Things I've Learnt from Watching My Favourite Doctor Who Stories: Part 13 - The Seeds of Doom

 13. The Seeds of Doom

Never Trust a character played by John Challis

Occasionally, a villain comes along in Doctor Who, classic or modern, who is a fully rounded individual that goes through a certain degree of character development. The Seeds of Doom features Scorby, a mercenary-type character employed by the main villain of the story, Harrison Chase.  

Now, it may be because Scorby is played by John Challis - aka Boycie from Only Fools and Horses - but towards the end I do feel some sympathy for him. When he turns up in part one, he’s the typical heavy – also he doesn’t speak in RP, he’s got a bit of a London accent, which in classic Who means he’s a wrong ‘un! Challis' career saw him cast as a heavy from the man who stole Ena Sharples' handbag in Coronation Street to shows like the Sweeney. His early appearances as Boycie also show him to be a bit of a shady character before he became the character we know and love. 

He quickly proves he's a wrong 'u and by the end of part two, he’s had the Doctor and Sarah tied up, threatened to shoot Sarah, and then leaving her to blown up. And while the Doctor initially plays the fool to fox him, he soon realises that Scorby is no fool. The venom that Tom Baker gives as he shouts out “Scorby!” when he and Keeler take Sarah away show the Doctor has realised how dangerous he is and that the stakes are high. It's palpable stuff! 

After Antarctica, the next time they meet the Doctor twists Scorby’s neck in an attempt to escape and when the tables are turned and the Doctor is captured, Scorby beats him up in the bins! And it’s really nasty; it’s not the usual fighting style you sometimes get in Who (Ie: unconvincing!) Slowly however, Scorby not only realises his boss is as nutty as a squirrels diet but also realises the Doctor is actually the one who'll get him out of trouble. 

Unfortunately Scorby is too proud to really accept that. "I'm a survivor," he mutters, but then he's mumbling that they're as dead as mutton. His nerve goes and he recklessly tries to escape. He doesn't of course, he's drowned by homicidal pond weed the silly sod, and proof that you really should listen to your doctor... 

My abiding memory of watching this story (the vhs release in 1994) was when some friends had invited themselves around and found me watching the first tape. I can't remember if they'd seen any of the Antarctica scenes, as I'm sure there would have been some disparaging comments about the polystyrene snow. Maybe they did but the horrific premise of the Krynoids kept them watching? 

Because they did keep watching! They were intrigued by the casting of John Challis as Scorby, and one of them recognised Tony Beckley from the Italian Job and that Sir Colin was played by the actor who played the Prison Governor in Porridge! And the infamous neck twist scene got a big reaction... 

And I can't quite remember if they agreed to switch to the second tape after the wonderful cliffhanger to part three, but we started part four. Even if you're not a fan, surely you'd want to know what happens after that cliffhanger, which is one of my favourites, as is the resolution which is violently heroic and has a wonderful exchange 

CHASE: What do you do for an encore, Doctor? 

DOCTOR: I win! 

But my friends stayed til the end, and apart from the odd comment about the CSO, they kept watching. Poor Sergeant Henderson's demise was greeted with a certain degree of shock, that a good guy could be bumped off quite so callously. Despite there being no blood, it is quite horrible.

No one could accuse the Seeds of Doom as being original. It's the Thing meets Quatermass with the Avengers thrown in (The Man-Eater of Athelhampton House!) This is Doctor Who revelling in Robert Holmes' assertion about needing an original idea but it doesn't have to be your original idea. But then if it's done this we'll and this confidently, should we care? 

Tom and Lis are, as always, wonderful together. The story is violent but it acknowledges that the Doctor would never use the gun he's swanning around with. It has Sylvia Coleridge as the wonderful Amelia Ducat and it has John Challis, proving there's life beyond Boycie, and giving us a, performance that is rightly regarded, as one of the best.

Next Time: Being good at maths isn't everything!