8th Doctor
Terror Firma
Serial 8W
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Terror Firma
Written by Joseph Lidster
Directed by Gary Russell
Sound Design and Music by Steve Foxon

Paul McGann (The Doctor), India Fisher (Charley), Conrad Westmaas (C’rizz), Terry Molloy (Davros), Julia Deakin (Harriet Griffin), Lee Ingleby (Samson Griffin), Lizzie Hopley (Gemma Griffin), Nicholas Briggs (Dalek Voices).


‘Welcome back, Doctor...’

Centuries ago, on the war-torn planet Skaro, a great scientist created the most evil creatures the Universe would ever know... Daleks.

It was at their genesis that the scientist Davros first met and was defeated by the Doctor.

Over the years and throughout space, they fought.

It was a fight that ended with the Doctor’s destruction of Skaro and the Daleks. Except...

Davros survived. Alone. In the dark. With only thoughts of revenge keeping him alive.

The Doctor is back. Davros is waiting.

Their destiny is now.


Notes:
  • Featuring the Eighth Doctor, Charley and C’rizz, this story takes place after the Big Finish story The Next Life.
  • Released: August 2005
    ISBN: 1 84435 137 8
  
  
 
 
Part One
(drn: 25'14")

Two young travellers, Samson and Gemma, are exploring a dark and deserted spaceship corridor. Despite the risk, Gemma urges the reluctant Samson to venture further into the darkness, and eventually, they stumble across the ship’s sole living occupant. The man, or what’s left of him, appears to be badly injured -- but when Gemma steps forward to see if she can help, the creature lashes out at her, ensnaring both her and Samson in a web of electricity. Samson and Gemma have fallen into the clutches of Davros...

The Doctor and Charley have finally returned to their home Universe, along with their new friend, C’rizz -- only to walk straight into a room full of Daleks led by what’s left of Davros. The Doctor apologises for bursting in uninvited, and ushers his companions back to the TARDIS, offering to take them to Blackpool instead. The Daleks are oddly sluggish, and for a moment it seems that they might actually get away, until Davros orders his Daleks to seize them. Davros claims to have been anticipating their arrival, but he does not explain how; rather, he orders his Daleks to take the Doctor’s friends to the cells while he speaks privately with the Doctor. As the Daleks march the reluctant Charley and C’rizz to the cells, Davros welcomes the Doctor to the new Dalek homeworld...

In the cells, Charley warns C’rizz what to expect from the Daleks, whom she has encountered before. However, C’rizz notes that Charley is putting on an act to cover her nervousness, and realises that she no longer fully trusts him now that she knows his true nature. C’rizz assures her that he wants to be worthy of her trust and friendship. However, before they can work on an escape plan, a young woman named Gemma blasts open the cell door, identifying herself as a member of the Resistance. With Dalek guards in hot pursuit, Charley and C’rizz follow Gemma out of the cells towards a possible escape route, which Gemma identifies as the Great Tunnel.

Elsewhere, the drunken Harriet Griffin tries to organise a party for her friends and neighbours, without much care for how she appears to her sullen son, Samson. One of the partygoers, Nigel Brackett, tries to strike up a conversation with Sam, but when Sam tells Nigel that he’s an only child, Harriet snaps angrily at him, claiming that Sam has forgotten all about his dead sister. This is an old argument, and Sam angrily storms out of the party, insisting that he never had a sister, except in his mother’s demented imagination. Nigel slips out of the party to call his wife, Pam, and is startled to run into Sam lurking outside. Sam seems tormented, haunted by voices in his head -- one of which is the Doctor’s, and another of which is the voice of the sister named Gemma whom he believes never existed. The frantic Sam runs away into the rain, and the puzzled Nigel returns to the party, where Harriet is trying to get her guests to sing the Hokey Pokey -- and is chivvying them along by telling them not to act like a bunch of Daleks.

Davros ushers the Doctor into his laboratory, where they can speak privately. He notes that the Doctor does not appear afraid, and the Doctor explains that he’s just returned home from a Universe in which there was no linear Time. For a Time Lord, this was a hellish existence, and despite being in Davros’ clutches, at least he’s back in his element again. However, the Doctor soon realises that Davros is not exactly feeling himself; he is beginning to show evidence of violent mood swings, sometimes referring to himself as the Emperor, sometimes referring to the Emperor as a separate being, and sometimes referring to himself in the plural as “we.” Davros claims to need the Doctor’s help to find something important, but he has difficulty explaining what it is -- and the Doctor realises that Davros is more mentally unstable than he’s ever been...

Gemma leads C’rizz to an escape hatch in the Dalek base, but Charley has fallen behind, and to C’rizz’s horror, Gemma slams and seals the hatch behind her, trapping Charley on the other side. C’rizz hears the Dalek open fire, and when Charley fails to respond to his frantic calls, he concludes that she’s been killed. First he lost his friends, family, and lover, then his father, and now another good friend has gone. Gemma promises to be his new friend, but insists that they get moving and join up with the Resistance. C’rizz grimly agrees to accompany her on the condition that the Resistance helps him to destroy the Daleks. Gemma thus leads C’rizz to the Great Tunnel, revealing that it doesn’t just lead underground -- it leads beneath the sea.

Charley has in fact evaded the Dalek and found her way to another exit on the surface. As she struggles to emerge, she sees Sam stumbling past. Confused by the voices in his head, he refuses to help her at first, believing that she isn’t real; however, she insists that she is real and in pressing need of help, and he pulls her out of the hatch and slams it shut on the approaching Dalek. For a moment, he mistakes her for Gemma, but when he realises that this is not the case, he turns and heads for the cliffs, sick with despair and intending to throw himself over. Charley tries to stop him, but then gets a good look at her surroundings -- and finds them disturbingly familiar. To her horror, Sam reveals that this is the only place on the entire planet that’s not swarming with Daleks -- and it’s called Folkestone. The Daleks have invaded and conquered Earth.

Davros turns on the Doctor, accusing him of destroying Davros’ homeworld. Overwhelmed by his emotions and memories, Davros begs the Doctor to give him a hypodermic injection, and the Doctor cruelly withholds it for a moment before giving in. Somewhat calmer once he has been given his injection, Davros reveals that, having lost one world because of the Doctor, he was driven to create another. As Davros continues to ramble, the Doctor cuts through to the point and realises that Davros is dying -- or, rather, he’s losing his sense of self. After so many centuries, Davros is becoming what he was always destined to become: a Dalek. As Harriet and her party guests sing the Hokey Pokey far above their heads, Davros tells the Doctor that he needs his help to find... Davros.

Part Two
(drn: 29'02")

Samson and Gemma are still recovering from their captain’s birthday celebrations as they set off to explore their latest destination. Samson, who drank rather more than his sister last night, advises caution; however, despite the potential risk, Gemma urges the reluctant Samson to venture further into the dark and deserted spaceship corridor...

After all Charley’s been through, returning to Earth only to find that it’s been conquered by Daleks is nearly more than she can bear. She begs Samson to step away from the cliff edge, telling him that her friend C’rizz has lost everything in his life and saw his father die earlier this very same day -- and yet, he’s still shown more concern for Charley’s well-being than for his own. No matter how bad things seem, there’s always someone out there who loves you and wants you to live, and as that hope is all Charley has now, she begs Sam to choose life over death. Sam steps back from the edge and agrees to help Charley to find food and shelter, and perhaps even to help her fight the Daleks.

The Doctor is surprised to find himself feeling sorry for Davros, who has lost everything that defines him. He thus agrees to consider helping Davros on condition that he is permitted to see his companions. However, to the Doctor’s amusement, Davros is forced to report that Charley and C’rizz have already escaped. The Doctor chooses his friends wisely -- a fact that Davros has clearly noted. Davros explains that he has finally set aside his attachment to his crippled physical body, and that he intends to transfer his mind into a new cloned body, set aside the mistakes of his past and start a new life somewhere else. The Doctor is sceptical; Davros has tried and failed to change his ways before, and just as the Doctor will always be a Time Lord, so Davros will always be a Dalek. Davros angrily denies that he is a Dalek, but notes that the Doctor seems ashamed to call himself a Time Lord. The Doctor admits that he’s recently come to understand just how corrupt his own people are, and Davros realises that the Doctor fears he is destined to become crazed with power or ossified in the dull cloisters of Gallifrey. Davros reminds the Doctor of what he did to Skaro and suggests that one of these has happened already. The Doctor claims that he was right to destroy Skaro after seeing what the Daleks were capable of -- but Davros suggests that perhaps the Doctor should fear his past more than his future...

As Gemma leads C’rizz through the undersea tunnel, she gets a good look at him and realises that he’s not human. C’rizz starts to tell her his story, but is interrupted by L’da’s voice in his head, calling out to him. C’rizz tries to ignore this, but Gemma realises that something’s wrong, and flirts with him a little, trying to cheer him up. She wonders what her mother would think of her flirtatious behaviour, and realises that she can’t remember exactly what her mother was like. She and C’rizz are then confronted by a shambling, semi-humanoid figure, and Gemma explains to C’rizz that the Daleks conducted genetic experiments upon human subjects when they first arrived on Earth, or perhaps even earlier than that.... This sad specimen is no longer entirely human -- or sane. The mutant takes a shine to Gemma’s pretty hair and tries to take it, and C’rizz defends her by attacking the mutant -- and, to Gemma’s apparent horror, snapping its neck with a savage twist.

Sam takes Charley back to the party, where he tells his mother that they’re going to fight the Daleks. Harriet takes this in her stride and offers Charley some food. Charley wonders why Harriet and her guests seem so unconcerned about the fact that there’s a Dalek base directly beneath them, but Harriet explains that the Daleks tend to leave them alone. Folkestone, although it is connected to mainland Europe by the Chunnel, is the only part of the Earth that is not currently covered with a protective metal dome, and the few surviving inhabitants have apparently decided that it’s pointless trying to fight the Daleks and have devoted their time to throwing parties instead. Charley vows not to give up as they have done, but Harriet points out that there’s little she can do by herself and offers to let Charley sleep in her daughter’s old room. Samson promptly goes into convulsions, and although Harriet insists that he’s just unable to deal with the truth about his sister, she and Charley are taken aback when Sam collapses to the floor -- and calls out for the Doctor.

Davros informs the Doctor that he spent years alone after Skaro was destroyed, trapped in the darkness and brooding over his fate. Once, the Doctor asked him what he would do if he had developed a virus capable of destroying all life -- and to the Doctor’s horror, Davros reveals that this is no longer a hypothetical question. After the Doctor had destroyed all that Davros had in the world, Davros created something new. And since the Doctor had destroyed Davros’ homeworld, Davros destroyed the Doctor’s adopted home -- by unleashing a mutagenic virus on Earth and transforming its entire population into a new army of Daleks. The Doctor, enraged, vows to kill Davros for what he’s done, but is taken aback when Davros reveals that this is what he wants. Either he’s forgotten his desire to transfer his mind into a clone body, or his divided mind is at work; part of him desperately wants to be redeemed, part wants to make the Doctor suffer, and part just wants his whole wretched life to end. Davros thus presents the Doctor with his doomsday virus, which will destroy all life on the planet -- if the Doctor crushes the vial. But despite all that Davros has done, the Doctor refuses to give in to total despair, and insists that there’s still hope where there’s even a shred of life. He still has faith in his companions. And Davros thus shows him just what has become of those companions...

Gemma, apparently appalled, demands to know why C’rizz killed the mutant rather than just subduing him, and accuses him of being a heartless killer. However, she’s using the same turns of phrase that Charley once used while paralysed, asking C’rizz if he would ever “help” her to die -- and C’rizz collapses in confusion, hearing L’da’s and Charley’s voices in his head. Up in the bunker, Davros orders Gemma to hand her gun to C’rizz and ask him to kill her, and she does so without hesitation. The Doctor refuses to believe that C’rizz is a killer, but C’rizz takes the gun, promising to save Gemma by killing her. Before the Doctor can see what happens next, Davros switches over to see what Charley is up to...

Samson continues to cry out for the Doctor, but Harriet -- and Sam -- assume that he means the local doctor, Dr Hassan. Samson passes out, and Charley confesses to Harriet that when she first met him, he was trying to kill himself. Harriet tells Charley that Sam and Gemma disappeared some time before the Dalek invasion, and that Sam returned alone with no memory of what had happened to him -- and no memory that he had ever had a younger sister. Charley sympathises with Harriet’s troubles, but insists that she must now leave the party and find her friends; however, when she mentions the Doctor, Sam goes into convulsions and begins to babble apologies to the absent Doctor, claiming that “he” took Gemma and made Sam do terrible things. As Charley tends to Sam, she discovers that he has a metal implant in his head -- and is shocked when Sam babbles about the Doctor’s everlasting matches. Charley shows Samson the key she’s hung around her neck, and he instantly recognises it... as the TARDIS key.

The Doctor is equally shocked, especially when he realises that both Sam and Gemma seem strangely familiar to him. Davros has come to realise that the Doctor’s friends are important to him, and his faith in his companions is part of what defines him. The Doctor took away the things that made Davros what he is, and Davros has returned the favour, by destroying the Doctor’s adopted home planet -- and his companions. Davros urges the Doctor to think back to before he met Charley on the airship R101, and cackles with mad glee as the Doctor is overwhelmed by memories that he had lost. Before he travelled with Charley and C’rizz, the Doctor travelled with Samson and Gemma Griffin...

Part Three
(drn: 22'29")

The Doctor, Sam and Gemma have just celebrated the Doctor’s birthday, and the siblings have presented their friend with a first edition of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie -- who also travelled as the Doctor’s companion for a time. The TARDIS then encounters a battered timeship in the Vortex, and although Sam is still recovering from his intense celebrating, Gemma convinces him to go out exploring with her. They urge the Doctor to stay in the TARDIS, read his book and relax, and as the Doctor puts his feet up, Sam and Gemma venture out into the dark and deserted corridors...

The Doctor now recalls the tragic end of his travels with Sam and Gemma, and at the same time, Sam is himself beginning to remember. Sam used to work at the local library, and one day, the Doctor once popped in to check out a mystery novel while Gemma was visiting her brother. Fascinated by the weird stranger, Gemma convinced Sam to follow him, which is how they ended up travelling with him in the TARDIS. The travellers visited other planets and times, and had weird and wondrous adventures, including a visit to Studio 54 and a battle with living guitars. But this all ended when they encountered the Nekkistani ship drifting in the Time Vortex. When the Dalek mothership was destroyed, Davros’ escape pod was blasted into the Vortex, where he drifted for years before being rescued by the Nekkistani; however, he repaid the kindness by killing them all. He was alone when the Doctor’s companions found him, and when they returned to the TARDIS, they were under his control.

Davros informed the appalled Doctor that he had set the Nekkistani ship’s self-destruct, and the Doctor had little choice but to dematerialise with Davros on board the TARDIS. Davros then forced Samson to knock the Doctor out, and while the Doctor was unconscious, Davros studied the TARDIS -- and discovered that it was partly organic. Davros is a skilled genetic engineer, capable of turning human beings into Daleks -- and more than capable of forging a link between the TARDIS controls and a human mind. Rather than simply kill the Doctor, Davros wished to make him suffer by destroying all that his foe held dear; he thus programmed the TARDIS to take Samson and Gemma back home, and before departing with them, he erased the Doctor’s recent memories and sent the TARDIS back to the Nekkistani vessel in the Time Vortex. The Doctor awoke with no memory of his companions, and, upon seeing that the TARDIS console had somehow become damaged, he began to search for the TARDIS manual -- only to be distracted by the vortisaurs flocking around the crashing timeship.

Back on Earth, Samson returned home with no memory of his travels or of his sister’s existence; however, he was haunted by weird dreams, which were in fact images of the TARDIS’ continuing travels. Through Sam’s dreams, Davros was able to keep track of the Doctor while he set the next stage of his plan in motion. He had turned Gemma into a carrier of the mutagenic virus that transforms humans into Daleks, and she now travelled the world, carrying the virus with her. As humanity began to succumb to the effects of the virus, Davros showed up and offered his “help” -- and thus, a new army of Daleks was created on a new homeworld, while the Doctor continued his travels with Charley and later with C’rizz, unaware of what was happening to his home away from home.

While Davros and Sam are telling this story, C’rizz is down in the Great Tunnel, preparing to shoot Gemma at her own request. However, a Dalek voice speaks in her head, ordering her to stop him, and she immediately begs C’rizz to drop the gun. Confused and upset, C’rizz returns Gemma’s gun as she soothes him, assuring him that all will be well once they reach the Resistance. C’rizz isn’t sure what kind of person he’s becoming, and he isn’t sure what to think of Gemma; her attitude towards the mutant’s death seemed to have changed, and she knows far more than she should about L’da and Charley. Quietly, C’rizz wonders if he’s going to have to “save” her after all.

Sam now understands that Davros has used him to destroy the Earth just out of spite. He and Charley insist that they must find the Doctor and help him to put things right, and to their surprise, Harriet turns to her party guests and tells them that the time has come -- and the guests break out camouflage gear and guns, and prepare to take their children to the shelters. Harriet informs the shocked Charley and Sam that the people of Folkestone, those few who are left, are in fact the British Resistance. They’ve been in touch with the French for some time, planning to strike back, but have been biding their time, waiting for a worthwhile opportunity and throwing wild parties late into the night just to convince the Daleks that they pose no threat. Now, thanks to Sam’s story, they know that Davros is the leader of the Daleks, and the time has come for them to attack and take back their planet.

The Doctor is horrified by Davros’ story, and Davros urges him to fulfil his destiny by breaking the vial, releasing the virus and destroying all life on Earth. But even in the depths of his despair, the Doctor insists that there must still be some hope out there; Davros may have destroyed all that the Doctor holds dear, but the Doctor will not be the one to strike the last blow and destroy all life on the planet. The Doctor storms out of the laboratory, and Davros bursts into tears and begs him to return and put them all out of their misery; though part of him is clinging grimly on to life, all Davros really wants is for this to end.

Sam and Charley accompany the Resistance to the cliffs, where the Doctor has just emerged from the Dalek base of his own accord. He is riddled with guilt, and blames himself for the terrible things that have happened to the Earth and to Harriet’s children. However, Charley, Sam and Harriet urge the Doctor not to blame himself for what Davros has done in his name. They intend to fight their way through the Daleks in the base and kill Davros, but the Doctor warns them that, whatever Davros may think, the Daleks have a will of their own. It occurs to him that he saw no Daleks around when he escaped from their base, and he realises why the Daleks let him and his friends get so close to escaping when they first arrived; they were pretending to be sluggish in order to make Davros believe that they are still dependent on him. Which begs the question: what is the Daleks’ real agenda, and what have they been up to ever since Charley and C’rizz escaped from the cells?

As Gemma and C’rizz near the end of the tunnel, C’rizz sees human bodies strewn about, but Gemma doesn’t seem at all surprised by the sight. When she refuses to explain what’s really happening, C’rizz accuses her of manipulating his emotions ever since they met; however, since they have finally arrived at their destination and he has nowhere else to go, he reluctantly allows her to open the door at the end of the tunnel. On the other side of the door is a Dalek, which greets Gemma by name -- but Gemma informs the appalled C’rizz that she technically wasn’t lying to him when she said she was taking him to meet the Resistance. The Daleks themselves are the Resistance...

Part Four
(drn: 25'51")

Lurking down in the darkness of the Dalek base, Davros argues with himself -- literally. Part of his personality is Davros, and part is, or will be, Emperor of the Daleks. Part of him insists upon holding onto his old identity; part of him claims that his emotional weaknesses have cost him everything. Part of him wants to be the emotionless Emperor and let go of his past; part of him wants to die and is disgusted by his own weakness. But until his internal conflict is resolved, all he can do is cower in the darkness, trapped with himself...

Harriet gets an unpleasant surprise when the French Resistance arrives in England -- in the form of thousands of Daleks, flying over the English Channel. Shaken, Harriet explains to the Doctor and Charley that some of the inhabitants of Folkestone have disappeared in recent months; nevertheless, the others have kept up the pretence of being unconcerned, all the while plotting to take back their planet while Harriet avenges her daughter’s death. Realising that Harriet has already mourned Gemma’s loss, the Doctor chooses not to tell her that he’s seen Gemma alive; instead, to Charley’s shock, he agrees to accompany the Resistance into the dark and help them kill Davros.

C’rizz now learns that Gemma has been a Dalek agent all along; as the Doctor suspected, the Daleks have turned against their insane creator, and are planning to get rid of him before exterminating the few human survivors and conquering Earth. C’rizz is horrified -- at least until the Daleks point out that humanity’s extermination will put an end to their pain and suffering, which is an explanation that C’rizz can accept. However, since Davros has proven unstable, the Daleks need someone else to lead them. They have been conducting experiments upon the humans that Gemma lured away from Folkestone, but their experiments have all failed, resulting in the mutant whom C’rizz killed and the other bodies outside the Dalek base. However, Gemma has been testing C’rizz, and the Daleks now believe that he’s exactly what they need: an alien whose first instinct is to kill. C’rizz insists that he’s not just a killer, and he’s certainly nothing like the Daleks -- but the Daleks know differently, and despite C’rizz’s protests, they wheel in the casing for their new Emperor and prepare to force C’rizz inside.

As Harriet and the Resistance make their way through the Dalek base towards Davros’ laboratory, the Doctor speaks privately with Charley and reveals that, for a moment, he actually considered breaking the vial. He knows that he can’t afford to give in to despair, however, and asks Charley to give him hope. Horrified, Charley insists that the Doctor must not blame himself for what happened, and promises that his friends still love and trust him. Heartened, the Doctor changes his mind and tells Charley to take Harriet and the Resistance to the TARDIS while he confronts Davros alone. As Harriet and her friends discuss what kind of parties they could throw in the TARDIS’ interior, Sam comforts Charley, who is disappointed in herself for being so disappointed that the Doctor could feel despair. Sam reminds Charley that the Doctor needs his friends to support him, and they vow to do so. Meanwhile, outside the TARDIS, the Doctor confronts the Daleks and tells them exactly how he’s going to put things right.

C’rizz tries and fails to get Gemma to remember her humanity, and refuses to climb into the Emperor’s casing, insisting that he’d rather be exterminated than be turned into a monster. The Daleks are unable to comprehend this, but realise that he’s not bluffing and threaten to kill Gemma if he disobeys them. Enraged, C’rizz attacks the nearest Dalek, smashing it open in a fit of rage and killing the creature within; however, there are many other Daleks surrounding him, and though he wishes to choose his own destiny, he finally has little choice but to give in and enter the casing. Trapped inside, in the darkness, he begins to hear Dalek voices echoing through his head and overwhelming him; he is being linked into the Dalek control net, and despite his attempts to resist, he is slowly being transformed into the Dalek Emperor...

In his laboratory, Davros watches in shock as the Daleks apparently allow the Doctor to escape in the TARDIS -- and when he tries to find out what’s happening inside, he discovers that the Doctor has severed Sam’s link with the ship. Now Davros is truly alone -- at least until the TARDIS materialises in the laboratory and the Doctor emerges to confront Davros one last time. He demands to know what Davros would do if he was allowed to transfer his consciousness into a clone body, and scoffs when Davros claims that he would simply explore the galaxy and try to help humanity. The Doctor knows only too well what happens when Davros tries to “help,” and no longer believes that it’s possible for Davros to change. Davros has taken everything good about the Doctor and used it to break him, but the Doctor refuses to give in and let Davros turn him into a killer.

Davros is both crushed by the Doctor’s refusal to kill him, and scornful of the Doctor’s weakness. However, the Doctor then opens the door and lets in the Daleks, revealing that letting Davros live doesn’t necessarily mean he’s being merciful. The Doctor has told the Daleks that he has a virus capable of destroying them all, and has threatened to release it unless they return his friends and leave the Earth in peace. All they want before they go is their Emperor -- and the Doctor intends to give them one. The Daleks then usher in the shaken C’rizz, whom they have released from the Emperor’s casing, and open fire on Davros’ new cloned body, destroying it. Davros screams in despair, the trauma of seeing his hope for redemption going up in smoke finally shattering what’s left of his personality. He is no longer the Davros whom the Doctor knew, but the Emperor of the Daleks.

The Doctor reminds the Daleks of the threat posed by the virus, and they agree to take their fleet and leave Earth in peace. The Emperor leads his Daleks out of the laboratory, while the Doctor and C’rizz return to the TARDIS. There, the Doctor asks C’rizz about Gemma, and C’rizz hesitates before telling the Doctor that she didn’t make it. The Doctor advises him not to tell the others, as they believe that she died long ago and have already grieved for her; C’rizz reluctantly agrees, but insists that they must not forget her. Charley and the others then return to the console room, and the Doctor sinks, exhausted and relieved, into a chair.

The Doctor removes all traces of contamination from Sam’s mind, restoring him to normal; he can now join his friends and family, and help them to rebuild their world. The Doctor gives Harriet a sample of the deadly virus in case the Daleks ever threaten to return, and he and Charley then pop back in Time to celebrate their return home by visiting Blackpool. C’rizz remains in the TARDIS, but the Doctor assures the worried Charley that their friend just needs to relax and forget the traumatic experiences he’s suffered. But back in the TARDIS, as C’rizz rests, he hears voices in his head, the voices of all the people that he’s killed in the past: L’da, the Dalek, the mutant... and Gemma Griffin. In his Universe, there is no linear Time, and the dead never really go away -- and in some way, the people whom C’rizz “saved” through death are still a part of him. And one day, he may have to save the Doctor and Charley the same way...

Source: Cameron Dixon

Continuity Notes:
  • It’s unclear how, or if, this story can be reconciled with the events of War of the Daleks. Any attempt to do so requires Davros to lose his memory of something or another. Since War of the Daleks begins with Davros being found in an escape pod and ends with his atoms presumably being scattered to the four winds, it’s easier to speculate that Terror Firma takes place first, and that after subsequent, unrecorded adventures, he ends up in an escape pod with little or no memory of the intervening period.
  • Harriet's mention of a dying sunflower was an early, subtle clue to the listener of the identity of the conquered planet. In Caerdroia, the Doctor states that sunflowers are unique to Earth.
 
 
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