Image of the Fendahl
Encyclopedia
Image of the Fendahl is a serial in the British
science fiction television series Doctor Who
, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 29 October to 19 November 1977.
The scan catches the attention of the Doctor and Leela when they are pulled down to Earth by it. The Doctor and Leela set off to find it before it creates a continuum implosion and destroys the planet. They separate and Leela finds the cottage of Ma Tyler, a local, modern day witch gifted with psychic powers. The Doctor ends up narrowly avoiding death at the hands of the creature created by the skull, which then kills the leader of a detachment of guards Fendelman has brought in after the death of the hiker, sealing everyone into the priory.
Ma Tyler then encounters the creature, but survives and is saved from going into psychic shock by the Doctor, who by this time has worked out that the thing is a Fendahleen, a creature from his planet's mythology, supposedly destroyed when the Fifth Planet broke up. He makes his way into the priory and finds the skull, which tries to kill him. Leela saves him and they go off to the Fifth Planet, only to find that the Time Lords sealed the planet in a Time Loop, making all proper records invisible even to them.
Thea, meanwhile, has been gradually converted into the new core of the Fendahl, a creature that feeds off life energy and leaves nothing behind. Stael, leader of the local black magic cult, recognises this and believes he can control the Fendahl and use it to dominate. He and his followers capture Colby, kill Fendelman, who was actually influenced through his genetics by the Fendahl to bring this about, and set up the Sonic Time scanner to power the skull and Thea's final transformation.
The Doctor, Leela, Ma Tyler and her nephew Jack head for the priory only to find the Fendahl core has formed and is converting the cult members into Fendahleen, to form the full circle. The Doctor frees Colby and helps Stael shoot himself after killing one of the new Fendahleen, in turn finding out that the Fendahleen are fatally allergic to Salt, leaving the Fendahl core two short of the twelve it needs to be complete and form a gestalt
. The Doctor rigs the scanner to implode upon itself and grabs the now dormant skull, leaving with the others only just before the priory is destroyed, along with the Fendahl core and the remaining Fendahleen. The Doctor and Leela then leave and plan to dump the skull near a supernova, thus ending the Fendahl race forever.
plot elements of Image of the Fendahl — including the discovering of an alien skull linked to occult symbols, alien influence of mankind's evolution and the dormant alien influence being brought to bear in contemporary humanity — appear to be heavily influenced by both the 1959 Kurt Vonnegut
novel The Sirens of Titan
and the 1950s BBC television serial Quatermass and the Pit
.
, was published by Target Books
in May 1979. The book's cover (painted by John Geary) was once voted as the worst in the series by readers of DWB magazine
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 29 October to 19 November 1977.
Plot
In a priory near the village of Fetchborough, four scientists, Adam Colby, Max Stael, Thea Ransome and Dr. Fendelman, are doing tests on a human skull they found in Kenya, apparently twelve million years old. When Dr. Fendelman starts using a sonic time scan, trying to get an image of the owner of the skull, the skull itself seems to react, locking onto Thea and releasing something in the priory grounds that kills a passing hiker, who eventually totally disintegrates.The scan catches the attention of the Doctor and Leela when they are pulled down to Earth by it. The Doctor and Leela set off to find it before it creates a continuum implosion and destroys the planet. They separate and Leela finds the cottage of Ma Tyler, a local, modern day witch gifted with psychic powers. The Doctor ends up narrowly avoiding death at the hands of the creature created by the skull, which then kills the leader of a detachment of guards Fendelman has brought in after the death of the hiker, sealing everyone into the priory.
Ma Tyler then encounters the creature, but survives and is saved from going into psychic shock by the Doctor, who by this time has worked out that the thing is a Fendahleen, a creature from his planet's mythology, supposedly destroyed when the Fifth Planet broke up. He makes his way into the priory and finds the skull, which tries to kill him. Leela saves him and they go off to the Fifth Planet, only to find that the Time Lords sealed the planet in a Time Loop, making all proper records invisible even to them.
Thea, meanwhile, has been gradually converted into the new core of the Fendahl, a creature that feeds off life energy and leaves nothing behind. Stael, leader of the local black magic cult, recognises this and believes he can control the Fendahl and use it to dominate. He and his followers capture Colby, kill Fendelman, who was actually influenced through his genetics by the Fendahl to bring this about, and set up the Sonic Time scanner to power the skull and Thea's final transformation.
The Doctor, Leela, Ma Tyler and her nephew Jack head for the priory only to find the Fendahl core has formed and is converting the cult members into Fendahleen, to form the full circle. The Doctor frees Colby and helps Stael shoot himself after killing one of the new Fendahleen, in turn finding out that the Fendahleen are fatally allergic to Salt, leaving the Fendahl core two short of the twelve it needs to be complete and form a gestalt
Gestalt
Die Gestalt is a German word for form or shape. It is used in English to refer to a concept of 'wholeness'. Gestalt may also refer to:* Gestalt psychology , a theory of mind and brain, describing the Gestalt effect....
. The Doctor rigs the scanner to implode upon itself and grabs the now dormant skull, leaving with the others only just before the priory is destroyed, along with the Fendahl core and the remaining Fendahleen. The Doctor and Leela then leave and plan to dump the skull near a supernova, thus ending the Fendahl race forever.
Continuity
- According to dialogue, the events of the last episode take place on Lammas EveLammasIn some English-speaking countries in the Northern Hemisphere, August 1 is Lammas Day , the festival of the wheat harvest, and is the first harvest festival of the year. On this day it was customary to bring to church a loaf made from the new crop...
(31 July). - The Doctor explains Ma Tyler's "sixth sense" by saying that psychicParapsychologyThe term parapsychology was coined in or around 1889 by philosopher Max Dessoir, and originates from para meaning "alongside", and psychology. The term was adopted by J.B. Rhine in the 1930s as a replacement for the term psychical research...
ability is a common side effect of growing up near a time fissure. - The Fendahl reappears in the spin-off novel The Taking of Planet 5The Taking of Planet 5The Taking of Planet 5 is a BBC Books original novel written by Simon Bucher-Jones & Mark Clapham and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Eighth Doctor, Fitz and Compassion. It is, in part, a sequel to the television serial Image of the...
by Simon Bucher-JonesSimon Bucher-JonesSimon Bucher-Jones in Liverpool; he is a British author, poet, artist, and amateur actor, best known for his Doctor Who novels for Virgin and the BBC and as a contributor to the Faction Paradox spin-off series....
and Mark ClaphamMark ClaphamMark Clapham is a British author, best known for writing fiction and reference books for television series, in particular Doctor Who in his book : Who's Next....
as well as in the Kaldor CityKaldor CityKaldor City is a human city of the future on an unspecified alien world, created by Chris Boucher for the Doctor Who serial The Robots of Death broadcast in 1977, and reused in his Past Doctor Adventure Corpse Marker in 1999...
series of audio plays and the Time HunterTime HunterThe Time Hunter series of books is published by Telos Publishing Ltd. and features the characters Honoré Lechasseur and Emily Blandish from Daniel O'Mahony's Doctor Who novella The Cabinet of Light...
novella Deus Le VoltDeus Le VoltDeus Le Volt is the eighth in the series of Time Hunter novellas and features the characters Honoré Lechasseur and Emily Blandish from Daniel O'Mahony's Doctor Who novella The Cabinet of Light...
by Jon de Burgh MillerJon de Burgh MillerJon de Burgh Miller is an author most associated with his work on a variety of spin-offs from the BBC Television series Doctor Who. He is also co-owner of and regular reviewer on the Shiny Shelf website.-Work:...
. - K-9 appears in the first and last parts of the story but does not speak. This is due to the late inclusion of K-9 as a regular character into the scripts.
- At the end of Part Two the Doctor asks the Fendahl skull if it would like a jelly babyJelly babyJelly babies are a type of soft confectionery that look like little babies in a variety of colours. There are currently several brands of jelly babies, most predominantly Trebor Bassett , Rowntree , Norfolk Manor, and Haribo.Jelly babies were launched by Bassett's in 1918 in Sheffield...
, but actually offers it a liquorice allsortLiquorice allsortsLiquorice allsorts consist of a variety of liquorice sold as a mixture. These confections are made of liquorice, sugar, coconut, aniseed jelly, fruit flavourings, and gelatine. They were first produced in Sheffield, England, by Geo...
. This was commented on in the 'Watchdog' segment of NationwideNationwide (TV series)Nationwide was a BBC News and Current affairs television programme broadcast on BBC One each weekday following the early evening news. It followed a magazine format, combining political analysis and discussion with consumer affairs, light entertainment and sports reporting...
; the Doctor Who production office replied by saying that this was one of the ways the Doctor liked to confuse his enemy.
Production
- The exterior scenes were shot on the StargrovesStargrovesStargroves is a manor house and associated estate at East Woodhay in the English county of Hampshire. It best known for being the home of Mick Jagger during the 1970s and a recording venue for The Rolling Stones and various other rock bands.-History:...
estate in HampshireHampshireHampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, which was formerly owned by Mick JaggerMick JaggerSir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
. The same location had been used during the filming of Pyramids of MarsPyramids of MarsPyramids of Mars is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 25 October to 15 November 1975.-Synopsis:...
.
Outside references
In the opinion of Alan BarnesAlan Barnes (writer)
Alan Barnes is a British writer and editor, particularly noted for work in the field of cult film and television.-Biography:Barnes served as the editor of Judge Dredd Megazine from 2001 until December 2005, during which time the title saw a considerable increase in the number of new strip pages. ...
plot elements of Image of the Fendahl — including the discovering of an alien skull linked to occult symbols, alien influence of mankind's evolution and the dormant alien influence being brought to bear in contemporary humanity — appear to be heavily influenced by both the 1959 Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
novel The Sirens of Titan
The Sirens of Titan
The Sirens of Titan is a Hugo Award-nominated novel by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., first published in 1959. His second novel, it involves issues of free will, omniscience, and the overall purpose of human history...
and the 1950s BBC television serial Quatermass and the Pit
Quatermass and the Pit
Quatermass and the Pit is a British television science-fiction serial, originally transmitted live by BBC Television in December 1958 and January 1959. It was the third and last of the BBC's Quatermass serials, although the character would reappear in a 1979 ITV production simply entitled Quatermass...
.
In print
A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance DicksTerrance Dicks
Terrance Dicks is an English writer, best known for his work in television and for writing a large number of popular children's books during the 1970s and 80s.- Early career :...
, was published by Target Books
Target Books
Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...
in May 1979. The book's cover (painted by John Geary) was once voted as the worst in the series by readers of DWB magazine
Dreamwatch
Dreamwatch was a British magazine covering science fiction and fantasy films, books and television programmes.Published monthly by Gary Leigh and then Titan Magazines , it was a leading genre entertainment magazine, competing with SFX and Cinescape in the genre magazine market.-Overview:The...
.
VHS and DVD releases
- This story was released on VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in March 1993 - A DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
was released on 20 April 2009 (1 September 2009 in North America).