Frontios Part 2
The Doctor and his companions must unravel the mystery behind the constant bombardment of the planet Frontios, while navigating the complex politics and hidden dangers of the colony.
The planet Frontios is under constant bombardment, and the Doctor, along with his companions Tegan, Turlough, and Norna, crash-lands on the planet. They soon discover that the colony is ruled by Plantagenet, who is desperate to find the reason behind the bombardments. The Doctor and his companions investigate the research room, where they uncover clues that suggest the bombardments might be caused by meteorites. However, they also stumble upon a hidden underground network and a mysterious entity known as the 'Tractators'. As tensions rise, the group must work together to uncover the truth and save the planet from destruction. Along the way, they encounter various obstacles, including orderlies, Brazen, and Range, who seem to be hiding secrets. The Doctor's investigation leads him to a hidden cavern, where he discovers a geological feature that might be the key to understanding the bombardments. Meanwhile, Tegan and Turlough face their own challenges as they navigate the dangers of the planet. Ultimately, the Doctor and his companions must use their knowledge and skills to prevent a catastrophe and bring peace to the people of Frontios.
Events in This Episode
The narrative beats that drive the story
The narrative opens with the Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough in a precarious position outside the colony ship, their TARDIS seemingly disintegrated, and facing the hostile leader Plantagenet and his armed orderlies. Plantagenet, desperate for answers regarding the incessant bombardments, views the Doctor as an invader. Norna, however, defends the Doctor, questioning the colony's history and Captain Revere's research. Turlough, demonstrating quick thinking, uses a residual energy burst from the TARDIS's hat stand to create a diversion, temporarily scattering the orderlies and preventing immediate execution. Meanwhile, Tegan is sent to the medical centre with Range, where she learns about the colony's dire situation, the 'Retrogrades' or deserters, and the strict, often brutal, discipline enforced by the orderlies. The Doctor, examining a meteorite, deduces that the bombardments might be natural phenomena rather than an attack, shifting the investigative focus. He demands access to the sealed research room, which Plantagenet initially refuses. Turlough, again employing the hat stand as a threat, compels Plantagenet to grant access, setting the stage for the next phase of the investigation. The act concludes as the group enters the research room, but a sudden, mysterious collapse by Plantagenet introduces a new, urgent medical crisis.
As Plantagenet’s orderlies close in on the Doctor, Turlough seizes the moment and extracts a metal hat stand from the ground. Channeling latent TARDIS energy from the device, he creates …
Tegan and Range retreat under Plantagenet's orders, leaving the Doctor isolated as Plantagenet escalates his hostility. Norna challenges Plantagenet’s claim about his father’s motivations, exposing the colony’s fragile unity under …
Escorted to the medical center, Tegan witnesses Range outline the colony’s desperate plight in hushed tones. Range reveals the brutal suppression of dissent and dwindling resources, exposing Frontios’s inhuman rules …
The Doctor seizes a moment of tension outside the colony ship to shift the colony’s understanding of their crisis. While Plantagenet threatens execution, Norna challenges his assertion about Captain Revere’s …
Plantagenet suddenly collapses as the Doctor begins to explain the bombardments, shattering the fragile truce. The colonists' insistence on violence erupts when Norna defends the Doctor and Plantagenet orders his …
Under the Medical Centre’s pressure, Range and Tegan wrestle a failing power source into readiness. As Tegan’s hands move from chemistry to machinery, she forces Range to defend the colony’s …
Tegan and Range finish repairing a critical battery while discussing the colony's brutal methods. Range justifies the execution of deserters as necessary for order, revealing the moral cost of survival …
While the colony’s orderly Range delivers grim statistics about discipline and desertions, Tegan moves to tend to a patient the others have ignored. Her attention to the man’s simple need …
The Doctor gathers the team in a newly accessible research room to analyze Frontios's bombardment through chemical tests, asserting control over the investigation. Turlough’s inexperience with lab work surfaces, forcing …
Plantagenet’s simmering hostility toward the Doctor and Turlough erupts when he secretly arms himself with a crowbar before entering the research room. The fragile peace shatters when Plantagenet abruptly collapses …
Tegan forcibly accesses the medical centre's filing cabinet to uncover classified records about unexplained deaths on Frontios. Her discovery ignites a tense standoff with Range, who attempts to suppress the …
Amid the medical centre’s tense standoff Tegan’s discovery of unaccountable deaths confronts Range with uncomfortable truths he would suppress. The Doctor interrupts to redirect energy from confrontation to action, snapping …
Brazen forces the Doctor and his companions to abandon the medical centre as the bombardment intensifies, carrying the unconscious Plantagenet on a stretcher through the chaos. The evacuation transforms the …
Act two commences with Plantagenet's sudden collapse in the research room, necessitating the Doctor's immediate medical intervention. While the Doctor works to diagnose and treat Plantagenet in the medical centre, Tegan uncovers a filing cabinet containing a folder ominously titled 'Deaths Unaccountable,' hinting at Range's complicity in concealing dark secrets within the colony. This discovery raises Tegan's suspicions about the true nature of Frontios's problems beyond the bombardments. Concurrently, in the research room, Norna shares a chilling anecdote from her childhood: Captain Revere's decree against digging underground, citing that 'the earth was hungry.' Turlough, analyzing the dated rock samples, realizes that the quarry, supposedly closed for years, has recent additions, suggesting clandestine activity. The Doctor successfully revives Plantagenet using an improvised defibrillation technique, earning the leader's grudging respect and a temporary reprieve for the group. However, the respite is short-lived as Turlough and Norna discover a hidden floor plate and a passage beneath the research room, revealing a secret underground network. The danger escalates dramatically when Plantagenet, still recovering in the medical centre, is mysteriously pulled through the floor, vanishing into the rock. This inexplicable event confirms a pervasive, hidden threat within the colony itself, pushing the narrative towards direct confrontation with the unknown.
Plantagenet lies in the medical centre while the bombardment shakes the colony outside. Gratitude for survival disrupts his rigid sense of duty as Brazen, his most loyal defender, acknowledges the …
Plantagenet’s collapse forces the Doctor to briefly prioritize secrecy over his usual openness. Though the colony leader is still recovering, the Doctor’s warning to keep their findings from the Time …
Turlough attempts to busy himself with the block and tackle mechanism in the Research Room, a distraction that Norna immediately sees through. Their banter turns pointed as she needles him …
Norna recounts a childhood memory of visiting the Research Room with her father, who served as Captain Revere's science assistant. This establishes Revere's historical authority and his decree against underground …
Turlough’s idle examination of the Research Room’s block and tackle reveals a hidden detail about the floor plates—a small flap where solid metal panels should be. Intrigued by Norna’s mention …
Plantagenet clings to his duty despite decades of relentless bombardments, refusing to abandon the colony ship before the Doctor interjects. The Doctor calmly acknowledges the planet’s horrors but Plantagenet’s rule …
Tegan directly confronts Plantagenet about Brazen’s distrust of their group, exposing the fissure between the Governor’s loyalty to his strict loyalist and the Doctor’s more probing approach. Plantagenet defends Brazen …
The Doctor delivers a stark warning to Plantagenet about Frontios’s deteriorating atmosphere, exposing the colony’s vulnerability to the relentless bombardments that have plagued it. His diagnosis transforms the planet’s suffering …
The Doctor exploits Plantagenet's newfound trust by singling out Range for a private meeting, using the guise of medical research to isolate him from Brazen's watchful eye. Brazen, irritated by …
Tegan probes Brazen about the ominous phrase deaths unaccountable, revealing her suspicion of deliberate omissions in Frontios’ official records. Brazen grows agitated and evasive, dragging her away as Plantagenet wakes …
Plantagenet’s unexpected awakening disrupts Brazen’s attempt to steer Tegan away from sensitive material. As Brazen drags her toward the data store, Plantagenet rolls off his bed, hearing the raised voices. …
The final act of this part plunges the characters into the immediate aftermath of Plantagenet's disappearance and the direct confrontation with the hidden threat. Turlough and Norna, having descended into the newly discovered tunnels beneath the research room, find themselves in a cavern with strange, reflective walls and peculiar objects. Their exploration culminates in the terrifying reveal of the 'Tractators'—creatures previously glimpsed and now confirmed as the source of Turlough's growing unease. Back in the medical centre, Brazen attempts to contain the escalating panic among the colonists, who believe Plantagenet is dead, leading to widespread looting and unrest. Tegan, realizing the gravity of the situation and the need to alert the Doctor, ingeniously escapes Brazen's custody by causing a power surge, then bars the medical centre doors, leaving the chaos behind. Meanwhile, the Doctor, having descended into the tunnels with Range, learns of Turlough and Norna's perilous situation. Turlough, running back in a state of terror, confirms the existence of the 'Tractators,' a word that resonates with his subconscious memory. The Doctor, recognizing the immediate danger, instructs Range to care for the traumatized Turlough and proceeds alone into the depths of the Tractator lair. Tegan arrives at the research room, sees the open passage, and, despite Range's warnings, follows the Doctor, setting up a high-stakes, multi-pronged pursuit into the heart of Frontios's darkest secret.
Norna overrides Turlough's caution to linger in the cavern, drawn by the strange smoothness of the walls which suggest a hidden path. Her insistence to examine the formation firsthand highlights …
Turlough stops in his tracks at the smooth, glass-like cavern walls, his unease sharpening as Norna insists on pressing forward to trace the tunnel’s source. His caution clashes with Norna’s …
Turlough and Norna step into a cavern whose walls shimmer with strange, reflective surfaces and scattered artifacts. Turlough’s unease is immediate, his pleas to leave masking deeper discomfort. Norna teasingly …
Turlough and Norna push deeper into the alien cavern despite his unease, the glittering walls masking the true horror ahead. Turlough’s casual bravado crumbles when the cavern’s hidden mechanisms reveal …
The Doctor moves cautiously through the Tractis tunnels when Range emerges from the shadows, brandishing a phosphor lamp. Concerned for his missing daughter, Range insists on sharing the peril of …
Tegan seizes the instant of chaos to flee the medical facility, using the colony’s failing infrastructure to her advantage. With a burst of brutal efficiency she exposes live power cables, …