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DOCTOR WHO
IMAGE OF THE FENDAHL

Written by
Chris Boucher

Part One

[INT. Laboratory]

(The episode opens with an old skull, minus the lower jaw, sitting on a stand. Contemplating it is a man in a white coat. On the table in front of him in the lab are pieces of rock, and maps hang on the walls. Papers are stacked atop a filing cabinet behind him. Sitting at a desk is a woman in a white coat, THEA.)
COLBY: (addressing the skull) Oh, don't just sit there, Eustace. Say something.
THEA: Why don't you just publish and get it over with?
COLBY: Why should anyone believe it? I found him, and I don't.
THEA: (approaching him) Are you questioning my technical competence-
COLBY: Of course not. The volcanic sediment is twelve million years old. I accept without reservation the results of your excellent potassium-argon test.
THEA: Thank you.
COLBY: What I don't accept is that Eustace here got himself buried under a volcano at least eight million years before he could have possibly existed.
(Another man, in a white coat and tie, enters the lab.)
STAEL: Colby, Doctor Fendelman is waiting for the corrected co-ordinates.
COLBY: Here you go. (He hands STAEL a folder.)
STAEL: Thank you.
COLBY: Oh, and, Maxim, end the day with a smile.
(STAEL musters an appropriate expression and turns to go. COLBY sits back down and winks at THEA.
We are now outside, where a MAN with a rucksack walks past some trees in the misty darkness. An owl hoots nearby. He comes across a particularly dense patch of mist and starts whistling. He makes his way through the wood, looking back every so often.)

[INT. Fendelman's lab]

(We are back in the building housing the lab. It is a well-appointed estate, slightly at odds with the room we saw earlier. STAEL walks through a wood-panelled corridor and unlocks a door. Within is a humming lab with banks of computers along one wall. Tending these is the scientist FENDELMAN, a man with a moustache and thinning hair. He walks past a pair of monitors to greet STAEL and take the clipboard from him.)
FENDELMAN: (reading and nodding) Yes, good, good. Right. Stael, we can begin.
(Each man takes a seat at a set of controls beside monitors. FENDELMAN flips a switch and looks over at STAEL.)
FENDELMAN: Phase-one power.
STAEL: (turning a dial and switching on his monitor) Phase-one power.
FENDELMAN: (making a note) Phase-two power.
STAEL: (turning the knob again) Phase-two power.
(Behind THEA, the skull on the table starts giving off a faint reddish glow. She yawns, turns in her chair, and approaches it as the flickering grows a bit brighter. It starts pulsing in orange as she watches.)
FENDELMAN: Switching to main computer control.
(He operates a control, and information starts appearing in parallel across the two monochrome monitors in front of him. He makes another note.)
FENDELMAN: Activate full-power run-up sequence.
STAEL: (turning the knob and flipping two switches) Activating full-power run-up sequence now.
(The ambient hum grows louder.
We return to THEA. The lights go out, and THEA is no longer transfixed by the skull. She looks around, then back at the skull, which is still glowing. Her face is visible slightly overlaid on the skull.)

[EXT. Woodlands]

(In the mist, the MAN is running with purpose. We can't see what is following him, but it is determined. He lightens his load by dropping his rucksack on the ground.
Inside, the skull continues pulsing, and THEA's face melding with its image appears more concrete.
The MAN in the woods is running more slowly now and nearly stumbles once.)
MAN: I can't, I can't.
(He is looking at something bright approach him as he screams, rooted in place. He clutches his head and falls to the ground, dropping his torch.
Inside, the skull is almost yellow now. In front of it, THEA places a hand on each side of her head and then collapses.)

[INT. Fendelman's lab]

(The hum in the lab is still louder now.)
STAEL: Full power.
FENDELMAN: Excellent, Stael. We can begin the scan. (the lights flicker) Commencing scan, programme 1.

[INT. TARDIS]

(We begin with a close-up of LEELA patting K9 on the head.)
LEELA: Professor Marius would not be very pleased.
(We pan out to see a screwdriver and various wires. The DOCTOR has a side plate removed from K9 and is examining the computer's innards.)
DOCTOR: Nasty, very nasty.
(LEELA is squatting next to him, looking on nervously. She has her hair up and is wearing a light brown leather outfit.)
LEELA: Will he be all right?
DOCTOR: Sssh! (covering K9's 'ears' and whispering) I don't know. (uncovering K9's 'ears') It will be all right. It just has a little corrosion in its circuits.
LEELA: I can call K9 'he' if I want to. You call the TARDIS 'she'.
DOCTOR: Never.
LEELA: You do. I've heard you. You called it 'she' just a moment ago. And another thing. It is quite clear to me that you cannot control this old machine either.
DOCTOR: What did you say, Leela?
LEELA: Leela said-
DOCTOR: I heard what you said.
LEELA: Then why ask?
DOCTOR: Leela, I understand the TARDIS perfectly. There's not one single part of her that I haven't adjusted or repaired at some time or another.
LEELA: Don't cry about it.
DOCTOR: Furthermore, I am in complete and constant control of her!
(The ship lurches sideways.)
LEELA: Complete and constant? What is it? What's wrong?
DOCTOR: Someone's using a sonic- sonic time scan. Come on, old girl. Don't let us down now. Come on.
LEELA: What's happening?
DOCTOR: We're being dragged towards a relative continuum displacement zone.
LEELA: A what?
DOCTOR: A relative continuum displacement-. It's a hole in time.
LEELA: What will happen?
DOCTOR: I wish I knew.
LEELA: Can we get free?
DOCTOR: That depends on this misunderstood, unmanageable old machine.
LEELA: I meant no disrespect.
DOCTOR: She's turning.
LEELA: I could have been mistaken.
(The TARDIS levels out.)
DOCTOR: She's done it. Well done, old girl. You're wonderful. Wonderful. She's wonderful. Isn't she wonderful? TARDIS wonderful! (He laughs.)
LEELA: (grinning) Doctor, you did not tell me. Can she really understand what we say?
DOCTOR: Yeah, well, she just generates a low-intensity telepathic field, and obviously primitive thought patterns like yours appeal to her.
LEELA: They do?
DOCTOR: Yes.
LEELA: Oh. (less happy) Oh.
DOCTOR: That's odd.
LEELA: What, my thought patterns?
DOCTOR: What? No, no, no. I can't calculate the co-ordinates.
LEELA: What are we going to do?
DOCTOR: We'll just have to trace the scan back to its source.
LEELA: To destroy it?
DOCTOR: We have to stop it being used, certainly. Otherwise, it'll cause a direct continuum implosion and destroy the planet it's operating from.
LEELA: Well, do we know which one that is yet?
DOCTOR: It can't be. Oh, no.
LEELA: What? What is it?
DOCTOR: Not that one.
LEELA: What one?
DOCTOR: Not there.
LEELA: Not where?
DOCTOR: Earth.
LEELA: Earth?
DOCTOR: Yes. Your ancestors have a talent for self-destruction that borders on genius.
LEELA: Listen, Doctor, I do not like the way you keep talking about my ancestors.
DOCTOR: I like your new dress.
LEELA: Thank you.
DOCTOR: It's a pleasure.

[INT. Kitchen]

(It is morning, THEA is on her own, eating in a large, well-lit flagstone kitchen. She folds back a newspaper and continues reading.)
FENDELMAN: (entering, jacket in hand) Ah, Thea. You are feeling better this morning?
THEA: Yes, I'm fine, thanks, Doctor Fendelman. I still don't remember what happened, though, but I do remember it was your turn to make breakfast this morning, Max.
FENDELMAN: Ah, yes. I'm afraid that was my fault. We have been working all night, haven't we, Max? (pouring drinks into cups for everyone) We have only just finished. And the results, I think the results will amaze even Colby. Where is he, by the way?
THEA: He's out, exercising Leaky.

[EXT. Woodlands]

(Leaky, a golden Labrador, gets up from next to a pair of reclining legs upon hearing COLBY calling out...)
COLBY: Leaky! Here, boy! Leaky, come on. Leaky, now what have you got there? More bones is it, you old bone-hunter, you.
(He pauses in his petting of the dog when he sees the legs, attached to the body of the MAN who had been fleeing in terror the previous night.)

[INT. Kitchen]

FENDELMAN: (with the newspaper) But Colby's methodology cannot be faulted. The excavation of the skull was brilliant. The reconstruction was first-class work.
THEA: But he cannot accept the evolutionary implications.
FENDELMAN: And you, Thea, can you accept them?
THEA: Chronology is my field, Doctor Fendelman. I'm a technician, not a human palaeontologist.
COLBY: (rushing in) There's a corpse, by the wood.
FENDELMAN: (not looking up) What sort of corpse?
COLBY: A dead one. What other sort is there?
FENDELMAN: Male or female?
COLBY: Oh, male.
THEA: Do we know him?
COLBY: I never saw him before.
FENDELMAN: How did he die? Are there signs of violence?
COLBY: Well, not exactly. By the look of him, he didn't die easily.
STAEL: It is never easy to die.
COLBY: Well, thank you, Max. I'm going to call the police.
FENDELMAN: No, no, a moment, a moment. No, we must consider.
COLBY: What's to consider? There's a body out there! We can't just leave it. Or are you breeding vultures in that secret lab of yours, hmm?
FENDELMAN: This is no time for discourtesy, Adam.
COLBY: I'm sorry. It was a shock. He looks terrible. He must have been terrified when he died.
FENDELMAN: Adam, Adam. (with a hand on his shoulder) Just think for a moment. These woods, they are supposed to be haunted. Now can you imagine what would happen if there were news of a mysterious death in them?
THEA: Well, there'd be a certain amount of publicity.
FENDELMAN: Publicity? It would be a circus. They attract enough lunatics already without advertising for them.
COLBY: I don't see that we've much alternative.
FENDELMAN: (one hand on each of COLBY's shoulders now) Adam, Adam. Our work is at a critical stage. Your discovery could be one of the most important milestones in human development. Your work will fundamentally affect how man views himself. We cannot be interrupted at this moment of destiny.
COLBY: Yes, but-
FENDELMAN: And besides, we wouldn't want your Nobel Prize to be jeopardised by an (laughing) unfortunate coincidence, now would we?
THEA: What are you suggesting?
FENDELMAN: I'm not suggesting anything. Adam will recover, and then he can show us the body. Then we will decide, eh? We could arrange for it to be found somewhere else.
THEA: But that's illegal!
FENDELMAN: A small deception only.
THEA: Adam, you can't possibly en-
COLBY: It wouldn't make much difference.
FENDELMAN: There, you see? We work something out, eh? Stael. (sotto, in the corner) Get on to London. Tell Hartman I want a security team here within two hours. Tell him I want the best men we have and I want them armed. Then I shall want you to do a post mortem on that body.

[INT. TARDIS]

(The TARDIS has materialised, and LEELA is helping the DOCTOR on with his scarf.)
LEELA: Earth?
DOCTOR: Earth.
LEELA: Is this the place of the sonic time scan?
DOCTOR: Oh, yes. Oh, well, more or less. I haven't pinpointed it definitely, but it's certain to be around here somewhere.
LEELA: Come on then. (She starts following him to the door.)
DOCTOR: No, no, no. The one who leads says 'come on'. (taking his hat from her) Come on.

[EXT. Pasture]

(A cow moos as we are shown the doors of the TARDIS. The door opens, and we see Jersey cows munching grass nearby. Church bells ring in the distance.)
DOCTOR: (to the cows) Good morning, ladies. Now, which one of you has the time scanner, hmm?
LEELA: (uncertainly, with her knife held out) This doesn't look like the place, Doctor.
DOCTOR: I did say 'more or less', though this does look rather less than more. You know, I don't think these cows know anything about the time scanner. Never mind. It's a beautiful day. The exercise will do us good. Come on.

[INT. Fendelman's lab]

(FENDELMAN is consulting a punched-tape printout as STAEL enters the lab.)
FENDELMAN: Ah. Look, it's there, Stael. If we can get a visual representation of this area here, then we shall see the living owner of that skull.
STAEL: I have completed the post mortem.
FENDELMAN: And?
STAEL: I cannot find the exact cause of death. There is a small blister at the base of his skull, but that can't have killed him.
FENDELMAN: Natural causes, then.
STAEL: There is something strange.
FENDELMAN: Oh, what's that? (He continues working.)
STAEL: The outward signs are that the man died quite recently. His watch is still working. He has a Thermos of tea in his pocket, which is still hot. Yesterday's newspaper. The mud on his boots is still-
FENDELMAN: Yes, yes, yes, Stael, get on with it!
STAEL: The body is decomposing.
FENDELMAN: Already?
STAEL: It's falling apart as you watch.
FENDELMAN: The cause?
STAEL: I don't know, but it's as though all the energy has been removed. All the binding force has gone, and all that remains is a husk.
FENDELMAN: Are the security team in place?
STAEL: Yes.
FENDELMAN: Good. (returning to his clipboard) You will dispose of the body, Stael, and nobody must know of this. Nobody at all.

[EXT. Woodlands]

(The DOCTOR is asleep beside an oak tree, with his hat over his face. The church bells continue to peal.)
LEELA: Doctor? Doctor!
DOCTOR: Hmm?
(He lifts his hat, then sits up, to find that LEELA is squatting next to an old man, with her knife at his throat. A bicycle is on the ground next to them.)
LEELA: He came armed and silent.
DOCTOR: You must have been sent by providence.
MOSS: No, I was sent by the Council to cut the verges.
LEELA: Your Council should choose its warriors more carefully. A child of the Sevateem could have taken you.
MOSS: Escaped from somewhere, 'n't she? If you're her doctor, you shouldn't let her wander around loose. She could do someone a damage.
LEELA: He was not hunting us?
(She withdraws the knife slightly.)
DOCTOR: No. Would you like a jelly baby?
MOSS: (taking the red jelly baby) You've both escaped from somewhere, haven't you?
DOCTOR: Frequently. What's the nearest village?
MOSS: Fetchborough, about a mile down that way.
DOCTOR: Fetchborough. Tell me about the ghosts.
MOSS: Don't know what you mean. Ain't nothing like that around here.
LEELA: He is lying.
DOCTOR: The strangers, then.
MOSS: What, Fendelman and that lot up at the priory?
DOCTOR: Yes, Fendelman. Tell me about him.
MOSS: Well, he's foreign, isn't he? Calls hisself a scientist. They do say he's one of the richest men in the world. You wouldn't think so to look at him, scruffy devil. They say he made his money out of electronics, but that don't seem likely 'cos he ain't Japanese.
DOCTOR: Japanese?
MOSS: No. His people dig up bodies.
DOCTOR: They do? Splendid.
LEELA: Grave robbers.
DOCTOR: Or archaeologists. Where is this priory?
MOSS: Yon side of village.
DOCTOR: And it's haunted, of course.
MOSS: Oh, aye, but it's the wood more than the-
DOCTOR: Ssh. Don't you worry. What's your name?
MOSS: Ted Moss.
DOCTOR: Ted Moss? Hmm. Don't you worry, Mister Moss. We won't tell a soul, living or dead. Come on, Leela.
(They leave MOSS to eat his jelly baby.)

[INT. Kitchen]

(A uniformed security guard, MITCHELL, speaks to an older woman, MARTHA, in the kitchen. He has a rifle over his shoulder.)
MITCHELL: Just relax and stay there. We'll get it sorted out.
MARTHA: Don't 'ee tell me what to do in me own kitchen!
MITCHELL: This isn't your kitchen, Grandma.
MARTHA: I b'ain't your grandma. (pointing) Don't 'ee 'Grandma' me.
(COLBY and THEA enter.)
COLBY: Hey, what's going on here? Who are you?
MARTHA: This fellow's trying to stop me comin' in the house.
MITCHELL: My name is Mitchell. I'm the security team leader. And no-one is allowed in or out without clearance. This loony old trout seems to think she's an exception.
MARTHA: Loony old trout?
(She swipes at him with her handbag.)
COLBY: Oh, gently, Mrs T., gently. Remember your varicose veins.
MITCHELL: (wagging his finger) I've had it with you now, you old stoat. Any more trouble and I'll have you outside and set the dog on you.
COLBY: Hey, now, just a minute.
THEA: You can't talk to her like that.
MARTHA: Oh, don't 'ee mind him, my lovelies. Sooner or later, he'll be sorry. Later or sooner, he'll regret. Well, I'll be going now, Professor. You can tell Doctor Fendelman I'll come back when the others is gone. I don't hold with the likes of 'ee. There isn't a dog born that 'as 'd attack me, boy. They got more sense than most people.
(She firmly deposits her wicker basket in MITCHELL's arms and leaves.)
MITCHELL: Now I can see why they burnt witches.
COLBY: Cheaper than oil. I don't know who you are, friend, but I hope you can cook.
MITCHELL: I told you who I am.
COLBY: You meant all that stuff about restrictions?
MITCHELL: Of course.
THEA: You said no-one could come in or out without authorisation.
MITCHELL: No.
THEA: Does that apply to us?
MITCHELL: Yes, Miss Ransome.
THEA: Oh, that's ridiculous.
COLBY: Authorisation from whom?
MITCHELL: I think you'd better have a word with Doctor Fendelman.
COLBY: Stay here, Thea. I'll go.

[INT. Fendelman's lab]

(COLBY rushes through the corridors. Reaching the lab, he knocks and walks in.)
COLBY: Doctor Fendelman?
(There is just the ticking of a clock. COLBY walks around in a daze, examining the room for what must be the first time.)
COLBY: (whispering to himself) What on Earth's he playing at?
(FENDELMAN enters, stopping near the door.)
FENDELMAN: You are impressed?
COLBY: Oh, I don't know. I always say if you've seen one jukebox, you've seen 'em all. This is archaeology?
FENDELMAN: Oh, this is the ultimate archaeology, Adam. It was data from here which led me to the excavation sites in Kenya. And when we had excavated the skull and assembled it and Thea had dated it, then the real work of this machine could begin.
COLBY: And that is?
FENDELMAN: About ten years ago, when I was working on a missile guidance system, I noticed a sort of vibration, a sort of sonic shadow.

[EXT. Outside Fetch Priory]

(From outside the wrought iron gates of the estate, we see a GUARD and Doberman Pinscher on patrol. In the bushes outside the gate are LEELA and the DOCTOR.)
DOCTOR: What is it?
LEELA: (pointing) There's a guard. I shall kill him.
DOCTOR: No.
LEELA: Why not?
DOCTOR: You'll upset the dog. (grabbing her arm) Listen, Leela, you simply must stop attacking people.
LEELA: Why?
DOCTOR: Because you'll get us into trouble.
LEELA: Do not worry, Doctor. I shall protect you.
DOCTOR: What? You'll protect me? (she nods) Come on. We'll circle round the back. Come on!

[INT. Laboratory]

COLBY: Crazy as a bedbug. He actually believes that he can see into the past with that electronic fruit machine he's got down there.
THEA: Did he demonstrate it for you?
COLBY: Did he demonstrate it? Of course he didn't demonstrate it. How could he? I mean, the whole thing's a load of old rubbish. He thinks because he can pervert the laws of the land, he can do the same for the laws of physics.
THEA: Well, it's a bit late to be self-righteous about perverting the laws of the land, isn't it?
COLBY: What? Yes. Yes, I suppose it is.
THEA: Did he, erm, did he give any reason for not demonstrating it?
COLBY: Apparently, it only works after dark.
THEA: Hmm. Minimising solar disruption, perhaps.
COLBY: What?
THEA: Well, Fendelman's no fool when it comes to electronics. He was one of the authentic geniuses in the field until he developed this interest in the origins of man.
COLBY: You mean until he flipped his lid. Oh, come on. We'll go and get the supper.

[EXT. Woodlands]

(Darkness is falling once more. The owl is hooting. Our time travellers are behind some trees.)
DOCTOR: The house must be that way. Now come on.

[EXT. Priory grounds]

(Inside the priory, THEA makes her way quietly down the corridor and knocks on the lab door herself. No-one responds, so she steps into the darkened room and flips on the lights. She goes to Fendelman's usual spot and turns the main knob below the monitor, bringing the machine to life. We hear the telltale hum begin to build and see the skull in her lab start glowing.
In the trees, there is rustling.)
DOCTOR: All right, now whatever you do, stay close to me, you understand? Leela?
(He looks about. We see a GUARD walk just past him. The DOCTOR re-emerges from his hiding place.)
DOCTOR: Leela! She's done it again.
(THEA is holding her arm straight out and rotating the knob further. The humming builds.
Outside, LEELA creeps along beside a cottage with its lights on. She comes to a door.
We again see the skull superimposed over THEA's face.
The DOCTOR stands frozen in place outside as something approaches him.
When LEELA opens the door to the cottage, someone fires a double-barrelled shotgun, as the something builds to a crescendo.)

The above notes, transcription, etc. by Anna Shefl

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