Inferno

Directed by

Douglas Camfield

UK Viewers

5.7 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

England, the near future. UNIT is providing security and scientific support for the Stahlman project, an attempt to tap the Earth's core for energy. But things are already going wrong…

Episode 2

First aired

Saturday, May 16, 1970

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

Douglas Camfield

UK Viewers

5.9 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

Strange deaths, men changing into monsters, hot green slime pouring out of the waste pipes – but Professor Stahlman is determined to press ahead with the Inferno project no matter what the cost!

Episode 3

First aired

Saturday, May 23, 1970

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

4.8 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The Doctor has vanished from the Inferno project… or has he? He finds himself in the same place, but everyone has changed… and the drilling is closer to its deadly conclusion.

Episode 4

First aired

Saturday, May 30, 1970

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

6 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

In a parallel England, the Doctor tries desperately to convince his captors of the immense peril they are in. But they are convinced he is a spy. And penetration zero is getting close…

Episode 5

First aired

Saturday, June 6, 1970

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

5.4 million

Synopsis

The parallel Inferno has broken through the Earth's crust, unleashing terrible seismic forces and dooming the planet. The Doctor hopes to return and save his world. But the bestial primords are closing in...

Episode 6

First aired

Saturday, June 13, 1970

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

6.7 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The Doctor is trapped in a parallel world that is going up in flames. Can he escape in time to save Earth in his own universe?

Episode 7

First aired

Saturday, June 20, 1970

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

5.5 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The Doctor has escaped the catastrophic destruction of a parallel world. But can he stop Stahlman before he destroys this one?

Characters

Third Doctor

Jon Pertwee

Liz Shaw

Caroline John

How to watch Inferno:

Watch on iPlayer

DVD

The Third Doctor Collection

DVD

Inferno

VHS

The Pertwee Years (VHS)

VHS

Inferno (VHS)

Blu-Ray

The Collection Season 7 (Limited Edition Packaging)

Reviews
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7 reviews

I love the idea of this story, it is so simplistic in setup and feels so high-concept for the show, especially for this era
For a 7-part story, it's never dull, always some action and drama, pacing is great for the sheer length of the story
The Primords are fantastic creatures and bring such an emergency and extra threat to planetary destruction
I loved that our UNIT team got to show a new side of their acting skills, with Liz, Brigadier, and Benton being able to play counter parts in an aggressive world was such fun to see. Though It did leave me upset, as this was Liz's last story that we didn't get to see much of her in general
As much as I love the story, I've found this rewatch difficult due to my genuine aggravation for Greg, his forced romanticism with Petra is awful. She's just trying to do her job and he instantly wants to bone her, get a grip. All he did was shout and get in the way. His character was so annoying and now ruins it for me

KieranCooper

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Review last edited on 24-03-25

This review contains spoilers!

An episode I’m sure anyone familiar with the Third Doctor would predict being among his best works. Season 7 of Classic Who is personally my pick for the best year in all Doctor Who, both Classic and Modern. Despite only four stories, what it lacks in quantity it sure makes up for in quality. You had the opening Spearhead from Space which I previously talked about, Doctor Who and the Silurians which was an excellent story, The Ambassadors of Death is the weak link, maybe a bit too long but don’t let anyone tell you it’s not a solid story in its own right. This season was just unlike anything Doctor Who had done before or since, coming off of the Second Doctor era, they decided to completely reinvent the look and tone of the show and take a more serious and mature approach with their stories. The Hinchcliffe years also went heavy on the darker and violent stories, but Season 7 just had this intensity to it, and it did so without being excessive. Pertwee peaked literally from the beginning as it was basically a downward slope from there. Not a bad downward slope so to speak but it did revert to a more traditional form.

So that brings us to the finale Inferno which was an epic way to close out the season! You have the Doctor ending up in a parallel universe where it’s the usual premise where all his friends in UNIT are now fascist a-holes. But this world is doomed as a drilling experiment unleashes the horrors beneath the Earth’s crust and the Doctor must convince these evil doppelgangers to help him escape back to his world to save it from the same fate.

Next to actually destroying the Earth (permanently I mean), this is the gutsiest scenario you could ever do in Doctor Who, having the Doctor completely powerless and watch as the world is slowly consumed by a sea of lava and explosions, knowing full well he cannot save anyone and that his only hope is to convince them the help him escape to save a bunch of people they don’t even care about. An event so traumatising it comes back to haunt him the following season in The Mind of Evil where he’s forced to relive that experience. Just the concept alone makes this an incredible viewing experience, but thankfully it’s also held up with some excellent writing for our side characters and their evil counterparts in a bleak yet all too familiar world.

If you can get past the terrible makeup on the monsters you will find some of the strongest and most mature Doctor Who material ever put onscreen.

DanDunn

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Review last edited on 29-01-25

This review contains spoilers!

I liked the parallel world plot, but I though the actual monsters were a bit weird and didn't really make much sense.

WhoTheoryYT

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Review last edited on 25-01-25

This review contains spoilers!

Amazing serial, i loved the concept for this one. Took issue with the parallel world basically being "what if the UK was like the USSR" and the framing of that, but not super shocking to see it having that sort of political messaging. Was subtle enough to ignore though, and I still really enjoyed seeing everyone in the parallel world especially Liz. Her haircut was just so cute!

godslayer86

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Review last edited on 9-01-25

Finally an amazing stand out of the 3rd doctors era on tv Liz and the doctor are bloody brilliant in this I love every moment of them and parallel Liz is also a treat

Rock_Angel

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Review last edited on 17-11-24