Fabula
Season 8 · Episode 7
S8E7
Tense, high-stakes, with undercurrents of tragic irony
Written by Don Houghton
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The Mind of Evil Part 3

The Doctor must stop the Master, disguised as Professor Keller, from using a mind-control machine at Stangmoor prison to trigger World War III by manipulating international delegates and stealing a UNIT nuclear missile.

The Doctor and Brigadier investigate strange occurrences linked to a Chinese delegate, Chin Lee, and discover a telepathic amplifier used to project powerful impulses into her mind. The source leads them to Stangmoor prison, where Professor Keller, secretly the Master, is using a machine to influence world leaders and incite global conflict.

Meanwhile, Jo Grant and Doctor Summers are caught in a prison riot orchestrated by the Master's machinations. Inmate Mailer takes Jo hostage, and Summers attempts to negotiate with the Governor. As the Brigadier and Doctor uncover the Master's plan to steal a UNIT nuclear missile, the Master manipulates events within the prison to his advantage, using Mailer and other inmates as pawns.

Chin Lee, freed from the Master's control, provides crucial information about his activities. The Doctor races against time to thwart the Master's scheme. The Master, having successfully seized control of the prison with Mailer's help, reveals his plan to launch the stolen missile and trigger a global war. He also expresses the need for the Doctor's expertise in operating the Keller machine.

The Doctor cleverly creates a diversion, escaping the Master's clutches. He searches for Jo within the chaotic prison, now controlled by the inmates. The episode culminates with the Doctor's desperate attempt to rescue Jo and prevent the Master from executing his devastating plan.


Events in This Episode

The narrative beats that drive the story

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Act 1

The Doctor and Brigadier investigate the Chinese delegate's suite, where they find Chin Lee under the influence of a telepathic amplifier. The Doctor deduces the impulses originate from the Keller machine at Stangmoor prison, linking the strange occurrences to a larger, more sinister plot. Simultaneously, within Stangmoor, Jo Grant and Doctor Summers become hostages during a prison riot orchestrated by inmate Mailer. Chin Lee, freed from the Master's control, provides crucial, albeit fragmented, information about her visits to Stangmoor and her encounters with Professor Keller. The Doctor quickly identifies Keller as his arch-nemesis, the Master, who is attempting to incite global conflict. The Brigadier receives an urgent call, confirming Jo Grant's capture and hostage situation at Stangmoor, solidifying the Doctor's immediate need to go to the prison, now aware of both the Master's presence and Jo's peril.

Act 2

Jo Grant remains a hostage, while Doctor Summers attempts to negotiate with the Governor for her release, but the Governor refuses to yield to Mailer's demands. A brief moment of hope arises when Jo disarms Mailer during a distraction, leading to the prison officers regaining control and apprehending Mailer and Vosper. This apparent resolution is short-lived as Professor Keller, secretly the Master, arrives at the prison. The Master dismisses the Governor's concerns about the machine's malfunctions and requests to see Mailer. In Mailer's cell, the Master reveals his true identity and offers Mailer weapons and a plan for a more effective prison takeover. The Keller machine reactivates, its reservoir filled with dark material, signaling the Master's renewed machinations. The Master and Mailer then execute their plan, using gas grenades and gunfire to incapacitate the prison officers, swiftly seizing complete control of the facility. The act concludes with the Master, having secured the prison and its inmates as his pawns, declaring his readiness for the Doctor's imminent arrival.

Act 3

The Doctor arrives at the now inmate-controlled Stangmoor prison, driving Bessie through the main gate. Mailer intercepts him, escorting him directly to the Governor's office, where the Master awaits. The Master, no longer in disguise, confronts the Doctor, confirming his control over the prison and revealing Jo Grant's continued captivity. He explains his need for the Doctor's expertise with the Keller machine, which has developed a 'mind of its own.' The Master then unveils his grand scheme: to steal the UNIT nuclear missile, currently being transported, and launch it to trigger a global war. As Yates reports on the missile's transport, confirming the Master's target, the Doctor creates a diversion by overturning a jug of water and the desk, allowing him to escape the Master's immediate grasp. The Doctor flees the office and the prison courtyard, dodging gunfire from inmates on the ramparts. He begins a desperate search for Jo within the chaotic, prisoner-controlled prison, calling out her name as the episode ends with Mailer firing at him, leaving Jo's fate and the Master's ultimate plan hanging in the balance.