Classic Who - Season 17, Story 106 - The Creature from the Pit

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Quotes
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"Junk? Did you say junk? I don't carry junk. That's extremely valuable equipment." ~ The Fourth Doctor

The 4th Doctor: Yes, yes. Such a bore.
Romana: That's what it's for.
The 4th Doctor: What, to bore?

"I was never in distress. Well, not often. I mean, not what you'd call often." ~ The Fourth Doctor

"Stands to reason. Stupid expression, stands to reason. Why doesn't it lie down to reason? Much easier to reason lying down. Relaxes the cerebellum." ~ The Fourth Doctor

"Why do you call it the Place of Death? You know, I've always been fascinated by place names and I trust you'll make an exception in my case." ~ The Fourth Doctor

"I suppose you could say the yoke's on him, if you were the sort of person who said that sort of thing, which fortunately I'm not." ~ The Fourth Doctor

"I'm a traveller. I'm a Time Lord. And I am not used to being assaulted by a collection of hairy, grubby little men. I don't intend to get used to it, either. Sit down." ~ Romana

"Ah. More to the point, for whom is it screaming? Its mummy? By the pyramids, imagine the size of its mummy." ~ The Fourth Doctor

"Well, to be fair, I did have a couple of gadgets which he probably didn't, like a teaspoon and an open mind." ~ The Fourth Doctor

"Well, I really must be on my way. I do hope we don't meet again. I can't honestly say it's been a pleasure. Good day." ~ Romana

"If I were you, my dear, I would pray that he was dead already. Then he would at least be spared the stress of being eaten alive." ~ Lady Adrasta

Organon: Crystal ball man, are you? Or do you favour goat entrails?
The 4th Doctor: No, I tend to use a police box affair.
Organon: A police box affair?

"I told her that she would have visitors from beyond the stars. Well, it seemed a safe enough bet at the time. It's a great attention-getter, you know. I do it very well.  I see a creature coming to you from beyond the stars. I've done it in all the courts on the planet. It usually goes down very well." ~ Organon

"You're mad! He's mad. It's all been too much for him. You wouldn't find me doing a crazy thing like that. Here! Wait for me!" ~ Organon

"What's that creature doing here? Pure brain a hundred foot across stuck at the bottom of a pit, oozing about and sitting on people. Not much of a life, is it." ~ The Fourth Doctor

"If I say you're made of tin, you horrible little animal, you're made of tin." ~ Madam Karela

Organon: Ah. Nice fellow. Do you know the celestial circumstances of his birth?
Romana: The what?
Organon: When was he born?
Romana: Oh, about seven hundred and fifty years ago, so he says

The 4th Doctor: Oh, you shouldn't be worried. Time Lords have ninety lives.
Romana: How many have you got through, then?
The 4th Doctor: About a hundred and thirty.

Organon: What sign were you born under?
The 4th Doctor: Crossed computers.
Organon: Crossed what?
The 4th Doctor: Computers. It's the symbol of the maternity service on Gallifrey.

The 4th Doctor: Did you hear what I said just now?
Romana: About this being a frightening experience but don't be alarmed?
The 4th Doctor: Yes. I didn't say that.
Romana: You didn't?
The 4th Doctor: No. I was too busy being frightened and alarmed.

"Don't listen to him. It's just the ravings of a demented space tramp. Set the wolfweeds on him!" ~ Lady Adrasta

"And did she put the welfare of her struggling people above her own petty power? No. She's tipped the ambassador into a pit and threw astrologers at him." ~ The Fourth Doctor

"After he's told us whatever it is. And before he reaches his space vehicle to escape. Do remind me to give him back his photon drive." The Fourth Doctor

The 4th Doctor: What? Seventy four million three hundred and eighty four thousand three hundred and thirty eight? Well, that's extraordinary.
Romana: Why?
The 4th Doctor: Well, that's my lucky number.

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Trivia
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When first seen in the studio the phallic nature of Erato, the creature from the pit, shocked the cast and crew and had to be altered at short notice.

"Creature from the Pit" was actually the first serial of the season to be filmed. As a result, Lalla Ward's performance and manner of dress as Romana is somewhat different from that seen in the previously broadcast serials, since she was still working out her character at the time.

Ward disliked this story. She was unhappy that her white costume was an intentional echo of Mary Tamm's original outfit from The Ribos Operation, and also felt that David Fisher had done a poor job of rewriting his scripts for her incarnation of Romana. Graham Williams agreed that, in the future, Ward should have more say in her character's portrayal.

Christopher Barry is said to have had differences of opinion with both Tom Baker and Lalla Ward regarding their characters and dialogue during filming of this story. These plus frequent technical problems led to his departure from directing on Doctor Who.

David Brierley provided the voice for K9, replacing John Leeson.

The original script from "Creature from the Pit" was concerned with Adrasta's attempts to claim the TARDIS for herself. K-9 eventually takes Adrasta away in the TARDIS, returning her - cowed and defeated - at the story's conclusion. Upon initially being thrown into the Pit, the Doctor is attacked by Hellyn, a former member of Adrasta's team of engineers. In the final episode, a battle fleet from Tithonus (later spelt "Tythonus") arrives, threatening to destroy Chloris with a photon missile. Erato and the Doctor travel into space in Erato's ship, and the Tithonian weaves a spacesuit for the Doctor, enabling him to reach the missile and disarm it.

Lady Adrasta was inspired by Andromeda, a figure in Greek legend who attracted a sea monster which plagued her homeland. In David Fisher's original script, Lady Adrasta was Queen Adastra, whose name meant "to the stars" in Latin. This was changed by Douglas Adams.

Erato was one of a group of goddesses called the Muses, specifically the Muse of erotic poetry. Significantly, her name means "lovely".

This story guest stars Geoffrey Bayldon in the role of Organon. Bayldon had been a candidate for the roles of both the First and Second Doctors. He was also a close personal friend of Jon Pertwee.

A number of the Doctor's old costumes appear on the TARDIS hatstand. His coats from The Seeds of Doom and The Talons of Weng-Chiang are two of these.

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Links (Watch on DailyMotion.com)
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Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4



Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit (Story 106) DVD is available at Amazon.com,
or download from iTunes, or watch via online streaming at Hulu Plus.