Stories Television Doctor Who (1963-1996) Classic Who S21 Serial: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Frontios 1 image Overview Episodes Characters How to Watch Reviews 2 Statistics Related Stories Quotes 2 Transcript Overview First aired Thursday, January 26, 1984 Production Code 6N Written by Christopher H. Bidmead Directed by Ron Jones Runtime 100 minutes Time Travel Future Tropes (Potential Spoilers!) Mining, Human Colony, TARDIS is damaged Location (Potential Spoilers!) Frontios Synopsis "Frontios buries its own dead", or so the saying goes. The Doctor, Turlough and Tegan are forced into landing on the remote planet of Frontios, a human colony where deaths go unaccounted for. Under constant threat from lethal meteorite bombardments, few of the doomed colony members realise that the ground of Frontios itself opens up and devours the unwary. Not permitted to assist, the Doctor's attempt to leave is thwarted when the unimaginable occurs: the TARDIS is destroyed. All the while, burrowing undetected below the planet's crust, an alien force prepares a final and gruesome fate for all humanity... Watch Watched Favourite Favourited Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Owned Save to my list Saved 4 Episodes Part One First aired Thursday, January 26, 1984 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Christopher H. Bidmead Directed by Ron Jones UK Viewers 8 million Appreciation Index 66 Synopsis The planet Frontios, in the distant future. Following Earth's destruction, a tiny colony struggles to eke out a life on this desolate world. But where do the bombardments that threaten them originate from? Little does the Doctor suspect that somewhere nearby lurks a power capable of ripping even the TARDIS apart… Part Two First aired Friday, January 27, 1984 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Christopher H. Bidmead Directed by Ron Jones UK Viewers 5.8 million Appreciation Index 69 Synopsis Following the destruction of the TARDIS, the only part of it left is the hat stand. So Turlough uses it as a weapon! Plantagenet gets swallowed by the earth, and Norna and Turlough discover the Tractators. Part Three First aired Thursday, February 2, 1984 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Christopher H. Bidmead Directed by Ron Jones UK Viewers 7.8 million Appreciation Index 65 Synopsis Trying to rescue the Doctor from the Tractator's trap, Tegan lands them both in even more trouble. Turlough goes a bit mad, and reckons he knows the evil of the Tractators from old. Part Four First aired Friday, February 3, 1984 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Christopher H. Bidmead Directed by Ron Jones UK Viewers 5.6 million Appreciation Index 65 Synopsis The Doctor tries to deal with the Tractator's cunning plan, despite Turlough's best intervention. They discover the splintered TARDIS in the tunnels beneath the planet's surface, but how will they put it together again? Show All Episodes Characters Fifth Doctor Tegan Jovanka Vislor Turlough The Gravis First Appearance Show All Characters (4) How to watch Frontios: Watch on iPlayer DVD Frontios VHS The Awakening & Frontios (VHS) Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Newest First Oldest First Most Likes Highest Rating Lowest Rating Username (A-Z) Username (Z-A) Spoilers First Spoilers Last 2 reviews 18 August 2024 · 240 words Review by thedefinitearticle63 Spoilers 3 This review contains spoilers! This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order. Previous Story: Nightmare Country Season 21 is shaping up to be one of my favourite seasons of Doctor Who ever. This TARDIS team is really growing on me, their dynamic is great and it helps that the writing has really stepped up since Season 20. Peter Davison and Mark Strickson benefit from this the most, both getting to give fantastic performances. The dialogue feels natural now, though it helps that our main cast have a phenomenal supporting cast to bounce off of. Plantagenet and Range stood out specifically. I love the worldbuilding here, this colony genuinely feels like the last remnants of human civilisation and not a bunch of BBC extras filming in a stuffy studio. The set design is a highlight and the costume design evokes Star Wars. The only real misstep is the Tractators who, at times, look a bit silly but the rest of the story is so good that you barely give it notice. The mystery that is built up over these 4 parts is a very fun one to watch and it all comes to satisfying conclusion. Honestly I think this story sums up the Doctor perfectly, he saves a colony from near-certain extinction and leaves saying "Don't mention it". Next Story: Time in Office Like Liked 3 26 April 2024 · 331 words Review by 15thDoctor Spoilers 2 This review contains spoilers! This is the second story in a row that evokes Terry Nation’s Survivors, though even more keenly than what went before. Christopher H. Bidmead is in surprisingly good form covering the adventures of this last band of humans on the edge of the universe. This civilization is under attack for years by an enemy they have been unable to see. The leadership are unduly suspicious of The Doctor despite his offers to help their ailing people. Perhaps it’s unsurprising that some are deeply cynical in this harsh environment. You work out fairly quickly who is really running the show and trying to stop this group of survivors from being able to find out the truth. It’s great seeing Davison have some substantial dialogue to deal with. He rarely gets lines this good. Turlough has far more than usual to deal with too, manically overwhelmed, entranced with ancestral memories of what the Tractators did to his people (nice that he isn’t basically treated like a human character for once!) The big drawback, and one that gets more important the further you get through, is that the Tractators don’t look that great, but in fairness they blend into the surroundings well and their looks fit well with the story. Their motivation and gravitational powers are well thought out. The punchiness of the script does lose some of its way in the final act but I enjoy how the conclusion comes together. The Gravis’ is tricked into using its powers to restore the wrecked TARDIS. The repurposed and changed TARDIS set looks amazing - iconic! Incidentally it’s funny how Bidmead decides that 21 years into this show The Doctor and his companions should finally start worrying about what the Time Lord’s would do if they found out they were messing with events…! I’ll let it go though after what was easily his best script. A fitting final engagement with the show. (Lets ignore The Hollows of Time). Like Liked 2 Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating240 members 3.33 / 5 Trakt.tv AVG. Rating201 votes 3.60 / 5 The Time Scales AVG. Rating141 votes 3.55 / 5 Member Statistics Watched 487 Favourited 26 Reviewed 2 Saved 2 Skipped 0 Owned 8 Related Stories The Lost Stories S1 • Episode 4 The Hollows of Time Rating: 2.65 Story Skipped Audio Drama Reviews(4) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: The Lost Stories Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Other adaptations of this story: We define an adaptation as a recreation of a similar story but on a different medium or with different characters. Target Collection Doctor Who: Frontios Rating: 3.54 Story Skipped Book More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Target Collection Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Quotes Add Quote Link to Quote Favourite DOCTOR: It's very interesting. RANGE: It used to generate a basic form of energy, but we no longer have any fuel. This planet is without wood or any combustible material. DOCTOR: What about the colony ship? Must have been brimming with gadgetry. RANGE: Oh, systems that could rebuild a civilisation for us. Failure-proof technology. DOCTOR: What happened to it all? RANGE: It failed. And nothing survived the crash. — Frontios Show All Quotes (2) Open in new window Transcript Needs checking Part One [Under the Research room] (In the green light of a mine or tunnel, a man who will discover to be Captain Revere hands over the piece of ore he has dug out. Everyone say Hi to Peter Gilmore, who takes it away to a group wearing B7 Federation uniforms as Revere watches the ground near his knees start to sink.) BRAZEN: The answer's buried here somewhere. The Captain will find it. (The sinking ground makes a pit prop move. Brazen rushes to hold it.) Show Full Transcript Open in new window
