Series 4
The Trodons Broadcast November 16th 1968
Mission date 0095.6 the Endeavour is continuing her shakedown cruise under Benjamin Russell when she receives a strange signal from the newly established colony on New Middlesex. An experimental nuclear power research centre built into a network of caves in Clapham Moor is experiencing mysterious power drains and mental breakdowns amongst staff. The local Commonwealth security unit is called in to investigate. One of the workers at the centre is found dead with giant claw marks on his body, and his companion's mind has been traumatised to the extent that he can only scrawl primitive cave drawings of reptilian creatures on walls. Hoyle (guest star George Sewell), the Director, resents their presence and feels that it will interfere with the working of the plant, which is trying a new process to generate nuclear electric power.
Russell, Brynne Travis and Blamire beam down and find Hoyle arguing with Miss Dawson, his assistant (guest star Wanda Ventham), she is protesting that they should stop "them" from taking the power. Hoyle makes it clear that he welcomes their presence even less than that of the local security force. Lieutenant Commander Baker (guest star Michael Billington), their leader, believes there is a saboteur in the centre. Brynne discovers that the logs of the nuclear reactor's operation have been altered and starts looking for inconsistancies in all the plant’s records.
Baker and Travis make their way into the caves, where they are attacked by a dinosaur-like creature before it is called off by a strange whistling sound. On investigating the scene further they find blood traces from the creature. Brynne analyses these and to his surprise finds similarities to birds. In the meantime, the creature goes to the surface and stumbles into an outhouse to hide. Hoyle goes into the caves to a hidden base, where he demands the knowledge he was promised. He is told that he must first help the wounded creature and is given a signal device which emits the sound heard earlier.
The creature is discovered by a worker and attacks him. The worker survives and identifies his attacker. While investigating the outhouse, Baker is knocked unconscious by the creature, and it flees. Travis and Blamire follow the creature's tracks and find they end in tyre marks.
When Russell goes to the office to reason with Hoyle, he finds him dead. Russell retrieves the signal device from Hoyle's body and is surprised by the wounded creature. Russell tries to talk to the creature, but it runs away. Looking for answers, Baker enters the caves and is captured and interrogated by its occupiers, who look like bipedal birdlike dinosaurs, about the strength of humans. Travis and Russell follow his route and open the entrance to the creatures’ base with Hoyles's signal device, where they find him in a locked cage. They rescue Baker and leave to inform Brynne and to summon more help from the Endeavour, but not before they see an alien being revived from hibernation by a machine, explaining the energy drains that the reactor has been experiencing.
Meanwhile, Henshaw (guest star Stratford Johns), the Commonwealth official in charge of the centre, arrives. Russell tells them about the aliens in the caves, urging peaceful contact. However, this falls on deaf ears when Miss Dawson reveals that Hoyle was killed by the alien he held captive. Russell, not willing to give up on a peaceful solution goes to warn the aliens, but they put him in a cage. Their Chief Scientist tells Russell how their race evacuated here about 60 million years ago from another planet which was being hit by repeated asteroid strikes and heavy volcanism. After a brief time of peace they had had to retreat underground to avoid a major ice age. The hibernation mechanism malfunctioned, and they did not revive until a new power source was discovered.
The alien shows Russell maps of their homeworld. To his surprise the maps look much like reconstructions of how the Earth looked at the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. These aliens are from one of the Earths (presumably the first one whichever one that was!). Russell is finally released from captivity to take a message back to the humans. “Leave this planet and we will negotiate with you. Stay and there will be unending war". Russell argues that the Commonwealth has far more resources than do the Trodons (that is what they call themselves) and that a war is unwinnable for them but they would be accepted with open arms as members. That depends on you leaving this planet is the Trodon reply.
Russell returns to the plant and relays the message to Commonwealth headquarters. Much to his surprise there is an immediate reply. An immediate evacuation of New Middlesex is ordered. Resources are spread too thinly in the aftermath of the Rememberers and as there are plenty more planets easier to settle than New Middlesex it is not worth fighting the Trodons to keep it(especially as there are only 4000 colonists). The Endeavour stays in orbit until the evacuation fleet arrives. It actually turns out to have been a wise move by the Commonwealth as by the time the evacuation fleet arrives a week later over 10000 Trodons have been awakened from hibernation.
Mission date 0095.6 the Endeavour is continuing her shakedown cruise under Benjamin Russell when she receives a strange signal from the newly established colony on New Middlesex. An experimental nuclear power research centre built into a network of caves in Clapham Moor is experiencing mysterious power drains and mental breakdowns amongst staff. The local Commonwealth security unit is called in to investigate. One of the workers at the centre is found dead with giant claw marks on his body, and his companion's mind has been traumatised to the extent that he can only scrawl primitive cave drawings of reptilian creatures on walls. Hoyle (guest star George Sewell), the Director, resents their presence and feels that it will interfere with the working of the plant, which is trying a new process to generate nuclear electric power.
Russell, Brynne Travis and Blamire beam down and find Hoyle arguing with Miss Dawson, his assistant (guest star Wanda Ventham), she is protesting that they should stop "them" from taking the power. Hoyle makes it clear that he welcomes their presence even less than that of the local security force. Lieutenant Commander Baker (guest star Michael Billington), their leader, believes there is a saboteur in the centre. Brynne discovers that the logs of the nuclear reactor's operation have been altered and starts looking for inconsistancies in all the plant’s records.
Baker and Travis make their way into the caves, where they are attacked by a dinosaur-like creature before it is called off by a strange whistling sound. On investigating the scene further they find blood traces from the creature. Brynne analyses these and to his surprise finds similarities to birds. In the meantime, the creature goes to the surface and stumbles into an outhouse to hide. Hoyle goes into the caves to a hidden base, where he demands the knowledge he was promised. He is told that he must first help the wounded creature and is given a signal device which emits the sound heard earlier.
The creature is discovered by a worker and attacks him. The worker survives and identifies his attacker. While investigating the outhouse, Baker is knocked unconscious by the creature, and it flees. Travis and Blamire follow the creature's tracks and find they end in tyre marks.
When Russell goes to the office to reason with Hoyle, he finds him dead. Russell retrieves the signal device from Hoyle's body and is surprised by the wounded creature. Russell tries to talk to the creature, but it runs away. Looking for answers, Baker enters the caves and is captured and interrogated by its occupiers, who look like bipedal birdlike dinosaurs, about the strength of humans. Travis and Russell follow his route and open the entrance to the creatures’ base with Hoyles's signal device, where they find him in a locked cage. They rescue Baker and leave to inform Brynne and to summon more help from the Endeavour, but not before they see an alien being revived from hibernation by a machine, explaining the energy drains that the reactor has been experiencing.
Meanwhile, Henshaw (guest star Stratford Johns), the Commonwealth official in charge of the centre, arrives. Russell tells them about the aliens in the caves, urging peaceful contact. However, this falls on deaf ears when Miss Dawson reveals that Hoyle was killed by the alien he held captive. Russell, not willing to give up on a peaceful solution goes to warn the aliens, but they put him in a cage. Their Chief Scientist tells Russell how their race evacuated here about 60 million years ago from another planet which was being hit by repeated asteroid strikes and heavy volcanism. After a brief time of peace they had had to retreat underground to avoid a major ice age. The hibernation mechanism malfunctioned, and they did not revive until a new power source was discovered.
The alien shows Russell maps of their homeworld. To his surprise the maps look much like reconstructions of how the Earth looked at the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. These aliens are from one of the Earths (presumably the first one whichever one that was!). Russell is finally released from captivity to take a message back to the humans. “Leave this planet and we will negotiate with you. Stay and there will be unending war". Russell argues that the Commonwealth has far more resources than do the Trodons (that is what they call themselves) and that a war is unwinnable for them but they would be accepted with open arms as members. That depends on you leaving this planet is the Trodon reply.
Russell returns to the plant and relays the message to Commonwealth headquarters. Much to his surprise there is an immediate reply. An immediate evacuation of New Middlesex is ordered. Resources are spread too thinly in the aftermath of the Rememberers and as there are plenty more planets easier to settle than New Middlesex it is not worth fighting the Trodons to keep it(especially as there are only 4000 colonists). The Endeavour stays in orbit until the evacuation fleet arrives. It actually turns out to have been a wise move by the Commonwealth as by the time the evacuation fleet arrives a week later over 10000 Trodons have been awakened from hibernation.
Last edited: