Story #122 "Timeflight"

Season

19

Writer

Peter Grimwade

Book/CD

 X

VHS

X

Story code

6C

Producer

John Nathan Turner

DVD

X

Episode Details

Episode

DR MM:SS

TX dd/mm/yy

RPT TX dd/mm/yy

In BBC Archive

1

Y

2

Y

Guest Cast
Richard Easton (Captain Stapley), Keith Drinkel (Flight Engineer Scobie), Michael Cashman (First Officer Bilton), Peter Dahlsen (Horton) [1,4], Brian McDermott (Sheard) [1,4], John Flint (Captain Urquhart) [1], Peter Cellier (Andrews) [1], Judith Byfield (Angela Clifford), Leon Ny Taiy (Kalid) [1]*, Nigel Stock (Professor Hayter) [2-4], Anthony Ainley (The Master) [2-4], Hugh Hayes (Anithon) [3]†, André Winterton (Zarak) [3-4], Matthew Waterhouse (Adric),

Synopsis

Whilst trying to return Tegan to Heathrow Airport, the Doctor instead lands the TARDIS on a seemingly deserted alien spacecraft, just four days away from its final destination — Earth. The TARDIS crew discover that the ship isn't as empty as it first appears. On board they find Chinese, Mayan, Greek and Aboriginal crew members — and the alien froglike Urbankans. The Urbankan leader, Monarch, invites the Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa and Adric to continue the trip to Earth as his guests. Monarch has returned to Earth every few thousand years throughout history, but now his intention is to stay for good. The Urbankans want to colonise Earth — but what plans does Monarch have for the future of mankind? The more the Doctor learns of Monarch's grand scheme, the more unsettled Tegan and Nyssa become. But Adric thinks his friends have got the Urbankans all wrong. Who is the Doctor to trust...?

1. After the illusion of Heathrow has been broken, the Doctor comments that he wishes he still had his scarf from his previous incarnation, which he unravelled after his regeneration to find his way around the TARDIS in Castrolvalva.
2. Tegan rejoins the TARDIS crew again in Arc of Infinity.
3. The argument about Adric's death and the possibility of going back to rescue him continues The Mutant Phase, Spare Parts and Lackaday Express.
4. The Doctor makes a second attempt to get to the Great Exhibition in the novel Empire of Death. But he doesn't actually get there until his eighth incarnation in Other Lives.