Dragonfire
The Doctor and Mel pay a visit to Svartos, an ice planet with an enormous habitation complex which extends far above the surface. Though it seems innocuous enough on the surface – the TARDIS materializes in a frozen goods store – a chance encounter with Sabalon Glitz, bumbling intergalactic treasure-seeker not-so-extraordinaire quickly leads the Doctor into trouble, and introduces him to Ace, a sarcastic teenager from Earth who inexplicably found herself on Svartos and now works as a waitress. Glitz has obtained a map of the caverns beneath the planet’s surface, where a dragon is rumored to lurk, guarding a priceless treasure. The Doctor agrees to accompany Glitz on his search, more curious about the dragon itself than what it may be guarding. Mel, left behind with Ace, finds herself in very deep trouble when the younger girl runs afoul of the authorities and brings herself to the attention of Kane, an alien who cannot leave the sub-freezing portions of the complex. Little do the Doctor and Glitz realize that the dragon is all that stands between the people of Svartos and Kane’s plans for a bloody reign of terror.
written by Ian Briggs
directed by Chris Clough
music by Dominic GlynnCast: Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Bonnie Langford (Melanie), Sophie Aldred (Ace), Tony Selby (Glitz), Edward Peel (Kane), Patricia Quinn (Belazs), Tony Osoba (Kracauer), Stephanie Fayerman (McLuhan), Sean Blowers (Zed), Stuart Organ (Bazin), Nigel Miles-Thomas (Pudovkin), Shirin Taylor (Customer), Miranda Borman (Stellar), Ian Mackenzie (Anderson), Chris MacDonnell (Arnheim), Leslie Meadows (Creature), Daphne Oxenford (Archivist), Lynn Gardner (Announcer)
Broadcast from November 23 through December 7, 1987
LogBook entry & review by Earl Green