out?
BERESFORD: Not a chance.

[INT. Compost shed]

(Five jets fly overhead while CHASE prepares his latest sacrifice to the composter, an unconscious SARAH. After he switches on the unit and steps back, she stirs and wakes with a start. The DOCTOR bursts in and is met by CHASE. A brief struggle ensues, in which the DOCTOR shoves CHASE away and turns off the machine. He jumps into the hopper, unties SARAH, and hauls her out. CHASE has taken this opportunity to turn on the machine. He grabs the DOCTOR and tries to land him in the hopper, but CHASE too ends up inside.)
DOCTOR: Quick, Sarah, the button. The button!
SARAH: (whose hands are still tied) I can't-
(The DOCTOR climbs out, with CHASE grabbing hold of one of his arms. SARAH jumps a few times but can't reach the controls with her elbows. CHASE releases his hold finally and sinks back down into the hopper. We hear a scream.)
DOCTOR: (untying her arms) Sarah, I tried to save him. He was trying to pull me in.
(She is almost hysterical as they exit the shed.)

[EXT. Grounds]

(Two jets make a low pass overhead.)
BERESFORD: That was a sighting run. Scorpio section to Red Leader. Over.
RAF pilot [OC]: Red Leader[?] section. We see your target. We're turning to attack now. Over.
BERESFORD: Understood. Good luck. Out.
THACKERAY: Still no sign of the Doctor.
BERESFORD: Afraid not.
RAF pilot [OC]: Okay, chaps. [unintelligible] again. Let's turn it into chop suey.

[INT. Corridor]

(The DOCTOR pulls open a door, sees a wall of plants, and closes it again with SARAH's help.)
SARAH: Where do we go? We've a Krynoid outside, steam inside, bombs overhead.
DOCTOR: Steam. Steam!
(He heads for some pipes on the wall and begins to unfasten one of them.)
DOCTOR: Stand by that door, Sarah.
SARAH: Right.
DOCTOR: When I say... Come on, come on.
(He places his hat over the end of the pipe and points it at the doorway.)
DOCTOR: Now!
(SARAH opens the door, and the DOCTOR removes his hat from the end of the pipe. Affected by the steam, the plants stop moving.)
DOCTOR: Come on!

[EXT. Grounds]

(They fight through somewhat less aggressive plants and then rather angrier ones. They reach an area where there is a large log and hide behind it as the air strike begins. On the first run, the RAF hit a portion of the house. On the second go, the Krynoid is hit. The third run sends bits of Krynoid everywhere, and the tortured frame of the remainder of the mansion explodes. Fire rages as the DOCTOR and SARAH raise their heads.)

[INT. Thackeray's office]

THACKERAY: Well, Doctor, do you think we've heard the last of the Krynoid?
DOCTOR: Sir Colin, the Intergalactic Floral Society, of which - quite naturally - I'm the president, finds Krynoids a difficult subject to study. Their researchers tend to disappear.
SARAH: Hmm, I can imagine. A case of one veg and no meat.
THACKERAY: Very neat, Miss Smith. (They all laugh.)
SARAH: Sorry about that.
THACKERAY: And talking of societies, Doctor, the Royal Horticultural Society's got wind of this affair. They'd rather like you to address one of their meetings.
DOCTOR: Really? When?
THACKERAY: I think they suggested the, er, fifteenth.
DOCTOR: Fifteenth, fifteenth. No, impossible. I'm fully booked for the next two centuries, but any time after that.
THACKERAY: (laughing) Doctor, I don't know when you're being serious.
SARAH: I know just how you feel, Sir Colin.
DOCTOR: Have you ever heard of Cassiopeia?
SARAH: Animal, vegetable, or mineral?
DOCTOR: It's a good place for a holiday. We need a break. Come on.
SARAH: Ah, great!
DOCTOR: Sir Colin, do you fancy a little excursion?
THACKERAY: I'd be delighted, but my wife's expecting me home for tea.

[EXT. Antarctica]

(The TARDIS materialises. All is white around SARAH as she emerges in her swimming costume, with a beach ball.)
SARAH: (stopping) Ah, this isn't Cassiopeia.
DOCTOR: Mm. It's Antarctica.
SARAH: We're back where we started!
DOCTOR: Yes.
SARAH: Well, we won't get a suntan here.
DOCTOR: No.
SARAH: You forgot to cancel the co-ordinate program, didn't you?
DOCTOR: Yes.
SARAH: Shall we try again?
DOCTOR: Yes. Just a minute.
SARAH: What?-
DOCTOR: Have we been here before,
DOCTOR+SARAH: Or are we yet to come? (They laugh.)

The above notes, transcription, etc. by Anna Shefl

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