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Tom Baker
The Face of Evil
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Synopsis


The Face of Evil
The Face of Evil
 The TARDIS lands on a planet The Doctor doesn't recognise - but its inhabitants seem to know him. They think he's The Evil One and aren't pleased to see him.

 Two warring tribes occupy the planet: the savage Sevateem and the reclusive Tesh, separated from each other by a deadly energy field. When the Sevateem believe their God, Xoanon, to be a captive of the Tesh, they decide to break through the barrier and rescue him. The Tesh, however, have other ideas.

 Befriended by Leela, a Sevateem girl who dares to question the mighty Xoanon, The Doctor sets out to discover exactly what's happening on this planet. Has he been here before? Is he responsible for the tribal wars? And can it possibly be that Xoanon, the mad Cod, is really The Doctor?

Source: BBC VHS Video


General Information

Season: Fourteen
Production Code: 4Q
Story Number: 89
Episode Numbers:440 - 443
Number of Episodes: 4
Percentage of Episodes Held:100%
Working Titles:"The Tower of Imelo", "The Prime Directive" and "The Day God Went Mad"
Production Dates: September - October 1976
Broadcast Started: 01 January 1977
Broadcast Finished: 22 January 1977
Colour Status: Colour
Studio: Ealing Television Film Studios and BBC Television Centre (TC3)
Location: None
Writer:Chris Boucher
Director:Pennant Roberts
Producer:Philip Hinchcliffe
Script Editor:Robert Holmes
Editors:Pam Bosworth and Tariq Anwar
Production Assistant:Marion McDougall
Production Unit Manager:Chris D'Oyly-John
Assistant Floor Manager:Linda Graeme
Designer:Austin Ruddy
Costume Designer:John Bloomfield
Make-Up Designer:Ann Ailes
Cameraman:John McGlashan
Lighting:Derek Slee
Visual Effects:Mat Irvine
Fights Arranged By:Terry Walsh
Incidental Music:Dudley Simpson
Special Sounds (SFX Editor):Dick Mills
Studio Sounds:Colin Dixon
Title Sequence:Bernard Lodge
Title Music:Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Arranged by Delia Derbyshire
Number of Doctors: 1
The Doctor: Tom Baker (The Fourth Doctor)
Number of Companions: 1The Companion: Louise Jameson (Leela) (Joins) Additional Cast: Tom Baker (Xoanon Voice), David Garfield (Neeva), Victor Lucas (Andor), Brendan Price (Tomas), Leslie Schofield (Calib), Colin Thomas (Sole), Lloyd McGuire (Lugo), Tom Kelly (Guard), Brett Forrest (Guard), Leon Eagles (Jabel), Mike Ellis (Gentek), Peter Baldock (Acolyte), Rob Edwards (Xoanon voice), Pamela Salem (Xoanon voice), Anthony Frieze (Xoanon voice), Roy Herrick (Xoanon voice)Setting: An unnamed Earth colony in the far future Villain: Xoanon

The Episodes

No. Episodes Broadcast
(UK)
Duration Viewers
(Millions)
In Archive
440Part 101 January 197724'58"10.7PAL 2" colour videotape
441Part 208 January 197724'58"11.1PAL 2" colour videotape
442Part 315 January 197724'40"11.3PAL 2" colour videotape
443Part 422 January 197724'46"11.7PAL 2" colour videotape

Total Duration 1 Hour 39 Minutes


Audience Appreciation

Average Viewers (Millions) 11.2
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (1998)67.52%  (Position = 83 out of 159)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2009)67.98% Higher (Position = 116 out of 200)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2014)70.51% Higher (Position = 130 out of 241)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2023) Position = 21 out of 41


Archives


 All four episodes exist as PAL 2" colour videotapes.



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Notes


This story introduces Louise Jameson as The Doctor’s new companion, Leela, who was inspired by Emma Peel of The Avengers and Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady.

This story was written by Chris Boucher - his first contribution to the show – and was directed by Pennant Roberts, whose earlier credits included episodes of Doomwatch, Survivors and Softly, Softly: Task Force.

The story was written with two endings: one with Leela not joining Doctor and the other, which was the one used, where she becomes The Doctors new companion.

Before joining the show, as Leela, Louise Jameson resume included considerable stagework, plus the horror film Disciple of Death. On television, she had appeared in programmes such as Emmerdale Farm, Z Cars and Space: 1999; she had also been shortlisted to play the part of Purdey in The New Avengers.

Louise Jameson’s contract included a provision that required her to wear brown contact lenses, as it was felt that her blue eyes were not appropriate for the savage character she would be portraying. This part of her contract was amended at the beginning of Season Fifteen.

Also to further her savage character Louise Jameson wore make-up to darken her skin. Originally, this make-up was a very deep brown colour, but it was eventually made lighter to produce Leela's final look; the darker shade was though still visible in several publicity photos.

Leela's leotard-based costume was designed by John Bloomfield.

Studio recording was completed on the 26th October 1976. On completion a photocall for Louise Jameson was held. This event had to be hastily arranged after a newspaper, the Evening Standard, broke the news of her casting the night before. Originally, Leela's debut was intended to air on the 27th November 1976, with this story then completing its run before a one-week Christmas break. However, with Robert Holmes being forced to assume the writing duties for the season finale, "The Talons of Weng-Chiang", at short notice, it was decided to give the production team some breathing space by deferring "The Face of Evil" until the New Year. As a result, Leela finally made her first on-screen appearance on the 1st January 1977.

This story was actually promoted in the Radio Times as the first in a new season of Doctor Who due to the unusual break in the middle of the season.

All the actors credited as Xoanon do not appear onscreen; only their voices were used.

Pamela Salem and Rob Edwards play two of the voices of Xoanon, as both actors were at the time rehearsing for the following story, "The Robots of Death," while Anthony Frieze, who was also credited as one of the voices, was the young winner of a competition to visit the Doctor Who studios. Philip Hinchcliffe arranged for a recording of his voice to be made shouting ‘Who am I?' for the climax to the third episode.

This story features a guest appearance by Leslie Schofield who previously appeared in the 1969 Second Doctor story "The War Games". Leslie Schofield, however, is more famous for being in the 1977 film Star Wars IV: A New Hope. He has also appeared in Blake’s 7, in 1978, as well as 140 episodes of EastEnders between 1997 and 2000.

The Doctor notes that the invisible phantoms are ‘projections from the dark side of Xoanon's id’. He also says Xoanon was a ‘marvellous host I remember one of his dinner parties...’.

The Horda are described as being carnivorous crab-like creatures. ‘Ten of them could strip the flesh from a man's arm’.

Leela uses Janis Thorns which paralyse, then kill. Despite her claiming there is no cure The Doctor uses a bio-analyser to identify the poison and make an anti-toxin to save Leela when she is poisoned by one of them.

The Doctor is heard to state that he helped the Mordee, which may be the name of the spaceship itself or a future human ethnic group. The spaceship seems to have originated on Earth (this is confirmed in "The Invisible Enemy"). According to the legends of the tribes, the Sevateem left the Place of Land while the Tesh remained.

The Doctor is heard to exclaim ‘another self-aggrandising artefact!’. This is a reference to the many megalomaniac computers he has previously encountered. Namely in the 1966 First Doctor story "The War Machines" and the 1973 Third Doctor story "The Green Death".

The story does not explicitly explain when the Fourth Doctor repaired the Starfall Seven's computer. The timing of The Doctor's first encounter with Xoanon was however, explained in Terrance Dicks’ novelisation of this story first published by Target Books in January 1978, to have occurred immediately after his regeneration in the Fourth Doctor’s first story, "Robot". This occurred when Sarah Jane Smith sees him initially leave in the TARDIS (but was apparently a much longer time for The Doctor himself, the TARDIS returning to UNIT so quickly and The Doctor's mind so addled by his recent regeneration that he didn't remember his visit).

The Target Books’ novelisation of this story was paired with the novelisation of "The Sun Makers" and released as the last of Star Books’ Doctor Who Classics range in May 1989.

This story was repeated on BBC4 in December 2015.



First and Last

The Firsts:

 The introduction of new companion Leela played by Louise Jameson.

 The first Doctor Who story to be written by Chris Boucher.

 The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Pennant Roberts.


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The Plot

WARNING: May Contain SpoilersHide Text
The Doctor in the Jungle
The Doctor in the Jungle

The Doctor is still travelling alone when the TARDIS materialises on a mysterious jungle planet. On exiting the TARDIS he cannot resist exploring his new surroundings. It is not long before he encounters Leela, a female savage from a local tribe, who, on seeing The Doctor, denounces him as the Evil One.

On questioning Leela, The Doctor discovers that she has been exiled from her tribe, the Sevateem, for profaning their god, the mysterious Xoanon, which speaks to them through the tribe's shaman, Neeva. The Doctor soon wins Leela over by defending her from the invisible monsters that rampage about, attracted by vibrations of any kind. Exploring further, The Doctor finds a sophisticated sonic disruptor which creates the forcefield that keeps the creatures from attacking the village itself. As The Doctor explores Leela regales him with more folklore of her people: the god Xoanon is kept prisoner by the Evil One and his followers, the Tesh, beyond a strange black wall - a deadly energy barrier which separates the Sevateem from the forbidden land beyond, which is controlled and enjoyed by the Tesh.

The Sevateem meanwhile are planning to launch an attack on the domain of the Tesh to free their god. They are led by the combative Andor, who is determined to free his god, and also believes that an attack will unite the people. He also believes that Neeva is a false prophet. Meanwhile two Sevateem warriors, while scouring the jungle, find The Doctor and they too call him the Evil One, making a protective hand gesture which The Doctor interprets as the sequence for checking the seals on a Starfall Seven spacesuit. The warriors then seize The Doctor and take him to face the village council who decide to hold him captive. Leela, who had been ignored by the warriors when The Doctor was captured, manages to free him by using poisonous Janis thorns to kill his guards. This act of savagery horrifies The Doctor but despite this when they are spotted the pair are forced to flee the village. They soon arrive in a clearing where The Doctor is greeted with a stunning sight: carved into a nearby mountain is an impression of his own face. More worryingly is The Doctor can not recall how his face could have got there.

The Tribe of the Sevateem
The Tribe of the Sevateem

So that he can solve this mystery The Doctor persuades Leela to return to the village with him, despite the death sentence that has been placed upon them. In Neeva's holy tent and The Doctor inspects the ancient tribal relics that are kept there. He recognises them as artefacts from an Earth survey expedition. He also finds a transceiver used by Neeva to hear the commands of Xoanon. The Doctor is shocked to discover that Xoanon speaks with The Doctor's own voice.

The Doctor then decides to take a look at the dark wall that stands at the entrance to the realm of the Evil One. On arriving there The Doctor deduces it is a primitive time barrier and is convinced the Sevateem warriors will be massacred if they attack the fortress of their enemy, the Tesh. However, they are helpless to witness from, a distance, a massacre unfold, as laser beams cut down the Sevateem warriors who are armed only with crossbows and other basic tribal weapons. Unable to help The Doctor and Leela return to the village but when they are discovered, by one of the returning warriors, Leela is stabbed with a Janis thorn. The Doctor though is able to use one of the artefacts, a bio-analyzer, to synthesise an antidote to the poison.

Leela and Calib
Leela and Calib

When the remaining warriors, who survived the massacre at the barrier, return to the village The Doctor tries to convince them that he is not a threat to them. But his attempts are hampered by Leela when she accuses Xoanon of causing the trap at the time barrier. So as to prove he is not the Evil One, The Doctor agrees to take the fabled Test of the Horda which involves being suspended on a rope above a pit which contains two-foot-long worms, the Horda, who are reputed to strip flesh from a man in an instant. The Doctor then has to fire a crossbow to sever the rope without falling into the pit - which of course The Doctor succeeds in doing, and is therefore announced as being a non-malign influence and freed.

The Doctor and Leela then head for the mountain that has his face carved on it. Meanwhile Neeva returns to his tent, where the voice of Xoanon tells him that the tribe will be destroyed. The sonic disruptor, controlling the barrier around the village, suddenly shuts down leaving the village open to attack from the invisible beings who descend on the village, killing indiscriminately. But when Tomas, one of the Sevateem, uses a disruptor gun, that The Doctor had earlier repaired, to expose the true appearance of the invisible beings: they are revealed to be ferocious, angry depictions of The Doctor's own face.

Back at the mountain The Doctor and Leela spot a person in a space suit in the ‘mouth’ of the stone image of his face. They then witness the strange person walk through a projection of a wall. They follow him through and discover a passage carved out of the cliff beyond which is a rocket. Unknown to them both, Xoanon has detected The Doctor and Leela arrival, and when The Doctor reaches the rocket the god-creature becomes even more ecstatic. The Doctor and Leela are then greeted by three representatives of the Tesh, who confirm that they serve and worship Xoanon. Even though they are human, like the Sevateem, The Doctor realises that they are more technologically advanced and possess telepathic abilities.

Leela a Warrior of the Tribe of the Sevateem
Leela a Warrior of the Tribe of the Sevateem

The Doctor then discovers that Xoanon is a super-computer, which arrived on the planet when a spaceship crashed there many years ago. The Sevateem and Tesh are therefore descendants of the crew who were originally to have surveyed the world for possible colonisation. The Doctor also realises that he has met the crew before in an earlier visit where he helped the technicians repair their computer. Unfortunately he neglected to erase his own personality print which resulted in it having a split personality – so making it schizophrenic. This caused the computer to split the crew up - the technicians (Tesh) on the one side and Survey Team 6 (Sevateem) on the other – as an experiment The Tesh were raised as ascetic telepaths who would tend with religious fervour to its every need, while the Sevateem descended into savagery.

The Doctor then learns about the manifestations attacking the Sevateem’s village and so uses the remote communications device to instruct the remaining Sevateem to leave the village. He then tells them that the tribe will be safe from the invisible beings once they have entered the mouth of the carved face in the mountain. With Leela keeping guard and holding the Tesh at bay with a disruptor gun, The Doctor, realising his earlier mistake, ventures into the computer room of the spaceship to confront Xoanon and to persuade it to shut down. But instead the super-computer carries out a vicious mental assault at The Doctor, causing him to collapse. As The Doctor writhes on the floor Leela rescues him from the mental assault. At the same time the Sevateem arrive and start to attack the Tesh. This diverts the Tesh allowing The Doctor and Leela return to the computer room but Xoanon briefly takes control of Leela's mind. The Doctor also realises that Xoanon has triggered a countdown to an atomic explosion.

Elsewhere in the spaceship Neeva is alone but crazed, his faith in Xoanon shattered, and when he sees one of the images of Xoanon/The Doctor projected through a wall he fires a disruptor gun at it. The ensuing blast kills Neeva but it also interrupts Xoanon's control of its subjects, allowing The Doctor to wipe the additional personalities from the computer. But at the same time Xoanon's circuits explode, knocking The Doctor out.

Two days later The Doctor wakes up to find himself aboard the spaceship in the care of Leela. They visit the computer room and find Xoanon's identity and sanity restored. The Doctor then contacts the survivors of the Tesh and Sevateem and tells them Xoanon is now cured and able to support their new society. The Doctor then returns to the TARDIS only to find Leela waiting for him. Having decided that she no longer wants to stay on her own planet she asks him to allow her to join him on his travels. When he refuses Leela darts into the TARDIS ahead of him and refuses to come out. The Doctor is therefore forced to follow her in. As he does so the dematerialisation process starts. It seems The Doctor has gained a new companion.

 
Neeva
Neeva
The Face of Evil
The Face of Evil
The Tesh
The Tesh
Inside the Tesh Control Room
Inside the Tesh Control Room
 
Inside the Xoanon chamber
Inside the Xoanon chamber
The Face of Xoanon
The Face of Xoanon
Leela and The Doctor
Leela and The Doctor
Leela
Leela




Quote of the Story


 'You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering.'

The Doctor



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Release Information

FormatTitleRelease Date (UK)Code NumberCover ArtRemarks
Audio
LP
Science-Fiction Sound Effects No. 191978BBC-22316Sound Effects
Audio
Tape
Science-Fiction Sound Effects No. 191978ZCM 316Sound Effects
Video
VHS
The Tom Baker YearsSeptember 1992BBCV 4839PhotoClip only Introduced and commented on by Tom Baker Double cassette release
Video
VHS
The Face of EvilMay 1999BBCV 6672Photo-montageIncludes 5-minute segment from "Multi-Coloured Swap Shop" interview with Louise Jameson (Leela)
Video
DVD
The Face of EvilMarch 2012BBCDVD 3379
Video
Blu-Ray
Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 14 (Limited Edition)May 2020BBCBD 0478Photo-montageBlu-Ray Limited Edition boxed set containing 6 specially restored stories
Video
Blu-Ray
Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 14 (Standard Edition)February 2022BBCBD 0551Photo-montageBlu-Ray Standard Edition boxed set containing 6 specially restored stories


In Print

FormatTitleRelease Date (UK)PublisherAuthorCover ArtRemarks
Novel
Novel
Doctor Who and the Face of EvilJanuary 1978Target No. 25Terrance DicksJeff CumminsISBN: 0-426-20006-3
Novel
Novel
The Further Adventures of Doctor Who1985TargetTerrance DicksUS in hardback. Released along with "Doctor Who and the Deadly Assassin" and "Doctor Who and the Robots of Death"
Novel
Novel
Doctor Who Classics: The Face of Evil & The SunmakersMay 1989Star BooksTerrance DicksJeff CumminsDouble story release.
ISBN: 0-352-32417-1
Novel
Novel
The Face of EvilApril 1993Target No. 25Terrance DicksAlister PearsonVirgin new cover reprint.
ISBN: 0-426-20006-3
CD
CD
Doctor Who and the Face of EvilApril 2022Target No. 25Terrance DicksJeff CumminsAudio version of the Target Novel read by Louise Jameson (Leela).
Doctor Who CMS Magazine (In Vision)Issue 19 (Released: October 1989)
Doctor Who Magazine - ArchiveIssue 116 (Released: September 1986)
Doctor Who Magazine - ArchiveIssue 229 (Released: August 1995)
Doctor Who Magazine - Time TeamIssue 353 (Released: March 2005)
Doctor Who Magazine - Fast-Return SwitchIssue 495 (Released: February 2016)
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of FictionIssue 521 (Released: February 2018)
Doctor Who DVD FilesVolume 124 (Released: October 2013)

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Photo Gallery


The Doctor and Companion

 
Tom Baker
The Fourth Doctor

   

 
Louise Jameson
Leela
 
   




On Release

Audio LP - Sound Effects No. 19
Audio LP - Sound Effects No. 19

BBC
AUDIO
Audio Tape - Sound Effects No. 19
Audio Tape - Sound Effects No. 19

BBC
AUDIO
Tom Baker Years VHS Video Cover
Tom Baker Years VHS Video Cover

BBC
VIDEO
VHS Video Cover
VHS Video Cover

BBC
VIDEO
   
DVD Cover
DVD Cover

BBC
VIDEO
The Collection Season 14 Limited Edition Blu-Ray Cover
The Collection Season 14 Limited Edition Blu-Ray Cover

BBC
VIDEO
The Collection Season 14 Standard Edition Blu-Ray Cover
The Collection Season 14 Standard Edition Blu-Ray Cover

BBC
VIDEO



In Print

Target Book Cover
Target Book Cover

Target
NOVEL
The Further Adventures of Doctor Who Cover
The Further Adventures of Doctor Who Cover

Target
NOVEL
Doctor Who Classics Cover
Doctor Who Classics Cover

Star Books
NOVEL
Reprinted Virgin Book Cover
Reprinted Virgin Book Cover

Virgin
NOVEL
   
Target Audio CD Cover
Target Audio CD Cover

BBC
CD



Magazines

Doctor Who CMS Magazine (In Vision): Issue 19
Doctor Who CMS Magazine (In Vision): Issue 19

CMS
Doctor Who Magazine - Archive: Issue 116
Doctor Who Magazine - Archive: Issue 116

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - Archive: Issue 229
Doctor Who Magazine - Archive: Issue 229

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 353
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 353

Marvel Comics
   
Doctor Who Magazine - Fast-Return Switch: Issue 495
Doctor Who Magazine - Fast-Return Switch: Issue 495

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction: Issue 521
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction: Issue 521

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who DVD Files: Volume 124
Doctor Who DVD Files: Volume 124

GE Fabbri


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