Fabula
S20E10 · Mawdryn Undead Part 2
S20E10
· Mawdryn Undead Part 2

Nyssa and Tegan call out for the lost Doctor

Nyssa and Tegan remain trapped inside the malfunctioning TARDIS following the Doctor's sudden disappearance. Their desperate calls for him echo through the empty console room, met only by hollow silence. The absence of the Doctor forces them to confront the dire consequence of the temporal rift—they are stranded in an unfamiliar time with no means of escape or contact. The moment crystallizes their shared dread and the fragility of their partnership under the weight of an uncertain future.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

1

Nyssa and Tegan search for the Doctor, realizing he is not with them. Tegan confirms their isolation.

concern to unease

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
Nyssa
Companion of the Doctor
 primary

Professional calm fractured by deep anxiety as the absence of leadership leaves her exposed and vulnerable

Nyssa stands in the TARDIS console room, her posture rigid with urgency as she calls out for the Doctor, her voice laced with a mix of concern and rising panic. She scans the empty chamber, her analytical mind struggling to reconcile the Doctor's sudden disappearance, betraying her trained composure under pressure.

Goals in this moment
  • • Locate the Doctor to restore TARDIS function
  • • Calm Tegan’s evident distress and prevent panic from spreading
Active beliefs
  • • The Doctor’s presence ensures safety through competence
  • • Time travel crises can be resolved with logic and urgency
Character traits
analytical urgency disciplined concern unnerved composure
Follow Nyssa's journey
Tegan Jovanka
primary

Feigned indifference masking terror and uncertainty about being abandoned in an alien time period

Tegan paces the console room, frustration and fear edging into her dry tone as she responds to Nyssa. Her sharp practicality masks a deeper unease, her instincts screaming danger beyond mere displacement. She clings to hollow defiance, refusing to acknowledge the crushing weight of their situation.

Goals in this moment
  • • Locate the Doctor to regain control of the situation
  • • Assert control to maintain psychological equilibrium
Active beliefs
  • • Trusting the Doctor is the only way to resolve crisis
  • • Asserting authority preserves dignity under duress
Character traits
deflective wit unspoken terror brittle command
Follow Tegan Jovanka's journey

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Obelisk Hill Monument Site

The console room of the TARDIS materializes atop Obelisk Hill, its familiar technology now alien in its silence—deprived of the Doctor’s presence, the chamber feels barren, its temporal systems destabilized. The obelisk’s ominous presence outside the ship’s windows bleeds into the room through the flickering visual distortion of time decay. The location becomes a prison of paradox, where safety and threat are indistinguishable.

Atmosphere Tense with palpable dread, a suffocating silence punctuated by the hum of failing machinery and …
Function Confinement and source of crisis, where malfunctioning technology traps the crew and amplifies uncertainty
Symbolism Represents the fragility of sanctuary under temporal assault, a sanctuary transformed into a liminal trap
Access Limited to TARDIS crew under normal operations, now effectively sealed by temporal paralysis
Flickering TARDIS systems casting distorted light Ozone scent from temporal bleed seeping through walls

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What led here 1
Causal medium

"The Brigadier’s dismissal of the Doctor in 1983 (due to amnesia) sets up the urgency felt by Nyssa and Tegan when they cannot locate the Doctor in 1977 shortly afterward."

Doctor rebuffed by amnesiac Brigadier
S20E10 · Mawdryn Undead Part 2

Part of Larger Arcs

Tegan Jovanka's struggle to protect the Doctor while maintaining control over escalating crises despite her anxieties and lack of TARDIS familiarity

Key Dialogue

"NYSSA: Doctor? Doctor?"
"TEGAN: There's no one here."