592 Snakedance Part Three

EPISODE: Snakedance Part Three
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 592
STORY NUMBER: 126
TRANSMITTED: Tuesday 25 January 1983
WRITER: Christopher Bailey
DIRECTOR: Fiona Cumming
SCRIPT EDITOR: Eric Saward
PRODUCER: John Nathan-Turner
RATINGS: 6.6 million viewers
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - Mara Tales (Kinda / Snakedance)

Nyssa tries to rescue the Doctor as Lon tries to convince Ambril to use the great crystal in the ceremony, using the unearthed artefacts to coerce him. Chela takes The Doctor some Dojjen's writing which convinces the Doctor that the crystal is important. Nyssa is found searching Dojjen's disc and imprisoned with the Doctor. Lon takes a blindfolded Ambril to the caves and ensures his co-operation by telling him that he'll never see the artefacts again. The Doctor works out the crystals are man made and created the Mara by absorbing the evil impulses from their users. Ambril lets slip the Doctor was asking about the crystals so the Mara controlled Tegan orders him killed. Ambril announces Lon will take part in the ceremony using the great crystal. A worried Chela frees the Doctor & Nyssa, but they are apprehended by Lon in the corridor and orders them killed.

The Doctor spends an episode in a cell thinking. And that's about it. Nyssa's not in it much, Tegan's hardly in it all it's mostly Martin Clunes strutting his stuff trying to force Ambril's co-operation. Something of nothing really.

We did most of the famous faces in the cast yesterday, but one member of the cast has a famous wife: Brian Miller, playing the hall of mirrors owner Dugdale, is the husband of Elisabeth Sladen who played Sarah-Jane Smith. This is his first Doctor Who, but he'll be back in Resurrection of the Daleks and Remembrance of the Daleks as a Dalek voice as well as making an appearance in the Sarah Jane adventures opposite his wife.

They aren't the only Husband & Wife to both appear in Doctor Who by any means. Caroline John (Companion Liz Shaw) appeared opposite her husband, Geoffrey Beevers in Ambassadors of Death with Beevers becoming the third Master in Keeper of Traken. Tom Baker (the Fourth Doctor) did 2 years acting alongside his future and now ex-wife Lalla Ward (Romana II). We've just seen future Doctor Who Colin Baker for the first time: his ex-wife Liza Goddard will be along shortly. Finally, as widely documented, tenth Doctor David Tennant met his wife Georgia Moffett (Peter Davison's daughter, not born at the point this episode was made) on the set of the Doctor Who story "The Doctor's Daughter".