Doctor Who/The Green Death

The Green Death
Season 10, Serial 5
Airdate	May 19, 1973
Production Number	TTT
Written by	Robert Sloman
Directed by	Michael Briant
← 10x04 Planet of the Daleks	11x01 → The Time Warrior
Doctor Who — Season Ten

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The Green Death is the fifth serial of the tenth season of Doctor Who, and the sixty-ninth serial overall.

Episode One: Jon Pertwee (Dr. Who), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart), Jerome Willis (Stevens), Stewart Bevan (Clifford Jones), Tony Adams (Elgin), Ben Howard (Hinks), Mostyn Evans (Dai Evans), Talfryn Thomas (Dave), Roy Evans (Bert), Mitzi McKenzie (Nancy) (credit only), Ray Handy (Milkman), John Scott Martin (Hughes)

Episode Two: Jon Pertwee (Dr. Who), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart), Jerome Willis (Stevens), Stewart Bevan (Clifford Jones), Tony Adams (Elgin), John Rolfe (Fell), John Dearth (Boss's Voice), Ben Howard (Hinks), Mostyn Evans (Dai Evans), Talfryn Thomas (Dave), Roy Evans (Bert)

Episode Three: Jon Pertwee (Dr. Who), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart), Jerome Willis (Stevens), Stewart Bevan (Clifford Jones), Tony Adams (Elgin), Ben Howard (Hinks), John Rolfe (Fell), John Dearth (Boss's Voice), Talfryn Thomas (Dave), Mitzi McKenzie (Nancy), Richard Beale (Minister of Ecology)

Episode Four: Jon Pertwee (Dr. Who), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart), Jerome Willis (Stevens), Stewart Bevan (Clifford Jones), Tony Adams (Elgin), Ben Howard (Hinks), Richard Franklin (Captain Yates), John Levene (Sergeant Benton), John Dearth (Boss's Voice), Mitzi McKenzie (Nancy), Ray Handy (Milkman), Jean Burgess (Cleaner), Brian Justice (Yate's Guard), Terry Walsh (Guard)

Episode Five: Jon Pertwee (Dr. Who), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart), Jerome Willis (Stevens), Stewart Bevan (Clifford Jones), John Dearth (Boss's Voice), Roy Skelton (James), Richard Franklin (Captain Yates), John Levene (Sergeant Benton), Mitzi McKenzie (Nancy)

Episode Six: Jon Pertwee (Dr. Who), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart), Jerome Willis (Stevens), Stewart Bevan (Clifford Jones), John Dearth (Boss's Voice), Mitzi McKenzie (Nancy), Richard Franklin (Captain Yates), John Levene (Sergeant Benton)

Trivia

The Show

• Final appearance of Jo Grant in the series until "The Power of the Doctor" special after appearing in The Sarah Jane Adventures episode "Death of the Doctor".

Behind the Scenes

• Stewart Bevan was Katy Manning's real-life boyfriend at the time of shooting.

• The function (and lines) of Elgin is taken up by James in episode five. Tony Adams, who played Elgin, had taken ill with peritonitis during production and had to be taken to hospital. The scene had to be hastily rewritten.

• Barry Letts hoped to develop a narrative which demonstrated the importance of balancing industrial development and environmental concerns. However, he strove not to simply be anti-capitalist and put big businesses or the development of new technology in a bad light. He want to show that progression was necessary, but it needed to develop in a way that didn't impact on human well-being. He and Terrance Dicks were also aware that the scripts could not be overtly political, lest the series be accused of fomenting opposition to Edward Heath's government or the Conservative Party. To avoid this, Letts and Sloman kept all political angles in the background and focused the story on the monster aspect.

Allusions and References

• The Brigadier takes a phone call from the Prime Minister, who is never seen fully on-screen and is named Jeremy. This came at Barry Letts's instigation - partly to avoid offending then current Prime Minister Edward Heath and partly because Letts hoped that Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal Party, would win the next UK General Election. However, Thorpe never became Prime Minister.