Welcome on Classic Who Month on Dr Who What Why! Leigh Craddock will be talking various topics on Classic Who!
The Key To Time quest took place in Season 16 where the Doctor is instructed to find the 6 segments scattered around different places and times in the universe by the White Guardian who gives him a tracer and new assistant as he doesn’t think K9 is a good assistant. The assistant is Romanadvatralundar or Romana for short and gives the Doctor the tracer and a shock when she puts a hole in his TARDIS. They need to hand it back to the White Guardian so he can restore balance to the Universe. They succeed after the final segment was quite difficult to find after she was moved from place to place as she was a actual being. The Black Guardian appears at the end after hearing from his deceased servant, the Shadow who is killed when the Marshal takes out his planet rather than Zeos after the Doctor and friends manage to reroute the machine. He disguises as the White Guardian to trick the Doctor into give him the Key but the Doctor sees through his disguise and defeats him by disposing the into Six Segments with Astra (The Human Segment) has, to her home on Astros but that is not the last time as we see in his next appearance which you will find out very soon….
S16 has 6 episodes with one segment in each found by the end of the episode. These are what the 6 segments were disguised as:
- A lump of Jethrik crystal taken to Ribos by Garron (TV: The Ribos Operation)
- The pillaged planet Calufrax, shrunk down to football size by the planet Zanak (TV: The Pirate Planet)
- The former Great Seal of Diplos, kept in the form of a necklace on Earth by Cessair (TV: The Stones of Blood)
- Originally a meteor controlled by the Cronquist, which was dispersed by the Fourth Doctor and reformed as a statue on Tara (AUDIO: Ferril’s Folly, TV: The Androids of Tara)
- A holy relic of the Swampies, swallowed by Kroll on a Delta Magna moon (TV: The Power of Kroll)
- Princess Astra of Atrios (TV: The Armageddon Factor)
Leigh’s Opinion On The Key To Time
”I love the idea of a quest the Doctor is forced to complete and has to put up with another time lord who is more brainy and sensible than him. The team work well and is probably one of my favourite teams of the 1970’s.
The Ribos Operation is a entertaining start.
The Pirate Planet is funny but a lot more tense but the Doctor and Romana start to work better and The Captain is hilarious.
The Stones Of Blood is great and more scarier.
The Androids Of Tara is basically a nightmare that I am like don’t get but the Villain gets his downfall at the hands of a duel.
The Power Of Kroll is not great either and I don’t like the Swampies.
The Armageddon Factor has better villains to hate and they are entertaining and we meet the Black Guardian.
Overall, it was great, I am sad that I don’t like two of them but the rest are better but I love the risk and it was a successful series long story arc.”
