SPEARHEAD
FROM SPACEBY
ROBERT
HOLMESEPISODE 4
1: INT. SCOBIE’S HOUSE
(MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE looks in shock through his open front door. Outside is himself, shiny-faced and expressionless but nevertheless a perfect facsimile of SCOBIE. It starts to enter the house and the real GENERAL backs off. The facsimile continues to walk towards its original...)
MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: No...no!
2: INT. UNIT HEADQUARTERS. LABORATORY
(At UNIT HQ, the sphere is still connected to the series of sensors, monitored by the DOCTOR and LIZ.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: What are you actually trying to do, Doctor?
(The DOCTOR points at the sphere.)
DOCTOR: Well, it appears that in there we have what one might loosely call a brain. (To LIZ.) Fifty megacycles, Liz.
(LIZ turns a dial on the machine that she is stood over.)
DOCTOR: If we can establish the frequency on which it operates...
(He is interrupted by a small flash which emanates from LIZ’S machine.)
DOCTOR: Oh, dear.
LIZ: We overloaded the circuit, I think.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Doctor, you were saying that this is some kind of brain.
DOCTOR: Yeah, or part of a brain. (Thoughtfully.) An intelligence...yes, that’s probably nearer the mark.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Sending signals somewhere. Where to?
DOCTOR: Well, the rest of itself, surely?
LIZ: The other globes that came down?
DOCTOR: (Nods.) Mmm hmm.
LIZ: They’re all part of one entity? Let’s say a collective intelligence.(The BRIGADIER stares nervously at the sphere.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Can it see us?
(The DOCTOR gives a short laugh.)
DOCTOR: My dear fellow, it’s not sentient.
LIZ: No, our measurements prove there’s no physical substance inside it.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: But, if it is has no physical form...
DOCTOR: (Interrupts.) No, once here it can presumably create a...suitable shell for itself. Otherwise, there’d be no point in coming.
LIZ: (Realising.) The plastics factory.
DOCTOR: Yes.(The desk tannoy buzzes and the BRIGADIER answers it.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: (Into tannoy.) Yes?
UNIT SOLDIER: (OOV: Over tannoy.) General Scobie calling, sir.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: (Into tannoy.) Put him on.(He picks up the phone.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: (To the DOCTOR.) As soon as I get his authority, we’ll move in.
3: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. MANAGING DIRECTOR’S OFFICE
(The replica SCOBIE is on the phone back in HIBBERT’S office...)
MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: (Into phone.) Stewart? About that Auto Plastic Factory. (He listens.) Yes, but it’s off limits, I’m afraid. They’ve got some important work on hand - it mustn’t be interfered with.
4: INT. UNIT HEADQUARTERS. LABORATORY
(The BRIGADIER is astounded...)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: (Into phone.) Sir, if you’ll just...
(There is a click on the line.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: (Angrily.) Oh, he’s hung up.
(He slams the phone down.)
LIZ: What are you going to do now?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: There’s not much I can do - except go over his head. Yes, I’ll get on to the Home Secretary and if I don’t get him to revoke that order, I’ll go to UNIT headquarters in Geneva.
DOCTOR: That’s gonna take time.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: The old fool! Just because he feels flattered they made a facsimile of him.(The DOCTOR looks up from his bench...)
DOCTOR: Facsimile? Of General Scobie?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: A plastic replica, yes. Apparently, they make these things for Madame Tussaud’s. It’s one of their sidelines.
DOCTOR: Oh my goodness...
5: INT. MADAME TUSSAUD’S. DISPLAY ROOM
DOCTOR: (OOV.) The waxworks...?
(The famous waxworks is coming to the end of its day. On one side of the room, in front of heavy blue velvet curtains is a display of American Presidents. Washington looks down on Kennedy and Nixon. Hoover and Johnson are nearby with others. Two tourists look through their guide and then at the display. Behind them stand the DOCTOR and LIZ.)
DOCTOR: Well, I think this is the right room.
(He walks away from the Presidential display and towards another.)
DOCTOR: Liz?
LIZ: What?
DOCTOR: Do you recognise any of these people?
LIZ: Yes, of course.(She looks towards a display which is a mixture of uniformed and civilian figures.)
LIZ: I think all that group are top civil servants. Hey, that’s odd.
DOCTOR: Mmm?
LIZ: They’re all Government types. There are no astronauts, famous personalities, you know - people like that.
DOCTOR: Yes...(He spots an elderly uniformed Museum ATTENDANT.)
DOCTOR: Oh, excuse me?
ATTENDANT: Yes, sir?(The ATTENDANT walks over.)
DOCTOR: I understand these figures aren’t made of wax, is that right?
ATTENDANT: Yes, that’s right, sir. These are plastic. It’s an entirely new process.
DOCTOR: Are they supplying any more or is the tableau complete now?
ATTENDANT: Oh, they’re coming in with them all the time, sir. Er, they brought that fellow in just this morning.(He points over to a still but very familiar figure.)
LIZ: General Scobie!
DOCTOR: Well that was quick. When did he visit the factory?
LIZ: Yesterday afternoon.(The DOCTOR and LIZ leave the ATTENDANT and walk up to the display. The DOCTOR goes round the back of the new arrival and starts to examine it closely.)
LIZ: What are you doing, Doctor?
(LIZ looks round and smiles nervously at the puzzled tourists. The DOCTOR carries on his examination, paying particular attention to the left arm. LIZ, embarrassed, speaks through gritted teeth.)
LIZ: Doctor, what are you doing?!
(The DOCTOR shushes her and looks at the watch on the model’s arm. He then rejoins a wide-eyed LIZ.)
DOCTOR: Liz, if you were making a model of someone, would you put a wristwatch on it.
LIZ: Well, I might do - if it had to look really authentic.
DOCTOR: Yes, would you go to the trouble of winding it up and keeping it at the correct time? I think you and I had better have a word with Lethbridge-Stewart.
6: INT. UNIT HEADQUARTERS. BRIGADIER’S OFFICE
(CAPTAIN MUNRO takes the DOCTOR’S call...)
CAPTAIN MUNRO: (Into phone.) I’m afraid not. He’s been out all day. Trying to see the Home Secretary, I gather.
7: INT. MADAME TUSSAUD’S. SIDE ROOM
(The DOCTOR and LIZ are on a public pay phone...)
DOCTOR: (Into phone.) Well, when he comes in, tell him that I’ll call again later, will you? Goodbye.
(He puts the phone down.)
LIZ: Now what will we do?
DOCTOR: Well, there’s only one thing we can do - wait.
LIZ: Wait for what?
DOCTOR: Closing time.
8: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE
(CHANNING is stood next to the tank-like machine, making adjustments. Through an observation window at the end of the machine, a creature can be seen inside. It has a large staring eye and many pink tendon-like strands which emanate outwards. HIBBERT stares at it.)
HIBBERT: What will it look like when it’s ready?
CHANNING: I cannot tell you - yet.
HIBBERT: But you must know what it looks like - you made it.
CHANNING: I made nothing. I merely provided an environment tank in which the energy units can create the perfect life form.
HIBBERT: I don’t understand.
CHANNING: (Quietly.) Of course you don’t. How can you?(He steps towards HIBBERT.)
HIBBERT: (Afraid.) You talk as though you were not...
CHANNING: (Interrupts.) Don’t struggle against me, Hibbert.(As he stares at him, HIBBERT’S hand moves to the back of his neck.)
CHANNING: Trust me. We must work together.
HIBBERT: Yes, of course.
CHANNING: Good. The swarm leader has to be brought here.
HIBBERT: But UNIT have taken it. How can we...?
CHANNING: (Interrupts.) You forget we have General Scobie.
HIBBERT: He’s just a copy, Channing. If he’s detected...
CHANNING: (Interrupts.) You have only seen the Autons. Crude weapons with a single offensive function.(He stares at HIBBERT.)
CHANNING: But the facsimiles like Scobie’s are perfect reproductions, even down to brain cells and memory traces. We shall activate them all tonight. You will see then how effective they are.
9: INT. UNIT HEADQUARTERS. LABORATORY
(The replica SCOBIE is in the UNIT lab with a regular Army officer. MUNRO, very uneasy in his manner, is escorting them. The replica SCOBIE, his face slightly shiny, looks down at the signalling globe.)
MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: Odd looking object.
CAPTAIN MUNRO: May I ask, sir, what you intend doing with it?
MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: The government are sending it to the Royal Geophysical Laboratory.(The army officer stands menacingly behind MUNRO.)
CAPTAIN MUNRO: With respect, sir, I think the Brigadier ought to be informed first. I have no authority to part with it.
MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: (Curtly.) You can tell Brigadier Stewart I ordered you to hand it over.
CAPTAIN MUNRO: My orders must come through UNIT, sir.
MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: Captain Munro, you may be attached to UNIT but you’re still in the army.(MUNRO hesitates.)
MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: Will you give me the globe? Or shall I take it...
(He smiles.)
MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: ...and arrest you for mutiny?
(MUNRO considers...)
CAPTAIN MUNRO: You leave me no alternative, sir.
(MUNRO closes the lid of a box that the globe has been placed in - a plastic box.)
10: INT. MADAME TUSSAUD’S. DISPLAY ROOM (NIGHT)
(The waxworks is closing for the day. The display room is empty apart from the ATTENDANT who stands at a board of light switches hidden behind the curtains which he flicks off one by one. The room is plunged into darkness. His task done, the ATTENDANT picks up his bell and leaves the room. A moment later, the curtain behind the waxwork of Ghandi parts and the DOCTOR emerges, torch in hand, followed by LIZ. The cross over to the nearby tableau of plastic figures. LIZ is nervous in the mannequin-filled hall.)
LIZ: I don’t like this.
DOCTOR: Well, there’s nothing to be afraid of. They’re only dummies...I think.(He slowly moves across the display.)
DOCTOR: It’s funny how their eyes seem to follow you, isn’t it?
LIZ: Very.(The DOCTOR moves off from her and stands still looking closely at one of the figures. LIZ sees that she cannot see him in the gloom.)
LIZ: Doctor?
(She moves next to him but he is so still that she cannot see him in the darkness.)
LIZ: Doctor? (Panicked.) Doctor?
(He moves...)
DOCTOR: Mmm?
(...and LIZ jumps out of her skin.)
LIZ: I thought I heard something.
DOCTOR: No, it’s only your imagination.
LIZ: A...are they plastic?
DOCTOR: Yes...yes, I’m sure they are.
LIZ: But when you talked about the watch, you meant that this is the real General Scobie?
DOCTOR: Yes, and his plastic facsimile is walking around somewhere. Now just...(LIZ hears footsteps outside the hall.)
LIZ: Someone’s coming.
DOCTOR: Quick! Back behind the curtain.(They rush over and regain their former hiding place. As soon as they do so, the door to the corridor opens and CHANNING and HIBBERT walk in. CHANNING looks round, a look of concern on his face.)
HIBBERT: What’s wrong?
CHANNING: There is an alien life form somewhere near. I can sense it.
HIBBERT: There’s only you and me here, and the facsimiles...and Scobie.(CHANNING relaxes.)
CHANNING: Scobie, yes. Open the door.
(He moves towards the display of civil servants. HIBBERT watches him go and then does as instructed. Behind the curtain, the DOCTOR and LIZ listen intently.)
HIBBERT: (OOV.) What do you have to do to activate them?
(On the other side of the curtain, CHANNING answers the question...)
CHANNING: Nothing. They know it is time.
(Suddenly, various figures in the display come to life. With smooth movements, their rigid stances relax and they walk off the podium and over to the door. The DOCTOR and LIZ listen to this movement as the Autons walk between CHANNING and HIBBERT and out of the door.)
HIBBERT: Where are they going?
CHANNING: To take their places. It is time for them to begin work.(CHANNING follows them out. HIBBERT hesitates a moment and then follows, closing the door behind him. Once again, the DOCTOR and LIZ come out of hiding and look at the display, now empty of all the non-historical figures bar SCOBIE. Suddenly they hear a scared voice behind them...)
HIBBERT: What are you doing here?!
(They spin round and see HIBBERT nervously looking at them.)
HIBBERT: You shouldn’t...
DOCTOR: Shh!(The DOCTOR walks over to him.)
HIBBERT: Channing will...
DOCTOR: Shh, shh, shh! If you tell Channing that we’re here, the Autons will kill us, as I think they killed your friend Ransom.(HIBBERT puts his hand to the back of his neck. He looks pained.)
HIBBERT: Ransom? I... had to dismiss him, because... Channing said...
(The DOCTOR interrupts, speaking intently to the confused and scared man...)
DOCTOR: Channing is controlling your mind. You must resist him. Channing is your enemy. The enemy of the entire human race!
HIBBERT: Channing is...is my partner. New policy...
DOCTOR: Now listen to me, Hibbert. You’ve got to get away from Channing. Get away and think. Now come to UNIT. I can help you.
CHANNING: (OOV: In corridor.) Hibbert!(The DOCTOR and LIZ jump back into a natural alcove in the curtains, out of sight. CHANNING enters the room and speaks to HIBBERT.)
CHANNING: What are you doing?
HIBBERT: I was just checking.
CHANNING: There is nothing to check. We are finished here.(He moves out. HIBBERT looks briefly at the DOCTOR and LIZ and then follows. They relax and breathe a sigh of relief.)
11: INT. UNIT HEADQUARTERS. BRIGADIER’S OFFICE (NIGHT)
(The DOCTOR and LIZ are back at UNIT HQ. The BRIGADIER has also returned from Geneva and the DOCTOR is urgently advising him of developments as CAPTAIN MUNRO looks on...)
DOCTOR: It’s the facsimiles, Brigadier. They’re moving. They’ve just left the waxworks.
LIZ: You’ve got to act quickly, Brigadier, or else it’ll be too late. By tomorrow...
DOCTOR: (Interrupts.) By tomorrow, they will have taken over the key positions in the entire country. You’ve got to move against that factory now!
12: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE (NIGHT)
(The replica SCOBIE has arrived back at the plastics factory. He holds the sphere in its plastic box to CHANNING.)
MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: If they move against you, I shall be ready for them.
CHANNING: Humans are not predictable. It is growing difficult to maintain control over Hibbert.
MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: Hibbert is no longer necessary.
CHANNING: No. We need no one now.(He reaches into the plastic box and takes out to glowing sphere. He then carries it over to one of the pieces of machinery in the room - a large tray-like holder, over which there is a square metal pipe leading off towards other machinery in the room. He places the sphere in the tray. Immediately, the creature in the tank starts to pulse with extra energy as CHANNING makes adjustments on the tray-like machine. The eye of the creature starts to twitch with life.)
CHANNING: At dawn, we will activate the Autons.
MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: Good.
CHANNING: Just a few more hours. Just a few more hours.
13: INT. UNIT HEADQUARTERS. LABORATORY (DAWN)
(LIZ and the DOCTOR are hard at work in the lab over a pile of wires which lead into a small portable machine. LIZ, tired after working through the night, holds two of the wires up. The DOCTOR seems un-fatigued by his labours. He has a few of the wires round his neck and a couple in his mouth as he makes adjustments to the machine. LIZ checks her watch.)
LIZ: It’s nearly half-past five. Can’t we take a break? I can hardly keep me eyes open.
DOCTOR: And a red...(He picks up a red wire...)
DOCTOR: Here it is.
(...and adds them to the collection in his hand.)
DOCTOR: Hold onto those for a moment, will you?
(LIZ takes them.)
LIZ: Just think: the rest of the world is fast asleep.
(She yawns.)
14: EXT. LONDON HIGH STREET
(Being so early in the morning, the high street is nearly deserted. The rattle of milk bottles in the float is the only sound that pervades the quiet at the start of the day. One or two cars are reflected in the glass of the shop windows as they pass by. Within the window itself, various display mannequins are adorned in the latest smart coats and fashions. Suddenly, one of the figures twitches into life. Others follow. They sway on their feet and slowly start to flex their limbs. One of them has its hand raised. The fingers fall away and reveal an Auton gun...)
15: EXT. LONDON SIDE STREET
(Nearby a policeman is talking to a night-watchman. The sound of breaking glass reaches them. The policeman runs from the watchman’s hut towards the sound.)
16: EXT. LONDON HIGH STREET
(The window dummies are stepping through the glass and into the street as cars and a bus pass. They all have their hand guns ready and primed. The policeman runs round the corner and sees the figures. His jaw drops but before he can react, an Auton fires at him and his stomach explodes in a cloud of red smoke. A nearby woman screams as the policeman falls. In another window, more dummies come to life. As they break out of their window, a passing cyclist looks up and is soon blasted off his bike. The Autons continue down the street and up behind a group of people standing patiently at a bus stop. They raise their hands and fire into the backs of the people. The ones at the front of the queue run in shock as those at the rear fall to the ground. Another woman screams and manages to duck out of the way before another shot hits the wall behind her. The Autons walk through the pile of corpses at the bus stop as people all down the high street start to run in terror, being blasted as they go...)
17: INT. UNIT HEADQUARTERS. LABORATORY
(Back at UNIT, the news of the attack and invasion reaches a horrified BRIGADIER in the lab.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: (Into phone.) Are you sure? (He listens.) Well, get on to the police man! (Listens.) Try the army! (Listens.) Well, keep trying!
(He slams the phone down. The DOCTOR, sat at the lab bench, watches him.)
DOCTOR: It’s started, hasn’t it?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Yes, all over the country. Window dummies coming alive, attacking police stations, barracks, communication centres.(LIZ bangs a nearby radio.)
LIZ: The radio is dead as well.
DOCTOR: Now look, you two, we haven’t got much time.(He turns back to his machine.)
LIZ: Well now the globe has gone, we can’t be sure if this is really going to work.
DOCTOR: Well, of course it’ll work.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: What will work?
DOCTOR: Well, I’m trying to devise a weapon that we can use against them. Well it’s not very efficient, I know, but it’s the best that I can do. And then you’ve got to take me to the security area of that factory.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Well, how can I? I can’t even contact my support platoons.
DOCTOR: Well, how many men can you raise?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Just my headquarters staff.
DOCTOR: Well then, that’ll have to do, won’t it?
18: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE
(HIBBERT, a metal bar in his hand, skirts the edge of the tank-like device. The DOCTOR’S words echo in his mind...)
DOCTOR: (OOV.) Channing is controlling your mind. You must resist him.
(HIBBERT tries to force the edge of the machine top with the metal bar.)
DOCTOR: (OOV.) Channing is your enemy...enemy...enemy...enemy...enemy...
(The DOCTOR’S words repeat in HIBBERT’S mind as he tries to control himself. Doing so, he starts to hit the machine with the bar. One of the electronic panels on the side explodes and an orange and green puss spurts out.)
CHANNING: Stop!
(CHANNING has entered the room. He stalks towards HIBBERT who runs round the other side of the machine.)
HIBBERT: No Channing! You can’t stop me now!
(HIBBERT deliberately stands with his back to CHANNING to prevent his hypnotic control taking a hold again. The Auton controller stands on the machine over the little man.)
CHANNING: You should not have left the factory, Hibbert.
(HIBBERT cautiously looks round and sees CHANNING looming over him. He spins back round before he loses his self-control again. He keeps his eyes tightly closed as he garbles away...)
HIBBERT: Channing! I could think when I’m away from you. I know what’s been happening. I know what I’ve done. You’ve been controlling my mind! The Doctor was right!
CHANNING: (Puzzled.) You’ve spoken to him?(HIBBERT turns and faces CHANNING.)
HIBBERT: Who are you? What are you?
CHANNING: We are the Nestenes.
HIBBERT: Nestenes?
CHANNING: We have been colonising other planets for a thousand million years. Now we have come to colonise Earth.
HIBBERT: (Nervously.) Colonise? Then, what is going to happen to man? You’ll destroy us.
CHANNING: You will be spared, Hibbert. You have helped us.
HIBBERT: I...helped you?
19: INT. UNIT HQ. GARAGE
(A convoy moves out of the doorway within the underground garage and past the commissionaire. It consists of a UNIT jeep and the DOCTOR’S “borrowed” car with himself and LIZ on board.)
20: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE
CHANNING: There is nothing you can do, Hibbert.
(HIBBERT moves round the tank and raises the metal bar. He fails to spot an Auton stood on the stairwell, gun-arm raised.)
HIBBERT: (Shouts.) If I destroy this, I destroy all of you!
(He brings the metal bar crashing down on the tank. CHANNING looks at the Auton who extends the gun out of its arm and fires at HIBBERT. The shot hits the little man in the back. He drops the bar, staggers against the tank and then falls back. CHANNING looks down at him dispassionately.)
CHANNING: Destroy. Total destruction!
(The Auton aims and fires again. The same imploded effect that vaporised Ransome has the same effect on HIBBERT.)
21: EXT. AUTO PLASTICS. BACK GATE
(The UNIT group stand at the back wooden door-gate to the factory. The DOCTOR has put a small fuse into the lock as the BRIGADIER, MUNRO and LIZ, carrying the DOCTOR’S machine, watch.)
DOCTOR: Will you stand well back, please?
(They do so and the DOCTOR lights the fuse. The flame shoots upwards quickly and the lock is blown out. The door shoots open and the DOCTOR gestures dramatically at the BRIGADIER and his small number of troops who rush through the gate. He and LIZ follow.)
22: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE
(An automated tannoy alarm comes through the communications unit in the factory centre. CHANNING goes over to listen to it.)
TANNOY VOICE: ...Section D. Attention! Attention! Intruders in Section D!
(CHANNING looks over the unit and its screen.)
23: EXT. AUTO PLASTICS. YARD
(The UNIT troops are on the metal staircase which leads up into the factory. Half way down, the BRIGADIER, LIZ and the DOCTOR watch their efforts to break in. LIZ looks behind them.)
LIZ: Someone sent out support troops after all.
(The DOCTOR, the BRIGADIER and MUNRO look round to see “SCOBIE” and a platoon of regular army troops in their green uniforms approaching. The troops are all armed.)
MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: Brigadier Stewart!
24: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE
(CHANNING watches the scene on his monitor...)
MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: (On monitor.) You and your men are under arrest!
25: EXT. AUTO PLASTICS. YARD
(The BRIGADIER shouts over “SCOBIE’S” head to his troops...)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: This isn’t General Scobie! Now, listen to me...
MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: Order your men to lay down their arms, Brigadier, or they will be made...
26: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE
MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: (On monitor.) ...to do so.
(Satisfied with events outside, CHANNING turns away from the communications unit.)
27: EXT. AUTO PLASTICS. YARD
DOCTOR: Perhaps I can settle this argument? I mean, as to whether this really is General Scobie.
(The DOCTOR is holding a small device in his hand which resembles a miniature radar dish. This is connected to a long lead of wire which the DOCTOR plugs into the machine that LIZ is carrying. He then walks down the stairs towards the waiting Auton replica, playing out the wire as he descends.)
DOCTOR: General Scobie. Would you be kind enough to say a few words into the microphone?
(The DOCTOR points the radar device at him.)
MAJOR GENERAL SCOBIE: What sort of foolery is this?
DOCTOR: Switch on, Liz!(LIZ presses a switch. The machine emits a high-pitched sound and “SCOBIE” falls to the ground with a cry of pain.)
CAPTAIN MUNRO: You’ve killed him!
DOCTOR: I don’t think so. You see, he was never really alive.(The DOCTOR kneels down and turns the body over. The face of “SCOBIE” has reverted back to the features of a standard Auton, unfinished and without hair.)
28: INT. MADAME TUSSAUD’S. DISPLAY ROOM
(The real SCOBIE comes to life on the stand in the waxworks, to gasps of consternation from those within. He rocks on his heels as he tries to gather his thoughts and make out where he is.)
29: EXT. AUTO PLASTICS. YARD
(The BRIGADIER is taking charge of the regular troops...)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: It may be difficult to grasp but that’s the situation we’ve got to deal with.
(LIZ looks at the DOCTOR who nods for her to slip away. She does so, still holding the machine, and he follows.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: You’ll place your men under my orders. Is that clear.
(As the DOCTOR and LIZ hurry away...)
LIZ: Doctor, where are we going?
DOCTOR: If we’re quick, my dear, we can save everybody a lot of trouble.(He gestures to her to proceed.)
30: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. MACHINE ROOM
(They enter the machine room and, at a sign from the DOCTOR, hide beneath a metal staircase. Seconds later, to its normal buzzing sound, an armed Auton walks along. As it passes the staircase, the DOCTOR aims the radar device...)
DOCTOR: Now!
(...and LIZ switches on again. The Auton collapses as the buzzing dies down.)
DOCTOR: Well, there we are, my dear Liz. Who said we got the wrong frequency?
31: EXT. AUTO PLASTICS. YARD
(In the yard, a group of Autons burst out of two double doors and into the open.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Take cover!
(The soldiers all jump into cover of protection behind packing cases, oil-drums and the stairwell.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Fire!
(A furious battle starts between the troops and the plastic soldiers. The bullets rip into the Autons but they advance with no discernable effect. The soldiers are stunned but continue firing. Then the lead Auton fires the first of its deadly bolts.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Fall back!
(The soldiers start to retreat but one is shot in the back as he runs and another in the stomach.)
32: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE
(The DOCTOR and LIZ have made it safely to the factory centre. The DOCTOR gestures to LIZ to stay hidden and she crouches down behind the machine they are walking past together with the machine. The DOCTOR moves on to where CHANNING is stood watching the creature behind the observation window. Sensing someone behind him, CHANNING slowly looks round but registers no surprise at his visitor.)
CHANNING: You’re too late.
DOCTOR: On this planet, there is a saying, that it is never too late.(The DOCTOR spots the creature inside the tank and walks round to look at it.)
DOCTOR: Good gracious! What on earth is this thing?
CHANNING: A lifeform perfectly adapted for survival and conquest on this planet.
DOCTOR: Is that what you look like on your own planet?
CHANNING: No, we have no individual identity.
DOCTOR: So this...(The DOCTOR gestures at the creature as he tries to find the right description.)
DOCTOR: ...“thing” is a sort of...collective brain, a nervous system?
CHANNING: Humanly speaking, yes.
DOCTOR: Oh, but I’m not human. So, if you live as a group, you can be destroyed as a group, surely?
CHANNING: You cannot destroy us.
DOCTOR: I destroyed your facsimile of Scobie...(CHANNING blanches at this news.)
DOCTOR: Therefore, I can destroy all of you.
CHANNING: No one has the power to destroy us, not even you. We are indestructible.
33: EXT. AUTO PLASTICS. YARD
(As if to prove his words, outside the Autons are advancing relentlessly on the soldiers. Bullet after bullet has no affect on the creatures whereas their shots are deadly accurate and only a quick dive for cover saves the BRIGADIER and his troops. One of the soldiers has taken refuge behind a large tank marked “DANGER” which is leaking badly. An Auton turns and fires at the tank which explodes in huge fireball.)
34: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE
(As the sounds of the battle reach them, the DOCTOR points his radar-like device at CHANNING.)
DOCTOR: So you see, Mr. Channing, with this device, I can eliminate you!
CHANNING: No one can destroy the Nestenes!(He turns and twists a dial on the tank machine and then runs off. The DOCTOR watches him go but he is more absorbed by the roaring cry of the creature within the tank which suddenly fills the room.)
DOCTOR: Oh no!
(He points his device at the tank.)
DOCTOR: Switch on, Liz!
(She does so but there is no result.)
DOCTOR: Liz, switch on!
LIZ: I have!(She presses and re-presses the switch.)
DOCTOR: It’s not working!
(He rushes over to the tank and frantically starts to manipulate the controls.)
DOCTOR: Liz, come on!
(Above him, a large tentacle emerges from smoke pouring from the top of the tank...)
DOCTOR: Liz, come on, quick! Well, what’s wrong with it?
(The tentacle reaches down towards his neck whilst LIZ desperately tries to find out what’s wrong with the machine.)
LIZ: Doctor, I’m trying!
(The tentacle wraps itself round the DOCTOR’S neck as LIZ continues to look over the machine. She looks round the corner and sees the DOCTOR’S struggles and watches in horror as more tentacles emerge and grab him round the leg and head. She rushes back to the machine. One tentacle cover the DOCTOR’S mouth, cutting off his cries. By now, a mass of tentacles have grabbed him. For a moment, his mouth is free and he makes a guttural cry before he is gagged again. LIZ looks over the machine again and sees that the only fault is that the lead to the DOCTOR’S device has come out. She plugs it back in.)
LIZ: Now!
(The DOCTOR’S device buzzes. For a moment, there is no effect but then suddenly, the control panels on the side of the tank start to explode. The creature within the tank seems to cry out in pain and then the eye behind the observation window also explodes, shattering the glass.)
35: EXT. AUTO PLASTICS. YARD
(At that same instant, the Autons in the yard fall to the ground beside the bodies of their victims. The soldiers look on in amazement at their deliverance.)
36: INT. AUTO PLASTICS. FACTORY CENTRE
(More explosions occur on the side of the tank as the tentacles of the creature thresh about. They then go limp and the DOCTOR is able to uncurl them from around his neck and arms. He gives a sigh.)
DOCTOR: You can switch off, I think now, Liz.
(LIZ looks round the corner of the machine and smiles in delight at a grinning DOCTOR. Her smile disappears when she sees a figure on the floor.)
LIZ: Channing...
(The controller’s features have also reverted to that of a standard Auton. Green puss has erupted from his mouth and covers his business suit.)
37: INT. UNIT HEADQUARTERS. LABORATORY
(Later, LIZ and the BRIGADIER drink mugs of tea as they and the DOCTOR look over the machine...)
LIZ: Basically, it’s the same as an ECT machine - Electric Convulsion Therapy.
DOCTOR: Only much more powerful, of course.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Well, it worked. Doctor?
DOCTOR: Mmm?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: These Nestenes - will they try again?
DOCTOR: Possibly. They’re telepathic, so they certainly know what happened.(Flicking a switch on a machine next to LIZ, he goes and looks over the TARDIS. The BRIGADIER follows.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: If they do decide to launch a second attack, I hope we can count on your help again?
DOCTOR: Yes, well, before we go into all that, Brigadier, I think we must discuss terms.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Terms?
DOCTOR: Yes, after all, you do want to take advantage of my services again, don’t you?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: I think you’ll find the salary is quite adequate.
DOCTOR: (Dismissive.) Money?(LIZ joins them.)
DOCTOR: My dear chap, I don’t want money. I’ve got no use for the stuff.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Then what do you want?
DOCTOR: Well, facilities to repair the TARDIS, laboratory, equipment, help from Miss Shaw here.(He grins at her.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Very well. Anything you need - within reason, of course. Is that all?
DOCTOR: My goodness, no. Don’t you realise that when I was stranded on this little planet of yours, I had nothing but these clothes that…oh, my goodness!(He stops and puts his hand to his head.)
LIZ: What is it, Doctor?
(He grabs his jacket.)
DOCTOR: Well, I’ve just realised - I don’t even own these. I’ve borrowed them from the hospital. (To the BRIGADIER.) And there’s that car, too. Yes, you know, I took to that car. It had character.
(He smiles.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: No, Doctor. That car must be returned to its owner.
DOCTOR: Must it? Yes, yes, I suppose it must. Still, there’s no reason why you couldn’t find me something similar, is there?(The BRIGADIER opens his mouth to reply.)
DOCTOR: I...I mean, it could persuade me to stay, you know.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Oh, very well.
DOCTOR: Good. When can we go and choose it?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: Not yet. I must arrange for a full set of papers first.(He turns to go but stops.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: By the way, I’ve just realised. I don’t even know your name.
(The DOCTOR briefly considers, then...)
DOCTOR: Er, Smith. Doctor John Smith.
(He smiles.)
Doctor Who
JON PERTWEELiz Shaw
CAROLINE JOHNBrigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
NICHOLAS COURTNEYChanning
HUGH BURDENMajor General Scobie
HAMILTON DYCECaptain Munro
JOHN BRESLINHibbert
JOHN WOODNUTTAttendant
EDMUND BAILEYTitle Music by
RON GRAINER &
THE BBC RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOPIncidental Music
DUDLEY SIMPSONSpecial Sound by
BRIAN HODGSON &
THE BBC RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOPSpecial Effects designed by
JOHN HORTONCostumes
CHRISTINE RAWLINSMake-up
CYNTHIA GOODWINFilm Camera Team
STAN SPEEL
ROBERT McDONNELLSound Recordist
DEREK MEDUSFilm Editors
WILLIAM SYMON
ADAM DAWSONScript Editor
TERRANCE DICKSDesigner
PAUL ALLENProducer
DERRICK SHERWINDirected by
DEREK MARTINUS
