Full Circle (Doctor Who)
Encyclopedia
Full Circle is a serial in the British
science fiction television series Doctor Who
, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 25 October to 15 November 1980. The serial is the first of three loosely connected serials known as the E-Space trilogy and introduces Matthew Waterhouse
as the Doctor's
newest companion
, Adric
.
to return Romana
to the High Council of Time Lord
s, the TARDIS
passes through a strange phenomenon and ends up in an alternative universe called E-Space. Neither the Doctor
nor Romana herself can calculate why the TARDIS scanner shows images of their planet when they have arrived in a verdant forest. It later emerges they have journeyed to this pocket universe through a rare space/time phenomenon known as a Charged Vacuum Emboitment.
Nearby is a small but sustainable civilisation of humanoids who live between a river and a grounded spaceship called the Starliner. They came to the planet, Alzarius, from Terradon and much of the focus of society is on repairing their craft to make it navigable once more. It is an oligarchy ruled by three self-selecting senior colonists knows as Deciders, who ensure the smooth running and order of their adopted world and lay particular store on technical ability. One of the brightest of the younger generation of colonists is Adric
, who bears a Badge of Mathematical Excellence in recognition of his computational skills. However, his brother Varsh has rejected the regimented society of the Starliner and leads a band of rebels called Outlers, who steal harvested riverfruit and other foods to survive.
All is not well in the colony. Strange eggs have started to appear in the riverfruit, and this is interpreted by First Decider Draith using the System File of the Starliner as an omen of Mistfall, a strange periodic change to the planet during which the natural balance of society is threatened. Soon Mistfall begins, and the colonists move into the Starliner to protect themselves. Adric attempts to steal some riverfruit to prove himself to his brother; Draith gives chase to his young protégé but falls and lands in the river – only to be dragged beneath the waves by a strange force. His last words are aimed at the chief scientists of the colony: “Tell Dexeter we've come full circle!" Adric heads into the forest in panic, finding the TARDIS. The Doctor and Romana take him in and tend to his leg wound, which recovers remarkably quickly. The Doctor heads off to investigate the planet, while Adric attracts Varsh and the other Outlers to the protection of the TARDIS.
The other Deciders, Garif and Nefred, have ordered the Starliner doors closed as per procedure, knowing that both Draith and Keara, an Outler and the daughter of a prominent citizen called Login, have not entered the ship. Despite his worries, Login accepts a position as Third Decider when it is determined that Draith has died. It is as well the doors have been closed – humanoid, aggressive Marshmen begin to appear from underwater, looking threatening, and scuttling Marshspiders hatch from the eggs of the Riverfruit. The Marshmen beat on the walls of the Starliner to gain entry but the creatures are not admitted. The Doctor, however, gains entry to the Starliner using his sonic screwdriver, followed by a young and inquisitive Marshchild. Both are found and taken before the Three Deciders. The Doctor is appalled when chief scientist Dexeter starts to perform vivisection
experiments on the Marshchild.
A group of Marshmen have carried the TARDIS to a settlement cave, intending to use it as a battering ram to force their way into the Starliner. Romana decides to venture outside. She is bitten by one of the Marshspiders and starts to change, seeming possessed. Adric panics and materialises the TARDIS inside the Starliner. When the Outlers emerge the Doctor pilots the TARDIS back to the cave, and finds an alert but amnesiac Romana. The Doctor scoops up the remains of a Marshspider and then reverses his journey once more with Adric and an unconscious Romana in tow. By the time he is back in the Starliner, however, Dexeter has tried to examine the brain of the Marshchild, provoking it to attack and kill him and itself. The Doctor is so incensed he turns on the Deciders and denounces their society – revealing secret ship controls that show the Starliner has been ready to pilot from Alzarius for centuries, but the farce of constant repair continued. The problem is that, though the Deciders understand the technical construction of the ship, no one knows how to pilot it.
The Doctor persuades the Deciders to give him equipment to examine the cells of the marshspider and marshchild and deduces that they are from identical DNA
sources. This situation is complicated, however, when a transformed Romana releases the emergency exits and allows the Marshmen to invade the Starliner. The colonists retreat before the creatures, many of whom are more inquisitive than dangerous. Nefred is mortally wounded while fleeing one room; his last admission is that the colonists cannot return to Terradon, because they've never been there. It is realised that the present-day Alzarians are actually a subspecies of the Marshmen, who wiped out the Starliner's original Terradonian crew and then gradually evolved into human form to take their place.
The Doctor uses a protein serum to cure Romana, and they determine from research in the ship's science unit that the ship has been maintained for 40,000 generations by a species that has three aspects; spiders, Marshmen, and the current humanoids. They are all from the same DNA and thus have come "full circle". This is the real secret of the System Files.
It is accidentally deduced that oxygen
in pure form is problematic to the Marshmen, and this non-lethal defence is used to force the Marshmen out of the Starliner. During their retreat Varsh is killed, leaving Adric in emotional turmoil. With the Marshmen returning to the swamps, the boy stows away on board the TARDIS. His fellow colonists meanwhile pilot the craft away from Alzarius. The Doctor and Romana are unaware of Adric's presence as they pilot their own craft to another destination
.
in September 1982. the novelisation opens with the Starliner crashing on Alzarius.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 25 October to 15 November 1980. The serial is the first of three loosely connected serials known as the E-Space trilogy and introduces Matthew Waterhouse
Matthew Waterhouse
Matthew Waterhouse is an English actor and writer best known for his role as Adric in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
as the Doctor's
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
newest companion
Companion (Doctor Who)
In the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, the term "companion" refers to a character who travels with, and shares the adventures of the Doctor. In most Doctor Who stories, the primary companion acts as both deuteragonist and audience surrogate...
, Adric
Adric
Adric is a fictional character played by Matthew Waterhouse in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was a young native of the planet Alzarius, which exists in the parallel universe of E-Space. A companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors, he was a regular in the...
.
Plot
En route to GallifreyGallifrey
Gallifrey is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and is the homeworld of the Doctor and the Time Lords...
to return Romana
Romana
Romana, short for Romanadvoratrelundar, is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
to the High Council of Time Lord
Time Lord
The Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
s, the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
passes through a strange phenomenon and ends up in an alternative universe called E-Space. Neither the Doctor
Fourth Doctor
The Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
nor Romana herself can calculate why the TARDIS scanner shows images of their planet when they have arrived in a verdant forest. It later emerges they have journeyed to this pocket universe through a rare space/time phenomenon known as a Charged Vacuum Emboitment.
Nearby is a small but sustainable civilisation of humanoids who live between a river and a grounded spaceship called the Starliner. They came to the planet, Alzarius, from Terradon and much of the focus of society is on repairing their craft to make it navigable once more. It is an oligarchy ruled by three self-selecting senior colonists knows as Deciders, who ensure the smooth running and order of their adopted world and lay particular store on technical ability. One of the brightest of the younger generation of colonists is Adric
Adric
Adric is a fictional character played by Matthew Waterhouse in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was a young native of the planet Alzarius, which exists in the parallel universe of E-Space. A companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors, he was a regular in the...
, who bears a Badge of Mathematical Excellence in recognition of his computational skills. However, his brother Varsh has rejected the regimented society of the Starliner and leads a band of rebels called Outlers, who steal harvested riverfruit and other foods to survive.
All is not well in the colony. Strange eggs have started to appear in the riverfruit, and this is interpreted by First Decider Draith using the System File of the Starliner as an omen of Mistfall, a strange periodic change to the planet during which the natural balance of society is threatened. Soon Mistfall begins, and the colonists move into the Starliner to protect themselves. Adric attempts to steal some riverfruit to prove himself to his brother; Draith gives chase to his young protégé but falls and lands in the river – only to be dragged beneath the waves by a strange force. His last words are aimed at the chief scientists of the colony: “Tell Dexeter we've come full circle!" Adric heads into the forest in panic, finding the TARDIS. The Doctor and Romana take him in and tend to his leg wound, which recovers remarkably quickly. The Doctor heads off to investigate the planet, while Adric attracts Varsh and the other Outlers to the protection of the TARDIS.
The other Deciders, Garif and Nefred, have ordered the Starliner doors closed as per procedure, knowing that both Draith and Keara, an Outler and the daughter of a prominent citizen called Login, have not entered the ship. Despite his worries, Login accepts a position as Third Decider when it is determined that Draith has died. It is as well the doors have been closed – humanoid, aggressive Marshmen begin to appear from underwater, looking threatening, and scuttling Marshspiders hatch from the eggs of the Riverfruit. The Marshmen beat on the walls of the Starliner to gain entry but the creatures are not admitted. The Doctor, however, gains entry to the Starliner using his sonic screwdriver, followed by a young and inquisitive Marshchild. Both are found and taken before the Three Deciders. The Doctor is appalled when chief scientist Dexeter starts to perform vivisection
Vivisection
Vivisection is defined as surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure...
experiments on the Marshchild.
A group of Marshmen have carried the TARDIS to a settlement cave, intending to use it as a battering ram to force their way into the Starliner. Romana decides to venture outside. She is bitten by one of the Marshspiders and starts to change, seeming possessed. Adric panics and materialises the TARDIS inside the Starliner. When the Outlers emerge the Doctor pilots the TARDIS back to the cave, and finds an alert but amnesiac Romana. The Doctor scoops up the remains of a Marshspider and then reverses his journey once more with Adric and an unconscious Romana in tow. By the time he is back in the Starliner, however, Dexeter has tried to examine the brain of the Marshchild, provoking it to attack and kill him and itself. The Doctor is so incensed he turns on the Deciders and denounces their society – revealing secret ship controls that show the Starliner has been ready to pilot from Alzarius for centuries, but the farce of constant repair continued. The problem is that, though the Deciders understand the technical construction of the ship, no one knows how to pilot it.
The Doctor persuades the Deciders to give him equipment to examine the cells of the marshspider and marshchild and deduces that they are from identical DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
sources. This situation is complicated, however, when a transformed Romana releases the emergency exits and allows the Marshmen to invade the Starliner. The colonists retreat before the creatures, many of whom are more inquisitive than dangerous. Nefred is mortally wounded while fleeing one room; his last admission is that the colonists cannot return to Terradon, because they've never been there. It is realised that the present-day Alzarians are actually a subspecies of the Marshmen, who wiped out the Starliner's original Terradonian crew and then gradually evolved into human form to take their place.
The Doctor uses a protein serum to cure Romana, and they determine from research in the ship's science unit that the ship has been maintained for 40,000 generations by a species that has three aspects; spiders, Marshmen, and the current humanoids. They are all from the same DNA and thus have come "full circle". This is the real secret of the System Files.
It is accidentally deduced that oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
in pure form is problematic to the Marshmen, and this non-lethal defence is used to force the Marshmen out of the Starliner. During their retreat Varsh is killed, leaving Adric in emotional turmoil. With the Marshmen returning to the swamps, the boy stows away on board the TARDIS. His fellow colonists meanwhile pilot the craft away from Alzarius. The Doctor and Romana are unaware of Adric's presence as they pilot their own craft to another destination
State of Decay
State of Decay is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 22 November to 13 December 1980. The serial was the second of three loosely connected serials known as the E-Space trilogy...
.
Continuity
- This serial comprises the first leg of an extended adventure generally known as "The E-Space Trilogy"; the trilogy continues in the next serial, State of DecayState of DecayState of Decay is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 22 November to 13 December 1980. The serial was the second of three loosely connected serials known as the E-Space trilogy...
, and concludes in Warriors' GateWarriors' GateWarriors' Gate is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was written by the English author Stephen Gallagher and first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 January to 24 January 1981...
. - The Doctor briefly mentions LeelaLeela (Doctor Who)Leela is a fictional character played by Louise Jameson in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Leela was a companion of the Fourth Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1977 to 1978...
, K-9 Mk IK-9 (Doctor Who)K-9, or K9, is the name of several fictional robotic canines in the long-running British science fiction television series, Doctor Who, first appearing in 1977...
and the Key to Time early in this serial.
Production
- Working titles for this story included The Planet That Slept.
- At the time of writing this story, Andrew Smith was a seventeen year-old who achieved his lifelong ambition to write for the show.
- George Baker makes a guest appearance. See Celebrity appearances in Doctor WhoCelebrity appearances in Doctor WhoThis is a list of actors who have made guest appearances in Doctor Who.-First Doctor stories:-Second Doctor stories:-Third Doctor stories:-Fourth Doctor stories:-Fifth Doctor stories:-Sixth Doctor stories:-Seventh Doctor stories:...
.
In print
A novelisation of this serial, written by Andrew Smith, was published by Target BooksTarget Books
Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...
in September 1982. the novelisation opens with the Starliner crashing on Alzarius.
VHS, CD and DVD releases
- This story was released on VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in October 1997. - Paddy Kingsland'sPaddy KingslandPaddy Kingsland is a composer of electronic music best known for his incidental music for science fiction series on BBC radio and television whilst working at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Educated at Eggars Grammar School, Alton, in Hampshire, he joined the BBC as a tape editor before moving on to...
incidental music for the serial was released, in 2002, as part of the compilation album Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume 4: Meglos & Full CircleDoctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume 4: Meglos & Full CircleDoctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume 4: Meglos & Full Circle was the final installment in the Mark Ayres compiled series of releases of BBC Radiophonic Workshop music. It featured music, by Peter Howell and Paddy Kingsland, for the 1980 Doctor Who serials "Meglos" and "Full Circle"...
. - A DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
was released on 26 January 2009 in a box set called The E Space Trilogy with State of Decay & Warriors Gate.