The Ambassadors of Death

053 – The Ambassadors of Death
Doctor Who serial
The Brigadier pulls his gun on an Ambassador attacking the Doctor.
Cast
Doctor Jon Pertwee (Third Doctor)
Companion Caroline John (Liz Shaw)
Others Nicholas Courtney — Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart John Levene — Sergeant Benton John Abineri — General Carrington Ronald Allen — Ralph Cornish Robert Cawdron — Bruno Taltalian Cheryl Molineaux — Miss Rutherford Robert Robertson — Collinson Ray Armstrong — Grey Dallas Cavell — Sir James Quinlan Michael Wisher — John Wakefield William Dysart — Reegan Cyril Shaps — Lennox Juan Moreno — Dobson Gordon Sterne — Van Heldorf John Lord — Masters Tony Harwood — Flynn Roy Scammell — Technician Bernard Martin, Joanna Ross, Carl Conway — Control Room Assistants Derek Ware — UNIT Sergeant James Haswell — Corporal Champion James Clayton — Private Parker Geoffrey Beevers — Private Johnson Max Faulkner — UNIT Soldier Peter Halliday — Alien Voices Peter Noel Cook — Alien Space Captain Ric Felgate — Van Lyden/Ambassador Steve Peters — Lefee/Ambassador Neville Simons — Michaels/Ambassador
Production
Directed by	Michael Ferguson
Written by	David Whitaker Trevor Ray (episode 1, uncredited) Malcolm Hulke (episodes 2-7, uncredited), Terrance Dicks (episodes 2-7, uncredited)
Script editor	Terrance Dicks
Produced by	Barry Letts
Incidental music composer	Dudley Simpson
Production code	CCC
Series	Season 7
Length	7 episodes, 25 minutes each
Date started	21 March 1970
Date ended	2 May 1970
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → Doctor Who and the Silurians Inferno
List of Doctor Who serials

The Ambassadors of Death

Author	Terrance Dicks
Cover artist	Tony Masero
Series	Doctor Who book: Target novelisations
Release number	121
Publisher	Target Books
Publication date	21 May 1987 (Hardback) 1 October 1987 (Paperback)
ISBN

The Ambassadors of Death is the third serial of the seventh season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts from 21 March to 2 May 1970. Written by Trevor Ray, Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke from a story by David Whitaker, the serial was directed by Michael Ferguson.

In the serial, the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT), including Liz Shaw (Caroline John) and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney), investigate the disappearance of astronauts who have lost contact with Earth. They become involved in a conspiracy and meet alien ambassadors who have been sent to Earth, who seem to have ill intentions.

With the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce providing security, the British space programme under Professor Ralph Cornish oversees the launch of the Recovery Seven probe. This has been sent into Earth orbit to make contact with the missing Mars Probe Seven and its two astronauts, who lost contact with Earth eight months earlier. The pilot of Recovery Seven, Van Lyden, makes contact with the Mars probe but is then silenced by a piercing unearthly sound. The noise troubles the Doctor who travels with his assistant Liz Shaw to the Space Centre to investigate the situation, offering insights into the origin and meaning of the sounds, which he interprets as coded messages. He also identifies a reply sent from Earth, which is triangulated as coming from a warehouse seven miles away. Led by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, UNIT troops attack the warehouse and engage in a gun battle with troops commanded by General Charles Carrington.