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DOCTOR WHO
THE CREATURE FROM THE PIT

Written by
David Fisher


Part One

[EXT. Jungle, hole above the Pit]

(At night, several people in dark clothes convene at a square hole in the ground that is lined with planks and has a rope winch. Some of the people carry torches. Two men have a man by the arms. Viewed from the Pit, two women in turbans raise their arms, hands splayed beside their cheeks. This is the signal for a man to blow into a huge, curved horn. This, in turn, prompts the prisoner to fall to his knees, clasp his hands before his face, and sob and whimper.
The two women look down into the hole. We hear rustling and growling, and the younger woman, hands still raised, nods. The prisoner is pushed into the pit.
We cut to the TARDIS moving through space.)

[INT. TARDIS]

(We hear K9 reading from Peter Rabbit as ROMANA drags a cart of electronic bits, a big ball of string, and various odds and ends into the console room. The DOCTOR is lying on the floor, holding up the book in front of K9.)
K9: Peter gave himself up for lost and shed big tears, but his sobs were overheard by some friendly sparrows, who flew to him in great excitement and implored him to exert himself.
ROMANA: Doctor, I've been cleaning out Number 4 hold. You've got the most awful lot of junk in there.
DOCTOR: (holding up a hand) Tut, tut, tut. Something terribly exciting's about to happen.
ROMANA: Oh, really? What?
DOCTOR: Mister McGregor.
ROMANA: Who?
DOCTOR: Mister McGregor. He's chasing Peter Rabbit. He's got a sieve. He's going to pop it on top of Peter!
ROMANA: Don't worry. He'll wriggle out, lose his jacket, and hop into a watering can. (She returns to inspecting the contents of the cart.)
DOCTOR: Achoo.
K9: Bless you.
DOCTOR: Junk? Did you say 'junk? I don't carry junk.
ROMANA: (standing) What do you call this lot, then?
DOCTOR: That's extremely valuable equipment.
ROMANA: An old ball of string?
DOCTOR: Give that to me. Come on, give it to me.
ROMANA: (reading a label on the string) To the Doctor. A souvenir with love and thanks for all his help with the Minotaur. Theseus and Ariadne.
DOCTOR: (as she throws the yarn to him) Yes. If I hadn't produced that ball of string to find a way out of the labyrinth, they were going to unravel my scarf, the wretches.
ROMANA: All right, but what can you possibly do with the old jawbone of an ass?
DOCTOR: Don't be a Philistine.
ROMANA: What?
DOCTOR: That jawbone's been about a bit, you know. (He places it in one of his coat pockets.)
ROMANA: All right, so what's this then? (She holds up a silver hemispherical item.)
DOCTOR: Well, that's just a bit of old junk.
K9: A Mark Three emergency transceiver, Mistress.
ROMANA: You mean it's part of the TARDIS?
K9: Correct, Mistress.
ROMANA: Then why isn't it plugged in, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Because it doesn't work.
K9: Incorrect, Master. The transceiver is fully operative.
DOCTOR: Yes, but it's an awful nuisance.
ROMANA: You mean you kept getting calls from Gallifrey all the time. Would you do this, would you do that?
DOCTOR: Yes, yes. Such a bore.
ROMANA: That's what it's for.
DOCTOR: What, to bore?
ROMANA: No, to receive and send distress signals.
DOCTOR: I was never in distress.
ROMANA: What?
DOCTOR: Well, not often. I mean, not what you'd call often. Go on, plug it in.
(ROMANA places the hemisphere in its socket in the console. The lamp on top lights up, and the sphere makes a sound like rustling aluminium foil. The TARDIS lurches violently sideways as the noise increases in volume.)
DOCTOR: Whoa!
(The coat stand falls onto the DOCTOR as he falls out of the frame.)
DOCTOR: Switch it off! Switch it off!
(ROMANA rises to her feet and removes the hemisphere from the console. The TARDIS rights itself from our perspective.)
DOCTOR: That's better. I told you that thing never worked properly.
K9: Inaccurate, Master. The transceiver has never been used properly before.
DOCTOR: Well, there's a fault in it then, isn't there? That was no distress call. Was it? Was it?
K9: Insufficient data, Master, but there is no fault in the equipment.
DOCTOR: Well, I'm delighted to hear it.
K9: But your last statement-
DOCTOR: But sssh. We've landed. I wonder where we are. Anyone know?
(He operates the scanner, which shows tropical-style flora and, near the TARDIS, a calcified greenish geodesic structure.)
ROMANA: What is it?
DOCTOR: No idea. Let's find out, shall we? (as ROMANA removes her frilly jacket, which she wears over a white gown) Not you, K9. You stay here. By the way, how did you know about Peter Rabbit?
ROMANA: (as the two exit the TARDIS) Oh, Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, Mrs Tiggywinkle, Jemima Puddleduck...

[EXT. The forest, outside the TARDIS]

DOCTOR: That's odd.
ROMANA: It's so green.
DOCTOR: It's very odd.
ROMANA: What's odd?
DOCTOR: This is. (He examines a broken stone-like wall about a palm's width thick.)
ROMANA: What is that thing?
(He taps the surface with a spoon as the camera rotates to bring it further into view.)
DOCTOR: It's an egg.
ROMANA: An egg?
DOCTOR: Yes. Well, part of a shell, anyway. Can't see the rest of it.
ROMANA: It's huge.
DOCTOR: Yeah.
ROMANA: What kind of bird laid that?
DOCTOR: If it was a bird.
ROMANA: What do you think it was, then?
DOCTOR: Semi-metallic.
ROMANA: Metallic? You mean metal birds laying metal eggs?
(The DOCTOR reaches out to touch the surface. He pulls his hand away as if stung or shocked.)
ROMANA: What is it?
DOCTOR: (quietly) It's alive.
ROMANA: What?
DOCTOR: The shell. (Still quietly.)
ROMANA: Oh, don't be ridiculous.
DOCTOR: Listen. Can't you hear?
ROMANA: What is it?
DOCTOR: It's the same noise we heard in the TARDIS. There must be a transmitter here.
ROMANA: In an eggshell?
DOCTOR: Well, somewhere, somewhere. It stands to reason.
ROMANA: Stands to reason. (She walks past, to the vegetation-covered inside part of the shell.)
DOCTOR: Yes. Stands to reason. Stupid expression 'stands to reason'.
(The DOCTOR, still on the outside of the geodesic structure, produces his stethoscope and holds it to the shell.)
DOCTOR: Why doesn't it lie down to reason? Much easier to reason lying down. Relaxes the cerebellum.
(He is done with the stethoscope piece. We hear a noise, and he glances toward some barrel cacti / tumbleweeds not far away. He sits on the ground and contemplates the egg. A cactus rolls forward toward him slightly.)
DOCTOR: Yes! It's definitely the shell that's the transmitter. I wonder what it's transmitting and to whom. Well, I suppose to whatever laid it. Hmm, that's not a very pleasant thought, is it, Doctor?
(The cacti move a little closer to him. He is still looking more at the shell.)
DOCTOR: Curious material - almost looks as if it... Almost looks as if it were woven.
(The DOCTOR turns, and several cacti rustle toward him. He looks back toward the shell for a moment, there is another flicker of movement, and he casts his gaze toward the cacti. But he turns away again, a little further this time, and when he looks toward the noise, the cacti don't stop moving. Soon they are on top of him and he is on the ground.)
DOCTOR: Ow! That's sharp. Romana. Romana! Romana, would you come here a moment, please? (as a shadow falls over him) Oh, hello.
(The camera rises along the silhouette of a man holding a large pointy weapon.)
DOCTOR: Have you seen my assistant, Romana? Romana! Obviously not. All right, I won't bother you then.
(Another person has arrived, standing next to the DOCTOR as the cacti rustle about on top of him.)
DOCTOR: Can you get these things off me?
(A bearded man in something similar to chain mail cracks a whip. The cacti roll away.)
DOCTOR: (standing as the whip is cracked again) Did you get those things off me?
HUNTSMAN: Yes.
DOCTOR: Thank you very much.
HUNTSMAN: Kill him.
DOCTOR: What? And just as we're all getting on so well?
HUNTSMAN: Kill him.
DOCTOR: Look, I don't want to stand on protocol or anything like that, but couldn't you at least do the done thing and take me to your leader?
(The first man to enter the scene is ready to do as the Huntsman has instructed. The older, shorter woman seen beside the Pit speaks from the sidelines.)
KARELA: Wait.
(The swordsman redirects his blow mid-swing.)
DOCTOR: Wait! (KARELA approaches at a measured pace) Are you in charge here?
KARELA: I am.
DOCTOR: Thank you very much. You saved my life, and I am a doctor. (he removes the stethoscope from his ears) What are those things?
KARELA: Wolfweeds.
DOCTOR: Weeds? What, plant weeds?
KARELA: Of course. Specially grown in the lady Adrasta's nurseries.
DOCTOR: Good lord. If I were you, I'd introduce her to geraniums before it's too late.
KARELA: What are you doing in the Place of Death?
DOCTOR: Oh, just pottering around. I have this insatiable curiosity, you see. Why do you call it the Place of Death?
KARELA: Because anyone found here is automatically condemned to death.
DOCTOR: Ah. Is that so? You know, I've always been fascinated by place names, and I trust you'll make an exception in my case.
KARELA: Your commander says this is yours.
(She looks toward the TARDIS.)
DOCTOR: My commander?
(KARELA points to ROMANA, who gives a half-shrug.)
DOCTOR: Oh, that commander. Hello, Commander.
KARELA: What is it?
DOCTOR: It's tricky to explain.
KARELA: What does it do?
DOCTOR: Oh, it travels. We travel in it. Look, I'll show you. You'll like it. Come along, Romana. (He holds out his hand and she approaches to take it.)
KARELA: Secure him. (the others pull him back) Travels? How? It has no wheels.
(The DOCTOR is placed in a set of stocks.)
KARELA: I hope you're not lying, Doctor. The lady Adrasta will want to question you.
DOCTOR: There was no need to go to all this trouble. All she had to do was make an appointment.
HUNTSMAN: Madam, the wolfweeds sense danger.
KARELA: We move out. Bring the woman.
(KARELA is carried away on her litter. ROMANA and the DOCTOR are next to leave, with the HUNTSMAN following and the wolfweeds rolling along. Someone is watching the party depart.)

[EXT. Jungle]

DOCTOR: What do you think is going on?
ROMANA: I don't know. At least we're still alive.
DOCTOR: You realise, of course, we're being followed.
ROMANA: What?
HUNTSMAN: No talking!
DOCTOR: Hmm? Nice place you've got here, old chap. Very green.
HUNTSMAN: Silence!
DOCTOR: Yes. Sorry.
(Unkempt bearded MEN watching from the underbrush jump onto the group with a shout. The DOCTOR swings his stocks into a couple of them. ROMANA is captured in the ambush, with the GUARDS in masks unable to do much about this. The attackers retreat, with ROMANA.)
DOCTOR: Romana? Romana? Where's Romana?
HUNTSMAN: Captured. Shall we go after the girl, madam? The wolfweeds can follow the tracks.
KARELA: And lead us into another ambush? No, Huntsman.
DOCTOR: Who were they?
KARELA: Bandits. These hills are full of them. No traveller's safe. Unless you want to get your throat cut, you'd better keep up with us.
DOCTOR: Well, what about Romana?
KARELA: Oh, pray that they kill her quickly. Come on. (She takes her seat again, and the group continue the journey.)

[INT. Bandit base]

(The ambushers' base is a wood-framed building containing a table strewn with metal objects, everything from an old chain to drinking vessels.
A man in scraps of furs who has long grey hair and a beard blows on a bit of metal as he holds it up, then polishes it on his sleeve.)

TORVIN: Oh, look at that. Pure bronze. Beautiful, beautiful.
(He picks up a vase and inspects it.)
TORVIN: Oh, lovely. Exquisite. Such shape, such form, such delightfully iron metal content.
(Others hasten in, with ROMANA.)
TORVIN: Got anything promising for us? What have you brought old Torvin?
EDU: Her.
TORVIN: Her? What use is she? I mean, she's not metal, is she?
EDU: She's one of Lady Adrasta's ladies in waiting. (wrestling off an impatient TORVIN) She has to be. Look at her clothes.
(TORVIN grabs a sword stolen from the procession and places it on the table for inspection.)
TORVIN: What do her clothes matter to me? Cloth is easy enough to come by. Any metal on her?
EDU: No.
TORVIN: Oh, kill her, then. We've got enough mouths to feed.
EDU: Maybe we could ransom her?
TORVIN: Ransom? Use your brains. If she's one of Adrasta's ladies in waiting, Adrasta will hunt us down. Kill her.
EDU: She could be valuable.
TORVIN: Valuable? (looks at ROMANA) Ah no, she's not valuable. Yeah, unless she's got a metal leg or something. (she swats him away slightly, and he walks around her, making his inspection) Kill her.
AINU: I say we don't kill her unless we vote on it.
EDU: He's right. You're not leader.
TORVIN: No, no, dear boy. Well, well, of course, you must vote. So, vote. Yeah, well, I'm all for democracy.

[EXT. Palatial entrance hall]

(KARELA walks through a solid metal door into a well-appointed building with arched windows. The DOCTOR and the others follow.)
KARELA: Wait there.
(She enters the next room, and GUARDS at the internal doorway prevent the DOCTOR from following.)
DOCTOR: (turning back to his personal GUARDS) Do you mind? I've got a terrible itch. Itchy nose. (a GUARD reaches up and scratches his own nose) No, no, no, no, no. My nose, not your nose. Come on, come over here. Come on. Put your finger up like that. Now, you scratch my nose. Ooo, other side. That is so good. Achoo!
(He lurches forward with the 'sneeze', knocking out the two GUARDS with the stocks.)
DOCTOR: Sorry about that, fellows.
(He unlocks the main door, preparing to leave the building.)
ADRASTA: Doctor!
DOCTOR: Ah.
(He turns toward the internal room, and the younger woman from beside the Pit earlier walks toward him, with KARELA on her heels.)
DOCTOR: You know how it is when you get an itch.
ADRASTA: Perhaps I can be of help. (She reaches toward him with deadly-looking fingernails.)
DOCTOR: No, no, no, thank you. There's no itch anymore.
ADRASTA: Do let me take that thing off. (she takes the locking pin from the stocks, and the DOCTOR removes them) I so like my guests to feel comfortable.
DOCTOR: Yes, it was a bit incommodious.
ADRASTA: It doesn't seem to have incommoded you too much, Doctor.
DOCTOR: (referring to the guard on the floor, on whom the stocks fell) I suppose you could say the yoke's on him, if you were the sort of person who said that sort of thing, which, fortunately, I'm not. You must be the lady Adrasta.
ADRASTA: And you're the fellow who was found in the Place of Death.
DOCTOR: Yes! Do you know, I'll tell you something fascinating about that-
ADRASTA: Anyone found there is put to death.
DOCTOR: Oh, you knew. Well, don't you think you could at least put up a notice?
ADRASTA: Tell me, what did you make of the object? Some of the finest brains on Chloris have devoted years to trying to unravel the problem.
DOCTOR: Do you mean the egg?
ADRASTA: Egg?
DOCTOR: Yes.
ADRASTA: Are you sure?
DOCTOR: Well...
ADRASTA: Have you seen anything like it before?
DOCTOR: No, but I'm full of theories about it.
(ADRASTA leads him into the other room, a modest throne room.)

[INT. Throne room]

ADRASTA: What kind of creature laid it?
DOCTOR: Lady Adrasta, I'd like to talk to you about these things, but at the moment I'm much more concerned about Romana.
ADRASTA: Ah yes, Madam Karela (now present) told me. Your commander.
DOCTOR: No, no, she's not my commander. She's my companion.
ADRASTA: Of course. I couldn't see a man of your obvious talents in a subordinate position.
DOCTOR: You couldn't see a man of my obvious talents in a sub-. Oh, no, of course. You're very kind.
ADRASTA: Yes, aren't I? And I'll send a troop of guards to find her. (to KARELA) See to it.
KARELA: Immediately, my Lady. (She leaves.)
ADRASTA: Don't worry, Doctor. My wolfweeds will hunt down those animals that took Romana.
DOCTOR: Hmm, I wonder what they'll do to her?
ADRASTA: The wolfweeds?
DOCTOR: No, the bandits.
ADRASTA: Kill her quickly, if she's lucky.
DOCTOR: And if she's not?
ADRASTA: Slowly.

[INT. Bandit base]

(The ragtag BANDITS finish tying ROMANA to a wooden pillar.)
TORVIN: Ready, boys?
(The BANDITS stand at the table, holding their hands over two bowls.)
TORVIN: One, two.
(Each drops a bit of brass into one of the two bowls. The vote has a single dissenter.)
TORVIN: (cackling) Everybody voted? We're all agreed, then. Good, my lovely boys, good. Kill her.
EDU: Now what will killing her achieve?
ROMANA: Go ahead.
TORVIN: What did you say?
ROMANA: I said go ahead and kill me. Commit suicide. Listen to that hirsute moron.
TORVIN: Here, who are you calling hair suit?
ROMANA: You. Do you want to make something of it?
TORVIN: No, I just want to know what it means.
ROMANA: It means hairy.
EDU: What do you mean, my Lady?
ROMANA: I should have thought that was obvious. Hairy, covered with hair.
EDU: No! What do you mean when you said we were committing suicide.
ROMANA: Well, if this Lady Adrasta, whoever she might be, is going to hunt you down for kidnapping me, what do you think she'll do if she finds out you've killed me?
EDU: She's right.
AINU: What do you mean 'whoever' Lady Adrasta might be? You're her lady in waiting, aren't you?
ROMANA: No.
AINU: Then who are you, milady?
ROMANA: That's the first intelligent question you've asked. I'm a traveller. I'm a Time Lord. And I am not used to being assaulted by a collection of hairy, grubby little men.
TORVIN: Well, she's no call to get personal.
ROMANA: I don't intend to get used to it, either. Sit down.
TORVIN: Kill her!
ROMANA: Untie me.
TORVIN: (who has fetched a stone axe) Here, don't listen to her. She's only trying to trick you.
(AINU unties ROMANA.)
ROMANA: Sit. Sit.
(The BANDITS, apart from TORVIN, obey. He too succumbs to her glare in the end.)
ROMANA: That's better. Now, let's talk this over sensibly.
(ROMANA pulls K9's whistle from the front of her high waistline and puts it to her mouth.)
TORVIN: (grabbing the whistle) Here, what's this?
ROMANA: See for yourself.
TORVIN: Here, do you know what this is?
AINU: Yeah, it's a piece of metal.
TORVIN: Yeah, I know what it is, but what is it?
ROMANA: You blow through it.
(TORVIN passes it to AINU, who holds it up and gives a light puff through the ring at the end. He passes it to EDU, who blows across the end of it. It's TORVIN's turn - he blows it as one familiar with such a thing might expect.)
TORVIN: What is it?
ROMANA: It's a whistle.
TORVIN: A whistle?
ROMANA: Go on. Try blowing harder.
TORVIN: Oh. (He blows again.)

[INT. TARDIS]

K9: (raising his head) Coming, Mistress. (the TARDIS door opens and K9 begins to exit) Coming!

[INT. Throne room]

(ADRASTA sits on the throne, with a LADY IN WAITING standing next to her, arms folded. The DOCTOR is behind the throne, considering a pentagonal ornament on the wall under an archway.)
ADRASTA: Doctor, you said you had some theories about this eggshell?
DOCTOR: Yes. What is this thing?
ADRASTA: Later, Doctor. About the eggshell.
DOCTOR: Extraordinary texture. How long has it been there?
ADRASTA: We discovered it about 15 years ago. The shell, Doctor.
DOCTOR: The shell?
ADRASTA: Yes. (standing) My huntsman heard you say that the shell was alive.
DOCTOR: Alive and screaming in pain.
ADRASTA: The shell? Then why can no-one hear it?
DOCTOR: Because it can only be detected on very low-frequency wavelengths.
ADRASTA: What's the shell screaming about?
DOCTOR: Ah. More to the point, for whom is it screaming? Its mummy? By the Pyramids, imagine the size of its mummy.
(ADRASTA snaps her fingers. Two MEN wearing black, hoods up, emerge from behind a curtain.)
ADRASTA: You heard?
TOLLUND: Yes, my Lady.
DOCTOR: Who are these, the undertakers?
ADRASTA: Engineers. Doran and Tollund.
DOCTOR: Ah, how do you do? (He holds out his hand, but the two men keep theirs clasped at their waists.)
TOLLUND: Our task is to discover the function of the object that you mistakenly called an eggshell.
DOCTOR: Why, what would you call it?
TOLLUND: Well, Engineer Doran, in his latest paper on the subject, has proved conclusively that it is part of an ancient building, perhaps a temple.
DOCTOR: A temple? Ha!
ADRASTA: You're not convinced, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Convinced? Pooh.
ADRASTA: You still think it's a shell.
DOCTOR: Well, of course it is, of a sort.
TOLLUND: Well, I myself have calculated that a bird large enough to lay that egg would have to have a wingspan of at least a mile.
DOCTOR: Yes?
TOLLUND: Well, do you know many birds that large?
DOCTOR: No, but it isn't only birds that lay eggs, is it? Fishes do.
TOLLUND: Big fish.
DOCTOR: Oooh, very big ones. Or a big reptile.
TOLLUND: Mmm, yes.
DOCTOR: Perhaps (interested, one of the men says 'Mmm?') a gigantic frog.
DORAN: Really, Doctor. How do you account for the marks of intense heat on the exterior of the shell?
DOCTOR: Aaah. Someone tried to fry the egg?
DORAN: (finally moving) My Lady, this man is being facetious.
DOCTOR: He's quite right.
ADRASTA: Doran, I saw no mention in your paper that the shell was alive.
DORAN: It can't be, my Lady. It's impossible. We detected nothing.
ADRASTA: But this man did.
DORAN: He's mistaken.
DOCTOR: Well, to be fair, I did have a couple of gadgets which he probably didn't, like a teaspoon and an open mind.
ADRASTA: You have failed me, Engineer Doran. (She snaps her fingers.)
(The LADY IN WAITING rings a bell. DORAN falls to his knees, clasping his hands as a way of begging for mercy.)
ADRASTA: Take him.
(Two GUARDS, in the black and purple beloved of Adrasta, drag him off.)
DORAN: My Lady, I beg you. No, please, no!
DOCTOR: Where are they taking him?
(TOLLUND pulls his hood over his face with both hands.)
ADRASTA: Come and see. (TOLLUND runs back behind the curtain.)
ADRASTA: Perhaps you will find it instructive.
DOCTOR: Yes, perhaps I will, and interesting too, I hope.
ADRASTA: Doctor, you know more about the shell than you're prepared to say. Perhaps a little demonstration will make you more co-operative. Bring him. (She sweeps out of the room.)
DOCTOR: (as a GUARD gestures for him to leave first) Oh, how nice to meet a well-mannered guard.

[INT. Bandit base]

ROMANA: I'm afraid I really must be frank with you. As bandits go, you're a pretty duff bunch.
TORVIN: Oh, you hear that, boys? We impressed the lady.
ROMANA: I'm afraid not. Well, I really must be going.
TORVIN: Going? What makes you think that you can get out of here alive? (They are all still sitting.)
ROMANA: (gesturing to the door as K9 enters) My friend.
TORVIN: What's that? (The men stand and cower.)
ROMANA: It's a dog.
EDU: It's made of metal.
TORVIN: Metal. Must be worth a fortune. (They creep forward slightly toward K9, interested.)
ROMANA: K9, have you located the Doctor yet?
K9: Yes, Mistress. (The BANDITS shout and recoil again.)
ROMANA: Good. Well, I really must be on my way. I do hope we don't meet again. I can't honestly say it's been a pleasure. Good day. (She turns to leave.)
TORVIN: Leave your dog behind.
ROMANA: Certainly not.
TORVIN: Then you don't leave. (He raises the axe.)
ROMANA: K9.
(TORVIN is caught in K9's red stun beam and falls.)
ROMANA: It's all right. He's not dead, only stunned. He'll come to in a minute, with a very sore head. But then I expect you're used to that. K9.
(K9 and ROMANA leave as the BANDITS tend to him.)

[EXT. Above the Pit]

(The GUARDS take up positions around the hole. Beside the DOCTOR, ADRASTA splays her hands beside her cheeks, as earlier.)
DOCTOR: What's this?
ADRASTA: We call it the Pit.
DOCTOR: Ah. You have such a way with words.
(ADRASTA nods, and the MAN with the horn blows it, as earlier.)
DORAN: No, no, please. I beg you, please!
DOCTOR: Look, I don't know what you intend to do with Engineer Doran-.
ADRASTA: Really?
DOCTOR: Well, I suggest you think again. After all, he may be a bit of an idiot, but at least he's a conscientious idiot, and even bad engineers are hard to come by on this side of the galaxy.
(We hear the horn again, and that rustling and growling.)
DOCTOR: What's that?
(DORAN is toppled into the Pit.)

[INT. Bottom of the Pit shaft]

(Below the dimly lit pit shaft, DORAN lands alongside bones. A green light shines onto him from within the Pit, and the sounds grow closer to him.)
DORAN: (cowering against a wall) No! No! No! No!

[EXT. Above the Pit]

ADRASTA: Now, Doctor, are you prepared to be co-operative?
ROMANA [OC]: Doctor!
DOCTOR: Romana, no!
ROMANA: It's all right. I've got K9.
ADRASTA: (looking down as the mechanical dog approaches) Seize her!
ROMANA: (after K9's probe extends, as a GUARD approaches) K9.
(K9 stuns the sword-wielding GUARD, who falls into the Pit with a cry.)
ADRASTA: Attack! Attack!
(The HUNTSMAN cracks his whip, and the wolfweeds approach K9, whose beam causes one of the aggressive plants to combust.)
ROMANA: Good boy, K9!
(K9 is soon covered by wolfweeds.)
ROMANA: (whispering from next to the pile) K9?
ADRASTA: He's dead.
ROMANA: (distressed) K9. K9.
ADRASTA: You must be Romana. Well, Doctor, now I have you both. Now you're bound to be co-operative.
(The DOCTOR approaches ROMANA and puts an arm on her shoulder. Then, using the other hand, he taps the side of his nose meaningfully. He returns to ADRASTA.)
ADRASTA: Well, Doctor?
(The DOCTOR's answer is to run for the Pit, grabbing the rope, which we see unwinding from the winch rapidly as the DOCTOR enters the Pit at speed.)


The above notes, transcription, etc. by Anna Shefl

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