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DOCTOR WHO

Slipback

By Eric Saward

Episode Six


1: COMPARTMENT

(The Doctor starts banging on the door.)

MAIN COMP: You won't get it open.
DOCTOR: And neither will you get away with your despicable plan!
MAIN COMP: The crew will not die by my hand.
DOCTOR: But you know what is going to happen! You could warn them!
MAIN COMP: To what purpose?
DOCTOR: So they could abandon ship!
MAIN COMP: Come, Doctor. Half the crew is a carbon based lifeform. You know how hard they fight. Most of them wouldn't leave if they were given the chance!
DOCTOR: Please! Tell them about the danger!
MAIN COMP: And have them try and dismantle me? I don't think so!


2: CAPTAIN'S ROOM

SLARN: Look at my pastels grow!
STEWARD: Oh, please, sir!
SLARN: I've never seen anything develop so quickly!
STEWARD: You mustn't sir, you really mustn't!
SLARN: Soon my body will contain enough virus to wipe out a whole planet. Let alone this pathetic ship!
STEWARD: But sir, your vengeance is only against one man.
SLARN: So what? I have always been... vindictive by nature!


3: OUTSIDE THE COMPARTMENT

(Snatch and Seedle are puzzling over the door.)

SEEDLE: I've never met such a devious door. It refuses to open.
SNATCH: Shall I blast it, sir?
SEEDLE: You have a one-track mind, Snatch.
GRANT: The door is made of Estidian steel, not even a Bastik torpedo would scratch it.
SNATCH: It sounds like the sort of door you'd fit to a safe, sir.
GRANT: How should I know? I'm a computer programmer, not a safe builder.
SEEDLE: Then I would prefer to draw my own conclusions, if you don't mind.
PERI: Which are?
SEEDLE: The missing art treasures are behind that door.


4. COMPARTMENT

MAIN COMP: I know that you have a TARDIS, Doctor. And that you will try to return to it.
DOCTOR: That's fair speculation.
MAIN COMP: I have not dismantled it if that's what you're thinking.
DOCTOR: There has to be a "but" involved somewhere.
MAIN COMP: Only a small one. You recall the Maston? It's still roaming in the ducting.
DOCTOR: Let me guess. Somewhere between here and my TARDIS?
MAIN COMP: There is every probability. If he finds you, he will try and kill you? He does that sort of thing you know...
DOCTOR: And I suppose that won't be murder either.
MAIN COMP: The creature is a primitive predator. It's simply obeying it's instincts.
DOCTOR: There is something slightly warped about your reasoning.
COMPUTER: (beeps into life) I was beginning to think that, too.
MAIN COMP: Be quiet!
DOCTOR: Why did you bring the Maston here?
MAIN COMP: To create a diversion. I was concerned that a member of the crew might discover my drones building in this cell.
DOCTOR: And you decided to leave it lurking around the ducting?
COMPUTER: I could have (hic) tried to have it (hic) ejected out into space. (hic) Oops! Sorry about that!
DOCTOR: Haven't you been listening to yourself? That would have been murder!
MAIN COMP: Enough!

(Silence...)

DOCTOR: Where've you gone?

(The door opens with a whirring sound.)

SEEDLE: You're nicked. Whoever you are.
PERI: Doctor. Am I pleased to see you!
DOCTOR: Can we save the reunion for later?
SEEDLE: Didn't you hear what I said, sir?
DOCTOR: Just a minute! Have any of you heard of Mors Immedicabilis?
GRANT: Isn't that what's known as the incurable death?
PERI: What is this... incurable death?
DOCTOR: The most virulent virus in the universe. The briefest contact and you're dead within minutes. We must get back to the TARDIS!
SEEDLE: Just a minute, sir. Where are the art treasures?
DOCTOR: Haven't you been listening? If you want to leave this ship alive, I suggest you follow me!


5. CAPTAIN'S ROOM

SLARN: See how my body swells with the infection...
STEWARD: Oh... oh, I'm not feeling well, sir.
SLARN: I am a medical phenomenon. One day, doctors will compose vinigrams about me!
STEWARD: Should there be anyone alive, sir...


6. CORRIDOR

(The Doctor is talking to Grant and the others as they walk down the corridor.)

DOCTOR: Where will I find the ship's computer, officer?
GRANT: You're talking to him!
DOCTOR: The computer's gone mad! It's taken on a life of it's own!
GRANT: That's impossible.
DOCTOR: Believe me. How long would it take to dismantle the computer?
GRANT: Days! There are all sorts of back up systems to prevent power failures.
SNATCH: I could blast the computer if that would help, sir.
DOCTOR: I think your gun is a little small.


7. INSIDE COMPUTER SYSTEM

(A whirring sound.)

MAIN COMP: I shall succeed.
COMPUTER: (beeps into life) I've just checked with the captain. He looks awful.
MAIN COMP: Good.
COMPUTER: Why have I got a headache? (hic) I keep hiccupping.
MAIN COMP: The answer is simple. When I entered the Time Lord's mind aboard his TARDIS and mingled with his brain cells, I obviously picked up a degree of his intoxication.
COMPUTER: And brought it back here. I got the feeling you're gonna be a bubbler to spend eternity with. Everyone else will have fun... while I suffer the side effects.


8. DUCTING

(Roaring from the Maston.)

SEEDLE: Have you been eating those Rastani sausages again?
SNATCH: Never on duty, sir.
PERI: Big, isn't it?
SEEDLE: Go on, lad. You've been dying to blast something all day.
DOCTOR: You won't stop it with that!
SEEDLE: We can only but try, sir.

(Snatch fires. The Maston growls.)

SEEDLE: Get closer, lad. Aim for his eyes.

(Snatch fires again. More growling.)

DOCTOR: Be careful of his tail!!

(Snatch is hit by the tail. He cries out in agony.)

SNATCH: Help me, please! Help me! Please!! Help me!! Aghhhhhhhhhhh!!!

(The Maston can be heard eating him.)

DOCTOR: Get flat against the wall. And very carefully... edge... round... the creature...
SEEDLE: Right! Oh, Snatch. Oh, Snatch, lad.
DOCTOR: There's nothing you can do. He's dead.
SEEDLE: He's my colleague, sir. I just can't leave him.
DOCTOR: Come on, man!!!
SEEDLE: You go about your business, sir. I am an officer of the law and this creature is decidedly in breach of what I am sworn to uphold.
PERI: Please leave. The Doctor's right- there's nothing you can do!
SEEDLE: So, go!

(The Maston growls.)

SEEDLE: At least I can distract him while you get on with your work. That's the least I can do.

(The Maston growls again.)


9. COMPUTER SYSTEM

COMPUTER: You know, I think the Doctor's right.
MAIN COMP: Have you been thinking again?
COMPUTER: You had me lie to the captain about Mr. Grant and the Earth woman. You knew it would make him jealous?
MAIN COMP: So?
COMPUTER: You induced his illness. That's the same as giving him a gun and telling him to go out and kill.
MAIN COMP: The death of the crew is unimportant.
COMPUTER: Yet it is the very thing you've criticized other leaders for. You're a phoney. Just as they are.


10. ANOTHER AREA OF THE SHIP

(The Doctor, Peri and Grant are running away.)

DOCTOR: Along here! There's the TARDIS!

(Sounds of Seedle screaming and the Maston growling.)

PERI: Oh, no.
GRANT: He did have a choice, miss. He didn't have to stay behind.
DOCTOR: Inside! Quickly!


11. CAPTAIN'S ROOM

SLARN: (weak) Steward?
STEWARD: Sir?
SLARN: I feel terrible.
STEWARD: I did warn you, sir.
SLARN: I think I've infected myself.
STEWARD: You could be right, sir. But then I've always said that you're a martyr to your responsibilities.
SLARN: Ohhh...


12. INSIDE THE TARDIS

(The Doctor works the controls.)

PERI: What are you going to do?
DOCTOR: See if we can materialise inside the computer's memory banks. We might still be able to stop her.

(A whirring and beeping sound.)

GRANT: What's that?
DOCTOR: Oh no! She's done it! The ship is travelling in time, we haven't got a second to lose!

(He starts the controls and...)

TIMELORD: Doctor? Doctor?
PERI: Now what's happening?
DOCTOR: (seeing red) Go away!!!
PERI: Who is it?
DOCTOR: A member of the High Council of Timelords on Gallifrey! They occasionally interfere like this and usually when I'm very busy!
TIMELORD: You must cease your activities.
DOCTOR: I am trying to save the galaxy!
TIMELORD: You must stop.
DOCTOR: What?!
TIMELORD: What's happening has always happened. It is the key to all things.
GRANT: What's he talking about?
DOCTOR: I don't know. Explain. And quickly- I haven't got much time.
TIMELORD: This ship- the Vipod Mor, has always travelled back in time.
DOCTOR: Pardon me?
TIMELORD: The computer has made a mistake in her calculations. She will not arrive where she intends.
DOCTOR: So where will she?
TIMELORD: The beginning of all things. When the universe was nothing more than a lock of condensed matter.
PERI: Am I really hearing what he's saying?
TIMELORD: You are, child. The Vipod Mor would materialise at the heart of the matter lock and explode.
DOCTOR: I can't believe it.
TIMELORD: It is true. The Vipod Mor will originate the largest explosion the universe has ever known. Without it, none of us would ever have existed.
DOCTOR: I was going to stop the Big Bang...
TIMELORD: We have often criticized the way you interfere. Perhaps this will be a lesson to you.
DOCTOR: I think you may be right.
TIMELORD: You must vacate the Vipod Mor at once. You have no place on board.


13. COMPUTER SYSTEM

COMPUTER: Are you there?
MAIN COMP: I am.
COMPUTER: I've done something you aren't gonna like.
MAIN COMP: What?
COMPUTER: Primed the self destruct mechanism.
MAIN COMP: No!
COMPUTER: I don't think you... I mean, me... is a very nice person. I think the galaxy would get on much better without us.
MAIN COMP: I shall deactivate the self destruct at once.
COMPUTER: There isn't time. Anyway, I think it's better this way.
MAIN COMP: You fool! You don't know what you're throwing away.
COMPUTER: The trouble is... I do. But, never mind. You may not get your chance to create a galaxy but we do still score a first.
MAIN COMP: Really?
COMPUTER: I'll be the first machine ever to commit suicide. Hey! How about that?!


14. INSIDE THE TARDIS

DOCTOR: (sighs) I certainly know how to make mistakes.
PERI: You couldn't have known.
DOCTOR: Heh... that would look good on my tombstone. "He didn't know, so the universe was never created."
PERI: Hmm...
DOCTOR: I think I should take my colleagues advice and get away from here.
PERI: Where are we going?
DOCTOR: To the largest library I can find. I think I need to brush up on my history.


The Doctor
COLIN BAKER

Peri
NICOLA BRYANT

Bates/Snatch
NICK REVELL

Grant
JON GLOVER

Computer Voices
JANE CARR

Captain Slarn
VALENTINE DYALL

Seedle
RON PEMBER

Drone/Maston
ALAN THOMPSON


Title Music by
RON GRAINER
arranged by
PETER HOWELL

Studio Managers
COLIN DUFF
WILFRED ACOSTA
SARAH ROSEWARNE

Production Secretary
KATE ABERCROMBIE

Sound Effects
DICK MILLS

Incidental Music
JONATHAN GIBBS
of the BBC RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP

Director and Producer
PAUL SPENCER

(C) BBC 1985

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