C10S05 The green death
Synopsis
The Doctor and UNIT are called in to investigate a series of mysterious deaths at a disused mine in South Wales, where all the victims were found with their skin glowing green... As the Doctor becomes suspicious of the nearby Global Chemicals factory and its mysterious 'Boss', his assistant, Jo Grant, becomes trapped underground - in an abandoned mine infested with deadly giant maggots!
Cover notes
Although The Green Death will forever be known as "...the one with the giant maggots", it also has a very important place in the history of Doctor Who. The departure of Kay Manning's Jo Grant saw the first major change to the programme's line-up in three years, and she took with her a certain feeling of security and familiarity which had served the programme so well during the early 1970s.
When the series returned to BBC1 the following year - with a fresh opening title sequence and a feisty new companion - the seeds of Jon Pertwee's departure had already been sown. It would not be long before the main creative forces that had driven the programme forward over the previous five years would also be leaving the show.
But, these historical perspectives notwithstanding, The Green Death is also to be admired on its own terms as a cracking good Doctor Who story. It takes a number of issues and tackles them head-on - and in quite a partisan manner, too: 'Big business' is bad, ecology is good, conformity is to be fought, and progress should not be embraced blindly. And if all this weren't enough, it is the one with the giant maggots, after all...
Cast
| The Doctor | Jon Pertwee | listed as Dr. Who |
| Jo Grant | Katy Manning | |
| Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart | Nicholas Courtney | |
| Stevens | Jerome Willis | |
| Clifford Jones | Stewart Bevan | |
| Elgin | Tony Adams | ep. 1,2,3,4 |
| Hinks | Ben Howard | ep. 1,2,3,4 |
| Dai Evans | Mostyn Evans | ep. 1,2 |
| Dave | Talfryn Thomas | ep. 1,2,3 |
| Bert | Roy Evans | ep. 1,2 |
| Nancy | Mitzi McKenzie | ep. 1,3,4,5,6 |
| milkman | Ray Handy | ep. 1,4 |
| Hughes | John Scott Martin | ep. 1 |
| Fell | John Rolfe | ep. 2,3 |
| Boss's voice | John Dearth | ep. 2,3,4,5,6 |
| Minister of Ecology | Richard Beale | ep. 3 |
| Captain Yates | Richard Franklin | ep. 4,5,6 |
| Sergeant Benton | John Levene | ep. 4,5,6 |
| cleaneer | Jean Burgess | ep. 4 |
| Yates' guard | Brian Justice | ep. 4 |
| guard | Terry Walsh | ep. 4 |
| James | Roy Skelton | ep. 5 |
Crew
| Written by | Robert Sloman | |
| Title music | Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop | |
| Incidental music by | Dudley Simpson | |
| Special sound | Dick Mills | |
| Fight arranger | Terry Walsh | ep. 2 |
| Film Cameraman | Bill Matthews | listed ep. 1,6; probably all |
| Film Cameraman | Ken Lowe | listed ep. 1,6; probably all |
| Film Sound | Simon Wilson | listed ep. 1,6; probably all |
| Film Editor | Alastair Mackay | listed ep. 1,6; probably all |
| Visual effects designer | Ron Oates | listed ep. 1,6; probably all |
| Costume designer | Barbara Kidd | listed ep. 1,6; probably all |
| Make-up | Ann Rayment | listed ep. 1,6; probably all |
| Studio Lighting | Mike Jefferies | listed ep. 1,6; probably all |
| Studio Sound | Richard Chubb | listed ep. 1,6; probably all |
| Script Editor | Terrance Dicks | |
| Designer | John Burrowes | |
| Producer | Barry Letts | |
| Director | Michael Briant |
DVD Extras
| Katy Manning Barry Letts Terrance Dicks |
commentary track | |
| Global conspiracy? | An exclusive investigation into the social changes surrounding the closure of Llanfairfach's colliery, presented by the BBC's original Man Alive industrial correspondent, Terry Scanlon. | |
| Visual effects | Colin Mapson, who assisted visual effects designer Ron Oates on this story, talks about his involvment with The Green Death, and demonstrates how to build a giant maggot. | |
| Robert Sloman | The writer of The Green Death, Robert Sloman, discusses the inspirations and philosophies behind the story. | |
| Stewart Bevan | An interview with the actor who played Professor Clifford Jones, the environmentally-conscious professor who falls for the Doctor's companion, Jo Grant, in this story. | |
| photo gallery |
Special Edition DVD Extras
| eps. 3,4,5 | Richard Franklin Mitzi McKenzie |
commentary track |
| ep. 6 | Katy Manning Russell T. Davies |
commentary track |
| The one with the maggots | Cast and crew look back at the making of this story. | |
| Wales Today | Two pieces from the BBC Wales news programme - a mute 1973 film insert from the filming of The Green Death, and a 1994 item with Jon Pertwee opening the new country park that was built on the site used in the story. | |
| Doctor Forever! - The Unquiet Dead | Final installment in our five-part series looking at how Doctor Who was kept alive in the years between the end of the classic series and the beginning of the new. In this unique interview, new series creator Russell T. Davies and then BBC Controller of Drama, Jane Tranter, talk about Doctor Who's rebirth on television. | |
| What Katy did next | A look at Serendipity, the TV series that Katy Manning presented after leaving Doctor Who. | |
| The Sarah Jane Adventures - Death of the Doctor [2010] | This two-part story from 2010 sees Katy Manning reprising her role as Jo Grant and a guest appearance by Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, as they join forces with series regulars at the Doctor's funeral. Optional commentary with actress Katy Manning and series creator Russell T. Davies. | |
| Radio Times listings |
Commentary
| serial code : | TTT |
| episode count : | 6 |
| initial broadcast date : | 1973-05-19 |
| DVD release date : | |
| DVD SE release date : | |
| BluRay release date : | |
| part of The Third Doctor Collection boxset | |