Image of the Fendahl

Noting that the Fendahl is making an appearance in one of the new Lucie Miller stories, I thought it’d be good to go back and watch its original story, Image of the Fendahl.

This is one of the classic gothic horror style stories of the Tom Baker years, complete with creepy aliens, mind control, paralyzing fear, and dark pagan symbolism and ritual.  This is a trope that Doctor Who used a few times, especially in the 70’s – ancient religious or superstitious rites having a foundation in some sort of alien intervention or presence.

We are introduced to Doctor Fendelman, a focused-to-the-point-of-obsession researcher, and his coworkers, as they are dealing with an apparently homo sapiens skull from several million years ago, which would overthrow all evolutionary theories – unless humans are originally from another planet as one of them goes on to suspect.  They are operating a “time scanner” on the skull, attempting to see into its past, which activates the skull somehow and it begins to take over the mind of the woman, Thea.  Eventually she’s strapped to a pentagram on the floor and transformed into a Fendahl core, and several unsuspecting cultists caught up in all this are transformed into creepy upright snake-like Fendahleen.

The 4th Doctor and Leela arrive, investigating a time fissure which was caused by the experiments here, and are quickly caught up in events.  With the help of a local wise woman and one of the more conscientious scientists, they get connected with the goings-on of Dr. Fendelman, and start working out the alien backstory there.  Very matter-of-factly, the Doctor introduces the idea of a long-gone “fifth planet” (apparently between Mars and Jupiter, where the asteroid belt is now) which he discovers to have been time-looped by the Time Lords, much to his anger – “This is not something we do!”  Strangely, this is left unexplored, until taken up again in the excellent novel The Taking of Planet Five, which I think I want to re-read now, as its contribution to the Fendahl’s ancient backstory was pretty interesting, but difficult to understand for someone who hadn’t seen Image of the Fendahl for about twenty years.

The resolution of this story contains a few surprises.  Dr. Fendelman, unlike many overzealous scientists in Doctor Who stories, realizes the insanity of what they’re doing, realizes that he and all of humanity “has been used!” by the influence of the Fendahl in its efforts to reanimate itself (similar to the plot of Option Lock), and actually tries to stop the Fendahl.  Unable to do so, he asks the Doctor for his gun back… not for the Fendahl (which is immune) but for himself, knowing that without the required thirteen fendahleen, the Fendahl will not reach full strength and can still be defeated.  This is one of the surprises of the story: the Doctor quietly (though with some remorse on his face) gives him the gun and leaves quickly.  Many of the later incarnations of the Doctor would refuse to accept the suicide option.  Furthermore, the Doctor then rigs the time scanner to explode, destroying the Fendahl, the remaining Fendahleen, and the humans left there in its thrall.  There was no saving them, but it’s a noteworthy comparison with how other incarnations would at least hesitate, usually even agonizingly avoid, opting for the kill option.

The relationship between the Doctor and Leela is more developed now than in their earliest adventures together.  Their trust in each other was clear back then, but now there is a mutual banter and affection.  The Doctor is still trying to “teach” Leela not to attack people so easily. Both of them are constantly trying to protect one another.  Leela does get to save the Doctor’s life once or twice, much to her (and the audience’s) satisfaction, as the 4th Doctor can be a bit self-assured at times.

Last of all, the Doctor decides to chuck the skull into a supernova, deciding that will suffice to destroy the Fendahl once and for all.  But as we are now discovering, perhaps the skull wasn’t destroyed after all…?