Doctor Who: Unwildered | Season Two
SEASON 2 - 1998
Season 2 of Doctor Who would’ve starred Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor & Daphne Ashbrook as Grace Holloway in their second season. It would also see Philip Segal as showrunner, with Matthew Jacobs as head writer.
Early into production, a rumour started floating around the fanbase that Ashbrook was considering leaving the program, which was later confirmed to be true a few months later. Whilst she had enjoyed her time on the show & working with McGann, she was now wanting to move on & find work elsewhere.
Season 2 would air between the 8th of May, 1997, and the 7th of August, 1997, in the US, with the show airing a day later in the UK. It would consist of 15 episodes across 11 stories, with seven single part adventures & three 2-part adventures & would go out weekly on Friday Night.
THE RETURN HOME
Written by: Melinda M. Snodgrass
Directed by: Stuart Gillard
Parts: 1
The story begins with the TARDIS receiving a distress signal from the planet Erian. Landing on Erian, the Doctor & Grace discover a human colony to be under attack from fish based aliens named the Noutaris. The story then sees the Doctor & Grace helping the humans to defend the planet by producing a force field around their major city, Washingville, as well as helping them repair an ancient weapon named the BFL to attack the Noutaris army in space.
Perrin explains that 1200 years ago, Erian used to belong solely to the Noutaris. Back then, the Nourantis people appeared much closer to being human than weird fish aliens & lived in peace. However, that all changed when a group of human colonists arrived on the planet, who offered to buy the planet from the Nourantis. However, when the Nourantis refused their offer, the humans forced the Nourantis off-world by unleashing a deadly plague into the air - the same plague the humans are now trying to recreate in the present day, which resulted in 90% of the Nourantis population dying. The remaining 10% were drived off world & have been forced to live on the neighbouring planet, Newell - an aquatic planet. Over the 1200 years, the Nourantis evolved into aquatic creatures to better suit to their environment & quickly began building a new empire in hopes of one day reclaiming Erian.
After being beamed back to Erian, the Doctor rushes to try & stop Grace & the humans, who are preparing to fire the BFL. However, the Doctor is too late to abort the launch & the BFL fires, striking & destroying a Nourantis command ship. Perrin, seeing this attack, orders his army to prepare to fire their weapon & destroy the planet.
However, the Doctor is able to stop Perrin from firing by establishing communication between him & the humans. The Doctor fully explains to the human leader, Jongo, about what his ancestors did. He then convinces Jongo to surrender the planet back to the Nourantis. Perrin accepts their surrender, but only if the humans leave their planet.
The Doctor then suggests a solution that involves the two races sharing the planet without their two societies clashing. Since the planet has many vast oceans & the Nourantis have evolved into aquatic creatures, the Nourantis could occupy the oceans whilst the humans occupy the land. However, in order to make this alliance work, the two races must help each other wherever possible & respect their cultural differences.
THE FALL OF CHANDRA
Written by: Matthew Jacobs
Directed by: Charles Beeson
Parts: 1
The Doctor plans to evacuate as many people as he can using the TARDIS. However, the TARDIS has been forced to dematerialise due to the HADS system, leaving him & Grace stranded. The story then sees the Doctor, Grace & a small group of survivors, travelling through the bowels of the ship, rescuing / freeing as many trapped / injured people as possible whilst climbing their way up the ship towards the control deck, where they'll be able to teleport the entire population to the nearest colony world using the Emergency Override Seven (EO7 for short / future reference).
Joining the Doctor & Grace are Mary & Trevor (an old married couple), an elder, upper class businessman named Tyson, a rebel alien teen named Jein & a late 30s man named Howard. During their ascent through the ship, the group fail to rescue another group of survivors & are forced to jump from a collapsing part of the ship.
The story ends with the Doctor, Grace & their team arriving on Quins, where the Doctor checks in on everyone else & they take a moment to remember Jein. We then end with the Doctor & Grace finding the TARDIS & quietly making their exit.
THE CLONE UPRISING
Written by: David Kemper
Directed by: Bryan Spicer (Part 1) & Allan Kroeker (Part 2)
Parts: 2
Shortly thereafter, the base is struck by a radiation storm, which knocks the humans & the Doctor out. When they reawaken, they discover that not only are the clones working without the control of the humans, but have now gained independence & realise how poorly the humans have treated them. But now the clones don't need the humans & believe that they must be punished as revenge.
The story then sees the Doctor trying to establish peace between the humans & the clones - trying to find common ground between the two & finding a fair compromise between the two parties. Within each race, two different parties form within their groups - those who wish to abolish the other race & those who, whilst not particularly caring for the other race, wish to find common ground.
The story then sees the Doctor being able to make a ceasefire between the two races & has them meet to discuss negotiations. The clones explain that they believe themselves to be the real deal & demand that clones be given equal rights or that the clone workers program be abolished. Through some negotiations, most members of both parties come to the conclusion that they must try & convince the world governments to abolish the program as they'd never agree to give equal rights to the clones. However, the Doctor believes that, with some pushing, the independent clones might be able to make an exception.
Everyone from both races agrees to this deal except both Gary's, who still wish to kill the other race. The human Gary tries to shoot his clone, but misses. Meanwhile, the clone Gary also tries to kill his human self, but misses & instead accidentally kills the human Chinatsu. Both Gary's escape into different sections of the facility, each one planning something. The clone Gary starts messing with the cloning machines, altering his DNA file, & starts creating mutant clones of himself to take control of the facility. Meanwhile, the human Gary activates the bases auto destruct sequence, with 10 minutes until the base is flooded with a deadly radiation ray - deadly to both humans & clones.
The story then ends with the Doctor dropping the humans & clones on Earth. The humans have agreed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their clone counterparts to make sure the clone workers program is abolished. The Doctor & Grace say their goodbyes & good lucks as the two races leave the TARDIS. Grace asks the Doctor if he knows what will happen, to which the Doctor says that it'll take many years, but by the year 2397, the clone program will be scrapped for good & that the independent clones will be given equal rights.
THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE
Written by: Tracy Tormé
Directed by: Geoffrey Sax
Parts: 1
The story then sees Grace acting as the Doctor's lawyer, trying to find a way to clear his name, as well as trying to find who the real killer is. Learning more into the planet's history, Grace learns that the murder victim was an up and coming politician named Zimme, who always stuck up for the working man & was fighting to give the oppressed more equal rights.
Grace soon finds herself working with one of Zimme's closest friends, a woman named Kaelar. Through Kaelar, we learn about how the law works in this society & how lying in court can result in the death penalty. We also learn specifically about an ancient myth named the Amulet of Rain. According to the myth, when one wears a necklace containing a purple amulet, if they are lying in court, the planet begins to experience massive rainfall & thunderstorms.
The next day, we see the Doctor & Grace in court. Against Braken's threats, Grace pleads not guilty & accuses Braken of being the real murderer. She presents her evidence to the court &, although the evidence is highly suspect, it's not enough to prove that Braken is the killer. However, Grace has formed a plan to frame Braken using the Amulet of Rain.
Grace asks for Braken to be questioned under the Amulet of Rain. The court agrees & a necklace is placed around Braken's neck. Using a hidden communicator device under her shirt, Grace is able to communicate with Kaelar, who is awaiting her signal within the Doctor's TARDIS. Grace asks Braken is the killer & Braken refuses. Hearing this, Kaelar begins activating switches on the TARDIS console & following a guide provided to her by Grace. With the switches flicked, we see a beacon of light shoot out of the TARDISes lamp & into the sky. The beacon explodes & we slowly see a thunder/rain storm forming.
Grace continues to question Braken about the crime scene. Braken, realising that the weather turning against him, continues to lie. But as he continues to deny his involvement, the weather continues to turn worse & worse. Eventually, Braken, filled with anger, snaps & loudly admits his crime. Braken is then found guilty by the court & taken away, with all charges against the Doctor dropped.
DEATH IN THE SHADOWS
Written by: Naren Shankar
Directed by: Jeff Woolnough
Parts: 1
The story then sees the Doctor & Grace teaming up with a small-time detective named Simon Fincher to track down the murderer. Through Fincher, we learn that the killer has been around for some time & that the triangle carvings in the neck are their signature calling card, earning them the nickname of "The Triangle Slasher".
Eventually, the Doctor, Grace & Fincher discover the killer. As the Doctor suspected, the killer was an alien named Exley, who had major surgery to make him look human. It also turns out Exley's murder victims aren't random people, but were chosen for a reason. We learn that in Exley's time (the 25th century), their home planet was being invaded by a human military force that was lead by a team of great warriors. With Exley's people, the Deklorians) facing extinction, Exley was sent back in time to find & kill the distant ancestors of the great warriors in an attempt to change the future & save his people.
The story ends with the Doctor trying to get Exley to stand down. Exley pretends to stand down, however, when the Doctor isn't looking, he tries to attack him. However, Exley is killed by Fincher, who shoots him down with his revolver.
THE FORMLESS INVASION
Written by: Naren Shankar
Directed by: Bryan Spicer (Part 1) & Jeff Woolnough (Part 2)
Parts: 2
Knowing that they're going to need some help, John Stint summons the Doctor & Grace to Earth, where he reunites with the pair & explains the situation to them. We learn that the agent that died was one of their undercover agents, working / spying on Moonprise, a multinational corporation. Stint also explains that Moonprise have also expanded into space research & are planning on launching their first rocket in a matter of days, which is why UNIT were investigating them.
The story then sees the Doctor & Grace working with Sgt Scott Haynes & Michelle Hawkins to investigate Moonprise. Hacking into their databanks, Hawkins discovers that the company has somehow generated their income & seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Also scanning the infrastructure of their headquarters, with one located in every major city on Earth, they discover that, although most of the building is made out of basic materials, there are traces of materials that aren't found on Earth.
We learn that the brains are an alien race known as the Formless. They have the ability to take over the body of any living thing by transferring their brains into host bodies & melting the old brains using a liquid that is harmless to the Formless. Using the bodies of people, the Formless plan for the launch of their rocket to go wrong. The rocket has been equipped with an alien nuclear material which'll engulf the world in a nuclear explosion. Everything & everywhere will be destroyed. Everywhere except the Moonprise buildings, which were designed to withstand the blasts. With the Moonprise buildings being the only safe haven, world leaders will rush to it for shelter. Then, the formless will take over their bodies & use their government powers to control the world.
Meanwhile, on Earth, we see Stint & Woods fighting their way through Formless resistance & making their way to the top of the building, where the leader of the Formless awaits. However, before they can arrest the Formless leader, he chooses to kill himself using a drug, which destroys his brain.
At the end of the story, the Doctor returns Haynes & Hawkins back to UNIT HQ, where we see Stint & Woods imprisoning the remaining Formless. Stint thanks the Doctor for his help, before the Doctor & Grace leave in the TARDIS.
REBIRTH OF THE DALEKS
Written by: Rockne S. O'Bannon
Directed by: Allan Kroeker (Part 1) & Charles Beeson (Part 2)
Parts: 2
The Doctor tries warning Sebbus that the Daleks aren't to be trusted, but Sebbus doesn't listen to his claims - saying that he's insane & that the Daleks only wish to help the people of E7. The Doctor then tries calling out the Daleks directly - telling them who he is & that he knows they're planning something, & also hitting the Daleks with a sledgehammer. However, this results in the Doctor & Grace being thrown out of Sebbus' office.
The story then sees the Doctor & Grace trying to find a way to expose the Daleks' to the people of E7, as well as a way of defeating them. Through some interaction with the people of E7, they learn of a special program known as the "Delta Force Program" (DFP). The program involves people, selected by the council of E7, to partake in secret / special work. The Doctor meets with a woman named Meya who says that her younger brother, Kezza, was selected for the program & that he hasn't been heard or seen since he left. She also reveals that the program was started not too long after the Daleks arrived on E7, with Kezza also not 100% trusting the Daleks herself.
Theorising that this DFP must be linked to the Daleks, the Doctor & Grace team up with Meya to infiltrate one of their laboratories to see what this program is about. They discover that the laboratories are being used as Dalek production factories. They find people that were selected for the DFP (including Meya's brother, Kezza) have been brainwashed & augmented with Dalek technology & turned into a slave labour force. They appear almost dead - their skin very grey & pale, wires & chunks of metal fused with their bodies & major weight loss in their faces. These people are forced to create Dalek casings, grow Kaled mutants with a mix of their own DNA & the DNA of a dead Dalek, & planting the new mutants into their casings, which causes a lot of trouble due to the violence of the mutants.
We then see the Doctor, Grace & Meya trying to find a way to destroy the Daleks for good. We also see the Doctor confronting Sebbus after realising he's still alive & ordering his people to remain calm. There, he discovers that Sebbus is actually an android duplicate of Sebbus which was made to replace the real Sebbus, who was killed by the Daleks early into their original alliance after discovering their plans. However, after a fight, the Doctor is able to deactivate the android.
Eventually, the Doctor, Grace & Meya are able to defeat the Daleks by using the DNA of the Dalek, which was used to create nearly every Dalek on E7 & using it to create a virus programmed to kill all traces of that DNA, which results in nearly every Dalek dying. The last few, original Daleks are then easily destroyed by the people of E7, who use the dead Dalek's weapons against them.
The story would then end with the planet free from Dalek control. With no members of the council surviving, the Doctor suggests that Meya becomes the new leader. The Doctor destroys the Dalek weapons away, saying that they're too dangerous to be kept lying around. However, he allows the people of E7 to keep the farming & aid technology. With that, he & Grace depart in the TARDIS.
DESTROYER OF WORLDS
Written by: Melinda M. Snodgrass
Directed by: Charles Beeson
Parts: 1
We see the crew drilling towards the planet's crust. However, when the Doctor examines the monitoring equipment, he notices that they're all showing signs of danger. The Doctor tries to get the crew to stop the drilling, but is too late. The drill reaches the planets crust, which causes the planet to begin violently shaking, followed by a loud roaring sound. However, once the roaring sound stops, the shaking stops & the planet settles.
It turns out that, unbeknownst to the crew, they have unleashed an ancient spirit that was imprisoned within the planet's core. We see the spirit, taking the form of a cloud of red smoke, possessing a low level crew member named Will. The spirit flies directly into Will's eye, causing him to collapse & begin having spasms. However, when the spasms stop, Will rises to his feet, now possessed by the evil spirit & having blood red eyes.
Realising the power Crimson possesses & the devastation he would cause if he makes it off Rosathest, the Doctor comes to the conclusion that the only option is to destroy the planet. He therefore rigs the base's reactor to overload, which'll result in the destruction of Rosathest & anything on it.
With the base rigged to explode, the Doctor, Grace & the remaining survivors race towards the TARDIS. However, due to the tampering of the base's reactor, the power to the base begins to fluctuate, causing Crimson to be released from his quarantine. Crimson races through the base, looking for the TARDIS. He finds it at the last second as it begins to dematerialise & throws himself at it as it begins to vanish & the base explodes.
Inside the TARDIS & now inflight, the Doctor believes they've destroyed Rosathest & Crimson for good. However, when the TARDIS is heaved off course, the Doctor turns on the scanner & finds Crimson hanging onto the exterior. However, the Doctor is able to pull Crimson off by flying the TARDIS directly towards a Black Hole, which pulls him through & destroys him.
INDUSTRIALISM
Written by: David Kemper
Directed by: Geoffrey Sax
Parts: 1
The Doctor & Grace blend themselves into the workforce to try & figure out why a spaceship is being built in Industrial America. The Doctor & Grace find out that a robotic race, called the Verdak, were responsible as a member of its race crashed to Earth. And since they come from an Industrial age-esque planet, they are using America, which is in its industrial age to rebuild its ship.
At the end of the episode, the Doctor offers to return the member to his home planet. Which he humbly agrees. Arriving on Vera, the home world, the Doctor is expecting a simple farewell. However the member they bring back is revealed to be a criminal & that he had planned to kill all of the humans that were working for him & was gonna conquer the planet.
The episode ends with the Doctor sitting in the TARDIS melancholic talking to Grace about how he tries to always see the best in people, no matter what.
DEVILS IN THE WIND
Written by: Rockne S. O'Bannon
Directed by: Stuart Gillard
Parts: 1
survivors, the Doctor's team learn exactly what happened to this reality. Alternate Stint tells the team about giant bird-like creatures which they nickname the Ravagers. Stint tells them that the Ravagers come from another dimension. They broke through from their dimension to his dimension, where they proceeded to infect the air with a nuclear material, which slowly caused millions to die & great cities to collapse.
The story then sees the Doctor's team, plus the Alternate Stint & his survivors, returning to our universe to warn UNIT about the Ravagers. We then see the Doctor & Michelle Hawkins working together to try & close the portal before any Ravagers come through, after they detect the Ravagers in the alternate reality closing in on the portal. Meanwhile, we see the two John Stint's butting heads with each other, with the alternate Stint trying to take charge of the situation as he knows the Ravagers better than his counterpart.
The story would end with the Doctor & Michelle being able to close the portal before any more Ravagers can break into their dimension. Stint thanks the Doctor for his help again, before the Doctor & Grace make their exit.
THE WEB OF TIME
Written by: Matthew Jacobs
Directed by: Geoffrey Sax (Part 1) & Stuart Gillard (Part 2)
Parts: 2
With the column cracked, the Doctor is grounded on Gallifrey until it can be repaired. The Doctor reunites with his former teacher, Mabisse, & asks for some help with his situation. Mabisse then uses his computer to contact an engineer named Equins, where he asks him to have a look at the Doctor's TARDIS.
Equins rises to his feet & looks around him, taking in where he is, before pulling a switch & dead-locking the TARDIS doors shut. Back in Mabisse's office, an alert begins beeping on his console, informing Mabisse, the Doctor & Grace that someone is attempting to leave Gallifrey in the Doctor's TARDIS. Suddenly, it hits the Doctor - why the console cracked, why the TARDIS was being drawn back to Gallifrey, and why someone is trying to leave in his TARDIS. He rushes back to the landing pad, with Grace & Mabisse following behind. He bangs on the Door & shouts "let me in! I know it's you!" Grace asks the Doctor who the hell it is. The Doctor shoots a look at Grace, concern written on his face & says his name: "The Master"
In the console room, the Master switches on the scanner & sees the Doctor trying to unlock the TARDIS. First with his key, before turning to his sonic screwdriver. The Master presses a switch on the console, which enables the intercom - allowing him to talk to the Doctor. The Doctor asks the Master to stop, telling him that whatever he wants, he'll give him it. The Master laughs & replies with "oh but i already have all that i want, my friend. A new body & my own TARDIS. Thank you so much". The Doctor replies with "Please, whatever you're thinking of doing, don't" The Master replies with "ohh i'm afraid it's too late to try & make up with me" before switching off the intercom & setting the TARDIS into flight, dematerialising right in front of the Doctor, Grace & Mabisse.
The Doctor then tells Mabisse that he needs to borrow a TARDIS, only to get no response. The Doctor calls for Mabisse - still no response. He turns around, only to see that Mabisse has gone. But more distressingly, Gallifrey has completely changed. Whatever the Master has done, he's rewritten Gallifrey's history. The Doctor mutters "oh no..." He & Grace return to Mabisse's office - sealed shut & seemingly abandoned for some reason. The Doctor turns on his monitor & searches the planet's databanks to learn what has changed. To the Doctor's horror, he discovers that the planet has been turned into a militaristic dystopia that now conquers history instead of observing it. Furthermore, he finds no traces of Rassilon or Omega in the history. Instead he finds records of Gallifrey's one & only rules named Quebec. And looking at Quebec's profile, the Doctor sees the face of Equins... The Master!
Suddenly, the pair are interrupted by the voice of a guard calling them . The Doctor & Grace turn around & see the familiar face of Cpt. Ammral. Only, as they quickly work out, this is a parallel version of Ammral - one who has no idea who the Doctor & Grace are. Instead, he believes the pair to be accomplices of Mabisse. The Doctor says that they are, before Ammral produces his staser & orders them to come with him for questioning. Quickly, the Doctor disarms Ammral, before he & Grace dash away. They make their ways towards the TARDIS bays, with the Doctor saying that they need to correct the timeline or else it could shatter the web of time. However, before they can board a TARDIS. The pair are surrounded by armed guards.
Mabisse then introduces the Doctor to Ephila - a member of the Sisterhood of Karn. Ephila explains that the Sisterhood also detected the change in history & sent someone to Gallifrey to warn "Quebec", unaware that Quebec was the Master, the person who deliberately changed history. Ephila was then secretly arrested, something which would cause political turmoil if the High Council found out that a member of the Sisterhood was arrested without warning.
We then see the Doctor, Grace, Mabisse & Ephila speaking with fellow prisoners, forming a resistance & planning their escape. Eventually, with enough people agreeing to help, the plan is put into motion. The night before the escape, the Doctor signals Mabisse using Tap Code, telling him to start a riot in section 4. However, the Doctor is fully aware that he is being monitored by security. This signal to Mabisse is a part of their plan to force security to closely monitor Section 4. The next day, their plan works, as security is keeping a very close eye on Section 4. With security at a minimum in Section 6, the Doctor's team initiate their riot. With little security around, but working on limited time, the Doctor & his resistance team are able to escape the Scorpion System.
Travelling to the higher levels, we see the Doctor & his team being chased by security. A group of the Doctor's resistance & stand their ground to push back the closing security forces, which results in most of them dying. Eventually, the Doctor, Grace, Mabisse, Ephila & 4 resistance members make their way to the workshops & escape in an offline TARDIS.
The visions end & the Doctor raises his head from the water in a flesh, gasping for oxygen. He explains what he saw to everyone. They all work out that the Master changed history during the battle of Pearison - a battle which was meant to have been won by the Time Lords. The Master must've teamed up with the Vampires to take down Rassilon, where he would take his place in history by slaughtering the Great Vampires & becoming the rightful ruler of Gallifrey. Knowing where & when they must go, Part One ends with our team boarding their TARDIS & travelling back in time to the Great Vampire war.
No matter what the Doctor and Grace do, the Master’s plan is still going to fruition. And Grace comes up with a choice. She looks at the Doctor and apologizes for what must happen.
Grace climbs across the desert terrain of Gallifrey after she sneaks away. And then surrenders herself to the Master. She then works with the Master as he continues his invasion and then sacrifices herself by taking the Master and throwing each other into the Eye of Harmony. Which erases Grace from history.
The episode ends with the Doctor and Mabisse mourning Grace’s death. Especially as now only they can remember her from ever existing due to the damage she had done to her body via the Eye of Harmony. The Doctor, melancholically, says goodbye to Mabisse and then enters the TARDIS and takes off, holding back tears over Grace’s death.
CONCLUSION
Season 2 of Doctor Who received similar reactions to those of Season 1. Whilst the new fans in the US mostly liked it, the overall reception in the UK still wasn't entirely positive, with old school fans starting to warm to the season, but still not being keen on the Americanisation of the show.
Despite higher ups at Universal & the BBC trying to keep this quiet, the news about FOX's departure leaked, which naturally worried the fanbase. Was the show about to be axed again? Unless Universal could find a new network for Doctor Who by the end of 1999, then Doctor Who may not be returning.
Fortunately for everyone, an answer was found. Who was this network? You'll find out next time...
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