Directed by Lennie Mayne
Main Cast-
The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
Jo - Katy Manning
Main Guest Cast
King Peladon - David Troughton
Torbis - Henry Gilbert
Hepesh - Geoffrey Toome
Izlyr - Alan Bennion
SSorg - Sonny Caldinez
Centauri - Stuart Fell (body) and Ysanne Churchman (voice)
Arcturus - Murphy Grumbar (body) and Terry Bale (voice)
Grun - Gordon St. Clair
Synopsis-
The Doctor and Jo take a trip in the Tardis which The Doctor has now finished repairing. They land on the planet Peladon, just outside the royal palace on the side of a cliff. The Doctor and Jo barely escape the Tardis, which tumbles down the cliff but is unharmed because according to The Doctor, the Tardis is "indestructible".
The Doctor and Jo enter the royal palace and are mistaken for the Earth representatives of the Galactic Federation. Other delegates from the Federation include the Ice Warriors Izlyr and SSorg, the delegate from Alpha Centauri and the delegate from Arcturus.
One of King Peladon's trusted advisers, Torbis, has just been killed. The King's other adviser, Hepesh, claims that Torbis was killed by Aggedor, a mythical beast from Peladon's history. Hepesh advises against joining the Federation or risk the Curse of Peladon falling upon the planet.
Eventually, it is uncovered that Arcturus has secretly been working with Hepesh, as Arcturus hoped to control Peladon, which is rich in minerals and something that the homeworld of Arcturus lacks.
With his plot uncovered and Arcturus killed, Hepesh attacks the King's men and orders the Galactic Federations' delegates off the planet. The Doctor, however, has tamed the beast Aggedor with hypnosis to discredit Hepesh. Hepesh is accidentally killed by The Doctor, which saves the conference.
The Doctor and Jo leave Peladon just as the real representative from Earth arrives. The representatives are shocked by the sudden departure of the Tardis from Peladon.
Review-
The Curse of Peladon is one of those "gothic" tales that I'm rather fond of. The caverns, the dark and gloomy castle all set the tone for what turns out to be a rather fun story.
The Doctor suspects that the Ice Warriors are behind the death of Torbis, but to the viewer it seems abundantly clear that someone is trying to frame the Ice Warriors. Arcturus' treachery, and his collusion with Hepesh surprised me a bit (it's been a while since I last saw this story, and I forgot some of the major plot points).
Hepesh, of course, really drives this story. Hepesh is so afraid of change that he'd willingly kill the forward looking Torbis to prevent change from happening.
David Troughton (Patrick Troughton's son) does what he can with the role of King Peladon. Clearly a forward thinking man, King Peladon feels constrained by the laws of his planet, and also by his adviser Hepesh. The King, however, is enamored of Jo, who is posing as an Earth princess. Jo becomes quite fond of the King. When offered the chance to stay on Peladon and marry the King, Jo turns him down but feel unable to explain why.
It's also quite interesting seeing a different side to the Ice Warriors. The Ice Warriors become much more complex in this story, as they aren't the real villains of the piece. This forces The Doctor and Jo to discover the real culprits. It also make the Ice Warriors a much more interesting race than they previously were.
All in all, The Curse of Peladon is another real winner of a story. Not quite as good as Day of the Daleks, but still top notch Doctor Who.
