Sarah, why do you have to run all lurchy?
An alien seed is discovered in the ice of Antarctica and returns to life. The Doctor (Tom Baker) and Sarah Jane (Elisabeth Sladen) are called in only to discover it is an infectious plant alien species called the Krynoid. When the Krynoid infects a scientist, the Doctor must prevent the infection from spreading and destroying the world. An English botanist named Harrison Chase (Tony Beckley) wants the seed and will stop at nothing to get it. Sending an agent named Scorby (John Challis) to retrieve the pod, Chase’s plan to bring it to England could allow the Krynoid to become unstoppable.
Doctor Who: The Seeds of Doom is the final series of the thirteenth series of Doctor Who. It aired in six parts from January 31, 1976 to March 6, 1976. Following the events of Doctor Who: The Brain of Morbius, Doctor Who: The Seeds of Doom has been collected in The Tom Baker Years as Story #85.
No…Not Round-Up!!!
I love the kind of creepy Doctor Who episodes (usually they seem to be infection based) and Doctor Who: The Seeds of Doom delivers. I normally don’t like the six episode stories, but this one keeps moving (by virtually changing the plot at the halfway point from the Antarctic to England). The humanoid Krynoids are much creeper than the giant overgrown Krynoids so the last part of the story loses some luster for me. Plus the series starts to repeat itself…the writers were determined to have someone thrown in that plant grinder by the end of the series.
Oh man, that plant thing is breaking the crap out of that model!
I like that show is a bit of a combination of a lot of films and stories. The Thing from Another Planet is an obvious source for the Antarctica stuff since it involved a plant creature in Antarctica. There are also references to The Quatermass Xperiment and The Day of the Triffids which involved humanoid plants. The giant plant at the end (which most resembles the deadly triffids that menaced the population of Earth) was the weakest part…I wish they stuck with the plant men and had multiple plant men (I’m guessing budget prevented that).
There is a lot of physical fighting by the Doctor in this series. He’s punching, attacking, and doing a lot more action. I always find that interesting (and somewhat humorous) when the normally docile Doctor gets more proactive. Tom Baker’s Doctor wasn’t much of a fighter but it is more reminiscent of the Jon Pertwee’s third Doctor in this series.
Doctor Who: The Seeds of Doom is one of the better long serials. It also marks the last appearance of U.N.I.T. as a major player in the story (they have popped up on occasion since…including the new series). The series was followed by Doctor Who: The Masque of Mandragora.
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Preceded By:
Doctor Who: The Brain of Morbius (Story #84)
Followed By:
