The Curse of Peladon

061 – The Curse of Peladon
Doctor Who serial
The Doctor examines the statue of Aggedor, the legendary Royal Beast of Peladon
Cast
Doctor Jon Pertwee (Third Doctor)
Companion Katy Manning (Jo Grant)
Others David Troughton — King Peladon Henry Gilbert — Chancellor Torbis Geoffrey Toone — Hepesh Gordon St. Clair — Grun George Giles — Guard Captain Nick Hobbs — Aggedor Stuart Fell — Body of Alpha Centauri Ysanne Churchman — Voice of Alpha Centauri Alan Bennion — Izlyr Sonny Caldinez — Ssorg Murphy Grumbar — Arcturus Terry Bale — Voice of Arcturus Wendy Danvers — Amazonia
Production
Directed by	Lennie Mayne
Written by	Brian Hayles
Script editor	Terrance Dicks
Produced by	Barry Letts
Executive producer(s)	None
Incidental music composer	Dudley Simpson
Production code	MMM
Series	Season 9
Length	4 episodes, 25 minutes each
Originally broadcast	29 January–19 February 1972
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → Day of the Daleks The Sea Devils
List of Doctor Who serials

Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon

Author	Brian Hayles
Cover artist	Chris Achilleos
Series	Doctor Who book: Target novelisations
Release number	13
Publisher	Target Books
Publication date	January 1975
ISBN

The Curse of Peladon is the second serial of the ninth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 29 January to 19 February 1972. It is the first of two serials to be set on the planet Peladon, in which Alpha Centauri appears and the Ice Warriors.

The planet Peladon, led by its young King, is on the verge of joining the Galactic Federation, with the delegates ready to make the final decision. High Priest Hepesh is opposed to the change, warning that the curse of Aggedor the Royal Beast of Peladon will visit doom upon them all.

The TARDIS materialises on the edge of a cliff below the castle. The Doctor and Jo Grant barely leave the ship before it tumbles over the edge of the cliff; they climb to the castle to get help.

King Peladon asks for Hepesh's support to join the Federation, but Hepesh says he will not trust the aliens. The Doctor and Jo are discovered by the palace guards, who take them to the throne room, where the delegates are gathered: Alpha Centauri, Arcturus, the Ice Lord Izlyr and the Ice Warrior Ssorg. The Doctor is mistaken for the delegate from Earth. He introduces Jo as the "Princess Josephine of TARDIS", a neutral royal observer from Earth.

Several suspicious accidents occur to the delegates, which Jo links to the Ice Warriors. Fleeing the beast Aggedor, which he discovers in the tunnels under the palace, the Doctor finds his way into the room which holds the shrine of Aggedor, where he is discovered by Hepesh and Grun, the King's Champion. Hepesh accuses the Doctor of sacrilege for entering the shrine. He is sentenced to trial by combat, a duel to the death with the King's Champion.

In the Doctor's cell, Hepesh tells the Doctor that his "shuttle" has been recovered and offers him an escape route. In the tunnels, the Doctor encounters the beast again, and uses hypnosis to calm it.

The Doctor tries to tell the King about the beast, but Hepesh orders that the Doctor be taken away to face Grun in combat. The Doctor is victorious, and spares Grun's life. Arcturus tries to kill the Doctor but is shot by Ssorg. The others now realise that Hepesh has been framing the Ice Warriors, and has trained a rare beast to maintain superstition. He made an agreement with Arcturus for Peladon's mineral deposits in exchange for his help. Eventually, the delegates vote unanimously for intervention. However, they are unable to communicate this vote to their ships, as their communicators in their rooms have been smashed.