Habris replies he had no orders to do so. In the tower, Habris reports to the Three Who Rule, who chide him for not bringing the Doctor and Romana to them.
Photo courtesy of the BBC.įollowing this, during a walk in the woods, the Doctor and Romana are kidnapped by hooded figures and brought to the local rebels’ cave. The Doctor and Romana are accosted by hooded figures. Unable to get anything out of Ivo, the two time travelers exit as well.Īs soon as they’re gone, Ivo grabs a walkie-talkie hidden in a nearby basket and informs someone of the travelers’ arrival. Habris concocts an excuse to leave, then flees to the tower. Both Ivo (Clinton Greyn) and Habris (Iain Rattray) assure them such things are forbidden. The Doctor and Romana ask if they have any scientists around. The lords take able-bodied youths during an occasional selection. Well, that certainly isn’t a name to run away from really fast. Here, peasants toil in the fields around an immense tower inhabited by their lords, the Three Who Rule. In their bid to escape, the Doctor and his companions Romana (Lalla Ward) and K-9 (voice of John Leeson) happen upon a primitive planet. A reality where stars hang in an emerald night sky and planets are few and far between. At the beginning of the previous adventure, “Full Circle”, the Doctor’s time machine, the TARDIS, was sucked through a spatial phenomenon called a CVE.Īs such, it was now marooned in a pocket universe: E-Space. “State of Decay” sits in the middle of a trio of stories dubbed “The E-Space Trilogy” by fans.
This is the Fourth Doctor’s last salute to the Gothic horror ethos that helped catapult him to stardom. The iconic Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) was on his way out, and the whole season had a melancholy tone.īaker himself looked significantly older and more tired than ever, as though he’d aged ten years in the few months since Season 17.ĭespite this, “State of Decay” is a loud, comforting echo of Baker’s glory days.
“State of Decay” occurs smack-dab in the middle of Doctor Who’s 18th Season. Now, originally, this was going to be the 20th installment of this series, but after failing to find a suitable copy of “Akira”, I brought it forward due to the ease of access. Those of you who know me won’t be surprised that today’s feature, “State of Decay”, is a Doctor Who story. Today’s tale is not out to frighten, but instead use the characters’ reality to unsettle the audience.