THE CREATURE FROM THE PIT

BY: DAVID FISHER

Part Three

Original Air Date: 10 November 1979
Running time: 23:55

ORGANON: Doctor! Don't just stand there, help him! He's trapped!

GUARDMASTER: I've never seen anything like it.

ORGANON: I have. Anyway, the Doctor's behind there and we've got to get him out. It's as hard as rock.

GUARDMASTER: It'll take g*n to blast a hole in this. And even then

ORGANON: It's him. He's alive.

GUARDMASTER: How do you know it's him?

ORGANON: It's, er, part of my profession. Well, we've got to get through, so get on with it.

GUARDMASTER: You, go and inform the Lady Adrasta.

GUARD: Sir.

GUARDMASTER: You, give us a hand to smash a hole in this.

ORGANON: Maybe if we tried at the edge here.

GUARDMASTER: Right. Come on, down here.

AINU: There's only one guard at the side gate.

TORVIN: Good. What do we do about him?

AINU: Well, Edu's gone to have a chat with him.

TORVIN: What?

AINU: Lovely little talker is Edu. Come on.

KARELA: What is it?

GUARD: Message for my lady from the Guardmaster. The Creature has been found and

ROMANA: I'll take him. It's all right.

GUARD: And is within a sort of shell to protect itself.

ROMANA: I've got to check his circuitry. Don't worry, I'll take the responsibility. K9, are you recharged?

K9: Very nearly, mistress.

ROMANA: Be ready.

K9: I always am, mistress.

ADRASTA: You saw this with your own eyes?

GUARD: Yes, my lady. The Guardmaster is awaiting your orders.

KARELA: Guard, the prisoner must not communicate with the tin animal. What were you up to?

ROMANA: I told the guard. Checking K9's circuitry.

ADRASTA: Good.

KARELA: My lady.

ADRASTA: My dear, bad news I'm afraid about your friend the Doctor.

ROMANA: He's d*ad?

ADRASTA: Nobody can tell at the moment.

ROMANA: What do you mean?

ADRASTA: The guard says he's trapped in the Pit with the Creature.

ROMANA: Well, then we must get him out.

ADRASTA: How? My men can't break through the shell the creature has woven.

ROMANA: A shell?

ADRASTA: If we are to rescue the Doctor, we have to break through the shell. Could K9 do it? Has he enough power?

ROMANA: K9?

K9: Impossible to say until the molecular structure of the material is evaluated.

ADRASTA: I hope, for the Doctor's sake, you are strong enough. And strong enough to k*ll the Creature, too. Come on.

K9: Guard, lift me down.

DOCTOR: Pure cadmium. That didn't come from this mine.

DOCTOR: A nugget of iron. Iron ore I could understand, but pure iron? I wonder where it came from?

DOCTOR: Hello. Friend. Friend. It's all right, it's all right. Look, you can see I'm not armed, eh? I won't hurt you. How could I hurt you? I mean, how? You've got beautiful skin. Extraordinary skin. Green veins. Chlorophyll? I wonder. Well, if it's chlorophyll you need, you've come to the right place. Chlorophyll? I wonder. No, don't get frightened. It's all right, it's all right. Shush. Shush.

DOCTOR: There. There, that's not so bad now, is it. Good girl. Good boy. You're a problem, you know. You're aware of me, yet you haven't got any eyes. Haven't got a mouth. At least, not one that I can see. Come to think of it, you haven't even got a head. So how do we communicate, hmm? Telepathy?

DOCTOR: Hello? I am the Doctor. Friend. Friend.

DOCTOR: Hello. I am the Doctor. Friend. Friend. Nothing. Not a thing. How are we going to talk to each other, eh? Why can't we talk to each other? How do you communicate with your own kind?

DOCTOR: Steady. Steady, friend. You don't know your own. Easy. Friend. Friend.

DOCTOR: What's that? A picture? I've seen that somewhere before.

EDU: All clear. Come on.

TORVIN: Shush.

TORVIN: Guard?

GUARD: Who are you? Where have you come from? Stay there. Don't move.

TORVIN: Look, I'm not armed.

GUARD: Are you alone? Intruder! Turn out the guard!

TORVIN: Come on, my lovely boys. Let's see what Lady Adrasta has for us.

TORVIN: Oh, even the door! The bolts, the hinges, all metal. Quick, my lovely boys, quick, before the guards get back. Bring everything. Oh ho, copper! Ooo, bronze. Iron!

EDU: Hey, what's this?

TORVIN: I don't know. If it's metal, bring it.

EDU: Hey, it's warm!

TORVIN: I don't care if it's on f*re. If it's metal, bring it.

EDU: It's burning! I've never seen metal like that before.

TORVIN: Ridiculous. Let me try. Here, it's not hot at all.

EDU: Huh?

TORVIN: Oh, it's metal, all right. It's not tin or silver.

AINU (OOV.): Guards coming!

TORVIN: What? How many?

AINU: Too many for us.

TORVIN: We'd better get out of here. Quick, let's see where this leads to.

AINU: They're coming!

TORVIN: Quick, quick, all of you. Down here! Maybe it leads to Adrasta's treasure vaults.

DOCTOR: So that's what you want. Easy, easy, shush. You do want it, don't you? What's it for? Is it a w*apon? What is it? Come on. At least say something. Communicate. Give me a sign. I wish I knew how far I could trust you. Still, you haven't harmed me yet. Much. All right, I'll get it for you, but I want you to promise. That's a stupid thing to say. You can't even speak. How can you promise me anything? All right, be good. Stay here. Ah.

DOCTOR: Bits of shell. Bits of eggshell. No, no, it's all right, it's all right, it's all right. All right, all right. Look, I'm not going to take them. I'm not going to take them. There you are. I can take a hint. I can take a hint, yeah. If we ever do find your mouth, wherever it is, you've got a lot of explaining to do, my friend. All right, all right, I said I can take a hint. I'm off, I'm off, I'm off. Bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye.

ROMANA: Who are you?

ORGANON: Oh, don't bother about that now. My friend's trapped in there.

ROMANA: The Doctor?

ORGANON: Yes. Oh, I beg your pardon. Do you know him?

ROMANA: Yes, very well.

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.

ADRASTA: I thought you were d*ad. Why haven't you died?

ORGANON: I'm sorry, my lady. It was an oversight.

ADRASTA: Why didn't the Creature k*ll you?

ORGANON: A favourable conjunction of the stars, my lady.

ADRASTA: Well, we'll just have to see that they don't continue like that for much longer. Guardmaster?

GUARDMASTER: It's hopeless, my lady.

ADRASTA: What is, you fool?

GUARDMASTER: We can't get through. We've tried. My lady, it's hopeless.

ROMANA: The Doctor's behind there. We must at least try.

ADRASTA: Nothing is hopeless, Guardmaster, not if you value your commission.

GUARDMASTER: I stand corrected, my lady. Guards, come on.

ADRASTA: Don't worry, my dear. My men will try to do their best.

ROMANA: It's made of identical material to that broken shell we saw when we landed.

ADRASTA: Try the metal animal on it. Perhaps he can break through.

ROMANA: K9, do your best.

K9: That is what I am programmed to do, mistress.

ADRASTA: If you do get through, k*ll the Creature. Do you understand, Romana? k*ll it.

ROMANA: I understand.

K9: I am programmed not to k*ll, except in self-defence.

ADRASTA: Oh, I think that can be arranged.

ROMANA: You ready, K9?

K9: If the guards will stand well back.

TORVIN: What a haul. What a haul! I'm rich! I'm rich!

AINU: We're rich.

TORVIN: We're rich. Of course. Didn't I tell you, my beautiful boys? Didn't I tell you? Didn't I tell you we'd find it all in Adrasta's palace?

AINU: Yeah, you told us. Now shush. Let's get on.

TORVIN: Now, look at that. Look at that. Do you know what that is? (a candlestick) Zinc. I haven't seen a piece of zinc as big as that for oh, twenty years or more. Zinc.

AINU: Oh, come on, Torvin. The guards must be after us by now.

TORVIN: Beautiful, beautiful.

EDU: Hey, Torvin, look!

TORVIN: Don't drop it. Whatever you do, don't drop it.

EDU: Look at it.

TORVIN: I've never seen metal like that before. It's beautiful.

EDU: Torvin, are you, are you all right?

EDU: I, I feel

K9: The material is too strong. I am in danger of depleting my power packs.

ROMANA: It's all right, K9.

ADRASTA: Why has the animal stopped?

ROMANA: Because if you want to k*ll the Creature, K9 must have some power left.

ADRASTA: But so far it's had no effect on the shell whatsoever!

K9: Incorrect. I weaken the shell, but the material is self-renewing.

ADRASTA: What do you mean? What does he mean?

ROMANA: He means that whenever the material is weakened, the atoms recombine, the molecules reconstitute themselves to form an even stronger material.

K9: Correct, mistress.

ADRASTA: So, all that ray has done, in fact, is to temper the original material.

ROMANA: That's about right, yes.

ADRASTA: My dear, your electric dog is infernally stupid. How in heaven's name are we supposed to break through the shell now? Men, redouble your efforts!

ROMANA: No, wait. We're not going to do it like that. We must think.

DOCTOR: Hello, everybody.

ROMANA: Doctor, are you all right?

DOCTOR: Yes, I'm fine.

ROMANA: I was so worried about you.

DOCTOR: Oh, you shouldn't be worried. Time Lords have ninety lives.

ROMANA: How many have you got through, then?

DOCTOR: About a hundred and thirty.

ADRASTA: How did you do it?

DOCTOR: What?

ADRASTA: I demand you tell me how you broke through the shell.

DOCTOR: Ah. I asked the Creature very nicely. My pleasure, it said.

ADRASTA: Liar! The Creature can't talk without. (pause) Guardmaster, take a look!

KARELA: I'll go with him.

ORGANON: Your luck's still holding out.

DOCTOR: It is, rather, isn't it.

ORGANON: You must have been born under a particularly favourable conjunction of celestial circumstances.

DOCTOR: I was.

ORGANON: What sign were you born under?

DOCTOR: Crossed computers.

ORGANON: Crossed what?

DOCTOR: Computers. It's the symbol of the maternity service on Gallifrey.

ORGANON: Oh.

GUARDMASTER: It's all clear, my lady.

ADRASTA: No sign of the Creature?

GUARDMASTER: None.

ADRASTA: Why did it let you get away? Why didn't it k*ll you?

DOCTOR: I don't know. Why don't you ask it? Incidentally, how did you know with such certainty that creature couldn't talk, eh? What do you know about it? And why do you want it k*lled so badly, hmm?

ADRASTA: You ask too many questions, Doctor. Karela, take the girl, the tin animal and some men. You know what to do.

DOCTOR: No, no, please.

ADRASTA: Afraid for the Creature, Doctor?

DOCTOR: No, I'm afraid for them. Have you any idea what that creature can do?

ADRASTA: I know one thing, Doctor. It can't get out of this Pit by itself. Go on, Karela. Hold him, in case he tries to warn his creeping friend. Dog!

K9: Master?

DOCTOR: All right, K9.

K9: Mistress, blasting has proved too much for my power packs. If I am to conserve my energy, I shall need a rest.

ROMANA: All right, K9. I'll carry you.

DOCTOR: Call them back.

ADRASTA: Be silent.

DOCTOR: You could be sending them to their deaths, you know.

KARELA: Ready, dog?

K9: I am ready.

ORGANON: I take back what I said about this being your lucky day.

DOCTOR: Why?

ORGANON: I think, on second thoughts, it may be the monster's.

DOCTOR: Thank you.

ORGANON: I wonder what sign it was born under?

DOCTOR: What a pity you didn't bring your charts. You could have worked it out for yourself.

ORGANON: Oh!

DOCTOR: What is it?

ORGANON: Adrasta's evil eye is on me.

DOCTOR: Shush. Lady Adrasta, they've been gone a long time.

ADRASTA: How far away was the Creature when you saw it?

DOCTOR: Oh, a few hundred yards along the passageway there's a big cave. It was in there.

ADRASTA: We should have heard something by now.

DOCTOR: Hmm. Look, why don't I go?

ADRASTA: No! Ah, no. Organon.

ORGANON: My lady?

ADRASTA: You will go.

ORGANON: What, me?

ADRASTA: Yes, you. Go down to the passage, into the cave, and come back and tell us what you see.

ORGANON: Oh, why me?

DOCTOR: Maybe it isn't your lucky day.

ORGANON: I don't think that's at all funny.

ADRASTA: If you don't go, my friend, that guard standing behind you will cut your throat from ear to ear.

DOCTOR: Have you ever thought of taking up another line of work? I don't think astrology is your forte.

ORGANON: Oh, my lady.

ADRASTA: Well?

KARELA: Nothing, my lady. The cave's empty.

ADRASTA: Empty?

KARELA: The Creature's gone.

ADRASTA: How?

KARELA: We discovered a passage at the back of the cave.

ADRASTA: Guard, hold her. And make sure the dog's pointing against the rock. Where does the passage lead?

KARELA: I don't know. I sent the guards down after it.

DOCTOR: You realise what this means, Adrasta? It means a great green blob several hundred feet long is loose somewhere in these passageways. An angry green blob. A green blob you tried to k*ll.

ADRASTA: Karela, take the girl, the tin animal and some guards, go down into the Pit, find the Creature and k*ll it!

DOCTOR: No, no, no. Adrasta, you're insane. You have some idea of what that creature can do. Can you imagine? At the moment it's reasonably friendly, but if K9 sh**t it.

ADRASTA: What?

DOCTOR: It'll get very angry.

ADRASTA: Then, Doctor, you had better make sure that K9 manages to k*ll it.

DOCTOR: What, a creature that size? He's only a little dog, you know.

ADRASTA: Don't try to be clever, Doctor. K9 is quite capable of k*lling the Tythonian.

DOCTOR: The what?

ADRASTA: The Creature.

DOCTOR: I thought you said Tythonian.

ADRASTA: I meant the Creature.

DOCTOR: You've bitten off more than you can chew, haven't you.

ADRASTA: Doctor, I mean to have that Creature d*ad. Romana will make K9 k*ll it.

DOCTOR: No, no, she won't. She won't. She'll refuse, you know. Won't you, Romana?

ROMANA: Yes, I'll refuse.

ADRASTA: Then Karela will k*ll her. Point the dog against the rock!

DOCTOR: Did you hear that, Romana? Karela's going to k*ll you, and you with your hair all messed up.

ROMANA: Doctor, I can't do anything about my hair if I'm holding K9.

DOCTOR: Oh, so you are. I didn't notice. Here, let me help you.

DOCTOR: K9? Ready, f*re!

DOCTOR: No, Romana, no!

ADRASTA: No! Get away from me! Ah!

DOCTOR: Frightening, isn't it?

ADRASTA: Don't let it get me. You mustn't let that thing get me! It'll k*ll me!

DOCTOR: What? An evil thing, k*lling. Why should it want to k*ll you? It didn't want to k*ll me, did you, old fellow? Do you know something? I believe he wants to k*ll you.

ADRASTA: Keep it away from me. It's, it's going to eat me.

DOCTOR: Oh, come on. You know it really doesn't eat people, don't you? But you know what it does eat and you haven't been letting it get any, have you. No, you just stuck it in a pit and threw people at it.

ORGANON: She did indeed.

DOCTOR: Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if it wanted to k*ll you. I wouldn't be surprised at all.

ADRASTA: Now, Doctor, I mean to have that creature d*ad. Romana, train K9's ray on it. Now!

DOCTOR: Don't do it, Romana.

ADRASTA: Or the Doctor dies. Six seconds, Romana.

ADRASTA: Get away from here! Get away! Or the Doctor dies.

ADRASTA: No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!
{"type": "series", "show": "Doctor Who", "episode": "17x11 - The Creature from the Pit - part 3"}