Why I Love… The Seeds of Doom

Guest contributor Will Atkinson shares his views on the 70s classic by the late Robert Banks Stewart.

After a week dominated by headlines about the sad deaths of two of the creative industries greatest members, there was another loss that may have slipped under your radar. This was the death of Robert Banks Stewart, creator of the television program Bergerac and, perhaps more notably for us at least, the author of two of the best Doctor Who stories ever – Terror of the Zygons and The Seeds of Doom. I’ve already talked about my love for Terror of the Zygons here so now it’s time to shine a light on the story that bookended the very same season, and in honour of Mr Banks Stewart, it’s my chance to tell you just why Mr Banks Stewart’s slightly less famous entry to the Who canon is as much a gem as his first…

First of all, the direction. Douglas Camfield, who was behind the lens of this tale, is a Doctor Who legend. He’d been directing the show since all the way back to The Crusades – not the time period, the story – which was in Doctor Who’s second ever series. He was responsible for some proper belters too – Inferno, The Invasion, The Web of Fear and Terror of the Zygons were all him. Mr Camfield is always a man who goes an extra mile with his stories, and The Seeds of Doom shows him on some of his finest form. Never mind that he was making the show on a budget of tuppence ha’penny and a couple of Jelly Babies, he still manages to make the story punchy, dramatic and at times almost cinema quality. There are parts of this story that are masterpieces of editing, camera design and action. There are parts of this story that have barely even aged, such is the excitement they generate, an example being the excellent chauffeur chase in the middle of the story, a truly exemplary combination of setting, excitement and top direction. Camfield really goes to town on this story, and it is a true shame that it was his last entry, but at least he went out on a definite high.

To match the first-rate direction, this story is also a shining example of some of the scariest and most deliciously horrifying moments that Doctor Who has ever had to offer – and, as we all know, that’s quite an achievement. The source of many of those horrifying moments is the tale’s extraterrestrial enemy, the brilliant Krynoid. An example of the sci-fi staple of malign plant life, the Krynoid infects those exposed to it and turns them into living vegetables, before proceeding to grow and grow. Like all the best Who aliens, the Krynoid is properly terrifying. From the tension wrought by its slow takeover of an Arctic base in the story’s first third, to its ever-greater expansion and takeover of local plant life towards its end, the Krynoid is an enemy that really brings the chills. Literally, in the parts of the story set at the North Pole. It is a shame that it has never returned (on television, at least) but it is testament to Mr Banks Stewart’s undoubted ability that he managed to craft both this fine baddie (he was apparently inspired by the fact he lived next to Kew Gardens) and the Zygons, which as we are all too aware, are still menacing the Doctor to this day.

But there’s no point in having a great baddie if he’s got nobody to menace, so you’ll be pleased to hear this story has people in it. Acting people. Very good acting people, in fact. To start off with, there’s Tony Beckley as the main Homo Sapien villain of the peace, nutty gazillionaire Harrison Chase. In equal parts camp and chilling, his quiet voice and slight movements are made all the more frightening when coupled with his creepy habit of talking intimately with his plants. And also, of course, with the fact he wants to turn people into manure and spread them on his guard. You see? Always the quiet ones. You’ll never be able to trust Monty Don again.

Along with Chase, there’s his thug Scobie, played by Only Fools and Horses’ Boycie himself, John Challis. Scobie is about as far from Boycie as you could get though – he’s a right nasty piece of work, treating people as disposable and barging his way through the tale. It’s a great performance from Challis, and a memorable one too. Keeler, played by Mark Jones, is another great character, starting off as nervous before morphing, literally, into something far more monstrous when he is infected by the Krynoid. His performance as a man fighting his own body is truly disturbing. At the other end of the scale is Amelia Ducat, played by Sylvia Coleridge, a lady so odd that the Fourth Doctor is only the second most eccentric person in this story. She has some of the story’s best lines, and provides some needed comic relief.

However, the real prize for acting must go to the regulars – Tom Baker as the Doctor and Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith. Their partnership is deservedly legendary, and here is a fine demonstration of them at their best. Whether playing with beach balls or being feed to an evil plant, they both give it their all and it is impossible not to see what makes their pairing one of the finest of all time. They anchor the tale, and their ease and humour mean that what would otherwise have been a tad too dark is as fun and enjoyable as any other Doctor Who story.

This isn’t any other Doctor Who story though-this is The Seeds of Doom (and I’d be seriously worried if you didn’t know that by now!). Mr Banks Stewart leaves a wonderful legacy to the show with this tale. It is a Doctor Who story unlike any other, a wonderful mixture of the barmy, the brilliant and bone-chilling. But it would be nothing without Mr Banks Stewart’s ideas. From the interesting episode structure, to the story’s global nature, this is a tale that pushes the boundaries and redefines the sort of show Doctor Who could be. One half a typical earth invasion with UNIT story, one half macabre horror and one, mathematically incorrect, half international thriller, this is a story that combines the best that Doctor Who can be with some of the best genres out there to sample from. Put this together with some of the wittiest and most well-written dialogue the show has ever had, and there’s no doubt about it- this is one of the best Doctor Who stories ever.

So, there’s only one thing left to say…

Thank you, Robert Banks Stewart.