Stories Television Doctor Who (1963-1996) Classic Who S13 Serial: 1 2 3 4 5 6 The Seeds of Doom 1 image Overview Episodes Characters How to Watch Reviews 3 Statistics Related Stories Quotes 1 Transcript Overview First aired Saturday, January 31, 1976 Production Code 4L Written by Robert Banks Stewart Directed by Douglas Camfield Runtime 150 minutes Story Type Series Finale Time Travel Present Tropes (Potential Spoilers!) Evil Vegetation Location (Potential Spoilers!) Antarctica, Earth, England Synopsis When scientists in the Antarctic uncover a mysterious seed pod, the Doctor is called in to investigate. He soon realises it is extraterrestrial and extremely dangerous. At the same time, however, ruthless millionaire plant-lover Harrison Chase has learned of the find and decides he must have the pod for his collection of rare and beautiful flora. Meanwhile the pod itself harbours intelligent life with sinister plans of its own... Watch Watched Favourite Favourited Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Owned Save to my list Saved 6 Episodes Part One First aired Saturday, January 31, 1976 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Robert Banks Stewart Directed by Douglas Camfield UK Viewers 11.4 million Appreciation Index 59 Synopsis The Antarctic, the near future. A strange seed-pod is unearthed from 20-thousand-year-old ice. The Doctor and Sarah go to investigate, but are too late to prevent the pod infecting a scientist and unleashing a threat to all animal life on Earth... Part Two First aired Saturday, February 7, 1976 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Robert Banks Stewart Directed by Douglas Camfield UK Viewers 11.4 million Synopsis Two employees of the millionaire Harrison Chase arrive at the Antarctic base, and they will stop at nothing to get hold of the second seed-pod. Part Three First aired Saturday, February 14, 1976 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Robert Banks Stewart Directed by Douglas Camfield UK Viewers 10.3 million Synopsis The Doctor and Sarah Jane return to England after their Antarctic ordeal and Chase tries to eliminate them, but they escape and track him down at his estate, where he is preparing to open the Krynoid pod. Part Four First aired Saturday, February 21, 1976 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Robert Banks Stewart Directed by Douglas Camfield UK Viewers 11.1 million Synopsis The Doctor is captured by Chase, who plans to breed the stolen Krynoid pod. He is placed in an automated compost hopper and only Sarah Jane can save him... but will she make it before the Krynoid grows to fruition ? Part Five First aired Saturday, February 28, 1976 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Robert Banks Stewart Directed by Douglas Camfield UK Viewers 9.9 million Synopsis The Krynoid grows to a monstrous size and traps the Doctor and the others in a cottage. The creature demands they turn over the Doctor, while Chase seeks to make an alliance with the alien vegetation. Part Six First aired Saturday, March 6, 1976 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Robert Banks Stewart Directed by Douglas Camfield UK Viewers 11.5 million Synopsis The Doctor, Sarah Jane, and Scorby are trapped in the manor as a possessed Chase stalks them from within, while the gigantic Krynoid prepares to crush them from without. Worse, the alien plant is ready to germinate, spreading its seeds across England. Show All Episodes Characters Fourth Doctor Tom Baker Sarah Jane Smith Elisabeth Sladen Krynoids First Appearance UNIT Show All Characters (4) How to watch The Seeds of Doom: Watch on iPlayer DVD The Seeds of Doom VHS The Seeds of Doom (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 3 reviews 20 December 2024 · 17 words Review by Rock_Angel Oh that was a story that definitely was six parts and was totally TOTALLY not boring af Like Liked 0 23 September 2024 · 51 words Review by AndyUK Another classic. The first two episodes in Antarctica are quite possibly my favourite in the classic series and the rest of it is extremely good also with some quite impressive effects. Tony Beckley as Harrison Chase and John Challis as Scorby would be a perfect classic Bond villain and henchman duo. Like Liked 0 8 May 2024 · 345 words Review by 15thDoctor Spoilers 3 This review contains spoilers! It’s amazing how well the pacing of a 6 parter fares when the story is split into two distinct sections. Here we are treated to an initial two episode burst at a polar icecap, acting as a tragic origin story for the Krynoid’s discovery on Earth. Satisfyingly for the narrative, The Doctor only achieves a partial victory at the end of part two. The first Krynoid is destroyed, but all the innocent people on the polar base are killed by one of Doctor Who’s all time great henchmen Corby. It’s sister pod is also stolen and makes it’s way back to another top tier villain (Harrison Chase) to the very different setting of the English countryside for parts 3 to 6. A lot of what occurs in the middle of the story is a runaround, with The Doctor and Sarah-Jane falling in and out of trouble and the establishment of another Krynoid, but it’s written with such skill that you never feel like the story is treading water - there is an propulsive energy to the production. Critically, whereas the first time this threat emerged they were in the middle of nowhere, closer to civilisation, this threat becomes potentially apocalyptic. Harrison Chase is what makes the last third of this story really shine, giving a human face to the menace. His key character trait is that image is fanatical about plants, an unhealthy obsession that he would put ahead of anything else - even humanity. Whilst your bog standard Who villain would have been rallying guards and begging the monster of the week to not kill them, Chase is fascinated in the developing menace, taking photos of it and delighting in its power. Whilst Terror of the Zygons was a good story, The Seeds of Doom confirms Robert Banks Stuart to be an absolute master at writing Doctor Who. It is such a pity that we only have one last script left from him to enjoy. This story is another all time classic continuing Tom Baker’s superb run as The Doctor. Like Liked 3 Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating289 members 4.13 / 5 Trakt.tv AVG. Rating486 votes 3.85 / 5 The Time Scales AVG. Rating184 votes 4.50 / 5 Member Statistics Watched 553 Favourited 75 Reviewed 3 Saved 3 Skipped 0 Owned 7 Related Stories BBC Books The Roots of Evil Rating: 2.83 Story Skipped Short Story Reviews(1) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: The Adventures Before 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 and the Seeds of Doom Rating: 3.67 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 DUNBAR: Since you seem to have it all sewn up, Doctor, perhaps you can tell us where the pod is now? DOCTOR: I'll make a guess. Right here, in this country. Action! Action, that's what we need. If we don't find that pod before it germinates, it'll be the end of everything. Everything, you understand? Even your pension! — The Seeds of Doom Transcript Needs checking Part One [Antarctica] (In the most inhospitable place on Earth, two men are using small pickaxes to gather samples at the base of a glacier face.) MOBERLEY: Come on, Charles. We've got enough samples, surely.WINLETT: This isn't ice. This is something else. Have a look. (He lifts a round object of about six inches diameter out of the snow.) 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