Doctor Who: The Curse of Peladon

Taking a test flight in the TARDIS, the Doctor and Jo make an inelegant landing on the planet Peladon. When they are mistaken for representatives from Earth, the Doctor soon finds himself chairing the committee of alien delegates assessing Peladon's petition to join the Galactic Federation. When one of the King's advisors is killed, the High Priest fears the ancient Curse of Aggedor is at work, but the Doctor suspects his old enemies the Ice Warriors are to blame. Can the Doctor and Jo uncover the identity of the saboteurs before a major diplomatic incident plunges them into war?

The Doctor and Jo make a test flight in the TARDIS and arrive on the planet Peladon. Seeking shelter, they enter the citadel of the soon-to-be-crowned King Peladon, where the Doctor is mistaken for a human dignitary summoned to act as Chairman of a committee assessing an application by the planet to join the Galactic Federation.
The other committee members - Alpha Centauri, Arcturus and the Martian Lord Izlyr and his Warrior subordinate Ssorg - have already arrived, but are disconcerted by the death of one of the King's advisors, Chancellor Torbis. High Priest Hepesh, who opposes the union with the Federation, attributes Torbis's death to the Curse of Aggedor, the sacred beast of Peladon. Other incidents occur and the Doctor concludes that a saboteur is at work.
At first he suspects the Ice Warriors, but the guilty parties are eventually revealed to be Hepesh and Arcturus. Arcturus has convinced Hepesh that the Federation would only exploit Peladon for its mineral riches, whereas this is in fact his own race's intention. Arcturus is destroyed with a blast from Ssorg's sonic gun, but Hepesh escapes into a network of tunnels beneath the citadel, where he foments rebellion amongst the guards. The rebels storm the citadel and take the King prisoner.
Hepesh then orders Aggedor - a real beast he has been using for his own ends - to kill the Doctor. The Doctor, however, has tamed Aggedor, and it is Hepesh who dies.

First Transmitted
1 - 29/01/1972 17:50
2 - 05/02/1972 17:50
3 - 12/02/1972 17:50
4 - 19/02/1972 17:50

Directed by Lennie Mayne
Written by Brian Hayles
Produced by Barry Letts
Incidental Music by Dudley Simpson
Film Editing by Michael Sha-Dyan
Costume Design by Barbara Lane
Title Music by Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, arranged by Delia Derbyshire

This story is an allegory of the UK's accession to the Common Market - a highly topical issue at the time of its original transmission.

The only on-screen credit for Terry Walsh's short-lived stunt group PROFILE. Walsh had by this point superseded Derek Ware as the series' regular stunt co-ordinator, but would subsequently be credited simply under his own name.

David Troughton, playing King Peladon, shared a flat with future Doctor Colin Baker at this time.

Sonny Caldinez replaced David Purcell at a late stage as Ssorg.

Amazonia, the real delegate from Earth, is never referred to by name in the story's dialogue; her name is given only in the closing credits.