5A. Doctor Who - The Ribos Operation (Season Sixteen)

Script Editor: Anthony Read; Writer: Robert Holmes; Produced by: Graham Williams; Director: George Spenton-Foster; Designer: Ken Ledsham; Incidental Music: Dudley Simpson;

Programme Description

The Doctor is chosen for a very special mission - to retrieve and assemble the Key to Time - by none other than the White Guardian. The Doctor is also provided with a new companion, the Time Lady Romana, and warned that there is also a Black Guardian who will do all in his power to obtain the Key to Time.

The Doctor is also provided with a Tracer which will locate each of the segments, and it leads the TARDIS to the planet of Ribos, where two con-men are attempting to sell the planet to the Graff Vynda-K. To make the planet look more valuable the leader, Garron, plants a lump of Jethryk as bait, whilst Unstoffe pretends to be a local talking of a Jethryk mine.

The Graff Vynda-K discovers that Garron and Unstoffe are con-men, and pursue them into the catacombs, where the natives fear to tread. Several fights break out, and the Graff Vynda-K's men are all destroyed. The Doctor disguises himself as one, and the Vynda-K tries to use him to deliver a bomb, but the Doctor switches it back, and the Vynda-K is destroyed.

Romana uses the tracer and the Jethryk transforms into the first segment of the Key to Time.


Regular Cast

Voice of K-9: John Leeson; Romana: Mary Tamm;

Cast

Garron: Iain Cuthbertson; Unstoffe: Nigel Plaskitt; Graff Vynda-K: Paul Seed; Sholakh: Robert Keegan; Captain: Prentis Hancock; Shrieves: Oliver Maguire, John Hamill (1-2); The White Guardian: Cyril Luckham (1); Binro the Heretic: Timothy Bateson (3-4); The Seeker: Ann Tirard (3-4);
Uncredited:
Walk-On Shrieves:
Roy Brent, Yuri Gridneff, Barry Summerford, David Young; Shrivenzale: Stuart Fell (1-2), Nick Wilkinson (1-2); Krole: Pat Gorman; Leviathans: ony Bell, Derek Chafer, Harry Fielder, Steven Ismay;

Transmissions

Ep.TitleDateViewersPosition
480.Part One (BBC 1) Sat 02/09/1978 17:45 - 18:10 8.3M42nd
481.Part Two (BBC 1) Sat 09/09/1978 18:20 - 18:45 8.1M36th
482.Part Three (BBC 1) Sat 16/09/1978 18:30 - 18:55 7.9M38th
483.Part Four (BBC 1) Sat 23/09/1978 18:20 - 18:45 8.2M36th

Repeat Transmissions

This programme has not been repeated

Bloopers

This programme has no bloopers / mistakes. It's probably not perfect, just that they haven't been found / pointed out

Locations

This programme has not been filmed on location or the locations are unknown

Studios

Television Centre Studio 4;

Notes / Trivia

This story introduces the Key to Time quest that is continued through the season.
John Leeson's K-9 voice is not heard in Part Two.
The organ music heard in the story was played by Leslie Pearson.

Working Titles

The Galactic Con Man
The Ribos File
Operation

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