Cute, cuddly maggots
A coal mine has become the source of a U.N.I.T. investigation when workers begin dying with a green tint. As the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) heads off to explore Metebelis Three, Jo (Katy Manning) goes to and meets one of the environmentalist protestors named Professor Clifford Jones (Stewart Bevan). Jo becomes trapped in the mine as the Doctor returns, and Jo and the Doctor discover the horror involves mutant maggots. The Doctor works to track down the source of the mutation and his investigation leads him to a Global Chemicals and a controlling computer named Bimorphic Organisational Systems Supervisor or B.O.S.S. As Jo and Professor Jones grow closer as they seek a way to stop the maggots, events could change the Doctor’s life forever.
Jo, are you sure this is fun anymore?
Doctor Who: The Green Death the final series in the tenth season of Doctor Who. It originally aired in six parts from May 19, 1973 to June 23, 1973 and features the last appearance of Jo Grant as the Doctor’s companion. It follows the events of Doctor Who: Planet of the Daleks and has been collected in The Jon Pertwee Years as Story #69.
Doctor Who: The Green Death is a fun and significant episode in the show’s history. With Jo’s departure, the Doctor’s ties to U.N.I.T. begin to weaken and it also opens the door for Sarah Jane Smith to join the Doctor in the next series. The Doctor also finds himself traveling to Metebelis Three to collect a special crystal that will end up being his undoing in Doctor Who: Planet of the Spiders. Captain Yates (Richard Franklin) is brainwashed by B.O.S.S. here and that brainwashing helps him lead to his betrayal in Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs. With the significant events, Doctor Who: The Green Death is a must for fans.
Captain Yates…I have a new game I want to play
The leaving of Jo is a nice sentimental moment. Granted, the whirlwind romance of Jo and is a bit unrealistic but Jo’s free spirited nature is part of her character. Katy Manning’s leaving was listed as one of the reasons Jon Pertwee left the series in the following the eleventh season. Jo did return however in an episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures: Death of the Doctor.
I have to say I love the maggots in this episode also. Some of the green screen stuff was weak, but the maggots are a fun enemy (a few distant shots of the maggots are really inflated condoms). Apparently they are pretty resistant to being killed but their metamorphosis into a dragonfly-looking bug makes them weak since the Doctor can just take them out with his cloak. I like B.O.S.S. but it gets a bit slow at the end when the Doctor is battling B.O.S.S.
Doctor Who: The Green Death is a must for Doctor Who fans. It is a bit longer than most of the episodes at six episodes. Check it out and say goodbye to Jo. Doctor Who: The Green Death was followed by Doctor Who: The Time Warrior.
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Preceded By:
Doctor Who: Planet of the Daleks (Story #68)
Followed By:
