3. The Green Death (1973)
Greg: Doctor Who gets political again! But in the other direction! That’s the one that everyone remembers, isn’t it? Dr. Who driving Bessie, his yellow roadster, in a quarry in Wales with green goo and overgrown maggots. What’s not to love?
Sam: Well, it’s two episodes too long, some of the exteriors are matted in against a fuzzy green screen, and Pertwee drags up as a cleaning lady. But, it’s incredibly ambitious and we get to see some interesting foreshadowing of a younger Doctor in the form of fab and groovy Professor Jones (paid-up Welshman) who is cultivating a new fungus to feed the world. Seventies Quorn…
Meanwhile, an evil corporation is pumping out green sewage in search of profit. The result is that lovely Jo Grant wrestles with some nasty maggots and the Doctor and Brigadier save the day with some insect repellant. This was repeated, I think, in 1996 after Mr Pertwee passed away, am I right?
Greg: They rushed it out on double VHS cassette tape after Pertwee died, in tribute. It had a silver logo. That I recall.
Sam: Ah that’s right. Perhaps it was on BBC 2 in 1994 or something. Readers, send in your answers on the back of a postcard addressed to Dr Who Production Office, Wood Lane, London.
Greg: It was one of Pertwee’s favourite stories. The whole gang’s “in it”. It’s Dr. Who and the Hippies Versus Big Business and Capitalism.
It’s all a bit turn on, tune in, veg out for me, but I missed flower power and Woodstock and all that jazz. It’s still a very good yarn about a mad computer, and it has your go-to Welshman of the day, Talfryn Thomas in it. We liked him as Tom Price, the “archetypal 1970s comedy sex pest”, in Survivors.
Sam: Ah yes, Talf The Teeth! Who could forget him, he’s brilliant. I feel pretty sure – see – that he added some extra lines – didn’t he – between the written dialogue – isn’t it – in exactly the same way he did in Survivors – now boyo…
Still, the Green Death has some amazing moments, not least of all Jo’s tender leaving scene, which is so carefully foreshadowed in her headstrong trip to Wales and romance with Professor Jones.
The way Pertwee and Manning play the parting of the ways brings tears to the eyes. It’s very special… a fledgling moment. The production finds real, quality time in a rapid 23-minute piece of television to say a substantial goodbye. So moving.
Greg: There’s no acting going on, that’s why! They adored one another and worked so well together. Those are real tears! The family’s breaking up!
Sam: Are you tearing up now, Greg? The Doctor leaves a happy party of couples to drive off, alone, into the sunset. It breaks your heart. The lonely wanderer. Pure Western iconography.
Greg: Even the viewers would be in tears! But Jo’s off with young Cliff, isn’t she? He seems a dependable enough boy, even if he is a bit of a long-haired hippy. Jerome Willis’ impression of Chamberlain – “I have in my hand a piece of paper,” always makes me laugh, too. As does Pertwee’s milkman.
Sam: Any chance for Pertwee to do a funny voice, eh? You can take the comedian out of a comedy…
Greg: There are so many great bits of business in this one. Even Dr. Who down a mine shaft pulling himself along in a cardboard cart against a CSO background of maggots. What more could anybody want?
It’s an outright classic, and I remember reading the novelisation at my grandparents’ house one long hot summer in the early John Major era. It was magical! The book, not the Major Era.
Sam: The Major Error.
Greg: Margaret’s major lapse of judgement…
Sam: Speaking of horror shows, as we move into our top three Pertwees I can honestly say these next ones are the thrillers that really scared me, or at least gave me shivers…
Greg: They still scare me now!
Sam: In that case, let’s pull the sofa forward and get behind it quick. I suspect we’re in for more monsters, mayhem and black magic…
Read Part 2 of Jon Pertwee’s Top 6 Doctor Who Stories on 20 May.
Greg Jameson and Samuel Payne are two-thirds of The Complete Menagerie – a podcast dedicated to cult pop culture in space and time from 1963 to 1989. Most of their conversations lead back to Doctor Who.
Find out more and listen to episodes of The Complete Menagerie.
