DOCTOR WHO:  THE RIBOS OPERATION

commentary by Judy Harris

visit my home page at  http://judyharris.net/index.htm

or E-mail me at foosie@bestweb.net

index of all Tom Baker WHO stories:  http://judyharris.net/whoindex.htm

#24:  THE RIBOS OPERATION (4 Parts)
ORIGINALLY AIRED:  9/2/78 to 9/23/78
WRITTEN BY:  Robert Holmes 	
DIRECTED BY:  George Spenton-Foster
PRODUCER:  Graham Williams	
SCRIPT EDITOR:  Anthony Read
	

After the first four years of Tom Baker stories circulated in syndication for several years, episodes from his last three years in the role finally surfaced in America on PBS. Partly because these shows were not viewed with the same innocence as the original stories--viewers knew what to expect from the series by now--these last three years don't seem to have the style, pacing, characterization and overall impact of the earlier shows. Some of the sparkle and spontaneity was missing; and there were more errors in continuity. Less care was taken in tying up the loose ends with explanations; and more material appeared to be recycled.

The six stories of Tom Baker's fifth season had a unifying theme of the Doctor's quest to locate the six segments of the Key to Time. This sounded rather dull to me before I saw the actual shows, but as it turned out, the details concerning the Key to Time occupied a relatively small place in most of these six stories, and sometimes served merely as a motive to show up on a particular planet.

The Key to Time itself is a disappointing prop. Its segments look as if they are made out of some cheap material, such as clear plastic, which they probably are.

THE RIBOS OPERATION, written by ex-script editor Robert Holmes, sets up the premise for the Doctor's quest, reintroduces K9--now the Mark 2 version, but not noticeably different from the old K9 left behind with Leela on Gallifrey--and introduces his new traveling companion, Romana, a female Time Lord. The Doctor and Romana get off to a rocky start--he resents the White Guardian's choosing his assistant for him; and she immediately rubs him the wrong way by being one of those tedious people who like to psychoanalyze others, enlightening the Doctor on what's wrong with him. This interaction could have been a lot funnier; unfortunately, Mary Tamm was nowhere near as expert as Tom Baker in rolling polysyllabic phrases off her tongue naturally.

As the six-story season developed, Romana grew less imperious and the Doctor less resentful, and they wound up working quite well together. Her propensity for unwanted psychoanalysis shows up only in the two stories written by Robert Holmes (this one and THE POWER OF KROLL). Romana eventually underwent a regeneration of her own, from Mary Tamm into Lalla Ward, who played the role in a completely different manner, less imperious and more childlike.

Somewhere in the taping of THE RIBOS OPERATION, Tom Baker showed up with an injured lip--from a dog bite (a Jack Russell terrier owned by Paul Seed, who played the villain)--so it is possible to figure out which scenes were filmed before and after this injury by looking at the state of his wound. It's clear that the following story, THE PIRATE PLANET, must have gone before the cameras before THE RIBOS OPERATION, as his lip is in far worse shape in the story which aired second.

In the TARDIS, the Doctor tests an ultrasonic whistle and it works--K9 nods and acknowledges him. The Doctor promises his robot dog a nice long holiday on lovely Harligan 3, with beaches, palm trees and sunshine all day long.

The lights go off in the TARDIS. The door opens and a blindingly bright light shines in. A voice says, "Doctor, your presence is required." The Doctor is uneasy because only a Guardian has the power to stop a TARDIS in midflight.

The Doctor emerges from the TARDIS into a strange, artificial environment.  In the midst of the otherwise deserted landscape there is a wicker chair and a patio umbrella.  Wind chimes can be heard in the background.  The White Guardian materializes, sipping a drink.

He says, "Doctor, you have been chosen for a vitally important task" concerning the Key to Time. This is a "perfect cube, which maintains the equilibrium of Time itself.  It consists of 6 segments, and these segments are scattered and hidden throughout the cosmos.  When they are assembled into the cube, they create a power which is too dangerous for any being to possess."

The Doctor wonders why they must be assembled. The Guardian replies, "There are times, Doctor, when the forces within the universe upset the balance to such an extent that it becomes necessary to stop everything" but only for a brief moment until the balance is restored. "Such a moment is rapidly approaching," the Guardian warns,  "These segments must be traced and returned to me before it is too late--before the universe is plunged into eternal chaos."

The Doctor asks what will happen if he doesn't volunteer for the job. "Nothing," the Guardian promises, "Nothing at all, ever."  He tells the Doctor the segments are all disguised.  They contain the elemental force of the universe.  They can be in any shape, form or size.  To recognize the segments, the Guardian promises the Doctor a locater...and an assistant.

"Please, sir," the Doctor requests, "on an assignment like this I'd much rather work alone. In my experience, assistants mean trouble.  I have to protect them and show them and teach them and--couldn't I just--couldn't I just manage with K9?"

However, you don't argue with a Guardian, who says the assistant is already waiting in the TARDIS.  The Doctor makes a "shucks" gesture, giving in none too graciously.

The White Guardian adds, "In order to maintain the universal balance, there is also a Black Guardian, and he also requires the Key to Time," but for an evil purpose. At all costs, the Doctor must prevent the Black Guardian from getting the Key. Intoning "beware," the White Guardian disappears.

Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor tells K9 the holiday's off.  The new assistant greets the Doctor. She's dressed in a long white gown; her hair is up and she wears a pearl headdress. She introduces herself as Romanadvoratrelundar. "I'm so sorry about that; is there anything we can do?" the Doctor asks.

Romanadvoratrelundar says the President of The Supreme Council sent her. (Who could this be if it is not the Doctor?). She hands him a slender rod--which she calls the Core to the Key to Time. Although it is called the Core through much of this story, it is later referred to mainly as the Tracer.

Sensing the Doctor isn't pleased to have her help, Romanadvoratrelundar lists her qualifications--she graduated from the Academy with a Triple First. When this doesn't impress him, she can't help mentioning it's better than scraping through with 51% at the second attempt. "That information is confidential," the Doctor shouts, leaping up.

Romanadvoratrelundar has put a hole in the TARDIS control panel to insert the tracer. "When plugged into the control console," she tells him, "the core indicates the space-time coordinates of each segment of the Key."

The Doctor plugs it in and reads the coordinates: 4180. Without looking them up he knows this is Cyrrhenis Minimus. Romanadvoratrelundar adds the tracer also locates the segment at close range and, when it's brought into contact with the disguised segment, it converts it back into its proper form.

The Doctor asks Romana to stay out of his way as much as possible and try to keep out of trouble. He's not too happy she knows more about the tracer than he does, plus when he checks the coordinates again, they've changed to 4940, at a distance of 116 parsecs. "Never trust gimmicky gadgets," he says.

Ribos, in the constellation of Skythra, is a cold, primitive world.  Its principal city is Shurr. In the Relic Room, the Captain and his Shrieves lock up the city's valuables and unleash a clawed, dragon-like creature, the Shrievenzale, to watch over the relics.

On the roof above, Unstoffe drops some drugged meat through a skylight to the Shrievenzale's lair, and lowers a rope ladder. His companion, Garron, hands him a large lump of Jethrik, a lumpy blue stone.

Unstoffe climbs down and finds the Shrievenzale asleep. Using a glass cutter, he opens a display case, places the Jethrik on a shelf and closes it up again.

In the TARDIS, the Doctor is sulking, holding his scarf up to the side of his face and leaning against the side of the TARDIS. Romanadvoratrelundar chides him for his behavior at his age. He admits to being 756--"that's not old, it's just mature," he says. Romanadvoratrelundar thinks he's lost count somewhere.

"Your behavior simply derives from a subtransitory experiential hypertroid induced condition aggravated, I expect, by multi-encephalogical flaxions," she tells him. Putting it simply, she thinks the Doctor is suffering from a massive compensation syndrome. She might even use his case in her thesis.

The TARDIS materializes. The Doctor emerges carrying a feathery white coat for Romanadvoratrelundar. "Can't stand the cold, stay out of the freezer," he tells her. He lists some ground rules for her to obey: "Rule 1--do exactly as I say.  Rule 2--stick close to me; and Rule 3--let me do all the talking."  The Doctor tells her name is too long. "By the time I've called out: 'look out'--what's your name?" When he hears it again, he says, "By the time I've called that out, you could be dead--I'll call you Romana." Romana doesn't like that.  "It's either Romana or Fred," the Doctor says firmly.  She prefers Fred, but he ignores her and gives her the coat.

The tracer is ticking like a Geiger counter, so the Doctor sets off to follow it. "The secret of survival is always to expect the unexpected," he says. There's a crash.  Romana finds him suspended in an animal trap made of rope.

Garron goes to greet the Graff Vynda-K and his general Sholakh.  Garron tells them Ribos orbits its sun elliptically, so its climate is one of extremes.  The natives call the two seasons Ice Time and Sun Time; each one lasts approximately 32 years.

Vynda-K is considering buying the planet, which is only 3 light centuries from the Magellanic Clouds. Garron suggests if anyone asks, Vynda-K and Sholakh should say they're from the North.  Ribos is so primitive, the natives don't even know the planet is within the Greater Cyrrhenic Empire or that they are protected by the forces of the Alliance.

Garron says Magellanic Mining Conglomerate has set an evaluation of 10 million opeks for this unspoiled, central planet. He leaves the documents of title and mortmain for them to look over and promises to show them around tomorrow.

After Garron leaves, Sholakh shows a mineralogical survey to Vynda-K. It shows an evaluation of Jethrik at .0001% of mass.  This is the rarest and most valuable element in the galaxy.  Magellanic Mining may be selling the planet but they are retaining the mineral rights to themselves.

Vynda-K is excited because Jethrik could guarantee a quick success to his plan to win back the Levithian crown from his half brother.

The Doctor and Romana pass Garron, as he eavesdrops via a bug he planted in Vynda-K's quarters. The Doctor finds Garron's Somerset accent extraordinary, telling Romana Somerset's one of the Earth counties.  According to BARTHOLOMEW'S PLANETARY GAZETTEER, Romana tells him, Ribos has a protected class 3 society, so there can't be any Earth aliens on Ribos.  The Doctor thinks Garron may be a cricket scout: "They could do with a leg spinner," he says.

Vynda-K tells his plan to Sholakh--if they mine and sell the Jethrik, they could hire an army and a hundred battle cruisers from outside the Alliance to win back his crown.

The tracer leads the Doctor and Romana to the Relic Room. A sentry snores nearby. The Doctor opens the door with the sonic screwdriver while Romana opines that his sarcasm "is an adjustive stress reaction."  The tracer shows the segment is in the display case.

On the Relic Room roof, Unstoffe strikes up a conversation with the Shrieve in charge of feeding the Shrievenzale, and offers him some doped wine.

The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to open the multilevered interlocks beneath the display case. Before he can finish the job, Unstoffe blows the horn to indicate curfew's over.  Romana wanders into the Shrievenzale's lair to check out the sound and gets stuck there, as the shutter starts to close.

The Doctor braces the shutter with his body, allowing Romana to get out, but then he's stuck, and the Shrievenzale wakes up. The Shrieves feel the Doctor obstructing the door; thinking it is the beast, they raise the shutter, freeing the Doctor.

Romana suggests they just explain what they're doing. "Oh yes, we could explain," the Doctor mocks, "Sorry, old thing, we're just helping ourselves to your crown jewels--they'll have our heads off before you can say Rassilon's Rod."  He and Romana hide behind some handy decorative screens.

Garron arrives at the Relic Room, pretending to be a merchant.  He asks the Captain for a favor. A colleague is carrying in excess of a million gold opeks. Could he deposit the money in the Relic Room over night, so it could be well guarded?  The Captain agrees after Garron promises him a contribution.

The Doctor and Romana manage to sneak out during this negotiation. The Doctor is worried Garron may be after the same thing they are. "Don't jump to conclusions about anyone or anything; it can lead you astray," he tells Romana. "And don't be sarcastic either; that can also get you into trouble."  The pot calling the kettle black.

On the other hand, the Doctor muses, Garron could be an agent of the Black Guardian.  He doesn't tell Romana this; only that there might be some competition in their search. Romana doesn't want to be treated like a child; after all, she's nearly 140. "Really? You're in wonderful condition," the Doctor says.

Or, the Doctor decides, Garron might be "just an innocent crook. It's fascinating, isn't it?"

Garron goes to see Vynda-K and Sholakh, who ask about the mineral rights. Garron tells them on a grade 3 planet, the natives are protected.  No mining will be allowed for many thousand years.  He leads them to the Relic Room. Vynda-K sees the Jethrik in the display case, so Garron calls over a Shrieve to explain.  It's Unstoffe in the outfit of the guard he doped.

In a funny accent, Unstoffe calls the Jethrik "skrynge stone" and tells a long, rambling story about a mine, lost 3 Icetimes ago due to a glacier, somewhere in the Granite Mountain.

In the middle of his story, the Doctor and Romana arrive and observe with interest.

Unstoffe maintains the skrynge stone in the case was found by his own father at which point Garron steps on his foot to shut him up. Unstoffe takes no notice and produces a map, which he flashes briefly at the Graff.

The Doctor and Romana introduce themselves. Garron hustles Vynda-K and Sholakh out. The Doctor points to the display case and says, "That's the biggest lump of Jethrik I've ever set eyes on." He wonders if "Old Taffy knows the real value of it."  The Doctor can't believe people are still falling for the line of guff Unstoffe just spouted. Romana believed him; he had such an honest face. "Romana, you can't be a successful crook with a dishonest face, can you?" the Doctor remarks.

Back at his quarters, Vynda-K offers Garron 8 million opeks. Garron must check with his clients, which will necessitate his taking a shuttle to Skythros and contacting them by hypercable, which will take 3 weeks to a month. He asks for a deposit of 2 million opeks as a mark of good faith, but settles for a million. Garron says the money will be lodged on Ribos with the Captain of the Shrievalty. Vynda-K sends Sholakh to his ship to fetch the money, and Garron leaves also.

When he's alone, Vynda-K stumbles across Garron's bug, but leaves it in place.

Outside in Shurr, the Doctor refuses to explain to Romana what's going on. "Good mental exercise; an Academy graduate doesn't need things explained surely," he teases. "I will not give way to feelings of psychofeudal hostility," Romana promises, noting she and the Doctor have a "negative empathy."

Outside the city, Garron throttles Unstoffe for trying to sell a map to the lost Jethrik mine. "This is a hit and run business," Garron insists, "one bite and away."

On the roof of the Relic Room, the Doctor opens the skylight to the Shrievenzale and points out to Romana the marks of a grappling iron. He tells her Garron and his cohort planted the Jethrik to sell a map of a nonexistent mine.

Sholakh returns and Vynda-K motions for him to be quiet, showing him the bug. They go outside to talk in private. Vynda-K tells Sholakh to keep an eye on Garron.

Vynda-K, Sholakh and Garron go to the Relic Room and give the 1 million opeks to the Captain. While the Captain is signing the receipt, Garron steals the key to the cabinet where the gold is stored.

On the roof, Unstoffe feeds the Shrievenzale some drugged food. The Doctor tries to get into the Relic Room before Unstoffe climbs down, but is caught by the curfew sentry. The Doctor hypnotizes him by dangling a gold watch in front of his face.

Unstoffe gets the Jethrik and the bag of gold. He hears the Doctor coming and hides. When the Doctor comes into the Relic Room, Unstoffe goes out the front door, locking the Doctor in. The sentry wakes up and gives the alarm. The Doctor goes through the Shrievenzale's lair and climbs up to the roof, where he tells Garron, "Don't move, we've got you covered."

On the way to the TARDIS, the Doctor, Romana and Garron run into the Graff and his soldiers. These are dressed in long flowing red capes and round metal helmets which almost make them resemble robots. Looking directly at the camera, the Graff says, "No one makes a fool of the Graff Vynda-K and lives!"

The Doctor claims it's a case of mistaken identity and hides behind Garron. He and Vynda-K trade slaps with a glove. The soldiers take Romana, Garron and the Doctor to the Graff's quarters.

Vynda-K meets the Captain in the Relic Room. The Captain has summoned the Seeker to locate the Graff's gold. The Captain knows nothing of the missing Jethrik and has never heard of skrynge stone.

At Vynda-K's quarters, Sholakh asks what the tracer is, and the Doctor tells him, "It's for measuring time on 19 different planets," and "can also be used for modifying ditheramic oscillations, cleaning your shoes, sharpening pencils; you could even peel your apples." One of the Doctor's few lies, justified because he doesn't know whether he may be dealing with agents of the Black Guardian. When Sholakh threatens him with the Graff, the Doctor confides to Romana, "I get on terribly well with the aristocracy."

Garron's 2-way wrist radio goes off, so he smashes it, hurting himself.  Romana sprays something on his arm to take care of the wound. The Doctor tells Romana and Garron to cover their ears, and blows on the dog whistle.

In the Concourse, Binro offers to hide Unstoffe in his tiny hovel. A searching guard recognizes Binro as a famous heretic.

The Seeker performs a ritual and tells the Captain the thief is in the Concourse. The Shrieves and the Graff's soldiers set off to look for him.

Garron tells the Doctor how he started on his career as a confidence man. He had to leave Earth when he sold Sydney Harbor to an Arab for $50 million. The deal fell through when the Arab wanted the Opera House as well and complained to the authorities.

Garron tells Romana Jethrik is the rarest and most powerful element in the universe; without the Jethrik drive, there would be no space warping. He brags he doesn't sell Jethrik mines; he sells planets, which is his way of keeping the economy in balance.

Sholakh tells Garron they've located his friend in the Concourse. The Doctor uses Garron's smashed 2-way wrist speaker and the bug he planted to rig up a device where Garron can transmit but not receive.

After the guard leaves, Binro tells Unstoffe his heresy was to call the lights in the sky suns, which have other worlds like Ribos. Binro believes Ribos circles the sun, causing the two seasons.

To repay Binro for helping him, Unstoffe tells him everything he believes is true, and confesses he's from another world. Unstoffe predicts someday people will admit Binro was right. Binro is very pleased to have his beliefs confirmed.

Responding to the Doctor's whistle, K9 leaves the TARDIS and stuns the soldier guarding the Doctor. Using the patched-up radio, Garron contacts Unstoffe and tells him to leave the Concourse. Binro says his only chance to escape the guards is the catacombs. He leads Unstoffe there through the Hall of the Dead, which is lit by candles.

The tracer points toward Unstoffe and the Jethrik. The Doctor knew the segment was the Jethrik because they took two bearings on the segment in the TARDIS.  The segment moved between the readings, so couldn't have been anything else in the Relic Room.

In the Concourse, the Seeker performs her ritual again and tells the Captain the thief is in the catacombs, an ancient labyrinth beneath the city. The Shrieves won't go into the catacombs for the Graff's gold, fearing the Ice gods. Plus, there's a colony of Shrievenzales living there.

The Doctor, Romana and Garron enter the Hall of the Dead. K9 alerts them they're being followed, so they all hide. The Doctor ducks into a niche in the wall and clutches a skeleton.  The Graff and his party enter. The Doctor knocks over a skull and the Graff is alerted to their presence.

The Doctor blows K9's whistle, which rouses a Shrievenzale. The Graff and his party take cover. Sholakh suggests using the Seeker to find the thief, and Vynda-K agrees.

The Doctor joins Romana and Garron in their niche. He tells them to continue looking, while he returns to the city to keep an eye on Vynda-K.

Unstoffe tells Binro this was to be the last job for him and Garron, who often talked of returning to his home in Hackney Wick, on the outskirts of London. Binro offers to go back to look for Garron. Unstoffe gives him his wrist radio so Garron will trust him.

When the Seeker doesn't appear fast enough, Vynda-K shoots a Shrieve to show he's displeased, saying "I flatter myself I know how to get the best from natives."

The Doctor returns to Vynda-K's quarters and finds the guard K9 stunned.

In the catacombs, Romana and K9 become separated from Garron and discover he's stolen the tracer. Garron uses it to find Unstoffe.

The Seeker prophecies death for "all but one." She leads the Graff's men to Binro. Sholakh sees the radio in his hand, so Vynda-K forces Binro back the way he came. As the guards file after Vynda-K, beneath the red robe of the last guard trails a long multicolored scarf.

The Seeker locates Unstoffe, and Binro tries to warn him. The Graff's guards shoot Binro, and he dies. Unstoffe is wounded as well. The Graff gets his gold and the Jethrik and prepares to execute Garron and Unstoffe. The Doctor blows on the dog whistle, summoning a Shrievenzale. The noise the creature makes attracts Romana and K9.

The Captain positions a cannon in the Hall of the Dead. Vowing to close the catacombs, he sets it off, causing a cave-in, which kills Sholakh and most of the Graff's guards. K9 blasts a hole in the rock, freeing Unstoffe and Garron, who returns the tracer.

Vynda-K kills the Seeker to fulfill her prophecy. He gives a thermite pack to the last of his guards, asking him to surrender his life for his Graff.  However, this last guard is the Doctor.  He manages to slip the bomb back to Vynda-K, who walks off ranting and blows up a few minutes later.

The Doctor's got the Jethrik.  He, Romana and K9 say goodbye to Garron and Unstoffe outside the TARDIS. The Doctor tells Garron he switched the bomb on Graff by sleight of hand, explaining: "I was trained by Maskelyne."

Garron asks to handle the Jethrik once more and the Doctor lets him.  Garron tells Unstoffe they may have lost the 1 million opeks, but they have the Graff's ship stuffed with 18 years of loot.

The TARDIS dematerializes. Garron tells Unstoffe he's switched the Jethrik for an ordinary stone, but when he shows it, he discovers the Doctor's switched it back.

In the TARDIS, the Doctor lets Romana touch the Jethrik with the tracer.  The Jethrik transforms. "The first segment," the Doctor says, "Simple, wasn't it?  Only five more to go."

Prentis Hancock, who plays the Captain, played Salamar in the Tom Baker story PLANET OF EVIL; a Reporter in SPEARHEAD FROM SPACE, and Vaber in PLANET OF THE DALEKS, both Pertwee stories. He was a regular on SPACE: 1999.

Nigel Plaskitt, who plays Unstoffe, is a puppeteer in SPITTING IMAGE and also has worked for Jim Henson on his HBO Easter special THE BUNNIES' PICNIC and the Disney Channel series THE SECRET LIFE OF TOYS.

Ann Tirard, who plays the Seeker, played Locusta in the Hartnell story THE ROMANS.

Cyril Luckham, who plays the White Guardian, went on to appear in several episodes of THE OMEGA FACTOR, with Louise Jameson, and returned as the White Guardian in the Davison story ENLIGHTENMENT.